No such thing as too much to drink

Lai was more than happy to talk to pretty much anyone about her history in fighting, let alone an AFW pro. Seeing another person's reaction at knowing that they could easily pound just about anyone was always entertaining, especially when she could proudly exclaim her prowess in a sport as brutal as Lethwei. Something about Kozue's tone suggested that she wasn't as familiar with it as she claimed, prompting Lai to delve into a more detailed explanation. She seemed impressed though, which brought immense satisfaction to Lai knowing that her skills had managed to interest a veteran fighter, and an astoundingly cute one at that.

Lai let out a mental sight of relief after hearing that'd she wouldn't have to much trouble adjusting within AFW. She had a burning fear that she would stick out like a sore thumb, one of few fighters who wasn't a wrestler in a wrestling league . But at least now she knew that wasn't true, and as long as someone was looking for a fight, it seemed she would find her place in the league.

She watched as Kozue took another swig, this time from the bottle, before inviting her out to her place for some, err...practice. Lai couldn't help but lean in slightly with Kozue, eager to share a little more personal space, letting out a slight blush while she shifted her gaze towards the ground before meeting Kozue's eyes again. She was really being invited out by an AFW wrestler no less... for practice of course.

"YES! I mean... yeah, that sounds cool. I'm sure it'd definitely help me learn or thing or two." Lai tried to play off her initial burst of excitement before taking another sip and glancing awkwardly off to the side. She paused for a few seconds before turning back to to Kozue.

"Just so you know though, I'd still end up kicking your butt by the end of it." Lai let out a laugh and accompanied the tease with a playful poke at Kozue's shoulder. She was knew she was being bold, both taunting and getting more touchy with her new drinking buddy, but judging by the vibe between them thus far, Lai had a feeling that Kozue would be more than receptive.

Kozue had a snort-laugh at Lai’s outburst, one that she was quick to cover up with her hand. Probably spat out a little of her drink, too. Definitely unsexy. ”Oh, shit, sorry.”

It couldn’t be helped, though. Kozue didn’t want to be the creeper type, but she was digging Lai fairly quick, and not just because she was easy on the eyes and had that exotic air to her. She had this cute, funny air to her. Maybe a little nervous, but she was loosening up more and more by the minute, the alcohol no doubt sinking in. A little rowdy, but not too crazy. Laidback. Yeah, she could work with this.

Kozue took another big gulp, let it swish around for a moment to savor the taste, then chuckled as it went down, tipping the bottle Lai’s way. ”Oh, she’s confident. Confident is good. My butt is a big target, though, not too much of an accomplishment.”

She swiveled around the chair, turning her back towards Lai and giving her waist a few shakes. Just showing off her best asset, but she kept shaking as she turned all the way back. The music had been on the slower side since they started talking, going with some kind of chill, lo fi beat, but it was picking up into something with real energy behind it. Heavy bass, steady and thumping. A little generic, but you could do worse.

Kozue took a long pull on the bottle, finishing it off all at once and letting it burn all the way down. She wiped her mouth clean, then nodded off to the side, towards the center of the room. ”Dance floor? I can talk and move, you just gotta keep up.”

Looks like Lai's bet payed off as Kozue took the tease with no difficulty, perhaps even being slightly turned on a bit but Lai's iconic mix of confidence and beauty. Traits that in Lai's mind, Kozue shared in equal abundance. This became even more reinforced as Kozue spun around in her chair, momentarily giving Lai perhaps the best seat in the entire bar with a more than satisfactory view.

Lai giggled as Kozue continued to bounce and shake her assets, much to Lai's delight. Lai now had a crystal clear view as to where the night was heading, and she was all for it. Despite being in the bar for some time now, she hadn't even noticed the music playing in the background, much too focused on the sexy wrestler in front of her instead.

"Dance?... Why the hell not?" Lai gulped the last drop of her drink before slamming the glass down on the table and getting off the barstool. Normally her penchant for avoiding all things awkward would render her not the greatest dancer in the world. Luckily though she had more than a few drinks in her: Textbook cures for nervousness.

She began swaying her hips to the beat, bringing her arms up and swinging them in rhythmic fashion. Nothing too fancy or flashy, just enough to get her body moving while keeping up with Kozue and their conversation. From time to time she would lean in closer towards Kozue, giggling while doing so before leaning back and increasing the pace of her moves.

"So, I just gotta ask... any matches coming up? Wouldn't mind gettin' a front row seat to you squashing someone...or getting squashed." Lai asked with another teasing chuckle.

It had been - fuck, the last time Kozue had danced outside of her shower had been before she even came to the AFW, at some dinky little dive in lower Hoboken. Her going away party, with her as the one and only guest.

This wasn’t anything close to being that depressing. Here, she had this fine, fun lady to work with, and it made all the difference.

She liked dancing. She’d almost forgotten how much, but she remembered it now, as she whirled around and swung about, twisting in front of Lai. She wasn’t about to break into a full routine, but she stayed active.

