Part 4
"Took you long enough," Dave told Aaron and when he entered the owner's suite.
"So I had to make sure she got back to her room safely," Aaron replied.
"It's not like she's going to be attacked in this hotel," Dave chastised mildly.
"While that's likely the truth, it was still the polite thing to do and I was raised to be a gentlemen, at least to those within my own class. Old fashioned manners were much more important back then. It's not even that such things aren't important today, especially in certain professions, just that if you insulted the wrong person back when I was born, you did so at your own peril. Insulting the wrong person could get you killed and my wealth and rank might not have necessarily protected me."
"It wasn't so different when I was born either, though we were a tad more civilized," Dave admitted thoughtfully.
"You did end up nearly dying by getting a knife in the gut," Aaron reminded him.
"That's true," Dave admitted rubbing his stomach reflectively, as that's where the knife had entered his flesh. "If you hadn't been coming for our usual nightcap I would be dead and I know it."
Dave and Aaron had been friends for several years before the knife incident had occurred as they usually shared a late night drink together talking for at least an hour before they went to their separate beds. Both had looked forward to their nightly chats. Dave had always had good liquor for the times, as he had been fairly well off. Of course, today he was far wealthier than he had been back then. Dave was the only one that had known about Aaron's past, about the fact that he wasn't mortal. Dave hadn't believed Aaron's tall tales at first. What sensible person would have after all? Oh, he knew magic was real, but he couldn't believe that even magic could turn someone basically immortal. It was apparently a well kept secret in the magical community. Of course, Dave suspected it took a really powerful magical user to perform such a curse, but from all reports Blaire Blake had been one such. Who knew if Alex had that same power. She might very well be as powerful as her ancestor or it could be that she just looked like her twin according to Aaron.
Aaron of course, hadn't been sure that his blood would turn him immortal, but it was certainly a risk that Dave was willing to take. He would have died otherwise and he knew it. Gut wounds were very serious even today, but you certainly had more of a chance of living through one, because of that advanced medical technology. Back when he had been born, much less when Aaron had been born the chances of recovering from such a wound were super slim to none. It was possible, just not very likely. Even if the blood loss didn't kill you, infection usually did. Not as much had known about cleanliness or sanitation back then, which killed a lot of people in those days.
"I've always been grateful to you my friend for what you did, even if I know you warned me that immortality wasn't all it was cracked up to be," Dave said.
"It isn't, but it's been better with you in my life instead of just me. It's not like I can tell many people about my past without watering it down a great deal," Aaron said.
"Yeah, you would've had to make it sound like it happened in the last few decades, as most people would never believe in immortality. You would've had to leave a lot of it out, as there would've been no way to adequately explain where your experience had come from," Dave said.
"Oh, how I sounded like I had lived it, instead of just recounting stories about one of my ancestors," Aaron agreed.
Dave hadn't thought of that angle, when he had said that about having to leave out portions of his friend's past if Aaron told anyone the truth about himself. Making it sound like it was an ancestor's experience would probably not be as disbelieved, then if Aaron recounted it as his own experiences.
"I hadn't thought of it that way," Dave admitted, as he took a sip of his Guinness. "If you recount some of your life, as you're so many times great-grandfather's experiences. You could always say he left behind a journal."
"That of course has been preserved for several hundred years," Aaron said. "Perhaps recopied every generation in order to preserve the stories within it."
"There are certainly easier ways to copy things nowadays," Dave mused.
"And you can have the pages laminated so they last longer," Aaron said. "So what do you think about Alex?"
"I wondered when you were going to ask me that," Dave smiled. "The truth is, I like her a lot. She's clearly intelligent, something you need in anybody you take as your wife, since you're pretty intelligent yourself. You couldn't put up with some bimbo for the next thousand years."
This was true so Aaron had no trouble agreeing with his friend.
"She's very super attracted to you, which is a very good sign, as I'm sure you know. She seems sensible and we both know that many women are not. She also listens to my stories with every sign of interest and I can't say that about many people, so she clearly values history, even if it is not her own or at least her country's. The comment she made about a lot of younger people not valuing history rang true, though as she said, a lot teachers make history boring instead of interesting, so that has a lot to do with most young peoples disinterest in it."
"So do you think that she'll believe in immortality?" Aaron asked.
"I can't say for sure," Dave said, taking a sip of his Scotch. "I only met her tonight, for a few hours remember. However, I believe there's a very good chance she'll at least listen to you. I'm sure you'll have to prove it to her once you get around to telling her your life history. If she is related to Blaire Blake, which we both know is a very real possibility, then it's quite possible that stories have been passed down within her family. The family might even have journals from her various ancestors. Of course, I'm not sure that Blaire would have told her family what she had done. It would largely depend, I'm sure, on that the reason for it. I think that giving someone immortality is not something given out lightly. In your case, it was to punish you for your rudeness. Your horse running into her might have started out as an accident, but you didn't apologize or help to her feet or make sure she was unhurt. At that time you considered her beneath your notice, so didn't care about her well-being. Out of sight, out of mind and all that."
