BEAUTÉ FATALE.

“Hanging out,” He smirked, “I know how that goes,” He did some hanging out himself with Ferah, actually. “Do you think that professionally you should be stayin’ outta my business?” He thought he made that clear. They didn’t owe each other anything, “Why? Do you have a problem with her or something?” 

“you just told me five minutes ago that you didn’t mind that I was asking you questions and in your business but all of a sudden now you care.” She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth before shaking her head. “No, I don’t have a problem with her. It’s just dangerous.”

The males face falls, as he puts up his hands. Beginning to apologize. “I’m sorry about that, really. I don’t know why I thought—!” He stops himself from beginning to ramble, shaking his head. “Really, my bad,” he says, placing his hand on his chest and chuckling.

“Well… you’re here, do you have any favorites? Like a drink, perhaps?” He puts on more of a smirk.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said with a grin as she nudged the male before bitting her lower lip and looking over the menu. “Let’s go with a beer for now. Are you paying?” She questions with a tilt of her head.

//

Patrick lifted his gaze up towards the candles, chuckling lightly as he reached out without a single problem. “Are we talkin’ sea breeze or the cinnamon apple?” He turned his head to look back at her, tilting his head down so he could fully look at her. “Big boy, huh?” He shook his head as he grabbed one of each, holding them out towards her. 

-

She should have walked away the moment she’d seen him. However, she wanted her damn candle and he was just the right height to pluck it off the shelf. “Sea Breeze.” She quipped as she moved her hands over her hips. Her eyes rolled then, feeling a slight hint of anger rise in her chest but she knew better than to cause a scene in the store. “You’re a big boy. It’s only facts.” The brunette said as she reached for the candle she wanted. Just as he was to pull away, she plucked the other as well. “Don’t let it go to your head, babe. You won’t fit in your car.”

☨

Times like these were times that he was glad that he was an…over-thinker you never know what could possibly happen and this just proved his point. Granted in the time where he purchased all the car shenanigans, it was in case he broke down but it’s still the same thing. The other was in need of help, he couldn’t bring himself to just keep driving when she flagged him down and was in need of some help. Paying for a tow truck as well as the labor…it can get a bit pricey.  Getting her tire off, he huffed a small laugh and moved the flat tire over to the side. “It’s not a problem, besides makes me feel balanced to actually help people.” Being a lawyer…helping people, actually helping those who deserve it, you rarely get cases like that. So, yeah helping the other…it made him feel less of an asshole. “Then I should apologize for taking so long.” He lightly joked before grabbing his spare tire and started to secure it onto her car. 

Overall it took about 6 minutes to get it on and another few minutes to ensure that it was secured. After-all, he wasn’t going to go through all the trouble to replace the tire just to have it fall off again. “Alright - you…are all set.” He said standing up and wishing he had a towel to wipe his hands off with. “I’m Preston, just by the way. I would shake your hand but…” He said as he help up his hands with stains of black covering most of his hands.

The brunette was glad that someone had stopped to help her. With the way the sky was turning dark, she was afraid she’d either get stuck in a downpour or nightfall would come. It was one thing being out here alone, but a completely different one to be out here alone during the dark. Plus, he was most definitely saving her wallet. 

“Does it? You don’t normally help people out?” She asked with a raise of her brow, curious to know what he did for a living then. If she had to guess, he was a politician or something like that. If only by the way his hands appeared to be softer than those of a man who worked with his hands. “I’m patient.” She winked at him as she watched his expert hands at work. 

“Wow, that was fast.” She actually had thought she could have been able to do it on her own as she looked at his hands work. Well, she needed a tire first. But still, it seemed pretty straight forward apart from the lifting of the car and ensuring everything was tight enough it wouldn’t pop off on the highway. “Ivanna,” she said as she waved off his words. “I don’t mind getting a bit dirty.” Leaning forward, she extended her hand to take his.

