Chapter 11
"Hey Niylah, it's Clarke. You gave me your number at the club the other night."
"Hey Clarke, nice of you to call."
"I was wondering if you were free on Friday so we could grab some food and drinks?"
"Just so I'm clear, you're asking me out on a date?"
The blonde doctor laughed. "Yeah, sure."
The two women agreed on a time and then hung up.
Lexa, on the other hand, had to continue taking it easy, bored in her room and looking forward to being able to shoot again soon. The fact that blue eyes kept coming into her mind didn't make the situation any easier either, especially because she had to work a lot the last few days.
>>Hey Clarke. Friday my prison sentence is over and I'm allowed to do something again. Do you have time? I thought we could go to the movies in the evening?<<
A short time later she got a reply.
>>Hey Lexa, I would love to celebrate your release with you, but I have a date.<<
The brunette sat on her bed and had to digest this first, this little news put a stab in her heart. She suppressed the burgeoning feeling of jealousy, after all it couldn't be, they knew each other less than two weeks and the kiss was over a year ago.
>>I understand, what about Saturday brunch?
>> If it starts at 1pm I'm in. No idea how and when the Friday ends.<<
That sat then but nevertheless, no matter how much Lexa talked herself into something else. Still, she knew she couldn't afford any more missteps.
>>Clearly, shall we go to your favorite coffee?<<
A thumbs-up sign signaled okay and the conversation was over.
Friday
Clarke had gone home right after work, took a quick shower and then stood in front of the closet. She thought for a while, but then put on a blue dress and took a bolero in case it got cooler in the evening than she had anticipated. She put on her makeup discreetly, took one last look in the mirror, and headed out. Slightly nervous, she stood in front of the restaurant she had arranged. The evening was much milder than it had been throughout the day, it was dark, and despite the lights of the city, the stars were visible in the sky. Around her, many people were out and about, some of them were couples, others literally looked like they were on their first date, and still others were out and about in groups.
The relief was visibly written on the young woman's face when Niylah turned a corner. She was dressed simply in jeans and a pretty black blouse. Simple yet elegant. They embraced and then entered the establishment. They got along well, could talk about many things, each other's future, goals, desires. It was a casual conversation of two equals enjoying the time together.
The later it got and the more alcohol flowed, the more uninhibited the mood became.
Suddenly, Niylah leaned over to Clarke and whispered in her ear.
"What do you say we get out of here? In 10min we could be at my place..."
The addressed smiled and kissed Niylah in response. Quickly they paid and went on their way.
Light filtered into the apartment through the open curtains, clothes lay scattered around the room and Niylah lay snuggled up to Clarke as she caught a glimpse of the time. 11AM. Tired, she stretched, still feeling the alcohol from the day before and the few hours of sleep had done the rest.
The previously still sleeping woman put a pillow over her eyes and mumbled something unintelligible.
"What?" The blonde had to laugh.
"Why are you getting up?" Still drowsy, Niylah's words sounded slightly accusatory.
"I have to go, I still have a date."
Immediately the addressed was awake.
"You have a date?"
Clarke laughed. "No, I have a brunch date at 1PM with a friend." She added with a slight grin.
"Will I see you again soon?"
"I'd love to, the evening was very nice and even more so the night."
Clarke got dressed, kissed Niylah, and then headed out the door to go home and change.
Lexa was already waiting and hugged the blonde tightly when she saw her. They went to their table in the quiet corner and sat down. After they ordered brunch from the menu, there was silence for a moment.
"So, how was it?" the brunette finally wanted to know.
"The date you mean?"
Lexa nodded.
Clarke smiled broadly.
"The date was so good, I didn't even get out of her apartment until this morning."
The brunette swallowed.
"It was such a nice evening, we have a lot in common and the sex..." that's as far as the blonde got.
"Definitely too many details" she was interrupted.
"Since when are you a prude?"
"I always was but we never had this topic before." Lexa was slightly embarrassed.
Clarke laughed lightly.
"Okay, no more details regarding my sex life, but the date was really nice and we'll meet again soon. We'll see what develops."
