One Thing Leads To Another

Chapter 2



"You gonna do it this time?" she asked dribbling the ball.



He was behind her trying to take the ball and make a shot, but she avoided his every attempt to take it. After she was through toying with him she made a lay up and sunk the ball. She caught the ball as it bounced off the backboard. S he twirled the ball on her finger as she turned and looked at Alec. He looked at her under hooded eyes with defeat.



"You owe me forty bucks buddy, " she said laughing.



Here we go. "I don't have it."



She stopped twirling the ball and laid it on her hip. "Quit being such a sore looser and give me my damn forty bucks, " she said.



"I don't have it, " he repeated.



"Alec!" she said irritated.



He couldn't help but laugh. She looked so cute when she started to get mad. "I swear I'll pay you later." She was upset at this point.



"Alec I'm not going into your pockets to get my fucking money now give it to me, " she said as stepped in his three foot of space.



"Max I swear if I had the money I would give it to you. I'll pay you tomorrow ok, " he said hoping it would calm her down.



"You better, " she said quietly.



Then a raindrop hit her on the face...then another...another. She looked up in time to hear thunder.



"There's a storm coming, " he said.



"Let's beat before it starts pouring, " she said.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



"Alec move your ass!" she yelled trying to push past him into his apartment. Sherly rly toppled him over as she went past him.



"Jeez Max it's just rain, " he said catching his balance.



She gave him a go to hell look. "I can't help if Manticore put feline DNA in my cocktail, " she said as she took her jacket off.



He shhis his head as he took off his own jacket and hung it on the wall. He put his right hand in the inside pocket of his jacket, "Hey, look what I found." He pulled five twenties out and looked at them.



Her mouth gaped open as she saw the wad of cash. She quickly walked over to him and took the cash from his hand.



"Hey, I only owe you forty, " he said as she took all of it.



She took forty from the pile and handed him the rest. "I should take it all for your little joke earlier, " she said putting the forty in her pocket.



He laughed and put the rest of the money in his jacket. "So...what do you want to do?" he asked folding his hands over his chest.



She folded her arms her arms in front of her and tilted her head at him.



"What?" he asked wondering why she was staring at him like that? It usually wasn't good when she had that look.

Slowly, she moved into a fighting position.



"What you want to workout here?" he said spreading his hands out to indicate the size of the room. His apartment was small. All it had was two rooms. The living room with a kitchen and the bathroom was all there was.



"Surely you've had to fight in tighter situations, " she said raising an eyebrow.



He nodded then quick as lighting he grabbed for her. She averted quickly by blocking his arms and moving to the right to kick him. He blocked the kick and went for an elbow in the face, but she ducked and punched him in the rib cage. He staggered backward but regained his stance quickly.



She came at him with a sweep-round house combination, which he blocked easily then swept her left leg from under her. She landed on her back with a thud. She looked up to see him smiling down at her. She flipped back to her feet and went after him.



They blocked each other's punches and kicks easily. One would attack the other would counter. After about thirty minutes of sparring Alec spoke, "Ready to stop." "You getting tired?" she asked mocking him. He smiled and gave a punch combination that she blocked. "I can go all night, " he said cocky as usual.



Still standing in her fighting stance she tilted her head. "Alright, here's the deal. Who ever pins the other to the ground first wins...fair?"



He thought about it a moment. "Deal."



She lunged at him with a front kick. He guided the kick out of the way and jabbed at her. She blocked the jab leaving herself open for a front kick which made contact with her abdomen. She stumbled back startled he got a kick in.



"Lucky shot, " she said.



"Luck has nothing to do with it." With speed he went at her with a punch-kick combination. She was unable to block all and he got a grip on her wrist. Twisting her wrist she went to the ground on her stomach with her arms pinned behind her back.



"I win, " he said victorious.



She struggled against his hold on her wrists, which was futile. "Who's the man?" he asked smiling.



"If you don't let me up I'll show you who the man is, " she said agitated.



"Who's laying on the ground here?" he asked conversationally.



