Roleplay City
Infusco => INFUSCO: Enter The Shadows => Municipal Library => Topic started by: Trillian on October 17, 2011, 10:44:24 PM
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The night was exceptionally balmy, for mid October. They were supposed to be approaching colder, longer nights at this time of year, but the weather seemed to be shirking its duty. The air conditioning hadn\'t been set in anticipation of a hot evening, and so in the small gathering in one corner of the library, there were a lot of pamphlets being used as makeshift fans. There was no shortage of the glossy red and black brochures advertising an author\'s name in stark bold white print on the bottom edge, and the title of the book being discussed was ironically titled \'A Heated Exchange\'. It was exactly the kind of trashy novel Jenna loved to read but would not admit to anyone who didn\'t also secretly love the dramatic filth that Umberton Welsh penned. She had all eight of his books and they were all very much the same - soft porn posing as modern romance with strangely blank covers instead of the Fabio lookalike art. This was probably one of the reasons she liked Welsh\'s books more than others - because only other readers would know the content of what she chose to read in her lunchtime.
She\'d arrived a little before seven, hoping to get a good seat, but found herself in the back row anyway, thanks to the cluster of devoted fans willing to stalk the area hoping to catch a glimpse of Welsh for a private word before the presentation began. She was surprised to find that there was an almost even mix of men and women - strange for romance novels, she thought.
Jenna seemed to be one of a handful who didn\'t mind the heat in the room. It wasn\'t pleasant, but she was a long way from uncomfortable. Her blood ran hotter than most, but obviously a side effect of this was not to be as bothered by higher temperatures. Still, to not be so obvious, she\'d grabbed a pamphlet before sitting down, and every now and then fanned herself with it when the thought occurred to her. The Oligarchy aide who was training her now had taught her that blending in was always a good idea for those of supernatural heritage. She thought it sound advice.
She didn\'t blend in with what she was wearing, much to her chagrin, for she\'d not known what kind of thing to wear to a book signing. She\'d thought something casual would be appropriate, but obviously she\'d not been casual enough. Dressed in a autumnal colored maxi-dress with a dipping neck line and a long double-string of large beads around her neck, a pair of flat Grecian sandals upon her feet, she certainly didnt look like she was about to go to the office, but many others were in simple jeans and tee ensembles, or jeans and jumpers. She felt over-dressed and it didn\'t help knowing that Sebastoan might make an appearance.
No sooner had she thought of the vampire, than he made an appearance, and as usual when she saw him, her heart went all aflutter, making her feel out of her depth in his presence and annoyed by this overwhelming sensation. She had to stop herself from beaming at him foolishly and forced her gaze to the front, where there seemed to be a little bit of activity happening, now that the time was drawing nearer.
\'
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Seb’s bright blue eyes found Jenna almost instantly upon entering the room. She was hard to miss, even in a group and he couldn’t believe there weren’t more people in the room drawn to her. When he spotted him as well the vampire gave a warm smile as a polite nod, before beginning to make his way towards her. There were no seats left, but a few people were stood at the back and so Seb took up position there as well.
He hadn’t really known what to wear on the occasion either, so had settled on dark denim jeans and a black shirt over a white t-shirt. It could have been done up for a smarter event, but now the buttons hung open and his sleeves were rolled up. Apart from an expensive looking watch, he wore no jewellery and in his hands was a copy of Welsh’s newest book.
No one could say Sebastian didn’t know when to do his homework. He’d even read it, and a few of the others and he was looking forward to finding out whether Jenna really enjoyed reading these books, which would be a surprise, or if she was just trying to make him think she did. Perhaps this was the first thing she could remember seeing an announcement for when she’d suggested something, but Seb wasn’t about to risk that. And besides, it was a book signing, it would have been quite disrespectful to turn up without a book for Welsh to sign.
“Good evening, Jenna,” Seb said quietly, resting a hand on the back of her chair and crouching down a little so he could speak. With her shoulder’s almost bare he could feel the heat radiating from her without even touching her, and he resisted the urge to stroke her smooth skin just to feel the throb of her pulse which he could here this close.
“It’s quite a turn out, should make for a good discussion,” he added softly as he straightened up, tucking his hands behind his back, still clasping the book and looking to the front of the audience attentively. It had been decades since he’d been to something like this. He could remember seeing a few great writers read, in proper theatres, everyone had been so eager. Compared to this, they had been grand events, a couple of hundred people where now there were space for a couple of dozen. An evening out at the theatre, which no doubt Jenna would have loved, rather than an hour or two to spare. But that didn’t meant his wouldn’t be entertaining.
