Justin

I was back to my old routine as I strolled down the hall late (three hours late to be exact) hoping no one had noticed me or my less than positive attitude.

I figured I would just walk into my office, throw a curious glance Azaria’s way, and go about my business. After a few minutes of me ignoring her, she would attempt to explain herself and…how she’d replace my missing car window. See, I hadn’t had the luxury of going one-on-one with her on Monday because she had never showed up. She’s probably still hiding out in her bedroom.

“Whoa!” I halted at the opening of my office almost afraid to enter. Azaria wasn’t there as I had hoped, but I’d rather take three arguments with her and a hard slap to the face then what was before me right now.

Sitting at Azaria’s desk was someone I had never seen before around the job. She must’ve been new. Wait, I think she was a she. I stared at her from the doorway. She was too mannish to tell. It sounded insensitive, yes, but this lady was stocky, had to be about six-feet tall, and had more facial hair than me! It’s sad that a woman would allow herself to walking around daily and look like she did. Cupid’s Arrow had better hire a cosmetic makeover team quick if this lady was to be Azaria’s replacement. I would not be forced to look at that for eight hours a day. They would have to chain me to my desk first. Suddenly, a thought entered mind.

Had they fired Azaria because she had only missed one day without so much as a call-in? God, please say it isn’t so. I don’t think I could live with myself if I had played a part in her termination. I mean let’s face it, if I hadn’t mentioned her mother, she wouldn’t have knocked back all those drinks and acted a fool in front of Ian. Furthermore, I wouldn’t have almost been arrested and I would still have a window.

I rushed to my desk without giving that job-stealing woman a second glance and picked up the phone. I had to call Azaria and tell her to get her ass here now. The call immediately went to the answering machine. And just as I was about to leave a message Ian walked in.

“Hey Justin. I want to talk to you.” I wanted to ignore him, but I could at least give him half of my attention because he finally got my name right.

“Sure.” I directed him to the chair in front of me. I hoped he hadn’t caught me coming in late and would spare me the “being prompt is what we value most in our employees” speech.

“Over there is Greta Fletcher, she’s replacing Ms. Richards.” Today or from now on? I wondered. Just to be sincere, I waved at Greta, whose name fitted her perfectly. She smiled at me and it was a nice one. That was the only thing she had going for her without that much-needed makeover.

I focused back on Ian. “I wanted to let you know that the police department dropped the charges against you.” That’s not too surprising considering I didn’t do shit to begin with.

“Oh and the company is offering to pay for your broken window since it did happen on company time.” Wow, now I wasn’t expecting that one. Despite this new found information, I was tempted to turn down the offer so Azaria would still have to pay for the damages, but I would think of dealing with her another way. Maybe I could be the one to tell her she was fired…nah that was just wrong. In the meantime, though, I wanted Ian gone.

“Well, thanks sir. Have a nice day.” Maybe if I displayed a little gratitude of my own he would leave faster.

“You too Justin.” And with that he was…gone!

“Oh and Justin?” Damn, I spoke too soon.

“Yes…” I hoped I he could hear the annoyance in my voice.

“Call Ms. Richards and see to it that she comes in today as well.” Huh?

“So she’s not fired sir?” He seemed to think my question was absurd because he looked at me as if I had grown an extra eye.

“Hell no! Why would I fire someone like that? Have you seen her?” Now whose question was absurd? Of course, I’ve seen her, which explains why I act like a complete fool around her.

“Yes sir, I have.”

“Then you understand where I’m coming from? I tell you we need more people like her around here.” I definitely agreed with that. We needed some more lookers as well as some women who weren’t afraid to hold their own with Ian or any other man.

“Okay but make sure Ms. Richards comes in to today, we’ve suffered long enough without her.” They suffered? Hell, what about me?

And what the hell? Does he think I’m some kind of magician? I can’t just snap my fingers to get Azaria’s ass here. It’ll take much more. Ha, I might have to sell my soul to her.

Besides what would I say if she did answer the phone? Something along the lines of, “Hey Azaria, are you feeling up to coming to work? Ian says you have to. Pretty please.” As far as I was concerned there was no point in even trying, but my conscience convinced me it was worth the try.

