Alison never was into the bad boy type. He wasn't the kind of person she was supposed to fall for, nothing like Benny. Benny was... bohemian, maybe, but a tame sort of bohemian, the sort of person she could handle, the sort of person she could take back to her family. But Roger smiled at her, the slightly crooked, perfectly imperfect smile of his, and something about it caught her eye, made her stop a moment and consider that just maybe, for once, the bad boy might be what she wanted after all.
She perched uncomfortably on the very edge of the couch – they'd stopped by Benny's place quickly before going out on a date, and while Benny ducked into his room to grab a few things, Alison sat out here in the living room, feeling very much out of place. The loft was... not like most places she was used to being. Cluttered, rough around the edges, in a somewhat charming way.
"So," Roger said brightly, sprawled on the other end of the couch with a coolly relaxed air that was a direct contrast to Alison's stiff uncertainty. He was rough around the edges too, and also charming, from the cocky grin to the way he lounged there like a cougar, completely confident and sure of himself. "You're with Benny."
Alison turned to look at him, with that automatic, distant smile she tended to give to strangers. "Well, yes. I think we already established that about five minutes ago when we met."
Roger didn't seem put off by the edge of irony in her tone – he actually grinned at her, like it amused him. "Why?"
The question gave Alison paused – it was the last thing she'd expected. "Why... why what?"
"Why're you with Benny? I mean, it's... Benny. He's..." Roger shrugged. "You're a pretty girl, you could do better than him."
Alison's pale cheeks flushed a little, and she wasn't even sure why. "Better than him?"
"Yes." Roger paused, and then there was that smile again. "You know. Like me."
Alison could find no response to that, and thankfully didn't have to, as Benny came out of his bedroom just then. Roger looked over his shoulder at him, still grinning. "Hey, Benny," he said brightly. "Don't mind me, I'm just trying to steal your girlfriend."
Benny ignored him, with the perfect calm that came of having known someone for years and knowing just when not to take them seriously. Instead, he glanced to Alison with a smile – a sweet, perfectly nice smile, nothing like Roger's cocky-charming-wicked-mischievous-perfect smile. "You ready to go?"
Alison hopped quickly off the couch, going to join Benny. "Yes." She paused after a moment, glancing over her shoulder at Roger. "Roger, it was... nice meeting you."
He raised his hand in a lazy wave. "See you around." And, though she hadn't really expected to see him much after that, she didn't bother correcting him.
Alison picked up the phone after the second ring, expecting it to be Benny. He'd gone out of town with her father for some business-related thing she hadn't asked about and didn't care to. "Hello?"
"Alison Grey?" said a voice she recognized, definitely not Benny. She wondered, absently, how just the tone of his voice could convey the same mischievous confidence that his smile did, how she could practically hear his smile through the phone. It didn't occur to her to wonder how he'd gotten her number.
"Roger." Her reaction was more surprised than anything, and more than a little uncertain as she searched for some reason Benny's roommate would be calling her and... coming up with nothing.
"You remember me," he said, sounding just a little too smug about that. "I, um... Well, since Benny's gone this week and you might not be doing anything, I... wondered if you might want to come over. We could just... wander around the Village or something." There was a pause, and again, she could almost hear his smile. "Benny told me you're not down here a lot."
"I..." Alison paused, trying to decide what had prompted the invitation, why Roger would pay her any mind beyond the fact that she was Benny's boyfriend. But, somehow, something prompted her to smile and answer softly, "Sure. Why not?"
They ended up in a little coffee shop, after wandering around, Roger leading her cheerfully down St. Mark's, stopping here at Roger's insistence and to Alison's amusement – she decided, before long, that giving Roger any kind of caffeine-like stimulant, was probably a bad idea on the whole. But his energy was infectious. Being with him in the Village was a joy and a thrill, because somehow he shared the same reckless, chaotic, artistic spirit as the Village itself, and being around him was like being around a fire, a star, exhilarating just to be close enough to feel the heat. For the first time with him, she broke into a real, bright smile – not that polite ice-princess smile she gave to most people, even Benny, but something else, rarely seen.
Roger grinned, and tilted his head to the side, eying her quietly. "See, I knew you'd like it here. Much more fun than any place uptown, isn't it?"
"With you, yes," Alison said, and then looked down at the coffee she held cradled in both hands, flushing a little despite herself. "I mean... well..." She paused and bit her lip. "That is..."
"Oh, there's no need to be ashamed," Roger said, and she glanced up to him briefly despite herself just to see that smirk of his. "I know I'm more fun to be around than Benny. And you never did answer me about why you're with him. Like I said, a girl like you could do much better."
"I... I..." Alison stammered softly, so completely caught off guard by Roger's directness.
It also caught her off guard when he leaned across the table, fingers brushing lightly over her cheek, and kissed her. His fingertips were rough, slightly callused against her skin, but she decided, in whatever fuzzy, distant part of her brain was still capable of coherent thought, that she actually didn't mind it in the least.