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Okay, so Alex might know a thing or two about romance. I officially feel "wooed." The only thing we've done is step inside the tiny art studio and just the mere sight of the pottery wheel, and the effort I know it must've taken to do this, has my heart gushing.

And who would've thought that a simple romantic gesture would be enough to get me all hot and bothered? I certainly didn't.

"This is amazing," I tell him earnestly. "I haven't seen a pottery wheel since my high school art class. I used to love going in the art room to play around on it."

I leave out the part that the reason I spent so much time in the art room was because of my lack of friends. Between being a cop's daughter and my social awkwardness brought on by anxiety and fear, it made sense that I spent most of my high school career alone. But bringing that up would surely spoil the mood, so I hold my tongue.

"I had no idea," Alex murmurs into my hair. He wraps his arms around my middle, squeezing me so tightly that the wind is nearly knocked out of me. "I'm glad you like it."

I press my lips to the side of his neck and squeeze him back. My heart flutters in my chest, overwhelmed from such a high amount of attention, and I disentangle myself from Alex's hold before three little words have a chance to come free.

I've never loved anyone before, I remind myself. Maybe all men are like Alex.

But even the thought rings false in my head. No one has ever put this much thought into anything for me.

"Shall we?" Alex gestures to the bench.

"There's not enough room for both of us," I say in protest.

He wiggles both eyebrows at me. "Oh yes there is. We're going full Ghost."

He takes a seat on the bench and pats his thigh. Hesitantly, I cross the room and sit on his leg.

"I'm not too heavy?" I ask self-consciously.

"Nah. You're as light as a feather, babe."

I relax into him at the reassurance, letting my full weight rest on him. Alex leans forward, following my lead as I dip my hands into the water and rest them on the clay. He rests his chin on my shoulder, his arms resting on the outer edges of my own.

He's so close. Close enough that I can hear his breathing, and pick up on the woody scent of his aftershave. I chew on my lower lip, thankful that he's not facing me to see the way my cheeks burn.

We spend the next hour shaping a ridged vase. About halfway through I ended up giving up on trying to keep my sweater safe from wet clay and pulled it off altogether. Alex's eyes had nearly bulged right out of his head at the sight of my white tank top, but I managed to keep my head high.

"Done!" I spin in Alex's lap and bop him on the nose with a dirty finger, leaving a wet smudge on his skin.

He wrinkles his nose and then drags it along the side of my neck, causing me to giggle and squirm.

"Alex," I whine, trying to wiggle away from him.

He grins mischievously and takes my face in his mucky hands. I allow it because I know what's coming next. My eyes flutter closed just as his lips press against mine.

Alex kisses me languidly at first, but it isn't long before the pace quickens and the passion grows. Heat swirls in my belly as his tongue peeks out to probe my lower lip, his way of silently asking for access. I let him in, following his lead as his tongue explores my mouth.

I moan softly, pulling back to lightly nibble on his lower lip. A growl rumbles deep in his chest, and my body burns hotter at the sound of it. His hands latch onto my hips, lifting me up and adjusting my position so that I'm straddling him.

What if someone walks in? A tiny voice asks, but it's quickly quieted when his lips move to the side of my throat, sucking on my pulse point.

Another moan escapes me when my center brushes against his arousal, and Alex seems to revel in the sound of it, his hands moving to squeeze my bottom.
I pant heavily, almost embarrassingly so, and gently rock against him.

He groans into my neck and digs his short fingernails into my bottom, pushing me in the direction he craves. "Fuck, Mabes."

Yes please. More of that.

Someone clears their throat from behind us, and I jump off of Alex's lap at lighting speed. A short man with a beer belly stands in the doorway, one thumb hooked under his belt.

"Listen, art students are welcome to use this space after hours, but uh...you can't just..." the man trails off gruffly.

"We're done here," Alex says, scrambling to get to his feet and shoulder his way in front of me.

I'm confused by the suddenness action at first, until I glance down at myself and notice the way the tops of my breasts are practically spilling out over the edge of my tank top.

"Kilns are down the hall in 207," the security guard mutters. His shoes squeak against the tile as he turns on his heels and heads down the hallway.

Once I'm sure the man is out of ear shot I scurry over to the washbasin in the far corner of the room and begin scrubbing the slip from my hands, face, and neck. Alex appears behind me, leaning over me to wash up too.

"I'm sorry Mabes, I didn't think anyone would come through," he mumbles into the back of my head.

I grimace at the fresh memory. "It's okay, it's probably a good thing it happened anyway."

"Why do you say that?"

Because I was sooo close to taking off my clothes for you.

"Just is," I say instead, shrugging indifferently.

He sighs gently, reaching around me for a towel, and begins drying off. I shake off the excess water from my hands and turn to face him, waiting patiently until he hands the towel over to me.

As I'm drying myself off, Alex grabs my sweater and our coats from where we stashed them near the door.

"So how did you manage to get us in here?" I ask causally, fluffing out the towel before hanging it on a nearby rack.

Alex hands over my sweater and I slip it on. "Davey."

"Davey," I repeat, mulling over the name. "The guy I danced with at the bar?" I put on my jacket next. "How did you manage that?"

He shrugs, his gaze lowering to the floor as he kicks the toe of his boot against the tile. "Offered to teach him a few pointers with hockey." He pulls out his phone. "I'm gonna order Thai. What do you want?"

I perk up instantly at the mention of food. "Crab Rangoon's."

"Thai food, babe. Not Americanized Chinese."

I stick my tongue out at him and Alex mimics the gesture, except he holds up his first two fingers and licks at the space between them with a sly wink.

