[ LAURA ]
the kind of guy who LIVES where he WORKS —– noted, though not necessarily underscored by the judgment some surely would have applied to the assessment. A) that would be more than a touch hypocritical, and ( more relevantly ) B) it’s a handy predicament to be in, from her vantage point. guy with dogs and a position of ( relative ? ) importance close by. check that : CUTE guy with dogs and a position of importance close by.
LAURA SKINNER [ 1 ] UNIVERSE [ 10,000 ] ( well, at least she has a shot at catching up )
she only catches a glimpse of his smile before it fades away, but that brief moment is enough to gain her another point or two on the tally board. even if this means she’ll have to brush up on some of her boston knowledge ; she’d think it the wrong fact to have lead with for her own weakness had the association not seemed to make him so happy.
“ oh, i wasn’t there long – two years or so, ” real world : two days, not counting a service trip with her youth group in high school or a handful of secret service details or the three hour layover on a business trip to france. “ but it’s a lovely city.”
defer to something she DOES know more about.
“ —– and aren’t YOU a lovely girl ! ”
she extends her hand palm-up first, then flipsit to go right for between the ears. that same smile lights up her face, that softer kind she gives to dogs and babies and ( to a slightly modified extent ) precious old ladies.
“ you are a lovely girl ; yes you are, yes you are, maya angelou. ”
’ my parents owned an italian restaurant. still do, actually. it’s the one on the end of hanover street. ’
the room keys are already set up, and he’s slid them across the desk towards her. but the lobby is otherwise empty due to the slightly odd hour, so he doesn’t feel guilty making small talk. and besides, she’s attractive, and he can’t help but appreciate that at least a little.
she pets angie with the ease of someone who has been around dogs a lot, and he appreciates that. he’s always been a little bit wary of people who prefer cats, or who hate dogs completely.
’ you can just call her angie. she hasn’t quite blossomed into her full name yet. maybe when she’s out of the puppy stage it won’t be way too proper for her anymore. ’
the voice the woman is using has angie’s ears pricking upwards, and archer has to slip his fingers firm under her collar to keep her from diving across the desk and knocking laura over.
( god, wouldn’t that be a great first impression? )
’ do you have any pets ? ’
