Shopping was probably one of Floriana's least favourite things nowadays. Quite strange, considering she used to practically live in the mall, but there you go. Once again, life had come and kicked her in the ass. It was probably all, "Haha! You suck!" as well. Stupid irony. It never led to anything good, or at least, not in the Italian woman's opinion.

Walking into a department store, she walked passed all the makeup and accessories that always seemed to be planted at the entrance to the mall and made her way over to the ladies' wear. She'd been lacking T-shirts, and had been wearing some for two days in a row. This suited her fine, but her mother complained, and naturally, her father sided with his wife, telling her to stop dressing like a hobo. Hence, shopping.

Coming across a shirt she liked, she checked for her own size, found said size, and procceeded to get three more in different colors. She did this again with two other styles of shirts. Presto! No more hobo wannabe. Who cares if they're all the same? She wouldn't wear them all in a row, so it didn't matter. Besides, it wasn't like she'd be wearing them any other place than work, and call her crazy, but she didn't think the fellons and corpses would care too darn much.

Paying, she exited into the mall once again, bags in tow. Floriana was fully prepared to leave, until she caught sight of a dress store. For the past ten years, she and dresses hadn't been the best of friends. Her once little black dress was now in a permanent state of grey. In the display there was a cute black dress. It would probably look really nice on her. The woman scowled. She would not give in to temptation. No siree, Bob. Just walk away. It will all be fine.

Ten minutes later, Floriana left the dress shop with a new bag, completely disgusted with herself. Ordering a gigantic piece of pizza at one of those small stalls found only in malls, she began eating, chewing with a vengeance. Maybe if she ate it, she wouldn't be able to fit in the dress anymore. Yeah, that sounded like a good plan. That'd show her stupid brain.

((OOC: Random. Open to anyone. ;^^))

Out of the nearest Radio Shack a man with a single parcel emerged. And what a man! Tall, dark, and handsome; with a body men spent hours at the gym for, just so they could later claim, 'It's nothing, I just do some crunches before bed..' He wore black; pants that were unimportant and a leather jacket, underneath a dark sweater. His five o'clock shadow hadn't been shaved away, but his hair had been combed into decent shape.

Once away from the store, he slid the contents of his bag into his hand and threw it in a trash. It was a blackberry, and he busily fell to exploring its virtual contents. He was occupied with this, didn't bother to watch where he was going. Somehow he managed to avoid most of the shoppers, and the others avoided him when they realized he would walk into them if they didn't move. Not that he was being rude; he seemed genuinely absorbed in his newest toy.


OOC| Sorry, not much, I know, but it's the best I can do at my brain-addled time. |

Pizza absorbed, Floriana leaned back in the uncomfortable chair contentedly, patting her stomach a few times. Oh yeah, there'd be no getting into the dress after that. Fifteen million brownie points to her for avoiding that problem. It would be mucho embarrassing to claim that she had bought a little black dress when there was no hunk to wear it for, especially to her mom.

"But you should already be married! I know! Wear it to that cute coffee shop! I'm sure you'll get plenty of men!" her mom would say, plots forming behind the motherly facade she put up.

Shuddering, Floriana tried to extinguish the thought from her mind. Married. Ha! Like that was going to happen anytime soon.

She looked up at the crowd and froze. Hottie alert! As soon as it was thought, Floriana felt like gagging. What was she, sixteen? But she had to admit that the immature part of her brain had been right, and though the man wasn't even looking at her, the woman became immediately self-conscious. It was a rare event, considering she worked with dozens of men. Then again, most of the guys she knew were like brothers.

She had a flashback to her getting ready to go out. Putting her hair up without even brushing it, throwing on some old sneakers, and throwing her glasses on. Crap. She must look like she had her own personal tornado. Smooth.

Bo's 'plan' to avoid people was ruined when a middle aged woman and her six year old daughter stepped out from behind a not-so-conveniently placed pillar. The three collided, the woman with her numerous bags, Bo with his blackberry, and the girl with her teddy bear.

"Woah!" Bo reached out, his left hand catching hold of the girl's shoulder, steadying her as she teetered dangerously. His right caught some of the bags the mother dropped, while she clutched for the rest. Alas, he only had two hands, leaving his blackberry to clatter to the ground with that noise expensive things make when you know they've been broken.

"Are you alright?" He asked the girl, handing her mom back her things. The girl nodded, hugging her teddy bear to her chest. Bo smiled and patted the top of her head, and the two left with mutual apologies.

Sighing, Bo scooped up his broken toy and wandered to the nearest table. He sat next to the woman with the old glasses and slightly messy hair, placing the now two-piece set in front of him. The cover had snapped off, and the screen had a sickening black blob on front.

