By night, Crimson Lane was ghostly and grim, lined with blazing red lights. Empty, save the furtive men and women who skulked in and out the brothel doors.
But by morning, the street had lost its sinister edge, the lurking shadows disappeared. The silence transformed into the rumble of buses, revving car engines, and a steady stream of horns blaring from different directions.
Kylo held the door open as he waited for Rey. She dashed out, tripping over the frame.
"Got your phone?" He asked.
"Yeah," she answered breathlessly.
She would never confess it to him, but she'd bolted at lightning speed into Snoke's office. The chance of being caught in that seedy space with her boss made her stomach churn.
"I tried not to keep you waiting."
"Right." He said with a hint of a frown. "Freaks you out, does he?"
"Oh, I—" You have no idea. "Maybe." She added with a nervous look to the brothel interior.
He nodded, lips tight, those irked micro-expressions firing in little clusters around his face.
It was fascinating, she'd never met someone who wore so many of his emotions blatently on his features. It must be hard, she thought, to be on show for the world like that.
That was one thing at least, Rey could do well, bury the truth.
"What about you? You work pretty closely with Snoke."
"I do what I have to do," he said, sounding tired. "Come on, the car's parked up this way."
They walked along the street side by side. It was strange to be going anywhere with him. Wasn't it only yesterday she had kneed him in the alley behind the restaurant? And last night she had been on her hands and knees giving him head, baring her teeth. And then, minutes ago, she'd pressed her hand to his chest and held her breath as she the rapid beating of his heart drummed beneath her fingertips.
What was happening to her?
He was like fire on water: calescent, erratic, dangerous. And yet, what lay under it all in the dark and unseen? She was achingly curious, a moth to the flame. It would consume her if she wasn't careful.
She glanced at him, but her eyes stayed, mesmerised. His body swayed and jolted with that odd clambering gait. On one hand, it made him look tall and awkward, but on the other, there was this rushed, determination to it, like a beast on heat, and it was—oh dear God, was it sexy?
What was happening to her? This was not a good idea.
Not a good idea, Rey!
"What are you looking at?"
She blushed. "Nothing."
"Why are you staring at me?"
"You—ugh. You don't pull any punches, do you?"
"I don't see the point."
Rey shook her head with a scoff. "If you must know, I was looking at the way you walk."
"What about it?"
Rey took a deep breath and exhaled. "It's a bit ape-like."
"You think I walk like an ape?"
"Well, an evolved one, but the genetic markers are there."
He stared at her, bewildered.
"Sorry, but you did ask."
Where was this bloody car, in Africa?
He released a strained sound, almost like a laugh. Was it a laugh?
And now it was her turn to feel scrutinised. He was not subtle, fixing his eyes on her as she walked beside him; studious and unwavering. She sped up, but it didn't make a difference against his long strides.
Why are you looking at me? I'm nothing.
"You're not like most people," he said, almost sensing her question.
"Is that good or bad?"
He smiled. Silence.
They slowed their pace, now and then passing a secret glance to the other. Rey focused on the little details of the street to take her mind off him: pieces of gum and cigarette butts pummeled into the ground, bins overflowing with pamphlets that someone had tossed instead of distributing, and then there was that morning Mustafar smell, a grimy fry-up of pollution, exhaust and stale rubbish.
And it wasn't working. What in God's name had possessed her to tell him everything back in their room, everything!? She'd never shared her past with anyone. Well, there was Maz. But she would never pass it on.
And how had he known? Had he really found out all he needed to know about her on the internet? That was a terrifying prospect. Even if she dug her way out of this hole, would it always continue to haunt her? In some dark seedy place on the web, waiting to be exposed to the world, blackmailed or worse?
"What's wrong?" Kylo tilted his head, watching her, troubled.
"Nothing."
"Rey?" Since when had he said her name like that, strained, yearning.
"How did you find out all that stuff about me?"
"Does it matter?" He looked straight ahead, stone-faced.
She stopped. "It matters to me."
Kylo turned back to face her. "No one will ever know, Rey. I can promise you that."
"No, you can't."
