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 Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 3:58 am
"After the way we left?" She flushed a little, feeling rather pathetic. "I think it'd sound more likely the other way around."
Then she rolled her eyes, looked off at the cars in the parking lot, and said, "Besides. I still haven't passed my driver's exam." You would think after becoming who (well, what, really) she was she would be able to take ten minutes in a car with a proctor for what it was, but no. "I can't drive after dark." She laughed and set her head against his chest.
Quietly, she shifted a little. "I do have to go get my coat if we're not going back in." She sighed. "Although I'm sure one of them will get it..."
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Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 8:53 am
The man chuckled softly, the rumbling deep in his chest. "They don't have to know any of that. It's our business. Besdies," he lifted one of his hands from her back, gently touching the woman's cheek as she rested against him, "they wont miss two of us. It's a madhouse in there. We signed in and that's good enough."
Ah, the jacket. His was in there too, but that wasn't anything that couldn't be quickly remedied. "I'll go and get them," he offered lightly. "Personally, I don't want you going back in there, but...am I being overbearing?" Brad tilted his head so he could partially see her face, fingers curling over her jaw before returning to join the other hand at the small of her back, concerned. It would do no good if he was going to be utterly possessive, even if that was not his intention; he mostly did not want her exposed to that atmosphere again, not if she was so worn. He would trust her to take care of things, but right now, he wanted them both somewhere more comfortable.
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Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 11:33 am
"I bet it's even crazier, as they've gotten bored-er... ah, no, that's not right. More bored."
Another sigh. So very distracted, and she didn't like it. Still, she was a big girl now, and knew her limits... Obviously, though, she did not, since she'd had to come out here in the first place. Her momentary frown was not a reaction to him, but to her own idiocy. "Thank you," she said, ignoring the heat in her cheeks at his touch in favor of watching his face. "No, you're not being overbearing." A smile, and she tilted her head coquettishly. "I'll let you know if you are, promise."
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Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 12:46 pm
That small tilt of her head, the rose on her cheek; oh yes, he was quite smitten indeed. Brad smiled widely, having to tell himself repeatedly that the woman had agreed to be his wife, and that there was no need to latch onto her as though she might suddenly be blown away by an errant wind. He had always been mindful of her and watchful, but now he found his arms sluggish and unwilling to move away, discovered that his gaze rather liked to linger on her smile and the way her eyes lit when she looked at him.
It was getting hard to think again. He wasn't certain, but it felt like her Sin had him in its grasp once more. Forcing himself (literally) to untangle from her, he tugged his keys out of his slacks pocket and handed them to her. "Just in case anyone walks by. Validity to our story." He winked one indigo eye at her, still smiling, "I'll get the jackets. Be back quickly, I promise." He leaned over, stealing another sweet kiss from her cheek before re-entering the building, washed over by the continued monotonous drone of the speaker.
Using his height and dark clothing to his advantage, he fairly lumbered through anyone in his way and quickly found himself at their previous seats. He slung his own jacket over his shoulder, pressing hers in a more gentle manner over his forearm. My wife's jacket, he thought suddenly, unable to repress a grin, grateful that most of the gathered's attention was not on him. Touching his friend's shoulder, he murmured something about being unwell (which was easy to pass off since his face was rather flushed from the previous events), thanked the man for his sympathy and returned to the parking lot, taking maybe a grand total of two minutes.
His gaze found her again, once more startled by how much she had changed (and not in a bad way). Brad moved up behind her, gently placing her jacket over her shoulders. "Shall we then?" he murmured quietly, idly smoothing the cloth over her shoulders, "I'll take you home - your home, if you'd like."
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Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 2:36 pm
She tucked her fingers around the keys and watched him go. Her smile grew slightly and turned to look around the lot during the interval while he was gone, but had no time to really think of anything much- just an idle thought as to when they should get married, during which she had only eliminated December and April from consideration- before he had returned. "Don't sneak up on me like that," she chided, but the look on her face said otherwise.
