My mind was racing. I have no idea what came over me back there. I'm hardly ever the possessive type of person; but when it comes to Serenity, all of that changes. When I'm into someone, I don't half ass things. I wear my heart on my sleeve and not much will get in my way. She just showed up in my life again, and she's already squeezing her way back into my heart. And she doesn't even know it. But I don't even know if it's worth the risk of diving into. I can't let myself get so hung up on her if she's not going to reciprocate feelings.
I stood outside Serenity's door and strolled down the hallway to head to the elevator. It was around 9 pm, so I wasn't surprised to see the halls empty on a Friday night. Everyone was probably out having fun, partying, doing drugs, or having sex; except for me.
I pressed the button for the elevator, and while I was waiting, I looked down at my attire and just shook my head. I look so silly, wearing a button up shirt and basketball shorts. What a goof.
"Was it business casual day at work?" a female's voice spoke, coming from my right side. I looked up and saw a fairly young lady, maybe 24 or so, approach the elevator. She wasn't tall, maybe 5'5" or something, definitely shorter than Serenity. She had brown curly hair that stopped at around her chest, dressed in a simple black v-neck paired with some blue skinny jeans and black heels. She was a darker skin color compared to Serenity's olive complexion.
Why the hell am I comparing her to Serenity?
I looked down again and chuckled to myself. "Oh no, I just had an incident after work and had to change my pants." I heard her laugh, and she reached to press the button as well. Why the hell is this elevator taking so long?
"So did you just move in? I haven't seen you around here before, and I would've remembered a face like yours if you did." She flashed her pearly white teeth at me. Was she flirting with me? I saw her fidgeting with the strap of her purse as she awaited my answer.
"No, I didn't. I just came and dropped off a friend. I live about two blocks away," I could definitely try and get with her, but I don't know if want to or not. It's still early in the night, and I could just hit up a booty call or something later, "I'm Ezekiel by the way, but everyone calls me Zeke." I extended my hand out to her and she shook my hand with her dainty one. Doing that thing females do, where they only put like their fingers in the handshake.
"Nice to meet you Zeke, I'm Denise." she flashed me her bright smile again, her dimples catching my attention. We heard a ding and finally got in the elevator. I pressed the lower level and waited.
"So, do you have a date right now?" She looked at me kind of puzzled and laughed.
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, you're casually dressed, but you paired your outfit with some heels. Making a small attempt to not come off as too casual, and to demonstrate that you somewhat attempted to dress up." I said calmly. She smirked to herself and just stared at me.
"Well, well, well. I did not expect that, but you're weirdly correct. It's just a first date, and I didn't want to make it seem like I didn't care about it, you know?" I nodded at her. "Do you have any plans for the night?" she looked straight at me, with a small smile.
"No, not really. I'll probably just go home and relax. Maybe call someone over to come 'chill'." I shot her a sideway glance. She looked down to the ground and chuckled.
"Okay Mr. Player. Out here breaking girls hearts and everything." that made me release a genuine laugh.
"Oh no, I don't break hearts Denise," the door to the elevator opened and we both walked out and headed to the front entrance, "I just break backs. You have a nice date now." I shot her my signature smile and saw her eyes widen a bit. I gave her a small wave and walked out of the building.
---
Once I got home, I immediately took off my clothes and threw them on the floor. I was so exhausted after today. I forgot how much kids could tire me out. And because of my nose too, that was aching a lot. All the doctor told me is that my nose was bruised. He just gave me pain killers and told me to place an ice pack on the bridge when I lay down. And the cherry on top, I am so horny. Me releasing myself earlier didn't help at all. I needed the feeling of actually being inside of Serenity... or anyone for that matter.
