“Jet, I'm not going down there. It's late, I'm tired. Just go home.” I rubbed at my eyes, wishing I could just close them again instead of dealing with another selfish man.
“I'm not going anywhere until you come down and say hi to me first.”
I groaned inwardly; what the hell was with this punk? He had some nerve showing up at my apartment at this hour, wanting to visit. He was becoming increasingly annoying by the day. I turned on my bedside lamp and assessed the situation. My hair was a mess, and I was wearing a tank top and pajama pants with elephants on them. Perfect.
“No shot, Jet. I will see you another day.”
“Come on, Natalie. I just won my conference battle tonight. At least come out and congratulate me.”
His battle? Julie was right; he really was on the MMA team.
Defeated, I laid my head back down on the pillow. I was so not in the mood for Jet tonight. But he was tugging on my heartstrings with his win. I wanted to be nice. I supposed I could at least go down and congratulate him before getting back under the covers.
“Fine, I'm coming. But only for a minute.” I hung up the phone and quickly got out of bed. I went to the bathroom to make sure I didn't look like a complete disaster. I was wearing no makeup, but it wasn't the end of the world. I quickly put a brush through my hair and got out the knots. I grabbed my apartment keys, so I didn't end up locking myself out of the building, and I shuffled out the door. I pitter-pattered down five flights of stairs before I got to the main level. When I left the building, Jet was standing there proudly, with a medal around his neck. He was quite a sight, I had to admit. He was pretty handsome besides sporting a split lip. His tight shirt, which showed off his incredible body, made me forget about that, though. His medal was shining in the light, as if he were some kind of superhero. I’m sure it was only there to impress me.
I could smell booze on him, but he didn't appear to be intoxicated. He must have come back from celebrating.
“Wow, is that what you wear to bed? Are those elephants?” He was staring at my pajamas in what could only be a look of shock. It took him a few moments before his eyes finally left my pants.
I laughed. “Shut up. And congratulations on your fight.”
“Why, thank you,” he said, practically beaming at me. He truly was quite proud of his accomplishments.
The night was cool, and I instantly got a chill all over my body. I wrapped my arms around my body to keep myself warm. I had goosebumps all over my body, and I was looking forward to going back into the apartment. The weather was changing as fall progressed, and I wasn't up to being out in my pajamas, freezing my ass off.
“Well you got me out here, Jet, now what do you want?” I smiled softly, unsure of what he was really doing there.
“I want you, of course.”
I raised my eyebrows at him. I couldn’t tell whether or not he was joking, and it made me uncomfortable. He laughed when he said it, but the laugh seemed awfully forced.
“Be serious.”
“I am serious.” He was serious, and it made tiny little butterflies flutter around
in my stomach.
The last thing I needed or wanted at that point in my life was another guy. The last one had devastated me to the point that I had a hard time staying out of the bars. I was just now, after a long time, starting to get a grasp on life again. I didn't need someone else coming in, breaking my heart, and making me spiral out of control again. I could see Jet doing exactly that to me. He didn't care who he hurt, especially a female. I would be just another girl he played with and then tossed aside. That would hurt, maybe worse than the last one; how would I be able to bear that?
I decided to not say a word, it wasn't worth getting into a debate over at 11:00 p.m. All I wanted was to return to my warm bed, and the slumber that kept me snuggled in tight. However, the silence seemed to stretch on indefinitely, until I felt desperate to break it. He just stood there with a small smile on his face. I didn't know what to say or what to do.
So I asked, “You're really serious?” I already knew by the look on his face that he was.
He inched closer to me. “You know I'm serious.” Standing there in my pajamas, I didn’t even know what to say back. I couldn’t believe he was hitting on me without a touch of makeup on my face. He must really be hard up if he was coming to see me in the middle of the night.
He continued to move toward me, until he was only inches away. We were practically breathing the same breath. I thought my heart may have stopped. Nervous tingles rode up and down my body. I had never felt that way before, and I couldn't explain what Jet's closeness did to me.
Trying to break the tension between us, I tried to joke with him. “Why don't you go bother some other girls? I bet there are tons that would be more than happy for a late night visit from you. Get your needs met, you know.”
“And you're not one of them?”
“No, I'm not.” I almost enjoyed saying those words to him. Words he probably had never heard from another girl.
“Well, there aren't any other girls out there who are like you. You are one of a kind.”
Then, to my surprise, he slowly brought his lips to mine and kissed me softly. Sparks went off in my mind, but not just there; my heart also sprang alive with his kiss. It was the softest kiss; there wasn't even any tongue, and yet it lit me up instantly. I couldn't remember the last time a kiss had that effect on me, maybe never. It not only made my mouth tingle in a delicious way, but it enticed heat to run through the length of my body. I gasped as it took my breath away.
He pulled away and stared at my trembling bottom lip, and then kissed me again, just as softly. But this time it was with a little more urgency as his tongue slipped into my mouth. Heat exploded through my body. I stopped myself from letting a moan escape my lips. I knew if I allowed that, it would be my undoing. He would not take no for an answer if he knew I wanted more from that kiss. I had no idea why he had such an effect on me, but I wasn't about to let him become aware of that fact.