The clear, sunshiney day has brought quite a few people out of their homes. The fresh air has appealed to Mischa in particular, who is at the shopping mall. The tall librarian is currently making his way over towards the food court without any other set path. He doesn't have any bags in his hands, suggesting that he's only freshly arrived — or that nothing has taken his fancy this particular day.
Clear and sunshiney it is, and Hailee is out shopping on someone else's bill. Things couldn't be more rosy for the once-model. She's got several bags — shoes, jewelry, scents. The only thing missing is a dress. There is one on hold at Magnolia Boutique, but it doesn't hurt to have a look-see to see what else she can find.
What she finds is something interesting. Adorably cute, easy to embarrass librarian.
Surprisingly, she seems quite lucid. Not at all high or on anything (although she has had a teensy bit of V to tide her over). "Heyo! Librarian!" Wandering over to him, she stops, smiling. "Fancy meeting you here again."
For a moment Mischa seems shellshocked before he smiles at Hailee. "Hailee! It's nice to see you again. You look very well…" He eyes the woman's bags. "And very encumbered. Can I take some of that for you and escort you to the next shop you're looking at?" He watches Hailee carefully before smiling at her. "I'm really sorry about… Valentine's Day and all. But you'll never know what having you show up at all did for my self-esteem. I hope the rest of the night was alright?"
"Don't sweat it, cute-stuff. I managed just fine." Winking at him, she offers him two of the bags, and keeps the jewelry to herself. She has a sinking suspicion that Gabriel would kill her if she lost it. "I am very well. Thanks for the help. I was just wandering through, trying to find something classy. Have some get together coming up. Bunch of Texan lawyers." Her nose wrinkles slightly, then she laughs. "How'd the Kamasutra work out for you?" Said quite loudly, though not obnoxiously so. She's talking of the cookbook, of course.
Mischa is more than happy to take the offered pesky bags from Hailee and walks with her. "Texan lawyers? I hope you're not in trouble." He grins at the blonde before the comment about the Kamasutra hits his ears and he turns beet red, very nearly dropping the bags on the ground. "..OH! The cookbook. Very well actually. I'm still dabbling with it. Some of it's a little rich for my blood, but my co-workers love the stuff from it." When he /had/ co-workers. Most of them are dead or avoiding him.
"Me? In trouble? Never!" Only, Hailee is the type to be continually in trouble. She seeks it out most of the time. "A guest, cutie. Bet you didn't think I could wrangle that did you?" Another wink is given to him, then she laughs. "I would imagine. If the food in that book is half as rich as some of the positions in the original…" That's a sentence best for trailing off.
Mischa has to laugh when Hailee says 'never'. He may be naive, but he's not THAT naive. He's willing to let it go though. "Well, with your beauty, there's probably no limit to what you can do. But you seem crafty too. I'm sure it has and will continue to serve you well." Mischa grins at Hailee for a moment — and then he hears that last comment. "Well…I don't think there was nearly as much milk or caramel or chocolate involved in the original book, but I wouldn't really know." Should he have mentioned that to her? No, probably not. He just gets very, very quiet.
Hailee laughs right back at his response. "The caramel and chocolate are just the icing, m'dear. You should try it some time." Eyebrows waggle at him, in the most outrageously flirtatious manner. "You are such a flatterer, but it's true. At any rate, it should be rather fun. It's been a while since I hobknobbed with the rich and elite in an area." Even if she is being used to drive someone's parents crazy. It doesn't mean that she can't benefit from it as well.
He has no comment about the chocolate and caramel at this very moment. Perhaps it's something to bring up to the appropriate person later. He just keeps to radiate redly in Hailee's direction. "I hope it all goes smashingly then. I'm sure you'll do just fine. Is all of this for that particular occassion?" Mischa asks, hefting his arms around a little bit. He looks ahead, just to make sure that Hailee isn't leading him astray into the lingerie shop. And that Toby isn't somewhere watching.