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"Good evening, Sebastian," she replied, the greeting ready on her lips with a smile that was a few degrees warmer than merely being polite. She hadn\'t missed the fact he carried one of Welsh\'s books in his hands upon his arrival, but wasn\'t sure if he\'d read it yet. It had only been released a few days ago, and Jenna had intended to purchase a signed copy here at the library. She regretted now not having the other books for signing as well, but she\'d thought such a thing to be presumptuous.
"Yes," she agreed with Sebastian\'s observation, but felt she could say no more for he stood up once again and the brief movement at the small cleared area they were all facing towards came a librarian\'s announcement.
"Thank you all for coming today," she began, "to listen to Mr Umberton Welsh speak about his latest offering, A Heated Exchange. There will be time for discussion afterward, and coffee and tea will be served in the King Lear Cafeteria." She gestured to her left, where Jenna knew was a small tea room that mostly served hot beverages with indulgent small cakes or crust-less sandwiches. It was a little too old-fashioned for her, and she much preferred the Mid Summer Night\'s Dream Garden Cafeteria, which was really only a tiny kitchen that operated through a hole in the wall to the outside, where customers sat on iron benches, or at round iron tables with large umbrellas set into them, while enjoying the gardens. It was a place she used to have a coffee and read a book, until she\'d met Kerr which had opened up her social outings a great deal.
An older fellow in his fifties, dressed in jeans and a white button up shirt approached the librarian and thanked her before turning to his audience. Jenna recognised him from the author\'s photo from inside the dust jacket or the back of his paperback books. His voice was deep and clear, and his eyes were very dark and extremely expressive. She thought she understood now why he\'d chosen to give his talk at night in the city library, instead of during the day in a busy bookshop. He was a vampire, as far as she could tell.
He related some interesting tales about the people who\'d inspired him, and where he\'d been staying while he\'d written the book - in an abandoned castle ruin in Scotland (and here she thought of Kerr). He explained why he felt the need to have his characters run around all over the world, and that the heroine in the story had been pursued quite avidly by the Arabian prince, who - Jenna discovered with chagrin as the author hinted at a few plotlines in his book, careful not to give away too much of the story - believed that she would be better off keeping her pursuer at bay because of a friendship she had with another man. If she\'d known this was the plot of Welsh\'s ninth and most recent book, she would never have invited Sebastian here.
She kept quiet during the discussion session, where Welsh\'s enthralled audience asked him about his other books, how many more stories he might have still within him, and (she was sure this came from another vampire gentleman in the audience) if Welsh had ever written under a pseudonym. She considered that idea as well - that Welsh could hardly write throughout the centuries under the same name.
An hour had passed, the talk was getting more detailed and quieter between Welsh and the one or two people who\'d left their seats and approached him, and now there was a small huddle of people waiting their turn to talk with the author, who finally made his apologies and announced that he would be selling and signing books now. This was likely due to the fact his publicist (or whoever the young man carrying two heavy cartons filled with books was) had arrived with many pre-signed copies of \'A Heated Exchange\'.
Jenna stood up from her seat and turned to Sebastian immediately.
"Did you wish to line up? I was going to purchase his book here," she said, indicating the small clutch that had been covered by the pamphlet which she\'d toyed with in her lap throughout the entire talk. "I haven\'t read it yet."
Inwardly she groaned. Obviously she hadn\'t read it yet, if she hadn\'t bought it. Such a thing was implied. Of course she could\'ve read it at the library, but it was a bit of a stretch. She waited just long enough to get his answer, then gestured that she would be lining up now with a quick wave of her hand in the direction she was about to go (and cast another mental groan at herself) before heading that way, trying to muster as much dignity as possible and feeling her dress swishing about her ankles. What was with her clothes lately, that they would either clop at the heel or swish about stupidly? She breathed a huff at herself and the person lined up in front of her must\'ve thought her impatient at being the sixth in line because he took the time to turn around and stare at her before facing the front again - three books tucked under his arm.
She flapped the brochure at her face again, for it felt hot, but she thought it probably had nothing to do with the balminess of the night.
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Seb had been curious about the number of vampires in the room, although in a city this populated by the supernatural it would have been odd if there weren’t a couple present, but it all became clear as the author made his entrance. Seb didn’t ask any questions during the presentation, and barely moved as others standing began to fidget towards the end of the hour, but he was listening with interest despite being new to the author’s works. It was always fascinating listening to someone talk about what their passion, although it seemed to Seb that the vampire had become a little jaded by his work. Clearly he no longer thought he could pen the Great American Novel or become the next Shakespeare as he might once have done.
