Fred and Ginger Were Just Friends Too

Who: Aiden and Jules
When: Evening
Where: Jules's home

After talking to Dorian, Aiden decided to go ahead with his plan to have dinner with Jules. His head wasn't any clearer than it had been the night before, but he was determined to just be himself, not to let worries get in the way and have some fun. Jules was interesting and intelligent and there was nothing wrong with befriending another woman. It wasn't as if he was going to throw her on the table and have her for dinner instead anyway. Knocking on her door, he waited for her to answer, thinking he should have probably had a whiskey or two before arriving.

Jules hadn't gone overboard with dinner. She made a simple little dinner of Fajita's for the two of them and was already dressed by the time Aiden knocked on the door. She'd curled her hair, leaving it down so it fell over her shoulders and down her back. She could have brought out her trusty little back dress, but she decided not to be too hard on him. So instead, she ended up in a tight black skirt that hung just above her knees and a red blouse with flowy sleeves, low-cut of course. She couldn't exactly go easy on him either. Pulling the door open she gave him a smile. "You actually showed. I'm impressed."

His eyes instinctively drifted over her appreciatively before he met her gaze and smiled. "I told you I would show, didn't I? And I feel I am very under dressed." He wasn't scrubby today, but jeans and a green button down felt pretty casual compared to what she was wearing. "You look really nice." That was a friendly compliment, wasn't it? "I like your hair."

She smiled and stepped off to the side to let him into the house. "Thank you. And you're not under dressed, I'm just over dressed. But that's just me, you'll get used to it, eventually." she laughed lightly. The living room he was entering was fairly large, at least large enough for a couch and television in one corner, a grand piano in the center of the room and her desk in the far corner. "You never made it inside last time. So, this is my house." she smiled, shutting the door behind him.

"Yeah, I think I could get used to it." Aiden certainly enjoyed that she obviously took care of herself. She could dress up in that get up every day, please and thank you. He smiled and followed her inside, eyes taking in the details around him. "Nice place. Ah, your roommate isn't home, right?" He didn't want to run into Olivia and have that ruin the entire night after all.

Jules shook her head. "No, she hasn't moved in just yet. I should call her and figure out when we're doing all that." she shrugged. "Thank you, though. At least its... kinda clean." she chuckled. "So, are you hungry now? Or did you want to talk or... whatever? Not really sure how this whole 'lets hang out and have dinner thing' works." she admitted. "You're my guinea pig for this."

"You've never hung out and had dinner with someone before?" Aiden asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Or is it just with men? Don't get me wrong, I enjoy being a guinea pig from time to time, but it's not as if I'm an expert at this either." Usually dinner and hanging out with a woman led to other things. Which he said wasn't going to happen here. Maybe that's what had her tripped up as well.

"Well... I've had just dinner with friends... and I've had dinner with men that always ended in desert... with extra helpings most of the time." she told him. "And that probably makes me sound trampy or whatever, but that's the truth and I honestly have no idea what I'm doing. I don't know how to not let this lead to... other places." She sighed and shrugged. "I'm trying, for you, but it's not exactly an easy feat."

"I think you'll do just fine," he told her. He smiled, keeping his hands firmly to himself though he was tempted to reach out and touch one of those curls. "Would it help to just pretend that I'm gay?" A joke, of course, but he wanted to put her at ease. There was no point in eating with her and enjoying her company if the both of them were uneasy and wound tight.

"No." she said, shaking her head. "In fact, I believe that would make it even worse. I already see you as a challenge. You pretending to be gay would just further that challenge and I'd walk around naked or something to force you into looking." She gave him a devious little grin and then a wink before turning and heading towards the kitchen. Hips deliberately moving side to side in a steady little rhythm, clearly for his benefit. "So... come on." she said, slighting turning her body to beckon him with a finger. "I bet your just... starved."

That earned Aiden a laugh and he followed her, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry I'm making it so difficult," he said. "Honestly, I never thought I was that irresistible. Though I'm pretty sure had I given in that first night we met, we wouldn't be here, and you probably wouldn't be facing such a dilemma."

Jules shook her head, turning around to face him. "No, we'd be here, love." she told him. "We'd just have skipped dinner and went right to desert. And you are pretty irresistible. Excruciatingly so. And it's extremely unfair, but I'll learn to cope I suppose. And I really hope you like Fajita's. Or know what they are..." she laughed. "If not, ah well. You'll get over it." She'd already set the table, having expected him, so she sat herself down in her usual seat and motioned for him to sit across from her.

"I happen to know what fajitas are, and I happen to be a fan of them," Aiden replied, sitting down in the chair she indicated. "I just don't think I've had them in a really long time. I feel like I've been taking advantage of the women in this town, somehow manipulating my way to a dinner invitation, or something." Delilah hadn't cooked him dinner, but she had baked him a pie. Did that count? "I suppose I ought to return the favor sometime."

"Well at least you're getting fed something other than fast food." she pointed out. "Might make you less of a bastard if you eat something real for once." she teased, giving him a little wink. "Hard to be a jack-off when you're tummy is full of good food, don't you think?"

Aiden lifted his eyebrow before tapping on his chin thoughtfully with two fingers. "Holy hell, love, I think you've got somethin' there. You might be right. Let's see what these fajitas can do and if my bastardly ways can be cured by good, homecooked food."

Jules smiled. "You never know. Just take a bite before you call it 'good'. Hot chicks can't cook, right? Isn't that the usual stereotype? You get either a good cook or a hot chick, never both?" she chuckled, and picked up her fork, but didn't take a bite just yet, she was curious to get his opinion of her cooking first.

