Getting Closer

She noticed his reaction as well and furrowed her brows when he rubbed at his shoulder. "Are you...okay?" He apologized and she wondered if maybe he lost someone too. Hearing his question, she smiled softly and began to remember her travels.

"My favorite was by far when we went to Greece for a week for work. Being home again was so nice. I was surprised by Paris, we went shopping a lot. Greenland and Russia are really, really cold but so beautiful. We've been so many places it's hard to keep up most days. I'm really looking forward to the summer trip to Brazil for another client followup. I hear it's beautiful." She looked up from looking at her thumb nail and shrugged. "What about you, where've you been?" Was it wrong of her to want to sit closer to him and talk to him all night long? He was far more interesting than she ever would have thought.

He smiled as she became very animated talking about places she had been and even some they were planning to go. He loved how her face lit up when she smiled without thinking about it. He took a drink of his coffee, watching her as he did. When he set the cup down, he thought of her question.

"Most of my traveling was in the service. When it wasn't, it was babysitting some spoiled brat while he spent daddy's money."

He sighed.

"I'd love to travel more, but that is easier said than done these days. I've always wanted to see the Iguazu Falls in Brazil, as well as many other places I have only read about."

He fell silent as Talia's voice echoed in his mind, talking about all the places they had wanted to go. He knew he inherited his love for adventure from his sister and it sometimes hurt to think about what happened...

He sighed, looking into her eyes again and smiling.

"Well now..I wanted to get to know each other better, but all we have done is have some small talk...let's make things a bit more interesting, shall we? Where and who...first real kiss?"

She smiled. "Well, there's no time like the present...right?" After he sighed and explained how that was easier said than done, she frowned a bit and wished he could come to Brazil with them. The Iguazu Falls was something she too looked forward to. "I'm sure you'll get to see those places. Remember, you said, There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open. So don't let anything prevent you from adventure." She tried to remain optimistic.

She took a sip of tea as he suggested they make it more interesting. When he asked where and who was her first real kiss, she swallowed her tea and chuckled. Her smile bright and reaching her eyes. "Ohhhhhh, that...." She cleared her throat and shook her head, moving her hands around as she spoke. "Well, if we're talking real and wanted..." She slid her tongue between her lips to wet them as she looked into space and tried to think about something painful she always pushed to the past. "His name was Nikolos, I just called him Nik." She smiled at the memory. "It was in Greece. My third year in college, he was my best friend..." She looked down at her hands and picked at her nails, then looked back up at him and shrugged with a smile. "What about you?"

He grinned openly when she licked her lips and answered his question...then turned it back around on him. He chuckled and thought back.

"Her name was Monique. She was working at a hotel in Sarajevo when I was stationed there. We were given some leave time and some of us had gotten together with some of the local soldiers and their families....she kissed me that night for the first time. There were other kisses but that one I will always remember because it was special. She walked up to me and asked me to close my eyes. I asked her why and she told me it was a surprise. When I closed them, she kissed me. I remember thinking how soft her lips felt, and how she had been so nervous when she asked me to close my eyes."

He smiled at the memory and then realized he was over sharing. He glanced at her idly wondering how her lips would feel if he kissed her. He felt his ears grow warm and pushed back the thought.

"Sorry...I sometimes ramble."

She listened to his story and opened a straw as he spoke, slipping it into her glass of tea. It might be safer to sip the rest through a straw considering her track record. She lifted the glass and held the straw as her lips parted and covered the straw to suck the tea. When she placed it back on the table she noticed he looked a bit red and maybe he was embarrassed. She chuckled and shook her head. "Don't be sorry. It's cute." She stopped breathing and chastised herself for saying that out loud. "I mean..." She laughed, then shook her head. "I ramble a lot too. Especially when I'm really nervous, but when I'm really nervous I usually just start speaking in Greek and then sometimes it's hard to get me to shut up." She covered her mouth and realized she had rambled...a lot...about nothing. She closed her eyes and inhaled.

As she opened them, she looked over at him and smiled sheepishly. She played with the straw in her glass, moving it around in the ice. She looked into his eyes and didn't know why she asked, but she had....before thinking. "Do you ever get lonely?" Seeing his reaction, she quickly continued. "I mean you're always working too and you...well you...I mean you seem...." She didn't really know how to recover from that one. Way to go, Rochelle.

He smiled as she took began to ramble on. Perhaps they had more in common after all. He was a bit surprised by her question and thought about it for a minute.

"Yes, there are times when the loneliness comes, but I think we all face that, no matter the situation. It is not all bad though. The work is good and honest."

He stood, moving to sit next to her, smiling.

"I̱ monaxiá prosthétei omorfiá sti̱ zo̱í̱ . Tha prépei na thései éna eidikó énkav̱ma sto i̱liovasílema kai kánei myro̱diá nýchtas aéra kalýtera ."
Loneliness adds beauty to life. It puts a special burn on sunsets and makes night air smell better.

He brushed a lock of hair from her face as he looked into her eyes.

She nodded her head to agree with him, thankful he didn't find her question offending. "I guess I never thought about it that way. Traveling so much, you sometimes miss lounging at home in your pajamas with someone next to you." She said as she thought about it, wondering if she'd ever have that too. She blinked a few times when he stood and moved over on the seat as he sat next to her.

Her heart plummeted into her stomach and she nervously looked around. Smiling nervously at him, he moved a lock of her hair and spoke in Greek again. She was close to him, really close. All she had to do was move forward slightly and she could kiss him.

"Here ya go, have a great night you two." She heard the waitress say as she placed the check on the table and Rochelle moved back, putting distance between them. She shook her head, clearing her thoughts as she laughed humorously. "I guess we've been here a while. I uh...thanks for dinner. I'm sure we should get back before we're fired."

