Our True Names [Part 6] [MF] [Slow Burn]

[Part 6: The Art of Persuasion]

“Enough about me. I want to know more about you. Why medicine?”

Samira carefully placed her knife and fork on the edge of her plate. She had been enthralled by his experiences and deeply appreciated the effort he took to help her understand what he did for a living. She enjoyed being the explorer. It was another thing entirely for the spotlight to be on her.

“I’ve always wanted to be a doctor. My parents certainly encouraged it as well.”

Alex considered her response. She had been so engaging when they had discussed the details of his life. Yet when it came to talking about her, she became so closed off. He decided to push her a little.

“You didn’t really answer my question. Why medicine?”

Samira was surprised. The reply she had given him had been enough for everyone else who had asked her that same question. *Why medicine…*

“Have you ever been sick? Really sick?”

Alex shook his head.

“I haven’t either. But I imagine it can be so scary. So isolating. We don’t really think about our bodies, do we? We think about how we look, what we weigh, hunger, thirst, fatigue… but we only really think about how our body functions when something is breaking down. It’s frightening. To be so unfamiliar with something that defines our existence.” Samira quieted down, feeling that she said too much.

“I think I understand,” replied Alex. You want to help people understand what’s happening with their bodies, to demystify it, make it less scary.”

Samira nodded slowly. He *had* understood her.

“Are your parents doctors?”

Samira took a sip of the rosé Alex had ordered for her. It was sweet and bitter all at once. She liked it.

“No, they’re not. My father was a physics professor back in Iran. He fixes computers now and my mother works in a middle school cafeteria.

“They sound like incredibly hardworking people.”

Samira laughed, tipping back more of the rosé.

“Right. That’s the immigrant way.”

“That’s not what I was trying to say. At all.”

Samira glanced at the people around her. Everyone was dressed so elegantly. The room glimmered as the soft light from above caught the facets of countless rings, bracelets, watches. She wondered how many of them had gone to the ATM earlier that day, hoping there was enough to pay for just one dish. She imagined that she was alone in this. Samira shifted her gaze back to the man seated across from her. She looked into Alex’s warm brown eyes, the furrow in his brow. She suspected that she had been unfair, but no part of her was ready to admit it.

“Why did you ask me to come here?”

Alex ran his hand through his hair, a bolt of nervousness coursing through him.

“I wanted to take you someplace I hadn’t thought you’d been before.”

Samira smirked. “Of course. I’m an unsophisticated 22-year-old student. How could I ever find myself in a place such as this.”

Silence fell as the waiter removed their plates and refilled Samira’s rosé.

“Samira.” Alex threw caution to the wind and reached across the table, holding both of her hands in his. “I don’t think you’re unsophisticated. I didn’t mean any offense at all. I wanted to share this place with you because I thought you would enjoy it.”

Samira looked down at their hands together. His skin was paler than hers and she was enthralled by the contrast, by how natural it felt to have her hands enveloped by his.

“You’re so good at this,” she quietly remarked. “How many others have been where I’m sitting right now?”

Alex tightened his hold on her hands, forcing her to finally meet his gaze.

“There have been others. I’m older than y-”

“How much older?” Samira interrupted, suddenly emboldened. The effect of the rosé was beginning to settle in.

“I’m turning 31 next week.” Alex searched her face, wondering if this was too much for her to accept.

“31,” she whispered to herself. So he was nine years older than her. It was substantial. The oldest guy Amanda had ever dated had been 27. And even then, it seemed like such a mismatch. They barely had anything in common… other than the desire to sleep with one another, of course.

“Does my age bother you?” Alex asked, his heart thudding in his chest, wondering if it would all come to an end before it even began.

Samira ignored his question. She wasn’t sure what she thought about it. He didn’t *feel* that much older…but she couldn’t deny that compared to him, she felt like she had experienced so little of what the world had to offer… and that *did* bother her.

“You said you wanted to help me. Tell me how.”

Alex loosened his hold on her hands. This was it. His only chance to persuade her to come on this journey with him.

