He pressed his lips to hers.
Soft and full... just like he imagined.
A wave of desire flowed through his entire being. He opened his mouth to capture her lower lip in his - the need to taste her overwhelming. He felt her stiffen, yanking him back to his senses, and he drew away just as she pushed at his chest.
"Ozan!"
"Esra...I'm..sorry.." he started, but got no further because she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him back, her eyes closed, her lips seeking his greedily. He groaned into her mouth, nipping gently at her lip, before sucking on its soft fullness. She moaned, her lips falling open. His tongue slipped in, the first touch to her tongue - electric.
Her eyes flew open and she pushed him away again, his lips making a smacking sound of sudden release.
He felt drunk with need, not a single coherent thought in his mind, except the taste of her lips, the touch of her tongue, the heat in her mouth. He closed his eyes briefly, trying to gather his senses, then opened them to find her staring at his lips, her eyes hungry.
She grabbed, his shirt and pulled him to her again. It took every ounce of his resistance, but he covered her hands with his, stopping her, and rested his forehead against hers.
"Esra..," he said, his voice so low, so gravelly, that she felt her toes curl, "if you kiss me again I may not be able to stop."
His words shot a jolt of realization through her, and she released his shirt like her hands were touching fire.
"I'm..I'm..sorry," she stammered, not really sure what she was apologizing for. Then moving her head back she stared at him defiantly."You started it!" she said accusingly - outrage always her best defense.
He huffed out a laugh at the change in her tone. She was right though - he had started it, and he had no regrets.
"Maybe if you hadn't said that I wasn't a man..." he replied only half joking.
Her eyes flashed, "Oh so it's my fault now!"
He shook his head. What was he saying? "No. It's not you...it's me." He lips curled up with a hint of a teasing smile, "well maybe it's little bit you too."
She flushed, and turned away. Damn he was right, she had pulled him back. What was she thinking?
"Esra," he said softly, taking her chin between his thumb and forefinger and turning her to face him again. "I'm very attracted to you, you must know that. I think you are attracted to me too. Maybe we..."
"Hayir!" she interrupted him. "Hayir, I'm not! And you shouldn't be either! We are friends. Good friends! Friends don't..." she waved her hands between them frantically, leaving her sentence unfinished.
Something shifted in his face, making it unreadable to her. "Tamam," he said slowly, "if that's what you want."
"It is!" She realized she was almost shouting. How dare he change their dynamic? He was supposed to be her forever friend, if they hooked up for a fling nothing would ever be the same again, and she couldn't bear that.
"Fine," he said rising. "It won't happen again."
"Good!" she said, her relief so palpable, it turned the knife in his chest a little.
"Let's forget any of this happened," she said eagerly.
"Done!" he said with so much conviction, it stung her a little.
"Back to being friends then," he said, walking out of her room.
She watched as he left her room without turning back. Her fingers rose to her lips unconsciously, still tingling from the contact. Damn, nerdy Ozan was a helluva kisser, who would have thought?
The next morning Esra walked tentatively into the kitchen. Ozan was there making his signature Saturday morning eggs.
"Gunayidin!" He said cheerily.
"Gunayidin," she replied warily. So he really was going to pretend like nothing happened. Fine! Two could play at this game.
"Made you some coffee, and your eggs are coming up," he said handing her a steaming cup.
She took it from him gratefully, their fingers touching. Did he linger as he withdrew his hand? She felt a zing of something as his fingers grazed his. She looked up at him sharply to see if had done it on purpose. But he looked oblivious. Great, so she was the only one affected by last night.
"I already ate. This one is for you," he said plating the omelette with a flourish, and sprinkling a little pepper at the end.
"Thanks!" She grinned at his extra-ness.
"I'm just going to have a shower, back in a bit."
Esra nodded, pulling out her phone and scrolling through her Instagram. She didn't realize how much time had passed until she heard Ozan walking up behind her. She turned around raising her phone to him, wanting to show up a picture of someone from their mohalle who was also in the city, but her hand stopped in mid-air and her breath caught.
