[date with clarice]

[more_flexible]

It was a date...a real date. With a girl. Jack tried to make everything just right, if for no other reason than to show Clarice what fun could be had out of the basement. He had a bit of whisky from last night. Not enough to do much with other than enjoy. He'd also put together a basket with some coffee, snacks, a tiny bit of cheese, some bacon...a little bit of everything so nothing would really be missed.

Beyond sharing food and talking to her, Jack didn't have any real plans. That was for the best because it meant he was ready for anything.

Comments

[hustling-rube.livejournal.com]

From Clarice's experience, there was no probably about it, but she let it slide. "Unless they're ill-behaved, I do," she answered, thinking of the children in the home and realizing that she should have continued to visit.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"I like kids," he replied, pouring her some as well without asking. "There's a ton around here. I watched a movie with a little girl...it scared the hell out of her."

[hustling-rube.livejournal.com]

"Which little girl was that?" Clarice asked, her brows arching. She sincerely hoped it wasn't Samara, as mending that little girl's psyche was turning out to be enough of an uphill battle as it was.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"Samara," he replied. "It was a movie called The Ring...God, when was that? Oh," he said, taking up his glass. "The week before people changed."

[hustling-rube.livejournal.com]

Damn.

Clarice's lips pursed momentarily as she looked down to the glass in her hand. "The Ring, you said?" she asked at length, peering back up at Jack again and attempting to remind herself that she was supposed to be on a date and not conducting business. "I don't suppose you still have it."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

Jack took a sip and considered her demeanor. She was so interesting, always on, it seemed. Not that that was a bad thing, in fact it gave him a little more insight into her.

"I don't," he said, "but the shelf likes me. I bet I could get it back. Want to call it a second date?"

[hustling-rube.livejournal.com]

The request for a second date took Clarice immediately out of her thoughts, and she blinked once, her mouth open but no sound immediately coming out of it. A second later, she was smiling and laughed briefly.

"I'm not sure that I would be the best company under those circumstances," she confessed. "Samara is a patient of mine, you see."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

He smiled warmly and reached out to stroke the back of her hand lightly. "I'd still get you the movie if you want. Maybe we could get a different film. What do you like to watch?"

[hustling-rube.livejournal.com]

The contact was far more intimate to her than he could likely know. It was just hands, after all. Still, Clarice let her gaze drop to Jack's fingers against her hand and meditated on the image a moment.

"I would appreciate it, thank you," she answered, of Samara's movie. Looking up to him again, she shrugged. "I'm not really particular." So long as it wasn't her own. "I think you'll find I'm fairly easy to please." The corner of her mouth quirked, almost too subtly to be noticed.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

But subtle movement was what he was trained to notice. Eyes and muscles, the way shoulders raised or fell. Every little thing painted a picture for him and for the first time in a long time, he was thrilled to use the information without meaning to use her.

"I'll see what I can do," he said softly. "I'm pretty easy to please, myself. We can make a night of it...if you want," he said, subtle but clear. More than just the movie...if she wanted.

[hustling-rube.livejournal.com]

"I think I'd like that," Clarice replied with a faint smile, the answer coming easier to her than she had expected. "And not just because you've plied me with chocolate."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"Brilliant," he agreed, smiling a little wider. This was going a lot better than he'd hoped and nothing like he'd imagined. Having never actually gone on a date, it wasn't that much different than what he was accustomed to doing. It was just slower.

"So, help me out...what's next. Talking, eating, should we dance or something? I didn't really plan this out that far ahead."

[hustling-rube.livejournal.com]

"You ask me that like I should know," Clarice laughed before taking a sip of her juice. "I think this is the first time in my life that I've actually had the time to date." She canted her head and watched him carefully, the smile still fixed upon her face. "What did you want to do?"

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"I just wanted to get to know you," he replied with a little shrug. "I've been trying to do some things differently in my life. I mean, if you talked to Chris he probably told you...hell, warned you, that I fall into bed with everyone. I'm not saying I don't want to with you. You're beautiful and smart and there's a hundrend reasons I'd love to move faster," he explained, then leaned in.

"But I won't."

[hustling-rube.livejournal.com]

"He didn't warn me," Clarice whispered back confidentially. "But I had an idea." She was trying to be casual, to play it off like it wasn't any big deal, but the fact was that it was. Opening herself to anyone was a terrifying concept for her. Yet, she liked Jack, and had to respect what he was saying, had to believe he was being honest about it. There was no reason for him to lie; she wasn't exactly a prude.

Ducking her head just a bit, the action too genuine to be coy, she murmured, "Thank you."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

He had to wonder why Chris didn't warn her. Maybe he trusted Jack to do the right thing...and that promted a small grin.

A small grin that spread to a wider smile at her thanks. "You don't need to thank me, Clarice," he said softly. "Except for the chocolate," he teased, trying to lighten the moment.

[hustling-rube.livejournal.com]

"Hey, I've not eaten the chocolate yet," Clarice pointed out with a brief laugh, and then reached for the candy. "I'm afraid to open it, as if I should just keep it pristine like this and set up an altar to worship it."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"You only live once," he said. ""don't worship it, savor it."

With that, he tore the packet and let one fall into his hand and raised it to her lips.

[hustling-rube.livejournal.com]

Instinctively, Clarice parted her lips, her gaze fixed on Jack. To say she was in a bit of awe wouldn't have been too far off the mark, but she was disguising it fairly well. The fact that he was apparently that inherantly sensual -- That he was feeding her chocolate without intending to screw her -- was amazing to her.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

If any two words described Jack perfectly, they were inherantly sensual. His thumb brushed her bottom lips lightly as he laid the chocolate on her tongue and leaned in near her ear.

"Don't bite it...just let it melt. Let it flood your mouth. Really taste it," he coaxed.

[hustling-rube.livejournal.com]

God, chocolate. Real, honest-to-god chocolate. Clarice's eyes fell closed as a soft whimper of approval sounded at the back of her throat. There was no way she would have considered biting. She wanted to let this last; heaven only knew when she'd be afforded such a luxury again.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

His breath moved softly against her neck, fingers brushing her hair back from her ear without touching her skin.

"It's sweet, isn't it? But there's a darkness, something warm and cool and soft. All over your tongue, Clarice. Filling your mouth and easing into your blood. Do you want another?" he whispered, another M&M already poised against her lips.

[hustling-rube.livejournal.com]

As if she could say no.

Slitting her eyes open, Clarice let her tongue slip past parted lips to accept the candy, pressing briefly against Jack's finger so that she could taste him, too. Somehow, it was better that way.

Idly, she wondered whether it was possible to orgasm just from eating chocolate.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

He was watching her intently, smiling softly as her tongue slid across the slightest bit of skin.

"It's an aphrodesiac, you know. Chocolate mimics endorphins. All the science, all the medicine, it can't explain this though," he murmured as he moved to breathe in the scent of candy as she breathed out. "Facts and formulas and words can't express how the chcolate melts inside the shell, going liquid inside the hardness until the heat of your mouth is too much and it cracks and spills and moves through you like electricity..."

Oh, it was entirely possible...

[hustling-rube.livejournal.com]

Too much, too close, and Clarice hadn't intended it, but before she could reign herself in her mouth was pressed against Jack's, one insistent hand lifting to the back of his neck to draw him closer. Lips parting, she slipped her tongue forward, wanting to taste him, wanting to let him taste her, knowing he'd be able to taste the chocolate as well.