Interrupted Vacations

[Syler Drayke]

She made no attempt to stifle her shock as she set her drink down and attempted to swallow without coughing. Even if she just took the 360,000 and booked it she would be set for years if she was frugal. This man must be insane. All he would hear from her mental link over the next minute was a string of curse words that might make a sentence eventually with much re-arranging and additional words/translating.

Her gray eyes watched the datapad in disbelief before she finally took a long, slow breath, slammed the rest of her drink, and then input her account information into it and hit the "transfer" button.

<<What the everloving sh**-f*** in a firestorm with gangrene have I just done?>>

She looked back up at him and he just... kept going. She waved down the waitress and wordlessly ordered refills on the drinks. Her thoughts were directed at him this time, and she watched him for a response. She understood his implication that he was willing to pay her a load of money for essentially talking to him and she held up a hand for him to stop.

"Look, I appreciate that you have money. It's f***ing great. But can we slow down a second before you give me a f***ing island on Bakura? Since you basically own me now, and I'm going to apparently travel the galaxy healing your employees and picking out your damn curtains, can we just... Talk?"

She looked haggard and desperate for him to slow down. She wasn't the most friendly or relational of people, but if he was going to employ/own her for at least the next year she needed to know more about him than that he had money. She knew he was a pilot and enjoyed liquor... But she needed something more substantial.

"Tell me something that makes you seem human, not like a cash machine with a flask."

[member="Kurayami Bloodborn"]

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

It seemed that he had won the battle for this round at least, though he hadn't mentioned that the transfer was set to be recurring unless he canceled it. Perhaps had she kept a calmer disposition before signing she would have noticed that, but he would let her realize it next year when she suddenly found the same amount added to her account. The string of curse words was not entirely surprising, but did remind him of his reaction had the tables been turned. He did not, however attempt to fill in the blanks or translate them into a full sentence.

He watched her gray eyes as they widened in disbelief as she finalized the transfer. The question that came from her afterwards through the mental link made him chuckle.

<<What you did is agree to an extremely lucrative deal. Not sure why that is a bad thing, Syler.>>

While he continued filing her in on details for payment and such she managed to signal the waitress to bring refills for their drinks. He only noticed when the refills were set down on the table as he quickly finished the last of his drink as well. Picking up his second he caught the thoughts clearly directed at him. Well that was fun. When she held up her hand to stop, Kurayami obliged, going quiet as she addressed him.

"I appreciate that too, and yea, it is great. No doubt about that. You want an island on Bakura? No. Not going there, property is far too expensive. One here though, on Rishi, much more affordable, so that might be a good goal to aim for. I don't own you, and you will randomly be making trips to Nubia to heal my employees, and if you wanted to I could take you to FOB's after a fight that the CIS was involved in and let you do some healing there too. Given my rate of injury though you should be able to keep your skills plenty sharp. No, no curtains on the ship, no worries. Sure we can talk. I figured we'd get the boring stuff out of the way first, and then work on the fun part of getting to know one another a bit better. So ask away, I'm ready for anything."

The haggard appearance as she all but begged him to slow down made him feel a momentary pang of regret for making her feel like he was pushing her into making a decision. That was quickly gone though as he realized that neither one of them had closed or otherwise made the telepathic link fade at all. For the moment he wouldn't focus on it and let things play out as they were wont to. She wanted him to tell her something that made him seem more human. Where to start though?

"More human? Well I was born on Corellia about 20 years before it was split in half by the Sith. I happened to be off planet at the time, probably the only reason I am here, as for the rest of my family I have no idea as to what happened to them. Before I left I was a part of the CDF, and once I left there I started work as a merc. Mostly piloting as you might figure, but did some fighting on the ground too. Mostly ranged stuff with blasters and all. Lost my connection to the Force when I was younger after the death of my then fiancée, apparently we were closely bonded enough for that to happen. Even after dating a bit years later, I just...I have no idea why I'm telling you this, you don't care. And why should you?"

