The fifth time I looked into the mirror, the sixth I brushed my hair over the other shoulder again, the seventh I contemplated on changing my dress to something less revealing, the eighth I decided to keep it, the ninth time I started to feel the sanity leaving my mind. The tenth minute I had been standing in front of this mirror to observe my unsteady complexion, the eleventh minute before I'd get his confirmation of arrival.

The first time I was so scared of being alone with someone for the second time. The third time I debated upon whether or not to text him that I caught an ugly virus, the fourth excuse I had made up in my mind.

The tight dress sticked to my body and hugged every inch and every curve, the sight of my body this exposed while still clothed was unexplainably obscure. Only a leather jacket protected my arms that were covered by the long sleeves of the thigh length dress. A smear of a blend of red and pink was spread across my lips, my lashes darker than usually enhancing the mysterious aura that was unusual on me, yet refreshing. A dark hue adorned my fingernails that desperately gripped onto the small clutch that was hung over my shoulder with a chain.

"Don't be stupid Jiye, it's a fucking restaurant, not his house." Shaking my head at my own reflection in the glass I decided to terminate this frustrating staring contest with myself that was held to somehow regain some of my cool, to no avail.

I turned around on my heels and faced my bed, where my eyes focused on the lipstick I had previously thrown there blindly. I took a step forward and leaned down to let my fingers curl around the plastic before dragging my hand back with the desired object. My eyes stayed focused on the bed while my fingers fumbled with the zipper of the bag in order to somehow open it, but my mind— previously determined to push back any second or ambitious thoughts— was almost immediately invaded with thoughts of that Saturday night.

When my eyes traveled to my door, I imagined how Yixing had intimidated me to the point that I had taken steps backward until arriving in the center of the room, then my bed, the back of my knees hitting the edge of it before I'd land gently on my back.
My palpitation increased drastically merely by the teasing thought that strung the string of my patience nonchalantly, a slight tune of Yixing's melodic and rich voice singing along to it.

My phone hidden in my bag beeped all of a sudden and made me flinch back from the bed instinctively as it was bearing danger that very moment. With the best effort I could gather, my fingers finally succeeded in opening the zipper to throw the lip product inside and drag my phone out in a swift movement. The message was displayed on my lock screen, it made me gulp almost instantly as my eyes flew over the few words, my mind becoming aware of their meaning in that exact arrangement.

"I'm outside, come on."

Time seemed to pass by my eyes quickly, unperceived and almost like a lapse just flashing by with separate pictures as I stumbled to the small hall of my apartment. My phone had been stuffed into the bag before my fingers palpated the surface of the small counter next to the main door, clutching keys in my hands soon after, then the cold, metal door handle that enabled me to swing the wood open. Stepping through the doorframe and shutting the door behind me, I desperately tried to pull down the thin material of my dress the few inches it could still be stretched for. It ended inches above my knees, which I could also perceive thanks to cold that immediately danced along my skin as soon as I stepped out of the apartment complex.

Even though it was quite warm, this level of exposure was unknown to me especially for and towards men. I've been on dates, which this was not even close to, but never have I felt so enticed about obeying to orders that considered my outfit given by my date. Generally speaking, I was never given any demands in terms of clothing preferences of the men. Yixing seemed to be a man of peculiar taste, always aware of what he expected of me.

I could already see his black car right next to the pavement, the window next to the passenger seat slightly rolled down in order reveal the handsome man I was awaiting yet simultaneously dreading to see the entire evening. He shot me a faint smirk as he saw me stride towards the vehicle, perhaps content with my choice of outfit as suggested by him.

I put on a nervous smile as I swung open the heavy door, sinking my body down into the seat next to him hastily. "Hey, you're early."

"Good observance." He chuckled lowly as his body remained turned to mine completely, his eyes doing innumerable swipes up and down my body as I fastened my seatbelt. "You look beautiful, deadly beautiful."

A blush almost instantly appeared on my cheeks cold from the frosty air, my eyes nervously trailing around the dashboard. "Thank you..So what is the restaurants name we are going to?"

I gathered enough of my confidence back to turn my head and face him properly, unaware of the fact that his entire body had shifted closer and was now only inches distanced from mine. If I had turned just an inch more, his lips would have not landed on my warmed cheek but instead collided with my own trembling ones. However, even this mere touch of luscious lips against my shivering skin made the red on my cheek almost as bright as the one he found glimmering on my lips.

