'Norma i think it's your go, i just asked you the last one'

'Yeah but Alex that was originally my question to you, and then you asked it back!'

'Really? This game is starting to confuse me, i can never remember whose go it is, can we just play i-spy now'

Norma lightened up a little, laughing at his insistence to play that damn game that she hated so much. She felt the unease and tension slipping away from her and she started to relax again and allow Alex to take her mind off of her memories.

'I swear to God Alex! Not now! But I promise we can play it next time when we go to Pinewood.'

Alex did his best pouty face 'You promise. Pinky promise?'

Norma laughed at his ridiculously lame baby voice and toddler like behaviour,

'Okay, okay, okay, fine! I promise!' Norma put her hand on Alex's lap, sticking her pinky out and wiggling it at him much to his delight and he over enthusiastically grabbed her pinky with his and gave a little chuckle.

'Thank you Norma!'

Norma gave Alex a little wink 'You're very welcome Sheriff'

'Right..so...Alex truth or dare?'

'Truth please. I'm scared of your dares!'

'Coward! Okay, what's the weirdest talent you have?'

'Haha, okay, well i wasn't expecting that! But since you asked... I can touch my nose with my tongue.'

Norma cocked her eyebrow, she wasn't entirely sure if she was impressed or grossed out.

'Alright...show me'

Alex grinned and stuck his tongue out, pointing it upwards, darting about looking for his nose, once touching his nose he pushed his tongue out more, it was almost touching the tip of his nose and Norma looked almost impressed. Almost.

'Oh wow. Okay. Well that's different. I wasn't expecting that. I'm a little worried if that's the only talent you have though'

'Norma you said weird talent! Trust me i have many...many different talents...useful for all kinds of things'

Norma subconsciously bit her lip ever so slightly, he could have meant gardening for all she knew but the way he said it gave her chills, she couldn't help fantasising about his other 'talents'.

'So are you impressed with my incredibly cool and weird tongue talent... it's pretty useful' Alex smiled, waiting for her reaction, which he knew would be priceless.

'Hmm i guess, yeah it must be handy for getting to the bottom of an ice cream sundae' Norma giggled at the very thought of Alex sitting there trying to eat the last of the ice cream.

Alex deadpanned and just stared at Norma in total disbelief at the innocence she seemed to radiate just now. He just smiled at her, he couldn't adore or love her anymore if he tried. She seriously wasn't catching on to his crude remark. He tried to hold in his laughter but it was a struggle, Norma noticed him chuckling away to himself and was irritated to have him laughing at her and not knowing why. She huffed and folded her arms against her chest much like an angry toddler.

'What's the joke? What's so funny' she whined, her lips pursed together and her eyebrow raising, Alex knew the look all too well, he was away to get some sort of scolding or lecture.

'Seriously Alex, why are you laughing?'

'Norma...I..I..um.. I wasn't talking about ice cream' He trailed off hoping, praying even, that she would catch on, he seriously did not want to have to explain in detail what he actually meant.

'Alex what the hell are you even going on about, if you weren't talking about ice cream then what were you meaning?' Norma's brows knitted together and she frowned like it was some sort of riddle that Alex had asked her to figure out until, suddenly the penny dropped, Alex was right her reaction was priceless. Norma drew in a short intake of breath as she joined the dots. 'Oh. Oh.' Her cheeks flushed brightly and she seemed incredibly flustered at Alex's honesty'

Before she could even think about what she was saying, it was abruptly blurted out, not only did she stun Alex with her words but she surprised herself.

'Well I'm sure you must have been a huge hit with the girls' Norma laughed back awkwardly.

Alex took the opportunity to play along with her, just because he liked seeing her hot and bothered, 'Well i've never had any complaints so far' He winked at Norma and shot her a cheeky smile.

It had the intended effect on her, she was completely aghast, her eyes widened and she averted her gaze immediately whilst fidgeting with the hem of her skirt, Alex noted the micro behaviours she exhibited, her chest rising and falling quicker than it was, the way her cheeks continued to flush a deep pink and the subtle way she bit down on her bottom lip. He was pleased with himself, he wouldn't normally gloat about making her feel awkward or uncomfortable but this was different, this proved to him that she wanted him, just as much as he wanted her. It wasn't in his head, she might not admit to wanting him but her body language visibly showed otherwise.

Norma managed to recover quickly from her little hot flush, she blamed it on the heating inside the car to which Alex took great delight in telling her the heating wasn't on.

'Oh, is it not? Are you sure it's not on? It's roasting in here' She knew she was failing miserably at trying to conceal her hot flushes, desperately trying to pass it off as anything other than what it was, but her and Alex both knew exactly what it was, there was no way to hide it, if anything he just wanted her to come out and say it, to say that what she was feeling was just pure, intense sexual desire.