[member="Syler Drayke"]

 

[Syler Drayke]

Syler listened to him ramble on and quietly sipped her refill. She focused a small bit of energy on a gentle wave of the force to detoxify her bloodstream and keep her head clear. She was trying to tell if he was joking when it came to buying an island, but she found herself unable to tell other than the hint of amusement he emanated through their telepathic link. That was... Not comforting. She didn't WANT an island. But that was something they could deal with another day.

<<It may be lucrative, but I am used to lucrative coming with strings.>>

Her response was extremely honest and real, with a hint of softening to it. It hinted at something more sinister behind her mental walls, but she still hid quite a bit of her thoughts from this strange man for the time being.

Then he went on the tangent about dating. Oof. That was a pile of insanity she didn't want to untangle at the moment. She heard his hesitation at the end though and gave him a soft, genuine smile over the mug between her hands.

"You're telling me because I asked. And I wouldn't ask if I didn't want to know."

She leaned back in the booth, pressed herself into the corner, and put her feet up. This gave her the ability to rest her hands and the mug of cider on her knees. While it was a more bunched up way to sit, and she had to turn her head to look at him, she looked far more comfortable.

"Dating... Yeah. It sucks. I haven't ever really tried it but I have no desire to. The whole concept of being so attached to a person that they have the power to break you like that... Well... No..."

Syler looked down into her drink and shook her head.

"I can break myself just fine thank you. Don't need help with that."

[member="Kurayami Bloodborn"]

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

Her response to his mentioning it being a lucrative deal wasn't completely off the mark, but he was really bad at these things, always had been so he had no way of knowing how to tell her that, yes there were strings, but not make her want to back out. In fact he was pretty certain if he mentioned that at all the result would be her leaving. For some odd reason that was becoming a less desirable result as time went on. He really hoped that keeping the link open with her was not having...undesirable results.

<<We'll see if strings come into play later so be it, as of now, nothing more than employer/employee strings. I'm sure you can deal with that.>>

Perhaps the link was strong enough right now for her to catch that he wasn't being entirely honest with her, even if his tone stayed even when he spoke to her mentally. He could hear that what she had shared with him had a much nastier back story than she cared to remember most likely. He wouldn't press to try and get her to open up about that. One day she might on her own. Once he went on his little tangent/rant about dating and was finally done, he saw her give a soft smile over the edge of her mug. He took a swig from his as she responded. He looked down into his own drink as he replied, an almost defeated sigh escaping him right before he did.

"Why would you care about my terrible luck with women? Sure it's part of who I am, but it doesn't affect anything with you. Besides we all ask questions we don't really want answers to sometimes, probably just one of those moments for you?"

He didn't raise his eyes from his glass as he continued after her little mention about dating and being able to break herself just fine on her own, laughing a bit.

"Oh trust me, that ain't news...but it isn't always a bad thing. With the right person it can be...well really fun. Definitely a good thing. I thought that was what I had, but sometimes things just go south for unknown reasons. That's what is really hard to deal with...I have enough experience to know that well. I've been broken and yea...just been trying to put myself back together for the past..however long it has been. Done a hell of a job, huh?"

The last bit was delivered with a hint of humor to it as though to reinforce the point that he really wasn't even close to that point yet. Finally raising his eyes from his drink he took a sip of it as he studied her new sitting position. Guarded, but she did look comfortable at least.

[member="Syler Drayke"]

 

[Syler Drayke]

Syler's eyes turned back to her drink and she avoided his gaze. She could feel his semi-honesty and she didn't like it. Though in all fairness she wasn't telling him the full truth either. About most things.

<<I can. Can you?>>

It was a genuine question. He didn't seem like the type of man who would employ what amounted to a traveling companion. Yes, she was essentially a healer, but he was offering her a place to live and work and it was his place to live and work as well. And he clearly wanted to spend time with her. But he also didn't seem to know how to say that. It was all so complicated and it had only been going on for an hour... Tops.

