"She is chaos, Alex." The Sheriff mumbled to no one, scraping his shoe on a piece of half decayed driftwood until the surface frayed and peeled back like old paint. "Human quicksand, and you need to stop putting your ass on the line for her." He frowned and toed the driftwood harder, digging in a dent. It was late and fairly cool out, so no one was around to overhear his frustrated monologue. "The lying, doing favors, oh and let's not forget the murder!"
It had been a few days since he killed Bob Parish. He didn't actually tell Norma about it, of course. But as soon as news broke about the DEA bust and Parish still being at large, somehow eluding a whole gaggle of federal agents . . . ? He knew she knew. Even without calling or going to see her, Alex was sure she knew. You're too smart for this!
He pretended it was the Bay talking instead of his own mind, the calm waters admonishing like a concerned friend.
Yes, he'd developed a destructive tendency of risking anything necessary to protect her. And yes, he knew a sane person would at least try to correct such a dangerous habit. But in the wake of every potentially disastrous risk there came something he wanted more and more. To be the man who helped Norma Bates sleep easier, if only for a few nights.
"Am I a total idiot?" He asked the Bay.
In a flagrant show of rudeness, the water offered no reply.
"Let's say yes," the Sheriff declared with a terse nod. "So am I an idiot for doing this reckless shit? . . . Or because I'm so sick in the head that I want to, and I can't for the life of me feel sorry?" He drew in and released a deep breath as Norma's image swam in his mind. Her eyes stood out the most. Alert and feisty. The way they could stare him down, or make him feel as though she saw beneath his skin to some deeper place.
I can see under her skin, too.
Norma was comfortable showing anger, he was well aware of that. She'd openly display and throw it at anyone she thought had it coming. But sadness? Pain? Outright desperation? Those she kept in a vault with the door all but welded shut, and only allowed herself to break in front of a tiny handful of people. Alex counted himself among them with a bizarre sort of pride.
And there was his answer. The reason he kept throwing away ambition and basic self preservation.
At some point the stubborn, guarded, beautiful woman decided he was solid ground. She granted him her trust. He could sense a part of her reaching toward him for stability, even when she was fire-spitting furious at him, and it knocked him on his ass every time. So in the case of Alex Romero's common sense vs. Norma Bates? Common sense didn't stand a chance.
"I'm gonna to keep doing it." He informed the indifferent Bay with a shrug. "Pointless to pretend I won't." The one sided conversation might have gone on longer if not for the sudden sheet of rain.
Meanwhile:
Norma tugged the collar of her long black coat snug around her neck as she contemplated the wisdom of her most recent dubious choice. On the one hand, the Sheriff's house did have a small covered porch, so it wasn't like she was waiting for him in the rain like some pathetic unwanted puppy. On the other hand, she felt more and more foolish for being there at all.
It's not impolite to say thank you over the phone, dumbass, she thought as she stepped out from under her shelter to see how bad it was raining. Downpour. Fantastic. You know the man, she went on silently berating herself. He won't accept a thank you anyway, he'll wave it off like killing a man was no big deal! How is that worth driving all the way out here? Rather than head for the car, she darted back under her shelter. You damn well just wanted to see him, Norma. She rolled her eyes and scoffed. Quit bullshitting around!
Insecurity started to writhe in her gut, a gross pile of muddy worms all telling her how little Alex Romero cared about her gratitude. Shit! I should have at least baked cookies or something so he'd have to shut up and accept the thanks. No one turns down cookies. She crossed her arms and drummed her fingers. Go home RIGHT NOW and say thank you over the phone! "This is ridiculous," she muttered. "You waited ten minutes, it's pouring buckets, get out with your dignity!"
Her mind made up, she stomped toward her car parallel parked on the street. She was steps away from the passenger side door when Romero's vehicle swung into the driveway, headlights nearly blinding her. It barely had time to roll to a stop before Alex leapt out.
"What are you doing here?" He called out as he sprinted across the yard. "Are you alright, is everything okay?"
"I - I'm fine." She stammered, hobbling toward him across the slippery grass. So I guess we're not bolting for the car? No. No bolting. Even though embarrassment still flooded her body, it was too late. Norma could see the concern etched on his face. The worry that her weak 'I'm fine' really meant: 'I was going to ask your help with a fresh new crisis, but I've changed my mind.' She couldn't leave him wondering.
