Chapter Fifteen - Capture

"How was your meeting?" I asked with a smile when he finally stepped out of the meeting room after two hours.

How I managed to stay awake in that boring waiting room for two hours, I don't know.

"It was good," He shrugged indifferently and pressed the button to call the elevator. "Why do you ask me that?"

It was my turn to shrug. "Because I am your wife and I can."

We entered the elevators and out of the corner of my eyes, I could feel his gaze on me.

"Alec, if you wanna look at me, just do it." I smirked.

"I am," His deep voice reverberated around the small area.

Right. He is.

My head turned to him and blue eyes met mine. He had an unreadable expression on his face as he stared at me, his eyes holding an intensity that made me weak in the knees.

I gulped under his gaze. "What?" I managed to speak.

The elevators binged open and he walked out without saying anything. Taking in a breath, I started following him outside the building.

Kyle was already waiting outside with the car and he held the door open for us to get in the backseat.

He started driving when I tapped on his shoulder and passed him a small paper. I could see Alec rise in his seat out of my peripheral vision.

"Can you please take us to that address?" I asked.

Kyle studied the address on the paper and nodded. "Sure, Mrs. Sinclair."

"What was that?" Alec asked me and I turned to him with an innocent smile.

"An address."

His eyes narrowed for a moment. "Where are we going?"

"To a place."

At this, he raised a brow at me and then turned to Kyle. "Take us to the hotel."

Kyle nodded immediately and almost took a turn but I stopped him. "No. We're going to that place. Please keep driving."

"I said. Take us to the hotel," Alec spoke in a more authoritative tone.

I could see Kyle fidgeting nervously through the mirror, as he finally took a u-turn and started towards the hotel. My jaw dropped and I turned to Alec.

His lips held a victorious smirk and I resisted the urge to smack it off his face.

"But I don't want to go back to the hotel yet. I waited for two hours in a damned waiting room."

"You're complaining. I didn't ask you to come with me. That was completely your choice," He shrugged.

"I know but please, Alec. I really don't wanna go back to the hotel," I pouted at him and his eyes fell down to my lips momentarily before they quickly came back to my eyes.

He sighed and leaned back in his seat. "Fine."

My eyes grew wide. "What?"

Was he agreeing?

He opened his eyes again. "Kyle, take us wherever she wants to go. But-" He paused, turning to me and spoke in a low voice. "-if that place isn't worth it-"

"What exactly are you going to do?" I challenged.

He held my gaze for a moment before lips pulled up into a smirk and he leaned back in the comfortable seat. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

A tingle ran down my spine at the way he said it but I rolled my eyes and let out a laugh. "Keep bluffing, Sinclair."

I waited for him to frown but he just kept the smirk intact and looked ahead. The afternoon heat was at its full blast when we finally reached our destination.

A smile formed on my lips as I looked at the place where I had come with my family a lot of times.

Alec put on his sunglasses and removed his blazer in the hot weather. He rolled his sleeves up to his elbow and loosened his tie, opening the first button of his shirt.

My mouth opened slightly and as he turned to his side to keep the blazer back in the car, I shut my mouth and looked ahead.

"What are we doing here, Scarlet?" Alec finally asked when Kyle drove away towards the parking lot.

I looked to my right at the beach waves and sighed in relief when the hot breeze pushed my hair back. My eyes landed on the little restaurant held up on wooden pillars, concealing a forest behind it.

It was like a small quaint cottage, decorated in a messy manner as I looked at the dark rusty roof and bricked texture on the exterior walls with a few lanterns hanging above the threshold.

I turned to Alec, who seemed to have his brow raised at me.

Rolling my eyes, I took his hand and started walking. I half expected him to yank his hand free but it did not happen. It was actually surprising when he let me guide him to the place.

We climbed the wooden steps and I swung the door open, causing the bells hung over the door frame to chime.

Surprisingly, the place was half full and the few people looked up at the noise but went back to eating and chatting again.

