Scarlett McLaggen (![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} starlitscarlett) wrote in ![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} 20somethings,@ 2022-03-06 22:39:00 |
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Who: Aldrich & Scarlett
What: Kenzie has set the pair up to force them to resolve their issues.
When: 6 March 2028
Where: Wes' house library
Warnings: NSFW, language
Completion Status: Complete
The invitation from Kenzie had been... awkward, but she’d called and personally invited him. Wes Carlisle, the man that Aldrich suspected Violet was in love with, was having a very exclusive and private party tonight. There were two rules, phones and wands at the door. He could work with that, he had a small notebook that he’d jot down notes in as he rubbed elbows with the more elite. Maybe he’d find himself another book deal, one for once he was done with Violet’s.
Not knowing what to wear for a party of Wes Carlisle magnitude, Aldrich had shown up in the best he had, one of his deep blue suits that made his eyes pop. His short locks had been tussled up so that they looked carelessly mussed. The smile was fake as he arrived at the front door, greeted by his cousin Kenzie.
Of course he had arrived early, and so she explained no sensible person would arrive early. She was still getting ready, so she was going to go find Wes to help finish up. He was to wait for her in one of the ridiculously large rooms that Wes had in his house on the main floor. He fell easily onto a couch, nervously glancing around the room. How long before the next person arrived? Was Kenzie right, everyone else would be fashionably late?
Far be it for Scarlett to ever turn down an exclusive invite to a party thrown by Wes Carlisle. Even though she probably never would have landed him if not for Kenzie's connection to the man, Scarlett was not one to pass up an opportunity. She'd worn a bright, skimpy cocktail dress and heels, leaving her cloak with her wand and phone when she'd arrived. Although she thought it a bit strange that locking up wands and phones was required for this party, she assumed it meant Wes had something particularly debaucherous planned for tonight, and she could hardly wait for whatever it would be.
Although she'd arrived nearly ten minutes late, there weren't many people about yet, and she was surprised when Kenzie led her to the library and told her she was to wait there until Kenzie came for her. It wasn't like any party of his she'd been to before, but when it came down to it, Scarlett trusted Kenzie. Of course, once she was in the library, doors appearing out of nowhere to shut her in, she spotted Aldrich and questioned whether trusting Kenzie was such a good idea.
"How'd you get invited to this thing?" she asked tactlessly, distaste lacing her tone.
Out of everyone that could have shown up, Aldrich hadn't expected to see Scarlett walk in. The moment he saw her, he knew Kenzie was up to something. There was no party, his younger cousin had pulled one over on him.
Her words hurt, it was more the tone. How was he such scum to her now? All he had done was love her!
He met her words with a bored eye roll, shaking his head. "You're crazy if you think there's any party that Kenzie would invite the two of us to that wasn't family related," he got out, though he didn't rise from his seat. His face was feeling awful warm.
Scarlett raised a brow at him, wondering if he realized how much of a self-own his words had been. She got invited to all the parties, and she didn't have any insecurity about Kenzie's feelings toward her. "And yet, here you are," she pointed out dryly. Rolling her eyes, she turned and went to the doors, but they didn't budge. Great. Was this why they'd had to check their wands and phones? Stupid meddling best friend!
"I wonder how long she'll keep us locked in here," she mused before banging on the door. Maybe Kenzie would take pity on her and let her out.
There was little surprise on his face when he saw Kenzie had locked them in. He let out a sigh of his own, pushing himself up from the couch then. Maybe he could find them a way out.
"As much as we both hope she will open it right back up, I get the suspicion that she thinks she's helping us," he said with an exasperated noise. He knew Kenzie meant well, but he had told himself after Melissa passed he wouldn't push himself on anyone. Scarlett didn't want to be with him, he was starting to get it through his thick head.
Had she bitched about Aldrich too much since their ill-fated trip to Paris? Had Kenzie misunderstood it and assumed that she was harboring feelings for the idiot? Was it really possible that Kenzie thought she was helping them? It didn't make any sense to Scarlett, having thought that her best friend was on the same page as her when it came to monogamy and all that ridiculousness that Aldrich clearly wanted. And even if she were interested in that sort of thing, he'd humiliated her in Paris.
And she knew she would never fit in with his family, anyway.
Not that she wanted to.
"Helping us what? Because from where I'm standing, there's nothing to help. You decided that when you were a complete idiot in Paris," she said sharply, though she could have kicked herself as soon as the words left her mouth. The last thing she needed to do was give him even the smallest sliver of hope. She wasn't what he really wanted, and she definitely didn't want what he wanted, either.
Aldrich was trying to focus on the anger that was welling up inside him at Kenzie trapping them in this room. Her questions though were invading, refocusing that anger. "I wasn't the only one in the wrong!" he found himself protesting, eyes hard as he stopped where he stood. He didn't want to help her out of the room if she was going to pin everything on him. He would have taken her to meet his mother, she was the one who had started to lie first.
Hands balled into fists stuffed into his pockets, looking away from her. How long would it take Kenzie to realize this had been a bad idea? He bet that he'd end up with a black eye by the time his cousin got around to letting them out.
Scarlett's eyebrows shot up her forehead at that, and her fists went to her hips. "Are you fucking kidding me? You checked us out of the damn hotel without even telling me. You took my stuff without asking or telling me. And then you tried to manipulate me into going to meet your bloody family! It was meant to be a romantic weekend away, and you ruined it."
