With her prize within her arm's reach, Aria's heart started to beat loudly. Staying over at a man's place wasn't something she had an elaborate experience with and though David was extremely charismatic he was at least a dozen years older than her. Aria did not have the capacity to judge his motives. Then again he had been a perfect gentleman so far. Did her experience with romance novels and the occasional porn give her the optimism the she could seduce this extremely confident man? Who is to say that he was even remotely interested in her? It could just be a compassionate offer. Aria reluctantly turned to face David who was patiently waiting for a reply. "Thank you for the offer." she murmured. When his facial expression didn't change she realized that it wasn't even an answer. "I accept your offer" At that David gave her a smile and Aria felt her heart melt. She had it bad.
"You should let some of your friends know your whereabouts, give them the address. It's something I would expect my younger sister to do if she were to ever stay with a stranger," he commanded. Aria frowned and pouted but taking in the hardness in his eyes yielded to is request. She had no way to let him know that her friend's circle was highly limited. She sent an email to her best friend who was not in the country at that time telling her that she was spending the night at her parents for a change. Something told her that she may not return within the next two days. That was when Rayne was due back and Aria always listened to her inner voice. It had never failed her before.
The drive back was relatively quiet. Neither of the two had anything to say. Soon Empress Avenue appeared and David turned towards the gated community. Aria was nervous but didn't let it on. She was thinking back to the hysterics Rayne would show once she found out that she had lied blatantly. She had a room in her parent's home, that much was true. She always did. But Mr. and Mrs. Dumont rarely stayed in one place for an extended period of time. Her earliest days were spent in Edinburgh with most nights spent in her nanny's room. When she moved to London for her GCSE she stayed in a hostel where she met Rayne but her friend was made aware of her parents on the day of graduation who served as a sponsor to the after party. The funny thing was that Rayne had been bragging that day saying her aunt worked for the benefactors as their daughter's nanny. It turned out that Rayne had been Nanny Scar's niece all along and Aria had never known.
"You must be starving after the evening you had," David commented bringing her out of her memories. She had truly been lost in them, remembering the time when life was a lot less complicated than bills and job application. Rayne was already in a stable long distance relationship with a retired army officer at nineteen with a stable career as a wildlife photographer which she started when she was only sixteen. She was comparatively still living off her parents who saw her as a liability rather than anything else.
"I had something to eat before you called." she said, which wasn't a complete lie if she considered the muffin she had with her afternoon tea. Every afternoon she worked at the local tea shop, baking her famous muffins, which seemed to be a crowd puller. She had taken off exactly at five, one hour later than her usual time, and received David's call half an hour later.
David nodded in acknowledgement of her answer, before pointing to the dashboard of his car. "That was five hours back. You should eat something."
Aria was looking down. He recalled the exact time when he had called her. It may mean nothing but to her infatuated heart it sent a signal of care. It was already after ten o'clock. She was out with a guy she barely knew and about to enter his home. She had too many butterflies in her stomach to actually eat. The man affected her as no other which was literal since her CIPA seemed to recede in his presence. "I don't want to inconvenience you."
"I have to eat too." David commented, a light smile tugging the corner of his lips. "But I need to cook and I am a vegetarian. Can you make do?" he asked the girl who couldn't stop her blush if she wanted to.
"I don't mind vegetarian," she said honestly.
"How about spaghetti?" David asked matter-of-factly.
Aria shrugged as the car came to a gentle stop in front of the house as Aria got down. David went around to park it before walking forward to open the front door. They walked over to the kitchen at the back of the house. The room was extremely clean with white marble top and red floor tiles. There were suede curtains on the windows in the same tone of deep red. The combination of red and white seemed an odd combination to Aria who was used to red and black as a favourite. David opened his shoes outside the kitchen and Aria copied him. David's eyes followed her movement. "You don't need to." he informed. "It's my habit."
Aria didn't pay attention to him and walked in front. It was his kitchen and she didn't wish to take any liberties. The kitchen was quite large compared to the rooms, almost twice the size. Beside the kitchen counter was a four seater dining space. There was a bar at the other end as well.
