"You notice how fucking weird you sound?" Marcus asked her in response, brow furrowed. He'd never met anyone in his life who spoke like she did. Normally, he could get a decent read from someone within a few minutes. He'd at least know how to get under their skin within that time, if not how to manipulate them into doing what he wanted. It was rare that he felt like the one who was playing the puppet. He didn't want to give her what she wanted, but he couldn't figure out what she was going for. That uncertainty had a neutering effect on his usual swagger. He actually answered her question honestly. "S'easier than remembering names."
Or asking for them in the first place. Nicknames, descriptors and diminutives could be a sign of affection from Marcus, but were mostly a way to stay detached. An anonymous sea of pendejos and putas didn't amount to anything worth mourning if it dried up.
"Your teeth are real small, baby." The fact that she'd called him on overusing chica made him self-conscious about it. "Don't know how much damage they'd do. You want to sit straight up, shoulders back and down. Take hold of the bar here and here..." He pulled it down for her at first, to make it easier. "At the bends in it. Not at the ends."