Thou Shalt Not

She was too cute with flustered, pink cheeks. Where my new found bravery come from I didn't know but I liked it. Something had happened inside me when Lacie hadn't rejected my kiss on Friday. I took it as a sign that her and I were a go. I couldn't believe it had taken me this long to ask her out. I watched her from afar for what seemed to be months and I had never acted on it. I was so glad that my friends had pushed me and I was following my heart.

"Hey, Colin, Danny said you would be coming in this evening but he didn't say with who." Our waitress, by the name of Courtney, smiled. I knew Danny, the owner and Courtney was his youngest daughter. "This is Lacie," I smiled and I watched Lacie light up and interact with Courtney graciously. "It's nice to meet you." Lacie smiled. "Nice to meet you, too. I'm Courtney. I don't think I've ever seen you here before. Are you visiting Vancouver?" Courtney asked.

"Oh, no, I'm not visiting. I actually work on set. I do makeup for the show." Lacie smiled, her eyes lighting up when she spoke of her career. "Oh awesome! That's, like, super cool!" Courtney said excitedly. "Courtney!" Danny called from behind the end of the bar. Courtney looked back at her dad before looking back to us. "Shoot, sorry. What can I get you guys to drink?" Courtney asked as she readied her pen above her notepad. Courtney was young only - only 17. She was impressionable and easily impressed. Always excited, Danny was always getting onto her for "pestering the patrons". She meant no harm. She was a good girl. Too nice for her own good.

I motioned for Lacie to go first. "Oh, a Coke for me." She smiled. "Corona, Colin?" Courtney asked and I nodded my head. "You want to order or do you need a little more time?" Courtney asked. "We'll order when you come back with our drinks. Take your time." I said and Courtney bounced away.

"So, how long have you been doing makeup?" I asked her as she casually scanned the menu. She looked up to speak. "About six years - three professionally." She smiled. "How old are you, if you don't mind me asking." I said, mindful of some women thinking it was rude to announce their age. "I'm twenty-six." She said. She was young, seven years younger than I. "You enjoy it - doing makeup." I said. "I love it but what I really love to do is special effects. The beauty part of it is great because that's how I got started but creating monsters - that's my passion." She said, no longer sounding nervous as she had earlier.

"That's awesome. You do a great job." I complimented her. "Thanks," she smiled and Courtney walked over to our table, setting down our drinks in front of us. "Do you guys know what you want?" Courtney asked. I knew what I wanted. I got the same thing every time I ate here. Lacie looked up at me and I motioned her to go ahead. "Just a cheeseburger with lettuce, mayo and pickles." Lacie smiled and closed up her menu. I took a mental note of what she liked on her burgers. "Your usual, Colin?" Courtney asked as she scribbled in her pad. "Yep," I smiled as she took our menus. "Coming right up!" Courtney said and slipped away from the table.

"Do you live here in Vancouver?" I asked, watching her dunk a straw into her Coke and take a sip. "No, I live in Los Angeles." She said. "Don't they all?" I asked. Almost everyone on the show lived in L.A. I was beginning to feel left out. "I didn't always live in California. I lived in Vegas for awhile." She said with a shrug. "And you left? I went to Las Vegas for my bach- er, a boy's weekend, and I loved it." I said, feeling a little flustered for almost outing myself. I wasn't trying to keep my marriage a secret from Lacie but I didn't really think it was first date etiquette to speak of such things.

"Yeah, that's what it's good for - partying. I was just starting out in makeup and they're dime-a-dozen there. It's either burlesque shows or porno and neither of which I wanted to do forever." She said, taking another sip of her Coke. "Porno?" I asked, my eyebrows shooting up in surprise. She let out a laugh - the first real laugh I had heard come from her. "Yes, porno. I didn't watch them film it or anything. I stayed in the dressing room and pretended I didn't know what was happening on the other side of the wall." She smiled, a tinge of cherry tinted on her cherub cheeks. "But you could hear it, right?" I asked, letting out a laugh.

"You ever watch a porno? You know, the obnoxious loud stuff that echoes?" She asked rhetorically, scrunching her nose up in disgust. "I didn't dare answer a phone call." She laughed. "I shouldn't complain, though. I made pretty good money. That's how I was even able to move to L.A." She smiled and swirled the straw around in her cup. "And surprisingly," She added, "They give pretty good recommendations that were very much respected by almost everyone I interviewed for." She shook her head, unable to wrap her head around it still now.

