"Come on, I'll make us something to eat," she said with a glowing smile that made his heart ache.
He watched her ascend the stairs, mesmerized and captivated by the way her hips swayed gracefully from side to side. The moment she disappeared from view, he took one final glance at the furnace, suddenly praying that she wouldn't find it. Things had been going so well between them and he couldn't bear it if they took yet another step back when he was finally getting close to her.
They sat at the kitchen table together, eating in silence, avoiding each other's eyes. Something had changed in the air between them ever since their date the evening before. Alex had been in love with Norma for months now, but he could finally see a hint of reciprocation. And it scared the shit out of him.
He had never believed that they would actually end up together but when she asked him who he was sleeping with, he noticed a hint of jealousy in her voice. She hid it well but he could still see the disappointment in her eyes when he answered, "I've got people I see".
She had secretly hoped that he would never be attracted to anyone but her. But what she didn't know was that he wasn't attracted to anyone else. What she didn't know was that every moment with Rebecca was spent on autopilot. He would simply close his eyes and bite his tongue to avoid groaning Norma's name. When it was all over, he would fall asleep quickly, dreaming that it was Norma in his bed, in his arms, naked and sated.
They took turns glancing up at the other, nervously, until they finally looked up at the same time. The moment their eyes met, they froze. The urge to look away was overwhelming but the moment Norma caught the unmistakable desire in his eyes, her throat ran dry. She watched him shift a fraction of an inch in her direction and snapped out of it immediately, fixing a smile on her face and standing up.
"I hope you liked it! Are you all done?" she asked, reaching for his plate.
He cleared his throat, smiling up at her. "Uh, yes I'm done. It was delicious, Norma, thank you."
"Of course. Well, I'm going to clean up in here. You can start a movie or something if you want but I only have a laptop to watch it on."
"I'll help you," he offered, standing up to meet her at the sink.
She whirled around to protest, stopping short as she realized how close he suddenly was. "No, no," she said, quickly recovering. "I can do it alone. It won't take long. Why don't you go set up a movie in the living room and I'll meet you in there in a few minutes?"
"Alright. What movie should I choose?" he asked. He wasn't really a movie guy but he quickly became very excited by the idea of Norma sitting so close to him in the darkness.
"Hmm, how about Casablanca?" she said, not really thinking about her words as she caught a whiff of his scent; leather and whiskey. Her heart began to beat rapidly as her eyes travelled from his eyes to his neck. She imagined how his skin would be rough and warm on her tongue as she sucked on his pulse point. Her gaze fell to his lips, watching them move as he spoke, though she heard none of what he said.
"Norma?" he asked, his heart racing as he caught her staring at him.
Her eyes snapped back to his, and she blinked a few times. "What?" she asked, trying to regain her composure.
"I said I've never seen that movie before," he laughed. "I'll go set it up. Are you sure you don't need help in here?"
"No, really I'm okay. Thank you, though. I'll be in there in a minute."
He smiled and turned to leave the room.
She watched him walk away, heat thrumming through her and pooling in her belly. Get a grip, she whispered to herself, continuing on with the dishes.
When she was finished, she walked into the living room, stopping dead in her tracks when she saw him bending down to look at her movie collection. His back was to her and he hadn't noticed her yet so she continued to watch him. The muscles in his arms flexed as he flipped through the DVD boxes and she could see the skin of his lower back where his shirt was pulled up. She knew she would have to announce herself soon or she wouldn't be able to pull her eyes away from him.
"Did you find it?" she asked and he jumped slightly before turning to her and holding up the case triumphantly.
"Yeah, finally! You have so many movies down here," he said, straightening up and moving to the couch.
"I know, I really should get a TV. It's silly to have to crowd around a laptop."
She sat beside him, a safe distance away, but not too far that he would notice. But he did notice. As he slid closer to her, reaching out to insert the DVD into the laptop, his arm brushed against hers.