All self-conscious thoughts that Floriana had had multiplied by ten as the guy came to sit down next to her. Apparently though, he seemed not to notice her. She wasn't sure whether to be insulted or relieved. Then again, what had she expected? Even if he had said something, it probably would have been along the lines of "Eugh!" It seemed to be the common denominator with all the attractive men she'd seen lately.

Trying to look inconspicuous, she leaned over slightly to get a look at his electronic gizmo, which was by all accounts, broken. Tough luck. It looked expensive, and she was pretty sure that black blob-y thing wasn't a good sign. Floriana wasn't exactly technology-literate. She could use the computer to search the web, chat a bit, and fill out reports, but that's about it. Anything else was beyond her grasp.

Before she knew what she was doing, she said, "I'm sorry that your new purchase got broken."

The Italian froze. Had she just made with the speaking? She was pretty sure she had, and what had come out was cool, very not pathetic. Yeah, right, she thought sarcastically.

OOC| It's hard to play Bo in one post about to kill Colton, and in another in a good mood. Lol.. |

Bo had been trying to connect the cover back to the body of the device when Floriana had spoken to him. He looked over at the table next to his, where a rather pretty woman sat in what Bo hoped was shopping or laundry apparel only.

"Uh.. Thanks." He said, flashing a smile that had driven numerous women to a state of infatuation over the years. "It's nothing, I guess." As the food court's janitor made his rounds by them with the large garbage/supply cart, Bo took up the pieces left to him and tossed them into the garbage bag. It would be much easier to simply buy a new one rather than attempt to have that one fixed. Besides, Bo didn't want a broken blackberry!

“I’m sorry, but do I know you?” He asked, trying to remember if he had seen Floriana’s face at some bar or party recently; and if he had, just what he had said to her.

He smiled at her! It was better than what she had expected, beign an angry comment, or some hasty shuffling away. That was always slightly embarrassing, but Floriana usually got over it pretty quickly. Considering the practice she'd had, anything else would have led to severe depression. Besides, she knew she could be a heartbreaker, she just didn't want to be.

Looking at the man beside her, she wasn't sure that had been such a wise decision on her part.

"Know me? I doubt it," laughed Floriana. "I don't go out much. The 'going out and having fun' phase of my life is over." She paused, trying to word this so that it didn't sound very arrogant. "Well... my picture was in the paper a while back. Stupid stuff really. I just demobilized a drug ring." The not sounding arrogant thing had gone out the window.

"Demobilizing a drug ring is hardly stupid." Bo said, allowing his voice to show his impression. Internally, he quickly scanned through the contents of his person, car, and current abode to access whether or not he had anything to hide. He came up with nothing.

"I don't recognize you, however. That's why I asked. I didn't know if I should know you from somewhere, because of how you spoke to me out of the blue." He continued, another smile showing perhaps he didn't mind such things from the proverbial blue.

OOC| Very short, I know.. But.. I'm.. thinking.. About stuff. |

((OOC: Don't worry 'bout it.))

"Ah, well that's me. 'Talk to random strangers and make myself look like a fool' girl," said Floriana, giving him a small smile in return for her larger one. She felt like a complete idiot. Why had she talked to him in the first place? Oh right, 'cause he's a hunkmeister... something she'd die over if it ever came out of her mouth. She was reverting to her teenage years by the second.

"The drug ring was stupid," she continued. "A bunch of ninth grade kids using school teams to spread stuff around. No biggie... And again, I manage to sound arrogant." The last part was said mostly to herself, complete with disbelieving expression. She turned back to him. "Sorry about that. Talking to myself... is this thing... that I do. Yeah." Oh, just kill her now.

"I've noticed." Bo chuckled. He stood up and pushed his chair in, taking the empty one across from Floriana. "My name is Bo. Bo Domani." He held his hand out to shake her’s. "And you are?" He asked; a brow arched in curiosity.

OOC| Again with the shortness! I apologize; I always find the introductory posts the hardest to elaborate on. |

Floriana blinked. "You've noticed what? That a) I talk to random strangers, b) I managed to sound arrogant or c), I talk to myself. I think there's a hefty difference between the three." She raised an eyebrow, her eyes twinkling. Giving him a teasing smile, she added, "I'm Floriana Ramirez. You could add 'Detective' in front of that, but I never do 'cause it always makes me sound like I'm trying to intimidate the person I'm talking to when that was never really my goal." Okay Floriana, remember to breath. In, out, in, out. That's a girl.

((OOC: Don't worry 'bout it, and I'm uber-ly sorry it took so long for me to post.))