Ugh, that made it sound like it had been more than the sex-filled foreign adventure she'd viewed it as. And maybe it could have been. "How in the bloody hell was I in the wrong?" She didn't think making excuses so they could continue their romantic weekend was wrong. If he'd actually cared for her, he'd have gone along with it, and they could have talked about it privately.
"I know that, you don't think I know that? I had done it as a romantic gesture, I'd made plans for us," he was whining, he could tell from his tone. He knew all of that already, she'd gotten her chance to yell at him. "You started telling lies about our plans before even considering my feelings! I'd have taken you to meet my mother, family is big to me. You know that," he stressed to her, sad puppy dog eyes meeting her gaze.
"I meant what I said, I love you, Scarlett. I wanted to show you a romantic weekend away, why couldn't that include a quick brunch with my family?"
The burning moisture in her eyes infuriated Scarlett. He didn't deserve her tears, damn it! "And you knew that I didn't want anything serious. I didn't want to meet your family. I didn't want you to fall in love with me, you bleeding idiot! And it's not like you did. You're so fucking in love with the idea of being in love that you project it onto any woman willing to give you the time of day. How can you say you love me when you don't even understand who I am? I told you early on that it was just sex. You're the one that tried to change the terms without considering my feelings!"
There was no way she was going to roll over and accept any blame for what had happened in Paris. He'd built up this fantasy in his head and got upset with her when she'd not played along. In no way was that her fault!
Her words hurt, not so much the name calling. It was the accusation that he fell in love with any woman that looked his way. "Just because I don't keep my heart guarded like you, doesn't mean I just toss my love at everyone's feet. You're the first woman I've said those words to in years! I love spending time with you, your sense of adventure. You're always pushing me, pushing me to be a better man. To do more with my life. You're vibrant and vivacious, you love life. How could I not love you?" he asked, tone pained.
He had, it seemed, forgotten about her feelings once more. Just spewing his own all over her. It seemed he couldn't keep his feelings to himself.
Inexplicably, his words pushed through the anger, through the deeply-buried hurt, into that heavily guarded heart he accused her of having, and she froze. Her heart galloped in her chest, her stomach churning as she realized that, for perhaps the first time in her life, someone truly saw her. He saw her, and he liked what he saw. Was it actually possible that he truly did love her?
"You... you want a family. A wife. Kids. That's not me," she said, her voice a pained whisper, a sharp turnabout from the loud anger she'd spewed only moments before.
"Of course you don't, you're still so young. We live longer than muggles, there's no reason that's something that has to be worried about anytime soon," he said passionately, completely forgetting those aching feelings he would get knowing his flat was empty. At this moment, he was certain that he could hold out for Scarlett. Their age gap wasn't that wide, and with their longer life expectancies, there was no need to worry about it right now.
Oh gods, and there it was. He just had to open his big, fat, stupid mouth again, and any warm feelings she'd had in that moment were doused with ice water. He had it all sorted out in his head, didn't he? He would just keep pushing and manipulating her until she flung herself at his feet and bound herself to him in marriage and started popping out babies like his mum had, wouldn't he?
"That's never going to be me," she said sharply. "I don't want kids. Ever. And I doubt I'll ever be interested in monogamy. And no matter how long you wait or how much you push me, that's never going to change." And if he really loved her, he wouldn't want to change her to fit the future he imagined. He would shift his expectations to include her, not the other way around.
"I'm not going to push you," was a soft, exasperated reply. "I haven't pushed you once, I just wanted to introduce you to my family. Only after they just appeared, I didn't realize they were even in France. I knew my sister was, but my parents live this side. I didn't have an ulterior motive. I just wanted to have a romantic vacation away with the gorgeous blonde I love. I've never once pushed for some sort of label, relationship, nothing. Why would I want to crush the very thing about you that I love so much?" he finished, still rooted to the spot where he stood. Hands still jammed into his blazer pockets. Fiddling idly with pocket lint and coins, nervous energy needing to go somewhere.
Scarlett's mind was racing, not sure what she truly believed anymore, much less what she felt. "Why couldn't you have just gone along with the museum thing? Why were you so determined that we go right then, with no warning and no time to adjust to that sort of thing? I'm not the kind of girl you take home to meet the family, and I don't make any apologies for that, and if you really loved me, why would you put me in that position?" It was what her brain kept circling. Did she really believe that he loved her? She wasn't sure.
"Because I missed my mum," he admitted, unable to find the words he wanted to explain how much it had meant to him to see her that day. "I'm sorry," he finished, taking a deep breath. "I shouldn't have put you in that position, you also shouldn't have lied. You could have just asked me to step away, and I could have asked you to step away. We both didn't think of the other's feelings," he said, finally finding the words he had been trying to find. He was sorry, he missed waking up to that blonde hair in his bed.
Why in the bleeding hell was she actually finding logic in his words? Why was she feeling that tiny sliver of guilt at the way she'd acted in Paris when she'd been so sure she hadn't been wrong in the slightest only a few moments ago? She didn't even really like him, did she? But then her mind flashed to all those intimate moments--not the sex, but curled up with him on the couch, one leg hooked over his as she read his screen over his shoulder. Or perched on his counter while he cooked for them.
