A shrill chiming disturbs me as my neck kinks to the side, the pain jolting me awake. Alex jumps up, still half-asleep, as she looks around her apartment like she’s in shock. Then she looks to me like she’s amazed I’m still here.

“Shit, we fell asleep.”

Rolling my neck from side to side, I yawn. “Yeah, sorry. I had every intention of going home. I only closed my eyes for a moment and then bam your alarm is waking me up.”

Her breaths come in little short, sharp bursts like she’s a bit freaked out. So I reach around and grab her hand while frowning at her. “Hey, you okay?”

She nods her head, turns to me and her face softens. “Yeah, it’s just… I never trust anyone to stay over. I hardly let people into my apartment let alone sleeping over...”

I nod and sigh. “Sorry. I honestly didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, but I swear you can trust me, Alex.”

“No. I know. It’s just… I fell asleep, with you here… that’s… just… weird.” It’s like she’s trying to comprehend something that she can’t quite understand. “That’s never happened since…” she screws up her face, “… like if anyone were here I’d never be relaxed enough to fall asleep.”

I squeeze her hand and look into her eyes. “Thanks. It’s good to know you’re comfortable enough around me. Well, enough to let your guard down anyway. That means a lot, Alex.”

“Don’t worry I’m just as surprised as you are. But you’re right, I am comfortable around you. It’s nice to finally be at ease around someone.”

Alex looks back at me as I stare at her, her dark eyes glistening like she wants to say something more but is holding back. She swallows hard as my chest tightens and she takes a deep breath and looks away. “Breakfast burrito?” she asks, breaking the tension and I chuckle.

“Yeah, for sure. I’ll help.”

“Cool, but we gotta be quick. I have to be at the gallery in about forty minutes.”

“Right, so you get the eggs, I’ll get the bacon, and I’ll show you how rock stars can cook.”

She laughs jumping off the sofa and rushing off to the kitchen. I freaking love this apartment. It’s so… so… Alex. She fusses about in the fridge for a beat then pulls out bacon, eggs, cheese, tortillas, avocado and some barbecue sauce. I smile and nod knowing she likes the same things as me.

We make our breakfast, and I’m constantly teasing her with the tongs. She laughs as she chops the avocados and scrambles the eggs, while I cook the bacon. Once it’s all done, I wrap the burritos while Alex dresses for work. Seeing as there’s nowhere for her to get dressed, as in an actual bedroom, she’s doing it next to her bed.

“Don’t look, okay?”

I smirk and look down at the table keeping my eyes on the burritos. “I promise. I won’t look up. Eyes… firmly on the burritos.”

She chuckles, and I hear her messing about getting changed, and apparently now being a man is all I can think about. And the thought of a woman changing merely a few feet away from me is really intoxicating. Everything in me is telling me to be the friend I’m supposed to be and keep my eyes averted, but the man in me is making it extremely hard to keep that promise, and I can’t help myself as I chance a quick glance to see her back facing me.

Alex is wearing a skirt, but her back is completely bare as she pulls her bra over her shoulders. The mere sight of her bare back, which is covered with a vibrant watercolor peacock sitting under a Japanese cherry blossom tree, is intoxicating. The colors are bright and alive, but the peacock is looking down next to its tail where three single feathers sit on the ground on their own. It’s beautiful, and a complete work of art, taking up the entire right side of her back. It takes my breath away as I study it, thinking it can only be a representation of her and the three feathers are her parents and her gran. It’s such a colorful, happy piece, yet it holds so much sadness. Suddenly, her hands come up across her back to clip her bra, and that movement shocks me back to reality.

It surprises me that I’m staring at her, when I said I most definitely would not, so I spin around and grab a hand towel to wipe my hands. I attempt to calm down my breathing from seeing her so raw.

She’s utterly beautiful.

