Getting To Know Each Other

Upon throwing a mid-punch, Alise stopped as she realized it was Auston; she should've known it was him as his huge shadow overwhelmed her. She immediately exhaled and gave him a disdainful look, feeling frustrated that he didn't announce himself when approaching her.

She shot him another disdainful look when she noticed the smirk he had on his face after scaring her.

"I apologize; I truly didn't mean to scare you," he suddenly said.

"Well, I have a hard time believing that, considering the smirk on your face," she replied.

"Well, I wasn't expecting your reflexes to be that fast," he commented.

She responded, "Well, I'm pretty fast."

He countered, "Not fast enough, as I caught you sneaking out."

She sighed and said, "Well, okay, maybe I'm fast when it matters."

"Yeah, so sneaking out and getting caught don't matter," he replied.

She rolled her eyes as she looked at him and started to smile, recalling how close she had been to hitting him in the face just a moment ago.

While looking at her, he stared at her in confusion, wondering why she was smiling. She smiled again, looking at his confused face, and then turned the other way to continue gazing at the view and inhaling the fresh air that blew her way while leaning on the balcony.

He started leaning next to her, feeling the breeze, and asked, "Did you have fun pinching me?"

She said, "Well, did you have fun pinching me back?"

He just gave her a look. She continued with, "I'll take that as a yes," she said, smiling.

It became quiet after that, and the awkwardness between them grew. Sensing the need to break the tension, Alise initiated with a hesitant "Sooo..."

"We're married," she said awkwardly, "umm, so yeah, about the contract, anything you would like to add besides the main clauses? If not, you're pretty much chained me," she said with a nervous laugh.

He turned to her and said, "I have nothing to add, and you?"

"Just don't eat my ice cream, or I'll kill you," she said while smiling.

He replied with a smirk, "Depends on the flavor." She glared at him, and he added, "I'm surprised. I don't scare you?"

She looked at him and almost laughed as she said, "lol, scare me," being sarcastic.

But then she stopped in her tracks, muttering in her head, "Shit, I can't believe I just said 'lol' out loud."

She cringed at the thought of her slip-up and followed along with, "Why would you scare me? Have you met my dad?"

She continued, "Me and him fight all the time. If I can stand up to him, you, sir, don't even hold a ranking."

He laughed and said, "Well, I'm used to people assuming things about me."

She nodded and added, "Me too."

Auston responded with curiosity, saying, "Oh, really?" and prompting Alise to provide more details.

She explained, "Well, I'm pretty outspoken and don't let people push me around, so they often think I'm stuck-up because I have my own opinions and I don't let them control me."

Curious, she turned the question back on him, asking, "And how about you?"

Auston replied with a hint of humor, "Look at me, lots of people find me imposing."

Alise chuckled, acknowledging the height difference, and said, "Ah, I always view people as equals. I forget about all the extra."

She continued, "So, what do they assume about you? That you're going to use your size to harm people?"

She commented, "Don't let it bother you. It's absurd how people can be so fixated on appearances when there are actual child molesters out there blending in so easily with their families."

He remarked, "Well, that's the first time someone has ever said that to me."

She responded, "Ah, sometimes I forget the impact of my words. I'm very unfiltered, so please don't mind me. At least it's the truth, though."

He chuckled and glanced at her. She asked, "What's so funny?"

He said, "You know, when we first met, I didn't think we'd get along."

She replied, "You know what, me neither. I spent all last night wondering if we would ever find common ground."

He confessed, "I didn't even think we'd reach common ground."

She responded with a teasing smile, "I hoped for it; otherwise, it would've been miserable looking at your face every day."

He said, "I agree. So, now, which estate are we considering as our main household?"

"You mean the ones in the contract?" she asked with a confused look on her face.

He clarified, "Yes."

She explained, "Before deciding, we should visit all the estates in person. We need to see them up close to make a choice."

He asked, "Do you want to go visit them?" She responded, "Now?"

He suggested, "How about we sneak out to my place tonight, and tomorrow when we wake up, we can visit the closest residence?"

She hesitated for a moment, a mischievous glint in her eyes, and then agreed, "Alright, let's do it.

He nodded, asking, "Okay, so how do we sneak out?"

With a laugh, she replied, "You didn't plan this out at all, did you?" She leaned over the balcony, surveyed the ground below, and suggested, "How about we climb down?"

With a gallant smile, he said, "Alright, ladies first."

She countered with a playful tone, "Un uh, you came up with the idea."

"How about rock, paper, scissors?" he suggested.

She responded with a deadpan stare, to which he quickly conceded, "Let me arrange us a driver first."

After making the call, he said, "They'll arrive in five minutes."

He checked the balcony and then turned back, saying, "I can nearly touch the ground. But due to the height, you might not reach the floor completely, so I'll help you down."

She chuckled and playfully responded, "Oh, how gentlemanly of you." But I knew that.

With a grin, he played along and added, "I try my best."

As they both realized how cringy their exchange had been, a moment of awkward silence fell between them. They couldn't help but acknowledge the oddity of their conversation.

After a few moments While they waited for the driver, she remarked, "My parents are about to be really pissed about this, but oh well, I've done plenty of things to upset them; this isn't the worst."

He took responsibility, saying, "I'm pretty sure my parents will know instantly it was my idea, but hey, we're adults. It shouldn't be too bad," he added with a scratch of his head, trying to ease their concerns.

Their car pulled up, the driver awaiting them .