It Takes Two Pt. 02

I had a strange sensation brewing in my stomach the entire while, an excitement that bordered on unrestrained glee. I was happy sure, I liked being around Mal. Obviously I liked her to some degree as well, but the intensity for which I felt was growing. The more I tried to downplay it, the more I couldn't stop thinking about it. Rather than feeling the limerence run its course, feeding my desire was making things worse. 'Do what feels right', I recalled hearing.

Yet I still needed to shower. I glanced over towards the bathroom where I heard the shower running. Mal did not strike me as a low maintenance girl, at least not when going out. She'd be in there for a while anyway. I wondered how she'd doll herself up, looking at the dresses she hung up on the bedroom door. I looked through them, spotting the wrap dress, the peasant dress as well as the black & whtie number I had initially seen her in, hiding in the back. Despite being a pretty lowkey girl, she seemed very into her appearance. There was nothing wrong with it, but I hadn't taken her for it. I guess that said more about me than her though, but I certainly wasn't complaining. Maybe I could learn to dress a bit nicer.

I wondered how she looked in more...revealing clothes. Not so much lingerie or anything like that, but more slutty fare. Mal was pretty modest, but something that showed off her chest and neck would be amazing- something like a plunging neckline. Of course my mind went to imagining her in clothing that barely covered her, clubwear, fetish outfits and the like. Maye she might wear something like that if I suggested it, I'd have to bluntly bring it up in a very clumsy manner. Lost in my thoughts, I hadn't heard it but the shower had stopped in my daydreaming. Biting my lip, I decided to throw caution to the wind and use the bathroom, eager to shower.

I'm not an animal, I knocked. Once anyway. I was greeted with a less than pleased Mal who stood in front of the mirror completely nude while toweling her hair off. Mal frowned, but made no effort to cover herself, making a low grumbling noise as I entered. She looked pretty cute when she was annoyed, I had to admit. In the span of 24 hours she had gone from yelling at me for seeing her topless to not even batting an eye. Progress.

"Close the door you're letting the cold in." she said. I did so before tossing my shirt off into the hamper, finding her clothes in there as well. I looked back over at her to see her drying her hair off. There was a certain wholesomeness to it, seeing how little she was bothered. I walked to her and hugged her from behind, kissing her neck softly. "Stoooop," she said tilting her head to offer more of her neck. "I just showered. We'll have more fun later."

My hands rested on top of hers which by now had crossed in front of her body. My fingers intertwined with hers and I saw her purse her lips, as if holding back from saying something. I nuzzled my face against hers, watching a cute smile curl on her lips as she laughed quietly.

"Get in the shower." she said quietly. "Don't make me stand you up. I will." she said with a small bit of annoyance. She was taking this date so serious, and I loved it. I gave her a peck on the lips before pulling down my pants and turning to the shower. Mal offered a whistle as I did so before I hopped in. My stomach, though doing flips, felt unknotted. My body felt so relaxed under the spray of hot water and for once, I felt completely at ease with the world as it came to me. I suppose this is how most people feel, especially when they weren't such fuddy duddies like I could be. I started singing in the shower, to which Mal joined in. Poking my head out, I informed her that this was not- in fact- a duet. She responded to this by merely singing louder and much more offkey.

After a few minutes I hopped out and dried myself as she brushed her teeth. Mal made some very unsubtle glances towards me as I dried myself, before spitting out her toothpaste and rinsing. I wrapped the towel around my waist as she spit a mouthful of water out into the sink.

"Gross you didn't floss," I said shaking my head. "Whichever bozo you tricked into going out with you tonight is gonna throw up."

"You're such a bully," Mal said pouting. "Don't make me tell your mommy on you."

"You wouldn't dare." I said crossing my arms, adding a hint of worry to my voice. Mal smirked as she turned to me, mouthing a silent "watch me" before she moved in and kissed me. "Hey the first 20 are free, after that they'll cost you."

"You didn't puke though," she said returning to the sink. "Now get out, I need to get ready!"

I ambled out, returning to the bedroom, finishing drying myself up before getting dressed. I even put on some cologne for the occasion, giving myself a few good squirts. I got my jacket on and plopped down on the bed once more, lying back and pulling out my phone. No messages. That hurt more than I thought it would, so I quickly put my phone back in the jacket and looked up at the ceiling. What was I even doing? My mind began overloading itself with questions of morality and what was right. Ultimately, however, I ended up passing out for a few minutes because Mal came into the room.

