Aberrant: 2011 - Pretense [Complete]

[z-Kara]

(Continued from Innocence)

The door finally broke that intense contact as Kara closed it. With a deep sigh, Kara leaned against the door to LiberTeen's room and struggled to rebuild her composure, something that was far harder than it used to be. And the thoughts raging in her mind didn't help: visuals of the sexual feast she'd left behind and turned down, even temporarily, followed her. It was like a web had been wrapped around her, and Kara could feel it drawing her back.

Until Dr. Alder spoke. His sarcastic, lecherous tone cut through her thoughts and the caccoon around them, cutting them away. No, not cutting, Kara decided. Muting. His voice shoved back the fuzziness in her mind, a pervasive mental fogginess built of heat and desire that had invaded her mind the moment she'd entered the room. Is being around me like that? That's... not cool.

It was another problem for another day. "You don't need to say anything, Doctor," Kara smiled, putting a little sway in her hips as she strutted forward. "I learned my bedside manner from you." She laughed at the responding twinkle in his eye, even as she quietly decided it was still strange to be talking aloud to him, instead of thinking and knowing he'd just know. It seemed wrong now, to forego that intimancy that had been both forced and natural in favor of spoken words. But she wasn't his patient anymore, her tongue was healed completely, and she didn't need him.

The way that statement didn't feel quite right either frightened her. She wanted to leave, put it far behind her, but she owed him politeness.

Besides, she had access to their pretense as well.

"I thought you'd gone," Kara added with a casually amused expression. "Or are you hoping for a few moments alone with the lovely LiberTeen?"

[Dr. James Adler]

"Actually, I had a brief disagreement with the snack machine, in which I emerged clearly triumphant, and then became distracted by what sounded like a very touching moment in the hospital room over there." Adler took another bite of his Snickers, chewed it deliberately while he drifted his eyes over Kara with not-too-well-concealed appraisal, swallowed. "Though from the sound of it, the student hasn't yet surpassed the master. What did I tell you about letting little things like deep personal trauma get in the way of shameless self-indulgence?"

She looks better. The thought flicked by behind Adler's smile, and he fought down an urge to reach out and touch her mind to see if the internal scars were healing as well as the physical ones. He'd gotten accustomed to their conversations, more subtle and intimately truthful than mere speech, but he wasn't her doctor any longer and it was time to start getting over the habit. He covered the chill, aching discomfort that thought caused him with another smirk. "You aren't still letting that sense that there should be great meaning to life get in the way of being happily self-centered, I hope?"

[z-Kara]

"Oh, no, I wasn't," Kara responded, even as she felt her cheeks darken slightly. He heard? He was eavesdropping? "Actually, I was incorporating one of the lessons I learned: keep them wanting more." She smiled coyly at him before stepping next to him and digging a bit of money out for her own snack.

"And anyway, didn't your momma ever teach you not to listen into other people's conversations?" Kara asked as she hit buttons and bent to retrieve her selection. She was all too aware that he was probably enjoying her attempts to dig her chocolate treat out of the machine stubbornly holding onto it, but some things were just a part of life.

She leaned against the machine, peeled back the wrapper and took a bite of her bar, wondering if he was really hungry or just wanting an excuse to linger. "Want to get lunch?" she asked suddenly, breaking into a warm smile. "I owe you, for sure."

[Dr. James Adler]

“My mother tried to teach me a lot of things; not many of them took. Besides, when you can hear an irregularity in someone's heart valve at twenty feet, listening to conversations in the room next to isn't exactly neurosurgery.” Adler's smile turned distinctly crooked. “Of course, I'm board-certified in that, too, but I don't like to brag.”

He was about to launch into a snide commentary about using stubborn vending machines as a plot point in her next film when she blindsided him. Lunch. Lunch lead to talking, which could lead to... well, nothing good at this point. On the other hand, he was being asked to lunch by quite possibly the hottest porn starlet on the planet. Not exactly something you can say no to, James. By some trick of time dilation, she was still finishing her bite of candy bar when he got his mouth moving. “Well, I did run the risk of a brawl with the hospital food staff smuggling you all those cheeseburgers, so I suppose if you really feel obligated I could be forced into accepting lunch. If, for instance, you threatened to take my cane away.” He flashed her a smile that was equal parts wary acceptance and leer. “What's your pleasure? I'm partial to Haitian, but I'm not picky.”

