In this chapter things are starting to heat up between Alexandra and Jamison. Alexandra finds Jamison much more daunting than she first thought he would be. She also finds him intelligent, kind and generous. More interestingly is she finds him down right demanding, attractive, sexy and a lot more fun. Jamison finds Alex tests his patience and his will. This could be an interesting life lesson, for both of them. One she is really looking forward to explore with him; one he can't wait to lead her on. I hope you continue to follow Alexandra and Jamison's journey. Enjoy the read!
~~~~~~~~
The drive home starts off in silence. Then Jamie asks her an unexpected question. "Alexandra, do you think you can trust me enough to come to my place tonight instead of me taking you home?" He isn't sure how she will answer, but he is hoping for a yes.
She looks at him, only able to see his profile muted by the street lights as they drive down the street. He is heading to her apartment and she is curious as to why he wants to change the plan.
Rule one: Be honest, be truthful.
"To be honest, I'm not exactly sure how much I can trust you just yet. Truthfully, just getting into your car alone with you is pretty trusting for me." She can see his face change a little, even though he tries to maintain his affect as neutral as possible.
She actually thinks that maybe she just hurt his feelings. She doesn't want to hurt him. She doesn't understand why, but she feels bad about it. Alex reaches over and lightly places her hand on his forearm as his hand rests on the steering wheel. The small but thoughtful gesture gets his attention and he looks at her. "I am genuinely able to say that I trust you more now than I did at dinner. I think it wise to question just how much I trust you considering we just met several hours ago. Yet, it seems like we have known each other a lot longer. I'll even go as far as to say, I feel more comfortable talking with you right now, than I did when we left the trinity."
He smiles and is a little relieved as he asks, "Why is that do you think?"
"I think it's because you were so moving when you told me I didn't need to be scared, or nervous, that you would never lie to me, cheat on me, or hurt me. Well not really hurt me, you know what I mean. After you said all of those things and tried to make me feel safe and open to what may happen, it was like my gut said I could trust you."
Smiling as she looks at him as he drives, she continues to share her thoughts and feelings with him. "Then after your call with Ashley, when you...well, when you were totally up front with me about things, I actually felt even more comfortable with you. Before that, even though I knew what Ashley told me, it was like you were keeping a secret. It isn't just a secret; it's part of you. Part of what makes you the man you are; it's part of who you really are as a person. Once I knew that you were willing to share such an intimate detail about your life and trust me with that information, I guess, I felt some sort of shared bond." She starts laughing as she continues to look at him.
"What's so funny?" He is perplexed by her laughter after such intuitive thoughts.
"I'm just listening to myself describe how I feel about you now as compared to earlier this evening. I'm telling you how I trust you more now and my comfort level with you is better, I realized something rather funny."
"What to share it with the class?" He says with a raised eyebrow and a questioning look on his face.
"Well Mr. Montgomery, I realized, you are an acquired taste. It may take time, but I think eventually, you grow on people. That is if you give them a chance before you scare them off." Alex's voice is light and playful, but Jamie realizes that there is truth in what she says about scaring people off. It's been easier for him to do that than to risk getting burned again.
"Ah, so I'm like a good wine? I like that analogy."
She laughs and responds with words laden with sarcasm as she teases with him. "I was thinking more like a tattoo. Extremely painful at first, but as you look at it more closely and identify the finer points, you can appreciate its intricacies. I'm sure with time it becomes more attractive, more beautiful, and the closer you look, the more you understand about its' detailing." Alex is very thoughtful as she speaks there is no harshness or criticism in her voice. She means it in the kindest of ways but she isn't use to using analogies or metaphors to describe her feelings or thoughts. In fact, she isn't use to having to describe her feelings or thoughts at all.
Jamie looks across the front seat to her. "I don't know whether or not that is a complement, but I'm going to take it as one."
"It is." She smiles. "It is."
"Then that takes me back to my original question. Will you trust me enough to come home with me tonight?"
"I don't want you to get mad, but I need to ask another question before answering? Is that ok with you?"
"I'd be amazed if you didn't." He is being playful and Alex realizes that. She actually likes his playful side.
"Why the change in plans? Why do you want to go to your place instead of my apartment as originally discussed?" She looks at him closely. She is monitoring his tone, his expression, anything that will shed light on the change in plan.
"It's simple. At my place we can talk freely and I can not only talk to you about things, but I can show you things. Show you more about my life and what it entails. Explain to you about how your life will change if you decide to explore a relationship with me. Show you what you will be getting into by making any type of commitment. Make no mistake about it Alexandra; it will be a commitment you make, to me, to us, and to yourself. I won't accept anything less from you and I won't offer you anything less. You will either decide it's something you want to pursue or decide it's not for you. At my place, you will get a more detailed picture and if you decide no, then we've only lost 24 hours. What do you say?"
Alex hesitates a few moments, thinking about what he has said before she answers him. "Ok. Your house it is, but that doesn't mean I'm committing to anything other than conversation and information sharing." Alex doesn't quite know why she feels this way, but she trusts him. She knows he won't hurt her, she knows she is safe with him. She even knows it won't be long before she tells him that. She feels these things in her gut and her gut is rarely wrong. Her feelings toward him have been a ball of confusion from the minute she exited that taxi.
