Sin of the Saint

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: LES AMIES

Much more at ease, Liv spent the rest of Christmas Eve playing along with Sabine's "lack of English" façade after the boys had returned from the errand they were sent on. Granted, that did make it difficult to converse with her, because Liv's knowledge of French began and ended with her own last name. Sabine played along well though—acting out each phrase Liv couldn't understand—and by the girl's improvisation skills alone, Liv could tell that this indeed must have been the girl that toyed with Envy, or Invidia, for a good long while before nailing her in the head with an arrow...because not only was she good at pretending to not understand Nathan, she seemed to enjoy it...messing with him.

Liv realized she potentially had a lot to learn from this girl—skills she could use to best Cupid with no kind of weapon at all...just as Coach Luther had advised her at the beginning of her transfer to St. John's. So, over games of cards and glasses of sparkling cider, Liv observed and learned. Not how Sabine used her native language to her advantage per se, but how she avoided answering questions, playing oblivious when it would be most convenient for her while directing the conversation in other directions, or just shutting it down altogether.

At the end of the night, Liv's mind was filled to its capacity with mental notes from Sabine's stunning performance, so she hadn't given much thought to the situation her relationship with Axel was in. And by the time Axel and Liv were heading towards the door to leave, Liv's hand instinctually slipped inside Axel's, intertwining their fingers in the manner they always did.

"Liv! Enchanté, mon amie," Sabine said, then lightly grabbed Liv by the shoulders and kissed both her cheeks. "It is...nice meeting you. Oui?" she suddenly looked to Nathan, who nodded in approval. She looked back to Liv and winked.

"It was nice meeting you, too," Liv said with a genuine smile and waved to her as she and Axel left through the door.

Axel chuckled once the door shut.

"What's so funny?" Liv asked, still smiling.

"I didn't know I had competition, Liv. You should have said something!" he said, still laughing to himself.

"What are you talking about?" Liv furrowed her eyebrows, still fighting a smile.

"After meeting Sabine, you were hanging onto her every word! How am I supposed to compete with a bona fide French chick?" Axel snickered. "Mon amie? Come on—I'm finished here."

Liv laughed, "Oh come on—that was nothing! It's not every day you meet a foreigner."

Axel raised one eyebrow, "So that accent had absolutely nothing to do with it? Nothing at all."

Liv looked between Axel and the door, "I...no. No."

He shook his head, grinning. "You don't sound too convinced. It's okay to admit it you know." He winked.

"Listen here, you—"

Axel bit his lips and raised both eyebrows, holding back a dam of snarky teases.

Liv took a deep breath and looked upward at the mistletoe hanging in the doorway. "Meeting her made me think of myself—how I was before I met you. Dropping into a strange place with no point of reference...nobody to relate to—until you. Tonight was great, Axel...and things are "looking up" you could say."

Axel's eyes flickered to the mistletoe before resting back on her. His tone immediately changed to a tender mumble, his mischievous grin into a hopeful smile, "Yeah?"

Liv's cheeks reddened at his soft, loving gaze and she caught herself when she realized she'd stopped breathing and leaned forward to kiss him. His thumb grazed her cheek as he deepened the kiss with his hand behind her neck. She hugged him closely in the cold, their foggy breath heating up the space around them.

After a moment of standing on the large porch, she pulled away. She sighed with a smile, "I might not be able to reply to your confession yet...but...soon."

"I'm not expecting anything from you—just remember that," Axel replied, studying her face intently. "Because if I get an answer...I want it to be the right one. Not one that I pressured out of you."

"I understand."

He smiled. "Let's get you home then."

Author's Note: I'm sorry for the short chapter, BUT...we are there. All of my chess pieces are exactly where I want them. We're at that point of the roller coaster when we're about to put our hands up. The peak. The drop in barometric pressure right before the storm rolls in. And boy...we're in for a hurricane. SO, that being said...I will be working on the next 5 or 6 chapters all together before publishing them, just so it goes smooth as possible. So this might be the last chapter for a bit. But I'm promising answers here, friends. So I hope that makes up for it!

Fun Fact: I've developed a recent obsession with...crocheted gnomes. Oh. My. Goodness. So cute.

Until next time, mes amis!;D (See what I did there? If not, that means "my friends" in French, lol.)

XOXO//: CRII