[z-Kara]

Haitian? He's way too white for Haitian... wait, girl, you're Haitian. "Haha, well, I'm sure that we can arrange that for you, sugar," Kara said with a big smile. Whipping out her phone, she placed a quick call to Derek. "Derek, be a dear and find out if there is a Haitian place here... Yes, I know we're in Philadelphia, but do what you can, sure, sweetie?"

Kara snapped her phone shut and smiled up at Alder. That should teach you to make those kind of comments. "If I take your arm," she purred, "will I still get you in trouble with the review board? I hope so, or that takes all the fun out of what I'm about to do to you." Her grin was part playful, part naughty. She could enjoy this; he was safe. She'd felt his mind often enough to know that he'd never push further than she was comfortable with.

[Dr. James Adler]

"I'm sure that if they can't come up with a complaint, we just aren't trying hard enough. As for lunch, I'm glad to leave myself in your capable hands." Adler's expression was merrily guileless as he extended his arm, without a hint of a double entendre in sight. "After all, you've never let me down in the past. I've always been able to count on your excellent taste."

[z-Kara]

By the time they got down to Kara's waiting car, Dexter had a short list - three restaurants - that claimed Haitian food. "I don't know if any of them are any good..." Dexter's voice trailed off when he saw the doctor. "Hello."

Dr. Alder remembered Dexter; he was both Kara's assistant and her cousin, and he was every bit as awkward as the doctor remembered. "James, this is my assistant, Dexter. Dexter, Dr. James Alder."

"We met," Dexter said, nodding.

"As have we," another voice said, as Rashard stepped out of the driver's side door. "Doctor, it is good to see you again." Like Dexter, he had not changed from the tall, humorless and vaguely threatening man who had hovered around Kara whenever she allowed it.

Kara felt slightly out-of-step now; the three men had already forged relationships, and she hadn't been aware of it until now. Her murky, half-healed eyes looked up at James, and there was uncertainity on her face, as if she wasn't sure lunch was a good idea anymore. But she smiled, and even if the hesitation didn't completely fade, it was muted by her warmth. "Shall we?" she asked as Dexter held the door for both of them.

[Dr. James Adler]

"Of course. Gentlemen, it would hardly be possible to forget you. I'm fairly certain the carpeting at Boston Memorial still has both your tell-tale ruts worn in. I hear they're planning to make them a permanent exhibit." Alder took the moment in stride with his usual abrasive, unflappable calm, keeping her arm firm laced with his as he eased them gingerly through the door and made for a table with a flustered waitress trailing in their wake. He hooked a chair with his cane to pull it out for Kara, offering her a low murmur that was equal parts flirtatious and lightly mocking. "Shall we send takeout back to the Terrier and the Doberman, or will they be joining us?"

[z-Kara]

Dexter looked flustered and maybe a little irritated by Dr. Alder's comments; Rashard didn't look any different than he normally did. But Dexter wasn't irritated enough to say anything as he continued to hold the door.

As Kara sat down, she said, "No, we don't need to send food or invite them in. They are housebroken and can feed themselves. Plus, I pay them a lot of money to eat in the car and leave me alone." She glanced around the small restaurant, noting the Haitian flag on the far wall and hoping that the cooking staff had at least been to Haiti. The restaurant was clean but clearly well-used; it had that worn feel of a place in need of renovation, but only if the owners really worried about thread-bare carpets with worn tracks and cracked countertops.

"I'm sure that Rashard would love to be in here, but..." Kara trailed off and shrugged. "If I'm attacked here, in public, it will probably be by a rabid fan, and I can handle those just fine. The only thing that scares me is other novas, and Rashard wouldn't be much help against them." She paused a gave James a slight, crooked smile. "This is probably a little weird for you."

[Dr. James Adler]

His eyes darkened slightly at the mention of 'other novas', but Alder brushed past the moment with a hint of levity. "Ah, the lifestyles of the rich, famous and universally wanted." His answering smile was as wry as hers, and he propped his damaged leg across the table's third chair with a slight effort. "I suppose there's the screaming groupies outside the diagnosis ward, of course, but I'm far too modest to admit they're there for me." He ran his fingers lightly over the worn tabletop, not bothering with the menu, and when the girl manning the register slipped out to take their orders he gave her a charmingly rakish smile and spoke in perfectly accentless French. "du riz cole a sos, s'il vous plait?" His smile only widened at her startled nod. "Merci."

