by Anne Leigh
I exhaled. Relief rushed through me. He was a good guy. My instincts weren't wrong.
"Then why did you send me all those pics, Tanya? I was assuming that he was dating all these other girls," I couldn't help but ask.
In Tanya-like fashion, she propped her hands on her hips, and said, "Honey, I wanted you to figure it out. I knew you had the hots for him. Totally. I wanted you to see what you were losing."
"What was I losing? A man whore?!" My head pounded, but I laughed.
They were now both laughing with me.
Tanya exclaimed, "No! That wasn't the message I was trying to get across. I was trying to tell you that you were letting a fine specimen of a man go because of whatever hang-up you had with Brennan and there are tons of other girls waiting in line, if you let him go."
Nalee burst into another giggle, "Tanya dear, next time you want to send a message across, can you write the actual message? I was thinking the same thing that Sedona was thinking, that Zander was a player and wasn't worth spending time with."
Tanya huffed, "Oh well! Fine, next time, if there is a next time, I will send you messages with underlines and highlighted points so you guys won’t miss what I'm trying to say. I'll even include a synopsis of my message."
Nalee and I burst into laughter.
Zander
5 couldn't come soon enough.
Football practice was great. If it was possible to ride high on excitement, I was on board that flight and back. My face was plastered with a grin all morning. John even commented, "That good huh?"
“Whatcha talking about, man?"
"Your date. Your night. Whatever. It was that good? You have this stupid grin all morning." Of course, he noticed. I was in a quasi-angry/irritated/bored state for the past couple of weeks.
I nodded.
“Whoever she is, keep her. We need her to go to Division Championships,” he smirked, “You were sucking big time. You looked like your old self today.”
"Whatever dude," I threw an empty water bottle at him. He was a good friend.
He was right. I was one with the turf today. I felt it when I stepped on the field. My throws were great. She brought my ‘mojo’, as Xavier called it, back.
Last night was hot. She gave new meaning to hot. Her mouth was so responsive. Just thinking about it was giving me another erection. I took care of one after I went home and again, this morning. It was hard for me to stop kissing her. When she zonked out on me, I had no choice but to stop. She was a deep sleeper. One minute she was kissing me. Then, all of a sudden, she was lights out. I tried to fix her body position in her bed but she kept wriggling in my hands, so I covered her with a light pink blanket. I couldn't help but look around her room.
She was so organized. Her computer desk was tidy. Not a paper or pencil out of place. She had a mini dresser with a mirror on the far end of the room, close to the bathroom. I walked to her bathroom and took a leak. I noticed her vanilla-scented soap was dated with a black marker, 02/10. Wow. She freakin' put a date on her hand wash. Didn't they have expiration dates printed on them?! Her bathroom was straight out of a magazine. No clutter. Feminine. Towels lined up in order. Mine was nothing compared to hers.
I looked at her profile in the bed. The lamp by her door cast a dim shadow on her face. I sank back in her bed. She was truly one of the most beautiful women I've ever met. Her long, dark hair was spread on her pillow. Her eyelashes were so long. Her lips were slightly swollen from my kisses. I lightly touched a finger to her lips; she stirred and moaned, "Zander."
That did me in. When my name slipped from her lips, I promised myself that there was no way she was getting away from me. I had left her alone for far too long. I stood up, took one last look at her face, and walked out of her room. Tomorrow, or today, did not come fast enough.
I was a punctual guy so at exactly 5 PM, I was ringing the doorbell of her apartment. Tanya, the red head, answered the door. Nalee was close behind. Uh oh. Interrogation time.
They didn't even bother to hide it. As soon as I plopped my ass on the couch, Nalee said, "Listen here, buddy. Sedona's not the flavor of the day or week. She's a great girl. You better leave now if you know you're just going to play her."
Tanya gushed, "Jeez, Nalee. Simmer down. Don't go scaring the boy."
They were pretty funny. I knew they were watching out for their friend.
I was about to say something when Tanya shushed me. She just shushed me.
She said her piece, "Look, you hurt our girl, you're going to pay. I don't care if you're Mr. Wundershit. I have connections in high places too. If you hurt her, in any way, shape, or form, your ass, no matter how delectable it is, is toast!"
She just threatened me while flirting with me. I have to hand it to her - the girl had talent. John should definitely pursue her.
I wasn't going to be railroaded by these women. My intentions towards Sedona were between her and me. They were concerned about their friend. From what I gathered from Sedona last night, I was labeled a ‘player’.
"Ladies, please let me get a word in." Where was Sedona, was she ready to go?
They quieted down.
