#reticexce

        he observes the other with muted interest , subtle and whispered , lips pressed into a thin , unyielding straight line , seconds ticking by in idle animation . . . 

       `   i’m sorry i took so long to come back.  `

The blonde’s original plans were to take her sketchbook to a cafe to wind down and sketch her surroundings, but that thought was interrupted when a customer stopped her as she was about to make her way out. The man had asked her where to find a certain book, and even though she was getting off her shift she decided she might as well help him. 

     This was very much starting to become a bad habit-- as if his outlandish style wasn’t enough, the pointed staring at strangers before returning pen to paper to copy down their likeness was likely more than a bit creepy, though he’d never been asked to stop.

“Here’s your room, the kitchen is over there, the bathroom is over here, blah blah blah…” The King strode through her rather spacious apartment, taking a moment to crash on the couch.

“I really don’t feel like beating around the bush so, all I ask is that you pay a little bit of rent, and help me keep the place kind of clean. I think those are good terms to start by, we could set other rules if you really feel like staying here. You interested?”