The young man was getting very forward. Galen Freed's interest in him had been obvious from the start, but Frost had to admit that the hadn't paid much attention to it until now. It was fairly common for the recent debuts to try attracting the most high-ranking lover they could, and the young man certainly wasn't the first to set his eyes at the top--and Frost was sure he wouldn't be the last. But in Frost's own experience, at least, Galen's persistence was second only to Loretta's, and there was little doubt that the man was taking Loretta's eventual success, however short-lived it had been, as inspiration.
Galen had certainly picked up on one thing before Loretta had, and that was the issue of Sparrow. Perhaps the difference was merely that they were married now, or perhaps it was that Loretta had given her young friend some more accurate advice in the past few weeks; Frost had certainly seen the two of them together often enough to entertain the idea of it. Perhaps Loretta, having surely noticed long ago that Sparrow's own preferences skewed more toward Galen than herself, thought the Freed boy might have better luck than she did.
Galen was certainly more persistent than Loretta had been, in any case. Loretta had only gained enough confidence to pursue what she wanted once she had her father's scheming on her side, and she'd given up with surprising ease after the revelation of her part in Octavian's scheming had brought Frost's temporary wrath down upon her. Galen, on the other hand, had at least no such advantage as either Donahue or his own parents' scheming. By all appearances, in fact, the Freeds seemed to have no inkling of their youngest son's obvious ambitions, and for the meanwhile, Frost was content to keep it that way; he still hadn't ruled out the possibility of going through with this. After all, there remained the chance, however slim, that Sparrow might eventually change her mind; the young man might seduce her yet.
On the other hand, Frost rather doubted Galen, as he was now, would have much luck in that department. For all Loretta may or may not have tried to help clue the young man in to status of Frost and Sparrow's relationship, he still didn't seem to quite understand what it meant for his attempted seductions--nor how to go about achieving them. Galen was still rather missing the point, by all appearances still failing to see that Sparrow was more than simply the spouse with whom he would have to make peace if he wanted access to the actual object of his affections. Sparrow, instead, was the key; the moment Sparrow consented to Galen, he could have whatever he wanted of Frost--and not a moment before.
But in the meantime, Galen was still focusing on Frost, his pursuit of Sparrow secondary and unfocused--better than Loretta's initial efforts, of course, but still a long way from anything that would bring him actual success--and yet his antics toward Frost were getting more daring by the day. Lately Galen somehow seemed to be in the Theatre whenever Frost and Sparrow were themselves, and if that meant Galen was spending all his time there on the off chance that the two of them might decide to visit, it only made things more amusing; tonight, Frost had spotted him the moment they'd walked into the dimly-lit room, and the sight that greeted him had brought a faint smirk of amusement to his lips in an instant.
Frost steered Sparrow away from him, determined not to make things too easy for the man, and the two of them settled into a little table in a dark corner at the back of the room, Frost's chair pulled up right beside Sparrow's to keep him within her range. And then he sat back and waited.
It didn't take the man long to spot them, and Frost's smirk widened at the way the young man's posture transformed as his gaze fell upon the two of them. In an instant, all pretense of nonchalance fell away, and Frost watched him work up the courage to head in their direction, slipping into that confident swagger and seductive smile just before he started toward them. Beside Frost, Sparrow followed his gaze, glancing in Galen's direction for just a moment, and Frost was almost sure he saw the faintest flicker of amusement on her face, too.
Are You Ready? [1/?]
Galen had certainly picked up on one thing before Loretta had, and that was the issue of Sparrow. Perhaps the difference was merely that they were married now, or perhaps it was that Loretta had given her young friend some more accurate advice in the past few weeks; Frost had certainly seen the two of them together often enough to entertain the idea of it. Perhaps Loretta, having surely noticed long ago that Sparrow's own preferences skewed more toward Galen than herself, thought the Freed boy might have better luck than she did.
Galen was certainly more persistent than Loretta had been, in any case. Loretta had only gained enough confidence to pursue what she wanted once she had her father's scheming on her side, and she'd given up with surprising ease after the revelation of her part in Octavian's scheming had brought Frost's temporary wrath down upon her. Galen, on the other hand, had at least no such advantage as either Donahue or his own parents' scheming. By all appearances, in fact, the Freeds seemed to have no inkling of their youngest son's obvious ambitions, and for the meanwhile, Frost was content to keep it that way; he still hadn't ruled out the possibility of going through with this. After all, there remained the chance, however slim, that Sparrow might eventually change her mind; the young man might seduce her yet.
On the other hand, Frost rather doubted Galen, as he was now, would have much luck in that department. For all Loretta may or may not have tried to help clue the young man in to status of Frost and Sparrow's relationship, he still didn't seem to quite understand what it meant for his attempted seductions--nor how to go about achieving them. Galen was still rather missing the point, by all appearances still failing to see that Sparrow was more than simply the spouse with whom he would have to make peace if he wanted access to the actual object of his affections. Sparrow, instead, was the key; the moment Sparrow consented to Galen, he could have whatever he wanted of Frost--and not a moment before.
But in the meantime, Galen was still focusing on Frost, his pursuit of Sparrow secondary and unfocused--better than Loretta's initial efforts, of course, but still a long way from anything that would bring him actual success--and yet his antics toward Frost were getting more daring by the day. Lately Galen somehow seemed to be in the Theatre whenever Frost and Sparrow were themselves, and if that meant Galen was spending all his time there on the off chance that the two of them might decide to visit, it only made things more amusing; tonight, Frost had spotted him the moment they'd walked into the dimly-lit room, and the sight that greeted him had brought a faint smirk of amusement to his lips in an instant.
Frost steered Sparrow away from him, determined not to make things too easy for the man, and the two of them settled into a little table in a dark corner at the back of the room, Frost's chair pulled up right beside Sparrow's to keep him within her range. And then he sat back and waited.
It didn't take the man long to spot them, and Frost's smirk widened at the way the young man's posture transformed as his gaze fell upon the two of them. In an instant, all pretense of nonchalance fell away, and Frost watched him work up the courage to head in their direction, slipping into that confident swagger and seductive smile just before he started toward them. Beside Frost, Sparrow followed his gaze, glancing in Galen's direction for just a moment, and Frost was almost sure he saw the faintest flicker of amusement on her face, too.