mastermind

"Maybe. I'm a little too attached to my tea shop though. Unhealthily so perhaps. Maybe taking some time away would be a good thing for exactly that reason." Though the idea of going alone wasn't exactly filling her with excitement. She was someone who enjoyed company. "Sleeping in would be a joy even if the after effects don't last all that long."

"Sleeping in every now and then is good for the soul. Even if sometimes I find it hard to not wake up before the sun and get productive immediately," she laughed lightly. "I understand being pretty much married to your job but I guess those people who say a balance is healthy aren't necessarily wrong. I do often feel refreshed after a holiday. I'm sure you could use one too."

Before he'd even had the opportunity to answer the question that Chloe had asked him, she had followed it up with a request that he couldn't help but feel was more of a demand than anything. He knew that wasn't the way it was but that slight stubborn streak he'd always held reared its head and made him stiffen somewhat. And then he registered the tone, and he forced himself not to jump the gun on his response. "I do. Flying is in my blood, as is competing. I'm not sure if that's something I'll ever be able to completely give up." He gave her honestly in return.

She watched him as he seemed to stiffen up, convinced his mind was running through a flurry of things in that moment. Chloé didn't want to risk pushing him away when it felt like she'd just gotten him back, but it was clear that this was a touchy topic. "Is... is there really no other way for you to continue to fly?" she finally asked after a moment of quiet between them. She couldn't expect Ezra to give up everything he loved but she just wished that he was doing it in an environment that didn't risk his health and wellbeing like this. "This can't be the only way, Ez. Think of your injuries."

"Well I suppose that would entirely depend on how far I pushed it and whether you looked amenable to my charms. I suppose if he thought it once though, it'd be a possibility again." Elijah gave with a shrug of his shoulders, knowing that Chloe had told him last time that her fiance had thought they had a thing going too. "I know though. And I adore you for it... in a completely platonic way, naturally."

"Yeah the poor guy. Since we weren't back together yet at that moment I have to say it was a little affirming to know he was jealous of me being with someone else, but I hope now he knows that he's got nothing to worry about," Chloé replied. "Naturally," she laughed. "But yes, please help yourself to my collection any time you'd like."

"You'd think so wouldn't you. But somehow people are very good at inciting headaches." He responded with a little laugh. "That's good though, a person should enjoy what they do if you ask me."

"Agreed. And so would my father. He's always been a big preacher of the whole 'if you do what you love you never work a day in your life' thing and it's probably why he did what he could to fund my interests," Chloé smiled softly at the thought. She was grateful to have a father like him. "Do you enjoy what you do?"

"And I suppose that is fair enough. I'm more of a water baby though. I've always loved the sea and sand, jumping off boats and things like that." She admitted, recalling the trips they'd taken in the past. "That sounds idyllic though right now. Especially with the weather we have in England. I need to take a trip somewhere hot and relaxing."

"If you can allow yourself to then you totally should," Chloé encouraged when the woman spoke about taking a trip someplace to change her surroundings with someplace sunnier. "I always feel like a new person after a holiday. It usually doesn't last longer than a few days as it goes hand-in-hand with the come-down from a fun getaway, but it's still a nice feeling even if shortlived."

Ezra didn't want to make Chloe upset or put her through a traumatic experience but he felt at this point it was easier to show her what he'd been taking part in for her to understand. When the race was done, He took hold of her hand tightly and led her away. There was no need to stick around longer than was necessary. She'd seen enough. She understood the main part. At her question, Ezra looked at her. "I think you know the answer to that." Whilst he wasn't forthcoming about what he got up to when he came here, he'd never lied to her. He simply refrained from giving her an answer. When it came to his appointments, she could see his schedule from where it had been pinned to the fridge with a magnet. "I don't go when I've been to something like this, injured or not." That would only bring up questions he wasn't at liberty to answer. He wasn't allowed to disclose information from these kinds of races. They were kept secret for a reason. "The Gossip Witches found our and I know they will be putting it out there. I wanted you to know first. From me."

"I appreciate you coming to me with this," she said softly. While she didn't love that it seemed to take a threat from the Gossip Witches to give him that initial push, it was better he came clean instead of continuing to hide it. Or let her find out from the anonymously-led rumor mill like he'd said. Chloé could still feel her body being all tensed up as they finally walked out, unable to shake images of what she'd witnessed. Not quite yet. "Are you still doing this?" Chloé finally turned and asked him once they were about a block away from the venue. "Ezra... please don't. You could injure yourself so much more," normally the woman was so composed, but her voice came out choked and frail. "It's so dangerous."

Despite how little Ezra was saying, the way he'd placed the woman in front of him, her back pressed up against his chest and his arms settled around her shoulders, it was clear he was keeping her protected against him. He didn't expect anything to happen but equally he wasn't about to take a chance. He remained silent as the crowds roared raucously around them, the sounds changing as different racers got in front. The sounds of excitement were just as loud, if not louder than the 'ooo's' as accidents happened, clearly that being as big a pull as the money aspect. It was obviously an anything goes situation out there. When it was over, he looked down at the blonde. "Now do you understand?" He asked quietly, wondering if she'd pieced it together yet.

As the race began, Chloé found herself wincing and falling back against Ezra every time one of the racers got injured. She even found herself squeezing her eyes shut a few times when things got intense. Hearing the cheers grow louder at moments like that made her stomach sink. "I– I do but I don't," she confirmed softly. She understood what was going on but the why... the why was something she was stuck on. Chloé's expression appeared blank as she tried to process what she had just watched and what it all meant. "I just– I," hate imagining you getting hurt up there, she thought to herself, unable to speak the words at this moment in time. "Ez, with your injury? When's the last time you went to a physio?"