Two jobs in one day. TWO jobs. One day! The novelty of the thing almost had Riley dancing down the street. Riley didn’t dance though, and especially not down the street. The money though…oh the money. Rent would be paid and there would be plenty of money left over for fun. The first shoot was even done, the photographer had been a legit professional…well at least to the degree that one could expect from someone in the nearly-adult industry. He didn’t gawk, he didn’t snerk, and he’d complimented her in a completely un-creepy way after they were done. He’d even said he’d pass her name around. Riley was in about as good a mood as she could be….and she had time to burn.

Riley checked her watch, it was still a few hours until her next gig. The situation presented a bit of a conundrum. Was it worth it to take a cab or public transport all the way home for what would probably amount to less than an hour when it was all said and done? Riley pondered her problem while walking and taking in the shops she passed. An answer to her question and a way to burn some time presented itself in the form of a small, private-owned book store called the Full Circle.

Riley wasn’t necessarily an advocate of private-owned gigs over the regular variety. She’d seen social and economical Darwinism at its worst, and all too often small-business owners complained about the effect of chains. Riley bought a lot of books…she knew how nice it was to get 40% off list price. All those biases included….the Full Circle was a really nice place.

There were seating areas, and it was warm, even on an early December day. The smell in the place was simply divine, too. Coffee and books. It was cozier than the big chain places, and Riley saw more than one person sitting and reading in the seating areas. Of their own volition, her feet took her towards the Romance section. Nobody…nobody knew about the stash she had under her bed, but Riley had worn the bindings out on so many of them.

She stopped in front of a shelf and let her fingers run over the books, sure the names were often silly…but some of them really were good. On and on Riley looked, locating her old favorite authors and reading some samples from a few new ones. There were so many different types these days, supernatural romance, modern day, sci-fi romancc, historical romance. The last ones were Riley’s favorite. There was something about the dresses, the strong women fighting against societal repression, the dashing, strong men who were powerful enough to tame them….Riley sighed and grabbed one of her old favorites. She needed another copy anyway.

To one of the seats she went, setting everything down and settling into the chair with a happy sigh that indicated a change in attitude about private-owned bookstores. Maybe she’d even get coffee in a little bit.

Coffee was something Aurum knew a whole lot about. More than Social Darwinism, more than economics, and definitely more than Harlequin romance. He'd never picked up what he considered to be low literature, though he'd been forced at times to sit through mushy movies some women thought were a blast. The mushiness of it all seemed a bit transparent to him. It wasn't a blast. It had basted his brain. And so few times, did the 'romance' aspect come off the same way he considered romance should. Too often, the dashing young man was a macaroon, with long hair and an even longer appetite for lust. There was very little of the traditional bravado, the 'defending of honor' that came with so many cutthroat crusaders of chivalry throughout history. He preferred that degree of respect over the idea of undying love, hot hearts, and heated words. Overly-descriptive paragraphs about long flowing hair (on the guys), and eyes deeper than the sea (still, on the men). Women needed to be treated with respect, it was true. But the books did a hell of a good job demeaning the men. At least... maybe? He'd never read a book, so hell. Most of his ire for the idea of the literature came from glancing at gleaming Fabios on bookcovers as he filed and organized 'literature' for boss ladies. He tried not to glare, or stare.

Yes, coffee he prided himself on knowing a whole lot more about. It was strong, could be bitter, and garnered its own respect. It wasn't full of itself, but had a way of knowing all its own. Just what anyone could need. Coffee didn't have long hair, and draw longing sighs from ladies.

Romantic comedies? Those, he was okay with. Though, more from the idea that often times, the male leads actually had character and weren't daring farmhands loving their master's mistress behind closed doors. They weren't the softcore porn of the book industry... that he'd never read, and knew nothing about, and was being judgmental regarding. Nope. Nothing like that.

Of course, Aurum never shared his opinions on Harlequin novels or romantic comedies or trash that should be burned with anyone, except maybe that last one. Not even when ordered to help organize literature, or set up cutouts for the newest craze in cheesy rom-novel. Not out loud, anyways. Eyes could convey plenty.

Aurum eyed the vampire cardboard cutout as he carried it over to the end of the bookshelf near the romance section, and set it against the shelf's side, where it never ought to be, to glare poutily at the world and its sun that made him shimmerhurt.

He took a step away, and sighed at the guy, resting his hands on his hips. Since when did stalkers constitute romance, again? What had happened to the days of chivalry, of knights in shining armor, or hardboiled characters, too set with their own ideas of doing the right thing, of moralistic ideals? Where had all the cowboys gone? What had led the world astray? To glorify young supermen, who, on womens' hearts, they prey?

