"Do you want to go on a date with me?" Alex blurted out one morning, over a plate over bacon and eggs.
There was a pause that felt like an lifetime to Alex, which was ridiculous, because he was married to this woman, and was somehow nervous about asking her out on a date.
"What?" She breathed out, finally looking up from her own sparrow-like portion of eggs.
"A date?" He repeated lamely. "With me?" He felt like he was fifteen, asking the prettiest girl in school to prom, his words tumbling out in the wrong order, and he cast his eyes back down to his breakfast, shrugging awkwardly.
"I kinda feel like we missed the "dating" part." He tried to keep his tone casual, avoiding her gaze. "I thought maybe I could take you out?" He chanced a glance up at her, to see her smiling sweetly at him, casting her own gaze down nervously.
"Erm... Yeah. That would be nice." She said nonchalantly, her beaming grin giving her away.
"Ok." A matching grin tugged at Alex's lips as he watched her try to conceal how pleased she was, failing miserably. "Tomorrow night?"
"It's a date."
Alex wore a suit to their date, and Norma wore her prettiest dress, the sleeveless, powder blue one that Norman always said was his favourite. It made her heart hurt to think of Norman alone while she was so happy, but, as Alex pulled her chair out for her, breathlessly telling her how beautiful she looked, Norman was pushed far from her mind.
She wasn't used to this. She knew she was attractive; She was used to men looking at her lustfully, maybe even treating her nicely for a day or a week or a month or until they were done with her, but something was different here. She believed Alex when he told her she was beautiful, she shook her head disbelievingly when he held her door open for her, or held her chair out for her, because a tiny part of her dared to believe that he'd do that for the rest of their lives.
They sat in a slightly awkward silence for a few moments, pretending to pour over the menus while shooting each other stolen glances over the top of their menus.
"So..." Alex started awkwardly, catching her eye finally. "I guess we did this all ass backwards...?" He smiled at her as she breathed out a soft laugh.
"I guess so." She admitted.
"You should have just asked me out when you wanted to." She shot back, smirking at him.
"Oh, right ok then." He laughed at her smug little smile. "And when do you think that was?" He queried, his tone playful.
She thought about his question seriously for a moment, biting her lip as she tried to figure out when things had changed between them. It was hard to put her finger on. She opened her mouth to speak, not sure what she was going to say, when a waiter appeared to take their order, his tone cheery, his eyes dull.
"Hi there. Are you guys ready to order?" He asked robotically.
They shared a few glances, Norma secretly glad to have avoided his question, while they ordered their food. The waiter took their menus when he left, and they both silently panicked at having nothing to hide behind now, having to stare directly at each other.
"I wanted to ask you out the night I met you." He said suddenly, after a few moments of smiling tensely at each other, as if the waiter had never interrupted their conversation.
"Really?" She nearly choked on a sip of wine.
"Yeah. I mean, I couldn't, because I thought you'd killed Keith Summers, and you can't be Sheriff and date a suspect." He supplied, looking down, not noticing her tense up across the table from him.
"I did kill Keith Summers." She added quietly, and he was an idiot so he barely noticed her tone.
"And then you were with Shelby so-"
"He was using me." She interrupted tensely, her tone shrill, and he finally glanced up at her to find her glaring at him, her eyes steely. "I was never WITH Shelby. Not really." She clarified, and he reached across the table, clasping her hand, pleased when she let him.
"I'm sorry." He said genuinely. He always seemed to say the wrong thing. He had been trying to be cute, and he had messed up. "What I meant was, right from the night I met you, I wanted to take you out. And I missed my chance."
"And it took you two years to pluck up the courage?" She teased, some of the tension leaving her body.
"I work slow." He shrugged, grinning at her. There was a long pause, when he slid his hand gently along the tips of her fingers, before intertwining his fingers with hers. "I think I was too in love with you to know when the time was right."
She froze, her finger tips fluttering to a halt against his palm, gasping slightly. He sighed, realising what he had just revealed.
"And just how long have you been in love with me?" She asked quietly, suddenly very interested in examining her napkin.
"I... It was when you cleaned up my face, after I beat up Zane."
She frowned thoughtfully, trying to remember the day he meant.
"I got mad at you for doing my laundry-" He added.
