Brinley smiled triumphantly, he had laughed. It was good for the soul, healing. Just like music was. "Hey, I can handle myself just fine. Bring on all the bad guys. Or...are you the bad guy?!" A gasp left her plum painted lips as she placed her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide as if fearful by the "sudden" realization. Cam could be the bad guy, spies were supposed to be really good at hiding who they truly were. Of course she knew that wasn't the case, he was too nice for that. She frowned as he went on, thinking about what he said before she replied. "Weird. I mean maybe she lost someone who looked a lot like you and seeing you brought a lot of emotions." She couldn't really say, she hadn't been there although part of her wished she could see this picture he mentioned. He may not think the two looked similar but maybe they did to the girl. "Did she mention a last name? Maybe we could look him up?" Brin was no detective but she could do a lot with google, and she was going to look into this either way; it was really interesting.
Cam rolled his eyes, affectionately and fondly at the accusation he was the bad guy. Yeah, me, the bad guy. Hilarious. He thought, glancing over at her again. "No last name. And she didn't even show me his Instagram or anything, so nothing to even go off of," he said, surprisingly sounding a little bummed out. "I would have loved to see your reaction to my lookalike." As odd as the situation was, he couldn't help but be at least a little curious about it all. "I wonder if she's alright. And that was only where the chaos of my night started," he said, a dramatic shiver going over his body. There was always something that started all of the nonsense that flooded in all at once after that. That was always the case, everything falling apart all at once and he and his poor coworkers were left scrambling to pick up the pieces as usual.
"That's a shame." Everyone had an Instagram these days, but who was she to judge? Maybe they didn't like the app, or something. "Hmm, I'll still look into it when I have time. You know I love a good mystery, and there can't be that many Connors out there that look like you, can there?" A lot of guys with the name Connor for sure, but how many lookalikes to Cam could there be? Brinley had the idea in mind that she may not even realize she found the right guy if she even did. Cam was convinced they didn't look the same so would she think they did? Ah man, I really want to see that picture now. She sighed dramatically, falling against the back of the couch as she thought about all of the fun she missed out on tonight. Would he run into this girl again? The city wasn't that massive but the chances couldn't be that high. "Well...maybe if you'd come work for CK like he asked you could get away from all of that restaurant drama." CK was a good friend of theirs; he owned his own nightclub so Cam would still be involved with the general public, but he would have bouncers on his side. CK took the safety of his employees seriously.
"Of course you will. I'll look forward to you coming to me with all of the evidence" Cam said, smiling a little as Brinley mentioned working for CK. Countless times she'd asked him about it, and every time they saw him he would ask again at some point during their hangout. Every day he considered it more, and he would most likely leave the restaurant soon. "I probably will. He's been bugging me about working for him even more lately. Next time we see him," he told her, pushing himself to sit up properly. Nearly getting choked out after being creepily hit on that night was pushing him to his breaking point. CK would definitely be thrilled to hear that he was getting out of the workplace he hated so much. "I have to get changed. You're free to tag along if you want to hear the rest of the gossip." He waved his hand a little as he got up off the couch to head to his room, knowing that she might follow; he'd been followed many times before and she would comandeer his room to hang out. Not like he cared.
"If I find the guy you mean." Brinley waved her hand in the air, getting to her feet as he mentioned changing clothes. Honestly she was thrilled he was thinking about working for CK. They would all get to hang out more often since CK often hired her for music the most out of all the nightclubs in the city. He paid her what she was worth and his club was pretty popular. Maybe she'd have CK come over tomorrow so the two of them could talk about it, but she didn't want to be too pushy. "CK will be happy, and you'll be pretty safe. I mean I can't be there all the time to protect you, but his bouncers are cool." She said casually, entering his room and sitting on the end of his bed with an amused smile on her face. Brin did protect Cam a lot and there was no issue with that; he was her best friend and that's how they met in the first place. "Tell me every detail."
