The sea breeze coming off the Adriatic kept the hint of fall away. It was well past midnight on the Piazza San Marco in Venice and Evan Sigmar waited alone. He was waiting on Bellator to give him a ride – a trip via teleportation actually – to Miami and the date he had won with Adult Sensation Caramel B’nath.

Evan waited because he had come early. He had set a devious plan in motion and it was so unlike him that he was understandably nervous. It was his fondest hope that this night would be truly memorable for all involved and he prayed he was doing what was best for all involved … so he waited and fidgeted.

The canals were dark now. The romantic couples on the gondolas were mostly gone now. It was late in Italy, which meant it was just past sunset in Miami. Evan was dressed well for his date. He had to be. His jacket and pants were black, his shirt a crisp white, and his tie and exotic pattern mostly in blue. A female friend at work had helped him pick it out, because fashion-wise, Evan was hopeless.

Evan ticked off the final minutes. He was betting that Joseph “Bellator” Bernolli was punctual. Once again, he was hoping Bellator would be dressed up for the meeting with Kara “Carmel Bath” B’nath. So much rode on it, but Evan could think of to properly approach Joseph about it. Evan just had to hope things would just fall in place.
Now he was waiting, fidgeting, and worried. The last seconds ticked away and it was Bellator’s time to arrive on stage.

Bell looks down at his watch, then straightens his black jumpsuit out. He takes out the guide book, and stares at the photo of the Piazza San Marco in Venice. When the image is set in his mind, Bellator smiles, and vanishes from his apartment to appear next to the large "Moor" clock tower in the Piazza san Marco. He looks around and spots the well-dressed Evan "Caduceus" Sigmar. Bell takes off his cap and walks up to Evan, "Hey there. Or should I say, 'Your chariot awaits, sir.'" He laughs and extends a hand to Caduceus. "Congratulations... now, let's get you to Miami."

Joe concentrates and his quantum signature extends to envelop Caduceus. Within the blink of an eye, the space where they were in the Piazza is empty. The pair of novas appear just as suddenly in front of a small club facing the beach. Bell looked around a small smile on his face, You know.... that never gets old. Suddenly Bell spots the person Evan was here to meet, and his jaw drops. He pokes at Evan until Bell gets his attention then points out Kara to Caduceus. "Daaaaaamn!"

Kara was not surprised by Caduceaus' choice of places to meet; he'd seemed to be a laid-back man who would appreciate the more casual venue that the Zeus Club offered. Neon bolts of lightning framed the doorway, providing a soft amber light for those waiting in line. Unlike them, Kara wouldn't be waiting. Instead, she'd be walking straight in by her prior arrangements, just as soon as her date got here.

She was looking forward to tonight. It promised to be fun, and after the last few months, it was a welcome change. I remember how much fun life was when I was just pretending to be a nova, she sighed to herself, stroking the lace pattern of her dress flat over her curved hip. The cream-colored dress was mostly lace. It had cloth inserts over the breasts that matched her skin tone, to keep the dress legal, but the rest of the mocha peeking through the cream whorls of fabric was 100% Kara. She had agonized about which seductive dress to wear; she wanted to make sure she had the best one. She heard some men groan in the line behind her; another whistled, so she was pleasing someone. But only one man had her focus tonight.

As if her thoughts had conjured them, they were there. Bellator was facing her, and Kara got the pleasure of seeing his expression of lust. I guess I got the right dress. With a slow smile, she waved to the two men.

[OOC: Here is Kara's dress:

She is wearing matching boyshort underwear instead of the underwear pictured.]

"I second that sentiment, Bellator," Evan said in a voice barely above a whisper. For a moment, he had serious second thoughts about his plan. His better nature won out. He would go through with it because he knew it was the right thing to do.

"Kara, you have outdone yourself," he managed in a more controlled voice. Now was the time.

"Joseph, this is your date, not mine. Sorry for the subterfuge, but I can't think of a better man ... the right man ... for a date with Kara tonight. I will always have my regrets, I confess, but you deserve this moment."

Evan's look to Kara is one of profound regret, but he steels himself.
"You two have a great time tonight. Kara ... you are the most important woman I know. Please have a nice time tonight."

Evan looks down at the sand for another second and kicks some sand with the toe of his shoe.
"I've got to go."
He looks up and a swirling mass of black light comes into being and grows wider than a man and reveals the Piazza San Marco once more. He moves to step through the portal.

"Evan, wait... Thank you very much, my friend. I'll owe you big time for this. And it will be very fitting." Bell nods to Evan and walks over to Kara, "Mi'lady, would do me the honor of allowing me to escort you into this fine establishment and for the rest of the evening?" He waits patiently for Kara's response, his eyes studiously concentrating on her face, looking for some hint as to her answer.

Kara gave Evan a smile and a wave as he stepped through the portal disappearing. I didn't know he could do that, she mused as his portal snapped into nothingness. Bell had posed a question to her, and Kara grinned as she turned to answer. "Yes, sir, you may," Kara replied, offering her hand to him. "And if you don't like the Zeus, there are other places we can go." Her smile was part innocent, part devil as she added, "The night is yours, now."

When Evan had approached her on this, Kara had wondered what strange fate had brought her back to Joe. After seeing him at the Beach Party, she was sure that he was with that girl. But if they'd been serious, surely he would have refused the date. And Kara wasn't sure what that meant.

At the very least, it would make the night interesting.

