All eyes on me.

Continued from Bored

There's only two types of guys out there:
Ones that can hang with me, and ones that are scared
So baby, I hope that you came prepared
I run a tight ship, so beware
- Circus, Britney Spears (shut up)



'You're breaking up with me? At the museum? Man, that is cold!'

Carol turned away from Brian with an rather girl like huff. She had been seeing him for the past six weeks or so, and much to her dismay, nothing had come out of it. Oh he was fantastically romantic and charming, but maybe too much of a gentleman for her.

'We haven't even had sex yet. How could you break up with me?'

'Believe me darlin', you don't know how much I'm asking myself right now that same question.'

Brian looked down at her, sexy grin, and shoulders from here to China. She stopped her slow walk and turned to him. She planted as hard a punch as she could in his shoulder and huffed again. He had the decency to fake injury, but his arm was like granite beneath his long sleeve button up.


'You know, you're actually older than my pepaw, so breaking up is probably a good idea anyway.'

Brig Jameson 15 years ago
'Your pepaw? Now that's cold.'

Little, beautiful, pixie like Carol smiled at him sweetly. She was absolutely enchanting, and a little bit crazy, but he was positive that their age difference was just too much for him. Not that physically he couldn't take her, on the contrary, he was probably more fit than she was, he just couldn't see himself with someone so...young.
Carol 15 years ago
And then she was over it. She wondered if maybe she shouldn't cry a little, just to make him feel a little better, but she decided that he wasn't a typical man, in the sense that he was expecting her to puff his ego. Brian didn't seem the type that needed that type of boost; his ego was intact and indestructible as far as she could tell.

'So why are we at the museum? Is this where you take all your girlfriends to break up with them? And please god, don't say "just the pretty ones".'
Brig Jameson 15 years ago
'What, you don't like the circus?'

The ARCH was currently showcasing Circus art from legendary painters such as Picasso to Leger. He pulled out the brochure and quoted a bit of the advertising.

See daring feats, exotic acts, and colorful circus characters through the eyes of some of the greatest artists of the 20th century. More than 80 paintings, prints, drawings, and books by Pablo Picasso, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Fernand Léger, and other European artists reveal their fascination with the extravagant spectacle of the circus and the bohemian lives of the performers outside the ring.
He skimmed through the copy and read each word with dramatic flair. When he finished, he tucked the brochure back into his jacket's breast pocket and hung it back over his arm.

'Tell me that doesn't sound 'clutch your pearls' riveting!'

Carol mocked clutching at her throat and then rolled her eyes.

'I thought it would be interesting, seeing how my work in Nachton has been temporarily put on hold, so I figured I'd check out the city with my best girl.'

Carol snorted.

'My nephew is actually around here somewhere.' Brig stood on his toes and looked over the heads of the surrounding crowd when Carol punched him again. 'Ow.'
Carol 15 years ago
'No you didn't.'

Carol's shoulders slumped and she immediately regretted not bringing something heavier than her purse to hit Brian over the head.

'No you're not, seriously?' Brian looked at her, feigning confusion. 'Come on, you're setting me up with your nephew? What, are you my pepaw?'
Brig Jameson 15 years ago
'No, I would never do that.'

Yes he would. Brig smiled at Carol who rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. She looked very much the picture of an angry elf; her face flushed red and she turned away from him, twirling her short dress, flaring the bottom out like a parasol.


'He's a nice guy. He's charming, a little quiet and...punctual.'

'Is he fat?'


'What? No. Wha-? What is it about your generation and the obsession with being thin...oh there he is.'

Brig watched as LT turned a corner, weaving in and out of the crowd without looking up. At six foot two, he was easy to find, especially with the short, red hair. Brig whistled a sharp note and LT immediately looked up. Raising his hand, Brig waved him over. Looking back at Carol, he grinned as she ignored him and started walking off in the other direction.


'Oh stop. He's a nice kid. You'll like him.'
Lothias LT Jameson 15 years ago
LT was trying to look at the exhibit and ignore the rock forming in the pit of his stomach. He moved in between the crowd that had come to see the Circus life exhibit in the ARCH, avoiding the shoulders and elbows as he tried to make his way to the Picasso. Art was a glorious thing, although not at all an expert, he still knew what he liked. Still, his eyes went to the exit, plotting escape routes and checking out the security measures in the entire building out of habit.

The Picasso, unfortunately, was swarmed with tourists crowding to get a peek. Pulling out his brochure, he decided to look at some of the lesser known artists when he rounded the corner and heard the Commander whistle softly at him. Even though he was clear on the other side of the large third floor exhibit room, he heard it clearly. With a wave he pushed his way through the crowd as his eyes scanned around his Uncle. If he was standing with someone, he couldn't tell, so he wondered if his date had even shown up.


'Any luck?' His uncle asked.

