Heated Exchange

[pinkroses]

“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.

[Trillian]

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.

[pinkroses]

"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.

[Trillian]

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.

[pinkroses]

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.

[Trillian]

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.

[pinkroses]

“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.

[Trillian]

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.

[pinkroses]

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.

[Trillian]

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?"

[pinkroses]

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.

[Trillian]

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.

[pinkroses]

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.