She sat down on the other side of the couch. She was about four feet from him and he wondered why she sat as far away from him as possible. Then he realized there were three other couches that she could have sat on.
She opened the comic she had picked up off the shelf, a Spiderman. Unconsciously, she slipped off her shoes and brought her legs up to her chest. She knew he was looking at her. She glanced at him, "Sorry." She put her feet back on the floor.
He had never seen a woman sit like that before. They were always trying to be sexy or elegant. Actually, no one in his business driven world sat that way. She was so natural. "No, go ahead. It's alright, really," he said with a smile and a small hand gesture.
She resumed her position and started reading. Actually, she had read this one before, but she liked the art in it as well as some of the more -- technical aspects. She was examining it.
Lex started reading the comics she had given him. Occasionally, she would get up and shelve the comic she was reading and get another one. Then she would sit down in an odd position and bring a smile to Lex's face. She was comfortable around him -- had that ever happened before with anyone besides his mother? Her legs were stretched out on the couch now, but not touching him. He resisted the urge to reach across the now small couch distance and touch her feet.
He was thoroughly enjoying the comic books that she had given him. They were drawn wonderfully, had dynamic characters, and a lot of plot. Some definitely more than others, but they were all good. They were different than what he was used to, however. She wasn't kidding when she said right and wrong were not very clear-cut.
She was monitoring him. She wondered why he would look at her for no reason. He must not like them, she thought. At least he was nice enough to fain interest for so long. She saw he was finishing the last book, so she got up and returned what she was reading to the shelf. It was getting late -- well, getting really early.
He set the last book down on the pile he had made with the others. "Interesting," he said after a moment, breaking the long silence that had passed between them.
They both realized that they didn't mind the silence. They were comfortable with it. Rhone was quite accustomed to awkward silence, but that wasn't what this was. It was more of a quiet time. Conversation wasn't compulsory.
"That bad, huh?" she asked as she picked up the copy of Warrior Angel that she had previously taken from Lex's hand and moved to put it away as well.
"Actually, I thought they were quite good," he said.
She looked at him quickly and walked back over to him, "Really?"
"Well, some were better than others," he said as he fanned out the pile of comic books on the table before him. "The series you gave me and this one," he pointed to a single comic book. He looked at the covers more closely, "The best ones are all made by the same company – Tainted Mirage Comics."
She sat on the couch cushion adjacent to his. "What do you like about them? Why do you like them more?" she asked, looking at him and leaning forward.
Lex paged through the Tainted Mirage Comics comic books and pointed out the things that he thought made them better than the others. She listened and nodded.
"What don't you like about them?" she asked.
Lex thought that an odd question. "These bother me because there are only three. There are obviously more," he said pointing to the series.
"Do the strong heroines turn you off at all?" she asked.
Lex smiled, "This is beginning to sound like a market research survey."
"Only because you're giving constructive feedback," she said deliberately not looking at him.
He tilted his head as he looked at her and narrowed his eyes slightly. The gears were turning in his head. She didn't have to look at him to know it. He was one of those people that rarely let anything by him, and he liked to know everything he could about anything.
She knew he wasn't fooled, "I know the people at Tainted Mirage Comics. They would be -- elated to know that someone of your stature enjoyed their work." He was still looking at her, "And as an art collector and established reader, they would value your opinions. Not to mention, being my friend speaks highly of you." She looked at him in a matter-of-fact way.
"So," he said after a brief pause. "What do I have to do for the good people at Tainted Mirage Comics to get the rest of this series?" he asked a little too lightly as he gestured to the series of three comic books on the table.
Shit, she thought to herself. "I would try getting out my inflated check book and preparing to write a lot of zeros," she said as she smiled at him widely.
He was always amused when she made fun of him for being wealthy. Yet she never mentioned him being -- freakishly bald. He thought that he saw her looking at his head a few times, but it was understandable. He actually wanted to know what she was thinking about in those moments. -- She treated him like he was a normal guy and he liked it.
He tried to give her a look of annoyance, but he smiled through it. He imagined that is wasn't very effective.
Before he could reply with something witty, she spoke again. "Or," she began, "You could ask the whole company to reach over to that portfolio over there and get the other three that are completed."
"You're the whole company?" he asked, not bothering to hide that he was impressed.
"It's not a real company, Mr. Luthor, just a name. I think the definition of the word company implies that there is more than one person," she said.
He rephrased the question, "You do everything?"
She broke eye contact and reached for the portfolio on the table. "Start to finish," she said. Unexpectedly she added, "It's getting late." Not that it mattered to her; she could go without rest for quite sometime. Especially after the long meditation she had had the night before. She knew that she sometimes forgot that other people didn't exactly function like her.
"Are you tired?" he asked. He forgot that not everyone on earth suffered from horrible insomnia.
She wanted to laugh at that. No one ever asked her if she was tired, no one cared. She met his gaze again, "I've had D&D sessions that put this little comic book chat to shame."