He was...shirtless. His joggers were slug low, the sharp V of his hips on display and disappearing into his pants. Her mouth felt dry, and she moved her eyes upward quickly, only to be hit by the vision of his six-pack, she allowed herself a quick scan almost counting up, before moving further past his defined chest, to his chorded neck and up to his face...to find him watching her. A hint of a smirk on his lips - so fleeting that she thought she had imagined it.
"How are the eggs?"
Exploding in my ovaries, her brain screamed. She flushed at her unruly thoughts. "Great!" she said over-enthusiastically, her voice sounded shrill to her own ears. She cleared her throat, "just great. You are really good with eggs."
She wanted to cover her face with her hands. What are you saying kiz? She snuck a peek at his face, he didn't seem to be reading into her words and she sighed in relief.
"You were going to say something?"
"Oh..." she tried to remember what it was she wanted to tell him before his hot body had so rudely interrupted her thoughts.
"Oh right! Remember Yusuf from the mohalle? He lives in Istanbul now. I just say his posts on Insta."
"Oh interesting," Ozan said moving closer, "I haven't seen him since high school. What does he look like now?"
He moved right up behind her, peering over her shoulder, his breath hot on her neck, the scent of his aftershave filling her nostrils. A droplet of water dripped from his wet hair and landed on her bare skin at the base of her neck.
He brushed it away unthinkingly, "Sorry..."
Esra jumped - first at the cool drop of water against her hot skin, then at the soft brush of his fingers. She scrambled out of her chair, pushing her phone into his hands and putting a whole lot of distance between them. "Here, you can look at his pictures, I'll just get myself some water."
He looked at her confused. "I don't need to see all his pictures," he said, handing the phone back to her. "He looks quite different from what I remember, " he added.
"Yeah, not quite the scrawny kid from high school, right?"
"Hmm," he replied nonchalantly. "So you're still in touch with him?"
"I keep in touch with everyone from the mohalle, unlike you," she replied cheekily.
"Fair enough," he smiled.
"Do you want to check out the art gallery nearby," he asked, surprising her by switching topics.
"Do you want to put on your shirt?" Ugh, she mentally slapped her palm on her forehead, always saying the quiet part out loud at the worst times. But really did he just expect her to have a whole conversation with him while he looked like that?
He threw his head back and laughed at that. "Is it bothering you Esra Hanim," he said, a glint of humor and something more in his eyes.
"Not at all! I just don't want you to catch a chill."
"Uh huh," he grinned, walking back to his room to grab a shirt.
Esra fanned herself with her hand when he was out of sight. Whew he was getting to her. She had never felt such a physical attraction to anyone before. It was messing with her mind and body....especially her body. She pulled at her shirt certain she had broken out into a sweat.
She needed to get away from him for a bit, cool those damn hormones or whatever it was that was acting up.
"Actually, I have some work to do, so I'll be in my room most of the day," she called out as she passed his room and disappeared into hers.
Great! Now she was committed to not leaving her room for a while, even though she had apartments to check out. Dammit Esra!
Ozan knocked on her door a little while later. "I'm going to run an errand and pick up some Indian food on the way. You want Indian right?"
Her mouth watered at the thought. Of course she wanted Indian food. Why did he have to know her so well? "Indian sounds great!", she called back.
She ended up calling her parents and lost track of time. A long while later, certain he was not back yet, she opened her door to get some water and found herself face to face with Ozan, his hand raised to knock on the door.
"You're back!" she squeaked in surprise.
"A little while ago," he nodded. "Sen iyi misin?" he look at her puzzled. "Your face is flushed. Do you have a fever?"
He reached out to check the temperature on her forehead and she scuttled back, almost afraid of her own reaction to his touch. She ended up tripping on her own feet, and falling backward - when he grabbed her by the waist, his strong bare arm landing just perfectly at the open midriff of her crop top.
He gathered her to him, straightening her to her feet. But she felt positivity faint from all the physical contact - her skin on fire, and her knees suddenly so weak that she crumbled even as she tried to straighten.
"Esra!" he said alarmed, bending and scooping her up at the knees and carrying her to her bed. He sat her down and knelt in front of her. "Are you sure you're ok? Do you need me to take you to the doctor?"
She shook her head, scanning his face. All she saw was concern - no desire, no heat. He really had moved on from last night. "No, really I'm ok. I think I'm a little dehydrated. I'll just lie down for a while."
