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"Canceled?!" Obi-Wan stared at the poster as if the giant sticker posted across it were some kind of illusion. "What do you mean 'canceled'?" The ticket agent simply shrugged.
"Oh, thank God, it's canceled." Anakin realized he'd said that out loud when Obi-Wan shot him a hard look. "I mean, oh no. I was so looking forward to it. How dare it be canceled."
"Enough, Anakin. They couldn't have made this announcement before we trekked all the way down here?" Obi-Wan had actually been looking forward to this performance by the London Symphony for months. He should have known Murphy's Law would have reared its ugly head for the one thing he had truly been excited about. He'd even managed to convince Anakin to go, an (apparently misguided) attempt to try and broaden his young friend's horizons.
"Hey, don't worry, Obi-Wan," Anakin said with relieved cheer as he threw an arm around his shoulders. "Look, there's another place just down the street." He pointed out a nondescript building a few blocks away from the orchestra hall they were now leaving, Obi-Wan more reluctantly than Anakin. A fair number of people were milling around on the sidewalk and a heavy, throbbing beat pounded through the air from the smaller club. Even at this distance Obi-Wan wasn't sure it was his kind of crowd. But Anakin steered him towards it anyway. "Let's go see who's playing there so the evening's not a total waste."
"I don't think-" Obi-Wan stopped himself when he saw Anakin sprint across the street. He sighed instead. "Never listens to a word I say." He hurriedly followed, mostly to be sure Anakin didn't say or do anything to agitate anyone. Left to his own devices, the younger man would surely offend someone without even trying. It was his talent, one Obi-Wan didn't care to witness in action tonight.
"Anakin, slow down!" He didn't, of course. Anakin disappeared through the door to the club, the bass pounding even louder the closer Obi-Wan got. He stopped short of the door and let out a frustrated huff. The recklessness of youth, he silently lamented.
A throaty laugh to his left snatched his attention away from his friend. Leaning against the brick wall in a pose that personified relaxed boredom was the most exotic, dangerous looking woman he'd ever seen. Her slender body was encased in fitted black leather that gleamed dully under the streetlights. Strips of pale flesh were exposed at her sides by the unique cut of her top, the muscles of her bared shoulders rippling with every slight movement. One shapely leg was bent to plant a booted foot against the wall.
The smoothness of her head and the tribal-style tattoos that decorated the skin made her stand out amid the small crowd milling about the sidewalk.
But it was neither her attire nor her physique that made Obi-Wan stare. It was her eyes. Pale, shining, cutting, laughing. They seemed to glow as she took a drag from the pricey electronic cigarette resting between slender fingers. He was aware of other eyes on him, judging him by his crisp formal attire that was so out of place among the leather, denim, and metal that adorned the others. He paid them no mind; the sultry wraith gazing at him now had ensnared his focus entirely.
"Have you made a wrong turn somewhere, darling?" she said, her voice more of a purr than a simple exhalation of sound.
Obi-Wan straightened as she looked him up and down, her scrutiny somehow both thrilling and unnerving. "Just trying to keep my young friend out of trouble."
The woman leaned forward and around to peer inside at Anakin pleading with the ticket agent. "And you're doing a marvelous job of that." She smirked when she leaned back against the wall to return her gaze to Obi-Wan. "Let me guess. Your dates stood you up and you're both too proud to go home early. Am I right?"
For some reason he couldn't resist teasing her. "How do you know Anakin's not my date?"
She laughed, a low sound that made his spine tingle. "Because you act too much like a brother to him than a boyfriend. Besides, you can do better."
A smile threatened to break out on his face. "You only just met me. How can you be so sure?"
"Trust me." Her eyes glimmered in the artificial light. "I'm more than sure." She took another drag and exhaled slowly. Obi-Wan was fascinated by the way the vapor curled from between her dark lips. At first glance he'd thought they were painted black, but as he looked closer he saw that they may have actually been red. It was hard to tell in the heavy shadow. His eyes snapped up to hers when she spoke again. "So, what brings you over to this side of music? You don't look like the type to enjoy death metal."
"Appearances can be deceiving," he quipped. Was he actually flirting with her? "But in this case you're right. Heavy rock isn't exactly my thing. Anakin, on the other hand, it seems enjoys it."
