by G.Nair 1: Splat!

The man I was waiting for had finally walked through the doors an hour and a half later. Why did I agree to go on a date with this person, I wondered to myself for the thousand time. I knew nothing about him, heck I don't even know his last name. It was because he was so incredibly cute and I went against all my believes, that's why! Normally, I wouldn't go for someone so drop dead gorgeous. Looks were the last thing I checked for in a man. So what was I doing here today?! I sat at a tiny round table in the cafe waiting for what seemed like years. I took a hard look at him and knew I was going to regret this date. He was clad in a red tshirt with 'Elmo' from Sesame Street on it along with half-torn dark jeans. When I met him at the record store last week, he was dressed in something similar. Of course then, I thought it was adorable. He was funny, sweet and he flirted politely. Yes, have you ever heard of anyone who flirts politely? He made appropriate jokes at the appropriate time, he passed me the right complements even though some of them were lame and recycled, yet I appreciated the effort and welcomed his advances. Of course it was easy for us both to start a conversation since we picked out a CD from the same artist. Still despite all that, he was still a stranger and when he asked for my number, I had doubts. However seeing as I'm sitting here waiting for him today, I obviously took the risk and gave it to him. He seemed pretty harmless. Suddenly, I got jittery. I wondered if I should block my face with a menu when he walked in. Or perhaps he'll sit down at a different table and I could slowly sneak out and forget about the date? What am I doing? I keep telling myself I don't go out enough and that I need to meet new people. And here was a classic example of me chickening out. No one, I repeat no one calls me a chicken! I was judging too fast. I had quickly come to a conclusion that the date was going to be disastrous just based on how he was dressed. So I put that thought away, sat up straight and called after him as I saw him looking around. He spotted me and waved. He walked towards me with the silliest grin I had ever seen. And so the date began... A couple of hours into hearing him talk about Elton John and George Michael got me thinking whether this dude was straight or otherwise. Maybe, I miss judged his intentions in asking for my number? Perhaps he just wanted to hang out as friends? I mean, we were both looking for a CD by Sarah Mclachlan the other day. Why didn't I

see this in the beginning I wondered to myself. Could he really be gay? I'm stereotyping, I told myself how of awful of me! Of course he's not gay, he flirted with me the other day! Or did I think he was flirting? I completely zoned out not listening to a word he said. And then all of a sudden, he got our bill and invited me over to his place. I found myself saying yes. What was going on with me? First, I was contemplating standing him up and then I wondered if he were gay and now, I'm saying yes to an invitation to a stranger's home? I must either be really desperate or really want to hear George Michael's greatest hits compilation. The second we arrived at his place though, I got my answer immediately. I took my coat off and looked for a place to hang it or at least lay it down. The place was a pigsty! There were clothes everywhere, empty pizza boxes, beer cans and cigarette butts all over the living room! At least I thought it was the living room. He was most definitely is not gay or a very messy homosexual man. Well, moments later I got my answer, again. He turned around to face me and then without a warning just came crashing into me and pressed me against the back of the door. His hands grabbed the sides of my waist and his lips came crashing on mine. He kissed me hard and sloppy. His tongue was all over my face. He pulled away, grinned at me and licked the side of my neck. I was supposed to be repulsed by this, but strangely I wasn't. In fact, I was incredibly turned on! The mess in the room suddenly was arousing. He picked me up and continued kissing me all over my face. I kissed him back with absolutely no passion. It was just raw animal attraction. He carried me to his bedroom threw me on top of a pile of clothes, which I wondered were clean or dirty for a second and then just didn't care. I found myself kissing him back so hard and then brought my hands down to his crotch fumbling with his jeans and belt! When I got his pants off he was crawling down my body trailing his tongue down my entire body leaving slimy saliva trails all over. God he was so sloppy! Yet, I was still not as grossed out as I should have been. I let him do what he wanted. He then pushed my skirt upward and reached for my pink cotton panties with his teeth. As he tried to pull it down with his mouth, the fabric suddenly got caught in his teeth. He yanked and howled in pain. I sat up in horror. Are you alright? I asked. Fine, fine... he said covering his mouth with one hand. He stopped using his mouth and teeth and just pulled my underwear down instead. And then his hands went around my hips and slided down under my bottom. He squeezed me and grinned up at me. I was still very aroused by all this when I really should have been running out of his apartment clutching my clothes with me and squeezing my nose shut from the

