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Alette's POV

He stood there, unmoving, his eyes slightly taken aback. I couldn't tell if he had heard me or not because his face was passive, as still as the air around us.

I looked back down at my feet, his presence feeling too intense for how small this room was. I tried focusing on a spot by my feet to help keep my nerves in check. I slowly glanced up and I paused at what I saw.

My eyes caught a flash of silver in his hand, and they widened. A tattoo gun.

Peering up to look at him in the eye slowly, I pointed to the machine in his hand and asked:

"May I touch that, please?"

There was no reply again.

But I didn't give up.

"That. Can I touch that, please?"

The hand holding the tattoo gun moved towards me, slowly, somewhat like an offering, and I reached forward, until finally it happened. I was touching it.

The thought that this machine created permanence in someone's life was fascinating. Sure some tattoos would fade, but there would be some semblance of a permanent mark left.

The more I thought about it, the more I was tempted to get one for myself. Maybe I would do that one day; when everything felt right.

For now though, just seeing it and feeling it was enough for me.

After a few seconds, I retracted my hand; I had gotten my fill, and Tai would never know. How absolutely sneaky of me. A slow smile formed on my face and looked back up at him. His dark eyes still slightly shocked.

"Thank you! That was really kind of you, but you can't tell my friend because for some reason he doesn't want-" I gasped suddenly as a thought occurred to me.

"Do you have a name?" I blurted out, "What is your name?"

He didn't answer.

Maybe he couldn't talk. That was okay. Or maybe, he didn't want to talk. That was okay too.

"You don't have to tell me, I apologize for asking, I'm just supposed to wait here for my friend," I mumbled softly as I stood on my tip toes, staring over his shoulder. It didn't work, he was too tall.

I suddenly realized our close proximity and took a step backward. Then one more, just to be safe. I looked back up at him and smiled sheepishly, my heart feeling as though it was going to explode under his intense gaze.

"My name is Alette," I said shyly, because it had hit me once again, just how beautiful this man really was. My heart was fluttering like a butterfly that was flying for the first time. Probably not healthy for my heart to be doing that, but he truly was ethereal. I cleared my throat in an attempt to distract my thoughts and prevent my cheeks from turning redder. "Most people call me..." I trailed off, "Actually I don't know very many people, but all the people I know well just call me nicknames. I don't really know why honestly. Other people call me Faye, because, well when I was younger, kids made fun of my name so I just went by my middle name. That's why I call Faye my Other People Name because that's what I introduce myself as because it's easier than my real na-" I abruptly cut myself off. Now I knew my face was beet red because I had been rambling and the man, still hadn't moved.

I looked down at my feet again, wringing my hands together, when I heard an intake of breath, and then:

"Ares."

His voice was gravelly, like he didn't get much use of it. But to me, it sounded magnificent.

I smiled at him and cocked my head to the side, "Is that your Other People Name?"

This time, he cleared his throat.

"Aresius," he spoke, and while his voice was low, it filled the room up like helium into a balloon.

"Aresius," I repeated in a whisper, "Nice to meet you Aresius! Do you know where I can fin-"

"Bee! How did you get this door to..." Tai walked into the room, leaving his question unfinished. He looked over at me, and then at Aresius, then back at me, his eyes gaping slightly.

"You alright Bee?"

I nodded, "I just met Aresius, we were talking."

Tai's eyes widened and he looked hesitantly at Aresius.

"Sorry about that Adler, I had to handle something," Tai said, talking to him.

Adler?

"Bee this is my boss Adler, Adler this is my friend Faye. I just brought her here to show her around," Tai nodded at the man. "You ready to go home now? Sorry this wasn't exciting, something came up," Tai asked me.

Boss? So not a security man?

"I-It's okay, I had fun, and we can go now if you want," I smiled softly at Tai, who reached over to ruffle my hair. I poked him as he turned to walk out of the room, assuming I was following behind him.

I took a few steps forward, and the man moved aside to let me pass by him. I walked by him and my goodness did he smell good. Not that I took a sniff or anything.

I turned around to face him and beamed shyly "It was really nice to meet you, I hope I see you again soon!" I began walking away, not expecting the man to say anything back.

"I hope I see you again soon too." His voice sounded breathless.

My heart did cartwheels in my chest.

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unedited