A wave of heat crawls up the back of my neck, but I ignore it, turning to carefully lift our completed project from the pottery station. I hurry out of the room and down the hall to the kilns, leaving Alex behind. The room I enter is extremely warm, which does nothing to cool me off, so I make quick work of finding an empty kiln and placing our vase inside.

"Ready?" Alex lingers in the doorway, his fingers hooked on the top of the frame as he leans forward.
I offer him a shaky nod, taking the hand he offers me and allowing him to lead me out into the cold night.

We take the truck back to his house, both of us sitting in comfortable silence on the drive across town.

"Tonight was really fun," I tell Alex as he helps me out of the truck. I stretch up on my toes and plant a kiss on his cheek in thanks.

He grins lazily. "The night's not over yet, Mabes."

What does that mean? I can't help but wonder, but I don't voice the question.

When we get inside the two of us shed off our coats, hanging them on the coat rack in the entryway. I head for the stairs that lead to Alex's room, but he pulls me back gently by my wrist.

"Wha—"

"Why don't we wait in the kitchen for the food?" he suggests.

I wrinkle my nose in confusion, but do as I'm told. Why are we avoiding the bedroom?

The house is dark and quiet, the only light coming from the kitchen we currently sat in. Minutes later the door bell rang and Alex left to pay for the food. Despite what he said earlier, when he returned it was with a box of fresh Crab Rangoon's.

"Thank you!" I practically squeal, diving right in.

Alex laughs softly at my obvious enthusiasm as he opens his Pad Thai.

I munch happily on Crab Rangoon and spring rolls, eating like I haven't seen food in over a week. I'm nearly embarrassed at the speed in which I'm wolfing down my food until I realize that I haven't been eating this past week as much as I should have been. The stress from exams has taken a toll on more than just my mental health. If I had to guess, I've lost maybe five pounds? Which may not seem like much, but for my small frame it makes a difference.

I need to slow down or I'm gonna get sick, I realize. I push my food away and down a glass of water.

Alex watches me curiously as I pack up my leftovers and haul them over to the fridge for safe keeping.

"There's a Sharpie on top of the fridge," he calls out. "Better mark it with your name or Luke will be all over it."

I stifle a laugh into the palm of my hand and reach for the marker.

NOT yours Luke,
Mabel

Alex gets to his feet, his chair scraping loudly against the tile, and crosses the room to pluck the marker from my hands. He scribbles name on the box and then stacks our leftovers on a shelf in the fridge.

He plants a kiss on my forehead. "Give me two shakes. I'm just going to run upstairs and make sure everything's ready."

"What do you mean?"

He grins and waves me off. "You'll see."

I watch him leave, staring at his back with a puzzled expression until he disappears around the corner.

What does he have up his sleeve? I wonder to myself, leaning back against the countertop.

Alex returns close to five minutes later and grabs my hand. "Let's go."

He leads me upstairs and I shuffle behind him, my stomach twisting with nerves. He's done more than enough already between the food and the base we made together, but something tells me that this next gesture is going to be over the top. My heart clenches with anticipation.

A soft glow illuminates the wood floor from beneath Alex's bedroom door, intriguing me as I begin to wonder what's inside.

"Close your eyes," Alex instructs gently, shifting to stand behind me.

"Again?" I pout.

He chuckles lightly, his breath tickling the nape of my neck. "This is the last time, and it'll be worth it, I promise."

So I listen to him, my eyelashes brushing against the tops of my cheeks as I let my eyes fall closed. When he gives me the okay and I open them again, I'm blown away. In that moment, everything is worth it. Alex being fifteen minutes late to pick me up, bringing me to break into the art and design facility, getting caught in the studio room...everything is worth it.

Alex had transformed his room into something that I thought only appears in cheesy romance novels, but I guess not.

The scent of the vanilla candles burning inside and the rose petals that decorate the floor and bed tickles my nose as it reaches me. His room is no longer dark and simplistic, but elegant. Inviting, large, fluffy pillows line the headboard, and on every usable surface a candle burns alongside small bouquets of deep red roses.

I spin on my heel to face him to find Alex watching me with a mixture of wariness and sheepishness.

Oh my God, he's actually nervous. My eyes widen as he lowers his gaze to the floor, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans.

"You've been holding out on me," I accuse him teasingly.

He lifts his head and cocks an eyebrow at me. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me, Woodsie," I say, using the nickname his teammates gave him.

The nervousness that once plagued his expression vanishes, transforming into flirtatious amusement.

"We've been friends for over a month and a half, and dating for close to two weeks," I continue. "How am I just now seeing that you're capable of this kind of extravagance?"

"Yeah?" He inches closer, his large hands engulfing my waistline. "Why don't you teach me a lesson?"

I flush at the implication, but hold my ground. "Fine. Take me to bed."

"I didn't do this shit for you because I'm expecting anything," he says cautiously.

A lump grows in my throat. Does he not want to?

"That's okay then," I reply lamely. "I guess we can just watch a movie or something."

Pure lust flashes in his eyes, darkening them. "Yeah no, fuck that."

I let out a surprised yelp as the floor suddenly disappears out from beneath my feet. I wrap my arms behind Alex's neck and cross my ankles behind his hips.

"What are you doing?" I ask with a delighted giggle.

His hands cup my bottom, giving it a more than friendly squeeze. "Taking you to bed."

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*sighs*
I wish I had an Alex 😭

For anyone who doesn't know, "slip" is basically water mixed with clay. It's slimy and honestly kinda gross to touch, but hey, Mabel and Alex didn't seem to mind it too much 😉😉

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