She tensed up for a moment but remained frozen in place. Goosebumps rose quickly along the path his arm had traveled over hers. He leaned back when the credits started rolling and stared at her back. She remained where she was and he didn't know what to say to get her to relax.
"Uhh, is the glare on the screen bothering you?" he asked, and she smiled to herself, knowing that he was just trying to get her to turn off the light.
"No," she replied. She wasn't going to play his game. If he wanted the light off, he could do it himself.
"Oh," he said, wringing his hands together. He tried to think of another approach and after several minutes of deliberation, he gave in, walking over to the wall and flicking off the switch.
When he returned, he noticed she had moved, her beautiful golden curls now draping over the back of the couch and her feet resting on the coffee table.
This time when he settled on the couch, he sat impossibly close; his thigh pressed against hers but his arms crossed over his chest, to resist the desire to reach for her hand. He leaned back and rested his head beside hers.
Norma hadn't watched a second of the movie since he started it. Instead, her eyes were focused on his leg that just barely touched hers. She wanted so badly to reach out and touch him. To run her fingers up his thigh, higher and higher, until-
"So, is this one of your favorite movies? I can see why it's a classic," he broke through her inappropriate thoughts and she jumped.
"Um, yeah, I've always loved it. Isn't it great?" she replied after clearing her throat.
"It really is," he said.
They fell back into silence for the next hour frozen in place until he finally turned his head to look at her. She met his gaze and without thinking, her eyes flicked to his lips. When she looked back into his eyes, they were dark and dangerous. That same desire she saw in the kitchen was back, but this time, it was burning, his whole heart on display.
His hand reached out to rest on her thigh and he leaned towards her ever so slowly. Her eyes slipped shut and just before their lips met, the movie ended, the music from the credits booming loudly and making them jump apart.
"Oh, it's over! That was fast. Umm, I'm gonna go to bed, okay? Is there anything you need? Help yourself to anything," she said all in one breath.
He watched her floundering and couldn't help the smile that tugged at his lips. "No, I'll be fine. Thank you for dinner. I'll see you tomorrow," he said and she smiled nervously at him before turning on her heel and heading up the stairs.
He sat there for a few minutes, his mind racing as he tried to think of what to do. He would never be able to sleep if he didn't talk to her about it. She had wanted him to kiss her, right? How could he just go to sleep after Norma Bates almost kissed him?
He looked around the room for any sign of what to do. He had to see her again. When his gaze fell to the laptop, an idea suddenly popped into his mind. He shut off the movie and closed the screen, tucking the computer under his arm and turning off the light before he walked up the stairs.
He stood outside her door, taking a deep breath to steady himself. The door suddenly flew open and she almost walked into him.
"Oh, Alex, you scared me! What's up?" she asked.
He glanced down to see her robe hanging open and a knee-length black chemise underneath.
His eyes quickly flicked back up to her face and he held out the laptop to her. "Sorry, I just thought you might want this. I didn't know if you forgot it," he said.
She smiled at him and took it from his hands. "Oh yeah, I did forget it. Thank you."
He continued to stare at her for a moment and her smile faded. "Was there something else?" she asked, suddenly becoming nervous.
"I-uh. Umm," he stammered and she watched him expectantly, her blue eyes dazzling and making him weak. "No, there's nothing else. Goodnight, Norma."
"Goodnight Alex," he heard her say softly behind him as he made his way back to Dylan's room and closed the door. Was that disappointment in her voice or was he just imagining it?
He laid in bed, listening to her moving around in the bathroom and cursing himself for not making a move. After he heard her door close, he turned over in bed and closed his eyes. He laid there for what felt like hours, unable to find sleep until, finally, he heard her door open. He turned in bed to face the door, half-expecting her to just go to the bathroom and return to her room.
His heart stopped when he heard his doorknob turn and she peaked in. "Alex?" she whispered.
"Norma?" he asked, sitting up in bed. "What are you doing awake?"
