exposurc·:
the entire interaction had been so lighthearted, so mind-numbing. despite the fact that she knew aaron before the get-together that night, it felt like just two strangers who’d met at a party having a good time. maybe that was just some sick joke her mind was playing on her, her desperation for attention, validation, romance, finding it in the oddest places. like in her boyfriend’s best friend. it wasn’t that she’d never thought about him that way, again, her mind like to make things almost unbearable for her so she’d spent more time than she’d like to admit imagining fantasy futures with strangers on the subway, the brunet beside her was really no exception. that made her feel fucked up, a soft pit of nausea coating the bottom layer of her stomach. another twang of that wretched feeling as the words even left his lips. daphne smirked, snapping out of her mind a little bit as she excused her small lapse in active consciousness on the wary effects of the lingering alcohol. the blonde made haste to soothe her mind and body with the herb she’d rolled up, taking it from the homme with a wider gleam as she filled her lungs and blew out a rather large cloud of smoke. she felt more thankful than anything that she didn’t cough and instead took another baby hit before handing the joint back to aaron. “i accept your apology, but it’s still like that. suppose you did an alright job, pretty efficient,” she teased him back, grinning a bit to herself as she joined him in leaning back, angling her body to the corner of the sofa with one leg propped up, the face of her shin pressing against the side of the brunet’s leg. “i’m not sure how to answer that… i feel like i’ve been escaping to the city longer than i even realize, so i want to say… ‘city girl’ even though i resent those words. and really i did grow up just on the other side of town from you guys. from what johnathan tells me…” the femme cleared her throat, moving to the kitchen to grab them both a cold water bottle from the fridge before resuming her same spot, the subtle comfort of physical touch from the connection of their legs almost pitiful. “you hate the city or something?”
aaron was perceptive, which was probably why his job came so easily to him. he refused to think of it as tooting his own horn, but he highly doubted many people could actually do a good job of being a private investigator. her eyes glazed over when her mind ran, her pink lips pressing just slightly tighter than what could be considered at ease. it was an interesting shift to see, tucking it into a small folder in the back of his mind called ‘things about the girl he should know nothing about’-- it was a working title. he didn’t mention that he’d noticed the few second lapse, although he internally couldn’t help his inquisitive minds side thoughts trying to figure out what could of been on her mind. he took the joint from her fingertips, bringing it back to his lips and taking his time with each puff. deep exhale following both as he nodded along to her small explanation. everything she said made sense, fit with the personality he saw poking through when she was around. “i want to believe you, but i notice pretty girls despite my best efforts. so i just can’t see how you lived in town and i didn’t notice you blondie.” he said with a shrug, passing the joint back to her once she was situated on the couch again. “don’t hate the city, just think its loud and full of really fucking annoying people. much better than our hometown though, i’ll give it that.” he answered, leaning his head back on the cushions and closing his eyes. he readjusted his shoulders, moving his arms around to get more comfortable and let it fall on his thigh, hand resting on the leg she had pressed into his thigh. aaron enjoyed the physical contact, and thought it was innocent enough. he didn’t even mention it, just shifting his thumb back and forth over the area as his mind took in the quiet of the previously buzzing location. “isn’t it always weird as hell after everyone leaves, like the silence is eerie because your ears are still ringing.” he said, opening his eyes and rolling his head over on the cushion to face and look at the woman next to him instead.













