He matched her grin as he settled back against his seat, his gaze trailing from her legs on the seat next to him up to her face again. "Pretty boy? That's a new one," Alex replied, clearly teasing but not mad at the nickname, "Any reason for that one, princess?" He didn't touch her as he spoke, his arms crossed across his chest still, there would be time enough for that the rest of the way to their destination and the way back.
"Well…" Lacey tapped a finger, nails painted peach, against her chin, pretending to think. "I mean, I guess I could call you Hot Guy, or Heartbreaker, or Handsome Boy, but none of them have quite the same ring. Is the nickname not good enough for someone as attractive as you are?" She grinned at him, teeth white against her tanned skin.
Alex shrugged, the grin staying ever present on his face, "I wont turn down the nickname, if you think it's a good fit." He was used to being called attractive, but being called so by Princess Lacey felt even better than it usually felt. "Do I need to choose a new nickname for you? Rather than just calling you Princess?" He tipped his head in question, his eyes darting to her lips for a moment while he waited for her answer.
Lacey pretended to consider for a moment before shrugging, a smile tugging the corners of her lips when she noticed his gaze. "Possibly. Everyone calls me Princess, you see. It's a title, not a pet name." Although, coming from Alex's mouth made it seem more than just a title. He made it sound… well, she didn't want to think about that. "I'll leave it up to you to decide."
"Hmmm…I do like calling you Princess…but I could also call you Sweets, or maybe Trouble. All are very fitting." He offered, shrugging while he tried to wrack his brain for any other nicknames that wouldn't get him smacked. "What do you think?" Alex unfolded his arms from his chest and leaned forward on his seat, propping his forearms on his knees.
"Sweets?" The princess raised an eyebrow. "What kind of nausea-inducing nickname is that? Just hearing it makes me want to throw up." She snickered and mirrored his position. "Are you really that bad at nicknames? I thought that as a lady's man, you'd be better at that." To tell the truth, all of the were cringe-worthy and kind of adorable at the same time. Not that she'd tell him that.
He rolled his eyes, feigning hurt even though a small grin was present on his face, "Ouch." Alex shrugged, "I suppose I'll have to stick with princess then. Until I get better at giving nicknames." He had really never been one for nicknames until he knew enough about someone to deem a good nickname, but either way giving Lacey a nickname was proving fun. If nothing else, it was starting conversation between them. ""The ladies flock to me, regardless of their nickname," He added, throwing a cocky smirk and a light chuckle moments later.
"Oh, I'm sure they do," Lacey said dryly, one eyebrow raised in disbelief. "As all of the maids have been watching you, I can tell just how popular you are." She shook her head in amusement, lips curving up. Talking to him like this was fun, to her surprise. Most of the guys she had talked to were more interested in ogling at her, and so this was a welcome relief.
She reached past Alex, leaning so close to him that they were only inches apart, before knocking on the glass window that separated the driver's side from the back.
The glass went down. "Can I help you, Your Highness?" The driver asked.
"How long until we arrive?"
"About five minutes, my lady."
"Thank you. That's all." The glass went up, and she leaned back against her seat, grinning at Alex, watching for his reaction.
Alex's smirk turned into a grin at her words, and he opened his mouth to speak. Quickly, he closed it though when Lacey leaned forward. He would be lying to say that his heartbeat got quicker when she got close, and he waited to see what she was going to do.
Just as he was expecting her to do something, her attention was on the glass window, not on him. Not that he minded. He was inches away from the princess, close enough that he could smell her perfume, and they were alone, for the first time since their…meeting…in the pantry. He let out a slow breath as she went back to her seat, looking unbothered by the moment besides the flirtatious look in his eyes.
"Would I be able to steal a kiss before we get to wherever we're going?" He asked, shaking off his gentlemanly manners and asking her outright, meeting her eyes with a smile.
Alex's eyes seemed to sharpen, and Lacey met his gaze, returning his bland smile. His question made every nerve on her body alert, but she didn't even blink at it. "Well, that depends," she said, tapping one finger on her chin. "Are you enough of a thief to steal one? All the thieves I've heard of never asked before they took something."
Asking the driver had had two intentions. One, she had known how much time there would be before they arrived, and the other was to make Alex make the first move. Usually, she was the one who initiated everything, but hey, if she didn't try something new, where was the fun?
"It's not the first kiss I've stolen from you," He replied, shrugging, though he looked far from casual, "I think I'm enough of a thief to get another one." Alex's smile morphed into a smirk and he watched for her reaction, wondering if she would let him get a kiss, or if he would have to wait until after their outing to kiss her. It would be frustrating to wait, to say the least, but it was her choice. He leaned forward in his seat as he waited, hoping he looked at least partly calm through the whole situation.