Alex reached out and gently held her arms. "Whatever it is, Norma . . . " he let the sentence drop and took a step closer.
Gentle. Concerned. Norma could count on one hand the number of truly gentle men she'd met in her life. A depressing reality that consumed her focus.
"Norma!"
Romero's voice snapped her back to reality.
"Whatever it is, you can trust me."
"I know that!" The words came out sharper than she'd intended. Almost accusatory. An apology was on the tip of her tongue, but she saw the corners of his mouth twitch into a soft grin, so she chuckled instead. "Really, I'm . . . everything is fine." She felt a little silly, but the overpowering embarrassment was gone. Washed away.
"Okay, " Alex mused, the concern in eyes replaced by a nervous warmth. "So . . . you're loitering outside my house at this hour in the dumping rain because?" He waited patiently for a reply, searching her expression with meticulous care in the meantime.
Norma couldn't tell if it was confusion, or optimism, or just flat out lust motivating what she did next. She stepped into his personal space with clear intention. "Because you have pretty eyes, Alex."
The Sheriff didn't have time to respond. Her soft mouth closed over his immediately and demanded deeper access, which he allowed with hungry enthusiasm. His rational mind (the one struggling for purchase over his body) knew it could end at any second. Hell, it probably would.
The woman who stood kissing him and shedding her coat on his front lawn despite the godawful rain? Her mood could turn on a dime. It was part of what drew him to her. That, and the way she was always ready to rush headlong forward in any situation. Brave regardless of how much fear he could see hiding behind the practiced architecture of her face.
Chaos or quicksand, I don't care.
The soggy grass beneath their feet didn't offer much in the way of steady footing as they wobbled toward the house. Clinging to each other and sharing the burden of balance was the only thing that kept them upright.
"Coat," Alex mumbled against her mouth. "Your coat's-"
Norma broke away just long enough to cut him off. ""Screw the coat. It's cheap anyway."
All he wanted to do was keep pulling her rain soaked shirt free of her skirt, but an obnoxiously ethical voice in his head refused to shut up. She's impulsive, Alex, this may not even be about you. "Hold on hold on hold on!" He said with breathless urgency, trying not to think about how awful it would feel if she took her hands off him. "Norma, have you thought this through?"
She leaned away, a dim, haunted pain in her eyes.
"Don't take it wrong!" he added, terrified she might think his concern was actually a veiled rejection. "I do not want you to leave. At all. But I need to know you're not gonna wake up tomorrow feeling angry or . . . upset with yourself." Alex was encouraged when he released her from his arms and she didn't walk away. (Maybe it is about you!) "I won't let myself be the reason you're sad, Norma." He rested his forehead against hers, cautiously cradling her face. "I won't . . . I won't." He whispered the declaration several times, a mantra for his own benefit as much as hers. A crutch to hold him steady and responsible.
She rested her hands on his chest and sighed. "Alex, if anything, I tend to use sex to feel better or . . . run away when I'm already upset." She was aware of how bad it sounded. "Which is completely unhealthy, I know! But . . . what I'm doing now? . . . This is probably the healthiest reason I've ever hurled myself at a man."
"And what's the reason?" Alex asked, grinning as as Norma pressed close and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Well, I was at home earlier feeling happy, and secure, and really optimistic for the first time in ages and it made me wanna see you." She began to mirror his growing smile. "So I invented a reason to drive over here. And wait, and wait, and wait-and possibly drown." She added with a soft giggle. "See? Nothing like my usual bad habit."
Alex could knew tension had settled, and it was okay for him to tease a little. "You mean choosing some random male for a pick-me-up orgasm?"
Norma shrugged. "Well, pick-me-up sex, at least. I've never actually had a, um . . ." It didn't take a genius to figure out what word she was trying not to say, and the shock on her prospective partner's face was not subtle. "I mean, I have!" She corrected herself, again feeling foolish. "Of course I have, I'm a grown woman. Just never when I was, y'know . . . with anyone." She pursed her lips, masking her discomfort with a bit of humor. "Yes. I've been left to my own 'devices,' pardon the pun."
