xxxxxx

Lille

xxxxx

"Hey, hey! Calm down!" Insisted the alarmed man, one she immediately recognized as the face of Zoi. "You looked like you were hurting pretty bad when you left, but you sure fooled everybody." There was disgust in his voice at her stubborn pride.

"Stay away." She told him, trying to ignore him and his pretty face, and pull herself away from the wall, preparing to drag herself home.

He shot her a hurt look. "Hey, I thought you trusted me."

"I never said that. You're a hoodlum, and I don't wish to associate with you any longer." She said haughtily.

She was still unable to lean away from the building yet, but her body stiffened in anger as she heard his laughter. He was laughing at her!

"What's so funny?" She demanded.

He shook his head, smiling. "You are! I never heard anyone talk the way you do! Just how old are you anyways?"

Ami was insulted. "Well of course you never heard proper English, I doubt correctional facilities are teeming with well spoken inmates." That shut him up, and wiped the smile off his face.

"Look, I just wanted to make sure you're ok." He ground out. "Clearly you're shaken up, but your sharp tongue is intact."

Ami winced, feeling guilty. "Not that I don't appreciate your offer, but I'll be fine." He didn't move, just looked at her skeptically. "You may go."

"Why do I feel like a lowly farm worker being dismissed?" He wanted to know. "Thanks Princess but I think I'll stick around and make sure you're ok."

She frowned. "Why are you being so insistent?" She wanted to know.

He sighed, not quite sure how to explain. "Lets just say it's complicated. We'll call it penance and that's the end of that, ok?"

"But you didn't do anything wrong…this time…" Ami countered, confused. Unless he really was working with the other guy and intended to try to con more money out of her.

He sighed. "Damn but you're stubborn. The kid that stole from you was one of mine."

She turned her head to study him. He was young, but she supposed it was possible. "Your son?"

He gagged. "My son!" He laughed again. She was beginning to thoroughly dislike this man who seemed to find everything she said so hilarious. She was the one with a higher education, so why did she feel so stupid next to him?

"No, he was one of my…I guess you could say lackeys. He used to work for me. Guess he's doing his own thing now." He said with distaste. "Petty purse snatching." When she opened her mouth to ask him more about it, he shook his head. "Enough, we'll discuss it later Lille, lets just get you home."

He reached out to tug her from the wall, but she refused to budge. "What did you call me?"

He looked confused. "What?"

"Did you call me a Lily?" She felt embarrassed even asking. Was he coming on to her? No, he was too handsome, and too young to be doing that….

"No, I didn't I call you anything. I said I…" He trailed off, realizing he had indeed called her something.

"Well?" She wanted to know, sensing he had remembered.

He shrugged. "I called you Lille, it means small in Danish."

"You know Danish? I mean you speak it?" She asked in wide-eyed wonder.

"Yeah well…" He scratched the back of his neck, not really wanting to discuss it. "My grandmothers Scandinavian. So she spoke some Danish and Norwegian to me when I was small, ok?"

"But you don't have an accent or anything." She told him, fascinated by this little nugget of information.

"I said she was Scandinavian. Me, I'm 100 American, ok?" He groused, tired of her questions.

"Except for your looks and last name." She said, as though this were news to him.

"Damn, you're nosy!" He said loudly, and that caused her to clam up. It wasn't the first time she had heard that sort of thing. When something caught her attention, she tended to ask questions till she was blue in the face. But sometime this tended to upset people, which in turn tended to upset her when they got angry.

"Sorry." She whispered, finally leaning away from the wall, ready to leave.

Zoi sighed. "No, don't be sorry, ok?" He tugged on her hand. "Look, let me help you home, and you can ask all the questions you want."

She shook her head no. "I'll be fine." Ami responded dully.

"Now you make me feel like I've kicked a puppy." He grimaced. "But I'm not taking no for an answer, I'm going to make sure you get home in one piece."

"But the bus stop is just three blocks away." She rebutted.

"That's great. My car is just two." He said, and that was that.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Wow, nice place Doc." Zoi was suitably impressed as they entered her high-rise apartment.

She looked over at him sharply. "How did you know I was a Doctor?" She asked.

"It was on your name plate on the front building." He said, a brow raised derisively. She had the grace to blush.

"Um, well thanks." She said, in reference to his earlier comment. She was proud of her apartment; it was classy and rich with understated elegance. An expensive Persian rug covered the living room floor, and dark brown leather sofa and loveseat took up much of the space. Dark cherry bookcases lined the walls, and on the coffee table and on various little stands around the room books were stacked asymmetrically, lending a comfortable atmosphere to the place. A modest sized TV graced the corner of the living space.

