I'm Falling~ | Alessa

[Alec Mercer]

( www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=93884639 )

Not willing to take no for an answer, Alec set his phone down on his desk with a giddy smile before doing some final touch ups. Fresh breath, deodorant applied, check. A hint of cologne--just enough to be detected, yet not kill the SWAT team, check. He shaved about two or three days ago, so there was a bit of scruffiness going on, but hopefully Vanessa wouldn't mind. If anything, Alec would just hunch over and yell at her for being a darned whippersnapper, what with her cute baby face and all.

Come to think of it, he'd never been on an actual 'date' with Vanessa. They were usually out with a group of friends, so it was hard to get one-on-one time with each other. However, Alec was taking his daily shower after work when he suddenly got the courage to take matters into his own hands.

Truth be told, he was completely stumped when it came to romantic ideas for first dates. Dinner and a movie were so overdone that he was sure Vanessa wouldn't feel nearly as special as she really was to him. He wanted a more casual approach and finally came up with the mall. There was an ice skating rink on the bottom floor and if they got bored, the two of them could walk around or stop by the food court to grab a bite, maybe even get some early Christmas shopping done.

Alec parked his trusty old pickup truck in the parking garage labeled 'Red,' which meant the entrance lead directly into Nordstrom on the second floor. He quickly hopped out and walked around the vehicle to open the door for his lady friend and smiled. "We're here," he announced happily.

[Vanessa Richards]

www.polyvore.com/vanessa_galleria/set?id=93882892

Whatever Alec had in mind sounded absolutely splendid to Vanessa. She trusted him so much that she wasn't weary of his surprises. Unlike when she was a teenager and she had to think twice about accepting candid invitations from other males. Of course Vanessa always knew what they wanted from her — a good time. She couldn't really be offended or appalled by their suggestions because she put that image on herself. The image of an easy, loose girl who was more than willing to sleep with anything that had a nice face. However, a while back Vanessa had changed. She made a promise to herself that she would quit being so easy and take her time in getting to know someone before taking them to bed. So far, Nessa was doing a marvelous job.

She had decided to wear something warm due to the cool weather and all. Her outfit was modest and pleasing. Hardly anything special although Vanessa had made sure that she primped her face up. She dusted her cheeks with rosy blush, made sure to make her eyelashes long and thick by applying mascara and liquid eyeliner to make her already large eyes even larger. She also put on red lipstick although the rouge was slightly faded and discreet. Not quite very cherry but almost just a tint to add color to her lips. Vanessa climbed on her wedge heels and just in the nick of time, she had heard Alec being welcomed by a fellow sorority girl. She came down the stairs and smiled at the sight of her handsome friend. Vanessa would be lying if she said she only saw him as a pal because she felt something more than that.

Never in her twenty something years of life had she met a man other than her father with such chivalry. She was mesmerized by Alec's etiquette but he has something about him that despite having manner did not make him look so uptight. He was technically the whole package. During the ride to the Galleria, Vanessa stole glimpses of Alec. She admired his profile and the way he looked while driving.

"Thank you kindly." Vanessa thanked Alec when he opened the door for her. Gentleman, indeed. She stepped out, lightly putting a hand on his shoulder as support then turned to face him. "And thank you for asking me out today. I was horridly bored in my room." Vanessa smiled gently as she looked up at Alec. She was surprised when she saw him turning toward the direction of the Glendale Galleria. Was she finally going on a date like the ones in those cheesy, chick flicks? "You know me so well." she commented, a light chuckle following, "I love the mall."

[Alec Mercer]

Oddly enough, the ear piercings he got as a teenager did not close, even after he stopped wearing them for work. Today was the first time in a long while that Alec wore any type of jewelry other than a barbell in his tongue. What can he say, the man wanted to look nice for his date. Seeing Vanessa in her cute top and matching heels made him feel relieved that he didn't settle for the usual black hoodie.

