The Concept |r. blaney|

three: the exchange

After a long pep talk with Julia, Cadence was grasping her steering wheel while looking around. She'd gotten a text from Ryan only moments ago telling her he was here and yet there she sat-- car parked in the parking lot as she decided to rethink her choices. She was tempted to grab her phone and tell him there was a family emergency and that she couldn't make it but she'd have her best friend drop the hat off... 

She huffed, thumbs drumming on the steering wheel as her blue eyes moved to her phone in the enter console. She reached for it, unlocking it and clicking on Ryan's contact. Just as she began to come up with an excuse, eyes wandering-- she noticed him. 

He wore boots, the same ones that had left leather smudges on her black heels. His jeans were dark and secured by a large belt buckle. His shirt was a flannel that even from the distance across the pathway of the park, she could see was unbuttoned at the top to show a peek of skin.

She pursed her lips, eyes moving up to his face. He was leaning against a car, ankles crossed with his hands in his jean pockets. He was looking at his boots, lightly laughing to himself and shaking his head before looking up and around. She ducked, as if that wasn't the most obvious movement she could have made.

She rolled her eyes dramatically and groaned. She ditched her phone for the hat from the dash and pushed the door open. He hadn't noticed her yet, squinting off across the busy road beside them. 

She hoped that he wouldn't notice her and she could just throw the hat and run back to the safety of her car.

To make one thing clear, however... She wasn't scared of him. She wasn't worried he'd be of danger to her. The opposite, actually. Which, arguably spooked her even more.

He was an attractive guy. A smooth talker. He got her sad, drunk, lazy ass off a barstool and on the dance floor. He got her out of her house after locking the doors behind her and sulking on the couch for hours at a time. The closest thing to human interaction she'd gotten for months was whenever Julia would drop by to give her take out or to cook her a meal. Notably a kind gesture, but her cooking wasn't very appetizing. The most intimate she'd been was with Netflix shows.

A professional binger did she become.

She inhaled sharply before flashing a smile, waving the hat in the air as her heeled boots clacked against the sidewalk.  "Hey, stranger," She smiled, Ryan tearing his gaze from the antique shop that'd captured his attention. 

He immediately grinned, which was insaney welcoming and calming. "Hey." He grinned, eyes moving to the hat she handed out to him. "And hello to you," He joked, spinning it around as if to get a good look to ingrain it's every thread into his memory. "You're a goddess, Cadence." He popped his lips before pushing off the car. "Check out this rental, huh?"

Oh wonderful. One of the I name my car, call it female pronouns, and drool at the sight kind of guys. She offered a tight lipped smile, not knowing to how respond as he pulled the door open and set the hat on the driver's seat. 

She tucked her hair behind her ear, wondering if he was planning on hanging out or if she could leave and finish whatever season she'd just started.

"So," He spoke, shutting the door and turning back to her. He stuffed his hands into his jean pockets and looked around. "Wanna look in there?" He asked, nodding to the antique shop. "Have you ever been?"

"Uh, sure. We can." She nodded, glancing over at the store that didn't really interest her. She pursed her lips as he began to walk toward it, grinning excitedly. "I've never been though."

"How?" He snickered, combing his hand through his long brown curls. Cadence shrugged a shoulder with a light laugh.

"Looking at rusty things doesn't sound like fun. I'll probably get tetanus from walking in there." She joked and Ryan chuckled, glancing over at her then to the road they had to cross.