I headed to the bathroom so I could take a nice warm shower. I was practically naked as I walked in, stopping short in front of the mirror. I checked myself out; my hair was getting a little longer than what I liked, probably should have cut it a few days before school started. I looked down at my chest, eyeing my chest hair; should they stay, or should they go? I took off my necklace I had on and placed it on the counter. It was my dad's necklace before he passed away. It was a gold chain with a La Virgin de Guadalupe pendant. He got it when he was baptized in Mexico, and he gave it to me when I got baptized. I never really wore it before, I wasn't a huge fan of wearing jewelry back then, but when my dad passed, I decided to wear it in memory of him.
I stepped inside the shower, immediately turning on the hot water as I moved myself underneath the shower head. Letting the water pour over me, my mind was all over the place. Showers always gave me time to think things through, and to just think about life in general. Does that happen to you guys too?
I kept thinking about my time with Serenity, how surprised I was that she showed up in my life again. And my mind wandered, thinking about our times we spent today, turning each other on, getting each other off. I looked down and saw my buddy getting a bit excited. Down boy! Also, I couldn't help but notice how well we spoke with each other, how things weren't awkward at all between us. Sure, there were still some unanswered questions and whatnot, but we''d address those soon enough. Like the Tyson thing. I don't know who's telling me the truth, but I do feel bad for going after Serenity's sister. That was low, and I know I shouldn't have done that, but hurt people hurt people. Our conversations we had flowed like water, and that's always a must for me, being able to hold a conversation with someone.
Serenity is a great person. She's intelligent, funny, down to earth, sarcastic as hell, beautiful, and so much more. And I don't know if I should shoot my shot, or try playing in another court. My mind immediately drifted to Denise. She seemed like a sweet girl, we didn't talk as much, but she seemed really cool regardless. Why does that name sound so familiar? Anyway, I sort of wished I had gotten her num- oh wait. She went on a date tonight. So she could quite possibly be spoken for pretty soon.
I let my mind wander, thinking about a bunch of stuff as I finished up showering. I grabbed a towel from the rack, and wrapped it around my waist. I exited the bathroom and went to the living room, searching for the pain killers I received, as well as the ice pack. I was ready to just pass the eff out. I glanced at the time, and the clock read 9:52. Do I want to have one of my booty calls come over?
I took a couple of the pain killers, and headed to my room to get dressed. Daddy's getting some action tonight after all! I stepped inside my closet and decided what to wear. I could go for something casual, maybe just a simple tee and some jeans? Or shorts? Opening my dresser, I pulled out a black tee and a pair of dark washed jeans. Grabbed a pair of briefs and socks, I was almost ready to go. I finished my outfit off with some white shoes, simple enough.
I heard my stomach growl. Hm, I guess I haven't ate since breakfast. I'll eat now before calling a girl, don't want her getting the wrong picture that I want to hang out more than just hooking up. The horror. I always make my intentions perfectly clear; I tell them straight up, multiple times, that I don't want a relationship with them. That I only want to have sex with them. And I don't know why they think they can change that, why they think they're the ones who can pull me out. Like come on, I'm telling you what I want.
I had just taken out all of the ingredients needed to make me some yummy tacos, but my phone just had to go off. I looked at the caller ID and saw it read 'Miguel'. What the heck is this guy calling about so late? I answered, "What's up Miguel?"
"Hey man, sorry about earlier. Are you busy right now?" he sounded a little on edge. He hardly ever calls me too, normally just texts me.
"Uh, no, I guess I'm not-"
"Great. I'm gonna send you the address to this bar I'm at. I'm on a first date and it's kind of awkward. But she's super pretty and nice, I just need you there as a buffer so I can be more comfortable. I don't want to mess this up. OKAY BYE!" he hung up. I sighed. Lucky for me I was already dressed.
Off we go. I guess I could mingle there and meet someone new for tonight. It's a win-win situation. I quickly put away my food, grabbed my jacket from the coat rack and was out the door.
As soon as I got inside, I saw that there were a lot of people. Great, who likes being in a crowded bar. I swear, if I'm walking with my drink and someone bumps into me and makes it fall, I'm going to lose it.
