More often than not, stepping out of your comfort zone was nothing but beneficial. I'm happy to admit that that's exactly what I found with attending the Pilates class. Not only did I get a sudden boost of energy, but me and Imani had some serious bonding time whilst meeting new people and having fun. Honestly, I regret underestimating it the same way I underestimate everything.
"That was so much fun." I stumbled out of the room, arm-in-arm with my bestfriend since forever, giggling uncontrollably.
"Deadass son." We both fell into fits of laughter at how off-putting she sounded when trying to use my slang. It got to a point where, because one of her laces was untied, she tripped and literally rolled on the floor laughing hysterically, triggering me to double-over with tears of laughter as well. The receptionist eyed us baffled but still put a warm smile on his face as it was a rule in the imaginary handbook of being an employee. I should know. "Whatever", I shook the thought of my workplace out of my head, fiercely wiping the tears from my eyes with the back of my hand and offering her a hand to lift her up off the floor. "People here think we're crazy."
Judging by the looks that not only the staff, but the old people and gym-rats who were still in here at this late hour were giving us, she was right. "Well maybe we are. Noth'n wrong with having fun." Imani was still holding my hand by the time she got up, and carried on as we made our way to the lockers near the gym exit. "I never thought I'd hear you say that." A look of happiness swept on her face, and I returned it. Today felt like the first time I'd had a genuinely good day in ages, and I'd truly missed how it felt.
"Wiiiffeeeeeeyyy!" Dejounte's voice swooned behind us as Imani was spun around and dipped in a classic Waltz motion. He planted a wet kiss that even I could hear despite putting my earphones in seconds before, causing me to cringe to myself as I took my purple Nike duffel bag out of my locker. "This song just isn't doing it for me", I pondered, flipping through my Drake playlist on Spotify, diverting from Controlla to For Free all whilst completely ignoring all the PDA going on behind my back. I consciously bobbed my head to the beat and mimed the lyrics, fiddling with the locker key. "You knew what it was when you signed up", I continued to mime along with the song.
"Where do I sign up?" A voice breathed on my ears that I could just about hear over the song, startling me and making me drop the key. The owner of the voice flicked the earphones out of my ear. Okay, now I was pissed off.
"The fuck do you want?" I spun on my toes, facing them.
"Your attention," Ben grinned cheesily, all teeth on display. "Of course it's him," I sighed to myself. I'd never seen him pull a smile that didn't look fake before, but he looked truly happy. I didn't like it. "What are you doing at my gym?" Hah. His gym?
"First the court is yours, now the entire gym is yours. What next?" I folded my arms over my chest and crossed my legs when I became aware that I was wearing only a sports bra and shorts. The last thing I wanted was Ben to see me in minimal clothing but I guess that was the case right now, and I couldn't do a damn thing about it.
"You could be mine too, but you rejected me the other day." He snickered, positioning a toned arm just to the left above my head and using it to lean on the locker behind me. My eyes wandered off to the side of him and stared intently at Dejounte and Imani who were still in their own little world, trying my hardest to appear as bored of Ben's presence as possible. "Don't act like you weren't joking. All your friends laughed when you asked, and I even heard Cisco say 'how many girls are you going to say that to before you realize that they all know what you're like'." I recited word-for-word, slightly hurt that Ben thought he could get away with playing me. Well, I wouldn't necessarily call it playing; it would be playing if I cared, which I didn't. Not in the slightest.
"Look at me, Jasmine." He commanded softly, and I didn't want to, but the gentleness of his voice for the first time in forever caught me by surprise so I subconsciously did what he said. "Why do you hate me so much?" Ben withdrew his arm from above me and grabbed it insecurely with his free hand. He proceeded to shrug lightly and ask "Seriously, what did I do?" I searched his slanted eyes and didn't see as much emptiness this time, but the slightest hint of melancholy. My aloofness seemed to hurt his feelings but not enough for me to care.
"You think I can't drive." I blurted out, not realizing how stupid and immature that sounded. He started guffawing, almost laughing as hard as me and Imani just a couple minutes before him and Dejounte magically appeared. In all honesty, I didn't have a serious reason; I don't hold hatred in my heart, it's simply not part of my character, but his rudeness whenever I spoke to him always set me aback. I wasn't going to let him know that it got to me though. Nope, I wasn't about to take that L.
"You can't." He let his arms free and shrugged once again simplistically.
"But I can!" I whined. "It was the dog--" I instantly shut up. I sounded way too childish. Waiting for a response, I picked up the key I'd dropped earlier and started toying with the lock again, but it wouldn't budge. It seemed that every time I was in front of Ben, the world found a way to make me look a fool: it first started with crashing the car, then missing the shot, and now not being able to close a measly locker door. "Why me?", I thought to myself. He took the key from me, brushing my hand in the process, and tilted it, naturally closing the door with ease. Of course.
"Jasmine."
"What?"
"Dejounte and your friend are gone, and they took her car." Oh for fuck sake. She was my ride. I know they've been dating for years now, but you'd expect a bestfriend to pick her priorities correctly.
He must have noticed how frustrated I was since he grabbed the bag off my shoulder before I could protest and walked out of the building expecting me to follow. If he didn't have my bag, I would've just called an Uber, but now I had no other option. "Smart move, Ben." I mumbled to myself.
