being this young is art

When the kiss ended, Kade swooped in to pepper smaller ones all over her face, laughing as he did so. He felt like he could be silly and sweet with her and that she wouldn't mind it. Maybe she'd even enjoy it. "Can't get enough of you," he admitted softly as the car came to a stop outside of Kade's building. Luxury apartments, he'd heard them called, but whatever they actually were he liked them better than the idea of some sprawling mansion somewhere. It seemed wasteful when he lived all on his own. That said, the apartment itself wasn't small. Maybe a bit excessive for one person but considering where Kade had grown up it was nothing. "Looks like we're here," he announced, pulling open the door on his side so he could get out and come around to open her door as well. He even offered a hand to help her out, ever the gentleman. "Thank you for coming home with me, by the way. I really didn't want to say goodbye yet."

She almost let out a groan, at the thought of having to get out of the car, and cease the flirting and kissing. But, she reminded herself, it would only be for a short time, long enough to get into Kade's apartment; then, they would be alone again, and could hide away for as long as they liked ( within reason, of course ). Besides, she was a bit curious to see where he lived, anyway. For a man who was so careful about what parts of him he let others see, she wondered what his inner space would reveal. So, she takes his hand to get out of the car, then leads him to the sidewalk, before gazing up at the building. "Nice," She commented lightly, glancing over at him as a mischievous grin tugs at her lips, "like every other rich boy apartment I've seen." She chuckled lightly, nudging her shoulder into his. The truth was, she had no room to talk -- which was why she didn't feel guilty about the comment, fairly certain that Kade wouldn't be offended. Her smile turns softer and she leans up to kiss him, just the whisper of a touch, before she shakes her head slightly, indicating she felt much the same. "Come on," she said softly, giving his hand a gentle squeeze, "I'm eager to see the bedroom."

"You're...entitled to that opinion," He started, jaw working back and forth, "but how do you know we weren't just...comfortable? Holding on because...that was all we'd ever known?" He spoke quietly, eyes drifting up to meet hers.

the corner of his lips twitched at her rambling. it wasn’t always like natasha to ramble on about things, but he could count a number of times when she did while being nervous. was she nervous? to him, this felt inevitable. they were roommates and he was surprised they hadn’t been caught up in a moment like this already. when she asked about a rating, he chuckled and ducked his head down while rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. “i’d say a ten,” he replied fairly quick and glanced up to look at her, “maybe even a twelve.” was he flirting with her? that seemed like a terrible thing to do, but he couldn’t seem to help it. for all he knew, she only asked because of the future career as a model she was looking forward to.

"a..a twelve?" she stammered out a response, eyes widening. she choked out a laugh, shifting from foot to foot. "that's um-- that's actually...higher than i expected." she commented quietly, feeling a heat creep into her cheeks. suddenly, it wasn't feeling like a joke anymore. the way he was looking at her, in her towel...the way that she was...kind of liking it? despite her dreams of modeling, she hadn't always felt the most comfortable with eyes on her body, especially a male's. but...chase? well...maybe she could find herself getting used to it. she bit onto her bottom lip, death grip on her towel loosening, ever so slightly. her eyes darted over his frame once, then again, slower and more deliberate. "so..." she started, gaze falling to the floor as her lips pursed, "were you going to...um, get naked? or were you just, like...teasing...about that?"

"i am -- could never stay in one place long enough," he admits with a shrug of his shoulders. he felt like life was too short to not live life to it's fullest, luckily his job requires him to be able to do all this traveling. bentley meets her gaze as smirk appears, "i recommend quitting whatever the hell you're doing and joining me on this lifestyle."

the corner of her lips tugged into a small smile at that, realizing they were a bit more similar than maybe they had both originally thought. though, her wanderlust hadn't exactly manifested in the same way as his -- hers was more about achieving the impossible, pushing herself harder and harder, until she reached heights she never thought she could... and then, she would set a new height for herself. maybe this, meeting a stranger in this airport and leaving her life behind for a moment, was her new challenge. no sooner had the thought crossed her mind, and she began to turn it over in her mind, testing the edges for a reason not to do it, he was meeting her eyes, smirking like he could practically read her mind. "like...right now?" came her quiet response, before she nodded her head a fraction, "o-okay."

amelia nodded slowly, though she couldn't help the needling in the back of her brain, telling her there was more to it -- call it intuition, maybe? but amelia had never considered herself to be very insightful, painfully evident in the way she had responded back at her apartment. i mean, she had laughed, for god's sake. surely, that had to have been upsetting for tushar, if he had in fact been implying that there could be something between them...and, could there be? she was silent as she gazed at him, realizing it was probably making the tension in the car even thicker. but, finally, she cleared her throat, clearly preparing to speak. "look...tushar. about what-- what happened back there." she paused, giving him the chance to interrupt if he didn't want to hear it, before she continued. "i...genuinely didn't mean to imply that what you were saying was wrong, or-or, silly or anything." she gave a small shake of her head. "it...wasn't. i mean, it's not."

