Who: Conner Kent & Inara Serra What: An Arranged Date When: Valentine's Day, Sunday, February 14, evening Where: An Outing Rating: Audience Discretion is Advised Warnings: Some language. Mentions of prostitution. Schmoop. Status: Closed/Completed
~*~
Conner was nervous as he parked outside Inara’s place, bouncing as he set the car, picked up the flowers he had gotten, and stepped out of the car. He was dressed in a tuxedo, and felt like he was trembling all over. He knew this was technically not a date, but at the same time, he felt like… well… she was worth treating like it was one. Hell, he would be honored to take her out. He paused then slowly nodded. In all due honesty, it would not bother him to have a woman who did the job she did as his girlfriend. And he blushed as he made his way toward the door.
Now there was a thought.
He knocked, still blushing, as he held the pot holding the small purple plant he had found.
~*~
Greetings were as important as farewells. They were something a person was not guaranteed a second chance at in the event one didn't make the right impression the first time around; Inara Serra took great care to ensure all her greetings went as smoothly as her farewells. She answered the door on the first knock to beam brightly out at Conner. He was looking quite striking in his formal tuxedo.
"Namaste, Conner. How thoughtful of you to bring me a gift. Do come in. I think it safe to assume the plant is for me?"
She stepped back to allow him plenty of room to enter her home while she went in search of her heels. Inara had decided to wear a silk gown in a Chinese style. The red and gold shades of the ensemble were her favorites, lucky as well as symbolic of life. Her preference was Indian dress yet a saari was hardly formal enough for a Valentine's Day outing in America. The silk gown hugged her figure as if it were a second skin, emphasizing the elegance in her movements as much as her stance.
"Do you know I've never cared for cut flowers? The loss of life seems wasteful to me. All life is precious to Buddhists," moving silently back to where he stood, Inara held a foot out to show him her matching pumps, "These are satin instead of leather for that sake. Lovely, are they not? I do hope you approve."
~*~
“Yes, this is for you, and I didn’t know that. It just felt right, for you.” He nodded, following in, and looking around. She was beautiful, and sexy, and her every move made him shiver with both desire, and an intensity of feeling he wasn’t sure how to deal with.
But he liked it.
Her showing him the shoes made him smile. “I do. Everything you do balances and brings some kind of flow to the world, and it makes me smile. And want to kiss you.” He flushed red.
***
"And I want you to kiss me. Look at that: ebb and flow, the tide moving together. See? You're learning faster than you think, Conner."
Inara chose to share personal space with Conner. She moved close enough to where they breathed the same air, basked in the way their scents mingled together, and began to lean in to let her lips mesh with his. A kiss could say more than words. Kissing Inara Serra could say one was the luckiest person alive or one had the best bank account available. There were skills acquired only through a life led the way hers had gone---as a professional companion.
Whispering against his lips, Inara asked, "Do you think you'll have something else for me tonight? It is the most romantic night of the year. A night for lovers."
~*~
Conner bit his lip, and then kissed her slow, sure, and not at all tentatively, letting his own passion mix with everything she had taught him as his hands came up to stroke her hair and shoulders, fingers gentle but firm. She was a woman of incredible beauty and kindness, and she made him feel… powerful, alive, and himself, more than anyone else had.
Her words made him flush, but his eyes danced with the excitement they instilled. “I would enjoy sharing this night with you, and showing you… love.” It was a tentative word. “Showing you… loving.” He wanted to make her feel how she made him feel, loved, honored, respected, and full of worth and pleasure.
***
Inara traced the shape of Conner's face with the back of her hand. He was such a darling man. She was blessed to have been allowed the opportunity to teach him lovemaking. They would have memories made for the day which would hopefully last the rest of each of their lives. Inara understood better than most the importance of memories. Orange County taught people the value of their Dreams---Inara Serra had known the value of those far longer than she had lived in California.
"I greatly anticipate the evening. Come now. Let's go enjoy something delicious. I'll even let you order for us. You can surprise me."
The food wouldn't matter any more than the restaurant. Inara was interested in the time with Conner. She could care less where they went, what they ate or drank, or how long they were away from her home. As far as she was concerned, they could have went to a hotel and ordered room service to be eaten in their borrowed beds. It was all the same to her. Being a professional companion should be about the company one kept rather than the location one was required to be an accompaniment.
~*~
Conner offered her his arm, and smiled blushing brightly. With her on his arm, he felt like the whole world was his oyster. Not because it meant power, but because the rest of the world just seemed not quite as important to him, when he was with her. He was learning so much from her, and her philosophy and her ideas meant a great deal to him.
“I am as ever, your humble student, and servant, madame.” He grinned at her, escorting her to the car, then sliding in himself.
Conner grinned a little wider. “Is it okay, or appropriate to buy you a gift of clothing?” He was still unsure where the barriers were, and what was appropriate.
***
"Clothing?" Inara echoed, curiosity coloring the word as she fastened her safety belt into place with a click, "I've never protested clothing as a gift. Any gift which comes from the heart is one to be cherished. What do you have in mind?"
Costumes were the first thing to come to mind for her. Companions were often hired to play out fantasies someone didn't feel comfortable approaching their regular lover with and clothing could make the difference between feeling sexy or silly depending on the piece in question. Inara had felt both before with varying degrees of enjoyment. She liked to laugh at herself as much as she liked being able to laugh with a lover or a client.
