Lara shifted her weight. She wasn't quiet sure if she should trust him. He looked sincere, however that was little consolation for his pervious lies.
"Look, Lara, I just came to apologize to you about the cat. I didn't expect you to really forgive me. I mean, if I was you, I wouldn't forgive me either."
He paused, looking at her for help. Lara raised an eyebrow at him.
"Well, I guess I better be going then. . ."Alex trailed off, unhappily. "Um, it was nice talking to you, Lara." He turned around and began to walk away from her.
"Alex." Lara called. "Wait."
He turned around, a hopeful look in his eyes. "Yeah?" He asked.
Lara's expression turned sheepish. "Have you eaten?"
"No." He smiled.
Lara made her way to the kitchen door. "Come along then." She said. Alex trotted to the door, grinning from ear to ear.
"Close the door after you." Lara instructed. She took the flowers that Alex was still holding and went to find a vase for them. Alex looked around the kitchen.
"Good God, this place is bigger then my apartment." He said. Donnica hopped onto the counter and walked over to inspect Alex. "Hey there, kitty." He said, scratching Donnica behind her ears. "So where are your side kicks?" Alex asked, looking around. He knew Bryce didn't like him at all.
"They're at home for the holidays." Lara answered. She filled a vase she had found with water then slid the flowers into it.
"Why aren't you home for the holidays?" Alex asked.
"You Americans are always so nosy."
"Hey!" Alex said indignantly. "Your tabloids are worse then ours. I mean, seriously, I don't care if David Beckham wears his wife's underwear."
Lara chuckled.
"So answer my question." Alex persisted. "Where's your family?"
"Dead."
"All of them?"
Lara nodded. "Look, I really don't feel like telling you my life story right now, Alex."
"You still don't trust me, do you?"
"How can you expect me to? Especially after you stole my prayer wheel." She added.
"Would you forget the damn prayer wheel thing?" Alex demanded.
"No." Lara stated. "You completely betrayed me and for a few hundred pounds. Now tell me which is worth more."
"Lara, I'm sorry about that. I was just mad and I did something stupid and by the time I calmed down it was too late." Alex walked over to Lara, gently touching her shoulders. "It's Christmas, can't we burry the hatchet for a little while."
"Of course." Lara smiled a warm smile at him. "Now which part of your body would you like the hatchet buried in?"
Alex laughed. "And people say you Brits have no sense of humor." Donnica mewed at Alex. He picked her up, holding her tiny body in his hand.
"Did you name her?" Alex asked.
"Donnica." Lara said.
"That's a nice name." Donnica purred as Alex scratched her under her chin.
"Now, would you like some lunch?" Lara asked.
"Sure." Alex smiled. "I had no idea that you could cook."
"Well, not really." Lara walked over to the refrigerator. "Truth is I can bearly microwave things. However, I can assemble a rather good bacon buttie."
Alex's eyes widened. "A what?"
"Oh, a sandwich." Lara glanced at him. "What did you think I meant?"
"Uh, nothing." Alex said, innocently. "Nothing at all. . ."
***
"So, what was your first Tomb Raiding experience?" Lara asked. She took a lady like bite of her sandwich.
"Well, it was an accident really." Alex said, wiping some crumbs from his face. Alex and Lara were sitting at the small kitchen table. Lara had her feet propped up on a chair with Donnica sleeping in her lap.
"I was going caving with a few friends right when we got out of college and we kinda ignored the regular path and we ended up getting lost. Then after a few hours we stumbled across this weird stone door way with a really old wooden door. Since we had no idea where we were, we decided to see what was behind it. You'll never guess what it was." Alex said.
"A vacation spot for washed up actors?"
"Nope. It was an Incan tomb."
Lara raised an eyebrow. "I'm impressed. How much money did you make from that discovery?"
Alex sighed. "My only interest isn't money, Lara."
"You had me fooled."
"Well, maybe if you stopped assuming things about me and starting learning about me then you would know better."
"Hmm, touché, Mr. West." Lara grinned at him.
Alex took another bite of his sandwich. "So are you-"
"Don't talk with your mouth full. It's not polite." Lara corrected.
Alex swallowed his food. "Thanks mom." He mocked. "Now, as I was saying, are you going to give me a guided tour of your house?"
"No. I still don't trust you, Alex." Lara said.
"Come on, Lara. What do I have to do to get you to trust me?"
"I'm not sure. Perhaps you should figure that out."
"Alright look." Alex reached into his pocket, pulling several items out. "Here is my passport, car keys and my wallet with all the money I've got in cash. If you still don't trust me then keep it and I'll walk back to my empty apartment."
Lara didn't say anything. She picked up Alex's passport and began to page through it. Suddenly, Lara chuckled. "This is quiet a flattering picture Alex." She said, once she had found the small color photo of him.
"I was having a bad hair day, alright?" He said, blushing.
Lara set his passport back onto the table. "I'll trust you for now, Alex. But don't get use to it."
"So, now are you going to show me around?" Alex asked.
"I guess." Lara brushed a strand of her hair back. Despite Alex West's pervious record there was something that was very charismatic and likable about him. Lara couldn't help but like him. Just a little.
***
"You're lying!" Lara half shouted half laughed.
"No, I'm not." Alex insisted. "I met her."
"You did not! I mean, out of all people how could Melanie C know who you are? She's a bloody Spice Girl!"
"She knew who I was and she was nice too! Very sweet." Alex took another sip from his half empty glass of champagne.
Lara and Alex were in the library sitting on the floor in front of a roaring fire. The sun had set several hours ago leaving the Croft estate in darkness. When the sun was setting the two had gone to the library to have a drink. Four empty bottles of champagne later the two were sprawled out on the floor of the library telling each other about famous people that they met.
