Post by recluse on Nov 1, 2006 8:46:34 GMT -5
Not too long after they'd gotten settled in, Dom decided it was time to do some shopping. He'd finally graduated from the street life (a test, he realized, he'd given himself) and now it was time to go a bit more upscale... but if you were going clothes shopping, you needed a chick, or so he thought. Truth be told, he was probably better at picking out fashionable men's clothing than she was, but he wasn't about to decide that on his own.
So now they were headed down Park, and Dom was smelling the New York air for what felt like the last time in a while. He still had no clue where the BH would be stationed, but he had a strong assumption it wasn't Boston.
When they reached Neiman Marcus, Dom turned and waved his arm introductorily. He passed Gracie a grin. "Here we are... my one stop shop to fashion. If you're gonna ball big, you gotta look the part."
She looked around for a moment, somewhat doubtful.
"I dunno man, some of this stuff looks kinda gay." Was that a pink shirt? For guys? It clearly wasn't for women, and those sparkly cufflinks certainly didn't do anything for masculinity.
No matter what Dom might think, there wasn't a chance in hell that Gracie was going to change how she dressed just 'cause they were hooking up with the Brotherhood. She might go and buy some replacements, so that she wasn't wearing pants with a hole in the ass or something, but that was about the only change she was going to make to her wardrobe. Why Dom would want to change... Well, she couldn't really understand it, but obviously it was something he wanted to do.
Couldn't argue with that.
"Can we do this quick? That lady is looking at me funny."
Dominic chuckled, shaking his head. "You really gotta learn how to blend in a bit better, 'Cluse. When in Greece, do as Dom does, and when you move up in the world, sometimes you gotta look the part."
He nodded to a couple who were staring at them quite openly. His smirk forced them to turn awkwardly away.
"Yeah, some of this shit is a little gay, yeah, but not all of it. There's a fine line between being a bit more upscale and being gay." For some reason he could never bring himself to use the word 'fag'. "It's about finding the balance."
He nodded toward a section of pants, apparently selling jeans that were designed to not look as ridiculous as the price tag attached to them.
"Yeah, but we're not in Greece, we're in New York." And in New York, she'd wear whatever the hell she wanted to wear. Just 'cause they were in some upscale fancy pants store and... "Oh my god, are they fucking serious?"
The price on those jeans... "Shit Dom, I could buy a whole wardrobe for that." Probably the actual cupboard, too.
Well, it was his money. Dom could spend it on whatever the hell he liked, Gracie supposed. Still, there were perfectly good jeans for less than a third of that price that would still make his ass look good or whatever the hell these were supposed to do.
She always put a smile on his face, this one larger than most. It was true, the price on these things were outrageous, but that's what made it fun. He could finally afford clothes like this, to move his game a step further.
"I wasn't saying you should join me in my particular conquest of gorgeous style, just saying if we were in Greece... well, it was a bad twist on a worse expression."
He held up the jeans to himself, and took a good look. They would look good... he could probably pull something of a casual dress fashion, a Justin Timberlake-esque style with maybe a touch more of a rugged look? He really needed to get a girl he could discuss this with.
"And so what if they're expensive? Got anything else to spend our money on? Might was well look good while we're there."
Shrugging, Gracie made a non-commital 'mmm' noise.
"Yeah, guess so. Whatever man, but if you buy a pink shirt..." She grinned at him, the threat entirely playful. Dom could wear a pink shirt if he really wanted to, but what the rest of the Brotherhood types would think of him was an entirely different matter.
"Maybe you should just get a suit. At least they've always been expensive." Some more so than others, sure, but at least she wouldn't feel like he was getting ripped off if he spent shitloads on a decent one of them.
"You know me, man. I don't know shit about fashion - if it fits and it's comfy, I say go for it." She tried to remember what her mom's magazines had said about building a wardrobe.
"You want... Um, classic pieces. Or something. The sort of shit you can wear every year by just changing up a couple of key things."
Biting her lip, Gracie looked rather uncomfortable for a moment. "Fuck, I feel like such a tool saying that shit. Just get some white shirts and shit. Let one of the assistants tell you what's in this year."
Dom chuckled. "Nothing wrong with fashion Gracie. Even how you dress is a fashion sense- of a sort."
He gave her a smirk and called one of the girls over. She was young, a bit too chirpy, and had unnecissarily gorgeous curly hair. "Can I help you, sir?"
"Yeah, I need to be fitted for a few things."