Whether he has a comment or not, Hailee goes to loop her arm through his. A friendly thing, it's not like she's throwing herself at him. "It will," she says, quite confidently. "Black tie affair and all that, so you see I need to find the best, and most appropriate dress." Which is to say that she needs to find something jaw-droppingly stunning, to make all the old lawyer-types drool. "Just a regular soiree, I think. I honestly don't have all the details, just free reign with the money for the moment, to buy what ever is needed." Lingerie is not on her list of things to purchase. She does go to a rather special shop for that kind of thing — not Victoria's Secret.
"Of course!" Mischa says, mindful of his stitches. He's been well enough to leave the hospital but the stitches are still in — and there's a very real chance that he could pop them. "Free reign with the money isn't such a bad thing. You don't have to pay it back, I hope. That's a slippery slope." He doesn't seem to mind the arm linking, though he can't really complain anyway. Blonde (ex!) model on his arm? Not a big problemo. "It sounds like a good time. I'm a little envious, but I'm not so great in those sorts of situations."
Ah, the matter of payment. Hailee has that well under control. "It could be a slippery slope, but this one is definitely a freebie." Insofar as she doesn't really mind the payment that she'll be needing to make for it. "I'd invite you along, librarian, but I don't think Rosco would enjoy me tagging in another guy when its his parent's reception." Stopping in front of a dress shop, she makes a face. Nothing in there really suits. Instead, she leads them toward a bench. "You're a fairly trustworthy guy, I think."
Mischa raises a brow. "Rosco?" he asks. "The only guys I know of named Rosco generally reside in detective books, and they definitely aren't the detectives." Mischa smiles a bit nervously before he moves over towards the bench and sits down without waiting for Hailee to first — uncharacteristic of him, but he's still a bit sore, after all. "What's going on, Hailee?" The man asks curiously.
"Surname, cutie. As in Nathaniel Rosco, the lawyer from Austin?" That may be a name he knows, though Hailee isn't at all sure who in Dallas would care about an Austin lawyer, except that he's known to handle vampire cases. "And his son is definitely not a detective." Unless one counts all the searching he did with her. "Not a thing. I was just going to get you to watch the bags while I went and got you a coffee. Figured it's the least I can do since you're playing the part of pack mule for me."
"Ah, surname Rosco. That changes everything." Mischa winks and nods to Hailee, though the name doesn't seem to ring a bell. "A coffee? That's… really sweet of you. It's a deal." He puts the bags down on the other side of the bench as he reaches up to peek in on his stitches. Yep, they're all still intact. Though the sheer amount of blood seeping through his shirt would have surely alerted him before now.
Nodding, Hailee starts toward the small coffee cart. Not the greatest coffee in the world, but when you're in the middle of the mall it's not like there's much choice. There's no Starbucks hanging around here. She returns a few moments later with two black coffees, and a small bag of creamers and sugars. "Thanks. I really do appreciate the help. So, since I've been all me-me-me," she says, "Why don't you fill me in with what's happened since Valentine's Day?"
"Since Valentine's Day?" Mischa asks, taking the coffee black. He looks down at the cup and takes in a deep breath. "Oh, this and that. I do have a girlfriend — not the redhead from Bloody Mary's that night, but… she's very pretty. Sweet. Actually, her father owns the Cerebral Deli in here." Mischa leaves it at that. He chooses not to mention the attacks or his very recent hospital stay… or the fact that the King paid him a hefty sum of money for his involvement killing several vampires, evil or no.
"Sooo, you're a playboy then? Never would've pegged you for one." Her brow shoots up as she adds a liberal amount of sugar to her coffee, and then shakes her head. "Not the redhead you ditched me for on Valentine's, but someone else who has ties to the mall? Either a playboy or a mallrat. Really can't picture you as either of those things though."
NOTICE: Desiree just checked your profile.
