Feeling his hand being pulled with the stick he loosened up at the second before impact as he felt the rest of his body shift with hers. Watching the ball rotate and spin Sam grinned as the ball fell right into the pocket. Laughing slightly as he pulled himself upright his hands no longer making contact with Alex, ”Don’t think you can focus anymore huh?” said Sam in a mocking tone as he let out another laugh as he realized that a majority of the members of the bar were watching the show.

Giving Mike a look Sam shook his head and said, ”Good job Al, it was a fantastic shot!” ignoring the looks he was getting from everyone else he turned his attention back to the pool table. Picking up his stick Sam grinned slightly as he had begun to show off, placing the stick behind his back and winding for the shot he looked to Alex, ”Care to make a wager?” Sam asked curiously as he stood upright and pulled the stick to his front.

Not really giving her a chance to answer Sam grinned, ”If I can make the behind the back shot and sink the eight ball, you have to do something I ask, and if I miss, I have to do whatever you ask…” Sam crouched down and set up the behind the back shot and pulled the stick back. Holding the pose for a moment Sam spotted the waitress bringing drinks as his attention turned back to Alex then the ball.

Alexandra straightened herself and turned around, grinning at Sam. Stepping to the side, she leaned against the edge of the pool table, head turned to the side.

”Don’t think you can focus anymore huh?”

The molecule manipulator winked in response then turned her head toward the bar and laughed slightly at Mike who had an ear to ear smile on his face. Blue eyes wandered around the rest of the room, confirming the fact that indeed there were perhaps one or two people who weren’t enjoying the show offered so kindly by them.

”Good job Al, it was a fantastic shot!”

Her head turned to the side again as she let out a small laugh. “Apparently, I have a good teacher.” Pivoting on her feet, she made a 180 degrees rotation. Letting the stick rest against the pool table, she placed her palms on the edge of it, blue eyes trailing from ball to ball lazily.

”Care to make a wager?”

An eyebrow arched with interest as the molecule manipulator shifted the position of her head so she would look at Sam. The corner of her lip shifted its position too, moving upward to form a smirk as she listened to the conditions of the bet. Well apparently she was in the mood for betting for she didn’t think twice before accepting. “It’s a deal.” Laughing, she shifted her eyes back on the balls.

As soon as he heard the ‘D’ in deal he pulled the pool stick back and then pulled the trigger so to speak as he fired the stick into the cue ball. Ears ringing with a loud crack Sam’s smug grin widened as the shot was coming along nicely. The cue ball bounced once across the felt before letting out another crack as it slammed into the eight ball. The black swerved and rotated fast as it found its way to the edge of the table. Bouncing off of the wall and rolling to the hole Sam was aiming for.

His grin of smugness however started to fade as he realized that the hole he was aiming for was slightly out of the little eight balls reach. It slowed to a stop four inches away from the hole. Standing upright his eye brow quirked as he looked from the ball to Alex. ”….” blank stare was all he could show, how many times has he nailed that shot before? To many to count and why didn’t he put enough power this time?

Eyes looking down Sam sighed as he shrugged, did divine intervention come to play? Looking to Alex with a small smile, ”Guess I lost our bet…” he smiled, ”Either extremely lucky for me or extremely lucky for you…” in his opinion the bet could go either way, all it depended on was what Alex wanted him to do.

Bowing his head slightly as he sighed and set the stick in one hand, ”Man of my word, Al…” he paused as he raised his head, ”What would you like me to do?”

Balls were in motion once again. Lips pursed together, Alexandra watched how the black ball was rolling against the table, heading straight for the pocket. She had already begun to wonder what exactly Sam would ask her to do when… it slowed down, stopping just a few inches away from the hole. Her body shifted slightly, head turning to Sam. Was he doing this on purpose? Because there were small odds for the ball to miss after the hit Sam took. A blank stare was on Sam’s face once her eyes met up with his. Okay, maybe he did miss.

”Guess I lost our bet…”

And that reminded her that she didn’t have the slightest idea on what exactly she could ask Sam to do.

”What would you like me to do?”

Her body straightened and turned to the side as she gave a small shrug. “I have no idea.” Alexandra laughed slightly. “Maybe a striptease once we get home?” She wasn’t sure how that thought had manifested itself and dared to be voiced out with this serene look on her face. Yeah… She laughed nervously as she shifted her eyes around the room and clearly avoiding Sam.

