A/N: I'm so glad to be able to get back to these stories. It's been far too long! Things are finally starting to look up and I don't have nearly as many health problems as I used to have! Please read and review!
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Four hours and many, many drinks later, Alfred and Alice found themselves chatting it up on the sofa in Alice's living room, passing a bottle of wine back and forth. Alfred had discovered that a drunken Alice was a lot of fun, because she no longer kept up appearances and was much more relaxed. Her usual proper British accent had developed into a Cockney accent that her male companion just couldn't get enough of.
"What's so great about fame and fortune anyway?" Alice ranted as she yanked off her heels and threw them toward the front door. She lost her balance and had nearly tumbled off the sofa, but Alfred had caught her just in time. "What's so wonderful about the entire bloody world knowing your business?" To maintain her balance on the sofa, she draped her thin legs over Alfred's.
The man put an arm over her shins to hold her legs in place. "Do I sense jealousy in your voice, Alice?" he teasingly asked, smirking at the drunken woman. "Are you jealous of my fame and fortune?"
"Goodness, no!" she quickly defended, waving her free hand through the air as if swatting away the very idea of jealousy. "I enjoy my private life, thankyouverymuch!"
"I think you're just being proud," Alfred laughed. Though he had been drinking alongside her, he held his alcohol rather well and was borderline sober.
"Me? Proud?" Alice cackled loudly at the very thought of it. "Come off it, Alfred! When have I ever been proud?" She stuck her nose in the air and took a rather large swig of wine. Hiccups began to interrupt her speech. "I -hic- am not a proud -hic- woman! I would never -hic- stoop so low as to be -hic- jealous of the likes of -hic- you, Alfred Jones! No matter how -hic- handsome you may be!"
Alfred's mouth twisted into a sadistic smirk. "You think I'm handsome?" he asked her, raising an eyebrow in interest. "How handsome?"
"Do I even need to -hic- explain that shit to you?" she laughed. "You know very well just how -hic- handsome you are! You're like -hic- sex with legs! Any woman in her right -hic- mind would love to spend a -hic- steamy night between your legs!"
The man laughed heartily and removed his glasses to wipe the tears of laughter from his eyes. "Sex with legs?" he asked, trying hard to calm himself down. "And when you say 'any woman', are you including yourself in that category as well?"
"Of course I am!" Alice exclaimed, as if it would be ridiculous if she wasn't included. She finished off the wine and unceremoniously dropped the empty bottle to the floor with a dull thud. "A good shag with you would be a -hic- dream come true!" Her laughter filled the room, hiccups interrupting it on occasion. "If it weren't unprofessional, I'd -hic- shag you right now!"
"Oh you would, would you?" he teasingly asked. Though he was used to dealing with drunken, horny Alice in past lives, he was nervous this time around. They weren't in a relationship or married, and the majority of their relationship at that point was strictly professional. Alfred had heard of other actors sleeping with their managers, but he didn't want that kind of reputation. All he wanted was Alice, and though it would be painfully difficult to him, he knew that he had to resist her advances that were coming his way.
Alice moved to sit on Alfred's lap, straddling his hips between her knees seductively. "Absolutely," she answered, taking the pins out of her hair. Her golden hair fell and flowed down her back. "I want to shag you -hic- right here, right -hic- now." She began to nip at his jaw and kiss his neck. "That is, if you'll -hic- have me."
As much as it pained him to do so, Alfred placed his hands on her shoulders and gently moved her away from him. "I can't do this, Alice," he told her. "Not like this. Taking advantage of your drunkenness isn't right. I can't do this and still call myself a man."
"But I give you permission to do anything you'd like to me," she seductively said, pushing the thin straps of her dress down her shoulders. "I want to -hic- know if you're as great of a -hic- lover as I assume you'd be." She moved closer to him once more, grinding her hips onto his, feeling him grow beneath her. "I can tell that you -hic- want me, Alfred."
He grudgingly moved her back once more. "I will not deny that there's nothing I want more than to sleep with you," he began, "but not like this, Alice. I can't sleep with you when you're like this."
"Why not, Alfred?" she asked, unzipping her dress in the back. "I want you to make me yours."
Alfred quickly reached around behind her and zipped her dress back up. "Though you are saying these things, you're not in your right state of mind." He wanted her so badly. More than anything, he wanted to scoop her up and take her to the bedroom for the best night of their young lives so far, but he couldn't justify that in his head. "I don't want you to believe you want this and then decide you didn't once you're sober. We can wait to do this when you're thinking clearly."
