Aubrey's Playground

:73:

"Your city is beautiful, thank you." Lori said. She leaned back into Aubrey as he braced himself against the hood of his car, his legs parted allowing her room for comfort, his long arms wrapped heavily around her shoulders as his hands draped down her chest, he'd occasionally dip his head down to get a whiff of her hair and the perfume that lingered around her neck.

"It was a good idea. Thank you." he replied lowly his voice had deepened the later it got.

Lori stood silently staring at the opulent unfinished mansion and as private as he was he lived extremely gaudy, she had run herself speechless even though it had been well over an hour of him filling her in on details about the home, the good, the struggles, the setbacks he had to endure before they could even begin to draw up blueprints, her eyebrows arched and creased once she fully grasped the square footage and the price that Aubrey had no problem with paying. "Why do you need something this big? Honestly, no wife, no kids? You don't have a family of YOUR own. What's it for?" She asked genuinely.

"I gotta leave something behind." He vaguely but honestly replied as he looked at the view in front of him.

She turned her head to look at him. "You're definitely leaving something behind." She teased. "But this whole lowkey, 'I'm not as big as people think I am' routine you got going on isn't going to work with a house like this."

Aubrey's eyes widened, he smiled. "Wow, I've been finding out how people really feel about me all day." He said moving his right arm from her shoulder to her waistline, Lori chuckled as he pulled her as close as he physically could and dipped his head down into the crock of her neck, she laid her head back against his shoulder and continued glaring at the house that looked more like a hotel than anything else.

She quickly glanced at him out the corner of her eye. "You ok?" she asked knowingly then looked back at the house.

"Yeah."

"You're lying. Don't do that." she replied sternly but her voice still carried a neutral tone. Aubrey frowned as he scowled at her profile, he stood silently holding on to her from behind as he reminded himself this was officially a relationship, and she had every right to openly acquire about his mood changes without it leading into punishment. Lori waited patiently as she grabbed his hand into hers

"No. I'm not ok."

"I know, so what's wrong?"

"People that are important to me are questioning my sincerity, granted it's only because of my choice in women but it's still my integrity, it's still my word, and people are questioning THAT."

"That's your fault." she said boldly, Aubrey grimaced but did not reject her honesty.

"How?" he asked out of curiosity, one more person's opinion wouldn't hurt his result of blaming himself.

"People will naturally believe what you physically do over what you say, especially if it's done and said over multiple occasions, Aubrey you know that." she shrugged nonchalantly. "My father always used to say we don't trust people for two reasons, because you don't know them and because you do know them." Aubrey pressed his lips together and looked down. "Whoever these people are they are very important to you considering their judgment is bothering you. Whatever you did or have been doing to make them question you on your sincerity is your fault." Lori said as she looked forward, Aubrey clenched his jaw and remained silent, his frustration stemmed from his behavior and nothing else or no one else.