"In my line of work, I don't ask questions much. Especially if I don't want the answer. If I ask anything I am genuinely interested. I promise."

He could likely sense the purity of her statement. Yes, it was delivered curtly and a bit harsh, but there was a genuineness to it that couldn't be denied. At his last statement, she had to pause her sip and chuckle though.

"If there is one thing I've learned as a healer... And well, as a person, no one can really put themselves back together on their own. We can do patch jobs and get by, but no one can really fix themselves."

She looked up from her drink and back at him. Even though the dishonesty from earlier still lingered, she was willing to keep talking at least. He was being real, and she was trying.

[member="Kurayami Bloodborn"]

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

This was going great, even her eyes dropped down to her drink now. She probably caught the fact that he wasn't being completely honest with her, but that part could wait for a bit. Once they got to know one another better he could be honest with her, maybe.

<<I am pretty sure that I can. Honestly, I can't tell you that strings won't come into play down the line a bit...>>

Still he was trying to be honest with her, but he let the thought trail off. He wasn't sure if her thoughts were starting to influence his or if the link was growing in strength. Even having lived with this for as long as he had, the nature of how they formed and strengthened still eluded him. What he offered to do was something that made sense to him, especially given the size of the ship that was being built. Kurayami had made no attempt to hide the fact from her that he was wanting to spend more time with her. He had done a fine job of making this a super complicated mess already, he could only imagine how hard this was for Syler to figure out.

"As a mercenary myself I can completely understand not asking many questions, getting only the most relevant details. Well, if you are genuinely interested then feel free to ask anything you want to know. I'll be honest with you."

It was true that the fact she was being completely honest with him in that moment was easily felt, and he hoped that she got the same feeling from him. Whether a simple question or something more personal he would answer honestly. He did what he could to mentally ready himself for a barrage of random questions. Her laugh at his last statement gave him the sense that she was agreeing with him, which she did nothing to dissuade when she spoke.

"So that is what being a healer taught you? I was more making the point that recovering from these things makes it much harder to focus on the here and now, its just...why does it have to be so difficult to get past that stuff, you'd think that I would have moved on long ago. Hell, I thought I had, but so far everything points solidly to no. I'm still pushing on though, so that counts for something right?"

Meeting her gaze he tried to smile at her to ease the tension from the dishonesty before, hopefully that wouldn't impact things too negatively.

[member="Syler Drayke"]

 

[Syler Drayke]

Moving on? Ha. He was barking up the wrong tree for advice on that one. She tried not to snort her drink when he talked about it. "Why does it have to be so difficult?" That was a rich question. He likely could feel her amusement through the link, but it was not at his expense. It was more general amusement at the conversation and it's direction.

"Oh, sweetheart... No. I mean, yes, it counts that you're still going but no, it's never easy. I am half convinced we never move on from the sh** that hurts us."

She took a long sip of her drink but continued her statement mentally.

<<I certainly haven't. And I'm about as broken as they come. Damn good at my job though, so that's a plus.>>

She set her mug on the table and leaned her head back against the wall behind her, wrapping her arms around her knees and picking at her fingernails.

"Let's talk about something more cheery perhaps? Amputation stories might be a good start. Seen any nice explosions lately? Mass murder is a hell of a lot less depressing than my love life. Or apparently yours."

The joking behind her statement was clear, though she also highlighted a desire to change the subject that was near desperate. She knew that if they kept going down this train of conversation they would eventually get to the point where he asked her what her background was and that was a wall she wanted NO ONE scaling.

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

Okay, so rhetorical questions were not the best things to ask this woman. The fact that she nearly snorted her drink when he said that brought a raised eyebrow in a quesitoning glance. What he found even more surprising though was the use of 'sweetheart' in her response to him, he furrowed his eyebrows as if in deep thought.

