Livia met Felicity at the student center after lunch. Felicity looked right past Livia. Livia had to wave and call out her name before Felicity recognized her. She looked startled and walked toward her.
“I didn’t expect to see you dressed so casual,” she said, embarrassed.
Too late, Livia realized she hadn’t even thought about dressing up. Something she never neglected to do in Caesarea. She was in jeans, a battered tee, and a pair of flimsy sneakers.
“Oh, um,” Livia didn’t know how to respond. Saying I forgot I needed to impress you would probably backfire on her.
“Patricians never wear sneakers,” Felicity said. “Did you know that?”
“No.” Livia had adapted to wearing only ballet flats in Caesarea, though.
“Most girls wear heels,” Felicity said. “It’s a big deal you only wear flats.”
Livia had noticed but she’d always worked on her feet and didn’t own a pair. Not only were heels expensive but they were the least useful shoe in existence. She wasn’t about to parade around in a product that was a waste of her hard-earned money.
“I hate heels,” Livia said.
Felicity smiled.”Well, the Lupus house females were fans. They stopped wearing heels all summer long. It was their way of showing support after that breakup with Arik.”
Livia’s eyes widened. “What?”
Felicity nodded. “I had this whole talk with Corvin after the hike about how not knowing how the patricians communicate via fashion probably meant you missed all their shows of support.”
“They supported me?” Livia hated the emotion that crept into her voice. She cleared her throat and shook her head. Though, the ritual was useless with an empath. Livia sighed.
“You didn’t notice,” Felicity confirmed.
“No.”
Felicity looked sad. “I’m sorry, you felt so alone.”
“Right,” Livia nodded. She could tell Felicity was absorbing her emotions and she didn't want that. She decided to change the subject.
Livia pointed. “Now, the admin building is right over there. Do you have your papers?”
Felicity nodded.
“Let’s go.”
They wandered around in the building a bit before they found the office they needed in the basement. Felicity looked around the corners with trepidation. “There’s no security,” she said, concerned.
“There doesn’t need to be,” Livia said. “I was freaked out for weeks in Caesarea because there are so many guards everywhere. Constantly felt like I was in danger.”
“But the guards keep you safe,” Felicity said.
“There are no guards out here unless there is a reason for them,” Livia said. “No guards, safe place.”
“But...guards prevent bad stuff from happening. It’s better to be safe and have them there than be sorry. Also, cause Taurus have super strength and Aquila super speed, way more can go wrong faster,” Felicity argued.
Livia nodded. “Yeah, but it took me a while to figure out that basic assumptions about security are different in Caesarea. Justin and I had this epic talk about it when I started to refuse to leave the house. He didn’t understand why I felt unsafe when there were security personnel around all the time.”
“But...I feel unsafe cause there are no guards anywhere,” Felicity said.
Livia nodded. “If you’re from Caesarea, yeah, it’d feel weird. But I didn’t grow up there so it was a shift in mindset, definitely.”
Felicity sighed. “Do you like it better without the guards?”
“Oh yeah,” Livia said. “I can relax out here. Sort of…”
“Sort of?” Felicity asked.
They waited in line and Livia looked around. “There was a freedom in everyone knowing my House. Here, I have to hide it.”
“Yeah,” Felicity said. “That is harder than I expected too. I was warned and everything but--”
“Me too,” Livia agreed.
They smiled at each other. They didn’t have to say anything else. It was nice for both of them to be around someone who understood. Felicity finished her business and they left the building together.
“Are you coming to Ratco again this Saturday?” Felicity asked.
“Probably,” Livia said. Though, she thought about not going to avoid Corvin. She was still mortified over how she’d left last Saturday. She dreaded seeing him.
“Good,” Felicity said relieved. “I like Corvin and Terrance but it is nice to have another girl around.”
“They get into locker room talk?” Livia asked.
Felicity looked surprised. “No, nothing like that. Corvin would shut that down so fast.”
Livia frowned. “Then what’s wrong with them?”