Then she placed her hands over his and hummed in thought. "I think... I'd rather stay with you, at least for a while," she murmured, squeezing his fingers. Hae-min did not want to be alone, she supposed. And she did trust him.
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Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 3:50 pm
"Oh? Did I startle you?" His voice was kind and light with teasing. "What deep thoughts are you sharing with the parking lot, hmm?" Thumbs lifted to gently rest over the hands cupping his own, unbelievably comfortable with all that had happened. It was either a testiment to his growth as a person, or the lack thereof, that he was so at peace. Maybe I finally made a good decision, he considered with an internal smile.
Brad nodded, speaking out loud as he realized she probably couldn't see it. "That'd be fine, great even." He tried to be encouraging, knowing that the request was something out of character for the young woman. He didn't mind in the least and would be nothing but the ideal gentlemen; he was humbled that she felt comfortable enough to offer it at all.
The index finger of his right hand pointed down one of the rows of cars, yet unwilling to move until she did. "That-a-way," he said with a smile, "I brought the car. Safer than the truck in these type of shindigs."
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Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 8:35 pm
She blushed. "Yes... I wasn't sharing anything particularly deep." With a momentary pause, she tilted her head back so she could see him. "Just... dates and such," she mumbled, shrugging Brad's hands off her shoulders so she could twine her arm through his. It felt easy, natural almost, and so it should have been; they'd done this often enough before, but it felt different tonight. There was an obvious reason, really.
"That way?" Hae-min looked at him again for confirmation, then started to walk in the appropriate direction, thinking all the while. There were many things she wanted to ask- including if he was sure about proposing to her- but she couldn't think of any ways the phrase them. In the end, she came up with a question that she felt was innocent enough. "Safer? What do you mean?"
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Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2008 12:38 pm
His freed hands immediately returned to her own, patting the one looped with his arm. "Dates, hmm," he replied nonsensically, thinking she might be speaking of dating rather than an actual date to do something. Brad smiled to Hae-min and gave a short nod to her inquiry, lifting his hand to curl into his coat, not really wanting to lose it on the walk, tightening the gentle pressure of his arm wrapped with hers.
A sound between a grunt and a short laugh escaped him. "Safer, 'cause...well, last time I brought my truck, it apparently screamed 'I worked on this building.'" His smile curled wryly for a moment before giving a shake of his head, explaining, "I had more notes and numbers on my windshield after that event than the most popular jock in high school had love notes in his locker. It was ridiculous. I decided low key was a better way to go about it; thus, the car." He chuckled and shrugged, amused by the inconsiderations of others but not enough to take it personally.
"How'd you get here?" he inquired after a moment, indigo eyes turning down to her face. If she couldn't drive, did someone else bring her? There was a small stem of a negative emotion that came with that idea, but he quickly squashed it, not daring to give the feeling a name when he was enjoying himself and the woman's company.
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Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2008 5:06 pm
"Aww, poor Brad," she murmured, sounding sympathetic even as her lips curled up into a blooming-lotus smile. "But you did work on the building, I bet. You probably designed it. And your truck is very intimidating." Of course he did; it was silly to even think he didn't.
Her giggle at the question of transportation was short and quiet. "Edward drove me," she told him sedately. "And I was planning to get a taxi to get home." Hae-min felt quite sensible, and probably was; why waste the gas for two cars going the same way, after all? And Tae-yul had been in the back seat. She hadn't bothered to ask why.
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Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2008 12:22 am
"That was kind of him," Brad replied with surprising calmness of his own, not quite as rankled as he thought he'd be. Her giggling probably had something to do with it. "You know I go to these things too, I'd be happy to take you next time." Even as he said it, he knew it may very well be moot; if they were married, they'd be doing a lot more together, maybe even enjoying things like the dreaded grocery shopping excursion. The thought made him smile.