She was getting caught up in the moment, lost in the trance, when Lai’s words finally reached her. She slipped in close to speak now, making sure she was heard, but never got too close. Moving in time with her partner’s body, always staying on the edge. Probably blowing boozy breath her way, too, but they were both giving and taking with that, no big deal.

”I might. Biggest thing I’ve got coming is this rematch with Mariko Ishii. Big time Tension girl.” She ran her tongue over her teeth, contemplating where to go next with her explanation. It wasn’t the easiest thing to pop out to someone she’d just met, but here it went.

”We got this kind of facesitting rivalry...thing. It’s a little weird, but she’s cool. Whoever gets the most facesit knockouts in an hour, wins.” She stayed nonchalant about it, no big deal. It really wasn’t, far stranger matches happened all the time in Friction. [colr=#000099“Might not be your thing, but if it is, sure, pop up at Showdown.”[/color]

Lai kept up her rhythmic pace, enjoying the swing of her carefree movements and the beautiful woman she got to share them with. It wasn't often that she could really take time to enjoy herself without having some overbearing guarding constantly peeping over her shoulder. It felt nice being away from home, not having to worry about satisfying others, meeting others demands and needs. It was part of the reason she joined the league, it was something about fighting that providing the ultimate sense of freedom, a feeling that very few things could even come close with.

It was a feeling that she increasingly wanted to share with Kozue. But not yet. As much as she wanted to pop the question to her new friend, there was still much to be done in the way of getting to know her, and flirting of course.

"Oooh, kinky isn't it?" Lai giggled as she kept up her moves. She delivered the question with a rhetorical tone, hoping to convey that the match was hardly anything to make a big fuss out of.  Lai had heard of and seen far, FAR stranger matchups. Something like this seemed rather fun in comparison.

"I like kinky... I think I might just show up then" Lai licked her lips deductively while whispering the first half of her statement, just enough so that it would audible above he background music and overall ambience.

"You into those more "far out there" type of matches, or you more of a standard girl? Actually I've got a gut feeling you're a more... intimate type of wrestler eh?" Lai said with a wink. She was quickly ramping up the flirtation, all while probing Kozue a bit more, now interested in trying to find out what kind of wrestler she was.

Kozue didn’t give much away for it, but Lai might’ve just felt a breeze flow over when she warmed up to the idea of the facesit match. It was a silent sigh of relief coming from the New Jersey Ninja, easing up now that it was clear how her new companion felt about that sort of thing. She didn’t think the woman was a prude - having some sexual inhibitions was in the job description when it came to the AFW. But there was no telling what sort of kink would reel them and what sort would send them running. Today, she lucked up.

Now that they were clear on that, Kozue dared to move in a little closer as she danced. She was always proud of her hips, and this was a chance to use them for more than a set piece - as she spun around, she moved in close and brushed against Lai, sliding along her lap.

”Believe it or not...no. Not for most of my time, here.” She stepped back with a beckoning finger, daring Lai to follow. “I was a pretty straight girl until, like, one or two years ago. But I’ve learned some things about myself. A lot of things. Got so many stories to tell.”

Kozue closed her eyes and raised her arms high as the music picked up, reaching a feverish pitch. She moved like a wave ran through her body, serpentine, never letting any part of her stand still for two long. God, she hadn’t realized how much she’d missed this until right now.

”Play me right, might share a few. Just not here.”

The awkwardness that always came about on the dance floor was slowly beginning to dissipate as the two of them got more into the music and each other. It was always hard getting started with these things but once you did, it was admittedly hard to stop. Lanky movements turned into smooth ones, awkward giggled turned into genuine laughter. It was a feeling she rarely got to experience, and she was all the more glad that she was able to share it with someone like Kozue.

And it seemed she was too. The brunette was getting increasingly comfortable on the dance floor and with Lai. She stepped in closer, brushing alongside Lai with her hips as she slid against her lap. The intimate contact sent tingles up Lai's spine. The woman was a wonderful dancer, and seemed to know how to user her moves and her body to great effect. Lai blushed as she felt Kozue brush against her.

The fact that she was so comfortable around Lai made the fact that was was relatively new to this sort of thing kind of surprising. Lai had come to terms with her own preferences about three to four years, yet even with all that experience she still struggled to exhibit the same amount of confidence Kozue was right now. Maybe she just need to find the right person. Maybe Kozue was that person.

Enticed by her beckoning finger, Lai drew in even closer. She playfully wooed and hollered and Kozue showed off her moves, admiring her skills and her physique. She decided to try giving Kozue a little treatment of her own. Lai spun around a few times, slowly and measured of course, before, stopping with her back to Kozue. She stuck out her arms to her side before bending down and giving her behind a few good shakes before blushing and spinning back around with a hearty laugh and a sheepish expression. While the execution was perhaps not the smoothest thing in the world, she hopes the gesture was all the more enticing.

