Phillip Wolfe | Phobos (inclinedfear) wrote in paxletalelogs, @ 2011-07-22 18:07:00 |
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Entry tags: | eris, phobos |
Find Myself Drawn to You
Who: Rylee & Charlie
What: Charlie visits Rylee at his job
Where: Los Angeles Museum of Natural History
When: backdated to 7/21/11, late afternoon
Warnings: None
Rylee was exactly where he wanted to be. He had a family to give a tour to, a special request from the head of the museum because of his vast knowledge of the Civil War, and that was one of Rylee’s greatest joys. He moved through the rooms of the museum with general ease, having grown used to the uncomfortable dress shoes and not particularly minding the slacks and light blue dress shirt he had chosen to wear that morning, he led the family deeper into their small American history section. Turning to them he smiled, tucking his hands behind his back and slipping into standing at ease.
“So, the Battle of Gettysburg,” Rylee began with a grin. Already his blue eyes were starting to have the general spark they developed when he was talking about Gettysburg. They seemed to catch fire with his excitement whenever this topic was at hand and they caught that light now as the family stared at him, thinking they were eager for details of the Civil War but not knowing what information Rylee was about to throw at them. “You have to understand how great this battle was. Yes, over 23,000 men were killed which does not surpass the death toll of the wars we’ve seen within the past hundred years. But in comparison to the number of American citizens this still developing country had it would be an equivalent of six million people dead by today’s standards.”
The parents frowned but the children listened eagerly, still unable to comprehend how many people that would be, and Rylee barreled on. “Men died on the battlefield of course, but there were also a number of men who died due to infections caused by wounds. Now, a new bullet had been released for this battle. The minie ball had a hollow base which stabilized it for accuracy. But the moment it came in contact with a person, their arm or leg, it would flatten and shatter. This would create a much larger wound, ripping into the persons body and leaving a large hole. But that wasn’t all, the bits of bullet would carry gangrene through the blood stream and eventually infect the limb. This, of course, would lead to the loss of the limb.”
Rylee lost his position of being at ease, the talk of battle exciting him and his hands becoming animate as he spoke. The parents of the family made an uneasy glance at one another and the children’s smiles seemed to fade slightly but it was all ignored by Rylee. He was on a roll and couldn’t be stopped.
“Anesthesia wasn’t available at this point, especially not at battlefield hospitals which were either a tent that was set up under a tree or someone’s home or barn that had been taken by the rebels or union. The doctors worked overtime, much more than any doctor by today’s standards. They would refuse sleep because there were simply too many wounded men coming in and not enough help to take care of them. If they didn’t move quickly enough the gangrene could spread and kill the soldier. At least with the removal of the infected limb the soldier stood a small chance of surviving. But, you wouldn’t think so by today’s worries of infection and the carrying of diseases. These men had an assortment of tools, saws and the likes, and a nice bottle of liquor to help ease the pain of the soldier.
“Their nurses consisted of a few men who would hold the soldier down while the doctor would begin to saw off the infected limb. This could take anywhere from a half hour to an hour, the bone always being the hardest part to cut through. Once the body part was taken off it would be tossed out of the window or tent opening. At some locations there were so many bodiless limbs that the pile reached the first floor window. And the most disturbing fact about these sudden surgeries was that they never cleaned the tools. Covered in blood and pieces of the prior solider the doctor would move on to the next patient and continue with his work-”
“Why don’t I take over from here, Mr. Ekholm,” a voice cut in to Rylee’s rambling. He blinked, realizing that he wasn’t the only one there and remembering he had been talking to a family. The parents looked angry, the two children pressed against their parents legs with one looking near tears. “Though our Mr. Ekholm does know a lot about the Civil War, he sometimes gets a little carried away.”
Rylee looked at the museum director as he gently came between the family and himself. Letting out a short breath Rylee tipped his neck from side to side, letting the bones crack to release the tension that had been building while he held back his excitement. This hadn’t been the first time he lost a tour due to his getting ‘carried away’. Charlie lingered in the doorway of the room Rylee was currently giving the tour in - despite the brief evening event of nearly a week past, she hadn’t let it stop her from coming out and seeing him at his job. He’d invited her, after all. And she wanted to apologize - again - for that other night. Rylee had spent three years trying to coax her back, and she had to admit to herself that she wasn’t ready to let go that easily despite all of the friction they’d been feeling.
