Xavia turned back to him, asking if he was planning to sell the painting. Nate shrugged; he sold plenty of paintings, but this was a painting of Xavier's, and in his mind, it belonged to the school. "Thank you for the offer, but I think it belongs here. You can come appreciate it more every time you come by," he promised, assuming the school's new benefactor would make herself an occasional presence.

Nate leaned in slightly closer, thinking of an alternative. "You are more than welcome to commission a painting of your very own if you'd like."

She was close enough and short enough that her hair was within his reach, so to tease her, he added, "Heck, if you want your own professional portrait for when you get famous, we can do that too; I'll just add a flower or two tucked into your hair." Obliviously, he reached in close and tussled a lock of her hair, smirking.

“You think so? I am not in the business to become famous though. Not on purpose anyway.” Again, she skirted away, walking back toward the window and looking out. God, he was flirting, wasn’t he? She leaned her forehead against the glass, staring out, suddenly feeling sullen. The fact that she was even responding wasn’t good. Not one bit. She sighed softly, “I will pay you $2500 for a portrait of me, nevertheless. Half down sound good to you?”

And then she walked to the door, grabbing for her notebook and writing a note for Sam so he knew she was looking for him. “Just let me know, okay? I should go. I need to be somewhere.” Where? Anywhere but there at the moment! She was going to go home and mull things over.

She fled, albeit at a stroll, toward Sam’s office, left the note, called a cab and headed outside to wait.

Nate shrugged at Xavia's request for a portrait, and was ready to tell her that he would not charge her that much, but something must have come up to her, because Xavia left the office in a bit of a rush, not giving him the chance. When the time came to paint her portrait, he would simply refuse that kind of paycheck.

With the office to himself, Nate closed his door, (or at least he thought he did as he walked away from it without making sure it clicked into place.) In the privacy of his own space, he removed his paint-stained shirt, tossing it on his chair. Nate stretched out his arms, cracking his back as he thought more about Xavia. It was nice to have someone he felt so at ease with, like an old friend. He hoped Xavia could continue to be a friend he could share a comfortable connection with, and as an afterthought, he hoped he was not the only one feeling comfortable and familiar, or else things could get awkward.

Realized her purse was left behind and on his desk. Cursing, she whirled around and booked it back toward the office. She must look like a madwoman running through the halls, but she had already called the cab, for one, and for two… Holy moses, he was half naked! She skidded and fell onto her rump. And he looked good, too. She had an excuse to be red faced, at least, she thought as she climbed to her feet. She had the decency to knock on the door frame as she was entering, “I forgot my purse… It’s… It’s on your desk…” she was trying soooo hard to avert her gaze. So much so that she stumbled on her way over to the desk. When she had the thing, she giggled nervously and said, “Got it!”

Walking backwards a bit, she waved and said, “Um… Have a nice –“ And then she tripped over something else. “OOF!” And that time, she hit her head hard enough to see stars, and little birdies chirping. Not hard enough to have hurt herself too bad, mind you, but enough that she wasn’t getting up right away. And when she looked toward him, she momentarily saw too good looking men. Aw shoot.

Everything that happened next seemed so hasty and fast as Xavia burst into Nate's office, which he then realized was not as "locked" as he assumed a moment earlier. His tan cheeks blushed slightly, but was less self-conscious when she fell on her bottom, thankfully seemingly fine. He looked to his desk, and indeed there was her purse, validating her rushing back in and out.

Nate put a hand on his shirt, intending to throw it back on, but Xavia took one more digger, this time hitting her head. Forgoing his shirt, Nate took her hand to help her up. He brought her close, looking into her eyes to check for signs of concussion, he asked, "Xavia? Are you okay?" It would have been unfortunate if this was how he would bring the new school benefactor through a tour of the infirmary wing.

It was probably the fact that she hit her head, but for some reason… She just… Leaned in and stopped, her mouth just… Barely apart from his. She was so close to a kiss that he would be able to feel her breath tickle against his lips. No, she didn’t have a concussion, just a nice lump forming on the back of her head. She wasn’t going to kiss him, he would have to kiss her if he really was flirting and such.

Whether he did so or not was a moot point, her phone chirped to remind her that the cab was waiting. Still, she hesitated to move away.

Nate's concern became immediate unpreparedness when Xavia bridged the gap between them. For a moment, his mind blanked, unsure of what he should do in the presence of her soft breath being felt on his lips. Leaning forward three millimeters would eliminate the space entirely.

It was when Xavia's phone began chirping away, Nate pulled back two inches, blurting out, "I have a girlfriend."

In that moment, everything he had done while Xavia was there came rushing back to him. He closed his eyes, overwhelmed with guilt, groaning. "And I've been flirting with you all day." It was a confession and a realization. "I'm so sorry..."

And that is when the scratch of a broken record resounded through her thoughts, and she blinked. “Uh… Sorry.” She pushed herself away from him, then scrambled to her feet and to put distance between the two of them. She was beyond mortified. Her face was red, her eyes were slightly watery. And then the other chirp came, this time, she answered… “Yes… I am – Oh… Thank you anyway.” And then she closed her phone. Great, the cabby was calling to let her know there had been a pile up and he wouldn’t be there for another hour anyways.

She took a shuddering breath and shouldered her purse, straightening her back. “I… got caught up in the moment of having hit my head. Rest assured, I am not… like that.” She ground out, more angry with herself than with him.