The sound of the door stirred me, shocking me upright as she laughed at my surprise. She wore a towel around her body, while her hair was mostly dry. It was about as big and well maintained as it had been from the night of the party- enough for me to know I'd lose a hand if I tried messing with it.

"You clean up nice." she said reaching for the dresses hung up on the door. "I might just keep you after all."

I hadn't particularly noticed Mal's back, but she was toned, with some slight muscle definition. She wasn't ripped by any stretch, but she was in much better shape than I had thought. I suppose only staring at her chest and ass would result in a lot of things getting by me, so I took in the sight of her form, covered by the tightly wrapped towel. Mal pulled one of the dresses in the back of the bunch, itself covered by a garment bag. I could see a small, accomplished smile form on her face, biting her lower lip before noticing me.

"What?" she said in an almost silent voice, blushing a bit. "Oh my God stop looking you weirdo!" she said much louder as she pulled the dress off the door. Without needing any prompting, I got up and walked towards the door to give her some more privacy. I glanced back, catching her stare right back at me. There was no cutesy smile or knowing smirk, just a look of pure affection. I stepped out and walked to the living room, plopping onto the couch once more. My knee bounced up and down, not even caring I had been kicked out of my own room again. I felt my phone vibrate in my coat pocket and pulled it out- it was a text from Mal. 'You look handsome btw purples my favorite color'.

Mal took an eternity but when she emerged, it was well worth the wait. She came out in a black dress, one that fight snugly against her upper body before flaring out around her thighs. The neck was completely wide, stretching from shoulder to shoulder, giving me full access to her creamy and well sensitive skin. Was she wearing a bra? I wasn't sure. I suspected she had to be, given how much her nipples would strain against the fabric. Would they? I'd have to think about them more, for science.

"Wow," I said out loud by accent, eliciting another genuine smile from Mal. It was nice to see her show emotion rather than getting smartass remarks from time to time. But I couldn't help myself. "I guess being high maintenance is worth it."

Mal wrinkled her face, clearly taking offense.

"Rude," she said, placing her hand on her hip, the other pointing at me. "I wore the same panties two days in a row, I'm not high maintenance." She walked over to me and reached up on her tiptoes to give me a kiss. "I just like to look nice is all."

We walked to my car in silence, with only the clacking of our shoes providing any soundtrack. I opened the door for her, naturally, and even held her hand as she sat down. I wasn't sure what the proper protocol was for fancy dates, I was simply emulating what I'd seen in movies. We drove with the only thing going faster than my car's engine being my heart. Jesus Christ, this was actually happening. Mal spent the better part of the drive looking out the window, watching the sunset. Thank God I had cleaned out my car just a few days earlier.

Arriving downtown, we parked and proceeded to walk down the tree-lined streets, passing by a number of shops and ultimately just killing time before our dinner reservation. As we passed by storefronts, and as the light faded into darkness, Mal slid up next to me, easing her arm around mine and holding onto me. We passed by a flower shop, along with the types of shops that don't look like they sell anything, meaning which I probably couldn't afford to buy anything there. As I stopped to look at the window of a sports memorabilia store, I felt her tug at my arm.

"Hockey's kinda cool." she said, looking at a signed stick on display.

"Yeah," I said turning to face her. I had played for years and years, and I hadn't expected her to ever bring it up out of the blue. "I played for a long time, as a kid and stuff." I said beaming with pride. "Up until I went to college."

"For who the Mighty Ducks?" she said, more teasing than being a wiseass.

"No, technically the part of Minneapolis I was from would had put me on the same team as the bad guys in that movie, actually."

"Oh, so you're a rich kid you cake eater." Mal said, ready with more banter. She was quick witted, I'll give her that. "In that case I'm ordering seconds for dinner. Also desert. Also if they do it, leftovers in a tin foil swan."

"I'm not rich," I said looking away, back to the shop. In truth, my family was wealthier than others, but I wasn't particularly comfortable discussing money. "My dad's a doctor, and my mom's a nurse. And before you ask, no, she's not a second wife."