OOC| I can't be mad at my wait, since I made you wait just as long! :) Here is my latest offering. |

"Mostly 'a' and 'c'. I don't think it's arrogant to be proud of your accomplishments, Detective." He called her by her title simply to tease her; he enunciated it purposely and returned her smile. "But don't worry, Detective, I won't be intimidated by a strong woman."

Nice innuendo there, Romeo.

"And you're from Demaitre originally?" He asked sincerely. Changing the subject, apparently.

She heard the title, and wrinkled her nose. Although it was easy to tell that he was teasing her, it still sounded like she should be a big butch man, with greying hair and a .45 magnum that talked about the good ol' days when they could arrest people for looking funny, or some other crap like that. Instead, she was a woman who hadn't been a detective for very long, and couldn't armwrestle most of the department for fear of getting an arm broken.

The innuendo was almost enough to make her blush. Almost. She'd definitely heard worse from men she'd dated. The pickups men would use!

"I'm glad you don't think I'm arrogant. It makes one of us," said Floriana, fiddling with the strap of her bag. She sighed, half laughing. "Yes, I was born and bred in Demaitre, though my parents are from Italy originally. They never let me forget this fact. Even though they're officially citizens and have been for the better part of their lives, the Italian pride hasn't worn off any."

"Ah, then we have something in common. I was born in Roma, myself, and I have it on good authority that I can be somewhat prideful, also. Worse than you think you are." He seemed so good-natured as he said this, that it was almost impossible to believe that he could be arrogant.

Bo had only met this woman ten minutes ago, and he was already deciding what use she could be in the future, already working his best side. He apparently hadn't learned his lesson yet, after centuries of manipulating women and having the best of them backfire on him. Still, he couldn't help himself; it was who he was.

OOC| *humble apologies and much groveling while posting* I didn’t forget.. *tries to polish up her post better than the mush it currently is* |

Floriana raised an eyebrow at him. "You were born in Rome? I'd love to go to Rome! That and Venice. Those are my two major goals in the mother country." She laughed as soon as she had said it. It sounded silly. "You don't seem overly proud to me. A truly pround man would have thought himself too good to talk to the likes of me, especially with how I'm looking tonight."

She let out a deep breath, 'causing her hair to flutter. "I'm not exactly fashionable. If I was back in high school, I'm sure the fashion police would have bagged me already. With the job though, it's hard to work on image when you're getting called to investigate murder scenes." She winced. "Sorry. Most people don't like it when I bring it up. They like to pretend there are no murders. Unfortunately, there is, and my image has to suffer for it, though I for the most part, I'm happier grungy looking. It lets me avoid unwanted attention."


((OOC: Don't worry 'bout it. Mine's not exactly award winning either.))

"Why pretend?" Bo shrugged. "It's not realistic. But, from your ever present ramblings, I can only deduce you consider my attention unwanted." Bo said with a little frown. "How sad, I was just beginning to enjoy myself." He sighed, and made like he was going to get up and leave. It was quite obvious that he wanted her to stop him.

Bo really hoped neither of his little female vamps were out shopping at the mall that night. Hannah would probably break down in tears to see him talking to another woman at this point, and how do you explain a random woman crying at the sight of you? Lily would most definitely break in on their conversation to pretend Bo was her cheating husband, just out of badness.

OOC| Apparently we bring out the worst in each other, Naf darling.. :( |

"No!" said Floriana suddenly, before realizing what she did. Clearing her throat, she tried to maintain what little dignity she might have left. This was the first time in a long while that she'd actually talked to anyone (much less a man) outside of work. She wasn't about to let this go so quickly, especially on a missunderstanding. To be fair, it was all her fault. She should really learn to say what she meant instead of rambling on about incoherent things. Habits are hard to break.

"I mean," she said, placing a hand to her temple, "I didn't want you to go. When I was talking about unneeded attention? My padre usually has some of his friends over for the World Cup of soccer. They sit around and drink and scratch themselves, pausing once in a while to cheer - and you really didn't need to hear that..." Floriana shook her head, before giving him a small smile. "The point is, all those men always looked at me like I was something to eat. Now, thanks to the drastic change in wardrobe, they don't... So... you can stay if you'd like to, and there would be no hard feelings."


((OOC: Nuh uh! There's just nothing super exciting happening so there isn't a lot to write. ^^))

OOC| Eh.. I want to add some drama. |

Bo laughed at her now, but kindly. She had done what he expected, what most women would. "Of course, no hard feelings." He sat back down, and tipped back in his chair, quite comfortable and quite at home.

