Noemie was not intimidated by this, she was numb to a lot of intimidation tactics over time, and simply placed her hand on his cheek, gently holding his face up, and lightly smacked him, the back of her hand hitting the middle front of his face in a thump. 

His face scrunched up, she grabbed him by his arms and pinned them down to either side of his body by climbing up and straddling his lap, both of her knees pinned his hand in place. I haven't seen that move in a while. 

"I know you won't hurt me; you don't feel that way about me." 

"And if I hurt you anyway?"

"You won't." She stated as her hands moved to firmly grip the sides of his face.

He didn't say anything, just giving her a surprised expression, then as his eyes quickly shifted down, he smirked. 

"Well, look at you, getting on top of me. Practically naked." 

"I wouldn't be like this if you didn't feel the need to lecture me, unless you also want to wear nothing but a towel, so we're both even?" She bumped her nose onto his, staring him dead in the eyes. 

His eyes widened in surprise, before looking her up and down, her unamused, tired face and her towel that was slipping but she didn't seem to care.

"I can't tell if you're joking or not." 

"I'm not, I have loose clothing for men that you can sleep in. I don't usually have guests, but I like being prepared for them."

He clamped his mouth shut as she got off of him, hand holding up the edges of the towel to keep her breasts covered as her free hand gestured over to her washroom, offering it for him to use. She then walked to her room, carelessly turning her back to him, slowly slipping the towel down her back as soon as she closed the door to her room, giving the quickest glimpse ever of her back, it was as straight as it always was. The man could only chuckle to himself as he put a hand up to his face, hiding a blush dusting his cheeks as he stared down at the floor with wide eyes. His hand covered his mouth and nose like he was trying to stop himself from smelling anymore of an aphrodisiac from her presence.

The man gave in and went over to use her washroom. 

"Where do you keep the towels?" He asked in a loud voice, not daring to enter her bedroom. 

"The upper cabinet of the shelf next to the shower." Her voice said, muffled from behind her door.

Her bedroom was small, the bed being large was what gave that illusion, just enough foot space to walk around or sit on the floor beside the bed, and a room for a large piece of wood furniture with drawers and a mirror head piece. She always kept it neat, just one corner path, walking around the bed to her closet, which itself had enough space to walk in and sit if she needed. It was split down the middle too.

First was her day clothing. Her tops looked almost identical, save for the different shades of colors on each of them, she was the type to buy copies of the outfits she liked, and what this woman liked was blouses and button ups for the spring and fall, black turtlenecks in the winter, and drapey shirts in the summer. Her bottom clothes weren't any different, it's all either dress pants, jeans or high waisted long skirts.

Next, her nighttime clothing, or pajamas, same thing. The only baggy clothing you'd find in her closet, large t-shirts with the most random pictures on them, and some pants made out of soft materials. She put on a random set, then grabbed another larger looking set before leaving her room, about her brother's size, but it would fit her guest too.

The blankets were stacked on the top shelves, and she loved having lots of pillows, the only decoration on her couch really.

By the time she had come back, now dressed in something more comfortable looking to sleep in, Gavin had just finished taking a quick shower and no longer smelled of blood, he still had some droplets of water on his body but none that would fall on the couch as he sat still. It was easier at the time to notice his toned arms, working with dead bodies was heavy and yet morticians need steady hands. 

His arms were crossed as he was thinking pensively, simply staring at the low table as a daydreaming point. The woman placed some of the wide but soft clothing for the night beside him, and he zoned back into reality, turning his head and thanking her with a nod. 

"So, I was thinking..." He said as he stared back down at the low table. 

"Yes?" Noemie sat next to him again.

"The best excuse I can think of to try and explore the motel more, is staying overnight to get some sleep. Too tired to go home or something." Gavin said with a shrug.

The woman hummed in response, a finger on her chin in considering the idea. 

"We already know that she has eyes in a lot of places, so if we were to try that, we'd need an excuse for everything; staying overnight, exploring the halls, much less being together, or we should split up and search, or-." 

"How about we start by exchanging numbers?" Gavin asked as he brought his phone up to her attention, shaking it in his hand. 

The woman stared at it, almost wanting to giggle at the timing and his action.

"Considering the way, you brought me to your apartment, we should keep this act up, it's the best excuse for a lot of things." Gavins said as his eyes looked toward her, filled with a slight flirtatious intent mixed with seriousness. He leaned forward as he reasoned. 

"Imagine it like this, we're getting frisky together but don't want to disturb our neighbors, so like other couples we got to a motel! As for looking around the halls, we could pretend we're looking for a supply room, forgot to buy condoms or something." 

She listened intently, and then cocked her head to the side when he finished so she could ask him a question. 

"What does "getting frisky" mean?"

"Oh! It means like getting sexual or excited. I mean, if you're comfortable with us being depicted like that together?"

"I'm more than comfortable with you." She firmly told him, being surprised at her own words and almost freezing in place. 

He gave her a wide-eyed look as he cleared his throat, almost smiling at her words, his hand casually resting on the couch he slowly inched closer to hers. She didn't retract, moving her hand closer to let him hold it.

"If you need a drink, there's water in the fridge, get dressed and sleep, I wake up at eight every morning." She quickly changed the subject, suddenly being bashful, or her courage battery ran out, yet she still had enough in her to give his hand a light squeeze before pulling away.

Gavin made no response as he watched her go to her bedroom, finally getting up and scooping the soft clothes she had lent him, going to change in the washroom even though she would not see him through her closed bedroom door.

