Trivial Pursuits Ch. 09

"You actually did it?" Lou asked amazed.

Alessa had sat down on the plush settee to lean against the wall, dying chuckles and harsh breathing causing her chest to rise and fall deeply. She wiped the tears from her face and looked at Lou. The humor didn't fall away completely, but a seriousness had crept in.

"Yeah," she breathed at last. "Yeah, he kissed me, and I let him."

"I was only guessing," Lou continued on in amazement, sitting down next to Alessa.

"You actually kissed him?" Octo asked with a smile, more pleased than anything.

Alessa took a deep breath, sighing as she faced her predicament. "Denny took me out to dinner one day after we had been out working on this case. I had a bit too much to drink, and we got talking about things..." she trailed in recalling their conversation. "Anyway, he was trying to convince me, and said he could with a two-minute kiss."

"Of what was he convincing you?" Lou asked confused.

Alessa opened her mouth to speak, but then looked at her sister who had joined them on the little cushioned bench, and only shook her head. "To give him a chance, I suppose."

"And did you? Is he your boyfriend?" Octo asked, her hand clasping her sister's, and her head leaning on Alessa's shoulder.

Alessa was silent the longest time until at last she simply shook her head, a forlorn expression on her face. "I thought that maybe, when he kissed me again--"

"Again? He's kissed you twice? When did that happen," Lou asked in surprise.

Alessa was beginning to wonder if saying anything at all had been a monumental mistake, but it was too late now to deny anything. "The other night, Thursday. It was late and I was in the copy room down in the library. He came in and said I had been chosen to be part of the date auction. I'm not certain why, but I was upset with him. Maybe because I didn't know how I felt about the first time he kissed me. And I think he was deliberately pushing my buttons. Anyway, I had thought he was going to stop this silly game, but he just kissed me again, saying he had never said that he had any intention of stopping." Unknowingly, Alessa was touching her fingers to her lips, remembering the sensation of Denny against her mouth.

Lou and Octo both silently stared at her. She was still clearly lost in a pleasant memory, and they shared a knowing look. Alessa stood to pace around the small, but luxurious fitting room, and the two girls adjusted their positions, filling the bench.

"You know," Lou began, "I bet it was all Denny's doing to get you to participate. That way, he can win a date with you and sweep you off your feet," she surmised.

"How romantic," Octo cooed.

"Oh, please. Denny is a work colleague. And regardless of any interest he may or may not have, he is not going to cause a scandal by publicly bidding for me just for a measly date," Alessa countered. "Okay, now you two, you've given your opinion on this piece, though it was hardly necessary. I'd like to just buy it and go, so will you please leave so I can get changed?" she commanded more than asked.

"Sure. Come on, Cadence," Lou ushered, feeling hungry and ready for food. After Alessa had changed and paid for her items, Lou offered to take the two sisters out for dinner as thanks for allowing her to crash their sister-bonding time. Alessa was going to refuse, but decided if Lou wanted to, she could.

Dinner was fun, and to Alessa's relief there was no more talk of Denny or his kisses the rest of the evening. Lou entertained the two with her wild stories, and late that evening, Alessa and Octo poured themselves into her bed.

As they lay in dark with the moonlight filling the sky window above their heads, Octo reached under the blanket to hold her sister's hand.

"Tell me about Denny," she requested softly, with none of the lascivious interest Lou had displayed. Alessa could hear the interest and concern in her voice, and smiled that her sister cared.

"What do you want to know?" she whispered softly, somehow not wanting to break the magic with her voice.

"What does he look like?"

Alessa chuckled, finding a fourteen-year-old's priorities to be somehow shallow and meaningful at the same time. "Well, he's tall with dark brown hair. He has glittering hazel eyes. His mouth is...nice," she supplied instead of her original thought of 'sexy.' "He smiles a lot."

"Is he strong?"

Alessa smiled. "Yeah, I'd say he's pretty strong. I'm sure he goes to the gym."

"Is he smart? What's he like? Is he arrogant? Do you guys fight?"

"Yeah. He's very smart. He's a hard worker, too. And remember, hard work--"

"Is more important than intelligence. I know, you've told me a million times."

"That's only because it's true, and I don't want you to forget it. Anyway, he's a junior partner. I think he knows Japanese. He's into architecture. He draws. He's brave. He's clever. He's caring and interested and concerned. He smells warm and spicy. He wears suspenders," she admitted with a smile in her voice. "He makes my stomach curl like a large wave coming out from sea."

"And when he kisses you?" Octo whispered.

"When he kisses me...I can't think of anything or anyone else in the world."

"Like he was made to kiss you."

"Yeah, like he was made to kiss me," she ended in a whisper, her eyes long closed, her head now filled with thoughts of Denny, and oysters, and late nights with kimchi soup.

The weekend was over too quickly, and after a run together in the park and brunch at the local cafe, Alessa drove Octo home with a promise to think about allowing her to come over while she got ready for the party. On Monday, she was back at work early, the knowledge that she was already making a noticeable wave in the pool of the higher ups spurring her on to continue excelling at her work. And though the office climate was abuzz with the upcoming fundraiser, Alessa's work seemed to continue to pile in; every morning she arrived her task list seemed to have doubled.

Despite her initial repulsion to the idea, her opinion of the upcoming auction began to morph as she experienced an ever-increasing excitement whenever she thought about herself in that dress and her mystery date.

Granted, the idea of the date made her stomach tighten in apprehension, but she always reminded herself that it was no more than a business dinner, and not an actual date. There were no romantic expectations, and it was merely a fun way to mingle and raise money. And though she officially told herself she hoped Hyun-Joong was her highest bidder, her mind, on occasion, would slip into fantasy of Denny paying the most for her. Thoughts of his kisses were never far from her conscious, working mind, and she recognized that she was spending a great amount of her energy roping her attention back to the task at hand.

And though Denny strangely kept a professional distance, he had caught her, on more than one occasion, staring at him. And he knew it too, damn it, knew exactly what she was thinking. She saw it in the just-perceptible turn up of the corner of his mouth and the sparking of his eyes. He knew exactly what her thoughts were, and she couldn't stop the simultaneous jumping of her heart and burning of her anger.

Octo had texted her nearly every single day, begging to let her come over, until at last Alessa relented and arranged with Lou that if she wanted to do her hair and makeup she would need to come over to Alessa's. Alessa also stated she would hire a car for them to get to the party. That way, Octo could spend the night Friday and spend the day with her, and their father could pick her up just before she and Lou left for the fundraiser. All parties involved were in agreement, and with a plan in place, Alessa realized there was nothing left but to prepare herself to mingle and dazzle like a glittering cosmopolitan.