Felicity sighed. “They’re so...they’re family. So, I don’t feel like I belong there. Like I’m a third wheel. But if you’re there I don’t feel so...different.”
“Like an outsider?” Livia asked.
“Yeah,” Felicity said. “And I feel like that all the time here--”
“I know how that feels,” Livia said.
Felicity looked at her surprised. “You do, huh? I’m so sorry. I wish I’d done more to help people that were new to Caesarea now. This feeling is awful.”
“I’ll come,” Livia promised her.
The rest of Livia’s week flew by faster than she expected. Then Thursday night Corvin texted her. She hadn’t known he had her number this entire time.
He wrote: Liv, you busy tomorrow night?
Her: Why?
If he asked her on a date...that’d be…a no.
Corvin: I need help.
Livia: With what?
Corvin: Our fridge is broken and I need to move it to fix it.
Livia: You need help fixing your fridge?
Corvin: Yes.
Well, she didn’t expect this but part of her liked being able to make her awkwardness up to him. Also, it’d be a trial run to see if she could do Saturday or not. So she agreed.
Corvin answered the door. Livia’s gut lurched when she saw his face. She took a step back and was going to run away. Then Corvin smiled.
It was the smile she remembered pre-Caesarea. There was something open in his face, his eyes, that drew her in. “Corvin?” she asked, stupidly.
“Come on in, Liv,” he said.
There was an inflection in his voice. That was different.
Livia walked through the front door. She debated on saying something. Then decided to keep her mouth shut. She was here to make up for telling him he smelled and then running away.
Livia followed Corvin into the kitchen. There was a laptop with youtube videos pulled up on it, the owner’s manual, a handful of tools, a notebook full of notes.
“What’s wrong?” Livia asked.
“Our ice maker isn’t working,” he said, turning to face her. A lush black curl hung across his eyebrow, not quite in his eye but close enough that Livia wanted to brush it back. Her hand clenched into a fist.
No. Livia scolded herself not to think like that
“You’re not going to call someone to fix it?” she eyed him. He was rich enough to do that.
“I want to try it this way first,” he said. “I need to get to the back of it to check the lines…”
Livia looked around, mostly to escape his direct gaze. It was giving her butterflies. “Where’s Terrance?”
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“He’s taking a nap. Class was rough on him today.”
“Is he okay?” Livia asked.
“Yeah,” Corvin said. “It’s an empath hangover. He’ll recover after some alone time.”
“Something went wrong?” Livia asked, tentatively.
“They were doing group presentations in front of the class,” Corvin explained.
“Oh.” Livia immediately understood. Speaking in front of people terrified her too.
Livia and Corvin worked together to pull the fridge out from the wall. Her Taurus strength made the work smooth and easy. She tensed when Corvin sidled next to her, but she noticed that he smelled different. A sharp lemon scent and lavender. She studied him, puzzled.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“You…” Livia hesitated to bring it up. “Nothing.”
“Do I smell different?” he teased.
Livia’s face flamed red. “I’m sorry about that.”
He laughed. “I hoped the change would help?”
It was weird, but it did. Also, what a thoughtful thing to do. Livia turned away from him as her attraction to him flared. “Whatever. There’s enough space for one of us to go back there. Is it going to be me or you?”
“I’ll go,” he said.
Corvin slid behind the fridge and fiddled around for a bit. “It looks like the hose is fine. That’s not the problem.”
After a great deal more muttering and puttering around Corvin determined that they needed to replace the condenser motor. He slid out from behind the fridge and strode over to the laptop. He typed and scrolled silently until he found the information he needed.
“Okay, they have the part in stock at the hardware store on main. You up for coming along?” He closed the laptop and looked at her.
Livia nodded. “Sure.”
They hopped in the car together. They had pulled out of the lot and stopped at a light before it hit her. Livia was completely alone with Corvin. A heaviness settled in Livia’s stomach, it wasn’t fear of him exactly. She was afraid that she was doing the wrong thing.
“You okay, Liv?” Corvin asked, softly.
She didn’t answer.
“Liv,” Corvin said with an edge to his tone. “What’s wrong?”
