The Promiscuous Pact

Chapter XVII

My heart fluttered at Alec's response--even after my inexcusable attitude and relentless denial, he still wanted to try.

"Can I propose a few conditions?" I questioned with hope.

Alec raised an eyebrow in my direction. "This depends."

"On?" I probed.

"What they are," replied Alec. Cecilia came by to take our orders, and we both responded with our usual. We hadn't bothered to look much at the menus, as our focus was primarily on each other.

Cecilia gave us her usual warm smile as she wrote this down, before she spun around and headed in the direction of the kitchen to give the chef our order.

"I'd rather Mel and Liz not find out about us just yet," I stated in a firm manner.

"Done," Alec said without hesitation.

Seeing the look on my face, his confidence wavered. "What? They are your friends--not mine."

Alec did have a point, so I left the topic drop without commenting.

"Anything else?" my love interest inquired.

Did I have any other requirements? Andrew's cocky attitude and mocking eyes flashed in my head, making me conjure one more stipulation. "Please don't ever lie to me. Trust is huge, and I don't want whatever this could be to break and crumble," I said with a pleading voice.

Nodding, Alec agreed. "So does this count as our first date?" He gestured around us at the diner surrounding us.

Shrugging, I took a sip of my drink before I bothered to answer. "It can be if you'd like."

Thoughtful for a moment, Alec shook his head in disagreement. "I'd rather it not be, but I think we could watch a movie this afternoon. If you are free, that is." It was attractive to see Alec stumble for the right set of words--it reminded me of the past when he was dorky and nerdy. Both seemed to have sprung some kind of desire within me, but it was an urge I didn't agree needed to be quenched.

"I am free," I said almost immediately.

"Great. Do you have movies, or do we need to rent one?" Alec questioned. Cecilia brought out our food, and my mouth began watering.

I thought back to my movies. Would Alec be interested in watching them? Most were the typical chick-flicks. I told him as much, just when Cecilia placed our food in front of us.

"Thanks, Cecilia," Alec responded with a gracious smile. I just nodded, going along with Alec's gratitude. Once Cecilia left, Alec turned to me to discuss our movie dilemma. "I don't mind chick flicks, but if that makes you self-conscious, then we can rent something."

I wasn't self-conscious in the slightest, so I joked, "Romantic comedy it is."

We ate our meals in relative silence, talking in brief about the soured weekend and our tentative plans for the upcoming one.

"I have nothing planned," I stated as we finished up eating.

"Me neither," Alec said. "We could maybe do something?" He wanted to go on another date next weekend?

"Like what?" I questioned, not wanting to voice the panic rising within me. It wasn't his fault that I had trouble connecting or dealing with dates. Andrew ruined that for me.

He started listing different ideas off before he noticed my reaction. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I lied.

"Something is obviously wrong. You're making that face." he pointed out.

"What face?" I said with innocence lacing my voice.