Competing for the Dominant

Eleven

Quinn

After dinner, Alex and I walked around downtown, enjoying each other's company. It was nice to have a small moment of peace with someone. I spent my entire teenage and young adult life always looking over one shoulder and having to be on the run. For once, I didn't have to focus on all the things I was worried about.

Being with Alex relaxed me and I was pretty sure he knew it because he steered away from anything club related. He continuously asked me questions to the point where we might as well have been playing twenty questions.

When we passed a man playing the saxophone, Alex's eyes lit up and he held out his hand, "Dance with me?"

I obliged and let him pull me into his chest. The saxophonist started playing an upbeat jazz piece and Alex and I danced around to it. We were laughing the entire time and Alex tipped the man when he finished.

"You like jazz music?" I asked him and his grin became impossibly large.

"Yes, very much so. I was in jazz band in high school and played in a band in college. I can play the piano, the sax, and the ukulele,"

"Okay, the piano and the saxophone I can understand, but where does the ukulele fit in?"

"Tried to impress this guy once. Asked him to prom while serenading him. He said no, but it was fun anyway. Ironically, I can't play the guitar,"

"That's cool that you can play instruments. The most exciting talent I have is growing my hair really fast. It's one of the reasons I keep my hair long. No point wasting money cutting it if it's gonna grow back in like a month,"

"Makes sense," Alex checked his watch, "It's late. We should get back to the restaurant and head home,"

"Oh, okay. Sure,"

"It's not that I don't want to spend time with you. I have an early appointment in the morning and if I am not on time, the client can get a little antsy,"

"Yeah, no. Of course, I understand. Maybe we can do this again,"

Alex nodded, "I was hoping you'd say that. Come on, if we pass the saxophone guy, maybe he'll play another song," Alex grabbed my hand and pulled me along. I couldn't help but laugh at his excitement.

When we arrived back at the restaurant, his truck and my motorcycle were the only two vehicles in the parking lot. Alex unlocked his truck and handed me my helmet.

"I did have fun with you tonight, Quinn. Thank you for accompanying me," he took a step forward and moved a piece of hair away from my face, "I can't wait until next time," his hand rested on my cheek and he took a deep breath before stepping away.

"Be careful and please text me to let me know you got home safely, okay?"

"Alex, wait," I wrapped my hands around his neck and brought him into a quick kiss. I barely had time to pull away before Alex was kissing me back fervently, pulling me close to him. When he pulled away, I stood there for a second, feeling the remnants of the pressure from his lips. It felt weird and I wasn't sure if it was a good weird.

"I . . . Um,"

Alex laughed softly, "Yeah. Did it feel . . . I don't know, strange to you too?"

"For sure. It was a nice kiss, but I don't know," we both stood in awkward silence, "So, now what?"

"I'm good with being friends and going on dinner adventures if you are," Alex said, taking a step back and holding out his hand. I took it and nodded. Friends it was.