Guarded: A Roleplay

Heath who was starting to eat, not even realizing the affect of his words. Hearing her, he looks at her and how upset she was, "I am not used to this, I have a brother and though it may be hard to believe...,when it comes to women, I don't connect with a lot of them."

She looks like she will burst into tears,, "Your Uncle basically threatened...a past I have, if I didn't agree to protect you, I am still holding on to that. All these years and all the hard work, all it takes is some...rich asshole to walk into my station and demand I do what he asks, do I feel used and shit on?"

He calms down, as he was actually showing emotion. He looks at her, "Paige, I'm sorry..for speaking to you like that."

Absently, I realize this is some speech of remorse. And he's actually called me by my name. I wipe at my eyes with an unsteady hand. I can't fold that easily.

"Well, then screw the threat. You think I don't have dirt on my uncle? I don't go blackmailing him. So, screw it. Be done with me." I take a deep breath and try to compose what's left of myself. "If it's that serious, then fine. I could tell you things about him that would have him running for the hills. He can find someone else to watch me. Maybe the next one can hate me and actually keep it to himself. It'll be a win-win."

He looks at her,"It's something I've thought about...over and over, why did he choose me? Of all the people he could have asked, not even have to threaten. He says because I am good and believe me, I would have anyone dead in seconds...before coming into contact with you but he never told me anything else."

I would have anyone dead in seconds. Why does that have to sound so hot? I have caveman fantasies, apparently. I suck in another long, shaky breath and manage to sit again. I'm not feeling so cheery, but he's talked me down from this cliff. And, whether I want to admit it or not, I've never felt safer with anyone else. Even if he can't stand me.

"Beats me," I finally reply, and sink against the wooden back of my chair. It's not the most comfortable thing on the planet. "My last guard was this fifty-something guy with an affinity for chewing tobacco and he smelled like cheese puffs. I always ran off because he kind of disgusted me." I hesitate. "And, well, you don't. And he wasn't as scary." And I didn't care what he thought, nor care that he was taken.

I reach for the rest of my wine, because I desperately need it, and drain the rest of it. "This week has been all kinds of suck," I murmur into the glass.

Heath looks at her, "Now, with everything...I want to follow out my orders, basically all I know is orders and right now, it's to protect you. I will continue to do so but I will try...and be less."

"My favorite colour is red...." He says, looking at her.

As much as I fight it, a smile begins to tug at the edges of my lips. "Orange is mine. Gotta keep it unconventional."

Before I have much chance to say more, the waiter arrives with our food. It smells amazing, and even Heath seems happy to have some grub. We dig in at first, and then we slow, each sneaking glances at the other. His eyes dart around the restaurant every so often, Heath being the guard that he is.

"So, you have a brother and your favorite color is red," I nod, swallowing down a forkful of linguini. "We should get a bottle of tequila and play Never Have I Ever. Not that I'll remember any of your secrets by morning."

I study him for a smile, but I don't get much. He seems a little sadder than usual, but maybe that's his usual self. I haven't known him for long.

Perking up, I throw him a wink. "That brother of yours. He single?"

Heath looks at her, chuckling slightly "He is actually...last I heard anyways." He looks at her, "You would be his type, he likes blondes."

"Is that what I am?" I joke. "I'm not sure if that's an insult to your brother or me. You know, Mr. Detective, I can bake sweets like it's nobody's business. I can ballet twirl your ass to Hong Kong on the tips of my toes, and you know what else? I could have gotten into Brown with my GPA. I didn't actually slack off until after high school graduation."

I pluck a stick of asparagus from my plate and point it at him. "Just blond works too, I guess."

Heath looks at her, "What do you want me to say? Everything else that comes out of my mouth...you have something to reply with."

I feign absolute delight, my eyes wide. "I know, right? Isn't it amazing? They call it conversation. You say something, I reply, you reply. Before long, we actually end up learning things about each other. I could just kiss whoever invented it."

Heath looks at her, "Yes, the people I have conversations with...it's really not a long one, it ends pretty quickly and I am sure you get guess how that happens."

I eye Heath across the table and ponder what that's supposed to mean. Deciding to go for direct, I swallow down another bite of asparagus and lean forward.

"So, I hate my job, admittedly, what with all the panty folding and inventory and homicidal thoughts, so how do you feel about yours? Before all this blackmail, of course."

He looks at her, "I'm good at it, it's one of those....I didn't know what I wanted to do, high school was a joke for me. I barely went and when I did, I spent it talking to girls or fooling around. I had no future...."

"So, out of fear...I joined the army, guns and shooting stuff. It sounded appealing but I didn't know how good I was, my first week I was impressing everyone. I moved up the ranks so quick and before I knew it, I was in Afghanistan. Searching for some of the most...dangerous men, you could think of. It makes the guys after you, look like saints."

