Whispered Kiss

Torment of the Mind

Chocolate milk mixture dripped down the extend spoon in my hand, plopping into the bowl below it. I jabbed the spoon forward, topped with dark cereal, at Dianna adding my best faux-warning expression in her direction.

"Don't you dare laugh, it's not funny. It was mortifying." I sighed and redirected the spoonful of cereal towards my mouth before feasting on its goodness. Once I finished, I loaded my weapon again and pointed it towards her direction. I preferred actual chocolate to drown the humiliation of today in, but with my empty wallet I had to be satisfied with a substitute.

Dianna's cheeks puffed up, her teeth scraping her bottom lip, those darling dimples forming.

I leaned forward and glared at her. "Dianna, I'm warning you. I've got some super squishy stuff in this bowl, dying to hit someone in the face."

Dianna held her hands up in defense. She positioned herself behind the vase of flowers perched on our shared marble-island seating area. I could still see her lips tugging higher through the glass vase however blurred by the water inside.

"It couldn't have been as bad as you think. He clearly has enough humor in him not to take it personal if he instigated the joke in the first place. You shouldn't take it too personal, he's still a man. No matter how yummy."

I snorted, almost choking on my cereal. "Please, let's refrain from calling my boss yummy like he's a steak you're dying to gobble up." A mental, mouth-watering image of a juicy steak, plastered with Bladen Black's face morphed into my mind's eye and I shuddered, the idea both disconcerting and appealing. To banish the mental picture, I shoved another three spoonful's of cereal into my mouth, chewed and sighed. "Dia, I'm telling you. It was that bad." Again, I sighed as the scene came rushing back, heating my cheeks in an instant. Of course, I omitted the part where I called my boss a bastard because I thought I saw the same man in his features as the man who plagued my dreams.

A giggle popped from Dianna's lips before she clamped her teeth down harder trying to resist the urge. I loaded my spoon, and leaned to the side, positioning my weapon to hit its target. "I told you! No laughing at my pain or else."

Dianna backed away a step and pointed at my weapon and me. "If you throw that stuff in here, you'll be cleaning tonight."

I shrugged, "Good, then I can look for my dignity along the chocolate poop!" With a yell of defiance, I chucked the spoon's load at Dianna who darted down, chocolate milk and cereal flying to smack the sleek surface of the fridge.

"Fine! I won't dare laugh at your day, again. I swear it!" She peeked over the ridge of the counter, rising to her full length, but her eye kept a firm watch on my spoon if she needed to duck again.

"You better not, this bowl is loaded." Pushing the bowl away, I spun the bar stool around, and walked over to her. We were face to face now, an irritable groan falling from my lips for the umpteen time. "I should have known Dia that the only darn door that wasn't glass, led to the bathrooms." My head plopped onto her shoulder and she patted my back while my mind wandered.

Throughout the day, I kept a strict eye on my office door, waiting to hear the heavier footsteps of Bladen Black. He walked by twice, neither of those times sparing me a single glance. What did I expect? The fact that Dianna and I saw another man lining Bladen's features, no matter how fleeting, haunted me. If it weren't for Dianna letting slip she saw something similar in him once, I would never believe it happened and stamped it with my crazy sticker before burying it deep.

I sighed against Dianna, who remained a supportive friend for all but five seconds before she pushed me away. Her lips parted in the slightest and a spark ignited in her eyes.