"Actually," Alex replied, "I think that was a double entendre." (More banter. Banter is good.) "Seriously though, no one? No one ever?"
Norma shrugged. "I guess my husband put in some effort when we were first married, but by our third anniversary I might as well have been a hole in the mattress. Every man since him has ranged from 'sincere effort' to 'not even trying.'"
It struck Alex how she didn't even sound upset. Just resigned to the fact. An outright injustice as far as he was concerned, offensive enough to motivate his final decision. "Okay, we are ending that bullshit right now!" He took over steering them toward the front door.
Norma's eyes stayed locked on his every step of the way, the mutual stare amounting to an unspoken challenge.
I dare you to go through with it.
The second her back hit the door she pulled him flush against her, rocking her hips with no interest in subtlety.
No really, I dare you!
"Norma," Alex rumbled the single word in her ear before nipping at the lobe with somewhat-less-than-gentle force, his warm tongue soothing the sting before continuing down her neck. "Norma. . . "
"Mmmmm." She tilted head back and struggled to tug the Sheriff's jacket off his shoulders.
Somehow Alex managed to fish the keys from his pocket and get the door open with minimal fumbling, and Norma stepped backward over the threshold pulling him along with her, grasping and kissing him like a half domesticated creature trying to chase down and reclaim its own wildness.
Alex tossed away his jacket and steered them against the wall as the door slammed shut, allowing just enough space between them for her to undo his belt, and him to deal with the long line of tiny pink buttons running down her shirt. He wasn't even half finished when he felt Norma's hand slide against the bare flesh of his hardness. Buttons! Focus on the-oh shit, that's amazing! Alex gasped and shuddered, struggling for focus as her fingers curled around the base of his length and began to stroke. How many buttons does this stupid thing have?!
He managed to get the shirt unbuttoned in a few seconds, but thanks to the rain they'd both ignored for a bit too long, it still clung to her skin.
"Oh," Alex sighed as he peeled away the shirt and ran his hands over her bare torso cupping and kneading assertively when he reached the swell of her breasts.
Meanwhile, Norma fisted her free hand in his hair and lunged forward in search of his mouth. He happily met the silent request, and the two traded dominance back and forth for a long time.
Breathing slow and deep, Alex struggled to remain in control as the pace of her stroke gradually quickened. Normally by then he'd be focused on getting the bra out of his way, but this time his partner was a unique case. Norma Bates had been the singular object of his desire for longer than he cared to admit. And she was a woman decades overdue to enjoy sustained, climactic pleasure at the hands of a lover. So you're minutes away from being a huge letdown, pal.
He ached to be inside her, to trade the teasing warmth of her hand for something softer. Deeper. He knew if he didn't make her stop what she was doing, and soon, one of two things would happen. One, he'd hoist her up the wall, throw her legs around his waist, and thrust until he came. Or two, even worse, he'd cum in her hand like a horny teenager. Given what he'd promised her, either way the horrendous shame of failure would basically force him to pack up and leave town. Possibly emigrate someplace. I hear Prague is nice-NOW! Now, Alex! Now or its over!
"W-wait," he gasped, gulping down hair as he reached down to still her hand. "Norma, wait, please . . . "
She complied, baffled.
Alex grieved the loss of her touch, and had to wait a moment before he could trust his voice to stay steady. "We've got all night." He assured her as he slowly threaded their fingers together and pressed her right hand to the wall.
"Mmmmm, how do you know?" Norma closed her eyes and sighed as Alex guided her hand up over their heads. "Maybe I have to be home in an hour."
"Right" Alex nuzzled and dusted feather-light kisses over the contours of her face. "For all I know . . ." His free hand drifted down to her hips. Her skirt was the type that zipped at the side. "I'll need your help, ," he informed her, words barely audible and heavy with lust.
"Help?"
"You've cum on your own before, right?" he asked, slowly drawing down the zipper.
"Uhhuh." The sound was a throaty whine.
The unzipped side of the skirt dropped to slightly less than halfway down her thigh.