The ancient came back to life as the talking ceased and Jenna turned to him, making the man next to him jump slightly as though a statue had just come to life.
“I thought I might, it would be quite interesting to have a quick word with him,” Seb said, his gaze flickering over to where the author was beginning to settle himself down, ignoring Jenna‘s growing habit of pointing out the obvious. Closer he would be able to tell better how old the other vampire was, and perhaps get an idea of how long he’d been changing his names and genres. Perhaps this series was even his first try at writing.
He followed through the crowds in the direction Jenna moved, watching the dress swirl around her and seeing none of the irritation that she was feeling at it. It highlighted the way she moved beautifully, although didn’t do much to emphasise the exquisite shape of her body. Fashion so rarely did show off what was truly to be admired though.
Seb caught up with Jenna just as she reached the queue, after letting a few others move past him to get to a display of books, and raised an eyebrow at the sigh. Had he done something to annoy her again? If he had it seemed all too easy to do.
“Have you read all of his other works?” Seb asked, lifting his own book to glance inside the cover at the picture of the author. He’d had time to read two of the others whilst doing his homework for this trip, and the on in his hands. He’d been quite entertained to find a scene near the start of this one which played out almost exactly as he had thought their second meeting in the museum might, had Jenna possessed as little self control as the heroine of the novel did.
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Jenna looked over her shoulder at Sebastian when he joined her. He was certainly a quiet walker. She wondered if such a thing came naturally to vampires or if they practised. She shifted position slightly, so that she was giving Sebastian her profile instead of her back, feeling it would be rude to talk to him any other way.
"I have read all his other books, yes," she said quietly, liking the fact she could rely on his supernatural hearing in order to drop her voice to a polite level. She wasn\'t ashamed of reading Welsh\'s books - not in a place full of other readers who were also fans - but because it wasn\'t her nature to shout about everything she did. "I think now there might be a lot of other books under different names, considering the way he answered the question about pseudonyms - by not answering it properly at all." The line moved and she had to stop talking in order to shuffle forward. "I think I might have a way to get the information out of him in a way he would approve," she said once the queue was still, and smiled winningly at Sebastian, pleased with her idea that she didn\'t know would be successful or not. She felt like she was being cheeky, to imply she could trick a vampire into giving her information. It was harmless, really, but she felt better about asking Welsh for more information with an Ancient behind her. It gave her more credibility, she thought.
The line moved again before Sebastian could reply, and it moved quite a way forward, for two people hadn\'t any questions and merely purchased signed copies before leaving. There was only the man in front of her now that had thrown her a sharp look because she\'d expelled a puff of air. He was fussing about how he would like all three books signed with different messages in each one, and explained why as Welsh sat patiently across the table. Jenna glanced at Sebastian, shifting again in case he wanted to speak with her.
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“Oh do you now?” Seb asked with a grin, his curiosity sparked at her cheeky smile and bold declaration. She truly was a fascinating creature, when she was in the right mood. His blue eyes flickered to the author, eyeing him up for a moment before his gaze returned to Jenna and he leant closer under the pretence of gently removing an invisible piece of fluff from her hair.
“He’s about two hundred and fifty, he could have written all sorts, changing names with every new generation,” he murmured quietly so she would be able to hear him but few others would have. Welsh might have been able to hear, but he seemed to be focusing on trying to understand what the man in front of them wanted written with a patient look on his face. Seb wasn’t sure if knowing his age would affect what she had to say at all, but he thought it best to give her some idea, in case what Welsh said related to books she might not have even considered the vampire could have written.
“You’re up, Sherlock,” he said playfully, gesturing for her to step up to the table as the perfectionist bustled off looking very pleased with the end results. Seb stepped up with Jenna, but stayed back a step, wanting her to get her chance with the author.
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She was impressed that he could distinguish the age of the vampire author (forgetting momentarily that Kerr had told her about Sebastian\'s great age) before he indicated for her to step forward.
Still grinning when she turned to face Umberton Welsh, she asked him for one of his signed books, handing over a twenty dollar note from out of her clutch which he took and quickly made disappear. Upon reaching for the book, he paused as she asked her question.
"Mister Welsh, I was wondering -"
"Umberton, Miss, please," the author requested, his burning hazel gaze drifting over her facial features and then upon her cleavage, which had given him a nice vantage considering she was leaning forward over the table a little and he was seated.
She accepted his offer of a first name with a smile and nod, choosing to ignore his roving eye.
"Umberton," she repeated distinctly, "I was wondering if you would like to recommend me any books for reading?" she asked politely. "Even if they\'re not the same genre," she added as an afterthought, but would be genuinely surprised if she found he wrote science fiction or something else at the opposite spectrum to filthy romance.