"I like doing laundry." She interrupted and he smiled at her.
"I know." He shook his head at her. "You told me how you beat up some real estate guy with your purse. It made me smile." She nodded in recognition, grinning as she finally remembered the day he meant.
"I'd never seen you smile before that!" She clarified. "You smile all the time now." She added, not making the connection.
"I know." He reached back across to play with her fingers again, and she sucked in a breath through her nose, a small smile playing on her lips as she realised the implication of that.
"I think I fell in love with you in that moment." He whispered, his words soft, in a moment of blunt honesty that made her gasp.
"I mean, you were telling me, a law enforcement officer, that you basically assaulted someone, and all I could do was smile. I must have loved you, or I would have arrested you."
"Are those the only two options?" She joked. "You either love people or you arrest them?"
"Pretty much." He laughed.
"Well, don't I feel special?"
Their food arrived and they were both relieved and a little sad to have a distraction from their incredibly honest chat. They ate in silence for a moment, feeding each other a bite from each other's plate like the kind of couples they both usually hated, before he piped up again.
"When did you fall in love with me?" He blurted out suddenly, between bites of veal parmigiana, glad to have his plate of food to keep his eyes trained on. It wasn't the sort of question he would usually ask, but something about the honesty that was hanging between them tonight, and the glass and a half of wine in his system made him curious.
He panicked as she didn't answer straight away, hearing her huff out a little frustrated breath across from him. The silence from the other side of the table stretched on, and his heart sank, chancing a glance up at her, expecting to find her staring awkwardly at her meal, or looking conflicted. She was staring directly at him though, biting her lip, her expression genuinely thoughtful, her gaze eventually wandering off to the corner of the room.
"I'm not sure." She said eventually, her tone inquisitive. "It happened slowly, and then all at once."
"I liked when you called me to pick you up when you were drunk." She said quietly, and he frowned, confused that that was a memory she would pick up on. "You were vulnerable, and you let me look after you. It meant alot that you trusted me enough to call me."
He bristled at being called vulnerable, until he realised she was entirely correct, as per usual, and he let her words sink in. He hadn't though about it like that before, but, when he considered it, she was right - He hadn't even considered calling anyone else. He knew she would come. And he knew he could trust her. Even back then.
"And when you got my car back for me. Because you didn't want me to be sad." She smiled at the memory, as he did the same, remembering the feel of her lips lingering against his cheek, her gratitude pouring off her in waves.
"No-one's ever done anything that nice for me before. Not without wanting something in return."
He fought the temptation to let the sadness swallow him as he listened to her intently. That was over now.
She took a bite of her food, chewing thoughtfully, casting her eyes down again before she swallowed, speaking again so quietly he almost couldn't hear her.
"And when you kissed me, the morning after our... first night together..." She was obviously uncomfortable now, keeping her eyes trained on her fork, squirming in her seat, and he wondered why she would mention that morning, especially now he knew she hadn't enjoyed that first night they had spent together. His grip on his cutlery tightened as he relived that morning, trying to figure out what act of love she could have gleaned from the time when they were on such different pages.
"You kissed me, and I was overwhelmed and you stopped. You just stopped. You didn't push it, or get mad, or even question it - You just moved away, and ate your breakfast."
He frowned at her from across the table, suddenly feeling a bit ignorant. The way she framed it, it was like he didn't care.
"I think I fell in love you then." She said simply. "It was too much for me, and you didn't interrogate me. You just gave me space without me asking for it."
Her answer made him sad, and happy all at the same time. He hadn't had to think about it at the time - She had looked stressed and overwhelmed and he felt like he was cornering her, so he had backed off, leaving her time to process things. It had been natural, but now she explained her side of it, he felt strangely sad at what she must have been going through.
Glancing up at her, she was beaming at him though, and he chose not to dwell on it. Focus on the positive, Alex. Though you may not feel it was the right thing to do now, it apparently made her fall in love with you. That's something.
"You want anything else?" He asked her at the end of their meal, after their conversation had moved on to safer topics, her peals of laughter drawing the stares of other diners at times.
She shook her head, biting her lip.
"Can we do this again, some time?" She blurted out, chewing her lip nervously.
