After Life

10

“Nothing,” I lied, shaking my head, my eyes returning to the screen. “Just trying to find a subject for my assignment.”

Expecting the mention of my photography project to push him back slightly as it had any other time I brought it up, I was surprised when he continued speaking.

“Having any luck?”

I sighed, pushing my computer to the side slightly to gain a better view of him as we talked. “Not really.”

Setting his pen down, he folded his hands in front of him, tilting his head at me. “Why is that?”

I raised an eyebrow at him. What kind of question was that? Why the fuck did he think I wasn’t having any luck? Maybe it was because the only thing I had wanted to photograph since getting this fucking assignment had turned me down in a blaze of angry British accented glory.

“Because its not that easy to find something visually appealing and intriguing that fits this topic.” I blurted out, being more honest than I originally intended.

It didn’t escape me that while offering him my explanation, I also both complimented, and burned him. The compliment was obvious with the reference to his physical appeal. The burn, however, was more subtle, a gentle touch on the fact that he did in fact fit this particular topic.  In the way his face tightened, I knew that the references didn’t escape him, either.

He pursed his lips for a moment, before pushing back his chair and standing swiftly. I felt my body tense, expecting him to gather his things and leave in yet another mood swing as a result to my backhanded compliment. But when he circled around the table, coming to pull out the chair beside me and sit down, I was so shocked I almost fell out of my seat. I knew my expression said as much, as the moment he looked at my face, his mocking smirk returned to his.

He pulled my laptop towards himself, looking over the website I had been reviewing.  His green eyes ran over the screen for a moment, a little pucker in his lip indicating he was biting the inside of his cheek while he read.

“Thinking of using the library, are you?” he asked, not looking away from the screen.

“I was thinking about it. I tried to think of all the things that held secrets. I came up with people, books, art and places. This is the one building in New York that seemed to fit the bill for all four.”

He grinned, turning to look at me. “Quite insightful of you.”

I raised an eyebrow at his tone. “You seem surprised.”

“No, not surprised.” He amended quickly. “Just….”

“Surprised?”

He snickered to himself, conceding. “A little. I haven’t met too many people who consider things like that.”

“Like what?”

“On so many levels, I suppose. Most people would just see a library. A building with books. You seem to look past that, at the meaning behind it all. Its just rare, I guess.”