Chapter 4: The End of the Evening

"All right," Apollo said, as he scooted through the seats to reach Athena, "something weird is definitely going on."

"What do you mean?" she asked. Her eyes widened when he took the seat beside her. "Why are you sitting there? Isn't that for my date?"

Who obviously was never going to show up, any more than his was. After he'd chased Athena around the city for twenty minutes and tried without success to find out who they were looking for, they agreed their best option was to check inside the theater.

And it just got stranger from there.

"Apparently this is my seat now," he said.

"What?!"

"Athena…" He pinched the bridge of his nose. It sounded so ridiculous, but he had to ask. "Did you set me up on a date with Maggey Byrde?"

"What? No!"

"Then I have absolutely no idea what happened." He leaned back in his new seat. "When I went over to the seat listed on my ticket, Maggey was sitting there. She said she was sorry she took my seat, but that I could have hers. The seat number she gave me is this one."

Athena looked as flabbergasted as he felt.

He hesitated. It was an even sillier possibility, but… "Uh, Athena, I think you know me well enough that I shouldn't even have to ask this, but my date isn't Dick Gumshoe, right?"

"What?!"

"Just checking." He folded his arms. "All right, let's go over the facts. You set me up on a date with someone. Trucy set you up on a date with someone. Neither of our dates came. Is there any chance that my date and Trucy conspired to hook us up?"

"No."

Talk about a fast answer. She didn't even need a moment to think.

"Not a chance," Widget chimed in.

Geez. The thought of him and Athena on a date wasn't that ridiculous.

Athena sighed. "If you must know, you were supposed to be here with Junie."

"Juniper Woods?"

"Yes. She likes you so much, Apollo. I can't imagine why she isn't here."

Athena looked so sad, he reached over and put his arm around her. "Cheer up, Athena. I'm sure she's fine. Maybe she just hates romantic comedies and didn't want to tell you."

"Maybe."

It was a nice explanation, but it didn't explain everything. How the heck did Gumshoe and Maggey come into the picture? And Athena's date was still unaccounted for. None of it added up.

Unless—

"Wait a minute," he said. "Were you supposed to meet your date outside the theater?"

"Yes, at 4:30." She twisted in her seat to look right at him. "Why? Have you figured something out?"

"Maybe. It's a long shot." He shook his head. "Did you tell Juniper who to meet?"

"No, but—" She put her hands over her mouth. "You don't think—"

"If Trucy didn't tell your date he was meeting you, and if the two of them both got here before us…"

"Oh no." She laughed. "That makes so much sense. Talk about a matchmaking mishap!"

"On the other hand," he said, "maybe they both realized there was a mistake and gave their tickets away to Maggey and Gumshoe. Either way, I'm sure Juniper's fine."

"Thank you Apollo." She leaned over the armrests to give him a hug. "I feel a lot better now."

"No problem. I'm sorry your matchmaking didn't work out for you, though."

She pumped her fist in the air. "Look at the bright side!"

"What's that?"

"We still get to see The Only Girl for Me."

#

Simon's smirk deepened the more she squirmed, which wasn't exactly comforting, but wasn't wholly unpleasant, either. He could smirk at her all day if he wanted.

All right, she'd stalled enough. She could do it. She was a judge trainee, not some little girl. Besides, it would make him happy if she got along with his best friend.

Juniper inched her hand toward his shoulder and withdrew with a yelp when Taka fluttered his wings and screeched.

"Did I mention that he can sense fear?" Simon asked. "It makes him…jumpy."

She jabbed her finger at him. "Stop it."

"Stop what?"

"You keep saying things just to make me more nervous. Stop it."

"Very well."

Juniper edged her hand toward the hawk again. She was less than a foot away when Simon's silent stare intensified enough to make her skin prickle.

"Stop it."

"I didn't say a word."

"It's the way you're not saying words."

"All right," he said, with another delightful smirk, "that's it. Let us turn to a new strategy. Close your eyes."

"What?"

"We'll never get anywhere if we do this your way, so we're going to do it my way. Whenever you get near Taka, you talk yourself out of it, so we can't have you knowing how near you are. Close your eyes."

Juniper stared at him for a moment and then closed her eyes. Of all the stupid things she ever did, telling him she wanted to meet Taka was one of the worst. She liked birds, but not when they looked at her like she was prey.

Warm fingers closed around her wrist, and her eyes snapped open.

"I intended for you to keep them closed for a little longer." Although Simon's tone was light, an unspoken question lingered in his eyes. His grip on her arm loosened as he waited.

Her heart fluttered. Despite all his amusement, he really cared about her comfort. "Okay. I'm fine." She closed her eyes and tried not to imagine what a hawk attack felt like.

