Author Notes: Hello! second chapter here! I'm excited to see what everyone thinks. Please review!
Chapter 2
I was woken up by the sunlight seeping through the blinds in my new room. I rolled over trying to hide my eyes from the light, I glanced to my right to look at the clock, it was 10:00. I sighed and pulled back my covers so I could get out of bed. Last nights events were tumbling around inside my head and I couldn't help but smile, Reno had left quite the impression on me. I decided to take a quick shower before going downstairs to get scolded by Cloud or whoever else might have been taken aback by my behavior. The hot water felt nice and I was reluctant to get out, after I had toweled off and put my makeup on I tried to decide on what I should wear. I decided on a light pink top with a black vest and a black pencil type skirt with some black flats.
I finally made my way to the first floor. Tifa was pushing a few tables together to make one longer table. Tifa was the only person in the large room so I decided it was safe to proceed. "Good morning Tif!" I took a seat on the edge of one of the tables and Tifa too took a seat.
"We're having a restoration meeting today, you're free aren't you?" She didn't sound any less cheerful than usual and I was relieved that she wasn't going to start in on me.
"Of course! That's why I'm here." She looked pleased. "You're not going to lecture me?" Tifa snickered and disappeared into the kitchen before reappearing a few moments later with cups and a pitcher of water. She put a glass of water on the table in front of each place that one of her friends would soon be occupying, she was always thinking of everyone's comfort. She walked away and set the pitcher on the bar before she began speaking.
"You're a big girl just like you told Cloud. I have no right to tell you what you can and can't do; I'd be crazy to even try. I respect you Evelyn, and I know that you're more than capable enough to make your own decisions." I couldn't help but hug her and she just giggled.
"Thank you Tif." She pulled away and shook her head.
"I will say that Reno is quite a handful though." I rolled my eyes and was about to speak again when I heard someone come through the door.
"Hey Evie!" I smiled at Yuffies small form. She came running towards me and hugged me tightly.
"You look great Yuffie, it's been so long."
"Well I was going to talk to you last night but you were a little preoccupied." I laughed and shrugged my shoulders.
"Sorry about that." I hadn't realized that others had come in with Yuffie so I was startled when I heard a deep voice.
"When is everyone else arriving?" It was a man I had only met once, his name was Vincent, he seemed incredibly mysterious to me, I wondered how exactly Tifa had come to know him.
"Well Cloud should be back with Barret soon, they had to go run some errands, and Rufus and the Turks should be here pretty soon too." He seemed pleased with the answer and pulled up one of the chairs. Yuffie sat next to him and started a conversation about materia. It wasn't too long before Cloud and Barret joined us and Barret and I shared hugs and small talk. Cloud never once tried to speak to me or even look at me; I didn't understand what I had done. We were about to start the meeting without the others when the doors opened for the last time. Everyone had been waiting for five people to enter but only three had come in. One was a man that I guessed everyone in the world would recognize, Rufus Shinra, I had never met him myself but I had seen his pictures many times. The second man was bald and had dark skin; he was wearing dark sunglasses even though he was inside and wore a nice suit. The third man was of course Reno, looking as irresistible as he had last night.
"You sure as hell took your sweet time." Barret always sounded a bit rough and had trouble controlling his cursing.
"There was some business that I had to deal with." Rufus sounded very serious and firm, he sounded like a business man should.
"Where are the other two?" It was the first time Cloud had spoken.
"Tseng and Elena are surveying some land at the moment; they unfortunately will not be able to attend this meeting."
Everyone took there seats. I felt a little out of my element, I hadn't been here in a long time, was it really my place to say what was good for Edge? Tifa was the first to speak. "Well first off this is Evelyn, my cousin; she specializes in architecture so I thought it would be a good idea to ask her to be part of our mission." Rufus and the bald man that they told me was named Rude nodded there heads at me in acknowledgment. "Now that introductions are out of the way I think that we need to get down to business. We need to start rebuilding downtown before we can even start talking about anything else." Everyone nodded there heads.
"And uh how do you propose we get the money for that?" Reno had his hands joined behind his head, always casual not only in his posture but with the way he spoke. Everyone was at a loss for words, even Tifa. I felt like I had a good idea but was nervous about speaking up so I focused my eyes on the table.
"What about fundraising?" Reno raised his eyebrow at me.