stench that started creeping up in the air. Instead, next I knew it he was on top of me plunging himself into my extremely aroused cave having me screaming obscenities to hell and back. All I could think of after that was at least he used a condom. When we were done, he rolled away from me and lay at my side. He reached for a cigarette from under the bed lighted it and started puffing away immediately. Then he did the most disgusting thing that truly drove me to the edge. He yanked off the used condom and threw it against the wall across the bed. It made a 'splat' sound and stuck on the wall. I looked at him in shock and then at the piece of rubber stuck on the wall. I think I just found out what that smell was! I suddenly felt very dirty all over and so incredibly silly! He turned to look at me. Well, babe that was rockin'. He said. Uh, yea. I quickly got out of bed put my clothes on and ran for the door before screaming. I have to go, thanks for coffee, and was out the door immediately without looking back. As I rode the elevator down I shook myself off about a thousand times trying to get the 'splat' sound out of my head. Seriously, what was I thinking?! I was finally ready to call it quits after that last date. First of all, who wears an Elmo t-shirt to a date? Second of all, torn jeans? Maybe back in high school, definitely not for a 30 year old man! He even consumed food like a child who watched Sesame Street would! I wasn't just disgusted, I was appalled, annoyed, angered and completely freaked out by the entire episode. He hadn't even apologized for being so late! And that of course wasn't even half of the reason why I avoided all his calls and never wanted to ever see Matt again. No more dates, period. After that night, I was ready to even swear off all men for the rest of my life. The woman looked more and more appealing as the days went by. For one reason, women are way better looking than men. You don't fight for the remote with them, you eat what you want around them, your daily conversation will be more than just "Pull my finger," your ears (and nose) are spared from public farts and best of all, you get to exchange clothes, accessories, shoes etc between each other. Benefits, benefits and more benefits. It wasn't that I was being picky. I just wanted a matured man, with a steady job and income. Someone to talk to, someone who had at least a couple of things in common with me, someone who wasn't afraid to speak his mind and respect my thoughts at the same time. If he had a good sense of humor, that would be a plus too. And as far as looks were concern, I couldn't care less if he looked like a pit bull's backside. And

I really mean it! Personality and what's inside mattered to me more than anything else. Of course, I wasn't bad looking myself. Standing at 5'3", I had long dark curly hair, light brown eyes, a small turned up nose to match my small face. My lips as my roommate would say is perfectly shaped, a little plumped at the bottom to add the luscious look and always looked moist. Whatever she meant by that. When I smiled it would make any stranger want to smile back, because my smile would stretch from one end to the other. Since I wasn't very tall, I maintained a figure to fit my height. I jogged almost daily, ate a well balanced meal 6 days a week and let myself go one day of the week so I wouldn't feel deprived of all the good food in the world. I definitely get second glances from men of all types, shapes and sizes. I'm friendly, but not in a creepy way, I watch sports and never say no to trying something new. Oh here's a plus point that some men might appreciate, I hate shopping! So why could I not find myself a man that would suit my needs? Was I asking for too much? Was the universe truly out of men to match someone like myself? When I was growing up, finding the right man was all my mother could think about as well herself. She had given birth to me at the age of 22 and would be 51 today if she were still alive. As for my dad, well he left my mother when I turned 12 and I haven't heard from him since. Strangely enough though, I haven't developed a hatred for men because of what my dad did when I was a child. Instead I had vowed my life to find a man that I know will not turn out like my dad. I have faith that there are good men in the world, they're just a little hard to find. OK...more than a little hard to find...it takes effort and sometimes a push-up bra. As far as life is concern, things turned out pretty well for me. Just as soon as mom passed on and leaving me a generous sum of money, I managed to pick myself up on my own and get to where I am today. For someone with such a screwed up love life, my mother definitely had her career going on for her. And as the hundreds of people have said to me in the passed 6 years, she went off too early for her age. Yes, untreated pneumonia would do that to you. May she rest in peace. I shan't dwell upon my mother's death again like I have so many times in my solidarity and cried myself to sleep. Her death only made me stronger and gave me reason to keep pulling through life. The only thing to do now was to find the right man and life would be complete. Yes, I am one of those girls who dreams for a fairy-tale ending and thinks life can be perfect with a man to complete it. I'm not ashamed to admit it however. Even with the numerous times my friends have told me that in today's world you didn't need a man in y our life yet these are the friends who keep mailing me wedding cards every once in two months or so. How very frustrating!

And then life took a sharp turn one night. It was all Riyana's fault I should say or better yet, I should say that if it weren't for her, I would never have met him. It was a typical Saturday evening. I was in my usual shorts and t-shirt with a large bowl of baby carrots in my hands ready to watch reruns of Seinfeld on T.V. And then, she started whining. "Please come with me, if you do, I'll do your laundry for a week." my roommate and best friend Riyana said. "No, I do my laundry on my own just fine. I just don't feel like going out tonight. The idea of sitting in and watching reruns of Seinfeld is way more appealing. I'm sorry!" "But if you don't come with me, I'll die of boredom... she pleaded. Fine, you name it, anything you want. What about a bribe? A hundred dollar bribe?" Those were the magic words. "You're willing to pay me 100 bucks just to come to a party with you, drink free champagne and check out single men? What are you, insane?! Why are you going if you know you're going to end up being bored out of your mind there?" I asked. "Because, I have to. My boss has one of these parties all the time, and if you're not there, it's considered "not-being-a-team-player." So you'll come?" Riyana finished with the quote gestures. "That's just ridiculous. And fine, I'll come. For some reason what I just said about drinking free champagne and checking out single man, suddenly seems more appealing than Jerry Seinfeld." So we went. "I should not have let you trick me into coming. There isn't one single guy in here who is not a creep. How the hell do you work with these people???" I hissed at Riyana. "Now you see why I didn't want to come alone? Listen, I'll forever be thankful to you for coming. Let's just enjoy the free food and booze, and leave in about an hour. Deal?" she bargained with me. It was all I needed really. "Deal!" I said. I strolled out to the balcony with a glass of champagne in hand as Riyana went off to mingle with the rest of her colleagues. The air outside was just as stuffy as it was inside. "Cough, cough, gag...cough." And then something caught my eye. He stood there back towards me, shoulders hunched over and body leaned forward against the rail. His ass stuck out