Jaw lowered adding to the look on his face, ”Did she just say what I think she said!?!” Sam stared at her for a few moments before he shook his head, she must have been kidding, ”You have been hanging out with Dom to much, Al.” if she was serious well, they would get there when they get there, Sam wasn’t going to be the one to suggest something of the like until she was ready to take the next step. Until then he would just wait patiently.

Eyeing the table slightly Sam sighed as he set the pool stick on the table and walked closer to Alex. Arms wrapping around her pulling her into a hug Sam smiled as he looked to her face and kissed her on the cheek. ”Stripteases, I can do, Back rubs I do better.” smiling as his eyes tried to meet hers Sam gave a wink as he kissed her again before letting up as he could hear a few wolf whistles off in the distance, no doubt Mike and the boys were getting a kick out of this.

Eyes trailing to their table Sam smiled as he eyed their drinks waiting for them, ”Care to call the game and take it over to the table?” Sam asked curiously as his hands unclasped from behind Alex’s back. Walking back to their respected booths Sam smiled as he sat down and scooted further into his booth till the tall glass of water was in front of him.

Picking the glass up and sipping it’s contents Sam looked to Alex and asked, ”How is it working for Doc?” he had seen her often when he was getting his ritual completed every time he finished a training session in the danger room, one that often called for a gash healing or even better a broken bone mend. Even if he didn’t need any sort of mending he often found his way to chat up Doc, those times he was relieved when he didn’t receive a nasty look from Alex from what he could tell she for the most part worried about his well being whenever he showed with a large injury.

She couldn’t take it anymore. Taking a deep breath, Alexandra looked at Sam… just in time to see his jaw lowering. For the second time this day she wanted to melt away.

”You have been hanging out with Dom to much, Al.”

At this, she laughed, for the moment forgetting about the stupid thing she’d said. “I think I might have.” Her shoulders rose slightly only to be dropped back down a moment later. Biting her lip, she lowered her head once she saw Sam coming toward her. God, how could she let something like that slip out her mouth? Arms were wrapped around her body as she let out an inaudible sigh. Alexandra placed a hand on Sam’s waist as she looked up to Sam, a small smile appearing on her face when he kissed her cheek.

”Stripteases, I can do, Back rubs I do better.”

You’re not helping me Sam, the molecule manipulator called out inside her head. Well, you started it, came the reply, which she accepted without much of a comment. Oh, and he was winking too. Note to self, Alexandra Kettler. Put some duct tape on that mouth of yours.

Closing her eyes, Alexandra placed her other hand on Sam’s hand waist and decided to pretend that she hadn’t said anything and enjoy the kiss that followed Sam’s last comment. Being in his arms was so comforting that at some point she almost forgot she was in the middle of a bar. A hand moved slightly, traveling a few more inches up while fingers pressed slightly against Sam’s skin. Wolf whistles were what reminded her of their location. Pulling away, Alexandra cleared her throat slightly while glancing over her shoulders at Mike and his friends.

”Care to call the game and take it over to the table?”

Alexandra nodded slightly in response and started to move toward their table. Once she was seated, she picked up her glass and took a small sip out of it before placing it back on the table silently.

”How is it working for Doc?”

Alexandra laughed slightly. “Well, I think it’s the best boss ever. I mean he always does glare at me for being late or startling him when he’s doing his business but I think he likes having someone to work with. And I like working with him.” Alexandra shrugged, the Doc, together with a few other people around the mansion were getting to her heart and she was beginning to see them as friends. Another person to disappoint once she would have to leave, she reminded herself.

She smiled, hiding her concerns under a mask of joy while pushing the thoughts away from her mind. This was a date, which she needed to enjoy and not ruin it with stupid thoughts. Her job at the mansion was far from over, and she would have to worry about what to do when the moment came, not right now. “So, what about you? How are your classes?” she asked. “I actually happened to meet one of your students today. He said he was your best student too.” A few random images of Fausto, aka Iron Mouth in his sea blue boxers ran trough her head.