The odd night would be followed by sounds of blankets shuffling, hair shifting against pillows and footsteps on the floor, like pacing but then returning to lay back down. Gavin ended up just reading something on his phone as he moved to a sitting position, blanket over his shoulders like a shawl, his day clothes were folded and on the other arm of the couch, his items in between the folds. Noemie came back out of her room, her hair ragged from tossing and turning yet still smooth, she walked over to the open kitchen, the room being conjoined with the living room, so it was easy to see her reaching for the fridge before looking up, feeling the man's gaze. 

"Can't sleep either?" He asked softly, his eyes unlike what they were during the daytime, I suppose his sarcastic jokes mode was turned off during sleeping hours. 

"Yes, I had never gone as far as making a plan before, quitting was always just a daydream." The woman sighed as she reached into the fridge for a water bottle, then grabbing another one before closing and walking over to the couch slowly. 

She pointed by his side, and he nodded scooting more to the side for her. She sat down and passed him a water bottle. They sat in silence, rehydrating and making no physical or eye contact, and yet both wanted to say something. 

"So, did you have any special plans, for if you left your night job?" He whispered without turning his head to her, eyes still stuck on his phone. Though he did awkwardly scratch his neck.

"Probably go back to what I was usually doing but with less of a burden in my shoulders." she shifted her gaze to him.

"What about you?" 

"Same as you, but I'll probably use the money I got from this horrid experience to buy a house, maybe find a life partner if I'm not traumatized by the end of this." He said as he showed her these pictures of houses on his phone.

Noemie chuckled with a sad smile, her eyebrows bending into expressions of gloom as she stared down at the low table. 

"I used to think I might also find a partner here in America, and together we would sometimes go to visit my hometown in Lyon. But now, I fear I don't have the heart to face my family anymore."

Gavin shifted to face her with a soft gaze, turning off his phone. "What do you think you have the heart for now?" he asked. 

Noemie rubbed her forearm in thinking. "Cutting my ties with the underworld before I get into an even bloodier mess." 

This exchange of words was followed by another round of silence, only more comfortable as the two shared a small smile between them. The woman then jolted like she just remembered something, taking out her phone and showing her number to him, which he took a photo of, then offered a hand to the tall man, he tossed a confused glance up at her as she stood up.

"I haven't had company in a while, so while I have the choice, I'd rather not sleep alone tonight, if you'd like." 

"Again, you're getting too comfortable with me, but sure, since I might not be able to fall asleep alone either." He took her hand and followed her to the bedroom.

Despite saying this, Gavin only smiled, hiding it with the back of his free hand that held his phone, pretending to wipe something off his face. When she dragged him to her bedroom, she simply lied down at one side after setting her phone down on her nightstand, making room for him as he moved closer. He got on his side of the bed, sitting up and looking at her with an expression that was hard to read, a mix between serious, tiredness, and curiosity. He put his phone on the nightstand as well.

"Do you often do this when you bring a coworker over?" 

Noemie didn't react much, she just went to lying down and staring up at the ceiling as she responded, her arms sprawled over her stomach comfortably. "I've never brought a coworker over, or any person I was fond of before." 

Gavin let out a low chuckle from behind his smirk and tired eyes. "So, I'm a man you're fond of? Is that the real reason you brought me here?" 

Noemie smiled, a puff of air leaving her like it was a silent laugh.

"Do you think that act I did earlier was all fake?" 

Gavin didn't respond, rather his face changed to a pensive one with a smile and eyes of realization. He was probably thinking back to earlier that night, when she grabbed his arm as they walked down the streets and leaning her head on his shoulder in the car ride, hopefully he also thought about the times he brushed his hands through her hair gingerly. 

The tall man slowly shifted, taking his glasses off and placing them by his phone, his arm going over her body as the other helped him stay above her, one of his legs went back in between hers like earlier, but more relaxed.

"Then, should I assume you brought me to your bed for a reason then? Not just to act?" He whispered. 

Noemie was still unbothered by this action; her breathing was slow as she reached a hand up to gently caress the side of his face. The man made no secret of enjoying the feeling.

"I'm more than comfortable with you, because I always took comfort being near you when we worked together. I don't normally act on my real emotions, but for tonight, while I'm being the boldest, I've ever been, I thought why not show you how you make me feel?"

Gavin lowered himself to bring his face closer to her, his smirk replaced with a soft smile, as her hand fully placed the palm on his cheek.

"Tell me more." 

"I may have tried to flirt with you while discussing our plan, but all you did was lecture me."

Gavin stifled his snickering; he brushed their noses together as he closed his eyes to take in her scent, close to what she did earlier when bumping their noses together.

"Sorry for not seeing the signs earlier, guess I should make up for it then?"

"Only if you want to. You don't have to reciprocate my feelings just because I'm telling you-"

He gently shushed her with a firm peck on the lips, it was so quick and casual that she simply stared up at him in surprise as he reeled his face back to observe her reaction. His eyes squinted in bliss as he snickered. 

"I like your company too, let's just forget about everything tonight." He suggested, whispering into her neck as he began to kiss her skin fervently. 

The lady shuddered as her eyes shut tightly with the rush of pleasure, her hand entangled in the back of his brown hair, messing up the comb over hair style. She pulled her closer, he slipped his hand underneath her shirt, his warm hand brushing against her stomach. 

"Let's forget everything, just for one night." Noemie said in a shaky breath as she hugged him closer.

He hummed in agreement, moving his lips up from her neck to her cheek, to her lips, a featherlight touch that added evidence to how steady and in control of his body he was.