He turned away from the cardboard pop culture messiah, and wheeled back around the cafe sitting and reading area, towards his coffee counter of solitude.

Aurum did notice, however, a familiar face in passing. He didn't say anything, though. Well. Maybe one thing.

"This isn't a library."

He slid behind the coffee counter, safe as safe could be. For the moment.

The girl was standing on the horse, standing on the horse in the stable boy’s breeches and shirt. If that didn’t impress Paul…nothing would. Whitney didn’t care what the rest of the assembled people thought, and Elizabeth Ashton could simply bat her eyelashes straight to hell and back!

Riley actually smiled a little as she read, it was hard to work out whether the beginning, middle, or end of the book was her favorite…but they were all so good. Whitney was amazing, not giving two nickels what anyone thought of her….except Paul of course…an Riley couldn’t fault the girl. She was young, and she wanted the best that the world had to offer…and she eventually got it. Even if it wasn’t Paul. Even if she fought it tooth and nail for a long time.

The book was excellent, and Riley was happy with her choice…sometimes it was good to go back to the old favorites. She returned to the pages from her mental commentary and read a little faster…it was several chapters still before Whitney accompanied her Aunt and Uncle to France…where she met Clayton. A sigh escaped Riley at the mere thought of the Duke of Claymore…the masked man at the Armand’s Masque who got himself engaged to Whitney without her even knowing…such a good book. Such a nice little coffee shop and bookstore to read it in…such a nice…

The voice absolutely shattered her mood.

”Oh! I’m going to buy i….” she started, snapping the book shut and stowing it in her lap before her eyes fell on the owner of the voice who was skittering to hide behind the counter of the coffee bar. The instant she saw, and recognized him, the contrite tone of her voice changed and a small frown replaced the relaxed little smile that had been there before.

What was the lawyer boy doing behind the counter of a coffee shop, wearing an apron? A conversation in a cab came back to Riley, and she remembered that Aurum didn’t actually get paid for following Lonnie around like a kicked puppy. She also remembered that he’d stuck her with a cab fare, and had made her feel like a child being dressed down like an adult. Why did he have to be here?

Riley sighed, she wasn’t going to dignify him by getting up and leaving, but she couldn’t very well sit here and read a romance novel in front of the guy. It would confirm all the horrible things he already thought about her. Why Riley cared, she didn’t know. Still, she smirked. ”Nice apron.” she called, taking a moment to take in the uniform her wore. ”So this is what you do when you’re not playing lawyer.” she glanced around at the shop, unable to actually say any of the petty or mean things that came to mind, ”I have to admit…it’s a nice gig.”

Again, she glanced at the position he'd taken behind the bar. "Do you actually make coffee back there, or just use it as protection?"

>>”Oh! I’m going to buy i….”

She never saw the slight smirk she'd inspired, as he escaped after the comment. Unfortunately, he never got to see her reaction, in turn.

Aurum busied himself for a moment with moving some pastries into place under the counter. A much better job than dealing with romance novel junk.

Riley approached. He popped up to meet her, face to face.

"Not just coffee," Aurum smiled at her, cool as a cucumber. There was a dramatic pause, then. "I look good in an apron, too. So, what are you having? I have it in confidence that everything here is excellent." As the Full Circle's Nice Pastry Chef, he would know. He'd even brewed the coffee, himself.

What had she been reading? He hadn't had a chance to notice... luckily for her. He was a little curious, but Aurum wasn't going to go about asking, point blank. He was at work. He could be a professional, and fix her a nice cup of coffee. And look good doing it. She thought the apron was nice, huh? Funny. Because it was one of his favorites. It was one Jude hadn't dumped coffee on.

Aurum arranged some pastries that looked really yummy as she approached. This close, he played it cool, no more snide comments about the fact that they were selling books here, not loaning them. Well, if he could play the civil game, she could too. One didn’t shun acquaintances, after all, even if they were less than desirable ones…especially if they made the first comment in a conversation.

He said he looked good in the apron and Riley shrugged her shoulders. She wasn’t going to disagree, the man could pull off forest green. ”Looking good in a uniform doesn’t mean you deserve it.” she said, leaning on the counter with her elbows.

He asked what she wanted, and Riley gave Aurum a skeptical look, was his offer sincere? She glanced at the menu, the prices were very reasonable. ”Carmel Latte. No extra sugar or anything.” she said. People who ordered coffee ‘skinny’ or ‘non fat’ made her sick. What was the point if coffee if you didn’t drink it right. “Right” wasn’t loading it up with sugar either. Coffee was supposed to be a little on the bitter side, it was what brought out the flavor.