"Of course, dear," he said, picking up one of his pre-signed books from beside his chair and using his pen to scratch a few other titles on the inside cover, while glancing up every now and then to catch another eyeful of her cleavage. Jenna waited him out, thrilled that her idea had worked, and unsurprised to find him ogling her.
"Thank you so much," she breathed, watching as he scrawled untidily the titles of books he\'d likely penned under different names. Of course she could be wrong, that he was merely giving her a list of his own favourite books by other authors, but either way she\'d expanded her reading list.
She took the book from him, glancing once at the inside cover where he\'d quickly scribbled ten different titles, and on the opposite page where he\'d already signed his name with a flourish, in the same pen he was likely now using.
"A pleasure, my dear," he said in return, smirking. When Jenna straightened, only then did he seem to notice Sebastian near her, and once his stare found the Ancient, the author\'s intense gaze took on a wary look and he extended his hand for the book Sebastian held. "Did you want me to write anything in particular?" he asked blandly, all the delight he had in dealing with Jenna evaporating in the face of Sebastian.
Jenna noticed the dramatic change and looked wonderingly at Sebastian. She remembered Kerr\'s words about being glad she hadn\'t seen how he\'d prostrated himself over the other vampire upon meeting. Was there some kind of heirachy when it came to a vampire\'s age? She\'d thought with Kerr being the Luminary of the Oligarchy that other vampires would hold him in higher regard, in spite of him being younger.
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Seb had watched the vampire as he scribbled, half reading the titles upside-down, and half watching the way his eyes roamed over Jenna like she was a piece of meat. And Jenna was saying nothing. Perhaps she was more used to having people eye her up than actually acting on it, but Seb wasn’t impressed with Umberton taking advantage of his position in that way - not with Jenna anyway.
“No, just your signature will do, maybe ‘best wishes‘, something along those lines, nothing personal,” he said, passing over the book and waiting until he‘d begun to write before carrying on.
“I quite enjoyed it, although I’ve only recently discovered your works thanks to my friend here. Whom I would like you to apologise to for the way you were just looking at her,” Sebastian said with a pleasant smile and warm tone, as though he had carried on gushing about the stories Umberton had written.
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Her eyes widened when Sebastian insisted on an apology from Welsh, and was surprised that he would request one. She\'d expected a reaction like this from Kerr, but it had been unexpected from Sebastian, mostly because of the kiss he\'d stolen from her the first time he\'d had the chance. She didn\'t chastise him for being a hypocrite, nor did she think his demand unreasonable. Instead, her gaze flicked to the author with interest for his reaction.
Umberton Welsh had been nodding soberly, not really listening to Sebastian\'s words as much as his tone, so it took a moment for his vague nodding to stop and his gaze to sharpen. He didn\'t look happy at all, to have a request for an apology thrust upon him. Jenna could almost see the cogs turning in his mind as he considered all the possible outcomes and consequences.
"Of course, if I made you uncomfortable simply by looking at you, Miss," he said, not looking at Jenna until the final word of this sentence, and pointedly looking at her face instead of her cleavage, "that was not my intention, and I apologise." He paused for a moment, and held his pen up in the air between them while he took a breath, on the verge of speaking once more and someone had taken a freeze frame. "I do, however, recall a very old series of books that were written a little over a century ago," he said to her, his golden gaze fixed on her dark blue eyes and not wavering at all. "I\'d forgotten to write their titles down for you," he said, and gestured for her to return the book he\'d just given her.
Uncertainly, Jenna handed the book back, wondering what Welsh was playing at, and watched as he scribbled yet another title down, a little separately from the others, followed by ten numbers in a row without spaces that could\'ve been a barcode but she suspected wasn\'t. He closed the book and handed it back to her. Smiling coyly, she thanked him and glanced at Sebastian, to see if he would make a comment about what had just happened between her and Welsh.
Someone coughed behind her; one of those fake clearing of the throat sounds that cried impatience. She ignored the sound, staring at Sebastian instead. If he made to move away, so would she.
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Seb watched silently as Jenna handed back her book, for Welsh to jot down more titles and… a number? Seb wasn\'t sure what the code was, it could have been a phone number but he had so few telephone numbers and didn\'t even know his own so he couldn\'t be sure with the speed at which technology had advanced in recent years.
His gaze flickered to gauge Jenna\'s reaction, trying to judge how he should handle this. The author was taunting him most likely, but Seb knew he had no right to try to stop them meeting if it had been a telephone number, no more than Kerr would have protesting he and Jenna meet up. But she wasn’t exactly jumping for joy, so Sebastian decided he couldn’t let it slide, despite the growing annoyance of the queue behind him.