"Well, he's not getting into this show. Been sold out for weeks." She leaned closer with a conspiratorial smirk. "I can sneak you in if you like, though. Give you a taste of how the other side lives."
Something about her was both threatening and tempting, and it prompted him to play along. "How do you plan on doing that if it's sold out, my dear?"
She pointed her chin at the hulking mass barring Anakin from trying to step inside the venue. He didn't even have to move to block the door. The behemoth simply smirked down at Anakin in amusement.
"A friend of yours, I take it?"
"Not quite. He's my half-brother." She gave him another once over, this time even more slowly than before, lingering, deliberate. "What do you say?"
Obi-Wan felt heat blossom in his cheeks and hoped that the shadows of the night would hide his blush. He hadn't realized how much closer he'd moved to the strange woman during their exchange. "The offer is tempting-" A loud, sudden yelp cut off the rest of his words. The beefy bouncer had hurled Anakin into a heap on the sidewalk. No one helped him up. "But," Obi-Wan sighed, "I think I had better get him home before he decides to start a riot."
She shot a glare the younger man, now rising to his feet and brushing off his pant leg with a few choice words thrown at the bouncer. "Or gets himself hurt." She turned back, a curious light sparking in her near-colorless eyes. Her mouth opened...but she was cut off.
"Asajj," the bouncer called out. "Band's coming out. They're opening with your favorite." He spotted Obi-Wan through the stream of people heading inside at his announcement. "Who's the tool?"
"Shut up, Durge," she growled lightly. "Be there in a sec." The hardness in her expression and voice vanished as soon as she turned back to Obi-Wan. "He's right, though. You are a bit of a tool." Her hand went to cup his cheek, her skin seeming to burn his through the thin protection of his beard. A subtle fragrance wafted up from her wrist; earthy, musky, unique. Intoxicating. "But a handsome tool, even if you didn't introduce yourself."
They both ignored Anakin as he tried to get back inside; Durge could more than handle him even with the press of other concertgoers. "Obi-Wan." His mouth felt suddenly dry as he watched her pupils dilate. "My name is Obi-Wan."
"Last name, too." She leaned in to whisper in his ear. "On the off-chance I want to find you again."
The back of his neck tingled and a shiver threatened to crawl down his spine. "Kenobi," he breathed against her cheek. "Obi-Wan Kenobi."
She smiled, a magnetic, dangerous thing. Now he could see that her lips were indeed a blood red, not black. "Nice to meet you, Obi-Wan Kenobi." He liked the way his name sounded on her lips, the way her tongue caressed every syllable like a lover.
She moved away, her long fingers stroking down his cheek. He grasped her hand before she got too far. "I assure you, the pleasure is all mine, Asajj..."
"Ventress," she finished.
"Asajj Ventress." A beautiful name. Unable to resist being theatrical, he brought her hand to his lips for a gallant kiss. Another burst of heat popped in his chest at the contact and spread when her sharp breath reached his ears. Apparently she felt it as well.
"My offer still stands, Obi-Wan. Sure you don't want to give the darker side a try?"
There was something seductive in her words, her tone, her posture. Part of him wanted very badly to to accept...but the larger part wanted to keep Anakin out of the hospital; the younger man was getting riled up and Durge was losing his patience. "Perhaps some other time," he said with no small amount of regret. He released her hand, already mourning the loss of her warmth and the feel of her skin, and grabbed Anakin's arm. "Let it go," he whispered harshly to him.
"I'm going to hold you to that, my dear," Asajj called out. Obi-Wan turned just in time to see her slip her e-cig down her cleavage and glide past her mountain of a half-brother.
I certainly hope you do, Asajj, he thought with a secretive smile.
"I think I saw an open window around the corner," Anakin said excitedly. He was completely oblivious to what just happened between Obi-Wan and the leather-clad woman. "If you give me a boost-"
"Anakin, shut up. You're going home and sleeping off this recklessness before you pick a fight with the wrong person."
Obi-Wan had to practically drag him back to the car, Anakin complaining the whole way. But Obi-Wan was too preoccupied to be bothered by his best friend's sulking. Thoughts of the enchanting siren with the beckoning voice and the cutting eyes dominated his mind the whole drive home. He wondered if she might make good on her pseudo promise to find him again.