”Your treat. You owe me a cab fare.” Just because they were being civil didn’t mean she wouldn’t bring it up.

((OOC: Riley lines written by Riley.))

Aurum eyed her, still smiling. "I thought you'd offered to treat me, there. With the cab fare." But whatever. He could afford to buy the lady something to drink. He did make the coffee, and get a discount, after all. "If I throw in a pastry, can we call it even?"

"That depends on how good the pastry is, but you can give it a try." Riley said.

"Got a favorite?" Aurum asked.

"Surprise me." she said sweetly, with a smile.

"A challenge," Aurum quipped, ducking down to select a French cruller. One of his favorites. He wrapped it in a piece of wax paper, then stuffed it into a bag. He set it on the counter, then turned and prepared her drink. It didn't take too long for him to get everything ready. As he worked, he dropped a few words of conversation in casually, back to her. He spoke towards the machine.

"So, what were you reading? I'm taking suggestions, recently. I've already read everything by Christie."

Offered to treat him? With the cab fare? ”More like I generously spared your life by getting you out of there.” she said, amusement written clearly on her face. It was true, Riley had seen the situation deteriorating quickly and Aurum had been the most unwelcome party, no matter how much he’d helped by carrying the unconscious woman. Riley knew how people like Lori worked, and whether he knew how much or not, she knew she’d done Aurum a huge favor. She didn’t know why, and she hadn’t had to…but she’d done it. Now, she was getting free food and coffee.

She told him to surprise her, and he actually seemed to enjoy the challenge. Riley frowned slightly, watching as he did an excellent job choosing. Crullers were delicious….even when they were bad.

A good one…damn. It would definitely cover the cab fare. She took a moment to remind herself that this was the same person who’d sat in a cab and spouted about the justice system, about how everyone deserved a fair chance, an idealist, a lawyer. He placed the pastry and the coffee on the table and she looked at them, debating whether or not she should even accept.

He had asked what she was reading, and mentioned Christie.

”Oh, uh.” she said, frantically casting around for something to say since he hadn’t seen the romance novel. What were some of the things she kept sitting around, or actually read to be able to talk about, ”I was just reading some non-fiction about the industry here in New York. I like to keep up on things like that.” While it was true, it definitely wasn’t what she’d been reading when Aurum had discovered her. She picked up the coffee and took a sip. It was good, it was real good…and perfect for a subject change.

”You are good at this.” she said, ”Are you sure that lawyer’ing is for you?”

>>”More like I generously spared your life by getting you out of there.”

Whatever she told herself to get her through the night.

It was kind of funny, though. She was right, there. It was amusing how she thought she'd been doing him a favor.

But hadn't she? Eh. He let that one sit, and bought her her damn coffee. He raised her a pastry. His mood was still good-humored, not glib at all. He was doing his job. He liked his job. And books.

It wasn't until after he'd set her coffee down for her that she replied to his query. Was she a little embarrassed about what she was reading? She'd 'uh'd. That usually meant avoiding giving a straight answer, or uncertainty about what to say. Non-fiction about industry? That sounded real boring. She thought his coffee was good, though.

He accepted the compliment graciously. "Thank you. And yup." The lawyering was for him. "Definitely."

Dammit. He was reading her like one of the many well-placed books in the store. She could see it written all over his face when she fed him the tripe about what she’d been reading at the table. He didn’t pursue it though, and Riley hoped that she’d be able to pay for the silly thing without him seeing. She really did have to be more careful about where she bought the darn things.

She felt like a child, having to hide her reading tastes…but someone like Aurum, lots of people, expected someone like Riley to read romance novels. Besides, if she was being honest, it also made her feel like a hypocrite. What kind of person ran around in the real world…knew anything about the real world, then read romance novels like they were going out of style? It totally cramped the whole epic cynic thing she had going on. Besides, he wouldn’t understand if she tried to explain. He was an idealist. It made it easier to remember why she disliked him so much.

She smiled now, and took another sip of the coffee. ”That’s a shame.” she said with just a hint of malice. ”How’s that going? Still kicking puppies and all those fun lawyer things?” He’d given her good coffee, she could give him the gift of good conversation.

"No kicking puppies," He replied, shaking his head with a laugh, because it was funny she had such a low opinion of him. He kept up the witty banter. "And lawyering is going fine. I'm nearly done with school. Gotta take a massive test in order to get my license. What about you? Find work yet?"