[z-Kara]

Kara smirked as James ordered, enjoying the sight of him flummoxing the staff. Not that she should have enjoyed it - the child was just a minimum wage slave - but it was nice to see James enjoying himself. Not that he hadn't enjoyed being her doctor, and seeing how many professional lines he could cross at once. "J'aurai grillé des saumons et les pommes de terre rouges rôties, merci," she ordered, snapping the menu shut and passing it to the girl.

When she had left, Kara smiled at James, but the expression was a touch uneasy. Suddenly, as a clear attempt to start conversation, she said, "So, I've been considering doing something other than porn. Not giving it up, but expanding what I do. I'm hoping that being a nova outwieghs being a porn star. A lot of people think that we can't act, unless we're moaning and writhing on a bed." She saw the gleam in his eyes and added, "Not a word. Not one, James, or I'll make you pay for it."

[Dr. James Adler]

"And how, pray tell, will you do that?" The words came out before his mind caught up with them, a lifetime of reflexive humor outrunning the momentary awkwardness between them. He hesitated for a fraction of a beat, suddenly not quite certain of himself, then threw up his mental hands in mingled frustration and resignation. In for a penny... "Besides, I'm fairly certain I'm ahead on my running tab on your op-site. At least, I was when last I checked."

[z-Kara]

This was really awkward. It was like his opinion mattered. God, and that's the worst thing you can do; get to the point where a man's opinion means shit to you. Shoving that ominous thought away, she smirked as she asked, "Is it so far ahead that I'll have to pay for lunch? Or are you going to pay for lunch, and have me give you a credit? Potatoes for porn, you might say."

A woman across the room glanced at her startled; Kara sighed as she recognized that her tone was a bit too loud for privacy in this small restaurant. Well, I could have said - or done - worse, I guess. She turned her gaze back to her companion, waiting to see if he was going to try to shock the woman more. If she has a heart attack from all the adult language, at least he's a doctor.

[Dr. James Adler]

"Tell you what. I'll buy you lunch, and you spot me tickets to the premiere of your first multiplex film. Cleopatra, maybe, or a noir femme fatale? We can discuss how you pay off the rest of my opnet tab later." The words slipped out almost of their own accord, and Alder covered his momentary shock with a quick drink of water. It was hardly being rude in public, he'd made a second career out of that, but... Relax, James, she knows you're just being a bastard. And you know you're just being a bastard, right? Right. It's not at all like you're hitting on the most desirable woman on the planet.

[z-Kara]

Kara flippantly replied, "Sure, you buy one lunch, but I have to get you into a Bollywood premerie? Well, ok, but only if you promise not to be yourself with my costars. I don't think that they allow me to another one if you show what charming friends I have." Her strange eyes sparkled, which neatly masked her confusion. Calm down - he said spot him tickets, not take him. It's not a date, she told herself. Still, she mirrored the good doctor by taking a drink of water as a calming measure.

The water helped, and Kara felt calmer as the waitress approached. Kara frowned as she didn't see their food and then she realized that it wasn't even their waitress. Given her dress, she was probably a cook. Kara tilted her head as the woman arrived at their table, but her unasked question was answered when the girl said, "Could... if it's not too much bother, ma'am, get your autograph? I took a course last semester on sexual stigma in Western culture, and the professor showed us your OpTube clip on sexual double standards."

"Oh, wow," Kara laughed. "That old thing? I'd forgotten all about that. Sure, I'll sign something for you." The girl produced a napkin eagerly.

"How come you never did another one?" the girl asked, smiling as Kara dug out a pen and scratched a quick message and signature on the napkin.

"I... don't know," Kara admitted. The truth was she barely remembered it; it'd been done on an impulse, when she'd been young and actually cared what people thought of her. "I just didn't see the need for another outraged statement, especially when everyone already knows what I was talking about."

"You should," the girl said, taking the napkin. "It was good to hear someone in the sex industry speaking up like that."

"Oh, more have done it than me," Kara assured the girl. "I just didn't get ignored because I was dating J-Loc at the time, and he started showing it around to people in the music industry."

"Cool. Well, thanks!" the girl chirped and spun around, heading back for the kitchen. With a fond smile, Kara watched her go, then looked across the table. I wonder what you'll have to say about that, Mr. Doctor?

