savetheearth | (no subject)

The comment coupled with the near laughter gain a small, perhaps playful smirk in reply. Two can play this loving teasing game. "Be careful what you wish for. I could sweep you off your feet so seamlessly you wouldn't notice until you find yourself at my apartment." Something which no doubt happened several times, both to his dates and him.

It's really, really hard for Melissa to hold her composure, but she's managing. It's actually quite enjoyable to see this side of the normally stoic man. "You think so?" she muses playfully, pushing a loose strand of hair back, "I don't know, I'm pretty observant. How do you think you'd manage?"

Oh, she wants to see? Karl gives a small, though obviously playful sigh as he sets the file back down on the bookcase before focusing all his attention on Melissa. Maybe it's due to the whole being honest thing, maybe it's a small ego thing, but he decides to play this little game.

"With a good amount of difficulty, no doubt, but the most worthwhile women are never the easy ones." Maintaining eye contact and a fairly suave smile the whole time while saying that. No small amount of confidence radiates off him as he approaches, the approach itself being smooth, calm and holding the same confidence. Is Melissa getting a hint of how he rolls?

It's not hard at all to see how Karl does things. It fits him, too. Perfectly polite and clearly confident. It doesn't completely hide how much of a dork he actually is (though maybe it's just because she knows better), but that could have its own chams.

Melissa tilts her head playfully, sitting on the edge of his desk. "You've got the charm down, at least." And you're not a dick about being confident. "But I'm not sure I'm convinced... at least, not yet." Come on, Karl. Flirt with her more. She wants to see.

The not convinced comment comes off as almost a challenge, one that Karl isn't about to back down from. He has not yet begun to flirt! No really, years of practice give a guy tons of ammunition.

A soft, oddly sensual chuckle escapes him as he draws ever closer. In the midst of this light laughter, Karl reaches up to remove his glasses. Seduction proves more effective without eye-wear. "Ah, mon chéri, only the inexperienced would hope to seduce so exquisite a woman so effortlessly."

Only once in Melissa's personal space does he come to a stop, but a small amount of distance between them remains so not to be completely in her face. The charming smile widens ever so slightly. "Très stupide, non?" French: adds +10 sexy points to anyone who can do it correctly.

Edited (wrong icon) 2014-02-22 16:11 (UTC)

Oh my god he's using French. Melissa has no idea whether she should laugh or being kind of turned on by it. It's so incredibly old school... but that's Karl in a nutshell, isn't it? Besides, someone has to be into that.

She isn't bothered at all by the intrusion into her personal space, not moving her head to look up at her and just using her eyes instead. ~~Hopefully he won't accidentally hypnotize her.~~ "Someone's into flattery. Not that I mind." Melissa's aware that she's attractive, thanks. "Keep talking~"

Accidental hyponostism won't be happening. Blinking is kept at a nice and even pace while eye contact gets maintained the entire time. "Flattery, when sincere, can be a powerful weapon."

He leans in, getting far more into her personal space. A hand gets placed on the desk and gets set down right next to her. This gives him some support while also getting a bit more intimate. "Even French, outdated as it may be, is a weapon of multiple function. It can charm a woman, make her laugh at the absurdity or, rarer, spark a common interest on the basis of shared language." How outdated it is what makes it work. Karl knows how to play this game and is a dangerous adversary to come up against.

Melissa's a bit more of a subtle flirt- she's a woman, so generally she's the one getting approached, and she works with that. For the most part, it tends to come in the form of reactionary body language. As Karl moves closer, she doesn't retreat, staying right where she is and looking up at him with an air of confidence matching his own. Her body shifts slightly into a more open posture, nothing crossed or concealing anything.

Though, she does still have a talent with words. It would be a shame if she didn't use them at all.

"Seems like you've really thought this out," she replies with a coy tilt of her head, "Are you the type to go in with a plan in mind, then? Or are you more... adaptable?" She has a feeling it's not the first one.

Melissa getting more into this only gets the amusement on Karl's face to increase. She's definitely not a bad partner for messing around like this. Nice confidence, nice body language and a way with words. It all makes for a very fun game, a game that would have anyone walking in right now walk right back out.