Aaron flushed in shame at the reminder, mostly because he knew the truth behind his friend's words, since he and Dave had just talked about the same thing a few days earlier.
"So you think what Alex's ancestor did, might have been disapproved of by the magical council," Aaron said never having thought of Blaire's actions in that manner.
"It is possible you know. I bet immortality is only given out on rare occasions to those that have proved they're worthy. To someone like who you are now, someone kind, generous, compassionate and so forth."
"You don't know this for sure of course, as it's just a theory," Aaron said.
"Of course not," Dave agreed. "It does make sense though, if you think about it. Why would somebody like you were back centuries ago be granted such a gift."
"On the other hand, it might also be used as punishment, because as you know being immortal isn't all it's cracked up to be. You have to watch people you know grow older as the years pass and then die, people you like and respect. That would be torture, for almost anyone and I would think it be hard to make friends after that. I'm not close to many people you know that, as I keep myself at a distance on purpose. Of course, part of that is being the boss, but not all of it."
"Well, perhaps, Alex can tell you what happened to her ancestor once you tell her our secret. For all we know the talent for the sight runs in the family. Haven't you ever considered that Alex's ancestor might have had a vision about you, probably before you ever met her," Dave suggested.
"And she saw me in a different era," Aaron said catching on immediately. "Or at least someone that could be my twin. If you're right and the sight runs in Alex's family it's quite possible that Alex inherited the gift. This is all speculation of course."
"Yes, it is, but it's good speculation, because such gifts do tend to run in family lines," said Dave.
"Well, I'm going to bed, it's late," Aaron finally said after he had finished his very good whiskey. The brand was of course, smooth and very rich, as Dave would never have anything but the best. It went down his throat very softly.
"So when are you going to tell her about yourself?" Dave asked asked his friend rose from the very comfortable chair he had been sitting in.
"I don't know yet," Aaron admitted. "We've only known each other about a week at this point, so I think it would be wise to wait until the last week she's here. That'll give us another few weeks to get to know each other."
"That's probably wise," Dave decided taking a sip of his Guinness. "If she was going to be here for a longer period I wouldn't tell her for at least three to four months, but I know you're on a rather tight schedule."
"Boy, is that the truth," Aaron snorted sounding rather cynical. "We'll see how it goes."
Dave nodded thinking that was sensible considering, but then, Aaron was usually a sensible fellow. Dave knew very well however, that his friend's feelings were now fully involved with the gorgeous Alex Blake and that nobody else was likely to ever measure up to her example, so that if Alex rejected his friend he doubted very much that Aaron would ever get over her loss.
This was one very important reason that Aaron had never allowed himself to truly fall in love, Dave knew, even if Aaron had never actually said so. His friend would either win Alex, marry her and start a family Dave knew his friend wanted or he would never marry anyone and live his life basically alone, except for himself.
Dave could see Aaron trying to kill himself if his relationship with Alex Blake didn't work out and while normal methods wouldn't work, there were ways to end the existence of an immortal. This was not something he wanted to see happen to his friend, so he would have to hope that Alex would not reject Aaron.
~~~Aaron, Dave, Alex~~~
"So where are we going?" Alex asked Aaron, as soon as they had finished breakfast. They had been eating together every morning and it was something that Alex enjoyed immensely. She had never enjoyed breakfast so much, as eating alone was usually something fast like a bagel and a glass of juice, along with several cups of coffee of course. Occasionally she'd stop by her favorite breakfast place and got herself a less then healthy breakfast, a couple of cream filled doughnuts along with her favorite vanilla latte.
"I know this little place that I know you're going to love," Aaron said mysteriously. "After that, I'll take you to lunch, depending on how long we spend in this place."
"You are going to tell me the name of this place?" Alex asked and Aaron shook his head.
"Consider it a surprise," Aaron suggested smiling. "I'm 100% positive you'll love it."
Alex said no more knowing that she wouldn't be able to get their destination out of Aaron. It was kind of nice that Aaron wanted to surprise her, as they had only been dating for a couple weeks. She had absolutely no idea if this relationship was going anywhere at all. She certainly hoped that it was, because Aaron was fast working his way past all the defenses she had built to protect her heart. Still, something strange was going on with Aaron Hotchner and also his friend David Rossi. She was still having dreams of the past, dreams of a man that looked like Aaron. She wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but she suspected the answer would be revealed to her in due time. It wasn't that she wasn't curious, she was, very much so, but since for life wasn't in any sort of danger, she could be patient in waiting for the answers to be revealed to her.