He walked to her, face a mixture of apprehension and focus.
Why did he presume that he had any power over her past or her future? He was just a client. A random guy she'd been paired up with. There was nothing else to it…
But then, there was something in that dogged stride, an air of one who commands, the bleak darkness of his eyes … it tugged at her.
You know more than you're telling me.
You know who is after me.
It was a crazy thought, but the way he advanced on her made her edge back, struck by how tall, dark and imposing he was. She imagined he could be fearsome if he needed to be, terrifying even, like … like …
Doubt crept over his face as he saw her expression and Kylo paused from whatever he had fixed his mind on doing.
They looked at each other awkwardly, noticing that something had passed between them, but neither willing to speak it.
Rey forced a smile. "So which car is yours?"
The answer was two sharp beeps and a flash of bright orange lights.
"An Upsillion, really?" she drawled,and shook her head. "Why am I not surprised?"
"It's leased," he said, defensively.
"It would want to be with that price tag."
The sleek black sports car was low to the ground, with mirror-like mag wheels, shiny spoiler and tinted windows. Rey knew a little about cars, Unkar Plutt had been a car enthusiast, and with nothing else to read, she resorted to flicking through his collection of car magazines. Not to mention the many hours he forced her into the scrap heap removing and preparing parts for sale.
The Upsillion model, the most recent addition to the First Order Fleet, was a turbocharged, 6000 rpm roadster worth well over a hundred grand. Perfect for racing or fleeing foreign spies with machine guns, pointless for city driving.
She folded her arms, making a point of rolling her eyes at his excess.
"You're welcome to walk." Kylo teased before going towards the Upsillion with long strides that forced Rey to do a little run beside him.
"Don't get me wrong, it's a sexy car, just impractical."
"You might not find it impractical when I'm getting your arse to work on time." He walked over to the passenger door and opened it for her, waiting. "In or out, Rey? I have things to do."
She slipped in without another word. The red and black leather was cold and unyielding as she sunk into the chiselled car seat, pulling the belt across her waist.
Kylo peered down at her, enjoying the sight of her shifting restlessly in the chair.
"Comfortable?" he asked, the hint of a smirk buried beneath his otherwise innocent expression.
"No."
"Too bad."
He closed the door, the sounds of the street traffic muffled into near silence as Rey shifted in her seat, the sound of leather creaking beneath her. As Kylo walked around to the driver's side, she stole a smile at the way his tall, hulking figure cut a striking image from her vantage point.
She sensed his disappointment at her reaction to his car. In her mind, guys only bought cars like this for validation, dominance and to get laid, or all of the above, and he was obviously sorted in the "getting laid" department. But it made her wonder, how much of his steel-faced resolve was a facade; what was it really hiding?
The door to the driver's seat opened and Kylo squeezed his huge body into the tiny space. It reminded her of those stupid memes, where cats squeeze into places like vases and bottles. Rey snuffled a laugh. Even though he had pushed the chair back as far as it would go, he was simply too big for a car like this.
She looked at the time and sighed. "Bugger, I'm going to be late."
"No, you won't." He turned the key, revved the engine, and with the eyes of a devil said, "hang on, sweetheart."
Rey raised her eyebrows. "Sweetheart? What are you, my boyfriend now?"
Kylo grinned, running his hand through his hair, and then sped up.
She grabbed hold of the edge of her seat. "Holy shit, Kylo!"
The Upsillion careened out of the parking spot, as Kylo negotiated the gears, coaxing the most speed and agility as he could.
His driving style was … aggressive. He charged in front of cars, accelerating to the next before sweeping into an adjacent lane and repeating it all over again. It would have terrified her, had the car not felt like a natural extension of his conscious. There was chaos and turbulence, but underneath it all, meticulous control. He never breaked too hard or miscalculated a gear shift, every moment calculated down to the microsecond.
He was a racer, or he'd grown up around racers, serious enough to lease an Upsillion but sensible not to waste over a hundred grand to buy a new one. There, she had unearthed a single kernel of information about him. She tucked it away close to her heart.
He wasn't joking when he promised to get their fast.