He didn't let go of her wrist, but his footsteps carried him around her, and a second later, his other hand clapped over her eyes. An electric current raced through her. Her breath quickened. If she leaned back just a tiny bit, her head would rest against his chest. Her legs wobbled and she stiffened them, because he might think she was afraid, and then he would let go.

Even a hawk attack was worth it for this.

She could only imagine what someone would think if they drove past the courthouse and saw the two of them. Flirty Simon had to look creepy as heck to a stranger.

Flirting.

Her heart rate went into overdrive. She had to get a grip on herself. No matter what she felt, he wasn't flirting. He'd covered her eyes to keep her from looking, nothing more. She had to remember that.

Juniper tried not to fidget as he lifted her arm and let out a sharp whistle. She tensed and held her breath. After a moment, Taka's talons pricked through her sleeve into her skin.

"Now, now, don't worry," Simon said, in such a soothing tone he had to be addressing Taka, but she exhaled anyway.

He released her, but stayed close. She peeked at the fierce hawk on her arm. "Hello Taka. Please don't kill me."

"Hmph. Perhaps we should start on a list of things I have in common with Taka."

She smiled up at him. "People regularly greet you with, 'Please don't kill me'?"

"Not out loud."

Indignation that people would fear Simon so much warred with her irrational glee that if people were so scared of him, she could have him all to herself. She coughed and focused on Taka. If Simon noticed how red her cheeks were, maybe he would mistake it for nervousness.

"Taka seems to have taken quite a liking to you."

She beamed. Every word he spoke made her happier.

"Perhaps he'll let you touch him."

Almost every word, at least.

"Wait, what?" She had no intention of putting her fingers any closer to that vicious beak than they already were. From way Taka regarded her, he couldn't wait for her to tempt him with such a tasty morsel.

Simon's smirk grew into a wicked grin. "Are you going to back down so soon, Woods-dono?"

"No!"

"Just scratch the side of his head, like this."

Juniper watched him. Taka tilted his head back in enjoyment, and then Simon stopped. The expectation in his eyes was so great, she reached out without another protest. She scratched the side of Taka's head, just a little, just enough to say she did it.

Predatory curiosity glinted in Taka's eyes, and she snatched her fingers out of harm's way. "Okay, that's enough."

"Very well." Simon whistled. The hawk flew off of her arm and onto his shoulder, and he resumed where she'd left off.

As he played with Taka, Juniper blushed for no good reason at all. He seemed so sweet all of a sudden, so…gentle. It was somewhat unnerving to see such things in him, as if it was a secret side of him and she should leave to respect his privacy.

And absolutely, positively not think about what it would be like to have him look at her with such tenderness in his eyes.

Juniper adjusted her hat and rubbed her forehead. There was only one explanation for it—she was going crazy. That afternoon, she'd been her normal self, with eyes only for Apollo Justice. All she did was sit down outside a theater, and everything changed. It was obvious what happened. Insanity was contagious, and a few hours with the Twisted Samurai made her as crazy as he was. In the morning, she would be back to normal.

Her heart sunk. Was that what she wanted? To wake up and think of him only as that scary prosecutor, and marvel at the inexplicable trust and fondness Thena felt for him?

She pressed her hands against her cheeks. A fever!

It had to be one of the two, a fever or insanity, because even if it was something deeper, he couldn't possibly feel the same about her. He'd remember it as an odd little evening, an amusement.

Tears welled up in her eyes, and she wiped them away as fast as she could.

"Well, Juniper, I don't know where you live, but it would be my honor to escort you home if—is something the matter?"

"No!" She wiped her eyes again and shook her head. "I'm fine! I was just, uh, thinking about—" Her mind went blank. Time to change the subject. "My house is sort of far from here, but we could walk unless you're tired."

"I never shy away from a long walk."

"Well, start out going straight down this road until we leave the city."

As he fell into step beside her, he said, "What were you thinking about? Let me help you. I do not want to see you unhappy."

Of course, he had to choose then to be kind.

"Well…" His concern obscured her thoughts behind a buzz of happiness. "I was thinking about…" Something that would make sense, something that would make her cry. "Seven years ago! Do you remember me from back then?"

He frowned. "Should I?"

"I was Thena's best friend back then. I visited her at the Space Center a lot." She hesitated. "I saw you from time to time."

"Now that you say it, I think perhaps I remember you." He smirked. "You must have been shocked when you saw me again."

Yes, was the truthful answer, I thought you really did kill Thena's mom, so I was terrified out of my mind when you walked in to question me.

"Yes," she said. "Shocked." She cleared her throat. Best to change the subject again in case his knowledge of psychology helped him pick up on the bits she left out. "Thank you for a wonderful evening, Simon."

"You're welcome." He was quiet for a moment, and then he said, "Thank you, for making it so nice."

A deep blush heated her cheeks. He enjoyed the date, too. He really did. Maybe he felt something like what she felt. Her breath quickened, and she coughed a few times. Dates. There had to be some expectations. She didn't have much experience with dates. In school, she was always too frail for the boys to be attracted to her, and too shy to ask any of them out.

