Chapter Twelve
"So when did you get this place?" Gary asked, looking around the barely furnished place. No television. No pictures on the walls. Nothing to say this place belonged to her. It must be new. It was a good size for one or two people, and he guessed her Sifu may live with her and have his own dojo pay for this. Could she have needed a reason to leave?
"Uh, at five?"
"Five, as in just over five hours ago five?" He said in disbelief.
Laurie smiled as she put down her bags in the front room and let him look around, going to the kitchen as she remarked playfully, "You did say we needed to have our own room." She took out some ingredients to make chorizo and prawn jambalaya, knowing she'd end up freezing half of it. She'd have to get a rice cooker too, so she could have hot rice at any time of the day.
"Are you saying to me that you got this apartment because I said yesterday we needed our own room?" He said in disbelief, walking in to see her making some dinner for herself. "You know I meant getting them all out at one time or skipping a lesson?"
"Yup and yup." She started cutting up an onion and some spring onions as well as red and yellow peppers. "I'll let you have some if you're hungry and help me out."
"You're not a very good host."
"You're a rubbish guest for bitching at his host, now come here as I slice this up while you start rinsing the rice with water."
"Only because I know you won't spit in it."
"Don't hurry up and I will." She tossed back over her shoulder cheekily and he finally moved up to help, handing him the bag of rice and a sieve. "Keep going until it runs clear. It's better rice then. I'll have to season the meat for tomorrows' stir fry as well." She murmured to herself absently, hands flying with the knife.
His eyebrow raised. "You're a bit too good with a knife. Of course I noticed that back in biology…"
"Not according to Sifu. I'm barely acceptable. Barely acceptable in everything though. That's Sifu for you." Then she chuckled randomly and explained when he gave her an odd look. "I just wondered what he'd think of you here."
"Would he not like it?"
"Not like it?" She barked a laugh, placing the vegetable into a large bowl as Gary finished with the rice and put the food into a pan she handed him and placed it on a hob, adding water and setting the temperature and timer on the oven. "Hell, he'd love it. The man's been trying to marry me off since I was fifteen. He'd love the fact you were here. Auspicious for him. He's unbelievably traditional, you know. Thinks women, well, couples, but mainly women, should get married young as it makes for a stable life for both of the married couple. I just think he's insane, but what do I know? I'm just the student he kicks around the training hall constantly, daily… all the friggin' time."
"Wait, so you find that funny, but you get riled up at Bullworth?"
She nodded in understanding. "See, in all his traditional thoughts, Sifu has never forced me into anything in such a way. Grow my hair? Sure it's supposed to show talent that you won't have your hair gripped in a fight because you're too good. If it has the extra advantage of 'attracting a mate even when up and hidden' - Sifu's words, not mine – then okay, let him be happy with that. If he keeps spouting dumb marriage shit, let him. He doesn't bring around men and demand I go on dates with them, he just points out stuff every once in a while about choosing a good man suited to me if we're out and my eyes drift to ones he doesn't like. If he's taught me how to cook Chinese and even says how I'll 'have to feed my husband decent food unlike the swine food from around here', then hey, I'm learning how to cook authentic Chinese food with recipes handed down through centuries of perfecting said recipes."
"Two birds with one stone type of man, then?" He stated as she got out some seasoning and meat.
"Oh, yeah." She nodded in agreement as there was a bit of comfortable silence between them.
Gary couldn't help but break it, announcing that, "I want the school. I want to play them all against each other and hold their meaningless lives in my hand."
She gave him an incredulous look at his wording. "Well, okay. You have fun with that, Smithy. What? Don't look at me annoyed like I'm brushing it off or something. If you want to, then have fun doing that. I'm debating whether or not to stay at Bullworth, but I'll help if I can, poppet."
"What? You can't leave just because of the males." He demanded, turning to her with a needling eye at her shrug. "No, Watson."
"Why not? If I can't go after the man I want what's the point of staying and teasing myself? When I can get tutors and see him anyway? I live ten minutes from school so it'd be fine if I left and I got to see my man regardless." She looked him dead on, letting him know exactly who she wanted and turning him on a little at her determined face. Fuck, he loved her eyes, all beautiful gray like a cat's fur. Not that he'd tell her that. He wasn't such a fucking pussy. He could think things to himself without saying them of course. "What would make me happy thinking about whether or not that if I left you for a bit they would or wouldn't kick the shit out of you for going against their rules? If you even did?"
"If you wanted me to, I would." He responded without even thinking about it, keeping an eye on the rice for a second before turning to her.