Azaria

Beep! “Hey Azaria, it’s me again, you know Justin, the guy you work with? Anyway, I would ask where you’re at but I asked that on the last four messages. Besides, I know you’re hiding out at home in your bedroom. Someday, you’ll have to face the fact that-” Blindly reaching over, I picked up the receiver and slammed it back down. I didn’t need Justin of all people preaching to me about my behavior. I know what I did last weekend. It didn’t need to be repeated. Besides, I was still trying to come to terms with the situation myself.

Beep! “Azaria did you hang up on me because I heard the dial tone before I finished the rest of my message. My point was that you’re a crazy drunk. Oh, Ian said you have to come to work or you’re fired! You like the Donald Trump quality to my voice, huh-”

“What in the hell do you mean, I’m fired. He’s really gonna fire me? Damn, I only miss one day. A woman can’t have a personal day?”

“Ha! I knew that last one would get your lazy big butt up. Why aren’t you at work?” Forget that. I wasn’t even going to comment on his stab about my butt. Frankly, I was wondering why’d he have to torture me like that? Now my heart is in my stomach because I had jumped up so fast to grab the phone.

“I’m having a personal day.”

“Really?” He sounded as if he just knew I was lying. I’ll show him.

“Yeah, my stomach’s not happy with me right now.”

“Oh…” There was some silence for a few seconds. He seemed to cringe while asking his next question, “Are you having one of those Aunt Flo days, I think that’s what I heard some lady-”

“You mean my period or the correct term is menstruation.” I figured he was dying now. Most men don’t even like to hear that word. My brother wouldn’t even go in the aisle where pads and tampons were sold. Ridiculous, isn’t it?

“Yeah, yeah that. So you’re not coming to work? Damn, you’re trying to get me in trouble. I was supposed to do whatever it took to get you here. I guess, you want me to tell Ian about your personal day?”

“Tell him whatever you want.” And I hung up. Seconds later, my bedroom door was nearly knocked off its hinges. It was Amir acting as if he had forgotten to take his meds.

“Did you ever answer that fucking phone? The person keeps calling. It must be important if they’re calling this early.” He thinks he runs things. This is my house. I should’ve sent him to daddy like I had originally planned.

“For your information it’s well pass noon. And yes, I answered, it was Justin. Now if you could please see yourself out of my room.” He turned, stomping away.

I yelled after him, “And next time, think twice before storming into my room like you’ve lost your home training. I don’t want to be force to hurt you, boo. It won’t be a pretty sight.” After expelling all of my energy on Amir, I got up to shower.

Justin

Damn, I definitely didn’t want to be the one to tell Ian that Azaria was not coming to work. Maybe I could ask Greta to do it.

“Hey Greta, you want to do me a favor?”

“Sure. I’m here to help you.” Wow, I wasn’t counting on her voice sounding so…feminine and smooth. She wasn’t nearly as manly as I’d first implied. I tell you; all she needs is that makeover…

“You want to tell Ian that Ms. Richards is not coming in today?” My voice possessed a hopeful quality.

“But, weren’t you supposed to do whatever it took to get her in here?”

“Yeah but…” Come on don’t torture me, my ass might be on the line! “She’s having one of those personal days, you know personal days…”

“Person-Oh personal days. Was she having cramps?” Oh hell no!

“Look,” I held up my hands signaling that I was finished with this subject. “I don’t know, I guess so.” She didn’t quite catch my drift though because she just kept right on.

“Aww, I feel bad for her, even though I never met her. But I tell you, those cramps can be a pain. When a women is, you know, the uterus contracts to prepare for ovulation and-”

“Hey, hey lady! I do not want to hear this!” God my poor mind was filled with all of these horrible images. She knows how to make the female anatomy seem not so appealing with these graphic explanations.

She rolled her eyes at me, amused. “Yeah you men can’t handle all the things that happen to the precious vagina.”

“So yeah…how about that favor Greta?” I’d do anything to change the subject of this conversation.

“You’ll have to do something for me, of course.” I’m almost scared to ask because I didn’t know this lady at all or what she was thinking.

“Okay…”

“I’m tired of looking like one of the guys. I want you to give me makeover.”

“What! Do I look gay to you!” I shouted the first thing that came to mind. I quickly countered it though. “How about I find a woman to do that for you and we have a deal.” I was going to pay a visit to Azaria after work. She owes me anyway.

“Okay, deal.” She stood. “I’ll go tell Ian the news now.” She smiled and left out the door. I could say I wasn’t in a bad mood anymore. I had used my connections to make somebody feel good, so I felt good now.