Sweetheart
She watched the mosaic of colours and sights roll by. The further they got towards the region of Coruscant, the more the sky dulled into muted shades of grey, a bleak cover without the threat of rain. She put the window down, letting the billowing breeze toy with her hair and closed her eyes and as the fresh chill of morning cooled her reddened cheeks. She rested her head back and exhaled with a smile.
He braked sharply and she jumped as they came in fast behind a small blue and white Volkswagen beetle.
"Sorry," he mumbled, ears pink, quickly looking away from her. "I miscalculated."
"That's okay" She rubbed her arm across her chest. Had he been watching her?
From that point he kept his gaze on the road ahead, and so did Rey.
But she was only human.
And the way his hand rode the gear stick was more than a little distracting, each shift forced the evolution of new muscles she hadn't noticed before, firm tendons shifting under his pale star-speckled skin. The raised veins, snaking up his arm, disappearing beneath the rolled-up sleeve of his shirt and—
"What's wrong?" he asked and Rey jumped, realising she'd been staring at the muscles in his arm for far longer than was appropriate.
She stumbled out the first thing that came to mind. "You drive a manual."
"Clearly."
Smart arse. Granted, it wasn't her smartest observation, but she needed an excuse for staring at him.
"Why do you drive a manual?" She asked.
"They don't make cars like this with automatic transmission."
"I know," she answered, her voice shrill. Since when did her voice sound like that? Why the hell was he making her so flustered? She'd seen the guy naked more than not.
It's not like she was attracted to him. He was striking, in a hulking, dark, mysterious, troubled, shy, kind of way.
But being with him, out in the "real" world, in his space, it was blurring the lines somehow.
"In answer to your question, I like the control of a manual." As if to prove a point, he glided into an adjacent lane between at small gap of cars and then straight into another.
She laughed and Kylo glowered at her.
"What do you drive then?"
"That would be nothing."
Kylo turned to her, uncomfortable. "I'm sor—"
"But what I would drive," she continued, amused. She was so used to having nothing, it wasn't a point of embarrassment for her. "Is a YT Model Corellian Falcon."
Ben snorted. "That's a piece of junk!"
"And what would you know about it?"
He smiled at her knowingly. He seemed to enjoy getting her riled.
"I bet you've only driven your sleek sports-car boy toys."
"My father had one." He pulled up at a red light, tapping the wheel impatiently with his thumbs. "He used to race it on the Kessel Run."
A Kessel Run, racer? Impressive, she thought.
"They're far more trouble than they're worth. He spent more time repairing it than driving it."
"Well, I bet it will last longer than your Upsillion, if you keep driving it like this."
They pulled up to the lights, and Rey used the pause to rifle through her bag for some makeup. Pulling down the visor mirror, she applied it, mouth open, eyes blinking.
The light changed to green, and the tyres squealed as Kylo did one of his signature g-force accelerations. Her head flung back against the seat, just avoiding smearing her mascara brushing across her cheeks.
"Can you at least keep it steady while I do this?" She snapped at him, ignoring his amused look.
"Why do you even bother with that rubbish? You look fine the way you are."
Rey's mouth went agape. "Was that … was that a compliment?"
"Don't get carried away," he said with a smirk.
"Wow. Perhaps there is a gentleman in there after all," she teased, and turned with a smile as he shot her a sarcastic look.
The grimy streets of Mustafar changed into tidy roads, with street-side cafes and outdoor sitting areas.
"So, what did you want to do tonight?" Rey wistfully watched the world go by.
"Oh, I don't know, read a book maybe, play a game of Risk."
"What?" Rey looked at him with surprise and noticed his saucy smile. Oh.
"What do you think I want to do?"
"Right," she said blushing. Of course he... Rey shifted in her seat, his gaze burned across her skin, lighting a hungry flame within her. Shecrossed her together as if to remind them she wasn't interested in him that way.
"That's a shame. I like Risk," she said with a teasing smile.
"Yeah, me too."
She met his eyes, bright now and cheek cracked with long dimples.
Rey glided her hand up over her heart, resting it there, as she considered how to word a question that had been pressing on her mind.
