Having a beautiful woman sleep in your bed and not letting yourself touch
her would drive any man mad, but to Roux, it was twice as distressing. He
glanced out the foggy window and saw that the rain had began to let up a
little. He pulled on a pair of old sweatpants that had the hem torn out at
the end of the legs so instead of gripping his ankles uncomfortably, the
material hung limp.
It was nearly midnight when he slipped silently out of the apartment onto the wet and shivered against the cold that was turning his breaths into white puffy clouds of steam as he turned his head down to stare at the cobble stone pavement and began to walk. He always thought that everything looked different at night but now with the world dripping wet around him, it seemed alien.
He didn't really mind the rain and cold, it matched his mood wholly. There was rustling all around him from the wind that was blowing miserably at the advantageously placed trees that filtered the moonlight so everything looked green. The subtle rustling grew louder when the wind did not and Roux turned around to see who was coming.
She seemed to have stepped out of some fairytale. All long legs and wet curling hair the color of rich dark honey around her angelic face that showcased sexy eyes that had just a bit of a feline tilt, a dramatic mouth that was capable of smiling or pouting or sneering in just the right way to have a man drooling anyway. She could be the enchanted princess in every tale and man's dreams, but why did she look so miserable?
He stepped to the side and she kept walking as if he were invisible. "Peony" Roux said her name almost at a whisper, but she jumped as if he had shouted it. Her eyes were wide when she turned. Her body got less stiff at the recognition, but her eyes remained cagey. It was such a contrast for the woman he had seen before that he almost began to wonder if perhaps she had some sort of twin, or if an alien had come and abducted her and replaced her body with an icky gooey pod which later hatched a bolder sexier of Peony Ellis.
"What?" She asked when he only continued to stare at her. She hadn't hatched from an alien pod but she was definitely different, something about her was different, then he spotted it. On a very important finger on her right hand was a ring. "What is that?" He demanded a little too forcefully for reasons he couldn't explain. She looked down at the ring Roux was glaring at as if his life depended on it. "It's a ring, but I didn't expect you to know what it is, you never gave me one," She said like ice-cold fire. She turned to walk away but he grabbed her hand and pulled her back to him.
"Who gave it to you?" He said and Peony decided that it would be pointless to try to get away now; his grip was like an iron vice. "Why do you care? You didn't care when you left" She said and watched him silently. "That's bullshit and you know it, and if you're trying to make me feel like shit for that even more then you'll have to try something else, because you left too, now who gave you the ring?"
Peony's eyes filled with tears and Roux gave a torn sigh. "That would do it," He murmured. "Look Peo please don't cry," He said as he cupped her elbows gently and tried to embrace her. She shoved violently at his hard chest. "Damn you don't you tell me not to cry, I'll cry if I want to" Tears mixed with rain on her cheeks. "I'm not mad at you for leaving me Roux, but I hate you for running out on our daughter".
He seen Peony furious, happy, and a range of other emotions, but he had never seen her so helplessly sad. It was as if some invisible hand had flipped a light switch and the woman who had been so spitting mad the minute before was now.there were no words he could think of that would describe how Peony looked at that moment. He felt as if something was slowly ripping apart in him.
He opened his mouth to say something but Peony just shook her head and blinked back the last of the tears. "I'm sorry I felt Peo," Roux said honestly. "I'm sorry I left you and Sinead, but who gave you the ring?" Peony only stared at him through the tears as if she couldn't believe him. "Why do I need to answer to you?" She said, a sneer lightly touching her lips. "Because I'm-I happen to know that that ring is from Etoile, it's over 1,000 dollars" Peony looked down at the ring as if she were considering it. It was a gorgeous ring indeed, a thick band of platinum embedded with 10 small but incredibly beautiful pave diamonds
Before Peony could answer, Roux plowed on. "And where are you getting all this money. You're not doing anything illegal are you Peony?" He growled. "Maybe I am. So what?" She shot back and raised an eyebrow, daring him to say something else. "What are you even doing awake at this time at night?" Peony shook her head. "Morning, Roux. And I can ask you the very same question?" "I couldn't sleep," He said a little too quickly and Peony eyed him for a lingering minute. "No, I doubt that I would be able to either if I had just picked up some girl off the street"
"How did you know that?" He asked slowly. Peony smirked a little once more. "Windows darling, as you may notice, everyone has them" Something odd was happening in the deep pit of Roux's stomach. "You've changed," He said with a untellable emotion in his voice. She raised an eyebrow. "I believe I have, in fact I do believe that I've grown up, you may possibly want to try it sometime". Roux took a step towards her and admired the way that she didn't step back but tilted her chin up, making her look like a stubborn Irish princess.
