A Kiss:

The two strolled along the waterfront after dinner. Eddie had wanted to go for a walk to spend more time alone with Dee. He was happy that she had agreed and even held his arm in both her hands as they walked along.

Unbeknownst to him, Dee's head was swimming from the two glasses of wine she had. Not only did she feel lightheaded and giddy, but also she felt like curling up in Edward's lap if he would let her. The only thing that stopped her was the inner fear of him. Holding his arm and sitting close to him had been fine after she got used to it. Anything else beyond that terrified her. Was she supposed to let him kiss her afterward? A kiss would be nice. Was he expecting her to sleep with him after? If he was, he would be unpleasantly surprised when she told him no.

For all the confidence that she had as a fighter and assassin, she was petrified of a personal relationship with a man. While she had been totally at ease with Manchu and trusted him, this was different. Manchu was protective of her and knew her better than anyone. Still, he didn't know how deeply her fear of an intimate relationship with a man went.

The men she had met when she went out all treated her the same. The men in the Triad, for the most part, treated her as another male member. Any romantic interests for her had to be focused outside of the Triad. Dee had had her share of crushes when she was growing up. Never were they anything more than one-sided interests, though. Manchu often chided her on not speaking up to a boy she liked, telling her that they were just as afraid as she was. The excuse never helped, forcing her to turn her attention to other things and make herself look too busy for such frivolity as a boyfriend.

While Dee was lost in thought, the Riddler's thoughts drifted off as well. It wasn't until he felt a tremor at his side did he remember himself. The girl's exposed skin was covered in goose bumps. Placing his hand over her fingers, he found them to be icy.

"Are you cold?" asked Eddie, shaking her out of her reminiscing.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. I left my jacket in the car though," she said, wincing as a breeze brought up more goose bumps on her arms.

"Here." He took his jacket off and helped her put it on.

She felt ready to swoon as his warmed fabric surrounded her, mixed with the warm scent of his skin and aftershave. Dee! Stop acting like such an idiot! You're twenty-five and you're acting like a giddy little girl!

"A little big, but it looks good on you," he teased, taking her arm once more.

"Won't you get cold?" she asked, leaning her head against his arm in an effort to make herself feel more confident. Who are you kidding? You just want to be closer to him, quickly followed by, I wonder if he'll kiss me tonight.

"Not at all," he said, eyes focusing on the air in front of him for a moment, covering her hands on his arm with his free hand. I wonder if she'd be against letting me kiss her. Manchu said she was a bit old fashion when it came to dating.

They walked silently for a while, Eddie enjoying the feel of her resting against his arm, and Dee enjoying the warmth and comfort of being near him.

"Eddie?" she said, halting their walk and looking up at him.

"Hm? Is something wrong?"

"I'm just curious. You haven't been speaking in riddles or anything all night. How come? I thought you always did that, or at least spoke in some strange puzzle language."

A smile pulled the right corner of his mouth up as he pulled her around in front of him. "Why would you think that, Kitten?"

"Well, you're the Riddler. I thought that's what you did," she said, a light blush coloring her cheeks. You're such an idiot sometimes, Dee, she scolded herself.

"If I talked like that all the time, my help would never understand me. Besides, tonight I'm just Eddie. And I am still just a man. That's ok with you, isn't it?"

She nodded, dropping her eyes to the question mark on his tie. Eddie placed his fingers under her chin and tilted her face back up at his, watching the light twinkle in her eyes.

"The language between a man and a woman is perplexing enough," he said softly. It's now or never, he thought as he leaned in.

Dee's eyes went wide when she realized he was going to kiss her. As his lips pressed to hers, she stiffened, uncertain of what to do. His hand caressed her cheek softly and her eyes slowly slid shut. When his other arm curled around her waist and pulled her closer to him, she started to panic.

What am I supposed to do?!

Without realizing it, she found her hands encircling his torso. Once her hands touched the back of his shirt, she began to relax, feeling her body start to conform to his. Edward was being as gentle as he could with her, not presuming to make any move more than he should. He pulled his head back feeling her need for a breath. The girl's eyes were just barely open; her lips parted just so as she pulled in a labored breath of air. He realized he was supporting much of her weight as he smiled down at her flushed face, caressing her cheek once more with the back of his fingers. She had tasted of lavender and cream with a hint of mint. Never mind the soft smell of peaches that came from her neck that tickled his nostrils!