She didn't notice the discomfort her words caused Lexa and suddenly the blonde changed the subject.
"How long are you actually going to be in town?"
"Only five more days, maybe less, depending on how we can make up for lost time. I'll probably be shooting sixteen hours straight for the next few days, today is the last day they can shoot without me here."
"Is that at all okay with you?"
De addressed shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know, it's part of the job, and it was my fault, after all, that I tried to do the stunt myself and got hurt."
Clarke understood her point.
"As for the shoots, I'd love for you to come."
The blonde mused.
"I don't know if I'll be able to make it. If I'm finally able to leave on time, I'll be there, but the last few weeks it's almost never been like this."
Clarke stood behind the barrier, soon the next scene would be shot. Lexa spotted her in the audience and walked up to her, smiling. The brunette was dressed in black combat gear, black paint that had been applied around her eyes made her look scary.
"You came, didn't you?"
"Of course, but please be careful."
The brunette nodded and as the director shouted his orders, she stood next to her fellow actor. The scene was quite small, in front of the two actors many flags had been hung on a podium and several chairs each resembling a small throne had been placed on it, someone sitting on each one.
"Action."
The shot began.
Lexa unsheathed her sword, which was held out to her by a man who looked like a guard, and the amateur actors began to cheer as if on cue. Her opponent, a man with white makeup, many scars on his face and longer hair, which he had tied up, ran straight at her. The brunette had her back turned to him, but in one fluid motion she dodged the attack and wounded him in the back, pretending to cut him with her sword. Now the two peers attacked, their swords clashing, a clang sounding with each hit. Her opponent deftly dodged her attacks and now in turn used the resulting gap to attack Lexa, he managed to kick her in the back of the knee and she landed on the ground. Lexa tried to get up but her opponent was faster and punched her in the face with full force, kicking her sword away. Lexa took advantage of the moment when he kicked her sword away with his foot and hit him in the kneecap, forcing him to the ground. The brunette kicked him in the face with her knee and he staggered. She retrieved both her sword and his, confronted with the two weapons her opponent looked for a solution. He went to one of the guards still standing in a circle around her, punched him in the face and snatched his spear.
He tried to intimidate Lexa by showing her his ability with the same weapon, but she was unimpressed and remained in fighting position. He attacked and she dodged downward. In the same breath they were facing each other again, fixed and looking for a weakness they could exploit. When they thought they had found one, both attacked at the same time, they whirled around, swinging their weapons, but Lexa was clearly too fast for her opponent, more and more he had to retreat and his space for it became smaller and smaller. All of a sudden he managed to knock the swords out of Lexa's hand with his spear and kicked her in the stomach. The brunette flew backwards due to the powerful blow and landed on the ground. Her opponent was now on top of her, he went for the final blow to kill her, but again Lexa was faster and turned to the side at the last moment, so that he only caught her hair. She whirled around with her feet and kicked his shin so hard that he fell to the ground. Meanwhile, the brunette created some distance so that he didn't immediately catch her again with the spear and had to dodge his blows again. When he thrust the spear forward again, she dodged, hit him on the arm, grabbed his weapon and snatched it from him. Now it was he who had to dodge, she caught him in the back of the knee so that he was now kneeling in front of her. With the gun she punched him several times before she punched him in the chin and he was on the floor. Lexa stood over him, the gun pointed at his chest.
A woman in the stands began yelling at the man lying on the ground.
"Get up! If you die, you will not die a prince, but a coward!"
The man addressed looked Lexa straight in the eye.
"Finish it." His voice was firm and determined, it was going to be over today.
"Blood calls for blood" the latter only replied, throwing the spear in the direction of the woman who had just spoken, killing her.
After that there was a break for a moment so that the two actors could recover. The scene had been long and exhausting.
The brunette ran, still out of breath, to Clarke, who had watched the spectacle with a mixture of shock and fascination. The latter remained silent at first, first having to digest what she had just seen, before raising an eyebrow.
"What kind of movie is this?"