Alice looks into the mirror as she applies a bold shade of red to her lips. She smiles at herself. She knows very well that it will drive him crazy. With that thought in mind, she gives herself another idea. She looks down at her blouse and undoes a couple of the buttons. She already feels the boost of confident in herself.
She steps out of the car and makes her way up to the trailer. She knocks firmly against the door. She can hear his footsteps coming her way. When the door pulls in he looks at her stunned. He wasn't expecting her, but he sure was ecstatic to see her stop by. He opens the door wider and steps to the side. She lets herself in and gladly takes a left into the kitchen. He reaches into his mouth and tosses his gum out. A smirk is visible on his face as he shuts the door.
She drapes her jacket onto the back of the chair. "It's not a bad time, is it?" She turns to look at him and closes the small gap between them.
"Never," He stares down at her. "You always make a pleasant surprise."
"I wanted to stop by and thank you."
"For what?"
"For everything. For who you are and what you do."
"You don't have to do that."
"But I want to." She grabs his face. She makes sure she looks her right in the eye. "You've done so much for me and I wanted you to know that I don't take it for granted."
"I know that, Al. I always have."
"Okay, but maybe I also wanted to do this." She pulls him down and kisses him. She pulls back to see his reaction. It was blank for a second, but then he's backing her up against the cabinets and hungrily going in for another kiss. She cheekily smiles to herself. He hooks his arms under her legs and lifts her up onto the counter. She aggressively brings him closer to her. Her legs loop around his waist to keep him in place. She's teasingly biting down on his bottom lip.
"You want to play it that way, huh." He leans forward and she hits her back against the wall. It's all bringing back the fun memories. They weren't exactly those same high school kids anymore, but that chemistry has yet to change.
"You don't seem to lose your touch, do you?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
"Who said I forgot?"
FP slowly pecks kisses all around her. He follows her jawline down to her neck. He leaves a trail of kisses all the way down to her exposed cleavage. He looks up and into her eyes in search of permission to continue. She runs her fingers through his hair. She nods a yes. He fumbles with the buttons on her shirt and tosses it aside. His lips meet hers again. Her hands move down his body to the hem of his shirt. She gives it a tug, signaling him to take it off too. He listens and yanks it off. His tattoos are now exposed. His body has grown to be covered in ink since she last got to see him like this. The small jellybean tattoo on his chest tried to balance itself with the giant Serpent tattoo on his ribcage. It was the same one she had on her thigh. He had seen it all those years ago, but she had never gotten the chance to see his. There is something about it that excites her even more.
He takes a moment to look at her. He was in awe the second he saw her at his door, but she still manages to take his breath away the longer he's with her. "We don't have to go any further if you don't want to. I know things aren't the same between us anymore, so if this doesn't feel right we can-"
"I want you, FP." She assures him. "I want all of you."
"Okay," FP listens. He has never felt so right about this until now. He latches onto her lips and picks her up. "Then it's best we take this elsewhere." He pushes the bedroom door open with his back and places Alice down on the bed. She reaches for his jeans and unzips what she can. He lets them drop down to the floor, but stops her from doing anything more. "Hold on, I'm taking care of you first." He lays her back. He unbuttons her pants and slowly pulls them down one leg at a time.
"Wasn't I here to do that for you?"
"You'll just have to wait your turn."
"You, FP, are a different breed of man."
"You might want to stop talking and save your breath." He goes for her panties next. He takes his sweet time knowing it taunts her. She's not patient.
She didn't realize how much she's missed his touch. He's the polar opposite of her husband in so many ways. She can feel his arms hooking onto her thighs. That was his way of keeping her steady.
She finds herself rolling her head back while his tongue works its magic. He slowly swirls his tongue around, teasing her body. He brings his hands up to her hips. He gently massages them to help her body relax. She lets out a gasp when she feels the tingly feeling taking her over. Her back arches up. That's what he wants. He knows how great it makes her feel.
He moves to hover over her. He dips down to kiss her. Her face is flushed. He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Have I told you how beautiful you are?"
"Am I?"
"Stunning," He smiles. "You always have been."
Alice puts a hand on his cheek. She slowly caresses it. She can't stop thinking about what they had. "Why couldn't life be this great for us?"
"I don't know, but it's nice to live in this little bubble. Don't you think?" He gets to forget about the world around him. It's just the two of them. Being with her reminds him of the good things in life. "Are you happy?"
"I'm happy right now."
"Me too."
"FP?"
"Yeah?"
"It's nice to be happy."