Joe blushes at Kara when she smiles, "So, Let us enter this fine establishment... and see where the night goes from there." Bell holds Kara's hand and gently leads her into the club. Once inside, Bell guides her over to a semi-secluded table, away from the dance floor and the busy bar. The decor of the club reminds the pair of novas of something straight out of ancient Greece, with columns and marble walls. The tables are made to look like miniature columns with exaggerated tops for the eating surface.

Joe pulls out a chair for Kara to sit in and then pushes it back in after she seats herself. "Hold on, I'll be right back..." Bell vanishes from sight, to reappear at the bar. He gets the bartender's attention and orders an appletini and a Sam Adams. Once he gets the drinks, Bell teleports back to the side of the table that Kara is at. He hands her the appletini and sits down across from her, smiling as he sips at his Sam Adams. "How're things going at your club? and how've you been since the Beach Party?"

Kara shook her head in amazement as Joe turned on of the most trying aspects of bar-life into a simple affair. "I still wish I had that trick," she said, picking up her drink. Taking a sip, she let the sweet, tart taste of the appletini roll over her tongue.

"The club is good," Kara said, nodding. "The 'Win a Date with Caramel' party was great; I love Cherry Nuggets and think they'll take off soon." Reaching out, she trailed her fingertips down his sleeve. "I wish you'd been there - it was fun."

Letting her fingers drop to the table - but still close to his arm - she added, "I've been good. I filmed a scene which will be a short in an compliation. Frederick Astor wanted to have all the AVN Award winners in a film. I got to work with the Best Male Winner, Milo Pecker. He's really good. How about you? What have you been up to?"

"I'm sorry I wasn't there. I don't really get out much now. I spend a lot of time home alone." Bell sighs and gently covers Kara's hand with one of his. "That short sounds like it should have been fun." Joe smiles, "I've been busy with work, and with a bunch of reading I've been doing. It's amazing how much of history has already been repeated." Bell grins, "Even in your line of work."

Joe gives a little mischievous smile and indicates the dance floor with his head, "Wanna dance, or do you want to finish your drink first?"

"There are many appletinis. Moments in time come only once," Kara answered, tugging on his warm hand. It felt good to do something as innocent as this gentle touch. It was so different than what she usually got from a man. "Or so my Deep Thoughts calendar says." She winked as they moved to the dance floor.

As always, the music seeped into her bones and swept her away; the rhythm set the beat of her heart, sending it racing. But more than that, she was here to be a dream date for this man, and so her dance focused on him. She moved close to him, often touching, their eyes meeting in intense bursts of heated connection.

Bell blushes at the looks Kara is shooting him. Joe starts off dancing awkwardly, but soon loosens up and lets the beat find him and lift him away, his inhuman agility making up for his lack of skill.

After a few songs, sweat dripping from his forehead, Bell takes Kara's hand and leads her back to the table, again pulling the chair out, and letting her sit down. He then flops down into his seat, "That was fun... now I need a drink." Joe then takes his bottle of Sam Adams and drains it in one swig. "So, what can you tell me about yourself that I would want to know?"

"Depends on what you want to know about me," Kara said as she took another sip of her appletini, smiling over the rim. "If you want to know about Caramel, I can rattle of statistics from my career. Most men appreciate knowing that I have the record for the longest single-take blowjob. If you want to know about Kara... that's a little different. Kara likes cats, favors orphanages in Haiti for charities and speaks two languages other than English, though in fairness, Creole and French are closely related."

She swirled the liquid in her class once and tilted her head. Her golden eyes caught the dim lights of the dance club as she asked, "What exactly are you looking for, Joe?"

"I'm looking for info on Kara... I can probably find the stuff on Caramel by looking on the opnet. I'm sure there are sites dedicated to you there that I could get the info from." Bell grins, and winks at Kara. "I want to find out stuff like the fact that you like cats. But, only what you're comfortable sharing." Bell looks down into the empty bottle and gets up, "Be right back."

Joe makes a quick trip to the bar, reappearing with two bottles of Sam Adams. He sits down at the table and smiles, "I love that." Bell opens one of the bottles and sips from it.

"Well, I mentioned cats, and you've heard about my movie... I'm from New Orleans, and my parents are from Haiti. My dad grew up in an orphanage there, which is why they are one of my favorite charities," Kara rattled off, smiling. "And I like to do yog-"

Her voice cut off and she looked intently through the crowd at a dark-haired man. Fear crossed her face as she stared, but when he turned and gave him his profile, she relaxed. "Sorry," she said. "I just thought he was someone I knew."

Bell turns his head and looks over his shoulder at where Kara was looking, then shrugs and frowns, "Someone you don't like, I take it. You were saying you like Yog-something. I hope that's yoga." Bell glances around and smiles, "Yoga's a great way to relax, or at least that's what my doc tells me. He suggested I try it out, but I can't really get into funky poses helping to clear the mind. New Orleans, huh? That's where you got that kick-ass accent, I take it. " Bell grins and takes a sip of his drink. "Anything you want to know about me? It's only fair."

"Yoga is fantastic," Kara avowed, twisting her arms around her back, one below and the other above, then turned to show Bellator that she was holding her own hand. "It gives you incredible flexibility, and it's an amazing workout."

She was ignoring the faux Ramm sighting with everything she had; she didn't want to get into it with Bellator right now. Someday, she was sure she'd tell him everything, but for now, she let it slide away.

"So what do you say? You, me... on the beach with the ocean murmuring in the background, and nothing but the light of the moon overhead?" Kara asked. She stepped around the table, reached out and ran her hands up his arms to his shoulders, continuing, "I'll show you all the positions." She giggled softly, "I'm offering you free what costs me seventy-five bucks a month."