"Listen, it wasn't meant to be a serious question there hon, just me thinking out loud. Good point though still."

He took a deep breath and took a swig of his drink as he voice came into his mind again.

<<I don't doubt it. You wouldn't be nearly as guarded with me as you are right now if you weren't broken. I'm not going to prod, glad to hear you are good at your job though.>>

He set his glass down, which was now maybe two thirds empty as she leaned her head against the wall and wrapped her arms around her knees. The picking at her fingernails was strange, maybe a nervous habit? Or was she just that disinterested in the current conversation? He tried not to think on possible meanings for too long.

"Sure. Don't have any amputation stories, nah been cooped up in the office doing design work for the ships. Yea, random sprees are nice, but they just feel empty afterwards. Who knows maybe the luck with love will change for us sometime soon? Probably not, but ya never know, right?"

While again he was honest in his answer the last bit was most certainly delivered with a much more apparent air of hope about it, not necessarily directed towards her, but she might end up taking it that way and well, that could lead to interesting results.

[member="Syler Drayke"]

 

[Syler Drayke]

Syler noticed the dip in his drink levels and nodded towards his mug.

"Why don't you pick the next one? I'm not picky."

Her hands went back to fidgeting. It was both habit and compulsion. She was in the frame of mind of needing things to do. She wanted to be productive and useful. She listened to him jokingly ramble about mass murder and amputations, which was a nice change, then he turned back to the love thing. Damnit. Her eyes took on a harshness to their gray glass.

"I am far too much of a sh**show for anyone to deal with. I wouldn't ask anyone to try and date this nebulous of hellfire."

She spun to face him again, folding her arms on the table and leaning forward to rest her chin on her hands, looking somewhat like she'd collapsed against it. The genuine honesty was clear and her resignation was also apparent.

<<I've accepted the fact that love isn't in the cards for me. It just isn't. I wish you luck in whatever you try, but I am never going down that road again.>>

Her words were mental, but the expression on her face sealed their truth. She clearly had no intentions of love. She didn't mean it in a rude or angry way, she meant it as simple fact. This was as much a part of who she was as her healing skills or her white hair. She was not romantic. She sent a soft wave of empathy towards him. She wasn't against friendships, acquaintances, or positive business relationships. She was simply against love.

[member="Kurayami Bloodborn"]

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

With her approval when the waitress came back he ordered a bottle of Cassandran choholl. It would be interesting to see how she would react to the strong, drink, though she had handled the namana liquor just fine earlier as well as the two or more mugs of whatever it was they just had.

"Alright, next round is on the way, went for something that I don't often drink either."

Her hands fidgeting really made him wonder what was going on in her head and why she couldn't seem to stop with it. Apparently the joking bit about love at the end of his rambling had not gone over well as evidenced by the harshness now in her gaze.

"Oh please, if a woman could deal with my issues for years on end, I can promise you that handling you would be far easier. You just need someone who can push back when you get ornery. Love is rarely asking someone to deal with your issues, that part is the make or break that comes later down the road as you get to know one another. At least in healthy relationships. Or so I have heard, only had a couple healthy romantic ones."

When she spun to face him and laid her head on her hands he reached out to her, not only mentally but also by placing his hand gently on her forearm. The resignation in her voice made him remember the times he felt the same. It was not a good feeling.

<<You may have accepted that fact, but I doubt it if the Force has. If there is someone out there for you, you will find them eventually. You may even have found that person, or at least encountered them already. Some things take a long time to surface, and it is hard to be patient about these things, I know.>>

He could see the truth in her expression, and there was certainly a softness that wasn't often seen in his when he spoke to her. He wasn't referring to himself as of right now, but he wasn't leaving himself out of it by any stretch of the imagination, especially with the phrasing. Hopefully she wouldn't take it as him referring only to himself though, that couldn't end well. The wave of empathy helped him calm his mind for the time being. He wasn't discounting anything just yet. He would be as patient as he could. How long could he keep from saying anything to her about it?

