Just Like Sugar
Disclaimer: Previously disclaimed in chapters 1-8.
Blah, Blah, Blah. STORYTIME. Remember, italics that aren't in quotations are Alex's thoughts.
9
/
It only took Alex two hours to explain to her parents absolutely everything. Of course, she'd conveniently altered her 'why'.
"It was just time for me to leave. I couldn't stay. There was a world calling me."
Once they'd finished with tears, everyone settled around the dinner table, taking in the sight of Alex, catching up on the smallest of things. Max told Alex everything there was to tell about being the family wizard. About how Justin refused to compete in the competition. About how he had to get from Dubai and back to America for Rose's birth. How he'd missed Lilly's. About his long-time girlfriend, the Substation's most popular waitress, a pre-Med student studying to be an OB/GYN (whatever the hell that was). About absolutely everything.
And that was all it took for Alex to realize how much she'd missed and how little she concerned herself with asking Justin.
"Alex," her mother blurted, "where are you staying?"
"With Justin and Juliet," she answered, pursing her lips together, placing the coffee mug against her mouth, "they gave me the guest cottage. Temporary, I'm sure."
"Really?" Jerry nodded, "It's nice there, isn't it? They redid the whole house. Juliet had your room remodeled for the girls; it's the most adorable playroom." Theresa saw the expression on her daughter's face change and silently she nudged him as a warning.
"I thought it was a shitty idea," Max offered, "even Justin was against it but Juliet just wouldn't let go. She just went on and on—"
The front door slammed open, "You guys, I can't do that alone done there. Those waiters, they're idiots. Who puts ham on a veggie sandwich?" It was pregnant girl and she looked like hell. What was she doing in the house? Why was she—
Alex watched as Max jumped to his feet. Oh shit. "Babe, come here, you need to meet someone," he grabbed her hand and led her over. "Sawyer, this is my sister everyone has told you about, Alex. Alex, this is my girlfriend, Sawyer."
"You're the freak," Sawyer extended her skinny hand, "from earlier, I mean. God, you're pretty, I wish I'd seen pictures."
"You've never seen pictures of me?" Alex shook her hand, unable to rip her eyes away from Sawyer's bulging belly.
"No, I mean, I've only been around for about a year and a half so…"
Theresa reached out for Alex's free hand, "We got the house remodeled right before Max and Sawyer met. The therapist that Juliet referred us to, said that we needed to put away all of our photos, to start looking forward, keep you in our hearts."
"Must have been one hell of a therapist," Alex said, "so, you're pregnant. Max, she's pregnant. I guess I have to bring it up myself. Great new topic of conversation."
"Oh yeah," Max beamed placing his hand over her stomach, "we're having a baby!"
"Did I miss this wedding, too?"
"Oh God no," Sawyer shook her head, "we're committed to each other enough for now. The whole marriage thing is out of our reach at the moment."
"How far along are you?" Alex was growing more and more conscious of her surroundings. There were no pictures, of anyone. There were paintings, however, of miscellaneous things such as sailboats and bowls of colored fruit and… untied shoes. The lamp, mom's favorite lamp was gone. The lamp that Alex, Justin and Max spent half their lifetime on breaking and piecing back together was no longer on top of the bookshelf. And the bookshelf, that was gone, too. Everything was just so different it seemed transparent, almost as if it didn't exist.
"Four months or so," Sawyer shrugged as she made her way over to the couch, plopping down comfortably.
"Four month, two weeks and three days," Max clarified. There was a sparkle in his eye as he spoke about her. In fact, Alex noticed it earlier when he first began to talk about her. The couple smiled at each other lovingly before turning back to Alex and the family.
"So, did I miss the story on why Alex went M.I.A?"
/
"Hello? Is anybody here?" Her voice echoed throughout the foyer, in return she heard silence. Alex walked down a little further, on her way towards the living room when all of a sudden, the pitter-patter sound of footsteps erupted behind her. A pair of arms wrapped around her legs.
"Auntie Alex! Rose is being a doodle," Lilly whimpered, "she's chasing me with a froggy from the Enchanted Forest!"
Alex looked down and smiled at her niece's pretty blue eyes. They were a match, an exact match to Justin's. And with that said, they were just as captivating. "Awh, Lilly, is she, really?"
"She's being a doodle!"
Alex laughed heartily, pinching Lilly's nose, "Well, we'll just have to get her back tonight when I babysit, okay." You know, for this kid to only be two, she's disturbingly articulate. Day school.
"You're ba-by-si-tting?" Alex nodded, hoisting the small child up onto her hip.
"You imbecile, come back here! If you kiss the frog, it turns into a prince!" Rose slid around the corner from the staircase, a slimy green creature in hand. "Oh, Auntie Alex, this is awkward."