I surveyed the crowd and took note of the place. It wasn't a huge bar, but it wasn't tiny either. It had some booths towards the wall, some lonesome brown tables in the middle. I looked over at the bar and saw that it was crowded. I guess people were just arriving. There weren't many places to sit, so I scanned the area searching for my friend. My eyes landed on Miguel's head poking up, looking for me as well. I had told him I arrived when I got to the parking lot. But I was already kind of dreading this. I would have much rather spent it inside with a pretty face on my lap.
Once I approached him, he walked towards me a little and had a smile on his face, "Hey, Zeke, thanks for coming tonight. I was going to call Chad and have him invite his girl, but then I thought that my date would think that this was as a double date. So I called you, and man, she's so cute and nice and funny and charming." he kept rambling on and on, so I just zoned him out a bit.
I just smiled and nodded when I thought was appropriate. "SO, where is she? From what I'm hearing, she sounds like a winner to you. Did she run away already because of your incessant babbling?" I grinned at him, resulting in him just giving me a dirty look.
"No, actually, she went to the bathroom. She should be back soon. Hey, in the meantime, I'm gonna go grab us some drinks. Stay here, and hopefully she doesn't get weirded out that I just left her in your hands."
I grabbed his arm before he left. That's weird, she's going to get put off by that. "How about your just stay here, and I go get the drinks. That way, she doesn't think you're trying to trade her away or something." I shook my head and walked towards the bar. I ordered myself a whiskey neat, ordered Miguel a beer, and for his date I took a shot in the dark and ordered a margarita.
I took a seat on the stool as soon as it was empty and just placed my hand in-between my hands and took a second to relax. I really don't like places that are loud, I'd much rather just be in a quiet setting. I glanced up and looked around the bar. I noticed a few girls eyeing me, ignoring whatever they're friend was saying. I just smirked to myself and kept looking around. The bartender placed the drinks in front of me. I muttered a quick thanks and left the money plus a tip on the counter. I tried my best to grab the drinks, and what do you know, I got it. No biggie.
I headed over to where I saw Miguel and the back of the girl he's on a date with. So far so good, no ones bumped into me. I saw him glance my way and he looked relived.
"... here's my friend I was telling you that I invited. Zeke, this is Denise." he motioned towards her.
Denise? Where have I heard that na-
She turned around and her eyes widened. I mirrored her surprise, she was the last person I would have thought to be on a date with my friend.
"Hey you." she first spoke, beating me too it. Miguel looked between the two of us and had a confused look in his eyes. She gave me a once over, Cleary liking my choice of clothing. Hey, hey, eyes too Miguel.
I was about to speak but Miguel cut over me, "You two know each other?" He laughed nervously.
"We-"
"We fucked a couple of times. But that's it." my eyes nearly bulged out of my sockets. Was this girl deluded? She smiled innocently at both of us before she busted out laughing. Okay, so she's not crazy. "I'm just kidding guys, lighten up. It's a joke." she said in between laughs.
"Yeah, she's just joking. We literally met about an hour ago in the lobby of her place. I don't work that fast." I chuckled and took a sip of my drink. Miguel looked so relieved he sighed.
"Well, good. Er, I mean, okay. That makes things easier. I'll be right back, I'm gonna head to the bathroom." he practically ran to the bathroom. Well, not actually, but you know what I mean.
"So this is your date. Where'd you guys meet?" I took another sip of my drink. I looked down to her outfit, again, and she looked really good.
She bit her lip nervously, and chuckled, "Tinder."
I let out a loud laugh, "That's promising."
She lightly punched me and I pretended to get hurt. I winced and rubbed my arm. "Shut up you big baby. Anyway, it was my first day on and he was like the only guy who wasn't asking to fuck me. He was genuinely being nice with me, and so I agreed to go out with him. At first, it was a little awkward, so we both called one of our friends to accompany us to make things less heavy. And here you are." she looked at me as she drank her margarita. "Nice choice by the way. Not my go to, but definitely not a bad choice. So thank you." she shot me a quick wink. I just blatantly stared at her. I saw her lick her lips and holy crap. I would have definitely tried to make a move, but this was Miguel's girl. He seemed so smitten about her... but who knows?