The smirk grew as Ellie reacted to her comment. "Don't hurt yourself," she remarked lightly, taking another sip from her straw as she watched the blonde blush. She was pretty cute when she did that. Memphis nodded slowly, as if the girl's clarification had been needed. "Right, right. Well, that makes more sense, I suppose." Her face softens a bit, as she leans forward a bit in her seat. "Either way, I'd love to meet your cat...Abigail." The pause before she said the cat's name was longer than necessary, and clearly pointed, but she continued on easily. "If you'd rather get out of here, I'm all for it."

clayton smiled wryly, though clearly he wasn't doing a good enough job of convincing her. he rested his hands on her arms for a moment then, if she didn't resist, would pull her closer, allowing his arms to slide around her fully. "how could i not be excited, ayla?" he placed a quick kiss to the side of her head. "what man wouldn't be excited?" as she spoke again, he sighed softly and released his grip on her, allowing her to take a step back if she wished. he shrugged a bit sheepishly, glancing down at the ground, where he was scuffing his shoe along the pavement. "i dunno, i guess i just --" as he had glanced down, his curls had fallen into his face, but he brushed them out of the way now, as he glanced up again to meet her eyes, "i guess i've just never really...been with anyone like you. and i don't know if i can live up to...what i think you need in a man." another sigh, heavier this time, but his tone was changed in an attempt to sound a bit more confident than he felt. "but...i guess that's not really my choice to make. and if...if you think that i'm what you want...then, i-- i want to be that. what you want...i mean." he paused, let out a small laugh. "see? i can't even...talk like a normal person around you."

She shakes her head at the question, smile twitching at the corner of her lips. "How kind of you to ask. Would put quite a damper on the night, wouldn't it?"

the question caught her a bit off-guard; louise had never been the kind of girl to hide her feelings, because she had never seen the need to. but it was funny, how one singular event can completely change a person, how they view the world and how they choose to move through it. now, she kept herself much more guarded, though she wasn't sure she could completely say why. maybe it just felt safer, that way. but there was something about tyler that louise hadn't found in most people she met, especially after moving away from home. the way he could touch on something so sensitive, but still make her laugh in the process -- as she did, softly, at his comment about being a shoulder to cry on. the smile slid a bit, but it was there still, just a touch, as she responded more honestly than she had been with anyone for a long time. "sometimes. less often, as the years go on." for a moment, it seemed like she may continue, but instead she leaned forward, resting her fingers on top of his. "maybe i can tell you more about it. on our camping trip."

SHE WAS DETERMINED. VICTOR SENSED that challenge accepted tone in her voice. He was used to hearing it. That was how his ex-fiancée and his younger sister sounded whenever he dismissed them or told them no. The blonde was clearly the inquisitive type. Though her prying didn't offend him. It was easier to let a stranger get away with it more than the people he already knew. At least the curiosity wasn't out of malice. "You're determined," he commented, taking a swig of his drink. Her correct guess had him pausing for a bit. "Yeah, sort of," he admitted. "Today was supposed to be our wedding way." He could at least share that much. The thing with opening up to a stranger was he didn't have to be specific. His brow arched at her statement. "Hm, right." The chances of a next time was slim to none. "I guess we'll just have to bar hop. Or I can just pay for the next round of drinks. I just gotta find a way to settle my debt for the night."

A smirk ghosted over her lips at that comment, not even feeling the need to say 'thank you', when she assumed the male already knew what a compliment that would be to Celeste. She simply nodded her head, smirk growing as he confirmed her assumptions. Of course she was right. She was always right. She leaned forward to take another sip from her drink, eyes flickering over him for a moment. "Whatever you'd like. I am just trying to make sure your night turns out better than it started, after all." She pauses to take another sip of her drink, letting that comment sink in fully before she spoke again. "So," she began, lips pursing delicately, "you said the two of you were in love before the marriage was arranged? Why the runaway bride stunt, then?"

isabel was silent for a long moment. it wasn't enough to erase all the feelings of injustice and frustration she had felt both before and after them breaking up, but it was something. he was at least admitting, finally, that all had not been well and taking some part of the responsibility. that, she could deal with. "thank you for saying that." she said eventually. "i appreciate it."

admitting that he played a part in their downfall seemed to work somewhat to his advantage; he could practically see the gears turning in isabel's head, silence leading him to believe she was thinking of how to respond. and since he was already being honest... he figured now was as good a time as any, to say what was really on his mind. preston glanced around, remembering that they were, admittedly, in maybe too public of a place to be having this conversation, before he licked his lips lightly and glanced back at her, "i would've said it a while ago, if i thought it would have fixed anything."

There were very few people Kade could stand sitting in silence with. A few people on his team who had earned his trust a long time ago, but that was mostly out of necessity. His parents and his grandparents because he felt most at home and safe with them. And now, Aurora. She had wormed her way onto a special list of people and Kade would do anything to keep her there, close to him. If it meant he had to keep pretending this wasn’t real then that’s exactly what he would do. His life was loud and fast and if he could slow down and be with her he’d do whatever it took. He’d just been quietly enjoying himself when he caught her eyes, smile pulling at his features as she leaned in. Of course he returned her kiss, even moved a hand to rest on her cheek. No one would catch him denying her. It felt warm and soft and even though he’d been thinking about the sinful things her mouth could do not long ago he didn’t think it actually got any better than this.

She had the briefest second to catch the grin that spread across Kade's lips as she leaned in, and when she kissed him, she was smiling too. It was hard not to, when she thought about the moments she had already had with Kade, in only a matter of a day. Even with the difficult ones. -- the meeting with her mother, of course, being at the forefront -- she had felt a comfort knowing that Kade was there, beside her, wanting to hold her hand. It was a level of support she had never experienced, maybe never even envisioned.

"I'd like it on the table too," she offered, a faint smile pulling at her tired features. "I think that's a good idea."

"Do you?" He finally asked, the part of him that was just concerned for Brooke's well-being winning out, in that moment. "I don't know if...trusting me is the best idea."