Disastrous (Disastrous Series) (15 page)

“Oh, I’m sorry, Jeremy. Give me two minutes.” I pulled together the files I worked on that day and piled them on top of each other. I shut the computer down, grabbed the work and my things and headed for the door. “I have to put these files in Marcus’ office. I’ll be back.” I knocked on his door. Thankfully he didn’t answer which meant he wasn’t there, so I walked in and placed them on top of his desk with a post-it note that read, “All done. Thanks,
M.S
.”

This time on our drive back home I was talkative; we were discussing how interesting the criminal law field is. I didn’t mention the case itself, but I did tell him about all the case law I’d researched in self-defense murder cases. The work kept me so busy I didn’t have time to think about Marcus. Now, that I was almost home, and my thoughts weren’t occupied by work, my mind raced back to him. I started thinking about our weekend and how he asked me to give him a chance to trust him and that he wouldn’t hurt me. I’m not one of those girls that are clingy and try every way to get a man’s attention, but I just had to get one thing off my chest before I shut him out emotionally. I grabbed my phone out of my purse and sent him a text.

Me (5:45pm): You asked for a chance, you had your chance. Now it’s gone.

The minute I sent it I wanted to take it back. My heart started pounding when all of his possible reactions to my text came to mind. Would he be angry? Or would he even care? I hated those mind games when two people started dating. Sometimes I wish I could read minds, so that the truth is always put out there. Then I would never have doubts or second guess a person’s facial expression or a comment that I may have taken out of context.

We arrived at the apartment, and I was exhausted. It was my turn to cook that night, and I really didn’t want to. I convinced Jeremy we should have pizza, which was not hard to do since it’s his favorite food. I placed the order and told him to watch out for the door, so I could take a long shower. I ran the shower and tested the temperature. It was still cold, so I walked back into my bedroom to grab a new towel.

I tested the water again; this time it was nice and warm. I hopped in and scrubbed away all of the day’s tension.
Ugh
, what am I going to do about DeLuca? If my brother were still alive, he would have been the perfect person to talk to about this. He always gave me great advice about men. I told him about everything—well everything
minus
my sex life; that would’ve been too awkward.

I grabbed the shampoo and massaged it into my hair. Afterwards I leaned my head back and allowed the warm water to rinse out the suds. The water felt really good, and my tension was slowly releasing. I massaged conditioner in my hair, and I lathered the body wash one more time on every inch of my body.

Cutting the shower off, I walked out onto the tile floor. Heading towards the bathroom sink, I started my nightly routine: brushing my teeth, flossing, and untangling my hair. For my final touch of the day, I rubbed night cream on my face and neck. I tightened the towel wrapped around me and opened the bathroom door. My eyes popped out of my head when I saw Marcus sitting on my bed, staring at me.

“W-what are … h-how did?” I stuttered, not able to complete a question.

“Jeremy told me you were taking a shower. I asked if it would be okay to wait in here.” I was frozen, but managed to step out of the bathroom and into my room. I couldn’t read his facial expression. His face was smooth; he didn’t look upset, but yet he didn’t look happy. I leaned against the dresser next to me to hold myself up.

“What do you want?”

“I received your text. I came over as soon as I got it.”

“
Oh
?” I gulped in air, not knowing what else to say. I didn’t expect him to fly over here; a simple reply would’ve done.

“Yeah.” His face was still unreadable.

“So?”

“So, I came here to talk in person.”

“So talk.” I instructed while crossing my arms. He lifted his shoulders to sit up straight and moved closer to the edge of the bed.

“I’m sorry you heard the conversation between my brother and me. I’m also sorry that I shut you down when you asked me what it meant for us. I’m not usually the caring type, except with my family, yet with you I am, and I’m definitely not the scared type.”

“Scared?” I asked.

“Yes scared, Mia. I’ve known you for only a week now, and I have these suppressed feelings for you. It’s hard for me put it all together. I’ve never felt like this; it makes me feel weak and out of control knowing that I can’t
put
it all together.”

“Are you used to putting everything together?” I asked, dropping my hip and tightening my crossed arms.