“Excuse me.” I heard a throat clear and looked up to see Ian again with Greta behind him. What? Did he not fall for it?

“Greta told me about Azaria’s issue, but unfortunately that’s leaves you at a disadvantage still.” Huh? Why?

“I tried to hold this off for another day, but I couldn’t possibly do that seeing as though I already held it off for a day because of Ms. Richards’ absence yesterday. Therefore, I’m sorry to tell you that you have to present the proposal to the Senior Executive in about an hour. Alone.” He wasn’t sorry. In fact, he looked far from it, more gleeful than sorry. And why would this ass of a boss wait forty-five minutes before the end of my shift to tell me that I had to present to the Senior Executive? It just didn’t make any sense.

“What about Greta? She can’t help?”

“No. She can only do so much, besides you don’t have the time to get her up on the proposal.” Great.

“Okay sir. Thanks for letting me know.” Not! I had the nerve to do the- whatever wrestling move would take his ass out. “I’ll get right on it.” I stood up and ushered him out the door.

In minutes, I attempted to concoct a plausible explanation of the proposal Azaria and I had drafted. Okay, I think I got it. I guess all those days that I spent leaning over Azaria’s shoulder pretending to stare at her laptop screen when I was actually trying to get a peak at her “sweater puppies” actually worked to my advantage. Whoever said I couldn’t multitask can shove it.

So, the presentation of the proposal lasted about an half-hour and I must say it went well. I think I exceeded the senior executive’s expectations and you know what, I did it all by myself. Damn it, I deserve a raise. I wish Azaria had been there to get some of the credit and see me work it. It didn’t matter now though, I was on my way to see her.

When I finally made it to Azaria’s apartment, it seemed as if no one was home. I had been knocking at her door for over three and a quarter of a minute. She had no previous knowledge of my visit so I couldn’t understand why she wasn’t answering. I had even managed to slip inside the front entrance after someone else had exited so I wouldn’t have to alert her of my presence. This was a stupid idea! Certainly, not my first where she’s concerned.

During my return back to insanity, the door slowly opened. I quickly masked any signs of mental illness with my million-dollar smile. However, it went to waste. To my disappointment Azaria’s brother, Amir opened the door instead.

“What is wrong with you man?” Why would he ask such a thing? Did I still look deranged?

“What up Amir? How’s it going dog?” He had just witnessed my poor attempt at trying to be down. This was officially an off day for me.

He shot a questioning stare at me then stepped aside and allowed me to enter. I knew he had wanted to laugh at me, but I thank him for being able to hold it together.

“So…is Azaria around?” There wasn’t any reason to make a stab at conversation.

“No she’s not. She left over an hour ago and before you ask me where she went I don’t know.” Well ain’t this a blip! I rushed all the way across town breaking numerous traffic laws and for no apparent reason but to hear that, Azaria was not here. If I had called, I would have known that.

“Oh well can you tell her I ca-” My sentence was cut short by a woman gracing the threshold. She was almost as equally attractive as Azaria, but not quite. She was missing the sass that drew me to Azaria in the first place. However, she too did have a nice figure.

Amir cleared his throat loudly. I guess he caught me checking out his woman and I’m glad he did. For some reason I felt as if I was betraying Azaria, by checking out another woman. Sick isn’t it, seeing as though I have no romantic ties to Azaria, yet. Did I say that I was having an off day.

“Justin this is my friend Crystal.” Yeah, friend, right. “Can you wait out in the hall for me baby? I’ll just be a minute.” He smiled at her and she obeyed sashaying out the room. He turned back to me.

“If you want to wait here for Azaria to come back you can. Oh I’ll leave you her cell phone number and there’s an extra key if you need to step out for a minute.”

“Damn.” I muttered watching after him. I looked down at the slip of paper with Azaria’s phone number on it and the keys in my other hand. Amir had made the biggest mistake in his life and he didn’t even know it. How could he leave me unattended in her apartment? But, I might as well make myself comfortable.

I looked around the room, taking in the elegance of the décor. My gaze settled on Azaria’s self-portraits and she owned plenty; someone loves herself entirely too much. I moved onto the pictures of her family, which I hadn’t cared for as much so I began looking for personal belongings. I knew it was wrong but I needed to do something to pass the time until Azaria returned. The best place to look was probably the bedroom.