"Are you close to them?" Mal asked. It was an odd question, but when I looked back at her she had nothing but genuine interest in my answer.

"I mean as much anyone is with their parents, I guess." I said shrugging. Mal moved off of my arm but slipped her hand down it until stopping at my hand. "My dad and I are too much the same guy, but my mom calls me a lot. She cares a lot since my sister still lives in Minnesota and I moved all the way out here." Mal squeezed my hand firmly as I answered her.

"You didn't tell me you have a sister." Mal said.

"Yeah, Tracy. She lives with her girlfriend in Saint Paul. What about you?"

Mal's face grew glazed and distant, as she looked into the storefront blankly. The neon from the window reflected off her glassy eyes, and coated her face with a soft blue hue.

"I never knew my parents." She said tersely, as if rehearsed and repeated over a million times before. "I was raised by my nana."

I said nothing and offered only a light squeeze back on her hand. There was nothing for me to say, what would an "I'm sorry" mean at that point? I only said sorry when I absolutely meant it. Eventually, breaking from the internalized script she no doubt recited to anyone else, Mal continued in a quieter voice.

"They died when I was really young. I never knew them at all, but apparently I have a sister too. I've never met her though."

NOW I should probably talk.

"Would you want to?"

Mal shifted from side to side, a nonplussed look about her as she thought to herself.

"Oh, I don't know. Probably not." I felt as though I'd be trying to get blood from a stone at this point though, and decided to drop it. "She has her own life, I bet. She's older than me anyway."

"I'm sorry," I offered quietly.

"I've told maybe, two people about her." she said, squeezing my hand tighter than before. I heard her sniffle before closing her eyes tight and holding them shut for a few seconds. Eventually she opened them back up and looked up at me, offering a weak smile. I squeezed her hand tight in return, neither of us wanting to ease up.

"I've been alone all my life." she continued. "And you get less used to it each day."

The restaurant was about a block away at this point, and we held each other's hand for the duration of the small sojourn. By the time I opened the door, I felt as though my hand was numb.

Dinner was less eventful, chiefly because I had forgotten how hungry I was. I ordered a steak while Mal ordered the duck risotto, asking me if I thought it may be the same duck we had seen earlier in the day. I gave her food a once over; it was inconclusive but he didn't look like a Donald to me. Mal was impressed with the choice of venue though in her words, she would have been fine with even fast food. It was one of those things girls said, where they clearly don't mean it, but I got the sense that she was clearly trying to angle for a date #2.

"This place is so fancy," she remarked. "Look at the menu, it's all in French." I looked at it only to find it was simply in cursive. "Tres bien." she approvingly said, looking it over. We had a fair share of wine to boot, though I had much less than her. She may have held her liquor well, but she had consumed enough to let her true Goofy laugh through on occasion.

"You think they give out singing fish here?" I asked, causing her to break out into hyucks once more. I spent more time after we had finished thus trying to get her to laugh and eventually she wised up, giggling with her mouth tightly scrunched. More than anything else that surprised me so far, however, was how easy Mal was to talk to. We ended up speaking, weaving sexual innuendo, juvenile jokes and more serious topics in effortlessly- to the tune of about 2 hours from when we finished eating.

"Let's take our time," I said, trying to ease her into less superficial conversation. "Let's get to know each other."

I learned more about the nature of Mallory & Willow's 'friendship', and how it dated back to junior high. Originally, from what Mal mentioned, they had been a group of three friends until the third friend moved away. They then found out they weren't particularly close and that said friend had been the glue that held them together. I was absolutely floored, completely taken aback that they simply hadn't drifted apart after that realization.

"What'dya expect?" Mal said holding her cup of wine. "She was the book nerd who felt she was obligated to have a friend and I was the weird girl who's grandma made her clothes- it was each other or no one."

Though obviously dismissing the notion, I couldn't help but hear more sadness in everything Mal said. It also lent me some creedence as to why she was so wrapped up in being affectionate so quickly. I shouldn't have read more into it, but I began to wonder if this connection was as genuine as it seemed to be or if it was in part brought on by loneliness. I should have left well enough alone, but I needed to cross the threshold we had only briefly encountered before.

"More wine?" I asked her, pouring her another glass.

