[ He snorts as he resumes their drive, putting on his turn signal at the next intersection and waiting for pedestrians. The next comes like an admission, after he re-straightens the wheel once the turn is complete. ]
I guess I am. Let me… rephrase. Do you have to invite an argument all the time?
[ Cadence’s movements make him turn to look at her once he’s behind a car again and he rolls his eyes. And yet, takes the opportunity to check his hair in the rear view while she has him thinking about it. ]
[ Cadence’s primping slows for a second as Clay’s words settle.
“You surely do not want such violent attentions…?”
Cadence curtly snaps her compact shut, as if the sharp noise alone can banish the lingering ghosts of the past. ]
I’m not “inviting” anything—you can react however you choose. But yes, if I’ve had a lot of people project their own actions onto me, if that’s what you mean. It’s easier to blame my kind for a deadly shipwreck than a bad captain who remains in power both on land and sea.
[ She’s blatantly deflecting, but it’s not untrue: for as many men’s lives that she’s scuttled, Cadence has been blamed nearly as much for an unprovoked wandering eye destroying house and home all on his own. ]
[ Clay blinks. Twice. Utterly unsure how to respond, he mentally unpacks all of that statement. The deflection makes his initial anger dissipate as he waits in a line of impatient drivers for the valets. As the car idles he lets out a scoff and looks over at her profile.
Nothing new: he can’t get a read on what she’s thinking. She looks simply indifferent and haughty- and painfully gorgeous. ]
I know a bit about having “my kind” blamed for a lot of stupid shit. But don’t make it sound like you’re a victim because you said something snarky and I “responded how I chose;” I’m an asshole, I fucking know that. But you’re-
[ He won’t say a bitch. He won’t say a gaslighting bitch, but he wants to. Except he can tell there’s something making her like this, about this. That was too personal of a thing to say, by her high standards.
He’s worried he’s too close to something that hurts and he won’t scare her farther into whatever fucking self imposed wall this is. Gaslighting bitch or not he’s invested in this. Financially, emotionally, fuck it. He closes the thought quickly, not wanting to give Cadence a chance to interrupt his hanging sentence with more of her bite. ]
You’re too smart to be anyone’s scapegoat. I know that, too.
no touchy my emotional trauma it was a birthday gift
[ She’s over-reaching, she knows it, but that look he gives and the way he calls out her bullsh— ]
It’s not about intelligence.
[ Again, another half-truth she’s leaning on too heavily; she’s lived long enough to know that if someone wants to point fingers, there’s not much chance of altering that choice.
But choosing to spark that ire and control it from the get-go? There was power in that, safety even if used right. ]
[ Clay is saved from an impulsive reply by being waved to bring the car forward. He pushes the gas pedal gently and clears his throat. He shuts off the car and looks at her again, smirking in his best charming manner while the employees write down his license plate— because the would-be date had to be normal for another few minutes. ]
I do. We’ll finish this inside- You have your purse? And make up thing?
[ If sparking and shaping someone’s anger like a flame is a means of control, then Clay is robbing her of it. She stares at him for a second, trying to remember if the hot-head’s self-discipline was always this strong, before pulling her eyes away from him and clicking open her clutch. ]
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i love them
I guess I am. Let me… rephrase. Do you have to invite an argument all the time?
[ Cadence’s movements make him turn to look at her once he’s behind a car again and he rolls his eyes. And yet, takes the opportunity to check his hair in the rear view while she has him thinking about it. ]
Or have you always been like this?
no subject
“You surely do not want such violent attentions…?”
Cadence curtly snaps her compact shut, as if the sharp noise alone can banish the lingering ghosts of the past. ]
I’m not “inviting” anything—you can react however you choose. But yes, if I’ve had a lot of people project their own actions onto me, if that’s what you mean. It’s easier to blame my kind for a deadly shipwreck than a bad captain who remains in power both on land and sea.
[ She’s blatantly deflecting, but it’s not untrue: for as many men’s lives that she’s scuttled, Cadence has been blamed nearly as much for an unprovoked wandering eye destroying house and home all on his own. ]
no subject
[ Clay blinks. Twice. Utterly unsure how to respond, he mentally unpacks all of that statement. The deflection makes his initial anger dissipate as he waits in a line of impatient drivers for the valets. As the car idles he lets out a scoff and looks over at her profile.
Nothing new: he can’t get a read on what she’s thinking. She looks simply indifferent and haughty- and painfully gorgeous. ]
I know a bit about having “my kind” blamed for a lot of stupid shit. But don’t make it sound like you’re a victim because you said something snarky and I “responded how I chose;” I’m an asshole, I fucking know that. But you’re-
[ He won’t say a bitch. He won’t say a gaslighting bitch, but he wants to. Except he can tell there’s something making her like this, about this. That was too personal of a thing to say, by her high standards.
He’s worried he’s too close to something that hurts and he won’t scare her farther into whatever fucking self imposed wall this is. Gaslighting bitch or not he’s invested in this. Financially, emotionally, fuck it. He closes the thought quickly, not wanting to give Cadence a chance to interrupt his hanging sentence with more of her bite. ]
You’re too smart to be anyone’s scapegoat. I know that, too.
no touchy my emotional trauma it was a birthday gift
It’s not about intelligence.
[ Again, another half-truth she’s leaning on too heavily; she’s lived long enough to know that if someone wants to point fingers, there’s not much chance of altering that choice.
But choosing to spark that ire and control it from the get-go? There was power in that, safety even if used right. ]
And you should be smart enough to know that much.
no subject
I do. We’ll finish this inside- You have your purse? And make up thing?
no subject
Fine, and yes, it’s here. Lead the way?