[Dr. James Adler]

"You know, in my whole career, not one person has ever approached me for an autograph at a meal?" Adler's deadpan expression of morose envy was Oscar-worthy. "I go out, I eat lunches, and nobody ever comes up to me and says 'Doctor, your article on quantum-induced neural reconstruction came up in conversation the other day, and I was just wondering if you'd sign my first born child here.' The world is truly unfair, when beauty and outspoken activism are valued over scientific genius. I don't know how I shall go on." The faintest twinkle in his gaze tainted the otherwise perfect dourness of his frown.

[z-Kara]

Kara put on a faux sympathetic face. "I know," she sighed, "so unfair that you get to save lives and get Christmas cards from grateful patients, while I get gifts from stalkers and letters about how I ruin marriages." She smiled, to show that she was still joking and reached over to squeeze his hand.

That may have been a mistake; it reintroduced the awkward that their joking had eased. Recovering, Kara leaned back and cocked an eyebrow, attempting to recover that joviality. Her expression was gently teasing as she pleaded, "Please, Doctor - tell me how much it sucks to be a healer some more."

Kara had a lot of practice pleading with men for what she wanted, and those subtle clues came into play now. And while it was in jest, those cues were still volatile.

[Dr. James Adler]

"Oh, the trials and tribulations are too vast to mention. You mess up a shoot, nobody tries to sue you for malpractice. Just reroll, and bring on the gangbang again." The quip was quick and easy, but something in the touch of her hand and the subtle innuendo of her voice jarred Adler more than he realized; he hadn't lost his grip on his telepathic powers since the second week after his eruption, but he'd been speaking to Kara without words for months during her recovery and the habit was just there waiting for the right moment to trip them both up.

Like right now.

The furnace blast of desire that flicked against Kara's mind was exactly what she would have expected, even if actually feeling it from him was a surprise; what left her nearly wordless with shock was the dry sympathy and hard-earned respect that kept that desire firmly locked in place.

Well, that and the fact he didn't seem to have realized she'd felt it.

"And then there's the paperwork. You do a blowjob a few times and clean up. Me? I have forms and requisitions and..." He paused, her expression bringing him up short. "Kara?"

[z-Kara]

Kara slowly raised a hand, checking to see if she still had eyebrows. She knew that she did, that it had been the fire of his lust spilling over her - not unusual, for her - but it had been so intense. "Ah..." Both the sound of her accent slipping loose and the lack of anything safe to say stopped her. What do you say to that? 'Sorry, just tryin' to gather myself after you spilled your thoughts all over me and told me things that you didn't want me to know and... and... things that scare me'?

Kara knew men. She knew they sniffed after pretty women unless they had a better thing to sniff after or a strong reason not to pursue. Preferably, it would be something that would get them in legal trouble if they followed their dick.

Kara knew that she avoided dating men and women she liked, people who she respected. It was her shield, her armor, from having her heart broken, again. But a man, holding his baser nature in check because of her? It didn't happen.

But it just had.

"I just... need to uh, use the little novette's room," she said. It was even true, now. She needed a couple moments to do something to regain her balance. Could she really have been so wrong about men for so long? "Be right back." She tried to make it in the same half-coy, half-jesting vein the conversation had been in; she didn't think it worked.

In the restroom, she sat on the closed toilet and leaned against the wall. Thoughts of fleeing swirled through her mind, but that was absurd, even in her current semi-panicked state. "Why? Why he'd have to show me that?"

He's lying. He has to be.

"Then he's lied everytime he's been in my head, because I didn't feel any deception."

He could fool you.

"But why? He could fuck me, if he wanted. If he'd indicated. He..."

He's playing with you.

"No, no... he's not."

Why not? He's a guy, and he wants you for something.

"I don't think he's playing. I think... I think I trust him." Which meant that she was completely wrong; that the assumptions she had based her life on were completely false.

"Well... fuck."

[Dr. James Adler]

You don't have to be a world class psychologist and medical genius to know when a woman's lying to you, but it does certainly help. Leaning his chin lightly against his steepled fingers, Adler took a moment to consider just how many different levels his last few sentences might have pissed off his... dining companion on. Okay, so it's not even close to what we were throwing at each other before, but this is... not a date, in any sense of the word. Just lunch. But maybe different. Or maybe she's decided to blow up the building just for fun. Women. He snorted softly, pulling the cigarette case out of his pocket and violating several city ordinances by lighting one up and taking a long drag to take his mind off more... pressing matters. Like the unpardonable way that particular woman was affecting him.