“This has never happened,” she squeaked.
“What?” he asked.
She gestured between them. “We’re...we’re alone.”
“We’ve been alone for over an hour. Are you scared I’m not taking you where I said I would?”
“No, I’m scared Justin is going to find out,” Livia said, on a panicked inhale.
Corvin laughed. “Liv, he’s not our boss out here.”
“Right, he can’t fire me,” Livia said, exhaling.
“No, he can’t,” Corvin said. “Because you don’t even work for him anymore.”
“And you’re not...you’re not my supervisor.”
“I never was really--” Corvin said, confused.
“But you had rank,” Livia said.
“True,” Corvin said. “But all those ranks and responsibilities I had in Caesarea mean nothing out here.”
Livia’s heart rate slowed. “Right. You’re just Corvin.”
“I’m just Corvin,” he said.
Livia honestly didn’t know what just Corvin was like.
“I’m just Livia,” she said.
“Nice to meet you,” Corvin quipped.
But the joke felt appropriate. It did feel a little like they were meeting for the first time. She laughed.
“We’re okay,” Corvin reassured her. “No one is getting fired for picking up a refrigerator part, okay?”
Livia nodded, relaxing into her seat.
“How about music?” Corvin asked.
“Please,” Livia agreed.
Corvin looked over at her. “What do you want to listen to?”
She shrugged. “Your car, you choose.”
“It’s folksy country stuff--”
“I don’t care,” Livia said. “It’ll be interesting to listen to something new.”
Corvin turned the music on and turned it up. “What do you think?”
“Give me a minute.” Livia gave him a hesitant look.
“What?”
She was nervous to let down her guard around him. “I’m going to listen.”
“Go for it,” Corvin said, looking the other way so he could check for a car before he turned right.
Livia took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She relaxed into her seat and tried not to think of anything but the music. Corvin remained quiet. That was nice. Arik always talked when she tried to listen. To him, music was only noise.
It took a while for Livia to relax enough to feel the music and she decided she liked the way it danced inside her head. Slow, yet still upbeat. The music was light and happy, not the usual dark and heavy stuff that dominated Livia’s playlist. She opened her eyes.
Corvin was looking ahead to adjust for traffic so he could turn into the parking lot of the hardware store.
“It’s nice,” Livia said. “Not my usual, but refreshing.”
Corvin grinned. “Glad you were willing to give it a chance, Liv. What’s your usual?”
'Just' Corvin smiled a lot more than Caesarea Corvin and he also was way less tense. His voice was less clipped and more mellow. The change was interesting. While they wandered through the store Livia and Corvin had a detailed conversation about their music preferences. She enjoyed their conversation but wondered the entire time why it had taken them an entire year to have it. The longer they talked, the more apparent it became that they both had a voracious appetite for music. Corvin knew most of the bands she named, even some of the more obscure ones. When she challenged him he’d quote a lyric or hum a few bars. He was like a musical encyclopedia.
“How do you know all this?” she demanded on the way home.
“I’m Lupus, Liv,” he said. “I remember things. Also, I really like music.”
“Me too,” she confessed. “It...comforts me.”
“Yeah,” he nodded. “Music is good for that.”
“Sometimes...it’s the only thing that does,” she said.
“I’m glad you have something that does that for you,” Corvin said.
Livia looked out the window, feeling vulnerable at having confessed something so personal to him. She waited for him to make himself vulnerable as well, to show her that her emotional risk was reciprocal but he didn’t say anything else. The sting bit deeper the longer the silence went on.
Livia was glad when she was able to escape the car. She wanted this whole thing to be over. She felt embarrassed for having confided even the least bit in Corvin. He was only interested in being polite to her. She shouldn’t have opened herself up to him. She needed to remember that he wasn’t supportive of Bella so it was likely he’d treat her the same way. Pursuing her attraction to Corvin Tullius would be an epic mistake. She couldn’t forget that.
Corvin put the part on the counter and pulled up a video about changing the condenser motor on his computer. “This shouldn’t be too hard, Liv.”
She nodded, not speaking.