“I recognize that we are from two different worlds, and that we’re in different places in our lives. Despite that, I feel this… this thread between you and me. I know how draining ambition can be. I know what it can cost to chase after one thing for so long. It’s so easy to get mired in self-doubt, in what others say about our aspirations. I want to help you focus the best way I know how. It would mean getting rid of all the noise that clutters your mind. The only way that I’ve ever managed to do it for myself is through connecting with another person physically and emotionally… through sex.”

Samira pulled her hands away from his, dropping them in her lap. She had sensed that this was where the conversation was heading, but it shocked her all the same. She felt her belly tense, the blood rush to her cheeks, and then down to where her thighs met.

Alex gazed at her, spellbound by how beautiful she looked, even when she seemed angry.

Samira pressed her thighs tightly together, hoping it would dull the throbbing. To her despair, it had the opposite effect.

“Samira… I know what you need. I *know* that I can give it to you.”

Samira crossed her arms, digging her nails into her skin.

“*You* know what *I* need? How long have we known each other? A couple of hours?”

Alex sat back in his seat, stunned. He knew it would be challenging. He knew she would resist him, but he hadn’t expected her derision. Her crossed arms pushed her breasts together, her cleavage further accentuated by the shallow breaths she was taking. For a moment, Alex was overcome by the image of her moving beneath him, her eyes dark with hunger, pressing her fingernails into his shoulders, pulling him closer. Alex closed his eyes for a moment. His mind was at war. He opened his eyes and took in her anger, the stiffness in her shoulders, and the pressure she was applying to her own arms.

“Samira! Stop. You’re hurting yourself.”

Samira looked down to where his gaze was directed and quickly let go of her arms. She hadn’t felt anything in the moment but the pale fingerprints and deep half-moons imprinted upon her skin indicated otherwise. There would surely be bruises.

Alex watched her wrap the shawl around her shoulders, covering up the evidence of her anger.

“Samira. I don’t want you to feel cornered. You have a choice in this. I think if you let me, I could help you feel better. Calmer. More in control. But in order to get there, you have to be open to me. Open to me leading you.” Alex paused for a moment. “You can’t punish yourself for wanting that for yourself.”

Samira didn’t say a word, but continued to gaze down at her hands, now laying in her lap.

Alex continued, more determined than before.

“Sex is more than just me fucking you.”

Samira’s breath caught in her chest and she looked up at Alex, his words shocking away the shame she had begun to feel.

“It’s more than me thrusting my cock in and out of you.”

Alex gazed at Samira, consumed by the effect of his words on her. Did she realize that she had leaned in towards him, her lips slightly parted? Did she know how obvious it was that she hungered for it?

He continued on. “It’s so much more than that. It’s about connection. Taking risks. Allowing someone to get as close as they can to you. Uncovering a side of you that maybe you weren’t aware of. Or didn’t want to bring into the light. *That* is what I want for you. For us.”

Samira breathed in deeply. She had been craving intimacy for so long. She wanted to be known. She wanted someone to know her secrets, to know what dark and dirty things made her sigh and whimper when she was alone in bed. She just never found someone who was willing to put up a fight against her own sense of what she deserved or could allow herself. In that moment, Samira decided that she would let him lead her in this. She would try to yield to his direction… But there was one more thing that stood in the way.

“I’m a virgin.” She looked into Alex’s eyes, wondering if this would be too much, even for someone like him.

Though Alex wasn’t entirely surprised, he hadn’t expected her to speak it outright.

“I respect that. I will continue to respect it… until you ask me not to.”

Samira took in his words. She knew what he meant. He would never force himself on her but a time may come when she would ask for it herself. And he *would* give her what she asked for.

“What if this doesn’t work? What if this becomes distracting?”

Alex felt the muscles in his shoulders relax, the tension finally leaving his body. She was truly considering his proposal.

“If that happens, I promise to step away. If I don’t make your life better, I will leave.”

Samira considered his words.

“And I’ll do the same for you.”

Alex resisted the urge to tell her that that was an impossibility. She could only ever brighten his existence. But he knew her well enough that she would argue against such a statement.

Alex grinned, holding out his hand. “You have yourself a deal!”

Samira laughed and shook on it.

“Ready to get out of here?”

Samira smiled. “Yes, I’m ready.”

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Author’s Note: Please let me know what you think so far!

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Source: reddit.com/r/eroticliterature/comments/kq36af/our_true_names_part_6_mf_slow_burn