Approaching the car, he used his hand to gently take her free one and press the alarm button on it, which also conveniently unlocked the doors. Another button push and the car turned on, lights at the ready. Extracting himself from her with as much reluctance as the first time, he moved to the passenger side door and held it open for her with as charming of a smile as he could muster. "Your chariot, my lady."
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Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 4:09 am
It had occurred to her to ask Brad, but only as a thought she barely even noticed. "I didn't want to bother you," she said, sounding a little distant. But she smiled up at him again anyway; it seemed that soon she might be bothering him about a lot more, anyway.
When he slipped away, she took the time to button up the front of her jacket. She liked this dress, enough to maybe wear it again sometime, but it was a bit chilly and the black silk was well-fitted, thin, and... Well. It might have gotten awkward. Besides, Hae-min thought as she watched Brad, she'd always found it hard to curtsy when wearing a qi pao. Her coat had a fuller 'skirt', so she could easily do so when he opened the door for her. "Thank you, kind sir," she said warmly, standing on her toes to kiss him before slipping inside the car.
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Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 10:51 am
Oh, but he could very well get used to this! His smile warmed, checking for the train of her dress and coat before closing the door in her wake. Rounding the car, he could have almost sworn there was a skip in his step. How ridiculous was that? Pausing by the door, he flipped over his phone and typed out a quick text message to Neil. He was going to need the loft tonight, as he and his company no doubt had much to talk about.
Snapping the phone shut, he slid into the driver's seat, inserting the key to get them moving. "Home, then," he said more to himself than the woman, his tone pleased. It was hard to believe that mere weeks ago, they were sorella and oppa. Minutes ago, they were co-workers and trusted allies. Now they were engaged. At least we will always be friends, he ammended, content. No matter where the future found them, they'd still be able to depend on each other.
Brad fastened his seatbelt, making sure Hae-min didn't have any troubles with her own before backing out of the lot, eager to be free of the event. "Did you want to stop and get anything to eat? I can make you something if you get hungry later," he added thoughtfully. He wasn't a half bad cook and there couldn't be any harm in getting a leg up on learning to cook for two.
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Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 11:22 am
"No, thank you, I'm fine," she murmured, settling into the seat. Hae-min folded her hands into her lap and held her gaze on them. Occasionally, though, she couldn't help but glance through the curtain of her hair at Brad. After sitting in silence for a moment or so, she straightened and looked at him more directly. "Who were you texting?" Her tone was more curious than accusatory; she genuinely wanted to know, and had resolved not to judge him on the answer- even though she doubted it'd be what her brothers would have endeavored to warn her of.
Still, she knew it might sound like she didn't trust him. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. It's your business." An apologetic note entered her voice at that.
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Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 12:54 pm
The silence was comfortable, and the man didn't feel the need to litter the air with meaningless words. He was surprised as Hae-min chose to speak, more so at her subject of choice, raising his dark eyes in mild amusement. "I don't mind," he assured her, the merriment more obvious in his voice.
"I texted Argyle." He was quiet for a moment, considering before adding as half jest, "You can even see it if you'd like." Brad chuckled softly, shrugging his broad shoulders. "I have nothing to hide, Min, and anything worth knowing about me, you already do." His words were gentle and spoken from the heart; he had no secrets, unless one considered it secretive that he wasn't as mean as he looked. Even then, the woman at his side would have known that best.
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Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 8:00 pm
She wanted to check it, just because she wondered why he would be texting Mr. Argyle, but then she sighed and smiled. "I'm not worried about that," she said. "You... hiding things. I do trust you, I just wondered." Her smile was a little nervous and she felt a temporary gladness that he couldn't see it.
For a moment, Hae-min was conscious of an overwhelming desire to touch Brad- not in an intimate way, just to feel her hand in contact with him even a small bit. It probably wouldn't even distract him... but she didn't know, so she quashed the thought and tucked her hands into her lap once more. The silence suited, she thought; there would be plenty of time to talk during the night.
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