"Rose," Alex said authoritatively, "looks like I've caught you red-handed," she stepped closer, "or would that be considered green-handed?"
Juliet came downstairs, attempting to fasten her earring in her ear. She was dressed to the nines in a long-sleeve black lace dress, in the back a large diamond shaped cutout. It was quite promiscuous, very alluring. All for Justin, of course. Her golden tresses were tussled loosely the left in long beachy waves. Juliet could have been royalty and Alex couldn't have been more revolted.
"Oh great, Alex, you're home," Juliet said rounding the corner in her patent leather platforms, "the chef, Clinton will be here in an hour to cook for you guys. He'll cook whatever it is that you want. He's a sweet guy, Alex."
Alex furrowed her eye brows together, "Hello to you, too, Juliet."
"I'm going to the Bloch Estate for dinner tonight. Justin told me he'd try to make it, but things are running long over at the hospital so if he comes home instead, let him go to bed," Juliet directed her eyes at her two daughters and then, to Alex, "leave him be."
Once she turned away, Alex made a face at her, Rose and Lilly following. The three began to snicker quietly to themselves. Juliet grabbed her bag off of the side table, checking her reflection in the- oh wait. Can she do that?
"I'm off girls," Juliet smiled hurrying back to kiss her girls; "Mommy loves you, and be good for Alex." It was a peculiar sight, seeing Juliet with children, seeing Juliet so adult like, so perfect. Lilly laid her head down on Alex's shoulder, wrapping her arms around her neck loosely.
Just as Juliet headed for the door, she turned back, "Oh and Alex, I told Clinton that you were single, if that's okay."
A smile appeared on her face as she opened the big French doors, watching Alex's jaw drop respectively, and then, off she disappeared into the night.
/
Alex sat at the island quietly; Rose and Lilly off in the living room playing in their 'Enchanted Magic Fortress' they'd built using the couch cushions and every available item of use within the vicinity of the household. Clinton would be here any minute now, ready to cook to Alex's heart's desire. And Juliet, oh Juliet, thank you Juliet for absolutely everything you've ever done.
"Hello? Is anyone here?" The voice was deep and foreign, unfamiliar. There was an accent, a British one. Shit. Alex jumped to her feet and looked around frantically, eyes wide and in panic mode. What would Mason be doing here?
"Duchess Alex!" Rose's voice screamed from the living area- ahem, excuse me- the Enchanted Magic Fortress, "Sir Clinton the 'Chef' is here!"
"He's British?" Alex wondered aloud, still antsy. Today wasn't exactly the best day to be meeting British cooks in big fancy mansions, especially not after what happened earlier, with Justin, in his private study.
"Uhm, hello," a tall, blonde-haired, blue eyed man appeared at the door, "I'm Clinton. You must be Alex." His voice was low and somewhat seductive as was the light colored scruff on his face. Clinton was dressed casually in a cotton blue t-shirt and jeans, certainly not chef attire. This was a set-up. Is this a set-up?
"Y-yeah, I'm Alex," she answered, flustered. Briefly the two shook hands and he began to search through the cupboards.
"So, do you normally come into people's homes, introduce yourself and immediately begin to rummage through their cabinets?" Alex placed her hands on her hips, resisting the sudden urge to look at his butt. But alas, Alex, the big ole failure, allowed her eyes to wander and—
"Hmph, it's not as cute as Justin's," she muttered out loud.
"Excuse me?" Clinton turned around, eyebrows raised in curiosity. Alex slapped her hand over her mouth and shook her head furiously, closing her eyes tight. What in the hell did she just say? WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU ALEX? Did you really just say that?
"Nothing," she exclaimed nervously, "I have a tendency to blurt random, irrelevant and disturbing things."
Clinton smiled, "Surely, you're not the only one in the world. I do it, too."
Rose appeared at the door with Lilly close behind. The two were dressed in plastic princess slippers, fairy wings and blankets tied about their necks as if they were capes. Alex and Clinton giggled amusedly at the two young children. "Do what?" Rose climbed onto the nearest chair, inquiring blue eyes glistening with innocence.
"I blurt random, irrelevant and disturbing things like your Aunt Alex," Clinton smiled organizing his chosen spices on the far counter.
Lilly waddled her way over to Alex and reached her arms up expectantly, "What's ire-reb-ervant?" Lilly forced the word out of her mouth as Alex hoisted her up into her arms. Alex stroked her dark curly hair lovingly and Lilly laid her head down on her shoulder.
"It's irrelevant, Sir Poops A Lot," Rose stated matter of factly as she pounded her dolls down on the snow white countertop, "and it means that something isn't important."
