redeeming alyson | ongoing

a gentleman's offer

We walked for a good ten minutes before we reached the end of the cave which opened up to a pathway of stone stairs lit up on the sides by ensconces. There was no metal railing to hold you up incase you fell, so West assisted me until we reached the bottom.

My lips parted when my eyes scanned the place. It was full of stalactites and stalagmites. The sparse light from the ensconces gave it a yellowish glow, almost reminiscent of a 90s film, soft and blurred. I turned to look at West, wanting to tell him this but he was already looking at me.

In that split-second, I suddenly noticed how deep his whiskey brown eyes were, and how they were almost looking right into the very core of me. I felt slightly unnerved and broke the ice with a small laugh. "This place is beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah," he said quietly, his eyes almost entranced. He was rooted in his spot, and staring at me like I was a painting in a museum he was trying to figure out. "I'm breathless just staring."

The smile fell from my lips when he slowly walked towards me. He looked like the physical embodiment of a Song dynasty warrior, his face masculine and handsome at the same time. I liked how he didn't look pretty, but rather refinedly handsome. His pale skin shone in the warm light. His body was lean and muscled, like he played sports growing up, and worked out but didn't make it his entire personality. From Creon to Kayden whose bodies were ripped from years of gym and playing football and rugby to him, the change was refreshing.

It was his eyes that undid me though, like liquid pools of warm honey. I've seen a lot of handsome men, enough to last a lifetime, but West was just different. It was the way the room filled with carnal heat when it was just the two of us. But this was normal. We were adults, and alone together. It was nothing but pheromones.

West moved closer until he closed the space between us, and pulled me by the waist with one hand and cupped my jaw with the other. But a face flashed in front of me, and the eyes that met mine were the green eyes that were my obsession for so long. I pushed him away.

"Sorry.." he uttered, completely blushing. "I didn't mean to."

"For sure," I said with a smirk. "You're going to be my boss, aren't you?"

He laughed sheepishly, letting go of the situation himself. We ended up getting tacos an hour after, and he never brought up the topic about the almost kiss again. I liked that about him. He didn't make things awkward. I was relieved he was easygoing like that. I didn't want to deal with the awkwardness of sexual tension while working. I strictly kept my professional and personal life separate.

But then.. it was later on the ride home that it actually hit me  that we actually almost kissed. My future employer and I (though I haven't said yes to his offer yet, but it was good to have options). I was glad for my enormous self control, and his. After all, if i wanted to be his employee, boundaries must exist. Otherwise, this man had the power to fire me even before I get promoted.

We walked away from the restaurant with bellies full. The silence on the two minute walk to the parking lot was surprisingly comforting, and not awkward as it usually is for me on dates. Of course, I was never the type of girl who was intimidated with other men, no matter how powerful they were-but I could definitely feel the awkwardness rolling off from the other guys. It was different standing toe-to-toe with someone who could match your confidence.

"So where are you staying?" I asked as soon as he got seated on the driver's seat.

"La Terraza."

"Good choice," I said approvingly, opening my bag to fish for my lip gloss.

"You like it there?" He asked, seemingly glad about my answer.

I nodded. "One of my favorites. I love their villa hotel. I'm obsessed about their garden. It reminds me of Tangier riyads."