Secret Smiles and Three Little Words Pt. 01

A little note here before you read. If you are looking for a sex filled story, paragraph after paragraph, this is not it. As a matter of fact this first chapter contains no sex. Will this story contain sex at some point? Yes. Graphic Sex? Yes! But this will be a novel type of a story. It will be uploaded in chapters as I saunter through the world of BDSM, romance and life with a little mystery and drama thrown in. I hope to upload a minimum of one chapter a week, more if I can, so check back regularly if you are enjoying the story. If you are looking for just the sex, they will be marked with * after the chapter number (Chapter Two*)

If you have read some of my other stories on this site, this story will not be like those. Those were fledgling beginnings at my attempt to hone my writing abilities. This is, I hope, a culmination of that effort.

I hope you enjoy this story, I hope it both excites you and entertains you. As always I love constructive feedback. It is because of this site and some friends that I had the courage to write a mainstream novel which if you note the dates of my previous posts to this one you will see that there was a long time in between them and this. I'm back here now to show my growth.

CJT

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Secret Smiles and Three Little Words

Chapter One

Alex watched from her table next to the window, the sun warming her back. She knew this is why cats lay in windows, the warmth that the sun gave you. It gave her a comforting feeling to feel the warmth on her like a hug. Her sketch pad sat on her lap, her charcoal pencil hovering just above the paper. The drawing was near completion. Alex watched through the tops of her lashes, her head down as to not look like she was looking at her. Although, she wondered how anyone could not look at the woman.

The woman's porcelain white skin, her high cheekbones and raven black hair gave her an overall regal look. Her hair was down in soft tight curls that famed her face when she lowered her head. But the woman's eyes, oh my! They were a soft grey that laughed when she looked at you. And the woman had caught Alex looking at her multiple times as she sketched her likeness on the paper, or tried to capture her likeness at least.

Alex looked down at her paper and it didn't appear she had done the woman justice! Alex squeezed her lips together to hold back the laugh as yet another man nearly tripped while doing a double take of the exotically stunning woman.

The woman held her coffee cup in front of her lips pretending not to notice the slip up, her cup just millimeters from her lips blocking their exquisite thin lines from the poor man. Alex saw the smile even though it didn't lift more than the corner of her mouth.

Alex went back to some of the details of the woman's appearance to refine them as the woman had blocked her view of her mouth enough that she didn't want to continue without looking at her lips fully again. She went back to the bracelet around her wrist. Nothing extravagant. Just a simple, elegant charm bracelet in sliver it appeared. One small charm hung from it, it was black in color and reminded her of the yen and yang symbol. Instead of the two chasing waves there were three on this one.

Alex put the finishing touches on the bracelet wondering what the emblem stood for. Judging by the overall appearance of the woman before her she surmised it had something to do with beauty and wealth. Some sort of love symbol perhaps? Was it a goddess symbol of some sort? Was this woman that arrogant? Alex slid her phone to her and tapped up Google. If Google didn't know, then nobody would.

Typing in "Yen and Yang with three waves" a multitude of non-help was given to her. She tapped over to the images icon and looked at pictures. Again a multitude of non-help. C'mon Google!

She was just about to shut it off when at the very bottom of the fifth page of images she saw the symbol. She clicked on it and it flipped to a full size version. Thanks Google! The bottom of the page caused her breath to draw in sharply in surprise. No, that couldn't be the same symbol.

Back to the Google homepage. This time she typed in "BDSM symbols". She shook her head and laughed at herself for even thinking that was the same symbol. She checked the woman's wrist again as the page loaded.

Tapping the first item on the list supplied by Google she found a web page on BDSM. Scrolling down she found the symbol again. It most definitely was the same symbol. The page went into detail on explaining the significance of the symbol and the lifestyle choice itself.

Dammit Google! You are playing tricks on me! Alex scoffed. She tossed her phone back on the table for the joke it was playing on her. There was no way that elegant woman was part of that type of raunchy lifestyle. Whips, chains, leather masks? Bondage, wax and crops? No, no, no! This woman was pampered. This woman was well taken care of. This woman was spoiled! Everything about her appearance screamed elegance.