Her bike helmet dangled from one hand, messenger bag thrown over a shoulder, leather jacket and motorcycle boots made her stand out just a touch from the other, better-dressed membership owners and jean-clad tourists that populated the museum’s vast rooms. Overall she was a little awed by the establishment, respectful of the history contained within the walls. Mostly, though, she was still a little struck by Rylee’s current performance explaining, in gory detail no less, all about the details of war their country had gone through. He’d always been a deep lover of history, and it showed in the way his eyes lit up, the way his confidence spiked, and part of her could not deny that she enjoyed watching him as he carried on, getting excited about his subject. A hand moved up to tuck away a strand of hair behind her ear, despite the whole of it being tied up in a neat ponytail.
She lingered for a moment longer, waiting for a chance to slip in. The museum director interrupted Rylee’s torrent of description, potentially freeing the family from more disgusting minutiae. Licking her lips, the brunette took a few steps forward, trying to stay under the radar until she reached him. “You always were one for theatrics, Rylee.”
Blinking, Charlie came into Rylee’s view and he made a small smile of surprise, his mind still not completely with the present and still dancing with imagery of historic context. “I didn’t expect to see you here today,” Rylee’s voice was deeper than usual, the excitement from his favorite topic still obviously affecting him.
He shoved his hands into his dress pants pockets, his broad shoulders hunching slightly under the blue shirt as he looked down at his friend. He felt slightly awkward for a moment, thinking of their last encounter. They seemed to be having a lot of ‘last encounters’ that left them awkward but still, Charlie was there, that had to say something. “I guess you came at just the right time since I’m still scheduled for a tour for the next hour and I lost my tour group.”
“Well, maybe if you weren’t aimin’ to freak ‘em out, they’d stick around,” she teased in return, falling into familiar patterns. The museum director was already moving on with Rylee’s tour group in tow, so Charlie assumed she had the anxious blond to herself.
Her eyes might have lingered on his shoulders, trapped in the dress shirt, for a moment too long, but easily enough they were back on his face, where they belonged. Mouth frowned, then evened out, her face adopting a blank look that was closer to cheerful apathy. “You always get like that, or is it just special occasions?”
A slow blush was beginning to form on Rylee’s cheeks as he looked down at his feet. “I’ve been told it happens every time I get to talk about the Civil War. Specifically Gettysburg, of course. The museum director doesn’t know if it’s a blessin’ or a curse. I don’t know either. It just lost me a tour group.” He frowned at this, not particularly thrilled he had lost the tour group and still feeling ready to go for more fun. He did consider that type of talk fun after all and he felt disappointed, like a child, that it had been taken away from him.
Her face melted into sympathetic amusement - maybe her heart clenched a little, but she either missed it or ignored the sensation. A quick idea came to mind, and she jumped on it: walking over to an exhibit, she pointed at the artifacts inside. “So what’s that?”
Rylee looked towards the exhibit Charlie was motioning to and followed her over slowly, straightening his stance and taking his hands out of his pocket. “That’s a minie ball. I was talking about them with that tour, dunno if you heard. And that’s the Minie rifle that shot that type of bullet. Pretty dangerous even though it’s so small. Kind of like you,” Rylee teased lightly and made a small smile, the spark returning to his eyes. Charlie laughed, just a small one, and stepped close enough to him to deliver a swift punch to his arm. Slowly the room around them was emptying, but she took no notice.
Instead she continued to move through the exhibit, pointing to this and that, asking him different questions, all of which were answered by Rylee quickly as his excitement slowly began to return. Finally she came up to a door marked EMPLOYEES ONLY.
“And what’s in there?” She queried, turning to face him but point at the door.
“Oh, nothing much. Just some storage, random artifacts and displays, stuff like that,” Rylee replied as he looked over Charlie’s head at the door. The awkward disappointment he had felt from before had been forgotten and now he came up beside Charlie and smiled. She had a way of either driving him nuts or making him relax. Watching his face for a moment, a smirk darted across her lips and she slowly approached the forbidden passage.
“You know,” she started, her voice light and teasing, “you promise me a private tour.” Shifting her helmet from one hand to the next, she felt the cool metal of the round doorknob meet her palm. Maybe there was an alarm, but she doubted it - no keypad on this side, and it was unlikely that a storage facility had outside access. More like it would connect to some kind of shipping area - with her back to the door, she kept her eyes trained on Rylee’s face as she made to turn the knob without his permission.