"It's called Chateau." He backed away, eyeing my face contoured by pure shock. "It's not too far from here, I hope you will enjoy our time there."

Then, he completely withdrew into his seat to wrap his slender fingers around the steering wheel, the tips of his fingers softly tapping against the leather, the tender flesh of his lips sculpted into an incessant, sly smile that I could observe from my peripheral vision. He made sure I could, while starting to drive the car down the road, intensifying his smile when I slightly faced my body away from his.

Only then I perceived the faint sounds of the music coming through the speakers scattered in the interior of the car, I slightly relaxed as no further comments emerged from him, leaning the back of my head carefully around the rest behind me.
But of course, as Murphy's law proved it several of times around Yixing already, nothing can go well, especially not if one highly expect it to.

"I see you followed my wish, Jiye." He put notable emphasis on my name, leaving his lips wide agape after pronouncing the last syllable with a remarkably mischievous undertone. "Your dress fits my preference, short and tight, how I like it." An effortless, nonchalant chuckle followed his statement.

A huge lump grew in my throat, and every attempt to gulp it down ended in a senseless and additionally idiotic moment of awkwardness. I cleared my throat and glimpsed at him while speaking with a quiet, seemingly calm voice. "I'm glad you like it, Yixing."

I almost sounded submissive, and I feared that I felt so at ease with doing so. I tried to push the thought of actually submitting to his demands and seducing actions into the farthest and darkest corners of my mind. Nonetheless, perceiving the musky and warm scent of the fragrance that mingled its way into his clothes and skin almost dragged them back into my head's center, displaying them like a culprit.
It was proven— Yixing's presence made me unbearably weak and degenerated my thoughts unpredictably effectively.

Fortunately, there were no further comments, really this time. The rest of the drive remained engulfed in utter silence, beside the faint tunes that repeatedly came from the radio installed in the car. Indeed the drive was short, covering a period of time that spanned perhaps a few minutes only, before he parked the car in one of the parking lots right in front of the main entrance.

I had to comprehend if his following gentleman like actions of opening my door and linking his arm with mine on our way to the entrance were honest, yet somehow every time I attempted to find sense in anything and act reasonable, my mind shut off completely.

The waitress at the entrance welcomed us warmly as Yixing shot her a charming smile, shortly after guiding the way to our table. She was clad in a dress as tight as mine and I swore to almighty God that my company's eyes kept glueing themselves onto her below more obviously with every step she took. Jesus Yixing, who knew you would have the audacity to check out waitresses during dinner with your colleague. Fair play seemed different.

"Here is your table, please take a seat, our waiter will come to take your order for drinks soon." She eyed Yixing up and down before turning around and, with deep determination, walk back to the entrance with exaggerated hip swings.
Yixing however didn't seem to give her any sign of attention because he was engulfed in stepping forward next to me to gently pull the chair beside my body over the floor.

"Jiye." His mischievously contoured face turned to me, his hand motioning towards the chair. "Have a seat."

I gifted him with a timid smile as I took my seat quietly, before he himself sat down on the chair to my opposite side. I observed his features for a moment or two, in which he enclosed the thick menu card in his veiny hands, letting his eyes trail across the drinks avaliable.

"How about some wine?" His eyes remained on the enlisted drinks for a few more seconds before darting to mine. "Choosing a wine entails considering your choice of food as well. White fits a lot more dishes than red does, so what do you think?"

My eyes stayed glued on his, even though I did not intend and perceive looking so deeply into his darkened orbs, I did not falter in my position. For a moment or two I was lost in debilitating on the interminable undertone in his voice, surely it would tell me a lot about his real intentions. Nevertheless, before my mind was properly set for the task, Yixing himself decided to end my inner argumentation. He cleared his throat, making me flinch and avert my gaze almost instantly from his.

"White it is then." My eyes were aimless, my vision focusing on anything that was not the man in front of me.

"Sure." He put down the thick card while smiling, his fingers tapping excitedly against the surface of it. "You seem distracted Jiye, is there something in your mind? You don't have any work left to do tonight, right?"

My eyes widened. "Distracted? Oh no, I'm just thinking about the report."

"We didn't meet to talk about work, did we? How about you just relax for a little bit, huh?" It was wrong to place my hands on the table— one of his sneakily laid on top of it only a few moments later, staring into my eyes. "I told you already, the only work you have to finish today is—", he mouthed the last word consisting of only a single syllable, me.

