Aislinn went through the motions of serving dinner and completing the rest of her chores for that evening. Cullen and his date who, Aislinn managed to find out from another member of the kitchen staff, was actually his fiancé ate their dinner in relatively short order and then left. Jenna had been conspicuously silent on all the subsequent visits that Aislinn had to make to the table and Cullen had managed to catch her eyes with an apologetic stare at one point.
Aislinn sat in the back of the taxi on her way home. She felt rich in her ability to afford the small luxury each night. Walking would have taken at least an hour. But she would have done it if it had been necessary. She figured that if tips continued the way they were that she would be able to afford to move out of her crappy apartment and closer to the restaurant in relatively short order. She was calculating how much time it would take for her to pay for her missed rent, pay back her friends for her jail break, afford an attorney to deal with Derrick's lawsuit, and then move into town. Anything to keep her mind off of Cullen.
The taxi finally pulled up in front of her place and she slid out of the car, paid with some of her tips from that night, and headed toward the steps. When a figure moved out of the shadows near the main entrance and reached for her she turned, leaned back, and delivered a forceful kick to the figure's chest.
Cullen staggered back into the wall holding his chest and trying to catch his breath. He had to admit it had been a long time since anyone caught him off guard like that and he was shocked that she had been strong enough to knock him backward even with that consideration. He was still trying to catch his breath when she glared at him and headed inside without a word.
Aislinn fumed as she virtually ran up the stairs to her apartment. What the hell is he doing here? She barely managed to get her key out and go inside before he appeared at the top of the stairs. She slammed the door and walked across the room, threw her purse and coat on the table and kicked her shoes off. After a few minutes without a knock on the door she figured he must have gotten the message and left. She paced a bit before she decided that she wouldn't be able to calm down unless she looked to see.
Aislinn walked over to the door and stared at it a minute. When she started to feel like a complete fool she took the locks off and pulled the door open only to find she was face to face with Cullen. He took a deliberate step into her apartment forcing her back until he was able to close the door. They just stood there staring at each other without talking. Neither of them knew what to say.
Cullen finally started, "I need to apologize to you for Jenna-"
Annoyed, Aislinn cut him off. "No you don't. Why should you have to apologize?"
Cullen just wasn't used to people behaving with him the way she did. He smiled, chuckled and shook his head. "Do you have any idea how unique you are?"
Aislinn glared at him. She didn't get what he was trying to say. All she knew was that she could smell him and he was so close. She couldn't stop herself from wanting him and that was making her angrier and a little scared. "Do you have any idea how much of a jerk you are?"
Cullen had to laugh. When he saw the confused look cross her face he explained. "Sorry it's just been a long time since anyone seriously called me a name to my face. I'm sure plenty is said behind my back but they generally make sure I don't find out."
"Are you really this full of yourself?"
He continued to smile. She growled under her breath. The smile finally dropped. There were too many odd things about her. He was tempted to just ask if she was some weird kind of lycan that he had never scented before. "Look, I just thought that I owed you a bit of an explanation. I know that we haven't exactly gotten off on the right foot."
