Meeting the Message Head On

[_fredless]

I was getting better and better at slipping out of the hotel without asking permission. In fact each time my feet seemed to move quicker than before, a little bit more of the guilt of it all left behind. I walked right past the faces I might have stopped to tell, wearing the innocent eyes I knew they mostly liked to see. The ones I wore sometimes

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[da_lilah]

I really hadn't thought she'd have the stones to come and see me on her own. And yet here she was, standing in the doorway of the club, her far too slim figure hardly taking up any space as she walked in. There was an unsteady gait to her steps, which belied the determined expression she had on her face. Good to know that I could make her feel a little apprehensive. Nothing like a bit of casual intimidation to even the score. I'd purposefully dressed in a stunning Vera Wang number, which showed my cleavage and legs off to advantage. I was out to make an impression alright, show her just what she didn't have.

Fred didn't take the seat I'd left for her, how wonderfully rebellious of her, and instead came to stand next to me looking down at me, her arms folded defensively across her chest. I tilted my head to regard her with a sly smirk.

"You wanted to meet me?""Thanks for coming Fred, to be honest I didn't think you would. Seems like you made good time though. Have a seat. I assure you I won't bite. I took the liberty of opening a

[_fredless]

"Thanks for coming Fred, to be honest I didn't think you would. Seems like you made good time though. Have a seat. I assure you I won't bite. I took the liberty of opening a bottle Chianti for us both."

"Then for somone who always seems to be in the business of knowing, you don't know me that well at all." There was a bite in my voice that surprised even me...at least until I stopped to consider the cause. How long had we been living with Lilah, almost to the point that she deserved her own room in the hotel? What we didn't see we still thought of, and what wasn't said was most definitely still heard. Some of my very first hurts after coming back to LA were wrapped up in her name. But all spells aside it was more than that. It was about her not hurting them...not anymore.

Or...hurting him. Even if he couldn't see how much.

I eyed the wine cautiously.

"Oh, relax. I'm not here to poison you. We're two adults, I'm sure we can settle this rationally and without resorting to dirty tactics. Although, I'm certainly game if you are...""

[da_lilah]

"Then for somone who always seems to be in the business of knowing, you don't know me that well at all."

Ouch, the claws were really coming out, and it was delicious. I'd always known that Fred possessed a bit of a backbone underneath that scrawny frame, and demure girlish demeanor. She couldn't have survived so long in Pylea if she hadn't.

"You know that I'm not,"

I gave her a disappointed look, and a shrug. I guess she wasn't going to rise to the occasion after all.

"I assume there is more too all this than just a name, not because you care about wasting my time...more the concern you have for yours. Is there a question there you want me to answer?"

I leaned forward, running the tip of my finger around the edge of the glass, a catlike smile coming to my lips.

"Do you love him? Just so we're clear, here. I'm talking honest-to-gosh, so-deep-it-hurts, I-want-to-have-his-babies kind of love. So, do you?"