After a while, their orders arrived. Charlie tried the jambalaya for the first time ever and she could appreciate all the taste explosions in her mouth. That was delightful.

"This is so… good!" She said after swallowing the first bite.

"I knew you would like it, dear." Alastor cleaned his lips with a napkin. "But tell me-", he got the wine glass and sipped it, "You were running yesterday, you seemed scared… What happened?" He tilted his head, raising his eyebrow and smiling at her.

"Huh?" Charlie seemed surprised and her eyes widened a bit with the sudden question. "I- told you, I got scared by a cat." Charlie's smile became shy and she avoided looking the man in the eyes.

"Dear… You don't look very confident with your own answer." Alastor put the glass back down onto the table, put both of his elbows over the table and entangled his own fingers. Slowly, he leaned his chin over his own tangled fingers while looking at her.

"It-it's because—" How was she going to lie to him? She looked around and frowned her brows. "It was dark and I'm not sure if it were truly cats, it could have been… rats!" She exclaimed a little bit louder than she desired to. The idea of it being rats sounded more convincing in her head.

Alastor kept looking at her with his eyes half closed while he was judging her. His expression, even if it was serene and calm, she felt those expressive eyes judging her like she never felt any other person doing before.

She lowered her head and a few strands of hair fell over her face. She bit her lip with the silence between them. It felt like a torture. Charlie raised her eyes and he was still looking at her the same way.

"I- it's complicated", she finally admitted, sighing and slowly placing the strands of hair behind her ear.

"I understand…" He smiled at her, blinking slowly.

"No, seriously, it's…"

"Complicated." Alastor completed her phrase and chuckled.

"Yes…" She giggled looking at the man with a shy smile.

"When and if you feel like, I'm here to listen to you." He got his wine again, sipping it.

"Thank you." She nodded and got her wine, too. She was still a little nervous with the question and the previous silence. She sipped her wine and coughed a bit. She usually only drank alcohol socially, at her parents' parties or such. "So… What are your plans for today?" She put the glass away.

"My plans… To finish this delightful meal, then probably walk around, then later tonight dance." Alastor smiled at Charlie. "And you, dear?"

"I… do you dance?" Charlie's eyes widened as they started to shine.

"I do, and you? Do you like to dance?" Alastor took a bite of his jambalaya while glancing at Charlie.

"I do! I would love to dance with you, Al!", Charlie exclaimed, all excited.

Alastor got a little confused; he just asked if she liked to dance, he wasn't inviting her but… Since she misunderstood what he said, he would just flow with it.

"Great, I will pick you up at 7 pm at the hotel, sounds good to you?"

"Perfect!" She sounded so excited that Alastor couldn't hold a chuckle; for him, she was adorable for some reason.

As the time passed by, they talked about the food, the city and Charlie discovered Alastor liked to listen and dance to jazz. Alastor got to know that Charlie never danced to jazz before but she seemed excited to learn.

They finished their meal, Alastor paid for it, even though Charlie insisted to pay for her part. He was a true gentleman after all. And then they followed their separate paths.

Charlie wanted to ask if she could go with Alastor to explore the city but… They would already spend the night together; she didn't want to annoy the man.

Since she would have a date-… Date? It wasn't a date; she couldn't have a date. She still wanted to be presentable even if it wasn't a date. She would kill two birds with one stone: She would explore the city and get a nice new dress for herself.

And that was what she did. Charlie explored the stores and stopped by to get an ice cream. It took her a while to find a good dress. She got a red flapper dress with black fringes. These black fringes on the red background let the dress appear dark red and very elegant with shining parts on its pattern.

It was almost 7pm and she was already ready, sitting on a couch while waiting in the hotel's hall for Alastor.

"Oh my, oh my…." A known voice echoed in the hall, making Charlie search for its source. It was Lorraine. "Looks like someone has a date." The woman smiled at the blonde, looking at the dress and how Charlie's hair was done.

The blonde's hair was braided with black elastics decorated with nice, discreet, details all over it.

"Oh no, it's not a date…" Charlie giggled feeling her cheeks getting warmer.

"By your giggle… And how red your cheeks got; I doubt that. So, tell me, who's the lucky one?" Lorraine sat by Charlie's side, poking her gently with her elbow.

"I swear it's not a date… It's just A-" Charlie made a short pause, Lorraine certainly didn't know about "Dean's" secret. "Dean invited me to dance with him tonight and to show me the city." She smiled, placing her hand over her own arm and caressing it.

"Wait, Dean… invited you?" Lorraine raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. "Are you for real?" The woman blinked a few times at the blonde while Charlie nodded. "You know him for one day… And he invited you…" Lorraine chuckled and leaned back to the couch.

"Why? Is something bad about it?" Charlie was confused by Lorraine's reaction. Was it something she needed to worry about?

