You Leave Me With a Dangerous Taste

I was on edge the entire afternoon. Every single time I thought I heard a sound come from the hallway, I could hear my own heart beating. It was always a false alarm. William would just be staring up at me, wondering why I had stopped the narrative between our action figures. I would just smile it off and we would continue playing like nothing had ever happened.

However, as soon as the sound I had been looking out for actually echoed throughout the house, I wondered why I had been so afraid of all the other noises. This stood out from everything. The metal of keys clinking against the wood of a small table sounded nothing like house settling noises. A shiver ran up my spine.

I acted like it didn’t affect me at all. However, I felt distant from whatever William and I were playing, letting him make up everything while I wasn’t paying much attention. He didn’t even seem to notice, only knowing that I was still looking in his direction and smiling whenever he made something ‘cool’ happen.

But even that was soon interrupted by Alex knocking on the door, grinning at the both of us before speaking to his son, “hey, buddy, do you mind if I steal Paisley for a bit to help me with the groceries?”

William nodded softly, picking up the toy that I had left behind and immediately going on with his imaginary story.

Alex and I walked back downstairs in silence. It wasn’t that I wanted us to not speak, it was just that I didn’t know what to talk about. Usually, all I had to do was bat my eyelashes and throw around a sexual innuendo here and there. Now, I was unsure what counted as me leading him on and what was actually due to whatever I felt towards him.

The situation, however, presented itself to be talked about.

I came into the kitchen to find no grocery bags anywhere, not even a receipt. Everything was just as I left it when I had gotten Will a fruit snack. Even the cupboard I couldn’t seem to close because I couldn’t figure out how to put everything away was still ajar. Alex hadn’t even been here before going upstairs.

“Are the groceries still in your car?” I asked, turning around in the direction of the front door, just to walk right into Alex.

“Already put them away,” he mumbled, his hands on my upper arms as he looked down at me, barely leaving any space between us.

“Oh…” I tried to nod, but knew he was lying to me. On one hand, I wanted to call him out, but on the other I was intrigued what his plan was.

His breath became shallower the further he dipped down. He continued to inch closer, my brain screaming at me to move away before it was too late. But I was frozen, his hot air making me feel dizzy. I couldn’t help but be pulled along into his scheme as his rough lips found mine.

It reminded me all too much of our first kiss. Alex was wearing the same cologne as that night, make me experience a heavy feeling yet also a very similar adrenaline rush. The whirlwind of emotions I had felt that night came falling over me again, making me feel like that innocent girl who was letting herself go. The same confusing need and lust were controlling me yet again.

I had to pull him closer to release some of the pressure, putting my hands on the back of his neck and making him crane down further. It only brought on more exact occurrences. His hands moved down from my arms and to my waist, digging his fingertips into my hip bones. Just like that, we were back to our old ways, but my innocence was long stripped away.

Just as our kiss became deeper, my back yet again hit the counter. My shirt had ridden up just slightly, allowing me to feel that cooling stone another time, amplifying my shivers. As soon as Alex noticed we had hit a barrier, he raised me up to sit down. The kiss became so much easier and smoother with our equal heights, but I still didn’t wrap my legs around him.

To send me a signal, his hands traveled down to my thighs and started rubbing up and down. This was all that was needed to give me a reality check. I knew I was more turned on than ever, and my lust for him was at its greatest, but it was so wrong. The feeling needed to take this even further was the one that brought me back to reality.

My eyes sprung open and I couldn’t get him off me fast enough. I pushed him back, causing him to stumble a couple of steps before regaining his balance.

“The fuck?!” he yelled, both confused and shocked I had made such a harsh gesture.

“You brought me down here just to fuck me on the kitchen counter!” I accused, my heart racing as I wondered what had given me the confidence to nearly push him to the other side of the room. Did I really have this much self-control?

“No, no, no,” he shushed as he rushed up to me, almost sounding like he was afraid somebody had heard what I had said. “I just wanted to talk, we haven’t talked in ages. You know, just you and me.”

“And by ‘talk’ you actually mean ‘have sex’, right?” I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. I couldn’t believe I fell for his little trick.

“No, I promise,” he shook his head, giving me a pleading look, “I’m serious. I want to talk.”

“Okay then…” I accepted his statement, still a little suspicious. “Then speak.”

“Well, I had quite an interesting day at work,” he told me, carefully putting his hands on my legs again, this time starting on top of my knees.

I stared down at the contact before looking up at him. So far, he wasn’t making anything he said believable. It only sounded like he was having trouble making things up after I freaked out on him. Part of me wanted to hop down and yet again opt to call him out on it. However, I also knew I couldn’t do so. Not just because it was rude, but also because I couldn’t let myself. I knew that if he started kissing me again, I was a goner and would lose complete control.

“There’s talk of us signing a new artist,” Alex continued, his hands inching up slowly as if unnoticeable.

“Oh, really?” I smirked, knowing exactly what he was talking about.

“And I can’t believe I had to find out through my colleagues,” he sighed, shaking his head at me.

“Well, I still work for you,” walking my fingers up his upper arm and to his shoulder before resting on his chest. He was irresistible to me, “and I haven’t physically signed any contract yet. It’s bad to tell your current boss you’re looking for another job.”

“Well, I’m not that kind of boss,” he winked. “I actually want to congratulate you.”

Before I could civilly thank him and wonder if this was going to go any further, he broke away from me and went to the bar. I expected him to pull out two glasses and a bottle of liquor, but instead a shoebox appeared from one of the barstools. He held it out for me as he sauntered back to me.

I frowned as he put it in my lap. He urged me to open it with a look that moved from me to the box. I dreaded everything while I opened it. The contents were hidden behind some fairly opaque tissue paper, only making my fear worse. It looked too fancy to be given to somebody like me. My suspicions were only confirmed when I peeled away the paper to find a pair of heels. They had a gold-tone, nearly flesh-colored, open along the entire foot and an open toe. The heel was so thin it made me wonder if anybody could even walk in them. A band was attached to run along the ankle, delicate gold sparkles along it. The same twinkle could be found back on the heels and along the open sides. I couldn’t accept them.

“Alex,” I shook my head, closing the box again and forcing it into his direction, “I can’t take this.”

He refused to take the box back from me. “No, they’re for you. You can wear these when you go to your first red carpet event.”

I was at a loss for words. He had too much faith in me. “And what makes me think I’ll even remember these shoes if I even ever get to go to one?”

“Well, I didn’t say you couldn’t wear them for anything else you want. Hey, maybe you can wear them to your wedding!” he joked, a realistic yet very fake laugh following it.

He didn’t even know that Jack and I had started planning. It hurt too much.

Alex saw that I wasn’t amused and slowly took the box out of my hands, putting it beside me instead. Looking into my eyes, his hands found their place on my upper legs again. “You keep them and love them. You’ll find an event to wear them to, even if said event is dancing around the house all by yourself.”

Like I could afford just ‘dancing around in them’. I could bet that if I sold them, they would be able to fund our entire wedding, or at least get me a designer dress with a little money to spare.

Alex still noticed my doubt and started drawing circles on my thighs as he leaned back in. Just as predicted, I had no willpower to push him away again as soon as his lips were pressed up against mine again. I grabbed a fistful of his shirt and firmly pulled him into me, not leaving us much time until we were both discarding our clothes.