Mischa flushes wildly at the words 'playboy' before his eyes widen a little bit. "Oh, I don't think that. About either. The redhead hates me now, and the mall thing is only by chance." Mischa finally takes a sip of his coffee before he sinks down on the bench a little more, suddenly regretting his decision to have snuck out of the apartment to come down here, thinking the fresh air would do him some good. "I'm just a guy who had a complicated time of things for a while. It's all clearing up now." Not exactly the truth.
"Sucks about your friend hating you. Been there, done that, wrote the book. They'll get over it, or they're not your friend." Hailee, thusly, has very few real friends. Then again, she could really care less about it. "So you don't surf the mall looking for available women?" Her brows waggle at him again, as she gently blows across the top of the coffee to help cool it a little. "Glad to hear things are clearing up though. You seem like the nice sort. Never really had much chance to hang around that type before. By now, I'd generally be asking you back to my place, or to the bar." Never mind that it's still close to opening at most bars.
"For available women? Heavens no. Are you kidding? If I were that type, THIS mall wouldn't be the place to look. Not with my girlfriend's father right around the corner. But it was coincedence I met her here. She only volunteers at her father's shop — she's a veterinarian." Mischa clears his throat a little bit as he realizes that he's gushing AND babbling. Oh dearie. He clears it again when he hears her quips about the bar or her place. "That's a shame, Hailee. You do seem nice too, and I mean that. Don't surround yourself with jerks… that's my advice. You can do much better. I believe that."
"OoOoh, Librarian in love. May just have to stop at the book shop and buy you the real book." Never mind that his girlfriend's father owns the shop. It's not like he knows her at all. "Quite a difference a month makes, hmm? You're shaking up with a bookish veterinarian, and I'm busy with a lawyer's son." Which isn't saying much because Gabriel is as much of a flake as she is. "Honey, nice guys are few and far between."
There's a pause. "I wouldn't call her bookish…" Mischa reaches up to adjust his glasses. He can't come out and say that his girlfriend is Playboy pinup material, though he thinks about it intently for a few moments before letting out a feeble cough. He doesn't, however, bother to refute the 'in love' claim. "You should definitely check the shop out. They have about everything you could ever want, and a killer roast beef sandwich. And if you don't like red meat, there are substitutes." Mischa frowns at Hailee, reaching across the back of the bench to wrap his arm around it. "I think most girls don't give nice guys a chance."
"Honey, if a nice guy actually took interest in me for longer than it took to bed me? I'd consider him." Hailee lets out a laugh, knowing that the nice guy types generally shy away from her. Which is quite likely why she actually finds herself liking the librarian as someone more than to just tease. "I'll tell you what. I'll head over, check the place out, buy you some really handy books, and then you won't have to embarrass yourself in front of your lover's father."
He's embarrassed, yes. But moreso? Somewhat offended. Mischa's reddened cheeks grow with a smile before he shakes his head. "What makes you think I need any kind of instructional manual, hmm? I haven't had any complaints before." He wags a finger at Hailee before taking a sip of his coffee and looks at her. "I talked to you for longer than it would take to bed you. …Probably. I'm not going to put the theory to the test. You shouldn't knock yourself down, Hailee. It kind of IS the type that jerks are drawn to… I mean, you treat yourself badly, and they think it's okay to. Besides, you used to be a model. Girls look up to you, probably."
Embarrassed, and offended? Well Hailee can handle that. "Never said you couldn't, but then again what's a little refresher course? Besides, it's all in good fun, and the very least I can do for the one guy that doesn't want to jump in the sack with me." Granted, they never had much of a chance to find that out, did they? A slow sip is taken from the over-sugared coffee and she winks at him. "That's likely why I respect you, Mischa. First guy in my entire life that wasn't out for something from me. Hell, first guy I can really call an actual friend. I think I'd like that. Having an actual male friend that just wants what's best for me."