"We have yet to see that," the Princess remarked, a smirk on her face as she realized how ruffled she was making him. She propped her elbows on her thighs, leaning forward, until their lips were centimetres apart, and she could feel his breath on her face. "So far, you seem to be all bark and no bite. I'm disappointed; I was expecting more." Anticipation tingled through her, but she didn't let any of it show on her face, eyes light with mischief. Let's see if he dares, she thought with a grin.
Alex leans forward further, his smirk ever present as he got close enough that their lips just brushed each other, "Am I really? Maybe I'm just being polite. You are the princess after all." He didn't wait for much of a response before he finally kissed her. It was a playful, smirk filled kiss, though he did go as far as to rest a hand on her thigh while moving his other hand around to cup the back of her neck. His heartrate skyrocketed as he kissed her, both from the excitement of finally doing so again, and from the thrill of only having a few minutes left to do so before they would reach their destination.
Alex may be a rogue, Lacey reflected, but boy he did know how to kiss. She felt his smile against her lips, and his hand on her thigh, gentle, teasing, waiting to see what she would do.
Her heart pounded, and she met his gaze, a challenge in her eyes, before she leaned forward even more, winding her hands in his silky hair to pull him closer, leaning up the few inches. It was an interesting position, one she could safely say that she had never done before, but that's what made it all the better. She parted her lips slightly under his, a purr just barely hidden. Her heard was pounding quickly, the exhilaration and pleasure from the kiss flushing her cheeks ever so slightly.
Kissing Lacey was one of the best things that had happened all day, Alex decided without hesitation. Her lips felt natural against his, full of fire and excitement. If he wasn't so aware of their time limit, he knew he could get lost in the moment.
He hummed playfully and mimicked her movements, parting his lips as he pulled her closer, waiting for the movement of the vehicle braking to put an end to the excitement. Until then, he took his desire and excitement in stride, his heartbeat racing as he felt her hands snake into his hair. That was enough to make him hum again as he kissed her.
(Two kisses and not even ten pages. I love these two so much XD)
She felt Alex's hum almost in her chest, and she smiled against his lips, absorbing the sound into her body, feeling it tingle through her. She ran her fingers through his hair, pulling it gently in the process, which was accidental, although she didn't regret it. He hummed a second time and one of her hands left his hair, dragging down his head to his shoulder, running down his arm.
And then the car screeched to a halt, stopping for a pedestrian who crossed suddenly, and she fell backwards against the seat, accidentally pulling him with her.
(They're something else that's for sure XD)
Lacey running her hand down his arm gave him goosebumps, a thrum of new excitement coursing through him. He pulled her closer, sure that they had at least a few more minutes with each other.
And as he thought it, the car slammed to a stop.
The movement was shocking, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. One minute he was lost in kissing Lacey, and the next, he was thrown across the seat with her, landing on top of her across the seat. His grip on her thigh tightened with the shock as his eyes flew open, shocked at the sudden jolt. He was more than aware of how close they were pressed together, how little room was left between them, but all he could think to ask was questions. "Are you alright? What was that?"
Lacey couldn't help but let out a laugh as she heard the panic in Alex's voice, as well as the faint cursing of the chauffeur. She grinned up at the man on top of her, amber eyes sparkling with amusement. "I'm fine. I think, if you look out the window, you might see a very startled jaywalker and several scared-looking watchers." She wasn't saying this because she saw what had happened, she was just hoping that it was right. She glanced at him again, and her lips curled into a smirk, half-tempted to lean up and kiss him again. "Are you okay? You fell pretty hard."
For a quick moment, he glanced outside, and sure enough, it was exactly as Lacey described. "Me? I'm alright, I was worried that I hurt you when I fell." He met her eyes, a sheepish smile on his face, though his eyes were alight with excitement and ideas. Alex knew it would be most acceptable to sit up, but he didn't exactly want to. He had propped himself up on an arm, so he wasn't completely crushing Lacey, but as he shook the worry from his mind, he found himself thinking of kissing her again.
"Do you want me to get up?" He asked, offering up the suggestion, even as his gaze landed on her lips. Gods kissing her sounded like a good idea.
The princess noted his glance toward her lips, and looked up at him innocently, although her blood sparked with the look in his eye. "I don't know… I think I like this position." And then she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close again. Her hair tickled her neck, but she ignored it, meeting his eyes with a blazing look in her own, before leaning up slightly and once again latching her lips to his. This. This was paradise.
Alex didn't hide his grin as she pulled him closer, nor did he object to the kiss at all. The new position changed the feel of the kiss. No longer was it just a playful kiss. This was different. It was a conscious choice to stay like this, adding a feel of wonderful danger to the situation. If anyone found him like this…with the princess as well…he would be in immense amounts of trouble. Gently, he snaked his free hand around to tangle in her hair, focusing on nothing but the kiss. Not the car, not how close they were to their destination, nothing.