I always thought tattoos on women were off-putting and ugly. It’s why it is one of my ten rules—no tattoos—but I can see now that if it’s done right, they can be meaningful and beautiful. A true work of art. I hope one day I can talk to her about hers and see if she has any others. But thinking about the rest of Alex’s body, and being a little sex deprived at the moment, is starting to awaken more of the man in me, so I subtly rearrange my crotch and clear my throat. “These are ready when you are, Alex,” I call out, purposely not looking at her, I don’t want to be caught looking or with a damn boner.

She steps up beside me and giggles. “It’s okay, you can look now. Sorry, I’m all dressed. I’m starving, though. So burrito me, baby,” she says, slapping my ass.

I chuckle while shaking my head and handing her the plate. “Yes, ma’am.” She sits down at the table, while I take the seat next to her. We quickly eat our breakfast burritos, and I try not to look overly guilty.

We eat in a relatively calm, quiet manner that’s somehow comfortable to sit in. It’s simple to just be with her, nothing is forced. It feels okay to spend hours talking or to sit in a comfortable silence, or fall asleep cuddling on a sofa because we’re so in tune with each other.

We’ve finished, and I can see even though neither of us wants to go, she has a job to get to where my brother is her boss, and I need to get going as well.

“Okay, well I better be off,” I say, standing up, grabbing both our plates and taking them to the sink.

She stands, grabs her keys and bag and then walks with me to the door.

“Thanks so much for a great night,” I say.

“It was great, wasn’t it? Thanks for an equally wonderful morning.”

I nod and lean in giving her a kiss on the cheek, as she drags her bottom lip in by her teeth. My chest constricts at the sight, and my breath is knocked from me momentarily while we walk out her door. She follows, closing it behind us, and we step down the three flights of stairs.

“Can you keep an eye on Nate today seeing as I wasn’t home with him last night? Just make sure he’s doing okay?” I ask as we walk out of the building toward the cars.

“Of course. I’ll let you know how he is when I get there, ‘cause no doubt he will be there already.”

I lean in hugging her, and the warmth of Alex’s body as she presses against me feels like home. She feels safe. She fills me with calm. The feeling is… just warm.

Letting her go, I walk Alex to her car and help her in. She smiles, and I close the door tapping on her window. She winks, and I turn walking away to my car and get in as she drives off past me. Sighing as she heads off, I can’t help but feel like this could be something of a new normal for us. And fuck if I don’t love the idea. But for now, I’m heading home to have a shower.

 

 

The house smells like burnt toast as I walk in, and I look to the kitchen to see I’m correct in my assumption. The toaster is out and next to it lay two pieces of completely black toast. Chuckling to myself, I move to pick them up and throw them in the trash. Wondering why the hell Nate has enough energy to burn the toast, but not enough to put the craptastic toast in the trash. Maybe his head isn’t in the right place at the moment.

Turning, I walk out of the kitchen and toward the stairs, bumping into the coffee table as I go. I grit my teeth wondering how much it will fuck up Whisper’s Fung Shui if I just move it back to its original position or even out of the damn way. Thinking better of it, I leave it where it is and continue up the stairs, the fichus hitting me on the face on the way up the wooden stairs and then flicking back into place behind me. I chuckle to myself thinking of Whisper and how he’s brought some life to this house, even if it’s just with the weird placement of our furniture. I really need to check in with him at some stage.

I make it to my room when my cell goes off, so I move over to look at it under the light. It’s a text from Jaci. Smiling, I open and read the message.

 

Jacqueline: Good Morning. I’m looking forward to meeting you in person. I hope you slept well. You were the first thing I thought of when I woke up. Sorry if that’s being too forward…

 

I have to admit, it does make me feel good that I’m having an impact on Jaci like this, so I smile. I like that she’s being so open with me too and reply right away.

 

Me: I had a great night, stayed at a friend’s place. I’m really looking forward to meeting you too. I hope to make the night memorable, and that we get along well in person as well as over the internet.

 

I conveniently leave out the fact that my friend’s place belongs to a woman. I think that would cause more trouble than it’s worth, to be honest.

