A short, silly thing that's distracting me from more serious endeavors. In fact, I almost put it with the drabbles.
Thanks for reading this little bitty story written with characters who aren't mine. I hope it amuses you!
All she wanted was to be home.
It had been a long day of tedious meetings. At the end of it, they discovered construction had caused chaos along the main thoroughfare of downtown Pyrus. Thanks to the clever maneuverings of her driver, they had bypassed the snarl of traffic, but the detour was adding significantly to their travel time.
Clarisse sighed, trying to bite back complaints that would make her sound ungrateful. Joseph must have heard the sigh and interpreted its meaning because soon after he pushed the button to raise the barrier between the backseat and the front.
He leaned back again, and they both continued to stare straight ahead quietly until Joseph finally spoke up.
"Want to make out?"
Clarisse whipped her head toward him. "What?"
He raised his eyebrows while keeping a remarkably straight face. "Do you?"
"No, I do not!"
"Are you sure?"
Her emphatic response came immediately. "Yes, I am sure!"
"So you really don't want to –"
"Joseph."
"It could be fun –"
"Joseph."
"Alright, alright."
He lapsed into silence. She turned to face forward again, resolutely avoiding eye contact with him. After a few moments, she chanced a glance from the corner of her eye, but her head was tempted to follow her gaze so she renewed her determination to stare a hole through the privacy screen.
"Just tell me this: is it because you don't want to, or because it would be inappropriate?"
She sucked in a breath to respond, then decided it was better to ignore him.
He was not deterred.
"Probably you're right. We do work together, it could be awkward."
There was a pause, and she couldn't help but feel he was using it to maintain his poker face and keep the smile out of his voice.
"And we've been friends for so many years. It would be a shame to jeopardize that."
"Are you forgetting something else?"
"Hmm?" She moved her head a tiny bit and saw him stroking his goatee as he pretended to search for other reasons. "Ah, you must be referring to the fact that you're married."
She rolled her eyes. "It's likely that I am."
"That is a good reason." She waited, knowing he was enjoying this and would keep pressing the issue. She didn't have to wait long. He cleared his throat. "You might ask yourself," he suggested as delicately as possible, "what His Majesty would do in a situation like this."
She found her resolve wavering. She felt an involuntary pull at the corners of her lips. He would know her imperious façade was cracking, but she made him wait for a long minute.
"Possibly," she said lightly, still not daring to look at him fully, "it would take less time to list what Rupert would not do."
Joseph laughed, and finally, so did Clarisse. He slid closer and put his arm around her. She caught his eye before resting her head on his shoulder, and he leaned in to put a chaste but meaningful kiss on her forehead.
"Rest," he said. "It's been a long day and we still have a few minutes before we arrive at the palace."
She sighed, not quite contentedly, and she wondered if he knew how many things she wanted to say to him just then. Instead of speaking, she reached her hand out, and he crossed his free arm in front of him to grasp her hand in his. Their fingers entwined and their hands dropped to a relatively safe spot in between them.
She felt him smile against her forehead. "If you ever change your mind…" He let his whisper trail off suggestively.
"You'll be the first to know," she promised.