It was a small diner, the light bulbs hanging from the ceiling must be providing the light at night but right now, the open windows allowed the sunlight to illuminate the place.

I made a mental note of coming here again at night some other day.

Spotting a corner table, I quickly walked over to it and sat down on the window seat, as Alec sat opposite to me, still running his eyes all over the place.

"Isn't it amazing?" I asked, looking outside the window to my right, the silver lining of the beach waves bringing a smile to my face.

A lady approached us with a welcoming smile and handed us our menus.

She left us alone and Alec started going through the dishes.

"They have the best fish cakes and macaroni pie. Trust me on this one, Sinclair," I spoke in ecstasy.

He looked up. "Okay."

"And have you ever tried the ginger beer? It's like a Barbados thing, atleast according to me," I shrugged.

I remembered how dad made me try it and mom scolded him for making me try beer but dad explained that ginger beer was a non alcoholic beverage.

Alec nodded once again. "Fine by me."

The lady came back shortly and I dictated the order to her. She quickly jotted the items down on a small notepad and went back into the kitchen through the double doors.

I turned to Alec, whose lips were pressed in a thin line as he looked outside the window. The little frown playing on his lips accentuated his perfectly chiselled jaw and he looked like a Greek God right then with the sunlight highlighting his sharp features and the wind pushing his hair back.

"Can you atleast smile a bit? I don't want people to think I forced you into coming here," I broke the silence.

His eyes turned to me. "You don't want people to know you forced me into coming here." He gave me a sarcastic smile and my jaw dropped.

"Hey! You were the one forcing me to go back to hotel with you. I was just being polite by not wasting another day of such a good vacation."

He raised a brow at me. "What's so good about this vacation?"

"Exactly. Nothing good. Since you're always at work," I rolled my eyes.

He crossed his arms on the table and leaned forward a little. "Say, if I don't go to work at all on this trip, what exactly would we be doing?"

"We'd be exploring," I shrugged.

A glint of amusement flashed across his eyes. "What do you wanna explore, Scarlet?"

His eyes bored into mine and I was speechless for a second as I tried to contemplate his words.

"Uhh--this," I motioned my finger around the place. "Places like these."

He nodded with an amusing smirk and leaned back as the lady brought our food and drinks. After setting everything on the table, she went back inside the kitchen.

I looked down at the well presented dishes, my mouth watering already.

I quickly served them in both our plates and watched him as he took a bite of the fish cake.

I saw his mouth lift up in delight but he quickly composed it and took another bite.

"Amazing, isn't it?" I spoke as I shoved a huge bite into my mouth.

He nodded slightly and continued eating. I took a sip of my beer and sighed in relief at the soothing taste.

We ate in silence and once we finished all the food, I ordered two more ginger beers and before Alec could fish out his card to pay, I gave her mine.

"Doesn't matter either way," I shrugged and let out a laugh.

He shook his head and leaned back, eyeing the two more bottles of beer.

I smirked at him and once the lady brought the card back, I picked up the bottles and got up. He stood up amd turned towards the exit but I took his hand once more and started walking towards the back of the diner.

"Where are we going?" He questioned.

"Come on," I spoke as I opened a door that led up to the stairs and started climbing.

"Scarlet, are we supposed to go up there?"

"Don't worry. It's a part of diner," I quickly went to the upper floor and stepped out in the balcony, looking ahead at the lush green woods.

Letting go of his hand, I turned to him. He was looking ahead in confusion.

I handed him his beer bottle as he looked at the chairs kept beside the railing. He started to walk over to them but I stopped him.

"Nah. Not there," I spoke and walked over to the railing.

A huge tree was standing right infront of the diner, it's large branches scattered around it with one of the branches as large as its trunk, perched right near the railing.

Yes! It was still there!

I smiled, remembering how Jimmy and I climbed over it to watch the sea hidden by the diner wall.

I placed the bottle down and climbed on the railing, grabbing the branch.

"Whoa. What are you doing?" His hands grabbed my waist in a firm grip. "Step off the railing."

