Paxton swallowed hard as the dancer tried to make small talk with him. A couple of his friends tried to egg him on before becoming too occupied to pay attention to him. He was stranded, and stuck. He wanted to leave but he didn’t want to pick the person up. That’d mean touching and well…he didn’t want to give them the wrong idea either. Another female voice chimed into their conversation and all he can make out is ‘you were requested’. That’s more than enough to send the girl on her way. [break][break]

Even in the dark of the club, it’s obvious he’s relieved by how he leaned back in his plush pleather seat. He perked up realizing the second girl was talking to him. He’d assumed she would just ditch him too. “I- uh…” Paxton began awkwardly as he looked up at her. “Yeah. A little.” The blonde admitted, averting his gaze. He had stared death in the face dozens of times in his life, but a pretty stranger? That’s just too much for him right now. He wasn’t ready for something like that yet. He could barely make small talk, much less court a stranger at a club. “I- I’ve never really…I’ve never really been to a place like this so…” He hoped the woman would leave if he hesitated long enough. “I’m waiting for my friends to forget I’m here before I go which will…” he looked at the group of cops to his side all enthralled with their own personal companion for the hour. “…be very soon.”


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+ Jessica Manner [break][break]


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Paxton nodded as the pinkette spoke. He’d sort of missed out on clubs in his youth. The time meant for that had been in university, but he hadn’t been old enough yet. Then in the army there’d been chances for clubs and leave but…it’d felt too weird them too. Some used it as distraction, but distraction had made Paxton feel odd about the whole thing. “They…insisted.” He chimed in before she continued talking. [break][break]

As she sat, he eyed her curiously. As far as he knew this place was just a strip club. Cleaner than the typical one, he was assured, but still a strip club. He seemed to perk up a little bit at the mention of karaoke, not that he wanted to participate. He wasn’t incredibly musically inclined or nearly drunk enough to pull that off. “Games like…?” he asked prodding for more info. [break][break]

As the cheering from his coworkers got louder and the bills started flying out of his friends’ hands, he snuck a glance over at them before immediately regretting it. She had mentioned the back. He had thought of an exit strategy. “The back…sounds better.” He said as he was accidentally jostled by his friends into the pinkette, who we reencouraging him to buy a dance. He smiled, but it looked more like a grimace. "Lead the way Miss...mmmisssss..."


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+ Jessica Manner [break][break]


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Card games didn’t entice him, neither did pool nor cigarette smoke. He preferred arcades. Yeah, maybe it smelled weird because of kid sweat, and maybe the rugs were old and sometimes weirdly sticky, but it was way more fun. At least he had a good time losing money there. Though it was still loud, but there was a bigger assortment of games to play. “Paxton.” The blonde returned as her got up to follow. He’s more than happy to ignore his friends and leave. [break][break]

It's a lot quieter here at least. They passed a bunch of doors he looked away from not wanting to imagine the kind of debauchery happening there. Or see it in case anyone accidentally opened the door while they walked by. He let out a sigh as she shut the door, more than happy to find somewhere to just sit and rest without anyone eyeing him strangely. “Ah, I’m alright.” He said lifting a hand to wave her off before pushing his hair out of his face. He was more than happy to sit in silence for a minute or two. But he wasn’t alone, and social protocols dictated he be polite about this. She’d sort of saved him after all. [break][break]

“Um…thank you for helping me out. I-…I don’t want to bother you for too long, so I’ll take the back exit if you’ll let me.” He said before reaching into his pocket. “Sorry, I’m unsure what’s the usual amount for a tip here.” He said as he looked for a twenty to give the girl.


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+ Jessica Manner [break][break]


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In all honesty, if she’d asked for food or drink, he would’ve obliged. He wasn’t exactly experienced with this kind of situation, and he wanted to repay her. “Y-Yeah…surely…I thought…there’s a door to the dumpster alley or something?” he said frowning at her in confusion. In all honesty, he’d been ready to find his own way out, employees only or not. Better that than face the heckling from his friends and head back into the headache lounge. [break][break]

He paused, feeling her disappointed but not really willing to stick around either. It felt…awkward. He dind’t think he’d be interesting conversation for her either. “Ah…you see I…well I’d just assumed…you would lie.” He said bluntly. After all, he could just leave her a couple of voice recordings for her to play for the next hour and a half and it’d pretty much be the same effect, right? This is why he was single and had to rely on OnlyFans for his urges. [break][break]

Paxton didn’t really care if the fire alarm went off in the casino, but he couldn’t quite say that out loud. He simply looked away slightly embarrassed before sitting back down and pocketing his wallet. What was the harm in half an hour? It’d go quick. “Ok.” He said that and then hesitated, unsure what to say next. “Is this your full-time job or…do you study?” A boring question, but he didn’t want to talk about himself. He gestured for a menu of the place, snickering as he thought he caught sight of pumpkin spice lattes on the front.


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+ Jessica Manner [break][break]


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Paxton shrugged, eyes on the little laminated menu. “I think…you’re an employee who will take whatever breaks she can catch.” He stated. Maybe he’d get…nachos? Something salty with meat and cheese to snack on. He wanted real dinner, and he didn’t trust this place to give it to him. As she explained, he looked up trying to find the hidden cameras and shrugging. Blue eyes are back on her. “So…you’re saying no one would see you here, alone, unless there was a complaint?” he asked, purposefully poking at her even though he was already stuck in here. He held his hands together for a moment staring her down, like that fat seal meme with human hands. [break][break]

He snorted. “Ain’t that th’ fuckin’ truth.” Paxton replied, eyes moving down as he moved onto the dessert’s menu. Maybe some good ole ice cream on a hot brownie would be good too. In his case, a degree had been worthless. He’d lost contact with all the connections he’d made in Kanto when it came to archeological studies. He doubted any of them were left for him to contact. Kanto was a wash too. All that left him with was fighting, really. He supposed tactics? Strategy? But who needed that kind of skill set outside the military. Maybe cops. But cop work was more monotonous than anything else. Which, well, that was good enough for now. A routine would keep him from spiraling. “Lets gets nachos and some of these brownies.” He said handing Jessie back his copy of the menu.


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+ Jessica Manner | day 6 advent : seal [break][break]


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“Can’t relate.” The blonde uttered simply staring at his hands now that he had no menu to read and couldn’t excuse himself to look at his phone. That’d be rude. “I don’t take breaks. That’s kind of the reason why I’m here tonight…” He then shook his head, turning to look at her briefly. “I’m saying no one would notice if I left.” That wasn’t untrue either. He doubted any of his friends had noticed he’d slipped away with the pinkette. Sure, there had been brief cheers and what not, but their attention spans were short. They’d all been drinking a while, and they all had their own partners to pay attention to. [break][break]

As he waited for their food order, he tilted his head at the dancer as he mulled over the name. “Not ringing any bells. I only work around Lillycove proper.” He explained. He wasn’t’ even sure if Lillycove PD would come down to Slateport, save for a big emergency but…that’s why they had the League. And the Ranger Association. Police tended to just stay in their own cities or jurisdictions. They were only down Slateport for a weekend trip. Shit. He wondered if his chia pet was doing alright…


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+ Jessica Manner | day 10: chia pet [break][break]


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