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Jackie smiled at the brown-haired, handsome man at the other end of the bar. He wasn't looking at her - he was staring down at a shot glass filled with amber liquid. His face was lovely. He was a white guy, maybe in his late forties or early fifties, which was just fine with Jackie. She didn't tend to favor men her own age - she liked it when the baby-faces had grown firm, and the jaws had that extra something that seemed to happen when men passed 35. He had a clear complexion, tanned skin, a heart-shaped face, but with a very strong jaw. His chocolate brown hair was just the right length for her taste, and his bangs fell over his face (just grazing the eyebrows) in a casual way.
Jackie made no attempt whatever not to stare. She was only here for two more nights, and tomorrow was dedicated to the business of leaving. Tonight was about fun and doing daring shit.
At last, the man looked up and saw her watching. She didn't avert her eyes, but smiled at him, careful not to make it an outright leer. She didn't want to come off too forward. She was pleased when he smiled back. Maybe he liked what he saw, too. Black girl, early thirties, also heart-shaped face (wasn't there some study that found people like it when they see similar features to their own in other people?), short, frizzy twist-out with bangs "frosted" in bright purple. Jackie held his gaze just long enough to make it clear that she wasn't just glancing around the room, then she turned her eyes away. To her great delight, a moment later, the bartender approached her.
"Like another drink, miss?" he asked. "Courtesy of that gentleman over there." She looked past the bartender as if to confirm, and the brown-haired man raised his glass and smiled.
Jackie smiled and nodded. "Another of the same," she said. She smiled at the man and finished off the last dregs of her current drink. In a moment, a fresh Jack and Coke was set in front of her. "Thanks a lot." The bartender nodded, and Jackie caught the eye of the brown-haired man again, and gave him another bright smile.
He smiled back, a little restrained she thought. She wasn't sure, now, whether she was supposed to go to him, or if he was supposed to come to her. She decided against chasing, and after about sixty seconds (not that she was counting necessarily), she looked up to see him strolling toward her.
She smiled and pretended to be interested in the drink until he got closer. She watched him from the corner of her eye, noticing that he was smaller than she'd expected. She wasn't prejudiced, though. In fact, his smaller size (he had to be under 5'8") made him seem just a little bit safer.
His gait seemed casual, but he had a look of almost fiery determination in his eyes. She wasn't sure if it was scary or sexy, but decided it was silly to be scared. It was a crowded bar, if she got the wrong vibe, she could always cut him off before she went anywhere.
The bar was practically full, and there were people sitting on either side of her. The woman on her left was lip-locked with her boyfriend, and probably wouldn't have heard a nuclear explosion just then. The man to her right was alone, staring angrily into a glass. She considered asking him if he minded moving, but he was over six feet, buff, smelled heavily of booze, and generally looked intimidating as fuck.
Brown-Hair arrived while she hesitated, and he walked directly up to the larger man. "Excuse me," he said in a clear, almost commanding voice (with an American accent, she was surprised to note).
"What?" His voice was sharp and belligerent, and Jackie jumped a little when he rounded on her potential friend.
The man, who Jackie could now see had a pair of gorgeous hazel eyes, didn't flinch. He glanced at Jackie, then looked sternly at the taller man. "Sit somewhere else."
Jackie's eyes widened, and she clamped her mouth shut to keep from gaping outright. She expected fists to start flying, but the larger man licked his lips nervously and nodded. "Sure, mate. Sure." And, to Jackie's complete surprise, he got up, grabbed his whiskey, and even brushed off the seat of the stool before walking quickly away.
Hazel-eyes sat casually in the stool, and Jackie looked at him with open surprise. "Wow. I'm impressed."
"That?" He shrugged. "That was nothing."
"Seemed brave to me," she said with a flirtatious smile. "He was huge, he could have hurt you pretty bad."
The man laughed. "Not a chance." He winked. "I'm immortal."
Jackie giggled. "Sure."
"Seriously, I'm a demigod. I'm a human vessel for the Egyptian god of the underworld."
He looked at her in complete seriousness, and his expression was so straight she felt her smile falter. Then suddenly he started to laugh, as if he couldn't hold it in any longer. Jackie laughed, too, swatting the man lightly on the arm. "You had me going there for a second!"
"I know I did." Their laughter died down after a few seconds, and Hazel-eyes asked, "What's your name?"
"Jackie. You?"
"Nick."
"Nice to meet you, Nick." She winked. "Or should I say 'Set'?"
