AN- So I may have rushed through this but Hallie and Erandi wanted me to write a fluffy meet-cute so this is what I came up with. I don't even care if you guys read it. It was just something small I wrote and I don't even think I put my all into it. But whatever.
Belle en Rose
Captain Swan One-Shot
Emma looked down at the phone in the palm of her hand, lifting it toward her face as she used her other hand to block out the sun so she could make out the name of the store her Google search gave her.
Belle en Rose Lingerie Boutique
Her gaze drifted up toward the sign with the name of the shop printed above the store front in elegant script — this was it. She took a few steps toward the window displays, slipping her phone casually into her pocket. The mannequins were dressed so elegantly in rich satins and fine laces — straight out of the glossy pages of a French fashion magazine.
She backed up casually from the windows, taking in the full view of the storefront before stepping toward the double doored entrance, lifting the handle to separate it and step inside.
The sight before her was no short of breathtaking. It was as if she walked into a finely decorated movie set rather than a simple local lingerie boutique. She tilted her head toward the ceiling noting the groves in the vaulted ceiling colored in a pristine white color with the flecks of gold radiating from the gorgeous chandeliers that hung below.
Her eye directed her to the delicate wall sconces emitting a soft glow, highlighting some of the items housed hanging from the shelves. The merchandise was near bare — that's how you truly knew how expensive it was — it wasn't mass produced. Everything was individually beautiful and unique — one of a kind. It wasn't as if she was in need of such extravagance, but she had done well for herself the last couple weeks and what better way to spend it than splurging on something beautiful.
She padded over to a rack of bra and panty sets off to one side of the store, admiring the naked peach lace and hand embroidery. She picked up the bra and held it up to her chest, imagining what she would look like clothed in such finery. However, she decided against it — it was too close to the color of her skin and washed her out. She blew a raspberry and returned the garment to where she found it when an odd figure caught her attention out of the corner of her eye.
She could barely make out his face but she noticed his dark features and his state of underdress — far too casual for a place like this. He was completely out of place and it was sending up red flags.
Creepy.
She began scanning the racks in front of her, moving each garment to the side after reviewing it thoroughly, well aware that she was being watched. She fingered the material of a pair of satin navy colored panties with a matching garter belt and sighed longingly.
The stranger approached her in careful strides, his footfalls quiet against the marble floor.
She inspected a gorgeous pale pink bra with an off pink bow at its center, her lips turning up into a smile of appreciation.
"Beautiful isn't it?" A decidedly male voice in a British drawl said.
Her hand flew to her chest, startled by his sudden presence beside her.
"The brassiere I mean…" He amended quickly, his hands clasped behind his back, peering up at her behind his long dark lashes.
"Yeah. Sure…" She forced herself to give him an uneasy smile, nodding before turning away from him to continue her browsing. She averted her gaze and took off toward the opposite side of the store, shielding her face from his view.
She huddled over toward the lace teddies and began to peruse their selection of one pieces. She had gotten about three in when she noticed his proximity to her — she could practically feel his breath on her neck as he looked over her shoulder.
"What the hell is your problem!" She turned toward him, a hand on her hip in accusation. "I didn't come here to be harassed by some fucking pervert!" She spat before a customer came up with a hanger in her hand.
"I'm sorry to interrupt." She excused herself hesitantly. "I was just wondering if this came in a different color…" She asked politely, holding up the lingerie piece.
"Are you sure you want my help? I am a pervert after all…" He smiled smugly at her, his arms crossed against his chest as he leaned forward on his heels.
The woman stared at him in confusion, her eyes darting back and forth between them.
"My apologies ma'am, where are my manners?" He said sheepishly. "If we don't have what you are searching for, we would be happy to custom make it for you. There is a swatch book at the front desk. One of our designers would be happy to assist you." He nodded curtly, smiling handsomely.
She returned his smile, blushing faintly as she took the garment toward the back of the store for further assistance, side-eyeing the pair as she stepped between them.
Emma inwardly cursed herself at her quick assumption, bowing her head in mortification as she raised her hand out toward him, using her other hand to stroke the wrinkles in her forehead. "And you work here…"
"Indeed I do." He confirmed with a sly smile, using his thumb to caress his lips before taking a cautious step forward.
"I didn't-" She shook her head, wincing in embarrassment.
"Yeah. Didn't expect to see a devilishly handsome man such as myself manning an establishment like this?" He smirked, his blue eyes dancing mischievously. "I know." He dropped his voice into a low seductive whisper. "I will forgive your case of mistaken identity if you allow me to formally introduce myself."
Her jaw went slack and she batted her long lashes, her eyes taking in every gorgeous inch of him. He was far more stunning than any man should ever be allowed to be. He stood at an average five feet, ten inches. He wore a tight fitting v-neck t-shirt revealing an ample amount of dark chest hair and he was sporting an open red flannel shirt over his tee. He topped off his look with a pair of loose fitting jeans and a pair of stylish sneakers.
But it wasn't his attire that had managed to capture her attention — it was his impossibly stunning face. His captivating blue eyes resting underneath a pair of thick dark brows, his full head full of gently tousled dark hair, his hypnotic cocky smile that he constantly poked his tongue out of to wet his lips as he spoke only offset by his prominent jawline covered in a dark dusting of facial hair.
"Are you doing alright?" He inquired, searching her face for any sign of distress.
And did she forget to mention the accent? Good God, he was a walking carnal sin.
"Huh?" She cocked an eyebrow, shaking her head in her trancelike state.
"I was afraid I had lost you there for a second…"
"Oh me? No, perfectly fine apart from my mild humiliation." She admitted painfully, blush rising in her cheeks.
"So you are aware of our sale we have going on today?" He wondered skypticaly, a charming grin plastered on his face.
