It’s a little past midnight and I’m tired. Marie, who was supposed to be my ride home, had too much to drink. Now, she’ll be staying at Brenda’s along with Amanda. I could stay too, but I’m curious about what happened at home tonight, when Blake and his cousin visited. I don’t want to text Mom in case she’s already asleep, but I’m hoping she’ll still be up when I get home.

I end up calling a cab. While I’m waiting for it, I get a text from Blake. My heart kicks up a notch but I don’t want to check it in front of my friends. When the taxi arrives, I say my goodbyes to them, turning to wave as I walk down the driveway.

As soon as I’m in the cab, I pull my phone out.

Blake: Hey sexy. I hope you’re having a fun night out with the girls.

Pause.

Your mom told me she mentioned we were coming over tonight.

Pause.

I miss you. So much to tell you!

Awww!

Me: I’m on my way home. Taking a cab.

Blake: Oh? I’m just leaving your place. I’m in my truck in your driveway.

Pause.

My cousin is passed out in your spare room.

Sounds like he’s already getting comfy. Great, just great. Well, better play it cool.

Me: I wasn’t expecting you guys to hang with my mom that long.

Blake: Me neither. But, they got talking. He likes it here.

Me: Oh. Well, that’s good. I guess.

Blake: You don’t sound too enthusiastic.

Pause.

It’s not a done deal yet. But never mind that. Did I mention, I miss you? I want to see you.

Me: Aren’t we still on for tomorrow night?

Blake: Yes. But…how about I wait for you? I could see you when you get here. I’d come pick you up, but…your friends don’t know about me yet. Do they?

Me: No. The cab’s on the way anyhow.

Then:

Blake: I can’t wait to kiss you.

My heart jumps. Oh God. I’ve been doing so well, making myself scarce, the last two days. Being busy and unavailable. It’s been a good couple days too. I should continue with that…make him wait for our planned meeting tomorrow. I…yes, I should stay strong and not give in just for the promise of a kiss.

Me: Okay.

And…boom, I fold without a fight, my traitor thumbs typing what my heart really wants.

What I want so much, I can feel it in the tips of my breasts.

And elsewhere.

Blake: Awesome! Jenny girl…it’s ridiculous how much I miss you.

Be cool Jenny be cool be cool…

Me: I miss you too.

Without realizing I was holding it, I let my breath out.

Blake: See you in a bit then.

* * *

The taxi stops in front of the darkened house. Blake’s truck sits in the driveway, next to my car. Blake is a shadowy form, sitting motionless in the front seat.

I pay the driver and he pulls away. I walk to the passenger side door of the truck. Blake leans over and opens the door for me.

The interior light comes on and I can’t help but smile when I see his own wide, happy grin greeting me.

“Hello, beautiful,” he murmurs, and my heart just about goes nuts in my chest.

Shakily, I climb into the passenger seat. I pull the door shut quietly behind me. The interior light goes out.

He slides across the seat and takes me in his arms, burying his face in my hair. “Mmmm,” he murmurs. “It’s so good to see you. How are you, sweetheart?”

“I’m good,” I say. “You?”

One of his hands cups my chin and his lips find mine for a languorous series of kisses. A slow, soft nibble-kiss, tongue just touching my lips, then he retreats.

“Mmmm,” we both breathe. “I’m good, now, too,” he sighs.

Panties about melted, I lean my head against his. “We shouldn’t do this right here. It’s late but, someone might have seen me getting into the truck.”

“I don’t give a shit if people know about us anymore, Jennifer,” Blake says. “Fuck ‘em. Fuck Delcroft, too. We’re not doing anything wrong.”

“About Delcroft, actually…”

“Screw those dirtbags. Let’s talk about that later. K?” He nudges my face with his, one arm around my waist, while his other hand holds one of mine, his thumb restlessly caressing my skin. His lips find my cheek and trail towards my mouth, finding it waiting.

We kiss deeply again.

“Babe? Now that you’re here, you’re crazy if you think I’m gonna wait until tomorrow to be with you.” He grins. “I want you to come to my hotel room with me right now. We got connecting rooms, but Angel will be staying the night here.”

I freeze.

Angel?

Angel’s staying the night here?

What?

“Angel? She’s here? What do you mean, Angel’s here? In my house?”