"You know it disturbs me how smart you are," Alex stated dryly, resisting the urge to add another sarcastic comment. What frightened her a bit more was the fact that Rose would likely understand the concept of sarcasm and use it wisely to her advantage intentionally rather than unknowingly.
"Anyway," Rose continued, "why do you guys blurt irrelevant things?"
Clinton seemed to go over his answer in his head before shrugging casually, "I believe it's because it's fun." Alex slapped her hand over her forehead, leaning over the counter, amused by Clinton's silliness.
"Oh God," she moaned in humiliation.
Lilly slapped her hand onto her forehead and leaned as close to the counter as she could get on her aunt's lap repeating, "Oh God," in the same blushing manner.
"Go on Rose," Clinton smiled, grabbing a kitchen towel, wiping at the counter, "try it. Blurt something out, random and irrelevant." He stooped down and patted Rose on the knee encouragingly.
The four-year-old took a deep breath and nodded simply before yelling out, "Dolly Parton!"
Alex quirked an eyebrow, how in the world did Rose even know Dolly Parton… or that she even existed? She shrugged, emitted a small laugh because whatever the case may have been, it was pretty irrelevant.
"Can I try?" Lilly peeped from her spot on Alex's lap.
"Sure, just don't say anything stupid, Lilly Pad," Rose eyed her sister precariously.
/
The grass was wet beneath Alex's bare feet as she padded across the lawn toward her cottage. The only light around her was provided by the moon and the sparkling pool lights. It was a beautiful summer night. Thick with warm air and silence possibly, a new relationship of sorts.
Although Clinton was incredible, (a hands on cooking lesson and he fed her, it was like Jesus had sent him from the land of Chivalry) Alex wasn't exactly sure as to what she felt towards him. Was she romantically interested? Sexually interested? Or was it all really platonic in that FriendsWithBenefits sort of way? They shared plenty of laughs and had more than enough in common. He liked her contrasting interest The Foo Fighters and Beyonce. She found his flesh colored scruff puzzling. Clinton rode a motorcycle and Alex thought that was sexy. It was all so perpendicular and perfect in their give and take characteristics. But even in all of that, Alex couldn't help but think of Justin.
Justin, who never made it to the dinner party, allowed his wife to come home alone and miserable with a plateful of leftovers that no one really wanted. I had a gourmet breakfast for dinner, screw your filet mignon, Juliet. With the incoming of Juliet's sadness, Clinton seemed to disappear into the night with a kiss on the hand and a simple farewell, leaving Alex alone with her thoughts of her older brother. Who, by the way, she'd just kissed only hours before. It wasn't fair to have to be this complicated. As if magic hadn't been enough.
Alex finally reached her doorstep, exhaustion oozing through her fingers as she reached lazily for the doorknob. Just as her fingers made contact, the doorknob slipped away and wrenched open in front of her. She was yanked inside, the door slammed behind her and pushed against the nearest wall.
"Justin?" Sure, she couldn't see a thing, but she knew his touch anywhere. Did that come out wrong… like, mentally? His hands were gentle but of course, strong. His breath smelled of grapefruit flavored Ice Breakers , his hair of organic shampoo, skin of Twilight Woods for Men (dork.). "I swear to God, this better be you, or else I'm going to nut punch you really hard."
"Alex, would you shut up?" Justin hissed, averting his light eyes to the closest window.
Alex wriggled herself free from his grip, dropping her shoes to the floor. Her living room was dark and she couldn't see where exactly she'd dropped her shoes, but who cared? Not me. A tingly sensation seemed to linger around the areas Justin had touched and it was unsettling. Her mouth was dry now and she needed water. Steadfast, Alex hustled over towards the little kitchenette. In her hurry, she jabbed her toe hard into the granite covered island eliciting a string of curse words from her mouth. She seemed to pair them in the most random of couplets as the sharp pain shot up through her lower left calf.
"Are you okay?" Justin asked carefully. He stood in front of her only seconds later, staring down over her seemingly hobbled figure. The sudden close proximity frightened Alex and she backed away. Away and into a wall. What the fuck? Justin's eyes were focused on her foot that she was holding, rubbing gingerly.
"I'm fine," her response was oozing with sarcasm but instead a large amount of vulnerability melted out from her core. (A/N: that better not sound dirty.)
Her tone of voice was Justin's signal and then, finally, they're eyes met. He pressed away at the tension between them until it disappeared completely, until their bodies were touching and there was no room for mistake. Justin leaned his forehead against Alex's, relieved to have at last, found the right moment.
"Now is where you need me," Alex spoke softly, hesitantly reaching up to stroke his cheeks, "isn't it?"
