Michael, Derek, Marc, and Damien were now all in the lobby with Selene, waiting for Leon.
Leon strutted his way into the lobby. It was almost daybreak now; the lobby was basically empty, save a few stragglers that decided to stick around to see what was up – Who is this guy, they all wondered.
Selene checked him out.
In three-hundred-plus years, he had cut his hair, just like Michael had done in the last two centuries. Leon had taken to wearing black (or dark navy blue) jeans, and a snug gray t-shirt. He had gray/white/black sneakers and was carrying a black denim jacket.
And he looked sexy…!
"Leon," she greeted as neutrally as possible.
He walked right up to her and planted a kiss on her lips. Instinctively, she kissed him back, out of habit. The last time he did that, she had kissed him back – she had never not kissed him back.
Michael cleared his throat, and Selene immediately pulled away. She looked away, embarrassed.
"How's that for 'hello'?" he remarked. "Get my flowers?"
"Yes," she answered, trying to keep her voice even, "all five bouquets."
Realizing that he wouldn't be able to get the "I missed you" he wanted from her, he sat down. "You look sexier than ever, Selly."
Selene let a smile brighten up her face.
Michael shifted uncomfortably. "I'm Michael," he introduced huffily.
Leon seemed a bit startled – obviously, he had heard of Michael. "Oh, are you? I've heard a lot about you!" He stuck his hand out for Michael to shake and Michael reluctantly shook it.
"How was Australia?" Selene asked.
"Eh, not half as good as Hungary. The people don't taste as good." Everyone gave him a dirty look. "It's a… it's a joke."
"Right," Michael remarked sarcastically.
Selene grabbed Leon by the arm and dragged him off into an isolated room, away from the others. "We don't joke about eating people in my mansion," Selene said. She was smiling.
"God, you look so pretty when you smile. I forgot that."
"Yeah, well, no one told you to leave me," Selene hissed. Her smile had now transformed into a scowl.
He winced. "Still angry about that? I thought you'd get over it by now, Selly." He grinned. "Especially since you're doing a Lycan now. Seriously, I knew you needed me, but to resort to filth like that?" He wrinkled his nose in disgust.
Selene automatically punched him square in the nose, and when Leon's reflexes caused him to punch her back, she grabbed his wrist and flipped onto the floor, and Leon landed with a thud. Leon sprang back up and shoved Selene into the wall hard, and her face impacted with the side of a painting, causing a thin stream of blood began to trickle down the side of Selene's face.
Everyone came running over. "What happened?" Michael asked.
"Nothing," Selene answered unconvincingly.
Leon let go of Selene. "Damn, you punch harder than you used to, woman," he groaned.
"And I'm a lot less reluctant than I used to be," she retorted.
She turned around and sighed wearily. "Marc or Derek, show him to the room next to mine. Get him settled in."
"Where're you going?" Derek asked as he and Marc began to take Leon off.
"Anywhere but here," she answered vaguely, dabbing at the blood at the side of her face.
She went to the break room and broke out a box of cigarettes. Unlike the cigs of the 21st century, the cigs of the 23rd century were ruby-and-black, instead of the traditional orange-and-white. She lit it up (which could now be done with a flick of a switch on the cigarette itself), and inhaled deeply.
"I didn't know you smoked," Damien said from the doorway.
Selene was exhausted. She hadn't stood that long since the incident, which she tried not to think about too often. Hard to do that, she thought bitterly, when I can't even stand for over twenty minutes at a time. "I do now," she commented.
He sat down an gave her an disapproving sigh.
"Nag," she called him.
"Bitch," he responded.
"40-year-old virgin candidate," she taunted.
"Ice Queen."
"Wuss." She blew out a ring from her cig in his face.
"Tease," he said, crossing his arms.
"Who's a tease?" Michael asked, startling the two of them.
"Humans," Selene said, lying.
"Uh huh," he said, not convinced. "I need to talk to Selene alone for a sec," he said to Damien.
Selene went over to the sink and ran some water over a washcloth, dabbing at the blood that had now dried.
"What the hell's going on?" Michael asked.
Selene sighed and dried off the cloth. "With Leon?"
"Yeah."
"Nothing."
"How come I don't believe that?" He paused. "What was with that scene in the lobby?"
"He was insulting you, so I defended you," she stated simply.
That shut Michael up.
Selene lowered her voice, since there were some Stealth Shooters in the break room. "Michael, the night he left me—"
"—she was expecting a note about something else," Leon said from the doorway.
"Derek and Marc were supposed to be—"
"—watching me, I know. But I convinced that I'm not a threat, which I'm not. Unless, of course…" He walked over to her and leaned in close on her. "…you feel otherwise?"
Michael stepped forward and pushed Leon away. "Back off, asshole."
Leon met Michael's eyes. "She ever tell you about what she thought the note from me was gonna be about?"
Michael looked over to Selene, who was staring at a nice spot on the floor.
"She thought," he declared flamboyantly, "that I was gonna propose!"
It got very quiet. No more guns were fired by a Stealth Shooter, no shouting, hitting, or moving. Just the ringing of Leon's voice. "Never did get the question, did you, Selly?" he sneered.
He turned and walked out, saying, "I can find my way back."
Now it was just Selene and Michael, left behind in a thick fog of awkwardness.
"What would you have answered?" he finally asked.
Selene looked away and began to leave. But right before she did, she answered something that she immediately regretted.
"I would have said 'yes.'"
A/N:
I'm glad that my frist couple of chapters were liked. FYI, this story isn't gonna be too Selene & Michael friendly, not because I don't like them (believe me, I love them as a couple), but because I want to see what it'd be like if their relationship is put through the ringer.
Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter.
KATEB819