Aaron had been nothing but generous and kind. He had bought her breakfast this morning but then she had done so the other morning, so it was only fair that he pay for at least some meals, as that made it a more equal relationship.
Aaron escorted her to the parking lot to his own personal vehicle, which was a very nice Mercedes with a retractable top. It was also a very elegant dark blue with a silver racing stripe.
"Very nice car," Alex told and appreciatively.
"Thank you," Aaron said smiling. "I'm doing very well for myself, so I thought I'd buy me something nice and I've always appreciated a good car."
"There's no harm in splurging on something you really want if it's not going to put you in any financial difficulty," Alex agreed. "I'm splurging by staying at the Rosewood Villa, as normally, I'd stay somewhere much cheaper, though still nice, just not so expensive, somewhere closer to the university. It was something of a dream of mine to stay here as I'd heard about it and the person that told me had me intrigued."
"My lady," Aaron said opening Alex's door and making sure she didn't bump her head on the roof, as it was not retracted.
Alex got into the vehicle and when she was inside Aaron shut the door behind her gently.
Aaron got into the driver's seat and started down the long driveway out into the city.
The two of them chatted and laughed all the way downtown and Alex enjoyed herself immensely, realizing she hadn't been this happy in a very long time. Aaron Hotchner was a bright spot for her that she was going to sorely miss when she went back to her life. She enjoyed teaching young minds, but she didn't have much time or the inclination for a social life or more accurately she didn't have the inclination to date yet another guy that would take up what little free time she had.
Men could be very demanding, not understanding what pulls that a woman had on her time. Alex enjoyed alone time occasionally and a lot of men just didn't understand that, wanting to be with their girlfriend or spouse constantly, when they were not working. It was hard to find a guy that also needed time alone or at least left her to her own thing when she wasn't in the mood for company.
They arrived at their destination inside half an hour. Aaron found a parking space about a block away.
"This way," Aaron said, escorting Alex to the destination he had in mind.
"Edna's perfumery," Alex read once they had arrived at the place. "It's obviously a perfume shop why in the world would you bring me here?"
"Because I thought as a good looking intelligent woman that you would like to come here, look around and perhaps, buy some of the perfume. Edna does her own perfumes as well as selling a lot of the more popular brand names. She was trained as a chemist, but many perfumers are. She has some really lovely scents that are unique that you won't find elsewhere."
"How do you know about such a place?" Alex asked.
"Because she also sells men's colognes and other manly products and this is where I buy my cologne when I run out," Aaron explained.
Ah! Alex thought. That made sense. She had been wondering where Aaron bought his cologne because he always smelled heavenly and made her just want to sniff his neck constantly. Part of that was the man's own natural scent Alex knew and part was the soap and shampoo he used. Still, his cologne was stronger then the other scents combined, and made her want to bury her nose into the side of his neck constantly. It was very hard to fight the urge, but she do so with difficulty, since Aaron probably wouldn't appreciate if she did so.
"Let's go inside shall we? Edna is expecting us," Aaron said.
"You called ahead," Alex playfully accused him.
"Yeah, I did. Sometimes she closes the store for special customers," Aaron explained.
"You didn't have to do that for me," Alex protested.
"I wanted you to be able to take your time without feeling rushed because of other customers," Aaron explained gently. "It's good for business and gets her repeat customers who usually spend a bundle. She usually makes a lot of extra money by providing this service to select customers."
Alex nodded at this and didn't protest anymore thought she still thought Aaron had gone too far, but it was clear he was trying to impress and he was succeeding in that. Still, it was a little much considering they'd only been dating a couple of weeks, but she also knew that she was only going to be here for another couple of weeks. She didn't have to give a lecture on linguistics today, because it was the weekend and Aaron apparently had the day off, so had decided to spend it with her. It was something she certainly appreciated, as she enjoyed Aaron's company a great deal. She was going to miss their conversations once she went back to her life in Washington. Even if they kept in contact over email and phone calls she doubted she'd ever see him again, but she would have her memories of this month to treasure for the rest of her life.
Alex suddenly realized that she was counting on their relationship not working out and shook such a negative thought away.
Aaron opened the door of the shop for her and Alex thanked him by kissing his cheek. Once Alex had gone into the shop, Aaron entered behind her and the door shut with a jangle of bells.
"Welcome, welcome," Edna greeted one of her favorite customers. "You're right on time. This must be the lovely Alex that you were telling me about when you called the other day."
"Yes, this is Alex Blake, Edna. Thank you for doing this for us," Aaron said, as he watched Edna flip the sign from open to closed.
