{{{AC}}}Third Time is the Charm (Judas)

[Esme M. Lolland]

Esme had led the way to her apartment, idle chit chat filling the time. She was just happy that she was able to spend a bit more time with Judas before everything would seem to go down the tubes. She climbed the steps to her apartment and stood just outside the door with Judas next to her. She pulled her key from her pocket and placed it into the hole.

"I just want to warn you one more time, I was not prepared to have any visitors, so brace yourself. My place wouldn't look like this any other way... it was just with exams coming up and everything," Esme stopped trying to make excuses after a while and turned the key and the doorknob in one swift motion.

The door opened and she flicked on a light, fully illuminating a living room with a plasma screen television, two sofas, a desk, a fireplace and a couple of coffee tables and side tables. The room was connected to an open kitchen, and both were adorned with a few pieces of clothes here and there and quite a few take-out boxes. It wasn't a mess, really, just jumbled.

"You can hang your coat in the closet there," she pointed towards a door, while throwing hers on a chair near the door and kicking off her shoes. She began to quickly pick up clothes and throw them behind a door that led to the bedroom, then she went back to pick up empty cartons and throw them away. After a few moments, the apartment began to look as if she was truly planning on company all along.

"Take a seat wherever you want," Esme said as she moved into the kitchen, working behind an island with seats on the other side. "Would you like something to drink? A cigarette? Something to eat, I could probably whip up some food if your hungry?" she dug through her refrigerator, stuffing a piece of deli meat into her mouth and pulling out a bottle of wine. She hated playing hostess, but it was something she seemed to be terribly good at.

[Judas]

Judas followed Esme to her apartment, enjoying the idle conversation with the woman in his arm. It was pleasant, normal in a way that nothing in his life really was. For a moment he was just a man, walking back to a woman's apartment. Of course he knew that wasn't the case, wasn't the reality of things but he pushed that logical part of his mind back.

He snorted when she warned him again about the mess. "Just because I'm old doesn't mean I'm proper. You've been spending to much time with Vlad." He shook his head and waited for her to open the door.

Judas followed her inside and laid eyes on an apartment that wasn't dirty in the least. What had she been worried about? There were a few things out of place but for the most part, the place was clean. It was a matter of minutes before it looked like she actually might have been expecting company. He refused to let himself look at the bedroom when she tossed her things into it. Not bad for a college student who had been apparently studying for exams.

He nodded and hung up his coat in the closet, watching while she threw her own over a chair. He followed her lead and kicked off his shoes by the door. Judas looked around the room for the first time. Her, or rather, her family's wealth wasn't obvious in the room but it was there. Not every college student could afford two sofas. But still, the place didn't shout the fact that she had money and he thought better of her for it.

Judas sat himself down on the couch nearest to the door. A cig sounded good but he wouldn't smoke in her house and he didn't feel like going outside, it was to cold to open a window. The point of coming to her apartment had been to keep the girl warm..well, that had been his reasoning behind anyway, how he'd justified it to himself. "A drink, please."

Having the girl wait on him made him uncomfortable so he stood and walked into the kitchen. He wasn't used to gratitude and he certainly wasn't used to favors, being waited on was a step up from both of those. He wouldn't upset the girl again over it, but there was nothing that said he coudn't make her job as hostess a little easier.

Now that they were at the apartment, the heated thoughts he'd had before were beginning to cool in a wave of uncertainty. Esme certainly didn't seem to be thinking about anything other than continuing there conversations from before, being a good hostess, so why should he be thinking about anything else? It seemed silly now, like a nightmare after you wake up in the morning.

[Esme M. Lolland]

Even as Esme moved about the apartment, she was all too aware of Judas's presence. That alone made her a bit more jumpy in her own home. The fact that her parents had left her with so much money, their own stupid guilt paying her back with about 10% of every paycheck, made her that much more aware of how different she was from other girls her age. She could only assume that centuries of life had left Judas with much more money than herself, but it still made her much more aware of all the money she had put into her apartment.