All this detective work had me feigning for an ice cold drink. Just the thought of what I could find in her bedroom had my mouth going dry and perspiration forming on my face. Hmm…is it me or did I not just sound like a crazed sexual predator who gets off on sexy lingerie? No? I didn’t think so either.

I grasped the handle of the refrigerator, but a small note tacked to the front caught my attention. A note addressed to Amir, written in Azaria’s neat penmanship stated that she had gone to the salon and she had left a contact number as well.

I took a swig of my drink and quickly dialed the number to the salon. When the receptionist picked up, I asked her if an Azaria Richards had made it to the salon. She politely told me that she had.

“Would you like me to relay a message to her?” And let her know I was practically stalking her? Uh…I think not.

“No that’s ok. Can you tell me your location?” If Azaria wouldn’t come to me willingly, I would make her. I had a little time to spare, so a little planning wouldn’t hurt and not to mention I could use some freshening up. In my haste to get here, my cologne had worn of considerably.

I finished off the remainder of my water. The plan starts now….

Azaria

“Okay, Azaria. We’re done.” Sherese removed the cape from around my shoulders, before handing me a handheld mirror. I inspected the back of my updo. The five twists curved along the side of my head and fell in an array of curls. I loved it!

“Thanks Reese. As always you make me look fabulous girl.” I handed her seventy dollars and a hefty tip. There goes the money for the electricity bill.

“You’re welcome Zar. See you in two weeks.” She took a swig of her water and called over her next client.

On my way to the ladies room, I faintly heard my name.

When I returned the receptionist, Tammy, occupied one of the stations. She popped up as soon as she saw me. “Sorry girl I had to use the bathroom.”

“That’s okay. I just wanted to inform you that a man was waiting for you at the front.” Hmm, I wonder who it could be.

“Is it my daddy?” I beamed, not having seen him in almost two weeks. I eagerly walked to the front.

“I don’t know. If that’s what you call him.” She threw a hidden smile over her shoulder.

Maybe it was Amir. Tammy had never met him so I didn’t expect her to recognize him.

I immediately froze at the sight of Justin. What the hell is he doing here?

I watched as he questioned Cynthia who was giving a customer a rod set in the front, before both Justin and Cynthia turned to me. I turned my head quickly, pretending I hadn’t seen him, but of course he wouldn’t let me off the hook. He headed in my direction. Damn it.

“He’s a fine one.” Sherese whispered into my ear as she brushed by me, although I’m sure Justin as well as everyone nearby had heard her. Instead of thinking about how embarrassed I was, I should have been agreeing with her. Justin did indeed look fine. I must be out of my damn mind. Maybe I had inhaled some of those hair chemicals.

“Hello Zar baby”

“What are you doing here? How the hell did you find me?” I seethed through clenched teeth, but then I thought about it. That damn brother of mine! He needs to stay out of my business.

He smiled, “I came to pick you up.”

“Did Amir tell you I was here?” I adjusted the strap of my camisole as it started to slip off my shoulder and tossed him a glare that could melt ice.

“No he didn’t. Um…can we talk outside?” I followed his gaze and noted that there were several curious faces. We must’ve looked rather odd standing in the middle off the salon arguing as if we were having a lover’s quarrel. I obliged and followed him outside.

In perfect gentleman-like fashion, Justin opened the door for me and placed his hand against the small of my back to urge me out the salon, more like push me out. Before I knew it, he was opening the car door for me. “This is new, isn’t it?”

“It’s a rental, I’m getting that window fixed.”

“I’m sorry about that. How much did it cost?” I fished for my checkbook ready to write him a check to cover the damages and to put all this behind us.

He covered my hand with his, it sent a tingly feeling through me, and I quickly snatched my hand away. He smiled lightly and then ushered me into the car by placing his hand on my back, dangerously close to the rise of my butt.

I glared at him and slid into the seat. He was up to something.

“You don’t have to pay for it. I got it covered.” He told me.

“You have to let me pay for it, please?” Why was I begging him to take my money, I didn’t have much left as it is.

“Why? Got a little bit of a guilty conscious going on?” He smirked teasingly.

“As a matter of fact I do. I was the bitch of all bitches to you on Saturday.”

“When are you not one?” I’ma let that one go, but he had one more time…

I rolled my eyes. “As I was saying…I shouldn’t have acted like that. It was all uncalled for, the broken window and the police.”

