The Law is Hard

Chapter 13 Part 2

Magnus' POV

Alexander smiles at them, "Hey, Underhill, hey, Lyds. What are you guys doing here?"

The man, who I assume is Underhill from how Alexander addressed them, laughs. "We could ask you the same thing. When's the last time you went shopping? College?"

What? My eyes threaten to bug out of my head. No wonder these pants are so well worn. I look at Alexander and see that he has a smile on his face, but it doesn't quiet reach his eyes the same way.

The woman, Lyds—which is probably short for something, speaks up, "And who is your friend, Alec?"

"I'm Magnus," I say simply. Not sure exactly how Alexander wants to play the cards here or how he knows these people.

"Magnus is one of my clients, and we got in a tight spot with paparazzi," he explains simply.

"So, you decided to go shopping?" She says sharply.

Alexander looks as surprised as I am at her tone. I don't like the way she is looking at my Alexander. Whoa, hold up, you don't have any claim on him...at least not yet.

"I think Lydia is just surprised," Underhill is quick to jump in. "The pants definitely threw us off."

Alexander smiles again, the humour lighting his eyes. "Yeah, they aren't quite my style, I don't think. Actually, did you guys drive here?"

"Yeah, do you guys need a lift?" Underhill responds.

"That would be great," Alexander says with another smile, "lead the way."

Lydia marches off first followed quickly by Underhill who whispers in her ear as they walk.

I turn to Alexander, "Are these your friends?" It's not the question I want to ask, but it's the most polite.

"Yeah, they also work at the firm with me. Lydia and I met in law school and Underhill was in the same hiring section as me." He shrugs, "the three of us hang out outside of work once or twice a week usually."

"Is Lydia normally so...tense?" I ask tentatively, not wanting to offend his friend.

"No," he drops his voice lower I as we start to catch up with them waiting outside a well-kept blue SUV. "She's been kinda off for the last few days I think and if she was shopping for shoes than that probably means she's stressed about something."

"Well, Aldo is a shoe store," I say.

"Oh. How did you know she went to Aldo?"

"Her bag." I grin up at him and say teasingly as we approach the SUV, "you may be the best bodyguard and noticing reporter swarms, but when it comes to fashion, I'm the man."

He chuckles as he opens the back door for me to slide across the seats, which is a lot easier in his loose pants.

I can feel Lydia glaring daggers at me.

"Hey, Magnus," Underhill says seemingly oblivious to the hostility radiating from his passenger-seat. "Where can I drop you off?"

I look to Alexander, asking if it would be safe to give Ragnor's address. He nods, understanding my silent question.

"Could you drop me off at the Homestead Apartments on Stevenson Street?"

"Sure thing," Underhill responds, his eyes smiling as they meet mine in the rear-view mirror. At least one of his friends seem like happy people.

As Underhill pulls the car out, I look at Alexander and then flick my eyes to Lydia in the front seat. The silence in the care is uncomfortable due to Lydia's bad mood. He lifts one shoulder in a gesture showing that he is used to her moods and has gotten over them.

I decide to try to lighten the atmosphere, "So, Lydia, you like to shop at Aldo?"

I see her shoulders tighten at the sound of my voice.

"Yes, but I'm sure you frequent stores with much higher price tags," she retorts.

I let the jab pass, "I frequent stores that have quality items, regardless of the price."

"Oh, how lucky for you, you don't have to worry about price," Lydia says bitingly.

I feel Alexander's body tense.

"Lydia, I understand that you are having a rough day, but there is no need to take it out on Magnus, our client, who is just trying to be nice," Alexander chastises. Although as far as chastisements go, that was the nicest one I've ever heard with the under currents of gentleness to his tone.

I look at him gratefully and he looks to me apologetically. I shake my head slightly to let him know that I'm not offended.

Lydia's eyes remain in her lap.

I am about to speak up to say it's okay to Lydia, when Alexander says to Underhill, changing the conversation topic, "Hey man, what's the latest in football?"

Underhill laughs, "Dude, it's basketball season."

He then launches into a conversation about sports and teams and I quickly become lost so I just focus on Alexander. My eyes are always drawn to him. His eyes sometimes flick to me as he listens to Underhill.

His curly hair is begging for a brush or better yet my fingers to run through them. His mouth curved up into a smile looks so kissable.

All too fast we pull up in front of the twin red brick apartments that Ragnor lives in. My heart sinks a little knowing that this means Alexander and my time today is coming to an end.

I put on a cheerful smile, "Thank you so much for ride," I pull out my wallet.

Underhill waves it away when he twists to see what I'm doing. "Oh, don't worry about it. You're a friend Alec's clearly and our client. Plus, it wasn't that far."

I smile genuinely, "Thanks, it was nice meeting you."

Alexander opens his door as I do, and I look over at him quizzically. "I'll walk you to your door," he says.

I slide out of the SUV and walk around the back of it to see him, gingerly stepping out of the car and walking stiffly onto the walkway.

I laugh, "Good thing we didn't have to walk all the way here."

He chuckles, "yeah, that would have been a disaster."

When we reach the front doors, I turn to look up at him. His blue eyes gaze into mine intensely. If we didn't have an audience, I would for sure kiss him. He smiles at me. Scratch that, if I knew Alexander was comfortable kissing in front of his friends, I would for sure kiss him.

Instead I say, "I had a really good time today, bizarrely enough."

"Yeah, me too." I can tell by the shift in his stance he's about to say goodbye, so I quickly rush on, "would you like to maybe go for a drink sometime?"

His cheekbones turn my new favourite colour as he blushes. My heart pounds furiously, impatient for his reply.

"Um...what do you mean by that? Like to –"

"Like a date," I interrupt.

"Uh sure, I'd like that," his blue eyes meet mine. They are shining with what I hope is excitement.

Scratch that, second favourite colour. My new favourite colour is Alexander blue.

"I'll text or call you about place and time?" I say.

"Yeah for sure," he reaches across me to open the glass entry door. "I'll see you soon. I'll keep my phone charged for your message."

I smile at that, and at his chivalry for holding the door open for me again.

I touch his arm briefly, it is hard muscle between his thin white dress shirt and my fingers, "thank you again so much for all you did today. You saved me more than once."

"You can thank me properly on our date." He seems to realize the innuendo that could imply after he says it by the shocked and embarrassed look on his face.

I laugh, "see you soon, Alexander."