Something's wrong, but she doesn't know what.

Glimmer hesitates at the door for some reason, a gut twist of discomfort for no reason tells her to stop at the last moment before opening the door. She ignores it and steps in, feeling the unease worsen. Porrtown, outside through the window, creeps in and greets her as the fireplace turns on at her entry. She looks around the rooms and checks all the corners to find that nothing is out of place.

She goes to the kitchenette and quickly prepares snacks for them, and fishes out a bottle of cherry wine before instructing the automated systems to play something festive. Something smooth plays, and she recognizes it as one of the dozens of timeless classics she’s heard in Neon Shroud. However, the version of “White Christmas” playing sounds better in this environment.

Cheese, crackers, meats– two glasses of dark cherry wine set aside. The fire crackled, and the mood remained high. She tapped her fingers on the countertop, her nails clacking like fire, removing the mute that was there for a breath. Though she still felt far from alone, she kept the rooms again, calling out Two-Trick. Bluffing with. “I know you’re here, so you might as well come and tell me what you want,” and “I told you David was a good guy.”

Without an answer, though. She figured this was different and didn’t like it. Sevens came to mind; there was no question he had means of advanced travel that didn’t prioritize comfort, but had quicker, more intense means at his disposal. Was he here? The thought made her feel sick. Scared even.

The door opening caused her to jump and stare wide-eyed at the figure coming in. It was David, and unlike before, the worries didn’t fade, and the fear remained. He held something in his hands, a bright box that was the size of a wine box. “What’s that?”

David came forward, eyeing the platter and glasses before setting it down on the counter. “I wanted to get you this,” he turned, and it was the nutcracker.

“Oh,” Glimmer stared at the box, remembering the last time her family got her something that was genuinely out of love. “David, it was… that’s too much.”

“You got me a room in one of the most luxurious hotels in the city, don’t tell me this was too much.”

Glimmer felt her eyes water at the notion, but contained the tears behind a veil of control. She opened the box and removed the nutcracker, the otters, the raccoons, and the bears. “This is a bribe to keep my mouth shut about you, isn’t it?” she teased.

David’s smile wavered as he leaned against the counter. “Do we have to talk about that now?”

Glimmer stared at the nutcracker, adoring the design. “If it upsets you, we don’t have to. But, if you have anything you want to ask me, please don’t hold back.”

“I have a million questions about you that would ruin this week, Glimmer,” David admitted in one breath. “I don’t want this to end because we’re rushing questions about things we’re not ready to talk about.”

“Just ask one you’re willing to ask.”

David sighs, looking over the platter of food. “Why me?”

Glimmer was still staring at the nutcracker, and she wondered the same thing. She didn’t know he was this kind, gentle, or friendly when she first met him. But, maybe she did? Hundreds of men had walked into her Pleasure Cube or whatever they were really called, and not one of them was like the man before her. Moreover, a variety of **** and even decent men walked in. And not one of them was like the man before…

“I don’t know,” she admitted, now meeting his gaze. “I don’t want what it was about you that drew me to this point of desperation. I just have it for you.”

She could tell he didn’t like the answer, even if he was smiling, and was quite plainly flattered to hear that it was just awkward virgin charm that somehow bagged her desire. Glimmer swallowed. “You’re cute, too. So that helps.”

He glanced down, and she shook her head. “Size doesn’t mean anything, David. It makes me... weak. This is more than physical desire. It’s not lust. I know lust. Trust me. And this…is not the sole reason why I’m head over heels.”

Finally, a more confident smile. He grabs a cracker, and then some cheese, and then some meat. He eats it with one bite and drinks a sip of wine, which causes his face to twist slightly.

“Ask me something,” David said. “Just one.”

“What do you do for work?” Glimmer set the nutcracker down, brushing his beard.

“Arms dealer,” he says flatly. “I go to the mega corporations and get them to buy tech from the firm I work with. Demon Production.”

Not the strangest, most dangerous job she’d heard. He looks the type, somehow, but also fails miserably at playing the part. He was clean-cut. And until that night, a virgin arms dealer that probably drew in millions of dollars in tight contracts for weapons, tech, armor, and whatever else.

He lifted the front of his shirt after removing his coat, flashing a handgun at his appendix. Beside it was an extra magazine. The pistol was cut and basic, nothing flashy or uniquely spooky about it. “Cool perk, I guess. A pass to carry anywhere and everywhere.”

“You didn’t have this last night,” Glimmer stated, confused, worried about the gun suddenly.

“I did not,” he said. “I was at a meeting with my partner at a tight location when we crossed paths.”

“Partner?” she hated how quick she was to notice that word.

“It’s a guy,” he said. “Don’t worry.”

Glimmer blushed and chuckled. “So, why are you **** to share that with me?”

“It’s not the job that worries me, Glimmer. It’s what– it’s my living situation.”

“Too much to pry about?”

“I got my folks living with me right now. My dad,” he sighed, and struggled. This was personal, and she could tell there was more than just living with dad.

“Is your dad ok?” She asked, feeling the thin ice beneath her crack at the question.

He shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about it, Glim. Not tonight.”

Glimmer reached out and brushed his wrist, unbuttoning his shirt. “I won’t ever judge you, baby. I have no platform to mock or think less of you. Thank you for tonight, it was all wonderful. The gift, too. You’re making me feel like a spoiled princess.”

David smiles, noticing how quickly she was to lighten the mood, his eyes staring deep into hers. He was as weak with her as she was with him. “Can you quit?”

The question stabbed her. “That’s a hard subject to talk about, too. So, how about we just not talk about that either?”

“I could get you a job with my company,” David countered, kissing her lips that now felt distant.

“David,” she sighed, pushing back, even though her lips wanted the connection. “Not tonight. Not this part.”

“Alright,” he drinks a little and licks his lips. His eye was twitching at the taste. “Not tonight.”

Glimmer smiles, hiding the panic that he almost expressed in tears behind a fractured gaze. “Are we fucking tonight?”

“We don’t have to,” David cupped her cheek. “You don’t have to do this with me. I love you without the sex.”

“Time concerns,” she quips, even without a timer, they didn’t have forever. “We shouldn’t waste a night without showing it.”

“There’s more than sex in a relationship,” he promises.

“So, the virgin knows all of this, how exactly?”

The tease is met with a frown. He strokes her cheek. “I just want to say I love you. That’s enough for me.”

Glimmer’s heart pounds, and she stammers. “We don’t have to, I know. But…”

David places his hands on her hips. “We don’t have to.”

“I love you, David,” she whispers. “The shit I have to deal with at Pink Heat… I want you inside me. Don’t be the one who makes me beg.”