He draws his head back and blinks at me in surprise.

“She? Angel’s not a she, he’s a he. He’s my cousin. My cousin, Angel.”

Angel’s not a…Angel’s his cousin…?

Angel’s a…he.

What.

The.

Hell?

“You…your cousin’s name is Angel?” My voice is faint. “I……wait a sec. Your cousin’s name is Angel?” I hear that I’m repeating myself and make myself say something else. “I mean, your older…male… cousin, the one that had the stroke…? His name is Angel?”

My heart is pounding so hard right now, it’s almost making my vision tremble.

He’s looking at me strangely. “Yes, Jennifer. His name is Angel. I know it’s an uncommon name for a man, but that’s the name his mother gave him.” He shrugs, his eyes twinkling but direct. “She was very young, but….anyway, yes, he’s a man and his name is Angel.”

I stare at him, mouth hanging open.

He raises his eyebrows. “C’mon. It’s not that strange. Angel can be a man’s name. Sometimes. There are men named Angelo. Means the same thing.”

I’m listening but not really hearing him. My mind is replaying what I heard Tuesday night in his parents’ house, trying to hear it again, trying to see if I missed that the first time.

I don’t think I did.

This is the stupidest…I mean, what kind of….fuck! I’ve been torturing myself for days…for nothing.

I throw my head back and laugh. “Oh Christ,” I say. “I’m an idiot.”

He grins quizzically. “What?”

I’m shaking my head, and laughing ironically. Relief…sweet, minty-fresh relief washes through me like a waterfall, cleaning away all that shitty worry about my… “rival”!

My “competition”!

Oh my frigging God! I’m wondering now if I really am some class of an idiot, but at the same time, I’m laughing, giddy.

“I…don’t even…haha!” I gasp, leaning back to look at him sheepishly. “Listen, if I tell you…no! Never mind! I can’t!” Now I’m laughing at his expression, which is smiling but also getting more and more confused.

“What, Jennifer? What’s so funny?” Chortling, I push my face into his neck. He tightens his arms around me and speaks into my hair. “What? Come on, you gotta tell me. Angel’s name isn’t that funny.”

“Wait, wait…first, tell me this, just to make sure: Do you know anyone else named Angel?”

“What? No. Why? What’s this about?”

Oh God. I guess I better ‘fess up.

“Alright, alright. Um…lemme go inside and pack an overnight bag. Then, yes, I’ll come to your hotel room. I’ll tell you what’s so funny on the way.”

* * *

In the house, all is quiet. The door on the spare bedroom is closed, as is the door to my mother’s room. They’re both asleep, or nearly so.

I tiptoe into my room and pack a few things, quiet as a mouse.

Back in the truck, he says, “Okay, let’s hear it,” before he even gets the vehicle on the road towards the hotel.

Smiling nervously, hoping he’ll find it funny, I tell him what I overheard that night at his parents’ place.

Restlessly, I fiddle with my hands as I relate to him how it anguished me; how I struggled to control myself and understand the situation; and even, the strange way it tipped my emotional scales from feeling overwhelmed to feeling determined to hang on.

He listens, eyes wide, face somber and grim. Finished, I fall silent, stealing glances at him, awaiting my fate but ready to be defend myself if need be.

I’m not sure he’s serious, but it’s still a big relief when his eyes crinkle at the corners and a grin curls his lips.

“Okay, holy shit. I…I don’t even know what to say! You…eavesdropper, you! Listening in like that,” he says, laughing softly. He adjusts his grip on the steering wheel, sits forward, sits back again, then looks at me before looking back at the road. Shaking his head, he chortles, and licks his lips before looking askance at me again.

I shrug and show him my teeth in a wide, insincere smile. “I didn’t mean to…”

He holds up a hand. Seeing my discomfort, his smile widens. I can plainly see in his face and hear in his voice that he’s warming up to the potential to tease the living shit out of me about this.

“Hang on, hang on now,” he says, his delighted mirth growing, “let me get this straight. You….eavesdropped…on my private conversation….”

“Yes but I didn’t mean to!’ I yell, laughing sheepishly. “I couldn’t help it! I was just outside the bathroom door, and…and…”

“And you kept listening even though you didn’t have to!” He grabs my hand, brings it to his mouth and kisses it, barely keeping his eyes on the road. “You are such a bad girl. Bad, bad girl, Jenny.”