I looked back and let out a laugh. "Trust me."

"No. I said get off the railing. You'll fall down. It's one floor, Scarlet," His eyes grew wide for a moment and I wanted to laugh again.

"Seriously, Alec. I'll be fine. I've done this before. Just let go."

He seemed hesitant but finally let go of my waist, leaving a tingle where he had touched before. I turned to the tree again and in one swift move, crossed the distance between the railing and the branch. I grabbed the tree and once I was stable, I turned to Alec, who seemed surprised.

"Come on. Your turn."

He rolled his eyes. "No way."

"Are you scared?" I teased.

"No. I'm just smart enough to consider that the branch will break under both our weights."

I rolled my eyes. "No. It won't. I sat here with Jimmy and my dad."

He frowned and looked down at the ground, then back up at me. "I'm not doing it."

I scrutinized his face for a moment and burst out laughing once more. "You're afraid of heights."

He raised a brow at me. "I'm not."

"Stop lying. You were scared when the plane took off, weren't you?" I smirked.

He deadpanned. "I wasn't."

That only made me laugh more as I watched him sulk at me. I couldn't deny the fact that he looked extremely cute with his nose scrunched up like that and his eyes narrowed.

Out of nowhere, his hand reached for the branch and he pushed himself off the railing and landed safely on the large surface.

My eyes grew wide as he looked down at me. "There," He smirked.

He put his hands against the trunk I was leaning on and sat down beside me, my bare shoulder touching his shirt. I tilted my head in his direction, the clear view of the sea outlining his side features.

His skin was reflecting the sunlight as I watched him sitting there like a Greek God, his brown hair hueing at ends under the golden rays.

He turned his face in my direction. "So what's so special about this?"

I blinked away for a moment and as I turned to look at him once again, I found the slight breeze pushing his hair back and the sun slowly setting behind him. The orange globe complimented his mesmerizing blue eyes and I found a smile forming on my lips.

"It's beautiful," I muttered under my breath but he seemed confused as his curious eyes looked around.

My eyes flickered back to the railing. "Oh no. We left the beer bottles. Let me get them," I got up from my spot and jumped back to the railings, picking the bottles up and turning around to hand them to him.

I frowned when I found him in my spot but handed them to him anyway.

Jumping back, I settled myself in his previous spot. He handed a bottle to me and we clinked them together before taking a sip.

I sighed in relief and looked ahead at the combined view of the lush green leaves and sea.

"It truly is," I heard him mutter and turned to him in confusion.

"What?"

He was looking ahead at the sea and his eyes fell on mine again.

"Beautiful," I watched his lips when the words left his mouth, and then his eyes which held a glint when he said that.

He looked back at the sea but I couldn't take my eyes off his face. It was almost as if my mind was a recorder as the last two seconds kept replaying in my mind. A smile formed on my lips. Is that what capturing a moment is?

He moved in his spot and turned to face the sea completely, resting his back against the trunk and folding one of his legs under the other. I watched as he slowly took a sip from the bottle, his eyes not leaving the setting sun even for a single moment.

"You know," I started speaking and turned to Alec. His eyes fell on me. "I didn't think you would actually agree even after you said yes in the car. I was half expecting you to leave me alone here."

"Believe me, Scarlet. I had every intention of doing that," He smirked, lifting the bottle up to his lips.

I chuckled. "You still do?"

"Maybe," He shrugged.

No. I smirked.

"What?" He asked. Did I say that out loud?

"You wouldn't," I spoke and he raised a brow.

"What makes you think that?"

I shrugged. "You wouldn't have come for me when I was drunk if that was true."

I didn't know what made me say that but the moment the words slipped out of my mouth, his lips pulled up into a frown and I regretted them.

"I've never seen anyone more stupid," He muttered and my jaw dropped.

"Excuse me? Wasn't it just yesterday when you got drunk?" I narrowed my eyes.