"I think so too."
He can't help but to kiss her again. He didn't want to leave a single spot feeling unloved. He's determined to get every inch of her body. He unhooks her bra and discards of it. Her body is finally fully in the nude. It's a privilege to be here again. He can't get himself to take this for granted.
Alice pulls his boxers down. Now they're both naked. It hasn't been like this in forever, yet it didn't feel strange to them. It's the opposite.
"So you're one hundred percent sure you want to do this?" He just wants to hear a confirmation again, seeming as they were far in deep now. He's certain of the answer, but it never hurts to double check.
"Yes, FP, I'm sure."
FP reaches an arm over to his nightstand. She catches on to what he's trying to do. "It's okay. We're safe. I have an IUD." Alice assures him. "I want to feel you."
"Okay," FP gets back.
She gets comfortable before he puts himself inside of her. She feels amazing. She could say the same about him.
He connects their lips again as he thrusts into her. He wants to make her feel extra loved.
Their bodies work together to find the perfect rhythm. They are soon in sync. When they reach their climaxes they both release a satisfied moan against each other's lips.
FP pulls out and rolls onto his back next to her. He turns his head to look at her. "That was amazing." He pants in between breaths.
"Tell me about it." She snuggles up next to him. He coils his arms around her. He doesn't want to lose the connection to her. She's tracing her finger around his chest tattoo.
FP breaks the small moment of silence. "Al, did you ever think about me after we kinda just lost what we had going on?" He curiously asks. He knows he thought about her numerous times.
"In all honesty, yeah I did."
"I thought about you, too." He admits. "And I don't mean to overstep here by asking, but why did you choose Hal?"
"I...I just felt like I had to. I thought he was my ticket out."
"Would it have been different if you were still the Serpent and I was this northside facade?" He genuinely wants to know. They were different people at that age. Is that what happened?
"I don't know," She honestly didn't. "But one thing's for sure. I made a decision then that I regretted."
FP sighs. He tightens his grip around her. "All that matters is that we're okay."
They doze off to sleep after having tired themselves out. There wasn't a single worry to preoccupy them. Intimacy got the best of them.
He wakes up first and thinks he had dreamt it all, but she's really here. He smiles to himself watching her sleep so peacefully. There's so much about her that he can't stop thinking about. There are many things he wants to tell her, but he doesn't feel brave enough to say them to her face. Yet, he wants to.
"Al, we've both been through some crazy times. Whether that be something about us or ourselves as people. I don't find myself to be a man of good words, so I can never really say what I think, or better yet...feel. Because I know I love you, but I'm so afraid to say it out loud. These past few months have reminded me of how great life was with you in it. But if I tell you, I'm afraid of losing it all. Everything I care about has been taken away from me and I can't take any more of it. It has been easier to let it all go than to try to fight for what I want. Fear will always get the best of me."
He doesn't know that she's listening to every word he's saying. She doesn't move. She just listens. She's touched by his honesty. She can't decide if to let him know she knows or not. Would it change everything?
She risks it. "You love me?" She moves to look at him and he freezes.
"Yeah, I do." FP's afraid of this going downhill.
"FP," His confession gives her the confidence to admit it too. Not only to him, but to herself. "I love you, too."
"You do?" The look on his face goes from fear to insecurity.
"Yes," She states firmly. "Why have we been so petrified by the idea of it?"
"I was afraid of losing you again if I was honest about what I wanted. And what I want is you."
"You don't think I was all these years?"
"That long? I thought it was just me."
"No," She shakes her head. "FP, I cared about you all these years and as much as I tried not to, deep down I couldn't. I tried to hate you, but it only made me want you more."
"I thought you were happier."
"I thought by forcing myself to be happy, I would eventually be happy."
"I want you to be happy, but I don't know if that involves me."
"It does," Alice says. "That's why it's been so hard to be happy."
"Am I allowed to love you? On paper it's so wrong, but I feel like it's so right to be here with you."
"I think we need to let ourselves feel what we want."
"I'm willing to try."
"You are?" She smiles. She has so much hope.
"Yes, I don't care what it takes anymore. I want us to be happy. Do you think we deserve it?"
"I feel like there's only one way to find out."
"Then let's give it a try. We can figure this out together."
"I'm on board. So with that being said," She clears her throat. "Would you like to come to the school play tomorrow night?" She's nervous to perform, but having him there would make her happy. "Can you believe I'm in it?"
"Count me in." He loves to see her excitement. "I'll be there. Front row and everything."