"Anyone who has to make a plan to get a date or otherwise has either never gotten one before or the individual they're picking up has to be a fool not to notice." The amount of breathing room between them becomes as minimal as possible without any actual action happening. "My preferences, unfortunately, do not include fools."

Karl's not half bad either. Melissa's rather enjoying herself, if the playful smirk dancing on her lips is any indication. Who knows, if this was the real deal she might be falling for it. "Good," she muses with a hum, leaning back slightly but in a way that's clearly not out of discomfort. No, she's challenging him to get closer. "I'm glad to hear you've got standards. Though, I imagine you can be a hard man to please."

For the record, the wording there was intentional.

Edited 2014-02-25 14:37 (UTC)

The fact she's clearly enjoying it coupled with his own enjoyment makes this more fun, if oddly arousing. Close proximity, mutual flirting, the playing on words; how long has it been and how he'd forgotten the fun that comes with it.

Challenge accepted with an accompanying smirk to indicate as much. Karl leans in at an equal pace to her leaning back. What were they even doing anymore? "Hard, but more than willing tutor those who can't please but show promise." A teacher even in the bedroom. "A hands on crash course works miracles."

It's amazing how far this had gotten without them so much as touching each other. Melissa's about to change that, though, with a very simple gesture. She hooks a single finger into one of his belt loops, tugging just enough that he knows that it's there without actually doing anything. It should get some attention at least. And at this point, that's kind of what she's enjoying about this.

"That's awfully nice of you," she replies sweetly, not at all bothered by how very close there are at this point, "But would you deprive the more... experienced of your hands on course?" Because that sounds like fun. If he tried to whisk her off at this point, she probably wouldn't mind.

Attention that tug manages to get. A brief glance gets spared down at it, a glance that clearly indicates not minding the action but also one which doesn't seem to pay it too much attention. In truth, it's the opposite. Karl enjoys the small action far more than it shows. The contact may not be skin on skin, but it feels far more powerful that way, far more enticing.

Not going to be the one to break their seductive, hands-off dance, Karl moves his head just so that his lips are so tantalizingly close to Melissa's yet still not making skin contact. How fortunate his breath is relatively fresh, no? "So long as they don't mind the lesson then I'm not opposed to giving it, especially if they would be willing to give me a lesson in return." Were they still joking? Were they serious? Karl really didn't know anymore.

Oh no. She initiated touch already, it's his turn now. Melissa's lips just curve upward slightly as he moves closer, as if she isn't completely aware of how close they are, and how it would be so easy to move this out of the realm of hypothetical. She, for one, doesn't really care about the distinction of serious to not anymore.

She tosses her hair slightly to dislodge her bangs from her face, the only hint of her even being a little affected by his proximity being her care not to bang their noses together. (At least, not unless he starts checking her pulse or something.) "Sounds like a fair exchange to me... Everyone's got something they can share, after all."

The hypothetical is dangerously close to crossing the line into reality. All it would take is just moving forward a few centimeters. Unfortunately, those few centimeters still continue to remain between as Karl is enjoying their little teasing game far too much. Does it count as a game anymore? Eh, whatever.

He does, however, add in a little touching of his own. The hand not on the desk slips smoothly around Melissa's waist and pulls her a little closer. Their bodies were now just as close as their lips. A lesser man would have pitched quite the tent by now. Karl is, thankfully, not a lesser man. "And what things would you have to share?" There's a definite playfulness to his voice now.

Melissa might wind up getting impatient... eventually, even though this is awfully fun. But for now, she'd like to make Karl make the move. For now, she allows herself to be pulled closer, the hand not holding on to his belt loop steadying itself on his shoulder. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve,"she replies,, equally as playful, "But I'd hate to ruin the surprise."

How long has it been since someone's touched him like this, interacted with him like this? Ages. A small part of him said to just stop this right now before it gets too far, yet another part of him didn't want it to stop. For the first time in a long time, messing around like this actually feels enjoyable.

The touch gains a momentarily tensing before relaxing once more. Though the space between their lips doesn't grow any closer, Karl makes no move to put any distance between them after the tensing, either. "Understandable. Might you be willing, then, to provide some hints about these tours de magie." Why not throw in some more French as a small sign that hey this is cool and just ignore the brief tensing.