➳ ♡ ➳
"So, err..." Ben uttered, trying to make idle conversation whilst facing the road, two hands on the wheel.
The night was gorgeous: the sky was pitch black with a purple haze, a fair spotting of stars and a magnified crescent moon, leaving blankets of white light on the scenic landscape. Imani had texted me half an hour ago demanding that I don't come home to the apartment as her and Dejounte were... well... so here I am, sitting beside a man I greatly dislike, feeling increasingly tired the further we drove. It didn't help that the surround sound stereo blared Weston Road Flows at just the right volume, putting me to sleep even more. "Thanks for the ride." I managed to yawn, adjusting the seat-belt so that it didn't feel so tight on my boobs and slouching in the corner between the side and car window.
"Sleepy, huh?"
"You can say that again."
"Sleepy, huh?"
My eyes shut and I let out a small laugh. "I didn't actually mean it." It took some time before my head fell into a position of comfort, but when it did I was almost 98% asleep. Being a non-negotiable morning person meant that night times brought about nothing but fatigue. I'd be the worst person to go clubbing with, but thank God I don't find that stuff enjoyable anyway.
"I know." Ben whispered, almost impossible to hear over the music and the high pitched buzz that resonated in my mind whenever I got tired. A cool touch electrified my thigh and my eyes peaked open the slightest bit, making out one of Ben's large hands. I would object, but it didn't feel sexual at all. It was strangely reassuring in fact... secure. It was as if he actually cared about me.
"Thanks for the ride."
"You said that already." The song switched to yet another tranquil tune from the Views album, Keep The Family Close, as he squeezed my thigh lightly, releasing a small giggle from me. I didn't want to like it, but I did, and it was at that exact moment that every ounce of condemnation for him that I held within me evaporated into thin, cool, New York nighttime air.
"Sorry for hating you, Ben." I'm guessing he forgave me, judging by the little taps his fingers did on my inner thighs.
Only one of my eyes managed to open this time, and barely at that, as I studied the profile of his face. Normally when I looked at him, I saw nothing but resentment, but this time I actually saw a person. A person with a dominant Roman nose, plump pink lips, neatly shaved stubble all along his somewhat slack jawline, long curly eyelashes that any girl would be jealous of, and shapely sparse eyebrows. Everything about him looked carved; he'd definitely hit the genetic jackpot.
"All good, mate." I just about saw his lips articulate as my eyelids drooped and my eye closed. I could've sworn that was an Australian accent, but maybe I was just more tired than I thought.
➳ ♡ ➳
I woke up to the feeling of cool air-conditioning brushing my cheek. Slowly but surely, I lifted my head from the mink fur pillow in the king-sized bed and surveyed my unfamiliar surroundings. There was a flatscreen TV on the wall bordered by neat, half-empty shelves. On one side of the room were wide glass doors covered by deep crimson satin curtains, paving the way to a balcony, and on the other side was an arch leading towards a walk-in closet, as well as the wide door to exit the bedroom. I peeled the throw and cover off me, rubbing my eyes and sitting up on the bed. Was I in a hotel room? "Fuck, what even happened last night?", I groggily wondered to myself, standing up on the beige rug and almost losing balance. I clearly hadn't had enough sleep, yet I still felt wide awake at the same time. Every possible pessimistic thought crossed my head as I took baby steps towards the door. "We had sex." "I'm being human-trafficked." "How am I going to get home?" "I'm going to be fired, I just know it."
To my surprise, I was met by a huge lounge area. The amount of space there was in the house made each and every piece of furniture seem lonely and significant; that's how big it was. I first stared at the other huge curve TV on the wall, and then the kitchen island with chrome wine glasses and a golden sink basin. Everything seemed surreal and expensive. What struck me the hardest, literally, was the coolness of the marble floor shooting from the bottom of my feet and up through my spine. Classy, or what?
"Hello?" I barely called out, scared of who'd answer back to me. After clearing my throat, I tried again.
"Helloooo?!" Despite yelling it slightly louder, I was still met with no reply. Strange. I made my way throughout the house, tracing my finger on every ornament I walked passed as if it was rare, and found myself in the games room. The first thing in view was a snooker table with only the yellow striped ball and 8-ball on the green felt, all other balls being potted in the holes. There were no cues on the table, strangely enough. My head cocked to the side, observing everything else in the room as if it were magic, and then I finally saw him.
"Ben." I whispered to myself, walking softly towards his large sleeping body on the leather chaise-lounge chair situated at the side of the room under an oil painting of a stallion. He had no blanket covering him, which suddenly struck my maternal instincts and put them to work as I hurriedly ran back to "my" room, grabbed a blanket from the drawers and ran back to him, covering his body with it. The distance between the two rooms almost put me out of breath.
"Thanks." He muttered under his breath, hardly decipherable. I couldn't help but smile down at him; he was most handsome sleeping. His body twitched every now and then, and he crinkled his nose on the off occasion right before he changed sleeping positions. Plus the way his over-sized body draped over the chair was amusing: his limbs flailed about, hands touching the floor and one of his legs bent strangely. Now that he didn't have an opportunity to say something slick, I found him immensely attractive. He ought to shut up more often so I can appreciate his masculine beauty.
I walked out of the games room, looking back at him one last time and chuckling to the floor, taking myself back to the bedroom which I now realized was his and cuddling back up in the warm bed, falling asleep once again. Today work could stuff it.