Mina shrugged as she downed some more of her drink of choice. The woman's problem wasn't that she didn't want to be in a relationship with the man. She apparently either didn't acknowledge the dangers or shrugged them off. No, her problem was that he wouldn't make a move. Cosmina found that hard to believe. Was Lenna really trying at all that the man refused to budge? Or perhaps he just wasn't interested in her? If Lenna wanted to pursue this Michael character then it wasn't Mina's business to stop her. She'd warned her.

"Have you tried telling him that? If he's being obstinate or clueless then sit him down and talk to him. Tell him you are tired of doing the pursuing."

If she wanted help marching to her or this Michael fellow's death then so be it. Men weren't all that hard to work with. Even the stubborn ones could be dealt with with enough persistence. Mina certainly didn't have much trouble finding someone to occupy her time if she was so disposed. Briefly she reasoned that attempting a long term relationship might be different but she dismissed it out of hand. Men were easy.

>>"Have you tried telling him that? If he's being obstinate or clueless then sit him down and talk to him. Tell him you are tired of doing the pursuing."

Lenna actually blushed. Blame it on the drinking. "Isn't that a lil bit blunt?" Asked the master of blunt statements and suggestions. "I mean, what if he says 'no'... I mean, I figure he likes me and all, but... he certainly isn't a coward. Otherwise, he'd have made his move." It wasn't like he was dumb, easy to manipulate, or aggressive. A terrible stupid thought struck Lenna, worse than anything Cosmina could have drummed up. Maybe, he didn't like girls? No. Worse. "Maybe he only sees me as a business acquaintance." Lenna bemoaned her grisly fate.

"That's the point."

Mina looked at her glass and then back to the woman.

"Even if he doesn't have affection for you at least if you say something you'll know for sure."

Cosmina snorted.

"It's better than moping around like some weak woman, wondering if he'll ever return your feelings."

It wasn't normally an approach that Mina followed. She'd flirt and tease and let them come to her usually. But in certain cases you had to be blunt. Some men were thicker than the walls of a nuclear fallout bunker when it came to love. All this talk of love, affection, and relationships was making Mina nauseous though. That could just as easily have been the amount of alcohol in her stomach but Mina didn't think so.

"And if he only thinks of you as a business acquaintance then that's better for both of you. He'll be preventing you both from making a horrible mistake."

The glass was empty again. Mina debated having it refilled. If she did she couldn't be sure she'd be able to walk out of the bar under her own power. Mina cast a glance at Lenna. She was in no condition to help out if that was the case. Lenna was too busy whining about a man and drinking to try and forget about her percieved troubles. With that in mind Mina pushed the glass away. No more booze for this merc tonight.

>>"It's better than moping around like some weak woman, wondering if he'll ever return your feelings."

Lenna turned towards Mina.

Hey.

Hey...

Heeeeeeeeey.

Hey!

The other things she'd said went right through one ear and out the other as Lenna hyperfocused on the word 'weak'.

Weak. Weak? Weak?!

She reached out and poked the lady's chest.

"Don't You call me weak," She grumbled. "You don't even know me."

The second, or rather a few seconds since the alcohol had slowed her reaction times a bit, Lenna poked her in the chest Mina made a grab for the offending digit with her right hand.

"I call them as I see them. I don't know anything about you other than you're sitting in a bar drowning yourself in booze because of a man. That's weak."

Mina sneered at Lenna. She was so bloody pathetic, mooning over some man. If she found him all that pleasing then she ought to have just done something about it. Men were weak creatures. All she would have had to do was walk up to him and kiss him, maybe a flirt a little, and he'd be putty in her hands.

"You like him? Then do something about it! Don't sit here and mope."

Why Mina had half a mind to show Lenna how it was done.

"Hmph." Lenna's eyes dropped to the grasped finger. Carefully, she pried the other woman's hand off it. "I'm not weak," She sneered. "And just to prove to you how weak I'm not... I'm going to make a phone call."

Lenna slipped back into her own space, out of Cosmina's, and dropped a hand to her pocket. She fumbled for her cellphone, brought it out, and popped up the screen. Her eyes focused on the white glow of the screen as she scrolled through contacts. The phone beeped. A contact was selected. Lenna spun away from Cosmina on her bar stool as the number dialed. She brought the phone up to her ear.

"Michael," She swayed forward on the stool as someone answered. Her lips drew into the curve of a sly smile. "It's me, Lenna. We need to talk."