“Hey,” Rylee said with a sudden edge of panic. He moved quickly across the polished museum floor and reached for the door knob, his large hand covering Charlie’s, creating an instant grin on his face as he stopped her from turning the knob any more. He kept his hand on hers for a brief moment, enjoying the feel, but then slowly moved his hand away while trying to keep his face remaining cheerful. “I did promise you a private tour but before you go opening doors you should ask me if there is a key to be used.” He reached into a pocket and pulled out a small ring of keys, moving them aside to pick one key in particular. “They don’t leave the doors unlocked because of people like you.”
“Trust issues much?” The close proximity fired off warning sirens in her head, but she stood her ground until he moved away. Under the attempted veneer of calm, she could see the edges of panic working their way in. “So are you gonna open it, or am I gonna have to twist your arm to get the key?”
The very smallest start of a worry line began to appear on Rylee’s brow but he still moved forward, forever being lead by Charlie’s bravery, and he slipped the key into the door. Twisting it he heard the lock click back and he brushed against Charlie as he turned the knob to open it up. “Don’t be too disappointed, alright?” He stepped back, allowing Charlie to step in first and looking like he wasn’t so sure if he was going to follow her. He was excited and still running on the energy of Civil War discussions, but this was rule breaking and it always made Rylee anxious.
She went to step into the room without hesitation, but suddenly thought better of it. With one foot inside of the doorjamb, she leaned back and caught the sleeve of Rylee’s wrist with her fingers. “I’ve been through this with you before - you ain’t gonna let me take the fall on my own, hm?”
With a vigorous tug, she led him forward into the room. It was a little disappointing - dimly lit because no one was expected back here regularly, it was generally shelves upon shelves of miscellaneous items awaiting cleaning, restoration, or to be moved elsewhere within the museum itself or the country. But Charlie didn’t let any of her expectations linger on her face, instead content to keep her grip on his sleeve and start moving curiously through all of it. She stopped before one shelf, her free hand going to balance on her hip.
“So. Start tourin’, mister.”
A small smile had spread out on Rylee’s face when Charlie had taken his shirt sleeve, it was the closest thing to hand holding he had ever gotten from Charlie other than when they’d help one another through their dark woods at home or stumbled about drunk while visiting one another when they were both in the Marines. He thought of Samuel’s comment that she hadn’t beaten him yet, she must be okay with this, and the smile grew slightly.
He realized he had been staring at her when she demanded a tour and quickly he looked around, bringing a hand to his hair to scratch nervously like he always did, but stopping when he remembered it was actually neat for once. He didn’t want a high and tight because it reminded him of the Corps but at work he couldn’t just allow his cowlicks and curls to go wild. He went through great pains to make his hair suitable for work and he wasn’t about to mess it up.
“Well, you’re lookin’ at the archive section. You know, Charlie, I could be in a lot of shit if they found out I had you back here. If anyone walks in, I swear, I’m gonna throw you in a box or something.” Rylee looked at Charlie with large blue eyes, he wanted to hold her hand, give it a squeeze to show her just how serious he was about this.
“Ain’t no one ever gonna know we were here. Quick and quiet, like scouts, yeah?” She tried coaxing him as she’d done when they were children - playing into his interests, even though they were far too old for make-believe. The grip on his sleeve moved to his wrist, her thin fingers encircling it easily, and she gave another tug. “So come on.”
Taking a few steps forward, she pointed at one shelf. “What’s that?”
Rylee softened slightly as Charlie held onto his wrist and he followed her along without further complaint, still he looked slightly worried and continued to glance back at the entrance. “Uh... that’s the old displays. They’re a bunch of fake props to look like they were artifacts. I think it’s from a display from when we did pirates or something.” He twisted his arm around so that he could hold onto Charlie’s wrist as well while he tugged her forward to the collection of display materials. The closest he had come to holding her hand, even if it was awkward for both of their arms. “See? Fake coins and a treasure chest. All sorts of stuff like that. You sure this is the type of private tour you were lookin’ for?” He looked at his friend, the slight turn in his body making his dress shoes squeak on the floor.
The awkward position of their hands made her release his wrist, instead snatching at his fingers. Any idea that it was almost exactly like when he’d attempted to take her hand at the Subway restaurant was outside of her mind - her fingers lacing in his was not an intimate gesture, even if the feel of his warm palm against hers was pleasant, just her way of making sure he wasn’t going to turn tail and run. Looking at him, the side of her mouth quirked in a half smile.