Gary had to wonder about his own pride getting flushed away down the toilet.
Why was he wanting her so badly again?
"...You think I would buy an apartment just for one night of fun?"
Ah.
That's why.
He smirked widely at that. Well, he didn't mind being so soft if it was just to one person who'd keep it to herself. "Sounds good to me." He murmured thoughtfully. "An apartment for us."
"You should check out the bed." She said with an open face, a sudden childlike exuberance on it. "I bought the best bed. Seriously, go look and just flop on it."
Gary cocked his head curiously, not one to take orders, but checking out the place they'd be having sex was fine with him. "Sure."
Laurie watched him go before taking out the prawns to defrost a little and began chopping up some chorizo and taking out a pan and putting some sesame oil in it. She continued with her food making until she heard Gary call out, "I'm not sleeping in my bed ever again. You'll have to put up with me in your bed from now on."
"As long as you're not a bedcover stealer!"
"I'm taking that as a promise." He warned, feeling like he could fall asleep at any second. He must have done, because the next thing he knew Laurie had jumped him, scaring the shit out of him for all of two seconds before he scowled at her. "Couldn't call my name like a normal person?"
"I did." She replied in amusement, grey eyes gleaming at him when he gave her a withering look. "Once. Then I jumped you. Can't help myself." She replied airily, not shifting off him in the slightest. "I see you lying down so gorgeously in my just as gorgeous bed, so how can I resist?" His hair was askew from its' old Nazi style and she went to put it back in order but instead simply ran her hand through the surprisingly soft strands. His own hand reached up to cup her neck and pull her down for a kiss as the other hand slithered up her thigh to rest under her skirt and stayed on the back of her thigh as she leaned into him.
It might only have been three days since he kissed her but it felt like forever had passed. Warmth flushed through his body when she sighed into his touch and settled her chest against his, her forearms on either side of his head, one hand tilting his head up for a better angle and hummed in amusement as he pulled them to their sides. It was lax and lazy and he forgot about food completely. She was the first to initiate tongues, swiping a teasing tongue over his bottom lip for a taste and he immediately responded with bringing his own out to play and never realised how sensitive the top of his mouth was when she slicked a playful tongue over it quickly, causing him to hum in response and press them closer together.
His hand trailed up her back and enjoyed the smallness of her lower back and noted how nicely she fit into the crook of his arm as his arm circled her waist.
"Gary." She murmured happily, kissing a trailed down his neck, and she wondered if they got together, would she be the one to initiate sex the most? It was an interesting thought. She kissed up again, hand still twisting into his short locks. "Dessert comes after dinner, sweet."
"It doesn't have to." The male clamped down on her waist with his arms, sitting up and moving back against the headboard, causing her to snigger at his hopeful intentions, both of them feeling his hardness. "Don't you agree?"
"And then we just both fall asleep?"
He blinked, looking down at his feet. "You took my boots off?"
"No shoes on my bed." Her own feet were bare, though he had socks on. "So, you want sex and sleep."
Gary kissed along her collarbone, tugging her tie out of the way with his teeth, not seeing how that got her going but definitely feeling her grind down on his hard cock. "An excellent plan, Miss Watson. Good thinking. Definitely good thinking." His hand went up and tugged at her hair band, letting all her hair loose. "Such pretty hair always hidden away." He mocked, playing with the strands she let no one else touch.
"Food, Mister Smith." Laurie broke out of his unwilling hold, giving a faint smile as she rubbed her aching scalp with a sigh of relief and then walked out with a ruffled Gary following. "Then sleep." She pretended she didn't see the put out look on his face as he readjusted himself for comfort but she grinned at his surprised expression as they entered the living room. There was the main dish, but there were also some olives in a small dish and some garlic bread she must had made quickly on another large plate. "I don't have anything in the dining room as that apparently didn't come under 'part furnished' but I managed to haggle. Uhm, if you don't like olives then don't worry. Apart from Seth's mumsy, I'm the only one who I know does."
"His mom?"
"Yeah, she's a great mathematician. I think she may even be coming to Bullworth when the college opens."
Gary snickered at that, sitting down before the low table where all the food was. "I really like olives. Nice one, Watson. This actually looks really good."
