He turned his head away from the receiver and yawned slightly. Watching the news had lulled him into what could have been described as a sleep-state. He shook his head and stared up at the ceiling as Eva talked to him over the phone. "Did you want to meet before or after I went to work?"

"Any time is fine with me," he responded as he rubbed one crimson eye. "I'm up for it now if you'd like," he said and pushed himself off of the couch, flicking the television off as he stood. He tossed the remote to the television onto the couch and grabbed his gray coat which he slipped on over his tight-fitting black shirt. He shook out the collar and ran his hands through his hair before letting his palm rest on the doorknob of his room as he waited for her answer.

"I'm up for it now if you'd like."

He kinda sounded... Nonchalant. Bad-as*s. It was... Cool. And sort of familiar, in a weird deja-vu kind of way. She smiled into the reciever, nodding even though she knew he wouldn't be able to see her, and replied.

"Great. I guess I'll see you soon then."

Being that girl who knew the city like the back of her hand, she knew which coffee shop he'd been referring to. The fact that it was on her way to work was just the icing on the metaphoric cake. So she kissed her pets good day after making sure their foo and water bowls were full and walked down to Cafe Diem. She picked a cozy two-person table, and sat.

"Alright," he said and hung up, twisting the knob as he did so and stepping outside. He locked the door behind him and slipped his phone back into the pockets of his jeans. On his way out from the apartments, he caught a good look from the woman that lived two doors down from him, but he ignored the way her eyes trailed after him. Mortals, he thought with a snort.

He continued through the streets and ended up shrugging his jacket off before he reached the cafe. The sun was hot on his back, more than likely because of the black color his shirt was. When he reached the cafe, he passed under the door with the soft jingle of a bell to his ears, and laid his eyes on Eva. She was sitting at a two person table, of course, but somehow he hadn't expected the normalcy of the scene.

With a shake of his head to himself, he took a seat next to her. He threw his jacket over the back of the chair and rested his elbows on the table, noting to himself the unusual yoga attire she wore. His brows arched slightly as he looked at her. "Yoga teacher?" he asked as he leaned back, the guess having a playful yet serious note in it.

Looking up at the little ring the door made, she watched his approach and giggled at his comment on her clothing. "Close. Massage therapist." Eva gave a warm smile to Cain, trying to hold his gaze for as long as she could. The waitress interrupted the moment, and Eva gawked at the momentary possessive flash she felt when she caught the other woman giving Cain the old once-over.

"Morning, sir. And... Miss... What can I get you today?"

Eva answered first, forcing the woman to look awa from Cain, a slight edge to her voice. "Could I get a mocha frap with extra whipped cream and a double shot of espresso?" She turned back to Cain, ex
pression softening as she grinned conspiratorially. "I know it stunts growth but I just love the taste." At this the waitress gave a short, humorless laugh, eyes never leaving the pad she wrote her orders on. "Not like it'll make a difference."

Ooc; Quick question, but was that the waitress saying "Not that it'll make a difference?" My post depends on it. xD

Ooc; That's what I thought, but I wanted to be sure. Whooo xD

Bic;

Cain's brows arched yet again when she surprised him with her work. The corners of his lips twitched into a sort of half smile before resuming their straight line. When the waitress came over, he looked up at her with his typical stony ex
pression and waited patiently for Eva to order, frowning slightly at the rude comment the waitress gave her.

"Coffee. Black," he said tonelessly and then turned to Eva, another broad, yet hopefully not fake-looking smile plastered on his face. "Wow. A massage therapist, you said? I've heard it takes a lot of work to do that, and the passion involved with it. As for a waitress--" He cocked his head slightly and his eyes flickered back up to the waitress who's ex
pression had just soured a bit. "Oh, you're still here," he said, not sounding the least bit sorry at all.

She huffed once before disappearing off to take care of their orders. Cain wiped the smile off of his face and leaned back, though his eyes were light as he regarded Eva. "I hope she doesn't spit in my coffee," he muttered good-naturedly.

Cain's manner of dealing with the waitress was thrilling. Eva bit back a giggle, eyes dropping to the table. After the waitress left Eva returned to the question at hand, not knowing whether it had been serious or as a jab at the woman. "It's true that being a massage therapist takes a lot of passion, but not because of schooling. It just takes a lot of touching a lot of nasty, hairy old man backs. And then you deal with people who make strange noises when they're getting massages..." She made a face, illustrating how distasteful she found such people before giggling and returning to her natural, relaxed smile.

"But it's worth it, because one day I'll get out of here and set up my own parlour far away where I can choose my own clients be in charge of my own destiny."