Dee's eyes suddenly snapped open and went wide as she became aware of what happened. Her legs felt weak and she felt helpless as he held her firmly. She wanted nothing more than to bolt right then, despite the warm tingle she felt all over from the kiss. Quickly she let go of him and took a step back, pulling her hands into the sleeves of his jacket, wrapping her arms around herself and turning her head to the ground. Why did she feel she had just done something so wrong?

"I'm sorry. Did I do something wrong?" he asked, closing the step between them.

She shook her head violently and stepped back again. The butterflies were back with a vengeance.

"Then what is it? I couldn't have hurt you." He paused for a second and then realized what the problem could be. "You don't think that I mean to take anything else from you tonight, do you?"

It was then that he noticed a shining tear fall from her chin and to the concrete. This girl was definitely, as Manchu had said, "a walking contradiction." Edward decided to add on "conundrum" to that definition of Dee Lemma. Manchu had also been right when he said that what little information he would give Eddie on Dee wouldn't keep him from unraveling the mystery of this girl.

"Dee, I wouldn't. I can tell you're not the kind of girl that would do that. And I'm not the kind of guy to force that from a girl." He managed to pull her into his arms and hold her tightly against him. In passing he wondered if she had been taken advantage of.

Pressing herself more firmly against him, Dee thought, He's like Manchu. Manchu would do this for me. What she wanted more than anything was for him to kiss her again. Now she was afraid that she had destroyed any chance of that happening. And that's the difference. You wouldn't want Manchu to kiss you like he just did.

"I'm sorry," she finally mumbled into his shirtfront.

"You haven't got anything to be sorry for, I don't think."

"Yes I do. I don't know the first thing about any of this. I don't know how to act. You saw me at dinner. A girl who knew how to act on a date probably wouldn't have made such a pig of herself! I don't know the proper responses to anything that comes with dating! None of it!" she said, sounding mildly angry now.

"I don't think you were a pig at all. I'm glad you got what you wanted and ate it all. I would have been fine if you had said you were still hungry and ordered more! But you've been out on dates before. A girl as pretty as you has certainly had her share of men in her life by now!"

Dee stepped back and glowered at him through narrow eyes. "No. I haven't. Tonight is the first, ok? This is the first time I've been asked out as more than a friend, or by someone I know had more on their mind than just dinner and a movie."

He was stunned. That couldn't be right. "First time by someone not Chinese, right?"

"First time, period." She sighed, realizing that she was needlessly being rude to this man who had been nothing but a perfect gentleman to her all night. "I'm sorry. Really. It's just that you took me by surprise there and I didn't expect to have my first kiss so soon after meeting you."

Again he was confused. "First kiss from me, right?"

Clenching her hands she made herself take a deep breath before responding. "No, Edward. Ever. I have never been kiss. I have never been on a date. I have never been with a man. I have never done anything that has to do with relationships. I thought you were supposed to be smart." The last was said as she shot him a glare of impatience.

Eddie frowned at that. He hated anyone saying he was anything but brilliant. But the girl had a point. He was slow to get the idea that she had indeed meant never. Now he understood why he had gotten the warnings he had from the two most prominent men in her life.

"Then I suppose I should apologize to you. I thought a woman as beautiful as you were would have had at least one man willing to go out with her. Apparently I'm the only one who's been smart enough to ask."

"I'm not beautiful. You don't have to tell me things like that."

Ah, so that's it. She's insecure because no one's asked her out and acted like they were interested in her for herself. Good, Eddie. You get a gold star tonight. Just don't screw it up and keep your ego out of this.

"I'm only telling you what I see. And I see a beautiful woman standing in front of me who looks as if she could use another kiss," he said leaning in once more as he held her tight.

This time Dee knew where she wanted her hands and she pressed them against his chest as he held her to his body. She could still taste the coffee he had along with a hint of chocolate from his dessert. When they pulled apart, she only barely managed not to say "yummy." Instead, she rested her head against his chest and let him hold her.
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