There wasn't really an easy way to ask it, so...
"You should probably tell me what you like."
He raised his eyebrows at her.
"You know, sexually, so I can incorporate it into my routine."
"You have a routine?"
She laughed. "Can you not make this any more awkward than it is?"
"Okay," he said, running his fingers through his hair again. "I like to be on top."
"No surprise there. So do I."
"You do?"
She smirked and turned away from him.
"Ah, you do."
"Either way is fine. I'm just teasing you," she said. "Seriously though, is there anything you'd like me to do to you?"
Kylo squeezed his lips together, as his grip tightened around the steering wheel, white knuckles pressing against the skin.
"Not particularly. You?"
"It doesn't matter what I like. You're the one paying…"
"But?"
She smiled. How did he know?
"But, I suppose you could say I liked what you did to me on the first night."
Kylo's eyes were acerbic. "I was an animal that night."
"Well, yes," she said, remembering how he prowled over her body, possessive and hungry. "But after that, you were… No-one has ever done that for me before."
"I can do it again if you want?"
"I—" The words were lost to her, and she remembered, the way he pressed her tight, like a spring coil urging for release. Her body reacted, a well of heat building, rushing blood to her cheeks… and other places.
"Um, I"
Kylo chuckled. "That look, right there." He pointed at her. "It's priceless."
She whacked him and he stifled a groan.
Up ahead, the rusted orange of the Taco-dana restaurant came into view.
"Well, this is me," she said and Kylo pulled up out front of the restaurant. "Thanks for the—-"
He'd gone. Rey looked around, not sure what was going on when she heard the gentle sound of her door latch released as he held the door open, waiting for her.
"Well, that's a first," she said, standing a little awkwardly. She grabbed her backpack as she got up but as she swung it on her shoulders, Kylo intercepted it and put it on his own back.
"You don't need to carry my bag," she muttered, unsure how to deal with someone else looking after her. It was weird, disconcerting somewhat, but also nice.
"I'll walk you in," he said.
She would have protested, but he had already marched ahead of her, those long strides getting the better of her once more.
It was two minutes before opening time, the restaurant surrounded by empty chairs and empty tables. Rey scanned the surroundings looking for her manager Edrison Peavey but he didn't appear to be here.
With a sigh of relief, she turned to Kylo who was standing with his hands in his pocket, shiny black shoes kicking at the terracotta tiles.
"Thanks for the lift."
"Yeah, no worries." He did a cross between a pout and a pucker, one of those funny little face mannerisms she had noticed him do from time to time. Dropping his eyes to the ground as he worked at uprooting a small weed bursting between the tiles.
Rey waited. Expecting him to go.
"So, I guess I'll see you this evening then?" she asked, her attempt to fill the awkward silence.
"I'll be late tonight. Don't wait up."
"Sure, well, make sure you wake me when you get in."
He nodded and didn't leave.
Rey swallowed, scouring the surroundings, wondering if they were alone or whether Jess or Peavey would jump out at any minute.
"Well, I gotta—" she thumbed back to the coffee machine.
"Yeah, right, sure."
She nodded with a thin-lipped smile, and with a wave, walked back behind the counter.
Once there, She set down the floor mat and rustled in the cupboards, pulling out a fresh bag of coffee beans. When she stood up again to open the bag, he was still standing in the middle of the courtyard, eyeing the exit but obviously hadn't made his mind to leave yet.
Rey busied herself behind the counter, focusing on the job at hand with unnatural concentration, from the edges her vision she glanced Kylo walked towards her.
She gulped, staring. What was he going to do? Rey clutched her hands to the base of the counter.
He came opposite her, bending his head to meet her gaze.
"Actually." He swallowed.
"Can I get a coffee?"
"Oh," Rey answered in surprise, and then returned to her usual perky waiter voice. "Sure. Do you want an espresso, double espresso, short macchiato, long macchiato, ristretto, long black, latte or cappuccino?"
Kylo stared at her. "They all sound good. Just give me whatever."
Rey gave him a wide smile. There was something about daytime Kylo that was rather endearing.
