What You Want

I could remember telling me that Alexander and Kate had been broken up for quite a while before it was publicly announced. Even the night before when she had told me Alexander had a crush on me I wondered not only if it was true but how long said crush had existed. I scolded myself on how I basically made out with him at dinner, but at the same time was thinking how those blue eyes of his could get me to agree to anything.

Such thoughts are what circulated around my head for the rest of the night, even flowing over to the next day. Because I had absolutely no plans, I decided to just get my weekly chores over and done with so I could be lazy the rest of the week. I went ahead and finished the laundry from the day before as well as dusting, mopping, and vacuuming. It wasn’t until I was done and looked out the window to see the weather was nothing but clouds and rain.

Within minutes, I was curled up under my favorite blanket and laid out on the couch watching Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. Two hours had passed when I felt my phone vibrate beneath me, which nearly caused me to roll off the couch in surprise.

‘Is two p.m. an acceptable time?’

‘It just so happens to be a great time.’

‘Good because I just remembered something very important.’

‘Yes?’

‘We agreed that the winner of bowling got to ask something of the loser.’

‘And what is it you are going to ask of me?’

‘I would very much like the pleasure of taking you out again.’

‘I hope you realize that I would have agreed to you taking me out regardless of you winning the game or not.’

‘I do not but I wasn’t going to take any chances.’

‘Well I won a game also so I believe I get something as well.’

‘I’m listening.’

‘I want to go to the beach for our date.’

‘Like you said earlier, you didn’t even need to ask. It gives me an excuse to see you in minimal clothing.’

‘I could be mean and wear the most concealing bathing suit I own.’

‘That would just put me in such a damper mood.’

‘You’ll just have to wait to find out.’

‘Is tomorrow a good time to find out?’

‘As good as any other, especially since it’s supposed to be warm and sunny.’

‘Do you want to get lunch before?’

‘Yes, please.’

‘I’ll see you around noon.’

‘I’ll be waiting.’

I couldn’t help but feel giddy as I set my phone down on the coffee table. Somehow the rest of
the day absolutely flew by, unlike most days when I was anxiously looking forward to the following.

Being as lazy as possible was my main concern for the remainder of the day. It took my stomach sounding over the television that I realized I was finally going to have to remove myself from the couch to get dinner. I made myself a chicken sandwich and tater tots for my dinner and sat down back in front of the TV with my meal and a Diet Coke, which I felt counteracted the fattening potatoes I was consuming.

I eventually turned everything off around midnight and headed off to get my beauty sleep, since I was going to be seen with one of Hollywood’s hottest hunks. Lady Gaga, woke me up the next morning, blaring out of my alarm clock. I had quickly learned that the song that woke me up in the morning ended up being my least favorite song for at least a week.

Showering was the first thing on my agenda, just because I knew it would wake me up better than an alarm clock or coffee could. I pulled on a bikini and covered up with a simple pair of shorts and a plain white shirt, slipping my favorite sunglasses into my hair. I packed a small beach bag that could double as my purse and slipped in a large beach towel and a smaller one. Just as I opened a bottle of water the doorbell sounded and I skipped, yes skipped, to the door, finding Alexander grinning on the other side.

“Good morning Ms. Richards.”

“Good morning to you Mr. Skarsgard.”
I grabbed my bag from beside the door and stepped outside, grinning when Alexander opened the door once again for me.

“How does The Farm of Beverly Hills sound for lunch?”

“Amazing, Anna was telling me how delicious the breakfast there is and I’ve wanted to go ever since.”

“That’s good news because I didn’t think of a backup.”

We pulled up across the street from The Farm of Beverly Hills about fifteen minutes later and seeing as it was such a nice day opted to sit outside. The two of us had scanned the streets for any paparazzi before deciding to sit outside and after failing to spot any took our seats.

After a quick scan of the menu I decided to get half of a grilled chicken sandwich with a baby green salad, not wanting to load up on food since we were going to sit in the sun for the next few hours. Alexander ordered the Cajun Salmon Burger and I immediately knew I was going to want a bite or two of it. I glanced over at Alexander when our waitress left the table to see he was sporting a rather serious expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“I know this is only our second date and we haven’t been talking very long but I want to know if this is going somewhere. I’ve screwed around with women my whole life and I’m tired of it. I’ve beat myself up for the past three years because I never asked you out, since I’ve had a crush on you since day one of shooting. I just want to know if you feel at least a little bit of what I do or if, frankly, I’m just wasting my time chasing after something I’ll never be able to have.”

Without even thinking, I look straight into his eyes, placing my hands over his.
“I’m going to be honest; when Anna first told me you liked me I in no way believed her. Though now, I see that she wasn’t joking with me. I’m not the kind of person to lead anyone on, and I wouldn’t have agreed to go out with if I didn’t have some type of feelings for you. Getting to the point, you have me if you want me.”

Alexander grinned and laced his fingers with mine, leaning over the table to press his lips to mine.

“I’m happy we got that settled. I’ll have you know I don’t share my food with just anybody.”

“That’s good to know because I’m expecting a bite of your burger.”