Eventually after what seemed like minutes of silence but in reality was merely just seconds, Norma came to her senses. She was determined to not get sucked in.

'Yeah...well i wouldn't know, i've never had..or you know...well done that.'

It was Alex's turn to be dumbfounded, his mouth dropped open although he tried to hide it. He couldn't believe it, surely sexy, attractive and passionate Norma Bates had had a man that had treasured, cherished and pleasured her in that way. It eluded him. He wasn't sure how to respond,

'Oh. Okay. So... you've never had a man go dow-'

Norma cut him off, this conversation was proving to be a little more challenging to deal with and she couldn't cope with the constant burn in her cheeks, not only that she was slightly embarrassed to be talking about stuff like this with Alex, especially as they weren't even together, they'd only kissed twice, at the wedding ceremony and then outside the city hall, it seemed absurd to be having such an intimate conversation with someone she wasn't even intimate with. She screwed up her nose and shook her head looking disgusted, it was obvious she felt uncomfortable now so Alex decided to drop it straight away. He felt like he had upset her.

'Sorry Norma, i didn't mean to take it too far.'

Norma sighed, she'd made him feel bad and that's not what she wanted.

'No, no Alex it's okay..you didn't take it too far... It's just that...I've never had someone do that, it's always been about ya know...sex ...not the other stuff, and besides i probably wouldn't like it anyway.'

Norma rolled her eyes, chastising herself for acting like a teenager that's never had sex, she was never normally so reserved but she hadn't liked other men as much as she liked Alex. With other men it was easy to play a role, assume an identity and just go with it, pretending to be anything she wanted or they wanted, it wasn't embarrassing talking about stuff like this with them because she never let them see her, the 'real' Norma, but here and now talking with Alex was a game changer...she was talking to him as herself and now suddenly conversations about sex and intimacy seemed so much harder, it was difficult for her to open up on this level with the man she was falling madly in love with.

Alex observed her closely and decided to change the topic, as fun as it had been to have this very intimate conversation with her he started to feel a little guilty. But before he could change the subject he couldn't help but repeat in his head what she had said about how she 'probably wouldn't like it anyway' prompting him to add one last remark,

'I'm sure you would!' He smirked.

Norma blushed. Despite the embarrassing conversation and how awkward she felt about the whole damn thing her body was telling her something very different, she really had to stop her imagination from running wild. The idea of Alex kissing her inner thighs made her heart beat so much faster she thought she might pass out. She needed to pull back, she didn't trust herself anymore to not do something, something stupid that could ruin and cost her everything.

After a ten minute break which consisted of Alex being on the phone arguing with the tow truck men and wondering how much longer they were expected to wait, Norma had been outside cooling off, she pretended she had a headache but really she just needed some space. She found herself simultaneously wishing for the tow truck to turn up right away and rescue her from the painfully awkward situation she found herself in and wishing it wouldn't show up for hours. She was so torn.

'Norma?...Norma? Sorry I didn't mean to make you jump. I've just spoken to Josh, he got held up with another job, he's really sorry but it'll be another 45 mins or so, he did offer to wake his Dad up to come and collect us and take us back to the motel, Josh said he'd drop the SUV back as soon as it was fixed.'

'Oh. 45 minutes...' 'Crap' thought Norma. She just wanted home. She wasn't sure how much longer she could last without pulling him closer to her. 'No no, that's a shame to wake him up, it's okay, we can wait.'

'Are you sure?'

'Yeah it's fine' she sighed wearily

Norma wrapped her arms around herself and shivered slightly, the air was bitterly cold and she regretted not wearing a warmer coat. Alex noticed her from the corner of his eye and instinctively took his jacket off and stepped behind Norma to put it around her shoulders. Norma hadn't realised Alex had gotten so close to her and she flinched when she felt his hands on her, Alex froze at the way she reacted, he hadn't meant to scare her, it broke his heart to think somebody at some point in her life had made her feel like she needed to flinch. Deep down Alex silently prayed that Sam was the only man to have ever hurt her, he couldn't bear the thought of other men hurting her.

Norma's eyes never left Alex's face as he apologised immediately, she reassured him that it was okay, and not to worry but it didn't ease the guilt he felt. As Alex gently tugged the warm leather jacket around her and flicked the collar up to keep her neck warm Norma could feel his breath on her cheek, this simple act of offering her his jacket was a big thing usually in a new relationship, the teenage boy being romantic and using his jacket as a way to get close to his girlfriend just before a heavy make out session, she's seen it before. But this was different, there was something in his eyes that changed her opinion, he was only trying to keep her warm. Norma relaxed under his grip, her body sagging, she just wanted to give in, but no she wouldn't lose her resolve.

