undergrounds | There is but one man in the world I love… (Closed to Cesare)

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There is but one man in the world I love… (Closed to Cesare)

Popping. Locking. Bumping. Grinding. Since getting out of Meryton, Lydia's eyes have really been opened. Long gone are the elegant waltzes she had dutifully practiced to shut her mother up. Now Lydia spends every weekend, and then some, in London's clubs. Vodka flows, money is swallowed by hungry registers and Lydia stumbles out, exhausted and in search of cheesy chips, chicken nuggets and gravy.

Tonight though, she's gone someplace a little classier. She''s on the last of her money, but for now, she doesn't care. Lydia's learned enough to work out how to get guys to buy her drinks. Who needs magic when they have charm in buckets? Even several vodkas later though, Lydia's alert enough to spot a famous face when he walks in, and what a handsome face.

She zeroes in, dancing closer and closer to Cesare in what she supposes is a subtle manner, until after about half an hour of careful inching and meandering back and forth from nearby, she accidentally on purpose bangs into him.

"Oh my, I am so sorry!" she twitters, eyelashes batting and not sounding at all sorry.
"I didn't see you there, though how I managed to miss a man so handsome is beyond me."

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Cesare notices Lydia fairly early on during her careful inching process. To be honest, he had originally mistaken her for someone else. But Lydia is not yet ready to be seen and so he patiently waits for her to bump into him when she wants. When she finally does, he smiles and shrugs, calmly leaning over the glossy marble bartop and finally meeting her gaze.

Her line is bad. But it's nice that she's used one and that she's the one to make the first move. That doesn't happen to him too often. That is unless...

"Do I know you from somewhere?" he asks, already ordering her a shot. "And if you say my dreams, I am leaving right now and keeping your shot for myself."

Lydia laughs with ease. "Ha - that's rubbish! Like I'd ever say something so cheesy." She grins, and sips her vodka lemonade mix.It's in a plastic cup, but beggars can't be choosers and right now, this is about as classy as Lydia can get.

"I think you'll have seen me before. I was at the opening for the magical institute the other week. Did you see Samantha levitating with me?" He hides her grimace.It wouldn't do if this man was one of Samantha's pals, and she was bad mouthing the Mother of all Witches, would it?

"I think I remember seeing you there too? It's tricky to forget such a gorgeous smile."

Cesare was...busy during the opening of the magical institute. After all, that was when he had been negotiating with Samantha regarding their plot to seize power. He had been distracted and had left as soon as he'd received what he'd wanted, which meant he hadn't seen much of other people chatting, nor Lydia levitating.

He laughs at how thickly Lydia is laying it on, but leans in a little, curious, quirking an eyebrow.

"Whyever was Samantha levitating with you?"

"We just happen to be friends." That's a lie. Samantha thinks Lydia's a bit of a twit. Lydia thinks that Samantha's a bit of a bitch. But Lydia smiles convincingly. "She was talking to me about covens. I think she wanted me to join hers, which is such an honour… but…" She she shrugs. "I told her I'd rather stay with my friend, Nancy."

She giggles playfully. "But this is boring! Someone as important as you isn't interested in my silly little coven, are you?"

Cesare knows there's something off about that. If Lydia is talking about the Nancy he knows, she isn't in a coven. She's in Islington Nest with him. And Cooper but that's not the point right now.

The drink is placed on the bartop and Cesare passes it over to her as he replies.

"Nancy? Nancy Fagin? I know her." He's presuming it is her. After all, there aren't too many witches in London with the name Nancy. It's not exactly a widely prevalent name in this decade. Cesare wants to know what's going on.

"Yeah! I always forget her surname. It's a bit of a weird one, isn't it?" She laughs, and leans on the bar, her hand curling around the glass passed to her.

"She always knows all of the hot guys. I don't know how she does it?" She sips her drink. "Maybe this time, she'll be willing to share?"

Cesare thinks Lydia is clearly joking, after all, every person in the city knows about Nancy's profession. But still he isn't quite sure why Lydia is saying it. To be honest, it sounds a lot like Lydia is trying to poach him and steal Nancy's business. It seems like she doesn't realise that that Nancy and Cesare stopped their professional relationship months ago. Even if they hadn't, Cesare tends to have a few girls going at once. Hey, if Lydia had asked a couple months earlier, Cesare could have enjoyed the two redheads together.

He laughs slightly and takes a swig of his drink, smiling into the glass.

"Nancy and I are just friends." Which means there's an open spot for Lydia, if she wants to take it.

