Alex had been about to move to pull the coffee table with his laptop back when he heard the unexpected words. They made him reflexively look up at the blonde and summarize his surprise in one monosyllabic question:
"Hm?"
The surprise on Alex's face made Sharon relax and smile. With jarring enthusiasm, she repeated, enunciating clearly:
"I am not going anywhere, Alex Lenner."
Leaving would mean losing any chance at all to change her situation. She would have only gained a few days of respite —weeks at most, if played well— but no true solution that would have solved her problem. So, shameless she would be.
Thinking up to that point, Sharon's smile deepened with a spark of pride as she crossed her arms, casting a defiant look down at the sitting Alex.
Alex blinked, then smiled with interest:
"Oh?"
That single sound, along with Alex's half-smiling gaze, suddenly made Sharon fall from her high horse as her heart skipped a beat. She took an instinctive step back, her crossed arms loosening as the playboy put his plate down to stand up and face her.
Sharon's heel hit the floor with a loud and clear sound in the silence. Alex's smile deepened, and he stepped forward, once, then twice, then again. And each time, Sharon could be seen retreating, her previous pride now overtaken by the apprehension that had all but settled in.
It was at that moment that she realized something. It occurred to her that maybe challenging someone whose pride she had come to realize was not small at all —and in his own home where there was no one else to protect her or make him hesitant at all— might really not have been the brightest idea of the day.
Like that, one advanced and the other retreated in a nervous silence that started to gain a hint of tension with the footsteps of the lone man and the lone woman. As the wall that had been far away suddenly became close, Sharon raised her arms in front defensively and spoke with bravado:
"I– I don't believe you will do anything to me. You brought me here instead of taking me to the hospital last night; I don't believe you don't have any thoughts at all about what happened to me. Either you know something, or you are suspecting something, just like I am. So, I am not leaving. I– I will stay here until I find an answer!"
Alex simply smiled, while Sharon's heart only pounded faster and faster with the approach of the wall, until she hit it, and her breath hitched.
Startled, her focus left Alex for a second, and in that second, the playboy took a big step to cross the remaining distance between them and place his forearm against the wall, right beside her head. He was close enough for her to feel his breath on her skin, forcing her, with nowhere to go, to press herself tighter against the wall.
Seeing Sharon's reaction, Alex's smile deepened as he leaned in, and asked:
"And in what capacity would you stay here? Only my family can live with me, which you are obviously not part of. So, as a girlfriend?"
As he came so close with his charming, roguish smile, and his smooth voice gave the only option available, it was not just Sharon's breath that stopped then. Even her heart did. And as her mind stagnated as if caught in an ambiguous, muddy whirlpool, she was pulled into the depths of Alex's brown eyes. And it was not just her.
Looking into the trembling blue eyes before him, Alex wanted to tease the blonde further, but his smile froze as, in them, he saw something he had not seen in a long time.
Beauty, and it was not just that. There was also conviction, the determination that had kept the blonde standing all her life. Then there was strength, the foundation of it all, untainted by the same desire he had seen in many women's eyes.
As Sharon was pulled into the depths of his eyes, he was also pulled into the depths of hers, and she reminded him of someone who once had the same gaze, the same eyes, even if of a different color, someone who had carved herself into his very flesh with her actions.
Alex's gaze changed. It cooled down, going from soft and teasing to calm, indifferent, and his smile receded. Not in the mood to play anymore, he pushed himself off the wall. He gave the blonde one last glance, then turned around to walk away.
But that action actually made Sharon panic, especially after noticing the change in expression just now. Unable to know what had just gone through the playboy's mind and desperate to seize the chance that might be her only one, she hastily took a step forward and called out:
"I can be your girlfriend!"
The air froze in the room with those clear words. Alex paused, surprised, and looked back. Only when he saw the look on the actress's face did he understand, and he smirked.
Before Sharon could understand what he meant by that reaction, he spun around. He moved so fast that she only reacted when he was already back in front of her, almost pressed against her, with her hands caught above her head and pressed against the wall without her even realizing when it happened.
"Really?"
This time, it was not just Alex's breath Sharon felt on her skin. It was that, and something more, the heat emanating from him as he whispered the question in a low, deep voice, so close he looked as if he were about to press his lips against hers and take her breath away.
*Ba-dum~ Ba-dum~ Ba-dum~*
The world slowed to a crawl. Every heartbeat reverberated in her ears, and every detail of the handsome face coming closer was reflected in her eyes.
Her breathing turned deep and hurried, either with panic or with anticipation. Even she could not tell. Then it slowed down, and she could almost feel the lips of the playboy about to make contact. That finally made her panic surpass any other emotion.
Alex looked at the beautiful profile before him. He admired it for a moment, then remarked with a chuckle:
"You turned away."
Arms upward, defenseless and a little weak, Sharon had her head turned to the side. She had avoided the kiss, and without Alex speaking, she already knew what he had wanted to prove. And he had done it.
Biting her lip, Sharon pressed her eyes shut, and tried one last, uncertain shot to steer things back onto a favorable track:
"I– I can be your girlfriend… on paper."