Soccer has a goalie and you can still score.
I shook my head at my own thoughts. We'll just see how the night goes on.
"You're welcome. So where's your friend? Is he/she coming?" I hope not. Denise seems like a great girl, and I do want to get to know her more. She seems down to earth, unlike a lot of girls nowadays. And if her friend comes, we're all going to have to share her. I frowned at that idea.
"No, she couldn't make it. She had to put her kids to sleep, and she's not one to go out much, so I knew it was a long shot." I nodded at her response. Yikes, kids. "But anyway, tell me about Miguel. How long have you two been friends for?" She stepped closer to me. I easily towered over her. I could smell her perfume, and it was clouding my senses.
"We've been friends for years. I've known that asshole practically my whole life. We both use to live in Seattle, but he moved when middle school was over. And I stayed. When I was about to graduate college, he messaged me through Facebook, and we went to each other's graduations. After that, we found out we both studied to become teachers, so we applied to the same school and we both got it. But overall, he's a great guy. Anytime he's tried seriously dating someone, they end up leaving him for someone else. He hasn't been fond of any girl in awhile so we'll see if that changes with you." I looked at her as I said the last part, watching her expression. "No pressure though." I let out a light laugh. She seemed to relax when she noticed I was messing around.
"I see." She looked a bit pensive, but then spoke, "How about you? Tell me about yourself, Mr. I-break-backs." she said playfully. I broke out a grin. This girl had a habit of making me laugh and smile a lot.
"What do you want to know?"
"Definitely the last thing you told me. That you break backs. Do tell." she nudged me, and I realized we had gotten really close. I felt her arm brush mine, feeling her skin against mine.
I crooked a finger in my direction, beckoning her to come closer, and she did. I placed my hand on the small of her back, leaned into her ear to whisper in a husky tone, "I could tell you, but it'd be much easier for me to demonstrate." I heard her breath hitch. I pulled back and gave her a smirk, waiting for her response. She just started at me, shock visible in her face, but temptation in her eyes. I glanced down to her lips and saw she had her mouth slightly open, swiping her tongue across her lower lip.
"Zeke-"
"Sorry that took so long guys, I got a call from my roommate about an altercation he's having with our landlord. And it seems like I'm going to need to head home earlier than what I had intended. I am so sorry Denise, I really enjoyed hanging out with you. Do you think we could continue this another time?" she weakly smiled and nodded her head. "Awesome! I will text you, and we can figure it out!" he went in to hug Denise, and she gave him the one armed hug as she looked at me. She whispered a 'sounds good' and let go. He smiled at her and he came in my direction, he clapped his hand down onto my shoulder and said, "Thanks for coming man. Have a good one." and he left.
Now it was just the two of us. Neither of us saying anything, just standing there. Staring at each other.
"You were saying?" I asked, giving her a wolfish grin. I stepped closer to her, as she looked confused. She kept opening and closing her mouth as if she were to say something, but coming up at a loss for words. I took a quick sip of my drink, finishing it, giving her time to say something.
"We shouldn't. Miguel is your friend and I don't want to start any bad blood between the two of you." she looked up at me, I was standing right in front of her. I looked around and saw there was an empty booth in the corner. Perfect.
I put my hand up, palms up, asking for her hand. She placed her dainty hand in mine with a questioning look. With her in tow, I directed her towards the booth. I let her slide in first, following soon after. I slid my way over to her, sitting at a close distance, our knees bumping each other. She looked down at the contact and back up at me.
"Okay, so forget about what I said earlier, for now. Tell me about yourself. What makes Denise, Denise." I stretched out my arms and rested them behind me and her. I looked at her, awaiting her response.