“Rye, this is fine. Jus’ you ‘n me, like it used to be.” Though her tone was light, there might have been a weight behind her words. But rather than give him a moment to think about it, she dragged him further into the space, pointing at other objects. “How about this? Gotta make sure yer up to spec, an’ all.”
He gripped her hand, thinking briefly that they fit well together, and a smile lingered on his lips that he was sure would not go away for quite some time. He allowed Charlie to lead him over to the other objects and leaned over a glass cover. “Confederate jacket. Look at the top, by the collar, see there is a name sewn in? It’s real light. They didn’t have dog tags back then so the men would sew their names into their clothes just in case they were killed.” Absentmindedly Rylee reached under his own collar, pulling loose the dog tags that he still wore. They had been constantly around his neck for years and he found it hard to not wear them. When they weren’t around his neck he found himself reaching for the chain, feeling as if he had misplaced something. Charlie’s eyes were caught by the movement of his hand, and then the appearance of his dogtags. “Not quite as detailed as what we’ve had. Just a name. And there were a lot of John Smith’s back then. Easy to get men confused other than the distinction between different squads.”
He pulled his gaze away from the jacket and smiled brightly at Charlie. “Am I doing good?”
Instead of answering him, her hand went out to grab the dogtags dangling from around his neck. She never wore hers, instead opting to keep them in a shoebox full of other military paraphernalia she’d brought back from her days abroad. The chain was always tight around her neck, more like a collar that choked her instead of something to show pride. Her thumb ran over the engravings in the metal, eyes moving up to lock with his. “Yeah, not bad.” The moment lingered, and suddenly she realized that she was standing a little too close, holding his hand, staring up at him. A quick motion dropped the dogtags, her hand freed itself, and she stepped away, clearing her throat.
“And what’s over here?” She pointed to something else, moving things along as though nothing had happened.
Rylee let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and quickly tucked his dog tags back under his shirt. He reached for her hand though, she had started this, and gripped it tightly. She would have to make this really awkward if she were to try and pull away. He led her closer to what she was pointing at and peeked into a box. “All of these are sippy cups for the kids drinks.” Charlie bit back a laugh. He considered for a moment; with a quirk to the side of his mouth, Rylee turned to Charlie. “I know where I could take you... but only if you’re willing.” He couldn’t help but smirk, proud of his own rebellious idea.
Charlie suppressed her desire to pull away from his hand. For one thing, it wasn’t like when they were in Subway, surrounded by a crowd of people. She couldn’t just let go and walk off into the crowd - she’d have to explain herself. But letting it happen said so much in itself, and she didn’t want to give Rylee the wrong idea. On top of all of that was the thought that she just didn’t care, that his hand was warm and nice and holding it gave her the feeling of butterflies in her stomach.
And then she was distracted by the words he dangled at her in temptation, her eyes locking with his. “You ever know me to turn down doin’ somethin’ I shouldn’t? What is it?”
With a grin Rylee pulled Charlie’s hand and began to lead her further into the room. Letting go of her hand, if only for a moment, he dug into his pocket and pulled out the ring of keys again. They stood in front of a pale door that seemed incredibly uninteresting. Slipping the key into the door he unlocked it then placed the keys back into his pocket. He reached for Charlie’s hand again, this time making sure she wasn’t about to be lost, and pressed a finger to his lips for her to remain quiet before he opened the door.
They entered a dark walk way and Rylee lead Charlie in slowly until he reached a switch and flicked it. The walls came to life in a sparkle of color as the light hit geodes that had been carefully placed into a fake rock wall. Rylee bent down and brought his lips close to Charlie’s ear, enjoying the close proximity but feeling it was totally justified since they had to be quiet. “This is a new exhibit,” Rylee whispered to her. “On the other side of the wall is more to this but it’s only blocked off by a curtain. We have to be quiet.”
Her corneas widened at the sudden brilliance, taking in the sight of dozens of colors reflecting from the semi-harsh light radiating through the room. Even Rylee’s sudden closeness was unnoticed, for the moment, as her breath caught in her throat, her person awe-struck by the sight. The urge for stealth excited her, putting a huge smile on her face. Her head turned minimally, enough for her gaze to connect with Rylee’s, before she looked away and took a few steps toward the wall.
