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Even Callie had to laugh at that. She had absolutely no idea what kind of persona Luca portrayed to everyone else who worked here, but she knew she got some kind of differential treatment. People didn't need to know why, though.
She tried her best not to smile, but she was never good at hiding how she felt.
"He's not a whole lot different. Not really. I mean, he's actually a lot more... Chill? Than he used to be." She explained. Considering the natural temperature of his skin, she had to laugh at that too, even if it was an accident. "But we were really close, so I guess I got to know him better than anyone else. My opinion is probably like totally biased."
Calliope Gallo
Why don't we just go get naked; let's not make it complicated
As her hand settled on naturally cool skin, Callie thought nothing of the temperature change. She'd spent more than enough time with him to grow used to that difference.
To know she still had a special connection with him after all that time was surprising. She'd been sure she shattered any and all relationship they could have together. She couldn't help but look surprised when he disagreed with that thought.
She smiled for him when he mentioned how difficult it was to not have such a heart to heart. "Well, it's been years. We're not gonna sit here snd talk about the Stagfort weather." They couldn't possibly land on square one with such a history.
"I mean, I totally didn't expect you to trust me at all."
Calliope Gallo
Why don't we just go get naked; let's not make it complicated
Callie looked at his hand as it hit the table. She felt that her instinct was to reach out towards it, even as he drew away slightly. There was heavy weight to his words and she knew that before she even bothered to open his mouth. He clearly wanted her to do more than just listen to what he had to say; she was supposed to take it all in.
She did reach out in the end, settling a hand on his own and offering it a light squeeze.
"Come on, Luca." She offered lightly. Almost delicately. It was hard not to make the assumption that he thought he was so unworthy of so many things. She took it to heart naturally. "I can't be the only person who makes you feel that way."
Calliope Gallo
Why don't we just go get naked; let's not make it complicated
Truthfully, it didn't feel good when anyone felt the need to leave her out of the description of their life. Callie was almost sure he looked a little embarrassed when she questioned him about it. To her, it didn't really make sense.
Until he kept talking, anyway. The idea of telling a new girlfriend about a past girlfriend didn't make all that much sense. At least, not if he wanted to make it work with her. It felt like he had a sound reason behind his decision, and she knew she couldn't really judge him for it.
"I mean, yeah, I guess that makes sense." She said finally. "Sorry, didn't mean to kinda grill you about it. It shouldn't really matter either way."
Calliope Gallo
Why don't we just go get naked; let's not make it complicated
"I'd listen to anyone talk about you. So long as they said nice things." Was there really so much negativity about Luca? Surely his sister's would give great insight to the kind of man he was outside of all this. That would be interesting, if nothing else.
His response didn't exactly make her feel better about the now humoured possibility of an ex's visit to Stagfort. Not that it really had anything to do with her, but it did get her wondering.
"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" Callie had to ask with a small laugh. Personally, she couldn't see herself feeling good about being a secret of his.
Calliope Gallo
Why don't we just go get naked; let's not make it complicated
As Callie listened on, she very quickly realised how little she'd done with her own life. Granted, she was still young, but it made her feel like waiting around Stagfort for whatever reason was just the wrong choice. Sticking to her comfort zone was so easy, though, and it was always a hard call to ignore.
The idea of a body failing her was another harsh truth that hit home. She frowned uncontrollably, mainly because she felt bad for her, and a little because she felt a familiar kind of fear. Still, she curled hands around her and eased her body forward.
"I saw it, yeah." It was funny how a little piece of paper could draw so many people in; "I didn't even know if I really wanted to go for a gig like this, so I just turned up to watch, really. But the guy who owns it is a guy I went to school with. He's pretty persuasive." That was one word to describe Luca. A safe word, at that.
Calliope Gallo
Why don't we just go get naked; let's not make it complicated
Jez was his youngest sister. That much Callie could easily remember. As he explained how she liked to speak on certain topics, a very real aspect of it seemed believable. It wasn't as if she'd missed the way he seemed to freeze. She supposed the only way they'd see each other is at the place she now worked. It mightn't have been a place for someone younger, but it was riddled with Ivaskovs, so it made sense.
"I mean, your brothers and sisters are always gonna wanna talk about you to whoever's listening." That wasn't exclusive to him at all. It was a sibling thing.
"It's nice of you to tell me, though Wouldn't want an ex=fiancé to show up out of the blue." Regardless of their relationship, that could surely make everything a little or a lot ore awkward.