Cain's question earned an undignified eye-roll, and Eva even huffed. Most un-like her. "Don't like the city? Try the country. It's... Well, it's my dream to go somewhere no one in my family has ever been. I was thinking Korea, and using it as a base for skipping around all the other Asian countries. It's just... Eastern culture is so completely different. I would love to immerse myself in something so entirely alien. It would be like another planet."

The color rose back to her checks, gaze dropping to the table. It seemed so silly saying it to this handsome, worldly-seeming man. In this moment, her dream looked childish and naive with a touch of girlish stupidity. "I know it's very silly, but it's just that travel seems like the only way to get away from... everything."

Cain didn't expect the answer she gave him, but he anticipated the likeliness that it would throw him a little. That earned her the tug of another smile and he glanced up as the waitress from before slid their coffees onto the table and whisked herself away. Cain paid no mind, just turned his eyes down and took a sip of the scalding drink.

"It's not silly in the least. I've been all around the world, but I must say that the majority of it was spent in Greece and Rome," he commented as he scratched his chin. At the last part, he thought about what she'd said for a moment. "Get away from everything? You know; they say you can't run from your problems, they always tend to find you again," his voice grew fainter as the words rang in his own ears, ironic with the situation at hand.

That seemed like something she'd like. The homes of the classics. Of course, Cain just seemed like the type to be attracted to a place with so much history. Being so elegant and civil, the man had an Old World feel about him that attracted her to him the way a sun pulls in planets, and planets pull in meteors.

"Those both sound like amazing places to go. as far as running from my troubles... It's more like... Running from people than things." Eva gave a half-hearted shrug, the smile momentarily slipping from her shining features before she pushed it back into place.

"But problems all the same," he said as he rested his palms on the table. He saw the momentary fall in her smile, but he concealed the notice easily. When he downed the rest of his coffee, he licked the corner of his lips and nodded at the waitress for the check. She was stone-faced as she approached and Cain accepted the bill from her, sneaking in just a few bills for the tip.

"I've got you," he said as he handed the check back to her. "I don't want to keep you waiting; or rather, your clients waiting," he said.

Cain was about to stand when Eva surprisingly walked over and hugged him. He paused slightly before giving her a small hug back, trying not to notice how good she smelled, especially mixed up with the scents of coffee in the air. "No, I like hearing you babble. We'll have to do this again," Cain commented, the words slipping from his mouth sweeter than he had officially intended.

She left and Cain left their empty coffee cups on the table. After leaving the coffee shop, he had half a mind to go into her house while she wasn't there and just grab the book; of course, he'd have to find it. But no, he didn't want to do that. He blamed her having a dog, but that wasn't the real reason and he knew it.

He flipped open his cell phone and went back to his recent calls. After saving Eva's number into his phone, he made his way back to his apartment with his hands in his pockets.

Ooc; I was going to have him stop by the massage place, but that would just be too stalkerish creepy. |D

ooc:// What? That's silly. Eva would find it cute and endearing. Besides, he might get himself a massage while he's there.

*insert suggestive eyebrows here*

bic://

For lunch Eva skipped out on her co-worker's invitation to eat with them, instead taking the salad out into the park, enjoying the fresh clean air while she ate. It was just too beautiful of a day. After eating she went back to the parlour, for round two of the clients. Another good batch, there were actually some attractive and interesting people, some choosing to remain silent (with only the occasional contented sigh) and others who liked making conversation. All in all, a pretty good day. Eva waved good-bye, and walked herself home.

It was getting rather dark, being seven in the evening, and Eva's stomach grumbled. Right. Late dinner and all. Jeez. Now she would have to find somewhere to eat instead of just eating at home. Foolishness. She walked down the street a little slower than she usually would, trying to decide on a restaurant. Choices, choices.

Ooc; Sorry. Internet's been crashing all day from our power going out. x_x and maybe he'll go next time. ;D

Bic;

After Cain had made it to the apartment, he hadn't even gone inside. Instead, he'd just turned around and had walked back the way he'd came. Now, he sat at one of the park benches watching the twilit atmosphere paint the park scenery into different colors. It was getting late, but he had wandered here on Eva's scent; she'd come here this afternoon.

He drank in the night air along with the comforting smell of Eva's scent. He cracked his eyes open, not knowing he had closed them. Comforting? He shook his head and growled to himself, canines becoming slightly elongated as he did so. When he realized what was happening, he leaned back against the bench and breathed out a tranquil sigh.

Finding himself without a purpose in the park any longer; night had fallen, he took to the sidewalks of some of the streets. He kept his head down, the lights of any restaurant he passed under highlighting the white wisps of his hair and turning them silver, and continued down the street. He bumped shoulders with someone and blinked as he looked up, muttering a 'sorry,' before doing a double take.

"Eva?" he asked as he turned.