#( ft; cassandra hendriks. )

[colemonroe]

WHERE: The Outpost WITH: @cassiehendriks

After checking in at the clubhouse, Cole stepped into The Outpost, seemingly under the guise of wanting a drink, but there was more than enough liquor to go around back with the MC. No, tonight was about making his rounds and checking on those who were close to the club, the same way he had been ever since the chaos at the gala unfolded. Taking a seat on a vacant barstool, he dug out his pack of Marlboros and tossed them on the bartop. As he spotted Cass, he nodded in greeting, and offered up a small smile, “Pour me somethin’ tall and strong, Cass,” Cole chuckled, setting one of his cigarettes between his lips and lighting it. Just as he did, he glanced over at a guy a couple seats down practically snoring into his beer. Snorting a laugh, he glanced back at Cass and shook his head, “Maybe not quite that strong, though.”

[colemonroe]

“So I been told,” Cole snorted, a crooked grin forming around his Marlboro. Not much of a big talker, most of what he did say tended to turn heads. Exhaling a lungful of smoke, Cole smirked softly as she swiped a cigarette and helped herself. Not that he minded, he was always willing to share with other nicotine fiends. Following Cassie's gaze down to the older, crotchety man seated a few stools down from him, he blew out a smoke stained sigh and shrugged a shoulder, “Well that ain't nothin’ new.” Pete might as well have had his name etched into that stool by now, officially marking it as his. Turning his attention back to Cass, Cole reached for his whiskey, raising it for a quick sip. “I'm holdin’ ya to that,” her promise to tell him if something didn't feel right, that was, “Ain't takin’ any chances these days.” They couldn't afford to. Truthfully, they never had, but ever since the gala, they'd been on even higher alert, understandably. “You and me both,” Cole remarked conversationally, all the while knowing it'd never happen. Unbeknownst to everyone outside of a select few, Dante Parker was dead. “Don't think it stops with him though.” In Cole’s mind, Dante was just the beginning. He didn't want to dwell on that though, especially with the crippling guilt it tended to shove at him any time he did. Instead, he glanced across at Cass, brow raised and a lopsided smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth, “No skeletons in your closet ya wanna warn me about, are there?” He teased, tone light and playful as he tried to find somewhat of a lighthearted take on it.

Same shit, different day. Cassie chuckled deeply, rolling her eyes with a smile. "You sure got a way with words." she teased Cole gently as she casually leant against the bar. Her fingers moved to pluck a cigarette from his Marlboro's, swiftly lighting it once it had reached her lips. Sure, she probably wasn't supposed to be smoking with the customers but her boss wasn't around and the other customers of the day really didn't seem to care about anything but making sure they always had a drink in their hand. "It's all been find 'round here, apart from old Pete giving me a mouthful when I close his tab." Cassie smiled, nodding her head to the man hunched over his drink at the other end of the bar. "You know I'd holler if somethin' wasn't right." she was quick to reassure Cole, wanting him to know her loyalty to the club would never waver. "What I'd do for Dante Parker to walk through that door right now just so this whole thing could be over." Cassie nervously exhaled a soft pillow of smoke, her other hand playing with Cole's lighter upon the bar top.

[colemonroe]

Inhaling on his Marlboro, he offered up a small smile around the smoke, happy at least to see that Cass didn’t appear to be missing a beat, despite all the chaos that the gala had ushered into the town. Was she just that good at hiding any unrest she might have been feeling, or had she just grown used to it by now, much like they all had? It was a question he wouldn’t pose while he was desperately trying to hold onto some semblance of normalcy, despite how naturally curious he was. Taking hold of the glass she slid his way, he raised it to his lips, sipping at the strong and steady Tennessee whiskey he’d always loved while he mulled over her question. It was a loaded one, but then again, most questions in the last few months tended to be. “Y’know how it goes ‘round here, Cass– same shit, different day,” he offered, unleashing a smoke stained sigh as his shoulders lifted in a half-hearted shrug. “How’re things here?” Needless to say, if she’d noticed anything out of the ordinary, he wanted to know about it, “Anyone givin’ ya any trouble?”

After the threats had been made at the Fire & Ice Gala, Cass made sure to keep her head down and stay quiet. She herself didn't particularly have any secrets as such, sure she had aspects of her life or moments from her past she would like to keep buried and forgotten, but that was all. It was more her friends and family that she was worried for, she knew Tonopah Valley wasn't exactly a shining example of a perfect town, and her friends even less perfect. "Cole." she greeted him with a smile, and a small rush of relief. He had always brought about a comfortable feeling of protection, Cass knew when Cole was around, then she was safe. She moved swiftly to pour Cole his usual, sliding his glass over to him across the bar. "Is everything okay?" Cass spoke in a quiet tone, leaning gently on the bar. "Y'know, since the other night."