Pressing mildly on the edge of the auto brakes, Quinn about found herself rolling past. Given it would be more lenient to just merely drive away as if she hadn’t taken note of the brunette woman in distress it seemed she had a nagging for tension. Thus was why she found herself slowing anyways, disregarding the nagging sentiment in her chest as she reduced the vehicle to a stop and finally exited from the drivers side door. “Shit place to get stuck,” She calls out, drawing her gaze up towards the other. “–want a lift?”

Ivanna couldn’t help but sigh. Somehow it either felt that Quinn came looking for her or that whatever lurked above was simply trying to put her through hell. Peering down at her phone, she shoots a quick message in return to Jamie who’d indicated that he was on his way. “Tell me about it,” the brunette quips as she leans back against her car. “Jamie is on his way so I’m fine.” In truth, she would have preferred to be out here than locked in a car with Quinn. The cold weather was a better discomfort than a closed space with the other. “Thanks though.”

Unless he had a reason to go out at night, Donovan usually preferred to stay in. Even with his kids out, early on in the night… if he wasn’t meeting anyone, he didn’t see a point of going anywhere. However, he did enjoy meeting new people. It was just that sometimes after a long day, he really needed to sit back and recharge.

On this particular day, he had had the entire day off, for the first time in forever. It was weird, and kind of boring to say the least. So, wouldn’t it be the perfect day to go out and about.

“Do you know if they have any specials this week? On like—appetizers or anything?” He asks the closest person, assuming they were a worker.

@martinezivanna​

Ivanna recognized a cop, mainly because she’d seen this one around from time to time. She hated them and that was because they made her nervous. She’d done enough shit to put her in jail but she was keen on acting normal. Plus, it didn’t help that she’d already ordered. 

Returning from her way to the hospital, she paused when the male asked her a question. Mossy hues widened in a panic as she looked him over. “I eh... I’m sorry, I don’t work here.”

And thank fuck for that.

//

It was lucky that Peter was on his way into a shift rather than leaving it and trying not to leave Dakota to wrangle his daughter alone any longer when he spotted a car on the side of the road, assumedly broken down, and a woman waving down bypassers to boot. It was a concerning sight, given the crime rate in the city, and the fire Lieutenant wasted no time in pulling his truck up behind the stranded vehicle. “You need me to call a tow?” He asked, approaching slowly as not to startle her, happy he at least had a t-shirt with his station’s emblem emblazoned on the breast and back of it. It wasn’t any official identification, but he hoped it meant that she’d trust his intentions were good, not that she look the type who scared easy.

“Or take a look? If it’s something minor, I might be able to help but-” He paused as he spotted the deflated tire her car was sitting on. “You got a spare or a patch kit? If so, I can definitely help with that. Got a jack and an air compressor in my truck bed.” Peter explained with a kind smile.

Ivanna peered at the male when she heard the truck appear. Mossy hues lifted towards the handsome man who, much to her delight, was a fireman. Half of that delight was due to the fact that everyone loved a man in uniform but also because a flat tire would probably be a piece of cake for him. “A tow?” She echoed with a grimace as she looked down at the car. “I’m hoping to avoid that if at all possible. I’m missing the tools to change it.” She trailed off, pushing a strand of hair from her face. “Which means that if you have a jack and one of those tools to take off the lug nuts, I can figure it out with youtube.” Whether it would be safe to drive afterwards was the whole gamble. 

“I do have a spare and I have no idea what a patch kit is.” She laughed as she moved towards the back of her car, peaking her head towards him to beckon him forward. “I think all I really need is the Jack but you seem to know a lot more about it than I do.”

 @martinezivanna​

Patrick had been walking down the street, making a quick food run to the grocer. He figured he’d go home and surprise Amelia with dinner since he convinced Travis to close. He knew he was going to have to figure something out since Gabriel could barely stand. He turned down one of the aisles, noticing the woman almost instantly by the back of her head. “Great,” he muttered to himself as he walked towards her, noting that she was trying to reach for something. “Need a hand?”

Ivanna had managed to pushed some items out of the way in order to scale the metal shelves to hopefully grasp some sour candies she’d been craving as of late. “Jesus fuck, who does this?” she groaned in frustration. The voice reached her ears and stilled the brunette as she knew, deep down, who it belonged to. Stepping down, a sigh of annoyance slid out as she turned towards the male. As much as she wanted to say no, she wanted those candies more. “Those up there, big boy.”

