Emily had taken it upon herself to initiate the 'starting over' by inviting Alex to her apartment for dinner. (By dinner, of course, she meant ordering Chinese food because food poisoning was not the way to make a good first impression.) And, if she dressed up a little nicer than entirely necessary...well, it was a date afterall and she really wanted to do things right this time.
When there was a knock on the front door, Emily paused by the mirror to double check her appearance, a knot of nervousness in the pit of her stomach and no matter how many times she told herself that Alex already liked her, her nerves refused to settle.
And, judging by Alex's anxious smile when the door swung open, the feeling was mutual.
"Wine?" Emily asked, leading her into the kitchen, hoping to soothe her nerves a little with alcohol.
"Wine and I don't exactly have the best history," Alex admitted. At Emily's intrigued look, she explained, "I get the hangover first, then the drunkenness... It's a vamp thing. Very confusing."
Emily laughed. "Fair enough. I also have vodka?" she offered. When Alex winced, she suggested, "Or I could brew some coffee?"
Alex smiled gratefully. "Not sure if the fact that caffeine doesn't work on the undead is a plus or minus," she joked weakly. "I think it's just habit to drink it at this point."
"I wish caffeine didn't effect me," Emily said wistfully. "Maybe I should become a vampire..." Almost immediately, she winced, fearing her thoughtless words might sound flippant.
Luckily, though, Alex seemed to understand. "It is one of the few bonuses."
A slight awkwardness descended then, bringing with it a silence but for the steady drip-drip-drip of the coffee maker.
With a sip of wine to bolster her confidence, Emily asked, "Why don't you talk about being a vampire? Most of the ones I've met never shut up about it..."
Alex suddenly seemed shy, staring down at the wood grain of the kitchen island. "Well, I didn't exactly become a vampire by choice," she said softly. "I guess I still haven't really made my peace with it."
"You don't have to tell me," Emily said, realizing she may have been prying into painful memories.
Alex shook her head. "It's okay – I want to tell you. I don't want to have secrets."
Emily offered her a gentle smile, reached over to squeeze her hand.
"I had a husband," Alex said. "I knew he was a vampire when we met and at first I didn't want to date him, but he convinced me to give him a chance. When we got married, I told him that under no circumstances was he to turn me...then, I had my accident. Rather than let me die, he turned me."
"So, you left him?" Emily asked.
"There's a lawyer who specializes in non-consensual turnings – usually he does civil suits, but I didn't want his money, just the divorce," she explained. "He fought it tooth and nail, but I got the divorce eventually."
Emily frowned at the unspoken note underlying her words. "But...?" she prompted.
Alex sighed. "I'm not sure he's going to let me go that easily."
Emily's brows leapt up her forehead. "What?" she asked, cautious and anxious all at once.
"He sends threatening messages, telling me he's going to find me and make me pay," she admitted. "It's fine. Nothing I can't handle."
"Alex, that absolutely is not okay," Emily insisted. "You can't let him just threaten you like that."
She shrugged, part helpless, part lackadaisical. "I'm already a vampire, it'll be pretty hard for him to hurt me any further."
Emily wasn't sure she believed that, but she didn't voice those concerns. Instead, she poured a cup of coffee, pressed it into Alex's hands with a gentle smile.
Alex returned a grateful smile, looking like she wanted to say something more, but couldn't find the words.
In the next moment, Emily reached out to cup Alex's cheek, thumb brushing along her cheekbone as she leaned in to capture her lips. The kiss was gentle and tender, Alex's eyes fluttering shut.
Just as Emily was about to pull back, Alex reached out to grab a fistful of the fabric of her dress, keeping her close as the kiss turned needy and desperate...and Emily was all too happy to comply.
Emily's hands landed on Alex's hips, gripping tight, pulling her into her body. The kiss threatened to turn into something more...and very well might've if Clara hadn't chosen that moment to burst into the apartment.
"Fucking wizards..." Clara muttered, slamming the door behind her sending Sergio skittering into hiding. She stomped into the kitchen, then came to a sudden stop upon catching sight of Emily and Alex stumbling back from each other. A wide Cheshire Cat grin spread across Clara's face. "Am I interrupting something?"
Emily glowered at her. "Yes, actually... Would you mind making yourself scarce?"
"I would, actually," Clara replied, moving further into the kitchen to inspect the Chinese food containers. She proceeded to pop an egg roll into her mouth and ask with her mouth full, "So, you're the infamous Alex Blake?"
Deliberately avoiding Clara's gaze, Alex nodded.
Clara just laughed. "I think I finally get why Emily's got her panties in a bunch over you..."
Emily proceeded to flush about eight different shades of red. "Clara," she hissed. "Do you mind?"
Apparently, she did, in fact, mind...because she made no move to leave the two of them to their date. "You would not believe what the WEST Society is doing..." she grumbled, as if she were a part of the conversation.
"WEST Society?" Alex asked quizzically, too polite to resist carrying on the conversation.
"Wizards, Enchanters, Sorcerers, and Tricksters," Emily explained, still glaring at Clara.
Continuing on as if she hadn't heard, Clara said, "They're revoking the memberships of the Atlanteans..." She was visibly fuming as she said the words aloud. "They've decided that they're not technically 'magic users', so they're booting them all out of the Society and stripping them of their membership."
And, even though Emily was obviously pissed off over the interruption, she couldn't resist comforting her friend. To Alex, she offered an apologetic smile and a little sigh. It looked like they were destined to spend at least one more night apart...