With a smile, Alec's hand instinctively found the small of her back when Vanessa held on to him for support as she stepped out of his truck. Then, he chuckled at her comment regarding her love for the mall because he knew he'd made the right choice tonight. "I can see why. There's a lot of things to do here," he said carefully so as to not spoil the surprise.

Ice skating wasn't anything too special. Alec taught himself when he was younger by applying what he knew about roller skating onto the ice. Still, what better first date than an activity that promoted holding hands? He couldn't stop smiling now, flashing his naturally almost-straight teeth at the world.

When they got to the escalators, Alec reached out to take Vanessa's hand to help steady her since she was wearing heels. It was a good excuse at the time, but as the two of them stepped off the conveyor, he didn't let go. Instead, he interlaced his fingers with hers even after they arrived at the rink and paid for two pairs of skates.

Sitting next to her on the benches provided, Alec finished putting his skates on before Vanessa did and watched as she did the same. "So I forgot to ask you: have you ever skated before?" He figured that she'd had her fair share of time on the ice, but he really didn't mind if he had to play teacher today.

[Vanessa Richards]

The wedges were actually quite comfortable but it flattered Vanessa that Alec was being so careful around her. She was far from fragile; having been broken so many times she was as resilient as they came. Needless to say, past experiences made Vanessa strong and also all the heels she wore to make herself look six feet tall did the trick. She was already tall enough but she loved looking down on others. It wasn't in the arrogant definition, Vanessa enjoyed being taller than most females. Anyways, she nearly met eye level with Alec, well until she kicked her wedges off.

Come to think of it, despite Vanessa had lied by saying that Alec, "knew her so well" she was relieved that he was well familiar with her good. He knew the girl she was before entering the world that nearly took her life. She didn't mean to come off as mysterious therefore she never really looked sad around him. As far as Alec knew, Vanessa was a fresh face with a happy personality. Although she felt guilty for lying to him, she knew that keeping to herself would do both of them good. "I enjoy the small markets they have on the side and of course, the food." Vanessa explained with a soft shrug and closed smile on her rouge tinted lips.

When they neared the ice skating rink, Vanessa widened her eyes slightly but she lowered her eyelids to mask the fact that she was worried. She had never in her life been ice skating. Despite being from the United Kingdom, she was only used to rash cold weather and snowball fights. Even sledding and a bit of skiing but not blades on ice. She took her ice skates and smiled to the person loaning them before she and Alec walked to put them on.

Vanessa had the slightest idea on how tie the skates on but she found her way around them soon enough. She placed her wedges under the bench before changing. It was a good thing that Alec had asked her if she had ever been ice skating before instead of throwing into the rink. She would flap her arms around like a penguin oblivious to the fact that it couldn't fly. "Never in my life!" Vanessa answered with a laugh and then looked down to her nearly tied skates, "It's quite ironic considering that I should be thought of as a pro in every single winter sport. Yet, I have never been skating." she flickered her eyes to him. She then smiled brightly up at him, "But that's why you're here," she gently patted his back before standing up, "To teach me." Vanessa nearly fell forward but her arms wrapped around Alec's neck. She was so close to him that she nearly began shaking but she composed herself and moved away before anything embarrassing happened. "Sorry about that." she laughed nervously, "Ready?"

[Alec Mercer]

Small girls were cute and all, especially when the guy was borderline basketball player, but Alec didn't mind the measly three inches he had on Vanessa. Rather than being intimidated by a woman that was almost as tall as he was, Alec found it to be quite sexy that Vanessa carried herself so confidently, not to mention how much butt-muscle power she had to possess in order to walk in high heels all the time. Besides, he could always have her in all of her 5'6" glory whenever they were just chilling at the Swag Pad or the sorority home.

"Definitely the food," Alec agreed with a grin. If it wasn't obvious already, he was food's number one fan. Not only did he have a feast for every meal, but work and time at the gym made his appetite even bigger. He didn't discriminate, either. Chinese, Italian, Mexican--Alec may not be able to pronounce his order, but you can be sure he knows how to eat it. Food was a two-way street, however, and while he was no Master Chef, Alec could follow online recipes to the T and whip up a fairly decent meal.