"Is that a stereotype?" Aiden asked, grabbing his own fork and digging in. "I think that would be the perfect woman. A woman who's beautiful and who can cook. Oh, and who's good in bed," he added almost as an afterthought before taking a bite. Sweet, delicious food. He chewed it, moving his fork around in his food before he swallowed and looked back up at her. "You've got two out of three goin' for ya."

She laughed lightly to herself. "Well I'd show you that I have all three, but you seem to be opposed to that idea, dollface." She took a bite of her own food, managing to make that bite look like it was taken just for him too. Slowly pulling the fork from between her lips and chewing the bite carefully.

He looked up at her from his food again, a tiny smirk on his face. "I have no doubt that you've got all three, love. And it'd be easier on both of us, I think, if you didn't try your best to torture me with that knowledge." The way she dressed, and walked and ate her food, Aiden wasn't stupid. He knew it was all designed to drive him mad.

"But is it really torture when you seem to like it so much? Or maybe you're just a masochist and you like the torture... so really it's not torture." she grinned before continuing on with her eating. She did make the effort to not eat her food like she was making love to it. After a few bites she let her eyes move up to him once more. "Well, this isn't so hard..." she said, reaching for the glass of wine she'd poured herself. "I'm not sure what you want to drink. There's wine... and tea and water and stuff like that. I think there's beer in the fridge too."

"Yeah, it's really torture," Aiden said simply. "I don't think I'm that much of a masochist, but you've got an interesting theory there." He watched her pick up her glass of wine. "I'm not much of a wine drinker. I'll take a beer though." He pushed back from the table with no intention of letting her get it for him. "Fajitas and beer. It's been a really long time since I had both of them together that wasn't some cheap Mexican restaurant."

"I could have gotten it..." she said, glancing up at him as he moved from the table. "Glad you're enjoying dinner though." She watched his back end as he moved towards the fridge, thus proving that the man was torturing her just as much without even realizing it. Jules shook her head and forced herself to let her eyes return to her plate. "So, how was your day?" she asked him.

Aiden shot her a grin over his shoulder before pulling open her fridge. "I'm capable." Grabbing a beer, he shut the door, popped the top and walked back over to the table while taking a quick pull. One beer and that was it. He was limiting himself around her. "My day?" He sat back down and set the bottle next to his plate. "Just like any other day, I s'pose. Yours?"

"Same. Work as always. Can't complain too much today. Derek wasn't incredibly awful for once." she chuckled. She paused the conversation long enough to take a few bites of her food. Her eyes watching him without making it obvious. She couldn't help but think that this was the most difficult dinner she'd ever sat through.

"That's something," Aiden said with a laugh. "I s'pose that's somethin' for me to be thankful for. Not havin' an arse of a boss to have to answer to every day. Do you ever think about maybe findin' another job that you would enjoy more? Or do you feel obligated to stay and work for this guy?"

She shook her head. "No, I don't really feel obligated to work for the man. Just haven't really been doing much looking around. I suppose I could find another job, shouldn't be too hard. Maybe I'll be a stripper. I hear the tips are nice."

Aiden cocked an eyebrow, lifting his gaze up from his food to peer at her through his lashes. "I'd prefer you didn't. Girls like you are too good for that shite. Not that I don't enjoy strippers myself," he said with a chuckle. "But I don't respect 'em. Which is probably a shitty thing for me to say." He shrugged and took another bite of his food. "You ought to work for someone who'll treat you better."

Jules blinked a couple of times at the way that he said what he had to say. "You think I'm 'too good' to be a stripper?" she questioned. That was an odd statement. Probably the strangest she'd ever heard directed at her. Someone actually thought that she was too good to be a stripper? Someone actually thought that she should work for someone who treated her well? Odd. Very odd.

"Uhm, yes?" Aiden shot her a confused look. "Should I have said that you'd make a brilliant stripper?" He didn't understand why she looked taken back by the comment. "I think you're a beautiful, intelligent woman who deserves better than to dance around in her skivvies for leering men and one dollar bills. Don't think that's so surprising, do you?"

She looked down at her plate and shrugged. "Yes, I do actually. Just never had anyone tell me that I was better than anything really. I guess that's why it seems so surprising." Sure she'd been called beautiful before, but usually right before someone planned to sleep with her, or during the time when a man was trying to get her to sleep with them. Never just for the sake of saying it, or because a man actually thought it. And to be called intelligent? Well that just surprised her all the more that he thought she was bright.

That was a bit surprising to him, and he stared at her for a few seconds, chewing his food slowly before he washed it down with a drink of beer. "You've never had anyone tell you that you were above something like dancing for money? You're more than your body, Jules." As nice and curvy as it was. "I know you're a smart girl, now c'mon on, you ought to know that."

She shook her head. "No, I haven't. I mean, my parents, but they're... well, my parents. Most guys would have been telling me to go for the pole or asking for a sneak preview or something like that. It was just... you caught me off guard by calling me beautiful and smart instead." Jules shrugged and took a sip of her wine. "I know I'm smart, it's just strange to hear it from a man is all. Thank you though, I appreciate it."

"I'm a bastard, but I'm not that big of a bastard," Aiden replied, leaning back in his chair. "Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't mind a private show from you." Which was really the wrong thing to say in their situation. "But that's for my benefit and something shared between two people. I've been to strip clubs, love, and those girls... not all of them are strippers with a heart of gold tryin' to raise a kid and make it through life. Most of 'em are just... lacking self respect. You are beautiful, and just from talkin' to you, I know you've got a good head on your shoulders. You can do a lot more with your life than that."