“Yes, that’s what I do for a living. I analyze every little piece of evidence until I make sense of it. But with you I
can’t
.” I see where he’s going with this.

“It’s okay. I get it, Marcus. You feel we don’t make sense together.”

“No! You don’t get it. We make
perfect
sense together, but there are so many reasons why we
shouldn’t
be together. I keep trying to go over it in my head, weighing my options on what’s best or what should be done.”

“Best for whom exactly?
You
? Me?
Us
? Or what’s best for your brother?” This visit was starting to piss me off. “It’s really not difficult at all, Marcus. You either want to be with me or you don’t.”

“I
want
to be with you. You know I do. But I
can’t
.”

“So why are you even here? You could’ve simply ignored my text, and I would’ve taken the hint, Marcus.” My hands moved to my hips; I was really getting annoyed. So I did what any woman would do…ripped my towel off and let it drop to the floor.
Okay
, maybe not every woman.

I stood there long enough to show him what he’d be missing. His eyes began to trail up and down to view every inch of my curves. They grew dark with desire. I started to slowly walk towards him, looking straight into his eyes. I was only inches away from his knees, but I didn’t touch him, instead I slightly turned, walked past him and into my closet. I could hear him exhale as I entered the sliding doors.

I knew he was behind me; I could feel him staring. I pretended that he wasn’t there, so I bent over to the lower drawer, knowing damn well my panties and bras were in the top drawer. I roamed through my sweats and shirts. Ah, I grabbed a pair of fitted yoga pants and a white fitted t-shirt. Slowly I put them on with my back facing him.

His mind would go crazy knowing I wasn’t wearing any underwear. I turned around and slightly jumped, acting as if he scared me. He was leaning against the inner entryway of the closet door with his arms crossed. I didn’t move. I just stared at him. He was so handsome, and his dark brown eyes looked lost and confused. I instantly felt guilty for how I was acting with him. It wasn’t fair to him.

“Look, Marcus, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be inconsiderate of your feelings and your work. If you brother feels as though this is a busy time in your life and you don’t need any distractions, then I understand. Can we at least be friends?” He didn’t say anything for few seconds. He finally began to move towards me; I was a little taken back. I didn’t know what he was going to do. When he was a foot away, he reached up and tucked a piece of damp hair behind my ear.

“The thing is, Mia, you see,” he hesitated and placed my face between his hands while caressing both of my cheeks with his thumbs, “you see the thing is with or without you, you’ll be a major distraction. All I do is think about
you
. So why can’t I be with you, knowing that you’ll have the same effect on me either way? I can’t
just
be friends.” I nodded in agreement. He made a valid point. He breathed out a crooked smile and pressed his forehead down to mine.

“So what does this mean?” I whispered with hope. My heart picked up pace with anticipation.

“Be my girlfriend.”
Girlfriend
? I couldn’t help but laugh.

“What’s so funny?” He asked amused.

“Girlfriend sounds so high
school-ish
. Don’t you think?” He laughed out loud.

“Okay, well, be my woman-friend, my lover, my partner…whatever you want to call it. I don’t care. Just be
mine
.”

“So you’re saying you want us to be exclusive and label this relationship?” I pointed my fingers between us.

“Yes.” I bit down a smile at that comment.

“What about at work? What will we be considered at your office? What will people think?”

“Don’t worry about what others think. I’m not going to hide my feelings for you. If they ask what our relationship is, I’ll simply tell them you’re my girl—no woman-friend.” He smiled. I smacked his shoulder and giggled.

“Okay, so I guess we’re exclusive then?” I asked, double-checking.

“Yes. Now come here.” He pulled me in and kissed me long and hard.

The next morning I awoke feeling sore but refreshed. Marcus and I spent another magical night together, and I couldn’t help but smile at the realization when I opened my eyes. I stretched my arms over my head and looked over beside me. He fell asleep with me last night, but he wasn’t there. When I glanced at the alarm clock on my nightstand it was ten minutes to seven. I reached for my phone and noticed a text from him.