Calliope Gallo
Why don't we just go get naked; let's not make it complicated
Despite his argument, Callie still sympathised with him anyway. Love was a beautiful, glorious entity that was often difficult to achieve for most. Trying to force it was incredibly damning. Having someone else try to force it was even worse. She couldn't imagine putting herself in that situation; that's how bad it was to her.
At the mention of his sisters, she tilted her head to the side in an obvious brand of curiosity. Not one to leave a person hanging if she could help it, she had to ask; "Why would they tell me something like that?" Not only was it his personal information and story to share, but who was she in his mind after all these years?
Calliope Gallo
Why don't we just go get naked; let's not make it complicated
Callie half expected her offer to be turned down. Then again, she knew nothing about the red headed woman who agreed to help her in the first place. She was happy to help.
Being physically close to someone who was an absolute bombshell was easily distracting for the young dancer who blatantly liked girls in every form. She caught the question but took a second or so before she managed an answer.
"Since I was a kid. But y'know, that was a lot of classical training sorta stuff." Nothing like this, but the bare bones of it all definitely helped in every category. "I had a job like this a couple of years ago, but the place closed down, so it's nice to get back into it. What about you? You're like, a master or something."
Calliope Gallo
Why don't we just go get naked; let's not make it complicated
Working for an ex-boyfriend might not have been ideal for most people, but Callie had to count herself incredibly lucky for it. There was no animosity between them at all. In fact, she found herself looking for him on days where she really should have been paying attention to the actual people around her.
She'd seen the woman with the bright red hair before, but never talked to her. She sort of just looked at her from a distance like she did most others. She didn't know how much older she was but given the way she looked Callie had to assume it wasn't by much. She was super nice to look at though; maybe that wasn't what she was supposed to focus on, but as she approached, that was all she could think of.
"Oh, I don't need to." She said quickly. Maybe a little too quickly. She laughed at that; "I'm Callie, and that wasn't me being a jerk, I promise. It's just a power thing."
Smooth landing, right? She hoped so. "I can help you though, if you want." Callie tried again, bright eyes beaming.
Calliope Gallo
Why don't we just go get naked; let's not make it complicated
Callie only laughed at the idea of trying to get rid of her. Considering she was pretty sure she almost never had her here in the first place, it was something she had to laugh at.
At the question, she felt her eyes fall to the blonde's foot.
"Fine." She said lightly, a knowing smile on her mouth as she stepped away from her. "I'm always up for it."
Calliope Gallo
Why don't we just go get naked; let's not make it complicated
Callie let her gaze linger on the person opposite her as she spoke. Sure, it probably was the point; there had never been a date between them and that might have greatly affected the way things progressed. Being in public definitely stifled the norm.
That wasn't a bad thing, though.
It didn't take her long to recognise the place she was talking about. "Yeah, sure. I'll be there." She replied quickly. She was hardly going to let his opportunity slip by because she was dragging on what to say.
"You don't have to stay here now, though, if you don't want to." After all, she clearly looked like she had somewhere to be.
Calliope Gallo
Why don't we just go get naked; let's not make it complicated
Surprise was definitely the first and foremost emotion Callie could feel. A very real part of her also felt bad for him, but she wasn't sure she wanted to express that just yet. She didn't know how he felt about it; obviously he didn't come back here married, so he got out of it somehow. It wasn't the time to judge him for something he probably had nothing to do with in the first place, but she was surprised he'd actually followed along with it in the slightest.
He was making light of it, and she had to appreciate the fact that he was trying. He even managed to pull a slight smile from her face, endearing as his attempt was.
"I'm so sorry that happened to you." She said instead, because at the end of the day, her skewed vision of love had no force behind it, "I can't imagine someone putting a person in front of me and telling me to love them." She couldn't even imagine trying to force herself to love someone she didn't.
Calliope Gallo
Why don't we just go get naked; let's not make it complicated
Callie fought hard to keep her mouth shut when he started talking like he'd abandoned his siblings. She sincerely hoped that they wouldn't think of him in such a way. In her own experience, he was too in his head and that was a huge assumption.
Curiosity clouded her again when he mentioned something awful that he wanted to tell her. Considering all the things he'd been through, she almost didn't want to know what he considered awful. When he did tell her, it definitely wasn't what she was expecting. Then again, she didn't know what to expect.
"That's..." She dragged the single word out as she thought quickly; "Next level."
