====== Stacy's got it Going On ====== Previous: [[wolves_on_the_prowl|Wolves on the Prowl]] She led him inside, up into the elevator, to the fifth floor. Down the hall, one, two, three doors. She unlocked it and led him into a modest, yet comfortable one bedroom apartment. "Not much but it's home." She said softly. "Yeah, I guess. Might be a male, female thing. Guess I'm just unlucky." He looked up at the building as they arrived, following her inside and to the elevator. Then into her apartment. "Better than me. I've got a bed at the Brooklyn Riviera. I desperately need to find work or… I'd rather not think about it." His jet-lagged mind finally registered something she said as they were walking in, and his smile grew. He didn't say anything, but he realized she'd been paying attention to him more than initially seemed. She wasn't quite as cold as she was trying to put on. [[profiles:stacyjenson|Stacy]] was struggling to make ends meet. She had almost a full ride to NYU but she had to make up the difference. Living in a dorm hadn't been an option because she had no home to go to, back on the Island. Well…she did, but she wasn't welcome there. If he had even a small income it would help her make the rent each month. Things would be better once she graduated but she didn't have enough to keep her afloat until then. "I need to find a roommate." She said carefully. "Water? Tea? More coffee?" [[profiles:ethanharrison|Ethan]] looked around the apartment. This would be better than his current option. "Roommate? I haven't got much at the moment, but I've got an… Opportunity… Later this week, hopefully, something more serious. [[profiles:kainehayden|Hayden]] Publishing said they'd sponsor me." **Click** Wait a second… Hayden… Nah. "Coffee, water, either would be fine. I'm not much for tea, never really liked it." "Hayden said they'd sponsor you…Kaine himself showed up at the cafe. With [[profiles:summercaldwell|Summer Caldwell]]. He's super protective of her, that she was there speaks volumes." She began, wheels turning. "Good thing we got the reunion postponed til tomorrow because I think he's alright with finding you again." She went and got him a glass of water. "Well, I guess if we like what the other has to say in private then maybe we might as well shack up together. All the gossip pages are going to have a field day anyways when they see me walking into Porter House with Kaine Hayden, Summer Caldwell, and Ethan Harrison." "Yeah, I'm starting to put together pieces of the puzzle. I had no idea he had his finger in so many pies, nor that he'd be willing to see me so quick, or… If he even arranged this." That would be a twist, his carefully made plans being a part of his brother's machinations rather than his own. It made his head throb slightly. He took a sip from the glass of water, rubbing at his temple slightly where it hurt. "You already know I'm in this for the long run. And that a collar would be involved. And paddle. And any other form of… Well, you get the point there. Candles, rope…" He was struggling to think with the combination of the lag and the rising headache and he drank more of the water, then all of it. Maybe it would help. "Can I have another, please?" "Kaine Hayden doesn't have a finger in my life. Maybe if he'd known Summer when I came to the city, but not now. I'm my own woman." She said softly, yet solid, firm. She frowned as he rubbed his temple and went into her bathroom, emerging with some Advil. She refilled his water and then gestured to the couch. "Go sit. I'm going to heat up some tea." "Right, and the long run is all fine and dandy, but if you're talking about it with me…there's one big thing missing. Love." She laughed. "If I took all my defenses down I would have been professing my love already, but I doubt you have enough evidence to invoke the same feeling." She grinned. She came over and sat behind him on the couch, her legs on either side of him. Gentle fingers lifted and began to rub his temples. Small, purposeful circles meant to ease almost any headache pain. "You thought I meant…" He vaguely waved a hand between the two of them. "I meant his meeting with me, not your involvement." She didn't have to tell him twice, and he sat on her couch, sipping the refilled glass of water. "It's not missing, it's just…" She had a pretty laugh. It was all too easy to be distracted at the moment. "Difficult to love when you feel like nobody will return it." He watched her as she moved to sit with him, behind him, leaning into her a little as she worked on his temples. "You are everything I love in a woman. Smart, witty, beautiful. Mmmmm." He closed his eyes and enjoyed her fingers on his temples for a few moments before continuing. "You didn't just jump me when you brought me home, despite what you say, so you see me as more than just a warm body. I can try and let you in, but…" He sighed softly, pausing again. Her fingers felt wonderful. "I'm not just a toy to be played with and discarded, Stacy." Her fingers froze. Everything else up until then had her nodding in agreement. Of course she hadn't jumped him. She of all people knew what it was like to be