'No, the Picasso is a tourist trap. I barely got into the room it was in, maybe later...' LT's voice trailed off as a petite blond stepped forward beside his uncle looking nonplussed. His eyebrows went up in surprise at just how young the woman was compared to the Commander and he was impressed at how pretty she was.

'You must be Carol?' LT transferred the brochure out of his right hand and held it out.
Carol 15 years ago
'I'm not speaking to you now.'

Carol briefly considered walking out of the museum and going home to watch some porn. She wasn't in the mood for art or getting set up by a now ex-boyfriend. Somewhere, somehow, she did something to upset the karma gods, she decided. Dumped and now set up, how pathetic. Dumped twice, even. With an eye roll and a sigh, Carol moved off to look at a nearby piece of art when she heard Brian whistle.


'Great. Great, great, great,' she muttered unhappily.

With her back turned, she heard Brian's nephew step into ear shot. She listened to them talk briefly about something and out of boredom, she turned around to look at the more than likely snaggle tooth, virgin nephew.

As she moved back toward Brian's side, her caught a tall drink of water with deep red hair and muscles from here to fucking Kansas. Carol got an eyeful, drinking in his tall and solid form. His arms were tanned and muscled, but not overly so - she never understood what the appeal was with men so built that it looked impossible for them to even wipe their own asses. Looking back and forth between the two men, she saw the family resemblance; he literally looked like a smaller and younger version of Brian. Then he noticed her.

He had the brightest blue eyes she had ever seen. Unconsciously Carol reached up and made sure that her mouth had not opened up, but did her best to look disinterested. Consciously she was so friggin happy that she had worn a new dress.


'You must be Carol?' He held his hand out with a smile.

'Y-,' she blinked and then nodded. 'Yeah. Carol Hedley.' She gave him a grin and reached out to take his offered hand, shaking it firmly. 'You're...?'

'Lothias Jameson', he answered.


'Right, Lothias. Hi.' As Carol held his stare, her mind drew a complete blank at what to say next. 'I didn't sleep with your uncle,' she blurted out.
Brig Jameson 15 years ago
Brig winced and started to laugh. He looked at LT who gave him a slightly wide eyed look and grin. 'Well, she didn't.' He shrugged and then cleared his throat.

'Why don't we get something to eat?' He put his arm around his nephew's shoulder and his hand on Carol's lower back and escorted them to the stairs down to the lobby. 'Something Chinese maybe? There's a little place down the Strip a bit that is quite delicious.'

Both Carol and LT nodded and they descended the stairs to the lobby of the ARCH, thanking the curator on their way out.

The winter chill had hit the eastern seaboard again, blasting it with a bitter cold. Brig absolutely loved it. He helped Carol with her coat and hailed a cab. He figured this was as good a time as any to make his get away. As a cab pulled up, he opened the door and helped Carol in. Once LT had stepped inside, Brig bent down and made his escape.


'Lothias, I completely forgot. I have a previous engagement across town at Stafford. Do you mind if I take a rain check?'

Carol began to squawk, yelling at him from the other side of LT who just gave his Uncle a narrowed eyed dirty look.


'I knew you both would understand.' He closed the door and knocked on the passenger side front window and stuck a fifty in the cabbie's hand. 'Don't let them leave separately, now.' The cabbie nodded and flipped the switch on his meter. Thumping the roof of the cab, Brig stepped back onto the sidewalk and waved good bye.

((Brig out))
Lothias LT Jameson 15 years ago
As the cab pulled away from the curb, LT shot his happily waving uncle a dirty look out of the window. Nice, a forced date. Definitely better than the internet. LT turned and looked at Carol who was quietly sitting next to him. This wasn't his thing, this being thrown into an uncomfortable situation with someone he barely knows. LT tapped his fingers on his knee and tried to think of something to say.

He was a Piper, a commanding officer in an elite military team, no less. How could he not be able to think of anything to say? He had to say something.


'I am sorry about my uncle.' Carol grinned at LT and nodded. 'Did you want to go back to your place?' Her look went from amused to shocked, back to amused. 'I mean, that's not what I meant, I mean did you, I mean would you rather we...did you want to go home?'

Oh dear god, he was pathetic.
Carol 15 years ago
'A proposition already and here I was thinking you were nothing like your uncle.' Lothias smiled sheepishly at her, something he was a pro at doing - looking sheepish, but she found it endearing. He was a handsome guy, tall, fair skinned, and deep reddish brown hair.

'I'm hungry, so I'm going to eat. You want to eat? I want to.' Lothias looked at her with those deep blue eyes and shrugged. 'Let's eat then.' Leaning forward, Carol tapped the partition glass and gave new directions to the cabbie.