"Yeah two for one panties…" She took a shot in the dark by guessing, scratching the back of her neck in discomfort.
"You mean matching bra and panty sets at twenty percent off?" He corrected her.
"Yeah. That one." She acknowledged. "I thought you meant the one from last week." She tried to act nonchalant about the entire thing, failing miserably.
"You didn't hear a word I said, did you?" He teased.
"Nope. Not a damn word." She huffed.
"Well then you must have missed my introduction then." He said, tapping his thumb against his lips in thought. "Killian Jones." He nodded curtly at her.
"Right." She drew out the word making it last far longer than necessary.
"This is the part where you are supposed to give your name. For our client mailing list of course." He was quick to amend.
"And what if I don't want to be on the mailing list?" She asked him, spinning around to pretend like she was looking at the merchandise in front of her. She heard him step behind her so he could lean in closer to her.
"Then I will have to come up with a more creative way of asking you for your name and number."
"Perhaps you should earn it." She swung a piece of lingerie across the metal part to examine another.
"Well just a few seconds ago I was a pervert. Just how do I go about winning your trust?" He assessed with amid amusement.
"I'm not sure but the whole asking for my number thing after the pervert thing isn't helping your case much." She laughed inwardly at his attempt. "And did this store know it was hiring a pervert? Honestly, what is a guy like you doing in a place like this?" She whirled around to face him, an expectant look on her face.
"Not that it's any of your business but I don't work here." He flashed her his dazzling smile.
"Could have fooled me. What? They just let you run around here playing sales associate?" She had to stifle her laughter at the thought of it.
Killian scratched his head, rolling his eyes at her quip. "Isn't every man's dream to help women pick out lingerie? Who wouldn't want to be here playing sales associate?" He played along, raising his eyebrows suggestively. "If you must know, I'm helping out a friend today. The owner, actually. She had a prenatal checkup today and needed me to cover her at the shop." He explained.
"I would say that was mighty big of you but I would think it didn't take much convincing on your part." She thought skeptically.
"Fair." He nodded in agreement. "Now, Belle would be utterly humiliated if I didn't assist a customer. So is there anything I can help you with today, maybe help you pick out something for your boyfriend maybe?"
"Real subtle there." She giggled, walking the length of the store to the next section as he followed her off to the side.
"Can you blame me for trying? You have iron clad walls I am trying to scale here. So help a guy out." He paused, leaning against one of the mannequins. "At least tell me what you are looking for."
"I'm honestly not sure yet, but I will know when I find it." She said honestly. "So what do you do when you aren't stalking around here being a creep?" She asked him from over her shoulder.
"My brother and I run a garage right up the road." He provided smugly, awaiting her response.
"A mechanic, huh?" She thought to herself. "I bet all the girls love that…"
"Aye. That they do. All except one girl who at this very moment is giving me the cold shoulder."
"Sounds like a bitch." She quipped amidly.
"I wouldn't say that." He countered, keeping up the charade.
She smiled and turned back to the rack, her eyes falling upon a beautiful sick navy blue lingerie set. "This. This is it." She tugged at the fabric appreciatively, not even bothering to inspect the price tag.
She didn't understand why she turned around, holding the garment up to her chest for his approval. She tucked the hanger under her chin and looked at him directly, a long pause filling the air as he appraised it curiously.
"I think it suits you." He finally relinquished, breaking the awkward silence between them.
"Okay. I will take it then." She announced, striding away from him and toward the cash wrap as he trailed behind her. Emma arrived at the counter with her purchase just as he made his way behind it.
Killian signed into the register with a flourish as she placed her purchase on the marble countertop. He glanced up at her to see her casually folding her body back and forth against the counter, her hands curled around the edge to propel her motions.
"I suppose you are still against joining our mailing list?" He inquired with a smirk.
"I'm still thinking about it." She told him, hoping he would catch on to her double meaning.
"Well your total comes to $159.64." He announced.
"Really? That doesn't seem like much. Are you sure?" She wondered, leaning over the counter to review the tag. Her eyes bulged at the number before her. The retail price was well over $200.
"I don't understand. Is there some kind of sale going on?" She asked, turning the tag over in her hand.
"Are you telling me you've already forgotten the sale?" He let out a hardy chuckle at her expense.
"Hardy har har." She jested, somewhat annoyed by his response.
"And no it isn't on sale." He said certainly.
"Then?"
"Friends and family discount." He smiled triumphantly, in an annoying sort of way that made her both flush with desire and roll her eyes.
"You are absolutely-"
"Charming? Handsome? Yes I know."
"I was going to say infuriating." She placed her hand on her hip as he began to wrap up her purchase in tissue paper. "Do you give this generous friends and family discount out a lot?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" He teased.
"I would. That's why I asked." She said with mild frustration.
"Why don't we talk about it over dinner?" He suggested, lifting his head in amusement.
"You're asking me out? Seriously?"
"Was that a no?" He grinned, grabbing a bag from below and fanning it out.
"You aren't going to stop unless I say yes, aren't you?" She shook her head, fighting the urge to give into him but failing miserably in the process.
"Not a chance." He lifted her purchase into the bag gently and began to shove move tissue paper inside of it as needless decoration.
"Okay. I'm not saying yes but I'm not saying no either." She relented, grabbing her bag by two hands roughly and dragging it off the counter. "When I have made up my mind I know what to find you." She turned around, walking toward the door in a rush to separate herself from the annoyingly persistent salesman. She adjusted the bag, flipping it over in her hand so she could grip the handle when she saw something that stopped her dead in her tracks.
Standing out against the light pink bag in dark ink was his name and phone number.
Unfreakingbelievable!
She turned around, stunned by the forwardness of his action.
"Just in case you forget where to find me." He smiled brilliantly with a wave.