"Is that so?" Her smile becomes more confident, and she sips her drink in what she hopes is a seductive manner.

"Well, she did say she'd introduce me to her friends, set me up and everything, you know? I guess, meeting you, I've saved her a job?" She smiles happily. Success. The man is obviously interested in her.

"I'm Lydia, by the way."

So Nancy's a madam now. Interesting. She had said she was good with numbers. To Cesare, it seems like the next logical step anyway. You should start with what you know well and turn it into a business, after all. He isn't surprised.

"Cesare," he replies, before leaning in, his voice lowering a little. "Do you want to get out of here?" He might as well give the two of them some business. If Lydia has the Nancy seal of approval, he's sure he's in for at least a decent time. Lydia looks nice, in a trying to be innocent kind of way. He's sure it's all a show, but it's a pretty good one and he's happy to play along.

"What? Now?" Lydia's genuine surprise is evident. She recovers herself quickly though, and sips her drink with a laugh.
"I mean, you're keen, aren't you? I've not even finished my drink." She smirks. Wow, she must have made quite the impression on this man. And he's an important man as well. If she's his girlfriend, then surely this will mark her as an important socialite about town?

"Still, if you're that eager, handsome, then maybe you can just find another way to pay me back?"

"I'm sure I will," Cesare replies with a smile. He suspects Nancy has told Lydia that he's a good tipper. He has a lot of money. To be honest, he's always thought of Nancy as a very good bargain. The least he could do was tip extremely well. He doesn't intend to scrimp for Lydia either.

He looks down at her drink then back at her. "Why don't you finish your drink then?" he says playfully. Aftet all, he doesn't intend to waste time. In fact, he's already standing up and reaching into his jacket to pay his tab.

"Do you have a place or...?" If Nancy is making a business of this then Cesare is curious to see it, even if he only just visits once.

She glances down at the drink and then back at Cesare. The intention is clear, and Lydia smiles. She likes this game.

"What? You think I can't down it?" She picks up the glass, and though it takes a couple of gulps, she manages to knock the majority of it back. When she's done, she sets the glass down, and wipes her mouth.
"Whoa!" She giggles. "I don't think they're made to be drunk that fast. What was in there?"

She doesn't have a coat; her flimsy, tight cut out dress is going to offer very little protection from the cold outside. Thank goodness for a beer jacket.

She hesitates when he asks about a place. Her flat isn't exactly clean or tidy. "I do… it's across town though. We could walk if you want, or get the tube?" She tucks her clutch under one arm, and offers the other to Cesare.

Get the tube. That's cute. Endearing really, even if he thinks Lydia is putting it on. Clearly Nancy has told her that he likes girls who play coy. He shakes his head.

"We can get a car." And by that he means his car. He's already tapping a message into his phone as he leads her out of the building and into his Jaguar. Cesare isn't exactly subtle. He looks at her once they're inside.

"Where to?"

She quickly gives the driver her address. Lydia's still goggling at the state of the car. She's in a Jaguar. Like, seriously. This guy is minted. Lydia can't believe that any of this is happening. And a Jaguar! Her wildest dreams have come true. She wishes Nancy was here to see her now!

The car ride is relatively short, and they pull up at some dilapidated flats in the back streets of Southwalk, They're pretty grotty, even from the outside, and they don't get much better in. She leads the way, kicking a stray sweatshirt out of the way as she goes. Empty takeaway boxes litter a messy kitchen and there's an odd smell lingering in the flat.

"It's a bit… sorry." Lydia blushes. "I would have got the other girls to tidy up if I'd have known."

She reaches for her door, and leads Cesare to her room. Half a bottle of cheap red wine sits on her bedside table and there is makeup and clothes scattered all across the floor.

"So…" She shrugs, suddenly unsure of herself. "This is it."
Inside, she's quivering. Oh my god. Oh my GOD! I've got a man in my room! Oh my God, oh my God!

This is it is a bit of an over statement. It's barely anything. It's a mess. Cesare's brow furrows as he looks around.

"Just moved in?" he asks. She must be incredibly new. They all must be. It's the only excuse he can figure out for such a careless, poorly kept space. They just don't know any better. They're all clearly going to need to work on this. He'll tell Nancy when he next sees her.

But still. He's here now. He might as well make the most of it. Once the door is closed, he turns to look at her and smirks.

"Come here."

She comes to him at once with a shy smile. She bites down on her lip, coy and already blushing.