"I just want to say that Pepper website exaggerated stuff. You probably got the idea that I dated tons of girls but that’s not the truth. I may have gone out with a couple of them. Isn’t that what single guys do? Now, I know you’re watching out for your friend and that’s totally cool. I would probably be doing the same thing for my friend. In less obvious ways, of course."
Tanya's mouth twitched. She reminded me of a supermodel.
They gave me the floor so I took it, "Your girl, she's the only one I want to keep seeing. I've no idea where this is going to take us, but I sure hope she gets on it because I am kinda getting tired here. I am exhausted from having her run through my mind for weeks."
I must have said something right because Nalee smiled. Her face went from average to really pretty when she smiled.
Tanya said, "Zander, I didn't know you could spout stuff like that. No wonder you got my girl in knots."
I had Sedona in knots? Good. Because she had my balls tied in triple knots.
"Where's your girl, by the way?" I asked.
"She's coming. Her dad called so she said she'll be coming out in a few," Nalee said, "You want anything to drink?"
"No thanks, I'm good. I'll just wait here."
I thought they were going to leave me alone. Nope. They just sat there and we got to talking about random stuff.
Tanya sounded interested in John. She asked a few questions about him. Nalee was a cheerful person. She was quite the storyteller. She talked about her volunteering for the orphaned kids. I was not bored. Sedona had great friends. Smart ones too.
I was in the middle of telling them about architectural design and stuff, when Sedona showed up. I literally lost my train of thought.
She looked so natural and feminine. Her jeans showed off a great ass and legs. And her top, fuck. It was sheer and flowy and showed a hint of cleavage. It made me want to rip it off of her. She looked sexy as hell.
Tanya burst into giggles.
"Man, never thought I’d see the day you could literally shock a man to silence, Sedona."
Sedona's face turned red. Her eyes sparkled. She looked at me and a heated look passed between us. She was remembering last night.
We needed to go. If I stayed here long enough, my dick would salute everyone here. It was already uncomfortable down there.
I stood up, "Ready to go?"
She smiled, "Yes. Sorry for the grilling. They probably did that while I was in there," she eyed Tanya and Nalee affectionately.
"No problem. They're your friends and they're great"
We said bye to her friends and left.
Sedona
Zander's heated looks burned through me. He was so intense. His gaze set me afire. He looked like he wanted to rip my clothes off and devour me.
I suggested the beach so we went to a local beach. His hands were e
ntwined in mine as we walked to the shops along the beach.
He was really a gorgeous guy. Women of all ages eyed him. He was not cocky about it. His attention was all on me.
We were inside a small boutique store that sold touristy items. I was looking at an interesting shot glass. He came up behind me and wrapped his hands around my waist.
Heat crept up to my face.
"You like that?" His eyes were on the shot glass that I was holding. His minty, fresh breath assailed my senses.
"It's interesting," I traced the engraved ‘San Francisco’ words on the glass. I liked shot glasses. They were miniature masterpieces in tiny glasses. I had a display case of shot glasses at my dad’s house. I’ve collected 57 pieces throughout the years. This would be number 58.
"It's nice." He was taller than me. The top of my head reached his chin.
"You want to get it?"
"I don’t know yet,” I took another shot glass out of the rack, “Look, there’s another one here.”
"You smell so good.”
I swallowed.
"What do you think?"
He leaned closer and eyed the shot glasses.
"I think the other one is more intricate. This one has vivid colors." He was an Architecture Design major. Of course, he had an eye for these things.
“They're both really nice."
"Let's get both of them," his breath was hot on my ears.
He stepped aside but placed his hands back on my waist. We headed towards the counter. I was pulling out my wallet from my purse. He stopped me and said, "I got this."
My dad taught me to never argue if a guy offered to pay. He also taught me to say thank you graciously.
I said, "Thank you, they're really cool."
He handed me the plastic bag with the shot glasses and I put it in my purse.
We walked to a few more stores. Each time we went into a store, he touched me and held me longer. I received a few envious stares from women. We talked about school and all sorts of stuff - from football to school to our favorite places.
I felt comfortable around him. He was fun and easy to talk to. I did notice that he gave guys dark looks when their gazes stayed on me longer than he wanted. He was a man. No question about it.
He brought me inside a tiny Italian restaurant that had great online reviews, according to his phone. The tables were so small that he and I were literally pressed against each other. He was a big guy so there wasn't much space for me to move. He asked if I was ok or if I wanted to go to another restaurant. I said no. I liked the homey feeling of the place and the truth was, I didn't mind being this close to him.
I ordered angel hair pasta with chicken and he, a steak. I had a glass of white wine and he got a beer. He liked beer. The table was small; there was barely any space for both our orders.