She was aware that her apartment didn't show all of the money as obviously as some would think it should, but there were small details that only she knew about. A small priceless chandelier here, a state of the art stove, premium cable service, it all added up and it made her feel slightly guilty.

"What would you like to drink?" Esme asked, "I've got wines, champagne, ales, beers. I mean, being a college student has a few perks, a pretty good taste in alcohol happens to be one of them." She turned around and was a little stunned to have Judas in the kitchen with her, she hadn't been expecting it entirely.

Dancing around him, she pulled out a wine glass and a corkscrew. He may not have been able to notice it, but her mind went straight to the gutter just having him in such a close proximity. She had an image of him placing his hands on her hips, turning her around and placing a kiss on her lips. After that moment she wouldn't be able to hold herself back, all thoughts of food and drinks out the window.

She shook her head violently to dispell the thoughts. Where has her mind been travelling with Judas in her life? It wasn't natural for her to think like that.... or was it? After all, she was just out of her teenaged years and teenagers were supposed to be curious, right?

[Judas]

"Just a beer, please." Judas liked british beer, it was considerably stronger than that water the american's called alcohol. Stronger was better when it came to drinks. What was the point of drinking if you didn't want to taste the alcohol? He nodded and chuckled when she said that having a good taste in alcohol was one of the perks of being a college student. "Well, naturally, with all those parties."

He could tell that having him so close had surprised her and he had to admit that he liked seeing the girl react to something with something more than calm acceptance, made her seem more natural, more real and less like a dream. He raised an eyebrow in question when she shook her head like she was trying to chase away a fly.

It was hard to think of conversation. All his mind seemed to think of were all the places on her body that he wanted to kiss. But she was so innocent, so bright, would he be taking advantage of her? She'd said that she'd wanted the kiss they'd shared, but still....he felt like he shouldn't be allowed to touch her, unworthy of this strange girl.

Judas found his hand reaching out to grab her arm and spin her around to face him and forced it back to his side. He hadn't felt so unsure of himself in centuries, something about this girl set him off balance.

[Esme M. Lolland]

Esme opened up the bottle of wine clumsily, the thoughts that were running through her mind made her thought process so jagged. The cork broke in the bottle and when she poured the wine into the glass some of the wine fell to the countertop. Esme ignored it, leaving the open bottle, glass and mess on the counter she headed back to refridgerator and pulled out a bottle of beer.

She wanted to start some sort of conversation, but the only thing that seemed to pop into her head was how much she wanted to kiss Judas. She would have struck up a conversation about it, but she wasn't quite sure if it fell into the realm of proper conversational etiquette.

She opened the beer and handed it to Judas, grabbing her glass of wine at the same time. "Cheers," she said, tipping her glass towards him as she leaned against the counter. She was content with just looking at him, at least for now, but there was so much more she wanted than that.

"Should I put on some music? Do you even listen to anything that I might have in my house? You seem like a rock type of person, do you like Franz Ferdinand?" Esme was babbling, but she was trying to keep her mind off of the thoughts that were running through her mind. She was wondering whether or not she would have enough confidence to make a meal on her kitchen counter again if she and Judas couldn't make it out of the kitchen.

[Judas]

He took the beer with a small smile. It was small but he supposed he was making progress over the smirks and half-smiles that until tonight had been his only options. "Cheers." He clinked his bottle gently against her glass and took a long drink from the beer.

Judas watched her lean against the counter and had to fight his body not to press his body against hers and pin her there. Instead he put his mind to the thought of music, forcing it to try and recall the name of the band she'd mentioned. He laughed when she asked if he even listened to anything she'd have. "What, do you think I listen to taped versions of the tribal message drums? I know I'm old but..." He shook his head, amused. "I don't think I've heard them, but you're right, I like rock music."

Her babbling did nothing to discourage the thoughts that paraded themselves through his mind, it was cute, sweet and it made him want her even more, if that was possible. Sex complicated things, but what didn't?

Judas set the beer on the counter and took that last step to press their bodies together. He took the wine glass gently from her hand and set it on the counter behind her. He leaned forward until his mouth hovered over hers. "I'm going to kiss you and I can't promise it will stay at just a kiss, last chance to tell me no...."