Jules bit her lip through a smile. "You shouldn't say things like that." she told him, eyes flicking upwards to catch his. "You might tempt me into giving you a little show." She'd been being good, trying not to tease him too much, but she couldn't help but tease him a bit now. She reached up, pulling her hair over one shoulder and brushing her blouse down exposing the flesh of her neck and shoulder. "You'd be amazed at what you're missing out on." she whispered.

"Yeah, I shouldn't," Aiden agreed, his gaze falling to her exposed neck. He dragged his gaze away and back down to his food to take another bite to distract himself. Complications. That's all his life seemed to be lately. "I'm pretty sure I know what I'm missing out on, love. You've been sure to let me know in your own way since we met."

Jules chuckled softly to herself, pulling her blouse back up to cover her shoulder again, but she didn't shift her hair back onto her neck. She ate a few bites for a silent, smiling moment, washing them down with a bit of wine. "Well I'll try not to let you know that anymore." she told him.

"It's a bit too late for that, don't you think?" He picked up his beer and sat back in his chair to watch her. "I'm pretty aware now. Think I have been since I met you. How're you doin'? Sittin' here with me and having an actual conversation."

"Trying to keep the conversation with you and the conversation my slutty inner self is having from mixing together." she admitted with a grin, taking a few more bites of her food and a sip of her wine.

"Is it really so hard?" Aiden asked, leaning forward to study her. "Can I ask you something? Why do you want to have sex with me so badly? Is it because you're attracted and find me interestin'? Or is it because I'm a challenge, or some kinda conquest to you because I didn't fall into your bed the first time we met?"

"It is hard. Not only because you're attractive, and not only because you didn't fall into bed with me the way you say. It's more than that. You're the only guy who actually has taken the time to get to know me and not immediate had to sleep with me. I'm honestly more curious what it's like to sleep with someone that I actually have some substantial relationship with. Even if it's just friendship, it's more than I've had with anyone else I've slept with." She shrugged. "You're not a conquest. It's not like I want to sleep with you and then boot you out. I do like you."

He knew what it was like to sleep with someone you formed a friendship with prior, even if the sexual tension had been there from the beginning. It really didn't feel like it was working out in his favor, although there was a chance he was misreading and subconsciously trying to sabatoge it. "I like you too," Aiden told her. "And I like talking to you. Sex isn't everything." And hey, listen to him. Dorian would be proud. "I'd really like to be friends with you, Jules."

"We are friends." she told him. "And I'm aware that sex isn't everything. Doesn't mean that you or I want it any less." Jules pointed out. "I'm plenty capable of not having sex with you. It's not a requirement or prerequisite for a friendship between us." She sighed and took a sip of her wine then replaced the glass on the table. "Give me a couple minutes." she said with a shrug as she got up from the table and left the room for her bedroom. She changed out of her 'tease Aiden' get-up and came back down the stairs wearing a t-shirt and a pair of short-shorts that showed off her legs. "This is me. This is what I look like everyday, aside from my hair and make up because I"m not taking a shower just for you to see me without make up and all that. You wanna be my friend? Okay. We're friends. And if we're friends, I shouldn't tease you so much, it's not fair and it just makes things harder on the both of us."

He wasn't sure what she was doing while she disappeared, but he ate the rest of his meal while she was gone and worked on polishing off his beer. He wasn't sure if he'd hurt her feelings, or offended her, but before he could think too much on it, he could hear her coming back down the stairs. He was surprised to see she'd changed, but not overly upset by it. "It does make things harder on us. Me, especially." There was certainly a double meaning in what he said. "But honestly? I like you like this. Natural," he added with a small smile. "I want you to be able to be yourself around me." And he really wanted to be able to be himself around her as well. He didn't have many people like that in his life. Of course, there were reasons for that.

Jules nodded. "I'm not really used to that, obviously." she said with a shrug. "Don't get me wrong, I don't mind it. It's actually kind of nice to just be able to talk to you ya know?" She didn't move to take her seat again, she wasn't really all that hungry at the moment. So instead, she offered out a hand to him. "Come on, let me explain why it's so strange, okay?" Once he'd taken her hand she lead him back out to the living room and perched herself on the piano bench, patting the space beside her for him to sit down. "Have you ever done something for so long that you get used to the way it feels and think that there's no way for it to be any different?"

"Yeah, I think I can relate to that." More than she knew, actually. He looked over at her curiously. "Doesn't mean it can't be different. And it doesn't mean that different won't be better." Somethings could change, he was sure of that. And some things were... harder to change.

"I know that they can change, and that maybe change would be good. Maybe I even need change." she shrugged. "It's just... like... I dunno..." she sighed and started playing the piano. Picking up in the middle of Moonlight Sonata. "It's like you play the same song over and over again. You memorize it, get used to it. Then... it makes it hard for everything else you try to play not to come out sounding the same."

"Doesn't that get boring after awhile?" Aiden asked her, watching her fingers play over the keys. "Playing the same tune over and over again? After awhile it has to get repetitive. I would think it would be much more exciting to retire the song and pick up some new sheet music." He was, of course, talking about more than just piano playing. But he knew that she was aware of that.

"It does get boring after a while, but you're used to it." she told him. "And who's to say that playing a new tune doesn't get me into the same spot, playing it over and over again until nothing else comes out but that song?" Jules stopped playing then and glanced up at Aiden. "I do want to try though. To be your friend."

