Chapter 7
Later that day:
Lexa is lying in her bed not being able to sleep because she is really excited about everything that happened when she came home from work. She really feels like one of these girls that asked her crush out for prom. The following morning she is still happy about everything and is having a great day at work. Everybody is already asking questions why she is in such a good mood but she just replies “Things are just going really well right now.”
The week passes very slowly but she and Clarke are sometimes exchanging text messages throughout the day. That one time when Lexa was in the middle of a meeting and one of her sales directors was ranting about some numbers, she accidently busted out laughing because Clarke has made a very funny comment on one of her previous messages she sent her. Everybody has stared at her but she tried to cover it up by coughing, making them believe that something got stuck in her throat or something. She spent lots of time this week to organise that ball, which turned out to be a real pain in the ass but by Friday everything was settled and the only thing that she has to decide now is what she is going to wear at this ball. Of course she cannot be dressed the way she was for the charity event. It has to be something subtle. No big watches or shiny rings anymore. She is already curious how Clarke is going to dress.
On Saturday she starts the day with a pretty awesome workout, since she hadn’t had one in a while it feels good to do some cardio and some lifting. She even gets to 50 push-ups and 30 squads this morning. The rest of the day she is working some more and starts to get ready at about 6pm. She walks into the bathroom and turns on the shower before she is taking her clothes off. Sometimes she likes it to look at her body in the mirror, she has always been very self-conscious about the way she looks. She could never let herself go, become fat or have an unhealthy diet. She takes a closer look at her tattoos to see if they might fade a little but everything looks fine. Nobody actually knows that she has any tattoos but that was something she was always very fond of. Every single one of them tells a different story of her life and maybe they will remain untold forever but she will always carry them underneath her skin, knowing that they made her the person she is today. When the water is hot enough she gets into the shower and closes the big glass doors. The hot water makes her sore muscles feel much better. As she is finished she gets out of the shower and starts to dry herself up with a towel and puts some lotion on her skin making it feel very smooth and soft, plus it smells like vanilla and honey. She blow dries her hair, so it wouldn’t be so curly, she cannot stand curly her on herself. Once in a while she would braid one or two strains of her hair the way her mother showed her to do it when she was a little girl. She puts on a pair of white Calvin Klein boxers with a fitting sports bra and goes into her bedroom to open her closet to see what her options are for tonight.
She gets out a dark blue suit with a black lapel and a tie that had the same shade blue as the suit. In addition to that she wears black shoes and a slim, silver watch. After she is finished to get ready she checks her phone and has a message from Clarke.
It is literally just a picture of her hair straightener with the caption:
“Do you think I can use this even though I am bisexual?”
Lexa giggles a little bit as she grabs her car keys. She picks Clarke up at the spot as she dropped her off last time and the moment Lexa sees her standing on the sidewalk she has to hold herself back not to smile like a total dork. Clarke is looking pretty classy herself, she wears a very light blue calf-length dress and flat shoes in the same colour. She is holding onto her black clutch purse she already brought with her last time. All in all she simply looks fantastic. Lexa gets out of the car to greet her and as they hug Lexa can smell the scent of Clarke’s hair, it is just like an ocean of flowers.
The brunette opens the door for Clarke and she says “Apparently chivalry still exists these days.”
Where Lexa replies “My mother always told me to treat women properly.”
They drive to the place that Lexa chose for the ball without talking. As they arrive somebody is already waiting for them to park Lexa’s car and Clarke just looks after him like she has never seen something like that before and bumps Lexa’s arm gently
“Look who wants to impress me with all this fancy stuff that you set up.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, these things are normal for me. I expect them to do this.” Lexa answers with a total straight face. They enter the building and Clarke wraps her arm around Lexa’s while they are walking to their tables.
“Do we get actual food here?” Clarke asks surprised.
“Yes of course, how else are you going to survive this evening without food?”
“I don’t know? The last time there wasn’t any food and I had to stop at McDonald’s on my way home because I was almost starving to death.” Clarke responds.
Lexa laughs before she says “You know you shouldn’t eat there, it’s really not good for your body and-“ but she stops as she is noticing the way Clarke looks at her
“If you had like 100$ per month for groceries you have no choice.” Clarke explains.
“Well, then let me cook for you some time.” she answers in a very shy voice.
“You can cook?” the blonde asks surprised.
“I sure can.”
“Well, sure then.” Clarke says with a smile.
Later other people are joining them at their table and Lexa is in her element talking about all these things regarding her business. Listening to the conversations Clarke is finally understanding with what Lexa earns her living actually, Lexa works as a trade negotiator and her company is a trade consulting firm, means she is working out deals between companies who want to extend their production lines, go into other sectors they have no experience with or need help with negotiating terms regarding the environment regulations in some countries. The waiters bring them huge plates with tiny portions on it but the food is really good.
“And this is all you eat for a whole evening?” Clarke asks in a low voice after they’re done with the third course.
“Yes, why?”
“No wonder everybody in here is so thin!” she says.
Lexa just rolls her eyes but secretly finds this really funny. Lexa thinks Clarke is a very happy person most of the time who always finds the courage for some silly jokes. The waiters clean the tables and everybody gets up for the first dance. Lexa informs Clarke that because she organised this, they have to do the first dance. Clarke face gets a little red but she nods. Soft violins start playing in the background and Lexa takes the lead just as she did when they were dancing in her kitchen. Clarke must have practiced a little because she dances with a bigger confidence than she did in the beginning. It was just like the first time, Lexa’s hand is resting on her waist while the other is holding hers and her eyes are locked onto her face. Everything else is blurred out, all she sees is the face of this beautiful woman that is dancing with her in this very moment. Lexa cannot remember when was the last time she felt like this. It makes her feel warm inside when she looks at Clarke. She enjoys her company a lot and wishes she could be around her for more than just a few hours. Lexa almost doesn’t realise that the song is over and everybody is clapping. They leave the dance floor and return to their table while other couples start dancing to the next song.
“This was pretty good Clarke, have you been practicing?” Lexa asks.
“I actually have, I didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of all these people.” she replies.
Lexa and Clarke dance two more times this evening and when the ball has come to an end and they walk back to the car, Clarke grabs Lexa’s arm as they walk out.
“Wait, are you tired?” she asks with a suspicious grin on her face.
“Not really.” Lexa answers.
“Good because I don’t want to go home yet. I went with you to two of your high-society parties, now it’s my turn. I am going to take you to a real party.” She says.
Lexa raises her eyebrows “You think this a good idea?”
“Oh I think it is an awesome idea Ms. Woodson.” Clarke laughs.