Alex watched Claire like a hawk from the moment they had stepped into the elevator at the office until they were seated at the restaurant. He noticed her nervousness, took in the moments her cheeks would flush for seemingly no reason, and then replayed every word she had said to him in his head—searching for any hints about her feelings.
Sitting there in the booth, separated from the rest of the world, he was going through the evidence in his mind about how Clair might be feeling so that when he confessed to Claire again, she would respond more favorably this time.
He noticed the change this morning, when they were working on her proposal together. The way she reacted to their accidental touch hit him like a jolt of electricity. He wanted to touch her again, to verify that she would react the same way—react like she also felt a connection in that touch.
And he wanted to touch her even more right now after seeing the way she responded to his toast. When he called her his partner, he meant it in a very professional way; the way a boss would see an indispensable employee. But he saw the surprised jerk of her body, the quick flush of her cheeks, the hurried swig of her drink to hide her…embarrassment? Desire?
‘How does she want to be a partner to me?’ he wondered hopefully. Then immediately wondered how being his partner in anything other than a professional manner would increase the likelihood of office gossip—something Claire desperately wanted to avoid.
He put that thought to the back of his mind. Right now, he needed to take things slowly. If he moved too fast, Claire might get spooked and shut down. He knew all too well how seriously she took her job; any threat to it, like a torrid romance with her boss, would cause her to shy away regardless of how she felt. He needed to win her over in a way that promised being with him would not affect her career at all.
But he would have to figure out how to fool-proof that promise first. Until then, he needed to grow her feelings for him until she couldn’t deny them no matter what.
Their food arrived and he engaged Claire in small talk in between bites. He started with simple questions like how she felt things were going at work, did she have any concerns about the upcoming event, and if there was anything she needed from him to make things easier. Then he moved to more probing questions: was she handling the work-life balance okay, how was her commute, what did she like to do outside of work. He tried not get too invasive, he just really wanted to know more about the girl he fell in love with all those years ago and who suddenly returned to his life.
“I didn’t know that I had met Derek Kang before. It surprised me that he knew who I was when I saw him Friday night,” Claire commented during a lull in their conversation.
Alex perked up. “You met Derek?”
“Yes,” she swiped a French fry through ketchup before taking a bite. “He and his friends stopped by my friend’s restaurant and he recognized me.” She smirked, “I must not look much different from my high-school years.”
“No, you don’t,” Alex mumbled. Louder, he added, “What did you two talk about?” He tried not to sound worried. Or jealous.
“It was a short conversation,” she looked up to the ceiling as she recalled that night. “He introduced himself and mentioned that he knew you for a long time and went to one of our school events where you introduced him to me.” She turned her gaze back to Alex. “Sorry that I don’t really remember that,” she added sheepishly.
“Oh, no worries,” he heaved a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “You were busy and running around everywhere then, so obviously meeting some random guy for a brief moment wouldn’t be memorable.”
Claire laughed, a sound that sent fireworks through Alex’s body.
“Still, you made an effort for me to meet one of your friends, I should have remembered.”
“Ah, Derek is an understanding friend,” he unconsciously emphasized that last word. “I’m sure his feelings weren’t hurt at all.” Alex sighed inwardly, thankful that Derek didn’t give away the fact they were actually cousins.
He watched her pick up another fry, drench it in ketchup, and pop it in her mouth. He hid a smile behind a sip of beer. Back in school, whenever the student council would go out to celebrate after an event, she always had fish and chips, and she would pick up a breaded piece with her fingers and drench it in tartar sauce, eating it like she would a French fry. He would secretly watch her lick the sauce and oily breadcrumbs off her fingers as she laughed with her friends.
He watched her nibble at another fry, his gaze lingering as she unconsciously licked the salt from her fingers. He imagined his lips wrapped around those fingers. He coughed, nearly choking on is beer.
‘Fucking hell, what am I thinking?!’ Alex quickly grabbed his napkin to wipe his mouth and hide the embarrassment creeping into his face.
“Are you okay?” Claire’s face showed her concern.
Alex held up a hand while he tried to calm down his cough. “Yeah,” he croaked, “Sorry, don’t know how to drink a beer, apparently.” He pushed the offending drink away from him.
Claire giggled. “Here, have some water.” She grabbed a glass of water the server had dropped off earlier and held it to him.
Alex gratefully reached for the water, their fingers briefly entwined as he grasped the water glass firmly.
And there it was again; that jolt of electricity that moved from his fingers, up his arm, down his shoulder and into his jump-started heart. He watched Claire’s eyes go wide and heard an almost inaudible gasp escape her slightly parted lips that were so kissable in that moment.
“Thanks,” he said huskily, which he attributed to his raw throat.
“No problem,” she replied, so quietly he wouldn’t have thought he heard her if he hadn’t been staring right at those perfect lips.
Alex took a big sip set the water down; his fingers still wrapped around the glass as if he couldn’t let go of the lingering memory of her cool fingers brushing against his. His gaze was still on her mouth, and when her top teeth peeked out to bite her bottom lip, he felt something stir low in his stomach. He wrenched his eyes away and looked at the table, hesitant to look at her.
He took a shaky breath and mustered the courage to look directly at her. She didn’t look angry, rather she looked a little frightened—and that made Alex inwardly freak out himself. He managed a disarmingly gentle smile.
“Are you going to eat that last fry?” he asked her, dropping his eyes to her plate.
Claire’s laugh was breathy, “Would you like it?”
His smile turned dangerous as he nonchalantly reached for her French fry and put it in his mouth at once, licking his thumb to get the salt off. He kept his gaze on Claire’s face, watching her emotions play across it from entertained, to curious, to something akin to desirous, and then to horrified embarrassment. He couldn’t help but broaden his smile.
“Want to stay a bit longer for one more drink?” he asked her.
Her eyes flickered from his mouth to his eyes and then to some point behind his shoulder. “No, I should head home,” she answered as if saying yes would be a dangerous choice.
Alex hesitated, then pulled out his wallet to take out his card. He waved for the server and she returned with the bill. After he paid, he stood up and held out his hand to Claire to help her out of the booth. She took his hand gingerly, the electricity buzzing through Alex as he gently folded his hand over hers to help her stand. Once she was on her feet, she hastily removed her hand from his grasp.
“Allow me to take you home,” he offered as they walked toward the door.
“Oh, you don’t need to,” she replied a little too hurriedly. “I’m not that far from home, I can catch one of the busses.”
“Please,” Alex stopped, gently forcing Claire to turn her body to look squarely at him. “Let me do this for you.” His hand moved to capture hers again, tangling their fingers together.
Claire didn’t pull away, emboldening Alex further.
“I’m not ready to end this evening yet, let me spend a little more time with you. I just want to take you home, continue our conversation as two people just trying to get to know each other a little bit more.”
Claire’s cheeks turned a warm red, but she didn’t refuse. “Okay, if it isn’t too much trouble.”
Excited, Alex let a goofy smile slip onto his face as he pulled Claire by the hand back to his car. He opened the door for her with a flourish, bowing as if she were royalty entering the vehicle. Claire gave an embarrassed giggle but tilted her head playfully as she dropped in to her seat.
Alex got in and started the car. “Alright madam, what’s the address?” his hand hovered over the GPS.
With a cheerful grin, she gave her address and they pulled out of the parking lot.
