The noise almost drowned out all of her thoughts. With people body-to-body, Crash was more crowded than usual. Satrina had wanted to get out and mingle. But instead she ended up sitting at the bar alone thinking of Alec. Two days ago she had seen him move like no one ever before. Something about the story he had told her was off. She couldn't put her finger on exactly what, though. He appears out of the blue, yet seems to know Max. With in the first few hours of meeting him he displays amazing combat skills. In all her training, no master had ever shone that kind of speed or agility.

Not to mention him being gorgeous.

Sighing, Satrina surveyed the crowd. Masses of people moved their bodies to the music making any excuse to touch each other. Satrina's brow furrowed in dismay.
People really could be so shallow.

A sudden feeling of being watched washed over her. Turning her gaze towards the back of Crash, she spotted the source of her feeling. Satrina smiled to herself and made her way towards the blue-eyed man.

Joining him at the small table, she smiled seductively, "What brings you here, Alec?"

He grinned just as seductively. "You actually."

Her eyebrows rose in mock surprise. She didn't believe for a second that he did anything for anyone else than himself. "Really? Little ol' me?"

Leaning in, he spoke into her ear, making sure the right amount of air tickled her skin. "Why don't we go take a walk?"

"All right," her voice fluttered slightly with beginnings of arousal.

As they made their way out of Crash, Satrina reminded herself that she'd have to keep herself in check better if she wanted to figure out what he really was.

Seattle's air had never been more crisp. Satrina instantly regretted her short, shimmery black dress. She didn't even know why she had decided to wear it; she hated dresses. Although, she highly doubted Alec regretted what she wore. Typical man. Only turned on and driven by beautiful women in skimpy clothes.

Alec noticed her shivering. She's only human, remember? She's probably freezing. Not lucky enough to have Manticore engineering. So what do I do? I think one of the old traditions is offering your coat. Well, it's worth a try.

"Do you want my coat?"

Her head whipped towards him. Had he actually just asked that?! This goes against everything I thought about him! He's not supposed to be thoughtful!

Silent moments passed and Alec wondered if he had done something wrong. But then, she smiled pleasantly. "Yeah, that'd be great."

He slipped his coat off and handed it to her. Once on, she was immediately overwhelmed by his scent. Getting hold of herself quickly, she thanked him.

"Don't mention it." All this niceness was starting to get to him. Maybe Max is right. This emotional crap is hard.

He noticed Satrina's gaze currently locked on him. "What?" he asked.

She reached up right behind is neck then pulled her hand away. "Nothing, just a piece of fuzz. So, Alec," she started, trying to pull his attention away from he actions. "What really brought you to crash?"

"I told you," he responded swiftly. "You did."

She smirked. "I find that highly unlikely." They continued strolling down the damp street.

"I'm serious. You're an interesting person. I wanted to get to know you more." Alec hoped it didn't sound as implausible to her as it did to his own ears.

"I'm sure. What was the bet?" Satrina asked.

Staring at her in complete shock, he only muttered, "What?"

"What was the bet? Get in my pants within three days? Steel something of mine?" During the run of their conversation, Satrina never needed to look at him. She could easily imagine the shock and confusion on his face.

"Wha ... what are you talking about?" Alec tried pathetically to sound innocent.

"I know Max and, judging from what I know of you, you two made a bet. She said you wasted your cash on hookers, so that leads me to believe that you either think very little of women, or you're afraid to get involved with one. Max, being the person who likes to rile people up, probably bet you that you couldn't become friends with me or some shit like that." The whole speech was performed without emotion.

Alec wouldn't be able to meet her eyes if she even bothered to look at him. He felt about six inches tall. "How did you know?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I guess I'm smart."

An awkward silence fell between them.

Why in the hell am I feeling sorry? She's just a norm! She's no different from any other norm. But, she knew about the bet. You have to admit she's smart.

"You know, I never meant-" Alec was cut of my raindrops descending on them. At the first sign of him running for cover, Satrina snatched his arm.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Rain slid down his face as he answered. "Getting out of the rain."

She shook her head. "Oh no you don't. After making an insensitive bet about me, the least you could do is walk in the rain with me."

"Are you crazy? No offense but these clothes weren't cheap."

