Never Slow Down (Eddie, openish)

[Eddie Shriver]

"No... clearly you're someone I should know," Eddie said with a smile, and pointedly looked back to the poster. "With the... Wrackspurts, was it? I've heard of them."

Obviously, he hadn't heard enough of them to recognize their lead singer, but music wasn't exactly at the top of his list of priorities. At least Nigel didn't seem offended. Right off the bat, though, Eddie could see their main difference- he was a quiet, private kind of guy. Nigel was clearly comfortable in the spotlight. But... opposites attract, right?

His attention was pulled back to Yvonne, and he reached over the bar to catch her hand and give it a little squeeze. "You know you're always wanted, love. And...." he turned his gaze down the bar, eyes looking for the guy she expressed interest in. "He's safe. His friend though..." he shook his head. "Good luck."

[Yvonne Marquette]

There was a little part of Yvonne that died every time he said something like that to her. She would never show it, of course, and her playful smile never slipped. This was Eddie, her best friend... and the guy she could never have. She'd made her peace with that a long time ago.

But if this glittery rock star broke Eddie's heart, there would be hell to pay.

"Back at'cha, babe," she replied, returning his wink. She glanced over at the guy of interest and his friend and gave a subtle nod. "Thanks. I can probably get him out of the way. Have fun, and call me if you need a refill."

With that, she gave her top a tug to show off a little extra cleavage and headed over to the other end of the bar.

[Nigel Barksworth]

Nigel sipped his drink, then smiled, watching their exchange silently. For all his outward flamboyance, Nigel could also be very preceptive. When he took the time to pay attention to others, he could usually figure out their whole story. The story between Eddie and Yvonne was not a difficult one to figure out, nor was it an uncommon one. Single girl loves gay best friend, but tries to pretend she doesn't. Yes, it was all too typical. He felt for the girl, and he silently hoped she'd find someone who would take that pain away from her.

As she left, Nigel set down his glass and leaned a little closer to Eddie. "Yes, I'm afraid I am that Nigel. But again, it doesn't really matter. We're basically rubbish anyway. I'm more interested in hearing about you, Eddie."

[Eddie Shriver]

Eddie watched her go, a slightly protective instinct in the act. Yvonne was tough as nails, though, and could take care of herself, so he wasn't terribly worried about her. Still, he would look over every so often to be sure that she was all right.

He laughed lightly at Nigel's words, and shook his head. "Yes, I imagine. Those girls think you're just terrible," he quipped, nodding towards the girls who had asked for Nigel's autograph just moments ago, and who were still giggling and pointing. Eddie loved girls. Just not in that way.

The whole rock star thing took the awkwardness out of the whole, 'So, what do you do?' conversation, and Eddie took a drink from his glass. "We may get along well... I'm more of a behind the scenes kind of guy. I'm a chef at one of the restaurants in town." Hey, Nigel said he wanted to hear about Eddie. No sense in being shy about it. "You should come in while you're town."

[Nigel Barksworth]

Nigel glanced over his shoulder at the giggling girls. There was a slightly cynical side to Nigel that couldn't help but think that these girls were probably just hoping that he would introduce them to Tobias, who was largely considered to be the heartthrob of the group. Sure, there were plenty of girls who liked Ink and Saul, too... but Tobias was the pretty boy.

Nigel also knew, however, that the fact that he wasn't interested in girls actually made him seem more attractive to some girls. Maybe it was the mystery of the whole thing, or the idea that they couldn't have him. Nigel didn't really know, but it was curious indeed.

He shrugged. "Well, it's nice to have fans," he said diplomatically. "But tonight, I'm just here to relax a little and have a good time."

He listened with interest as Eddie talked about his job. Although he liked the spotlight, Nigel always liked to spend his off-time with the people behind the scenes. It wasn't exactly that he didn't want to share the spotlight with anyone else... it was more that he craved a little bit of privacy in his relationships.

"Is that so?" he said. "Well, I will definitely have to stop by... I love food. All kinds of food, really, especially Italian. I'm always looking for good places to eat. What's it called?"

[Eddie Shriver]

Eddie hesitated, only briefly, as his eyes searched Yvonne out, under the pretense of making sure she was doing all right.

He didn't know why he was suddenly unsure about sharing where he worked with this guy, charming and pleasant though he may be. It just seemed a little more than coincidental to him that Nigel mentioned Italian food. What were the odds, really?

"It's a small place called Galligan's," he finally divulged, and then added, "It's an Italian restaurant." His eyes met Nigel's and he narrowed them slightly, smiling in the process. Was it coincidental at all, or did Nigel know something that he wasn't letting on?

[Nigel Barksworth]

Nigel's smile widened. He noticed the slight bit of hesitancy in Eddie's eyes as he looked at him, and he understood it. It really was a coincidence that Eddie happened to work at an Italian restaurant, and Italian was Nigel's favorite kind of food. But it was natural to be suspicious of such a coincidence. Nigel was the same way, especially considering he was a celebrity. He'd lost count of the number of people who used that technique as an excuse to get close to him.

"In that case, I'll definitely have to check it out," he said, and his voice dropped a little. He was slowly letting down the "rock star" persona. "I don't get to spend a lot of time in London anymore, and I miss it. Whenever I'm here I like to try as many local places as possible. Are there any other places you recommend? Maybe I place to get a decent cup of coffee?"

[Eddie Shriver]

Eddie was being ridiculous. This guy was a celebrity, obviously, so that little tug in the back of his mind that said Nigel was stalking him made him want to roll his eyes at himself. For being so level headed and, well, normal, most of the time, Eddie certainly had his moments.

"Well, I work Wednesday through Sunday, usually, so you know when to either find me or avoid me."

Where else would he recommend? It was funny, when you lived in a place for a while and spent all your time there, you never really knew where to take visitors. Everything seemed so boring when you weren't seeing it with new eyes. "I'm not much of a coffee drinker, I'm afraid, though I hear Cup of Joe is popular. More American than any other cup you are likely to find. And there's a new Chinese restaurant that opened that I've been meaning to try."

Eddie's demeanor didn't change, but yes, he intended that as an invitation.

[Nigel Barksworth]

"Wednesday through Sunday," Nigel repeated with a nod that indicated he was making a mental note, "Should I make a reservation?" he added with a wink
As he talked and poured on the charm, Nigel's mind was working. Although he had no desire to avoid Eddie (far from it), he was actually tempted to check out the place when Eddie wasn't there, just to get a feel for the place. And then he'd come back again when Eddie was there.

"Cup of Joe... I'll check them out. In my business, sometimes coffee is the only thing keeping me alive. During this last tour, we stayed awake for 3 days... If not for the strong Italian coffee, I don't think I would have survived."

He also picked up the hint from Eddie, and he smiled. For being a rock star, Nigel could be almost old-fashioned sometimes, especially when it came to relationships. He liked to go out and do things with the guys he was interested in. "I love Chinese food, almost as much as Italian. Maybe we could check it out together? Maybe on Monday?"