They watched the video together. Corvin took the condenser motor out of its package. “Let’s give this a whirl, huh?”
“Sure,” Livia said.
“Can I get you anything, Liv? We have some drinks in the fridge. Dr. Pepper? Coke?” Corvin asked.
“No,” she said, a touch too sharp.
Corvin hesitated a fraction, eyes searching her face. Then pulled out a coke from the fridge and opened it and took a drink. “It’s not a big deal if you want one.”
“No, thank you,” Livia said again.
His eyes narrowed the slightest bit but he screwed the cap back on his drink and slipped behind the fridge with the motor in hand.
“Corvin,” Livia said sharply. “Unplug the fridge!”
“Oh, right,” his voice muffled behind the fridge. “Thanks, Liv!”
The whirring of the fridge silenced. Livia rolled her eyes. Good thing she was here to keep him from electrocuting himself.
“I think that’s it,” he said, several moments later.
“Great,” Livia said, relieved she could be done being around him now.
The whirring of the fridge started again. “Let’s push this fridge back into place.”
“Right,” Livia agreed.
They pushed together. After a few slight adjustments, the fridge was black in place.
“Thank you, Liv,” Corvin said, sincerely. “I appreciate your help.”
She nodded and grabbed her purse and keys from the counter.
“Will I see you tomorrow?” he asked, trying to catch her gaze.
She shrugged, refusing to look at him. “Maybe. I might need to study.”
“Is everything...alright?” he asked, stepping closer.
Livia drew back one step for each one he advanced. Corvin stopped. “Liv--”
“See you, Corvin,” she said.
“Liv? What did I do?” he asked.
“Nothing,” she said.
Corvin’s eyes narrowed. “Tell me why you’re upset with me.”
Livia turned and strode toward the front door. Corvin’s hand pressed against the door as she turned the knob. Livia wanted to jerk it open and send him sprawling, heavens knew she could, but she’d spent her entire life being careful about giving into such petty feelings. It was easier to school her impulses than it was to give into them.
“Corvin,” Livia ground out. “Stop putting yourself in this situation.”
“What situation?” he asked.
Livia jerked the door open easily, but it was a slow, controlled movement, not an impulsive angry one. “The one where I have to show you that you can’t stand in my way.”
She slipped out the door without further fuss and pulled it shut behind her. She could feel him tug on it from the inside. She held it closed until he gave up. Then released the door and walked toward her car. Corvin opened the door when she was halfway to her car. He stood there, watching her.
It shouldn’t satisfy her so much to see the anger etched into his expression. “Livia,” he snapped. “If you’re angry at me for some reason just tell me, don’t play these stupid games.”
“Don’t try to trap me ever again, Corvin Tullius. I can’t promise the third time that I’ll choose to control my temper.”
“I didn’t trap--”
“Didn’t you?” Livia demanded.
He took a deep breath. “Okay, I didn’t want you to run away like you did last time. I don’t like it that I make you feel that way. Tell me what I can do to change that, Livia.”
He seemed genuinely upset and Livia felt vindicated. She’d showed emotion, he’d showed emotion. It felt equal. Satisfying. It also felt childish and ridiculous. Was she in elementary school?
“I don’t want to tell you what to do,” she said.
He looked frustrated. “You just did. Rule one: Don’t trap you.”
“I like that rule,” Livia smiled.
Corvin sighed but a corner of his mouth turned up. “What else did I do to make you angry?”
Her smiled disappeared. “I wasn’t angry.”
Corvin’s expression fell. “I hurt you.”
Livia was frustrated because she could feel her expression betraying the truth of his words. She didn’t want that. “I don’t have time for this, Corvin,” she snapped and stomped to her car.
He didn’t move. Didn’t try to stop her or call her back.
Livia opened the door, started the engine, and pulled away. She didn’t like the fact that this was the third time she’d run away from him this way. Why did she get so irrational when she was around him? So, he didn’t respond to her emotional confession the way she expected. Why did that have to be such a big deal to her? With any other person it wouldn’t even phase her. Why was Corvin this weird exception?