 

Jacqueline: I’m booking a hotel room for the night, seeing as I have to drive the two hours to LA for the date. Don’t read anything into that, but I will be in town for the next day too. If things go well we could catch up on Sunday as well.

 

Smirking, I try to take her word on not reading into that, but the mention of a hotel room is not exactly innocent. But then again, for a woman like Jaci, I’m pretty sure that it is almost ninety-nine percent innocent, and totally just for the convenience factor and not for the kinky factor that my mind is taking me on.

 

Me: Noted. And I won’t read into it. I’m a gentleman anyway. I don’t go in with expectations Jaci, especially nothing like that.

Jacqueline: Great, well, I better get off to my day, have a good one. I’ll talk to you soon xoxo

Me: Me too, have a good day xxx

 

I hit send, but then almost instantly get another reply. “She can’t get enough of me,” I murmur to myself and then notice it’s from Alex. I chuckle at my cocky attitude, and read the message.

 

Alex: Nate’s okay, his usual broody self. Got him some food from the bakery, and he’s drinking a coffee now. He seems even more down if that’s possible. Gonna try and work my magic to cheer him up today. Wish me luck!

 

Poor Nate, I do feel sorry for him. I know he loves Ria with all that he has, I just wish I could either get them back together or have him move on. I type my reply.

 

Me: Good luck! Thanks for getting him food. I appreciate all you do for him. Where would we both be without you?

Alex: You’d be lost, in an endless world of torment, misery, and utter desolation. Basically, I am the best thing in the world, so make sure to tell Nate to keep me around, capiche? ;)

 

Chuckling, I walk to the en-suite and get undressed while I type back.

 

Me: Going to shower now, stripping off as we speak. My pep talk with Nate will have to wait. Hopefully, your amazingness will keep you on until I’m out.

 

Her reply is delayed as I turn on the water, but it comes through just before I step in.

 

Alex: Were you trying to get me all worked up by thinking about you naked, Matthew?

 

I raise my eyebrow at her text, I didn’t see that coming from her at all. But a bit of fun banter can’t hurt between friends now, can it?

 

Me: Why? I’m just about to get all hot and wet, is this a problem for you, Alex?

 

I hesitate over the send button, but figure fuck it, we’re just fucking around anyway. So I hit send and chuckle as I turn on the shower, placing my cell on the bench. The warmth of the water cascading over my back as I step in is superb. The massive drops beat on my skin almost in a rhythm, and my mind skips between thoughts of Alex and Jaci, mingling the two together in a chaos of complete opposites.

I don’t spend too much time in the shower, just enough to clean myself and wash my hair. My thoughts are too muddled, so I get out, grab a towel, run it over my body and wrap it around my waist. I pick up my cell, checking to see if there’s another message from Alex. It’s a GIPHY of Homer Simpson in the shower.

I laugh and type back quickly.

 

Me: I think if you saw me in the shower, Alex, you’d be the one saying ‘doh’ after sending that GIPHY.

Alex: Oh, really, you think you’re all that?

 

I chuckle sending back a GIPHY of Ned Flanders in a tight ski suit shaking his sexy butt.

 

Me: More of a sexy Ned Flanders than a Homer Simpson any day, doodle bug.

 

She sends back a GIPHY of girls laughing and two words.

 

Alex: Doodle bug?

 

I smirk.

 

Me: Yep, it’s your new nickname, doodle bug. Because you like to doodle… you know draw, and do arty things… and bug because you’re little and annoying like a bug. So henceforth you shall be named doodle bug.

 

I hit send and smile wide. Her reply is instant.

 

Alex: I like it :)

 

I drop the towel and walk out to my bedroom as I type my reply.

 

Me: Good. Well, have a great day and have fun with my twin. Make him laugh!

Alex: Will do. And thanks for making me laugh, sexy Flanders. Keep it real, homie. Doodle bug out… peace!

 

I laugh at her message. It’s such an Alex response, I think as I grab some pants and pull them up. Great, now I gotta figure out what I’m doing for the day.