“Nah I shouldn’t mention your-” He stopped when he felt me glaring at him. “Oh.” Justin repositioned his hands on the wheel as he navigated a corner. “Speaking of the police, they dropped the charges and the company is paying for my window.” He grinned sheepishly, sensing an outburst coming. And he was right on the money.

“I can’t believe you let me sit here feeling all guilty and what not when the shit was already taken care of.” I stretched my right arm out and jabbed him, hard. While keeping one hand on the wheel, he instantly reached up to rub his arm.

Suddenly, I wondered what I’d have to do to repay him now that all of the issues were handled. Knowing Justin, he would think of something…something I’ll probably say no to. Like some of kind of sexual favor.

“No need to worry…” He began as we stopped in front of a restaurant. He probably wanted to grab some takeout. “I have a way for you to repay me. It involves a favor.” Favor? See, I knew it.

I turned swiftly in my seat, stabbing a pointed finger in his face while rejecting his request. “I’d give my right arm before I grant you any sexual favors!”

His lips curved into a wide grin as we came to a complete stop. “That’s not what I meant, but I didn’t know sexual favors were up for discussion. What are you offering?”

“I’m not. What did you mean then?”

“The favor is for someone else actually. You know an employee, Greta Fletcher?” I answered no. “Well, I kind of promised her that you’d give her a makeover.”

“What! Why would you do that?” This Greta chick could be one of his old flings. There was no way I’d agree to it.

“Because to be honest…you owe me baby. And she desperately needs it, desperately.”

“Uh…I don’t want to.” I sat back in my seat, folding my arms under my breast.

“Okay then favor B. Go to dinner with me tonight.” On second thought…

“I’ll do the makeover.”

“Good. But you’re still going to dinner.” He didn’t wait for me to respond and exited the car. He came around to the passenger side, opened the door, and pulled me out. He wrapped an arm around my waist so I couldn’t run. Maybe I should scream rape.

“You can let go of me now.” I whispered sternly, as he led me into the elegantly furnished restaurant.

Justin ignored me, and instead asked for a table for two in the nonsmoking section. “Reservations for Timberlake.”

“You planned this shit!” I attempted to hide my disgust, but I failed miserably. I was in no mood to wine and dine with Mr. Unpredictable.

“You should enjoy this table Mr. Timberlake, it’s pretty private.” I cringed at the knowledge that we would be secluded from the other patrons. Justin tightened the hold on my waist as though he expected me to make a run for it. He was right; I was planning my escape route as we speak.

The hostess smiled and placed two menus on the table, then walked away. I turned to Justin, boiling with anger. “Get your hands off me.”

“Tsk tsk Azaria. You need to calm down.” He smiled down at me as he helped me into my seat.

I threw daggers at him again, “If I wasn’t hungry you’d be in trouble boy. You’re paying right?” I figured the more I protested, the more he would enjoy the situation. So, I might as well stay and attempt to enjoy the evening.

“Great.” He reached over to rest a cold hand atop mine. I assumed this was a non-date, but I guess Justin thought otherwise. The specks of gold in his blue eyes sparkled with intensity, I had never noticed just how beautiful his eyes actually were. My face warmed with embarrassment; in fact, my whole body was warm. Not even the winter breeze filtering through the open door could help cool my skin.

“Stop it.” I chided myself.

“Stop what?”

My eyes grew wide, he’d heard me. Damn, I hope he hadn’t noticed me fawning over him as well. The waitress appeared just in time to interrupt my answer.

“Hello, my name is Andrea. What can I get you to drink?” Before I could answer, Justin took the liberty of doing so for me. He always has to be in control.

“I’ll take a beer and for the lady, a glass of water.” Water! Who goes to a restaurant and orders water?

“I’ll have a strawberry margarita.” I rolled my eyes at him. I see that he’s trying his hardest to keep me alcohol free. It was sort of cute.

Once the waitress was out of earshot, I blasted him. “You don’t have to worry about me.” I hate to think that he thought of me as a crazy drunk just from one incident.

“It’s not that. I just assumed…never mind. Sorry.” I wasn’t expecting him to apologize, but he’d been doing a lot of that lately. Maybe he felt sorry for me.

The waitress returned with our drinks. Justin ordered chicken dishes for the both of us

I fiddled with my straw before finally taking a tentative sip. It was sweet with only a hint of alcohol that should suit Justin’s fancy. “So…how was work without me?” I attempted to make some conversation.