"I did. So what? I had control over myself and it's not like someone tried to force themselves on me," He spoke and I realized how much sense each word made. The image of that guy hovering over me caused a shiver to run down my spine. "Unless you did," He added after a while and I was lost for a moment, but then it hit me.

"Pfft," I rolled my eyes. "Why would I ever try to force myself on you? And just so you know, I too had control over myself when I was drunk."

His lips pulled up into a smirk.

"So you kissed me while you were sober?"

My cheeks flushed as the image of me pressed up against him came back to my mind. I thought he would never bring that up.

I opened my mouth to speak but I honestly had no words so I shut it and took a sip of my beer, shrugging.

"Maybe. Maybe not," I turned to him.

A look of amusement was plastered on his face and his smirk deepened. "You didn't deny, Mrs. Sinclair."

My ears perked up at the words as I looked at him with wide eyes. It's not like I was hearing myself addressed like that for the first time but hearing it come from Alec's mouth did something weird to my tummy.

I bit my lip to stop the smile that was threatening to form on my face as his eyes flickered down to my lips.

"But....you kissed me back," I muttered and he looked up once more.

"So what?" He took another sip from the bottle indifferently. I frowned at him shrugging like it was no big deal and I was suddenly reminded of the morning I woke up hungover.

You don't seem like someone who would leave it to just one night.

His words rang in my ears and I couldn't feel more pathetic about myself. He had just kissed me and I was blushing like an idiot.

Is this exactly what he meant?

"I don't care either," I spoke nonchalantly while taking another sip.

I felt his gaze on me and turned my head in his direction. He was scrutinizing my face closely. "You do."

My heart skipped a beat but I did my best to not show my faltering conduct on my face and let out a laugh, quite forced might I add. "Just because you sleep with a lot of women, it doesn't make you the most indifferent one out there."

He set his bottle down carefully and crossed his arms over his chest, as he smirked at me. "So do you know anyone more indifferent?"

"Yes," I smirked. "Myself."

He deadpanned for a moment. "What do you mean?"

"You're the kind of person who can indulge in a crazy night of passion and get out of the bed next morning without caring about the other one's feelings. Well, guess what, Sinclair? That makes the two of us."

His mouth opened slightly and I couldn't describe the satisfaction I felt in the exact moment.

"I--I thought you were...." He trailed off after stuttering, only to cause my smirk to deepen.

"That I'm a virgin?" I completed for him and he nodded.

"Well, I'm not," I shrugged, indifferently.

He stared at me for a moment, then licked his lips and spoke. "I didn't know that," He frowned.

"I thought so," I spoke.

I picked up his beer and handed it to him. "Maybe you need a drink to let that sink in."

His eyes narrowed for a moment as he took the bottle from my hands. "This better not be a joke, Scarlet."

"Why would I joke about that, Alec? And if I didn't know any better, I would think you care seeing your reaction," I spoke while taking the last sip of my beer and setting the bottle down.

At this, he let out a chuckle but I could still see that he hadn't recovered from his shock. "I don't care about who you have slept with or the number of people you have slept with," He threw special emphasis on the word and I couldn't stop the smile from forming on my lips.

"Are you asking for a number, Alec?" I teased.

"No," He gave me a forced smile but frowned after a moment. "Yes," He spoke under his breath and I almost didn't hear it.

"Two," I spoke without any hesitation.

"Who are they?" He crossed his arms over his chest.

I raised a brow at him. "I'm not asking you about the women you have slept with, am I?"

"Rose, Camille.....Julie, Lindsay....Gwen, Ursula....Penny, Janet, Tristina...Tatiana," He paused for a moment as if thinking while I stared at him with wide eyes. Was he serious?

"Jenny, Windora, Gretchen....." He pressed his finger to his forehead and scratched it. "Why can't I remember?" I heard him mutter under his breath.

Then he looked up at me. "I'll keep telling you more as I remember them. These were a few popular ones in my high school and college"

"High school?" I gasped.

"Yeah. I don't remember the names of the recent ones."

"Recent ones!?" I gasped once again.