Charlie’s mouth opened, then shut - less of a gasping fish, and more of a lack of words to express herself. “Wow,” she finally uttered, quietly, tugging her friend belong just behind her. “What is it?” Turning on her heel, she angled her shoulder in Rylee’s direction, so she could hear and look at him if she wanted to, but for now keep her eyes climbing the wall that looked like it was littered with stars.
“Just a display of geode’s,” he replied quietly, stooping still to speak close to Charlie’s ear. “I think the display is going to include details about coal and gold mining. Stuff about the layers of the earth. You know I was never good with this stuff in school.”
He took a few steps further in, nearing one of the cloths that hung around the display. “Just imagine how much everything will sparkle when they have the proper light fixtures put together,” he whispered with a small level of awe himself. He smiled at Charlie, noticing how amazed she seemed by the sight and realized he had done well. But a noise from the direction they had entered made Rylee glance away and freeze like a deer in headlights. She took no heed to the noise that distracted Rylee, instead too enchanted by the sight he’d brought her to see.
“Yeah, well, yah were always better at school than me, so askin’ is all I got,” she replied, her whisper maybe a hair too loud to be kept from any prying ears.
“Shh, shh,” Rylee hushed Charlie, a cautious hand moving to rest upon her shoulder. “Did you hear that? It sounded like someone was by the door or outside of the tarps. Shit. I shouldn’t have brought you in here.” Her eyes widened in curiosity rather than fear, a smile moving over her lips as she glanced in the direction Rylee was staring in.
“Calm down,” she started, giving his hand a squeeze, eyes flicking back to his face. The smile grew wider, more mischievous. “Where can we hide?”
Rylee’s anxiety was quickly beginning to appear and grow. He squeezed Charlie’s hand without knowing and looked around the area they were standing. “Uh, I don’t know, I’m too fucking big for hiding,” he grumbled quietly. “Behind the curtain? Or what about that fake rock?” He wasn’t even waiting for Charlie’s reply and instead was tugging her along towards the fake bolder. There was the clear sound of the door being opened from behind them.
For a moment she was being pulled off of her feet, but then Charlie got her balance back and followed him behind the boulder. Crouching down, she had no problem finding a position from where she could stay unseen and yet watch for anyone coming through the tarp. Her interest, though, lay with what they were hiding behind and a hand patted the material. “What’s this made out of? It feels kinda...plastic-y.” Never having been one to necessarily be afraid of danger, she just couldn’t keep her mouth shut at this particularly hazardous moment.
Rylee was grunting, trying to scrunch down behind the stupid boulder in his dress pants was not proving to be easy, and Charlie was chattering on beside him. He closed his eyes briefly, feeling a headache forming, then reached an arm out to grab Charlie and pull her to him. He wasn’t making a move and wasn’t even thinking of ulterior motives. He simply wanted Charlie to be quiet as he heard the door close from behind them. He had her close, pressing a hand to cover her mouth. “Oh my God, Charlie, please be quiet just until the person leaves,” Rylee whispered into her ear as his forehead broke out into a slight sweat as his anxiety took full control. He would be caught. He would be fired. That surely was what was going to happen.
She was fairly stunned to suddenly be held hostage with a hand clapped over her mouth, and her first thought was to bite down. Plenty of times before her teeth had served her in getting people to let go - of course, those times had mainly been in middle school, and more recent days made sure that she kept people well away before circumstances like this could occur. But it wasn’t just some random bully, it was Rylee, and he had a damned good reason to shut her up. So she sat there, an incredibly annoyed look on her face, waiting for Rylee to relax enough to let her go.
With one hand, though, she threaded her fingers through his, trying to get him to calm down, because even if they didn’t get caught he seemed like he was going to go into cardiac arrest simply at the thought of apprehension. Rylee had been focused on the wall in front of them but briefly closed as Charlie took his free hand. After a moment he looked at her, seeming to relax slightly against the boulder, and slowly he took his hand away from Charlie’s mouth. He kept his arm around her thin body, not daring to move it now and banging it against something. He held Charlie’s hand tighter as he closed his eyes and listened to voices over by the entrance way, silently urging them to leave.
Tilting her head back, looking at Rylee upside down, she waited until she had his attention and then forced her vision cross-eyed for his amusement, trying to take his attention off the obvious noises of someone searching the room for whoever had entered. The lights hadn’t turned themselves on, after all, but Charlie felt confident that they’d be fine. Her primary worry was getting Rylee to chill, because they’d done this a million times before as kids - sure, maybe more was on the line now that they were adults with bills to pay and jobs to maintain, but he often took anxiety to a whole new level.
