Chapter 54 - 53: Drunken Frustration

Chapter 54: Chapter 53: Drunken Frustration

2 hours later,

"I had it all planned out, every detail." Rick slurred slightly, his tone edged with anger.

"But one crybaby b*tch just comes along and ruins it, RUIN'S IT!" Ricky punctuated his words by downing a glass of cheap wine, his frustration palpable.

For Ricky, wine was his go-to whether he needed to drown a bad mood or elevate a good one.

It usually lifted his spirits, but tonight, as he drained the glass further and further, his anger lingered just below the surface, refusing to be washed away.

"It's nice to see you as well, Slick." Booker laughed heartily from the other side of his cluttered table.

After Ricky's plans had been ruined, he decided to get wasted and for reasons he couldn't quite understand, he found himself in Booker's cramped apartment instead of drowning his sorrows alone.

Ricky burst into the room, causing Booker to instinctively rush to shield his wife.

But when he realized it was Ricky, he relaxed slightly but not for long and before Booker could say a word, Ricky grabbed a bottle of wine stashed away for special occasions and started drinking it without hesitation.

"Oh sweety, here." Tania felt guilty after Ricky's confession in the kitchen, so she quietly placed a bowl of grits in front of him, hoping to offer some comfort.

"Dada, what's a b*tch." Booker's youngest son waddled over to him, asking a question that made Booker freeze in place.

"It's someone who's a c*nt." Ricky, slurring his words, drunkenly clarified things to the child before the boy thought about it for a moment, then nodded, seemingly satisfied with the explanation.

"BUAHAHAHAHAHA!" Louis, Booker's old man, laughed while opening the door after hearing his words.

"If it isn't my favorite white boy himself, how ya doing Slick." Louis heartly walked over to Ricky who stole another sip of wine.

"Sh*tty and blue balled." Ricky didn't even hide it as his drunkenness made him entirely blunt.

"Been there-"

*Smack*

"Keep talking." Marie, Louis' wife, smacked him on the back of the head before huffing off to the kitchen, leaving Louis frowning in her wake.

"God dammit woman, can't a man console another man in peace!" Louis yelled, taking a seat at the table with the other two.

"No sir." Ricky chimed in as Booker sighed.

"Ahem-" Booker whispered under his breath, and his wife's ear twitched in response.

"What!" Tania snapped her head back, making Booker shut his mouth.

"Wow, these are good." Ricky drunkenly declared as he devoured the grits, Tania smiled at the sight, and Booker let out a relieved sigh at the welcome change of subject.

*GULP*

*GULP*

*GULP*

"Woah, slow down a bit Slick-" Booker nervously eased Ricky, suddenly started drinking the remainder of the bottle in one fell swoop.

*BURRRRRRP*

"Alright, I'm ready to drive~" Ricky stood up, wobbling unsteadily toward the door and Tania shot Booker a worried look as she followed him with her gaze.

"H-Hey Slick, you're heading to the club right, let me drive for you as a way of thanking you for all you've done for me!" Booker was quick on his feet, determined to prevent Ricky from driving in his condition while Louis also stood up, sensing the urgency of the situation.

"Yeah kiddo, it's the least my boy can do for you." Louis spoke up, and Ricky paused, contemplating the suggestion before tossing his keys toward Booker.

*TINK*

Instead of handing over the keys, Ricky threw them carelessly against the wall.

The wine's effects made everything blur, and Ricky saw double as Booker stared at the keys, momentarily stunned.

"Let's go, I've got more bottles to chug and a agenda to get my d*ck sucked." Ricky proclaimed, his voice unsteady, as Booker walked over to the keys and followed him out the door.

"THIS COLD STREAK AIN'T GONNA BREAK ITSELF!" Ricky yelled from the hallway, eager to break this dry spout of his.

"Youngins these days." Marie sighed as Louis nodded, picking up the paper.

Meanwhile, Booker drove Ricky's extremely expensive Ford with the utmost caution, carefully navigating the streets as he tried to keep the situation under control.