He looks at her.

Wow, did Heath just spout out a whole paragraph of information? I smile. "That's good, though. I can see it. You, the whole hero thing. It fits. I guess you were kind of always looking out for people."

He looks at her,"It wasn't even that..., I just did what I was told and whenever I took a shot, I never missed."

Then he goes quiet, remembering the one time he did. Finally, looks at his watch,"We should get back on the road...not to far outside of Vermont now."

Just like that, whatever light in Heath's eyes is gone. I don't know how I can tell so well already, but he's back to how he was before. Maybe he's softened a bit towards me, but he's still as closed off as ever. I'm not getting past those walls any time soon. For some reason, I don't think I've ever wanted something more. He's a puzzle I have to solve, but there are too many pieces missing.

I nod and pick up my purse, deciding not to push too hard. Clearly a man who shot people for a living at one point would have some scars.

"Yeah," I murmur. "I guess I'm getting kind of tired."

It took another hour and a half, till he came up to the house. It was a massive house, with a gate at the entrance. The scenery around it was beautiful and Heath was given a code by her Uncle to open it and they were soon inside.

He parked the car right outside and stepped out, looking at the house before him. He had never stayed in such a huge place, his Grandmother only had a penthouse in New York. He finds Paige watching him and he looks at her, "Is this more to your liking?"

I smirk. "It's definitely to my liking. And you'll even get a bed."

Twirling and taking in the scenery, I hear a faint beep and turn back to find Heath pressing numbers onto a digital keypad by the side of the massive front door. A moment later, it opens, and Heath pushes it aside to reveal a very impressive entrance.

"Hot damn," I whistle, taking in the extravagance all around me while Heath sets down our bags. "I definitely won't be getting so homesick here." I whirl around. "Hey, what was that code anyway? That'd be useful to have."

Heath looks at her,"Because you telling me how you snuck out...on your old bodyguard was a smart idea? I am not telling you anything and this house, is huge."

He states looking around from where he stands.

"So I'm prisoner. That's peachy."

Not that I'd ever truly want to leave this place. I take another look around. "Knowing my uncle is prepared, I'd say he's sending someone to stock this place or he's already done it," I muse, making my way over to the kitchen. "Not that I can cook a real meal, but teamwork, right?"

I pry open the refrigerator door, and voila, it's filled to the max with foods and veggies and goodies. Upon checking the cabinets, I find that they're stocked as well.

"Yeah, we should just live here," I decide with a nod. "Adopt a dog and live here."

Heath looks at her peeking around and they have a quiet night. She watches some television and eventually, she falls asleep. He looks at this, as he was on his laptop and finds her so peaceful that way.

She talks a lot.

Not wanting to disturb or wake her up, he stands up and puts a blanket over her. He sits back in the chair and eventually drifts off himself. He wakes up hours later and still sees her passed out, he gets up and explores the house a bit more.

He finds a basement, there he sees a home gym and seeing as he is awake, he decides to work out a bit. He finds a washroom down there as well, showers and goes back upstairs. Towel around his waist as he passes her, she's awake and sees him.

He just gives her a look and walks back upstairs, to a room he declared as his own. They spend most of the day apart, he can hear her watching television some more and listening to music, finally he hears pots and pans moving around.

He comes downstairs, fully dressed (sadly) and goes into the kitchen. She's trying to make something clearly, he turns down the stereo and goes over to her, looks at the cook book she's staring at, "Sheppard's pie?"

I'm still all too aware that I've just seen him standing in a towel, dripping wet. I try to brush the thought from my mind.

"Well, you like meat, right? Well, I'm not much of a cook. Like, at all. But I can do pies, so I thought, hey. Meat. Pie. Pretty simple."

I point to the array of meats and things spread out around me. "It's all laid out. I just mix it, cram it into the crust and voila. You get a gourmet shepherd's pie from yours truly."

He looks at her, "You know it's not actually in a pie...,not how my mom makes it. It's just mashed potatoes and meat, layered sort of..."

He looks at the book,"Just get some potatoes..." he finds some, "I wonder how many...?" He looks at the book again.

"Now you're a chef, too?" I tease him. I lean over and look at the book. "It doesn't even say how many. What kind of asshole makes a cook book like this?"

Probably for people with an inkling of how to cook more than a cake.

"Ten?" I guess. "Ten potatoes sounds even. Nah, that's probably too much. Eight. Six. Eight. Know what? You do those. I'll start on the meat."

Heath looks at her, then just goes on the potatoes. He almost forgets to peal them first but then does so, he butchers them they come out so bad but shrugs it off and puts it into a pot of water. He turns the stove on.

"Okay...so, I got them on the stove, how's it going with the meat?" He looks at her.