perhaps if heather had stopped for a moment to think, she would’ve realized that making a favorite client of hers the main topic of conversation was the equivalent to throwing gasoline on a fire. jealousy was a common source of contention in their relationship, some of their worst fights arising from the toxic combination of insecurities and envy. their definitions of flirting had always been worlds apart, beau often insisting that what heather saw as simply being friendly was instead her being ready to crawl into bed with the first person that flashed her a smile.
she’d never given them a reason to question her fidelity. even when their relationship seemed to be hanging on by a thread, heather had never once strayed, despite their many accusations that said otherwise. she didn’t keep numbers that she earned at the shop or bar, shot down any and all advances before they could even truly begin. heather could be accused of being a lot of things, but in her book, unfaithful certainly wasn’t one of them.
but there was nothing that made her blood boil more than being accused of something that simply wasn’t true. especially when beau knew her past; knew that in her previous relationship she’d been cheated on and was all too familiar with that pain. heather winced at the feeling of strong fingers wrapped tightly around her arm. instinctively, she attempted to pull away from their grip, but instead found herself being jerked closer. heather stared up at beau, a flurry of fear, confusion, and anger flashing in her eyes all at once.
“i wasn’t flirting with anyone!” the brunette nearly shouted, an incredulous expression making its way onto her face. “where the fuck did you get that idea from?” heather asked, trying to wrestle out of their grasp. “i was just being fucking nice, beau! talking to people, making conversation, like normal people do. just because i show a shred of decency doesn’t mean i want to sleep with someone.” her tone was defensive, sharp features twisting into grimace. “christ. would you let go of me? you’re hurting me.”
in another circumstance, the mention of her client would’ve made heather laugh. “you’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” the woman scoffed, offended that beau would even dare to suggest that she’d do such a thing. “i’m not a goddamn prostitute! he’s just a client - a regular! i’ve spent hours tattooing the man, am i just supposed to not bring him up? besides, it’s not like you were exactly contributing to the conversation. what was i supposed to do? sit there in fucking silence? how was i supposed to know anything was wrong if you don’t talk to me?” she was practically yelling now, jaw clenched and spine rigid. “don’t do this, beau.” heather sighed, shaking her head. “don’t turn it into that. i never said you weren’t enough.”
beau groaned and they kept holding onto her. “i’m not. don’t whine.” they said but then let go anyway. they knew that they could hurt her if they got any angrier. “you were making conversation with anyone but me.” they told her as they stepped closer. “you were hugging everyone, touching them and i just stood there like a damn fool. you just ignored me. i was just someone you had brought along. that’s all i was tonight.” they spat.
“and will you just stop about that dude?! if you want a man, just say so. just say it. be fucking honest you would rather flirt with some tattooed asshole than with me.” they were seething and none of it was her fault. their insecurities and uncertainties were pushing them to be a complete asshole and they didn’t like themself. they hated when they got like this because they hurt her, sometimes physically even. it was like it was something that they weren’t in control of pushing them to be like this. “i didn’t want to be a part of your conversation. i didn’t know shit about the subjects, i was being ignored by my girlfriend and on top of that, everyone kept fucking misgendering me. that just shows me, you haven’t told them about who i am. that was fucking clear. i wasn’t talking because i felt awful and you didn’t give a shit.” they yelled and had the urge to push her, yet didn’t. “you haven’t touched me in weeks. you haven’t even made an attempt to and then you throw yourself at any available person in front of me and then i am paranoid for ‘turning it into that’? god, heather.” they growled, balling their first. “i feel like you don’t even love me and when i voice that, i get this?! i give you everything. i have since the beginning and this is what i get in return?”