"I'll make you my special." She winked.
Rey made the coffee as he stood by and watched, glancing up at him from time to time. And there he was still, lips parted, gazing down at her like … God, she wouldn't dare say what it was like, but her heart beat a little faster and she became even more clumsy and self-conscious.
She finished and shaped the textured chocolate powder into a swirling pattern, crafting it like an artist adding their final brushes to a piece of work.
"A heart?"
"It's all I know how to do," Rey giggled, sliding the cup towards him.
"Thanks." Kylo fumbled around in his pocket, pulling out some coins and sliding them across the steel counter.
She gathered them up. "My treat. It's the least I can do."
She held her palm out to him to return the money, and he stilled. He reached towards her, cupping his hand over her own. The pads of his fingers ghosted over hers. Her heart jolted at the contact and saw the same shock had gone through him.
"Ugh, I had the worst hook up last night this guy—-"
Rey and Kylo both froze as Jess trundled up beside them. Rey snatched her hand away, released from the weight of his gaze and the tendernous of his touch.
"Oh. Hello again," Jess beamed. "What brings you back here?"
Kylo stammered for a moment until he said "coffee".
"Tell me she hasn't given you her special, has she?"
"There's nothing wrong with it," Rey snapped, passing the cup to Kylo. Since when had Jess become the most annoying person on the planet? "Here, try it."
Kylo took it in his hands, his dark eyes darting between them. "I'm sure it's fine."
"Try it," Rey insisted, she had meant to sound inviting, but it sounded like an order.
"Yes, try it!" Jess pushed the cofffee into his hands.
Kylo brought the cup to his lips and took a sip, almost as soon as it touched his mouth he grimaced, and stifled a cough.
"It's good," he said with a strained expression.
"Yeah, it looks like you're really enjoying it," Jess laughed, and Rey kicked her under the table, not quite aiming to maim but at least give her the idea of immediate pain and peril.
"She puts about 10 tablespoons of sugar in it, you've probably got six cavities from that single sip."
Rey glared at her. "Are you done? Don't you have work to do?"
Jess ignored her, leaning over the counter.
"So…" she said, stirring the sugar pot. "How long have you two been dating then?"
"We're not," Rey said and at the same time Kylo volunteered "since Tuesday"
"Ah huh," Jess drawled. "I'll let you both debate on that point. while I unlock the front doors."
With a wink at Rey, Jess left.
"Since Tuesday!?" Rey hissed.
"Well, I don't know what you're telling people. Somehow I doubt it's that I'm paying to sleep with you."
"Shh." Rey snapped her head over in Jess' direction. She hadn't heard.
"Or not sleep with you, as the case may be," he muttered, under his breath.
Rey glared at him again, as Jess returned, flicking her hair like she was acting in a shampoo commercial.
"Figured it out yet?" Jess asked.
"Tuesday," Rey conceded.
"I've got to go," Kylo said as he fixed the lid on his coffee. "I'll see you tonight, Rey."
"Oh, aren't you even going to give her a goodbye kiss?" Jess pouted. "Don't hold back on my account."
That was it. Jess was trying to murder her with humiliation. Rey was about to snap at her when Kylo took a step towards her, those burnt-umber eyes dropping to meet hers. Rey gave him a minuscule shake of her head.
Surely, he wouldn't, just because Jess had said …
But there he was, in her space, towering over her, leaning. Rey felt like she was spiralling on the downhill of a roller coaster, and then his hands cupped her upper arms, she tilted her face to him.
She was close now, she studied his face as he came closer, small collections of moles like clusters of stars, above his eyebrow, on his right cheek. Even as his head reached down to her, he kept his eyes open, always looking into hers, there were speckles of golden amber and forest green hidden within their darkness. She'd never noticed the lighter colours before, clear and brilliant in the dappled sunlight.
Her gaze fell to his lips, full and wide, coming together, coming for her. His breath caught in her chest and she felt his lips touch her temple, warm and soft, a gentle but sustained kiss above her eyebrow. Rey closed her eyes, savouring the touch of his lips against her skin, the smell of his shampoo, hints of citrus and grapefruit, and the way his hands were large, encasing her arm.