Marcus (5:30am): I had to go home to get ready for work. You looked too peaceful to wake up. It was tempting though. I miss you already. See you in the office, babe. ;)

No one would have been able to wipe the grin off face. This was how he made me feel: like a teenage girl. I threw my head back into the pillow and stared at the ceiling. Last night was absolutely wonderful. Three times in one night had to be a world record for sure—well at least in my sex life it was. It was like we needed it desperately. I could feel his stress, and he could feel mine. The minute our bodies connected, all of our problems and issues were wiped away and solved.

We didn’t talk about work or family or anything depressing. Instead, we talked about our favorite movies, foods, hobbies, and shows. We laughed and made fun of each other. I snuck pizza into the bedroom once Jeremy was asleep. We ate and talked some more. To be able to see a side of him that he said most people didn’t see made me feel special. I had a feeling we were going to be good for one another.

The alarm went off, so I jumped out of bed. Once my feet hit the ground, I regretted moving so quickly. My thighs and hips felt sore, like I’d been doing lunges and squats all night. Before hopping into the shower, I stretched my legs. I didn’t know how much longer I could put up with this soreness. A nice hot bath would soothe the pain. I walked into the shower and completed my morning routine, which was similar to my nightly one. I applied my makeup, blow-dried my hair, and headed to my closet to find something to wear.

When I walked into my closet, I looked on the floor where my yoga pants lay, the ones that Marcus ripped off last night. I laughed at myself. My closet would never be just a closet anymore; it would now be a steamy memory added to the ones we’d also made on our weekend trip.

Today I decided to wear a simple V-neck black dress. It fit perfectly around my curves, but it wasn’t too tight. My red pumps matched the color of my glossy lips. I wondered what Marcus would think of me with red lipstick; I usually wore a nude lip gloss. I shrugged my shoulders and headed towards the kitchen. Jeremy was not out of his room yet, and we still had time to spare. Only because I was in an
awesome
mood, I made us coffee and cheese omelets.

“You made breakfast?” Jeremy asked with an eyebrow raised as he walked into the kitchen, looking more handsome than yesterday in a navy blue suit.

“Yes, I’m in a good mood this morning.” I said giving him a full-toothed grin and sliding the plate to his end of the island. He stopped it with his hand and settled down on a stool.

“Did DeLuca sleep over? And you were
extremely
loud last night by the way.” I tossed a fork in his direction. He caught it and I rolled my eyes.

“
Oh
please, how many times have I had to endure the loud screams of your female friends’ orgasms?” I placed his mug in front of him and walked back to the other side of the island, deciding to eat standing up. He looked up at me and winked.

“My bad, I know how to please the ladies. What can I say?” Ugh, barf alert! I shook my head and continued eating my breakfast. To be honest the few times Id had sex with Jeremy, I was drunk. I really don’t remember if I faked my orgasms or not, but I decided to keep that to myself, not wanting to hurt his feelings.

“So you guys seem to be getting serious, huh?” He said while taking the last bite of his omelet.

“Uh, yeah, he actually asked me to be his
girlfriend
.” I hesitated on the word “girlfriend,” not sure how it sounded.

Jeremy choked on his coffee. “Excuse me, did you just say girlfriend?” He cleared his throat and continued when I nodded. “Wow, you guys are taking things a little too seriously.”

I bit my lip. “Do you think it’s too soon? I mean I really like him
a lot
. I feel happy around him.”

Jeremy’s expression grew unreadable, which was a first, since I knew him so well. His every crease or wrinkled expression wasn’t new to me, but this was definitely new. It made me a little nervous. “Mia, you deserve to be happy, really, and if Marcus makes you happy, then, no, it’s not too soon.”

“I barely
know
him.” I expressed.

“No one ever knows a person right away. You could be with someone for ten years and learn something new about them. People are always changing. Don’t let that scare you.”

“Wow.” Taken back by his sincere words, I was shocked.

“What?” He said, standing then placing his dishes in the sink.

I laughed once. “I never had a serious conversation with you. It’s different. You’re usually goofy or telling a dirty joke. It’s nice for change. Thank you.”

“Yeah, well don’t get used to it. You look hot by the way.” He smacked my ass.