"Alfred, darling, don't you -hic- want to shag me?"
"That's not the problem here," he told her. He scooped her up in his arms and made his way to her bedroom. "I want you so badly that I'm internally kicking myself for denying this opportunity," he admitted, setting her down on her bed. "You're drunk, Alice. There's no way we can do something like this and feel good about it in the morning. I want you to be sober so you can feel and remember the entire experience."
Alice frowned at him. "Your words are teasing me," she complained. "You say you want me, but you refuse me. Nothing you do makes sense. I want you to love me, Alfred. I try so hard every day so that one day you will love me, and it all results in absolutely nothing!" A tear slid down her cheek. "You are so unfair…"
His heart lurched at her words. Why couldn't she understand that the situation was just as difficult for him. "Tell you what, Alice," he began, "I'll sleep on the sofa in your living room tonight. If you wake up sober and decide that you still want this, you know where to find me."
"May I make one last request?" she softly asked, looking up at him with pouting eyes. "If we can't shag tonight, will you at least kiss me?"
Seeing how it wasn't something either of them could regret if it was just that, Alfred saw no real harm in it. He leaned in to peck her lips, but was caught completely off guard as she wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him down with her. His mind was overflowing with lustful thoughts, but he fought them off as best as he could.
Alice momentarily broke off their kiss. "Kiss me like you mean it, Jones," she huskily whispered against his lips. Her mouth then accosted his one more. She pressed her heated body to his in an attempt to make him change his mind. She could feel his desire against her thigh, but her drunken mind couldn't comprehend why he just wouldn't sleep with her. Was she doing something wrong?
After about fifteen minutes of making out, Alfred got up. "It's about time we headed to bed," he told her. "I'll bring you a glass of water." He left the room for a moment and came back with a tall glass of water from the kitchen. His mouth formed into a smile to see that she was already asleep. "Goodnight, my dearest," he whispered, setting the water on her nightstand. He leaned down and kissed her forehead before going to the bathroom to tend to himself before going to lie down as well.
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Alice woke up in the morning, feeling as though she had a weird dream about trying to sleep with Alfred. Her cheeks flooded bright red with embarrassment. She then realized that she was still wearing her dress from the night before. There was also a full glass of water on her nightstand. Taking grateful gulps of the water, she thought back to the details of the night before.
She then remembered one thing Alfred had told her. "If you wake up sober and decide that you still want this, you know where to find me." Her entire body felt as if it went up in flames at the thought of it all. Did he really mean that? If he did, was he still waiting out there for her? And if he was, did the offer still stand?
Alice gave her hair a quick tug. "What are you thinking, Alice?" she hissed at herself. "Alfred isn't out there, waiting to sleep with you if you still want it." She then thought about it. Did she still want to sleep with him? Her cheeks felt hot over thinking about sex with Alfred first thing in the morning. Was that what she wanted?
After thinking about it for an extended period of time, she crept down her hallway toward the living room. Her heartbeat quickened its pace when she saw him asleep on her sofa. She nearly gasped upon seeing him there. She had spent all that time believing that she had imagined it all, but now she could see that it was all real.
Many thoughts filled her head about what she should do. Originally, she had decided that she was going to take him up on his offer if he was out here, convinced that there was no way he was. Seeing him lying on her couch, her desire for him grew, yet she was embarrassed by thinking about how badly she truly wanted him.
He stirred in his sleep as his eyes flickered open. For a moment, he looked disoriented before he noticed Alice standing in the hallway. "Alice?" he sleepily asked. "Good morning. How are you feeling?"
Her heart swelled when he looked at her, and she knew right then and there what she really wanted. In two large steps, she was on the couch with him, lips connected to his. She pressed herself to him, completely sober and aware of what her actions meant.
"I'm awake," she told him when they came up for air. Her hand reached out and caressed his cheek. "I'm awake, I'm sober, and my mind hasn't changed." She slowly unzipped her dress and let it fall to the floor, exposing her under garments. "If you'll have me, I'm yours."
Alfred didn't have to be told twice. He pulled her down onto his lap and kissed her, trailing kisses to her jaw, down her neck, along her collar bone, and down her chest. His arms scooped her up into them as he carried her off to her bedroom, ready to give her the best morning sex of her life.
