Chapter Six
Two men argue over the last play of a basketball game. Back and forth they bicker about the plays and who was better. Their girlfriends try to pry them from their dispute but to no avail. Nothing seems to get their attention. Nothing until a tall blonde with blue eyes walks past them. They stop and their eyes follow the blonde to the end of the sidewalk, both finally coming to an agreement on something.
"Wow . . . " They say aimlessly. Their girlfriends throw their arms in the air, giving up on their lost boyfriends, and decide to go shopping, without them.
The blonde woman waits for the crosswalk with bags in hand and has a huge smile on her face. Sarah Jones is a happy woman. She's beautiful, has an easy job and is the girlfriend of Peter Baker. Her boyfriend isn't the best however, in fact she can't stand him. But since the money is still flowing, she'll stay around, until someone better comes along. The crosswalk signal is on and people are ready to cross when a black Jaguar stops them, most importantly, it stops Sarah.
"Hey, Darling. Need a lift?" Says a handsome man in a black suit. Sarah smiles and gets in.
"Thanks. I'm Sarah."
"I'm Duo. Duo Maxwell."
("Damn it all! Why did he have to come here? Why here, why tonight? He doesn't even like Tai food!") Hilde buries her head in her menu. She prays that she was mistaken, that they guy she thought to be Peter was not him. A soft sigh escapes her lips as she thinks about Duo. ("He's probably thinking I'm rude or something.") However, there is no sound coming from Duo. She looks up to see Duo looking at the approaching couple. There is a weird smile on his face.
"Duo?" Hilde lowers the menu a bit to show her eyes more. Duo turns to face her and his smile broadens.
"What's the matter Hilde?" He says in an all too assuring voice, as if he knew her answer.
"Hilde?" Peter looks at her shocked. Last time he heard about her was that she was not over him that she was pinning away for him. So why is she here? With this guy? Peter looks at Duo, he tries to place his face but cannot. Duo's smile becomes evil as he finally gets to see Peter. Duo tries to hold back a laugh as he looks at the man, no boy, who has been hurting this precious flower. ("Wait. Did I just think that?") Duo shakes the thought out of his head and returns to judging Peter. Ah, Peter. He has dirty blond hair and green eyes. The boy is in a brown suit that screams 'I'm cheap'.
"Hello Peter." Hilde's voice is cold and dripping with disgust.
"What are you doing here?" He asks all smart-ass like. Duo pushes his chair back to stand.
"She's having dinner with me." His voice is dangerous and taunting, daring Peter to take him on. Peter only comes up to Duo's chin and is no where near the shape Duo's in.
"Who, who the hell are you?" He says taking a step back from the approaching man. Duo cracks his knuckles.
"Hilde?" Duo says, ignoring Peter's question. "Is this your x?" Hilde, who is still holding her menu and still sitting, nods 'yes'. "That's all I need to know." Before Peter could move, before Hilde could say anything, Peter was on the floor. Duo had moved so fast that it seemed like Peter had thrown himself to the ground.
"Ow! You dumb fuck! You broke my nose!"
"You'll live." Duo takes a napkin off his table and throws it to Peter. "Now, if I ever find you coming here or anywhere near Hilde . . . I'll really make you hurt."
"Fuck you! You can't threaten me!" Duo straitens his tie and sits back down.
"I just did." His voice is cold and he glares at Peter. Sarah helps her boyfriend up and they head out. Sarah looks over her shoulder and winks at Duo before she leaves with a bloody boyfriend.
Duo chuckles to himself as he watches Peter leave. He turns to look at Hilde and sees her still hiding behind her menu. Duo reaches over and with his pointer finger, pulls down the menu that has walled its self around Hilde. Her eyes dart back and forth as she watches the menu being pulled down. When it is flat on the table, she looks up at Duo. He has a silly grin on his face.
"Hope you're not mad?" He says with a laugh.
"Not at all." She says as she pulls the menu up again. This time, not to hide her face. "So . . . do you know what you are going to get?" Duo is taken aback by her sudden change in subject. He is disappointed that the only reaction he got out of her was the shocked look on her face when she saw Peter.
"I don't know. Never been here before." It is a simple answer. Harmless to what Duo thought until he heard . . .
"Hmmm." He looks toward Hilde and sees only her eyes, as she had raised her menu back up again. Duo starts to sweat under her questioning glare. "Really?" She says as she looks back down. Hilde sighs and puts the menu down. "I'm ready." She says.
"Oh. Alright. I think I know what I want." To escape her stern glare, Duo flags down a water. The man takes the order and drinks and head off, leaving all too soon. The tension at the table raises and the silence is drawn out. Hilde continues to stare at Duo as he tries to avoid her eyes by pretending to be looking at the decorations.
"Tell me Duo. Is it common to take someone you barely know to a restaurant that you have never been to before?"
"Uh . . . "
"Duo?" She says as she rests her chin in the palms of her hands.
"Yes?"
"Is this a set up? Or are you just a really nice guy who likes to take girls out for the fun of it?"
"Nope. I only go for women. Girls can get me arrested." Duo laughs but is stopped by Hilde's unmoving expression.
"Duo . . . I think I should go. Thanks for the flowers and all." She stands up from the table. Duo tries to plea with her with his sad expression but it doesn't work. "Oh, and tell Dorothy or Relena, whoever set this up, that I can get a date on my own." Hilde tries not to cry. She has never been so embarrassed in her whole life. Hilde really thought that Duo may have liked her but of course, as the fates would have it, no man that looked as good as Duo would want her. Hilde makes her way to the front door when a hand on her arm pulls her back to the table. Duo makes her sit down and kneels down in front of her to box her in her seat.
"No . . . nothing like that. I do what I want. I don't need people telling me who to I choice to go out with. Besides, your friends were the ones that didn't want me to do this." He says with a smile that made Hilde's heart flutter. Hilde took a deep breath to free her from his spell and to calm herself down. She took a long look in his eyes and saw that he is truthful to his words.
"I'm sorry." She says in a soft voice. "It's just that this wouldn't be the first time they did this to me."
"Hey no prob. Just as long as you finish dinner with me." He stands up and sits down just when their meals came. Hilde smiles and together they enjoy a wonderful meal . . .
"Duo . . . something just hit me. If you're here . . . then who is working on my dress?"
"Uh . . . dress?"
*Ok . . . Hi! I know, I know. "Psycho? Where have you been?" I have been getting that a lot lately and just want to say that I have been traveling all over New England. College search . . . we all have to do them! I just got back Monday and I have been playing make up at school. Damn, of all the times my teachers had to give us a "Major project" was when I was gone. Grrrr *Shakes fist in air* Oh well, hope you like and Review! Or something bad my happen to the next chapter! -_-*