The tensing worries Melissa for a moment, but she gets over it quickly. He's still playing along, after all, and... well, she can only assume he's getting back into the swing of things. She and Nick had been planning on getting him laid for a reason.

Ignoring that she has no idea what the French means, the coy smile returns, the closeness between then meaning Karl can almost feel them curling up. "Maybe... if you'd be willing to share a little in return."

[ooc: aka bookie has no clue what to write for that. :|;;;]

The coy smile further erases any previous tensing. His own playful expression remains firmly in place. Flirting around like this, having someone touch him, being this close: it isn't making him want to just go and curl up in bed for the rest of the day, but instead take her to bed with him. A good good sign of improvement, even if it took over a decade.

"So long as you wouldn't mind me sharing." Are those words serious or are they still a part of the show? Karl has a feeling they're slowly becoming the former. Hard to believe, but at the same time, why not? Part of the reason why he'd abstained all these years was because sex just hadn't been enjoyable (learned the hard way it's not a cure for depression). Coming to terms with everything, even starting down that path, had made the last few weeks far more pleasant. Does that mean sex might also actually be fun again?

Well Karl, there's only one real way to find out.

Melissa has admittedly been thrown off a little by the network and resulting craziness. It's been a while since she's really had this kind of fun (or at least, a while for her). She's been distracted, and a little bit of paranoia has been creeping in... but Karl's different, and she trusts him in other areas, so why not here?

However, mostly right now she's very, very curious and quite a bit turned on despite herself. "I wouldn't mind at all," she replies, her hand leaving his belt loop and now resting on his him, "I love a good demonstration."

Time to boldly go where they have both gone many times before!

The trust is mutual on both their ends. Getting intimate with a stranger he would not have done. It still sounds unappealing, really. Being in this compromising situation with Melissa, on the other hand, doesn't bother him at all. The prospect of going further doesn't, either.

You know what, why not? That comment had sounded fairly approving of any further, more intimate action. If he'd misread the cue then they'd stop and say nothing further on it. "Then you ought be entirely enamored with a great one." And with that small boasting all caution gets thrown to the wind. It's slightly hesitant, but the space between their lips finally closes.

He kissed her first. That means Melissa wins.

She'll return the kiss, the hand on his shoulder moving up to his neck and allowing her to deepen it a little. She is not regretting this decision at all so far, though a kiss is hardly where this is going to end. At least, it had better not, with all that buildup.

Next game is gonna be his, you just wait.

The kiss itself, deepened courtesy of Melissa's kind gesture, feels electric from Karl's perspective. Someone in this position with him, kissing him like this and in a place that could get them in trouble if they're caught: it feels incredible. It's feeling not felt in over a decade and one he never really expected to feel again. Maybe being impulsive like this isn't always a bad thing.

Not one to rush things, Karl keeps the kiss just a kiss for the moment. Well, not just a kiss. A good kiss, a kiss clearly from someone experienced in the field. Mouth and tongue both skillfully go to work as the arm around Melissa pulls her closer.

Challenge accepted.

It's really quite strange to be in this position, actually. Melissa told herself that she'd never get involved with another cop, because as a whole they felt too much like family to her. (That had certainly been the problem with Nick.) But this doesn't feel like that- maybe because of some broken trust in the department in general, or maybe it was just Nick that it felt wrong with. Either way... she's certainly not associating Karl with any family members at the moment.

And apparently, he can do more than talk the talk. The kiss is good enough that she doesn't mind staying there for now, allowing herself to be pulled closer as she shows off her respective talents as well.

Her expertise matches Karl's own, something which only increases the fun of all this. His body reacts far more to the kissing and touching than expected. Not surprising considering the length between this touch and last one like it he had. On the one hand, just going with it didn't seem a bad idea; on the other hand, the door is unlikely to be locked and having someone walk in on them is a real possibility and a headache best avoided.

Only one, if unpleasant choice remains. Unwillingly, Karl breaks the kiss, but doesn't break the closeness. He stares down into her eyes with that small, playful grin still present on his lips. There might be some annoyance on his end for forcing the kiss to end, a clear sign that he'd been enjoying that. "Might we continue this lesson elsewhere later? My apartment after work should you be available?"