Nodding his head with a grin was all he could do for the moment. Words didn’t form for the didn’t need to, she seemed to like working for Doc and from what Doc told him he enjoyed having an assistant. He knew this because the patients that came to visit were released twice as fast as they usually were. It was an efficiency thing, one focused on the fixing the other focused on the paper work. Needless to say even with needles and possible shots waiting for him he now looked forward to getting beaten up, not only did it give him a chance to talk with Doc it also meant he’d get to see Alex at work.

”Me?” Sam smiled, and nodded his head as his hands fiddled with the napkin under his water, ”Classes are good, some students learn faster than others, need less to say I have a few favorites.” thinking of his pair of students that learned the fastest Sam took a sip of his water.

”He said he was my best student?” Sam asked with a grin, ”Must be Fausto, he is the only one that would say something so bold, I hope it was a good meeting.” Sam grinned slightly as he tore the napkin a little before he started to fold the paper, both Koga and Fausto were his two best students, Koga seemed to grasp everything a bit faster but Fausto, Fausto was the one with all the questions and egger to learn.

As he spoke the waitress brought over Alex’s salad, for the burgers and fries took a little bit longer to make, as she walked away Sam eyed the salad and then looked back up to Alex, ”You still learning from Luke?” reluctances that he couldn’t be a good teacher for Alex he smiled and then continued to fold the paper up into a little ball before ice started to form on the wad of paper. Though he preferred this sort of relationship to one of a teacher and student.

Looking at his watch he smiled and then looked up to her, ”Hope you like scary movies, Paranormal Activity starts in bit, heard it was the scariest movie in a while.” swatting the ice ball back and forth between his fingers Sam looked up to see the rest of the food had finally arrived.

“The meeting was interesting, at least.” Alexandra said laughing. Eyes followed the motion of the ice ball Sam made for a few moments before trailing up to Sam. “It started with a lamp breaking, which reminds me that I have to buy you a new one, continued with Fausto’s pants on Shin’s head, and it was spiced up by a series of falls and a sudden interest for your ceiling fan.” Alexandra explained, smiling.

The molecule manipulator watched the salad the waitress had brought for a moment and decided that it looked as tasty as a salad could look then tapping a finger against the table, looked up at Sam, face turning more serious. “Me and Luke have taken a pause. He needed to travel … to Australia with Raina, I believe.”

“Horror movies, huh?” she asked, smiling again. “I like them, yeah.” Alexandra replied, laughing slightly. She decided to keep to herself that sometimes she had the tendency to grab whatever was within a hands reach when she watched them. It wasn’t what happened in it that scared her, mostly sound and visual effects impressed even the bravest. Well, if the movie was scary enough, Sam would find out on his own.

Eyeing his food that was placed in front of them Sam’s mouth had begun to water and his stomach growled in approval. The smell of the burger and the fries tingled his nostrils a he looked to Alex one eyebrow raised, ”You broke my lamp?” he asked curiously as he thought about the rest she said, ”Wait… Fausto had his pants off?” Sam asked as he sighed and took his first fry. ”You’ll be telling me more on that meeting in detail later, looks like Fausto is in for a surprise next practice….” Sam said letting the threat linger in the air as he took a bite of his second fry.

Letting out a small laugh Sam felt stupid for asking about Luke, he had forgotten completely that he and Raina were out of town. To make things worse than they were, Sam had a possible mission lined up for them within the next week. Shaking his head he smiled, ”I forgot that he left,” Sam said as he reached for the ketchup and placed it on his burger before picking it up and then biting into it.

A great deal of chewing took place before Sam swallowed his first large bite, she seemed set on the scary movie which was fine by him, he wasn’t particularly big on them but, scary movies made for decent dates to say the least. If it was indeed as scary as he heard it was Sam wouldn’t be thrilled about sleeping alone tonight. Taking another bite of his burger and chewing Sam spoke after his mouth was empty, ”How is the food?”

Sam’s eyebrow arched curiously at her at finding out about the horrific fate of his night lamp. “Yeah. Broke it. Twice.” She laughed nervously as she picked up her fork. Playing with her salad for a few moments as the threat of what would happen to Fausto in his next session floated into the air. “Oh, don’t be mad. Poor kid just wanted to help.” Alexandra nodded reassuringly before she tasted her salad. Well, it was as good it looked.