The stolen glances. The touches.
"Nope!" she blurted out rather frantically, her eyes widening. "No, nope, no. I am not falling for you!" It was as though she were having an identity crisis. She was Scarlett Ailish McLaggen. She did not develop feelings for anyone. She couldn't even manage many meaningful friendships!
The first nope surprised Aldrich, the following no's had him wondering just what. He didn't have to wonder long, thankfully for him. Both hands shot out of his pockets, coming up to cover the smile that had erupted on his face. She was saying she wasn't falling for him, did it mean she might be falling for him? He had to push down the giddy feeling that rushed through him. She was a damn doe in the headlights. If he moved too fast, she'd spook and run off. He had to allow her to be herself, he had to put up or shut up. Could he do as he said? Could he allow her to figure this out? And what about Violet?
Those hands slid up to rub at tired eyes, thoughts of the other woman dancing through his head. They had never kissed, just cuddled up on his sofa watching scary movies. Her face buried in his chest, nervous laughter filling the air. Gods, how had he gotten himself into this mess? In love with one woman, who was so emotionally unavailable he was an idiot for hoping she might be falling for him. All the while, he ignored what might potentially be there with Violet, someone who seemed the romantic sort. He could have a future for her, though Aldrich questioned how emotionally available the woman was. Did he want to be second best to Wes Carlisle forever?
Aldrich was quiet for far too long, face hidden behind hands. He dropped them as he realized he hadn't said a word, finally looking for the woman he was in love with. "We're just friends, with the added benefit of enjoying each other's company in the bedroom, petite déesse," he said finally, wondering if either of them believed that.
Scarlett stood there just inside the door, bright blue eyes wide in a strange combination of horror and terror completely irrational for the situation. He wasn't saying anything, though, just covering his face with his hands, and she couldn't even begin to imagine what he was thinking. Or why she cared. That was it though, wasn't it? She didn't actually care. He was just getting in her head. Her heart was still fully sealed off.
And when he finally did speak, it seemed to confirm that, and the breath rushed out of her as though the vise around her ribs had been vanished abruptly. "Oh thank the gods," she breathed, grasping onto the words as though they were a lifeline. "Then we can put the whole Paris fiasco behind us and stop trying to force something here that's simply not going to happen." She gave a decisive nod, glad to have cleared the air, denial firmly back in place.
"Do you honestly believe that?" he blurted out, unable to stop himself. There were feelings, she had to at least admit that! She had been so close to admitting to something. He wanted to cross the space between them, to kiss her and remind her what was there. He wasn't supposed to care like this. He knew she didn't do relationships. That was supposed to be their thing. She just used him for sex, they enjoyed their time together, and then she went back to doing whatever it was Scarlett did. Yet as he stood there, he wanted her to remember how good they had it.
At his words, blurted out so abruptly, Scarlett wanted to scream. Why in the bleeding hell did he always have to open his big fat stupid mouth?! "Of course I believe that! I've never made a secret of what I want, Aldrich. Or what I don't want. So what in the bloody hell is it you want?" she asked bitingly. He was the one that couldn't seem to make up his mind, that kept going back and forth, hot and cold. And it had always been that way, from that first stupid night she'd fucked him. He'd turned her down at the bar, then followed her out, and she'd stupidly gone with him.
"For you to admit you've got feelings!" came out louder than he had meant to, but it was all he wanted. He wanted to hear her admit that she had feelings.
"So what if I do?!" Scarlett shouted back at him, hands fisted on her hips again, chin jutted out toward him. "It doesn't change a bleeding thing. You still irritate the hell out of me! And I'm still never going to be like your mum. I'll never want to be monogamous. I'll never want kids. I. Am. Not. Right. For. You," she said loudly, though not quite shouting anymore, punctuating each word with a clap of her hands.
"That's my entire point!" He was shouting now, apparently finding his own words. "I don't care if you'll never be like my mum, or monogamous, or want kids. I'm enjoying getting to know you better, I'm enjoying taking romantic trips away, and introducing you to whomever I run across. I want to explore these feelings, even if they just end up going nowhere. What's so wrong with exploring your feelings when you like someone?"
Her eyes narrowed at him, the urge to flee swelling up in her all over again. Damn Kenzie and her stupid, bloody schemes! "You're not throwing the word 'like' around though, are you?" she pointed out accusingly. "And I don't want to be introduced to the people important to you. Because what happens then? They start putting expectations on you. On us. And how long before you resent me for those things I can't change about myself?"
When was he going to get it through his head that there was nothing real between them? Gods, it would be so much easier if she truly did feel nothing for him.
If there was one thing he was absolutely sick of, it was being accused of throwing his feelings around. He roared then, for there was no other word to describe the scream that left him when she finally finished. "Yes, I'm throwing the word like around," he said, seething as he watched her, across the room from her. "I've not proven, without a fucking doubt that I love you." His eyes narrowed, and then he turned to march to one of the locked doors. He was done, there had to be a way out.
Aldrich intended to start banging on the doors until Kenzie opened them. Maybe he could pull off some wandless magic, it wasn't entirely unheard of. He was sure of it.