"Of course." He assured her, confused for a moment.
"I just feel like we missed out on a lot, doing it all backwards like this." She clarified, and he nodded, realising what she meant.
"We were pretty unconventional." He agreed.
"I just feel like we missed out on all the big moments." She noted, her tone a little sad. She meant things like going on a first date, having their first kiss on her porch, making love for the first time, all of which should usually be done before becoming husband and wife, and Alex gazed at her curiously for a moment, before glancing around at the packed restaurant, leaning in across the table, reaching his hand across to her.
"Take your ring off." He muttered, and she frowned up at him, unmoving for a moment. "Slide me your ring." He flexed his fingers discreetly at her, and she complied, somehow not realised what he was doing, until he slid off his seat, crossing over to her and sinking to one knee dramatically.
"Oh my god, Alex. Stop!" She whispered desperately at him, glancing around embarrassed as several other diners gasped romantically at them.
"Norma Louise Bates..." He started loudly, taking her hand in his. "I wanted you from the first night I met you." He said, somewhat woodenly and she couldn't help but smile at him. "Would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"
There was a pause, where she pressed her lips together, shaking her head at him. "Will you marry me?" He finished with a flourish, pretending to pull the ring out of his pocket and presenting it to her. She gasped, playing along with him, feeling the eyes of the other people in the restaurant on them both.
"Yes!" She breathed out brokenly, feeling silly but giddy. He slid the ring back onto the finger she had been wearing it on for weeks, rising to his feet and pulling her with him, pulling her in for a searing kiss as a round of applause broke out around them.
She pulled away breathlessly, letting him pull her in for a hug.
"That was ridiculous." She breathed out accusingly into his ear as he span her round.
"You loved it." He shot back, and she grinned, watching a woman at a table near theirs wipe a joyful tear away.
"You've been spending too much time with Gabe." She whispered back, and he pulled back to smile at her, apparently hearing the compliment in her voice.
Alex pulled the car into the motel parking lot with a speed that was neither safe nor reasonable, but he didn't care. He felt almost dizzy with his need to feel his wife writhe against him, and he could tell from the way her eyes had bored into the side of his head the whole journey home, she felt the same. Turning the engine off, he chanced a glance at her, almost wishing he hadn't, since a glimpse of her bright azure eyes blown dark with desire did nothing to quell his almost embarrassing need for her. Something had shifted between them the second they had left the restaurant, the banter and the flirting and the casual ease of the evening immediately left behind, replaced with a sudden need for each other. It was ridiculous really; They were old enough to control themselves, but the car journey home had bristled with unspoken tension, his eyes darting down to occasionally catch her thighs rubbing together as she shifted in her seat, her arm sliding across the back of his headrest, reaching out as if to touch his hair, before stopping herself, thinking better of it.
The only words spoken the entire car ride had been a barely audible "Drive faster" whispered close to his ear, and the car had lurched forward as his feet obeyed before his mind could resist. He had run three red lights the rest of the way home, and if he was in his right mind, he might have felt a modicum of guilt. But he wasn't. He was driven half mad with the wanting of this woman, this woman who was staring across the car at him like she wanted to eat him alive.
With an almost super human speed, he unhooked his seatbelt, and almost sprinted round to her door, wrenching it open dramatically. His movements slowed slightly as he grasped her arm, pulling her out of the car gently, though she was already jumping out, throwing her arms around his neck, pulling him against her as she pulled him in for a searing kiss.
They fell back roughly against the side of the car, knocking a slight gasp out of her as the backs of her legs brushed against the freezing metal of the car. He pulled back a second, watching as their breath turned to mist in front of their faces, glancing up at the house with a look of frustration. It was so far away, up so many steps and locked doors and he wanted her NOW. He glanced back at her, watching her pant slightly, her nose a little pink in the chilled winter air, and he was furious the weather had chosen this night to turn so cold. If it was only a little warmer, he would think nothing of bending her over the hood of the car and taking her right there and then.
Slightly shocked at the scandalous direction his own thoughts had taken, wondering what Norma Bates had done to him, he didn't notice the devilish grin that was spreading over her face as she watched his tortured expression. She had followed his gaze up to the house, watched him glare at the mountain of steps and then watched his gaze flicked briefly to the hood of the car, and had managed to read his every thought.
