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Chapter 21 - Reconsider

Samuel, feeling more relaxed than he can ever remember, walked with a spring in his step to Karen's dorm room and knocked on the door.

No one answered.

He scratched his head and thought he heard a hair dryer running inside of the dorm. With that noise, no one would ever hear him knocking. He knew that from living with his sister all of these years. He slowly opened the door. "Hello?"

Emily was vacuuming, which explained what he thought had been a hair dryer.

"Hey." Karen smiled at him as she walked out of her bedroom, putting on a pair of long earrings.

He turned to look at her and couldn't help the smile that spread on his face. She was stunning. Her long, brown hair hung in long curls and seemed to have a glow about her. She took his hand in hers and pulled him into her bedroom. The loud vacuum was muted as she closed the door.

"That's the loudest vacuum in the world." Karen smiled. "I'm sorry about that."

"I'm sorry to have just pushed in…."

"It's alright. My roommate has gone crazy cleaning. She should be studying."

He put his hands in his pockets and smiled. "Procrastination, huh?"

"That's her major." Karen giggled and turned around to get some mascara from her make-up box. "I'll be ready in just a bit. Did you decide where you wanted to eat?"

He sat down on the chair at her desk and watched her put on her make-up. He had seen Genie do the exact same thing so many times. She stood in front of him, with her back turned using the mirror that hung in her cupboard. He looked at her bum. Those curves that he had thought about all day were just there where he could reach out and grab them.

"Umm…. " He rubbed his hands on his jeans. "You were picking the restaurant."

She stopped and turned around to look at him. "I'm not doing that."

He grinned. "Why not?"

"Well. I've had a lot on my mind today."

"Really? Like what?"

She put her mascara back in the make-up box and started to look for something else. He took the opportunity to grab her hand and pull her to him. She giggled and sat on his lap. Her lips met his just as he grabbed her bum and held her tightly. The electrical wave began as soon as his tongue wrapped around hers. It seemed to come from her and move from his lips, to his chest and stomach. Slowly at first, and then it grew.

He whispered to her. "You are beautiful."

She laughed, "I've not finished putting on my make-up!"

He tucked her hair behind her ear and looked in her eyes. "This is the face I've longed to see all day."

She began to kiss him again, running her hands through his short hair. She stopped and looked at him. "Where are your curls?"

He kissed the end of her nose, "I needed a trim."

She began to kiss him again, and the electrical charge gave him goose bumps all down his arms. He could feel her grab his face and seemed to be as enthusiastic as he was to see her again. Maybe that was what was really giving him goose bumps. Maybe he could convince her to just stay here. Did they really need to eat?

Their snog was interrupted by her phone ringing. They stopped and looked down at it sitting on the top of the desk.

She bit her lip. "I'm so sorry, I need to take this. Do you mind?"

He shook his head, "Not at all."

She accepted the call, "Hi, Mom."

He sat back on the chair and looked at her desk. It was full of papers and files. Notebooks and a stack of library books that had been bookmarked sat to one side. Her laptop sat opened with a screen saver of bubbles floating across the screen.

"Yes. I'm looking forward to seeing you both."

Samuel rubbed her legs and she smiled back at him. Her fingertips stroked his face, making his hair feel as if it was standing on end.

"That's perfect. I'll be out of class by the time you arrive. I'll see you both tomorrow. Bye!" She ended the call.

Sam held her as she continued to sit on his lap. "Parents visiting, huh?"

"Take a good look at the dorm room. My Dad is insisting I get an apartment. That's why they are coming up."

Samuel's heart leap. "Really? An apartment. Just you?"

She giggled. "He's….insisting it would be better for me to study. Quieter. Safer."

He grinned at her, "And how are you about this?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I feel safe here. But, he says it is a 'shit hole'."

Samuel nodded his head. "I don't even know this guy, and already agree with him on something."

She leaned down and kissed him before she stood up and looked back at the mirror.

Sam cleared his throat. "Umm. Trying to keep my hands to myself is a problem. I'm sorry."

She turned around and giggled at him. "I'm determined that we'll at least make it through dinner."

"Okay." He rubbed his face. "So, parents hate the dorm."

"He's never liked me being in the dorms." She looked at herself in the mirror.

Sam rested his hands on top of his head. "Well, how long have you lived in the dorm?"

"Since I came here." She told Sam as she brushed her hair. "About a year ago."

Sam nodded.

"You live in an apartment, right?"

He rubbed his hands together, "Yep. Me and Arles' share it. Been there two days."

"Wow. Brand new, huh?"

He smiled, "Just moved here."

She turned and smiled at him. "Samuel, I don't know anything about you."

He smiled at those beautiful words. "Well, ask me anything you like."

She sat down her hair brush. He continued to look up at her as he sat in the chair. He thought about grabbing her, pressing her against the wall, and kissing the hell out of her. Maybe, locking the door and seeing if those jeans she was wearing were actually that tight. He was sure he could slip them off easily.

"I love how you are looking at me." She smiled.

He crossed his arms and cleared his throat. "How long will they be here?"

