Usually Riley becomes anxious when they are observed. They didn’t think often of how others perceived them until they were in front of someone new. Did their suit fit correctly after being tailored? Did their ears stick out too much? Riley knew there were a million things people could judge; but they didn’t feel anxious with Nyla watching them. This time they liked the attention.
Nyla was interesting, provocative, and might Riley be shallow for a moment to say that she is also easy on the eyes. Riley took another sip off their flask before tucking it into the breast pocket of their leather jacket. They were glad Nyla took their observation as a compliment, they were sure some would be offended at a remark as hypothecated as the one they made.
“I would not be surprised in the slightest.” Riley replied. They’d assumed a woman like Nyla would be able to take care of herself - especially if the club they frequented was Moonlight. “Something tells me you know your way out of any situation.” They added, their finger coming up to scratch their sharp chin. “-and you never do anything you don’t want to do.” Riley said, wondering just how tenacious this woman was; and how she just might be able to match them.
They looked down at Nyla, watching carefully as she came closer. Riley studied her features, her tilted head in return of theirs. A smile formed across Rileys features, pulling their cheek up to reveal a slight dimple. They were only inches away from each other, Riley towering over Nyla by inches.
“Marevelous.” They matched Nylas tone, almost whispering.
Nyla couldn’t help her reactions to them. Such provocative words about the nature of her being did not allow for that level of control. Besides, control was overrated in her opinion anyways. Had she been busy trying to grip that falsehood, she might have missed all the details in their interaction that made it so exciting. The keen silence in between their dialogue. The pleasant uncertainty of who would say or do what next. It all created for Nyla the highest form of human interaction--natural, reactive, and all within an unspoken parameter that forbade very little. Control would be nearly dishonorable to call upon in a moment like this. In fact, she felt moments like these called for spontaneity, the perpetuator of its opposite.
Needless to say, they had been right. She never did anything she did not want to do. And she did not beat around any bushes. She did not bait, or wait, or chase--not normally. But here with them on this dimly lit sidewalk, she had the mind to understand why people played such games. She figured if anything, it must be in desperate attempt to prolong the teetering balance, perhaps watch it stagger for a tiny bit longer before it plunged in any odd direction. However, some things have a tendency to seesaw until acted upon, and while Nyla loved the suspense she would never pass up an opportunity to happen to life instead of being a victim of the other way round.
Having already decided she would kiss them, Nyla deprived the other of the obvious give-away of moving closer. She had made this decision based on the way they’d scratched their chin alone. It had done more for the art of flirting than any male Moonlight attendee could ever do. From her stilled position, she asked “Are you always this observant?” It came out as banter, but in her heart of hearts she felt there was no need to go back and forth--at least not verbally. She was nodding her head at them as she spoke, eyes squinting to convey she was reading in between every line imaginable, and yet she still did not expect anything specific from the other. She simply wanted to get her wish fulfilled, that of pressing her lips against theirs, before any affirming or adverse reaction ensued.
Relying on her tippy-toes to support her, Nyla leaned upward and pulled the other in. Their lips connected only seconds before she allowed the rest of her body to follow. Her hips moved forward to rest her abdomen against theirs. In the back of her mind, she was inviting the other to wrap her in, receive her, and contain her in the only way in which she enjoyed being contained. Yet, she also reveled in knowing hope was her only guarantee, and that it by itself did not guarantee much in life. It only left you open to rejection, something everyone would do best to get used to. Only Nyla had a feeling that even if she did allow herself to hope for something as random as a kiss back from a stranger outside of a club, it wouldn’t be for hoping that she received it but actual mutual attraction.