"Melanie C said that I was the most handsome wally she had ever seen." Alex bragged.
Lara stared at him in disbelief for a second before her shocked expression dissolved into laughter. She rolled onto her back her entire body shaking in laughter.
"I didn't think it was that funny." Alex said, reaching for one of the bottles of champagne. He turned the bottle over only to find that it was empty. He moved on to the next bottle with the same results. Alex frowned. He couldn't remember which bottle still contained champagne. Finally, Lara poured some more alcohol into his glass in between chuckles.
"You don't know what a wally is, do you?" Lara asked.
"I thought it meant 'stud' or something like that." Alex admitted.
"Blinded by your own ego. What a cliché." Lara laughed.
"Hey! What does 'wally' mean anyways?"
"She called you an idiot, Alex."
Alex blushed a deep red as Lara continued to laugh.
"Those Spice Girls aren't so bad, huh?"
"Well, she did say I was handsome." Alex grumbled.
Lara laughed again. "A handsome idiot. I think that describes you perfectly."
"So you think I'm handsome too?" Alex asked, smiling.
"No, I just think you're an idiot." Lara suddenly realized how close Alex was to her. She could feel his warm breath against her face. Lara smiled at him. She felt so warm and light headed. She glanced at the bottle of champagne that was in her hand. It was nearly empty. Where did it all go?
***
Lara awoke feeling warm and happy. A comfortable dream like haze encompassed her. She didn't open her eyes and rolled over.
Why does my bed feel so hard? Lara wondered. The library. She realized. She remembered seeing a stack of books before she drifted off to sleep. Suddenly, Lara felt a hand massaging the small of her back. She opened her eyes and tilted her head up.
"Good morning." Alex smiled at her.
Lara screamed and rolled away from him, she struggled into a sitting position, staring at him like he was a fire breathing dragon.
"Whoa, Lara, calm down." Alex said, sitting up himself with an alarmed expression on his face.
Lara looked around. The fire in the fire place had long since burnt out. Several empty bottles of champagne littered the floor, accompanied by two empty glasses of champagne that were laying on their sides next to the fire place. But most important to Lara, they both still had their clothes on.
Just my bloody luck! How the hell could this have happened to me twice with the same man?! Lara thought frantically. This better not be because of that mirror I accidentally broke last month. So help me, I'll buy every damn rabbits foot I can get my hands on!
"Lara, what's wrong?" Alex asked.
"Nothing. Nothing, I'm fine." Lara lied.
"Come here." Alex motioned for her to lay back down with him.
She stared at him for a second. "I've got to check on Donnica." She said, before shakily making it to her feet and practically running out of the room. Lara walked back to her bedroom, closing the door after her to shut out Alex West. Donnica was curled up on Lara's bedspread. Donnica glanced at her owner and stretched.
"Lara?" Alex wandered into her room, looking around until he spotted Lara. He stared at her for a second. "Why did you take off like that?" He finally asked.
"Mr. West, it's very rude to brag into a lady's bedroom uninvited." Lara told him.
"Cut the bullshit, Lara." Alex said. "What is wrong with you?"
"Mr. West, you can't around telling women that there's something wrong with them simply because they don't leap into bed with you."
"Stop calling me 'Mr. West'.''
"Fine. Alex."
"And I didn't mean that there's something wrong with you because we haven't slept together," Alex corrected, "what I meant was, why did you freak out like you did?"
"I'm sorry, Alex. But yours is not a face I want to wake up to."
"Is this about the prayer wheel?" Alex asked, shifting his weight.
"Forget about the blasted prayer wheel!" Lara snapped.
"Okay, then what exactly makes me so completely undesirable to you?" Alex asked in a sarcastic voice.
"Alex, I just don't take romantic relationships as lightly as you do."
"I didn't ask you to marry me for crying out loud. What are you so afraid of?"
"I'm not afraid of anything, Alex."
"I beg to differ. You're so wrapped up in your own little world that you're afraid to let anyone else in because you think they'll some how screw it all up."
Lara stared at him in utter disbelief, desperately trying to find something to say. "You. . . you. . . cad!" Lara shouted. "I can't believe that you have the audacity to. . . to. . ."
"Tell you the truth?" Alex finished her sentence. Lara was flustered and Alex had decided to milk this for all it is worth. "You really surprise me, Lara. Too proud to admit that you actually need other people?"
Lara glared at him. Calm down. She told herself. You're letting him get the better of you. "Alex, you bearly know me, you have no right to judge me." Lara said softly.
"You might want to try taking your own advice, Lara, because you do that all the time to me." Alex snapped.
"Really Alex? I thought you were nothing but a money hungry swine and at first chance you ran off with my prayer wheel and sold it to the highest bidder."
"And I think that you're a cold hearted cynic that secretly wants companionship and the first chance you get you cut me off and shove me away from you. Now who's the hypocrite!?" Alex thundered.
Lara was about to say something when she heard a loud crash and an equally loud meow. Lara looked around.
"Donnica?" She asked. Lara went into her large bathroom and found Donnica sitting in the middle of a circle of glass that once was a small soap dish that she kept on the sink. Donnica cried again. Lara scooped her up, which was when she noticed the blood on the bathroom floor.
"What's wrong?" Alex asked, poking his head into the bathroom.
"It's Donnica. She's bleeding. Bugger. I've got to get her to a vet." Lara said. She wrapped a wailing Donnica in a clean hand towel.
"Shit. Let's take my car." Alex said, heading out of the room.