”How is the food?”

Chewing for a few more seconds, Alexandra swallowed her food. “Salad’s good. ” Her eyes trailed to the hamburger waiting on a white plate before moving on to Sam. She would need to finish the salad first before getting to the hamburger. But she assumed it was good too. “You want some?” she asked playing with her food again, head tilting to the side as she smiled.

Grinning slightly Sam shook his head, ”Twice huh? taking a bite of a fry Sam looked to Alex and pointed the half eaten fry at her, ”Don’t worry about it, I didn’t really like the lamp anyways, though I can’t help but wonder how Fausto losing his pants would help the situation…” shrugging slightly and deciding that the questions would be better directed towards Fausto himself.

Eyeing her salad Sam smiled and again shook his head, ”Maybe, I got a lot on my plate, so if I can still eat anything after absolutely.” Sam said with a smile knowing full well that he would have room and then some, he was at the moment doing his best to not show his gluttonous side when it came to food. After all he was still trying to impress Alex, and if he ate all of her food, he doubted she would be that grateful.

Finishing his last fry Sam looked up to Alex to see how well she made off with her meal. Taking a sip of his water and then turning his attention to a now greased covered napkin Sam cleaned off his hands and then asked Alex, ”So, what did you think of the meal?” his expression a curious and hopeful one his eyes skimmed down to his watch where he then thought about what time the movie was starting.

Glad they had some time to kill even a few spare minutes Sam leaned forward and eyed the folded up booklet with their bill. Snagging it and eyeing it he sighed and pulled out his wallet and place the correct amount of money in the booklet before smiling, ”It doesn’t matter how many times I come here, Mike keeps trying to ‘take care’ of the bill for me…” grinning slightly he looked over to Mike and waved the booklet hoping that he would assume that for once Sam finally took the free meal. ”When ever you’re ready to go Al, we should leave before Mike figures out that I paid.”

“One more reason to buy a new one.” Alexandra replied, smiling. Picking up the glass of water she sipped again before continuing. “And don’t try arguing with me about this. I’m used to getting what I want..” Sam would probably never know just how much of the truth she was sharing. The molecule manipulator wasn’t particularly speaking about shattered night lamps. Smiling again, she placed the glass back on the table. “And really, don’t go extra hard on the kid. He did it with good intentions.” Also the road to hell was paved with good intentions, but it didn’t matter much at the moment. “He wanted me to get them on so he wouldn’t stare at my legs.” Yeah, one hell of an explanation she gave. She highly doubted that Sam would understand anything she was saying until all that happened earlier in the morning would be properly talked about.

Leaning back, she continued to eat her food, taking small sips of water here and then. Once she was finished, she picked up her napkin and pressed it gently on her lips. Not that there was something there, she was trying to eat as delicately as possible, even if she was eating burgers. For the first time, she appreciated the fact that for years of her life she was practically forced to behave with grace, no matter the circumstances. Placing the napkin back down, the faded imprint of her lips on it up, she took one last sip of water, just as Sam was finishing his meal.

”So, what did you think of the meal?”

Alexandra laughed slightly. “Well, my stomach is so having fun with the amount of triglycerides right now.” She wouldn’t blame Sam if he was going to give her a strange look at this answer. “What I’m trying to say is that it was very tasty.” She continued smiling as she watched absently the trajectory of the booklet as it moved from the table to Sam’s hand and back.

When ever you’re ready to go Al, we should leave before Mike figures out that I paid.”

“Ah, we should go then.” Alexandra replied with a smirk as she was already getting up and stepping away from the table. Picking up her gloves and jacket, she looked back at Sam to check if he was ready to go.

The second she had her gloves and jacket in hand and gave Sam a look he jumped from the booth and grabbed his own jacket, ”Glad you enjoyed the taste then,” his face was slightly skewered as he had a confused smile on his face but as soon as his jacket was on Sam nodded to Alex before walking away from the bill he left on the table.

”You have a good night Mike!” the large burly man turned and grinned to Sam as he called out, ”Take care Sammy, and make sure you treat the lil’ misses right or I’ll have something to say later to you!” Sam grinned slightly and leaning into kiss Alex on the lips and grabbing her hand in the process. ”I’ll treat her right,” Sam said only to Alex as he raised his free hand to wave to Mike. Giving Alex’s hand a small squeeze he walked to the exit and opened the doors allowing her to exit before he followed.