It wasn't enough. She wanted more.
She reached around his waist but in an instant, the kiss was over and he stepped away.
"Bye Rey," he mumbled, before turning on his heels and leaving her to stand there alone, wanting to steal the kiss back.
"You sly bitch, I can't believe you didn't tell me!"
She hadn't even notice dJess had come up beside her, shouldering her.
"Honestly, there's nothing to tell."
"Yes, I can see that," Jess smiled. "Nothing to tell at all."
—
Whether it was the sobering clouds looming above, or some other unknown reason, the Taco-dano restaurant remained quiet. Jess and Rey leaned idly against the coffee counter, polishing cutlery and rolling serviettes when Peavey marched up to them, lips pursed, glowering.
"I don't need you both on today. Which one of you wants to take a long lunch."
"I need the money," Jess piped up before Rey could get in a word in. "I'm getting foils done this weekend."
"I need the money or someone will break my kneecaps," Rey wanted to say, but instead she sighed and said "fine. I'll go."
"Thanks, Rey!" Jess purred. "You're the best."
Rey nodded, grabbing her backpack and wandering out into the street. She wasn't ready to go home, she had no money to go shopping, so she walked, and walked, and walked.
Lost in the crowd, beneath the shadows of Coruscant's skyscrapers, she had meandered all the way to the central building district. The world rushed past, bumping and jostling, heads down, on their phones, racing to lunch, rushing to work. Lines of workers dispersed through the crowded Coruscant Mall like an ants nest before the rain.
She passed a couple, sitting on a bench, hands intertwined, eyes bright, toothy grins, little laughs, gentle touches. The man was tall, fair-skinned, dark-haired, almost like Kylo but his face was lighter, there wasn't the weight or haughtiness of Kylo's expression. It lacked his depth, the promise of untold mysterious, shadows of darkness, glimmers of light.
Rey pushed a curl behind her ear, the one that had a tendency to fall across her temple, Kylo had moved it with a whisper touch before he had kissed her. Not that she was dwelling on it, but if this random couple were throwing themselves at each other in the street, she could hardly not think about her own kiss.
It might be nice, she supposed, to have someone touch her like that, to hold her hand, to share private moments in busy streets … play board games, read books.
Rey shook her head, wondering when she had turned into a such a sap. She moved through the throngs of people, listening to the clip-clop of women's heels in a tailored business suits, the sounds of men on their phones, laughing in baritone guffaws. She watched the ground as she walked, noting the way her scuffed up second-hand flats, looked out of place among the many polished, leather, brand names. The throng pushed her along, like a piece of debris carried by a raging river. She didn't mind, there was something comforting about being lost in a crowd of strangers. That was until …
"Rey!"
Rey turned back, a wall of foreign faces met her. She was sure she had heard …
"Peanut!" the voice came again. She got on her tippy-toes searching for the source when she noticed a dark-haired, dark-skinned man ploughing through the flow of people.
"Finn!" She shot her hand up waving frantically. They rushed to each other, and Finn caught her, taking her lean body in his arms and wrapping around her in a bear hug.
"What are you doing here? I haven't seen you since uni?" his words came out in a rush, all white teeth, plump lips and excited dark eyes.
"I had a break from work." She beamed, not quite believing her best friend had just materialised. "I've missed you so much since uni. What have you been up to?"
Finn puffed his chest. "I've got a job at the Hosnian Herald."
The corner's Rey's mouth faltered a moment before beaming at Finn, resting her hands on his corduroy jacket and smiling endearingly.
"That's great news, Finn. I knew you would make it."
"Excuse me!" A woman sneered at them, darting around them.
"Here, come this way, I'm just meeting up with my editor." Finn pulled her out of the crowd, dragging her behind him.
He had made it. He had finished his degree, gotten a job with the most prestigious newspaper in the city. He had done all the things she had wanted to do before her past had caught up with her.