***

I was on cloud nine- not only was I completely wrong about Ken, but he had only looked at my breasts about 5 or 6 times, most of which were incidental! I had assumed that any prolonged conversation would reveal he would be a doormat, simply listening and taking all my comments without question. But he pushed back at times- it was subtle, but her was far from a pushover. He also asked a fair amount of personal questions, and I felt almost compelled to tell him anything, especially after I told him about my sister Lisa.

"Let's get a picture together," I told him in a giggle. "C'mon, I'm telling you ahead of time for once." I nearly cringed at the comment, but he seemed to not mind. I called over our waiter who gladly took two pictures of us. After the first, I threw caution to the wind and moved my hand over towards his, placing it on top. He didn't flinch or look away, and with a snap, the moment was forever immortalized.

I openly looked at the photo of ourselves while we walked back to the car. After nearly bumping into a tree, I proudly showed it to him. He nodded and smiled before casting a more somber look.

"Don't post that anywhere." he said. "Just between you and me."

A pang of sadness pricked me with his words, no matter how right he was. I took another glance back at it, taking note of my carefully manufactured camera smile and his more earnest grin that he and his mother shared.

"We look nice is all," I told him, putting my phone away. "Thank you for the night out Kenny."

Ken rubbed his neck and chuckled.

"I just, I don't know." he began. "I just didn't feel right not asking. I really wanted to."

"Well I'm glad you did. And if we're being completely honest, the fact that this is an affair is, I don't know...really fucking hot." My words were honest, too honest. I knew I misspoke when I said it, but I felt emboldened by the warm aura that tingled on my face. Ken stopped, right as we turned the corner away from the busy thoroughfare.

"Mallory can you be honest with me?" he asked, looking a bit uncomfortable. I knew that look. I knew what was coming.

"What is it?" I asked, bracing myself.

"What do you want out of this?" he was less aggressive than last time, but was firm. I had known this would come eventually, but it still made me feel a bit vulnerable. There would be no "What do you means" either- we were both clearly on the same page.

I looked down, gathering my words before looking back up at him. He remained firm with his gaze, not flinching or looking away. Chances were he would know if I lied to him, and truthfully, I couldn't stand lying to myself either, especially after we had revealed so much already. He wanted to date me, he had even said as much. All the wine didn't hurt in drawing it out of me either. I sat down on a nearby bench and motioned for him to sit with me.

"Kenny look," I began. "I like you. I honest to God do. I've loved this weekend and...and...ok you know what? Willow doesn't deserve you. You know that."

I could feel my anger start to rise, and my words began to sound less composed. It was like verbal diarrhea.

"I'm not saying I'm perfect at all. I'm not saying we have to date. Like, fucking, yes I would love that but you're your own man. And yeah all honesty, I think it's hot as fuck I'm sleeping with the boyfriend of someone I don't like yeah ok I get it I'm a shit human being I know but I can't help what I like ok? But that's not why I'm all over you for fucks sake. We literally spoke for like 3 hours without stopping!"

I felt like I was dragging myself over the coals at this point. God why was Ken being so dense?

"Jesus Christ Ken, I'm crazy about you!" I said pushing him a little. "Ugh it fucking gets me so mad like do you think I'd put myself together and tell you about my dead parents if I wasn't?"

It was cathartic, and the anger came from a real place. I could feel a lack of trust from him, which was expected, but a lack of trust still hurt.

"Can't you just take my word?"

"No I can't," he bluntly answered, taking me aback. "Don't you think I know how shit Willow treats me?"

I couldn't say I did, but I left it at that, and let him continue.

"She hasn't texted me at all, no calls, nothing. Look!" he said pulling out his phone. I saw my earlier message calling him handsome, while he also had an outgoing message to Willow. "I don't even know WHY she wants a boyfriend. Honest to God, why does she keep me around? Can you blame me for feeling a little, you know, fuckin...skiddish?"

"Kendrick, I want you to answer this as truthfully as you can." Ken looked up at me, waiting for me to continue. "Do YOU want things to work out between you and Willow?"

Ken fell silent, looking down at his hands, his quiet look coming just as quickly as his outburst. I didn't expect a quick answer, but I still deserved one nonetheless. He opened his mouth, closing it and sighing heavily. He looked up at me and seemed to lose his train of thought for a moment. Finally, his mouth opened once more.