The Devil's Harem

Chapter 131: A perfect date?

Chapter – 131

Not long after, Jessica went to Alex’s room to apologise, both of them were out in the streets wandering.

As promised, Alex first bought Jessica to try out the local cuisine. All those who knew Alex were aware that he was a foodie. One good thing about Alex, among many others, was that he was not a picky eater and to make it even better, he was a splendid cook. There were times when Alex imagined marrying a working woman. While she worked outside, earning the penny, he would take care of the house and her needs. Alas, where would he find such a good deal?

As soon as the food was served, Alex pulled the waiter to sit with them.

“Can you tell me everything about the dishes here?” Alex said, pointing at the food on the table.

“That...” Alex could see the difficulty on his face.

“How about I order a couple of more dishes?” Alex said and ordered a few more dishes from the menu.

.....

This made the waiter loosen up. The more dishes Alex orders, the more commission he gets. The waiter hurried up with the new dishes and served them to Alex. After that, he sat at the table with Alex and Jessica.

“Now tell me all about the origin, the importance, the ingredients, preparation and everything,” Alex asked eagerly.

The waiter was more than happy to chat. He told Alex everything he knew about the dishes, one by one. By the time he was done, Jessica had already started eating. Even though she was not that hungry, the mouth-watering smell ignited the urge to taste them in her.

“Ahh...ha... ha...” Alex put down the bone, slurping the last of the drumsticks, “That was divine,” Alex praised the food.

Jessica, too put down the fork and pulled out a tissue, gently wiping her lips, “Your appetite is as big as ever.”

Leaning back on the chair, Alex put his arms back, and stretching, he looked confused at Jessica, “When have you ever seen me eat?”

“Well, we did have a meal together before,” Jessica wiped her hands with another tissue, “It was Karen, me, Amanda and you.” Jessica talked about the day the four of them went to see that rundown building in the abandoned area of the city.

“Oh... How can I forget that day,” Alex said as he looked at Jessica with a meaningful gaze, “You were quite grumpy that day.”

“Don’t talk about that,” Jessica said, shaking her head, “I still get angry thinking about that day.”

Alex wanted to pry further into the reason, but before he could do that, the waiter walked up to them with the bill.

“Sir, the bill,” the waiter said and pushed the bill towards Alex.

“Hey... Just because I am a man, don’t assume I will foot the bill,” Alex said as he lightly pushed the waiter’s hands towards Jessica, “She is the one paying.”

The waiter was hesitant, but he still looked at Jessica, hoping she won’t push it back to Alex. Jessica, on the other hand, did not think much of it. She had indeed promised Alex a meal, so she was okay paying the bill. She took the receipt from the boy, looked at the amount and then opened her purse.

Taking out two crispy, new notes, Jessica gave them to the boy, “The rest is your tip.”

The waiter was ecstatic when he heard Jessica. The food they ordered was already enough for him to have a good commission, but the tip was the cherry on top. In most of the restaurants, the servers don’t have a fixed monthly salary. They get paid on a commission and tip basis. So every large order and tip was a blessing to them.

But Alex had something else on his mind, “Hey... No need for the tip,” Alex told Jessica and then looked at the waiter, “I want the change.” Alex said.

The smile on the waiter’s face stiffened as he turned toward Jessica. After all, she was the one who paid the bill. He will do whatever she says.

“What are you looking at her,” Jessica wanted to ask Alex what he was doing. But Alex beat her to it and said, “We have ordered already more than enough food for you to have a good commission. Now, hurry up.”

Now that Alex has said so much, Jessica could only agree with him. She looked at the waiter and nodded. Dejected, the waiter left and came back a few moments back. He tried to hand over the remaining amount to Jessica, but Alex got up and took them from the waiter’s hand before Jessica could.

“Come, let’s go,” Alex said, cleaning his teeth with a toothpick.

As the two of them walked out of the restaurant, Alex looked around, stretching as he tried to make some space in his stomach.

“Should we head back now?” Since she had fulfilled her promise, Jessica asked.

“Uhmm... What’s the hurry?” Alex asked, still stretching his body.

“What more do you want to do?”

“Well, since we are near the beach, and it’s almost time, let’s go watch the sunset,” Alex suggested pointing at the sun.

Jessica looked at the sun almost at the horizon, and the beautiful sky did entice her, but she was not sure about it. After all, spending the whole day with someone whom she couldn’t see eye to eye until this afternoon was something... awkward.

She wanted to refuse Alex, but when she saw the excitement in his eyes and how she was not so good to him all this while, she smiled and gave in.

“Let’s get a cab,” Jessica suggested as she waved, trying to flag a taxi.