"You're from Ireland, right?" Lacie asked, relaxing back in the booth. She looked more comfortable now that we were talking. "Yes, you ever been?" I asked, curious of the places she had traveled. She shook her head, "Never." "It's beautiful. You'd love it." I said, hopeful of maybe one day being able to take her back home with me. It was easy to picture myself with Lacie. It was something about her.

"Do you still live there?" She asked. "Yes, my family and friends are there. It's hard for me to make it more permanent over here." I shrugged. I had been thinking of making the move more and more lately, though. "But I've been thinking about it. I'm keeping my options open." I smiled. "That's a start," She smiled back. "Do you like living in Los Angeles?" I asked. I didn't mind it. The traffic never bothered me and I enjoyed the beautiful, warm weather.

"I do. There's always somewhere to go and something to do. The weather is great which is something I miss." She pretended to pout. I started to change the topic of conversation but our food arrived. Courtney set down our plates along with napkins and a bottle of ketchup. "Are we all good?" Courtney asked and both Lacie and I nodded our heads. "Enjoy!" She smiled and headed back behind the bar.

We were quiet as we readied our plates. I hit the bottom of the ketchup bottle until ketchup plopped onto my plate and Lacie was using her knife from the silverware roll to spread the condiment on the bottom of her burger bun. "So, last night..." She trailed off, still busying herself. I knew she meant the kiss. "Yeah, I'm sorry but I'm not sorry." I shrugged. "I would have taken you against that wall if I could." I brazenly said and took a bite of my burger.

The knife Lacie held in her hand hit the plate with a loud clang before it bounced back onto the booth. She quickly picked it up and laid it onto the place mat underneath the plate. She cleared her throat, obviously taken aback by my bold confession. "Kinda cold for that, don't you think?" She asked with a nervous chuckle, her cheeks cherry red. I laughed out loud. Everything she could have said or even done and this was what she came up with. I was liking her more and more.

"It wouldn't have stayed cold for long that I can assure you." I said slyly. "Colin," She pleaded and dunked a fry into ketchup. "Lacie," I matched her tone. She held eye contact with me as she chewed then shook her head. "I'm not that kind of girl." She said. And I didn't think she was. I was just being honest with how I felt... how she made me feel. "The kind that doesn't have sex?" I asked with a laugh. "The kind that doesn't have sex with someone she doesn't know." She clarified. "Yet," I said with a pointed finger. "But you will." I added and took another bite of my hamburger.

"We're getting a little ahead of ourselves, aren't we?" Lacie asked and took a small bite of her cheeseburger. I shrugged. Maybe we were or maybe it was me. I should have just been getting to know her but my body wanted other things. "We haven't done anything yet." I said. She swallowed and held eyes with me. Even in the dim lighting of the restaurant, I could see that her pupils had dilated significantly. The dark blue of her eyes almost black now. Fuck. I could feel it in the air and anyone to walk by would feel it as well. The sexual tension and bubbling chemistry between us had settled like a thick fog inside the restaurant.

We quickly finished eating, talking about small things in between bites. "Thank you for asking me out tonight." She said as she bumped into my arm as we walked out of the restaurant. "Absolutely." I smiled and bumped back into her. "Let me take you home." I said as we walked slowly down the sidewalk. "You're not coming in." She laughed out loud, cracking herself up. I laughed along with her. "I'm just kidding." She said and playfully punched my arm. "You're not kidding." I chuckled. "No but it's not because I don't want you to it's just that-" I cut her off, seeing the perfect opportunity. "You wouldn't be able to resist me if we were behind closed doors. I get it." I said and nodded my head up-and-down. "I have roommates!" She exclaimed loudly before laughing.

"We could try and be quiet, though, I don't think you could be." I smiled. I should quit. This poor girl - she probably thinks I'm after one thing. And I wasn't sure but I thought I was maybe teetering on the line of sexual harassment. "Jesus God, Colin." Lacie huffed as we reached where my vehicle was parked on the side street. "Yes, I like that sound of that." I murmured as I hit the unlock button on my key remote, the headlights flickering on and lighting up the dark parking spot.

She huffed and turned around to face me. I couldn't read her and thought maybe I was pushing her too far. "I'm sorry. Do you want me to stop?" I asked. She looked at me and bit her pouty, bottom lip. Fuck. "No." She smiled bashfully. I stepped towards and she stepped back, bumping into the side of the car. She was enticing - beckoning me to follow her. She seemed to like a cat-and-mouse game. I took another step, barricading her between myself and the car. "People can see us." Lacie said, her eye contact never wavering.