“It was cool after awhile. However, I had to present to Mr. Grant today-”

“That was today? Shit!” I had completely forgotten that that meeting was today. If I had remembered I would have definitely made it a priority to be there, cramps or not. I’m sad that I had missed the opportunity to discuss what Justin and I had been working so hard on for the past couple of months.

“Mr. Grant wasn’t upset at all. He understood about your personal day. And before you say anything Ian told him not me.” I wish I hadn’t even mentioned that to him.

“Well did you at least get the grant?” It surprised me that Justin and I were able to converse in a civil manner for once. Normally, we’d be tearing at one another’s throats. I’d admit that the change was nice though.

“Yes as a matter of fact I did. I wish you were there with me every step of the way.” Aww. My heart literally melted at his words. Good lord, I can’t believe that Justin was actually making me weak in the knees. I took a few more sips to calm my nerves, allowing the alcohol to rush through my system.

He flashed me his pearly whites and a shiver of delight crawled over my skin. I needed another drink because with the way this date was going, Justin might just get lucky tonight. I took one more sip and sat the glass aside prepared to eat when the waitress returned with our food.

“Having a good time?”

“Yes.” I said trying to play it cool. While on the inside, I was beaming with excitement.

“Great.” With his callused hand resting atop mine, he raised my hand to lay a soft kiss on the back of my palm. Have mercy! I never remembered his lips being that soft when he had manhandled me in the bathroom or the chaste kiss we shared on Saturday night. I was tempted to reach over and lay a juicy kiss on him, but thought better of it. Jesus help me.

Justin

I cannot believe that for once my plan was actually working with me instead of against me. This was definitely new for me- with any females I’ve dealt with, not just Azaria. But this…I wasn’t expecting. I was feeding Azaria absolute bull shit and it threw me off guard that she was soaking it up. That’s why I kept smiling liking an idiot over dinner and resulted to stealing what appeared to be innocent touches just to control my excitement at having advanced in this so-called relationship. Of course, there were moments when I had almost lost it…

“Ready to go?” I set my glass aside and signaled for the check when she responded that she was indeed ready to leave. We had stayed longer than I had previously intended, but I didn’t dare think of disrupting the wonderful progress Azaria and I were achieving.

Long after we had finished our meals, we talked and I mean really talked. The normally sheltered Azaria had actually disclosed some personal information to me that I felt privileged to have learned. She told me that as a child holidays were and I quote “the worst fucking moments in my life, especially Christmas.” Even though she hadn’t felt the need to admit this, I guessed that holidays were still unbearable for her and with Christmas rolling around she’d probably be in a funk. My thoughts returned to what Amir had said about her attending therapy in the past, my assumptions led me to believe that all the problems Azaria had had stemmed from her mother’s departure.

I walked around the table to help Azaria from her seat. She willingly fell into step with me as I laced a protective arm around her waist and rested her head on my shoulder. “Did you enjoy yourself?” She appeared to be lost in her own world right now.

“I did, thanks for this.” Any traces of despondency had erased when she had caught my curious gaze, replacing it with an alluring smile that set my emotions ablaze. I quickly shuffled her out the restaurant, thanking the hostess for the wonderful evening and possibly the wonderful night ahead.

“Uh…did I happen to comment on how nice you look?” It was obvious that I needed to step my game up if I was reusing material. “I like your hairstyle too, what do you call that?”

“An up-style and thanks.”

When I reached over to curl a finger around a loose tendril, she smacked my hand. “Ouch.”

“Boy never touch a black woman’s hair when it’s freshly done. Besides, I paid seventy-five dollars for this do.” Damn that was a lot of money to spend on a hairstyle, but it was well worth it. Azaria looked stunning.

“It looks good on you, but then again anything looks good on you, even nothing at all.” That was smooth how I slid that in there at the last minute. Azaria raised her brow brooding over my last statement, she lifted a finger to stroke along my bottom lip almost beckoning me to take it in between my lips.

“Keep it up and you just might get your wish.” She brushed up against me in such an achingly slow manner that her backside grazed the front side of my jeans. The warmth sent a jolt of sensation straight through my loins to the swell developing in my jeans. I was tempted to lay a kiss on the exposed part of her nape, but I didn’t want to start something I couldn’t finish standing in the middle of the street. Not to mention I wasn’t into public displays of affection.