⊰

“What are you—,” His words were cut short by the continued explanation as a look of confusion formed on his features. The male acknowledge his anger held no boundaries and it was a wise decision to avoid the female until it subsided. “I would stop while you are ahead,” A scoff came from Miguel while his head shook in disbelief that she would even think of comparing the two very different situations. “His situation with Birdie is far different than what you did,” A humorless laugh broke from the male as their conversation now turned into a platform for the women to air out her frustrations. “And I know damn well you know that,” Her close relationship to his close friend was no secret and it baffled him that she could so easily throw the sensitive situation under the bus. “I fucking hurt you,” His hands raised in clear frustration as the planned words released from his lips in an elevated echo. There was no simple apology that could be given for the selfish decision he made and yet he stood here with an explanation lingering in the back of his throat. “And I didn’t care about you?” Miguel could hear the anger slipping between his words as the impulsive side of his existence showed on her behalf in multiple scenarios. “I considered going after a fucking cop for you,” A cautious step was taken in her direction but a subconscious pull encouraged his pointed stride to remain halfway from her figure. He began to immediately shake his head with the misinterpretation of his words that now felt like an impulsive decision to appease what she sought for. “It was only you,” The outstretched pair of hands raised to rub the clear frustration in his features before the mention of the photos that acted as a catalyst in their demise. “She grabbed my face because I told her to leave,” He admitted to the female while he turned his sights as the hostile encounter still left a bitter taste in the back of his throat. There was no point in offering the formed explanation for his actions as her assumptions were set in stone without proper consideration. “You need to understand that me not telling you something I don’t trust you with isn’t lying,” His stare returned to the woman as a long moment was taken to observe the unrecognizable features that once occupied his thoughts. Miguel could feel his head tipping backwards as the entitlement lacing her words was the last way to approach the hurt she felt towards the recent news. “We didn’t tell anyone,” He knew the details of their reunion weren’t owed to the brunette and yet the words flowed from his mouth like an impatient tidal wave. The angle of his neck snapped back to her direction when the unexpected use of respect was used as ammunition in their confrontation. “You have to give respect to get it,” The male could feel his feet now turning towards the door that separated them from a narrowed alleyway and the reality of their once entangled situation. “That is why we would have never worked,” He pointed out her constant habit of predicting the meaning behind his actions before there was any creditable hint pointing her in the correct direction. “You have me all figured out” An idle nodding motion came from his head as his decision to see the female came with spine stiffening regret knowing there would be no settling outcome. “You didn’t even give me the fucking chance,” Miguel felt his figure abruptly turn back in her direction as the sound of his voice echoed against the brick buildings aligning their position. “So move on,” The blunt statement was given as all expression dropped from his features with his steps working back towards the metal door. “Walk away if it doesn’t feel good,” A hand reached for the rounded handle before a final look was taken over a shoulder at the brunette while his pace halted in motion. Their trip to the unknown pool flashed through his vision despite the repression that shoved the memory behind an heightened wall. His sights returned to the metal door as it began to swing open to reveal a vacant hallway into the crowded establishment. “It’s that simple,” 