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Alice laid in bed quite awhile later, gazing over at Alfred. She was absolutely speechless, completely amazed over what had just occurred. Her entire body was currently sensitive to even the slightest touch, having reacted the way that she and Alfred had desired for it to all morning long. For the first time in her life, she finally felt truly fulfilled after sleeping with a man.
"Did I live up to your expectations?" Alfred asked, smirking at her. His glasses were still off, but he was nonetheless just as charming as always. "Would you ever want a second experience?"
"I want all of the experiences," she sheepishly told him. "I want to be the only one who experiences this with you." Her face was red as she admitted her true feelings on it. Feeling embarrassed, she quickly buried her blushing face in her pillow. "Is that so wrong?"
"Not at all," he answered, grinning widely. His fingers twisted into her blonde hair as he curled the strands around them. He kissed at her collar bone, nipping at her earlobes. "I'm all yours, Alice. I only want to be yours." Alfred snuggled up to her and rested his head on her shoulder. "There is absolutely no other woman for me."
"Do you promise?" she asked, sticking out one of her pinkies. Her mouth formed into a grin as he wrapped his much larger pinky around her extended one. Alice shifted her position to lie on her back and look up at the ceiling as she mused aloud. "Say, Alfred, suppose the past lives you ramble about on occasion really do exist," she began. "If that were the case, then how many more lives do we have together?"
Without missing a beat, Alfred responded. "All of them." He grinned up at her. "Since our first life together, there has never been any other woman for me, Alice. I only want you." His cheeks turned bright red as he thought for a moment. "I have a theory that the reason I can remember you from every single past life of ours is because you're my soulmate. Every time I am reincarnated, I search the entire earth for you."
"Suppose I believed in these past lives that we shared," she hypothesized, looking over at him. "If they were all real, does that mean that me being sought out to become your manager was planned? You looked for me so that we could be together?"
"It's time you knew the truth," he admitted. "Yes, I asked my previous manager to seek you out. Even if you hadn't gone to school for business, I would have found another job for you to do. Everything I do in life, Alice, I do for you. Please always remember that."
Though she had only been hypothesizing when she suggested that, she still couldn't believe her ears upon hearing the truth. Still thinking the possibility of past lives was ridiculous, that all seemed impossible. Yet when she witnessed Alfred saying those things with such conviction, she began to doubt her own mind. Were past lives really real? None of this was made up? Did he really believe everything was saying? If he believed it all, did that mean she should as well? It was all so confusing, yet she didn't feel nearly as bothered by it as she thought she would.
"I'll keep that in mind," she decided. There was so much that she wanted to know about Alfred and his thought process, yet she couldn't find her voice nor the questions to ask. All she could do was gaze at the amazing man lying next to her. It was true that she had fallen in love with him, yet she had no idea when that was. To her, she felt as if she had been in love with him all along, perhaps even before they had met. Did that mean that the past lives were real?
"I'm sure this is a lot to take in right now," he told her, comfortingly running his fingers through her hair. "I will answer any questions that you may have."
Alice took a deep breath for a moment, then she spoke. "Would it be possible for me to be in love with you all along, even before I knew you?" she finally asked. "To me, it sounds absurd, but given the probability of past lives…"
"I'd say it's possible to subconsciously love someone," he answered. "Before I start regaining my memories of my previous lives, I feel a strong bond toward someone, but I'm never able to figure out who until I reach a point in my memories of past lives where I met you. When I come across or finally remember you, the strong bond suddenly makes sense. I sound insane, but it's the honest truth."
"At least you're aware of how insane you sound, love," she giggled. She reached over and moved his bangs out of his face before kissing his cheek. Even as she spoke to him and kissed him, she still couldn't believe any of it was real. In her mind, there was no way that an amazing man like Alfred would love someone like her. She just couldn't wrap her mind around it.
"You are everything I could ask for in a woman, and so much more," he said, placing a kiss on her forehead. "Being with you like this is a dream come true. I never want anyone else, Alice Kirkland. You're the only woman out there for me."
"Cross your heart and hope to die?" she asked, grinning up at him.
Alfred drew a cross over his heart with his index finger. "Stick a needle in my eye," he finished. "There is so much more in store for us if you'll accept me."
"And if I say no?" Alice teased.
He smirked and rolled on top of her, kissing her deeply. "Then I'll just have to change your mind, won't I?"