"You have to keep moving on," he told her. "After you learn a song, play it a few times so it's etched into your memory. And then you get a new song. And so on. The only reason you would ever get stuck in a repetitive cycle like that is because you allowed yourself to." He looked over at her with a small smile before reaching up to rub a bit at the stubble on his cheek. "I'd like to try too. To be your friend. You can never have too many, right?"

"I suppose you would have to keep moving on." she said with a little nod, moving her hand upwards to brush across his other cheek. Her thumb riding along the curve as her eyes met his. "But what if you really, really like the song?"

"Then you remember it," Aiden said, not moving away from her hand. "And you play it occasionally, when you're having a hard time learning a new piece and you need that comfort of familiarity to ease the frustration and stress."

She smiled a little at that and nodded. Moving her other hand up, she brushed his hand away from his face and moved hers to replace it. "Guess that's a happy medium." she said softly, leaning up and tilting his head forward enough to kiss his forehead.

"I guess it is." Aiden smiled faintly. He lifted his head after she'd kissed it and motioned to the piano. "You want to play for me some more?"

Jules smiled and shrugged. "I can if you want." she said, pulling her hands away from his face and replacing them on the keys, picking up with a different song. "Guess it is possible to play more than one song." she told him. "You ever play piano?"

"Nope. Remember, my mom tried to get me to, but I sucked." He grinned, perfectly fine with just listening to her. "I can play ah, 'Twinkle Twinkle'... but that's it. And you're the only one who knows that other than my sister, so I expect you to guard that secret closely."

She laughed lightly and nodded. "Ah yeah, I remember. Here.." she said, taking his hands beneath hers, a feat in itself with hers being so much smaller. She slowly began to press out Moonlight Sonata again, this time letting his fingers actually press down the keys. "Well look at you, Beethoven." she said with a smile.

"I'm more of a Mozart fan," Aiden joked, amused at the way she was 'teaching' him. "I think my mom wanted me to be some sort of child prodigy or what not. It just didn't work out. I've other talents, I s'pose." He left his hands where they were, not wanting to push her fingers away, but he did push down on the keys again to listen to the noise.

Jules looked up at him with a grin. "Perhaps you were too lazy to be a prodigy." she teased, giving him a little wink. "What other talents might you have?" She raised a brow, curious at what the man might be good at. She stopped moving his hands around the piano, but she didn't pull her hands away from his. Instead she wrapped her fingers around his, squeezing slightly as she waited for his reply.

"I don't know." He shrugged, distracted somewhat by their fingers. "I can shoot a gun, but that might be a bit too morbid? Or weird for you to think it's a talent. I probably was too lazy to learn anything real. I fucked off a lot in school, and in ah, college. My friend Dorian and I were too busy crashin' parties and getting laid. No, that's not true... Dorian was a good student, I think. I was the one who fucked off a lot." He shrugged. "Could have probably found somethin' I was good at but..." He played the keys again, a simple tune, an exercise his mom had taught him when she was trying to get him to play that was still lodged in his memory.

She smiled. "I can shoot a gun, too." she told him, letting out a little laugh. "I kinda scared off a guy with a gun. That was fun. Quite interesting actually. It was... the night that I met you actually." She shook her head at that memory. "Actually, you're the reason I even ended up with that guy, now that I think of it. Boy actually, but yeah, never mind about that, me babbling again without any real train of thought." She watched as his fingers moved across the keys. "See, you're not so bad. Just a lazy ass is all." Jules said, teasing made obvious with her tone.

"Hey now, don't change the subject with my lazy arseness," Aiden said with a laugh. "I want to hear more about this scaring some guy - boy - away with a gun. And how exactly that's my fault?" He was amused, and curious and kept plunking his fingers against the piano.

"Well... I went back out that night you walked me home. With my car though. And I picked up this guy that I know... Gabe. Well anyways, I saw him at the diner and brought him home and we... hung out and stuff and then the next morning some shit with mirrors happened and like I got scared so I grabbed my gun and shot at this thing and he freaked out because I had a gun. Paying absolutely no attention to me saving his life of course." She sighed and shrugged. "And it was your fault, because if you would have just come in I wouldn't have gone back out and if I hadn't gone back out, you'd have been the one in my bed and I doubt you would have freaked out if I'd saved your life."

He continued to play, his eyes on the keys. There was no change in his expression but for the raising of his eyebrow, and then the twitch of his lips into a small grin. Somehow he didn't think she'd be the one saving his life. He had issues with those shadows himself. And he'd shot them. "Nah, I don't think I would have freaked out. I am truly sorry that my absence caused so much trouble," he said with a soft chuckle. "But I guess everythin' happens for a reason, doesn't it? Maybe this Gabe fellow is your soul mate or somethin' as equally cheesy."

"Please. Gabe is a teenager. And he's still got it in his head that I'm some crazy gunslinging slut or something, I can almost guarantee it. But that doesn't matter, anyways." she said, shaking her head. "The only good that really came out of it is that I know I can still shoot a gun. Guess that's something, yeah?"

There was more of a pointed look now as he brought his gaze up from the keys to her face. "Yeah, I s'pose that's somethin'. Some guys would find it hot to see a chick with a gun, but if he's young, that might not have been the case. Just how young was he? Somehow I doubt you'd have to resort to bringing home a high schooler when there's plenty of guys around willing to spend the night with ya."

"Legalish." she said with a little grin. "I'm not going to go to jail at least. 17 or 18 something like that. And as far as plenty of guys, please introduce me to a few." Jules teased, elbowing him lightly in the side. "I think I've been scaring off more guys than I've been getting lately." she chuckled. "Well... aside from that bartender. That was fun."