[member="Syler Drayke"]

 

[Syler Drayke]

His hand on her forearm made her flinch, visibly. But she didn't try to move it. Much of her concentration, including her vision, centered on that hand though. She stared at it, touching her, there. She suddenly wanted nothing more than to curl up or run. But her productive brain was in charge right now and she could handle this. She needed something to take her mind off of it. Something to do.

<<I highly doubt, if I found that person already, that they are excited about me as a potential life partner.>>

She stared daggers at his hand. Her concentration wavered. She needed a task.

"So tell me about this ship." She interjected. "What kind of look are you going for? What decorating do you need to do?"

It was the first thing that came to her mind. Even though she had next to zero experience in the art of home decorating, it was something else. Something not romantic. Something that wasn't his hand on her arm. She needed to cut off the hyperfocus before it started.

And she realized, too late, that he likely had sensed all of her hyperfocus on his hand this entire time.

[member="Kurayami Bloodborn"]

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

The flinch was not hard to miss when he touched her arm. She didn't attempt to move it though, so that was a plus? Then she hyperfocused on his hand, oh joy. Now he was legitimately worrying about having messed up any chance of her helping him and wanting out of the contract. It was meant only as a calming gestue, yet it seemed to have the exact opposite effect on the woman.

<<They may not be, at least not yet, but as you learn about one another either they will leave or realize that you are the one they want to be with. The excitement isn't like you see in the holodramas.>>

He could feel it as her concentration wavered and she stared at his hand as if she could vaporize it with nothing more than a look. Then she moved the conversation towards the type of interior and decor he wanted for the ship and to tell her about it.

"Okay so the ship itself take some inspiration from the J-Type 327 Nubian yacht from over 800 years ago, the smaller ships are more based on the J-Type diplomatic barge from around the same time period. For both, simple luxury, no crazy patterns, and no bright colors, I mean the ships are plated in chromium already. Need ideas for everything from the master suites to the meditation and training room. I can handle the forge and foundry on my own. I know what we need to make components to repair weapons damaged in training and such."

He thought about removing his hand for a moment, then promptly forgot about doing so.

[member="Syler Drayke"]

 

[Syler Drayke]

She continued to watch his hand, even while sitting up, downing the rest of her drink, and smiling when the waitress brought more. The waitress uncorked the bottle and poured them each a very small glass. Syler waited for her to be gone before adding another several fingers of the liquor to each of their glasses and then returning her gaze to Kurayami's hand while she swigged a bit of the expensive alcohol.

<<If the Force ever told someone "Hey, you're gonna end up spending your life with Syler Drayke" I think, if they knew me at all, they would run screaming for the outer rim.>>

While he rambled about the ship, she calmed a bit. She let her mind think on neutral color schemes and soft blues. Those went well with chrome right? She liked blue as well, so that was a good starting point.

"How many rooms are there? Meditation room, training room, how many bedrooms? I assume there's a galley of some kind? What about crew quarters?"

This was good. This was something to do. She let herself try to focus on the ship, not the hand still on her arm. Still so close. Only the wraps between her forearm and his hand. Those thin strips of fabric that kept him from touching her fragile, scarred skin. Crap. Still hyper focusing. Blues... Silver... Maybe some black accents? He seemed like the type to like black leather.

[member="Kurayami Bloodborn"]

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

Apparently, she was not very good at hiding her hyperfocus issues, especially even when she changed position her eyes did not. He followed suit and finished what was left of his drink, thanking the waitress and then Syler for adding more to the glass once the other woman walked away. And then...her gaze went straight back to his hand. Picking up his glass he took a long pull from it before responding to her.