In the meantime, in which I debated upon playing his remark cool or acting upon it, I saw one of the male waiters approach our tables with rapid steps.
"Good evening, my name is Yoon, I will be your waiter for tonight. What drinks can I get for you?" The small man with the electric notepad turned to me with a sheepish smile, his curled eyes hidden beneath the blonde fringe.

I returned his smile gladly, feeling Yixing twitch in his seat only momentarily before he cleared his throat to order our wine and two glasses. The waiter patiently described the different types of supreme wine available to him, gesticulating vividly which made me chuckle under my breath. Of course my actions did not go by unnoticed by my company, he shot me a strange look before abruptly choosing the type Yoon was currently explaining.

"That one will be it." Hastily he confirmed his order and nodded towards Yoon several times in order to make him leave, most likely. The waiter was taken aback by his sudden choice, however friendly noted down our order.

"Did you decide on anything to eat yet?" Returning to face his body towards mine the waiter looked at me again, making Yixing uncomfortably observe the two of us as I kept my mouth sealed. My fingers enclosed the menu card as I tore my gaze from both males, nervously slapping it open on the table.

"We'll take the kitchen's reccomndation, thank you." Yixing's hands extended over the table and once again embraced my own, guiding them back to close the menu and place them at the edge of the surface.

As soon as Yoon bowed slightly beside our table and turned to transfer our order to the kitchen, I let out a exhausted sigh as I watched the male on my opposite side. "I think you freaked him out."

Yixing laughed. "You know what? I don't care as long as it's not you."

"Oh?"

"Oh." He smirked. "Did I ever scare you? Maybe in a good way?"

Did he ever scare me? I think this question was a rhetorical one that everyone knew the answer to, especially Yixing himself. I could detect it with my mere eye just upon the way the corner of his thick lips curled into a different angle.

"No, not at all." I returned his smile, perhaps a little bit too much into the obviously acted seduction displayed in my tone. "But I got scared for a moment or two when I found informatics files on your desk, since when are you an IT expert that understands this complicated stuff?"
The laugh that accompanied my statement should have made him realize that I was only semi serious. Nevertheless, his response and reaction was quite serious itself, his facial features suddenly contoured stiffly.

"You.. What?" He eyed me with narrowed eyes, disbelief lacing through even every of his sharp breaths. "You really were looking through my things? I thought Yura was only attempting to make up some conspiracy for me to dislike you."

"Yura..?" I remember the girl's and my conversations from the other night in the office when I had stumbled upon the mentioned files, annoyed by the fact that she actually told him yet scared of his reaction. "She told you? Yixing, I wasn't being serious—"

"Why were you even looking through my things in the first place?" He was slightly angry and nervous, it was visible in the unsure oscillation of the moving flesh of his lips and audible in the strange oscillation of his words. His eyes were still squinted, observing my every move with utmost concentration.

It was safe to claim that I had never experienced Yixing angry, especially not to this extent. Perhaps he was not shouting or insulting me for penalty, but it was obvious to me how surprised he was to hear that Yura accusation was indeed not a lie. Moreover, any previous cool and calm had languished in between the nervousness that spread on his face as his fingers gripped the edges of the menu card.

My eyes were constantly glued to the edges of the card that were gradually knitted due to Yixing fingers and their force. Even when I finally spoke up I did not dare to tear my gaze from the unordinary sight that served as my escape.
"I..I was only looking an info for my report, I couldn't find it anymore." My voice had turned from entertained, to shaken up by my mistake. "I wasn't snooping around, you told me another file for my report was located on your desk."

My hand that was still laid flat against the table was suddenly grabbed and yanked towards him gently, only then I finally managed to unglue my nervous eyes from his fingers that were now wrapped around my wrist. They slowly trailed down the shining table, climbed up his broad torso and every inch of his precisely chosen outfit before reaching his darkened eyes from the visibly pulsating veins on his neck. I gulped as I perceived his hand tightening around my wrist, his teeth gritting as the lump became visible in my throat.

"What did you see, Jiye?"

A sudden fear engulfed me, one that was not explained due to what he was capable to do to me once he found out what I had seen. It was more the fear of the initial reason behind his unfamiliar behavior that made him slightly aggressive and his fingers dig painfully deep into my hand so I'd finally let my lips move.

But I didn't, and I felt that this fact only made him more aggressive and interminable for future actions.

_______
Jiye in some deep trouble, lmao guys. Sorry for the long wait. Exams, authors block, I guess I'm slowly getting back to normal. I have only one economy exam left and then I'm fucking free for the next 1,5 months yehet.