Rylee made the smallest of smiles at Charlie’s facial expressions. He let out a sigh and let his head tip towards hers, his forehead resting upon the top of Charlie’s head as the voices drew closer. He was frozen in that position and wasn’t intending on moving until the voices went away. This was about as curled up as he could get and it better be enough. The voices were of two men, Rylee recognized one as one of the museum managers, the other didn’t sound as familiar.
They were discussing hearing noises, the light being on, the chances of someone being back there. They paused and Rylee held his breath and then the men seemed satisfied and their footsteps drifted away. Rylee sighed and pulled his head away from Charlie, letting it drop back against the boulder and loosening his arm around Charlie’s body but still holding on to her hand.
She scooted away from him enough to lift herself up on tip toes, peering out from behind the boulder to watch the white door close. Satisfied that they were alone, Charlie crouched back down and grinned widely, exhilarated at their escape. “See, was that so bad?”
Rylee let out a short laugh and wiped at his brow. “You know, my life is so much less dangerous when you aren’t around. I’m so well behaved.” He looked at Charlie and smiled at her, thankful that she had helped him get through that particular episode of an anxiety attack, then got to his feet and stood at his full height; she followed suit, falling a step back for some much needed space. “But without me, yer life would be so boring,” she shot back, feeling like this was a conversation they’d had dozens of times before.
“I guess we should stay back here a little longer, make sure that they’re really gone before we leave.” He straightened his dress shirt, dusting off the behind of his dress pants and let out another sigh of relief. Lacing her hands together, she lifted them over her head in a stretching motion, and turned her attention back to the wall. Her arms fell into a comfortable cross over her chest. “When does this exhibit open?” She turned, looking to Rylee for answers.
He swung his hands back and forth and looked around for a moment. “I think they’re hoping to have this open by Columbus Day weekend. Why, you wanna come see it when it’s finished?” Rylee looked at Charlie and grinned. He wanted to rush at her, lift her up in his arms, and hold her close. But he knew that would be pushing his luck. Still, the feel of her body next to his only moments ago felt so normal and completely right.
Charlie gave a noncommittal shrug, though her smile gave away her answer. “If I have time, yah know how busy I can be, so many places to run aroun’ to ‘n all that.” Once again her eyes lingered on his face, the curve of her mouth soft as she tried to keep her mind from thinking about his arms. Nice arms. Turning her face back to the wall, she used the moment to hide her expression and pull her thoughts together. Then her arms dropped to her sides, her cell phone ringing in her pocket noisily. Rylee flinched and looked around quickly, hoping no one heard the obnoxiously loud ring. She pulled it out and flipped it open; the entire conversation was one sided, Charlie giving a grunt here or there in reply and still managing to sound irritated.
Snapping the phone shut, it slid home and Charlie turned back to Rylee. “I, ah, I gotta go. Someone flaked on their shift, gotta cover for the shithead.” Glancing at the door and then back to him, she looked like she (for once) didn’t want to go. “Kinda...on a short leash at this point. Normally I’d tell ‘em to fuck off, but, ah, not...a good idea.” It was the closest thing she’d come to an admission that her job was not going well, but she felt like some sort of explanation was in order, now that she’d almost gotten him in trouble and needed to leave. “Is that the way back out?”
Rylee frowned, he was enjoying himself despite the close call and he wasn’t happy that she had to leave. Then he remembered that he had a job to do as well and let out a small sigh. “Come on, we are just as likely to get caught going the way we came as we are this other way I know of. I’ll get you to the door closest to the parking area. Sucks that you have to go back to work, this has been a lot of fun.”
He reached for her hand, not asking or thinking twice; he simply reached out and took hers in his. Charlie made no move to take it back, the excitement of the occasion overriding any previous worries. He slipped his fingers between hers and held it gently, giving an encouraging smile to Charlie before he lead her along to the light switch, flicking it off before they fumbled in the dark to the doorway. Once out of the room Rylee paused, listening to see if anyone else was in the backrooms, then tugged Charlie’s hand to lead her further down the corridor and away from the direction they had come. She followed closely, another secret mission that encased them in a sphere separate from the real world. A moment into walking down the hall made her realize she was holding her breath, and she let it out in a quiet whoosh of air.