Exhaustion had set in. Ivanna was tired. The emotions that had crashed inside of her for the last two months as she witnessed, heard, and felt had finally worn her down. It was evident since the very beginning of this conversation that they would not come to a conclusion. She would not reach the closure that she felt she deserved. “You never asked,” she told him with a shrug of her shoulder. “You took the words of everyone but me.” She hadn’t told the male about her rendez-vous with Patrick, nor had he asked her but it seemed that perhaps his conclusion had been made. It didn’t matter, therefore she let the entire situation fall. The next set of words only managed to tear her down more. She agreed, perhaps he had cared once upon a time. Ivanna would readily agree with that but it was the next slew of words that made the brunette halt to speak. Give respect to earn it? As far as she had known, she had given nothing but love and respect to the male. Her actions had been wrong and she would be the first to accept that notion as she’d gone to Garrett in the hope of protecting Miguel. However, none of her actions were done with anything other than pure love and respect for the male. All she wanted was a thought. A singular action that would have warned her and prevented further pain. However, it was the next set of words that made her visibly wince. It was why it would never work? Her fault. She nodded her head and cleared her throat. While an abundance of words came to the forefront of her mind, she remained quiet. Nothing would change. She would not get her closure or apology. He would not suddenly become anything other than he was nor would he attempt to see it her way. Miguel wouldn’t magically care. At least, that was how she felt. Evidently, he felt otherwise. A humourless laugh escaped full lips at the bluntness of the words that left his lips. Move on. Had she done so? Again, the answer wouldn’t matter much in their current situation. Hurt flashed across her features as she pushed herself off her wall. “I will.” She said softly, slowly moving to her car door. She took his moves to the establishment as the end of their conversation. Dark hues flicked towards him as a shaky exhale escaped her lips. “Lesson learned.” That was all she could take from this. She’d heed the warning signs next time and jumped before being discarded. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. Have a good night, Miguel.” 

“I certainly do try” He laughed lightly as his friend entered the car, he told the taxi cab to take them back to where he picked him up. When the cab started to move, and she asked how to repay him he shook his head, “Nothing, I’ve been a pretty shit friend recently.” He announced information that was already known. “I’ve been a little pre-occupied..” He wasn’t sure if Miguel would want him sharing their plan, though truthfully, he felt he could firstly, trust Ivanna and secondly, he didn’t want to lie to her. 

“Well, you’re great at it.” She said as she pressed a kiss to his cheek. Leaning back, the brunette folded a leg over the other and sighed contently. At least she wasn’t stuck in the cold anymore and she felt safer than she had in the last three hours besides Jamie. At the mention of how shitty of a friend he’d been, she shook her head. “Of course not, babe. I know you’ve been busy.” She said softly, placing a hand upon his forearm to squeeze it tenderly. “Is... whatever you’re doing working out well?” She knew he’d mentioned a bit of it at the Masquerade ball with some girl he was trying to fool.

As Ivanna suddenly appeared, her attention caught the other by surprise and he hesitated. Jack choosing to seize the other’s moment of hesitation was quick to stride forward and grapple the males arm, before twisting hard in one swift moment. An action which sent the weapon falling from the others grip as he continued to twist the others arm behind his back while his free arm reached around to hold him in a bind. “You ought to be real careful pulling moves like that, wouldn’t want my friend here to have to use her pretty new toy now would we?” And with that he shoved the other forward, angling himself between the male, the weapon now behind him and Ivanna. The other didn’t hesitate to throw a few threats followed by a racial slur or two before he took his leave. Turning to face Ivanna Jack couldn’t help but raise a brow as he looked from her to the weapon in her hand. “Please fucking tell me you know how to use that thing?”

☨

Once the other moved off the car and exposed the flat tire, he was slightly glad that it was just the tire considering the little to nothing he knew about cars. He knew enough if he ever got in trouble and obviously how to change a tire but not enough to go elbows deep in an engine and know everything he was doing. Looking over her tires, he nodded his head a little. “I actually might.” He looked over towards the other and offered her a smile, Preston always carried a spare on him just because you simply never know what could happen. This incident only proved that point. 

Walking towards the truck of his car he shrugged his jacket off and threw it in his back seat along with his groceries. Under the panel of his truck he had a tire spare and a compact trolley jack, grabbing them he walked back towards her car. “Should be able to get you out of here in a few minutes.” He greeted as he kneeled down and started to work on her flat tire. 

Ivanna peered back at the male as she leaned against the front of her car. She’d been a little weary about being out here on her own without anyone else. Finally, someone had found her and she was glad that he didn’t appear like some kind of serial killer. Then again, who knew what those looked like nowadays. 

“You’re a life saver.” She said with a sigh as she watched him go back to his car. 

