"You did what?" Will found himself at home for lunch from much insistence from Grace. She called him and pulled him out of an incredibly inane and tedious meeting. It was the least he could do.
"I took your assistant out to dinner." Will said again, slower and more carefully. "And I'm going to take her out to dinner again tonight. And might kiss her again."
"That!" She said pointing a finger at him. "You said again. You kissed her before, barely two weeks after you met her. You knew of her and you didn't show anything to get to know her more. And now that she's my assistant you want to take her out to dinner and kiss her?"
"Why are you so upset about this?" Will asked. "I didn't know I had to ask your permission to ask a woman I find fascinating out to dinner."
"She's my assistant! If you sleep with her do you know how awkward that's going to be?" Grace said, shoving a fork into her food. "Not that you will sleep with her because you're gay, but still."
"I have thought about it." Will said, slowly, risking a glance up at Grace who was doing a superb reenactment of a fish. He knew it was going to be a risk telling her that, because for the past two days that's all he had been thinking about.
He didn't expect to kiss her when he did. He was going to wait and wait until he felt like the time was right. But when she stood there in the dim light of her apartment, still dressed in her coat and pants, her hair slightly undone, she looked gorgeous and he took the chance. And when she pushed him away, he could have sworn he saw a small smile when he walked out the door. It was that small small that drove him to ask her for another date.
It might have been why he ordered three glasses of water before she showed up in an outfit that was tighter from the other night. She looked good even though she seemed like she was in a rush. Her cheeks were a bright red and her eyes were a bit red, like she had been crying yet had stopped a while before. She wiped at her eyes quickly before she sat down. And when she did she looked up at him with a wide smile as if nothing was bothering her.
"Sorry I'm late," She apologized. "Traffic was hell." Will glanced over Karen's shoulder and didn't see a single stopped car. He just shrugged and took a drink of his water.
"How was your day?" He probed. She took a second, looked at him with a quick flash of something in her eyes, before reaching for her napkin and shaking it out.
"It was interesting. Grace landed a new client and we started working on the plans for the room." She smiled. "The people bought a new house and asked Grace to decorate the entire thing. It's a woodsy type of place on the Cape or someplace."
Will listened to Karen with half an ear. Grace had already called him and asked him if it would be all right for her to work on the project. She didn't need his permission, but it was nice to be asked. It was her business, her clients, and all he did was hear about it. Karen continued to talk about the people who Grace described as incredibly familial and yet incredibly crazy. Will couldn't help laugh and nod his head.
At the mention of a father, her excitement levels seemed to have lowered. It was obviously something she didn't want to talk about. It was just another thing to add to the never-ending list of things about her that he wanted to know. "Do you want to go for a walk?" Will asked once they were done and heading to the door. Karen nodded and looked at his hand when he slipped it into hers.
Her hand intertwined with his felt right. He was warm and strong; something she needed long time ago and still needs now but hasn't gotten it. Yet. Taking it one step closer, Karen buried herself into Will's side, still holding onto his hand, and leaned her head on his shoulder. The New York chill was creeping up on them and didn't hit them in its entirety until they hit close to Broadway. The walk wasn't too bad and if they needed to stop and jump in a car there was always one behind them. She was wondering who and what type of person he was to need a car or to have one constantly following him around. His parents had money; the parent's house was incredibly 'rich.'
If he grew up rolling in wealth Will didn't flaunt it. He was making his own money and didn't need to have anything from his parents. They didn't need to support him in anyway anymore and that freedom must have been nice. It seemed to Karen that she always had some sort of ties to her parents whether she liked it or not and at times it became suffocating. But there was nothing more suffocating that popped airbags at the age of sixteen and the news of a death. Nothing could compare.
Will stopped and pulled Karen into a small alcove and pushed her up against the wall, dropping his lips to hers. She gasped at the sudden coldness of his hands at her sides, but the contrast made it better. Her hands wove them into his hair and she grasped at the edges of his hair, pulling on it. She felt the urge to have him right then and there, and the way he was pushing her against the wall made her think that he wanted her too. But the honk of a car, the lights blinding them, as they broke apart, forced the moment to die.
He could have ran. He had every right to do so, but he just laced her fingers with his and pulled her into his side, draping an arm around her. There was a sudden need to be close to her. It was a need that almost had to be filled. It was a necessity. No words had been spoken about it the entire way back to her apartment and yet it didn't seem to matter.
They kissed at the door. The end of the date was slowly coming to an end whether she wanted it to or not. Standing there, with her back pressed against her door, his fingers in her hair, she had an idea that sounded completely brilliant. She was inviting him in and she did. And he accepted.
"Do you want some wine?" She offered, stripping of her coat and hanging it up by the door. "I have both red and white."
"Red is fine." He said. The atmosphere had turned a bit awkward in the next few minutes. They were trying to find something to converse about and the need to jump into bed together was so thick, no knife would be able to cut it, unless it was a saw.
He hadn't realized she had slipped off her shoes until she came padding over to him with a glass of red wine in her hand. She wasn't short but she wasn't as tall as she used to be with heels on. It was then that he realized he preferred her much more barefoot or clad in socks than in heels. It made it seem more natural and less forced to be someone else.
"What were you crying about when you walked into the restaurant." He hadn't intended the question to sound mean or accusing in anyway and it made him cringe after he said it. "I mean-"
"My dad died today," She said quickly. "It was a long time ago and I'm reminded of it every year and I'd rather not talk about it right now."
"Okay." He said dropping down into her couch that she had dropped herself into moment earlier. He draped an arm on the back of the couch, his fingers itching to have them buried in that hair.
She had her head on his chest when there was a knock on the door. Glancing at the clock, she cursed herself under her breathe. They had fallen asleep and she forgot she was supposed to be meeting with someone. And that person was most likely at the door. Will was still asleep with his arm draped around her shoulders, not too tight and not loose either. Luckily she was able to get out of his grip and to the door.
Will felt her shift and heard the door open and close. Stretching out on the couch, he caught the time and realized Grace would be home any minute to talk about her date that went well or not. If it was a bad date she'd say "He talked about…' or 'He smells like..' If it was a bad date she had to entertain herself and that was one of the things she did. And if it were a good date she would say it was good right away.
He was lying back with his eyes covered by his arm when she came tip toeing back in. And tiptoeing was putting it lightly. She hit herself on the edge of the table that was by the door and a light curse escaped her lips. The smile and laugh that he tried to suppress escaped and it no doubt stopped her. He peaked open an eye and looked in the general direction of where she should be and watched her as she struggled to regain her composure. To play it off she sauntered toward him and leaned over and kissed him. And when she was put on her back all else went away. She had to feel overpowered. It was a necessity.