Chapter 27 #3
It was a smooth, fluid motion, barely perceptible to anyone else.
?
"Did you see that?" he asked. "I didn't turn my whole body around. I used my drink as a shield. If you're ever in doubt, drop a napkin, 'accidentally' knock over your salt shaker, or even pretend to be fascinated by the architecture of the ceiling. You give the environment a reason to look,
and you use that cover to see exactly what you need to see."
?
He sat back, crossing his arms with a smug, knowing grin. "That, my dear Elowyn, is the art of the glance. It's all about camouflage. Now, let's try this again. We need to finish this lesson before Seraphina gets here. I don't want her interrupting us once we've finally reached a breakthrough."
The lesson continued for another forty- five minutes before William was finally happy with the results. "Look at you," he smiled. "You've finally got it down."
"Can I go get my apple juice now?" Elowyn asked.
"Quickly. We only have like fifteen minutes left."
Elowyn rushed to the kitchen, ready for her sacred apple juice, only to not be able to find her glass.
"It was right here," she murmured in a panic, going through all the cabinets.
"Ellie," William called after a few minutes.
"I'm coming," she responded, quickly grabbing a juice box from the refrigerator, scanning the countertops one last time before she headed back to the living room.
The sight that greeted her when she returned was so unexpected that she nearly choked on her drink.
William stood in the center of the living room wearing his own sunglasses- the only part of his outfit that looked even remotely normal.
Everything else was a disaster. He had somehow forced his feet into her tiny kitten heels, with half of each foot hanging off the back, and to top it all off, he was wearing Seraphina's coat.
"What are you doing?" Elowyn furrowed her brows.
"If I'm teaching you how to be discreet, that includes how to do so with Seraphina," he answered, smoothing out the collar of the coat with a completely serious expression.
"And don't worry, I'm not having you test anything on her. We're simply learning the art of subtlety," he continued.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Trust me. I'm sorry for making you go about all this like an experiment. That wasn't my intention. This is all new to me seeing you try to understand your feelings towards someone, and I've been careless about telling you to test all these things,
especially knowing how literal you take things. I was just trying to help, but now I see that I was rushing you into figuring things out..."
Elowyn stayed quiet, trying hard not to laugh at how ridiculous the man looked, pouring out his apologies while dressed the way he was.
"...you always eventually figure things out, no matter how long it takes, but I got too excited and pushed what I thought was best for you at the moment. I'm sorry. No more tests and experiments. You do you, and I know you'll be okay."
"What happens if I need help?" Elowyn tilted her head.
"I'm still here. I'll help, but only if you ask for it. Except right now. And again, this is not something to test on Seraphina, this is only to show you what I had meant when I told you to touch her," William walked to Elowyn.
"Right now, you pretend to be Seraphina and I'll show you how it was supposed to go down," William shrugged the coat off and was about to hand it to Elowyn, when he heard a crunchy noise coming from one of the pockets.
"What's in here?" He tried to grab whatever it was, only to have his hand smacked away.
"No."
"What do you mean no? Are you not curious what that noise is?"
"Yes, I am. But those are her personal items, and you can't just be going through other people's belongings without permission," Elowyn said firmly.
"Wow," Will marveled. "I truly salute your integrity. But unfortunately, I'm a nosey bitch," he cackled, reaching for the pocket once more.
Elowyn quickly grabbed the coat out of his hands before he could pull out whatever was inside. "I'm not going to practice with you if you're going to be disrespectful of someone's property!"
"Okay, okay," William raised his hands in surrender, "I'll just ask her when she gets here... if she doesn't kill me instantly," he shivered, just now remembering he might be in his final moments of life.
"Put it on. As my last wish, we will complete this lesson."
Elowyn obeyed, slipping her arms into the soft material, then walked to the kitchen only to return dragging a chair behind her.
"What's that for?"
"You said to act like Seraphina, and lucky for her, she has long ass legs," Elowyn huffed, climbing onto the chair.
"You look so cute," William laughed, grabbing the excess sleeves that fell over the girl's hands.
"Stop it," Elowyn scolded.
"Fine. So you're Seraphina, I'll be you," William started cat walking back and forth with his hands on his hips. "What I had intended for you to do when I mentioned touching her, was not to literally ask her the question just like that. You need to create an excuse. Let me demonstrate..."
"I love your nail color!" William suddenly gushed.
