Learning the Rules Ch. 04

In this chapter things are starting to heat up between Alexandra and Jamison. Alexandra finds Jamison much more daunting than she first thought he would be. She also finds him intelligent, kind and generous. More interestingly is she finds him down right demanding, attractive, sexy and a lot more fun. Jamison finds Alex tests his patience and his will. This could be an interesting life lesson, for both of them. One she is really looking forward to explore with him; one he can't wait to lead her on. I hope you continue to follow Alexandra and Jamison's journey. Enjoy the read!

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The drive home starts off in silence. Then Jamie asks her an unexpected question. "Alexandra, do you think you can trust me enough to come to my place tonight instead of me taking you home?" He isn't sure how she will answer, but he is hoping for a yes.

She looks at him, only able to see his profile muted by the street lights as they drive down the street. He is heading to her apartment and she is curious as to why he wants to change the plan. Rule one: Be honest, be truthful. "To be honest, I'm not exactly sure how much I can trust you just yet. Truthfully, just getting into your car alone with you is pretty trusting for me." She can see his face change a little, even though he tries to maintain his affect as neutral as possible.

She actually thinks that maybe she just hurt his feelings. She doesn't want to hurt him. She doesn't understand why, but she feels bad about it. Alex reaches over and lightly places her hand on his forearm as his hand rests on the steering wheel. The small but thoughtful gesture gets his attention and he looks at her. "I am genuinely able to say that I trust you more now than I did at dinner. I think it wise to question just how much I trust you considering we just met several hours ago. Yet, it seems like we have known each other a lot longer. I'll even go as far as to say, I feel more comfortable talking with you right now, than I did when we left the trinity."

He smiles and is a little relieved as he asks, "Why is that do you think?"

"I think it's because you were so moving when you told me I didn't need to be scared, or nervous, that you would never lie to me, cheat on me, or hurt me. Well not really hurt me, you know what I mean. After you said all of those things and tried to make me feel safe and open to what may happen, it was like my gut said I could trust you."

Smiling as she looks at him as he drives, she continues to share her thoughts and feelings with him. "Then after your call with Ashley, when you...well, when you were totally up front with me about things, I actually felt even more comfortable with you. Before that, even though I knew what Ashley told me, it was like you were keeping a secret. It isn't just a secret; it's part of you. Part of what makes you the man you are; it's part of who you really are as a person. Once I knew that you were willing to share such an intimate detail about your life and trust me with that information, I guess, I felt some sort of shared bond." She starts laughing as she continues to look at him.

"What's so funny?" He is perplexed by her laughter after such intuitive thoughts.

"I'm just listening to myself describe how I feel about you now as compared to earlier this evening. I'm telling you how I trust you more now and my comfort level with you is better, I realized something rather funny."

"What to share it with the class?" He says with a raised eyebrow and a questioning look on his face.

"Well Mr. Montgomery, I realized, you are an acquired taste. It may take time, but I think eventually, you grow on people. That is if you give them a chance before you scare them off." Alex's voice is light and playful, but Jamie realizes that there is truth in what she says about scaring people off. It's been easier for him to do that than to risk getting burned again.

"Ah, so I'm like a good wine? I like that analogy."

She laughs and responds with words laden with sarcasm as she teases with him. "I was thinking more like a tattoo. Extremely painful at first, but as you look at it more closely and identify the finer points, you can appreciate its intricacies. I'm sure with time it becomes more attractive, more beautiful, and the closer you look, the more you understand about its' detailing." Alex is very thoughtful as she speaks there is no harshness or criticism in her voice. She means it in the kindest of ways but she isn't use to using analogies or metaphors to describe her feelings or thoughts. In fact, she isn't use to having to describe her feelings or thoughts at all.

Jamie looks across the front seat to her. "I don't know whether or not that is a complement, but I'm going to take it as one."

"It is." She smiles. "It is."

"Then that takes me back to my original question. Will you trust me enough to come home with me tonight?"

"I don't want you to get mad, but I need to ask another question before answering? Is that ok with you?"

"I'd be amazed if you didn't." He is being playful and Alex realizes that. She actually likes his playful side.