"It always seems like there are more and more homeless people on the streets these days," Ricky commented, pointing to the side as he noticed many Black men and women crowded in the alleyways.

"Well you know the saying that's being popularized with people like us 'first fired and the last hired'." Booker let out a nervous laugh, aware that unemployment among Black people had been skyrocketing each year since the Depression.

"That sucks." Ricky commented on the situation, and Booker nodded with a sad smile, his expression reflecting the weight of the ongoing economic struggles.

"Indeed Slick, it does." Booker turned the corner, and the wail of police sirens began to fade into the distance.

"What the f-"

*WE*

*WOO*

*WE*

*WOO*

"I'm so sorry Slick I-"

"Shut up and pull over, I'll deal with this." Ricky, already in a bad mood, waved Booker's respectful words away.

"I swear I was going the speed limit and-"

"Oh my god Booker, calm down your fine." Ricky rubbed his eyes as Booker started to panic before two cops strolled out of their car.

"Nice car ya got here." The cop said, tracing his hand alongside the blue paint job until he arrived at the window to see Booker.

"I-It is-"

"Feller, did I say you could talk back to me?" The cop scoffed, reaching to his side which made Booker shut his mouth tight.

"Step out of the car-"

"What's your name?" Ricky suddenly asked a question in a drunken slur, causing the cop to turn toward him with an air of arrogance.

However, as he took in Ricky's appearance, his expression shifted to one of shock and discomfort, mirroring the stunned look of his partner.

"Oh my god, M-Mr. Luciano I didn't mean-" The cop stumbled with his words, recognizing Ricky in a second.

"Did I say you could talk back to me? Answer the question." Ricky pointed at the cop, who immediately took two steps back from the car, his discomfort evident.

"I'm officer Richards Sir-"

"Then if you don't want to be formerly officer Richards, then you better scram." Ricky scoffed and then turned to his partner, who froze in place at the sight of him.

"Got it piggy?" Ricky asked, and the portly man coughed nervously, nodding before hastily retreating to his cop car alongside Officer Richards.

*Snap*

"Alright, drive." Ricky snapped his fingers, causing Booker to flinch and quickly, he shifted the car into drive and started it up, ready to move on.

"And for god sakes Booker, stop being such a pussy when I'm around you." Ricky leaned back in his seat, taking a swig of the wine as Booker nodded, taking deep breaths to steady himself.

"I apologize Mr. Luciano-"

"Stop calling me that."

"Slick, I apologize-"

"Stop f*cking apologizing-you know what? Just shut up and drive." Ricky let out an annoyed sigh and spoke, causing Booker to shut his mouth and continue driving.

Ricky, simmering in silence and fully immersed in his drunken state, waited until Booker parked the car.

As soon as they arrived, Ricky stumbled out and headed straight into the club while Booker quickly followed, greeting the staff with a wave before settling himself at the bar.

"Give me the usual, Buck." Ricky yawned, tapping the bar as Buck smiled and nodded quietly.

Buck was a recent hire of Ricky, a towering figure standing at 6'5" with a powerful build.

However Buck was deaf and had been working at a rundown bar where he was overworked/overutilized.

Ricky had stumbled across him one evening and, impressed by the quality of Buck's cocktails, offered him a job on the spot.

Buck was taken aback by Ricky's offer to double his salary, especially given the difficulty he faced finding work due to his condition.

Although he could read lips, being a deaf bartender came with its own set of challenges.

"Wrong."

"Eclipse Lounge"

"Too sissy."

"Neon Nocturne"

"What the f*ck-"

"Stardust Haven"

"NO!"

"Electric Eden"

"NO!"

"The Moonlit Grove"

"DAMMIT NO!"

"Twilight Pulse"

"DAMMIT SLICK, WHAT ARE WE DOING!" Jake yelled in anger, none of these names fitting the design they desired.

"WAIT, JUST A FEW MORE!" Ricky yelled back, rubbing his forehead before snapping his fingers.

"Radiant Rhythm"

"NO!"