Over the near-year they'd been doing this little dance, Scarlett had seen a wide array of emotions from Aldrich. He tended to wear them on his sleeve, which, if she were being honest, was one of the things she enjoyed about him. She never had to guess how he felt. About anything. But in all that time, she'd never seen the fierce rage that poured out of him in that moment. She'd never believed she would ever have cause to fear him. And yet, in that moment, fear startled her silent.
As he marched toward her--no, toward the doors--she backed out of the way, barely registering when her hip slapped into the corner of a small table.
Aldrich could feel Scarlett still so close as he approached the doors. He had to block out the fact that he wanted to wrap his arms around her waist, pull her into his arms. That was something he wasn't allowed to do anymore. They needed the space. His cousin had been out of her mind to do this. He was never taking her at her word again. Though, he thought with some amusement, he did get to see the inside of Wes Carlisle's house. Something not many music reporters could say. He just wished he'd been able to ask Wes about Violet. It would have been so good for his book.
Instead of worrying about everything that was bogging him down at the moment, he tried to focus on the door, and if he could even do anything without a wand. Large hands rattled handles, pounded against wood, but nothing was giving. It didn't take him long to deduce that he wasn't getting out until Kenzie came to let them out. "Blasted, of course there's no way out," he muttered, eyes darting about the room. "What about a fireplace with some floo powder?" He was thinking out loud, just needing to not have silence. The silence was almost worse than when they'd been talking moments before.
The irony of it was that if Scarlett were to calm down and focus, she could almost certainly perform the necessary wandless magic to get them out, her natural talent far exceeding her ambition. There was no calm in the petite blonde, though, no ability to rationalize. She was scared in a way she was entirely unfamiliar with, even once he seemed to calm down. Even once he mentioned a fireplace, she couldn't seem to get the sarcastic observation that there were no fireplaces in the library past her lips.
Her arms crossed in front of her, wrapping around her middle, unconsciously trying to make herself smaller.
Nothing, no words, no sighs, no nothing was coming out of Scarlett. He wanted to scream, but his back was to her so he could ignore the silence coming from her. He hummed to himself, doing anything to keep himself occupied as he tried to work out the magic on the doors. With one final push, he was able to say without a doubt, he couldn't get them out of those doors. As he spun to look at the room, really take it all in, look for a fireplace, he noticed how... small Scarlett looked. She was petite, of course she was small, but she had such a big personality. She never seemed small, like she did just then.
How the bloody hell did he address that? He finally did what he'd have done if she weren't mad at him, he wrapped her in a bearhug without giving her a chance to get away first. "I'll go sit in a corner until Kenzie lets us out and leave you alone," he promised in a sad voice.
When he finally turned toward her, Scarlett wasn't sure what she'd expected or how she might react to whatever it was. They both surprised her--him wrapping his arms around her in one of those stupid, all-encompassing bearhugs he was brilliant at, and then her bursting into tears without any warning. Her face pressed into his chest, warm tears soaking into his shirt. She wasn't even sure why she was crying. Perhaps it was just her body's way of processing the intensity of their fight. Either way, it was annoying and inconvenient. She wasn't typically prone to crying, having built her reputation on being a cold, emotionless slut.
She still couldn't find her voice, though, even at his ridiculous promise.
All of the things that she could have done, crying into his chest hadn't even been on the list. What in the world? He looked confused, he was just glad her face was buried in his chest. She couldn't see his confusion, all she could feel were those hands moving to rub along her back. He turned his head then to press a kiss to the top of her head. He wasn't going to say anything else, instead he just held her there against his chest, reassuringly rubbing her back. He loved her, he'd always love her, but he was finally starting to realize he'd never get to call her his own. She would drive herself mad worrying about when Aldrich would ask more of her, when all he wanted was for her to be herself. Gods, he loved her so much.
Scarlett couldn't remember the last time she'd let herself be held and comforted--couldn't remember the last time she'd needed to be held and comforted like this. She felt safe and cocooned in his arms, forgetting for the moment that he'd made her angry and terrified in the first place, and soon the tears subsided. Her cheeks were flushed and blotchy, her eyes bloodshot, but for once, she wasn't thinking about her appearance as she tilted her head up toward his, pushing up on the balls of her feet so her lips could meet his.
Talking always seemed to get them in trouble, but in this they'd never seemed to struggle. And in that moment, Scarlett wasn't thinking, wasn't obsessing over what he might pressure her into, she was just following instinct, chasing the warmth and comfort she knew he could provide.
Aldrich had felt her move her head, his gaze meeting hers when she looked up towards him. Then they were kissing and all he could think about was how this was a terrible idea. He could never say no to her though, his lips moving against hers. He loved her, it was going to be painful what they'd have to do soon, but for tonight he'd give over to his carnal needs. He needed her, in a way that he could feel deep in his soul. He needed to feel her body shuddering under his as he brought her to orgasm, he needed to hear her moans as her body peaked, and he absolutely needed to taste her on his lips.
The way he touched her, moving her around as though she were light as a feather, his hands and mouth everywhere all at once, intoxicated Scarlett, and she lost herself to the moment, to him. Her body quivered beneath his touch, rising up to the highs he conducted before crashing down in waves of pleasure. And when he finally joined her in release, buried deep within her, the soft click of a lock releasing sounded, breaking through their heavy breaths.
