тнє тнιєƒ тнαт ѕтσℓє... ωєℓℓ, єνєяутнιηg

[~echo~]

Vanessa tensed as she looked around and then slowly slipped into an empty seat, her eyes darting around nervously.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Most of the patrons had turned to stare at them by then. Conner seemed perfectly at ease, though it was in part an act. Most of the guys here, everyone knew not to mess with. He was just having too much fun to worry about his own skin. "What do you want?" he asked her.

[~echo~]

She saw that a few of the men were staring at her and she sank lower in her seat. She stared up at Conner. "I don't... I don't want anything."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"Come on now," Conner said. "You need your strength if we're going to see the whole city, don't you?"

[~echo~]

Her eyes flew to him and she glared. "I know what you're doing," she whispered, barely audible. "And it isn't going to work. I will not be frightened off."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Conner raised his eyebrows. "Then order something." He smiled and waved a waitress over. "We'll start with waters and some nachos," he told her.

[~echo~]

She glared at him, and sank further down into her seat.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"Loaded?" the waitress asked.

"Uh, duh," Conner replied. The words sounded rude, but he smiled and the waitress smiled back. Then she walked off to get them their order.

[~echo~]

Vanessa was now avoiding Conner's gaze, staring resolutely in a different direction as she waited on the water. It came a bit later and she took a small sip.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Conner raised an eyebrow at her. "You know, if you're going to coerce me into towing you around the city, you could at least talk to me."

[~echo~]

She met his eyes and blinked. "Fine. What made you become a thief?"

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Conner gave her a coy smile. "Guess I was just always good at it."

[~echo~]

"So are you desperate or do you just do it for fun?" She said it rather bluntly.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

He snorted. "Desperate? No, sweetheart, I do it for the thrill."

[~echo~]

She gave a small snort and crossed her arms, taking a long drink from her water before finally speaking again. "The thrill? How can it be that thrilling?"

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Conner leaned toward her, until his face was inches away from hers, this wicked grin on his lips. "Imagine hanging outside a twentieth story window, wrapped in darkness, cars and lights and people far below you. You know you tripped the alarm when you climbed back out the window. Security is coming. And you're just dangling there, trying to get your rig to work, to pull you up, but it's not. You can hear voices out in the hallway, ready to break open the door you've blocked. Heart pounding, blood rushing with adrenaline, you climb up your line, hand over hand, feet sliding on the smooth glass windows of the building. Your muscles scream by the time you reach the top, but you don't care because you're heady with exhilaration, reveling in your triumph. That's thrilling." He held her gaze through the story, just waiting for her to grow too intimidated and look away. As he finished, his eyes were bright, his voice almost breathless as he spoke the last words.

[~echo~]

To her credit, Vanessa didn't flinch away, instead steeling herself against the intense stare of the man before her. She listened to his pitch on being a thief and then raised an eyebrow. "Well, you are certainly passionate about this, aren't you?" She took another sip of water, still meeting his eyes.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Conner's eyes narrowed but he never moved an inch. He liked pushing people, getting all up in their personal space. It made most uncomfortable; she seemed hardly fazed. "It's my life," he replied.

[~echo~]

She took another sip of water, still meeting his eyes as she did so. "A very interesting life, I'm sure."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"Like I said, thrilling." Her nonchalance was pissing him off. She was supposed to be intimidated. Hell, he was used to girls being attracted to him, but so far she hadn't give him one sideways look.