They had just finished their first real date and were walking up to her apartment. Alia had to admit that it hadn't been as awkward as she had expected. Jason had insisted on paying for dinner, but since he had taken her to a hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant, she figured it was okay. The food had been excellent; Jason clearly knew what to order from their poorly translated and undescriptive menu.
After dinner, he took her to a club to go dancing. While Alia had danced with Jason multiple times before, tonight it was a bit different. He danced closer, his focus more intense, his movements teasingly seductive. While he never crossed the line into sexual overtures, she could feel the difference in his attitude; this was not just friendly dancing. And she secretly admitted to herself that she like the attention.
She certainly had fun and enjoyed the date, but the nervousness returned to her belly as she opened her door. She never had been any good at the end of date conversation and this preexisting arrangement with Jason seem like it would only complicate things.
"Hey," he said softly, lifting her chin and looking into her eyes. "I had a great time with you tonight."
"Me too." Alia bit her lip.
Jason grinned. "Does this mean you'll go out with me again tomorrow night? Grace me with your presence for a second date?"
She nodded. Looking delighted, Jason whispered, "Thank you," as he slowly leaned in to kiss her lips. The languid, sensual movements of his tongue in her mouth reawoke the fire in her that the dancing started. Forgetting they were still on her doorstep, she tangled her hands in his hair, her body flush against him. His hand moved to cup her ass, while the other trailed down her throat, caressed her collarbone then stroked the side of her breast.
Alia was lost in the familiarity of his body and the heat of the moment when the opening of a door and jingling of keys startled her. She pulled back to see her neighbor taking his dog out for a late night walk. He gave her a quirked look and a jaunty wave before heading out.
The interruption served to give Alia a chance to collect her thoughts. Well to at least assess what she was doing. Making out at her open door like a college kid was not how she ended dates. Much less first dates.
Alia cursed herself for her own dating standards. Thrusting her hormones asides, she looked up at Jason "Thank you for the date. It was a lot of fun. I'll see you tomorrow."
He cocked his head at her and raised an eyebrow. She flushed.
"I don't sleep with guys on the first date," she said.
A small grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. He nodded politely and said, "well then, may I wish you good night." He backed up, and gestured to her door
She smiled, went in. Looking at him one more time she closed the door. Then she proceeded to slide down the wall and bit her lip in frustration at the sexual tension that flooded her body. It was going to be a long night.
Then a minute or two later there was knock at the door. She opened it to find Jasonn standing there with mischief in his eyes.
"So," he said in a coy voice. "Tell me all about your date. What did you think of him? Did you have fun? Are you going to go out with him again?"
Alia let out a laugh and shut the door behind him.
Jason continued, looking at her in a mock sober manner. "Be honest now, did you have sex with him?"
Still laughing, Alia shook her head. Then she let out a squeal of surprise as Jason picked her up and carried her down the hall.
"Good. That way our arrangement is still in effect." Jason declared, making his way to the bedroom. "I know a great way to spend the night."
Alia didn't answer. She was too busy kissing his neck and working her hands under his shirt. No cold shower for her tonight.
Dates with Jason were very enjoyable and surprisingly pressure free. Alia had half expected the social pressure to dress up, conform, and be polite to take some of the fun out of them. Instead, the dates felt very comfortable, similar to their outings as friends. The main difference seemed to be Jason's physical presence. He sat a little closer, held her hand, and gave other cues that signaled she was with him. It wasn't enough to make him seem possessive, but being the object of his focused stirred something inside her.
At the end of their fifth date, instead of doing the 'leave and come back' thing that Jason had been doing, he simple went to her kitchen and made cocoa. Watching him gave butterflies in her stomach. She knew at some point things would have to change, and given his intense attention on her that evening, he wasn't making cocoa in order to end things with her. Which meant he wanted a relationship. A real relationship.
Alia bit her lip and waited for him to begin. He sipped his cocoa briefly and then looked into her eyes.
"I think you know where I am going with this. I'd like to make things official, end the arrangement and start a relationship." he said. "How does that sound to you?"
Alia gnawed at her lip. It sounded great, in most respects. But she liked things as they had been and wasn't sure how things would change. Looking into his loving eyes she tried to convey all the worries and fears that she couldn't seem to put in to words.
He reached out to stroke her cheek, and rubbed his thumb over her lip, pulling it away from her teeth.
"Alia," he sighed. "Nothing important will change. You can still argue with me, send me home, tickle me mercilessly. I don't want you to change. I'll still cook for you and do your laundry – not because you can't or to smother you, but because I care about you. The only thing that changes is that I expect you to turn down any dates or propositions you get from other guys."
A small smiled slipped passed Alia's lips.
"Think you can handle that?" he asked.
Alia nodded. "Though I think there's a bit more to relationships than your letting on."
He cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. "Most people would say we've been in a relationship for a while now. Did you really think that we had a typical benefits arrangement?"
Alia flushed. "Hey, I don't know much about those sorts of things. I trusted you to arrange it appropriately."
Jason looked down into his cocoa and took a deep breath. "To be honest, I've been pursuing you from the beginning. But you needed space and weren't ready for a relationship. I've been hoping to gradually move the arrangement into something more."
Alia stared at him. "Really?" He nodded.
"Huh. I guess Stephanie was right," she said. "Don't tell her I said that."
Jason looked seriously at her, "So you're all right with this?"
She nodded smiling. If what they had been doing so far was his take on beginning a relationship, she had nothing to worry about. Well, except for telling Stephaine, but that was a whole separate issue.
Looking at him slyly she said, "Well then I guess we're at the point where I allow you to sleep here tonight."
A grin broke over his face as to stood up to lead her to the bedroom. Sleep was not in his plan for the night