Cam grinned a little, heading to grab a new change of more comfortable clothes. He could fend for himself pretty well, but Brinley did come to his rescue when he needed it. Besides, he thought their little group looked out for each other equally well. "I can protect myself, Brin. I'll talk to CK soon," he said, stripping out of his restaurant uniform to pull on a pair of shorts. The tattoo caught his eye again, alongside a familiar set of scars. He was grateful to be in a better place, even if the memory of the latter was bits and pieces; he'd been told it was a trauma response. "I had a drunk girl hit on me in...literally the worst way possible, like mix every objectifying comment together kind of thing. Her boyfriend was pissed, and it was my fault so he tried to choke me out," he said, shaking his head as he pulled his shirt over his head and gestured to the red mark on his neck. "Like what? My manager had the cops called, they got banned. Whole thing."
"Shush shush little one." Brinley teased, a very normal thing for her to do and she didn't care who saw. Cam could definitely handle himself but she was the firecracker of their group and they all knew it. There wasn't a single fight that she wouldn't jump into if it meant defending her friends from the fiends of the world. Having grown up the way she did made her the way she was today, she wanted to protect what she had. CK, Cam and Mack, another friend of theirs, were her family; they were an odd bunch but they were great. "Sorry I missed all the fun." Brin pouted, seriously disappointed she missed out on a good fight. All this pent up aggression needed somewhere to go. "But you are pretty hot so I can't blame her or the boyfriend."
Cam laughed at that, tossing his work clothes into his laundry basket before he plopped down on his bed next to her. "Next time, next time you'll be there," he assured her; he was probably right, considering how often these types of fights happened when he was leaving his job at the end of the night. "I'm glad the whole friend group thinks I'm hot. It's the only thing that gets me through my day," he teased. All of them reminded him they thought so enough, and he unfortunately had the creepy customers of all genders to prove that. "Scratch that, we're all hot. I can't take all the glory, you know." This was just how they were, playful and cocky banter was a specialty in their little family. He moved to rest his head on Brinley's shoulder, a heavy sigh leaving him. The night was draining, and he was glad he would probably be gone from that environment soon. "You have no idea how excited I am to have the weekend off. First time in forever."
"Honey, I know I'm hot." Brinley fanned herself with her hand as if trying to put out a fire. She was confident, it was important to be in her line of work since she performed in front of a lot of people on a weekly basis. Some people could get too handsy, but she was fine with it as long as they didn't take it too far with her. That's where the pent up aggression came in, and the bouncers of whatever club she happened to be DJ'ing at. "Speak for yourself, I have work. I'm booked out for months." She pat his head, messing up his hair in the process but she didn't seem to notice this. There was a lot going on this month as there was every month, she was highly sought after and she had club owners from two cities over reaching out to book her. Maybe she should hire a manager, but she liked the freedom she had too much. A manager would tell her where to go and how to dress, she wasn't about that life. "I'll be free during the day though, we should do something."
Cam rolled his eyes fondly, chuckling a bit. He knew her schedule, knew how busy she could get; he was proud of her and what she'd been able to do for herself. She was slowly becoming a big name in their city and now beyond. "I know. And yeah, we should. Hell, maybe I'll even come around with Mack for one of your sets. You're at CK's this weekend anyway," he said, nudging her side. The chance of him starting a new job with CK in the next few days was high anyway. "You need to put free weekends in your schedule more. We need a weekend away," he insisted. The two of them worked themselves hard at their jobs, so much so a break rarely came to either of them. Even if it did, it rarely lined up with each other's schedules on weekends. "Also, I'm starving. I didn't eat on break after everything that happened. Please tell me we still have leftovers."
Brinley shrugged, thinking about that for a minute. Breaks weren't really her thing, as nice as one sounded she just liked working. Work was familiar, safe. Maybe Cam was right though; it couldn't hurt and if the group went on a getaway together then that was even better. They were her people, they knew how to get her to wind down better than most. "Well unless someone cancels a weekend getaway won't be in the stars for at least five months." She replied, biting her lip. CK would let her out of one of his bookings if she asked, she would have to think about it and talk to him before her set started this weekend. "Mhm, yeah, Mack stopped by and dropped off some burritos he made." Mack was their go to chef, that guy loved to cook for the group whenever he could, and they all appreciated it. He was good at it! Brin thought he should be a chef, Mack just laughed at the idea every time she brought it up.
