Sinfully Sexy~ (Karalie)

[Benjamin Park]

Now that winter break was over, Benji didn't have as much free time as he had had (and would still like to have).  Contrary to what he wanted people to believe, the teenager was a studious one, and wouldn't settle for bad grades; neither would his parents, for that matter.  Nevertheless, between hours of homework and studying, he still found time to dance, both within Hammel's dance club and on his own.  It was his passion; he wasn't going to just stop even if it meant staying up late sometimes.

He was currently working on a dance he'd wanted to learn for quite some time but had never gotten around to until now.  It was a pretty complex number that he was slowly getting the hang of; just another couple run-throughs or so, and he was certain he would have it down.

The only problem was that he was practicing in the gym, and the gym meant distractions.  Distractions like the pretty little thing working out nearby, keeping Benji from focusing on his routine as much as he would've liked.  Eventually, with a coy smile, he waited for an opportunity to catch the mysterious girl's eye, and gave her a confident nod and smirk.  "Hey, babe," he greeted, swiping a hand through his poofy hair.  "You come here often?"

Not exactly creative, but it worked sometimes.  Ben tugged at his damp tank top, hoping a little hard-earned perspiration wouldn't scare the pretty girl off.

[Karalie Heise]

This weather was slowly killing her.  Not that Karalie was the biggest outdoorsy kind of girl, but she liked the sunshine and the warmth and for her skin to not look so damn pasty.  She was losing color and quickly.  The idea of going tanning or better spray tanning had crossed her mind more than once, but she wasn't sure she wanted to do that or not yet.  She'd avoided it in the past, but she wasn't keen on attracting boys in the past either.  That had changed recently.  She liked looking her best, she wanted people to look at her more.  she'd always cared about her appearance, but maybe things were being taken up a notch lately.  Which meant she couldn't let this stupid weather get in the way of her running.

With a recent spill out on the pavement during a run, she was taking things easy.  No more track running, and especially outdoor running, until she had gotten this knee healed up.  She kept the brace on while going to the gym, opting to use the treadmill instead so she could quickly stop if she needed to and not be far from where she could get help if heaven forbid there were some sort of problem.  

The issue with staying stationary was she had the same things to look at and it was harder to zone out.  Like the guy dancing.  She tried not watching him, but how do you not watch a guy jumping around like that? He was good, so she allowed herself to watch every now and then, but for the most part looked up at the TV which had Dr. Phil on mute with very delayed subtitles rolling along the bottom of the screen.

Next time she looked at the guy, his dark eyes met hers but before she could look away he smiled and gave her a little nod.  It looked almost like he had been trying to get her attention.  His weird little pickup line made her nose wrinkle a little.  Babe? Really?  Maybe he was just playing around.  He looked like the kind of guy to do that.  "Only in th'winter." She replied, looking back up at the TV as if she were uninterested in conversation, which was sort of true.  Sure, the kid was half decent, but she was a sweaty, milky pale mess right now with not the right amount of makeup.  This wasn't where she wanted to strike up conversations.

[Benjamin Park]

It took Benji a moment to notice the brace that the girl had on, but it instantly gave him something new he could work with. Most of the girls he went after liked being taken care of, and if he was lucky, a little charm and sympathy would go a long way. But not too much – it wasn’t like she was a cripple or anything (at least he assumed, by the way she was running).

He had caught her peeking at him a couple times while he was dancing too, which gave him even more confidence. And he couldn’t blame her – after all, what else better to look at in here, right? Not the loudly panting guy sweating a lake on a treadmill nearby, or the overly skinny chick who looked about ready to pass out on an elliptical. Nope, he was the most interesting thing in here, by far!

“It’s pretty cold to be running out on the field, huh?” he agreed, leaning against a column nearby and taking a swig from his water bottle. He wiped at his sweaty brow again, but did nothing to deal with the light sheen accumulated along the creases of his arms that flexed subtly in the gymnasium light. Benji noticed her glancing away but, undeterred, continued on. “I saw you glancing at me a bit back there,” he teased lightly, a sparkle in his eye. “It’s always flattering to have someone notice you, you know?” Even as he spoke, Benji tried to determine what this girl was. Something said… Vampire. But… Not quite? He’d have to stay on his toes. “Name’s Benji,” he added, offering a hand and an apologetic smile. “… Sorry, you don’t have to shake. I’m afraid I’m pretty drenched.”

[Karalie Heise]

She forced a smile and nod at the obvious answer he gave.  Of course it was too cold to be running out on the field.  Why else would she be in there?  She looked away but couldn't help letting her eyes draw back to the boy again.  Was he...flexing?! 