"Legalish," Aiden said with a chuckle. "That'd still get me a slap in the face, I'm sure. I think some men are intimidated by women who can take care of themselves. I don't think it's necessarily that you're scary." He plunked his fingers against a few more of the piano keys before his hands fell back into his lap. "Ah yes, the bartender. I'm guessin' he wasn't scared off by you."

Jules shook her head. "Not hardly. I think he was more than happy to spend some time with me." she chuckled. "I didn't walk into the bar expecting to pick anyone up, just kinda happened. I had intentions of having my first legal drink instead, but... when an opportunity arises, are you really supposed to say no?"

Aiden laughed and shook his head. "I'm going to be a hypocrite here and say it's all right to say no once and awhile. Do you bring home every man you find attractive or interesting? Or do you say no occasionally?" He never used to have any willpower. At least not in college. Which was why he never had a long term girlfriend. He could never stay faithful when the opportunity presented itself to be otherwise. Aiden didn't know how well he'd changed, if at all. That's what he was trying to figure out.

"I don't bring every man home." she told him, shaking her head. "I actually do have the power to say no on occasion. I'm not as slutty as you might think I am. In fact, in the months I've been here, I've only had sex with four people. I can almost guarantee that your number is larger than that." she said, raising a brow at the man. She was a bit curious what he might have to say about that, if he'd say anything at all.

"Aw, now c'mon, I never said you were slutty, nor did I imply it," Aiden pointed out. At her comment, he shot her another look before returning his attention to her piano. "The number of people I've been with since coming to town is two. The number of women I've slept with since I knew girls didn't have cooties? Yeah, it's probably a lot larger than yours." He shrugged one shoulder. "You're allowed to be with as many men as you please. I see nothin' wrong with it."

"Maybe there is nothing wrong with it. Or maybe we're both wrong and there's something immensely wrong with it." she muttered, though it was mostly to herself. She sighed and leaned against him, head resting on his shoulder. "We're quite the pair of self-doubters, aren't we?" she said, laughing softly. She tilted her head just a bit, glancing up at Aiden and giving him a little smile. "Two people? Seriously?" she questioned, somehow finding that unbelievable.

"Is it wrong to do something you enjoy?" Aiden asked. He didn't think so, but according to others, there was. Ever since he was a child, only not he wasn't beat for it. "I never used to be a self-doubter, just so you know. I used to not give a shite what people thought. I used to live the way I wanted. I still do, in a sense." He looked down at her and smiled at her question. "Yeah, two people. One was... is... an acquaintance of mine. I've known her for awhile. The other was a woman my best mate was interested in. Like I told you, I'm a bastard. No one since, but for her."

"So the girl that you want to be with was the last one that you slept with?" she questioned. "And she just happens to be the girl that your best friend wanted?" She shook her head and let out a little laugh. "You are a bastard." she teased. Jules shrugged a shoulder but remained leaning against the man. "Guess you can't help who you fall for. How'd the friend take it?"

"Yeah, I guess you can't. It's complicated." That was an understatement when it came to Eury. And to Dorian. Although the truth was he'd slept with Manhattan while Eury was off doing whatever it was she was doing. Oh yeah, and he married her. Ha. Yeah, he was a bastard. Aiden ran a hand through his hair. "Dorian? He took it, ah, not so well. Which I guess I should have expected. But I think we're gettin' back on track now. I still trust him more than anyone else in my life." Other than his sister, of course.

"Must be a pretty great friend to still be there for you after it all." she noted. "Had to hurt. Did you know that he was interested in her when you got involved with her? I mean... it's one thing to have it just happen, but you'd be a fraction more of a bastard if you knew he wanted her and went after her anyway. So... are you like 75 percent bastard or like 90 percent?" Jules asked, half teasing, though she was curious which was the case.

"I'm ninety," he answered simply. "I knew... he told me. I didn't care. Well, I cared, but I cared more about sleeping with her at the time." Aiden wasn't proud of that fact, and if he hadn't felt guilty, he would have left town a long time ago. But he stuck around, even when Dorian wasn't there, to make it up to him when he came back. "Like I said, it's complicated. I'm learnin' I can't always have what I want."

Jules shook her head. "No, you're not." she told him. "You might be trying to learn that, but obviously you're not. Like with this girl, whatever her name is. You want her. And you might be pushing other things out of the way that you also want, thinking that you're not getting what you want, but honestly, isn't it all a ploy just to get what you want the most? Her."

"You're confusin' me," Aiden said with a chuckle. "What I really want is to live my life and live it the way I want without complications. But I don't think that's a possibility right now. What is it you want the most?" he asked her. Talking so much about him and his life was starting to make him uncomfortable. He never liked admitting more than he was ready to.

The woman blinked at him flipping the questioning towards her. "I-" she began. Jules really didn't know what she wanted. She'd never done much thinking about it really and now with him asking her, she realized that. "I don't know what I want the most." she admitted. "To be happy, I guess. Never having to see another shadowy monster thing again, that would be nice too." she smiled. She really hoped that would be a good enough answer for Aiden. She wasn't sure how much she'd like him questioning her.

"To be happy?" The look on Aiden's face clearly expressed that he was disappointed with that answer. "That's what everyone says, when you ask them what they want in life. Happiness. C'mon now, love, I know there's gotta be more than that." He shifted on the piano bench to look at her directly. "What do you really want. Is it really happiness? What would make you happy?"

