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Chapter Six: Fresh Feeling

"Do you ever go back to your own apartment?"

Jason looked up from the book in his hand and shrugged, turning a worn page as he continued reading. "Thought about it, but you're way more fun to hang out with than four boring walls."

"You should get a cat or something." Raven leaned against the arm of her sofa, legs propped up as she shaded a sketch in her book. "Something that will keep you from feeling bored in your own apartment and maybe leave me alone once in a while."

"Oh, come on, Little Bird…" He took a sip of beer and turned another page. "You wouldn't keep inviting me in if you didn't want a friend around to hang out with."

She flicked her eyes up to where he sat, and sighed, watching as a drop of condensation slipped from the beer bottle, crashed into his chest, and slid over the curves and planes of his skin. She watched it run down to his stomach where it disappeared into the thin line of hair traveling down to the waistband of his sweatpants. Raven shivered and turned back to the sketch pad in front of her, hoping he didn't see the blush staining her cheeks. "Yeah, well… you could at least put on a shirt or something."

"Nope." He didn't bother looking up from the book in his hands and hummed. "I told you, Little Bird, you like watching me walk around shirtless." He took another swig of his beer, another few drops of condensation falling to his skin. "I'm just waiting for you to admit it."

Raven rolled her eyes and looked back up at him. "I won't, because I don't."

"Oh?" He finally looked up from his book and cocked that half-smile that made her heart leap into her throat. "So… you haven't been drawing me in your book then?"

Raven blushed brightly and slammed her sketchbook closed, color filling her face. "I never asked you to model for me, you know! You're just… there. And the sun is hitting you nice, it was a good picture, okay?"

He lifted an eyebrow, his smile widening. "The sun is hitting me nice?"

Raven felt her face get darker and she looked away, pulling her sketchbook closer to her chest. He didn't have to tease her like that. Sighing and pushing her emotions to the back of her mind, she glanced back into his face, those bright green eyes never leaving her own. Something strange and warm bubbled up inside her and she wasn't sure how to understand it. There was something about the way he looked at her that made her feel…different. She pushed at her hair and set her book to the side.

"The sun is hitting you nice," she repeated, picking herself up from the sofa. "I thought it'd be a nice picture, but if you're gonna be a jerk about it, I won't finish it."

"Well, anytime you need me to model, I'm only a phone call away, Little Bird." He dogeared his page in the book and set it back on her bookshelf, still smiling as if he knew some damning secret of hers. "I'll leave this here, if you don't mind."

"You can borrow it, you know." Raven jerked her head to the window that faced his own. "It's not like I don't know where you live if I need it back."

"Nah. It gives me a reason to come back and bother you." He chuckled and pushed at his hair, the ebony locks running smoothly through his fingers. "And anyway, I've got to start getting ready for work."

Raven crossed her arms over her chest. "I thought you had tonight off?"

"At the bar, yeah. But, I'm off to the shop tonight, someone put in an order for a custom bench a few days ago and I haven't started on it yet. That furniture won't make itself." He scratched the back of his head and sighed, looking just a little bit sheepish. "You should come over some time and take a look at my furniture. I like to think they're not half-bad… not as bad as some of my little statues anyways."

Raven's eyes flicked over to the wooden "bird" statuette by the windowsill. It still looked like a sad, lopsided dolphin to her. She looked back at him and raised an eyebrow. "You're just trying to get me into your apartment so you can walk around naked and traumatize me some more."

Jason laughed, his eyes brightening a little. "Nope. I can do that from my window just fine." There was a small, comfortable lull in the conversation as he walked to her kitchen and placed his empty beer bottle in the sink. "What are you up to tonight?"

She blushed and picked up her sketchbook, placing it back in the basket where she kept her art supplies. "I have a date… actually."

Raven felt the air turn strangely heavy, and she turned to look into his face, watching as his eyes darkened a bit. He pressed his lips together and looked out the window, tapping his fingers on the counter and nodding. "Well… that sounds…"

"Like a headache." She finished for him as she crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged, ignoring the thickness around them. "My friends set it up for me. He's some big how-to-do detective, and apparently he's very intelligent and attractive. Or at least they keep telling me this. I have yet to see and reserve judgment until further notice."

"You sound so enthused." The brightness almost immediately returned to Jason's eyes and he laughed. "You'll have to tell me how it goes."

"I'll need wine for that." Raven leaned on her counter and stared at him. "Lots of wine."

"Well then, I guess I'll make sangria." He pat her on the head and started for the door. "I expect the worst date story ever tomorrow night. I want all the classics - bad restaurant choice, bad tie, spilling soup on himself, his crotch, or you… or all three would be great. I want him talking about his mother nonstop, or the six cats he owns, or droning on and on about work. I expect everythingwrong to possibly happen on this date, and I want to hear every gory little detail."

Raven cocked her hips to the side and raised an eyebrow, trying to fight against the smile playing across her lips. "And what if everything goes right and it's actually a good date?"

He pretended to think about that for a moment and then shook his head. "Nah. Even if it goes well, make up stories. Exaggerate. Amuse me."

Raven rolled her eyes. "Well, if that's what you want, I'll tell you he was an alien from outer space."

"Ooo… I like that. Think about that plotline and run with it, Little Bird." He reached the door and looked over his shoulder, his smile brightening. "I'll see you tomorrow, and I want to know all about the alien from outer space. I expect to know what kind of space ship he drives too. You know a nice fancy one or a beat-up hunk of junk that smells faintly of stale burritos."

Raven pressed her lips together and fought off a smile. "Deal."

"Good."

With that he was gone, leaving Raven with a strange, bright feeling in her stomach. Exactly what was this?