"So, take them off," crossing her arms, she stated it simply.

Eyes wide in disbelief, Alec stared at her. "You want me to take off my clothes?"

She arched an eyebrow. "You're not self-conscious, are you?"

He shook his head. "No, but-"

"But nothing." Her look commanded his obedience. The look soon melted into playfulness. "You have an amazing body and I'd love to see it." If Alec didn't know better, he'd swear he felt himself blush. "If it'll make you feel better, I'll take of my clothes too." She watched him as he considered it. "Come on, I promise I'll play nice."

Off her look of intent desire, Alec grinned. "Alright." Clothes were stripped off quickly and hidden in a near by telephone booth. This left Satrina standing in her matching black bra and underwear and Alec in his bright blue boxers that were becoming a shade of dark blue with the rain.

Being a little unsure of what to do, Alec shifted his weight from foot to foot. Usually at this stage of dress, Alec was eagerly stripping of the remainder of a woman's clothes. But he knew there would be no sex tonight.

Satrina giggled at his discomfort. For such a player, he sure didn't know what to do with a scantly clad woman in the rain. An idea sparked inside her head. Noticing the puddle right next to him, Satrina ran and jumped. She was rewarded with a good size splash that covered him.

A look of pure shock went over his face, soon replaced by a sinful grin. "What happened to playing nice?"

She giggled again. "What are you gonna do about it?"

His look turned more devilish, and at that, Satrina was off and running. Finding a rare grassy part of Seattle, she bent down and scooped up some mud. With ease, it was flung at Alec hitting him square in the chest. He looked down at the splatter of brown on his chest, and laughed. "Alright, that's it."

Taking a short running start, he tackled Satrina. They went down in a tangle of limbs and laughter. Alec took position on top and gathered up a handful of mud. He then proceeded to smear it all over her face.

Laughing hysterically, Satrina pushed him off of her. "Alright, alright, I give."

Poised on one elbow, Alec watched her chest rise and fall rapidly, then watched her wipe the mud off of her face. The entire time she continued to chuckle.

"I've never had so much fun," he said breathlessly. And that was true, in all his time in Manticore, there was never fun. Since getting out, well, he had never had actual fun like this.

She turned to him quickly. "You really need to get out more. Although it was the most fun I've had all week."

Slowly, she pushed herself to a sitting position. "Yuck, I'm not going to be clean for a week."

Alec sat up too. "Ah, quit your whining. It's only dirt." An ironic thought struck him. He looked over his mud covered body. And I thought only norms were dirty.

The rain still poured down leaving streaks of dirt all over their bodies. Satrina tried wiping the dirt off, but only succeeded in smearing it more.

Standing, he offered his hand. "Come on, we better get going." She took his hand and pulled. But for some reason he didn't lose his balance. He pulled stronger than she, and before she knew it, she was on her feet. "Nice try."

Going into full pout mode, she started walking over to the phone booth. "You are absolutely no fun."

Reaching out to her, he grabbed her bra strap and snapped it. Involuntarily, she arched her back and let out a shriek. She spun around to face him and let him have it. But he wagged his eyebrows daring her to do anything. Mud covering his body and face and only made him look more attractive. In frustration, she threw her hands in the air and continued to the booth muttering to herself the whole way. Utilizing his advanced hearing he heard every word she mumbled.

"It must be true ... oh, but he's so gorgeous. Anyone that good-looking can't be ... or maybe that's how they are."

Confusion set on Alec's face. What in the hell was she talking about? Alec put it on the back burner and went to her.

"Ah, Satrina. Don't get all bent out of shape. It was all in good fun." He couldn't help saying that without a grin.

Unconsciously, Alec followed a clump of mud as it fell from her hair right to her cleavage. A laugh quickly escaped him.

She nodded while smiling. "Oh, you think that's funny do you? Alright, fine." She took the clump and with nimble fingers, slipped it into his boxers. "There, ya like that?"

By her simple action, Alec was immensely turned on. He peeked into his boxers and shook the offending dirt away. "Yeah, that's funny." He stepped closer to her while smiling. "When you least expect it, you'll get what you deserve."

Giggling, she wiped a finger through the muck on his chest. "I look foreword to it."