”You’re used to getting what you want huh? Only child sounds like?” Sam asked with a grin as he unbuckled his helmet and hers from the bike. Handing her the helmet she used before Sam placed his on his on his own head. ”Now we have a half hour to get there so it looks like we might be able to cruise for a few minutes if that is fine with you.”

Through the helmet Sam smiled as he hoped on his bike and un-kicked the stand as he started up his bike. Waiting for Alex to hop on the bike Sam shifted gears and sped off on the bike stopping at the first light, then the second and then the third.

It took about fifteen minutes to get to the theater traffic for the most part was good seeing as there was little up until the came close to the theater. Once they were there Sam found some parking and parked his bike. Hoping off the bike Sam again extended his hand to Alex helping her off before he started t worry about his own concerns like the helmet that was still on his head. Once she was off Sam removed his helmet and offered an arm to Alex, ”Ready?”

Nodding slightly in response, Alexandra put the jacket on as they walked toward the bar, contemplating if she should put the gloves on too. Just as she decided against it, Sam was holding her hand and leaning in to kiss her. After the kiss ended, Alexandra smiled at Sam for a moment then turned toward Mike and winked in response to the advice he’d given to Sam. “Bye Mike! Nice meeting you.” she said while waving her free hand, gloves flipping from side to side as she did so. Hell, that was perhaps the nicest thing she had done for a human. Well, of course, she hadn’t met a mutant-friendly one till now but it sure was one hell of a change from the usual ‘I hate/despise you’ thing.

A smile still on her lips, she exited the bar and stopped by the motorcycle. Hand slid from Sam as she proceeded with putting the gloves on.

”You’re used to getting what you want huh?

Being done with the gloves, the molecule manipulator took her helmet while an eyebrow arched, quickly being followed by another. “You have no idea…” of what I could do to have my way. She didn’t voice out the rest of her opinion, just let the words trailing off into the air as she put her helmet on. The smirk continued to exist under the helmet as she got on the bike. “And that’d be fine with me.” the molecule manipulator answered to Sam as she wrapped her arms around him.

The rest of the trip to the theater was silent, the molecule manipulator reassuming her position, head resting against Sam’s back, and once in a while she watched lazily the passing cars or buildings. Once they got there and Sam had parked the bike, she retrieved her hands back to her as the icemancer was hopping off the bike. After moving her gloved fingers slightly, Alexandra accepted the offered hand and got off the bike as graciously as a woman in ‘kill feet’ high heels could and took off the helmet.

”Ready?

“Of course.” she replied as her head tilted slightly to the side, a warm smile upon her lips. Handing Sam the helmet so he could put it in its place, she waited patiently for him to finish before they started walking toward the building.

(OOC: Permission given for the head shake!)

After placing Alex’s helmet next to his own Sam walked side by side his strides guiding them to the ticket booth. Once their Sam smiled and leaned into the ticket booth and asked, ”Can I have two for the new ghost movie?” pulling his wallet from his back pocket Sam removed a twenty and handed it to the man and added ”Thanks!” before grabbing Alex by the hand and then walking into the theater with her. ”You want anything from concession?” Sam asked curiously as he got in the small line that was steadily forming.

Looking over to Alex who gave him a quick head shake Sam smiled and let out a small laugh, ”Fair enough, not really hungry anyways, and if this movie is as scary as everyone says we will be looking for reasons to leave.” hand reaching behind Alex’s waist Sam rested it on her side as they headed to their theater.

Sighing as they walked in Sam looked around the crowded place and pointed to a pair of lone isle seats, ”Jackpot!” Sam said with a smile as he headed up a few flights of stairs only to let Alex, head into the row first. Isle seat something Sam always had to have, every since he could remember the isle seat was his one major need in a movie theater.

Sitting down next to Alex and reaching for her hand Sam unzipped his coat and grinned as the lights dimmed into nothing. Leaning over and kissing Alex on the cheek Sam let out a small laugh as he lifted a foot over another and lowered them onto the somewhat sticky floor, waiting for the movie to begin.