"Why do you have to give me £1500 a week, though? That's an extreme amount of money for someone like me to be getting for being in a relationship where I'm happy."
"Because that's the way I've always done things." A silence falls between us. I'm not calm anymore; his words are hitting home now, just like he's done with his other matches.
"I thought I was different from the other times. I thought you wanted to do things differently with me because you felt different with me," I remind him as I let go of his hand. His gaze seems to soften as he catches on to where my mind is headed.
"No, you are. It's just... it's hard for me to break routine sometimes." I can't look up at him; his voice suddenly sounds so sad and defeated, and I don't want to see if his facial expressions match. Instead, I stare at the floor; the toe of Rhodes's dress shoes pointed at my toes with chipped blue nail polish on the tips. So much for not fighting, so much for being calm, so much for being out of the woods.
I shrug my shoulders as another heavy silence falls between us. "I didn't mean to upset you. I just don't like the way it makes me feel when I get paid for being with you. And I thought that if you knew it made me uncomfortable, you would want to help." God, I sound so pathetic; I wish I could slap myself for sounding so sad and desperate.
"Fuck, I do. Hey, come on, look at me." His warm hand makes contact with my chin as he tilts it upwards towards him. "You are different from anyone else I've been with in the best kind of way. If it's really making you that uncomfortable, then let's come to some kind of compromise." I can't help the soft smile that spreads across my face; he's always a businessman, always making deals. I can see his shoulders drop slightly as he takes in my smile, releasing the tension he probably held there.
"Okay, fine then, what's your offer, Mr. Whitlock?" I ask him with a lighter tone. Maybe I won't be able to get rid of the money altogether, but a decrease would ease my mind. Our relationship is a series of baby steps, but I feel like eventually we will get there. One day there will be no payments or contracts; just got to hold out for it.
Rhodes dips his head down slightly and puts his hands on my hips. "I'll stop the weekly payments if you still take the monthly stipend."