She stepped into his room, closing the door behind her and walked towards him in just her black chemise. He swallowed thickly as she came to stand beside his bed. "I need to ask you something," she began, staring down at him.
"Okay, what is it?" he asked, his eyes turning dangerous again.
"If we had actually kissed downstairs, what would have happened after?"
He watched her for another moment, not believing his ears. This was it. Whatever he said next could make all his fantasies come true. His heart hammered in his chest as she watched him, waiting for his reply.
He sat up straight, looking her dead in the eye and whispered, "I would have made love to you right there on that couch."
The moment the words were out of his mouth, she was climbing onto his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck. He leaned up to kiss her hard and she sighed against his lips. He tangled his fingers into her hair while his other hand reached down to squeeze her ass.
She pushed him back on the bed and lifted the nightdress over her head. His breath hitched in his throat as he saw that she wasn't wearing anything underneath. His hand reached out slowly to brush over the skin of her stomach.
"You're beautiful," he whispered, drinking her in and studying her like a piece of art. She stared down at him, her eyes hooded and reached down to grab his hands, placing them over her breasts.
"God, Norma," he sighed, his arousal pressing between her thighs. He could feel the heat of her center through the thin fabric of his pajama pants and bit his lip to hold off a groan.
Suddenly he flipped them over, a gasp escaping her throat, and he brushed the hair off her face. He stared deep into her eyes and whispered, "Are you sure about this?"
She smiled softly and leaned up to kiss his lips. "Yes. I need you, Alex."
He moaned, crushing his lips to hers at the same time that he pushed his pants down, just enough to free himself.
The moment he slipped his tongue into her mouth, he slid inside her.
"Ahh," she hissed, squeezing his hip to hold him against her.
"Fuck, Norma," he groaned, slowly sliding out of her and pushing back in again. "You have no idea how long I've wanted this. How long I've wanted you."
She pulled back to look in his eyes. "I love you," she whispered.
He wasn't sure he had heard her correctly. He stopped moving, completely buried inside her and reached out to touch her face. "You do?" He whispered with so much hope in his voice.
She nodded, smiling the tiniest of smiles and he bent down to kiss her so gently that she almost cried right there.
"I love you too."
He began to move again, the urgency returning with each thrust.
"Alex, baby, fuck me harder."
He picked up speed immediately, pounding into her and reaching down to pull her leg up over his shoulder.
He buried his face into her neck and kissed the skin below her ear. "Norma, you feel so good."
He continued thrusting hard and fast until he started to lose his rhythm, leaning back up on his forearm and placing a sloppy kiss to the inside of her knee that was still hooked over his shoulder.
"Baby, I can't hold off any longer," he growled and she whispered in his ear, "Then don't."
He moaned, reaching down to rub circles into her clit. He tensed up every muscle in his body, afraid to finish without her.
Her breaths grew ragged and she suddenly bit into his shoulder, clenching deliciously around him. She screamed his name, digging her nails into his lower back and squeezing her thigh around his ass.
He finally let himself go, groaning her name over and over again as he fell apart in her arms.
When they finally came back to their senses, he unhooked her shaking thigh from his shoulder and slid out of her. He didn't let her get too far, turning on his side and wrapping an arm around her torso. They stared at each other for a few more moments before she laughed softly. "Well, that was unexpected," she said.
He chuckled, running his hand up her spine. "Yes, it was." He turned onto his back and pulled his pants off, throwing them on the floor. Then, he sat up and pulled his shirt over his head, tossing it with his pants and laying back down on his side. He reached out to run his hand over her face and studied every feature. After a few moments, he tucked his arm back around her waist and pulled her into his chest. He kissed her lips once more and she tangled her legs with his, holding his hands in hers.
"Did you really mean it?" he whispered against the top of her head.
She smiled against his chest and snuggled in deeper. "Yes, I really meant it."
He closed his eyes, breathing her in and ran his hand down her back.
"Good," he whispered. "I did too."