10 hours ago
Eddie didn’t follow, though she hadn’t expected he would, for all that he might want to. She felt the ramp of his pulse, the catch of his breath, the way he looked at her when she touched him; cues she could have played like a melody. But she liked him, and maybe that was why she left the choice to him, even if she wanted it too. There was something in his neat, ordered appearance that she very much wanted to be responsible for disheveling. Again. But he wasn’t wrong about her being trouble.
Once in his bedroom she leaned on his windowsill and glanced out long enough to catch her bearings, and maybe to let her own pulse come down a little. By now she could hear noises from the kitchen, enough to suggest he had decided to distract himself with breakfast, and for a moment she brought her focus back to the day ahead. Elyse and Anna had suggested she try Kallisti for work, and she intended to secure that today. It offered the same kind of safety Eddie did, a community she could hide inside while she got rid of the Key and figured out what to do after. She didn’t want to wear the red dress for that first impression, and it hardly fit the impression of “Ness” she had left with the girls anyway, which was why she teased Eddie into letting her borrow his clothes. Synchronicity of her identities could come in time – the girls would soon discover the coy charmer she really was. Now the Emissary had her trail, the cute university student was less useful anyway. It’s why she only used nicknames. Easy to explain when her separate worlds collided.
At some point she also needed to check on the auction, and see if the Jackal had sent any more messages – or anyone else – but she’d have to retrieve her wallet for that first. And she intended to check in with Wicked. Last they’d spoken, she’d teased his curiosity for what had been in the garment bag as she’d left the condo. She was fairly certain he would have been watching since then, though she still wasn’t sure of the depth of his capabilities. But she owed him some information.
She flipped through the options in Eddie's wardrobe. Nesrin borrowed other people’s clothes often enough that she knew the tricks to make them look like they fit. A fold here, a tuck there. He was only a little taller than her, so with her heels back on the pants didn’t hang half bad. She tucked the shirt in, left several of the buttons loose, and belted it at the waist. She used the one Eddie had been wearing last night for that, because maybe she was just a little bit sentimental, and she liked the flash of memory. When she checked herself in the mirror the sleek black waves of last night had mostly succumbed to her hair’s more natural curl, something a little wilder, but she didn’t have any way of taming that so she just flipped the parting and went with it.
Finally, Nesrin retrieved the Key, then spent some time folding the scarlet dress. She left that on his bed, atop sheets she quite purposefully left mussed.
When she returned to the kitchen she paused in the doorway to watch him. Domestication wasn’t anything she was used to. Her home life had never included anyone making her breakfast, even as a kid, and while she’d had plenty of varied experiences as a young woman, there was still an unfamiliar charm to it – just watching someone do something perfectly ordinary. He hadn’t mentioned the spike or the bruise or why she had been at Manifesto, and Nesrin didn’t plan to bring it up. Not that she’d avoid it if he did.
She was fairly certain he’d be aware she’d returned, but she didn’t linger to be caught looking, instead coming to stand behind him.
“Hmm. An omelette man. Interesting.” Her chin hovered on his shoulder, and she couldn’t resist resting her hand on his hip as she peered at what he was doing. Her lips teased half a smile as she added into his ear, “Is there anything you want me to do?”
Once in his bedroom she leaned on his windowsill and glanced out long enough to catch her bearings, and maybe to let her own pulse come down a little. By now she could hear noises from the kitchen, enough to suggest he had decided to distract himself with breakfast, and for a moment she brought her focus back to the day ahead. Elyse and Anna had suggested she try Kallisti for work, and she intended to secure that today. It offered the same kind of safety Eddie did, a community she could hide inside while she got rid of the Key and figured out what to do after. She didn’t want to wear the red dress for that first impression, and it hardly fit the impression of “Ness” she had left with the girls anyway, which was why she teased Eddie into letting her borrow his clothes. Synchronicity of her identities could come in time – the girls would soon discover the coy charmer she really was. Now the Emissary had her trail, the cute university student was less useful anyway. It’s why she only used nicknames. Easy to explain when her separate worlds collided.
At some point she also needed to check on the auction, and see if the Jackal had sent any more messages – or anyone else – but she’d have to retrieve her wallet for that first. And she intended to check in with Wicked. Last they’d spoken, she’d teased his curiosity for what had been in the garment bag as she’d left the condo. She was fairly certain he would have been watching since then, though she still wasn’t sure of the depth of his capabilities. But she owed him some information.
She flipped through the options in Eddie's wardrobe. Nesrin borrowed other people’s clothes often enough that she knew the tricks to make them look like they fit. A fold here, a tuck there. He was only a little taller than her, so with her heels back on the pants didn’t hang half bad. She tucked the shirt in, left several of the buttons loose, and belted it at the waist. She used the one Eddie had been wearing last night for that, because maybe she was just a little bit sentimental, and she liked the flash of memory. When she checked herself in the mirror the sleek black waves of last night had mostly succumbed to her hair’s more natural curl, something a little wilder, but she didn’t have any way of taming that so she just flipped the parting and went with it.
Finally, Nesrin retrieved the Key, then spent some time folding the scarlet dress. She left that on his bed, atop sheets she quite purposefully left mussed.
When she returned to the kitchen she paused in the doorway to watch him. Domestication wasn’t anything she was used to. Her home life had never included anyone making her breakfast, even as a kid, and while she’d had plenty of varied experiences as a young woman, there was still an unfamiliar charm to it – just watching someone do something perfectly ordinary. He hadn’t mentioned the spike or the bruise or why she had been at Manifesto, and Nesrin didn’t plan to bring it up. Not that she’d avoid it if he did.
She was fairly certain he’d be aware she’d returned, but she didn’t linger to be caught looking, instead coming to stand behind him.
“Hmm. An omelette man. Interesting.” Her chin hovered on his shoulder, and she couldn’t resist resting her hand on his hip as she peered at what he was doing. Her lips teased half a smile as she added into his ear, “Is there anything you want me to do?”