Apartment Above Luke's, Thursday Afternoon

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy was sitting crosslegged in her living room, surrounded by a truly staggering number of anatomically-shaped lollipops, hard candies, and other confections. It turned out that the company that had supplied Dite's with chocolates and candy had gone out of business and multiple other companies had sent samples to the store in hopes of scoring the contract. Kathy...wasn't sure what it said about the store or the island that it was considered a lucrative enough market for a number of stores to go to this much trouble.

But, she was determined to be a good manager and if that meant spending the afternoon trying a ridiculous amount of sexy candy to decide which she liked best, well, she was up to the task. As long as she took breaks for real food every few hours, she should be okay, right? And she had a pen and paper to record her observations (and had come up with several criteria to judge them on), making this all legit and aboveboard and not just an excuse to gorge out on penis-shaped candy all day.

So far, she'd noticed that the sour gummy boobs made the cut on her lip burn and the mold for one of the companies tended to make their chocolates look more like melted candles than anything sexy. Oh, and another company used cheap chocolate that tended to flake off which was just NOT attractive in something meant to simulate body parts. It was this kind of attention to detail that separated the good managers from the mediocre, see?

[Open! But probably slow as I'm still in training, so who knows what my schedule will be when this finally posts. Link to Anders' thread.]

Comments

[not_every_mage]

"Hey, I didn't mean right this second," Anders said, nudging her with his foot. "I'm not sure what to do either. As much as I want you, I can't promise it'd be just like it was last spring. And it doesn't sound like you want to just try it out and see where it goes. So ... I guess we keep our clothes on until we sort that out."

That was, after all, the mature thing to do. It just didn't sound like much fun.

[spin_kick_snap]

"We could do that," Kathy hedged. "God knows it's probably also the smart thing to do. " She brushed her hair away from her face. "But I want you, Anders. And with everything I can't have and everything I shouldn't have, it's pretty hard to say no to the one thing I can."

She gave him a crooked smile, hoping he wouldn't see the uncertainty in her eyes. "Which, in case you were wondering, is you, naked, wherever and however I can get you."

[not_every_mage]

"... I wasn't expecting you to say that," Anders said, but his eyes were dark with interest. "You're sure? I'm not trying to talk you into anything."

[spin_kick_snap]

'Sure' wasn't exactly the word Kathy would use. After all, her proposal that they just sleep together casually had worked wonderfully the last time. And that wasn't even getting into Dante and feelings and all the rest of it.

But between that and nothing at all, well, Kathy didn't see much of a choice.

"You don't need to talk me into anything," she said with a casual shrug. "It's what I want. I don't know how well it lines up with what you want, but I'm laying my cards on the table, I guess."

[not_every_mage]

"I want the 'seeing each other naked' part," Anders said, with a quick flash of a grin. "But -- if we're laying our cards on the table -- I'm not sure I'm ready to start tonight. I feel a little sticky from the candy and milkshake, and the last thing I want is bad sex if it's your first time in a while."

Besides, he had just enough uncertainty in his mind to want to be sure it was more than an impulse.

[spin_kick_snap]

"And here I thought my 'seduce Anders with ridiculous amounts of candy' idea would be a shoo-in," Kathy said with a laugh that she hoped wasn't as self-conscious as she felt. "Ah well. Another time then."

[not_every_mage]

"Not that watching you chew on a candy thong isn't incredibly sexy," Anders said, with a self-conscious laugh of his own as he held a hand out to Kathy. "I don't know how I'm holding back."

[spin_kick_snap]

"We at Dite's Decadent Delights strive to imbue sexy into everything we do," she said, talking his hand in hers. "You must have a resolve of steel to be able to withstand all this."

And that was what she was going to cling to, rather than letting all her doubts and insecurities try to convince her it was anything different.

[not_every_mage]

"Willpower is my strongest suit," Anders said, barely managing to keep a straight face, and leaned in to kiss her. He wasn't about to miss his chance to do at least that much.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Li--" The kiss probably shouldn't have taken her by surprise and yet it did anyway. There was a moment when she stood still in shock, mouth firm and unyielding, and then that moment was gone and she was kissing Anders with everything she had, telling him with lips, teeth, and tongue everything she was too hesitant to say aloud. One hand slid into his hair, the other wound around his neck to hold him closer as she used every scrap of memory she had to turn this kiss into a wild, explosive conflagration.

He didn't have to want her tonight. But she was still going to try to send him home aching.

[not_every_mage]

Well. If he'd surprised Kathy with the kiss, she'd more than returned the surprise with how quickly and thoroughly she'd intensified the kiss. His hands went to her waist, clenching tightly at the fabric of her shirt.

He was breathing heavily when they pulled apart too stunned to speak beyond a soft, "... Kathy!"

[spin_kick_snap]

"I'm not going to apologize for that," she said, defiant like she expected him to demand she do just that. "I'm not pushing for more and I'm not trying to convince you to stay. But I wasn't going to pretend that I don't want you as much as I do."

[not_every_mage]

"You just surprised me," Anders said defensively. "I was going for a a 'hi, how are you' kiss and you turned it into 'hello, baby, let's get a room.'"

A beat. "I'm not offended, by the way. And I can't say i didn't enjoy it."

[spin_kick_snap]

"I saw it as a lot more of a, 'hey, I missed you' kiss," Kathy said. "But if you want to try again, I can see if I can land on 'hi, how are you.'"

[not_every_mage]

Anders tilted his head at her, smiling winsomely. "That sounds like the best idea," he said. "But 'hey, I missed you' isn't bad, either."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Good," Kathy said, stepping forward again. "Because I do."

Do, not did. But maybe he wouldn't notice that as she leaned forward to kiss him. Sweetly, this time.

[not_every_mage]

Anders smiled into the kiss, relaxing against Kathy in a way that was both familiar and somehow new. His hands rested at her waist, pulling her close against him.

[spin_kick_snap]

And her arms casually looped over his shoulders and around his neck, her leg sliding between his. "Better?" she teased, looking up into his eyes before kissing him again.

[not_every_mage]

Anders snorted in amusement. "I thin I'm remembering how to do this now, yes."

[spin_kick_snap]

"I don't mean to rush you," Kathy said, catching her lower lip in between her teeth. "Not for that. Not for anything."

[not_every_mage]

Anders leaned forward, dropping a kiss on her forehead. "I know. We just need to get to know each other again, is all. We don't have sex pollen this time."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Might be easier if we did," Kathy mock-sighed. "Now we're stuck with all this pesky 'thinking.'"

[not_every_mage]

"We could get drunk," Anders said. "That solves everything, doesn't it?"

He stayed close to her as he talked, barely a breath away.

[spin_kick_snap]

"We could," Kathy said and gave the option real thought for a moment.

But then... "No," she sighed and this time it was a real one. "We've already agreed that we shouldn't and I don't want our first time together again to be a mistake we regret later."

She didn't want to be a mistake he'd regret later.

"Another time. When we're sure."

[not_every_mage]

"I don't think I'd ever regret you," Anders said, even as he wondered if that was true. If he went to bed with her and something went wrong again --

He sighed, too.

"But if we aren't going to -- maybe I should go home."