The day she quit university to pay off her debt hit her like a sledgehammer. Perhaps she could come back one day. Her dream wasn't gone, just delayed, indefinitely. As much as she tried to believe she would get past this too, she had cried in the university bathroom, and in the library, behind the cafeteria, and beneath the grandstand of the sports field until Finn had found her. Promising everything would be okay.
She would find a way.
Somehow.
And yet here she was, still running, still hiding from the darkness that pursued her.
Finn cradled her hand, pulling her to an emptier part of the street, she felt what she had missed out on more than ever. It wasn't a sentiment she tried to dwell on, but sometimes it betrayed her: it wasn't fair.
"It's so good to see you, Peanut. Have you kept up your writing?"
"Not really," Rey shrugged. "I'm working at a restaurant on the outskirts of town."
Finn flashed a sallow smile at her. "Are you happy?"
"Of course I am." She buried the truth beneath the lie and was thankful when Finn bought it.
"You need to meet my editor, Rey. He's a legend. We're working on a huge undercover crime-boss story — oh, look! Here he is."
Finn waved a hand around in the air. "Poe, over here!"
Poe. She rubbed her chin, ruminating on the word. Poe, Poe, Poe. Where had she heard—-
Crap!
Brown jacket, wavy dark hair streaked with silver, a shadow of stubble pricked at his jaw. When he saw Rey, he looked like he'd just stumbled upon a winning lotto ticket.
Rey dashed her eyes between Finn and Poe. How could this be happening? Finn was the last person she would ever want to know about what she was doing.
Finn slapped a hand on Rey's shoulder, making her jump and almost drop her phone at the same time.
"Poe, this is my good pal, Rey. We studied journalism at university together. This girl—" he pointed to Rey, jabbing her in the arm as he spoke, "—is an absolute natural."
Rey laughed weakly at Finn's boasting, feeling like the world was washing her away, or wishing that it was.
"Rey, is it?" Poe grinned, reaching a strong hand out towards her. "I'm Poe Dameron. Have we met?"
"I—I don't think so," Rey muttered.
She reached for his hand, it felt firm with writing callouses and blue biro marks near the tips of his fingers. He gave Rey a single shake, almost pulling her off balance, his eyes twinkling with a knowing expression.
Finn beamed between both of them, with a waiting childish enthusiasm, as though the two great influencers of his life had come together. Poe sucked on his bottom lip, looking back and forth between her and Finn, brows furrowed, formulating.
Rey felt a sense of dread overcome her. Poe Dameron had proven himself to be bullishly persistent.
"You know what, Finn? I forgot my dictaphone. Do you think you could duck back to the office to get it?"
Damn it. Perhaps she could use this an excuse to leave. Fake a phone call, illness, feign a heart attack, she certainly felt like one was coming.
"Oh," Finn stammered, looking to Rey. "Oh, yeah, yeah, sure thing."
Rey glared at her friend, the whites of her eyes showing and a strained smile which in body language said please don't leave me here with him.
"Don't worry about your friend." Poe gave Rey a friendly pat on the shoulder. "I'll shout her a coffee while you're gone."
"You promise you won't run away? I've just found you after all these months and I need a proper catch-up."
"Oh, Rey's not going anywhere. I'm sure we'll find something to talk about." Poe squeezed her shoulder, and Rey glued a fake smile on her face for Finn's Benefit.
"How about it Rey? Let's get to know each other."
My lovely readers. To all the wonderful people who left comments (my life), kudos, subs and bookmarks, I thank you so thoroughly. I read them like they're crack. Not that I've ever tried crack, but it gives you a idea of what I mean.
Now please bear with me as I'm finishing this up at 5 am, I'm literally falling asleep as I post and I've left it too late for my betas to read it before publication... so...
***warning, warning, warning***
typo and terrible grammar alert.
With that said, I hope this chapter doesn't bore you to tears. Let me know what you think. It was time to stop torturing them for a bit - so I present you my version of 'near fluff'.
if you would like to come and say hello, I'm on tumbler at Way of the Pathfinder . Yeah I know, BOOOOO Tumblr. I'm also on Twitter, however that works at Way of the Pathfinder .
And lastly, Merry Christmas to all my readers. I hope you all have happy, healthy and safe holidays.