The moment was painfully awkward, and it was all so preventable. If Nate had been smart enough to notice how flirtatious his behaviors came across as, or even better, if Nate had brought up Quin at ANY POINT in the hours he had spent with Xavia.

Now Nate had to watch as Xavia was clearly blaming herself for what happened. "No, don't... it's not you're fault." Nate leaned back to sit on his desk, burying his face in his palm. "I should have said something way earlier. It's just..."

There was no point in keeping anything from her at this point; what was going to make things any worse? "My girlfriend did not take the news of my past as well as you did." It was obvious now that the comparison was apples and oranges, and not fair to Quin. "Obviously she has plenty more reason to be upset, but... it was nice to feel close to someone without constantly feeling reminded that I can't escape my past." Maybe that was why Nate somehow ignored his forward behavior; subconsciously, he liked things feeling easy again.

She gave a heavy sigh, rubbing at the lump that was forming on the back of her head. “I… get that. No need to explain any further.” Her feelings really weren’t hurt, though there definitely was an attraction for him now, that part really sucked. “I shouldn’t have even gotten near you like that anyways. I mean, I just… found someone I had been looking for. We’re not exactly together, but…”

Xavia sat down and frowned. She was starting to feel conflicted. She did love Jupiter, but now she was starting to have doubts about where they were with each other. “Perhaps this just says I shouldn’t jump back into a relationship with a man whom I hadn’t seen in almost two and a half years.” She gave a sad laugh.

“Your girlfriend is a lucky one, nevertheless, you’re real lovely company and… I wasn’t seeing the signs of you flirting with me until you got really close…” Her frown deepened, and now she felt kind of bad.

Nate was not the only one with complications in his love life it would seem. Xavia reunited with someone she loved years ago, but if Nate knew one truth, it was that time changes everything. "I wouldn't rush in, personally." But really, had he proven to be a good judge of anything at this point?

Despite Xavia obviously having her own emotional commitments, there seemed to be a hurt in her voice from what happened, whether it was because she almost kissed a taken man, or because whatever feelings he accidentally might have kindled were spurned. "This isn't all your fault... there was definitely a part of me that... wanted to..." He would be lying if he were to say that no part of him wanted to bridge that small gap she left.

"Maybe it was just nice to think about being happy with someone and not feeling like my past is lingering over my head." He felt guilty; was that really enough of a reason to want to be with someone, or was that selfish?

She wasn’t upset about being spurned by him, or even by being led on. She had only known him for less than three days. “I am angry and feel guilty because if I would have kissed you, it would be a betrayal on someone who remained loyal to me even when they thought I had died.” It just blurted out like that, her eyes kind of glittered and she started pacing, kind of passionate about what she almost did. “Why the hell would I give in like that? I… I don’t just kiss men at random! He said he never thought about anyone else… Just a few days before I even met you! And… And… God, why would I do something so foolish…?”

Xavia turned and looked at him, “We are both foolish.” Her words were chastising more for herself than for him. “It seems that we both need to think about what it is we want.” She closed her eyes and licked her lips, her throat closing with emotion, “It is just as much –my- fault as it is yours, so please… Please do not excuse my behavior.” Her hands lifted, palm up, “I was the one who tried to kiss you, not the other way around. You flirted with me, and I responded. See? Both of us.”

Xavia refused to let Nate shoulder all the blame, so he would just accept, at least outwardly, that they were indeed both foolish. Nate did not know Xavia beyond a few days of introduction, and his interest in her came in a large way from her willingness to overlook his past. Her interest in him probably came from being flirted with outside of a commitment that she might not have been ready for yet.

"Fine, I'll accept we were just two slaves to hormones and foolish choices," he said, doing his best to add some humor to the situation. He offered his hand to shake. "We stopped before anything stupid happened, so think we can just move on, part ways for the day, and next time pretend this was a dream-meeting?"

“You wish to forget about all of this, but I cannot. Mistake that it may have been, I do like you. I mean, as a friend. The kiss wasn’t supposed to happen, and it didn’t. Move on we shall, but I can’t say as I will forget.” She gave a shrug. It was just not how it worked with her. She closed her eyes and rubbed at the back of her head. It hurt more than she had been willing to admit. After all, she’d hit the back of her head a lot in the last few years.

She was fine, still, she remembered everything… But she had a splitting head ache. Her phone chirped, she flipped it open to see a text from the taxi and sighed. He wasn’t going to be able to get through traffic any time soon and she should probably try for another cab or find someone else to get her home. Her day that had started off great was quickly turning sour. “I guess I will see you later... I have to start walking.”

In truth, Nate would not forget their moment occurred. He would most likely never talk about it again, but it was clear that the near-kiss was a lesson, and if Nate did not think about what it meant and why it almost happened, he would truly be turning a blind eye to the obvious problems he desperately needed to assess.

Nate considered offering Xavia a ride, but something in him felt like putting himself in a confined space with a woman he thought was attractive and almost kissed would be a bad idea. He had to swallow his chivalry and just bear being the jerk for one night. He shook her hand, clearly displeased with how he had ruined both of their days. "I'm sorry. But sincerely, I am glad I met you, Xavia. And... we'll meet again soon. I'm sure." Once his head was clear again and his life was not the mess he had made it.