She stepped to the side suddenly, sliding out of his arms, and for a second, he flicked his head to gaze at her in confusion. She reached behind her, grasping the door handle, before stepping forward, opening the car door with a flourish and a wild little giggle.
Shaking his head, he grinned down at his shoes for a minute, buying himself a moment to figure out if she was serious or not. This was madness - The house was right there, with a warm bed which was an appropriate place for two grown, married adults to make love to each other. But right now, he just wanted to fuck her in his squad car. And when he glanced up at her, watching her suck her lip into her mouth, before stepping backwards, sinking down onto the back seat, it seemed that was exactly what she wanted too.
"Come on..." She coaxed, sliding back along the back seat, sitting up for a moment to unbutton her coat and slide it off her shoulders. She shivered, the cold of the night seeping in through the open door, and he finally moved, lurching forward to join her, slamming the door shut behind him. With the pretence of keeping her warm, he wrapped his arms back around her, pressing her against the opposite door. She gasped, flinching as the door handle pressed roughly into her spine, making her jolt forward, bumping her forehead against his.
"Ow."
"Sorry, sorry. You ok?" She nodded, and they both laughed breathlessly as she wriggled forward, settling herself more comfortably under him. He leaned down to kiss her, his knees just about finding the room to settle either side of her hips, letting her hands pull his suit jacket off his shoulders.
His hands tangled in her hair as she fumbled with his tie, loosening it just enough to open his top button, leaning up to press her lips against his neck. They sat up, so that she could shimmy off the little cropped cardigan she wore over her dress, and he could pull his jacket all the way off. They both shivered, and Alex watched as goosebumps rose up along Norma's now bare arms, her teeth chattering a little in the frigid air of the car.
"Jesus Christ, it's freezing tonight." She muttered, wriggling out from under him to sit up properly. He nodded, sighing a little. She was right. It was far too cold to do this. What were they thinking?
"Yeah, you're right. Let's-" He was cut off as she swung forwards suddenly, pulling her upper body between the two front seats. He froze for a second, as her ass wiggled tantalisingly, inches from his face. He had always been an ass man, and Norma Bates' ass had always had a particular allure for him. Every hug, every embrace, he found his hands sliding to her behind. It was like a natural instinct, and now, as she leaned forward even more, her hands fumbling with something in the front seat, he couldn't tear his eyes away from her.
She was speaking to him, but he had no idea what she was saying, his thoughts elsewhere as she bobbed around in front of him.
"Alex?" She asked curiously, glancing over her shoulder, and rolling her eyes when she found him gazing intently at her rear. "Which one is the heat?"
"Hm? Oh... the grey slider. Slide it towards the red side and then press the button above it." She turned back, following his instructions, gasping when she felt his hands on the backs of her thighs, slowly sliding her dress up. Satisfied that the car was now filling with heat, she was about to settle back in the backseat, when her skirt was suddenly flipped up and over her her back. She glanced over her shoulder seductively, wiggling her lace-clad ass, knowing he'd love it. She gasped again as she felt his teeth graze lightly over her ass cheek, biting down gently right under where the fabric met her flesh.
His fingers hooked into her underwear and she shivered as he wriggled her panties down her thighs, his teeth once again grazing her ass cheek, his hands coming up to caress her flesh.
A sudden sharp sound rang out through the car, as Norma heard him smack her ass before she felt it. It wasn't hard at all, just a gentle slap, but the act had been so unexpected, so playful and out of character from his man she really barely knew that she jolted, hitting her head hard off the ceiling of the car. Wincing, she sank back beside him, collapsing back into the back seat in a giggling mess, one hand pressed against the top of her head, glancing at him incredulously.
"Oh my God, I'm sorry. I don't know what-" He looked so apologetic, his hand scrubbing through his short hair nervously, looking like he didn't know what had possessed him to do that, and it just made Norma laugh more, shaking her head at him like she couldn't believe it either.
"Come here." He muttered, wrapping a hand round the back of her neck and gently pulling her forwards, pressing an apologetic kiss against the top of her head. Her giggles subsided slowly as he nuzzled against her hair, her face pressed against his chest, the atmosphere between them changing once again. She shuffled towards him, closing the gap between them, his hand stroking down her hair and along her back.