She wasn't degraded with various torture devices. She wasn't treated like a street whore. She wasn't mistreated or treated like shit. She wasn't beaten for someone else's amusement! Someone looked after this woman and looked after her very well. Alex went back to looking at her as the beauty put her coffee cup down.

Alex re-evaluated her. The tall proper way she sat. Her back straight, her head up. Chin tilted slightly upward. Legs gently crossed. No, this was not someone who was treated like shit. This woman was pampered. This woman was loved! So either Google is having a laugh at her expense, or the woman had no idea what she was wearing. Perhaps she wore it for the mere fact it was pretty to look at. That had to be it. Would the woman be mortified with the truth of the dark symbol?

The grey eyes shifted to the door as he came in, the smile tipped on the elegant woman's face as she dropped her head embarrassedly it seemed. Her chin nearly touching her chest, her grey eyes on the table in front of her. Her hands placed palms up on the tops of her thighs. The man placed a gentle kiss to the side of her temple then dragged his lips to her ear and whispered something in it. The woman smiled softly and said something just as softly. Three little words.

The man made his way to the counter to place his order. The woman left her head down at the table. She didn't move to pick up her cup. She didn't re-cross her legs. She sat there with her head down and that little smile. It was as if a private joke was being had between her and the new man.

Alex frowned. Her head down like that changed the angles. Now she would have to wait even longer to finish her drawing. She tapped the end of her pencil on the paper in a frustrated tempo. She looked at the woman and saw her returning the look now. A soft glance from her head bowed but it warmed Alex. It wasn't just a woman scanning the room. The woman was looking at her.

The man made his way back and the woman's eyes were quickly back on the table as he sat down. Alex watched the woman carefully now. Something about her had changed. What was it? Alex looked down at her drawing. Then back to the woman. The man was now pulling apart his newspaper, he opened a section and placed it in front of the woman, it was hard to tell from where she was sitting but it looked like the same crossword puzzle Alex was working on before she abandoned it to sketch the woman. He put a pen on it then placed his hand on the elegant woman's hand. He pulled out his phone and began to scan through various screens, his phone in his left hand, his right gently placed on the woman's, drawing his fingers across its delicate skin.

The woman picked up the pen and began to work. Nothing was said between them, it was if they needed no communication. As if this was a regular occurrence. Well not in this coffee shop. Alex was a regular here and never seen either of them in here before! It was a running joke with Alex and the baristas that she should just take an application and work here as she was here all the time anyway.

Alex continued to wait for the woman to raise her head. She went back to her hair and continued there. It was beginning to frustrate her that the woman wouldn't lift her head. Alex fought the urge to stand up and yell, "Lift your damn head so I can finish!"

After a few minutes the woman whispered something to the man next to her, but she didn't lean in to whisper in his ear lovingly. She said it while looking at the table. The man smiled and nodded his agreement. The elegant woman stood slowly faced him and whispered something again. Again three words. Then left when the man only nodded.

He lifted his head when the woman was halfway to the restroom. His frown wasn't hid, as he clinched his jaw causing the muscles to tighten under his skin. Alex gave him a good solid once over. He was handsome. His face darkened, his dark eyes sharp. He had a Mediterranean look about him. Greek possibly. His hair was dark with splatters of grey. Alex huffed a laugh. Perfect looking couple. The laugh drew his eyes to her. She lost her smile and looked down at her drawing quickly dropping her head.

That was odd, Alex said to herself. She responded the same way the woman had upon his arrival. Averting her eyes from him and dropping her head. Very odd.

The woman returning to the table brought her eyes up to see the man back to his phone as the woman sat next to him. He leaned over to whisper to her again. The soft hidden smile was lost completely as he spoke to her. Her lips opened slightly and her face paled believe it or not. How does a pale white turn paler?

Alex looked down at the couple's hands, he wasn't tracing circles on the back of her hand as he had done earlier. Now his index finger was tapping gently on the top. The man's face wasn't angry, but it most certainly wasn't happy. It was firm as he whispered. Again three little words she spoke back before she rose quickly faced him briefly said another three little words before returning back to the bathroom where she had just been.

