[She's like a puppy, he concludes. If he tried to lose her in the crowd, could he? That's something for another day. He has to search for her, search her expression every so often it's like looking at the face of a wristwatch during a board meeting. She's giving him her full attention- he has to hold himself high and weave through the crowd and pretend he has a destination in mind.]
[And-- there's something to make a chill run down his spine.]
[She shocked it out of him, a quick huff and a wolfish grin. His left hand tightens over the bottleneck it holds but still, he's quick to correct his composure. The grin turns into a grimace not a second too soon, he rolls his eyes, shakes his head in simmering anguish.]
[Lex slows his strides, lets the implications wash over him, sober him up. And-- okay, no. He comes to a full stop. If kedan and others around them want to brush shoulders with the six foot tall obstruction, so be it. He won't budge. If he thought he could get away with grabbing hold of an arm of hers, he would. Hawk's eyes on her. She crossed a boundary, joke or not.]
What are you looking for in me, Hayley?
[Because look, the boy knows how to do his research too. This was a game he agreed to, he remembers. He won't back down, he'll just have to win it.]
Money?
[A silly, stupid girl, why else would she be trailing him around? That he doesn't have the excuse of his father's corporation here escapes him only momentarily. Then he continues, a flash of crafted worry crossing him. He even rocks back on his heels once, and he fights the urge to roll his shoulders. His lips are a thin line of serious concern. He grows hushed.]
Do you need help?
[The fact is, amusing or not (it isn't, he says to himself), any young girl will get herself in trouble with that talk. Drunk and taken advantage of-- leave that talk to grade school buddies if she must, to her hoard of girlfriends. But what a relief she found a friend in him. He won't think more of that joke than a good citizen should.]
no subject
[And-- there's something to make a chill run down his spine.]
[She shocked it out of him, a quick huff and a wolfish grin. His left hand tightens over the bottleneck it holds but still, he's quick to correct his composure. The grin turns into a grimace not a second too soon, he rolls his eyes, shakes his head in simmering anguish.]
[Lex slows his strides, lets the implications wash over him, sober him up. And-- okay, no. He comes to a full stop. If kedan and others around them want to brush shoulders with the six foot tall obstruction, so be it. He won't budge. If he thought he could get away with grabbing hold of an arm of hers, he would. Hawk's eyes on her. She crossed a boundary, joke or not.]
What are you looking for in me, Hayley?
[Because look, the boy knows how to do his research too. This was a game he agreed to, he remembers. He won't back down, he'll just have to win it.]
Money?
[A silly, stupid girl, why else would she be trailing him around? That he doesn't have the excuse of his father's corporation here escapes him only momentarily. Then he continues, a flash of crafted worry crossing him. He even rocks back on his heels once, and he fights the urge to roll his shoulders. His lips are a thin line of serious concern. He grows hushed.]
Do you need help?
[The fact is, amusing or not (it isn't, he says to himself), any young girl will get herself in trouble with that talk. Drunk and taken advantage of-- leave that talk to grade school buddies if she must, to her hoard of girlfriends. But what a relief she found a friend in him. He won't think more of that joke than a good citizen should.]