He looked sharply at her, and his eyes were completely cold for a second. She shuddered, but the next second, he just looked amused, and she could almost believe she hadn't seen the other expression. "Nah," he said casually. He downed his drink and motioned to the bartender for another shot. "You wouldn't want to meet him."
She watched him for a moment, trying to figure out how to read him. Finally, she shook her head. "Anybody ever tell you you have a weird sense of humor?"
"I've heard something like that before," he said with a smile. "So. What brings a nice little American girl like you to a seedy London bar like this?"
"I'm doing the grand tour, before I settle down to a dull life as a college History professor."
"Oh? Wow, you must be pretty smart then."
"I don't know about that. Just good at one subject and patient enough to take a lot of classes. And I couldn't get a side job traveling around the globe for treasure like Indiana Jones." He laughed, and she smiled at him. "Actually, I'm on my last night in England. After this, it's packing, heading home... probably losing the color," she said, glancing upward and gesturing toward her bangs.
"Why? What, to look more respectable or something?"
"Yeah, I suppose."
Nick shook his head. "Don't lose it. I like it." He smiled at her, and she blushed, notching him up about twenty-five points in her mind. Fifteen for successful flirting (and adorable smile), plus ten bonus points for not just reaching out and touching her hair because he liked it. "Besides, you can be the cool History professor with the purple hair, instead of just the lady from 101."
Jackie laughed. "Maybe. I kinda like that idea." She smiled, then blushed again and looked down at her drink. "Anyway, I... I guess that's why I kind of flirted with you. The last night thing. Maybe that's stupid to just admit."
"It's not stupid," Nick said. "I probably would have guessed anyway. You don't look like the type to just pick up guys in bars. Not that there's anything wrong with that," he added hastily.
She smiled. "No, I get what you mean."
"Well. Two lonely Americans in a strange land. What are we gonna do with ourselves?"
"Whatever we want?"
He grinned. "Sounds like a great idea. Ever been on a motorcycle before?"
"No, never."
"C'mon," he said. "I'll make sure you have a night you'll never forget."
Jackie threw caution to the wind, and decided to follow through on her first wild impulse. She followed Nick to his motorbike. It was a sleek, sporty thing, but looked sturdy enough. Still, she hesitated. "You only have one helmet."
"It's for you," he said. "Immortal, remember?"
"Er..."
"C'mon, where's your sense of adventure?" She laughed, but when he held out the helmet, she hesitated. "Put it on," he said.
Jackie felt a tremor of inexplicable fear course through her, but Nick was holding out the helmet with a friendly expression. Still, she felt like it would be very bad to hesitate again, so she took it and adjusted it for her head. Jackie thought it would probably make sense for her to back out now. Maybe feeling randomly afraid of him meant getting on a moving vehicle with him wasn't the best idea. But she steeled herself against these chicken-hearted feelings. He seemed like a nice guy - a quirky guy, but nice, and she had her phone in easy reach.
Nick climbed on and held the bike steady while Jackie mounted. "Now, lean with me when I lean, and hold on tight."
"Okay, got it."
He kicked off the stand and the motorcycle shot away from the curb at startling speed. Jackie yelped and tightened her arms around Nick's waist. She thought that if this was a precursor to sex, Nick couldn't have planned it better. The vibrations of the bike coursed through her, starting between her legs and radiating out. He drove just shy of reckless, which was almost more than Jackie could take. She clutched him tightly, squeezing even harder at every turn, and every time another vehicle got anywhere near them. Often, he checked to make sure she was okay, and once or twice, he took his hand off the bars to touch her arm in a reassuring way.
The combination of recklessness and tenderness was something new, and incredibly attractive to her. By the time they finished their whirlwind ride, Jackie was ready to follow him anywhere if it meant getting her needs met. So, it was with only the slightest hesitation that she accepted his invitation and followed him up to his apartment.
Within seconds of him locking the door, they were eagerly tugging at clothes and Nick was guiding them to his bedroom. It was in her peripheral vision that she noticed the apartment was clean and sparse - cleaner and more sparse than she would have expected from a quirky bachelor. She couldn't be bothered to puzzle that out - all she wanted was to get more of his clothes off as quickly as possible.
Nick seemed to be of the same mind. He guided her to his bedroom, pulling at her clothes and kissing her lightly on the lips. When they were down to underwear, Nick laid her gently back on the bed and started kissing her more deeply, whispering to her about how beautiful she was, and how good he was going to make her feel.