Alex watched her all the way back, before her walk was slow and gentle. Her step was firm this time. Purposeful. Earlier she could have been strolling through the park. Now it appeared that walk was trying to beat an incoming rainstorm!

Alex went back to the man and he was looking at her again. Again she dropped her head and she couldn't explain it. It was as if the man had some sort of Jedi mind power that forced her head to drop when his eyes were on her.

She went back to looking through the top of her lashes. He was handsome, his white button down oxford untucked and hanging against his athletic frame. The top couple of buttons were undone giving him a casual look. His blue jeans were faded but designer faded. Expensive. His casual loafers screamed it's my day off from the power world of lawyers, money and mergers, but they were impeccably clean and flawless telling her they were either new or he rarely wore them.

The woman returned and went to the man's side. Her fist was clutched around something as she gently tucked whatever it was into the man's pocket. She then returned to her seat and sat with her face flushed a slight rosy pink. Alex looked to the man's pocket, there was soft white satin cloth showing just slightly from his pocket as his seated position didn't allow the elegant woman to put whatever it was in fully.

Alex's mind raced, her face flushed and her jaw dropped slightly as she realized they were panties! The woman had just placed her panties in the man's pocket! Oh this regular visit to the coffee shop just became irregular! It also seemed the heat in the coffee shop was turned up a few degrees.

The woman sat with her hands palm up on her thighs again. Her head tilted down, her eyes fixated on the table itself. She made no move to work on her crossword puzzle. Finally the man touched her hand again, drawing his thumb across her knuckles. It was only then did the woman lift her other hand and began to do her crossword puzzle again.

Alex watched the couple, they didn't speak to one another. They didn't give off any body language like they were angry with one another. He gently touched her throughout. He scanned things on his phone. She did her crossword. After twenty minutes he leaned over and kissed her temple lovingly and said goodbye and left her there at the table. Before he left, he bought her another coffee and a muffin, again gently, lovingly, kissing her temple before disappearing out the door.

Once he was gone, the woman lifted her head and went back to the way she was sitting before he arrived. Head up, chin slightly elevated. Alex was thankful, as she could now finish her drawing.

Alex scanned her drawing after she finished the woman's perfect lips, shifting her eyes from the paper to the woman checking for mistakes. Alex wasn't satisfied with her drawing. She didn't think it was as beautiful as the woman before her, but she doubted Michelangelo, the creator of the Sistine Chapel, himself couldn't capture that beauty on paper.

Alex pulled her art bag to her and pulled out a color pencil. She colored in the grey eyes carefully. It didn't match spot on, but then again, she doubted that color existed anywhere else on the planet other than the woman's soft featured face. It was close, and where most would be happy, Alex wasn't. She wanted them as perfect as the woman across from her.

Pulling out the colors again she filled in the soft rose petal color of the woman's lips hoping to capture the essence of her. Alex clinched her jaw and fought the temptation to rip the picture from her pad and crumple the incorrect capture. It had been a long time since Alex had felt that way. She had prided herself in capturing people. She failed here. Perhaps the woman was just too elusive to capture.

Alex flipped her book closed and stuffed it in her bag and stood. She wasted almost two hours on the woman and couldn't fully capture her. Alex made a living capturing people. This was an epic failure.

Walking towards the exit Alex let out a deep exhale. She would try to muster the courage to dispose of the picture when she got back to her apartment. It was too pretty to destroy but not beautiful enough to be the elegance that sat two tables from her for two hours.

"Were you able to finish?" the woman asked as she started to walk by her.

Alex stopped suddenly at the soft voice.

"I'm sorry?" Alex said, pretending to not understand the question. She hoped the panic that flooded her didn't betray her.

"Your drawing," the woman smiled. "Did you finish it?"

"Um," Alex stalled trying to judge the woman's reaction. Was she angry? Annoyed? Pleased? She couldn't tell. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," the woman smiled trying to reassure her.

"I try to stay invisible," Alex said apologetically. "Try and capture people as they go about their busy lives. To not disturb them."

"May I?" the woman asked pointing towards Alex's sketch book.

"Sure," Alex said with a shrug. "I failed, I didn't capture you the way I saw you." Alex explained handing her sketch book over. The woman took it gently brushing against Alex's fingers briefly with hers. But even that was enough to send electricity through Alex.