He explained in no few words the sense of style he was looking for, which was probably a bit too well thought out for the traditionally tough street leader. Whatever change had been overcoming Dom, it seemed he had no problem running with it.
After she'd left to grab things, he looked back to Gracie.
"So things are getting good between you and Lucas, eh? I'm glad. You guys seem to mesh pretty well."
What. The. Fuck.
"Mesh well? Jesus Dom, we've been fighting as much as... anything else." Dom really didn't need to know more than he already did about exactly what else she and Lucas were doing together.
"I don't know... It's only been a couple of days." How good could things be after just a couple of days? Gracie didn't believe in all that lovey dovey, love at first sight crap. Lust at first sight, sure. "Things are fine. I'll... keep you updated."
She'd told him the same thing the day before, and as she ran her hand through her short, dark hair, Gracie's expression was irritated. What did he give a shit for, anyway?
He looked her over as he pulled on a sweater, turning to examine it's fit in a mirror.
"Don't get defensive on me, 'Cluse. We've ran together for how many years now? It can't be a surprise that I'm interested in how your life is going. I got your back. You need someone gone, I'm your guy, you need to talk about something, I'm your guy too."
He grinned the puckish grin she'd seen only when he knew he was being an asshole. "Bad part is that even when you don't want to talk about it, I'm here to listen. I think you mesh well because I've never seen you this caught up over a guy before... a girl once, yeah, but not a dude. I think it's great."
"Yeah, but Susie... Didn't end up being real good for me in the end, did she?" She made a face at him.
"That colour looks horrible on you, by the way." Not that horrible, but she was irritable - and Gracie in a mood could be a sight to see. Still, she wasn't quite there yet, but she was definitely building up to it.
"I know you got my back, I just don't want to hear you tell me I'm making a mistake." She said it with a sigh - Dom hadn't exactly been encouraging the other day, so what had changed so much between then and now?
"Try on the olivey green one."
He looked at the sweater one last time, shrugged, and put it back on the shelf. He went through the motions to try on the one she suggested.
"I'm not telling you you're making a mistake, though. I'm telling you that it's been a while since I've seen you this happy. I think you should go for it." He looked over at her, a serious look on his face. "I... well, I guess at first I was little worried for you... but I've seen you two together, and I know that you know what you're doing. And you really do look happy."
With a half smile, Gracie nudged him with her shoulder. "Don't worry, if he needs to get his ass kicked I'll let you help."
She wasn't going to let him have all the fun if it came down to that.
So now they were headed down Park, and Dom was smelling the New York air for what felt like the last time in a while. He still had no clue where the BH would be stationed, but he had a strong assumption it wasn't Boston.
When they reached Neiman Marcus, Dom turned and waved his arm introductorily. He passed Gracie a grin. "Here we are... my one stop shop to fashion. If you're gonna ball big, you gotta look the part."
She looked around for a moment, somewhat doubtful.
"I dunno man, some of this stuff looks kinda gay." Was that a pink shirt? For guys? It clearly wasn't for women, and those sparkly cufflinks certainly didn't do anything for masculinity.
No matter what Dom might think, there wasn't a chance in hell that Gracie was going to change how she dressed just 'cause they were hooking up with the Brotherhood. She might go and buy some replacements, so that she wasn't wearing pants with a hole in the ass or something, but that was about the only change she was going to make to her wardrobe. Why Dom would want to change... Well, she couldn't really understand it, but obviously it was something he wanted to do.
Couldn't argue with that.
"Can we do this quick? That lady is looking at me funny."
Dominic chuckled, shaking his head. "You really gotta learn how to blend in a bit better, 'Cluse. When in Greece, do as Dom does, and when you move up in the world, sometimes you gotta look the part."
He nodded to a couple who were staring at them quite openly. His smirk forced them to turn awkwardly away.
"Yeah, some of this shit is a little gay, yeah, but not all of it. There's a fine line between being a bit more upscale and being gay." For some reason he could never bring himself to use the word 'fag'. "It's about finding the balance."
He nodded toward a section of pants, apparently selling jeans that were designed to not look as ridiculous as the price tag attached to them.
"Yeah, but we're not in Greece, we're in New York." And in New York, she'd wear whatever the hell she wanted to wear. Just 'cause they were in some upscale fancy pants store and... "Oh my god, are they fucking serious?"
The price on those jeans... "Shit Dom, I could buy a whole wardrobe for that." Probably the actual cupboard, too.