"Yeah," He shrugged. "Most of the time, I don't even bother asking their name when they throw themselves at me in parties or clubs."

My jaw dropped.

"Well, what about the one you slept with the day I moved in?" I asked.

"Who?" He asked in confusion.

"Tall blonde, black dress?" I tried to remind him but the confusion didn't wash away from his face. "Big boobs.." I trailed off, expecting him to remember now but....nothing.

"You're pretty much describing all of them," He spoke.

Once again, my jaw dropped and I shut my eyes, trying to clear all the images from my head. "You're impossible."

"Anyway, that's all I remember and now, your turn."

I opened my eyes to face him. Was he serious again?

'Yes, he is.' I thought as I watched him waiting for me to start speaking.

"Okay," I took in a deep breath. "The first one was in my class in the senior year of my high school. Tim Harrison. The popular soccer jock, good looks, bad boy reputation, player and amazing in bed," I whispered the last part which caused Alec to raise a brow.

"Let's hear about the other one," He spoke calmly.

"Ugh," I groaned. "Don't judge me, but.....Ben."

He seemed confused for a second but realization seemed to have dawned on him as his eyes grew big for a second.

"The guy I scared off?" He asked and I raised a brow at him.

"Yes. And you did no such thing," I spoke.

He smirked. "You didn't see his face."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever."

"Seriously? That guy?"

I deadpanned for a moment. "You don't remember the names of the girls you sleep with."

"Okay," He raised up his hands and took the last sip of his beer, setting it down beside mine.

I sighed before speaking. "Everything was going great unless he gave me a hickey right here," I pointed to the centre of my neck.

"Do you know how tough it is to hide it from dad?" I snapped. "I had to put on a muffler in the summers."

"I never asked for details," He spoke with a frown and I realized that he was right. My cheeks heated up in embarrassment. Maybe I said too much.

"Anyway, is that why you 'suddenly lost the connection'?" He used air quotes to say the part.

I let out a laugh. "That is exactly why- wait," I raised a brow at him. How did he know that?

"You were evasdropping?" I was surprised. "That day at my dad's house?"

He narrowed his eyes. "No. I just came down to get a glass of water."

"Really? How come I didn't see you?"

"Maybe because you were too busy talking to your best fuck yet."

My jaw dropped open at his words. "You are an asshole."

"I've heard worse," He chuckled. "By the way--June,"

My brows furrowed in confusion. "What?"

"I just remembered another name," He explained.

OH! I rolled my eyes and looked back the sea.

"By the way, yet?" I asked.

He looked at me in bewilderment.

"You said best fuck yet,"

"You don't plan to remain celibate for the rest of your life, do you?"

"No," I frowned.

"Then obviously, there's a yet." He shrugged.

"So you don't mind?"

"Don't mind what?" He asked.

"Me sleeping with other men?" I asked discreetly.

He sat up straighter in his spot and furrowed his brows. "Where did that come from?"

"Since I'm obviously not sleeping with you." I stated.

"Why? What's wrong with me?"

My mouth opened slightly at his words. What did he mean by that?

"You said you know better than to sleep with me," I spoke in the exact tone he had used.

"Did I?" He smirked.

My heart skipped a beat. Was he hinting at something?

I opened my mouth to say something but he beat me to it. "We should get going now."

I looked around at the dark woods under the evening sky. How long have we been here?

I looked down at my watch. Whoa!

He got up from his spot and jumped back on the other side of the railing. What a gentleman. I rolled my eyes.

Instead of walking ahead, he turned around and held his hand out for me, surprising me for the nth time in a single day.

I put my hand in his and he wrapped his firmly around mine, causing a tingle to run down my body.

"Emilia," He said once I was safe behind the railings and I stared at him in confusion but realized it instantly.

"You can stop doing that now," I gave him a sarcastic smile and started walking towards the stairs.

He chuckled after me.

For a moment, I couldn't believe that all that conversation actually happened.

Wish I could just capture it.

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