She turned towards me, tucking her left leg underneath her. "Well, I've lived in Portland my whole life. I'm 23 years old. I just recently graduated from University of Portland and majored in Marketing. Tonight was my first date in about two years I believe?" I stared at her wide eyed. How has she not gone out in two years?? She's a knockout! "I can already guess what you're saying, 'how has she not gone out in two years?' Well, I had a lot on my plate. I was going to school full time, and working part time. I needed the money so I could afford my rent. Guys were just a distraction too, I would've fallen behind in my classes." I took in the information she was saying as I gawked at her. This girl was really gorgeous. She noticed I kind of zoned out and smiled, her dimples on full display. Holy cow, dimples were a weak spot for me.
"Sorry, I was listening to what you were saying, but you distracted me a little bit. Well, a lot." I scratched the back of my head as I told her.
She laughed and shook her head. "Me? How did I distract you?"
"Because you're beautiful. And your dimples are killing me. Don't even get me started on your laugh." I sighed as I told her the truth. I wasn't saying these things to get laid, I actually meant them. Zeke never lies. It was a little dark at the booth, but I still managed to see her blush, and she had this big smile on her face.
"What a flatterer. But thank you, that's very sweet of you to say." I nodded my head at her. I heard a vibration coming from her purse, but she payed no mind to it.
"You're not gonna get that?"
"No. They can wait. I have great company in front of me." she looked at me and smiled. I chuckled and could feel my cheeks get warm.
Aww, Zeke's blushing.
We continued talking for awhile longer, sharing things with each other. I learned she played basketball and softball throughout high school; hot. She also had a dog named Rango who was a German shepherd and a husky mix. She has an older brother and a younger sister who was a sophomore in high school; they both live in the city. An hour or so passed by, both of us not caring and just talking about anything. She checked her watch and her eyes widened.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"I didn't realize how late its gotten. I have to be up pretty early tomorrow morning and meet my mom at her house. I should get going." she scooted my way, but I didn't move. She gave me a pointed look, motioning me to move. But I stayed put. staring at her. I made no attempt in moving, so she started pushing me with her hands, trying to move me. It was cute, the attempt she was making at moving me. But I was at least twice her size, she had no chance. I let myself go limp, catching her off guard, resulting in herself bracing herself against my thighs and her face in my lap.
"Dang, buy me dinner first at least." I teased, looking down at her. She quickly pushed herself off of me, slightly embarrassed.
"Aren't you the one who's supposed to buy me dinner first? Or even ask me? I mean, that's what a gentleman would do, no?" she shot me a pointed look, smirking at me.
Good point.
I raised my hands up in surrender and got out of the booth. "Let me walk you out." She muttered a 'thank you' and proceeded to walk in front of me. I placed my hand on the small of her back, keeping her close to me as I guided her out. She received a lot of looks from guys at the bar, ogling her. I felt a wave of jealousy wash over me, so I tightened my grip on her, pulling her closer to me. She didn't say anything as she got comfortable, leaning into me.
Once we got outside, she pulled out her phone opening the Uber app. I grabbed her phone and turned it off, placing it in the back of her jeans. "Forget that, let me take you home. It's a late Friday night, crazy people are out tonight. I'm sure you can take care of yourself, but when you're with me, I got you."
She smiled at me and said, "Okay, thank you." I saw her rub her arms, her lips tremble a little. I said a quick 'here' and took off my jacket, draping it over her. She slipped her arms in, and wow, did she look great in my clothes. "Thank you again."
I nodded at her and grabbed her hand, leading her to my car. I opened the passenger side door for her, letting her in. Once she was seated, I braced my arms on the roof of my car and smiled at her; "You look great in my jacket. But you'd look even better wearing nothing but my t-shirt in the morning." I shot her a wolfish grin, hoping she doesn't get offended.
"Very cute. But it's going to take a lot more than some flirty words to get me into bed with you. Points for effort though." she laughed as she started putting the seat belt on. I just smiled and closed the door, walking over to get in. This girl is something else. As soon as I got in, her perfume engulfed my senses, making her scent the only thing I smelt.