"Why the change in plans? Why do you want to go to your place instead of my apartment as originally discussed?" She looks at him closely. She is monitoring his tone, his expression, anything that will shed light on the change in plan.

"It's simple. At my place we can talk freely and I can not only talk to you about things, but I can show you things. Show you more about my life and what it entails. Explain to you about how your life will change if you decide to explore a relationship with me. Show you what you will be getting into by making any type of commitment. Make no mistake about it Alexandra; it will be a commitment you make, to me, to us, and to yourself. I won't accept anything less from you and I won't offer you anything less. You will either decide it's something you want to pursue or decide it's not for you. At my place, you will get a more detailed picture and if you decide no, then we've only lost 24 hours. What do you say?"

Alex hesitates a few moments, thinking about what he has said before she answers him. "Ok. Your house it is, but that doesn't mean I'm committing to anything other than conversation and information sharing." Alex doesn't quite know why she feels this way, but she trusts him. She knows he won't hurt her, she knows she is safe with him. She even knows it won't be long before she tells him that. She feels these things in her gut and her gut is rarely wrong. Her feelings toward him have been a ball of confusion from the minute she exited that taxi.

Jamie doesn't hesitate; he passes right by her apartment and heads for I-76 west. He lives about thirty minutes outside of the city, in Upper Marion, and at the speed he is driving they will be there in no time. That is if they don't get pulled over by highway patrol.

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When they arrive at his place, Alex realizes it is more than a house. It is a mansion. It even comes with the big rod iron initialed gate. He presses a button on his visor and the gate opens. Automatically, the driveway is lit up like a landing strip. The lights must be motion sensitive because as he drives the car up the long curved drive, the lights come on in front of them.

It isn't a new home; it appears to be Tutor styled, most likely from the 1930's or 40's. The exterior and the grounds look to be well kept. Jamie pulls in front of the house and parks. Opening her door, Jamie helps Alex out and walks her into his home. He watches her intently as they enter the house.

It is a huge entry way. The staircase to the upstairs is set back on their right. Immediately to the right is a set of heavy dark wood double doors. They are pocket doors, but they are left partially opened. Looking into the room you can see it is a home office and library. To the left is a larger sitting room. It looks comfortable and it is where Jamie guides Alex.

As they enter the room, she realizes what a masculine room it is. The furniture is large and bulky but very comfortable looking. The colors are dark. The majority of the furniture consists of dark brown wood with a slightly lighter brown soft leather cushion to them. Even the lighting is dim. The ceiling light fixtures are off; the only light is from a few lamps with low wattage bulbs. The walls are a shade of celery green. The only lively color comes from the curtains and throw pillows. The curtains are a deep emerald green and the throw pillows are a rich golden color with some green accents. The floor is a wide plank dark wood, but there is a huge Persian rug covering it. The rug is the focal point of the room. It brings life into the room. It consists of deep jewel colors, reds, blues, greens and gold's. All in all, it is a man's room, all strong and sturdy in look and function. Not unlike its owner.

After looking around, Alex realizes what stands out most, in both rooms, is the cleanliness, the order and organization of the rooms. The desk in the office is huge; it's made of heavy dark black wood. It shines like ice it has been waxed so much. The legs are thick and sturdy. It looks rather sturdy, like it is made to hold much more weight than would be required of a desk. It's clean of papers and only has a few essential items on it. You can tell that both rooms are used, but kept clean and neat. Nothing extra in either of the rooms and everything present has purpose. Alex realizes they have that in common. Her apartment is the same way. If something doesn't serve a purpose for her, it doesn't stay around for long.

Jamie guides Alex to the couch with his hand on her back. "Please sit down and relax." As Alex sits, Jamie excuses himself for a minute. He walks out of the room and down the hall past the stairs. When he returns, he is carrying a tray with two wine glasses and an open bottle of white wine. He noticed at Stephan's that Alex was drinking white wine. Even though he prefers a rich bodied red, he wants her to enjoy the wine, so he chooses a sweeter white, similar to what she had earlier. He sets the tray down in front of Alex. He has the bottle open, but then he just sits down next to Alex and looks at her. He requests Alex to "pour and serve the wine." The way he states it makes her think he is giving her permission to do it rather than asking her to do it.