She shrugged as she looked down at the piano for a long moment then slowly shifted her eyes to let them fall upon his. "I don't know what I want, Aiden. Sure I want to be happy, but I mean... I am happy, most of the time at least. I have a few pretty great people in my life. I have a decent job, I'm not out on the streets. I'm essentially a good person, at least I'd like to think so. What else should I want? A little picket fence and a baby on my hip? That's what all the girls want eventually right? That's what I'm supposed to want. I just... don't. Or didn't... I don't know. Part of me really wishes that I was more than I am. Maybe a little less... friendly... with guys. But at the same time, I'm not ashamed of myself. I've done everything I've ever wanted to do and not asked questions or made excuses." Jules let out a little sigh and shrugged again. "I don't know what would make me happy."

"Sounds to me like you're tryin' to convince yourself you're happy, when you're really not. Maybe you're just... content." He really didn't know, but all he could do was make assumptions on the answer she'd given him. "And there's nothin' wrong with that. If you're comfortable livin' the way you are, if you're happy with it, then that's a good enough answer for me."

"Maybe I am trying to convince myself that I'm happy." she said with a sigh. "Thanks for letting me in on that little detail. God you're a brat." she teased, elbowing him in the side. "You should really start with the being a good friend instead of making me feel like my life is all a cheap effort at happiness." she shook her head and rolled her eyes.

Aiden furrowed his brows together in thoughtful confusion for a brief moment. "Is that what you think I'm tryin' to do? Maybe I'm just so incredibly unhappy with my own life that I only feel better when I make others as miserable as myself." He was only half joking, of course. "If you're happy, you're happy. You've got yourself a nice set up here, you've got friends, and family and a job. What more could ya want." He paused and smiled. "How's that? Better?"

"What more could I want? You happy." she told him. "That would make it better. So seriously, make with the happy, dollface. You're bringing down my nice little wine buzz I had going. Jerkface." she muttered teasingly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring ya down with the questions. We should have stuck to pretending I was Mozart," he said, motioning to the piano. Aiden remembered how agitated he'd get when Eury would get him to discuss things that made him uneasy. He didn't want to do the same to Jules. "No more deep discussions while you're buzzin'."

She shook her head. "No, it's okay." she told him, reaching out to take his hand. Her fingers laced through his as she brought them to her lips and pressed a light kiss against his knuckles. "Everyone needs a reality check sometimes." Jules said, shrugging her shoulder as she let their hands move to her lap, not releasing his fingers just yet. "And the buzz is long gone. You actually get sober Jules. Aren't you special?" she teased.

"I like sober Jules," Aiden said. He wasn't so much of a fan of said reality checks, but he supposed they were necessary from time to time. "You've got sober Aiden, so I guess it evens out. I don't know how fun it is for the both of us, however." He squeezed her fingers gently. "Next time we see each other, we'll get rip roarin' drunk and fall on our arses on our way home, how's that sound?"

"Sounds like a plan, dollface. I might even be able to control myself and not jump you. Maybe. Possibly. Okay, yeah, probably not." she laughed, biting her bottom lip. "But... I'll try." Her face lit up a bit as she got an idea. "We should go dancing. Or could you not handle me in something skimpy rubbing up against you?" she questioned, almost challengingly.

Aiden wondered briefly if he was purposely torturing himself hanging around Jules. He liked her company, but while he was still hovering in Eury-limbo, he wasn't sure what to do with her. Her suggestion, however, brought him out of his thoughts and his look was wary. "I don't dance. I'll go watch you dance, but I don't do the whole shaking my arse thing. I'm no good at it."

She raised a brow. "Now is that because you don't like to dance? Or because you can't dance?" she questioned. "Either way, it's no fun dancing by yourself, guess we'll just have to find something else to do."

"Both," he answered with a chuckle. "I don't like it, and I can't do it. Or it's I can't do it which is why I don't like it. Who knows? I'm really just a pub rat. I sit around and drink and smoke too much. That's the way I tend to enjoy the nightlife."

Jules shook her head, releasing his fingers and getting up from the bench. She walked over to the CD player that sat on her desk and popped in a Mozart CD. "Well, since you won't go dancing, you have to at least let me teach you something simple." she told him, moving to the open space behind the piano and holding out a hand for him. "Maybe you'll change your opinion on dancing."

Aiden's expression turned slightly horrified and he shook his head. "I really can't dance, love. No rhythm, believe me." The idea of dancing, even with a beautiful woman, really sort of terrified him. He could sway back and forth but that was for seventh graders who had their hands awkwardly on their date's hips at school dances.

"Get up and get your ass over here." she said, holding her hand out again. "Come on. You're going to learn. It's not hard, it's actually pretty easy. And you've got plenty of rhythm. If you can kiss, and I know you can, then you can have sex, and I'm sure you're capable of that, and sex takes rhythm just like dancing, so stop complaining and do what I tell you to do."

Sighing loudly just to demonstrate how badly he did not want to do this, Aiden stood and took her hand. "Dancing is not sex," he told her. "Sex is sex and dancing is dancing. You won't see me busting a move in the bedroom just like you won't catch me performing oral sex while we're waltzing."

"I never said that sex was dancing or vice versa. I said it was like it. And it is. You keep a rhythm, you get close, you brush up against someone. It's vertical foreplay, baby." she teased. Taking his hand and sliding it to her hip, she pulled him closer to her body. One of her arms slid up his to wrap loosely around his neck as the other found his free hand and intertwined their fingers. "Now... usually the man leads, but since you're so opposed to dancing, you have to follow me. Don't think about your feet. Think about the music, think about the rhythm of the beats in the music. Keep your eyes on mine." she instructed, taking a few easy little steps and letting him follow her. "See, that's not so hard, is it?"