Her pleased grin brightened her face up. "Also, I don't know if you favour wine, but I did bring out a bottle that always went awesome with this meal. If not, no worries. I have beers." She sat opposite him, pouring herself a drink but he surprised her by holding his empty glass out for a glass of white. "I'm glad you want some." Deciding upon letting him eat and enjoy her food instead of grilling him about the school, she began to speak. "I've been doing martial arts coming up to fifteen years. I started at about four and a half with Sifu when I first met him. He'd had some trouble with debtors or something and my dad needed a babysitter. My dad goes around the world, meeting with people, doing… something." Her face scrunched up as she speared an olive. "Not really sure anymore. I haven't seen him since I left England with Sifu and he hasn't been in touch." She chewed on the yummy olive merrily, humming happily.
He stared. "You just left? Without telling your father?"
"Sure. Honestly, I could barely tell you what he looks like anyway. Sifu has pretty much been my life. He taught me everything I know about nearly everything we touched on. Unfortunately his debtors wanted more out of him. Gangsters that had wanted to use him, you know? So we went to some little known area in New Hampshire with plenty of willing students and also a boarding school that was actually pretty damn reputable. We just didn't know what it really was reputable for." Laurie mused to herself with a quiet chuckle. "Don't get me wrong, I love Bullworth – it has its' own rhythm you know? - but this has just blown me away."
"You'd really leave?" The American's voice was low as he stared at her, meal already half gone. "We can keep us a secret, like you said. We can retreat to here. Forget listening to their rules. Help me take over the school and fight back."
"Fight back? How?" She demanded.
A glimmer entered his eyes as he got excited, something she saw not five minutes ago in her… their, room. "You leave that up to me. I'll keep you informed of it all, but people and plans change, right?"
"Hey, let me in on the planning too." She noted his hesitance and then decided to let her secret out. "If I tell you a big secret will you promise to let me in on the planning? It'll help change your mind."
"Tell me first."
Seeing as it'd been the other way around earlier, she had to laugh. "Sure. You of course remember the Shamrock taking away Rodrigo, you know, the one from the…" She had to pause in thought before recalling, "Jalisco Giants?" At his nod the Englishwoman licked her lips apprehensively and then continued, "The reason Rodrigo was following us and Seth in particular was because they tried to steal the twelve Renoir paintings worth up to three hundred twenty thousand dollars each that we'd filched for the grifting ring we were involved in with Lukas. Seth's a hacker, which he learnt from Lukas for about three years, and I'm an infiltrator or thief if you'd prefer and I've only done it since Jan I think, maybe December."
"…" Gary was gobsmacked that he'd never known that about a person from Bullworth. That Seth had been doing it for even longer really got him gritting his teeth. "An infiltrator?"
"Yup. I was just asking Seth the other day about starting our own one up and wondering if we should take on Jimmy and-"
"That's why you were wanting him to follow you?" Gary demanded from her and she happily nodded, looking glad to talk to someone about it. Jimmy was a fighter, no wonder she also wanted him. "I want in."
"Do you now?" Laurie asked thoughtfully. "What do you prefer to do? What's your things? We had all types of people with different specialities. Sports knowledge and art and antiques mostly were our hits. The Renoir paintings me and two others went in to steal on the first of September, were spotted by one of the specialists and our leader who began it."
"I told you I've got a near eidetic memory. Taking the school seems to pale in comparison to this."
She nodded in wistful agreement, putting her chin in her hand. "It really does." Then she blinked out of it and leaned closer and he automatically copied. "Look, I told you this because I'm good at doing things. You need me to break into one of the Preppies homes up in Old Vale and steal something? Done. Plant something on someone? Done. Charm a man into my bed while my workmates get out of a tough situation?" She laughed at his face of dislike, mischievous. "I'm kidding. I left that to the Swedish twins though I was the one to take on the security guards while the lads broke into rooms if we didn't have keys of some kind because they were better at it. I like my thrills. Sex, stealing and secret societies are my thing."
"Alright. Yeah. You and me. We'll take over."
"Smithy, I'll help you take it over. You give me the thrills and I'll… well, I was gonna say the kills but that's just a wee bit scary."
He saw something then, in the way she acted. "Have you?"
Her mouth went dry and she cleared her throat from the sudden build-up of phlegm and she stared at her half eaten food. She gripped her skirt. "Once by accident. Once…"
Gary felt himself clench his teeth. "I see. I'm not going to tell anyone." He said quietly as the room went just as quiet, and the only sounds were of cutlery hitting plates. Noting her drink had gone down he topped it up for her. "Seriously. I don't care." He'd chosen her and such things wouldn't chase him away. Not now when he'd heard how she'd help him take it over and hopefully they'd eventually begin to start a con ring. He wasn't sure about Seth being in it, but having an experienced hacker and also knowing he was screwing Laurie behind his pining back would feel great.