seen as just a body. "Repeat one thing I've said that makes you feel like I might see you as a toy to cast aside when I get bored." She said, curling and uncurling her fingers away from his face before resuming. "You've given me no cause to think you'd just get a good time with my breasts and leave, so I've said nothing of the sort. Pray tell me what I said that makes you feel it necessary to tell me you're not. I know you're not. People aren't playthings." "Why do you think I don't date? People always try to play me. And I don't have it in me to play them back. I'm not that kind of woman." He closed his eyes and breathed, trying to help calm his head as it started to throb a little more with her assertions. "I'm laying myself bare *because* you've said nothing of that sort. Because I *trust* you're not. Trust is hard to come by." He tilted his head a little rolling his neck, pushing against her fingers as he tried to stretch his muscles. Then he stopped to let her go back to doing it if she felt she could go on. "You already proved that in what you said. And by inviting me here and not jumping me, despite what you already told me." He reached up to take one of her hands in his. She would feel the tiny tremor in it. "I trusted you with that information because I feel you wouldn't just… Play." Stacy relaxed the more he spoke... "Sorry….I'm just…used to people thinking poorly of me. Because apparently, my breast size means I'm not…real…yeah. Anyways…" She sighed, then placed a light kiss to his temple, her fingers curling around his. "I play, but I play for keeps. I want to love you. I want you to love me, and I want to build forever." She lightly rubbed around the base of his ears, sweeping up to his temple again. "And I don't like seeing you in pain, so there's that already." Ethan let his head sag forward slightly. "Likewise. Model, remember?" His eyes were closed, just enjoying the feel of her fingers on his head. Then the kiss to his temple. "I don't think of playing for keeps as… Playing. Not in that sense." He let his head sag a little as she worked her finger into the top of his neck. "I think we feel the same way. I noticed you taking the initiative when you saw me in pain." She wouldn't see the smile, but she would feel the shift in his muscles with her fingers on his face. "Nobody's ever looked after me before, not since my parents." "People…especially people who are potentially…in a relationship…need to take care of each other. I don't like you being in pain. I like your smile." She murmured simply. "So we're a thing now. For keeps. You're going to collar me but you're going to encourage my growth as a woman, a student, a person. I'm going to be your support, I'll kneel at your feet if you like. And lots of spankin'." She said with a playful laugh. "You alright with that? You're okay with us falling in love?" He nodded to her statement, agreeing with the fact of needing to look after each other. He wholeheartedly agreed. He wasn't telling the entire truth when he said 'ever', there was that one two month relationship, but that had fizzled when he realized he preferred being on the other side of the dynamic, so it slipped his mind. It always slipped his mind. A thing. Keeps. Collar. Growth. Support. Kneel. Spanking. The words stuck in his mind. "Yes. I agree. To everything. Including falling in love. With one caveat. There's going to be more than just lots of spankin'!" He tried to match the way she said the word, her playful laugh. Although he did follow up quietly. "As long as you agree." "Well, of course, lots more than spankin'." She murmured, smiling at his imitation of her Island accent. "I agree. We get on really well so far if you haven't noticed." She chuckled, then slipped her arms around him from behind. "Come with me to the Met Art Charity Ball…and then to [[profiles:wintercaldwell|Winter]]'s birthday dinner after?" She asked quietly. He placed his arms over hers where she placed them around him. "I wondered if you had a date for that already, and if you didn't, if you would ask. I didn't want to slide into your life without…" He was still struggling with his choice of words. "I didn't want to impose. Thank you for inviting me. Not afraid of what the gossip pages are going to say about dating a struggling model?" "Why wouldn't I ask you?" She murmured, resting her chin on his shoulder. Little lady, big spoon. "You aren't imposing. And I'm a struggling college student. The only reason I get invited to these things is because Winter's my best friend, and she's Summer's sister." She said softly. "Let them talk, let them say what they want. I want you, and I want…us. For keeps." She kissed his cheek, her lips curled in a smile. He leaned his head slightly to the side, against hers. "You have your own life, I'm new to it." He reached up to tousle her hair, then resettled it in the same motion. "I wouldn't *expect* you to invite me, but I do appreciate it, and accept being your… Date?" There was a tentative question there. "To the ball." The kiss made him smile again, the broad, tooth-baring grin with the crinkled eyes. "As do I." "Welcome to it then." She