Jasper and Alice have just met, and really, Jasper should have better things on his mind.
It was ridiculous, really. There were many questions – far more pressing – that should have been at the forefront of his mind. How did she know him when he had never seen her before, because he knew he could never have forgotten such a face? Why did she feel so…so good? She was the most intoxicating mixture of happiness, excitement and nerves. And, most importantly, why was he following her with barely any thought?
But no. As he followed a step behind her and he watched the soft fabric swish and sway as she walked along all excited, he could not fathom where she had gotten that dress.
Like he said, ridiculous. Peter would have knocked him around the head if he'd known.
But really, it tapered down from her dainty shoulders and encased her even smaller waist perfectly. And she was a tiny little thing to be sure, so he doubted she'd managed to find someone exactly her size to take the garment from. Not to mention how soft and clean it looked. Never had he seen a nomad dressed so impeccably.
And then, when he looked at himself, with his battered once-white shirt and slacks a little too short hidden underneath an overcoat, he could do nothing but wonder how this little girl was livin' and feel perfectly inadequate.
"What are you thinking?"
Glancing briefly at her face his eyes quickly followed the twirl of her dress as she turned to face him.
"You look lovely, is all…Miss Alice.'
Her features were small and delicate, yet those apple cheeks could still rise with the widest smile. She was radiant.
"You like the dress." It wasn't a question as she gathered the fabric in her hands only to let it fall again. "You've been toying with the idea of touching it for eighty-three minutes. As soon as I saw it in the store I knew.'
He looked at her surprise blossoming over his face. "You bought this? In a human store?"
"Well, unless there are vampire stores I don't know about?" If she could have blushed she would have, and he could feel her coyness and a little embarrassment at her own joke. So he let himself smile.
"Hardly – never met one in my life who frequented a tailor, I have to say."
"I can't stay for long," she said in a rush. "I telephone with my measurements and then call in to collect the dress. At first I couldn't even stay long enough to try it on. I know it's a bit strange – I mean it's not normal-"
"I think it suits you just fine, ma'am. Very fine, in fact. It's only, I don't know how…'
She didn't say anything to that. She didn't have to. He hadn't tried to hide his scepticism when she'd told him about her novel little 'diet', though he didn't deny it held some appeal for him either. Wisely, she understood now was not the time to have that conversation again.
"It's not far now," she said softly. "The next street will be pretty busy, but we'll leave it soon enough." And then she held out her hand and grasped his fingers without the merest thought that he would reject her touch, and led them along.
Of course, despite all her words of visions and the future, he grit his teeth and tensed across the back, readying himself for this brief onslaught of human stench, blood-scent and emotions, but as they turned onto the busy thoroughfare together and neither breathing, that swish and sway of the perfectly tailored skirt was oddly hypnotic. Their hands may have been entwined but he did hang back a little and let his eyes follow - all gentlemanly and above board of course; somehow, someway that little sway of skirt could make him forget for a moment.