Elowyn looked down at her bare nails that William hadn't completed yet. "Am I still Elowyn right now or am I Seraphina?"
"Cut," William said.
"You're Seraphina, babe, pretend you have nail polish on." William whispered in a rush. "And action," he clapped his hands.
"Oh, thank you very much Mr. Bennett," Elowyn spoke in an exaggerated tone.
"Cut."
"Just wanted to say, the 'Mr. Bennett' was a really nice touch. Very well done," William whispered again.
"Thanks," Elowyn giggled quietly.
"Action!"
"What color is this?" William continued, holding out his hand.
Which was immediately slapped away by Elowyn.
"Ouch... cut!" William gasped. "What was that for?"
"You told me I'm Seraphina. And the real Seraphina would have slapped your hand away."
"Oh, you're good," William smirked. "Let's just make this a fantasy version of Seraphina. One where she wouldn't mind physical contact with me."
"Okay."
"I'll repeat my line, we'll start from there."
"Okay."
"Action!"
"What color is this?" William held out his hand once more.
"It happens to be cherry red, Mr. Bennett," Elowyn placed her hand in his, letting him inspect it.
"And scene!" William exclaimed. "Do you see what I did there? I created a moment that allowed me to touch her, without actually saying it. Do you understand?"
"Yeah, but I don't think I can come up with something that quickly."
"That's okay, it'll just take some practice," William gestured for Elowyn to take off the coat. "Now it's my turn to play Seraphina."
"I'm going to put this chair back," Elowyn told Will, who was already slipping back into the coat like it was his own.
"I can take it, Ellie."
"No, I got it," she said, already dragging the chair back to its place in the kitchen, leaving William standing alone.
Then the doorbell rang.
"Can you get that?" Elowyn called out.
"Sure," William strutted to the front door, completely forgetting who might be standing on the other side.
"May I help you?" William asked, his tone nonchalant as he tried to maintain his facade of calm while standing face-to-face with Seraphina.
With a slow, judgmental look, Seraphina eyed the man from head to toe, stopping at the small heels that clearly weren't his.
"Is that my coat?" She scowled.
"I don't know what you're talking about," William adjusted the sunglasses on his face, still playing dumb.
"Take it off," Seraphina spat.
"Yes ma'am," he immediately obeyed after hearing her tone, moving as quickly as he could.
"I just- quit staring at me!" William complained while struggling to get the coat off under the woman's scrutiny.
"Then hurry up," Seraphina fired back.
"If you're going to do it, just do it now! I don't want to be playing these mind games, it's giving me anxiety."
"Do what exactly, Mr. Bennett?" Seraphina rolled her eyes.
"You know what I'm talking about," he pointed at her. "And you're a sick, sadistic woman if you enjoy watching me panic in my last moments!"
Seraphina raised a brow in judgment. "You need to get checked. Something is seriously wrong with you mentally."
"You think I don't know that?!" William scoffed. "Let's just go outside. I don't want my poor lifeless body to be thrown on Elowyn's floors when she just cleaned."
"I don't have time for this you idiot. Just get out of my way."
"So you're not going to kill me?" William looked up in shock.
"No. I wouldn't want my clothes getting dirty." And with that, Seraphina shoved William to the side and proceeded to walk into the house.
"You do care for me," William chuckled in disbelief. "I knew it."
"Not even close, I only tolerate you because I have to. Now take off my coat."
"I can't do this with you glaring at me. I'm going to the bedroom to try and get this thing off."
Seraphina watched him scramble away, her eyes narrowing as she took in the sight of him desperately trying to hop out of the kitten heels while simultaneously wrestling with the sleeves of her coat.
He looked like a panicked, overgrown bird, stumbling into the bedroom with a flurry of embarrassed noises.
She exhaled a sharp breath and walked further into the house in search of Elowyn.
The sound of clattering drew her toward the kitchen, making her cross the threshold, her heels clicking against the floor.
She stopped instantly. Elowyn was standing on top of the small refrigerator, perched precariously on the surface with her back to the doorway, her frame stretched out as she reached toward the highest, deepest corner of the cabinet with total single-minded intensity.
The sight of her hit Seraphina making the sharp, annoyed edge in her expression vanish immediately, replaced by a sudden protective stillness as she stood there trying to think of a way to announce her presence without startling the girl.
She decided to clear her throat. No reaction. She tried once more and Elowyn still didn't turn around.