“Damn, this place is like a labyrinth,” she muttered, loud enough to be speaking to Rylee and not herself.
“This room kind of loops around the entire museum. That’s why there are only skylights in the museum, everything is in the middle,” Rylee said quietly as he walked along, the only other sound being of Charlie’s riding boots and his dress shoes slipping along the less than clean floor. He felt an edge of anxiety waiting to make its move and triple in force but Charlie’s hand in his kept the anxiety at bay. “There’s other rooms that branch off to places like we were in. Part of the Egyptian exhibit, the Native American exhibit, the prehistoric one, I would show you if we had the time...”
He glanced over his shoulder and caught Charlie’s eye, making a frown; he really was disappointed this was coming to an end.
“S’not like this is the one time I can make it out to the museum, Rye,” she taunted, keeping up with his pace easily. Despite their height differences, she’d never had a problem matching his long-legged stride; more often than not, she often went faster than he did, and in more ways than just walking. She did wish she could stay, but she also knew there’d be more time for museum exploration. Charlie was of the opinion that not everything needed to be taken in gluttonously - instead, it was better to enjoy each moment as it came, since you never knew when you’d run out. And it always ran out, in the end.
Rylee slowed his pace, trying to buy time, not wanting to say goodbye to Charlie and let her hand go. He felt a certain level of dread, that this was a one time thing and he wouldn’t get a chance to experience this again. Not her visiting the museum but being so close to her. Touching her and having her not pull away. He stopped before another plain door, preparing to go out and make sure Charlie could slip away without being noticed, but first he turned back to his friend. His eyes were bright and hopeful as he squeezed her hand. “Is that a promise?”
There was obviously more behind his words besides looking for a guarantee that she’d visit his workplace again - but she swept it under the rug, choosing what she wanted to believe. “O’course it is, you big goon. Now are yah gonna hold me hostage here or am I allowed tah go?” She grinned, playfully pulling at his hand.
Rylee easily pictured what the next step should be. Pulling her hand back, bringing her close, kissing her hard before allowing her to leave. The visual was so perfect that Rylee began to pull her hand towards him but caught himself before she had to move forward. He felt his cheeks quickly grow hot and he smiled nervously. “I should keep you hostage. I wonder what the heads of the museum would think.” He swung her hand back and forth with a continued smile. “Well, let me check to see if anyone is outside. I’ll be back.”
He parted with her hand, frowning briefly as he did, then his tall form slipped through the doorway; a sliver of daylight surprised Charlie. After a moments pause the door opened again and he peeked around it. “Come on, quickly, before anyone walks in.” Charlie darted through the doorway, light barraging her eyes and making her blink for a few moments. A hand rose to shield her face, and she grinned at Rylee, scrunching her nose in an expression of amusement. She did, however, keep a careful distance from him, the magnetic pull that she’d felt from his body only moments before all too vivid in her mind’s eye.
“So if I come back, yah gotta promise that next time will be as excitin’ as this,” she teased, putting the hand down and swapping her bike helmet for the keys in her pocket that she dug out with her right hand.
“I won’t make any promises but I’ll definitely try,” Rylee replied shyly, as if the daylight had suddenly brought him to his senses and snatched away his earlier bravery. He slipped his hands into his dress pants, hunching his back slightly as he usually did when he felt unconfident, but all it did was stretch the dress shirt material over his already broad shoulders and made him look awkward. “It was really nice for you to pop in, Lee. I appreciate it. Definitely made up for losing my tour group earlier.” He rolled his eyes and sighed before smiling sweetly at Charlie.
The keys jingled in her hand, and she returned Rylee’s smile with a tempered one of her own. Shifting from foot to foot, she glanced out at the wide array of vehicles, some stamped with the museum’s logo, the rest belonging to employees and patrons.
“Well, I should go.” The fact that she uttered the same phrase from a few nights before struck her for a moment; but the connotations were different, and she didn’t want to leave. The only problem was that she needed her job. Finally she found the strength to lift her hand and give Rylee a passing wave, turning her movement in the direction where she’d last seen her motorcycle.
“I’ll see you later,” she called out over her shoulder.
“Bye, Lee,” Rylee called after her, watching her walk towards the parking lot. He jangled his own keys in his hand, wishing he could leave with her for a moment, but without Charlie’s presence his anxiety returned like it usually did. He had to get back to work, he had been gone for so long, and with one final glance at his friend he slipped through the door into the back rooms of the museum.