I bit into my food and closed my eyes. This was delicious.
When I opened my eyes, he was looking at me strangely.
"You're so sexy." It was a statement.
"Oh, thanks," I giggled nervously, "The chicken is really good."
I was not in the habit of sharing my food. If someone touched my food, I didn't eat another bite of it. I offered it to him anyways.
"Are you sure?" He must have sensed my hesitation, "I have an idea, why don't you feed it me? That way, I won't be touching your food with my fork." He must’ve thought I was weird but I nodded. I sliced a small piece of chicken and wrapped pasta around it and fed him.
I watched his mouth take in the fork and desire pooled in my body. Who knew feeding someone could be so hot?!
"That’s delicious," he said.
A small amount of sauce was stuck on the right side of his mouth. Before I stopped myself to think about it, I found my lips licking the sauce off of his mouth.
My tongue cleaned off the sauce and I was about to pull away; only this time, his mouth didn't let me. He kissed me with deep hunger. He tasted of beer and food. My tongue was finding its way deep into his mouth when he slowly pulled away, "I don't want to stop, I’m just afraid I won't be able to walk back to our car if we continue."
I giggled. He looked like he was in pain. He was turned on as much as I was.
I shied away from making any more PDA-worthy moments because first, we were in public. Second, we were in public.
“So, how long have you been friends with Xavier and the guys?” I asked.
“We’ve all been friends since 10 grade. They’re my closest buddies. How about you, been friends with Kieran for a while?” Eventually, I knew he was going to ask about Kieran.
In between bites of the scrumptious chicken dish, I told him how Kieran and I met in swimming class, when I was 9. Kieran bet me that I would not be to find the quarter that he dropped at the bottom of the pool. I had a very competitive streak and almost drowned because of it. A lifeguard had to pull me out of the bottom of the pool. Kieran felt so bad. After that, he gave me his entire Mario Bros. collection of toys and promised to protect me for life.
I smiled as I recalled our story, “He’s always been there for me, through everything. When Chatty Pepper posted those pictures of Kieran and me - I felt violated because it was a private moment between friends. People can assume all they want. Kieran and I, we’ve been through the best and the worst of times.”
His tone was pensive, “We should hang out with him. Maybe have dinner or something.”
I nodded wholeheartedly.
We walked to a gelato place after dinner. We were just completing our order from the guy at the counter when his phone vibrated in his pocket. I felt it because I was wrapped around his arms. He didn't want to take the call; I told him to go ahead and pick it up. The vibration from his pocket was bugging me.
He was frustrated at the caller, "Xavier, this is really not a good time.”
After a pause, he asked, “Alright, where are you? I'll call Dom and John."
He punched a few keys on his phone. His head shook after a couple of minutes.
"What happened?" I asked.
"Xavier's car ran out of battery. He probably left his lights on again."
"Where's he at?"
"Main and 8."
That was only a few miles away from where we were at.
"Can't he call Triple A for a jump start?" I suggested.
"He's really picky when it comes to his car. He thinks other people are going to mess it up. I tried John and Dom, they’re not picking up."
Oh ok. That, I understood. I was picky too. When it came to my stuff, I trusted very few people to help me deal with it.
"Alright, let's go." I was already walking towards the direction of the parking lot.
"No, he can wait on his ass for Dom and John."
"You didn't talk to any of them, right?” I said, “They might not get the message til later so let's go."
"You sure?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm actually looking forward to seeing Xavier's car. I’m curious why he wouldn't want anyone else jump start it."
"Ok," he pulled me into his arms, "I am so going to make him pay for turning our date into roadside assistance."
"Ok," I kissed his cheek and held his hand as we walked to his car.
Zander
I was going to kill Xavier. He was so weird with his car. Triple A could easily jump start it but no, he got all sorts of fucked up about it. Well, if he turned his lights off like a normal person did, this shit would not be happening frequently.
It was a good thing Sedona was good-natured about it.
When we reached the lot where Xavier’s car was parked, she got out of my car, stood on the side, and pretended to scrape the side of Xavier's Audi R8 with her nails, “Hi Xavier. This is your baby, huh?”
The look on Xavier's face was priceless.
She was hilarious. Xavier recovered from his near-death experience and let out a nervous laugh.
His car was his baby. It wasn't just because it was a really nice car. It was because it was his graduation gift and Xavier w
orked long hours helping in his dad's accounting firm before he could earn the car.
"Lady, you almost made me piss in my pants," Xavier said and hugged her. I felt a pang of an unfamiliar emotion sweep through me when I saw her in his arms.