“Wait...” Just as the taxi stopped in front of them, Alex hurriedly pulled her away. Then he bent down and looked at the driver through the window, “Sorry, bro... Change of plans.” Alex said and knocked on the door of the car lightly a couple of times, indicating for him to leave.

“Why did you send him away?” Jessica asked, confused by Alex’s behaviour.

“Why else? The shore is just around the corner, and you want to flag a taxi?” Alex, in turn, looked weirdly at Jessica, “Have you never heard of enjoying the process?”

“I have only cared about the result,” Jessica shrugged, “What use of the process if I can’t achieve the result? By hook or crook, I want the result.” Jessica expressed her thoughts.

“No... No... No...” Alex said, shaking his head, “That’s the wrooong... number...”

Alex and his metaphors, no one could understand them, and Jessica was the same. She had no idea what Alex was talking about.

“Wait a minute, ” Alex said and, leaving Jessica there, walked into the nearby store.

Soon Alex walked out and waved two plastic wrappers in front of her. He got them popsicles.

“What is this?” Jessica took one from Alex’s hand and asked.

“Haven’t you ever tried popsicles?” Alex looked surprised at Jessica’s ignorance, “It’s a must when you are at a beach.”

Alex then tore the wrapper of his popsicle and in front of Jessica was a yellow, ice-like thing with a wooden handle. Alex grabbed the one in Jessica’s hand and handed her the yellow ice stick.

With the yellow popsicle in her hand, Jessica looked at Alex, hesitant to taste that, but Alex urged her to do so. With Alex urging her, Jessica slowly put the popsicle in her mouth. But while she was ready for the worst, she was pleasantly surprised. As soon as the ice touched her tongue, she was filled with the sweet taste of a mango. Something like a frozen mango juice.

“Isn’t it good?” Alex asked when he saw Jessica slurp on the popsicle. When he tore his own wrapper, it was a red one.

“Hmmm...” Jessica nodded, “What’s your flavour?” She asked.

Alex looked at the popsicle from all sides before sniffing, “I think it is watermelon,” Alex said and then tasted it, “Yup, watermelon it is.” Alex was happy with the one he got.

And with that, enjoying the popsicle, the two of them made their way through the bustling street. It took them some time to get out of the streets and walk freely.

It took them a couple of minutes as they strolled, enjoying the last rays of the sun. There were a lot of people still enjoying the waves. Alex and Jessica, slowly enjoying the breeze, made their way towards a more isolated part of the beech.

As they reached the shore, Alex threw his shoes to the side, and pulling his pants up, walked into the nice cold water. As the cold water touched his feet, Alex felt relaxed, and the fatigue began to fade away. If he had his trunks with him, he would have gone swimming right now.

As Alex stood in the water, he looked back at Jessica. She was still standing at a considerable distance away from the incoming waves. The fear of water was still there and was going to last long.

“What are you standing there for?” Alex asked, “Come, the water is so soothing.”

“It’s okay... I am alright,” Jessica refused, showing her hand to Alex, “I think I will get dizzy in the water.”

Alex frowned, “That won’t do... What will you do if you end up fainting in the shower? Will you stop bathing? Oh god, you will stink if that goes on...” Alex said, looking up in the sky, “I won’t let you take the place of pigs.”

Saying so, Alex rushed toward Jessica and, wrapping his arms around her ass, picked her up, like he did earlier today.

Jessica struggled as Alex put her on his shoulder. She was afraid that Alex might spank her ass again. The pain had still not faded away, and she could not take more of it. But Alex did nothing of that sort. With Jessica in his arms, he walked into the water and lightly put her down.

As soon as Jessica found her footing, she began pounding his chest as hard she could with her small fists. And Alex did not stop her. When she had it enough, she looked up at his face only to find him smiling, not affected at all. Alex then grabbed Jessica by her shoulder and turned her around to see the setting sun.

Angry, she turned but was left mesmerised to see the sunset. Her anger vanished in seconds. She found the water hitting her feet pleasing and the last rays of the sun soothing. All her worries were being washed away by the waves.

Alex let go of her shoulder and backed away as he watched her stare at the setting sun. Her face was the only thing glowing with the sun, and her hair blew with the wind. Suddenly, Alex felt that tingling, something he had felt once before. It was with Karen. The day he dropped her at her apartment and ended up kissing her. He was feeling the same thing, a turmoil in his heart.

‘Control, Alex, control...’ Alex thought to himself. He needed to find something to distract him, but one thing Alex realised was that his heart slipped every time he was alone with a beautiful girl.

To try and not think about it, Alex pulled back and kicked hard at the upcoming wave of water, splashing it all over Jessica. But as soon as Jessica looked back, with his fingers tapping his cheek, Alex acted as if he was in deep thoughts.

But Jessica was not going to be fooled by it. No one was, “You...” Jessica took some water in her hands and threw it at Alex, but he was quick to run away.