I did end up getting a taste of Alexander’s burger, even though I had to relinquish a few kisses in return, something that didn’t trouble me too much. The two of us headed down to Manhattan Beach after our lunch and it was very surprising to find there were only about ten other people there.

I laid out the huge blanket I had shoved in my bag before standing up to take off my clothes. I shimmied out of my shorts and pulled my shirt over my head. As I leaned down to place them into my bag I looked up to see that Alexander’s eyes were glued straight to my body.

“I think you’re staring.” I sang.

At my words, he seemed to snap out of his trance and looked up at me with a grin.

“You’re undressing right in front of me. It’s not like there’s anywhere else for me to look, what with you blocking my view and everything.”

I just gave a shake of my head and sat down on my blanket, grabbing my sunscreen. I quickly became distracted when I looked up to see Alexander pulling his shirt off, leaving him in just his swim trunks.

“You’re staring now.” He sang.

“Well you are blocking my view of everything else.”

He smiled and lay down close beside me, scooting close enough to wrap his arm around me.

“So Anna told you about my crush?” he questioned.

“She told me at dinner the other night. I was surprised when I showed up and you were sitting there. While we were in the bathroom she let me know that you had set up the dinner and she was certain you liked me. I didn’t really believe it when she told me. I was thinking of how you just got out of a relationship not too long ago and I don’t consider myself the best pick out there.”

“But you are the best pick. You’re smart, funny, and beautiful and I can only wait in anticipation to find out more about you.”

His words made me smile and I pressed my lips to his. When we broke apart from each other, Alexander reached up and brushed a piece of hair out of my face, pecking my lips once more before leaning back.

“I think I’m becoming addicted to your kisses.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” I said.

“Not unless you refuse to give them to me.”

We laid there talking for hours as the sun blazed down upon us. After a while, a comfortable silence fell over the two of us and I had almost drifted to sleep when I was pulled straight off the ground and thrown over a muscular shoulder.

“Alexander! What are you doing?”

“You look like you could use a dip in the water.”

“I’m very capable of cooling off and walking on my own.”

“In my opinion you’re not.”

I sighed and just dealt with the situation, staring at the beautiful behind God had graced Alexander with. Of course, it was a huge distraction to me and I couldn’t help but squeal when I was unexpectedly lifted and dropped into the water. I went straight to the bottom and after surfacing pulled the hair out of my face to glare at Alexander.

“I could have used a little bit of warning.”

“A warning would have taken all the fun away.”

I didn’t even reply, choosing to catch him off guard as I tackled him back into the water. As soon as he was under I turned to swim away but got no more than two feet before I was pulled straight back into him.

“That wasn’t very fair.” He spoke.

“I don’t always play fair.” I smiled.

“Is that so?”

I just smirked as his hands drifted down to my hips and he lifted my body slightly out of the water to press his lips to mine. As my arms wrapped around his neck I thought it was a pretty good thing that we were in public because I would have probably pointed us in the direction of the nearest bed.

“I think I like it when you don’t play fair.”

“I’ll have to do it more often.”

Alexander let out a laugh and lifted me completely out of the water. I didn’t even have time to protest before I was tossed a few feet away, falling right back into the water. The next twenty minutes were a complete blur as the two of us dunked each other, playfully battling. Eventually, we called a truce and Alexander swept me back into his arms to carry me up the beach.

“I could just lay here for the rest of my life.” I said as I laid back.

“I’m with you on that one.”

“One day, I’m going to buy a house right on the beach and all I’m going to do is sit in the sun.”

“And what are you going to do when someone just walks right across your backyard?”

“Tell them that there’s a large cover fee required to step foot on my land.”

“Are you going to require me to pay this fee?”

“You might be an exception. You just can’t let anyone know.”

“My lips are sealed.”

The rest of the afternoon it felt like it was just Alexander and me laying on the beach just getting to know each other. I told him how I had moved from Louisiana after graduating and hadn’t really looked back since. He told me all about starting out in the business really young then dropping out, only to end up as a successful actor years later.

We didn’t even notice the sun beginning to set and all the other people on the beach pack up their belongings and leave. Though I noticed when a chill wind blew up the shore causing me to shiver and finally take note of the darkness falling over us.

“I guess that means we should probably pack up and head home. Here, put this on.” Alexander spoke up, handing his shirt over to me.

I stood up and slipped it over my head, laughing when it fell past my bottoms nearly to the middle of my thighs. I shook out the blanket and stuffed it back into the bag, gathering up the other few things and slinging my bag over my shoulder. Alexander linked his hand with mine and we headed back to the car.

The whole ride home I was staring out the window with a grin, mine and Alexander’s hands joined over the center console. Once the two of us were standing in front of my door I realized I was still wearing his shirt.

“Hold on, let me give you your shirt back.”

“Even though I would greatly enjoy watching you take it off just keep it. I think it looks better on you anyway.”

I couldn’t help but ‘awe’ at his words.

“Sometimes you’re just too sweet and adorable for your own good.”

“Does that earn me a kiss?”

I nodded and leaned forward, letting our lips press together. It seemed like an eternity that we stood there kissing before finally pulling away from each other.