Chapter 10: Meeting

"I tried to tell you." Athena gloated while I waited for her to change.

"Well, you could have tried harder." I said trying to sound stern. Her 'mind blowing' secret was that of Demitri's interest in me romantically. Apparently, she had overheard and eavesdropped on a private conversation between him and Afton, and heard Demitri ask Afton for advice.

"So, what are you going to tell him?" She said while slipping on her running shoes.

"I'm not really sure yet. It's all so...weird." I shook my head in exasperation. "And it's Demitri!"

She laughed at me before getting serious and said "Bella, I don't think he's as hard core as he appears to be, and I think he's been even more guarded around you because of his attraction."

"He hates me Athena. Or, at least I thought he did two days ago!"

"You've never seen the way he looks at you when you're not looking. I have. That's not hate sweetheart."

"ugh." I groaned while flopping back against the chair I was sitting in. It had been two days since Demitri's admission and our kiss, and I wasn't any less confused about it now than I was then.

"Well, whatever you decided you'll need to at least come up with something to tell him fast, we are leaving in a few hours and you won't be able to avoid him any longer."

"I know." I agreed with her. I had been avoiding him since our conversation. I was really trying to give it the thought and consideration it deserved, but I was embarrassed to see him. "Is it supposed to be this complicated?" I asked her after a few minutes.

"I don't know." She admitted. "Caius and I have been together for a very long time, and it was a different era. I'm not sure what the decorum is these days."

"What do you mean?"

"Caius and I are very old Bella." She laughed at me before continuing. "When we were beginning out, it was all very proper and deliberately slow. Those were the times we lived in, there were no stolen kisses or admission of feelings right away. Even as vampires we are still subject to our surroundings, and our relationships weren't on display the way they are now."

I thought about that for a while and decided that that was what was missing. It was all very sudden and rushed, and I didn't really know Demitri expect for professionally, had we come from the time that Caius and Athenadora came from, we would have gotten to know each other before anything else ever happened.

Once I realized this, I knew what I wanted and had to do. I got up from my chair in a hurry to leave. "Thanks, I'll see you in a while." I said to Athena before rushing out the door.

Everyone was getting ready to leave so I figured my best bet would be to go to Demitri's room to look for him there first.

Timidly I knocked on the door, and then began to wring my hands together in nervous anticipation. I heard him as he moved off his bed; the springs squeaking at the shift of his weight, followed by his soft steps as he walked to the door.

"Bella." He said with a smile as he opened the door to greet me. "Please come in." He gestured with his hand to his open room.

I had never been in Demitri's room before and found that I was strangely curious now that the opportunity had presented itself.

It was exactly how I would have pictured it, but more elegant than I would have imagined. All the wood was dark and heavy. The bed; a monster, with huge head and foot boards, the duvet a mixture of deep browns and tawny orange. A large antique writing desk and chair sat on the opposite side, while a seating area with oversized leather furniture was stationed by the window.

I took in the room with awe and wonder, hiding my chagrin at yet another misjudgment I would add to the growing list of erroneous assumptions I've had of his person.

I finally turned to look at him after taking in the full view.

"Hi." I said daintily, giving him a shy smile.

"Would you like to sit?" he asked while gesturing to his sitting area.

"No, I'm alright, thank you."

"Alright." He said after a few seconds pause.

I knew I was being ridiculous, and causing myself further anxiety and embarrassment by not just saying what I had come to say, so I decided to plow through.

"Demitri, about the other night."

"Yes?" He sounded eager as he straightened up and set his book down.

"I've made a decision. And after a lot of thought, I've finally understood my initial hesitation. I don't know you." I said to him like a question.

"You don't know me?"

"I mean, I don't really know you. I only know you in a professional capacity, we've never gotten to know each other personally. I think that's why I've been struggling to understand how..." I didn't finish, instead I wafted my hand between us.

"Right." He nodded in agreement. "I understand, that makes sense why you would feel that way. I feel as if I know you, I guess, I just assumed that the feeling would be mutual."

"What do you mean" I wasn't sure how he thought he knew me if I didn't know him?

"You're open and are friends with the majority of people here, I hear your conversations and listen when they talk about you. I know you that way, and after eight years, I just felt as though we knew each other. But I see what you're saying, you don't know me, I understand that."

He sounded defeated after saying it, as though what I was saying to him was my way of turning him down. He turned away from me, looking in the direction of the window.

"I'd like too." I said to him, feeling guilty by his demeanor, taking a careful step forward.

"What?" He said turning back to me.

"I'd like to get to know you. I'm not rejecting the idea of us..." I let the words air out again. "I'd just like to know you better, personally I mean."

His responding smile was answer enough, he'd thought I was dismissing him and his interest; it was in his eyes, and now having that completely erased, there was hope and excitement -not just his, mine too.

(1/17/11)

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