The beginning of the evening was absolutely amazing. In every single aspect, it was what he promised - a night she would never forget. It was as if she had given him a detailed manual of exactly what she liked, and in exactly which order. There was never an instant of pain more than the kind that would enhance the moment. Nick must have been extremely sensitive, too, because the slightest look or hint of a move on her part, and he'd seem to know instantly if he needed to change something, and how to change.
After Nick brought Jackie to her first glorious climax, they rested for a while. Eventually, she let her hand creep down to test the waters, and she found he wasn't overly sensitive. With a mischievous smile, she ducked under the light cover and lowered herself down to return his earlier attentions.
Jackie was gentle and watched for signs of discomfort, wanting to give him the same kind of consideration he had given her. He seemed pleased, and after a while, pulled her up with a husky, "I want to be inside you again." Jackie climbed on top of him and soon they settled into a smooth, steady rhythm, Nick's hands firmly gripping her hips and Jackie looking down with pleasure on his intense face and flushed chest. Jackie leaned forward, struck by a sudden desire to taste that warm, sweat-sheened skin. She kissed his mouth hungrily, then pepper kisses along his jaw. Nick turned with a sigh, and Jackie purred and licked the side of his face.
Nick flinched and whimpered, and for a split second, Jackie wondered if he had a bruise there she hadn't noticed before, or if that had been actual fear she heard. The next instant, his hand was on her throat, and she was pushed violently back upright, her head forced up so she was looking at the ceiling. "Don't!"
Jackie gasped, absolute terror ripping through her. His voice had been a growl, deeper than any tone she'd heard from him all night. Gut deep, furious, almost bestial. She yanked her hands off of him as if he were hot, and froze, her mind racing. "I'm sorry," she whispered, afraid that if she talked too loud or made a sudden move, he would crush her neck, and the freakishly clean ceiling in a stranger's house would be the last thing she ever saw. He was just a man, but somehow his hand felt like molded steel on her neck, and she knew that he could kill her in an instant. "I'm sorry, Nick," she whispered, speaking slowly. "I didn't mean to hurt you. Please, I w-won't do that again, okay?"
Nick released her, and Jackie jumped off him and stumbled back away from the bed, eyes searching the room wildly for something to cover up with and protect herself. "I'm sorry." Jackie gasped and looked sharply in the direction of the bed. Nick was sitting up, breathing fast, looking at her with wide, frightened eyes himself. "I'm sorry, Jackie." His voice was normal again, and there was fear and deep remorse in his eyes.
He sat up and reached for her, but Jackie flinched and reached for the nearest thing - Nick's shirt - and yanked it in front of her. "No, I'm not going to hurt you," he said. He sat up, but stopped reaching for her, and kept his hands up. "I'm sorry. I promise I won't hurt you."
"What... what the fuck, Nick??"
"I'm sorry."
"You scared the shit out of me, what the fuck?? That was my throat you put your hand on my throat!" Her voice shook as she remembered his hand on her neck, and that... voice. "Jesus, what the fuck?"
"I'm so sorry, Jackie, I just..." He turned his eyes away from her, shuddering, and she could he was looking back at some awful memory. He shut his eyes tight. "I... had a... a bad experience, and... I'm sorry." He looked up at her face, his hazel eyes gleaming with unshed tears. "I should have told you not to, but... it never came up before. I didn't expect to react like that. I'm so sorry, Jackie, please don't be afraid of me. I won't hurt you."
Jackie sighed, and raised a hand to her neck. It felt tender, and she looked away from him, nervous. "I'm just... I... you..."
"I know. I know. I'm so sorry. It's..." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair and gripping his bangs in frustration. "Shit!"
Jackie suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for him. He had obviously been traumatized by someone, and he'd acted on instinct. Already, the shock was wearing off, and the memory of the voice seemed to fade - as if the terror of it had just been a product of the shock of his sudden change in behavior. "Nick," she said. "I'm... I think I'm okay. I just need a minute, okay?"
He nodded, and she could tell he was struggling to control tears. "It's okay. It's...okay if you want to leave," he said, the tremor in his voice saying that he very much did NOT think it was okay. "I'd like you to stay, but if you want to go, I understand. I'll take you back to the bar, or wherever you want."
Jackie sighed and looked down, clutching his shirt right to her chest. "I..." She sighed again. She felt almost guilty. It had been a panicked reaction, instinctual. It almost didn't seem fair to hold something like that against him. But on the other hand, he'd put his hand on her throat!
