Orange

Nine

And yet here I was, sitting next to him at La Lune. I rubbed a particularly sore bitemark that was left by a client, staring intently at the wine glass in front of me. Orion just watched me, that lazy smile of his never leaving his lips, even as he drank his wine.

"What's with the face?"

I turned to face him.

"What do you mean?"

He lightly tapped my nose. I scrunched up at the contact.

"That look on your face. You're kind of frowning, but also look completely, well, blank. It's, uh..."

"Weird?" I rested my head on the palm of my hands, elbows on the table. I never really was a girl for proper table manners.

Orion shrugged.

"I was gonna say enthralling, but whatever you say, sweetheart."

I frowned a bit. Orion pulled me a bit closer to him, not looking at my face, but losing his eyes in the fabric of the velvet curtains that concealed us.

"So, were you always like this?"

"Like what?"

"Man, you really are clueless, huh? Have you always been so dark and brooding?"

I took a sip of my own wine, swishing it around in my mouth before swallowing. It definitely was an expensive brand. I almost thought to ask him if it really was alright for him to be spending so much money on someone like me, but I quickly tucked away the thought when I realized that he had asked me a question.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I joked.

Orion leaned into me, head tilted and eyes bearing into my very soul.

"Come on, don't play dumb with me. You're not that kind of girl and we both know it."

I leaned back, trying to look away from his eyes.

"...I guess... I was a bit livelier before. But that's in the past. I try not to dwell on old stuff too long."

"Could'a fooled me," he squeezed my waist a bit. "You always look like you're in a trance, thinking about stuff from years past. It'd be much easier if you just spent your time thinking about me, instead."

I sat still. The comment rested in the air for a few breaths, lingering far longer than I would've liked.

"Stop that."

The words came out a bit harsher than I wanted them to. Orion looked at me, surprised green eyes searching mine for playfulness, hoping that I was joking. He found nothing.

"Stop what?"

"Acting all flirty. You and I both know that you're just wasting your time."

He turned to face me completely, resting one hand on the table as he eyed me.

"Is that so?"

I groaned.

"Look. If you're just trying to have fun with me, you should just get it over with. Get it out of your system with a real purchase or get away from me. I really don't have the time to be messing around with someone like you."

Orion was silent. His eyes didn't move from my own. It was as if he were completely frozen in time, albeit his chest was still moving up and down. Slowly, he moved his hand from my waist to my face, cupping my cheek gently. There was a tenderness there that I can't quite explain.