Love, in Progress

Potatoes and death threats

Ricky had only been at Miss Horsely's flat for  15 minutes or so before he was wiping the blood off of his hands. Really, he should have been more careful. For a guy who's profession is basically to 'hold a knife and look good', he was getting sloppy.

Somehow, he had managed to cut himself on Miss Horsely's kitchen knife while helping her prepare the carrots for her roast dinner. She had insisted that he help, and he wasn't exactly one to shy away from getting his hands dirty.

"Do you want a plaster for that?" Holly asked, interrupting Ricky's thoughts.
"Um yeah, yes please" Ricky responded.
Holly disappeared from the room, hopefully getting him a plaster. He was pretty annoyed, as he realised that he had totally lost his intimidating edge- that could make his job a little harder.

Holly re-entered the room and handed Ricky the plaster, "Here you go" she said, turning to start peeling the potatoes. Ricky mumbled a small 'thanks' before picking the knife up again. The room was awkwardly still for a moment.

"You still haven't said why you're here, Mr Goldsworth" Holly revealed, cutting through the tension. Ricky was quiet for a moment, before replying.
"Miss Horsely, why do you think I'm here?" he asked, tilting the knife so it glimmered in the sunlight- he knew that usually made people anxious and unsettled, and more likely to say what was on their mind.

However, there is one thing Ricky hadn't foreseen about Holly. She wasn't called 'The Unflappable Horsely' for nothing. Holly turned to him and spoke calmly, "I have no idea what you're talking about, you haven't given enough context for me to be able to make a good judgement" she stated calmly as she continued to peel the potatoes.

Ricky was almost impressed. But Ricky is not a patient man, and he knew when his time was being wasted. "Miss Horsely-"
"Holly."
"Holly, then. How attached are you to the detective?" Ricky asked inquisitively.

She stopped at this, putting the peeler down and turning to face him. "Why do you ask?"

"I want to know if you're going to get in my way, Holly" Ricky explained smoothly, putting the knife on the counter and rolling his sleeves up.

"Are you going to hurt him?! Because if you are, then yes- I am going to get in your way!" Holly replied, becoming more unnerved.

"No Holly, I need to know if I'm going to have to hurt you."

"Me?! Because I'll know you killed the Detective and I'm not going to keep quiet just because you're threatening me!-"

Ricky sighed, he was getting nowhere with the cheap intimidation tactics.
"Holly, do you like the Detective?"
"Yes, of course I like him! He's utterly insufferable but he's been good to me-"

"No I-", Ricky stammered impatiently, "I meant do you like-like the Detective?"
"Romantically?" Holly questioned in return.
"Yes, I mean romantically."

"No!" She exclaimed with a look of annoyance. "Why would you think I like him like that? I just told you I thought he was insufferable!",  Holly paused for a second, "Oh... oh I see what this is now- you're jealous of me!"
"What no I'm not-"
"Yes, you are! That's what this is all about! You like Tinsley!"  Holly realised loudly.

"Would you shut the hell up?!" Ricky snapped.
He was just about done with Holly Horsely, and if she wasn't friends with Tinsley, she would've been lying in a pool of her own blood, the kitchen knife up to it's hilt in her stomach. He gritted his teeth together angrily, "If you breathe a word of this conversation to anyone else, Lo juro por Dios I will have you hunted down and made an example of, are we clear?"

She nodded wordlessly.

"I do like the Detective" Ricky admitted softly.

Holly grinned in excitement, she had secretly shipped the two for months, and considering how she watched Tinsley sneak away from the party, she knew she probably wasn't far off.

"How long have you liked him?" She asked curiously.
"Ever since I saw his dorky face and lanky limbs from across the room at the Museum exhibit opening", Ricky said with a quiet smile, "I didn't know who he was, but I knew I had to speak to him."

Holly was quiet for a couple of minutes, before responding confidently. "I trust Tinsley with my life, and if Tinsley sees something in you, then you might be worth keeping around- despite your tendency for criminal activity, and the fact you threatened my life just now."

"No proof, Miss Horsely. And remember what I said, if you as much as breathe one word-"
"I'll be skinned and turned into a pair of shoes, yeah I understand" Holly interrupted with a smile.

"Good" he replied. "Well, I think I'll be on my way now, I've got a date to head to" Ricky said, turning on his heel and heading for the door.

"You go get 'em Tiger!" Holly called as Ricky crossed the threshold, swinging the door shut behind him.