Seb held out a hand for the book Welsh had just passed to Jenna and flicked open to the page with the number on, resting both hands on the desk with the book between them as he leant a little closer to the author.
“So, tell me, why would you recommend this extra book? Is it they more romantic fiction, perhaps a girl gets stolen away from a friend by a new lover, something along those lines? Or a horror? Where a young man gets his head taken off for being so disrespectful to his elders?” he asked, still in a mostly peaceful tone but there was a slightly colder edge to it. The threat could look quite ridiculous, given that to an onlooker Welsh would look about twice Seb’s age.
As there was another cough behind them Seb glanced backwards and with a simple “Stop that,” the sounds of annoyance halted as his dark blue eyes returned to the author.
“Now, we would like a new book, with one of your autographs, with the list of these books because my friend asked for those, but you can skip this little doodle. You understand?” Seb said, spinning the book around and pushing it back towards Welsh with a wave of his finger over the number before glancing at Jenna. “Unless I’m mistaken and this is the copy you’d prefer?” he added politely. It would make him look a bit of an over-reactive fool, but if she was annoyed by his actions he would back off.
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Jenna was at first shocked by Sebastian\'s reaction, then her expression transformed into something akin to amusement. With a hint of a smile at the corners of her mouth, she looked away from the scene of mounting tension between Sebastian and Welsh.
Umberton Welsh, on the other hand, found himself staring fixedly at the Ancient who was making not-so-veiled threats. His panicked mind sought a response; that this vampire would get into trouble with the Oligarchy if he was over-impulsive, remembering that the Oligarchy didn\'t get involved in vampire to vampire bickerings. If one vampire destroyed another, as long as it was out of the public eye, Welsh suspected the Oligarchy wouldn\'t even care to investigate.
"No, it\'s fine," he said amiably, attempting to sound reasonable and co-operative, but the shakiness in his voice was so obvious that even Jenna noticed it. She still found other things to look at, however, and was glad that the cougher behind them had followed Sebastian\'s hostile request to keep quiet.
After some hasty scribbles in a brand new book sans mobile phone number, Jenna took it from Welsh with a thank you, glanced over at Sebastian by way of invitation to join her side, and moved away in the direction of the gardens.
She wondered if he was going to say anything about it, and after a brief silence as they walked with their books tucked under their arms, she decided to speak first before they reached the doors that would take them outside.
"Providing me with his telephone number was rather arrogant," she declared, as though he\'d made comment to her about it instead of his threatening display. "Imagine making a move so bold," she said wryly, sneaking a glance over to Sebastian to see if he could make light of the matter or if he would snarl at her for not protecting her cleavage from the writer\'s roving eye.
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Any of the annoyance which had been in Seb\'s eyes had disappeared as they moved away from the signing table and he looked quite peaceful as they headed for the gardens, content to follow where she would lead.
At her comment Seb gave a quiet chuckle, giving her a sly grin. At least he\'d waited until Kerr was out of the building before making his move.
"I know, cheeky prick," he said. "You could gave spoken up if you had wanted it. I could always go back and scare him some more to get it back?" he offered playfully, holding open the door for Jenna to pass through into the gardens.
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She regarded him for a moment, the same tiny smile flitting about the corners of her mouth before looking ahead at where she was going, only because she was passing through the doorway into the gardens with a soft \'thank you\' and stepping outside, shifting the book (with the pamphlet inside) and clutch within the grasp of her right hand.
He wasn\'t chivalrous exactly the same way Kerr was, who would not swear in her presence - or apologise hastily if he did - and hadn\'t dared make a bold move on her, respectfully. Admittedly, she\'d grown used to his manner and remembered how they\'d began, with her frustrated at his polite distance once they\'d got to know each other better. Sebastian hadn\'t been the first one to make bold moves (but the first to kiss her so rapidly and without preamble, not giving her the option of turning her head to present her cheek), and she wondered if her idea of being a \'gentleman\' was too strict. He\'d defended her honour after all - ironically, as well as holding the door open for her.
She smiled at his jest and said nothing, for the offer was obviously rhetorical.
"Oh, they\'ve added a fountain," she said, startled by the grotesque display of the profile of a small male cherubic child peeing into a circular pool that surrounded the stone pedestal he was on. "How very..." she struggled to find the appropriate word.
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“Quaint? Is that the word people use?” Seb offered after a second, an eyebrow raised at the sight before them. “Perhaps not…” he added, eyeing it up as he began to stroll around it, with a confused frown.
“I haven’t seen that much of modern society… is this what art is now?” he asked, moving closer to the pool and crouching down to lightly trail the tips of his fingers through the water.