"Should that bother me?" I challenged. "I don't know. Should it? I'm not really sure on the rules of workplace romance." She shrugged. I guess I had to think this through. I didn't want to jeopardize her or my thing we both had going on here in Vancouver. I guess we could tread lightly - not making a big show out of it and keeping private things private. We'd stepped lightly at first and then we could progress from there on out.

I inched towards her and her breath hitched. I bent over her shoulder slightly to open the passenger door. "We'll take it slow." I smiled and gestured for her to get into the car. She pushed off the car and slid into the seat. I waited until her legs were inside safely before I shut the door and walked around the front and climbed in myself.

"I should have came out a little earlier and started the car. I'm sorry." I said as I watched her body slightly shake. "No, it's fine. I'm not going to freeze to death or anything no matter how close it feels like it." She chuckled, her breath visible in the streetlight light flowing into the car. I flipped the heat on and clicked on my seat belt before pulling out in the street. "Do you know where The Loop is?" She asked as she adjusted herself in the leather seat. "Yeah, I know. A couple of the production guys stay there." I said, familiar with the housing development nestled in a small valley right outside of town.

"That's where we all stay. The network rents it all out for the show's crew. There is actually only four permanent residencies in the entire place." She said. "I did not know that. Funny, I've been there a thousand times it feels like and have never ran into you." I said. "We must have just missed each other, I guess." She shrugged.

"What kind of music do you listen to?" I asked as I reached to turn on the stereo. "I listen to a lot of different things but I tend to like electronica and things like that the best." She smiled. "That's all mainstream music is these days." I scoffed. "Um, no." She said with a little bit of a sassy attitude. "I've listened to this before it went mainstream, thank you very much." She said. "Oh, oh, excuse me." I chuckled. "So, you do those crazy festivals and all that?" I asked, imagining her dancing freely with her long hair down and waving in the wind, daisies combed through her tresses. "Yes, yes, I do." She said proudly.

"Modern day hippie," I mused under my breath. "Hey," She scolded me. I let out a laugh as I followed the traffic out of town. "What music do you listen to?" She asked. "I listen to a lot of different things. I like a lot of older alternative, alternative in general, really." I said. "Better watch, your age is showing." She chuckled. "Touché, touché." I smiled.

The ride to The Loop was quicker than what I had thought it would be and what I wanted it to be. Lacie had really let herself shine through on the way over and I didn't want it to end so soon. We laughed and laughed the remaining part of the ride, exchanging stories and dirty jokes. "Right there is my place." She said with a point as I pulled into the first set of town homes. I pulled into a parking space and put the car into park. "Well," She said as she pulled on her coat that she had taken of once it had gotten warm in the car. "Thanks for dinner and for bringing me home." She smiled and grabbed her purse from the floorboard.

"You're very welcome. I had a great time." I smiled, turning in my seat to face her. Reaching to grab her phone from the middle console, we were now face-to-face. She looked up at me from underneath those full, black lashes and I had to resist the urge to pull her onto my lap. We held eye contact with each other for what seemed like forever before our heads involuntarily moved towards each other - magnets with an unbreakable pull.

The car idled above, below and around us as our lips pressed together for the second time this weekend. The second time being so much sweeter. Her lips were soft and tasted of the vanilla chapstick she had put on during the ride over. Intoxicating - how she tasted and how she smelled. It was always vanilla and vanilla just so happened to be my favorite ice cream flavor. My hand cupped the side of her face as my tongue darted between her lips. She kept up with my pace and feeling the passion burning within, clawed at my jacket clad arm. The electricity zinging and sparks jumping off our lips had me breathless but I didn't care. I couldn't care.

Our tongues rolled around one another and Lacie's freehand wrapped her arm around my neck. Our bodies moved back-and-forth slightly with each other and I was starting to become too turned on. I was going to have to pull away or keep going and not give a shit if she saw what she had done to me or not.

I didn't have to decide as Lacie was the first to pull away. Our lips parted with a 'pop' and she looked up at me devilishly, her lips already swollen. I hated that she always pulled away. I dreamed of the day that I could kiss her for as long as I wanted and we could let our bodies have what they wanted right now.

"I need to go inside." She said breathlessly. She cleared her throat and opened the passenger door, a gust of cold, arctic air encasing the interior of the vehicle. It was a much needed cool down. "I'll see you later?" She asked as she peered back into the car. "You will." I smiled. "Be careful," She called before she shut the door and carefully made her way up the shoveled walk. I put the car in drive but I didn't pull away until I seen she was safely inside.