"Do you want to go back up to the house?" He said quietly against the top of her head, his tone overly casual to cover his fear that she might say yes. She tilted her head up towards him, smiling wickedly at him, her eyes dark as she shook her head.
"Not yet." She muttered, before sitting up abruptly and swinging her leg over his lap, pulling herself up to straddle his thighs. He chuckled, feeling like a reckless teenager as she kissed him hungrily, her hands pulling at his shirt, grinding herself against him.
His hands slid down her back, dragging open the zip of her dress as they went, before stroking back up to her shoulders, pushing the straps of her dress down.
A muffled tinny sound suddenly filled the car and they froze, recognising Norma's cell phone ringtone. She wrenched her lips away from his, glancing behind her at her purse, her expression torn.
"Leave it." He muttered, sliding down her bra straps to follow the straps of her dress, leaning up to press his lips against the hollow of her throat.
"But..." She breathed out, tipping her head back to give him better access, her hands resting on the sides of his face. "...what if it's important?"
"Then they'll call back." He mumbled out against her throat, kissing along her collarbone and then down her shoulder, and back again.
"But-" She gasped as he suddenly grasped her butt, grinding her hard against the bulge in his pants.
The shrill ringing stopped and she seemed temporarily appeased, letting out a series of breathless sighs against his cheek as she rubbed herself against him, her hair tickling his face as she dropped her head to his shoulder.
"What are we doing?" He muttered incredulously, as her hands drifted down his chest, slipping between them to reach for his belt.
"Well if you have to ask..." She chuckled, still focusing on his belt, lifting herself up to get it undone, gasping as his hands snapped to her hips, pulling her back down heavily on his lap. His hands slid up her sides, stopping to cup her face, his thumbs grazing her cheekbones, drawing her attention back to his face. Her frantic movements slowed to a stop and they stared at each other for a second, their eyes darting wildly around each other's faces like they'd never properly seen each other before.
"What are we doing?" He repeated quietly, a smile playing on his lips as he gazed at her, his fingers pushing her hair out of her eyes. She felt herself blushing, not because she was straddling his lap with no underwear on, or because the top half of her dress was flapping open, or because they were dry humping like horny teenagers in the back of a police vehicle but because he was looking at her so seriously, so lovingly, like he was staring straight into her soul. Her cheeks coloured and her tongue unconsciously darted out to wet her lips, watching as his eyes flicked down to watch her tongue.
She swayed forwards again, capturing his lips, kissing him gently, tentatively this time, letting their lips move lazily against each others. His hands swept over her hair, sliding down her chest to tug down the front of her dress, his fingers tracing the lace of her bra, making her sigh into his mouth.
She squeezed her thighs around him a little, pulling her lips away from his, trailing kisses along his jaw.
"Shuffle forwards." She commanded quietly, feeling him wrap an arm securely around her back and awkwardly shuffling forwards a few inches, making room for her to slide her knees forward. He leaned back contentedly, letting her fumble with his zipper again, smiling as he watched her brow furrow with concentration as she struggled in the darkness. Glancing up to see him staring at her, she flashed him a wicked grin, letting the backs of her fingers brush against him, watching as his head dropped back, gasping at the ceiling.
His hands flew to her thighs, sliding her dress back up, grabbing at her ass again, breathing out a breathless chuckle as her hand wrapped around him.
"You drive me crazy." He muttered, as she started shuffling up on her knees, awkwardly shifting up his lap.
"Good." She murmured as she rose up on her knees, wriggling to line herself up, before that shrill tinny sound filled the car again, making her freeze. She shot him an apologetic look, as he pouted helplessly at her, both of them still for a moment, listening to her ringtone.
She twisted suddenly, sitting back on his knees and swinging her body round to grab at her purse. His arm wrapped round her protectively, the only thing stopping her from falling backwards as she whirled round, trusting him to support her weight as she retrieved her purse from the floor, rifling through it for her phone.
"No, no, no." He muttered desperately, though it was futile; She was already pulling out her cellphone, sliding to answer before he could stop her. "No." He whined like a child that was having his favourite toy taken off him.
