"So I like cats. What's wrong with that?" Serena asked in a huff.
Darien stared ahead of him instead of looking at the person he was speaking to. Serena, however, faced him with her full body. Her folded arms were tense and she was beginning to get rather upset with him.
"Nothing. I just thought you were more of a dog person." He finished his statement by taking a gulp of his coffee. Cats. Not dogs? Seriously?
"What makes someone a cat person then?" She asked trying to keep her temper in check. What, it's some secret club I'm now allowed in or something?
He swallowed his mouthful of his drink and sighed.
She narrowed her eyes and asked, "What? You always seem to have all the answers, Mr. Know-it-all. So answer the question."
He turned slightly towards her and peaked his raised his left eyebrow. "You really wanna know, Serena?"
"Yes. Yes, I do. Spill it, jerk." Oooh, he's gonna let me in on this top secret. Who does he think he is?!
"You're not quiet." He waited for the eruption his statement would cause. Here it comes.
Her eyes narrowed as she exclaimed her response. "So?! What's that gotta do with being a cat person? Do I have to be quiet like you? Or do I have to go all out and become a mute to own a cat? Only mimes can own cats in your world? Do I have to pretend to be in a box, too?" Her eyes narrowed and her shoulders grew tenser.
"It's not like that, Meatball head." He moved his coffee cup away from him and ran his hand through his hair. He turned fully towards her to give her his full attention.
"How's it like then?" Oh, I can't wait to hear this. Jerk.
Darien placed his hands on his thighs as he carefully deliberated of how to word his thoughts. How to say it. How to say it. "It's like this: Dog people tend to be really happy, excited, and overall loud—which is something dogs can respond to and vice versa with their owners. Cats tend to be annoyed with that; they want quiet owners and their owners want quiet pets. Pets and people just get along better that way. It works for other relationships, too. Get it?" He looked at her and watched her reaction.
"Hmm," was all Serena said to his explanation. She kept glaring at him though. It didn't seem to be a good sign. "No."
Darien's eyebrows rose and his face showed a clearly surprised look. "No, what?"
Serena turned her body to face the booth and looked away from him. "I don't agree with your reason. I love my cat and she loves me."
Darien kept staring at her. "I never said she didn't love you or you didn't love her, just—"
"Nope. There's no 'just.'" Darien sighed turned away from her. He resumed his original position, picked up his coffee mug and drank a sip. He shoved his cup aside as he felt he no longer had an appetite for his drink
"Something I said?" He asked her. Neither of them looked at each other. They both just stared at the space in front of them.
"I'm loud, but I can like quiet things," Serena said evenly. She didn't sigh or fidget with anything, so Darien knew she was serious.
"Didn't say you can't." He replied following along.
She slightly turned her head to him. He saw the movement from the side and turned his head by instinct. He saw her eyes trying to hide pain and her lips trembling.
"I can like quiet things a lot, Darien."
His eyes never left hers as he thought about what she just said. He picked up her right hand, never wavering his eyes from hers, and lifted her hand to his face. Ignoring her confused expression and the way her breath hitched at his actions, he gently cupped her smaller hand in his larger one and laid a kiss where her hand and wrist met.
She let out a sweet sigh and her eyes took hold a tender expression.
"I can like loud things a lot, Serena," he whispered.