Ideas were already popping into his head about eventual cons he'd try out.
Damn.
He honestly couldn't wait.
No wonder Laurie got so jittery about thrills.
"You don't?" She said doubtfully. "I was going to drink when I found out the first one died. It's fine." She waved him away when he eyed the bottle of wine distrustfully. "I only drink when eating. It's hard to get me drunk because I've damaged my poor liver so much. Sifu didn't really care about alcohol, oddly enough. Just no smoking or drugs. Heck, he doesn't even let me drink coffee or eat chocolate. Not that I'm missing out on coffee because I tried it once and hated it, but chocolate? I am a woman and I demand my chocolate fix!" She smacked on the table commandingly, causing him to snort at that. "But, alas, still no chocolate."
"No wonder he never gave you chocolate. You're energetic enough without that in you as well."
"Without that in me?" Her smile turned into a rakish smirk that definitely got his attention. "And I have all this energy for all sorts of activities, Smith." She sipped at her wine in satisfaction of getting his attention before placing it down and putting a hand to her cheek. "But someone seems to think I'm an alcoholic again. How cruel." She ran a hand down her neck as she leaned back on the same arm, grabbing her glass with the other and sipping more wine as she stared him dead on.
Gary had to still himself. This woman was dangerously attractive to him and responding with the same kind of signs. Tempted as hell to take her to bed, but something stopped him. She wasn't just a screw and that just fucked with his brains. He wanted to keep her and make her want to keep him which messed with him even further. He wanted it to, to mean something to her. He fiddled with his own wine glass, realising his thumb was rubbing over the roundness seconds after he began doing it and stopped, cursing his hormones. Her smirk only widened and he simply ate an olive, contemplating his position on her.
Should he seduce her?
Would it jeopardize anything?
"I want to have sex with you." She stood up looking at him expectantly as she walked past him with her glass of wine and went to the bedroom.
He nearly choked on his food.
Well.
That solved his dilemma.
He drunk the rest of his wine in one go, smacking the glass back down and quickly followed. She smiled knowingly, eyes hot as he entered the bedroom mere seconds after her, twirling her around by the hips. "Are you sure? I'm not sharing." He told her adamantly.
"Nor would you, or will I when we're sexual partners."
"Good. We're at an understanding." His lips covered hers firmly, tugging her shirt out of her skirt impatiently. He wanted to feel her skin, taste her once again, take in her scent. Shit, he was already getting hard at the thought of taking her for his own. "Woman." He growled as she ripped his teal jumper off while his hands desperately tugged her blue prefect jacket off, followed by unbuttoning her top as they ground against each other and kissed hotly, needing to be joined now they'd agreed upon each other.
Then he paused and looked down at her heaving chest, feeling himself harden at the sight of her bra pushing her breasts out so fucking perfectly that he had to physically shake his head and look at her. "I'll buy you the morning pill tomorrow."
"I finished my period only days ago. Don't worry. I'm far from fertile at this time of month."
He nodded in understanding. "I'll do it anyway. I'm not ready for a mini-me."
"Good man." She winked and laughed but was soon mewling at the sudden feeling of his hands touching her. The Brit held onto his shoulders with half lidded eyes and heart pounding in her chest as she panted slightly, grinding against him, kissing up his neck as best she could, but she was also so sensitive during sex that unless she took control and pleasured her man first, she wouldn't be as great a sex partner as she knew herself to be. He didn't seem to mind, intent on touching every bit of skin he could with his hot hands as his mouth ducked down to suck at her neck, leaving after print feelings of the big hands being there and making her feeling complete sexy and amazing.
Laurie went to take his trousers off but his hands grasped her wrists, putting her hands were he wanted them.
Of course the controlling male would want control over this; if she could was the fighter for the pair, then he'd be the one to control sex and her pleasure. She was allowed to undo his belt, slipping it out with a deft hand and letting the black piece of leather drop to the ground along with the other bits of clothing and felt herself pushed to the bed.
Gary felt her body shake from the aftermath and he haughtily pulled her on top of him. "We'll continue this in a little while."
Laurie's eyes widened before a just as wide grin settle on her face as she snuggled into him, enjoying the little kisses he dotted on her head and neck, nuzzling into her after. "I was hoping you'd say that."
"And don't forget; you're not just a screw."
Her eyes drifted closed. "M'Yeah..."
.G.
A/N: Please Review! If you'd like the mature edited version, pm/review... etc... ;D
LaRS.