Without a word, she disentangled herself from him, pulling her clothes back on. And as she went to leave, one hand on the doorknob, she paused. "Goodbye, Aldrich," she said softly, not turning to look at him. He was an addiction she could no longer indulge, and she had a feeling they both knew that. Opening the door, she walked out, heading directly to where she'd checked her wand and phone, having no intention of talking to Kenzie for at least a week after this stunt.
Not knowing what to wear for a party of Wes Carlisle magnitude, Aldrich had shown up in the best he had, one of his deep blue suits that made his eyes pop. His short locks had been tussled up so that they looked carelessly mussed. The smile was fake as he arrived at the front door, greeted by his cousin Kenzie.
Of course he had arrived early, and so she explained no sensible person would arrive early. She was still getting ready, so she was going to go find Wes to help finish up. He was to wait for her in one of the ridiculously large rooms that Wes had in his house on the main floor. He fell easily onto a couch, nervously glancing around the room. How long before the next person arrived? Was Kenzie right, everyone else would be fashionably late?
Far be it for Scarlett to ever turn down an exclusive invite to a party thrown by Wes Carlisle. Even though she probably never would have landed him if not for Kenzie's connection to the man, Scarlett was not one to pass up an opportunity. She'd worn a bright, skimpy cocktail dress and heels, leaving her cloak with her wand and phone when she'd arrived. Although she thought it a bit strange that locking up wands and phones was required for this party, she assumed it meant Wes had something particularly debaucherous planned for tonight, and she could hardly wait for whatever it would be.
Although she'd arrived nearly ten minutes late, there weren't many people about yet, and she was surprised when Kenzie led her to the library and told her she was to wait there until Kenzie came for her. It wasn't like any party of his she'd been to before, but when it came down to it, Scarlett trusted Kenzie. Of course, once she was in the library, doors appearing out of nowhere to shut her in, she spotted Aldrich and questioned whether trusting Kenzie was such a good idea.
"How'd you get invited to this thing?" she asked tactlessly, distaste lacing her tone.
Out of everyone that could have shown up, Aldrich hadn't expected to see Scarlett walk in. The moment he saw her, he knew Kenzie was up to something. There was no party, his younger cousin had pulled one over on him.
Her words hurt, it was more the tone. How was he such scum to her now? All he had done was love her!
He met her words with a bored eye roll, shaking his head. "You're crazy if you think there's any party that Kenzie would invite the two of us to that wasn't family related," he got out, though he didn't rise from his seat. His face was feeling awful warm.
Scarlett raised a brow at him, wondering if he realized how much of a self-own his words had been. She got invited to all the parties, and she didn't have any insecurity about Kenzie's feelings toward her. "And yet, here you are," she pointed out dryly. Rolling her eyes, she turned and went to the doors, but they didn't budge. Great. Was this why they'd had to check their wands and phones? Stupid meddling best friend!
"I wonder how long she'll keep us locked in here," she mused before banging on the door. Maybe Kenzie would take pity on her and let her out.
There was little surprise on his face when he saw Kenzie had locked them in. He let out a sigh of his own, pushing himself up from the couch then. Maybe he could find them a way out.
"As much as we both hope she will open it right back up, I get the suspicion that she thinks she's helping us," he said with an exasperated noise. He knew Kenzie meant well, but he had told himself after Melissa passed he wouldn't push himself on anyone. Scarlett didn't want to be with him, he was starting to get it through his thick head.
Had she bitched about Aldrich too much since their ill-fated trip to Paris? Had Kenzie misunderstood it and assumed that she was harboring feelings for the idiot? Was it really possible that Kenzie thought she was helping them? It didn't make any sense to Scarlett, having thought that her best friend was on the same page as her when it came to monogamy and all that ridiculousness that Aldrich clearly wanted. And even if she were interested in that sort of thing, he'd humiliated her in Paris.
And she knew she would never fit in with his family, anyway.
Not that she wanted to.
"Helping us what? Because from where I'm standing, there's nothing to help. You decided that when you were a complete idiot in Paris," she said sharply, though she could have kicked herself as soon as the words left her mouth. The last thing she needed to do was give him even the smallest sliver of hope. She wasn't what he really wanted, and she definitely didn't want what he wanted, either.
Aldrich was trying to focus on the anger that was welling up inside him at Kenzie trapping them in this room. Her questions though were invading, refocusing that anger. "I wasn't the only one in the wrong!" he found himself protesting, eyes hard as he stopped where he stood. He didn't want to help her out of the room if she was going to pin everything on him. He would have taken her to meet his mother, she was the one who had started to lie first.
Hands balled into fists stuffed into his pockets, looking away from her. How long would it take Kenzie to realize this had been a bad idea? He bet that he'd end up with a black eye by the time his cousin got around to letting them out.
Scarlett's eyebrows shot up her forehead at that, and her fists went to her hips. "Are you fucking kidding me? You checked us out of the damn hotel without even telling me. You took my stuff without asking or telling me. And then you tried to manipulate me into going to meet your bloody family! It was meant to be a romantic weekend away, and you ruined it."
Ugh, that made it sound like it had been more than the sex-filled foreign adventure she'd viewed it as. And maybe it could have been. "How in the bloody hell was I in the wrong?" She didn't think making excuses so they could continue their romantic weekend was wrong. If he'd actually cared for her, he'd have gone along with it, and they could have talked about it privately.
