[Dea] After Dark

She reached over, rummaging in her bedside dresser, her body humming with the fading energy of their shared climax.  She grabbed the crumpled pack and the ancient zippo, flicking it with an experienced hand and lighting the wavering flame to the edge of her cigarette.  She inhaled deeply, sighing and closing her eyes as she exhaled.

Chocolate colored eyes ringed in gold watched her curiously, tracking her every move.  His voice was rough, his breath still returning to him as he murmured to her, "Smoker, eh?  Can I have one?"

Wordlessly she offered him the pack and the flame, watching the cherry red of his cigarette float as he rolled over onto his back with a content groan.  Smoke floated lazily up to the ceiling as he glanced at her, "That was...amazing, Dea..."

She nodded once and chuckled a bit, not looking at him, "Thanks."

Silence fell as he hesitated.  She knew that he was going to press the issue, but she hoped he'd be smart enough to wait for daylight.  She hated kicking them out in the dark...wasn't safe out there.

"So...uh...we should do this again sometime, maybe?  Maybe dinner and a movie first?"

The question hung heavy in the air and she could feel his eyes on her, hopefully and anxious.  She sighed softly and slid out of the bed, needing to put space between them.  She settled into the window sill, pressing her bare back against the dusty pain and shaking her head, "No."

He paused for a moment, parsing the simple word, lifting himself on one elbow and staring at her, "No?"

"Did I stutter?"

That long pause again, and she could hear the hurt in his voice.  She hated this part of the night.  Sometimes they got belligerant, sometimes they got upset, and they nearly always whined, "Why not?  Was it something I..."

She sighed and shook her head, "No, Landon.  It's nothing you did.  I just don't...do...relationships.  I don't do dates.  I don't do dinners and movies and flowers and romance.  This..." she gestured around the room with her cigarette at the sex tangled sheets, "This is what I do.  Because without this, I'd lose my fucking mind."

He watched her for a moment longer and nodded, sighing, "Ok then."  He swung his legs out of the bed, gathering up the clothes that were spread around her room.  She watched him impassively, standing quietly as she finished her smoke, cracking the window and flicking it expertly into the rain.

He nodded and gave her a quick smile, running his hand through his curly hair, "So, I'll see you at work this weekend, huh?"

She smiled and nodded, "Yeah.  I'll be there.  Have a good night, Landon.  Thanks...it was fun."

He paused again and then laughed a bit, nodding, "Yeah, it was.  Night, Dea."

With that, he was gone.  She leaned her head back against the window and sighed heavily, the pleasure still slowly surging through her veins.  She hated this part of the night.  It was hard to explain that she wanted the company and the physical presence, but that she just couldn't afford the emotional attachment.  Not again.

She glanced out the window, watching him run through the rain to the nearest subway station.  She thought for a moment she saw him pause and turn back, raising one hand in farewell.