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It was impossible to see how Maebe had reacted to that, as she'd firmly kept her back to him - but several silent seconds passed before she pressed one key repeatedly, and then turned off her phone.

She flipped her hair and turned her head back at him over her shoulder, then - and the smile on her face was perfectly friendly, and perfectly vacant.

"Right answer." She commended him, before continuing to walk forward.

Maebe knew - or she thought she did, anyway. She was so sure of herself, that there wasn't any other option as to why he and she were repelling each other like the same poles of a magnet. It was just common sense to her, but she decided she wasn't going to keep drilling it into his head. She'd told him, already.

Now, all he received was her typical avoidance sarcasm. "It's probably because you're so attracted to me."

The sound of leaves crunching underneath her heels was satisfying, and she made an effort to stomp them with each spirited step. She didn't react to his first comment, because she knew that already. His second comment had her pausing to let him catch up - and to level a completely emotionless, heavily lidded stare at.

Her eyes flickered from his face, to his body, and back to his face again. Then she turned back to walking.

"If I'd met you on the street." She mused, "No. If I'd met you and you were rich and giving me a place to stay, absolutely." Her steps slowed, but she refused to stop walking. She was on a roll now. "But Deus is a special situation, wouldn't you say? Normal rules tend not to apply here. Thank goodness we still see the same person when we look in the mirror, at least - otherwise I'd be lost."

She smiled, a secret smile that she wasn't aware of, and then it was gone.

"Look at all these leaves!" She bent down, picked up two giant handfuls, and threw them right at his face.

"Boys can have yeast infections?"

"That is so.. gross.." Maebe was trying as hard as she can not to think about what a yeast infection would be under the balls. Unfortunately, she was trying to not think about other things even harder.

"His name was Constantine, if you can believe it. No amputee status, though." Without meaning to, Taym had actually managed to name one of the men Maebe had forced herself to share a bed with in order to stay off the street. Or at least, he'd gotten close. "And he had a better disposition than you, so I guess it wasn't a compliment after all." She stared at him incredulously. "You've never hired a prostitute?"

"YOU don't be disgusting." Maebe's calm, sarcastic facade dropped and shattered like glass as she whirled on him, suddenly livid and uncharacteristically emotional. She shoved him hard, right on the chest, with both hands. "I am not disgusting. I am resourceful. I did what I had to do to survive, and I am not ashamed of it. I made sure those men were happy. I gave them just as much as I took. So get off your ******** high horse before I pull out Thaw and SKEWER you off of it."

A nerve might have been touched.

She blew off his advice as it was just as unwarranted as it was unwelcome at the moment. It was hard to care about anything other than the fact that Taym was trying to ruin the only thing Maebe had done right in her life. She'd made her choices, and she'd stuck by them proudly. She had no regrets.

She had no room for regrets.

She had no room for men reminding her that she should have had regrets.

"You think you're better than me." She hissed out, her voice breaking in the threat of tears. It was miraculous. And always within Taym's power to elicit. "You. You think you're better than me, because you chose to live on the streets instead of trading one pleasure for another. You are not better than me, Taym." Her voice shook, as she accidentally used his nickname, far too upset to sarcastically throw his name at him as she usually did. "You're nothing. You're just as low, just as .. as .. "

A shudder went through her, her only warning that she was about to burst into very painful tears. She took the warning, and chanced just one second to flip him off before storming back the way they came, as fast as her heels could carry her.

She didn't care if she got in trouble. She needed to get away from him as quickly as she could.

"LET ME GO you son of a b***h." She was wheeled around by the force of his tug, but as soon as she faced him she instinctively brought her other hand around and slapped him across the face.

And she did not regret it, once she realized what she'd done. There was no love lost in him. If he hated her even more for hitting him, for fighting back, then it was just another drop in the bucket.

She fought as hard as she could, trying to get his hands off of her - and very obviously refusing to get her work done, like he'd demanded.