[attr="class","icon"]

"drinking."

[break][break] the doctor stands above giada morgan , a lazy smile on his face. in the dark of the night, it's easy to hide the blooming bruises under his eyes, only some of them from lack of sleep.

[break][break] "having a good time."

[break][break] caden has never been the kind of person who likes to stay in the recluses of his house. in fact, he prefers the outdoors — the fresh, crisp autumn air on a run; the thrill has his sneakers skid against a sharp decline. it's only his job that his held him back, and now that he doesn't even have that, there's more time to do things that are enjoyable.

[break][break] "or at least i hope so," he says as he slides into the booth beside her. "plus, you asked for me. no one to pick you up tonight, messy gia?" he smirks. "or did you just want to see me that badly?"

[attr="class","giada"]

[attr="class","giada b"]

[attr="class","giada i"]her nose scrunches as he slides into the booth beside her. proximity -- no, alcohol -- makes her feel a little fuzzy.

"why would you have to hope for that?"

is having fun not an easy thing to do? she knows drinking is.

speaking of, she makes quick work of the remaining sip in her glass before raising a hand to signal for another. he'll have to get his own.

"messy?"

she says it as if it's the worst thing in the world, as if it's offensive and she's a moment away from slapping him. she might be, really.

"i have no issue getting picked up, thank you very much."

she won't even touch upon the other question. it dies out suddenly, buried beneath a statement.

"you came pretty quickly."

caden maher

[attr="class","icon"]

"isn't that what everyone hopes for?"

[break][break] a good time. as of late, it's something that caden has sorely been missing.

[break][break] when she repeats the word back at him, like a little parrot, it draws a sharp laugh from him. descending upon them like glass shards, amused by her anger.

[break][break] "yes, messy."

[break][break] he arches a brow.

[break][break] "would you call that text you send me anything but?"

[break][break] as if the prove a point, one slender finger reaches to her phone screen, tapping it open. sure enough, her very messily-typoed scrawl stands there are damning evidence.

[break][break] "i'm surprised you saved my number."

[break][break] considering he'd all but ghosted her.

[attr="class","giada"]

[attr="class","giada b"]

[attr="class","giada i"]she goes pink in the cheeks.

well, pinker than the alcohol-induced flush that coats her face. it's not because he laughs at her in that sharp, grating sort of way. absolutely not.

"i don't even know what it said!"

as far as she's concerned, she didn't even send it.

he plans for that, however. with a single tap of his finger, her phone brightens and her own misdoings stare up at her. she blinks and lets out a soft, "tch".

"i should've blocked your number."

not like it'd matter anyway. it isn't like he texts her. it's more... to prevent her own dumb mistakes from occurring.

caden maher

[attr="class","icon"]

to be honest, caden did regret it a little bit. it wasn't like he had anything against gia. in fact, he almost kind of liked her.

[break][break] but she had come into his life at a bad time, and from the sounds of it, he had come into hers at one too.

[break][break] still, if there was one thing that caden liked — it was prying at things that he probably shouldn't.

[break][break] "why don't you, then?" he challenges, glinting beneath the light. smirking.

[break][break] "unless you think you'd regret it?"

[break][break] his expression is smug as he looks at her, a snapshot of the old caden, the one before THEO BECKETT beat it out of him.

[attr="class","giada"]

[attr="class","giada b"]

[attr="class","giada i"]would she regret it?

would it become one of those circumstances where later on in life, she'd look back on this and wish she didn't give up so easily? perhaps... but she only regrets a small list of things.

and while he might be an ass, he is not a name or event on her list. not yet, anyway.

"i wouldn't regret it."

it's half a challenge, mostly a truthful lie.

in this current moment, she would not regret it.

and when nights stretch into painfully long weeks and she's tired of being alone every moment of every day, perhaps then she'd begin to regret casting him away.

she decides, in a brief realization, that it wouldn't matter if she did.

"i'll do it right now, in fact."

and her hand reaches to pluck up her phone with an impulsive quickness.

caden maher

[attr="class","icon"]

caden arches a brow, but otherwise doesn't do much else to stop her.

[break][break] he'd learned from father once before.

[break][break] better to wait to strike a snake when they were mid-kill.

[break][break] "with me blocked, who would you text next?" he says, flashes his teeth. "your ex?"

[attr="class","giada"]

[attr="class","giada b"]

[attr="class","giada i"]"which one?"

the question comes quick, sharp, as if it's not his place to ask.

and she presses the block button a moment later. the rush of relieved satisfaction is, unfortunately, very short-lived. it becomes a small hollowness soon after...

for another one has bit the dust.

"what's it to you, anyway?"

it's not. she knows he doesn't care about who she is or what she does or who she texts. it's all just a game, isn't it?

caden maher

[attr="class","icon"]

he laughs.

[break][break] "there's more than one? tsk tsk, giada."

[break][break] not that it's in him to care. it's just entertaining the way she's curled around his finger. the way her reactions spark a fire in him.

[break][break] he shrugs.

[break][break] "nothing. just curious to see who'll pick you off the side of the road next."

[attr="class","giada"]

[attr="class","giada b"]

[attr="class","giada i"]she scowls.

her dating life is... not healthy, actually, but it's not that bad.

"yes, there's more than one."

the tone implies it's not his business to question her dating history. they're not even friends, really.

her arms cross over her chest, the movement a little sluggish.

"man, woman, serial killer... doesn't matter. it isn't really your business."

she, for one, hopes it's a nice guy or girl and not a serial killer. she'd hate to end up on the news for that reason instead of her charming personality.

caden maher

[attr="class","icon"]

more than one.

[break][break] not that he's surprised. women like giada morgan didn't just stick to one man. innocent women didn't sneak into people's homes and try to steal their belongings; and giada was far from innocent.

[break][break] "why did you call me then?"

[break]

[attr="class","giada"]

[attr="class","giada b"]

[attr="class","giada i"]isn’t that the question of the hour: why did she call him?

she doesn’t know. perhaps it had been a lapse in judgement or a sudden desire to not be left to her own devices.

the list of people she could, realistically, call has dwindled into extinction anyway.

”why’d you come?”

caden maher

[attr="class","icon"]

he shrugs.

[break][break] "was bored."

[break][break] but his interest of this conversation was dwindling quickly. there was no saying whether it'd last for much longer.