Alex's first instinct was to help it the rest of the way, but watching Norma squirm with impatience was so damn . . . gratifying. He chose a different method instead. His hand moved very carefully beneath the skirt, palm flat. Staying over the cotton panties, Alex let his touch drift down until he felt damp fabric beneath his fingers, then pressed into her heat. "Show me how you do it, Norma," he whispered as his mouth drifted over all the exposed flesh he could comfortably reach. "Show me . . ."
Norma couldn't remember the last time a man wanted her so much. Maybe never. Even her late husband, she suspected, was only looking for a woman. Any female would've suited him fine, she just happened to be the nearest available option. Her whole body pulsed with the joy of being touched and seduced by a man who wanted Norma Bates. It seemed such an unlikely possibility at that point in her life. A mother in her forties. But there she was. Half undressed and completely confident that Alex Romero wouldn't swap her out for another woman if he could. Not even if every hot twentysomething in town lined up at his door begging for sex. He could turn out he have no technical skill at all and he'd still outshine all her past lovers based on that fact alone.
Alex allowed himself to rock against her as he stroked the arousal-soaked cotton between her legs. "Sweetheart, please." He drew his gaze level with hers, and again the pair stared at one another, this time without a hint of challenge. Instead both were flushed, pupils blown, and drunk with pure need.
Alex's eyes fluttered closed again as Norma's languid touch moved across the line of his brow and slightly parted lips. She continued down his arm, and his forehead fell to the wall an inch from her face. He held perfectly still and counted the seconds, waiting to feel that hand cover his to lead the way.
Wait, wait, wait.
Finally, he felt her take ahold of his wrist and guide him under the waistband of her panties. "We can skip getting me wet," she mused, her head turned so her lips brushed his temple. "Since that's taken care of."
"Oooooooh" he moaned, his mind too hazy for anything more articulate.
Norma pressed his hand into a delicate massaging motion and nudged his fingers to curl upward, pleased when they responded with pliant obedience. "Now down." Again she guided him, bucking and mewling every time the choreographed touch swept over her clit. "And, a-and again-" she pushed and pressed his slicked fingers with rising urgency. "That! Like that, just-like-th-ah, aaaaahhhhh," the sentence trailed off into shallow, senseless warbling, punctuated by the occasional sharp cry. She held him to that method for a few minutes before guiding him into a new stroke. A semi-aggressive circular motion directly on her clit. Middle and/or index fingers. Varied speed. Varied pressure.
Alex followed each instruction with studious dedication to form.
"I, ah, ah! -when . . when I'm . . ." Norma gulped down air and writhed against his thigh to let him know she needed it between her legs for support.
He got the message, and reached down to hitch up her skirt as her legs parted. "You-oh god!" He cried out when his straining hardness met her inner thigh, the tip weeping pre-cum as he rocked again her bare skin.
Norma was too lost in it all to offer Alex any more useful guidance. Instead she threw her arm around his neck, pulled the hand he had pinned against the wall free from his, and clenched his shirt, practically clawing. She could feel the build up of impending release. It coiled tight and shivered through every muscle, waiting to burst.
Now left to his own methods, Alex paid careful attention to Norma's responses. He sped and slowed his stroke, switched from hard contact to barely-there touch, and often used his thumb to keep her clit aroused while other fingers brushed through her center. I have to learn this, he thought I have to know it all. Finally, enjoying the sound of her ragged, hitching breath, he spent a long moment hovering over her entrance before sinking into her readied sex. Without hesitation Norma pressed her shoulders to the wall for support and rocked her hips in time to the thrust of his hand. Okay, we're close.
"That, please, dothatdothatdoth-th-th-th-thAlex!-ah!"
Almost. Almost. Almost.
"Ah, ah, ah, ahahaha!" She chanted as the height of climax burst free, beautifully crushing real language until nothing remained but an inarticulate pile of sound, messy and unselfconscious.
Alex moaned heavily when he felt her cum. Peaking, hovering, then gradually falling, coaxed and held by him through every second. The woman who'd never fully unraveled at anyone's touch but her own. A powerful surge of pride and adoration coursed through him as Norma slumped against his body, her face buried in the crook of his neck. He staggered backward, pulling them both away from the wall and wrapping his arms around her in a kind of cocoon.