[Esme M. Lolland]

Esme giggled and tipped her head to the side as Judas asked what type of music she thought he listened to. She let her hair fall into her face and the pushed it back behind her ear when she replied, she couldn't help but revert to her flirty-girl mode, "I don't think you listen to tribal music, but I don't quite see you as a Muse type of guy, no matter how good they are. I don't know, maybe you still listened to big band music." It was good to know he liked rock music, there was yet another thing she could add to her list of things they had in common.

Esme's breath caught in her throat as Judas set down his bottle and came towards her. Esme's mind began to whirl even quicker. They were not going to make it out of the kitchen, that was for sure. His body pressed against hers and Esme felt her heart skip a beat, maybe even two. It was painful but it felt so right at the same time.

Before she could prepare herself for anything Judas had taken the glass out of her hand, making his own preparations. His mouth over hers, his breath on her lips, it was all too much. She couldn't think straight she wanted him so badly. The words weren't going to formulate themselves, so she nodded helplessly, noticing a small longing whimper slip through her lips. She didn't know if what she had done had been the right answer to his statement, but she was hoping he understood what she wanted.

[Judas]

He almost thought he'd imagined the nod until he heard the whimper. Judas smiled, a true smile though the heat in his eyes must have taken something away from it. "You do have a way with words." He whispered and then pressed his lips to hers.

His hands moved from the edges of the counter to wrap around her, one hand resting on the top curve of her bottom and the other pressed against the middle of her shoulder blades. He stood up straighter and pulled Esme tight against him, enjoying the feel of the curves of her body molded against his.

Judas' lips were soft against hers, barely brushing, teasing. He wanted so much but he wouldn't rush things, he wanted to draw this out as long as he could. He nibbled her lower lip, drawing it into his mouth for a second before finally pressing his mouth hard to hers. He lost himself to the kiss, all thoughts or doubts vanishing, he slipped his tongue into her mouth and explored every inch of it as thoroughly as he intended to explore the rest of her body.

[Esme M. Lolland]

When Judas commented on Esme's response she made a weak chuckle, sounding much like a scoff, as his lips met hers. That one small movement had washed a wave of relief over her. As if by some miracle she was able to breath, and if she dared she probably could create a semi-comprehensible sentence again. As ridiculous as it seemed, Judas had been her savior at that very moment.

Esme felt her hands move towards Judas's biceps as if they had minds of their own. His hands moved to her body and she relished the feel of his hands. Even through her shirt, the touch was electric. He pulled her tighter to him and her hands slipped from their place, to rest on his chest.

He had been teasing her with his lips, she longed for the feel of them on hers again, but all she felt was a soft brush. She felt another whimper make it's way from deep within her, her mind didn't want to form words, it wanted the two of them to work with the connection they had formed over the hours. And as if he was reading her mind, he had her lip in his grasp. Her lips were his domain, they were under his control. His tongue slipped into her mouth and her tongue moved on it's own accord, trying to match each of Judas's movements with one of it's own. Esme's body moved on it's own, she just went along for the ride, this ride that she had been waiting all night for.

[Judas]

He felt her hands exploring his arms, his chest and her hands left trails off fire where it touched the skin his shirt left bare. Judas heard the second whimper and his hands tightened on the fabric of her clothing, longing to feel the skin underneath. He unclenched his hands, distangling them from her clothing and slid them both under shirt. The skin was so soft, so delicate and the feel of it combined with her tongue dancing along his made him growl softly into the kiss.

The feel of Esme's skin beneath his hands and her mouth against his made him forget the pain like neither drink or smoke could. He slid his hands up her back, bringing the bottom of her shirt with them until it was high enough for him to pull over her head, his mouth leaving hers for a second so that the fabric could pass between them and then returning the moment the shirt hit the kitchen floor.

Judas ran his hands along every inch of bare skin and took his mouth from hers to kiss down the middle of her body, somewhat obstructed by the bra she still wore. He slid his lips, and occasionally tongue, along the soft skin of her stomach and the parts of her chest that weren't covered by the bra.