You could just fuck her and be done with it.

He was startled by his own vehement rejection of the thought as soon as he had it, startled enough to cough on his drag of cigarette smoke, and he glared accusingly at the burning tip for a moment before taking another. He put the whole question out of his mind sharply, and took care to bolt the door behind it.

Hell of a time to be growing scruples, James.

Oh, shut up.

[z-Kara]

I am now moderately screwed, Kara sighed, resting her head in her hands. She wasn't sure how to face James at this moment, just as she hadn't known how to handle Bellator when she realized she liked his company, or how to deal with Liberteen, or J-Loc, or any number of people who had made her consider anything other than a sexual relationship with her. J had been the closest in many years, and she had still run from him in the end, fled his trap of forever.

On some level, she knew she was broken, that Reese had cut a piece of her heart out. It was inevitable that someone would burn her, but to have her 'first love' do it had given her a wound from which she'd never recovered. Which left her in a bad place now, where there were men and women she liked, maybe even respected, and she was too afraid to approach any of them.

But so few of them knew her like James knew her. And that, Kara surmised, was part of the problem. You couldn't spend several weeks with one person as your emotional anchor and get his thoughts straight from his brain without consequences. The other truly frustrating thing about him was that he wasn't her type, which made this mental attraction so much harder to understand. She'd never been drawn to a guy because of his mind, or any emotional connection with him. She was on totally unfamiliar ground, and she didn't even know if she could summon the courage to move forward, or hide as she always did.

"It doesn't matter," she sighed. "You aren't the girlfriend type, nor does he seem the boyfriend type."

Kara gathered herself, firmly pushing the thoughts that had plagued her in the bathroom out of her mind. It was something that she needed to think about, something that needed time and effort and perhaps generous helpings of alcohol to sort through. When she stepped back into the main room of the restaurant, she left unsure Kara behind; instead, she moved as Caramel Bath, sexy, independent, strong woman. She'd keep up the old pretense, and move on. Like she always did.

A lone traitor piped up, a small voice in her mind, asking, I wonder if someday the pretense won't be enough?

"Mmm, death sticks," Kara remarked as she moved back to the table. Reaching out, she plucked the cigarette from his fingers. With a smile, she drew in a lungful of smoke and handed it back to its owner. "I kicked that as a baseline, but I still steal the occassional drag." She winked as she settled back into her chair and added, "You can put that on your tab, too, sugar. Who knows what you might end up with the money for."

[Dr. James Adler]

"Truly one of the unsung benefits of the enhanced nova system; the ability to indulge in normally fatal vices without fear of consequences." Adler studied her as she sat, taking in the subtle shift in body language as Kara settled back into her seat and suppressing the impulse to reach out and touch her mind. If she wants you to know, she'll tell you. He covered his own surprise at the unusual concern for someone else's feelings with a quick drag of the cigarette, earning him another dirty look from the waitress in the process. "Welcome back, by the way. I was beginning to wonder if someone had asked you to sign something more exotic than their napkin in there."

[z-Kara]

Mixed in with the taste of smoke on her lips, was another flavor, one that had become very familiar on her walks with Dr. Alder in the hospital. His scent had been just one more sense that she actually retained; one more thing that penetrated the endless darkness that she had living in at that time.

But her illicit enjoyment didn't stop her wry tongue. "A girl never reveals what she does in the bathroom... or with whom," she said with a fake stern tone. "You'll appreciate that discretion when I get you in a similar position."

There was a surprised beat in Kara's mind; then her inner voice snottily replied, I can see that our talk in there meant nothing.

Before she had to force a recovery, the waitress finally brought their food. "Here you go. Do you folks need anything else?" the girl asked, using her proximity to Adler to increase the intensity of her glare. Oddly, she didn't ask him to put it out.

"I think James needs an ashtray," Kara said as she speared a roasted potato and took a bite. Her expression was guileless as she waited for the waitress to reply.

[Dr. James Adler]

The waitress took a breath to actually give voice to her profound disapproval, looked down at Adler whose single arched eyebrow and the smoking cigarette in his hand were the only indications he was doing anything at all out of place, and gave up with the profound sigh of a woman resigning herself to a long, long day at work. "An ashtray, right."

Adler's smile was downright cherubic. "Thank you, dear, that's very kind of you." Watching her tap back off toward the kitchen, he gave Kara a conspiratorial look of mock-regret while taking the first savory bite of his meal. "Oh, damn. I think we broke her. Does that mean we have to pay for her?"