It was a quiet drive to her place, just some soft music playing in the background. It wasn't an awkward silence at all, just two people embracing the night.
Once we got to her place, I got out and opened the door for her, stretching my hand out to help her out. She shot me a smile, and stood in front of me. "Well, thank you for the ride, and your company tonight."
"Let me walk you in?" I asked.
"Sure." I placed my hand on the small of her back as we walked in through the main lobby. I pushed the elevator button, waiting for it to ascend. I glanced around the lobby, not surprised that it was practically empty. I read the time on wall, signaling it was almost 12am.
"I'm sorry I kept you out so late. I should have let you go home as soon as Miguel left rather than keeping you out." I looked at her apologetically.
She glanced at the ground, chuckling, "It's okay, really, I enjoyed my time with you. Like I said, I was with great company."
"Yeah, Miguel is a pretty great guy." We entered the elevator and Denise reached over pushing the button to her floor. She gave me a confused look, but then registering what I meant.
"He is, but I was mainly talking about you, since I did hang out with you more than I did with him." I laughed and nodded my head, duh.
"Well I'm glad you enjoyed yourself tonight. And you had your first date in two years! Do tell, how would you rank it." I teased her, not expecting her to answer. We arrived at her floor, and she walked in front of me, leading me to her place. I got a chance to fully check her out, and she had a nice booty. It looked extra nice with the heels she chose.
She stopped walking and I bumped into her. "Getting distracted are we?" she turned around and she gave me a knowing look. I felt my cheeks get warm, definitely embarrassed.
I scratched the back of my head, giving her a sheepish smile, "Sorry, you just have a nice ass." I said bluntly. Why am I getting embarrassed that I was caught checking her out? I normally don't care if I do.
She shook her head silently laughing, "You are definitely something else, Zeke." she leaned against a door which I assumed was hers. "Well, this is me. And thank you again for tonight, for the ride home, and for walking me to my door. What a gentleman; other than your comments. Not so gentleman-like, but what I'm gathering, it is definitely Zeke-like."
"They definitely are. You'll get used to it when we start dating." I flashed her a cheeky smile, receiving a smirk from her.
"Wow, someone is super confident about themselves. I dig that, but, my answer is inconclusive as of now. Like I said, I don't want you and Miguel fighting over someone you both just recently met. If anything, I'm going to say the same to Miguel. But this was fun, thank you for a great night. I should really head to bed now." she said, not moving. She had her hand on the doorknob, but made no attempt to go inside.
I slowly approached her, watching and waiting for her response to me closing in. She placed her hand on my chest, stopping any future movement.
"Slow your roll Romeo, it's late and I really need to get some rest. You should too." she let out a breath.
"Fine fine. I won't kiss you goodnight. Your loss." I smirked, and stepped back giving her some space. "Goodnight, and sleep tight Denise." I gave her one last smile before turning around and heading to the elevator. I heard her door creak open a few seconds after, telling me she went inside.
Damn, tough break. I didn't get laid like I thought I was tonight. Ugh, I'm going to wake up so freaking horny in the morning. I guess I'll have some time this weekend, nothing too important. I kept thinking of what I was going to do this weekend, as I was waiting for the elevator to open. I pulled out my phone to check the time. 1 am. I looked up and down the hallway, wondering if I should go to Serenity's place, and to at least apologize. I will admit I was being a tad invasive, and had no right to say the things I said.
I won't be able to sleep right without having her at least hear me out, and a text or call just won't do it for me. Fuck it, I thought, as I made my way over to her place.
I walked down the hallway, heading towards her door. I stood outside, gathering up the courage to knock on her door. I put my hand up, about to knock, but then thought to myself; it's super late right now, she's probably dead asleep. Or she might not be home because of her company. What if her company opens up the door, and I'm just there like a goof, or even a creep out in the middle of the night.
My mom ain't raise no bitch.
I breathed out and knocked on her door, waiting.
Until I heard someone say, "What're you still doing here?"