"I think we're all a little old for bake sales." Rude and Barret chuckled and Rufus nudged Reno in the ribs and gave him a stern look. I rolled my eyes and continued.
"7th Heaven is really popular right? Well what if we use that to our advantage? Tifa maybe for a couple of nights a large majority of the money coming in could go towards town restoration and we could set up some kind of restoration fund for customers to donate to and you could give a speech or something to inform everyone of our cause. I think that everyone who lives in Edge would want to improve life here and I believe that they'll want to help in anyway they can." When I finally took my eyes off the table up from the table everyone had an amused look on their face.
"That's a very clever idea, I like it." Rufus Shinra liked my idea; I guess I should be flattered.
"It sounds great Evie. We'll have to do a little promoting but we should be able to do it very soon." Tifa seemed thoroughly pleased with the idea.
"Hey Vincent why isn't the WRO involved in this?" Barret had his arms folded in front of him. The World Regenesis Orginization was a group that was helping to restore the planet and also protect it's people.
"We're a little tied up at the moment. We have a lot projects going on in many different places, we can't fix everything. That's why it's a good idea to have a restoration committee here." Barrett just grunted.
I glanced over at Reno who still had his hands behind his head. When he noticed my eyes on him he smirked and winked, I couldn't help the small giggle that escaped me. Cloud cleared his throat next to me, "Well I guess that's as far as we can get today, so I'll get a hold of everyone again when we decide on a time for the fundraising." Cloud stood and began walking towards the kitchen with Tifa on his heels. Yuffie, Vincent, and Barret all began talking about what they had been up to lately; I was going to join the conversation when I felt a tap on my shoulder, it was Reno. I stood and stretched before actually looking at him. He ran his hand through his hair and scratched the back of his head.
"I was gonna go get some lunch, care to join me?" I think he knew my answer before it left my lips.
"I'd love to. I'm just going to go tell Tifa I'm leaving."
"I'll be outside." I quickly walked to the kitchen, anxious to get back to Reno. It seemed as if I had interrupted an important conversation between Cloud and Tifa when I pushed through the doors.
"Umm sorry, I was just going to tell you I'm going to get some lunch with Reno." Cloud shook his head and groaned before swiftly making his way up the stairs. "What the hell is his problem?" I didn't understand why he was acting so grouchy.
"I really don't know. I was trying to talk to him about it but he just said changed the subject." Tifa probably cared more for Cloud than anyone, she loved him and I knew it hurt her when he wasn't able to speak with her.
"I'm sure he'll come around." I hugged Tifa tightly to reassure her.
"I know. Have a nice lunch, be careful." I smiled and quickly made my way outside.
So he was dead sexy. Reno was leaning very casually against a motorcycle; I hadn't expected that, though it definitely suited him. "I've only been on a motorcycle once you know." I stopped walking when I was within arms length of him.
"And how'd that go?" A permanent smirk seemed to grace his lips, it was cocky but cute.
"I didn't really get to enjoy it, Cloud was so sulky." He chuckled and slid a pair of goggles over his eyes.
"He always acts like he has a stick up his ass; I don't understand the man at all." Reno seated himself on his vehicle and turned to pat the spot behind him, inviting me to join him. I was about to accept the invitation when I realized there was a small problem with the situation.
"Umm…my skirts a bit tight around my legs, I don't really think I could sit on this without ripping it." I bit my lip in embarrassment and he just chuckled.
"There's no need to be modest around me, just hike it up and sit down." I picked a horrible day to wear this number. I sighed and moved out of Reno's line of sight so I could pull my skirt up and quickly took my seat behind him.
"All modesty is gone." He laughed at my statement then reached backwards and took hold of one of my hands. It was the first physical contact we had had since last night and it sent a bolt of electricity throughout my body. He brought my hand forward and wrapped my arm around his waist then did the same with the other.
"I could've just told you to hold on tight but it's more fun this way." I laughed and pulled myself snuggly against him.
"Much more fun." He revved his engine and then we were off. The whole experience was astounding; the wind on my face and the feel of Reno's warm body was more than enough to make my day. The only con I could think of was my hair whipping around violently but that was my fault.