((OOC: I'm pulling Ranger into the thread before we wrap it up, Andrew. I hope you don't mind.))

Rodeo Bar and Grill, the one place Ranger knew of where he could order the worlds greatest beer. Shiner Bock, brewed back home in Texas. He was glad he had found the place, he had grown tired of drinking Lone Star at other bars, it was commonly referred to as armadillo piss back home. The Ranger would head down to the bar a few nights a week, aside from the Shiner it was a place he could relax, listen to live music, and enjoy a taste from home. Not to mention as it was a honky tonk he had the opportunities to teach yanks how to two-step.

On his way down to the honky tonk his phone went off and Stevie Ray Vaughan filled the cab of his F650. He reached over and grabbed up his phone from a cup holder, brought it up to his ear hitting the answer call button, and answered with, "Howdy."

Lenna was on the other end and informed him they needed to talk. Technically they were on the phone, but it sounded like she was somewhere public and being in person would be easier, also her tone seemed to say not over the phone.

"Where ya at?

She was at the Pub on 39th. The Ranger happened to only be a few blocks away. He came up to a light and made a U-turn, were it not for rear-wheel drive the truck may not have managed it with its ungodly size. The Ranger found a spot on the side of the road he could park not far from the pub. He stepped down out of the truck cab and slid on his thick leather jacket.

The Ranger entered the Pub and looked around, Lenna was up at the bar. He made his way over up behind her and placed his hand on the back of her shoulder to get her attention. "Howdy, Lenna. So what's goin' on?"

Lenna was at just the right level of mad from Mina's comments that she turned around and made a phone call. Mina grinned widely into her glass. She'd said the name Michael. That left Mina to assume that the woman was calling him to tell him. It was about darn time too. The fact that she'd only know Lenna for the amount of time it takes to get through a few drinks didn't register. Mina hated to see a woman brought to such weakness by a man so it was gratifying to see Lenna do something about it.

She waited patiently at the bar after the call was made. Lenna had decided to do one better and have him come here. At least Mina would get to actually see the man that could make someone like Lenna weak. Therefore she left the other woman alone. Mina faced the bar and waited until she heard a man greet Lenna familiarly. She turned and eyed him. Mina wasn't impressed. Sure he was handsome enough but really if all it took to make Lenna weak at the knees was a handsome face with a halfway decent personality then the woman was even weaker than she thought.

Mina leaned back against the bar in casual fashion to watch the two of them. Did Lenna actually have the guts to tell him? It didn't matter to Mina whether it was fueled by drunken anger and bravado. It would get things over with.

And suddenly, he was there. She hadn't been expecting him so quickly. At his touch, she nearly jumped.

Lenna turned on her bar stool and hauled him into a kiss. One shot, one kill. One fluid motion. Her hands were on his jacket's lapels. Her lips were with his. It was nice. She felt like it was the sort of thing she could get used to.

After what seemed like long enough, she let him go for air and spun away, back to him, face towards Cosmina. Her hand darted out for the last of her drink. She downed it with a smug "So there." Nobody ever called her weak. So there. Now Michael could flounder, and hopefully connect the dots.

Lenna turned around, Ranger expected conversation as she had wanted to talk to him. Yet, to his complete surprise she took hold of his jacket and her lips met his.

He stood there stunned for a moment, it was so unexpected and he wasn't sure how to react. Sure Lenna and him had kissed before, arguably on two occasions but one of those it wasn't his mind in his body and the other was him in someone else's body. The latter of course as a way to cause a distraction.

When he finally passed the shock of the event he became distinctly aware of the smell of alcohol coming from Lenna. She then pulled back, spun around, finished her drink, and addressed to woman next to her.

It was obvious something was going on here before the Ranger had arrived, most likely a discussion between them. Based on Lenna's comment immediately following the kiss it seemed he was somehow involved in it.

"Lenna, are you drunk?" The smell had given it away, he assumed it to be true. Why else would she call him and then kiss him upon arrival, something that normally he wouldn't complain about, unless she was drunk. They worked together often and this just seemed so out of character, but alcohol reduces inhibitions and she had called him, perhaps this was a glimpse into how Lenna felt.

Mina's grin widened as Lenna turned and took action. She pulled this Michael fellow into a kiss. That was the appropriate action to take. Though he didn't seem all that happy about it. In fact all he did was accuse her of being drunk. Lenna probably was drunk but he ought to have reacted beyond that. Perhaps this was what Lenna meant when she'd said he was too good? If that was the case then he was a depressing waste of time. Especially for a woman who had finally found the courage to actually do something about her ridiculous attraction to him.