"Oh yeah? How am I doing so far?" Lai said with a wink before pulling her body back into motion with the beat.

Kozue could see the two of them were drawing some small attention now, with a few women on the sidelines chatting it up and pointing their way. Two wrestlers at the center of attention? Nothing odd there, even if the reasons weren’t typical. She always did like to draw a crowd, but this was one instance where she didn’t mind sharing the spotlight.

She was teasing Lai. Toying with her. Prodding her, just a bit. She was taking risks, never known when it might grow too much, which moves were too bold, but so far the strategy hadn’t failed her, and this wasn’t an exception.

Kozue had no idea how good of a wrestler this woman was, but if she wasn’t up to snuff in the ring, she could fall back on all sorts of careers with moves like that, and not even necessarily ones that involved poles. There was a grace to the way she twisted, a wave running through her body. So much energy, so much power…

Did Lai know how sexy she was? Fuck..

”Good. Damn good.” Kozue laughed along with her - a darker, deeper laugh - and moved in. Closer. Much closer. Give Lai a lot of what she’d just teased before. An adventurous hand reached around her companions waist, and pulled her in. It wasn’t a hard pull, not too much force with it, she could get away with ease. It was a suggestion. An invitation to press their body’s together and reach another milestone in this growing...whatever-it-was. ”Can always do better, though, right?”

Kozue's appeal had Lai completely enthralled. It took a lot to drag the rambunctious girl away from a good drink, yet this wrestler had done just that. Even got her to dance, and like it too. The display even attracted the attentions of other bar patrons, something that Lai didn't pay much attention to however. All of her attention was on the cool drink dancing in front of her, and she was going to enjoy every last drop.

The banter between them was getting increasingly comfortable, something Lai was more than happy with. The smile on her face grew even larger with Kozue's retort, culminating in an invitation to get even closer - an offer Lai accepted without hesitation. One hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her in with a consensual amount of force that Lai happily obliged with.

Lai felt the warm of her breath, the tingled of their contact. It'd been along time since she felt like this, but she sure wasn't going to object. Where this was heading, who knew, but Lai was loving every second of the ride. She place her own hand Lai's shoulder drawing them closer in an embrace that flowed nicely with music, mutually swaying at they shared both each other and the moment.

She couldn't help it.  Kozue was just too damn hot, too damn perfect. The fact that both of them were here, tonight, at the same place and time, it all had to mean something right? Lai pulled her head back before leaning in once more, tilting her head ever so slightly off to the side while keeping her lips aligned with Kozue's. She didn't need to utter a single word, her body said all that needed to be said.

It was a gesture that could mean only one thing. Only inches separated their lips now, a clear indication of what Lai was hoping to get out of this moment. She was too flustered to maintain eye contact, to enthralled in her emotions to know if she was reading the moment right. Still, worst case scenario she could always pull back and continue their embrace, but it wouldn't hurt in trying for a little bit more right? Lai leaned in, finally delivering a quick peck on Kozue's lips before leaning back to gauged her reaction, her cheeks completely blush as she weighed whether or not her risk would be rewarded.

There was a small part of Kozue, an annoying part, that was throwing some warnings at Kozue and steering her off the current path. She’d been here before, after all - well, not exactly here, but in similar positions. Starting up something with a woman she’d just met, getting hot and heavy, then kind of dropping off and fizzling. Her lovelife in the AFW had been a start and stop affair, and she knew she wasn’t the only one like that. Hookups like this happened all the time between wrestlers, and there was always the real risk of things ending poorly.

Maybe this was a bad impression to put on a new star. Maybe she was sort of taking advantage of Lai, reeling her in quick for some hot fun and not thinking beyond that.

The voice wasn’t without a point. But she ignored it, anyway. It was easy to do, really, when Lai’s lips were close and getting closer, moving towards hers, and…

A kiss. A peck. A taste. A test. She was throwing it out there, curious to see how Kozue would react, right? She got it. It was all on her, right here. Hit the brakes or push the gas pedal?

”Nuh-uh. Not like that.” As Lai leaned back, Kozue brought her hand up to the back of her dancer partner’s head, keeping her from getting too far off. She leaned in and pressed their foreheads together, wide eyes flickering, staring at her through the strobe lights, brows curving down in a devious grin. ”Like this.”

Kozue paid her back for that peck of a kiss with heavy interest, coming for a longer kiss and holding her in a tight embrace. It wasn’t as rough as it could’ve been, wasn’t the craziest she’d ever gotten across, but it wasn’t a schoolyard tease, either. Lips sliding against each other, filling Lai’s mouth with the mixed scent of their drinks, letting her tongue slide along the front of her teeth. It was wild and wet, and when she parted, there was a thin line of saliva linking them, one she severed with a pop of her mouth.

She blinked and returned to normal in an instant, as casual and cool as if they were back at the bar. ”See? Better.”