ffs

Her brows drew together as Dario began his explanation before shooting up in shock. "Wait, like-" her stomach twisted as the realization set in. "And they still let him play? They don't- they don't do anything about it? They don't even say anything?" Now she was angry for an entirely different reason. Angry and nauseous and a little scared. She felt so stupid for getting so close to him and started running through her options. Maeve wrung her hands together, pacing back in forth in her small kitchen. She didn't do a lot of baneful magic. So far, she'd found that she liked using her power to empower others. If she had the ability to do something though, she had to.

Dario really didn't want to go into detail of it all. He might be a ladies man but he respected women and would never, ever dare or even think of doing things others do. Reality was scary and not everyone thought or did like he or his close friends did. "When you have the money and connections, you'd be surprised at how many things teams would close their eyes at and look the other way."he shrugged, it was really disgusting but life worked in weird ways and he got to see more of it as he went professional in hockey.

"Give me your phone." She held her hand out before even bothering to consider his offer for more than just dinner. Once he handed it over, she caught his hand to check his knuckles. Maeve knew how strong and durable he was. She'd watched Dario grow up. She'd seen him on the ice countless times. That didn't stop her from worrying about him though. It didn't stop her from flinching every time he took a hit during a game, even during practice. After finally deciding that she'd seen much worse on him, she released his hand and ordered their usuals from one of their regular spots before returning the phone.

Handing her the phone, Dario's brows furrowed together as she kept a firm hold on his hand. He could have easily pulled it back but he then realized she was checking the hand he had punched the guy the second time with, so he let her before letting it drop down to his lap once she released it. His dark gaze stayed onto her as she went through it, assuming she was ordering some of the foor they liked and once she gave it back, he placed it aside. The silence that fell between them made him feel a bit unsettled but he also didn't dare to break it. He could see by her gaze that she was thinking, so he let her and didn't disturb her for a moment until she finally decided to speak up.

"It's not just his team! It's-" Maeve took a deep breath when she felt the anger flaring again. She didn't want to fight with him. The night was already ruined. There was no reason to risk their friendship going down along with it. Losing her social and romantic life for a few months until someone else did something worth talking about was nothing in the face of losing him. She could have this conversation calmly. She had to. "Two guys didn't fight over me." She stated, her voice more even now. "One guy made a move on me, and another one came in and pretty much wrapped me in caution tape. There's a big, fat 'do not cross' right across my forehead now."

And she didn't understand why. She didn't know why he'd even been watching her. It had been a while since she'd needed to be dragged out to a party and had to stick to his side just to be comfortable. He could've been doing anything with anyone. She wasn't so naive to think that he was going to seek out her company instead of finding a girl to spend the night with. He had plenty of options, and she wasn't around to kill the mood anymore. There was no reason for him to have been paying any attention to her.

"Right, right, you get sexy battle scars, and I get thrown in a full body chastity belt. That's just great. You owe me way more than dinner." She grumbled, practically dragging him further from the house as she was eager to get out of there. Thankfully, her building wasn't far. It was only a few minutes before they were up in her apartment and she was digging through her freezer for the aforementioned broccoli. She wrapped it in a towel then offered it to him.

He could try and argue what she said, but it would only pull them deeper into the whole bickering and he didn't want that. Dario was aware how much he had already fucked up with punching that asshole, what he felt the worst about was how Maeve was perceiving it all and he thought her social and romantic life was going to be put on hold for a while now. And he wished he could tell her that's not true, because he really thought any guy would be lucky to be with her, but at the same time thought of her with someone else made his knuckles itch, with which he punched Jack. "I don't mind owing you. I always pay off my debt."he said with a shrug and a chuckle.

"Oh, you wouldn't dare." Thomas pointed a finger at her in warning as she jokingly threatened to take his beloved bike away in the event of a divorce. A divorce from a marriage that didn't even exist. They were seriously living in a fever dream, created by people who were doing their best to keep them safe and apart. He laughed wholeheartedly, knowing very well that she was right. His snoring could be horrendous on some nights, loud enough to wake even himself up.

"Of course we're friends. That's why I didn't say anything. It's not my place to tell you who you should and shouldn't hook up with. I don't have some claim to you." She said it easily, like it was something she'd been saying to herself for years. Because it was. Years ago, the crush she'd had on Dario had been unbearable. She wasn't the kind of girl he'd have looked at though, not then. If they hadn't forged a friendship before looks and crushes were really even a thing, she didn't think she'd even be on his radar for any reason. There had been plenty of time for her to accept that he was just her friend. She'd rather have him as a friend than nothing anyway.

Her tense shoulders fell when he apologized again. It was nice that he cared about her, not that she didn't already know that he did. Still, she didn't entirely believe that he didn't look at her and still see a version of her that she'd long since grown out of. That wasn't enough to get her to walk away from him though. "Are you kidding? I'm not going back in there. I think my social life is over for at least the entire summer after that. I doubt anyone will come within ten feet of me, much less kiss me." She tried to sound like it didn't matter, even offering him a little smile, but she couldn't entirely hide the disappointment she felt.

I don't have some claim on you. Well fuck, hearing her say that pulled at something in his chest, would he even punch that asshole if she didn't? And what if it was someone else, someone he didn't consider his enemy, would he still punch them like that? Or was this whole thing with Jack just a perfect excuse? "But we're friends, right? There's some sort of friends code, I wouldn't be mad if you told me something."Dario said, shrugging. Why did it matter to him now? He hooked up with so many girls before, a lot of which she was aware of, and he didn't care what she thought about it then, why does he care now?

"--- Or your social life is about to bloom because you had two guys fight over you. I mean, that's how people might spread the story."he said, trying to lighten up the situation as he could see she felt disappointed with the thought of no one wanting to approach her after tonight. "Don't be silly, any guy would be lucky to kiss you. Well, expect any from Jack's team because they know what's coming."he couldn't help but add with a short chuckle.

Normally her father would be correct in that statement. But Ethan doesn’t believe he’d be so easily swayed if he’d been in the other man’s position. But that was easy for Ethan to say. He’d always known wealth, money had never been a concern for him so he doesn’t know what it’s like to get such an offer. “And I promise to give you as little headaches as possible too. Tonight not withstanding.” He did feel a guilt seep into his heart. Not for his injured state, that couldn’t be helped in his line of work. But for the other activities he was getting up to that evening. Not only had he been fucking another woman, but her sister. While their marriage wasn’t built on a true love, it was still a marriage and for all intents and purposes, Ethan was having an affair. One that he didn’t know how to end. “That sounds agreeable. I don’t imagine I’m going to be able to move too much for the remainder of the evening. So once you’ve brought my something to change into and the pill, please feel free to take my room for the night.”

Letting out a soft hum, she could only wish he wouldn't bring her headaches, but with the whole criminal aspect behind their marriage, Winona had a feeling she would worry a lot of the time. "You're silly for thinking I'll be leaving you alone for the night when you're in no good shape."she mused. "The bed is big enough for both of us - and I still have some work to do, so i'll bring some files up here. I'll be right back."she gave his arm a gentle squeeze and got up. It took her a couple of minutes to go through his closet and, without snooping around much find him something clean to sleep in. Going downstairs, Winona grabbed some files from her home office and painkillers from the kitchen, along with a bottle of water before going back upstairs. "Here, take this first."she reached the bed and got a pill from the container before placing it in front of his lips to take. "I'll help you change if you're hurting too much to do on your own."