People always had bad taste, even in the Renaissance, there had been a few disasters, but then there were always pieces everyone hated but which were considered to be great works of art. And Seb hadn’t realised how behind on everything sleeping for so long would make him feel. He didn’t know what was popular in culture, how to even use a mobile phone. The city had changed so much, and it wasn’t like moving to a new place, because there were things he had known here which had just changed completely.
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Jenna made a murmuring sound, for \'quaint\' hadn\'t been the word she\'d been looking for, though it was most certainly a more polite way to describe the thing in front of them.
"I always liked the gardens," she said with a note of wistfulness in her voice. Of course the gardens travelled the length of the library building, and with a quick glance that way she saw that there were no other surprise additions that she could immediately see.
"This, Sebastian, was never art," she said with a crooked smile. "Kitsch, I\'d call it." There weren\'t too many things she looked down her nose at (she thought), but this fountain was certainly high on the list of distasteful things. "You\'re just toying with me!" she guessed finally, realising that his serious question was likely not serious at all. "Come on," she said with a giggle, walking rapidly away from the fountain towards where she knew was the Midsummer Night\'s Dream Cafe, and impulsively reached behind her with her left hand for him to take it and walk with her.
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“Only a little, I do fear for society at times. Anything can change in an instant,” Seb replied with a grin as he straightened up again and made his way towards her. Speaking on changes, he paused for a moment at the outstretched hand, before reaching out to take it with his cold fingers. She certainly was a fickle creature, or perhaps she hadn’t been all that angry with him to begin with.
“Do you come here often? To the gardens?” he asked, resisting the urge to weave his fingers more thoroughly through hers, or to lift her hand to see if her skin would be that warm against his lips. But no, this time he would let her dictate the pace, for now at least.
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She knew why she\'d reached back for his hand, but she didn\'t like that she\'d done it unconsciously. Obviously he\'d pleased her by defending her honour with Umberton Welsh, going to an extreme that was unnecessary but still flattering. She was still conflicted about him. He might\'ve thought of her as fickle because of it, but she considered him contrary. First he was impulsive and rude with her, then he was quietly spoken, after that he\'d become both hostile and chivalrous.
Not only that, but he didn\'t seem to pay as much attention to her when she told him things, like Kerr did.
"I haven\'t come here for a while," she said, sure that she\'d already told him this either tonight or at some point during the invitation she\'d given him. She\'d certainly thought about it. Now she didn\'t remember if she\'d told him or not. She frowned, and removed her hand from his with the excuse that she was using it to point the way ahead. "Look, I can see the umbrellas," she said unnecessarily, sure that Sebastian would be able to see much more using the ambient garden lights. "Do you mind the smell of coffee?" she asked, slowing in her step in case he couldn\'t stand it.
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"But in the past, you seem to know this place well," Seb said, casting his gaze around the gardens. His eyes returned to her swiftly as she dropped his hand almost as suddenly as she \'d offered it. He wasn\'t sure what he was doing wrong, he hadn\'t grown up learning to be a gentleman like she wanted, he hadn\'t had it drilled into him. But he\'d picked it up well enough at the time. Apparently it hadn\'t stuck as well though.
"Why would I mind that? I can\'t digest it, that doesn\'t mean the smell of food and drink disgusts me," he said a little more shortly than he meant to. How many vampires did she know? Seb didn\'t know many who were repulsed by food and Kerr obviously wasn\'t as he\'d taken her to dinner. It was like she was coming up with excuses to be awkward and as enticing as she was, it was frustrating.
"Will I be allowed to buy you coffee, as I think would be the correct thing to, or will that be making another grave error and offend you?" he asked, folding his hands behind his back as he watched her, halting his step. Saying it would probably anger her, but he was getting tired of her desire to seemingly play games.
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She smiled and gave the tiniest of nods to confirm that she knew the library well. She loved the smell of old books and the hushed and respectful tones people adopted the instant they stepped in. Of course in the daytime the library wasn\'t so reverent, but at night it still held that old time appeal.
His response to her comment of consideration startled her enough to elicit a frown, coupled with a double take sidelong at him. She let it go as quickly as she was able, reminded of how sometimes the more senior citizens were impatient or abrupt with their wording. She had to keep reminding herself that the only mortals he had more in common with were people like her grandparents rather than herself. It was part of his charm.
His charm faded, however, when he pushed the issue. She\'d taken a couple of steps further ahead before realising that he\'d properly stopped rather than slowing his step. She stopped herself and turned to look at him, unimpressed with his choice of words and the scene he was causing. It appeared they had very little in common, that they would only grate each other the longer they spent together. She\'d never been on an outing so hostile, and even though she still felt the same physical attraction to him, it no longer had that overwhelming quality it once had. She did, after all, have a brain.