Jamie doesn't hesitate; he passes right by her apartment and heads for I-76 west. He lives about thirty minutes outside of the city, in Upper Marion, and at the speed he is driving they will be there in no time. That is if they don't get pulled over by highway patrol.
~~~~~~~~
When they arrive at his place, Alex realizes it is more than a house. It is a mansion. It even comes with the big rod iron initialed gate. He presses a button on his visor and the gate opens. Automatically, the driveway is lit up like a landing strip. The lights must be motion sensitive because as he drives the car up the long curved drive, the lights come on in front of them.
It isn't a new home; it appears to be Tutor styled, most likely from the 1930's or 40's. The exterior and the grounds look to be well kept. Jamie pulls in front of the house and parks. Opening her door, Jamie helps Alex out and walks her into his home. He watches her intently as they enter the house.
It is a huge entry way. The staircase to the upstairs is set back on their right. Immediately to the right is a set of heavy dark wood double doors. They are pocket doors, but they are left partially opened. Looking into the room you can see it is a home office and library. To the left is a larger sitting room. It looks comfortable and it is where Jamie guides Alex.
As they enter the room, she realizes what a masculine room it is. The furniture is large and bulky but very comfortable looking. The colors are dark. The majority of the furniture consists of dark brown wood with a slightly lighter brown soft leather cushion to them. Even the lighting is dim. The ceiling light fixtures are off; the only light is from a few lamps with low wattage bulbs. The walls are a shade of celery green. The only lively color comes from the curtains and throw pillows. The curtains are a deep emerald green and the throw pillows are a rich golden color with some green accents. The floor is a wide plank dark wood, but there is a huge Persian rug covering it. The rug is the focal point of the room. It brings life into the room. It consists of deep jewel colors, reds, blues, greens and gold's. All in all, it is a man's room, all strong and sturdy in look and function. Not unlike its owner.
After looking around, Alex realizes what stands out most, in both rooms, is the cleanliness, the order and organization of the rooms. The desk in the office is huge; it's made of heavy dark black wood. It shines like ice it has been waxed so much. The legs are thick and sturdy. It looks rather sturdy, like it is made to hold much more weight than would be required of a desk. It's clean of papers and only has a few essential items on it. You can tell that both rooms are used, but kept clean and neat. Nothing extra in either of the rooms and everything present has purpose. Alex realizes they have that in common. Her apartment is the same way. If something doesn't serve a purpose for her, it doesn't stay around for long.
Jamie guides Alex to the couch with his hand on her back. "Please sit down and relax." As Alex sits, Jamie excuses himself for a minute. He walks out of the room and down the hall past the stairs. When he returns, he is carrying a tray with two wine glasses and an open bottle of white wine. He noticed at Stephan's that Alex was drinking white wine. Even though he prefers a rich bodied red, he wants her to enjoy the wine, so he chooses a sweeter white, similar to what she had earlier. He sets the tray down in front of Alex. He has the bottle open, but then he just sits down next to Alex and looks at her. He requests Alex to "pour and serve the wine." The way he states it makes her think he is giving her permission to do it rather than asking her to do it.
She thinks it odd, but does as requested. Alex isn't one to drink often, but she does enjoy a good glass of wine. She pours both glasses half full and simultaneous lifts the two glasses handing one to Jamie as she sips from hers.
Jamie shakes his head with a look of disappointment. "Alexandra, when you pour and serve wine, you pour one glass and serve it. Then you pour your glass. You don't drink your wine while serving."
"Well," she starts off with a little bit of attitude, "you can always pour your own. And by the way, did you just ask me to pour or give me permission to do so?"
Jamie can hear the sarcasm in her voice. He stops and returns his glass to the tray. He gets up and stands directly in front of Alex. He is barely an inch from her. Alex feels his presence through every inch of her body. He is standing so close, she has to tilt her head up to look at him. "Ms. Newman, if we are to have our conversation, I am going to have to insist on a few things."
"Of course you do. It won't be a conversation if you don't have rules for it. Am I right?" Now the sarcasm is dripping off her tongue.
Who does he think he is; I come here for him and he treats me like I'm his servant?
Holding her chin so that he forces Alex to look up at him, he starts, "First, as we discussed earlier this evening, there will be no lies. Not little white ones and definitely no lies of omission. Are you in agreement?"
"Didn't I agree to this already?" A little frustration can be heard in her voice.
"Yes. But I want to make sure that we are clear on this. If you agree that it is completely understood, then I will not ask it again. Unless of course I believe you to be in non-compliance with rule number one."
"It is completely understood. No lies, truth only. Can we move on?"
He is becoming annoyed with her but reminds himself that this is new to her. "Second, there will be no half-truths. We will either tell the truth or there is no reason to continue. Are you in agreement?"
"Yes. Yes to all the questions regarding telling the truth. Next." She takes another sip of her wine.
