Wooing The Ex-Wife
Chapter 26: Alex and Alice

Alice rubbed her cheeks wondering if they were still red. There was an undertone of excitement in the air surrounding her. The plastic cherry blossom tree, with its pretty pink flowers, was looming above them, and for a brief moment, Alice wondered exactly how much paper would have been wasted for making this tree. It wasn't the most appropriate thought for the situation she was in, after all, she had just been kissed.

It had happened all too quickly. One moment Alice had been telling Alex how she was uncomfortable with being pressed up against him and how their position seemed to be wrong and the next thing she knew was her face being held by Alex, and his lips descending on hers. The kiss had started with Alex bent over her, coaxing her to respond and had escalated to Alice standing on her tippy toes refusing to let Alex go. Unlike the usual cliche, Alice had been very much aware of the people around them, she could hear a giggling group of girls passing by, she could feel people staring at the back of her head but somehow she didn't mind. All she wanted was to continue kissing Alex, loving the way his lips enveloped hers forcing them to mould around his.

The kiss was sweet, exotic, and liberating at the same time. Tired of standing on her toes, she pulled him down closer to her, with one hand in his hair and other around his neck, however instead of coming closer, Alex broke the kiss as he leaned away from her panting. Alice could see the sparkle in his eyes as he spoke in a rough voice "Wow, that was something.". He had immediately shut his mouth after saying it and had blushed harder than Alice. Alex took the box of cereal from behind her and said "Wait here, I will be back after paying for this stuff." before leaving a still dazed Alice under the cherry blossom tree. Alice was waiting patiently under the tree, willing the blush to go away, when she noticed the commotion outside. A crowd of reporters stood outside a room, or at least that's what she assumed it to be, waiting for someone. She wondered, how had they managed to ignore such a huge commotion while kissing. Remembering the kiss, blood flooded her cheeks again and she groaned in annoyance at the persisting blush. Now that her mind was more stable and the effects of the kiss had worn off, she felt a pinch of guilt as she thought about Liza. Even though Alex had initiated the kiss, she shouldn't have allowed it to happen, she should have pushed him away but instead of doing that she had pulled him closer. But then again, had Liza and Alex been in a relationship he wouldn't have kissed her, especially after knowing Liza's past with Jonathan. She was getting confused. Had she assumed something wrong? or was Alex just like Jonathan? Alice prayed that it was former rather than the latter because her heart would break it she turned out to be the second Stacy.

Alex was giddy with excitement. He couldn't believe that he had finally kissed Alice. He had never been so enamored by someone, as he was with Alice. He could still feel her lips against his, as he checked out from the counter. He could see a frown on Alice's face as he walked towards her with the bag of groceries in his right hand. He wondered if he had been too hasty and chuckled, of-course he had been too hasty. But he couldn't help it when she was standing close enough to feel her heartbeat, with her eyes giving into him and yet with her mouth voicing out her fake denials. It hadn't been the romantic first kiss, he thought they would have but it still had been amazing.

He could tell that Alice was thinking something and from the sudden sour look on her face, he could tell that whatever her thoughts were, they weren't good. He stopped just behind Alice, intending to talk to her about the kiss, but before he could even attempt it she turned around so that their nose was touching and said those four words which were enough to ruin any guy's sleep. "We need to talk".

Alice held Alex's left hand and

dragged him past the cherry

blossom tree and to the parking lot. She would be damned if she was left without any answers. The parking lot was fairly empty, now that the rush of people had passed away. She continued to drag him till he reached their car, before releasing Alex from her hold. To her surprise, Alex looked rather disappointed on being released instead of looking annoyed on being dragged across the entire mall. She faced him as she spoke out "Are you in a relationship with Liza?". It was a simple, direct, and sharp question, hitting straight at the intended point. Alex narrowed his eyes in confusion and Alice held her breath.

"No, we are just Best Friends," Alex said confused as to why Alice was asking this. Alice released her breath, when she registered his words and stilled "What do you mean by you are her Best Friend, I am her Best Friend?" she said pointing an accusing finger towards Alex."Uh-huh It' me" Alex replied moving his fingers as if he was explaining it to a child. Alice huffed and said, "We will have to ask Liza later, don't be surprised when she chooses me."

Alex looked down at Alice and said:

"We will deal with that later, but answer my question first." "What?" Alice asked. "Why are you ignoring me. I know that you remember me from Paris, I could see that in your eyes on the ball night, but then why did you pretend to not know me. Why do you continue to dodge me?" he asked in a sad voice. Alice registered the hurt in his voice and she looked at him with a small smile and reached up to cup his face "I am sorry. It was my fault. I assumed that you were with Liza and ignored you. I should have asked instead of assuming but I just didn't want to hurt Liza again. Since that day in Paris, you have never once left my mind and when I met you here it was

both a blessing and my doom. I used to think that why of all the people out there, did I have to meet you and fall for you, the one who is in a relationship with my best friend. it was the reason why I ignored you, ran away from you. I just wanted to protect myself and Liz, so that none of us would end up with a broken heart, but what I ignored was that my heart was chipping away slowly and Liza's was just like a shattered glass being held together by tape." Alice said as her eyes glimmered with tears.

Alex pulled her close and captured her in a kiss again. How could he not when she was being simply Alice. They pulled away moments later, both panting and out of breath. "You know what I think I can share my position of being Liza's Best Friend with you?" Alex said through his panting. "Really?" Alice questioned while taking deep breaths, trying to control her pounding heart and greedy mind from pulling Alex in for another kiss."Yeah, but only if you agree to be my girlfriend." he said, making Alice still. She looked up at him, her green eyes wide before snapping him into action and pulling him to her once again, kissing the life out of him. "Did that answer your question?" she asked as they parted. "Would you kiss me again, if I said, No?" Alex asked and chuckled as Alice hit him on his chest and flushed red.

They were dramatic, they were always dramatic. When they had first met, when they had been away, at the ball when she had ignored and even now when they had finally confessed, but Alex loved it and every single moment of it, just like he loved Alice. He had finally caught Alice and he wasn't going to let her go.