She thinks it odd, but does as requested. Alex isn't one to drink often, but she does enjoy a good glass of wine. She pours both glasses half full and simultaneous lifts the two glasses handing one to Jamie as she sips from hers.

Jamie shakes his head with a look of disappointment. "Alexandra, when you pour and serve wine, you pour one glass and serve it. Then you pour your glass. You don't drink your wine while serving."

"Well," she starts off with a little bit of attitude, "you can always pour your own. And by the way, did you just ask me to pour or give me permission to do so?"

Jamie can hear the sarcasm in her voice. He stops and returns his glass to the tray. He gets up and stands directly in front of Alex. He is barely an inch from her. Alex feels his presence through every inch of her body. He is standing so close, she has to tilt her head up to look at him. "Ms. Newman, if we are to have our conversation, I am going to have to insist on a few things."

"Of course you do. It won't be a conversation if you don't have rules for it. Am I right?" Now the sarcasm is dripping off her tongue. Who does he think he is; I come here for him and he treats me like I'm his servant?

Holding her chin so that he forces Alex to look up at him, he starts, "First, as we discussed earlier this evening, there will be no lies. Not little white ones and definitely no lies of omission. Are you in agreement?"

"Didn't I agree to this already?" A little frustration can be heard in her voice.

"Yes. But I want to make sure that we are clear on this. If you agree that it is completely understood, then I will not ask it again. Unless of course I believe you to be in non-compliance with rule number one."

"It is completely understood. No lies, truth only. Can we move on?"

He is becoming annoyed with her but reminds himself that this is new to her. "Second, there will be no half-truths. We will either tell the truth or there is no reason to continue. Are you in agreement?"

"Yes. Yes to all the questions regarding telling the truth. Next." She takes another sip of her wine.

"Good, enthusiasm I like that." Now, he is mocking her. "Third, you will not be sarcastic in any way shape or form. It is not helpful and I don't find it attractive. Are you in agreement with rule number three?"

"Yes." She responds with a smirk and rolls her eyes.

"With the exception of the sarcastic rolling of the eyes, we are so far, so good. By the way, rolling your eyes at me is a punishable offense. Consider yourself informed and warned." He tilts his head and gives her a look that says he is waiting for her smart mouthed reply. Luckily for her she holds her comment.

"Fourth, there will be no judgment on either of our parts. Our history is our history and cannot be changed. We can only live in the moment and hope we learn from any mistakes of the past. Agreed?"

Taking a deep breath, "Yes, agreed."

"Good, so we are clear on the basic rules and we can progress from here forward. As we need to add or change anything we will as we go along. It will be easier to remember them that way." He states this as if it is the end to the discussion.

"Don't I have a say in any of the rules?" She looks at him with her eye brow up and a questioning look on her face.

"Of course Alex, but I thought you just agreed with them?"

"I did, but I have a few of my own additions to the rules." She says confidently.

Jamie smiles down at her and leans over to kiss her mouth. It's a quick kiss, but he is drawn in by her confident, if not a little defiant, attitude. "Why am I not the least surprised that you do?"

"I'm sorry does the rule about sarcasm only apply to me. Well I don't find it attractive in you either, very much." In reality, she finds him very attractive when he is being purposefully sarcastic in order to mock her.

"Touché. Ms. Newman, Touché. So, please tell me what additional rules do you have?"

Alex continued, "Fifth, You will not be condescending in your tone. Correction, to be fair, I will restate my rule. Neither of us will be condescending in our tone. Are you in agreement?"

He smiles and answers, "Yes."

"Sixth, neither of us will raise our voices above a normal conversation level during our discussion. Agreed?"

"That is a very good rule. Yes, I agree. Besides, I rarely raise my voice. I'm much more menacing when I keep my voice low. Hint, hint." He winks at Alex and smiles.

"Whatever. Seventh, if we need time to think and organize our answer, we will just say, 'I need a minute for this one.' And the other person will give them the time needed. During said time, there will be no recriminating looks. Agreed?"

"Yes. But I really would like to know who gives recriminating looks." He actually sounds offended by her statement.

"Ha. Let's just say it's not me and leave it at that. Eighth, if we have an issue that arises during our discussion that doesn't apply to the above rules, but needs to be addressed, one of us simply needs to say 'rule clarification' or we need to discuss this issue in more detail, or whatever applies at the time. Agreed?"