"I'm going to talk to CK for you so you don't conveniently forget about it," Cam teased, pushing himself to sit up. He knew CK would take his side, both him and Mack would be very into the idea of getting away together. "Hell yes," he said as he got up off his bed, grabbing Brinley to make her come with him whether she wanted to or not. Mack's cooking was so much better than most professional places he'd eaten, and knowing it was in their fridge made his awful night a ton better. "I'm even happier that I didn't eat at work." He headed towards their kitchen to heat his food up, getting himself a bottle of water. Now that he was home, he got to finally relax and forget about whatever had happened that night. He leaned back against the counter, drinking almost half the water bottle in a few seconds. They'd been so swarmed at the restaurant that he barely got to stop for a drink.
"Hey, I have a lot going on, forgetting things is gonna happen." Brinley defended herself, letting herself be pulled out of his bedroom. Like there was a choice. She watched him move about the kitchen, leaning against the counter with both her forearms resting comfortably on its smooth surface. "Slow down there before you drown yourself, you're not a fish." She joked, eyeing the already half empty water bottle. He dealt with a lot at the restaurant so she wasn't surprised, but she would still make fun of him for it. That was one of the many perks of being his best friend. Besides, she knew that he loved it and even if he didn't she would still do it. Brin was a fun girl, she picked on every person she met whether she was close to them or not. It made the world a brightet place, or at least she preferred to think that it did. There were already so many sourpusses out there, she didn't want to be one of them. "Mack wants to set CK up on a date again." She mentioned, wanting to take his mind off work drama and to share the usual gossip. CK was a tough cookie to deal with if one didn't know how to, he was a straight shooter and took no bullshit. No time for dating and he would tell you that it was a waste of time. Not to mention his last relationship had gone down the drain after the girl cheated on him and that had been about three years ago. Mack was convinced it was time to move on and that it was their duty to help him find a new love interest. It wasn't the first time and they both knew it would end just like every other time he got this idea stuck in his head.
"I'm dehydrated, thank you very much," Cam retorted, placing the water bottle onto the counter so he wouldn't go through it so quickly. Brinley's gentle teasing and bullying was part of their dynamic, and he dished it right back out to her as often as she gave it. His interest was piqued, however, at the mention of Mack's never ending determination to get CK to date again. It was a sweet intention, Cam had always thought so. Looking out for their friends and wanting the best for them was natural, but Mack didn't give up on CK no matter how much CK pushed back against his efforts. "How cute. CK know he's up to his old tricks again yet?" He asked, amused at the idea and grateful for the change in direction to their friends' gossip. "If it means anything, you can tell Mack I saw quite the catch at work tonight at a table I waited on. Very much so CK's type. She was all sophisticated and shit. Tell Mack to come around, she's been a regular with her friends." He knew the chances of CK turning down Mack's idea before he even saw what the girl looked like were high, but he always found the situation amusing. CK was interesting to watch, and of course he would add a little fuel to Mack's fire. "Maybe she'll be the one to break CK's hard shell. She seems similar to him."
"I'm sure he has some idea about it." Even if CK didn't know Mack was up to his antics again she was sure he held a...healthy suspicion when it came to their dear friend. This wasn't the first time Mack tried to set him up, or any of them, and she was positive it wouldn't be the last time. Mack was determined to get them all into relationships, it was amusing because he wasn't even in a relationship himself. The double standards was astounding, but it was amusing and sweet. He' always been very thoughtful of his friends' happiness. "I'll mention it but he has some girl in mind for now. She works at the nightclub." Which was even more telling for how it would go; CK was very against dating anyone he employed. It wasn't "appropriate." Brinley sighed and hopped up onto the counter, swinging her feet back and forth as she watched Cam do his thing. She was a people watcher, when it came to her friends especially, it was interesting to view everyone's habits and little quirks they had. "Hopefully they just don't fight this time." CK nearly gave Mack a black eye last time.