"Now that you mention it, I\'m not really in the mood for coffee," she said as pleasantly as she could, though knew he wouldn\'t accept her words as a natural happenstance. As far as she was concerned, it was better to cut her losses with him before she discovered more. Right now she was disappointed, but that was all she was, and they could go their separate ways. "It\'s getting pretty late," she said, belatedly checking her watch and seeing it wasn\'t that late, but he didn\'t know what she considered late, "and I have to get up early tomorrow."
She was going to make this as pleasant a goodbye as she possibly can. Excuse given, smile offered, and she hoped he would just let it go. That he would just let her go without a barb.
-
Sebastian hadn’t been stupid enough to believe his question could possibly be taken well, but there was a pang of disappointment as she made some fairly lame excuses. She wasn’t even going to the effort of having it out with him. The ancient couldn’t quite believe how badly this whole coupling had gone, after that first meetin git had just completely fallen apart and it felt like nothing he could do would change it. It was shocking for him, who’d always cared so much about making other people feel better, that he couldn’t even keep her content for a couple of hours. This was his first attempt at properly trying to have a relationship with someone, any kind of proper relationship that lasted more than a night, in the past thirty years and to have it all crashing down around him was startling.
Now Irene was gone maybe he wasn’t supposed to have anyone else.
“Of course you do,” he said softly, without any hint of sarcasm in his voice as he gave a small nod and stepped back out of her way if she wanted to leave the way they had entered.
“Can you get home safely alone?” he added, a small frown on his face as he said it out of politeness, not really expecting she would want his company any longer than she had to. He had been rude, selfish, and so had she, trying to find fault with everything. But he was annoyed at himself for letting there be any fault for her to find.
-
She had been trying to find fault with Sebastian, constantly comparing him to Kerr and feeling guilty that she was entertaining herself with another man (not just that, but another male vampire), and so had been overly critical of him. She\'d not done these things consciously, though she\'d become aware of her comparisons between Sebastian and Kerr. It had been doomed from the start, because she\'d made it so, and would later think on this night and understand exactly where she\'d gone wrong, and why, and it would fill her with deep regret. There wasn\'t much in her life that she did regret, but her time with Sebastian would be among the few.
"I can," she said, nodding. Her heart was still aflutter upon gazing at his lovely face. There was still something about him that appealed to her. A crazy and impulsive though entered her mind - that she could simply keep Sebastian as a purely physical relationship - but such a thing was preposterous to a woman who\'d only slept with four men after lengthy courtships. Still, it had entered her mind and would lie sleeping there. "Thank you for coming along," she said, approaching him with sincerity in her voice and face. It had been nice at the beginning of the evening with hope available to her, and that funny way he\'d threatened the author.
-
“Not at all, it was… educational. I wouldn’t have missed it,” Sebastian replied, a little bemused by her sincerity. Her ever changing moods were exhausting, it seemed like she couldn’t make up her mind about him when was he was trying to do was please her. Still, he had enjoyed part of the evening. And he had learnt a little about himself, that he had some things to learn - although whether it was the world that had changed or just that he had found someone who needed more work than usual he didn’t know.
He turned towards the library, his blue eyes scanning the building as his mind reached out.
“Welch is still in there. May I at least escort you out of the building if you don’t want my company all the way home?” he asked, glancing back towards her. He’d assumed she wouldn’t want to spend more time with him than necessary, which was why he’d asked if she could get home alone. He would prefer she didn’t go by herself, but wouldn’t force himself on her.
-
She considered his offer but didn\'t let time drag before making a decision.
"That you may," she consented, nodding and feeling for all her worth to be a fair maiden that the knight (though a very brusque dark knight) was looking to rescue.
For the tiniest moment there was a pang of regret that she was ending their evening so quickly, but then she squashed it with renewed resolution, for this was exactly why keeping him away was the best thing. Regret and physical attraction was marring her judgement, her common sense, in fact. She should\'ve known from the start that he wasn\'t going to be the right man for her; his assumptions, her rules, their growing division. Opposites might attract but it was similarities that kept a relationship peaceful.
She held the book in both hands in front of herself, her clutch in front of it with her hands clasped upon one another. She realised that her body language spoke of vulnerability but she didn\'t bother to correct her posture. She was not going to second guess herself on a walk that would end with them unlikely to see each other again.
She ignored the disappointment this idea welled in her and walked at his side, slowly.
