"Mister Alex," she shrieked mildly, "How long have you been holding on to that one!??? I refuse to believe you just cooked that on the spot!"
"Believe it or not Anna, your sister just manages to bring out that side of me. She really does look ravishing. I mean, she always does, it's kind of her thing. But tonight, she could power up this dystopian landscape with her incandescent elegance."
His words washed over Scarlett with the refreshing grace of a cold shower on a hot summer evening. He was telling her exactly what she wanted to hear. Scarlett drank in his words, and soaked herself in his presence. They were still in the stage where they were getting to know each other. But there was a certain understanding that had now eveloped them in a kind of invisible halo.
It was not the kind of bond that hovered over them. It was in the unspoken words, it lingered at the edge of their conversations, waiting to be confessed, and dragged out in the open. All through that dinner, Scarlett said little to nothing. There was no need for words. Maybe it was the wine doing its thing on her, maybe it was the thick cloud of flattery Alex had set her on. Maybe it was a combination of both.
However, whichever it was, she had already made up her mind to let Alex have his way with her that night. As she lifted up her wine glass to take a sip, from under her heavy eyelashes that was thick with mascara, her eye balls rested on Alex's handsome face across the table. This dinner was nostalgic of their first meeting, That day, before the whole unpleasantness between them, there had been a similar spark between the two. But unfortunately, life had happened.
Even as at that, despite it all, they both found themselves fawning over each other. Stealing glances, and shooting furtive looks at each other while Eliana yapped away with the tirelessness of a jukebox. The younger sister told stories of her beloved sister. She espoused Scarlett's love and kindness to her all through those long years. And she told Alex just a few embarassing stories as well to balance the plot.
"...so you see, she might be an angel with the heart of a saint, but the moment you take her snack from the fridge without replacing it, you'll see a very different side of her!! I'm tellling you Alex, that day, I could have sworn I saw smoke coming out from her nostrils! She looked like an angered bull that was about to impale me on the spot...!"
Eliana continued to talk and talk for almost an hour plus while the other two only pretended to listen. For beneath the dinner table, a whole other business was being conducted. Both lover had their legs wrapped around each other! Teasing, and co-teasing, while maintaining a semblance of normalcy on the surface.
Time passed, and the waiter brought their check. Of course, being the gentleman, Alex paid for it. Eliana teased him;
"Gee, you need to get with the times grandpa, don't you know it's sexist of you to assume that we want you to pay for our meals??? Huh???"
Alex smiled and apologized;
"Pardon me for being an old head, even though we're almost the same age...would you like to do the honors???"
He asked as he held out the bill to her. Eliana's long neck stretched to look at the figures first. As soon as she saw that the figures looked like it was almost as long as a phone number, she gulped and smiled mischevously;
"Oh don't worry, I'll ALLOW you to take it this time. But the next one is on me though!"
He grinned as he retracted his hand. "I'll hold you to that one Anna."
Still, Scarlett said nothing.
About half an hour later, Alex pulled up in front of their apartment complex. It was a pretty decent building in an upscale neighborhood. Apparently, the Auction house used to take care of their rent in the past. He drove into the underground parking lot, and parked. Eliana disembarked and said her good bye while Scarlett waited behind in the car to have an honest conversation with Alex.
Scarlett watched patiently as the younger sister made her way towards the elevator, before finally disappearing behind the elevator's door. She turned towards Alex with glittering eyes. Her gown was awfully revealing, and in the compact space of the shotgun seat, her beautiful legs stood out, along with a fifth of her lap. It was a deliciously inviting sight.
"So..." she began saucily, "Where do we go from here mister Alex? You've been drowning me with compliments all night...is this how you treat all your lady friends???"
Alex laughed heartily at her futile attempt to wring out information about his past dalliances.
"Come on Scarlett, I don't play games...you know I meant every single word I said."
Feigining indifference, she asked mildly; "Do I? Cos' that sounded like a whole lot of flirting to me..."
"Come on Scarlett, don't be like this...I'm trying to have a moment here...a real moment...!"
He reached for her hand, and looked her directly in the eye;
"Tell me, is it just me...or is there actually something here???"
Scarlett kept a straight face, but Alex could hear her heartbeat rising with his extra sensitive ears;
"Scar, the past few days have been insane. Initially, I thought it was all because of the electric spark from first meeting you, along with the rush of adrenaline from adventure. But...being with you, right here, right now, I can not be any more sure about how I feel..."
He squeezed her hand tightly, but tenderly. As if to remind her that her palm was still lodged firmly in his;
"...you're a phenomenal woman Scarlett, you truly are. Trust me, I would know. It would be nothing short of a catastrophic blunder on my end to let you go...especially when I'm starting to catch these feelings for you..."
Scarlett raised her eyebrow up, and tried to pull away from his grasp. But he refused to let her go.
"No, don't do that Scar. Don't. I know you feel the same way..."
"Really?" She asked in a weak voice that reflected the meek, and vulnerable state she was currently in.
"Yes," he replied her in a reassuring and assertive tone ; "I admit, I was stricken by you when I first saw you at the entrance to that auction house. Even now, the image of you from that day is still fresh in my mind, it's permanently burned into my mind. But over the past few weeks, that feeling has morphed into something else completely. I find myself respecting the woman that you are..."
He leaned in closer;
"Everything about you is spectacular; your personality...your mind...your face...your eyes...your lips..."
He lifted up his left hand towards her face, and his fingers found her lower lip;
"...I've often found myself wondering what you taste like...and now that you're here, I can almost taste it. You taste like danger, like intrigue, like depth..."
He brought his face close to hers, and tilted his head for a kiss. Scarlett was all but shaking at this point. His lips met hers with a soft thud, and parted them, taking her lip in his. She groaned, and found herself kissing him back. He was good all right. They both kissed for a hot minute, taking their time to fully immerse themselves in the heat of the moment, before his left hand started to explore.
Expertly, he gently rested his palm on her thigh and squeezed lightly. He felt her shiver as though cold water was running down her spine. As he moved his mouth from her lips to her neck, she threw back her head in submission, allowing his caressing lips to shower her with kisses. She moaned and placed her palm on the window, pressing up against it, as Alex pressed up on her.
Before she could realize it, Alex had expertly drifted his hands beneath her short gown, perusing her naked flesh as he whispered in her ears, telling her just how incredibly soft she was. It was not just flattery, he meant it in every way. It was almost surreal just how delicately soft Scarlett's skin was. It called out to him, and he hungered for every single inch.