I'm going to look like shit, Lacey thought gleefully as his hand wound into her hair, pulling her closer. The adrenaline with the crash and the new position and the possibility that the paparazzi could find out made her blood spark and rise to the occasion and excitement. Her arms, wrapped around her neck as they were, started to run over his neck and shoulder in smooth strokes, moving of their own accord. She could feel the firm muscle beneath his shirt, and she felt tingly all over just thinking about it.
(Ooo do we want to have the paparazzi find them/get some pics of them together like this? Maybe have them be leaked and get Alex in some trouble? That could be why he gets kidnapped by the other competitor…because he’s too close to the princess?)
Alex couldn’t deny that the feel of her hands running over his shoulders gave him goosebumps. He loved the excitement, feeling the danger that came with such a lovely time. Slowly, he pulled away from the kiss after a long slow moment, a grin still gracing his face as he looked down at her. “Can we skip the date? This is quite fun on its own,” He asked. Too soon would he have to focus on her challenge and the date, and he was still looking forward to it, even if this was a wonderful time on its own.
(Ooh, definitely! But should we have that later, so that they can "develop" their relationship a little more, and get the paparazzi more interested in all the guys?)
Alex's grin was infectious, and even though he had pulled away, he was still hovering over her, lips inches from her own, his breath hitting her face. Lacey smiled slightly, eyes glinting with the saying that yes, yes she did, screw it all. She was about to open her mouth, agree with him, tell the driver to go far away and find somewhere where she and Alex could make out in peace - when she remembered where they were going.
"Well," she drawled, dragging out the word. To hell with secrecy. "I was planning on heading to an arcade, where I would beat you in all of the games I possibly could. So unless you'd prefer to make out for the next two hours" - which didn't sound so bad, if she thought about it - "we should continue this on the way back."
He paused as she spoke, torn between going to the date and staying right here with her. On one hand, it would be wonderful to prove her wrong and beat her at some games…but it would also be wonderful to make out. "Hm…that's a hard choice…" Alex pondered it for a minute, finally deciding with a smile, "We can go to the arcade, I want to win some games and then come finish this." He didn't move from where he was though, just added, "And until we get there…we might have time for another few minutes of this."
"Oh, you won't win," the Princess responded confidently. "I'll make sure of it." She smirked up at him, eyes flashing. She noted that he was still propped over her, and that if there were anyone to happen to glance in, there would be a lot of explaining to do.
Dad would kill me, she thought gleefully.
One of her hands, which was still around him, twirled around the hairs at the back of his neck. Her heart picked up at the thought of more kissing, and she tilted her head slightly. "I guess we can do this for a little longer. However, time is ticking by, and the longer you talk, the less time we have." As if it wasn't partially her fault, either.
Alex chuckled, eyes sparkling in challenge, "You seem pretty confident that you'll win." He leaned down and pressed a playful kiss to her cheek, whispering in her ear, "I think I'll be the one winning instaed."
He pulled away only a moment later, grinning devilishly. There wouldn't be much time for them to stay like this, especially if they were almost at the arcade. But at least he could tease Lacey even if had to wait to kiss her until after.
"You seem so confident with that fact," Lacey said quietly, a smirk in her voice. As one of the most competitive people in the entire universe, she would make sure she won, no matter the cost.
Her skin tingled where his lips had been, and she looked up at him, noting the grin on his face, the mischief in his eyes, just before he pulled away. She sat up, pushing him onto his own seat, and hovered over him long enough to brush her own soft lips over the skin right next to his mouth before she sat back down on her seat and arranged her hair and clothes, brushing up on her makeup, pretending as if nothing had happened.
It was a lie to say his heartbeat didn't pick up when she pushed him against his seat and almost kissed him again. He didn't hold back a soft laugh that came when she finally sat back in her own seat and began to make herself look more presentable. "Just like that, we're back to normal," He teased, watching her with a slight grin, "Don't want the press to catch us together?"
Even as he teased, he check his own appearance over, smoothing out his shirt while making sure his hair didn't look like a rats nest. As much as he didn't care about his public appearance, he figured it didn't look good to look like a mess around Lacey. There was the possibility it could get her in trouble after all.
"The press can go fuck themselves," Lacey said dismissively, pulling out a mirror to apply a light brushing of blush on her cheeks. "Since they can't do it to me. They've been trying to catch everyone doing something dirty or vulgar since the Selection started. Should we not give them something that they want?" She lowered her mirror and looked him straight in the eye, grinning with all the mischief of someone used to screwing people over.
Although… it was a lie. She really didn't want to get caught by the media. They would have a field day, and if the favor went down even a little bit during this time, not only would her father freak out, but she would have to do so many press conferences just to get everything cleared away.