"Looks like the unreachable gentleman got interested in some blonde girl." Lorraine rested her elbow over the couch's arm and leaned her cheek against her hand while staring at Charlie.

"Unreachable? You mean Dean?" Just by the thought of it, Charlie felt her cheeks growing warmer.

"Dear", Lorraine laughed and got her free hand to gesticulate while she was talking. "You know how long it took Dean to finally invite me to dance? Months! And it was still a coincidence. I found him at the jazz club on the same day and while I was there, we began to talk and then he invited me. Very casual." The woman rolled her eyes and chuckled again. "I know some girls who would love to dance with him but he never… ever goes with a company. I believe you will be the first." She crossed her legs and then pointed at Charlie. "If I were you, I would get that man the best I could and never let him go…" Lorraine winked and smirked at her. "Lucky!" She poked Charlie over her waist.

Charlie got extremely red with Lorraine's words. "Oh, but it is not a date", she insisted and giggled.

"Maybe it's not but… You seemed a little excited with the idea…" Lorraine leaned a little closer to Charlie, teasing the blonde with a smirk.

" I- I'm n-" Even if she said she wasn't excited, it wasn't true. She was excited to be able to dance with Alastor; he was a very sweet gentleman, at least he seemed to be, and she was crazy to explore jazz music and dancing… But she never thought about it in that way. "Even if it was, I couldn't go further with it anyways." Charlie caressed her arm again. Why did she phrase it like that? Was she expecting it to be true?

"Go further with what?" Another known voice echoed in the hall. Alastor was dressed with a dark red dress shirt, an even darker red vest, black pants and bow tie. Over it was a black tuxedo with a long tail. His round glasses were reflecting the light and his hair was combed, making a slight wave on his 'bangs'.

Charlie jumped on the couch as she saw Alastor. Her cheeks were extremely red, did he hear anything? How long has he been there?

"Oh my…" Lorraine got a good look at the man standing next to them. He always was a pretty man in her eyes but that night he was something else… "Nothing! Girls' talk." Lorraine smiled at Charlie. The blonde was already too nervous, so there was no reason for making her even more flustered, even though the woman really wanted to know why Charlie wouldn't proceed to date him if she was given this rare opportunity.

Charlie looked at the woman and smiled, grateful for her save.

"Oh, in that case, it's better for me to not stick my nose in. Pardon me for the interruption." He bowed a bit with a gentle smile.

"Apology accepted, but you still owe me a dance." Lorraine got up from the couch and pointed at him.

"I know, didn't forget." Alastor smiled and held his hand to Charlie. "But now, I need to show this lady the city… Shall we?" He smiled at Charlie and the blonde got his hand, getting up with his help.

"Yes…" She shyly nodded, putting her free hand over her own cheek.

Lorraine winked at Charlie, while Alastor was looking at the blonde. Charlie squished her cheek more, as she became more flustered with Lorraine's words echoing in her head.

"Bye, my dear." Alastor offered his arm to Charlie, who hugged against him. He wasn't expecting such contact.

"Bye, bye, I hope you two have fun!" Lorraine waved before heading towards the hotel's counter again.

Charlie just waved in return, she got quieter than before while Alastor led the way.

The first few steps out of the hotel they walked silently; Charlie was still thinking about what Lorraine said. Luckily, Alastor broke this silence between them.

"I must say, you look stunning dear." Alastor glanced at Charlie with a gentle smile. Her eyes found his and she felt her heart jumping inside her chest.

"You look stunning too, Al." Charlie smiled at him, unconsciously hugging his arm more. She was insecure but also excited.

"Thank you." He chuckled. "We are not far away from the club; you can hear its music already." He raised his finger while he was talking and shut his mouth a bit. "Can you hear?"

As Charlie and Alastor got quiet, she could hear music echoing on the streets.

"Yes, yes, I can!" She smiled and bit her lip, pressing her fingers against his arm.

"So, as you said earlier, you never danced to jazz music, right?" He adjusted his glasses and Charlie nodded. "I'll be glad to teach you then."

Charlie's smile shone as she imagined how it would be. She was excited to learn a new dance… She loved music, dancing and loved to sing; but that was a thing she didn't share with Alastor, not yet at least.

As they arrived at the club, the lights were dimmed with live music played by a band over a small stage at the corner, and people were dancing. Alastor gave the top of his tuxedo to a guy at the door. The man had a little stool at the corner where he stood up from. He was a tall man with large shoulders. He had curly and dark hair, dark eyes and was wearing a gray newsboy hat.

"Nice to have you back, Dean and—" As the man looked down, he saw a blonde girl, hugging Dean's arm. The man looked quite surprised.

"Charlotte." Alastor said to the man.

The man looked up confused at 'Dean', blinking.