Some people talked about first dates and first kisses like they went together.

No way. He wouldn't. Simon was too standoffish for that sort of thing. It wouldn't even occur to him. Not that she wanted it to.

Of course she didn't.

Not at all.

Even though his lips looked so good when they twisted into a smirk. Better when he smiled.

No, the smirk was better.

Of all the things she could think about, Simon's lips were not a good choice. It made it hard to breathe.

Focus, she had to focus. She didn't want him to kiss her. He was the Twisted Samurai—although he showed such kindness. He was a former convict—because he sacrificed himself for her best friend. He was intimidating—yet devilishly funny. She wet her lips with the tip of her tongue. He would kiss more like how Taka caught mice than how a gentleman kissed a girl. He would smirk with a fierce gleam in his eyes, swoop down upon her, and—

His hand moved to rest just between her shoulder blades, and she jumped.

He pulled away. "My apologies."

Standoffish was the wrong word for him. Stiff was a better one. And unreadable. Nothing in his voice suggested he was hurt by her reaction. Her back tingled where his fingers had been.

"You just startled me," she said, "that's all."

"It's of no importance."

No importance. Touching her was of no importance to him. There was too much gentleman in him after all, or maybe arrogance. Or indifference. He didn't feel anything for her.

Then a different thought lanced through her heart. He was Simon Blackquill, the Twisted Samurai. People thought he was a crazy murderer for years, and a lot still did. Even she'd been afraid of him at the start of the evening. Maybe he was just so used to people recoiling from him, it no longer fazed him.

Her feelings halted, trapped at the back of her throat. There was nothing she could say. But I actually do want you to touch me would be awkward at best. I'm not afraid of you would mean admitting a lot of people were—and even if he accepted that fact, she couldn't bring herself to mention it.

For a brief moment, she imagined herself edging closer. He'd stopped, for some reason. It would be easy to close the gap between them. Nestle her head against his shoulder. He would be warm and solid and he would slip his arms around her and pull her close.

Or he wouldn't.

She coughed. Stupid doubts.

"Something is troubling you, Juniper."

"What? No it isn't!"

Simon gave her a flat look. "Are you lost, then?"

"Huh?" Reality crashed in upon her. He was walking her home. He didn't know the way. She looked around. "Right. Okay." For one wild moment, she imagined what would happen if she gave him the wrong directions and got them lost. Lost all night long with Simon Blackquill. Chills of excitement ran down her spine.

"Juniper!"

"What?" Oh no. She stared at him in utter horror and coughed. "Did I"—she coughed again—"say some of that out loud?!"

"Some of what?"

Darn him and his unreadable face. There was no way to tell if he was serious or not.

He looked away. "I feel as though I've hurt you, but I don't know how."

"No, it's nothing like that."

When he met her gaze again, there was no doubt—he was dead serious. "If you are uncomfortable with me walking you home, we can part ways."

"No!" Crazy devil, he still thought she was afraid of him. The desire to wrap her arms around him became a physical ache. She was going to explode. "It's just…" Her mouth was so dry, she had to swallow several times before she could speak. "I wish I could tell what you were thinking, because then I would know if it's what I'm thinking, because I'm afraid we're thinking two different things about tonight."

She winced. If she ever heard jabbering, that was it.

But he didn't say a word about it. He just looked away again and finally said stiffly, "It is of no concern to you what I am thinking."

Her heart shattered and she clenched her teeth in a vain effort to hide her feelings.

"I know what they say about me," he said. "Tonight, I thought you—never mind. It isn't important. I will never harm you, Juniper. Not now, not ever."

She stared at him. "What are you talking about?!" Her barriers collapsed. It was time for complete honesty. "Simon, all I'm asking is if you would, well, want to see me again."

Partial honesty was close enough. He didn't need to know about the snuggling and kissing daydreams. That could wait until a few dates later. Like the fourth. Or the third.

Or the second.

Simon cleared his throat. "…Oh."

He seemed embarrassed, a little sheepish, even.

"I must seem like a self-centered nitwit right now," he said.

Juniper laughed. "You're self-centered because you thought I didn't want to see you again?" She reached out, hesitated, and then completed the motion to let her hand rest on his arm. "I guess even a master swordsman stabs himself in the foot from time to time, hmm?"

"Indeed." He gave her a sidelong glance. "I take a lunch break each day at noon. I would be honored if you would join me."

With great difficulty, she suppressed the urge to squeal and throw her arms around him. She even managed to keep her voice steady. "I'll see if I can make it sometime."

His smile was full and genuine. "I'll be waiting."

The world spun out of control around her, but amidst the chaos, one thing was clear.

"Sometime" was a rough synonym for "tomorrow."