<<Maybe. However, the Force isn't known for playing to expectations. Hell, it would most likely choose someone completely opposite of what you would consider as your ideal mate. I know that it happened to me so don't be too surprised.>>

She let him ramble about the ship and visibly calmed a bit. What went through her mind he did not try to find out then came the question of how many rooms. A good question.

"Well there are separate rooms for each of the organic crewmembers, with the bridge crew having the nicest quarters, but with each having plenty of room and above average amenities. Meditation rooms, sparring rooms as in multiple, at least two master suites and guest quarters that are just as well appointed. Always some sort of galley for food preparation."

He didn't have hard numbers for her as he wasn't sure how many systems would be automated, or if the whole thing was to be crewed by organics. As an attempt to calm her down a bit he gently squeezed her arm and sent a wave of empathy towards her as he took another sip of his drink.

[member="Syler Drayke"]

 

[Syler Drayke]

She tried not to snap at him. But unfortunately, mental conversations didn't work that way.

<<And that didn't really work out for you, so excuse me if I don't trust the Force to find me a love that could possibly be unexpected based on your track record.>>

Ouch. That might have gone too far. She immediately felt a bit of regret and pressed it towards him apologetically. She didn't say anything but she hoped that was enough. Instead, she sipped the fruity liquor. It was strong but very tasty. She didn't have any trouble with the strength and showed no visible signs of disgust or issue. She could handle her booze, to say the least.

Then he went on and elaborated about the ship. Oof, bigger project than she thought. Ok. She might need to find some streamlining processes if this is the case.

"I assume crew rooms can match? Like, decorate them all the same? Or are you intent on driving me crazy by decorating every single crew member's room differently?"

There was a clearly joking tone to her question, but then he squeezed her arm. At that she pulled back, taking her arm from his grip and sitting back against the booth with her booze held between both hands, right at her chest height. She clearly didn't want to be touched. She felt the wave of empathy and that was sweet. She stared down into her drink and took a very long, slow breath.

"I don't...My arms aren't... I understand you're trying. I appreciate it. Just... No."

[member="Kurayami Bloodborn"]

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

Her snapping at him would usually have led him to make an equally snarky reply back to her. This time was different for some reason he couldn't place.

<<You know what? You are right...they didn't. Problem was I chose those two women in the end. I pushed to try and make things work and they didn't. There was no hope of it working out, we were too different to start with. I ignored all the signs that they weren't who I was supposed to be with, blinded by hope that maybe, somehow, the Force was wrong...>>

The apologetic wave that came from her was nice, and made him smile, even if his eyes broke from her and focused on the placement of his hand for a few seconds. He continued sipping at his drink, letting the silence between them hang for a bit. It didn't feel strange to him as he enjoyed his drink and her company.

"Yea I see no reason why crew quarters couldn't match, it's the details that would set them apart anyways I'm sure."

The clearly joking tone in her questions was present in his response as well. Then came the fateful arm squeeze. Suddenly she pulled back and sat as far back in her booth as she could and brought her drink with her, holding it at chest height. While he took stock of what had just happened, Kurayami left his hand on the table, looking a bit confused. Something didn't add up.

"What is wrong? None of that made sense Syler. Talk to me, I'm here to help you. I need you healthy if you are going to be working for me. What do you need?"

[member="Syler Drayke"]

 

[Syler Drayke]

<<We all wish the Force was wrong sometimes. I get that.>>

Their conversation turned to her. And her health of all things. She laughed. Outright and loud. Maybe it was the alcohol or maybe the absurdity of a near stranger asking to help her. Her laugh was rich and real. She took a minute to enjoy laughing before she responded.

"If you need me healthy then you might want out of the contract now. That is never going to be the case. But if you need me functional you can have that. And I am. I just don't like being touched. Plain and simple. My arms especially. I keep them covered for reasons that are my own."

She relaxed her posture a bit and set her drink down.

"Maybe someday I'll tell you. For now it's a nightmare I'd like to not relive. Just know that I appreciate your attempt at comfort, but please don't squeeze my arm."

