~~Young~~

Chapter Ten

   Puzzles her ass.

   “What look?”

   His words were still light…then…did he not know? Surely if he realized the pure violence in his gaze he wouldn’t have made a joke would he?

   That’s when she finally looked to him, no amusement on her face what-so-ever, “like you’re a breath away from murder,” she paused when she got no reaction from him, pressing a hand to his chest to stop them before they continued past the halfway point in the hallway, “Gage, you looked like you were truly going to kill him,” she whispered harshly.

   Now he reacted, all of the carefree attitude lost as his expression fell, “is that why you’re here? Because you were afraid I’d kill him?”

   “Yes,” she hissed.

   “And that’s something you’ve seen before?”

   Her eyes darted from his face to the wall behind him, “yes,” she said rather reluctantly.

   She couldn’t say no, she had already admitted as much.

   He wouldn’t let her look away though, tilting his head so they were eye to eye once again, “and what if I had Sera?” he murmured ominously, “What would you have done then?”

   Her hand itched to move to her back to show him what she would do as he crowded her. To reach underneath her coat and defend herself as so many others had doubted she could before him. All Angels could defend themselves, though they were taught to do it without weapons…

   But she couldn’t, not here. Even as he put her bag down to free his other hand to trap her between his arms against the wall she resisted the urge. And really, it wasn’t a very wide hall, even standing alone in it she always felt sort of claustrophobic.

   No, she wasn’t trying to rationalize his aggressive actions was she?

   She dug her nails into her palm instead of acting and held it firm at her side, “I…I don’t know,” she lied.

   But he noticed the movement. And with a grin he wrapped his hand around her fist and brought it up in between them, looking pointedly at the fist and then back to her, “would you have hit me?”

   “No,” yes.

   His eyes narrowed and he straightened back up again, considering her.

   Had he heard the lie?

   “So let me get this straight, you don’t want to have a drink with me and the only reason you are is to potentially save the life of a total stranger-” she had opened her mouth to say he was no better but he beat her to it, “I am not a stranger Sera.”

   Yes, he was. She knew nothing about him besides what he did- vaguely- where he was from- or at least born because he certainly didn’t bare an Italian accent- hobbies- that couldn’t be considered as such as he himself admitted they were part of his job- and…and nothing else. Yet he knew her better than most of the people she surrounded herself with.

   “Well?” he prompted when she didn’t answer, “do you or do you not wish to have a drink with me?”

   “Um,” she licked her lips as she thought of what to say, to think of something to get her out of this situation.

   Did she want the drink? Absolutely, needed it was more like it with him putting her nerves on end like this…but why him? She never let anything or anyone scare her, so why was Gage affecting her like this? She had never wanted to get away from someone more desperately then she did right now. And she never ran from her fears, she confronted them, always. She didn’t need any more what if’s in her life, any more regrets of situations she wished she could change. But she didn’t like how he had managed to get under her skin in such a short time, didn’t like how often she found herself thinking about him…