"Please," the woman said with a smile and gesture for Alex to join her at the table. Alex sat and mustered a smile. Alex tried not to do her traditional slump of her body and tried to mimic the stiff upright stance of the woman seated next to her. It wasn't something she normally did and now it felt foreign. Like she was in some prim and proper home with strict rules to follow. It was uncomfortable, she felt like she did not belong doing it.

"My name is Beth," the woman smiled extending her hand.

"Alex," she smiled as she took it gently.

"Short for Alexandria?" Beth asked, to which Alex nodded. She hated that name. Alexandria. A conquered city. She always went out of her way to make sure nobody called her that. Her stubborn attitude a gift from her father who didn't bow to anyone's wishes or expectations. He made his own, as did Alex.

"It's Alex," she said firmly. Hoping it wasn't too firm.

The woman didn't respond. She flipped slowly through the pages of the sketchbook instead.

"You are very talented," Beth smiled as she scanned the pages.

"Thank you," Alex replied. The woman paused at a picture. Her eyes searched the details. Alex looked down and was mortified. She had forgotten about the drawing done so long ago, forgotten in the book.

The drawing depicted a tryst her roommate had. They had woken Alex with their noisy lovemaking and Alex felt compelled to draw it. She remembered sketching furiously in the semi dark room as her roommate moaned out into the mattress as she buried her face in it with her backside up as the man of the night pulled roughly against her hips slamming up to meet her with powerful thrust after powerful thrust.

Beth let her fingers carefully feather down the page. Her fingertips tracing along the lines of the couple.

"I'm sorry," Alex gasped. "I don't normally do porn!"

"This isn't porn," Beth smiled as she continued to touch the bodies on the page. "This is erotica. There is a difference." She said firmly. "Porn has a different feel. Dirty."

"I'm sorry if it offends you," Alex continued.

"No, I'm not offended. It is doing exactly what erotica is supposed to do," Beth smiled as she touched Alex's hand gently sending waves of electricity through her. "It excites me." Alex lost her breath momentarily. Beth removed her gentle touch and turned the page slowly moving on.

Landing on the last page of drawings, Beth saw her profile there on the paper.

"Like I said, I didn't do you justice," Alex frowned as she looked from Beth to the picture again.

"I disagree," Beth smiled tracing her outline. "I think it's spectacular!" Alex blushed.

"Your attention to detail is phenomenal!" Beth gushed her praise. "You even have my bracelet here!"

The mention of the bracelet caused Alex to take a better look at the jewelry. The charm on it.

"It was too beautiful to not put it in," Alex admitted. Beth smiled. Again even her smile was regal looking. It wasn't big and toothy. It was soft and elegant with glimpses of her perfect white teeth.

Alex squirmed as the woman checked every detail in her drawing. Always with the same soft smile. Alex looked more carefully at the charm on the bracelet.

"Do you like it?" Beth's question brought Alex's eyes up to hers.

"Oh yes," Alex blushed embarrassed to be caught. "What does the symbol mean?" Hoping that her voice didn't tell the woman she already knew of the raunchy truth.

"It's complicated," Beth grinned, her smile flashing more teeth.

The way Beth smiled told Alex that she knew the exact meaning of the symbol. BDSM.

"You seemed intrigued?" Beth said more than asked.

"A bit," Alex admitted embarrassedly. "You just don't fit the picture of that type of...," Alex didn't know what to call it so she left it hanging.

"We call it a lifestyle," Beth helped her.

"You don't look like you fit into that type of lifestyle," Alex said red faced.

"Well let's make sure we are having the same conversation," Beth said. "What do you think it means?" She held up her wrist with the bracelet.

Alex looked around then leaned in.

"BDSM?" Alex whispered. Beth smiled.

"Yes," Beth admitted. "What picture do you have of the lifestyle?"

"Well," Alex panicked. She wasn't expecting to have to talk raunchy sex with the woman.

"Please," Beth prodded gently.

"I picture, whips?" Beth nodded slightly. "Chains?" Beth shrugged slightly. "Weird guys in latex and masks?" This caused Beth to giggle.