He was slightly surprised that nobody ever bothered to take Vanessa ice skating, but a small part of him jumped for joy. That meant that she would be clinging on to him for dear life for at least the first fifteen minutes. Now Alec had gone through his fair share of schemes to pick up girls, but this date was as genuine as his birth certificate. Things were going smoothly and it was all by chance... or maybe luck... or was it fate?

"Actually, I was asking you because I didn't know," he said slowly with a frown, as if unsure on what to do next. "Just kidding!" he chimed, reaching out to steady her as she wobbled on her skates. Alec wanted to get her on the ice and moving and soon as possible, because attempting to walk on the carpet on blades was like a sprained ankle waiting to happen. "Am I ready? I should be asking you that!" he laughed, stepping backwards on the the rink and gently pulling Vanessa with him.

[Vanessa Richards]

It wasn't usual for Vanessa to wear heels. She actually had no idea why she had chosen to wear these flirty wedges. It was probably meant to impress Alec with her height and the way her heels made her butt stand up. She was still aiming to please despite that she wasn't trying as hard to make him love her. Actually, as time passed Vanessa realized that it didn't take slutty clothes to attract a guy but personality. For the most part, she felt confident of the way she carried herself around in public. No one gave her suggestive looks or had a difficult time focusing on her face because their eyes were on her cleavage. Push-up bras were rather uncomfortable especially the way Vanessa wore them; tight and high. It was major embarrassment.

Vanessa laughed when Alec joked and said he had no clue how to ice skate. She followed the joke and said, "Well then I guess we'll just have to make it through together." her tone was positive and firm. She tended to be quite charming at times and ended up taking the cake when it came to emotions. Walking on skates was very difficult task but Vanessa realized that if she stomped her way toward the rink then she wouldn't sprain an ankle or anything. When she saw herself only a few millimeters away from the ice, she looked up to Alec, a little weary. She had a tight hold of his hand and her lips wrinkled. Her eyes were planted down on the crystal ice that she was about to stand on. 

However, she took a chance - and a deep breath before plunging herself into the rink. Vanessa slid forward, her arms waddled slightly as she held onto Alec. She must have looked like a child. "Alright, I'm in. That's a start, right?" she asked him, grinning foolishly before looking around at all the other people who were skating past them. They seemed like professional ice skaters compared to her novice level. "Teach me all you know, sensei." Vanessa said doing her best Japanese accent. She only had heard it in an old movie she had seen with the Brady Bunch during high school at the Wilkes house called The Karate Kid. She thought the main character was super hot and actually paid attention the plot and all of it's film greatness. 

[Alec Mercer]

Not much has changed about Alec's style in clothing in the last five years, especially since he's almost always fixing something and would really hate to dirty his clothes. For now, he specialized in but was not limited to working on cars. If your air conditioning isn't cold enough, or your refrigerator isn't running, Alec is your guy. There was no charge for family, friends, and friends of friends and his only rule is that you buy your own replacement parts and he'll do the rest.

However, there were certainly plus sides to having a well paying job. Alec had some pretty swanky suits hidden away by the multitude of tees and tanks in his closet. There were fancy ties and socks and the like, too. If tonight had been a regular dinner date at a high end restaurant, there was no doubt that Alec would dress to impress. Alas, their activity of choice was ice skating, and such an outfit simply would not be ideal.

His eyes caught her worried ones and his hands tightened their grip on hers. "Come on, it'll be okay. I've got you," he assured her in an encouraging tone. Alec burst into hysterical laughter when Vanessa did her Japanese impression, almost letting go of her hands as he bent over to laugh. "Oh my God, that was terrible!" he said playfully. "I like British on you better," he said with a smile and looking down at her.

Now,it was time to get down to business. Alec began to pull Vanessa alongside him slowly and at a steady pace. "Push off with your dominant foot. Don't look down at your feet, it'll throw off your balance," he instructed her. Letting go of her hand so that she could learn to balance herself, Alec kept his hands outstretched just in case Vanessa teetered over or just needed some support.