Well, it was his money. Dom could spend it on whatever the hell he liked, Gracie supposed. Still, there were perfectly good jeans for less than a third of that price that would still make his ass look good or whatever the hell these were supposed to do.
She always put a smile on his face, this one larger than most. It was true, the price on these things were outrageous, but that's what made it fun. He could finally afford clothes like this, to move his game a step further.
"I wasn't saying you should join me in my particular conquest of gorgeous style, just saying if we were in Greece... well, it was a bad twist on a worse expression."
He held up the jeans to himself, and took a good look. They would look good... he could probably pull something of a casual dress fashion, a Justin Timberlake-esque style with maybe a touch more of a rugged look? He really needed to get a girl he could discuss this with.
"And so what if they're expensive? Got anything else to spend our money on? Might was well look good while we're there."
Shrugging, Gracie made a non-commital 'mmm' noise.
"Yeah, guess so. Whatever man, but if you buy a pink shirt..." She grinned at him, the threat entirely playful. Dom could wear a pink shirt if he really wanted to, but what the rest of the Brotherhood types would think of him was an entirely different matter.
"Maybe you should just get a suit. At least they've always been expensive." Some more so than others, sure, but at least she wouldn't feel like he was getting ripped off if he spent shitloads on a decent one of them.
"You know me, man. I don't know shit about fashion - if it fits and it's comfy, I say go for it." She tried to remember what her mom's magazines had said about building a wardrobe.
"You want... Um, classic pieces. Or something. The sort of shit you can wear every year by just changing up a couple of key things."
Biting her lip, Gracie looked rather uncomfortable for a moment. "Fuck, I feel like such a tool saying that shit. Just get some white shirts and shit. Let one of the assistants tell you what's in this year."
Dom chuckled. "Nothing wrong with fashion Gracie. Even how you dress is a fashion sense- of a sort."
He gave her a smirk and called one of the girls over. She was young, a bit too chirpy, and had unnecissarily gorgeous curly hair. "Can I help you, sir?"
"Yeah, I need to be fitted for a few things."
He explained in no few words the sense of style he was looking for, which was probably a bit too well thought out for the traditionally tough street leader. Whatever change had been overcoming Dom, it seemed he had no problem running with it.
After she'd left to grab things, he looked back to Gracie.
"So things are getting good between you and Lucas, eh? I'm glad. You guys seem to mesh pretty well."
What. The. Fuck.
"Mesh well? Jesus Dom, we've been fighting as much as... anything else." Dom really didn't need to know more than he already did about exactly what else she and Lucas were doing together.
"I don't know... It's only been a couple of days." How good could things be after just a couple of days? Gracie didn't believe in all that lovey dovey, love at first sight crap. Lust at first sight, sure. "Things are fine. I'll... keep you updated."
She'd told him the same thing the day before, and as she ran her hand through her short, dark hair, Gracie's expression was irritated. What did he give a shit for, anyway?
He looked her over as he pulled on a sweater, turning to examine it's fit in a mirror.
"Don't get defensive on me, 'Cluse. We've ran together for how many years now? It can't be a surprise that I'm interested in how your life is going. I got your back. You need someone gone, I'm your guy, you need to talk about something, I'm your guy too."
He grinned the puckish grin she'd seen only when he knew he was being an asshole. "Bad part is that even when you don't want to talk about it, I'm here to listen. I think you mesh well because I've never seen you this caught up over a guy before... a girl once, yeah, but not a dude. I think it's great."
"Yeah, but Susie... Didn't end up being real good for me in the end, did she?" She made a face at him.
"That colour looks horrible on you, by the way." Not that horrible, but she was irritable - and Gracie in a mood could be a sight to see. Still, she wasn't quite there yet, but she was definitely building up to it.
"I know you got my back, I just don't want to hear you tell me I'm making a mistake." She said it with a sigh - Dom hadn't exactly been encouraging the other day, so what had changed so much between then and now?
"Try on the olivey green one."
He looked at the sweater one last time, shrugged, and put it back on the shelf. He went through the motions to try on the one she suggested.
"I'm not telling you you're making a mistake, though. I'm telling you that it's been a while since I've seen you this happy. I think you should go for it." He looked over at her, a serious look on his face. "I... well, I guess at first I was little worried for you... but I've seen you two together, and I know that you know what you're doing. And you really do look happy."
With a half smile, Gracie nudged him with her shoulder. "Don't worry, if he needs to get his ass kicked I'll let you help."
She wasn't going to let him have all the fun if it came down to that.