'Thanks Alex, honestly you didn't need to do that, you'll freeze to death out here!'

'That's why i'm being sensible and getting back into the SUV, it's warmer in there, you coming? We still have a game to finish'

Norma wrinkled her nose at him and laughed back, this ridiculous game was frustrating her and she had now moved past wanting to play and just simply wanting to talk to him, there was such a sense of ease between them just now and she was enjoying it, they no longer really needed the game as a tool to get them to talk.

'Yes yes, I hadn't forgotten but I've lost track of who's turn it is so you can go if you want?'

Alex stepped aside and allowed Norma to climb into the SUV first, he was a gentleman after all, although he did happen to take advantage of the situation and check out her ass as she heaved herself into the car. Norma stumbled as she un-elegantly tried to grasp the seat belt to pull herself in, Alex threw his arms forward and grasped her waist to steady her, earning a little gasp from Norma.

'Woah, steady there! You alright?'

'I'm alright! Thank you! You better not be checking my ass out though'

Alex scoffed completely taken aback by her brashness yet loving the fact that she obviously felt comfortable enough in his company to make jokes like that.

'Oh come on Norma, I'm a gentleman, I'd never do that.'

'Mmm hmm, this coming from the man that checked out my breasts when i was changing and he was meant to be covering his eyes' Norma giggled back.

Alex had to laugh, she'd got him there. 'Touche Mrs Bates...Touche'

After finally settling themselves and getting comfortable the whiskey was passed around again as they sat there in silence both trying to think of questions to ask each other.

'Right okay, here we go again! What is your biggest fear in a relationship Norma'

Norma tilted her head to the side knitting her brows together trying to think of an answer, there were many things that she feared.

'Wow, that's deep Sheriff Romero! Hmm, that's a hard one. I guess that I fear the other person not loving me back, at least not as much as I love them, or they fall out of love with me when they realise just how hard work i am!' She trailed off before lowering her voice to a mere whisper. 'Or that they hurt me'

Alex had secretly hoped that part of Norma's answer of the person not loving her back, or not loving her back as much as she loved them, was in reference to him, it probably wasn't but still he prayed. It also saddened him to think that she felt or thought that about herself, like she wasn't worthy enough for someone to stick around, yeah Alex knew all too well her mood swings were unpredictable and hard to deal with sometimes but the right man would stick around and help in any way they could, not leave her because of it.

'Norma the right person wouldn't leave you because of something like that, if they did then they were not the type of person you should be with, you deserve better.'

Norma's heart lurched at his words, she smiled back and whispered every faintly, almost inaudible, 'Thank you...i wish i believed that'

Alex's face crumpled, why couldn't she just accept how much she deserved, how much she was worthy of, her ex husband had clearly done a number on her.

'Why would you say that? Don't you think you deserve to be treated right? Or at least not be worried about them hurting you?... But i'll admit, I'm scared of the same thing though so you aren't alone in that.'

Norma's gaze shifted from her hands to his eyes.

'Scared of what?'

'The person not loving me back, at least not as much as I love them, and having to settle for just being friends, if it was a choice of being free and losing them forever or being friends but never being with them, i'd rather choose the friendship because not having them in my life at all isn't worth thinking about...'

Norma's breath hitched, there was something in his voice, although she couldn't work out what it was but she couldn't help but wonder if he meant her, she fobbed it off not wanting to believe that there was the slightest possibility that this 'friend' might be her.

There was a silence after that, not tense or awkward or even uncomfortable, just for the briefest moment Norma and Alex gazing at each other, unable to look anywhere else, both willing the other to make the first move. After a few seconds Norma spoke up,

'Where's the whiskey? My mouths dry' she laughed, tearing her eyes away from him. She wanted to kick herself for ruining what could have been a moment, but her anxiety just wouldn't let up.

'Em, i think it's down here, must have rolled under the seat' Alex picked up the bottle and handed it to Norma, as she went to take the bottle from him her fingers grazed his, they lingered there for a moment longer than they should have done, as she went to pull away Alex subconsciously caressed her finger with his, the movement was so subtle and small, almost missable if she hadn't be looking out for it, she tried to suppress the little gasp that needed to escape, goosebumps appearing all over her skin, shivers running down her spine and overwhelming feelings and thoughts surging through her body.

Norma opened the bottle hastily, seeming to now glance everywhere but Alex, it was her question next. 'Oh fuck it, just ask him. Norma just ask him. You know you want to' Norma's thoughts ran absurdly fast, her breathing quickening and her heart racing at the very thought of asking him something which could change what she did next, change everything forever. It was now or never.

[To Be Continued]