"So…" He looked around curiously. "Is there a Mr. Doctor?"

She looked at him sourly. Raising her left hand, she wiggled her bare ring finger.

"Hey, that doesn't mean anything these days." He responded. "Some people who're married don't always like to advertise."

"Well I would." She told him with an air of offence for 'those types of people'. "And so would my husband, I'd make sure of it."

"I'll keep that in mind Lille." He said with a wink. For some reason that made her blush.

It was time to reassert her authority here. "Well young man, you've helped me home like you said you would. I appreciate your help." She reached for her purse, not seeing his back stiffen. Pulling out her wallet, she searched for a few bills, trying to determine what was the right amount for an award.

"What the hell are you doing?" He demanded.

Ami frowned. "Rewarding you for your good behavior of course." She answered.

He held up a finger. "First of all, don't call me a 'young man' like you're so much older than me." Her eyes widened at his harsh tone. "Secondly, don't try to give me money like you're paying me off for doing a job." His voice was venomous, and Ami shivered at the sound of it.

"I…But I was just…I didn't mean to offend you…" She stumbled, looking for the right words.

"Well you did." He said, back ramrod straight. Damn it, what was he still doing here? He asked himself. Clearly she considered him a nuisance, and she wasn't his type. He liked his woman and cars the same; hot and fast.

Suddenly Ami was struck by the absurdity of the moment. This man was a stranger to her, she had just barely survived an awful day, and now she, despite the fact that she was the one in pain, was trying to sooth his ruffled feathers!

But she knew how to play peacemaker. "How about a compromise?" She suggested tentatively.

He had his back to her, studying a grouping of photos, but she could see he was still upset, still sulking.

"What if I make us some dinner?" She said. Then she blushed, thinking it sounded like an invitation. "Just to thank you for your help." She quickly added.

He shrugged, trying to relax since she wasn't trying to give him money any more. "Maybe I could cook, since you're banged up and all." He offered, liking the sound of food.

"Oh, but I…" She wasn't sure if she liked the idea of a stranger rummaging around her kitchen and home. "What if we order something instead?" Ami was sure this was a better idea.

"What, like Pizza?" He asked, interested.

She frowned. "I was thinking of Mint's. It's a health food plac…" She trailed off. Clearly he didn't like the sound of that.

"Chinese?" He asked without much hope.

"Indian?" She bartered.

They both sighed. Then grinned at one another in a rare moment of accord. How strange it was that she felt so comfortable with this man, Ami thought. Men usually frightened her, made her nervous.

"How about Italian." She said at last, thinking if they couldn't agree to this, she was going to have to cook after all.

He nodded in agreement. "I like Italian." A slow smile spread over his face and her heart began beating a little faster. Never mind the 'comfortable' thing, she decided.

Adjusting her glasses, she shuffled into the kitchen to find her drawer of neatly stacked menus. She went thru her stash till she found the one she was looking for. Turning, she was caught off guard to find him standing right behind her. "Oh!" She yelped in surprise.

"Sorry, I'm hungry." He said by way of apology. Why did those words make her cheeks redden? And worse, why did it make him look closer at her, his gaze lingering before switching over to the menu. Stupid, stupid Ami! She chastised herself.

He picked out what he wanted, then left her to order while he wandered back into the living room, looking around at her things.

She came out of the kitchen, and watched him silently for a moment. He most definitely didn't belong in her apartment. He was handsome, and she couldn't seem to get past that fact. Never mind that he was too young for them to probably even be friends, he was an ex convict, at least from what she understood, and they were worlds apart academically.

He raised a hand to stroke along the spines of several books before resting on one, and pulling it out to better read the title. The sensuous movements made her uncomfortable. "I'm going to go change." She said, and had the satisfaction of catching him off guard. He hadn't known she was there. He nodded, then turned his attention back to the books.

Somehow she felt rebuffed.

Ami moved slowly down the hall to her bedroom.

Meanwhile Zoi was learning lots about his new…whatever she was. She was a doctor; she was bookish, neat, organized and stubborn. His hands moved over the book he had noticed, one that stood out from the rest of her collection. It was worn and frayed around the edges, unlike the others, which were in mint condition. Then his gaze snagged on a computer in the corner of the room, and he eyed it thoughtfully.

It was almost too easy.

xxxxxxxxx

TBC-Zoi, what are you up to???