"I know that, you don't think I know that? I had done it as a romantic gesture, I'd made plans for us," he was whining, he could tell from his tone. He knew all of that already, she'd gotten her chance to yell at him. "You started telling lies about our plans before even considering my feelings! I'd have taken you to meet my mother, family is big to me. You know that," he stressed to her, sad puppy dog eyes meeting her gaze.
"I meant what I said, I love you, Scarlett. I wanted to show you a romantic weekend away, why couldn't that include a quick brunch with my family?"
The burning moisture in her eyes infuriated Scarlett. He didn't deserve her tears, damn it! "And you knew that I didn't want anything serious. I didn't want to meet your family. I didn't want you to fall in love with me, you bleeding idiot! And it's not like you did. You're so fucking in love with the idea of being in love that you project it onto any woman willing to give you the time of day. How can you say you love me when you don't even understand who I am? I told you early on that it was just sex. You're the one that tried to change the terms without considering my feelings!"
There was no way she was going to roll over and accept any blame for what had happened in Paris. He'd built up this fantasy in his head and got upset with her when she'd not played along. In no way was that her fault!
Her words hurt, not so much the name calling. It was the accusation that he fell in love with any woman that looked his way. "Just because I don't keep my heart guarded like you, doesn't mean I just toss my love at everyone's feet. You're the first woman I've said those words to in years! I love spending time with you, your sense of adventure. You're always pushing me, pushing me to be a better man. To do more with my life. You're vibrant and vivacious, you love life. How could I not love you?" he asked, tone pained.
He had, it seemed, forgotten about her feelings once more. Just spewing his own all over her. It seemed he couldn't keep his feelings to himself.
Inexplicably, his words pushed through the anger, through the deeply-buried hurt, into that heavily guarded heart he accused her of having, and she froze. Her heart galloped in her chest, her stomach churning as she realized that, for perhaps the first time in her life, someone truly saw her. He saw her, and he liked what he saw. Was it actually possible that he truly did love her?
"You... you want a family. A wife. Kids. That's not me," she said, her voice a pained whisper, a sharp turnabout from the loud anger she'd spewed only moments before.
"Of course you don't, you're still so young. We live longer than muggles, there's no reason that's something that has to be worried about anytime soon," he said passionately, completely forgetting those aching feelings he would get knowing his flat was empty. At this moment, he was certain that he could hold out for Scarlett. Their age gap wasn't that wide, and with their longer life expectancies, there was no need to worry about it right now.
Oh gods, and there it was. He just had to open his big, fat, stupid mouth again, and any warm feelings she'd had in that moment were doused with ice water. He had it all sorted out in his head, didn't he? He would just keep pushing and manipulating her until she flung herself at his feet and bound herself to him in marriage and started popping out babies like his mum had, wouldn't he?
"That's never going to be me," she said sharply. "I don't want kids. Ever. And I doubt I'll ever be interested in monogamy. And no matter how long you wait or how much you push me, that's never going to change." And if he really loved her, he wouldn't want to change her to fit the future he imagined. He would shift his expectations to include her, not the other way around.
"I'm not going to push you," was a soft, exasperated reply. "I haven't pushed you once, I just wanted to introduce you to my family. Only after they just appeared, I didn't realize they were even in France. I knew my sister was, but my parents live this side. I didn't have an ulterior motive. I just wanted to have a romantic vacation away with the gorgeous blonde I love. I've never once pushed for some sort of label, relationship, nothing. Why would I want to crush the very thing about you that I love so much?" he finished, still rooted to the spot where he stood. Hands still jammed into his blazer pockets. Fiddling idly with pocket lint and coins, nervous energy needing to go somewhere.
Scarlett's mind was racing, not sure what she truly believed anymore, much less what she felt. "Why couldn't you have just gone along with the museum thing? Why were you so determined that we go right then, with no warning and no time to adjust to that sort of thing? I'm not the kind of girl you take home to meet the family, and I don't make any apologies for that, and if you really loved me, why would you put me in that position?" It was what her brain kept circling. Did she really believe that he loved her? She wasn't sure.
"Because I missed my mum," he admitted, unable to find the words he wanted to explain how much it had meant to him to see her that day. "I'm sorry," he finished, taking a deep breath. "I shouldn't have put you in that position, you also shouldn't have lied. You could have just asked me to step away, and I could have asked you to step away. We both didn't think of the other's feelings," he said, finally finding the words he had been trying to find. He was sorry, he missed waking up to that blonde hair in his bed.
Why in the bleeding hell was she actually finding logic in his words? Why was she feeling that tiny sliver of guilt at the way she'd acted in Paris when she'd been so sure she hadn't been wrong in the slightest only a few moments ago? She didn't even really like him, did she? But then her mind flashed to all those intimate moments--not the sex, but curled up with him on the couch, one leg hooked over his as she read his screen over his shoulder. Or perched on his counter while he cooked for them.
The stolen glances. The touches.
"Nope!" she blurted out rather frantically, her eyes widening. "No, nope, no. I am not falling for you!" It was as though she were having an identity crisis. She was Scarlett Ailish McLaggen. She did not develop feelings for anyone. She couldn't even manage many meaningful friendships!
