As Cleo walks down the busy London street, her head is down, eyes locked on her phone. She doesn't look where she's going, and thus accidentally bumps into someone on the street. Cleo apologizes profusely, but then comes to a complete stop as she recognizes the person standing before her.

" Tanya?"

" Cleo?"

The two women lock eyes and share a laugh at the coincidence.

" How've you been?" Cleo asks.

" Good, actually," Tanya smiles, then has a beautiful stranger wrap an arm around her waist, " Cleo, this is Daisy... my girlfriend."

Her words make Cleo's lip curl upwards as she shakes hands with the beautiful red-headed woman.

" It's nice to meet you," She nods, " And it was nice running into you, Tanya, but I've got to get going. My boys-- I mean my partner... is waiting for me back home."

" Who's the lucky guy or gal?" Tanya questions.

And in that moment, Cleo finds her mind working overtime to produce an answer that would make sense to the couple standing before her.

" It's sort of a... poly, type of situation," Cleo utters.

" How modern," Daisy chuckles.

" Well, if you'd like, we're having some people over at our flat on Saturday," Tanya offers, " You should come."

" Definitely," Cleo nods, " I-I'll think about it... still got your number."

And so, Cleo returns to the shared flat, where Steven excitedly approaches and gives her a kiss on the lips.

" Hiya, love," He beams, " Missed you."

" Missed you, too," Cleo smiles as her nostrils flare in delight, " What smells so good?"

" Come, come, I'll show you," Steve says as he grabs her hand and ushers her over to the kitchen, " Ful Medames and basbousa. Made from scratch."

His sparkly eyes and twinkly grin make Cleo's heart melt as he gazes down at her.

" Thank you, baby."

" It's nothing. No worries."

The two then sit at the dining table, where the dig into the delicious food, that reminds Cleo of her home. The homemade Egyptian food made with love brings her back to her native land, and the fact that it was made by someone she loves makes it even better.

" Sooo," Steve trails, " Tell me bout your day."

" Well," Cleo clears her throat, " I ran into an old friend, Tanya."

" Oooh, lovely," He utters.

" And she invited us to her flat on Saturday. Just a few people."

" Sounds perfect, can't wait."

Cleo smiles and nods back at Steve, who puts his head down as he continues to eat. Her smile begins to fade as she stares off into the distance, her mind wandering away from reality itself. Her smile fades as her heart longs for something... she just doesn't know what. She's perfectly happy with her life at present... or at least that's what she tells herself.

" Cleo... are you alright?"

She snaps back to her old self in no time, blinking away the wondering thoughts as she turns to face him.

" Of course, why wouldn't I?" Cleo ponders as she reaches for her glass of water.

" Dunno, you just seem kinda..." Steven trails, " Spacey."

" I'm fine, baby," She utters, " I promise."

But then, Steven's eyes stare down at the metal spoon sitting on the table, in which he gets lost in a chat with his own mind.

" Marc says he wants to talk," Steven says as he looks at her for permission.

Cleo nods, motioning that it's okay, followed by his eyes rolling back until his face and posture resemble another.

" Talk," Marc orders.

" I am talking," Cleo states.

" What's wrong?"

" Nothing's wrong."

" Bullshit."

" I'm telling you, nothing's wrong."

Cleo stands from the table and takes her empty dishes into the kitchen to clean them, yet her partner just can't let it go. It's been eating away at him for far too long.

" You tell Steven everything and don't tell me shit," Marc utters and crosses his arms as he stands, " So tell me... what's wrong."

" Nothing," Cleo sighs.

She places the dishes onto the drying wrack, hoping the conversation will end, but it just doesn't.

" Why've you been acting so weird recently?" Marc asks, " Huh? Is this about Tanya?"

" What? Why would this be about Tanya?" Cleo ponders as she turns to face him.

" You two used to date," He points out.

" It was one date," She corrects.

" Still counts."

" Need I remind you that we literally went to Egypt with your ex-wife less than a year ago?"

" Wasn't she your ex-girlfriend, too?"

" You know what I mean, Marc!"

In a fit of frustration, Cleo walks away from their conversation entirely. She walks into the bedroom in hopes of a moment of peace, yet finds anything but.

" All I know is that we're supposed to go to your ex's apartment on Saturday, and you didn't even ask," Marc utters.

" Okay," Cleo breathes, " Do you want to go to Tanya's on Saturday?"

" No."

" Fine."

" Fine!"

Cleo huffs as she sits down on the bed. She gets under the cover and opens her laptop, but all that does is remind her of the unanswered email she's been putting off for weeks.

" There," Marc points.

" What?" She asks as she looks up to meet his gaze.

" That look," He says, " That's the look I'm talking about. What's wrong?"

" Marc, nothing is--"

" I swear to God, don't just say nothing is wrong."

" Because nothing is wrong."

" Why can't you just fucking tell me?!"

" Because I don't want to fucking leave you!"

There's just a moment of silence as Cleo throws the covers off of her body and stands before him, feeling her nerves to be on fire.

" What?" Marc questions.

Cleo then opens her laptop and turns it so Marc can see, showing him the very email she is yet to respond to that's been weighing her down for weeks.

" I got a job offer," Cleo announces, " It's for a dig... back in Cairo."

Marc stares down at the email with furrowed brows, and Steven reads it as well. Both men see what Cleo could have. It could all be hers... but they're holding her back.

✦
✦
✦
✦
✦
✦
✦
✦
✦
✦

[ i haven't really decided what direction this story is gonna go in, but it's definitely gonna be cleo's book this time ]