She looked at him again. He was bent double on the bed, gripping his hair with both hands, the picture of frustration and misery. She frowned, pity welling up inside her. "No," she said at last. "No, I'll stay." He sat up, wide eyed, and looked at her as if he couldn't believe it. "I know. Maybe it makes me stupid, or crazy." She stood up, still holding the shirt in front of her. She looked at him seriously. "Swear you're not a murderer and you're not gonna kill me?"
Nick grinned. "I swear."
"Okay, I'll stay."
He smiled, and laughed incredulously, tears still glistening in his eyes. "I've been... pretty lonely," he told her. "I never told anybody about... even as much as you know."
"It's not an easy thing to talk about," Jackie said. "Not for anybody, but maybe especially for a man." His face flushed, and she sighed. "Okay. Come on." She moved slowly back to bed, still keeping his shirt clutched in front of her. Nick made room for her, and she sat down, leaning against the headboard. She beckoned to him, and he leaned against her chest and heaved a contented sigh.
"If you want to talk about it, you can," she said. "If not..."
"Rather not." He kissed her cheek and relaxed against her again. "Rather lay here and be with you. You're warm."
"Okay," she said with a laugh. "Let's take a breather. Then you have the rest of the night to make it up to me."
They did just that. The pair spent the rest of the night together, and Nick made it up to Jackie many times over. Around dawn, they finally lay back exhausted, and Jackie drifted to sleep in Nick's arms.
They woke around mid-morning, and Nick offered to buy her breakfast. "There's a little cafe walking distance from here. If you have time..."
"Sure I do. Thanks, Nick."
They each had a quick shower, both put on the same clothes they'd worn the night before ("Solidarity", he said), and they headed out toward the cafe. With her hand in Nick's, strolling down the street, not talking - just smiling and enjoying the pleasant weather, and the sights around them, Jackie could almost pretend they were a real couple, instead of two strangers on a really long and satisfying one-night-stand.
She was about to tell Nick that same silly thought when he tensed and stared toward the street. Jackie looked in that direction, and saw a woman walking across the street ahead of them, a cute little toddler walking beside her. At first, Jackie didn't see the problem, but a second later everything changed. A motorcycle had weaved his way through cars on their side of the street, and he was driving toward the crosswalk, clearly moving too fast to stop.
"Hey!!" Nick shouted at the woman, but it was too late. The woman and her child stepped toward the sidewalk, and there was a sickening thud and terrified screams as the motorcycle ran the toddler down and knocked the mother off her feet. Jackie screamed, and the motorcyclist looked down for a second, then drove away fast.
"Shit!!" Jackie hissed. "He didn't stop!!"
Nick turned back in the direction the biker had gone, his body taut with rage. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a large orange bin filled with sand that had been part of some road construction behind them, overturned violently as if a strong, giant hand had knocked it over. It hit the biker hard, knocking him off his vehicle. He lay dazed, and several people got out of their cars to keep him from running again.
"What the..."
"Come on," Nick said, taking Jackie's arm and turning back to the pedestrians. A small crowd had gathered around the mother and child. Nick and Jackie ran to join them. The mother had recovered. It looked like her leg was hurt, but otherwise she was fine, physically. But she was wailing and panicking about the baby. The little boy looked horrible. His face was swollen and burned by the tire, and his legs looked like they were completely crushed. Jackie thought she might puke, and tears came to her eyes.
One of the bystanders knelt down and gently felt for a pulse. He looked up at them and shook his head. "What?" The mother's shock was palpable.
"I'm sorry, miss," the man said. "I think he's-"
The woman screamed, a heartbreaking sound from the bottom of her soul, it seemed. Jackie, tears in her eyes, pulled out her phone and started to call 999. "Put it away," Nick said.
"What?"
"Someone's already called." He pointed at a woman on her phone a few yards away. Then, he stared at the child and the grieving mother for several seconds. Jackie saw him shut his eyes and sigh. Then, he looked up, resolved to... something. "Sir." The man who'd checked the child looked at Nick, his face gray. "I'm a doctor. Can you please get these people back. I want to check him."
"I don't think-"
"Please. Let me help. But I need these people at least five yards back."
The man nodded, and began efficiently moving people away until there was only Nick, Jackie, the mother and her dead child. Nick knelt beside the woman. "Ma'am?" She looked blankly at him for a second before returning her gaze to the little boy. "What's his name, ma'am?"
"Bobby," she whispered. "He's only three. He's not dead. He can't be dead! He-"
"I want to help you," Nick said. "But I need you to trust me. Will you go over and wait with those people?"
She looked back to where the other bystanders had been herded by Nick's helper. "I... can't leave him."