The first nope surprised Aldrich, the following no's had him wondering just what. He didn't have to wonder long, thankfully for him. Both hands shot out of his pockets, coming up to cover the smile that had erupted on his face. She was saying she wasn't falling for him, did it mean she might be falling for him? He had to push down the giddy feeling that rushed through him. She was a damn doe in the headlights. If he moved too fast, she'd spook and run off. He had to allow her to be herself, he had to put up or shut up. Could he do as he said? Could he allow her to figure this out? And what about Violet?
Those hands slid up to rub at tired eyes, thoughts of the other woman dancing through his head. They had never kissed, just cuddled up on his sofa watching scary movies. Her face buried in his chest, nervous laughter filling the air. Gods, how had he gotten himself into this mess? In love with one woman, who was so emotionally unavailable he was an idiot for hoping she might be falling for him. All the while, he ignored what might potentially be there with Violet, someone who seemed the romantic sort. He could have a future for her, though Aldrich questioned how emotionally available the woman was. Did he want to be second best to Wes Carlisle forever?
Aldrich was quiet for far too long, face hidden behind hands. He dropped them as he realized he hadn't said a word, finally looking for the woman he was in love with. "We're just friends, with the added benefit of enjoying each other's company in the bedroom, petite déesse," he said finally, wondering if either of them believed that.
Scarlett stood there just inside the door, bright blue eyes wide in a strange combination of horror and terror completely irrational for the situation. He wasn't saying anything, though, just covering his face with his hands, and she couldn't even begin to imagine what he was thinking. Or why she cared. That was it though, wasn't it? She didn't actually care. He was just getting in her head. Her heart was still fully sealed off.
And when he finally did speak, it seemed to confirm that, and the breath rushed out of her as though the vise around her ribs had been vanished abruptly. "Oh thank the gods," she breathed, grasping onto the words as though they were a lifeline. "Then we can put the whole Paris fiasco behind us and stop trying to force something here that's simply not going to happen." She gave a decisive nod, glad to have cleared the air, denial firmly back in place.
"Do you honestly believe that?" he blurted out, unable to stop himself. There were feelings, she had to at least admit that! She had been so close to admitting to something. He wanted to cross the space between them, to kiss her and remind her what was there. He wasn't supposed to care like this. He knew she didn't do relationships. That was supposed to be their thing. She just used him for sex, they enjoyed their time together, and then she went back to doing whatever it was Scarlett did. Yet as he stood there, he wanted her to remember how good they had it.
At his words, blurted out so abruptly, Scarlett wanted to scream. Why in the bleeding hell did he always have to open his big fat stupid mouth?! "Of course I believe that! I've never made a secret of what I want, Aldrich. Or what I don't want. So what in the bloody hell is it you want?" she asked bitingly. He was the one that couldn't seem to make up his mind, that kept going back and forth, hot and cold. And it had always been that way, from that first stupid night she'd fucked him. He'd turned her down at the bar, then followed her out, and she'd stupidly gone with him.
"For you to admit you've got feelings!" came out louder than he had meant to, but it was all he wanted. He wanted to hear her admit that she had feelings.
"So what if I do?!" Scarlett shouted back at him, hands fisted on her hips again, chin jutted out toward him. "It doesn't change a bleeding thing. You still irritate the hell out of me! And I'm still never going to be like your mum. I'll never want to be monogamous. I'll never want kids. I. Am. Not. Right. For. You," she said loudly, though not quite shouting anymore, punctuating each word with a clap of her hands.
"That's my entire point!" He was shouting now, apparently finding his own words. "I don't care if you'll never be like my mum, or monogamous, or want kids. I'm enjoying getting to know you better, I'm enjoying taking romantic trips away, and introducing you to whomever I run across. I want to explore these feelings, even if they just end up going nowhere. What's so wrong with exploring your feelings when you like someone?"
Her eyes narrowed at him, the urge to flee swelling up in her all over again. Damn Kenzie and her stupid, bloody schemes! "You're not throwing the word 'like' around though, are you?" she pointed out accusingly. "And I don't want to be introduced to the people important to you. Because what happens then? They start putting expectations on you. On us. And how long before you resent me for those things I can't change about myself?"
When was he going to get it through his head that there was nothing real between them? Gods, it would be so much easier if she truly did feel nothing for him.
If there was one thing he was absolutely sick of, it was being accused of throwing his feelings around. He roared then, for there was no other word to describe the scream that left him when she finally finished. "Yes, I'm throwing the word like around," he said, seething as he watched her, across the room from her. "I've not proven, without a fucking doubt that I love you." His eyes narrowed, and then he turned to march to one of the locked doors. He was done, there had to be a way out.
Aldrich intended to start banging on the doors until Kenzie opened them. Maybe he could pull off some wandless magic, it wasn't entirely unheard of. He was sure of it.
Over the near-year they'd been doing this little dance, Scarlett had seen a wide array of emotions from Aldrich. He tended to wear them on his sleeve, which, if she were being honest, was one of the things she enjoyed about him. She never had to guess how he felt. About anything. But in all that time, she'd never seen the fierce rage that poured out of him in that moment. She'd never believed she would ever have cause to fear him. And yet, in that moment, fear startled her silent.