"Well that's a step in the right direction Lenna. But he seems a bit confused. You might want to clarify."

Mina eyed this Michael character and then settled her gaze back on Lenna. If Lenna didn't say something then Mina would. It wasn't any of her business but she'd wasted valuable flirting time on listening to the woman grouse about whether or not he actually liked her. That meant that she would take steps to resolve it if necessary so that if she met Lenna again she wouldn't have to be inconvenienced in this fashion again.

The woman wasn't without patience though. Mina could wait and see if Lenna could finish this thing herself. It would be better that way and Mina wouldn't have to get overly involved in strangers' affairs.

>> "Lenna, are you drunk?"

>> "Well that's a step in the right direction Lenna. But he seems a bit confused. You might want to clarify."

No, she was not, on either thing. Lenna ignored them both.

"How much do I owe you?" She asked the bartender.

The bartender answered, doing his best to act professional despite the clueless look on his face.

Lenna dug out her wallet and forked over some cash. She didn't really bother doing that whole 'counting' thing. She gave him enough, with a healthy tip. He'd been worth it, she supposed. Whatever. Counting was hard.

Tab paid, Lenna slid herself off her bar stool. "Bye~" Her words drifted over her shoulder to Cosmina. As she passed Michael, her fingers snagged his hand, lacing with his. She gave him a tug and shot him a look that said 'you'd better come and follow', then kept on, dragging him right out the door.

When they were out of the bar, she stopped, turned around to face him. Lenna shot him a sultry smile. "You'd better give me a ride. I don't think I can get home alone."

The woman with Lenna commented that she might want to clarify. Clearly this had been a topic of discussion, possibly before Lenna became so inebriated. If so than this was likely not a case of calling a male on your phone and trying to hook up because you can't think discerningly.

Lenna did not answer Ranger's question or clarify as the woman suggested, rather she handled paying her bill... with a completely arbitrary amount of cash. She then removed herself from the bar stool, said bye to her friend, and as she left took his hand while shooting him a look, of which he dared not refuse.

The Ranger held up his hand to say farewell to the person Lenna had been discussing with but had not been introduced to as he was pulled by Lenna out the door.

By now it was evident to the Ranger that Lenna was attracted to him and was making her move, the latter part possibly being drawn out by alcohol and her friend at the bar. He had been attracted to her, himself but had never tried to act on it. He seemed to only see her when something needed doing and when there is a task at hand all personal business must necessarily take a back seat.

Outside of the bar Lenna addressed him, an unmistakable smile on her face, "You'd better give me a ride. I don't think I can get home alone."

"Of course, what kind of uh gentleman wouldn't give uh lady uh ride home?" She didn't seem too drunk, her words weren't atrociously slurred and he did want to reciprocate his feelings for her. Rather than her just holding his hand while it was a dead fish, he gripped back so that they were holding each other's hands and leaned in to return the kiss from inside the bar.

A good deed. That was what Mina realized she'd done with a start. Or at least something resembling one. Mina settled up with the bartender as Lenna had done. She however did not have a man to drag out of the bar with her. That was a pity but not one that she cared to indulge in. Mina had had enough whinging about men for the night. Now she didn't even care to continue looking for a rich fool. No, Mina would head back to her home and perhaps dig up a job. There were no cares that money could not ease.

With that thought and the bill having been paid Mina stood and exited the bar. With a raised eyebrow Mina regarded Lenna and the object of her drunken worrying. It seemed he had gotten the right idea after all if that lean was anything to go by.

"Here I thought she might actually have some sense in her head."

The statement was muttered with a straight face, a rarity for Mina. Her smile was back quickly though. She'd head to her car and head home. The lovebirds could be left to their mutual doom for all she cared. Saving people from themselves wasn't her job. At least, not without a substantial payment.

Not too much of a gentleman, kissing a drunk girl. He was learning. Any more of that 'you're drunk' talk, and she might have kicked him to the curb. As it was, she got rewarded with a nice kiss. A really nice kiss.

Mmm...

As he pulled away from her, Lenna was grinning. He'd asked her what kind of gentleman wouldn't give a lady a ride home, but oho! He had not specified. "My place, or yours?"

(( Continued in "... Or Yours." ))