He was actually getting used to her name for him, but it still bothered him to be called love by someone he just met.
It probably would have bothered him if anyone called him that.
"I'm not even twelve years old yet. What makes you think I would have ever consumed any kind of alcohol?"
"A simple yes or no would do," Selene said.
"Then no, I have not."
"I thought not."
Harry almost rolled his eyes again as Selene hailed down a waiter.
"Excuse me," she said, switching from English to French seamlessly. It was impressive. Harry could do it, of course, but he had eidetic memory so everything he could do felt less impressive than it really was. "Could I bother you for a bottle of Chteau Margaux and another glass?"
The waiter blinked, his eyes looking at the glass of red wine in Selene's hand, then cast a dubious glance at Harry. He was obviously connecting the dots and realized Harry was far to young to drink.
Just how Selene had managed to get a glass of wine for herself was a mystery he had yet to solve.
Selene must have seen this too, because she immediately sprung into action.
"Please?" she asked, leaning over ever so slightly towards the waiter, a young man of about twenty or so. It was just enough that the waiter could see down the V-neck of her dress very easily.
Harry grit his teeth to keep from grinding them when he saw the man begin to blatantly stare at Selene's chest. When the man licked his lips with his lust and desire obvious in his eyes, Harry nearly snapped.
Hadn't this cretin ever heard of restraint? She was fourteen years old for Christs sakes!
Several feet away from where Harry and Selene were seated, several of the lights within the ceiling exploded in a shower of glass fragments that rained down upon the hapless guests. A number of screams of shock, surprise, and fear rose into the air. A threnody of voices all called out in unison as people began jabbering away at the frightful occurrence.
Selene looked at Harry as he clenched his hands so hard they looked like they might bleed at any second. She smirked, before turning to look back at the waiter, grabbing his attention with a gentle tug on his sleeve.
When the shocked young man looked back at her, she gave him one of those heart fluttering smiles.
Harry grit his teeth some more.
"About that wine?"
"Oh... of course," the waiter stuttered, not even seeming to question her now. His eyes moved back down to her cleavage, and this time, Harry did begin grinding his teeth. "I will be right back."
"Jealous?" asked a smirking Selene as she looked at Harry. Said heir just frowned.
"Why would I be jealous?" he asked with a slightly irritable expression. "I simply didn't like how he was looking at you like that. He's well over the acceptable age limit to be even eying someone as young as you. The ignorant, pompous cochon! He should have some restraint!"
"You can't blame him for looking at me," Selene chided, the strangely pleased smile not leaving her face. "He is a male. It is the prerogative of all males to stare at beautiful women such as myself no matter the age. It's human instinct."
Harry felt like huffing, but didn't, as he felt it would make him seem childish.
"There is such a thing as human decency," he told her, still feeling irrationally angry. "He should have known better not to stare at someone who's probably ten years younger than him."
Harry did not like the smile that appeared on Selene's face as she hummed in thought.
A few seconds later, the waiter came back up and set a glass down in front of Selene. He was about to pour it for her, but she quickly placed her hand on the bottle and pulled it away from him.
"Thank you," she said before dismissing the waiter entirely. The young man blinked, then narrowed his eyes. Harry could not help but feel a tad vindicated as he watched the swine leave with an expression of anger on his face.
"Wine tasting is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine," Selene started, her tone taking on a far different quality than Harry was used to hearing from her. It sounded almost like she was reciting something someone else had once told her. "There are five basic steps of wine tasting: color, swirl, smell, taste, savor. Or if you'd prefer: see, swirl, sniff, sip, savor."
"I'm surprised you know anything about wine tasting," Harry commented as he watched her uncork the bottle with a slight pop.
"My father enjoys a good wine," Selene said with a smile. "It is one of his many foibles." She grimaced. "I have often had to listen to him lecture about how a good red wine is almost as good as blood."
Now Harry understood. She must have learned about wine tasting from hearing her father talk about it so many times. Interesting.
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