We came to a stop about thirty minutes later. He allowed me to get off first and I quickly brushed my skirt back down before he got off. He took off his goggles and turned to face me. I was hastily trying to fix my wild hair with just my hands. I stopped when I heard his laughter and looked up to see him chuckling into his hand at what I guessed to be my disheveled appearance. "I forgot to put my hair in a ponytail." He just chuckled again and waited for me to finish fussing over my hair, when I felt it looked as good as it was going to get I focused back on him.
"You look great." I beamed at his compliment. I decided to look around at my surroundings. We seemed to be in a surprisingly isolated spot for a city as large as Midgar. There was a small building in front of us, and behind was a small lake with a few benches and picnic tables scattered seemed like a very peaceful spot to spend time; it was odd to see anything but the familiar urban elements of this place. Reno must have noticed that I didn't know where we were. "I like this place, it's just a small deli but I like to order some food and sit outside, its quiet, gives me a chance to clear my head." Without any further explanation he proceeded towards the deli with his hands in his pockets. I ordered a salad and Reno ordered a sandwich. He led me back outside to one of the picnic tables and I took a seat across from him. We ate our food in silence, I don't know if it was out of shyness or if it was just more comfortable that way. When we had both finished I decided to start the conversation.
"The ride over here was exhilarating, much more fun than it was with Cloud." He grinned.
"Of course it was, I know how to show a lady a good time." For some reason his vanity was charming.
"I get the feeling you show ladies a good time often?" I left it as a question, he was a ladies man no doubt about it. His good looks and charisma were more than enough to win the affection of most women. He looked into my eyes for a few moments, never breaking contact; I guessed he was thinking his answer over carefully.
"I…I have been known to break a few hearts." I nodded, I wasn't surprised and I wasn't taken aback. I waited for him to continue. "Getting women's attention comes easy to me, it always has. It's not always something I'm proud of and I do have regrets. I may not always be the noblest guy but I'm not exactly the whore that Strife makes me out to be." I listened intently taking in his gestures and the inflections in his voice. He was being very honest with me and I respected him greatly for that. Everyone makes mistakes and I was no exception, I had done my fair share of stupid things. "I like to have fun I know that's not really an excuse but it's the truth. I've matured a lot since I joined the Turks; I take everything day by day. I don't make promises I can't keep, every woman I've been….involved with has known exactly what they were getting themselves into. I'd like to have an actual relationship, it sounds great. Unfortunately things have never turned out that way, I don't think you can help who you do and do not get attached to." He had just admitted to me that he had indeed been involved with quite a few women but it didn't make me want to turn away. His honesty was admirable, if he was really a scoundrel he'd probably either hide the truth or brag about his conquests. Maybe he was just a man unlucky in relationships but who liked to have a good time, that didn't make him a whore in my book.
I lifted my eyes to meet his again before I began talking. "I think you're a very interesting man Reno, you're incredibly appealing." His eyes flashed with surprise but quickly went back to casualness.
"Right back at ya babe." He stood and stretched his arms above his head. His back was facing me and I too stood and quietly snuck up behind him.
"Hey Reno?"
"Huh?" He turned to face my direction and barely had time to look startled by my closeness before I stood on my tip toes and closed the space between us with the brush of my lips on his. He was surprised by my actions at first but quickly pulled me tighter against him and deepened the kiss, he took control almost instantly. His tongue was warm and sweet against mine and even better than it had been last night. I tangled my hands in his hair and he placed one arm tightly around my waist and the other on the back of my neck. He nibbled lightly on my lip and a small moan escaped my lips which was met by a throaty groan from him. He pulled away far too early for my liking and I sighed in protest. He chuckled and pulled away far enough to look into my eyes. "You're just full of surprises aren't ya?" I grinned and planted another kiss on his lips. "You don't seem like the type of girl to just kiss a man she barely knows." He was right about that, this was new to me, but I was enjoying it immensely.
"I'm not, but there's just something about you." He pulled me in for another kiss that had me gasping for breathe.
"There's something about you too." I bit my lip and he seemed to like this innocent gesture because he kissed me again. "Let's sit down and talk again. I want to know more about you." I wondered how many times Reno had said something like that to a woman and couldn't help but smile when I came to the conclusion that it couldn't be very many.
Author Notes: Okie dokie, I hope that was alright. I should be updating very soon again. I'm still working out my rustiness but I'm getting there. Thank's for reading another chapter!