"Do you want Bobby back or don't you?" he asked sharply. She nodded. "Okay. I work in... transcendental medicine. It requires privacy. Only... Only my assistant here can be present," he said, gesturing to Jackie.
The woman looked at Jackie, and she made every attempt to look like a competent doctor's assistant. The woman turned back to Nick, looking skeptical. "You'll really help Bobby?"
"Yes, ma'am," Nick answered. "Go over there and wait for me, and everything will be okay, I promise."
In a daze, the woman stood up and stumbled away. Nick looked at the man he'd enlisted to help. "Keep everybody BACK!"
"Yes, sir, I will."
Nick positioned himself so his back was to the mother, and knelt in front of the child's crumpled body. Struggling against her revulsion, Jackie knelt beside Nick and whispered, "What the fuck are you doing? Are you really a doctor? What the hell is transcen-"
"Jackie!" She jumped and Nick looked at her with an intense but unreadable gaze. "Jackie. I'm going to tell you something, and I want you to listen to me carefully, all right?" She nodded, feeling breathless and strange. "I have never lied to you." He let it sink in for a moment, though Jackie didn't understand what that had to do with the fact that, even if he was a doctor, this was a dead child!
"Nick... what are you going to do? He's..."
"I've never lied to you," he said again. "And... I want... Maybe it's selfish, but I want you to be here. I want you with me when it's over. This... isn't easy. Can I trust you?"
Jackie stared at him, her heart pounding. With a strong feeling that she was getting into much more than she could understand, she nodded. "Yes, Nick. You can trust me."
He looked relieved, and he lowered his head with a deep sigh. "Thank you. Sit across from me, and don't be afraid. Nothing can hurt you."
Speechless, Jackie sat across from him, with the small, broken body between them. Nick took in a deep, slow breath, and let it out again, twice as slow. As he exhaled, Jackie felt a warm breeze start to rise around them. Nick's bangs began to flutter, and she felt her hair starting to move a few seconds later. Nick breathed in again, and Jackie became aware that little bits of gravel and dust were skipping around them. Soon, little eddies of light colored sand joined the dark gravel. Suddenly, Nick raised his arms, and a swirling column of sand shot up around them, rising up over fifteen feet above them, blocking the bystanders completely from view.
Jackie started to tremble, breathing fast and staring up at the swirling sand. "Jackie." She looked down. Nick's eyes were dark, and he looked seriously at her. "I won't hurt you."
She nodded, but her breathing quickened. Slowly, Nick closed his eyes, breathed in once more, and bowed his head. His body began to vibrate, and the sand began to whip and swirl around them. Jackie was afraid the sand would sting her eyes, but it never seemed to touch her.
Suddenly, Nick's head snapped up and his eyes opened wide. Jackie's blood turned cold, and she was saved from bolting only by the fact that she was frozen with terror. Nick's irises began to divide until he had two of them in each eye. He looked at her for a moment, setting her body trembling with the bizarre, intense, inhuman gaze. Then, he turned his attention to the child.
"Bobby." Jackie whimpered. The voice was the same as before. Nick's voice, but with an undertone that was deep and... impossible, like it was coming from far below the earth. "Come back, Bobby. Mommy misses you. Come back!"
The little boy's body jolted, and he opened his eyes. Jackie stared in wide-eyed amazement. The toddler moved, then he screamed, a wild sound of pain and terror.
"Okay," Nick said, picking up the broken body, and pressing it to his chest. "Okay, it'll feel better soon." He cradled the child and lowered his head until he had completely enveloped him. Again, his body trembled. For several seconds, he cradled the little boy and shook, while Jackie watched.
Finally, Nick raised his head and let out an agonized scream. The child struggled out of his arms, and cowered in the center of the circle of sand. "Oh my God." Jackie's voice was a breathless whisper. The child was healed. Completely healed. His face was clear, his limbs were unbroken, there was not a bruise on him.
Nick screamed again, and Jackie tore her eyes away from the child. Nick's double-irised eyes were wide, and his face was contorted with pain. Jackie was stunned to see that a horrifying red burn covered one side of his face, and his body was crumpled and bent, misshapen with broken and crushed limbs. He screamed again and again, the sound laden with fear, anguish, and still with that undertone that seemed to be drawn straight from the center of the earth itself.