"Hello?" She trilled pleasantly, always the face of decorum, even in their current obscene position.
Alex could just about make out the sound of some kind of recorded voice through the phone, something that sounded like a collect call or something similar, but he didn't care, his hands running up the curve of her waist to her chest, yanking down the cups of her bra, enjoying the way her eyes lost focus as she struggled to listen to the phone call.
"Alex..." She said, her voice a warning as she narrowed her eyes at him, watching as he shrugged innocently at her. "Behave." She whispered, holding the phone away for a moment to glare at him, wildly undermining her warning tone by swaying her torso towards him. He pressed his face between her breasts, feeling uncharacteristically wild, deliberately distracting her by nuzzling and nipping at her flesh, enjoying the way the phone dropped a few inches away from her face.
There was a pause, when the recorded voice stopped and there was silence from the other end of the line for a moment and he took the opportunity to graze his teeth over her nipple, earning him a throaty moan, which was cut off by a quiet "Hello?" from the momentarily forgotten phone.
"Oh. Hi, yes. Hello?" She said politely, raising the phone back to her ear, trying unsuccessfully to push his face away from her chest, sucking in a shaky breath as his tongue flicked back and forth across her nipple.
She gasped as she clearly recognised the voice on the other end of the line, tapping against the side of Alex's face, even as he ignored her silent protests, holding her tight against him.
"Oh! God, no. No, no. Honey, I'm fine." She said breathlessly, her eyes going wide, her hand unconsciously coming up to slap him harder than she meant to across the face, shocking him into releasing her, dropping his head back to stare at her in confusion. His hand came up to brush against his cheek, as she shot him a wild, apologetic look, pressing a finger to her lips as if he had been about to shout down the phone.
"No, it's not a bad time at all. I was just... doing laundry." He let his hands drop from her body, flopping uselessly to his sides. She sat back on his knees heavily, her whole body sagging, her hand coming to press frantically against her forehead.
"Okay..." She said slowly, biting her lip, looking like she was about to cry. "Are you sure about this?"
Alex watched as her face fell, even as her voice remained chipper, her tone fake and syrupy.
"Ok honey." She said in a wary tone, and Alex read the situation, gently tugging her bra and dress up to cover her up, sliding the straps back up her shoulders. She shot him a grateful look as he gently smoothed her dress back down over her legs, letting his hands rest on her hips, giving her a reassuring squeeze as she stared out of the window, frowning out into the darkness.
"No, no. Of course I am! Don't be silly. Of course I'm happy. I just... Ok. He did?" Her hand squeezed into his shoulder, as she steadied herself, looking the same way she did the day he'd told her about Norman and Blair Watson. His hand drifted up to cup her cheek, surprised when she leaned away from his touch, avoiding his eye contact. "Yeah, that'd be great. I'd like to talk to him. Can he call me tomorrow? Yeah that's fine. Ok, yeah. I love you too. Bye."
She clicked the phone off, plastering a smile on her face, taking a deep, nervous breath as she finally made eye contact with him. He could already guess what she was going to say, but he let her speak all the same, swallowing anything he was thinking as he let her process for a moment.
"So... Norman's coming home."
This evolved into like, the longest chapter ever! Turns out date-night-car-sex is super inspiring to me. Probably coulda guessed that though tbh. ;) Full disclosure - The next few chapters are really quite short so enjoy this long, rambling filth. Also, OMG NORMAN'S COMING HOME?! AREN'T YOU JUST SO EXCITED FOR THAT LITTLE REUNION! lol jokes.
So I had a fantastic birthday week! Thank you for your birthday wishes and all the lovely reviews I had for the last coupla chapters. I'm so glad you liked the panic attack chapter. I was worried people might be like, "Ugh, this again?!" but I wanted to show that her demons aren't quite vanquished yet and I also wanted to break up all the fluff cause there's been alot of bloody delightful romance around and it was getting too much for me!
Also, I got a twitter! I'm on there as geneharl0w (Yes, that's a zero instead of an o because i'm just SO hip!) so go follow me and tweet things at me if you want. I might do like... I dunno, mini sneak previews of the next chapters on there or something? Or tweet looking for ideas or minor grammar advice. Whatever, go follow me - I LIVE for your validation. xx