-
As they headed back towards the library’s main building Sebastian cast a sideways glance at the young woman, wondering how this night would really end. She had started the finish, but was allowing him to speak more, to escort her a little further, to hold open another door for her. Perhaps if he asked to take her all the way home, in just the right tone of voice, she would agree to that as well. But she would probably turn on him again at some point. No, it would be best to leave it as well as he could.
And perhaps she would agree to see him again. Despite how quickly things seemed to fall apart around her, and how often he seemed to put his foot in his mouth, he still craved her and wanted to taste her, to let himself know whether she was as exquisite as he thought she might be. And if she was in the right mood, they did seem to get along quite well, in short bursts at least.
Once inside, Seb instantly felt where the author was and put himself between the younger vampire and his companion as they strolled along.
“I don’t have a book with my face on it to write it in, but could I give you the number for my telephone, just in case you decide to give me a… third chance?” Seb asked, looking across at her again with a smile. So things hadn’t gone well tonight, but they could have gone worse. And maybe one night he would be able to catch her in just the right mood and he would be in just the right frame of mind that they wouldn’t resort to sniping at one another.
“Lucy bought me this thing and I hardly know how to use it, so I can’t promise I will answer the first time you call,” he added, pulling his sleek looking mobile out of his pocket, which was currently off, and frowning at it slightly. He hadn’t bothered looking at the instructions yet, which probably would help a huge amount, as the crash course Lucy had given him had quickly been taken over by other matters he’d thought more important.
“If you call,” he corrected himself after a second.
-
Jenna didn\'t miss the positioning Sebastian consciously made, putting himself between her and the author, and it continued to amuse her. She was smiling to herself when he finally turned to her and requested that she take his number in case she wanted to call him. She was surprised by his desire to have another date with her after this one had flopped so badly and she\'d ended it early. Surely he didn\'t think they were compatible after this? Allowing him to walk her back hadn\'t been a mixed signal, surely?
She hadn\'t given him a reply when he spoke of a woman called Lucy, who\'d been the one to give him the phone. She chose not to comment on this because she didn\'t know enough about it.
The question of her calling him remained between them for a short moment before she replied, obliged to give him the best answer she knew.
"Do you truly believe a third time will be the charm?"
-
Sebastian’s frown faded away as he raised his gaze back up to meet hers, a twinkle in his eyes. Yes, things went from bad to worse so quickly with them and so often. And yes, they grated on one another. But he could feel something there, whether it was just lust, or something more. Or perhaps he was just a little lonely. He’d woken up in a city he barely knew after losing someone who meant the world to him. And although he’d been out and socialised, there was no one he cared about that he could see again. No one who would care if he disappeared now that Lucy had forgotten him. But maybe, just maybe, despite their conflicts, this fiery being might care. Or at least notice.
“It’s a terrible thing, to lose hope. And I’ve failed so many times in my past, what’s another one or two to add to the list?” he said with a warm smile, finally managing to hit the right button which brought the phone to life. He stared down at it for a second and then gave a shrug, offering it towards Jenna.
“It’s stored on there somewhere. I imagine you’ll be able to find it faster than I,” he said.
-
Jenna looked at Sebastian thoughtfully, gauging the best response to give him, but she was struck mute by what he'd said. Nothing seemed appropriate in reply. It wasn't just his words, it was that beautiful smile that made her heart lurch in her chest so that she could only look at him in return. Realising that they'd been staring at once another for a little longer than was appropriate, and the phone was still being held out to her unwaveringly, had her acting on impulse.
She took the phone from him and pressed the text function, typing in the word 'Sebastian' and then sending it to her own mobile. She'd left her phone behind in her car, and was sure it was buzzing to indicate she'd received a message. She handed Sebastian's phone back to him with a smile.
"I sent a message to my phone, so now I have your number," she explained. And now you have mine, she thought but did not say. There was a possibility he would stumble across it, and a possibility he might even use it, but she was at a loss to know if he would or simply wait for her call. If it came.
She knew herself well enough that even though she didn't know when she would call him, but she was fairly certain she would.
-
Seb had held her gaze patiently, keeping the phone held out in a steady hand until she rewarded him by reacting and doing as he wished and then giving him a smile as the cherry on top.
“Thank you,” he said softly, slipping his phone back into his pocket, still watching her quietly for a second, drinking in the vision before him before giving her a small bow.
“I’ll leave you to your evening then, I hope you have a pleasant night, Jenna” the ancient said as he straightened up, turning away with a smile and strolling off into the night. He was hoping she would call, but had no idea if she would. At least she had taken his number, although that may well have been out of politeness. Either way, hope wasn’t lost.