"Very good idea, I agree."

"My last rule. If at any point tears occur, the person is allowed to leave the room until the ugly cry face is gone. Agreed?"

"No." He states it simply but his tone holds greater meaning.

Alex is surprised by his answer. Just when things are going so smoothly he has to kink things up. (No pun intended) "No? Why a no? What don't you agree with about ugly cry face?"

"I don't agree because tears can be very important to the discussion. They are part of the feelings, part of the truths, and if the tears are hidden, than the truths are hidden. And whether or not you know this yet, the whole purpose of the exercises we will be using is to put the feelings, the thoughts, the truths, and the fears out there in the open. To be acknowledged and addressed right now. We need to be up front and truthful about everything so that there are no misconceptions going forward. So, no, I don't agree with hiding of tears. And just for the record, ugly cry face doesn't count in these types of discussions. Agreed?"

God he really is sexy when he gets all "know it all and controlling." Alex feels her heartbeat pick up pace. "Well, when you put it like that, I guess I have no choice but to agree. Be warned, I have bad ugly cry face."

"Warning noted. I do have to say, you surprise me Ms. Newman. I thought for sure you would fight me a little more before agreeing. That is if you agreed at all."

"Well, Mr. Montgomery. You must think I have no "grey zone." I am here to inform you that my grey zone exists. I'll admit it's not a very large grey zone and it hasn't existed very long. But it is a work in progress. I have learned over the past few years to pay attention to the grey zone and compromise. You made a passionate and well-presented case for tears and after listening to your thoughts, I agree." She smiles and nods her head down low as if to bow to his will.

It's arousing to Jamie to see just that small submissive jester from her. Even if she doesn't realize what she did. It was a turn on. It was also a welcomed sign that she has the ability to be submissive even if she isn't fully aware of it. He was starting to wonder if he was way off mark about her.

"One last rule, if you will Mr. Montgomery."

Laughingly he responds, "I thought the last rule was your last rule?"

Frowning at him, "Is that sarcasm I hear Mr. Montgomery? I believe that not only breaks rule #3 but is a punishable offense. Is it not?"

"Again, I apologize Ms. Newman. But let's not get carried away. I have given you led way so far; don't use it to hurt yourself." He says in a pseudo-playful tone but his eyes are dark and threatening. "Please continue with your last, last rule. I promise not to interrupt or be sarcastic."

"I think if our conversation is to lead to anything, you need to stop calling me Ms. Newman and call me Alex. Agreed?"

"Once again, I must say no."

"Why not? You can't plan on calling me Ms. Newman forever."

"Because, Alex is a male name and there is absolutely nothing about you that says male. You my dear Alexandra are all female. From the top of your beautiful mane of hair to the tips of your beautifully painted toe nails, you are all female. And so far, at least from the little I can see, so is every inch in between. So, I cannot call you Alex, it goes against every fiber of my being. I hated it the few times I said it earlier this evening. However, I will agree to stop calling you Ms. Newman and call you by your given name. Alexandra. Agreed?"

"Well the only people who ever called me Alexandra was the nuns at my grade school and my Mom when she was annoyed with something I did or I said." Smiling, she nods, "But I'm in agreement, if that is what you wish. I will stop calling you Mr. Montgomery. Also, I don't see you as a Jamie either. To me it sounds like a twelve year old boy's name."

"Not to be sarcastic or repetitious, but you my dear Jamison are not a twelve year old boy. At least from what little I can see. Because from the top of your, I'd guess six feet, six inch frame to the tip of your, size twelve shoe? You are all male. Now, this is just a guess, but I would venture, not to mention hope, that every inch in between is also all male."

He cocks his eye brow as he takes in her smile and her beautiful face. Alex seems to be fine with being alone with him in the house and she appears a little more relaxed after the wine. He assures himself that she is not even close to being drunk from it. She really is very sexy when she is in a teasing mood. And no one loves teasing more than me. I wonder just how far I can take this, now that she is more comfortable. I loved when she said "if that is what you wish." I can actually picture her naked, on her knees, as the words come out of her mouth.