‘‘Permanently, I think, is if you think of lettin’ your roots here. You can always leave, I suppose, but this is where your home is. Or well, becomes, in your case,’’ Aubrey shared, pointing out what she felt about it. But Lord, why was she not surprised he lived in a god damn penthouse? It felt almost surreal to Aubrey, what different lives they led– not that there was anything wrong with it but it was still incredibly surreal sometimes. With her studio apartment, that she couldn’t make feel like home no matter what homey accessories she put there– all the way to her family home in Masonboro, that had a white picket fence and everything else that came with it. Neither of those could’ve compared to what Scott had, given that he came from old money with an empire at his feet. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder if they were intrinsically different at all– as people. If they had the same desires, if they strove for the same things.
‘‘There’s a Tinder app for people lookin’ for jobs? Is that not LinkedIn?’‘ She wondered, a little confused by the notion. ‘‘Is it for datin’ or for job huntin’? I’m so confused,’‘ Aubrey admitted, shaking her head as she let another chuckle leave her chest. Clicking her tongue in a semblance of ‘I got ya!’ Aubrey beamed another smile in his direction. ‘’Don’t worry, it’s perfectly normal. Just means you’re also human. Scott. I promise it ain’t that bad,’’ She further joked. ‘’With the amount of times you’ve mentoned throwin’ you against the wall, Imma start thinkin’ you’re serious, y’know…’’ Trailing off, she couldn’t help the cheeky smile. Whether it was because she was so distracted by the notion of him crying on his pillow at home, or the fact that she was gloating in her own jokes, she somehow missed the fact that he’d grown closer and it wasn’t until he put a hand at the side of her neck that she’d come to her sense. ‘’Oh,’’ Aubrey let out in slight surprise, a little dumbfounded by the sudden switch in the atmosphere and the boldness of the move. ‘’I guess you are serious,’’ She deducted in a mere whisper, more to herself than to him. ‘’Tell you what– keep playin’ your cards right and you just might.’’ Of course, Aubrey couldn’t have possibly known if that was ever going to happen but for the time being, she enjoyed the playful banter. ‘’That being said… ‘’ She looked away for a moment. ‘’I think they wanna make a speech. We better head back.’’ Another smiled beamed in his direction.
“In this case──” he stopped as if he was thinking, before he leaned in to say, “still is a long ass way to go, Taylor.” It wasn’t that Scott wasn’t admitting to something, but rather that he didn’t have these ideas so rooted in. He was the type of person who could just pick his stuff one day and leave easily. He didn’t have emotional attachments to any place he had been and although there were places he liked better than others, the concept of home people spoken so highly about was foreigner to him. His idea of home wasn’t welcoming at all ── the Upper East Side penthouse was luxurious and ridiculously big, but it was incredible sterilized and staged to the point you could almost believe a happy perfect family lived there. Reality was far from it as his mother chugged in Dry Martinis until 1am before she passed out on the office futon, even after their divorce, waiting for Cedric to arrive, while the patriarch was doing business until late, drowning in work to avoid having a regular social life. Boarding school, although looked to be family-like, were still schools. Hotels rooms had the same sterilized, stage capacity that turned things so impersonal. The closest thing he could call home was when he acquired his own place in New York, but even there... It was just impersonal.
Scott’s home had always been a person, but she was gone, and he couldn’t find the same feeling anywhere.
"There is actually a type of Tinder for jobs, but I was messing with you. I just gave my friend the task── I don’t question her ways. Actually, I am smarter than to question any of these women close to me. If they can get this close to me, pretty sure they can make the devil do anything,” although he wasn’t actually comparing himself to the devil, the comparison didn’t escape him and could be fitting, depending on who asked. “Don’t worry── if you wan’t me now, you’ll have to work for it,” he joked, halfheartedly, after she realized he was serious. Scott was flirting, but not with such intent. It was just harmless fun. Knowing their quick past, he didn’t even think she would ever take him serious, but he also wouldn’t lie and didn’t say it didn’t cross his mind in the beginning. Things evolved so quickly though that he didn’t even had the chance to flirt. Although they were messing around, the door seemed open this time around. “I think I’ll go find my date, but you should go there── aren’t you helping the happy couple?” He said, standing the champagne glass towards the path to the newly weds. “See you around, Taylor.”