Lonnie had ripped her a new one. He hoped she was surviving. He was generally concerned about that, which surprised him, and came out in his tone. The banter had backfired a little, hadn't it? He'd slipped, and come off as a genuinely nice guy. Damn.

"Please say yes," He recovered without missing a beat. He didn't leave a second between his last comment and this one for her to slip in any replies. This one came off glib as he'd wanted, which was golden.

An odd thought struck him. Was this banter or, or did they suddenly have some weird sort of rapport?

He was amused…Riley hadn’t been joking, but whatever helped him get through is day. ”Good for the puppies. Even if it’s the sort of thing Lonnie is into…” she said.

His next comment was quick and the question at the end caught Riley by surprise. She opened her mouth to answer, surprise overriding her general defensiveness, but he interrupted before she had the chance. That was more like it. That was what she expected. What else had he said?

He was almost done with school, but had to take a big test to get his license. ”So, what’s the test? Is it some crazy blood ritual, some sacrifice to the sacred scales of Themis?” she paused, ”Is that where you kick the first puppy?”

Why was she teasing him? Because it bugged him. She knew it had to bother him when he was seen as something less than the genuinely nice guy he tried to be. He also seemed to think he could go toe to toe with her. He couldn’t. The cab ride didn’t count, she’d been off her game, too much had happened that night and he’d had the advantage of alcohol.

”And I have plenty of work…” she said, the unspoken no thanks to you hanging between them. ”I’m between shoots in fact. Two in one day.”

Did this count as a legitimate conversation? Riley didn’t know, but it just might have been better than sitting around for a few hours.

>>”So, what’s the test? Is it some crazy blood ritual, some sacrifice to the sacred scales of Themis?” ”Is that where you kick the first puppy?”

"Close," Aurum said, closing the register he'd just put his own money into. "More like a big, tough, college-level test. Plenty of pain, though. Mostly from extensive studying. Why all the puppy hate?" It didn't bug him. It was just a bit weird. Why was she repeatedly bringing up puppies now? Did she have some personal vendetta against cute happy puppies? If she was trying to tease him, it was funny... because it wouldn't work. He crossed his arms, still smiling calmly. He raised her an arched eyebrow. He was genuinely concerned for her sanity, obviously, with all this sudden focus on baby dogs.

"And good. I'm actually glad you're finding work." It was like setting a hawk with an injured wing free into the wild. Watching it flap and strain to regain lost airs.

Why all the puppy hate? Riley shrugged, ”Puppy is a metaphor. For all the pristine, innocent, people they’re going to make you kick. I figured they’d get you used to that before sending you into the field. Or do they leave that for later? As something to get your feet wet?”

Riley didn’t like the way he was looking at her. It was so…judgemental. How dare he do that? She was just here to get a book, he was the one who’d initiated conversation. Riley cursed herself, thinking how much better things would have been if she’d simply ignored him.

Aurum pointed out that he was glad she’d found work, and Riley opened her mouth to tell him right where he could shove his condescending concern. She didn’t want it, and she didn’t need it. She looked at the pastry he’d put on the counter. She didn’t want the coffee anymore, or the pastry. This was why she disliked him so much. Nobody was as nice as he tried to act sometimes. It all came back to condescension and true colors.

”Thanks.” she said tightly, ”I guess you’re still getting coffee for Lonnie? Until the big test?”

>>”Puppy is a metaphor. For all the pristine, innocent, people they’re going to make you kick. I figured they’d get you used to that before sending you into the field. Or do they leave that for later? As something to get your feet wet?”

Aurum shrugged. Someone was still being bitter. "I thought we already had this conversation."

They had. And she'd found work? That was good.

Riley was getting uptight, now. Aurum sighed, and looked away. "Look. Can we not talk about Lonnie? It seems like every time we run into each other, someone brings him up. Doesn't it ruin your appetite? I wouldn't want to turn you off your food."

Ugh. Riley wondered why she felt like she’d kicked a puppy when Aurum sighed and asked that they not talk about Lonnie. He looked away for the first time too. Damn. Maybe she was being just a little bit bitter…and a little unfair, as much as she hated to admit it.

Apparently working with the man was as much hell as dealing with him in court. Riley couldn’t exactly empathize, but she did sigh and nod her head. ”You make a fair point.” she said, not feeling the least bit guilty about the point she’d pushed so far, but having enough grace to know when to stop.

She sipped her coffee, then pursed her lips before smiling and snagging the bag with the pastry inside.

”Well, if I can’t be bitter, and you can’t be condescending…I’m just not sure we have anything left to talk about.” she said, then raised an eyebrow, almost daring him to say otherwise.