"Welcome back," he mused against the soft tickle of her disheveled hair.
"Mmph," Norma replied, nuzzling in lazily as she recovered. It's so much different. I never thought it would be that different! She knew orgasm was, at the end of the day, a response to physical stimulation, right? What did it matter who did the stimulating? Norma's basic needs taken care of courtesy of Norma. She'd never felt deprived of anything in that sense, always able to manage when urge when it arose. Relying on other people in any situation made her nervous anyhow, so taking care of it herself seemed downright preferable. But it is so SO different, she thought, snuggling closer to Alex. Breathing him in as he smoothed down her hair. Cumming with the sound and weight of another person right there? It went beyond the physical touch. Beyond what she could manage on her own. Placing her pleasure completely in someone else's hands gave her something new. Something it had never even occurred to her to want.
Orgasm as an act of union rather than solitary pursuit.
She was returned enough to reality to realize except for undone pants, Alex was still basically dressed. "Hmmmmm . . ." She kissed softly along the line of his throat and began to unbutton his shirt.
"Oooooooh," he sighed, trying not to actually whine as she moved lower. Closer and closer to the pants barely hanging on his hips. Need! Her! Now!
"Your turn," Norma chirped suddenly and spun them around without warning. She was on her knees before his back hit the wall.
"Wh-what?" Alex tried to process the moment, but a dense cloud of lust made it difficult. His mind barely had time to register a damn thing before Norma's mouth engulfed the head of his shaft and plunged down. "AH!" He cried out in shock. He threw his head back and screwed his eyes shut, hips breathing in time to the the rise and slide of her mouth despite his best effort to resist. Why resist? She did feel spectacular. He barely contained a shiver every time she paused to suck the tip, and stroke the pulsing flesh beneath. The urge let release in her throat was almost strong enough to overwhelm every other desire. So why resist? Remember why! He demanded of himself.
The reason was simple. The bigger picture. While he was busy getting her off, every time time the rippling muscle inside her clenched and surfed against his fingers, he clung to the thought of was how amazing it would feel later. When he could fill her completely. The heated, wet depth of her surrounding him. But this is too good, Romero, argued his want for instant gratification. Come on, just let her- "STOP!" He practically yelled.
Norma complied instantly and looked up, startled. "Bad?"
"Nononono," Alex assured her breathlessly, gazing down at her flushed face with earnest affection. "Beyond good. That's the thing, if I let you keep going, I can promise the show's over pretty soon."
"Well like you said before, we've got all night," Norma shrugged. "And I've really never minded doing this. You've more than earned it."
"Flattered," he said, trying to ignore the rage of thwarted lust as he helped her to her feet. "But it's more than that." How much should I tell her? Aw hell, go for broke. Why be coy now? "I don't know what tonight means for us-and it doesn't matter right now, as far as I'm concerned-but . . . Norma, I've spent a lotta nights awake in my bed thinking about what it would be like if you were there."
"Really?" Norma asked with a tiny smile, squirming against him just to be mean.
"Mmhmm." His brown eyes met hers, brimming with naked sincerity. "Every detail. How we'd undress, what you'd sound like, " he spoke fast so he wouldn't have time to talk himself out of the confession. "You on top, or me on top, who'd go down first, or cum first, all of it, but in every scenario I thought of, Norma, every one of them, the first time I came . . . " he paused. ". . . the first time I was inside you."
Norma gave a happy purr and pulled him close by the small of his back. "Do you feed this 'I was inside you' line to all the girls?"
"You mean the forty women I've slept with this month?" He asked, grateful for the slight distraction of banter. "Yup. Every last one. Gets 'em hot." He sucked in a sharp breath and groaned as Norma rolled her teasing hips. "Oh, you're a bad person," he hissed, the accusation somewhat undermined by the way he clutched and ground against her.
"Mmmmmmmmm," Norma moaned as she thrust harder against his thigh for moe friction. "You're such an asshole."
Alex gave her lopsided, barely-on skirt the slightest tug and sent it pooling around her feet. "An asshole who wants wants you in his bed." A whole soliloquy of eloquent declarations played in his as they wobbled toward his bedroom and finished undressing one another, but he figured they could wait. That's what afterglow is for.