"Originally the kitchen and dining space were separate. When I came to live her I knocked down the connecting wall." he answered her unspoken thoughts again.
"It's nice. It's a great place if you like to cook and you can actually hang out while you cook without feeling the violation of your personal space." she commented and felt like an idiot. It felt more than nice. It felt like home. She could imagine herself cooking in this kitchen which was a dangerous thing to do.
"I am thinking of lightening up the meal with a salad. Want to help me chop some vegetables?" David asked, to which Aria agreed readily. Soon she realized they were doing exactly what she had earlier suggested. They were hanging out, sharing small anecdotes, mostly about her years in school and college.
"When did you realize that you wanted to study Art History?" David asked her with interest.
"I wanted to learn the history behind the Egyptian hieroglyphics. I am especially interested in the alien spaceships that appear in the various arts across generations. Why do they all look the same and why are they even conceived?" Aria mused.
"Have you ever considered that these may be actual records of the times that later got dismissed as hoax or folk lore. It happens every now and then that there are stories of UFO sightings. The good thing is that they never land." David suggested.
"Why is it a good thing that they never land? Are you among the people who believe that aliens can only come to dominate the earth and not to live in a healthy cooperation with us?" Aria argued.
"It is not so much as domination as much as the otherness of the situation. If the aliens landed they would be treated as that-aliens. There would be gross mistrust regarding them and the visit and it would inevitably lead to war, either between the extra-terrestrials and the humans or among those who support the extra terrestrials and those that do not," he explained.
"Maybe you are right. It wouldn't be a good thing if they landed but if there were real proof of their existence wouldn't that be fascinating?" she chimed like a child, regretting her tone that gave out her youthfulness.
"I am sure that it is indeed fascinating." David concluded, putting out all the ingredients in front of him that he took out from the cupboards. It was time to start with the food preparations. They took turns to wash their hands before David brought out the vegetables from the vegetable washer.
"When did you come here from your country?" Aria asked, trying to satisfy her curiosity. David pinched his face in irritation though, at which Aria became quiet and concentrated on chopping the tomatoes. After several minutes of uncomfortable silence David spoke in a soft whisper.
"It has been years. I can't exactly tell you about where I come from either." David lamented.
Aria found herself disappointed at his words. "I just wanted to know you better," she argued.
"I am not the kind of a person you want for a friend, Aria. The least you know about me, the better it is for you and everyone you know. We can talk but I would rather that you do not ask me anything personal. It is for your own safety." David assured her.
"Why? Are you a criminal or something?" Aria asked with a bit of a tremble in her voice.
"I might be, Aria. Don't be surprised if I have committed crimes in my life. I am a stranger. I could easily be a murderer or worse." David told her in a smooth voice that would have almost eased her if not for the meaning behind them.
"What can be worse than murder?" Aria asked sceptically.
"I am not giving you a confession, Aria. I already told you that the less you know, the better it is for everyone." David answered.
"I am not asking for a confession. All I am saying is hypothetically what is the worst thing you could have committed." Aria said, looking at him playfully. She couldn't chalk up David as a criminal if anything else.
"You read a lot of fiction it seems. Fine, I will bite the bait. What if, hypothetically, I told you that I am a serial rapist and a murderer, a former double agent and an assassin?" He informed with a straight face.
Aria didn't notice when she accidently cut through her hand. The pain was not a familiar concept to her. Her CIPA prevented her from realizing that she was bleeding as she gaped at an approaching David. The pain in her hand coincided with the twinge in her heart. Her mind was startled to find David sucking on her injured hand. She opened her mouth but didn't know what to say when she noticed his eyes glowing with a purple hue.
She stepped back but was blocked by the kitchen counter behind her. "Do you plan to rape me?" she pleaded.
"You are not my type." he assured her, his tongue going over the injured finger, lapping it up like a dog.
"What's your type?" Aria asked curious, acknowledging that she found his actions very erotic.
"Platinum blonde, with light green eyes." he explained at which Aria pulled her hand away.
David realized what he was doing and stepped back. "First aid is in the first floor washroom." he said. Aria nodded and rushed out. She started taking the stairs two at a time.