[z-Kara]

"I'm sure that you can afford her, but I can't have anymore broken people in my house," Kara said, ignoring the supreme irony of that statement after her conversation with herself in the bathroom. "I'm over Miami's legal limit already. So you'll have to assume custody of her." She gave him a wry smirk as she added, "I'm sure you can find some use for her - paperwork, perhaps? Or fetching your cigarettes. Oh, you'll figure out something. You're smart."

They fell silent as the waitress came back and set the cheap tin tray on the table; it was dusty and had just been wiped out. Kara was sure it was used by the staff, given the well-loved appearance of the little dish. Neither nova said anything to the girl, but something about the vibe in the air made her cheeks redden, and she hurried back to the register. "See?" Kara pointed to the tray. "She's half-trained already."

[Dr. James Adler]

"Trained has never appealed to me." Alder's eyes met hers for a moment, the raw electric vibration in the air between them kicking up an almost tangible notch, but then he carefully snubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and took another bite of his meal in a clear effort to defuse some of the tension. Dammit, James, you just have to keep skating out on the ice and seeing how long it takes you to fall through the ice.

Except, of course, that if he didn't do that... what else could he say?

[z-Kara]

"Noted," Kara said with lusty glee, even as the small, trembling part deep inside of her wondered why she - they kept digging. Where was this going to go? Probably nowhere good, she sighed to herself, even as yet another part of her enjoyed the ride.

"So know I have to know, do you like yours wild and free, or you like like to tame them personally?" Kara asked, moving a bit of potato aside so that she could reach the meat.

How long before one of them broke down? Kara wanted to just say, Let's go get a hotel room and burn this off, but she didn't. Instead, she waited for his witty reply, her murky eyes sparkling as she watched him.

[Dr. James Adler]

"Split the difference. Tame enough to come home, wild enough to break the furniture." He gave her a look that was almost unreadable, something between speculative and impish. "Why, know anyone I should be looking into?"

[z-Kara]

"Oh, are you looking for a housebroken sex-manic?" Kara asked, quirking an eyebrow up in coy amusement. "I have a few co-workers for whom that description would apply... Let's see." Kara rested the handle of her fork against her lower lip as she thought, her gaze becoming distant. "There's Candy Clause... she's often used when the director needs a wild blonde. She's bi, and just broke up with her girlfriend. She might ask you to share her, though she won't demand that you remain faithful if she does, so that's good."

Kara took another bite of her meal before continuing, "And Amber Showers... she may be too quiet and sweet for you." Kara studied her lunch companion seriously before sadly shaking her head. "No, you would break her, within an hour. I'm still not sure how she survives the industry.

"Then there's Jessica Snow," Kara added after another bite. "She's a little crazy sometimes out of the sack, and I'm not sure she's housebroken when she's drunk, but I've heard she's a hellcat, if you know what I mean, and I know you do. Also, she's a natural red-head - carpets, drapes, etc."

Kara loked up at Dr. Adler, her expression one of pure innocence. "Do any of those work for you, sugar? Or did you have some... other guidelines you haven't yet mentioned you're looking for in your Hellcat?"

[Dr. James Adler]

"Well, tough call. I suppose you could bring them all by and introduce them, one at a time or in groups depending on how they felt comfortable. I'm sure we'd find someone that would work." The quick, snappy banter of his response was almost enough to cover the flicker of emotion that slid across his face when his eyes caught hers, something that was as startled as it was intense and wordlessly clear. I don't want them. You on the other hand...

Oh, well done, James. She offers to hook you up with a bunch of porn stars and you suddenly discover restraint. What next, roses and rings?

Shut. Up.

[z-Kara]

The fun was gone. Fear had replaced the delight she had felt in the banter. It had been fun of the dangerous kind, but now it was just dangerous. Like J-Loc and Joe, he intrigued her. Like all the men who she had dated or who had the potential to go far with her, she could see herself doing more with them than having sex. But unlike the other men, he knew her fairly well. She'd dated J-Loc for two years, but she suspected that he still didn't know her like James did.

And that thought - that a man might know her well enough to understand her, to really know her - terrified her. "Well, I'm full," Kara said, pushing her plate away. Holding up her hand, she waved for the waitress. "Can I get a to-go box?"

