‘    nice try.    ’      UNBELIEVABLE.  if she has to give him credit for anything,  it’s his determination.  she repositions on the couch,  angled so that her back presses against the armrest  &  she can face him fully.  dinner was a stilted affair,  forced civility between him  &  the still colorfully named  detective douche,  any awkward lulls in conversation reliably filled by trixie’s innocent chatter.  dan left before dessert.  there’s a nagging voice in the back of her mind that says  call him,  check in,  but the pinot grigio makes it a hell of a lot simpler to focus on what’s in front of her.

‘    wait.  so,  i say i  owe  you one  &  you  —  let me see if i’m getting this right.    ’      she’s too sober to account for the swell of laughter that builds in her chest,  the smile pulling at each corner of her mouth  &  the way a hand lifts to cover it.      ‘    out of   everything  you could ask for,  THIS  is the favor you’re calling in ?    ’

oddly endearing in its childishness,  a decisive step down from the innuendos  &  recurring attempts to get her into bed that,  at some point,  started to feel like a  TEST  of her own resolve.  it’s a shadowy line.  they toe the edge every day.  you can’t deny that there’s a connection between us.

maybe,  then,  a  test  is the whole point.  like a first date  —  not that she’d call this a date :  most of the time you know  before  the kiss,  but sometimes that’s what it takes.  a definitive yes or no.  smile fades,  eyes achingly bright,  she’s looking right at him  &  she  still  can’t figure him out,  even now,  even after getting this far  &  establishing this  TRUST  that doesn’t come easily.  she’s letting her guard down,  again.

‘   –––––––  okay.   ’

a softer tone than before.  less  self - assured.  she leans in,  smells the subtle musk of cologne  &  the sweet residue of his last drink that somehow  DOESN’T  turn her stomach.  absurd,  vexing,  like so much about him.

leans in an inch further.  she isn’t drunk this time.

she’s almost  too  clearheaded. 

there are no fireworks when their mouths finally meet,  no orchestral crescendo :  but it’s  warm.  somehow impossibly familiar.  nothing hesitant,  nothing clumsy or uncertain.  lips part  &  it’s an open invitation to keep going.  truth be told,  it’s  better  than she expected.

he won’t let her live this one down.

two word starters.  // accepting !