“Yes! Yes, dammit. I am.” But I’m smiling for real now, embarrassed but relieved, glancing at him and then glancing away, no idea what to do with myself.

“I’ll be damned. Ha!” He slaps the steering wheel. “That’s why you were so weird when you left…hah! Jenny, you are…something special, I swear to God.”

“Thank you?” I say, hopefully.

“Hah! Yeah, you’re what Angel would call a ‘blast’.” He thinks for a moment, grinning. “That’s right, you were so weird, running out on me on our first date! And, and then, you were weird when I picked you up on the side of the road, too…and when we were at your place with your mom….” He shakes his head, his smile dwindling. “I thought something was up but couldn’t, for the life of me, figure out what.” Now his expression grows serious. “But…if you thought there was another woman…why did you have sex with me at work?”

I look at the window, for what I don’t know. “Well…that was when…I…I…decided not to just give up and let her have you, basically. I decided that I would fight for you, by…um…”

“Fucking me in the office?” His twinkling eyes and wicked grin clearly show how very, very much he is enjoying my discomfort.

“Dammit, Blake. Yes! Well, no, I mean…not exactly. By…just by being with you, because, see….you’re here, and I’m here too. Right? And, and…she’s out West ….which means, I had the chance to make you forget about her…” I stop and rub my nose, just to give myself something to do other than stutter and squirm with embarrassment. “Yeah. You know what? Forget it. It all sounded so much better in my head.” I glance at him guardedly, suddenly super-aware of how stupid the whole thing sounds.

His handsome face, bathed in the mellow dashboard glow, lights up with mirth as he throws his head back and lets out a peal of sexy, boyish laughter.

It’s the warmest, most welcome laughter I think I’ve ever heard.

“Ahhh….Jenny!” He purses his lips, sits up straight, widens his eyes and, in a high, falsetto voice, says: “Yes dear, I decided to fight for you––against my completely imaginary foe––by fucking you in the office.”

“Hey! I don’t sound like that!” I say, giving his arm a smack.

“Yes you do,” he laughs, grabbing my hand before I can smack him again. “Jennifer? If that’s not the weirdest thing I’ve ever had a woman say to me…” He keeps shaking his head, his grin about reaching his earlobes now. “I….ahhhh, Jesus!” He laughs and wipes at his eye before sitting up straighter in his seat. “But, I gotta say…that was some awesome office-fucking. I’m sure glad you like me enough to fight my cousin Angel for my love. Wait ’till he hears about this!”

“Oh no, no no no! You can never, ever tell him! Or anyone!” I turn to face him, so that he can see and hear how serious I am.

He looks at me with warm affection, and my heart blazes with that quiet song it’s been singing since I walked into Blake’s office and looked into those amazing hazel eyes of his for the first time.

Now, his eyes are a little too bright; his grin still a little too… curly and self-satisfied for my comfort. “Blake? You have to promise not to tell your cousin. Please! He’ll get the wrong impression! I’ll never live it down!” I make sure he sees and hears how serious I am.

He glances at me devilishly, another series of delighted chuckles escaping his chest. “Alright, alright. Fair enough, baby.” He pats my leg. “I’ll save that one for down the road, when he knows you better. How’s that?”

I say nothing, simply purse my lips and gaze back at him.

“Okay, okay. Look…trust me. When you get to know Angel, you’re going to tell him about this yourself. He’s that kind of guy, Jennifer. You’ll like him, I promise.” I open my mouth to protest. “But…but…until then, my lips are sealed. Okay?” He laughs and slaps the steering wheel again. “Ahhh, Jenny girl!”

“Oh, thank God,” I breathe, slumping a little. “Well, thank you, too. I guess!”

“Ahhhh, shit. I can’t wait to get you into that hotel room.”

* * *

Twenty minutes later.

Blake, holding my hand, leads me down the hotel corridor and uses the key-card on the door. It opens onto a neatly-made-up room with two double beds and a door leading to the connecting suite. Wordlessly, he makes sure both doors are locked and then turns to me.

Putting both hands on my waist, he leans down towards me, clear hazel eyes blazing with fire.