flatline • erling haaland

Part 5

"So how would you say our first date has gone?" Erling asked as he looked across the table at me. He was very big on holding eye contact which made me nervous. I eventually looked down towards my food which I had barely nibbled at.

"Date? I didn't realise this was a date." I half joked. Technically, he had never actually labelled it as a date.

"Oh. It doesn't have to be." He said, mockingly acting offended.

"No that's fine, I don't think the club pay me quite as much as you so I'm more than happy to let you pay." I quipped as I took a small bite of my food from my fork. Erling laughed.

"Oh no, I always go halves on dates." He spoke seriously. I gave him a look as if it say I wasn't sure if he was joking or not. Eventually he laughed.
"I am kidding of course. Although maybe you can get the next one."

"More than happy to, but we will not be going somewhere as fancy as here." I laughed.
"Is that your way of asking me out on a second date?"

"It might be... but this one doesn't have to end yet. Would you like to come back to mine?"

I thought about my options. I wanted to play it cool, and I didn't want to be just a one night stand. On the other hand, I didn't want to offend Erling, and I certainly didn't want to lose his attention.

"Of course you do not have to." He furrowed his brows as he must've noticed me deep in thought.

"No. Of course, sounds good." I smiled.

- 

We drove back to Erling's place in silence. I was suddenly nervous as I looked out the window at all the beautiful homes I could only dream of one day owning, wondering who lived in them. My heart started beating faster and faster as I wondered which house belonged to Erling.

He reached his left hand over and placed it on my right thigh, just underneath the final bit of fabric where my skirt ended. His hand squeezed me before leaving it there, sending shivers up my body. I turned away from the window.

"You okay?" He asked.

I tried to play it off.

"Yeah, just looking at the houses. They're stunning."

"It is a lovely neighbourhood." He replied.

What felt like an eternity later but was actually probably no longer than 15 minutes, we had arrived at Erling's home.

It was just as incredible as I had imagined. I sat on the plush black velour sofa as he headed to the kitchen to grab us some drinks.

He had framed memrobilia plastered on the walls as well as pictures of who I assumed were his family. I ran my fingers through my curls as I waited for him to return, silently cursing myself for not putting a small comb into my bag.

Erling walked into the room and put the two glasses of wine on the table before sitting down next to me on the sofa.

I still couldn't get over how big this man was.

It was my time to strike up the conversation now.

"So, let's talk about you. When was your last relationship?" I questioned.

"I've never really had one to be honest. I guess I've had a few girls which have been little flings for a few months, but never a proper relationship. Nothing like yours. Although I guess I'm not quite as old as you." Erling joked, poking fun at the three year age difference.

I laughed.

"Yeah, I can't believe I actually went on a date with someone younger than me."

"I'm very mature." Erling stated a matter of factly. It was true, he did seem to be mature. However the whole never been in a relationship thing was a major red flag to me.

Having been in a relationship for so long myself, I was struggling with the idea of casual flings and one night stands, no matter how hard I tried. It just wasn't for me. It led me to question if I should have came back here. I mean, going back to his place on the first date could only ever led to one thing.

But did I really want to go straight from a long term relationship to another? Was what I needed some time to just be single and enjoy myself? I was snapped out of my thoughts.

"What is it you're looking for? It must be weird being single after all that time."

"I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. It is weird and I'm not sure if like it or not, you know?" I spoke the truth. I felt conflicted.

"That's okay, you don't have to know right now." It felt like his eyes were staring right through me now.

I was sat facing Erling on the sofa. He reached out and put his hand on my thigh. He needed to stop doing that.

"You look so beautiful today, Scarlet."

The way he said my name made my heart race.

"You always look beautiful."

I could feel myself blushing at this point as I met his gaze.

"Thank you. I do try." I said, attempting to lighten the mood that had suddenly turned serious.

Erling took his hand off my leg and moved it up to my jaw line, forcing me to look at him.

"Have you been with anyone since your ex?"

"No." I answered bluntly.

Erling just nodded.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked, looking me dead in the eyes.

In that moment, I completely melted.

I looked down to his lips before back to his eyes, signalling that it was okay.

He closed the gap, pressing his lips against mine.

His lips were warm and soft as he took control, bringing his other hand to rest on my side.

I parted my lips slightly allowing his tongue to slip inside and the next thing I knew I was laying on the sofa with him hovering above me.

His hand went down to my tummy where my jumper had come untucked and he ran his thumb across my skin, sending tingles through my entire body.

His lips soon met mine again and I reached my hand up to run my fingers through his light, silky hair. He seemed to like it as a quiet grown escaped his mouth.

Erling grabbed my chin and carefully pushed my head to the side before attaching his lips to my neck. He started with a single kiss on my neck which made my heart flutter. The sweet kiss was followed by more passionate ones as he licked and gently sucked at my skin. As a moan escaped my mouth I could feel him smile against my neck. He was obviously pleased with himself.

He finally parted away from me, staring down.

I wasn't sure if it was my heartbeat I could hear or if it was his, or maybe both.

"Would you like to go to the bedroom?" He asked hopefully, bringing his hand back up to my face as his thumb playfully rolled my bottom lip.

I froze. Did I want to go to his bedroom? Hell yeah. But I couldn't bring myself to. There was something about this man that was doing things to me, and I had only known him a week. I didn't want to be just a notch on his bedpost.

"Scarlet?" He tucked the hair that had fallen in front of my face back behind my ear.

"I think I need to leave." I said as I got up from underneath him, leaving him looking puzzled.

He got up and followed me to the front door as I quickly slipped my boots on.

"Scarlet, look at me." I reluctantly did as he told me.

"We do not have to do anything more. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. Please stay." He said looking genuinely concerned he had done something wrong.

I looked away from his gaze.

"No, I'm sorry. You've not done anything wrong. I just... I really have to go."

I reached up to the door knob and walked out without looking back, feeling relieved when I realised he wasn't following me.