"Ignore the mess," She mutters. "The others are out so we can be as noisy as we want." She grins, faking a confidence she doesn't feel.
"You're so fit, you know? I bet you look amazing without all these clothes in the way." And he's all hers. He wants her. Lydia's ecstatic!

Cesare doesn't want to talk about the mess. He doesn't even want to think about the mess. He wants to talk terms so that they can get down to why he came here in the first place.

He turns her around and presses up against her so that he can speak to her while he toys with the zip of her dress, somewhat ignoring her shameless hint that he should take off his clothes. He'll get to that.

"So any hard nos I should know about?" he asks, leaning in against her ear. "Any definite yeses?" Cesare's purchasing the services of a whore, yes, but he likes to give them a decent time when he can. That's half the fun for him.

(SORRY - Moderation week at school has been horrendously busy!)

She half smiles to herself as she's turned, suddenly shy. lost for reassurance, she reaches back with her hands, stroking the sides of his legs where she can reach. In her head, she's almost screaming with the thrill of it all as he plays with her zip. In a few short minutes, this man - this stranger - is going to see her naked. In the whole whirlwind of it all, Lydia's not even sure that she knows his name. And then his question whispers in her ear, and she's brought back to reality. Hard nos? What does that even mean?

She leans her head back against him. "I don't mind. You can take complete control." That's how it should be, right? She's not daft - she's read her mother's copy of 'Fifty Shades'; he better not be planning that, though. That's not what he means, right? Well, too late. She's already spoken and her answer has helped in that it avoids her having to admit that she has no idea what she's doing. A little shiver of a thrill runs through her.

"Tell me what you want me to do."

That's an answer that Cesare is perfectly happy to hear. Nancy had always taken the meeker role with him in the past and it seems that she's passed the knowledge on to Lydia. He has no complaints. He prefers it that way, taking charge. In fact, that's most of the thrill of it. He smiles at her.

"Just relax," he says with a smirk and pushes her on to the bed.

The rest of their time together, Cesare is too caught up in himself to really notice that Lydia doesn't quite know what she's doing. She's playing innocent, he thinks, and she's good at it. By the time he's fully had his way with her, he's already planning on their next meeting. It's a good act of hers. He'd be happy to do it again.

"We should do this again sometime," he says as he reaches for his shirt.

Those past… oh, she doesn't know how long it was…. were the most wonderful moments of her life.

She sits up on the mattress, no longer particularly shy about showing her body to him. It's not like he's a stranger any more, is it?

"Can we?" She asks, almost breathlessly as she marvels at his body. "Do you want my number? You can phone me whenever then!"

Wow. Ok. She's keen. To be honest, Cesare isn't exactly complaining. He likes it when someone is reliable and professional. It had always irked Cesare whenever Nancy acted as if she was potentially above his business.

"Sure. Give me your card." Nancy's given her her own cards, right?

He'll call her when he wants her services again, which probably won't be for a couple of weeks. But it's always good to keep her card on hand. Cesare has a rolodex.

"My card?" She responds, initially puzzled. But then it clicks. "Oh, right."

She scrambles for her bag, and hastily pulls out her plastic UCL student card. It's quite plain, with her photo and student number on it. Hastily, she flips it over and with a Sharpie, scribbles her mobile number above the barcode on the back.
"Here," she says, handing it over. "Sorry it's a bit scratched. I dropped it in the gym the other day."

....That wasn't what Cesare had expected. He squints at her for a second from under a furrowed brow, but ultimately pockets the ID. Fine. Whatever she wants to do. He's not judging.

"If this is an open invitation to your room, I'm afraid I don't intend on coming back here." This place is a hot mess and he doesn't find it charming, despite Lydia's attempts to twist it into something endearing.

"Next time, you can come to me." He gives her a small smile and reaches into his wallet, pulling out some money, presuming she has similar rates to Nancy, plus a generous tip.

"So you can buy another nice dress for next time we meet..."

"Wow, thanks!" She's not complaining about the money - maybe this man just wants his girlfriend to be well dressed, to match him? Maybe he's clocked on that she's a student and has next to no money?

"You want to meet again?" she asks, unaccustomedly shy all of a sudden. "I'd like that. You can just call me, you know, whenever."

Whenever. That sounds...eager. That's just how Cesare likes it. He prefers it when his employees are polite and provide a good service. He smiles as he finishes putting his clothes back on.

"I'll see you around then, Ms....?" He can't remember if she even told him her name, so he pulls out the card she gave him and gives it a read. "...Lydia. Take care for now."

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There is but one man in the world I love… (Closed to Cesare)

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