"Alec, " she said warned.



"I'll let you up if you promise not to kick my ass, " he said.



"No deal, " she said as she struggled to get free.



He held her arms in place with ease. Her wiggling was starting to get to him. The way he was sitting on her didn't help his situation. If he wasn't careful she would feel something she shouldn't. "Stop wiggling, " he said irritated.



"Let go of me, " she said continuing to struggle. As she struggled her bottom rubbed against a certain part of his anatomy. He bit his tongue to keep from groaning. He knew she felt his hard-on when she stopped wiggling. He propped himself up on his knees so he wasn't sitting on her. "I'm going to let you go now, " he said.



He let her wrists go and started to get up when the lights went out.



"Brown out, " he said. After living in Seattle for a year he got used to all the brown outs that happened. "Hang on a second I'll have us some light, " he stood and headed for his candles.



She stood and looked out the window and noticed it was raining harder than when they came inside. 'Great, ' she thought. She knew she would end up having to stay the night. Brown out's usually lasted all night and with it raining so hard she didn't think it was a good idea to ride her bike.



The room slowly illuminated with candlelight. "Nice candles, " she said for no apparent reason but to stop the silence.



He just looked at her and placed the candles in specific places through out the apartment. She decided to sit instead of standing and looking stupid.



He took a candle in the bathroom and came out. "You ok?" he asked leaning against the door.



"Yea, " she said. He looked so good standing like that with the candlelight on his body. 'God Max where are these emotions coming from all the sudden?' she thought. She needed to leave but didn't want to offend him. She knew if she just left in the middle of a brown out with it pouring down rain outside he would wonder why. She looked away from him placing her gaze somewhere else.



He pushed away from the doorframe and walked to his pad on the floor, "You can crash here if you want. You know how long these brown outs can last. And we can't let you get wet know can we?" He smiled as she gave him a go to hell look.



She thought about it for a minute and sighed. "OK, you got something I can sleep in?" she asked putting her hands in her back pockets.



He pointed to his drawers and said, "Help yourself, most of my shirts swallow you anyway." She made her way over to his drawers and picked out her favorite shirt and a pair of boxers.



"I'll be out in a sec, " she said going into the bathroom. She closed the door and laid the shirt on the back of the toilet. She reached down and pulled her shirt out of her pants and through it on the floor. She picked the shirt up and put it on. She kicked her shoes off then discarded of her pants and put the boxers on. She picked up her close and shoes and opened the door.



He laughed as soon as he seen her.



"What?" she asked looking down at herself. She looked back to him and he started to laugh harder. "Shut up Alec I'm warning you, " she said.



He stopped laughing and through his hands up in defense, "I was just thinking they look better on you."



"Yeah okay, " she said putting her clothes on top of his dresser.



"They really do look better on you, " he said.



"There three times bigger than me, " she said loudly. Then a thought hit her. "Are you trying to say I'm gaining weight?" she asked curiously but playfully.



His eyes grew big and his hands went up in defense, "Absolutely not Max."



She couldn't help but laugh at his insecurity of the situation. "I'm just playing with you, " she said throwing a pair of his socks at him.



The socks hit him square on the head.



"Ow, " he faked pain as he held his head. "You wound me, " he said in faked pain.



"You are such a baby, " she said walking to him and sitting beside him.



"Who's fault is that?" he said gazing at her sideways. "You were the one who gave me a heart that cares."



"It was me wasn't it?" she said with cockiness. They laughed and then fell into silence. All that could be heard was the heavy rain falling outside and the thunder above. She yawned and put her hand to her mouth to cover it up.



"Tired?" he asked.



"I guess it's the rain, " she said with a sleepy tone.



"Why don't you lie down get some...don't argue with me, " he said putting a finger up as she was about to protest. "Come on, " he said patting the pad he slept on.



She laid down next to him and got comfortable. He laid down beside her and covered her with a blanket. She was already asleep as he made himself comfortable beside her. "Goodnight Max, " he said before he drifted off into his state of sleep.