He rolled his eyes as the waitress interrupted them, then smiled.

"I'll be right back."

He slid out of the booth, walking over to take care of the tab and handed the waitress a small fold of cash for a tip. Walking back over to the booth, he held out his hand.

"Shall we go?"

She was drinking the last bit of her tea when he came back to the table, offering her his hand. She smiled and took it, standing and giving him a small nod. "Sure..." She walked beside him towards the door, stepping out into the night. The stars were out and they were full and bright. She read a lot about the stars. Something funky was in the air, but it was the swamps after all. She looked up into the sky and smiled, pointing to one. "I read once that when you look at stars you are literally looking back in time." She looked back at him and continued. "The light from the star takes millions of years to reach the Earth. When you look at any star, you are actually looking how it looked thousands of years ago." She blushed, a bit embarrassed that she decided to school him on stars. She stepped to the side to walk to the car when she stumbled on a piece of concrete she hadn't seen, falling towards him as she tried to keep her balance.

He smiled as he saw her foot catch, moving behind her and catching her mid-drop. Something in the back of his mind was screaming at him, but he needed to make sure she was OK. As soon as she was back on her feet, he looked around, sensing something was wrong. Where were the evening bird songs? The woods around this place usually buzzed with noise but all was silence. It was then that he saw it. He stepped back, reaching under his coat, keeping the gun low for now. He watched the vampire as it walked beneath a light. The tell-tale streaks covered the vampire. Mr. Quinn told him what that meant. He looked to Rochelle, and forced a smile as he watched how it moved. He knew he only would have a single shot. He walked slowly toward Rochelle, his eyes looking past her for the moment as his arms wrapped around her. He pulled her behind him and shouted to cover her ears as he fired. The shot struck the heart, he could see it immediately. He released Rochelle and walked over to make sure it died. Looking down at the dying vampire as the UV rounds did their work, he shook his head. The light from the round seemed to be spilling from everywhere now.



"Why don't you just die..."

He stood there until the creature was nothing but black ashes, the turned and walked away, putting his gun back in it's holster. He looked to Rochelle, cradling her cheek and moving around her so her back would be to the spot where the vampire had been.

"I'm sorry you had to see that. Are you OK?"

He caught her and placed her back on her feet, his arm snaking around her waist and she was flustered by the closeness. He smiled at her briefly but appeared distracted. She went to speak when he swiftly moved her behind him and shouted for her to cover her ears. She did as he said and watched him curiously, her eyes widening when a vampire who walked more like a zombie than a vampire emerged from the wooded area. She gasped and the shot fired, causing her to jump. The vampire fell to the ground and Tolvin got closer. She moved her hands and wanted to scream at him to move away from it when it seemed to explode into blood, goo and ash.

She watched as he placed his gun back in the holster like it was nothing and walked back to her. As he cradled her cheek, he turned her around so her back was to the vampire or what was left of it. She was trembling slightly, mostly from the fear but also from the chill in the air. She nodded to answer him, unable to really form words. "I...he just...came out of nowhere." Her words were a whisper as she looked up at him, thankful he had saved her from what could have happened. "Thank you...Tolvin." His name even sounded delicious coming from her own mouth.

He wrapped an arm around her, moving her toward the car. As they got to the car he turned to face her.

"We need to get you out of here. Obviously this area is not safe anymore. We need to head back to the Estate."

She stood against the car after he moved her there and looked to the area where the vampire remains were and then back at him, nodding. "Right...good idea." She pushed off of the car and was extremely close to him now. She looked up and he was looking down at her. He wasn't that much taller than she was, but she had heeled shoes on. Whatever she was thinking, or lack of thinking, caused her to act a bit impulsively as she lifted herself onto the balls of her feet and pressed her lips to his. She lingered for a moment before pulling back and stumbling back a bit, shocked by her actions. Her face felt like it caught fire and she shook her head, swallowing hard. "I'm sorry, that was probably very inappropriate and it will never happen again. I wasn't...I didn't mean.."

Her kiss was like a firebrand in his mind as his eyes went wide. He would not have expected this, but he was not going to deny her either.

"I'm sorry, that was probably very inappropriate and it will never happen again. I wasn't...I didn't mean.."

He silenced her with a look, stepping close and cradling her face in his hands as he leaned in, kissing her slowly and sensually.



When he finally pulled back from the kiss, his eyes locked with hers, trying to gauge how she would react.

Her words were cut off by the hot gaze he gave her and then much to her surprise, he stepped closer to her and cupped her cheek. Before she knew it, his lips were against hers again and her eyes closed instantly. She placed her hand on top of his on her face, kissing him back. Holy Yoda, he kissed like a God. He parted her lips, his tongue slowly sliding against her own. Her body tingled, her stomach flipped and her knees buckled. Had she not been holding onto his hand and leaning against the car, she'd have certainly fell...again.

When he finally pulled back, her eyes shot open in surprise, glazed over by everything she was feeling. She swallowed and stood upright again, palming the front of her outfit. The look he gave her was almost as if he was attempting to see how she would react to that, really she just felt like fainting...or kissing him again. But she really didn't think either were good options so she spoke in almost a whisper as if she were afraid to speak. "We should...go." The fact that she had no idea how to react to what just happened only made her feel more like a clutz. What was she supposed to say? Oh please Mr. Sex on a stick, kiss me again? Certainly his kiss had been in the heat of the moment and she was thinking too much into things. He couldn't possibly like her that way.

Her closeness was intoxicating as he felt her melt into the kiss. When she mentioned that they should go, he simply nodded and opened the door for her. What was he doing? Seducing Rochelle? or was he just now seeing something he had missed before? His mind was full of questions he was not sure how to answer as they climbed in the car and headed back toward the estate.