Closing his tired eyes at her touch, Justin nodded quietly. It had been so long since he'd felt at peace with himself. Everything felt right at once. There was no time left for thinking.
"We're going to kiss soon… aren't we?"
Justin didn't know whether to remain silent or to finally speak. But it didn't matter for long because his lips took it upon themselves to crash unto hers. Their kisses were feverish for awhile, as if they were merely relishing in the fact they were getting so close. Alex grabbed for handfuls of his hair, working hard to control herself. Her efforts were proven futile as a moan slipped from her lips. He tasted just as good as he smelled. He tasted like the memories she'd put away so long ago. Justin couldn't keep his hands still. He wanted her close and then closer and after that, even closer. The slivers of bare skin taunted him. They'd ease under his skin, hot and covered in goose bumps and then she would adjust and her skin was once again hidden beneath her clothes. Justin slipped his tongue across her lower lip, yearning for an entrance. Alex smiled and granted him access, pulling him closer (suffocation was obviously an option here). It all felt so… wonderful.
Justin's hand slid down her back, along the curve of her bottom (a bit more slowly than necessary, not that she minded) before clenching at her thigh. Alex lifted herself into his arms, not bothering to pause for breath. For a moment, Justin pressed his pelvis forward against Alex alerting her of what he wanted. She threw her head back against the wall, crying out in pleasure. My fucking mother of all things wonderful. Justin reached up and caressed her neck. She'd always liked that. He began walking backwards, leaving the kitchen, ready to get to her bedroom.
"No sex," she blurted against his mouth.
"No sex?"
"No sex," she purred a bit threateningly. At any given point, Alex could end all of this… not that she was going to, but the threat was enough to kill his sex drive.
"No sex," Justin nodded pushing the door to her room open, "that's kind of depressing."
/
Hours later, Justin and Alex lay cradled against each other, exhausted. The room was quiet and only the sounds of their breathing gave way. Alex looked up to the wall across from her coolly chewing away at her lip. Their fingers intertwined together expertly in the dark, matching perfectly in size.
"I wish this didn't have to end," Justin exhaled heavily boring his face into Alex's dark hair.
"You have two children, Justin. Don't be irrational," Alex pulled Justin's hand close over her stomach. It felt better to have him closer, by whatever means necessary.
"No, not that, I mean… then, before you left—"
"Before Juliet came back?" Alex cut in knowingly. This conversation was inevitable. Sooner or later, Alex knew that they'd have to talk about the past and all of the hurt feelings they'd left behind and unresolved. It would be better if they could just forget it all, let it go. However, when dealing with Justin, letting go without talking about it, was impossible.
"The second I found her, it was like everything changed," Justin said thoughtfully.
"And you understand why, right?" Alex sat up, turning to face Justin, being mindful to not let go of his hand. Justin looked at her patiently, squeezing her hand encouragingly, "Once you brought her back, you chose her over me. We were over before she had the chance get here."
"That was the first girl I ever loved, Alex," Justin reasoned. Obviously, Alex didn't hide her sudden disappointment very well because it was clear that Justin recognized the crestfallen look on her face. "I know, it's not what you want to hear, that I took the first chance I could get to escape dealing with what was going on with us. That I was selfish and settled for Juliet in order to keep from admitting how strongly I felt about you," Justin stroked her cheek softly.
Even in the dark, it was clear that her eyes had gone blank, "I don't want to hear it," she said softly, turning her head away.
"Alex, please," Justin begged, "for once in your life, listen to me."
"I wanted to listen to you then, it backfired. I will never understand why you chose her over me and I don't want you to waste your time trying to explain it," she hissed, trying hard not to allow any tears to fall.
"You would have understood had you not left," Justin said under his breath.
"I left with good intentions. What I told you when I first got here, was completely true. I thought it would help." Alex looked around the room frantically, in hopes that she could hide her tears away, "You were in college, you'd finally gotten Juliet back, it was time for you to start your life. And I needed to start mine. Us, together, it wouldn't have been possible, we would have been stuck."
Justin leaned in closer to her face, lips parted, "Well look, you're back now, and here we go again," he finished. Unable to contain herself, Alex interrupted, this time with a kiss that deepened immediately.
And so the circle of torture began once again.
/
I feel as if a lot of my metaphors came across as dirty, and that was annoying. But ah well, I finally finished this chapter and now I must begin working on the other. I hope to be back soon. I'm not liking the final WOWP season so far and I haven't found many crazy good stories to occupy myself with soooo…. I CAN'T FIND ANY INSPIRATION.
Whatever. Please review? I'd really enjoy it!
:)(: Mikki