"If you're sure..." he said skeptically. "I'll make some soup for you."
"No Ozan, you don't have to take care of me. I have to get used to living in the city by myself, right?" She wasn't sure why she said that last bit, maybe a part of her wanted to get a rise out of him, wanted to see him react to the thought of her leaving.
He just nodded though, rising to his feet. "Ok, if you're sure." There was nothing in his tone except friendliness.
"I might have to go into work for a little bit. I just got a call. I'll see you in the evening then?" he said, walking out of her room. "Call me if you need anything ok? And don't forget to eat the food I picked up. It's in the kitchen."
She nodded mutely, flopping back on the bed in frustration after he had left. Her reaction to him was beyond ridiculous at this point. She needed a distraction. She had to finalize on the one apartment and it was walking distance from this one. Maybe now was the time to go and give her word, and sign any documentation. The best plan of action was to get away from Ozan as fast as she she could. Distance would take care of everything.
She gave the new apartment another once over and then signed the papers. Ozan had seen this place too and he had not found anything obviously wrong. She would be sharing the place with two other girls who worked in her building, in a different office.
She walked back to the apartment feeling decidedly downcast. Ozan was not back yet and she ate dinner by herself, the quietness of the apartment getting to her.
She waited up a bit, listening for him, tossing and turning on the bed, remembering the kiss, the perfect curve of his lips, the strength of his arms as he held her, the lingering scent of his aftershave, the heat of his breath on her skin.
She'd been kissed before but this was different, way different. She realized she was craving more, she needed to get it out of her system and then she could move on. Maybe she was just making it bigger in her head than it actually was. Only one way to find out.
She heard him in the kitchen, and jumped out of bed feeling resolute.
He had started it, he should at least finish it, even though he had given no indication whatsoever that he was interested in doing so.
She opened her room door and looked down at her clothes. Okay, not exactly sexy in her sweats and t-shirt. She yanked at one sleeve so the neck fell off one shoulder. There! This seduction scene was so not her thing, but she walked purposely towards the kitchen before she chickened out.
"Ah, you're back!" she said feigning surprise.
She walked right up to his side, as he poured out a glass of water, "I'm thirsty too. Can you pour me a glass."
"Sure," he said, turning towards her, his eyes widening slightly at her bare shoulder.
She stared up at him shy-like and he couldn't look away. She bit her lip and his hand shook, spilling the water on her hand, the glass overflowing and more water spilling to the floor.
They sprang away from each other and and Esra grabbed the kitchen towel while he grabbed some paper towels, both sitting down on their haunches at the same time to wipe the floor.
His lips turned upwards in in quirky grin, "We have to stop meeting like this Esra."
She giggled nervously, his face so close she could lean in and...
"Esra..." his tone changed, low and husky, as he stood up quickly.
She followed him to her feet. Standing and barefoot, she had to crane her neck all the way up to look at him. She leaned against the counter top, her legs feeling wobbly again at the dark desire in his eyes.
The way he said her name...it gave her that final push of courage. It's now or never Esra Erten, she thought to herself.
"Kiss me Ozan?" she wanted to sound seductive and confident, but her voice came out soft and whispery, filled with need.
His hands landed on her waist, and he lifted her in one smooth, easy motion, setting her down on the kitchen countertop.
Her legs were dangling way above the ground, but she was eye level with him now, his face mere inches from hers.
Her mouth fell slightly open in anticipation, and his heated gaze dropped briefly to her lips before looking into her eyes with so much wanton need that she was shaken.
"I thought you'd never asked..."
Notes (2022-03-11)
I'm sorry to end on another cliffhanger but at least you know something good is coming??
This was ~2500 words, more than I usually write in a chapter and I didn't think I could do justice to it if I tried to put the next bit into this chapter.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the push-pull, it's my favorite part of a romcom.
Let me know what you think :)
The gif of the waist grab was inspired by one I saw on Twitter by @/beyaz_nokta19. Just wanted to give credit.
Also, fyi, for the future (and I have mentioned this often) chapters with an (M) in the title has mature content. I always worry about 13 yr olds reading wattpad LOL