My place?

[Kyle Ferlen]

This thread immediately follows the events of Theatre of Lights.

Kyle's apartment building. Not the Ritz by any stretch. Nine identical units face the street behind large brick interspersed with stucco. Rooms no more than 20 feet across with a single oval window in the middle of each. A few are lit. Kyle occupies the one on the left on the third floor. From the outside, the building almost looks like a quilted blanket or a strangely one-sided game of tic-tac-toe. One could actually make the joke that Kyle picked it because you literally can't miss it walking down the street. As the car pulls close, Kyle feels hesitant to point it out.

"That's... the place. The one that's all... yeaah." It almost comes out as an apology. He can only imagine what she must think. All those points you think you had? Gone, bro. Still, the Minstrel is not one to give up without a fight. He makes an purposefully awkward, squinty smile at L'aire. "We can always keep going and pretend we couldn't find the place."

[Kyle Ferlen]

He shrugs. Kyle couldn't really make out the exact model of her ride. "You shoulda seen what I drove in high school. 92' Eagle Talon." He holds his hands up like a frame as he describes it. "Maroon, rust spots all over. One of those cars that wouldn't work unless you treated her juuuust right." Kyle takes an unexpected stroll down memory lane. That was the car he used to drive when he had his old band.

As the car pulls into a spot, Kyle turns to look at Sasha - eyes straining in the low light. Hey, she's smiling. He returns the grin with a soft smile of his own. "Yeah. People usually only complain when someone's got more than one car per unit. I don't even drive, so I think we'll be fine." This would be the first time the Minstrel even had company at his new 'pad'.

"Are you in a hurry to get home? Cuz... I wouldn't mind talking for a while. Somewhere without a live studio audience." He rolls his eyes and shakes his head. "That Wexler guy was a trip, huh?"

[Kyle Ferlen]

He shakes his head, making a face like he is just as lost as she is on the subject. It could be that people find cars beautiful, but who is he to bring up a thing like that? Even sitting in the passenger seat next to L'aire, her features aren't clearly defined. It strikes Kyle as ironic that she is actually as beautiful on the outside as she appears to be on the inside - but the Minstrel cannot fully appreciate how she looks.

"I don't think anyone likes parallel parking. And running is... a good way to stay healthy?" He doesn't entirely sound convinced of his own explanation. Sasha's shy, awkward ways could be a hint at something else. Enemies? Probably not. She's shown him enough tenderness to make the notion ridiculous. He'll just have to bide his time and let her reveal more about her past when and if she feels like it.

He perks up a little when she doesn't make an excuse for doing something else. I've actually gotten the 'I need to wash my hair' excuse before. His feeling of encouragement is dampened a little as his attempt to be clever goes over her head.

"It was a pretty big group, is all. Felt like I couldn't really get to know you with that many people to talk with. Plus I think Wexler was messing with us a little. He musta thought it was funny the way he-" Kyle stops mid-sentence. He looks a little embarrassed. This girl has got me all twisted up. He looks away for a second, as though he suddenly developed a shy streak.

Ok, that's a stretch.

Kyle realizes how dumb he must look and rather quickly gets a hold of himself again. He looks back to L'aire and goes back to a well-suited direct approach.

"Wexler asked if we were on a date. Probably not what you were planning on, but it didn't have a bad ring to it. So, Sasha: do you want this to be a date? Hang out in my apartment, have some semi-decent coffee, maybe get to know each other better?"

[Kyle Ferlen]

Shit. What am I getting myself into? Kyle has done his fair share of running, sure. But most of it was just to be on the safe side. If Sasha is actually running from something and they get close...

Screw it. I'll take my chances. He recovers with a confident smile and tips his head towards the ugly unique apartment complex. "Shall we?"

He blinks a couple times. She has a fair point. "Kyle, please. Chris is just for out 'there'. There's still another 'Kyle' where I'm from, and he can't be in two places at once. What about you? Is 'Sasha' good?"

Kyle waits till she exits the car and does a quick once-over one himself: smoothing his shirt and making sure he doesn't have food in his beard or something embarrassing like that. A second or two later, he opens the door and steps out to meet up with her.

"Main door is usually unlocked. I'll show you up and get some coffee started?" It came out equal parts an offer and a search for confirmation.

[Kyle Ferlen]

Kyle smiles. "Sasha it is, then." He takes the lead to open the door ahead of her, pausing as he holds it open to let her pass.

"Anyone can get into this little hallway here, yes. But they're all separate apartments, as you can see. I keep my own door locked." He hopes she's not nervous about all of that. To him, though, it doesn't seem that dangerous a place. Once she steps through, he leads the way up the stairs to his unit.

"I'll see what I can dig up." He smiles again, clearly undaunted by Sasha's rant about coffee. The tops of the stairs leads to a row of three doors illuminated by a soft yellow light - probably from cheaper light bulbs that could use replacing. The hallway smells very faintly of mildew and some kind of cleanser. Kyle walks to the door that marks his apartment and unlocks it, smiling and winking back over his shoulder at her as he does. "See? Locked, just like I left it." He pushes the door open to a small, very sparsely furnished apartment. It's relatively clean, smelling a bit less like an old building - a lingering smell of patchouli incense could probably be blamed for that - with just a kitchen, living room, bedroom and one full bathroom. Kyle gestures to the brand-new Ikea style futon in the center of the living room.

"Make yourself comfortable. I know this place is kinda empty... haven't had a chance to buy furniture." Or the money, really. "I'll go see if I have any of that caramel coffee left. Be right back." He smiles before disappearing around the sectioned wall with the futon, where the kitchen is mostly hidden from sight.