That must be her way of saying no, he thought. He felt tired, but knew he wouldn't sleep. He never did, not enough to really rest. Not to mention he had plenty of practice at partying until 6 am. He shook his head, "What the hell is D&D?" He had wanted to ask since she had mentioned it previously.
She opened the portfolio without looking at it. She was looking at him, trying to discern if he was being facetious. He -- wasn't. "You're kidding?" she asked.
"I asked, didn't I?" he said still looking at her.
Poor man. "It just seems strange that a man with a comic book collection the size of the Library of Congress has never even heard of D&D," she said as she fished through the portfolio and grabbed the three comic books she was looking for. "It's a role playing game," she said. "It is the role playing game on which all others were forged," she added.
Should he tell her he had never heard of a role playing game? He didn't like not knowing things and it was worse because he liked knowing things that were important to her. When did that happen?
She saw it. She knew he had no idea what she just said. "How do you go to comic book shops and remain uninitiated into loser culture?" she asked. She was actually a little confused. Sci-fi/ fantasy/ role playing/ comic book people were usually pretty versed in the finer points of each area of loser-dom. They were the best people to hang out with. Realization slowly crept over her, "Oh, man."
"What?" he asked.
She leaned over and smelled him quietly. That's right, she smelled him. He didn't know how to react to that. It was a first for him. He watched to see if she touched him -- she didn't. He was a little disappointed and weirded-out at the same time.
He couldn't place what she smelled like. Her bizarre action brought it to his attention. She didn't smell like a woman, at least not any that he had been that close to. She didn't smell like perfume or flowers or fruit…
He smelled like the crest of a mountain right after a fresh snow -- before you shoot a guy execution style and throw him over the edge. "You get your comic books in the mail, don't you?" she said with a semi-worried look on her face as she pulled away. He didn't smell at all like a man associated with the comic arts. He was actually the best smelling man she had ever been near -- ever. She had to fight not to lean over and smell him again.
"So?" he still didn't see where she was going with this.
She shook her head and decided that it wasn't that odd. He was a busy guy. And his collection more than proved he wasn't just some guy that liked to keep vintage comic books out of the hands of the masses. He read them and shouldn't be judged so harshly.
"D&D is a specific role playing game. People act out characters that they create according to the parameters of that character. They have adventures and get more powerful as the game goes on. You roll dice to determine outcomes in things like battles or achieving certain tasks. It relies heavily on imagination," she said. "It's hard to sum up something with three core books of a couple hundred pages in just a few sentences," she conceded.
Lex just shook his head. "You would have to show me," he said. Imagination? He was in trouble. "Tomorrow after dinner?" he added quickly.
"I didn't bring any of my stuff with me," she was telling the truth. "I haven't played in -- a long time," she said. "Not since I worked at the comic book store," she added. She didn't realize how much she missed it until today. She shook her head and handed Lex the comic books she was still holding. "Not to mention, you need at least four or five people," she said as she slid down to sit on the floor.
Lex watched her looking through her portfolio again. She pulled out a notebook, another large pad of paper, some pencils, an ink well, and a small tin case. She knew he was watching her. She looked at the notebook and started reading it. Then she used a pencil to lightly start sketching something on the other pad of paper. Lex watched her for a moment and then began to read the comic books that she had handed him. He noticed the comfortable silence that had settled between them once more and smiled inwardly.
He looked up when he heard her open the tin she had gotten out. The tin had some ink pens with accessories in it and she opened the ink well. He smiled again at her even though she never looked up. He thought it was amusing the way she was sitting on his floor, working over the short table. Lex went back to reading. These were some of the best comic books he had ever read. They were -- riveting, intense, and believable.
As Lex finally finished reading, he noticed that she was packing up her things. "Leaving so soon?" he asked causally.
She slowly turned to him as she picked up the last of her things. She smiled coyly at him, and pointed to her watch. "Some of us have to go to work," she said almost laughing.
This room was a dark room, very little sun. He didn't realize it was 5 am. He got up and his tired body protested. He didn't realized how much his restless sleeps actually helped him. It was noticeable in his movements and around his eyes. He thought it odd that she showed none of his tired symptoms. She looked just as she did when she walked through his office door yesterday afternoon.
"I would say 'see you in an hour," she interrupted his analysis of her condition. "But we both know that that is a little -- unrealistic," she finished, still smiling. He smiled back as she made fun of him for showing up to work when he saw fit. She went for the comic books that she had brought over.
"Can I keep those for a few days?" he requested suddenly.
She stopped in mid motion and looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Sure, I don't see why not," she conceded. She really didn't know what he would want with them. Maybe he was actually interested in rereading them. It was a nice thought.
He sifted through them and handed her the ones that she didn't make. "They were good, just not as good as yours," he explained with a smirk.
It had been a long time since she felt the urge to hug someone. Instead she took the few comics he handed to her and said, "Thanks for dinner." She turned and walked out.