Shuddering, Jackie crawled past the terrified child, sparing a second to touch his head and whisper, "it's okay". Jackie fought hard against terror of this... whatever it was, and remembered the pain in Nick's eyes as he thought about whoever had hurt him before. She knelt beside him, and he turned his inhuman eyes to her. There was a plea in them for a brief second, before fear clouded them, and he screamed again. He was human in there. Frightened and hurting. Maybe the... the other thing was afraid, too. Jackie threw her arms around him and pressed him to her hard. "It's okay! It's okay, Nick. You're okay. You can get through this."
Nick clutched her with the one unbroken arm, and held tight, trembling and wailing. Slowly, his screams subsided. He looked up at her, and the terrifying double irises looked back at her through tears. His face was clear again, and he was able to hold her with both arms now. Jackie looked squarely at him, gritting her teeth and pretending she wasn't afraid. He squeezed his eyes tight shut, and breathed in and out deeply again. This time when he opened his eyes, they were normal.
He sobbed once and shut his eyes again for a second, turning his face to her neck and resting there for a few moments. "Thank you," he whispered, his voice hoarse and tired.
He pulled away, and turned to the boy. "Bobby? C'mere, little guy." The little boy stood and walked unsteadily to him. "You want to see mommy?" The boy nodded, and Nick reached for him. The boy let himself be picked up, and Nick stood up, holding Bobby in one arm and helping Jackie up with his other hand.
As he rose, the column of sand dropped. It disbursed completely, and Nick stood facing the stunned group of onlookers. Bobby's mother was the first to move. "Bobby?" The boy laughed and reached for his mother. "BOBBY!!"
Nick took the boy to his mother and she took him and crushed him to her breast. "Oh my God! Bobby, oh my God! How-"
"Don't ask," Nick said sharply. She looked at Nick in wonder and fear. "He's here now. That's all."
The woman began to cry, and she nodded and hugged the child tight. "Thank you. Oh God, thank God, thank you so much, sir!"
He nodded and looked around at the other people. They still seemed dazed, and none approached him. "You won't remember he was gone," he said to them. Then he turned away, took Jackie by the hand and walked quickly away from the scene.
About a block from the accident site, Jackie began to shake again. "Nick-"
"Okay," he said quickly. "Okay, hold on, okay? It's okay."
He ducked into an alley a couple of yards farther on, and pulled her with him. Then he let her go and she fell to her knees, sucking in rasping gasps. She retched, but she hadn't eaten since last night, and she dry heaved several times before stopping, exhausted.
"Jackie?" She cringed, and couldn't make herself look up. "Jackie. I never lied. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not a murderer."
She looked up suddenly, her eyes huge. "You... you never lied. Y-you're the... human v-vessel for the... the..."
"Egyptian god of death."
She stared at him. "Oh my God. Oh God. Oh my God."
"I'm sorry. I..." He lowered his head. "I know you're scared. But, you really helped me today. I'm scared of this, too. It's... hard. And it was... better. With you there. Thank you."
Still trembling, she said, "You're welcome. Nick... w-what..." She began to cry, tears trailing down quickly. "What happens now? What are you going to do with me?"
He looked a little sad, and looked down for several moments. Finally, he sank to his knees in front of her, so they would be closer to eye level. "Jackie. Do you have a passion for teaching?"
"Huh?!" What kind of time was it for him to ask about her career plans, when she was sitting across from a demi-god??
"Are you passionate about teaching? Or is History itself your real passion?"
"Oh. It's... History," she answered.
He nodded. "What if I could show you... anything? Take you anywhere in the world you wanted to go, every archaeological site, every cathedral, every pyramid... everywhere? Would that appeal to you?"
She laughed. "Are you kidding? I would love it, but... what's... what would you want from me?"
"Company." She gaped, and he nodded. "I just want someone with me. To talk to. Or to sit and keep quiet when I need that. To... do what you did for me today, when I'm stupid enough to... do what I did today."
"I..." She shook her head. "Why would you want me? I mean... we just met, you don't even really-"
"I know enough. You stayed. You stayed last night. You stayed back there. You're not... good friends with a guy who wants to kill me or... possibly use me to save humanity."
"Um..."
"Long story." He smiled. "I'll tell you the whole thing if you stay with me."
She wanted it. God she wanted it. The world opened to her, just for the price of being kind to a hot guy who she already liked, and who had a good heart and the power of life in his hands. But it was CRAZY! He was half ancient Egyptian god. The god of death and CHAOS. How could she... "I'm... not..."
"Jackie." She looked at him worriedly, but he was smiling. He stood up and held his hand out to her. "C'mon. Where's your sense of adventure?"
Jackie laughed, reached up and took his hand.
Fin