This kid had some serious ego issues.  Karalie would know, she had them too, but not to this extent.  He had no humility, which sort of turned her off even if he was kind of cute in his own way.  When he offered his hand she looked at it and then back at him.  Benji.. like the dog.  "You are." She agreed, knowing internally that wasn't the reason she didn't take his outstretched hand.  Last thing she wanted was a memory from this kid, or anyone, or anything really.. but a memory wasn't what she needed and she didn't know if she could focus on not grabbing one with the effort it took to keep up with the treadmill she was jogging on.  Her mind and body could only do so many things at the same time.  "Besides, It was hard not tuh notice yah."  She said maybe a little too haughtily.  "Yer music was loud."

[Benjamin Park]

Yeah, Benji totally had this girl, hook line and sinker! He saw the way she kept looking at him, with obvious lust (not really, he was kidding himself), and he was more than happy to keep putting on a show for her sake. If he got her number by the time he left, this would be a complete success.

So what if he had some ego issues? It was all an act anyway, not that Benji would admit that ever. It was what he thought he had to do in order to hide his nerdy studying habits and other less-than-appealing traits (in his opinion) that his professor-parents had drilled into him. He was a little disappointed that she did turn down his handshake, and Benji wiped his hand on his pants, looking apologetic. “Sorry,” he said a little more curtly than he meant to. Now what? There was obviously something he was doing wrong, the girl didn’t even offer her name back. “Eh? Oh, right, my music,” he replied, glancing back at where he’d been dancing. “I’ll keep that in mind for next time so I don’t bother you.”

Shit, what the hell? He hated being thrown off-balance like this. He nearly always at least got a smile, or a name, or a handshake. All he was getting now was a haughty expression (it made her look even prettier, though, in his opinion). “You must be in great shape,” he finally went on, glancing the girl up and down as she ran. His smile hesitantly returned. “It seems like you’ve been running for ages now, and you hardly look like you’re trying. Beautiful.” Sure, she was a bit sweaty too, but to be honest, it almost made her more appealing; girls that put effort into things were more attractive than those who just sat around making sure every single hair was in place.

[Karalie Heise]

She cocked a brow at the guy as he apologized, somewhat amused that he seemed so flustered.  It filled her with a strange sort of pride, especially after everything that had happened with her ex.  It was nice that she seemed desirable, even by those she wasn't all that interested in.  Not that Benji was a bad looking kid, but he seemed young and he was a dancer.  She was more in the market for someone older, preferably with money, and someone maybe a little less.. desperate.

Her gaze fell on him again as he complimented the shape she was in.  She was, and she was proud of that fact, even if this guy was looking her up and down like a piece of meat. He kept pouring out the compliments and she wasn't really sure what to do about it.  "Thanks." Was all she could think to say, almost wishing she could run faster in order to get grosser to make him buzz off, but her knee was still healing.

She began slowing the machine down looking back at TV a moment before back at the kid.  "Ya'll done dancin'?" She asked, seeming like she was making casual conversation, but really what she wanted to know what how long he was going to drool over her.

[Benjamin Park]

Benji had to know when it was appropriate to apologize, to some extent. He didn’t like to make a habit of it to ruin his image, but women liked a guy who could put aside their pride… Just a little. Right? Right. He was still totally in the game.

He kept this mindset as she replied to his flattery with a simple ‘thanks’. Hmmm… He just needed to find what her sensitive spot was and use that to his advantage. All women had one. It was just a matter of discovering what it was.

“Mmm… For now, yeah, I think so,” Benji determined. “I’ve got better things to distract myself with.” Meaning her, obviously. “Are you about done running?” he went on, smiling wider. “Maybe I could invite you out for lunch or something. You must have worked up and appetite with all of that running, right?” Of course, he would want to wash up before then, but there was no harm in asking. “I don’t think I caught your name, though,” he added thoughtfully, a slight hint that he thought she probably hadn’t told him on purpose. “It’s rude for me to ask you out without knowing at least that much.”

[Karalie Heise]

Was she his new distraction? Karalie had no idea how to take this new information.  It was becoming obvious that this guy was not letting up.  he was like a lost puppy or something.  He invited her to eat and she pursed her lips slightly.  What she wanted to do was go shower and then eat, but telling this kid that would be like inviting him to the bathroom to hang out and chit chat.  He'd probably try and sit outside the door and talk to her.

"Karalie." She finally offered, "An' I can't go anywhere like this." She thought it was sort of sweet he was asking her out, even if she wasn't exactly interested.  There was nothing cute about desperation, though the kid did have a sweet face.  "I'm sweaty an' pink." She pointed out, throwing an accusing finger at him. "An' don't compliment that." She put her hands on her hips stepping off the machine and coming face to face with her new stalker.  "I s'ppose if I happened tuh run intuh yah after I got all cleaned up we could maybe have lunch or something sometime."

Was she seriously agreeing to eat with this kid?