Max stood before him in his open doorway, feeling kind of nervous about what they were about to do.
Alec's eyes drank in the sight of her as he sipped mouthful of scotch. He held the door open.
Max wondered what the hell she was doing there. She realized there was no turning back the moment she passed the precipice. She followed him to his kitchen.
He set down his empty tumbler and pulled a bottle of Scotch from the cupboard. "You want some?" he asked, though it sounded like a statement. She nodded, and as he pulled another tumbler, she considered how practical his inflection was, like it made some kind of logical sense.
At least that's what they each told themselves at the start of the week when, out of sheer boredom, they had made a bet at Jam Pony that whoever had the better times on a series of physical tests would win the other as a slave for the week – doing odd or dirty jobs, stealing and fencing valuables, all no questions asked.
They'd spent the week repelling off of rooftops, running from Sector Cops, clawing around in muddy water, and besting the very worst scum of Seattle.
And now, here she was, standing across from Alec, producing nervous mouth sweat and feeling hot from the rush of blood reddening her cheeks.
"You sure you want to do this?" he asked.
Max bit her lip. "It's what we agreed to. Part of the bet."
Alec circled the kitchen island and passed Max. He turned on the stereo and a smooth R&B groove began sliding out of the speakers.
Max faced him, slipping off her leather jacket. She downed the liquor. "How do you want to do this?"
He only smiled slyly and crossed the distance between them. He let his fingertips run from the back of her arm to her palm, slow like sap making its way down the bark of a tree. "Come on," he said.
Max smiled, embarrassed, but allowed him to pull her close. Closer than she'd ever been to him on purpose. He smelled like the outdoors.
"This close?" he asked.
Max closed her eyes and steeled herself. She pulled him toward her and led his hand to her waist. "Here."
They began dancing, though it felt more like swaying.
Neither transgenic could utter a syllable, and after a minute of this, neither transgenic could pretend that the words seeping out of the stereo weren't working.
"You know I didn't really invite Logan over to catch us 'on accident', right?" Max asked, sliding her hand down his bicep.
He smirked. "You know I threw the games, right?"
Alec pressed his eager lips to hers.