"Luminous Lounge"

"NO!"

"Celestial Beat"

"NO!"

"Pulse Paradiso"

"NO!"

"Mirage Nights"

"NO!"

"The Vortex"

"NO!"

"Mystique Lounge."

"YES, THAT'S IT!" Jake stood up, both of them jumping up and down in celebration.

"Alright for the Mystique room we'll make a club though unlike the Cotton Club, you'll have to pay an entry fee to even enter." Ricky waved his finger, and Jake responded with vigorous nods, his enthusiasm matching the gesture.

"This'll be good. Attendance has dwindled recently, even after I made a white only day, but this should integrate those lost numbers back." Jake informed Ricky, who dumped some more cocaine onto the desk, before making a line.

*SNORT*

"I-I just got to dance." Ricky jerked his head up, feeling the tingling sensation in his entire body before he suddenly bolted for the door leaving Jake all alone.

Ricky had left half of the bag on the desk and as Jake looked up, he saw no sign of Ricky, only the bag of cocaine.

Hesitating, Jake bit his lip before taking the bag and stashing it in his drawer as he then continued with the paperwork.

Meanwhile, Ricky made his way toward the all-white crowd, who were dancing to Booker's blues.

The disbandment of the whites only policy left many patrons angry. While the influx of Black clientele made up for the loss, Jake still wanted to regain the high-paying white customers who couldn't afford the Stork Club.

To address this, he designated Fridays as whites-only nights and Sundays as Black-only nights, which somewhat quelled the discontent but it was a temporary fix.

Surveying the battlefield, Ricky's eyes swept alongside the crowd as he got in tune with the rhythm.

Honestly, Ricky was looking for a quick fix, searching for either a girl dancing vigorously all alone or a dispute between an already functioning couple.

"Ugh, sometimes Danny I swear!" A girl yelled at her boyfriend Danny, catching him dancing with another woman.

'Eye of the tiger, eye of the tiger.' Ricky rubbed his hands together, knowing that this was the day he put it all behind him.

Ricky slowly went to cut off this girl trying to leave while her boyfriend chased after her, trying to explain the reasoning behind his actions.

"Hey gorgeous, I know this is sudden but could I have your hand for a dance?" Ricky asked, the girl scrunching her eyebrows until she side-eyed her boyfriends hateful glare.

"Hey fella, that's my girl-" Danny couldn't even finish his sentence before Ricky pushed him aside, his gaze still fixed on the girl who responded with a smiling nod.

"Mary Lou." Mary smiled, her cheeks tinged with a faint blush as she extended her hand toward Ricky and with a graceful gesture, Ricky took her hand and pressed a gentle kiss to it.

Mary was slender and petite, standing out in sharp contrast to the other women dancing around her.

Though she was thinner than most, it was her hazel eyes that truly set her apart as they shimmered with an intensity that drew attention, even amidst the dancing crowd.

Her brown hair, soft and silky, framed her face as it gently cascaded down just above her neck.

She wore a simple blue floral dress, adorned with a few patches that seemed hand-stitched.

These small repairs, rather than detracting from her appearance, added a unique charm, accentuating her delicate physique and giving her an air of quiet elegance.

*DING*

[Mission Received: Mary Lou]

Difficulty: Easy

Character Sheet: D+

Description: Mary is someone who is looking for a good time which is why she accepted the date request of a man who'd been holding to ask her out for the longest time.

Objective: Make her a mother and breed her ass into oblivion.

Reward: 10,000 IP

Main Mission:

Impregnante Once(Incomplete):

Rewards: 50 Gacha or Mary Lou's skills

Impregnate Twice:

Rewards: ?????????

Additional Missions:

Knock Mary up in the vicinity of her date(Incomplete):

Reward: Rare Weapon Coupon

Impregnante Mary with her first ever time(Incomplete)

Reward: +4 Charm

Bonus Missions:

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'Oh yeah.'

"Ricky." Ricky introduced himself, pulling Mary close before his smile snaked up even further than before.

'Wet to the touch.'