Amber hadn't expected Eric to turn into rainbows and sparkles over her deigning to talk to him again, but she’d thought he'd show some degree of happiness. Instead, he was sulking and... it was actually kind of cute. She was pretty sure she could change his mood quickly enough.
Why indeed.
She stepped through the door as he held it open, her shoulders squaring against the cold. The wind brushed her hair against her throat, her cheeks. "Why not?" she started lightly, but then, with full honesty, "I wasn't fair to you." Eric was frowning against the breeze, his skin growing paler. She wanted to take his face between her hands, to warm him up. "I'm sorry."
Finding out she was in charge put a new spin on everything that had passed between them. Before she couldn't tell where his truths bled into lies, and after the first deception, she hadn't cared to find out. But she could believe him now. He'd fibbed about his work, yeah, but that hadn't been to embarrass her; he'd just been that scared of losing her. It was flattering, considered from the right angle. His advice, too, dumb as it was, probably had been given with the best intentions. He told her to risk being wrong not to sabotage her job, but because that's what he thought was right. Diverted from the path he'd dreamed of, Eric probably was desperate to discover treasures in offbeat tracks. His reasoning had been faulty, but he'd meant well.
But there was more than that. Amber had hated, stomach-clenching hated, seeing him as wretched as he had been at the front of the theater. She'd hated even more that it'd been because of her. Given that, what she had to do seemed clear. "We make a pretty good pair, in my opinion. It'd be a shame to let a few misunderstandings get in our way." She extended her hand, her face dimpling with another smile. "I'm Amber Volakis, competitive as hell, but I have a few qualities that make up for that. And you?"
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Why indeed.
She stepped through the door as he held it open, her shoulders squaring against the cold. The wind brushed her hair against her throat, her cheeks. "Why not?" she started lightly, but then, with full honesty, "I wasn't fair to you." Eric was frowning against the breeze, his skin growing paler. She wanted to take his face between her hands, to warm him up. "I'm sorry."
Finding out she was in charge put a new spin on everything that had passed between them. Before she couldn't tell where his truths bled into lies, and after the first deception, she hadn't cared to find out. But she could believe him now. He'd fibbed about his work, yeah, but that hadn't been to embarrass her; he'd just been that scared of losing her. It was flattering, considered from the right angle. His advice, too, dumb as it was, probably had been given with the best intentions. He told her to risk being wrong not to sabotage her job, but because that's what he thought was right. Diverted from the path he'd dreamed of, Eric probably was desperate to discover treasures in offbeat tracks. His reasoning had been faulty, but he'd meant well.
But there was more than that. Amber had hated, stomach-clenching hated, seeing him as wretched as he had been at the front of the theater. She'd hated even more that it'd been because of her. Given that, what she had to do seemed clear. "We make a pretty good pair, in my opinion. It'd be a shame to let a few misunderstandings get in our way." She extended her hand, her face dimpling with another smile. "I'm Amber Volakis, competitive as hell, but I have a few qualities that make up for that. And you?"