"Until we find an apartment. And he's already been looking. He has appointments with several tomorrow. Then, Dad will go back home while Mom and I get everything else. They are crazy and are giving this entire project…. three days."

He looked at her through his eyebrows. "Three days? Can that even be done in that time span?"

"It will have to be." She insisted. "Dad can't be gone for too long."

"Work?"

"Oh yes." She smiled and sat back on Samuel's lap again.

He gripped her bum again and smiled at her. "Was your day better than yesterday?"

"It started with you. Maybe, it will end with you." She said hopefully.

He grinned, "Maybe."

She put her finger over his lips. "I'm really finding it difficult to not kiss you."

"Then kiss me." He smiled.

She stood up. "We'll never make it to dinner if I kiss you right now."

He knew she was right. He ran his hands through his short hair. "Right. Okay. Dinner."

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Legate the Third sat with his sleeves pulled up on his jumper. The tattoo of the lighthouse showed clearly. He drank beer from a bottle as he read over a file. Genie sat next to him on the sofa in her flat, and had gotten distracted by the telly. A man was on a news program complaining about President Howard Shepherd.

The reporter asked. "Well, you're saying-"

"I find it completely convenient that the largest weapons manufacturer in the world, and the largest medical company in the world, are both lead by the President's three best friends."

Genie crossed her arms. "Who the hell is this guy?"

Legate looked up at the telly just as the reporter asked, "With the President's approval rating higher than any President's in history, are you trying to make an unfounded accusation that he has done something, inappropriate?"

Genie shook her head. "I really don't like this guy."

The man continued, "I'm just pointing out what everyone seems to have turned a blind eye to."

Legate drank some more of his beer and watched the report.

The reporter asked, "So, let me this straight. You are saying that the President, has in some way-"

"Let me be clear. The President has helped us all. They are no exception."

Genie shook her head in disapproval. "He's a moron. The reporter can even see it."

"Well, she's not human. But, this is bad for Howie. All you need a bit of doubt. He needs to head this off, before it grows. Otherwise, he will lose the confidence of his rule."

"His rule." Genie laughed. "He's the president, not a King."

"He's a leader. It's the same thing." He sat the bottle on the table.

Genie looked back at him. "You and I have never really talked about that. I know you don't want to go back and rule. Is there a reason why?"

He sat back and sighed. "I've done it before. I found it….umm…..limiting."

"Why? You are in charge of everything."

"Well, yeah. Both good and bad. You have an invasion of Cybermen? Hey! That's your fault. Why didn't you do something to prevent that? You have a plague break out? Hey! What the hell, you should have been paying more attention to prevent that. Your entire life exists in prevention, while you are dealing with what has already happened."

"Well, isn't that what a Quauthin does? You are working like mad to prevent something from happening, while dealing with whatever already has?"

He sat back and sighed. "You're saying that a Quauthin Warrior role is similar to one of a King?"

She thought, "Well, isn't it?"

He rose his eyebrows. "I'll have to give that some thought. That's interesting. But, I'll tell you that Lartius will agree with you."

She smiled, "Why?"

"Because it's you. Look at you. You could talk me into anything."

She teased, "Even being King?"

He drank the rest of his beer and laughed. "I would do it, if it was something you wanted. But-"

"That's the reason you say no." She realized. "The same reason you want to leave the Quauthin when we make the Promise."

He nodded, "Exactly. It will take me away from you. I don't want to be away even one minute."

"Well, that was when we thought I was human. Legate, you didn't know that I was Rixalarian when you asked me. You said you wanted to leave, because my life was so short."

"What are you saying?"

"If, you want, to reconsider-"

"What? The making the Life Promise? Are you mad? No! It took me forever to get you to agree to that. Are you saying you don't want to-"

"I want to be sure, that it's what you want. Before it was a short span of your life, and now….it will be your entire life."

"It will be your entire life-"

"It was that before!" She laughed. "This is just a conversation we need to have. Leaving, would mean forever now. Not just a few years. I want you to think about it-"

"I already promised Lenox-"

"You're not marrying Lenox! Things change. This decision is yours."

"Well, and yours."

"I want you, to rethink this entire thing. Legate, I don't think you would be happy without being a Quauthin."

"Would you be?"

She turned on the sofa and took his hand in her own. "Legate. This isn't about me. This is about you."

"You're involved in this. A big part, actually!"

She smiled. "Legate. I want you to rethink this. The entire thing. Not about us making the Life Promise, I'm completely for that. But, all of this. The Quauhtin. Your rank. The role you will play. Legate, you can't walk away from your responsibilities. Particularly, when so much has now changed. There are two of you. My life will hopefully last a lot longer than we could have dreamed."

He nodded. "You're right. It's something I need to think about."

Their attention went back to the telly. The reporter shook her head and tried to not show how annoyed she was at the guest. It wasn't working. "And well, thank you for coming."

Legate held his hand out and complained. "This guy is a jerk. If I wasn't a Quauhtin Warrior, I'd go break his damn arm."

"Then you would be called a fugitive." Genie teased. "Just, let it go."

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