A/N Please Review, Own nothing, Yay 100 hits. Is everyone enjoying this?
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Valerie and I left work almost as soon as we got there. Jareth scheduled other people to take our place while I got ready. I thought Valerie was going to take me to the local nail salon, but of course not. Valerie had Jareth's credit card and was not afraid to use it. I told Valerie on the way about the bruise I had the night before. When I woke up the bruise was gone. She was glad, because it would have ruined all her plans.
We stopped at some place I would have never stepped into. Valerie got us both some kind of package deal. I was being poked and pulled at again. At the end it was totally worth it. My nails and feet looked pretty and we were both in massage chairs and the guy I had was very good at his job.
Finally Valerie got some time to speak to me during this whole process, "I think Jareth has a thing for you."
"Nope, I am just a tool. He needed a date and I am available and owe him a favor."
"He is letting me spend a lot of money on just a favor. Do you see the way he looks at you?"
"He looks at me like I am a friend. He looks at me like I am the best damn waitress on the planet."
"Second best," She corrected me with a smile. "If you say so, but I know he doesn't let anyone else into his office."
I had to think about that one. I had never seen anyone else go into his office before unless it was something important and usually they just stuck their head in. "No, he just likes me because I play along with his whole Goblin King thing."
"No, the rest of us do too if we want to keep our jobs. The minute anyone tries to reason with him, they are fired."
"That's not true, I argued with him the other day."
Valerie just smiled, knowing she won the argument. I thought about it while the guy continued to try to relax the muscles that I was currently making tense. I liked Jareth as a friend. I thought about trying to loosen him up and getting him more into the outside world, but not as my date. Was I leading him on? He let me into his office when I was engaged. I pondered this for the rest of the time.
On the ride back to my place, Valerie chatted about different hair options. I just listened mostly and mumbled answers where appropriate. I had my eyes shut during the whole thing. I was really scared of her and the hot curling iron she held. The end results were worth it. When I was completely ready I felt sore all over my body, but I looked great. She did my hair in loose curls that flowed to a little past my shoulders. She had little pins in my hair that looked like little silver owls. I almost questioned Valerie's taste with that one but I decided against it. They were very pretty; it was just unexpected. Valerie handed me a purse to put my wallet in. The purse was so small that was all that fit. I had to detach my apartment key and squeeze it in there also.
I started getting nervous waiting for Jareth to arrive. I really didn't know what to expect. I suddenly realized I did not know a damn thing about proper behavior at a dinner table. I began panicking while trying to convey my concerns to Valerie. She didn't understand what I wanted but she kept my dress and hair in place while I panicked. The panic attack continued until I heard the doorbell rang. I felt sick to my stomach. I couldn't do this. I forgot everything I had planned to talk about on the ride.
Valerie left me to compose myself while she went down to open the door to let Jareth into my building. I stuck my head out the door to peek at him. He was absolutely perfect. He was dressed in a suit with a purple tie that matched my dress. I had a suspicion that Valerie picked it out. After I finished admiring how great his body looked I looked at his expression and I almost cried. He was looking at his surroundings with extreme distaste. I thought about my extremely bare apartment. I didn't even have a couch.
I suddenly got angry. What the hell do I care what he thinks about my apartment? I waited in my bedroom and checked that I was all in place. I put my shoes on and hoped that Valerie would call for me soon. I wanted to get this over with.
Valerie was chatting with Jareth about all the hairstyles that she thought about using. I smiled when I heard his irritated voice say, "I don't want to hear what you wanted to do. I want to see what you did."
It seemed that Valerie was no longer worried about making Jareth mad at her. "You will see her when she is ready and not a moment before." She walked into the bedroom and smile on her face. "Are you ready," she whispered to me.
I just nodded and slowly walked into my living room. At first Jareth didn't see me, he was looking around my apartment with interest. At least he wasn't offended by my lack of anything. Finally he glanced towards me and I swear he did a double take. He wasn't like Mark who had a hard time looking at my face. Jareth looked me right in the eyes. I got really self-conscious and blushed and looked down. He took that moment to take in everything. I never felt so beautiful before.
"I hope you like the dress," I said softly.
Of course, this was still Jareth and he did not respond. He just kept looking. I started to worry that the reason he didn't say anything was because I was dressed all wrong or maybe I was kidding myself and I wasn't beautiful. I think he might have read in my face what I started to worry about because he actually answered, "It is perfect."
"I am just sad that the necklace I got for you is very plain," he said after a few more minutes.
I looked over at him, "What necklace? You didn't have to do that. I am sure you know I am not a fan of jewelry." I couldn't help but look for where he might have it.
He pulled out a blue box and opened it for me to see. The necklace was beautiful. It was a single silver owl with a tiny collar made of diamonds. The collar was so small it didn't take all the attention. Now I knew why Valerie had chosen the hair pins. "I know you don't really like jewelry. Valerie said that it was custom to give a female a piece of jewelry when taking them out to dinner. I thought you might prefer a simple piece."
He knew me better than I thought. The chain that it was on was not a thin chain. It was a thick silver rope chain. I smiled at that. I hated thin chains. I could break them without thinking. He saw me touch the chain and said, "I thought that given your nature to fidget with anything you are holding that a thicker, more durable chain would be wise." He put it on me, clearly pleased smirk on his face. I was smiling and we were ready to go.
