She does indeed sense his presence when he walks into the bar, and she says a silent prayer to whatever god listens to her kind, asking for Ronald to either vacate the premises or to pretend that he hasn’t noticed her. After all - he is the last person she wants to see right now, when she’s already feeling so uneasy, so paranoid, almost vulnerable.
But, unfortunately - she is not granted either of these reprieves, and Ronald takes a seat next to her, acting like they’re colleagues who actually get along with one another, rather than two coworkers whose personalities mesh as well as do oil and water.
“If this place isn’t classy enough for me, and you’re here anyway, are you perhaps admitting that it’s seedy enough for you?” she asks, not bothering to disguise the bitterness in her voice - she could always blame it on the alcohol, if he questions it, although she’s certain he’d know full well the real cause of it all.
“…Sorry,” she lies, not truly sorry at all, “I’m just not in the best spirits right now, and unfortunately, these spirits aren’t helping me.” She lazily swirls her glass, in case he hasn’t gotten the joke, before downing the rest of its contents, wishing the acrid burn of hard liquor could quench the fire of paranoia that’s been tainting her mind all evening.
“Truth is, I’m not quite in control of my tongue tonight, and that isn’t a mood befitting of a moreproper establishment. So, a ‘joint’ like this will have to do.”
She considers asking for a refill, since it’s what she wants, but that would make it seem as if she wants to drink with him - considers, too, asking for her check and leaving, but he might considerthat an acceptance of his offer to go on a pub crawl.
How distasteful, tonight is.
“I’m not really looking for recommendations, but I’m certain that if I do decide to leave, I could find another place easily enough. I have gone on a couple group outings since I was assigned here,” she says, finally, hoping that answer will be safe enough, non-committal enough.
It’s funny, really - he’s handsome, and if they hadn’t gotten off on the wrong foot so badly during their initial meetings, she m i g h t have considered entertaining him for the evening.
❝ Why bother goin’ all out when I’ve got no one to impress? Seems a bit pointless to go somewhere fancy when it’s just me. ❞
For once, Ronald was being pretty honest when he said that. While it was no secret that he liked to flaunt himself like a peacock, there were some luxuries that just weren’t meant to be experienced alone. He saved the more expensive nights out for when he planned on sharing his nights with some friends or whatever lady he’d managed to pick up, and for the rest of the time he was content to waste time in whatever place he passed by first.
The bitterness did not go completely unnoticed, though he couldn’t blame her for not finding much enjoyment in his company. He was far from pleasant at the best of times, more often than not using his reputation as a shield rather than attempting to improve on his less desirable personality traits, and it came as no great surprise that someone as polite as Dani didn’t vibe well with his cobbled-together mess of snarky personas and false bravado.
❝ Don’t worry about it. Might help raise those spirits of yours if you said what you wanted to. After all that’s happened, ‘s not like I could hold any remarks against ya. ❞
❝ I’d probably even deserve it, after all the shit I caused. ❞
By this point in the night, Ronald’s gotten enough cheap alcohol in his system not to mind when his voice comes out a little more regretful than he’d intended. Genuine apologies had always come as a struggle, his fear of becoming vulnerable always managing to outweigh whatever desire he had to fix his mistakes, and this stubborn refusal to be sorry had only worsened after he’d been reborn into this life of punishment.
Maybe there was something he should address there. Tonight, as always, would not be the night that happened.
He did want to apologise, to take even the smallest step towards undoing the harm he’d caused to someone who was supposed to be London’s guest, but instead all he said was:
❝ So, d’you want another drink, or what? I’ll pay. ❞
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