your touch brought forth an incandescent glow, tarnished but so grand
Flora clocks the shift the moment it happens—that soft thanks paired with a smile that doesn’t quite reach the eyes. She’s seen enough masks to know when one’s been slipped on, and while she doesn’t blame Caly for wearing it, it leaves something faintly hollow in Flora’s chest all the same. Maybe she thought her honesty would help more than it did. Maybe it just needs time to settle. After all, logic rarely changes the shape of a bruise, especially not when it lives somewhere tender.
Clearing her throat lightly, Flora tips back the last of her Sazerac and lets it burn down smooth. "Deliciously scandalous," she says with a grin, nodding at the glass in appreciation. Rather than pass it back, Flora rises and slips easily behind the bar—her body remembering the rhythm of this place like an old song—and gives the glass a quick rinse herself, careful not to drip on any of Nova’s still-glittering surfaces. When she’s done, she dries her hands on a towel, then reaches out to gently squeeze Caly’s shoulder.
"Let’s go for a swim sometime," she offers, warm and easy, not pushing for anything more than what the moment will allow. "Or maybe a shopping date." With a last glimmer of a smile, she slips back out from behind the bar, curls bouncing as she moves toward the door, her voice trailing over her shoulder like a tide retreating. "You know where to find me if you need anything."
~FIN
Clearing her throat lightly, Flora tips back the last of her Sazerac and lets it burn down smooth. "Deliciously scandalous," she says with a grin, nodding at the glass in appreciation. Rather than pass it back, Flora rises and slips easily behind the bar—her body remembering the rhythm of this place like an old song—and gives the glass a quick rinse herself, careful not to drip on any of Nova’s still-glittering surfaces. When she’s done, she dries her hands on a towel, then reaches out to gently squeeze Caly’s shoulder.
"Let’s go for a swim sometime," she offers, warm and easy, not pushing for anything more than what the moment will allow. "Or maybe a shopping date." With a last glimmer of a smile, she slips back out from behind the bar, curls bouncing as she moves toward the door, her voice trailing over her shoulder like a tide retreating. "You know where to find me if you need anything."
~FIN