Glancing back at James, she smiled sweetly and said, "I've kept you away from work long enough; I'm sure you need to get back."

It was a good act, but Adler knew what behind this sudden hurry.

[Dr. James Adler]

"Sure. Work." James gave her a look that was just a little too knowing for either of them. Just let her walk out, just let her... oh, hell. "As if saving patients from terrible failures of diagnostics by idiot physicians could compare with chatting up one of the world's hottest women. Get you priorities straight, hmmm?"

[z-Kara]

Kara was confused; not about what he'd said, but about what she was feeling and thinking. One thing had always worked for her in the past; meeting confusion with sex. So while Adler could still see the fear in her eyes, he also saw her falling back into the old traps.

How many years had this been her ploy? How much had she relied upon her body as a weapon, a sort of MAD that had put her in so many horrible situations?

She moved around the table and slid into his lap, a manuever that was cruel given what had already been said - and not said - at this meal. "James..." she said softly, stringing her arms around his neck. "Are you asking for a quickie? Because I can assure you, it's much more fun if we give ourselves more than a lunch period to do it." The last three words were whispered in his ear.

When you have a hammer, all problems look like nails.

[Dr. James Adler]

His physical response was instant and about what she might have expected, but one hand stayed resting on the table and the cupped her jaw just enough to draw her back and let him fix her with the piercing blue of his eyes that was as full of dry humor as it was of lust. "No date, no drinks, no band in the bushes playing while you dance me across your penthouse balcony? I think I might be insulted. I mean, I'm mostly a cheap date, but restaurant bathrooms have never been my style." It was a subtle deflection, but that's what it was. I know that you know that I know. So I'm not going to live down to your expectations.

[z-Kara]

"Well, then, I guess we really do have nothing better to do together," Kara said with a sweet smile. There was a tension around her eyes that spoke of her attempt to keep this relationship at a certian place. Granted, it was a base, carnal and purely fun place, but it didn't feel entirely correct.

Not after months of direct mind-to-mind contact.

"So, you'll call me, James?" she added with a soft purr to her voice. "You can bring the drinks, I'll arrange for a band?" Her fingers curled into his short hair as she finished, "Any other request?"

There was a careful avoidance of using the word 'date' again.

[Dr. James Adler]

"I'll be sure to think about it." He suspected his smile had the same slightly painted on quality that hers did. "I'm sure I'll come up with something by the time I call." The urge to reach for her mind slid up again, and he stepped on it fiercely. Besides, when I can't even tell what I'm thinking, why should she be able to?

[z-Kara]

"Good," she answered, but the indecision was clear on her face. There was a moment where she could have changed things still, and a moment where it looked like she might, where she was going to lean forward and kiss him. It would have signalled a change, and a shift to a new paradigm, but the moment passed and she eased off his lap. "You call me, and if you can't get me, call Dex. He can access my calendar too."

The waitress had been standing back, looking uncertainly at the scene before them. When Kara stood up, she quickly delivered the to-go boxes and the ticket and fled the scene. Kara hid her amusement; freaking the mundanes could be so much fun sometimes. Kara started to dish her extra food into a box, using the actions to cover up the uncomforable vibe that hung around them like a cloud of poison.

[Dr. James Adler]

He watched her for a moment, then pushed himself out of his chair with an effort and extracted a few bills from his wallet, dropping them on the table. Three halting steps carried him around so he could look directly down at her, leaning on the cane and examining her with an expression that was as dry as it was bittersweet. "If that's what you want, ma reine, I'll be sure to give Dex a call."

[z-Kara]

Ma reine. The words sent lightening bolts down her body, and Kara felt her eyes widen in shocked reaction. She shouldn't have been so startled because this kind of thing had been bouncing between them for weeks now, since the first moment that she had realized he was the only person who could hear her voice.

"Sugar, you only need to call Dex if you can't get me, directly," Kara managed to say through a suddenly-tight throat. She stood up, her mind crying at her to do something, to not leave things like this. Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed him on the cheek, a kiss that lasted a beat longer than a friendly kiss should. She pulled back and gave him a smile that was as confused as it was lovely.

[Dr. James Adler]

He reached out and ran his knuckles gently across her jaw, an oddly awkward caress that somehow slid clean off the road of sexual and off the edge into something almost tender; his lips quirked slightly with humor, but his voice was rough with tangled emotion. "Question of the day, Kara: how do porcupines mate?"