As he marched toward her--no, toward the doors--she backed out of the way, barely registering when her hip slapped into the corner of a small table.
Aldrich could feel Scarlett still so close as he approached the doors. He had to block out the fact that he wanted to wrap his arms around her waist, pull her into his arms. That was something he wasn't allowed to do anymore. They needed the space. His cousin had been out of her mind to do this. He was never taking her at her word again. Though, he thought with some amusement, he did get to see the inside of Wes Carlisle's house. Something not many music reporters could say. He just wished he'd been able to ask Wes about Violet. It would have been so good for his book.
Instead of worrying about everything that was bogging him down at the moment, he tried to focus on the door, and if he could even do anything without a wand. Large hands rattled handles, pounded against wood, but nothing was giving. It didn't take him long to deduce that he wasn't getting out until Kenzie came to let them out. "Blasted, of course there's no way out," he muttered, eyes darting about the room. "What about a fireplace with some floo powder?" He was thinking out loud, just needing to not have silence. The silence was almost worse than when they'd been talking moments before.
The irony of it was that if Scarlett were to calm down and focus, she could almost certainly perform the necessary wandless magic to get them out, her natural talent far exceeding her ambition. There was no calm in the petite blonde, though, no ability to rationalize. She was scared in a way she was entirely unfamiliar with, even once he seemed to calm down. Even once he mentioned a fireplace, she couldn't seem to get the sarcastic observation that there were no fireplaces in the library past her lips.
Her arms crossed in front of her, wrapping around her middle, unconsciously trying to make herself smaller.
Nothing, no words, no sighs, no nothing was coming out of Scarlett. He wanted to scream, but his back was to her so he could ignore the silence coming from her. He hummed to himself, doing anything to keep himself occupied as he tried to work out the magic on the doors. With one final push, he was able to say without a doubt, he couldn't get them out of those doors. As he spun to look at the room, really take it all in, look for a fireplace, he noticed how... small Scarlett looked. She was petite, of course she was small, but she had such a big personality. She never seemed small, like she did just then.
How the bloody hell did he address that? He finally did what he'd have done if she weren't mad at him, he wrapped her in a bearhug without giving her a chance to get away first. "I'll go sit in a corner until Kenzie lets us out and leave you alone," he promised in a sad voice.
When he finally turned toward her, Scarlett wasn't sure what she'd expected or how she might react to whatever it was. They both surprised her--him wrapping his arms around her in one of those stupid, all-encompassing bearhugs he was brilliant at, and then her bursting into tears without any warning. Her face pressed into his chest, warm tears soaking into his shirt. She wasn't even sure why she was crying. Perhaps it was just her body's way of processing the intensity of their fight. Either way, it was annoying and inconvenient. She wasn't typically prone to crying, having built her reputation on being a cold, emotionless slut.
She still couldn't find her voice, though, even at his ridiculous promise.
All of the things that she could have done, crying into his chest hadn't even been on the list. What in the world? He looked confused, he was just glad her face was buried in his chest. She couldn't see his confusion, all she could feel were those hands moving to rub along her back. He turned his head then to press a kiss to the top of her head. He wasn't going to say anything else, instead he just held her there against his chest, reassuringly rubbing her back. He loved her, he'd always love her, but he was finally starting to realize he'd never get to call her his own. She would drive herself mad worrying about when Aldrich would ask more of her, when all he wanted was for her to be herself. Gods, he loved her so much.
Scarlett couldn't remember the last time she'd let herself be held and comforted--couldn't remember the last time she'd needed to be held and comforted like this. She felt safe and cocooned in his arms, forgetting for the moment that he'd made her angry and terrified in the first place, and soon the tears subsided. Her cheeks were flushed and blotchy, her eyes bloodshot, but for once, she wasn't thinking about her appearance as she tilted her head up toward his, pushing up on the balls of her feet so her lips could meet his.
Talking always seemed to get them in trouble, but in this they'd never seemed to struggle. And in that moment, Scarlett wasn't thinking, wasn't obsessing over what he might pressure her into, she was just following instinct, chasing the warmth and comfort she knew he could provide.
Aldrich had felt her move her head, his gaze meeting hers when she looked up towards him. Then they were kissing and all he could think about was how this was a terrible idea. He could never say no to her though, his lips moving against hers. He loved her, it was going to be painful what they'd have to do soon, but for tonight he'd give over to his carnal needs. He needed her, in a way that he could feel deep in his soul. He needed to feel her body shuddering under his as he brought her to orgasm, he needed to hear her moans as her body peaked, and he absolutely needed to taste her on his lips.
The way he touched her, moving her around as though she were light as a feather, his hands and mouth everywhere all at once, intoxicated Scarlett, and she lost herself to the moment, to him. Her body quivered beneath his touch, rising up to the highs he conducted before crashing down in waves of pleasure. And when he finally joined her in release, buried deep within her, the soft click of a lock releasing sounded, breaking through their heavy breaths.
Without a word, she disentangled herself from him, pulling her clothes back on. And as she went to leave, one hand on the doorknob, she paused. "Goodbye, Aldrich," she said softly, not turning to look at him. He was an addiction she could no longer indulge, and she had a feeling they both knew that. Opening the door, she walked out, heading directly to where she'd checked her wand and phone, having no intention of talking to Kenzie for at least a week after this stunt.