Sitting back into the softness of the seats, Carol cracked her window open a bit for fresh air, and then looked out of the front windshield, watching the buildings go by. Lothias, however, had not turned away or sat back, but instead was openly looking at her, head to toe. She watched him as his eyes moved from her crossed bare legs up to the front of her pink, long sleeve shift, then finally up into her face. By the time he got to her eyes, she realized he was staring at her mouth.
Lothias LT Jameson 15 years ago
LT's smile fell from his face as Carol took the assertive approach and decided on dinner. She leaned forward to talk to the cabbie when he finally noticed what she was wearing.

Probably no taller than five foot five, maybe closer to five foot eight in those heels he wagered, her legs looked long as she crossed them. The weather in Nachton had dipped to near freezing, but it didn't seem to deter her in the least. Her jacket was unbuttoned and was opened, revealing a soft pink sort of slip dress. It did have long sleeves, he noticed that back at the museum, but the color went well with the light tan she was still managing, even for this time of year.

She wore her hair long and straight, falling down over her shoulders and down past her breasts. He noticed those on the long trek up her body as well. Finally he reached her face and he noticed she was watching him, watch her, but he didn't let it embarrass him. Women didn't intimidate him, it was letting them in close enough to reveal what he was that worried him, something he had never done. One girlfriend was never more memorable than the last and none were ever more than just casual acquaintances, so as he took in her features, he viewed it as more of a investigation than a sexual invitation. However he would not overlook the latter for the former.

Her eyes were bright blue like his own but it was her lips he was entranced with, at the moment. She wore matching lipstick that was just a hint darker than her dress and as she slowly smiled at him, he quietly approved of Carol Hedley.


'So where are we going?' He asked in a soft voice.
Carol 15 years ago
Men were weird, Carol decided.

The shy, embarrassed Lothias was gone and suddenly he was looking at her with almost an approving stare, so much so that she actually looked down at her outfit. He was concentrating now on her mouth and it actually made her a little self conscious, which surprised her. She answered him slowly, playing along with the tease.

Leaning in a little closer, Carol replied softly,
'There's a nice place down on the Strip, near the water. Little place called 'The Hidden Door.' She reached out with an elbow and nudged him playfully. 'If that's ok with you?'

His smile slowly reappeared and he leaned back against the seat.
'Yeah that's fine.'

Yeah, men were weird.
Cab Driver 15 years ago
Stuart listened to the young couple in his back seat converse quietly over where to eat and someone's uncle. They seemed like a nice pair of kids, not quite a couple, not yet anyway. He watched them talk in the rear view mirror.

'So do you work for Brian?'

'I do, I run a section of his security team.'

'Oh, lots of covert spy stuff, huh?'

The young man laughed. 'No, just dignitaries mostly.'

'Anyone I know?'

'Nope, I doubt it. What about you? What do you do?'

'Your uncle didn't tell you?' Stuart watched the man shake his head. 'I'm just a secretary at DI.'

'Duibne Industries?'

'Yeah, know it?'

'Just know of it.'

Everyone knew of Duibne Industries, especially since the weird virus breakout back during Halloween 2007, Stuart thought with a shiver. They were quiet for a few minutes when the man spoke up again.

'So, The Hidden Door, huh?'

'Yeah, nice little place.'

'Sounds intimate.'

Stuart watched as the couple turned to look at each other and smile. Oh boy, he thought.

'Yeah. That ok?'

'Sure.'

'Figure that way you can watch my mouth without any interruption.'

Here we go, Stuart thought and as they came to a stop light, he could not help but watch the couple talk. The young man looked back at the blond and leaned in close enough to kiss her, but said something that Stuart almost didn't catch because he said it so softly.

'You have interesting lips, Miss Hedley. I hope you don't mind me saying that.'

Smooth, Stuart thought. The direct approach.

'Why so interesting?'

'Just wondering what they taste like.'

Stuart almost started clapping. He was fairly certain that the blond made a humming noise before she reached out and finally kissed him. Eighteen years driving his cab in Nachton and he had seen a lot, more than he'd care to see and more than he'd see in his average porno, but it was moments like this that made the job interesting. A romantic at heart, Stuart sighed happily for the couple as he watched them kiss in the rear view mirror.

HONK!

Stuart jumped and looked up at the green light he had been sitting at and as he cleared his throat, he made the turn into the parking lot for the address the blond woman gave him.


'Excuse me?' Stuart said, interrupting the couple. The blond pulled back gently and looked up at the cabbie. 'We're here, miss.'

'Oh, we're here.'

'Looks like it.'

The blond looked back at the man and then back at the cabbie. 'How far will that cash his uncle gave you get us driving around town?'


'About an hour, easy, miss.' Stuart smiled as the couple went back to kissing and he pulled the cab back out onto the strip. Maybe a drive through the park would be nice, he thought.

((Carol and LT out))

Continued in Diggin on You