“Get in the car.” I struggled to say more as I leaned over her to unlock the door. I moved too quickly and she brushed against me again, purposely I assumed. I had to hold onto the door and the roof of the car just to keep myself from grinding against her as she bent down to retrieve her “dropped” purse. That’s it! I shoved her into the car, a little rougher than I had intended, but it got her ass in the car so I hadn’t cared.

On the way back to her house, Azaria made it her priority to touch me and throw seductive glances my way. The tips of her freshly manicured fingernails repeatedly scraped the sensitive spot behind my ear and once again, I had almost lost it. This is what I had wanted to happen and I didn’t even know what to do. Jesus help me.

Now I’m standing in front of Azaria’s door obviously not wanting her to go, but also at the same time desperately wanting her to. She glanced over her shoulder to meet my gaze, which I’m sure came off as pitiful. I added a pout to achieve the overall effect and turned on my heel as I heard the door open and close. We didn’t share any words other than goodbye and that kind of upset me, I was hoping that what we had accomplished would make things different but I guess not. So much for-

“Justin?” I swiftly turned around. Azaria leaned against the threshold of the door looking sexier than ever. My pants stirred in anticipation.

“Where are you going?” I stared at her blankly, unprepared for that question. She sauntered toward me allowing the door to shut carefully behind her.

“Uh…er I- I’m leaving.” It sounded more like a question than a statement. “Right?” I had to make sure I wasn’t mistaking Azaria’s advances for something else. I had been in this predicament too many times with her already. I didn’t need her to get me all worked up just to leave me hanging.

“Aww hell.” The distance between us decreased in record time. Azaria grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and pulled me close enough to her that our lips were almost touching. I swallowed my desire to take matters into my own hands. If something was going to happen, it was going to be on Azaria’s terms.

“Do I have to spell it out for you?” Her grasp fastened to the back of my shaved head and assisted in the descent of my lips on hers. Our lips touched tentatively at first as if this was something new for the both of us.

Azaria’s hand cradled the side of my face, her lips moved over mine becoming more confident. The torture of taking it slow caused a bubbling tension to rise and I took matters into my own hands. I kissed her as if I wanted to suck the sweet essence from her very lips. My lips moved in a sensual dance, I nipped her bottom lip, sucking softly to relieve the pressure.

Azaria groaned against my mouth, surrendering completely to me as my hot tongue slipped into her mouth, sending a jolt of white-hot desire through the both of us. I wanted her…bad.

She pulled away from me and rested against the door, panting heavily. Tucking her swollen lip between her teeth, she looked up at me, almost shy. “You wanna come in?” Hell yeah! My mind screamed, but I settled on just a plain, “Sure.”

I followed her back to her door. She removed the key from where it nested between her cleavage. I moved behind her pulling her softness taut against me and rested my face in the crook of her neck, inhaling the sweet scent that was naturally her.

Delicious sensations swirled through me as I nipped at her neck, igniting a trail of fire along every inch of skin with slow strokes of my tongue. Azaria’s head dipped back allowing me more access as I teased her velvet skin. She released a sharp breath as my hands grazed the underside of her-

The door opened suddenly and before us was Amir. Oh shit! I could imagine what was going through his head as he opened the door to find me groping his sister in the hallway and Azaria-she must be embarrassed as hell.

I wanted to let her go and I tried but my hands wouldn’t voluntarily remove themselves so Azaria did it for me.

“What the hell are you doing here Amir?” She seemed upset, I guess she wasn’t expecting him to be home. Hell I was mad too. I was on my way to sliding into home.

A smirk appeared on his face and he looked me dead in the eye. I couldn’t tell if he was pissed at me though. The telephone appeared from behind his back, “It’s Pops. I told him you went out on a date, but then I heard a ruckus at the door.” That explained the bat in his other hand.

“Yeah she's home Pops.” He pushed the phone in Azaria’s direction, but she refused to take it.

“Tell him I’ll call him back.” She waved Amir away and pulled the door closed. Releasing a hefty sigh, she turned to me. I dreaded hearing what she was going to say.

“Well…” We voiced simultaneously.

“Well see ya at work tomorrow.” I spoke up. The mood had been killed and it was no way we were going to love each other up with her brother in the house. Damn, what happened to that girl Crystal he’d introduced me to earlier. I guess it wasn’t meant to be.

“Yeah. Bye.” I leaned over to leave a lingering kiss on her lips, something to remind her of me tonight. I knew who’d be recurring in my dreams tonight, well after I took an ice cold shower.