replied gently, smiling as he tousled her long, dark brown hair. "Date. Yes. You're my boyfriend. You're my date." She agreed, slowly relaxing against him. "Guess I'm a monkey on your back now." She quipped with a twinkle in her eyes. He smirked, shaking his head slightly, not wanting to make her move. He had his fingers trailing through her hair and, although he liked to pull and tug, it was on his terms, not by accident. "Back, yes. Monkey? You're not a problem, at all. I'll take you, any time." "Heyyy now." Stacy teased, then chuckled as she kissed his cheek again, enjoying the feeling of his fingers in her hair. "So tell me. Beyond the paddle. What do you like?" She asked quietly. "More importantly, how's your head?" She murmured as she relaxed against him, her legs crossing in his lap. He chuckled. That got a response. One that he liked. "Head feels better, thank you." With one hand in her hair, the other reached down to rub against her legs. "I mentioned rope, candles… All sorts of impact play. Various aspects of control… This." With that, his fingers in her hair slipped deeper and tugged slightly, applying a little pressure. "I may have missed things, I never got to try things out with partners, they were boring." "Good. I'm glad." She replied. Her eyes closed as he rubbed her legs. "That all sounds like a really good ti-iime…" She said, the last word broken up by the tug on her hair that had her slightly gasping. "I hope you don't find me boring, Ethan." She mumbled, then snickered as she lightly touched her teeth against his neck. Not biting, just a brief touch. Another little tug from his fingers in her hair. He liked how it had affected her before. Them out, brushing down over her cheek as she brushed her teeth over his neck. "You already have more personality than all my other partners, put together." True, even including that two-month relationship. "Not going to happen. Although I hope the same, from your point of view, about me." "Ohh!" She gasped his tugging, his touch on her cheek. A taste of what could be. What would be, and Stacy mentally stumbled in the most wonderful way. "Ah…won't be saying that if you keep pulling my hair. Makes my brain go all….mush. Just…mush." She said shakily, smiling. "Oh, Ethan. I don't think I'll ever find you boring at all." She laughed, and this time she kissed the corner of his mouth. Ethan twisted on the couch, between her legs, placing his hip and side against her and his arm over her shoulder. He reached into her hair once again and gave it another pull, this time holding her head back. "Mush, you say?" His eyes twinkled. She'd given him a weakness he would exploit. Or, enjoy. He took advantage of pulling her head back to place a kiss on her lips. He was still feeling a little off, so it wasn't his best work, and he was a little frustrated, but he would do better. For now, he still enjoyed teasing her with his tongue. "Uhhhhh…." She tried to think of a word. Any word. Nope. Hnngh he was holding her head back and her eyes were flickering over his face, searching. Oh okay, Center. Ground. Hi. Hi, hello, I want to know your brain but shit you're hot too…not even gonna lie. Lips obliterated the rest of those thoughts and she kissed him back, her lips full of hunger. Promise. What was. What would be. For keeps. Good kisser. Beautiful mind. Snark. Sensitivity. Great body. Witty. Smart. All thoughts that were going through his mind during the kiss. Hidden behind the distracted veneer that was his passion as the kiss went on. Then it stopped. He needed to breathe. Ragged breath, struggling for air. He was still holding her hair in his hand. He slowly released her from his grip, hand sliding down her back, then around her waist. After a few moments, he spoke. "Mush. I see that." Twinkle. Glimmer. Sparkle. Smolder. Glint. All could describe the look in his eyes. All were because of how she reacted. No, she wouldn't be boring. *Blank. Blankblankblankblank. Ethan.* Blinking into existence, her brain began to rewire. She could focus on him like this, their lips in motion against each other, tongues dancing and greeting. Getting acquainted. Familiar. Never boring. Her mind was almost flooded as he released her hair, to the point she couldn't make sense of it all. If the plaintiff submits evidentiary…waaaatttt… "Holy hell. You're an amazing kisser." She said. No filter. Was never her way. "Yes, mush." She nodded. Rapture. Smolder. Burn. Hunger. Desire and curiosity all mingling in her steel grey eyes. Yes. He was the one. She wanted to keep him. He chortled. 'Amazing kisser'. That was one of his weaker kisses because of his lag and the dull throb which was slowly fading with the release of endorphins. "If you think that, wait until I'm not jet lagged." His broad smile parted his lips, showing his teeth. "I like your kind of mush." He reached up to poke her nose. "I can get used to that." He leaned forward to grab the water glass from the side table, taking a sip from it before putting it down again. He intentionally leaned towards her when he did, brushing against her chest. He wondered what other sorts of reactions he could get out of her.