Aiden tried not to be too tense while she stood close to him. It wasn't anything she was doing, and yet at the same time it was everything she was doing. He let her lead, though a part of him wanting to take control of the situation - he didn't know how to dance and it would have been silly to pretend he did. "Guess it's not so bad," he muttered, still giving off the impression that he was pouting over the whole thing. "I'm not really one for listening to beats in music. I like to listen to rock really loud in my car and beat my hands against the steering wheel."

"Well you can't exactly beat me like you would your steering wheel... not while we're dancing at least." she smiled. "And stop being such a pouty little baby." she told him. "I can switch out to something more rock if you'd rather. Get you back into your comfort zone." she teased, continuing to lead him around the floor of the living room. "And you're not that bad, really. At least at following instructions. Here, move a little closer, makes it easier for you to follow my lead." Jules too a step closer, her chest now pressing against his. "Now, you can almost feel the moves I'm going to make before I even make them."

He was really wishing for his comfort zone at the moment. Locked away in his car, driving hundreds of miles away from Marquette. He didn't say anything when she moved closer, though his fingers pressed a bit more firmly into the side of her hip. Aiden realized then that she was teasing him. Or torturing him. Maybe both. It was aggravating, amusing and frustrating all at once. "Yeah, I see what you mean," he said before moving his hand around her hip to the small of her back. "Not only did you teach me to be Beethoven, but I'm a regular Fred Astaire now too."

Perhaps she was teasing him now, though that hadn't really been her original intention. His hand at the small of her back pressing against her sent a flurry of a need to shiver up her spine, though she held it back. "Multi-talented. Aren't you just a jack of all trades now, dollface?" The hand around his neck shifted slightly, fingers playing in the strands of hair just above his collar. "And you thought you couldn't dance..." she began. "I haven't been leading for at least the last two minutes."

"It's not too hard to just move around and avoid stepping on someone else's toes," he pointed out. His gaze lifted from watching their feet to her eyes the moment her fingers began to play in his hair. Aiden knew he was a weak willed man, which was why he lifted his hand away from the small of her back and reached up to pulled her hand away from his neck. He kept her fingers in his and brought her hand around to kiss her knuckles before stepping back from her. "I should go."

"Sorry." she told him, genuinely apologizing for shifting her hands to his hair. "You don't have to leave." she said, taking a step backwards. "Promise I won't get so close again. It's nice to have you around and I don't mean to make you uncomfortable..." She frowned a bit, looking at the floor. Teasing, whether it was meant to happen or not wasn't turning out so well. "Sorry." she said again. "We're supposed to be friends and I'm just making it really hard for that to happen. You can leave if you wanna..."

She was making him uncomfortable, but not necessarily in a bad way - which he supposed could be construed as bad. "It's all right." He shifted his fingers under her chin to lift her face back up so he could see her properly. "You don't have to apologize. I don't mind stickin' around and spendin' time with you, but there's got to be boundaries." His sanity depended on it.

She let him lift her chin, eyes ticking up to meet his. She gave a little nod. "Alright." she replied. "No dancing?" she offered. "Too close for comfort, I'm guessing. Maybe I should put on like some really baggy clothes and then you'll won't be able to see my body." she teased. "Would that make it easier?"

"I don't mind dancing," he said after a moment. "Even though I'm terrible at it, it's not so bad." It was being pressed up against her and having her fingers in his hair. "And there's nothin' wrong with your body. You could wear a paper sack and you'd look brilliant, and I think you know that."

Those words made Jules blush. Surprisingly. It was pretty hard to do that to someone who was so out there about everything, but Aiden managed to do it. "Thank you." she said, letting a little smile through. "So you want to continue your lesson?" she asked him. "Promise I'll keep my hands in yours or on your shoulder at all times."

He took her hand as the other returned to her hip. "You can be my Ginger Rogers," Aiden said, deciding it was best not to talk anymore about where hands should be. "My mom used to watch those old black and white movies when I was younger. I think she felt guilty about enjoyin' them for some reason. Catholic guilt over finding any pleasure in anythin' but God I guess." Aiden quieted, as he didn't know why he was speaking about his mother. "Do you go dancin' often?"

"Well then, can't complain about that, Mr. Astaire." she grinned. She listened as he spoke of his mother and then abruptly stopped speaking of her. She wondered why it was such a sore topic for him, but decided not to press it. She didn't want to force him to talk about something that he wasn't ready to talk about. "I go dancing when I can. Not as often as I like. Honestly I prefer this kind of dancing as opposed to clubbing and bumping and grinding. Some twenty-one year old I am."

"Yeah. You're suppose to be dancing and drinking and shoving off all sense of responsibility, right?" Aiden chuckled, falling into step with her again and trying not to think about how ridiculous he probably looked. He was thankful Dorian wasn't around to witness it. "I was a terror when I was twenty one. Not in a good way."

Jules laughed and nodded. "I'd believe that." she told him. "And I can be a terror myself, don't doubt me on that one. This side of me, the piano playing, ballroom dancing in the living room side... yeah, it doesn't get out much. You should feel special." Not a lot of people got to see this side of the girl. She tended to do what twenty-one year old girls usually did. Go out, drink, party. It was nice to actually get the chance to show off the less used part of her.