"It was no trouble at all Aaron, you know this. It is a service I provide to select customers. It gives my customers a chance to look around without bumping into others as they sniff the scents. Now Miss Blake, Aaron told me that as a woman of excellent taste that you would enjoy looking around and smelling the scents."
"What Aaron told you is correct," Alex said smiling. "It's nice to meet you Miss Edna, I'm Dr. Alex Blake. I'm certainly female enough to enjoy a place like this. I could spend hours in here and test numerous samples of your perfume. It's really too bad I live in Washington as I don't know of a similar place at home, not even in Virginia, which is close by."
Edna was a short, elegant woman with a cap of sleek silver hair. She was dressed in navy blue pants suit with an elegant pearl necklace around her long slender neck with matching earrings that were really just studs. She was wearing several rings both silver and gold, one with a medium-sized pearl in a silver setting, the others mostly just decorated bands. There was the silver one that was decorated with some kind of Celtic symbols, that were for protection if Alex was reading them right. Alex briefly wondered what Edna needed protection for, or it was possible she had bought it because she liked the design not because she knew what the symbols meant. Such things were quite common in jewelry stores.
"I could check around for you if you like," Edna offered with a smile that made her look years younger. "My kind shop is not unique, though it is something of a niche store, instead of more mainstream. Sure, department stores have perfume counters, but they usually only have the more popular brands, but my scents are unique, created from flowers and herbs from countries like Brazil."
"That would be very helpful and kind Miss Edna. I would appreciate it, very much," Alex said smiling.
"Then I will," Edna said, though she suspected that this Alex Blake would not be staying in Washington on a permanent basis, as the sexual vibes between her and her frequent customer Aaron Hotchner were very strong and nearly visible. The only two people that would be unaware of it was the two people in question, as anybody else with them would know that these two could not to be parted on a permanent basis. Sure, her two customers would be aware that they were super attracted to each other, but Edna was sure that they thought it was only lust not love. If Alex did go back to Washington and didn't return within a few months Edna could see Aaron following her. She knew that Alex would be miserable without Aaron and vice versa of course, but the doctor might very well deny it, probably thinking that she would treasure the memories of her time with Aaron until she passed away. She only hoped that the two admitted their feelings for each other or it would only end in heartbreak otherwise.
Alex started exploring the small shop, studied the bottles, that came in all shapes and sizes and spritzed the air instead of herself until she knew if she liked it or not.
Before an hour had passed Alex had chosen several different perfumes that she absolutely loved and she knew she was spending an absolute fortune, as good perfume was never cheap. She could easily buy out the whole store and she knew it, so she forced herself to stop with the four she currently had in her basket that was provided for customers.
"I could easily buy out the whole store," Alex admitted without an ounce of shame. "But I'm usually too practical to buy so much at once."
"But this is a perhaps, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Edna said Alex nodded.
"Yeah, I know," Alex agreed. "So I let out my female side to play instead of restraining myself. I doubt I'll ever make it back to New York unless I take a vacation here or something."
Edna rung up Alex's choices and Alex was about to give her her credit card, when Aaron stepped forward and gave Edna his instead.
"Aaron!" Alex protested. "I can pay for my own choices."
"I didn't say you couldn't," Aaron said easily, with a cocky grin, telling Alex silently that he always got his way. "I'm the one that brought you here, so it is my pleasure to do this for you."
"This was your plan all along," Alex accused him.
Aaron didn't answer simply winked at Edna who resisted smiling, through sheer force of will.
Alex kept chastising Aaron all the way to the front door and Aaron simply ignored her, finally telling her that this was something he had wanted to do for her, as she had come to mean so much to him in the short time they had known each other.
"This is really too much Aaron Hotchner," was the last thing Edna heard before the shop door closed completely, blocking out the sound of their voices.
What a pair, Edna thought smiling once the pair was finally gone. They fitted well together though and hopefully, her old friend Aaron Hotchner could convince Dr. Alex Blake to stay in New York and marry him, but she knew very well that some females could be very stubborn since she was the same way herself. If Alex went back to Washington and decided to cut off her relationship with Aaron, then she could not see either being very happy. She'd rarely seen two people so in love and she could see them settling down and having children. Edna knew very well that it was hard to move from somewhere you had lived for at least a decade or two, but truelove often required some sort of sacrifice for a couple to have a happy ending. Even if that sacrifice was just moving to a totally different city, away from everyone and everything you had ever known to be with the person you loved, and even if that person didn't return your feelings. Hopefully, their love story would have a happy ending. She'd just have to be patient and wait. A not easy thing to be, Edna thought smiling a little, even as he flipped the closed sign to open again, once the pair was gone.
~~~Aaron, Dave, Alex~~~