"I don't think I want to grow up Peo, but I do want to do this" He had his arms around her so fast that she didn't have time to fight him off. He could taste the tears and soft rainwater on her lips, blended with minty toothpaste and cherry lip-polish. She melted against him for a minute or two; either knew how long the kiss lasted, but when her nails bite painfully into the back of his neck and she hissed as she pulled back, he figured that it wasn't the smartest thing he has ever done. However, the way she felt when she forgot she loathed him at the moment, was unforgettable.
"You do that again," Peony said in a voice that was close to a snarl, "I'll slice you into ribbons". As if the world around them sensed the mood, the rain that had been close to stopping started pouring from the sky as if the clouds had been holding it in until that exact moment. "I love when you talk dirty to me" Roux said with a sneer and had Peony's eyes shooting fire bolts at him and wondered why on earth he didn't just shrivel up and die.
Roux knew that it wasn't the right time to smile now, but couldn't help it. "Oh, so the kitten has claws does she?" Peony hissed at him, which didn't exactly help wipe the smile off his face. "I have to open up the shop early in the morning," She said, looking for a way out of the situation that was becoming more uncomfortable by the minute. "What time?" Roux asked conversationally. "Six, why?" "Well then it's not really in the morning is it then? It's really in 5 hours"
Peony glared at him for a moment then turned on her heels and left him on the cobble stone sidewalk, her ring oddly glittering in the filtered moonlight and Roux wondered how he had missed it before, maybe he just didn't want to think that she could have another lover as well. Oh well, he mused, he would jump off that bridge when he came to it, but for now he figured that he should go back to see Jemima and what he could make of her.
It was nearly midnight when he slipped silently out of the apartment onto the wet and shivered against the cold that was turning his breaths into white puffy clouds of steam as he turned his head down to stare at the cobble stone pavement and began to walk. He always thought that everything looked different at night but now with the world dripping wet around him, it seemed alien.
He didn't really mind the rain and cold, it matched his mood wholly. There was rustling all around him from the wind that was blowing miserably at the advantageously placed trees that filtered the moonlight so everything looked green. The subtle rustling grew louder when the wind did not and Roux turned around to see who was coming.
She seemed to have stepped out of some fairytale. All long legs and wet curling hair the color of rich dark honey around her angelic face that showcased sexy eyes that had just a bit of a feline tilt, a dramatic mouth that was capable of smiling or pouting or sneering in just the right way to have a man drooling anyway. She could be the enchanted princess in every tale and man's dreams, but why did she look so miserable?
He stepped to the side and she kept walking as if he were invisible. "Peony" Roux said her name almost at a whisper, but she jumped as if he had shouted it. Her eyes were wide when she turned. Her body got less stiff at the recognition, but her eyes remained cagey. It was such a contrast for the woman he had seen before that he almost began to wonder if perhaps she had some sort of twin, or if an alien had come and abducted her and replaced her body with an icky gooey pod which later hatched a bolder sexier of Peony Ellis.
"What?" She asked when he only continued to stare at her. She hadn't hatched from an alien pod but she was definitely different, something about her was different, then he spotted it. On a very important finger on her right hand was a ring. "What is that?" He demanded a little too forcefully for reasons he couldn't explain. She looked down at the ring Roux was glaring at as if his life depended on it. "It's a ring, but I didn't expect you to know what it is, you never gave me one," She said like ice-cold fire. She turned to walk away but he grabbed her hand and pulled her back to him.