"I wouldn't mind seeing the terror part of you," Aiden admitted with a laugh. "It's nice when you get to see different sides of a person. Though trust me, I never ballroom dance. Ever. And if anyone asks you if I have, you say no. This is definitely not a part of me hidden underneath everythin' else. There is no part of me that ballroom dances."

"I hate to break it to you, dollface, but there has to be some part of you that ballroom dances because you're doing it now. Or maybe it's just a part of you that only comes out around me. I should be the one to feel special." she laughed. "And you're not as bad at it as you think you are. Think you're capable of doing a dip?" she asked. "Or am I too fat for you to hold up?" she teased, knowing well and good that she was easily held up.

"Nope, I'm only doin' it because you made me," he stated. His look turned wary before he shook his head, tightening his grip on her hand. "I don't know how to dip unless it's chips. Doesn't matter if you're fat, or not - which you're not - but I'd drop you regardless."

"Oh, you would not. Come on, it's not that hard." she said, determined to get him to at least try. "All you have to do is shift the hand on my hip to the small of my back and that'll keep me supported enough. You can do it, Aiden. Unless of course you're afraid."

Aiden rolled his eyes. "Oh yes, I'm afraid of dippin' a woman while dancin' in the middle of her living room." Given what he did for a living, that was more than laughable. Aiden was rarely afraid of anything. Though this was climbing the charts. Sighing, he did as she instructed, slipping his hand to the small of her back and bending her backward. "Since when did we decide to have dancin' lessons again? I thought I came over for a simple dinner."

She grinned, letting her head fall backwards, exposing her neck as her still curly hair fell over her shoulders, nearly brushing the ground. "When you told me you couldn't." she reminded him. "So technically, it's all your fault. But look at that, you haven't dropped me yet."

"No, tellin' you I couldn't didn't mean 'give me lessons'," Aiden corrected. "It meant I can't dance so please don't try to make me." That apparently had been unsuccessful. He grinned himself, holding her as she bent backwards. He was just enough of a dick to let go of her and that's exactly what he did. At least for a couple seconds - long enough for her to think she was going to really fall - and then he caught her again, behind her back and head, a cocky grin on his face. "Close one, yeah? Maybe I'm not as good at this as you thought."

Jules' eyes widened and her mouth opened as she let out a startled little yelp, fingers reaching for anything she could grasp. They wrapped around the fabric of his shirt, clinging on for dear life. And then she realized he was just being a jerk and wasn't really going to drop her. Her breathing was slightly rushed, her chest rising and falling rapidly from the fright. "You're a jerk." she told him, trying her best to put on a glaring face, but it didn't work so well. "You scared the hell out of me." she muttered, fingers still clasped tightly around his shirt as he held her there, suspended.

"You say that as if I haven't told you time and time again what a bastard I can be," Aiden said. And then he straightened, pulling her up with him. "Sorry. Couldn't resist it. But it woke ya up, didn't it?" His grin returned and he couldn't help but chuckle. "You really thought I was going to drop you."

She squinted her eyes at him, trying to glare through the smile that was trying to force it's way through. "Yes, I thought you were going to drop me." she said, unclasping her fingers from around his shirt and smacking him lightly on the chest. "Bastard." she muttered, though it came out teasingly.

He couldn't help but laugh now, when she hit him. "I told you that," he pointed out, lifting a hand to rub his chest where she'd hit him, as if it hurt. "I'm sorry, love. I won't do it again. Though maybe that'll teach ya next time you decide you want to teach me somethin'. At least when it comes to dancin'."

"You..." she began, letting out a sigh. "If there was a word to describe how much of a pain in the ass you are, I'd say it, but as of right now, they've yet to invent one. So when they do, I'm going to call you up and call you it." she told him. "I try to be nice and you're a jerk. God." she muttered, pretending to be upset, though the whole thing was pretty funny.

"Please do," Aiden said. "I'd be interested to see what word they'd come up for me. Come on, you know I'm not that mean." He tugged at a curl in her hair. "I promise I'll be nicer the rest of the night, okay?"

"You better." she told him. Jules raised a brow as he tugged at her hair. Biting her lip through a grin she shook her head just a bit, though she didn't pull her hair away from him. "Didn't know that you were into hair pulling." she teased.

"Us getting into what I'm into? Not the appropriate path of discussion." Aiden dropped his arm to his side with a smile. And then he sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I really should go. It's getting late..." Not that he cared about the time, usually. But it was probably safer for him, and he still had Shannon at home.

"I was just kidding. You're the one that took it to that level, dollface. But yeah... if you're ready to go, you can. Not going to stop you." Jules said, lightly shrugging her shoulders. "So, you going to avoid me for the next couple weeks now? Or will you actually call me?"

"I'll call you," Aiden said, stepping back from her. "You're free to call me too," he added with a pointed look. "I appreciate dinner. And the piano lessons. Ah, and yes, the dance lessons. I'll see if I can't find somethin' next time that I can teach you."

"We'll see about that." she told him, taking a few steps towards the door and reaching for the handle. "Thanks for coming. It was nice. Despite our little fumbles I think we did pretty well at this whole friend thing, don't you?"

"Yeah, we did pretty well," he agreed. Much better than he really thought. But despite a few missteps, he had a good time. He smiled before leaning forward to kiss her on the cheek. "G'night, Jules."

"Night, Aiden." she said, wrapping her arms around his neck for a quick little hug. She released him just as quickly and pulled the door open to let the man free. "I'll give you a call if you don't call me." she promised.

Aiden nodded. "Sounds like a plan." He gave her a small smile and headed out to his car. He needed a cigarette. Badly.