And now he's flattered! "I can't let you do that. Buy that kind of stuff for me. I mean, Summer wouldn't like it. I admit, it would be nice to see you two slap each other around a bit probably, but…" The tone he says it in is joking. Mostly. "I try to be respectful to everyone. But I think you've missed the mark with yourself somewhere. Then again, I'm not Tony Robbins. I probably shouldn't be dispensing life advice to people. I'm screwed up enough on my own." Mischa takes a sip of his coffee before looking out over the crowd in the mall. "Just promise me you'll be careful. No matter what you think of yourself, you really don't deserve to be treated like crap by some stupid meathead guy. Or anyone at all."
"Friend to friend, I'm doing it." Whether his girl would like it or not, it's all in good fun, and she's not out to hurt his relationship. Hailee would likely get something tamer, so she could leave a note in it for him anyhow. Something like, "Try page 187, you'll enjoy it." What he says? Well it causes her to laugh. "Get the chocolate pudding, or the Jell-o, and I'm in." May as well have fun with that too, and Hailee's never been fussy with who she has her fun with. "Still, it means a lot to me. Even if I don't heed the advice, that someone is looking out for me in some way." She leans over just to give him one of those friendly pecks on the cheek. "I'll do my best to be careful, but honey, the meatheads are the ones that seem to gravitate toward me."
Mischa's lack of spine sometimes prevents him from further arguing with Hailee. Either that, or he's just sure that she's going to do what she's going to do, regardless of how much protest he puts up. "Well, don't tempt me with that." Mischa says, waggling a finger at her before taking another sip of his coffee. After the friendly peck on the cheek, the mousy librarian can't help but crane his neck around to look for Toby. "The next time one of them does, point blank tell him that you're interested in someone whose IQ is larger than their, ahem… endowment."
That's a tough thing for her to say. Sometimes endowment is much more enjoyable than IQ. Can't be helped. She's a woman who likes having a good time. "Not like I'm looking for anything serious anyway." Gabriel could fit both parts though, so maybe she'll toss an extra little effort his way for a while. Just to see what comes of it. After all, playing the girlfriend for a party is a decent step. "You'd like that, librarian. Chocolate, Jell-O. It's gooey, but it's fun to mess around in. Do you need much more tempting than that?" A friendly kiss is all it was. It's not like she's trying to shove her tongue down his throat. Fact is, once she's done it, she goes back to sipping on her coffee.
"Well, it's good to keep your options open when you're young anyway. ..Not that you're TOO much younger than I am, I mean. Sometimes I just feel ages older. I'm an old soul, I guess." Mischa takes another sip of his coffee and winces briefly before he starts to unbutton the first few buttons of his shirt. He pulls it down enough to check his bandages. Yep, those are some disturbingly leaking wounds. "I'm thinking that perhaps coming out today was the wrong decision. I'll have to mention this to the doctor on Monday. Oi…"
There is a guy, unbuttoning his shirt, in the mall, beside her. Hailee seems very unphased by this. Yet she sees the blood and frowns. "There are things you're not telling me, librarian. But I think you're done with shopping for today. Go home, or stop by a clinic and get that checked out." She is a girl who likes a good time, but that doesn't mean she can't be normal if the situation warrants it.
"Well, have you heard about those wolf attacks? Yeah…" Mischa says before he buttons his shirt back up and slowly moves to stand. "I got a little, ehm… you know. Ripped up?" He pauses, smiling sheepishly. "But I'm just fine, really. Are YOU going to be alright? I could always call a cab for you or give you a ride home if you need one."
Wolf attacks… wolf attacks…
It actually takes Hailee a while to recall them. Mostly because she's watching the pretty colors that surround people as they shop. "Shit, librarian, don't do that. You're the only guy friend I've got." Therefore dying is just not an option. "Nah, I'm going to hunt for the perfect dress. Pick up a few books for you, then head back to the hotel. I'll be fine, though I truly appreciate the offer. It's sweet."
Mischa can't help but chuckle. "Alright. Be careful out here, okay? Like Cat Stevens says, baby, baby it's a wild world." Mischa gives Hailee a fond wave before he starts off for the exit, looking down at his chest with some exasperation. "Damned wolf. Wherever you are, I'm going to find you. One-eyed wolf…"