A brow rose when he pulled off his jacket, not feeling any shame when she looked him over as she searched through his car. When he returned, she couldn’t help but smile thankfully. “You’re honestly the best thing that’s happened to me today. I should buy you a coffee or a drink after this because you have no idea how long I’ve been stuck by the side of the road.”

☨

On a good day it was only an hour drive to Stamford, CT from New York and luckily Preston was able to leave early enough to beat the traffic. It was just causal grocery shopping but there were a few things he could only get in Stamford that he couldn’t in NY. Plus he finished up one of his cases only last week and was taking a small break from the one he recently picked up. Coming back it was still early enough to beat the traffic coming into New York but his attention soon fell on a woman flagging him down. Driving over to the side and in front of her, he hopped out of his jeep and moved over to where the other was. 

“What happened with your car?” He asked as he looked over the car. 

Ivanna let her gaze settle on the male inside of the car that came to an half on the side of the road. She felt safer then she would have expected, releasing the butt of the gun and hiding it once more. Especially as cars passed by and saw the two individuals on the side of the road together. Waiting for him to make his way towards her, she pushed herself off of the car and side stepped as to make the flat wheel visible. “I caught a nail. It happened a few months ago and I failed to get a new emergency tire so I’m kind of stuck here.” 

“Unless you have an emergency tire that might fit?”

Getting Ivanna’s text made him chuckle, he shook his head and then called a cab once he left his apartment building. As the car began to pull up to the brunette,he poked his head out of the window and smiled. “Well aren’t you a damsel in distress.” He teased, as the cab came to a stop. “Come on, hop in. We’ll get someone to pick it up later.” He added, before scooting to the other side allowing her to get in the car. 

Ivanna couldn’t help but grin when it was Jamie’s handsome face that appeared out of the window. “I thought I’d never be so happy to see that face.” Ivanna said with a wink as she pushed herself off of the car and moved to his. Opening the side door, she hoped it and let out a sigh as she melted into the back seat. “My personal prince charming, how will I ever repay you?” She quipped with a raise of her brow. 

Piece of shit car. She’d just dropped over a grand to fix the many problems her car had. With a trip out of town planned, she expected that it would hold up better now that the mechanic had given her the all go. What she hadn’t accounted for was the fucking nail in the road that had given her a slow leak which she only noticed because someone had flagged her down. Now, she sat on the edge of the car waiting for someone to come help after she’d sent out a text to her entire contact list. Lifting dark hues as a car approached, an hand extended to flag them down while the other disappeared around her back to pull her shirt away from the gun that was tucked into her back. One could never be too careful.

Dakota’s attention, as of late, had been everywhere except on the world around her. In her mind, she had a massive list of things she needed to take care of for both work and her real life. It was the strangest thing to have a routine, something ordinary, for the brunette. She had never known something stable, so the change in pace had taken her some time to get used to. One of the few things about her that hadn’t changed, though, was how distracted she could get on her phone, mostly while she walked the NYC streets. It wasn’t until she felt herself collide with another, causing her to stumble back for a brief second before being saved by the same person she had just bumped into.“Woah.” Her earthy brown hues met the pair of jade gemstones searching her gaze, taking her breath away for a moment. “You have amazing eyes; you know that?” She asked before addressing the concern from the other women, “I’m alright. If anything, I need to stop letting myself get so caught up with my phone. Are you alright?”

Ivanna gasped slightly at the impact, steadying them both. It didn’t help that the brunette immediately made a sound that caught her off guard and for a moment, she believed something was on her face. “Jesus, you scared me.” She flushed as she slowly let go of the other and stepped back from the brunette. “Thank you,” she smiled softly. “I like yours a lot, too.” Ivanna had always loved brown eyes despite people feeling otherwise. “I’m the same way. These damn devices.” She teased as she placed hers in her back pocket. Pushing a strand of hair from her face, she stepped back and looked over at the brunette. “I’m fine. No harm, no foul.” Peering around, she lifted her eyes to see where the coffee shop was. “I was just headed in here for a coffee. Would you like to join? It’s the least I can do for ramming into you like a freigh train.”