"Boethius, darling!" A woman's voice called out over the noise of the conversation in the food court. A refined voice; English-accented. Bo sat forward again, the front legs of his chair slamming back down on the tiles. Well, damn her. She went shopping after all. Couldn't the woman go one night without spending his money?

The woman belonging to the voice was only a few tables over, young looking and blonde with long legs and a body to die for. A body she did die for. She had at least a dozen parcels and packages in her hands.

Floriana smiled as Bo laughed. It was a kind laugh and it made her feel all tingly inside, even if she'd probably never see him again after this night. That's when the voiced called over to them. She looked past Bo - or, apparently, Boethius - and saw a leggy blonde making her way over with a huge collection of bags. Floriana cast a look at her two bags and wondered if the blonde bought the same shirt in different colors. Somehow, she didn't think so.

This lead to the question, how did Bo know her? Was she his girlfriend? It would make sense. The girl was definitely pretty enough. Or, was she his wife? Somehow, Floriana wasn't sure that was it. If it was, then Bo was a mighty player and she wasn't sure she wanted to associate with him anymore. She did not flirt with other women's husbands. It was a strict no-no in her book. With a small frown, she looked to Bo for answers, her look making it clear what she wanted.

Lily dropped her bags on the floor beside their table, and pulled a chair from an empty one so she could sit with them. She placed her chair on the side of the table, so Bo was on her right and Floriana her left. “Bo, I am exhausted. I came here directly to buy toys for the dogs, and I saw the sweetest little piece of jewelry on my way. Which reminds me, you’ve reached your limit.” She opened her wallet and removed two credit cards, sliding them across the table at Bo.

“And aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?” She turned to look at Floriana, smiling. She was friendly; she didn’t seem at all concerned that this man she was so familiar with was talking to another woman.

“This is Detective Floriana Ramirez. Floriana, this is Lily Colwyn.” Bo purposely presented Floriana to Lily, he knew it would upset her. In proper etiquette, the most important was presented to the less important, and Lily considered herself important. She, however, did not respond to this little jab, and he knew what she was doing. She wouldn’t come out and say that Bo was her’s, she would hint at it yet never make it completely clear, and leave him to do the explaining if he was serious about this mortal woman.

“Detective, really? How fascinating.” Lily said.

OOC| I know I spelt her last name wrong, and I’m sorry, but I’m too lazy to go searching through posts and boards to get the right spelling. I’m sure you’ll understand. =) |

She seemed friendly enough, and wasn't biting off her head for talking to her boyfriend/lover/husband, so Floriana thought it would be okay. Grimacing slightly at the use of her title when Bo had introduced her, she offered her hand to the other woman. "Nice to meet you Ms. Colwyn. I just introduced myself Bo here a little while ago." There see. She showed that she wasn't another girlfriend that Bo had been seeing behind her back. That was good, right? "I never imagined I'd get to meet one of his friends so soon after meeting him." Wasn't that the truth.

Her professional smile was in place. What this meant was that she was smiling, and she looked for all the world like she was very happy, but inside she wasn't. It got used often, especially when interviewing people. Compared to this woman, how did she look? Not good. It annoyed her to know that it was her own doing. Dammit. She was surrounded by beautiful people and there was her, little miss ugly duckling. It sucked. Life sucked. Everything right now was just plain ol' sucky.

((OOC: Ack, short. Sorry 'bout that. Oh, and you did spell her name right. No worries.))

Lily shook Floriana's hand politely; her grip firm but swift. "And you're lucky you did so, Bo usually keeps people hidden away to enjoy them by himself. He's greedy like that." She glanced over at Bo, smiling. He seemed slightly preoccupied, as he withdrew his wallet from a pocket and placed the credit cards Lily had returned to him inside of it. "By the way, darling, it's Adia's birthday soon and I promised her a party, so don't make plans." She pulled back her sleeve, baring her wrist and the gold watch upon it. "And look at the time, I should have been back an hour ago." She stood up, gathering her parcels to herself. "I'll put these in your car, you'll swing them 'round later tonight, won't you darling? I took a taxi." Bo made some random hand gesture which Lily took as positive, and she smiled once more. "It was lovely meeting you, Floriana, I only wished we had more time. But I'm sure we'll see each other again soon." She bent over to kiss Bo on the top of the head, and was gone as quickly as she came.

She left silence in her wake, and the feeling one had been hit by a perfumed storm cloud. Bo sat there, a slight frown on his face. She hadn't done half as much damage as he had been expecting. She was either only half-interested, or she was loosing her touch. He looked up at Floriana, waiting for her reaction.

OOC| If there are any typos, it's because I'm wearing really thick gloves and it makes it hard to type.. I'm really cold but it I turn up the heat anymore it might melt the blinds.. |