"Who gave it to you?" He said and Peony decided that it would be pointless to try to get away now; his grip was like an iron vice. "Why do you care? You didn't care when you left" She said and watched him silently. "That's bullshit and you know it, and if you're trying to make me feel like shit for that even more then you'll have to try something else, because you left too, now who gave you the ring?"
Peony's eyes filled with tears and Roux gave a torn sigh. "That would do it," He murmured. "Look Peo please don't cry," He said as he cupped her elbows gently and tried to embrace her. She shoved violently at his hard chest. "Damn you don't you tell me not to cry, I'll cry if I want to" Tears mixed with rain on her cheeks. "I'm not mad at you for leaving me Roux, but I hate you for running out on our daughter".
He seen Peony furious, happy, and a range of other emotions, but he had never seen her so helplessly sad. It was as if some invisible hand had flipped a light switch and the woman who had been so spitting mad the minute before was now.there were no words he could think of that would describe how Peony looked at that moment. He felt as if something was slowly ripping apart in him.
He opened his mouth to say something but Peony just shook her head and blinked back the last of the tears. "I'm sorry I felt Peo," Roux said honestly. "I'm sorry I left you and Sinead, but who gave you the ring?" Peony only stared at him through the tears as if she couldn't believe him. "Why do I need to answer to you?" She said, a sneer lightly touching her lips. "Because I'm-I happen to know that that ring is from Etoile, it's over 1,000 dollars" Peony looked down at the ring as if she were considering it. It was a gorgeous ring indeed, a thick band of platinum embedded with 10 small but incredibly beautiful pave diamonds
Before Peony could answer, Roux plowed on. "And where are you getting all this money. You're not doing anything illegal are you Peony?" He growled. "Maybe I am. So what?" She shot back and raised an eyebrow, daring him to say something else. "What are you even doing awake at this time at night?" Peony shook her head. "Morning, Roux. And I can ask you the very same question?" "I couldn't sleep," He said a little too quickly and Peony eyed him for a lingering minute. "No, I doubt that I would be able to either if I had just picked up some girl off the street"
"How did you know that?" He asked slowly. Peony smirked a little once more. "Windows darling, as you may notice, everyone has them" Something odd was happening in the deep pit of Roux's stomach. "You've changed," He said with a untellable emotion in his voice. She raised an eyebrow. "I believe I have, in fact I do believe that I've grown up, you may possibly want to try it sometime". Roux took a step towards her and admired the way that she didn't step back but tilted her chin up, making her look like a stubborn Irish princess.
"I don't think I want to grow up Peo, but I do want to do this" He had his arms around her so fast that she didn't have time to fight him off. He could taste the tears and soft rainwater on her lips, blended with minty toothpaste and cherry lip-polish. She melted against him for a minute or two; either knew how long the kiss lasted, but when her nails bite painfully into the back of his neck and she hissed as she pulled back, he figured that it wasn't the smartest thing he has ever done. However, the way she felt when she forgot she loathed him at the moment, was unforgettable.
"You do that again," Peony said in a voice that was close to a snarl, "I'll slice you into ribbons". As if the world around them sensed the mood, the rain that had been close to stopping started pouring from the sky as if the clouds had been holding it in until that exact moment. "I love when you talk dirty to me" Roux said with a sneer and had Peony's eyes shooting fire bolts at him and wondered why on earth he didn't just shrivel up and die.
Roux knew that it wasn't the right time to smile now, but couldn't help it. "Oh, so the kitten has claws does she?" Peony hissed at him, which didn't exactly help wipe the smile off his face. "I have to open up the shop early in the morning," She said, looking for a way out of the situation that was becoming more uncomfortable by the minute. "What time?" Roux asked conversationally. "Six, why?" "Well then it's not really in the morning is it then? It's really in 5 hours"
Peony glared at him for a moment then turned on her heels and left him on the cobble stone sidewalk, her ring oddly glittering in the filtered moonlight and Roux wondered how he had missed it before, maybe he just didn't want to think that she could have another lover as well. Oh well, he mused, he would jump off that bridge when he came to it, but for now he figured that he should go back to see Jemima and what he could make of her.