She wasn't going to continue on or explain further. She figured he would be jarred by her change in tone and need to process. She sipped her drink and waited.

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

<<Of course we do, it's pull is inescapable though. People like you and I are too closely tied to it. Not always a fun thing to say the least.>>

The bout of laughter from her brought a confused reaction from Kurayami. It was a good sound, in that it was real, it was bright, but it was about an odd subject. Her health. Most would not find this an amusing thing and he was trying to be serious as he nodded.

"Well I don't want out of the contract, but all I have to go on is your word that you are even functional. That isn't all that much to go on as of yet. Alright so you don't like physical contact, got it. I'll keep that in mind, just don't get too upset if I slip up, that is all I ask."

At least after her rant about contact and not touching her arms especially, she did relax her posture some as she set her drink back on the table. Taking one more sip he followed suit.

"Like you, I wouldn't ask if I didn't want to know. I offered help to make sure you were ready for anything, especially here. If it ever becomes needed information then I will ask, but if not, then sharing the story is entirely up to you, beautiful."

The last bit was delivered with a hint of his normal humor and signature smirk on his lips. Mentally though his head was running through every possible reason he could think of, it was possible that she would pick up on some of or all of it, as the thoughts were too fast for him to guard each one.

[member="Syler Drayke"]

 

[Syler Drayke]

<<No...>>

Their mental link was quiet on her end while she listened to him. He called her "beautiful" which wasn't abnormal honestly. Smugglers and mercenaries constantly tried to get further with her than their agreements indicated. She was hired as a healer and spent half her time fending off their advances. It was typical. Though when he said it she wasn't upset or scoffing as she would have previously.

"You can slip up, that happens. And it's mostly the arms I'll get upset about. But yeah... My story-"

She sighed and winced as she felt his barrage of speculation. Ow. The racing thoughts were intense and she only picked out one or two before she held both her hands up as if to surrender.

"Ok, ok. I'm... Physically I'm perfectly fine. No terminal illness, no weird limp or anything like that. I just... I'm... Well, the term for it is 'bipolar' but it isn't that simple. I just have times where I'm a lot more stable and functional than others. Like now for instance. Other times, sometimes for a while, I am... Well... Not so functional. People don't like that. Employers queen at me, friends think I've abandoned them, dating is next to impossible, and a lot of things get assumed about me that aren't true."

She stopped to let him process and sipped her drink once more. She looked at anything but his face, which she expected to turn to one of concern and sympathy. Which she definitely didn't want right now.

[member="Kurayami Bloodborn"]

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

<<It's okay, I understand how upsetting it can be.>>

After that brief exchange the mental link went quiet from both sides. Again, not a bad or upsetting thing to him, just part of the normal flow of things. She didn't seem upset when he called her 'beautiful' so that was a good thing. Especially given that he hadn't even noticed at first that he had said that. IT was strange that he had added something like that without even thinking about it.

"As I said I will keep it in mind. Do my best not to grab you by the arm, or touch your arms, I should be able to manage that most days..."

The bit of teasing faded as she said the words, 'My story.' The sigh was not unexpected in the least, but apparently she had picked up on the racing thoughts. Now it was his turn to blush slightly, hard to tell if it was from embarrassment or alcohol by this point though. She held up her hands and the carousel of insanity slowly came to a halt as he listened intently. Bipolar...but more complicated too. Okay then, this should be quite the rollercoaster of getting to know one another.

"Well I don't care if you have ups and down, even major ones. I'm here to help you however I can. Just let me know. I take good care of all my employees, and there is no reason you would be any different there. Just between you and I though, you are far prettier than my other employees."

He flashed a cheeky grin to let her know that he was teasing her a bit and to hopefully keep her from taking offense. Meanwhile his mind worked to process any possible expenses while he sipped at his drink, lopsided grin still plastered on his face.

[member="Syler Drayke"]