"I own several costumes, depending on your tastes if you're interested in a roleplay scenario. I will say I am not particularly fond of pain though I can be amenable to a domination experience if it is what would most please you."
~*~
“Oh okay.” Connor smiled to her as he drove. “I spotted a few outfits I thought you would like when out shopping at an outside street market. There were a number of items of incredible beauty that reminded me of you.” He spoke plainly but with conviction, not really seeing his words as flattery, but truth.
He blinked at her words, opened his mouth, then closed it. “I hadn’t considered either of those ideas, though I would be open to both. Roleplay can be a sexual and sensual experience, then?” He was already imagining it, but sure he had it wrong in his head.
Then he blinked again. “I don’t… really know much about pain or domination, either. In truth, those are things I still haven’t explored, at all.” All he knew about sex, he had learned from her.
***
Inara ducked her head at the praise. She brushed her hot face against Conner's shoulder to hide her smile. It seemed surreal such a handsome young man could find so much beauty in her or have the eloquence in his speech to fluster her. Many had tried to flatter Inara over the years, but false words of praise always rang discordantly in her ears. Conner spoke with the sincerity of one who wholeheartedly believed what he said for truth.
"Thank you. For saying I deserve beautiful things. I do not always feel beautiful, no matter how I may present myself."
Innocence was something unrelated to experience in Inara's estimation.
Whores could be innocent in ways virgins were not if their hearts were pure.
Conner Kent was innocent due to his pure heart more than his lack of sexual partners. Inara could not imagine him enjoying either inflicting pain on a lover or having a lover inflict pain on him. She could imagine him being willing to please a lover -to please her- by offering to endure either side of that divide. There was no greater gift one person could give to another than their whole self; Conner offered himself as freely as Inara did. It was humbling to be with him.
"I will explore anything with you which you would like so long as you promise me you will tell me the truth about how it makes you feel. I am not in the habit of using others for my pleasure. I want you to explore freely yet not feel obligated to do anything which makes you uncomfortable."
~*~
Conner smiled warmly at her words stroking her hair as she spoke. He loved to touch her and especially her hair, as she spoke. She had imbued in him a desire to please and to touch her, to show her his desire, approval, and to comfort, too. She was… important, and he had no idea what form that importance took, save that it was true. His cheeks heated as he nodded.
“I will try to always be honest with you, and to not lose myself in just wanting to make that little smile of yours, and those moans of yours, happen.” Because he did love those moans she made, as well. She had a way of making him feel like he had done an amazing thing, and he liked it, a lot.
“I truly have no idea what I like, but I do know I like doing all of it with you.”
Pulling around another block, and pulling his other hand back as he did so, he pulled them into a parking lot. “Here we are.”
He grinned as he hopped out, and came around, then opened her door, claiming a slow warm kiss as she stepped out. “You make every moment with you magical, Inara.”
***
"Life is magical, Conner. It's so fleeting. Every moment should be treasured for the gift it is because right now? This is literally the best present."
Some might have thought Inara sounded as if she worked for a greeting card company. A client had once told her she was a cheap fortune cookie after being denied her services for free. They hadn't been entirely wrong in her estimation. Inara was aware she was far from being a sage or a seer. There was magic in being with Conner because he not only saw her as beautiful, he also treated her as if she were priceless.
For a woman who had a price tag, such treatment was of a value greater than any amount of diamonds or gold.
Walking with Conner, Inara twined her fingers with his, "Such a gentleman. Keep spoiling me this way and I'll have to make certain I work on my mystique to keep your interest."
~*~
Conner squeezed her fingers gently with his. “You don’t have to be mysterious to spark my interest, Inara, you just have to be you. You are the most honest, honorable, beautiful, and intriguing woman I have ever met.” And okay, so he had only been awake for six months or so, but still. She was amazing, and unlike anyone else he knew.
At the door, he opened it, and turned to hold it for her, letting go her hand slowly, teasingly. “My interest only grows the more I know you.”
She wasn’t a princess to Conner. She was a woman, and one he liked a lot. One who was giving and loving far beyond her job. One who was far more than her job could ever hope to be.
***
Some courtesies could be waived for the sake of a moment. Every moment only came once in a lifetime. Inara knew better than most how few moments one lifetime could hold; she chose to ignore courtesy to instead press her body flush to Conner's from chest to thighs as she stole a kiss deep enough to feel it in the soles of her feet. People were staring at them in the door. Inara knew how shameless she likely appeared.
She simply didn't care.
With a parting stroke to the skin of Conner's neck, Inara let her hands fall free of Conner before stepping into the restaurant.
"I plan to keep your interest with as much of me as you will be interested in coming to know, Conner Kent. Now let's enjoy our meal before I suggest we skip straight to dessert."
Inara knew she was treading on dangerous ground developing feelings for a client, but she didn't care. What did she have to lose? Her heart was a big one. There was room enough for her to house more than one love inside it; Conner was welcome to all of her love he would want for as long as he wanted it. She knew it was likely he'd remain in her heart longer than he would remember her in his, yet she considered that a blessing rather than a curse.
Who didn't want to hold onto love forever?
Especially when one didn't know precisely how long of a 'forever' they had left.