"Her name is Charlotte, Jack…" Alastor raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, I'm sorry dear. Welcome to JJ's club!" He took off his hat and bowed to her.

"Thank you… Jack." She smiled at him and Alastor started to walk towards the dance floor. Charlie noticed that Jack was still staring at her, very confused, which bothered her slightly.

"Do you want to dance or do you want to drink something first?" Alastor slid his arm through her hand's grip and held her hand.

"I would like to dance first." She smiled, resting her hand over his hold.

Alastor nodded. "Excuse me…" He said before grabbing her waist and holding her hand. "I recommend you to pay attention to me and when I'm not explaining, pay attention to others, especially couples who are dancing. If you are an observer learner, it will help." He chuckled.

What Alastor didn't know was that Charlie was a very fast learner, she also learns by just watching and observing. As he was explaining to her, making small dance moves, she notably got them right away which made the brunette quite astonished.

As a few minutes passed, Charlie and Alastor were already dancing to the live music.

"I must say, I'm impressed by you, dear." Alastor spun Charlie gently, gluing their bodies once again.

"Impressed? I had an excellent teacher." She smiled once their bodies were glued once again and entangled their fingers.

"Excellent teacher or not, you are a very fast learner. It's like you were born to dance." Alastor separated their bodies, holding her hand while his other one was free. He positioned himself basically aligned by her side, looking to the floor and making quick dance moves, raising his free hand. Charlie followed him and they made a little jump before Alastor spun then again.

"Well, thank you very much, dear…" She giggled, coming back to throw their legs in a fun yet nicely done dance move. "But I insist I had an excellent teacher." As she said that, Alastor smiled and pulled her closer, he glued his cheek against hers and Charlie could swear her heart stopped beating for a moment.

"Thank you, darling. You are a delight to dance with", he admitted as their cheeks kept against each other.

Charlie could smell his cologne...so good, so hypnotic. His skin was smooth, so hot. The proximity made her cozy, as she could just stop dancing and be like this for a little longer. She even closed her eyes to enjoy the touch but was 'awake' when he stepped back from her, now being in front of her and throwing his shoulders making her follow him.

With a clap, Alastor grabbed her hand and her waist. Her cheeks were warm and now she couldn't look away from him. His brown eyes were shining so intensely that she could feel her breath failing for a second.

He locked his eyes on hers and vice versa. With that connection, the dance began to get more intense. Charlie could feel his grip also got more intense. Their bodies were talking to each other and for a moment, she forgot everything she learned. Maybe she was indeed a natural dancer…

Their steps were just so synchronized, it felt like they had rehearsed before.

Alastor held Charlie's hand and the blonde threw her body back as she threw her leg up. The brunette widened his eyes but his smile got bigger as well, he was extremely impressed. That move caused a few glances in their direction.

As she straightens her body, Alastor connects their bodies again, dancing with fire in their eyes, never stopping staring at each other.

Since Charlie got a little 'risky' in her moves, Alastor threw Charlie up, she spread her legs, and he pulled her against him. Each of her legs passed by the side of his body and then she put her feet back again to the floor.

They didn't notice but a small circle was starting to form around them. People were watching the couple dance as if there was no one around.

As the music reached its end, Charlie pulled Alastor to dance cheek to cheek again. That warm feeling was making her eyes close again and enjoy the moment. Slowly, they stepped back from each other and their eyes found each other again. Both had a big smile on their faces. The silence and the way they were glancing at the other seemed like they were just quietly mesmerizing each other.

The mesmerism was interrupted by loud sounds of claps. As they 'woke up' from it, they looked around. The circle of people was clapping for their performance. Charlie put her hands over her cheeks feeling them getting warmer.

"Good one, for a beginner, darling." He placed his hand over her back, gently and politely as he bowed a bit for the people clapping.

"Thank you… I didn't even notice they were looking." She kept squeezing her cheeks with a sheepish smile and giving a little bow to the people as well.

"Would you like to dance more?" He held his hand for her and Charlie looked at him with her eyes shining.

"I would love to…" She bit her lower lip and placed her hand over his.

People took that in another hand though, they started to cherish them and all in unison and chant: "Kiss, kiss, kiss!"

That was… cliché. Just because they were dancing together, it didn't mean they were a couple.

"We aren't together-together." Charlie and Alastor tried to explain but the people around them didn't care.

As Alastor kept trying to explain them calmly, Charlie was getting anxious. If she kissed him in the cheek, it would be ok and they would stop being annoying and bothering them.

Without a warning, Charlie turned to Alastor, got on the tip of her feet to reach his face and leaned in to kiss him. He turned his face right in time and Charlie accidently kissed the corner of his lips.

Charlie froze, just like Alastor. They both had their eyebrows raised and eyes widened but neither of them stepped back. They just- froze.

_

Corrections made by:

- MarySmi7h
- angie_bun