And with that, the game of chasing began between them. Jessica tried to catch Alex for some time before she sat down in the sand, tired. With her hair blowing with air, she pulled them in a bun with a hairpin. Seeing her sit down, Alex slowly approached her, wary of any incoming attack. But after getting the assurance from Jessica, he also sat down there.

“Aahh... I wish we had some beer,” Alex said, “It would have been the perfect ending to the evening.” Alex said, regretting.

Alex then laid back, “I need to buy some souvenirs as well...” Alex said.

‘What would mom like?’ Alex thought.

‘What about Margaret... Nothing has been said yet, but we are kind of in the process of figuring things out... I should buy something for her as well?’

‘Then there is Chie... no Karen,’ Alex smiled to himself, ‘I should buy something for Karen as well...”

When Jessica saw Alex smiling alone, she felt the urge to ask, “What are you smiling for?”

Jessica’s voice brought Alex out of his thoughts. He looked at her and smiled, “Nothing, I was just thinking about something...”

“Something about me?” Jessica asked.

“No... Not about you,” Alex chuckled. 𝑖n𝗻𝗿𝗲𝗮𝐝.co𝚖

“You better forget about everything from the morning. I don’t want to have the word spread when we get back to Elenor,” Jessica bent forward and pointed her finger at Alex threatening him.

Laughing, Alex backed away, avoiding her finger before it poked his eyes, “Chill... My lips are sealed... You won’t hear a word about me spanking your ass red and throwing you off the yacht,” Alex said as he gestured, zipping his mouth.

“You scoundrel... You won’t behave, will you?” Jessica was relieved when she heard Alex, but by the end, her face was red with embarrassment. It was only because the sun was no longer up, that no one could see her face. She sat on her knees and started punching Alex wherever she could.

After she was done venting her frustration, she looked away. This was followed by some silence before Alex spoke.

.....

“You know, you are not that bad,” Alex said

“Humph... You are the bad one, not me...” Jessica turned her head towards Alex and said before turning it away again.

Alex just smiled and did not say anything else. When Jessica did not see Alex say anything, she turned her face slightly towards him and stole glances. Alex was looking straight up in the sky, enjoying the night sky.

“So you thought I was bad earlier?” Now that Alex had sparked the topic, Jessica couldn’t hold herself back from asking.

Alex looked away from the stars and turned towards Jessica, “Do you blame me? You made things hard for me the first time we met at the presentation. Then there was that building incident, then the incident in your office, then the hotel lobby and today...” Alex said, shaking his head, “You have always made things hard for me for no reason. Today you even assaulted me...”

“You also assaulted me,” Jessica said hurriedly. She can’t deny any other incident, but since today she was on the losing side, she could try and play the victim card.

“Are you sure? Because for all I know, I saved you first.” Alex said, smirking.

“Fine...” Jessica could not have him stare at her like this, “I have to admit. I was a bit wrong about you. Happy?”

“Dah... you should have listened to Karen. Speaking about her, how is she? I haven’t spoken to her for a while. Why didn’t you bring her along? You guys are friends, aren’t you?” Alex asked a couple of things altogether.

“I did ask her to join us, but she said something about her mother-in-law being in town,” Jessica said. Of course, she asked Karen, it was the first thing she did after looking at the tickets in her hand, but she was rejected.

“Oh, her mother-in-law.”

Jessica could see the apparent disappointment on Alex’s face. ‘Does he have a thing for her?’ She thought.

“It’s getting dark... let’s go,” Alex said.

As they stood up, Alex said.

“I am curious about something,” Alex asked, breaking the silence.

“What is it?”

“Don’t get me wrong, but what happened today? I mean... Sure, the guy was creepy, but your reaction was a bit over the top.” Alex said.

“I get disgusted by the touch of men,” Jessica said, making a yuck face.

“Really? Then what about this.” Alex said, lifting his hand up. He was holding onto Jessica’s hand for some time.

“Oh!” Jessica let go of Alex’s hand in a hurry. She did not notice, but when Alex offered to help her get up just now, she instinctively held his hand.

“Hey, I am not a plague you are trying to avoid,” Alex said, laughing.

“It’s nothing like that... I just...” Jessica hesitated. She had no way to explain it. Nervously tucked the strand of hair behind her ear.

“You know... I have always liked girls with long wavy hair, blowing with the wind,” Alex said, gesturing with his hands, “But you, on the other hand, look even more stunning with your hair wound up in a bun.” Alex said as he looked at Jessica admiringly. He tried to reach out and touch her hair.

“Oh, what do we have here? You two weren’t this chummy in the morning.”

A voice interrupted Jessica and Alex.

“What are you doing here?”

* * * * *