magnificently, all round, tight and very bite-able. He smelled incredible. A mix of aftershave and musky men's perfume. The smell of men's perfume always intoxicated me. I moved close towards him. What I said within the next minuet, made me realize why I was such a turn off towards men. "So what's your stand on abortions?" I asked. "Excuse me?" "You heard me...what's your stand on abortions?" Was I really asking this stranger that question? I asked myself but stood my ground anyway. There was no turning back. He looked at me and startled at first and then almost annoyed. "...and you are?" he asked. 2: Foot in your mouth "I am...just trying to make conversation. It's a parade of boredom in there." I said pointing towards the party. "You're not having fun I take it?" he said uninterestedly. "Nope, not at all. The sooner I get drunk, the more fun I will have though. Yep, definitely willing to bet on that. I wonder though, who the dingbat who organized this lame party is. If this is his idea of having fun, I pity his wife and kids." I sneered. "No pity required. He isn't married. Nor does he have any children." the stranger answered cooly. "Oh...well good for him. His party still is a dud though." I raised my glass towards him. "And what exactly would you do to liven it up?" He asked defensively. "Well for one, I would never "force" someone to come to a party and accuse them of not being a "team player" if they didn't come." I said complete with air quote gestures. "Is that so now? And who says you're "forced" to come?" He responded adding the air quote gestures himself. "Meh." I rolled my eyes saying. "So, you never responded to my question. What's your stand on abortions?" I continued talking. I really need to jump off the balcony now. He was looking less and less impressed with me as the minuets went by and who could have blamed him. I had to changed the topic and try to look a little less of a...well...a complete lunatic! To put it simply. "Do you always start off conversations like that? You honestly mean to tell me you can't think of anything else to talk about?" he asked. His tone made me think he must be rather intelligent. And there was something else...he was actually still standing here talking to me despite my stupid question. Still I didn't know whether to be insulted or flattered by the fact that he wasn't leering at my chest like all the other guys at the party were. The more he talked, the more I was interested. However I was making a bad impression. First condemning a

party I wasn't even supposed to be at, two making stupid conversations just for the sake of talking. I blamed it on the booze immediately. "Must be the booze talking. You pick a topic then." I smiled. He turned around. This time back leaning against the wall, cigarette in his hand. He took a long, slow puff. "Do you smoke?" He offered me a cigarette. "I'd really rather live longer, thanks." I made a disgusting face at him. Still not scoring any extra points here, I scolded myself. For a second I thought if I ought to pick up smoking that instant just to put my foot in my mouth. "Good, I can't stand women that smoke. Hypocritical, perhaps. But I've got nothing better to do, since the party is such a...DUD." He said the word starring into my eyes. My heart almost skipped a beat. Just then Riyana suddenly waltz into the scene. "Heya boss. Great party. I am so glad I came! The food is great, the booze is great...it's great all around. Really! Terrific. Fantastic...What a great party. Honestly. One of the best parties I've ever been too." One could always tell when Riyana was lying. She wouldn't stop talking till someone told her to shut it. She would carry on blabbering till someone literally said, "Stop." Wait a second...did I just call him boss?!?! This guy is the boss? Which means, he's the host. Oh good god! I'd just insulted the man to his face about his party being a great big 'dud.' Too much of playing 'The Sims' does this to you. I should have said "Roof raiser" that would have scored my more points. I slowly but reluctantly looked up at him only to see him still looking into my eyes. 3: Class act The only thought that came through my mind right now was to walk back into the party and pretend I never had this conversation with him. I walked towards Riyana, grabbed her arm and walked back into the room of 'boredom.' The two of us quickly submerged into the crowd far from 'The boss' eye shot. "What is it with you???" Riyana asked me frantically. "I think we should leave now, don't you think we've spent enough time here already?" I said desperately. "I thought we agreed on an hour, it's hardly been 30 minuets, we can't leave yet." Riyana bargained. "What difference would it make? It's not like anyone's actually paid attention to who's

arriving and who's leaving." I had to hide the desperateness I my voice. I spotted him approaching us from afar. My heart started beating rapidly. I didn't know what to do. I have never felt so embarrassed in all my life. As he moved closer towards us, Riyana quickly broke into one of her fake smiles and fake lively conversations. "What's up, boss? Have you met my roommate? Owen this is..." I did what I do best, just before Riyana mentioned my name. I fainted. I was an Academy Award winning actress in the making. If there was a sport for fainting in the Olympics, I had the gold medal in the bag. I dramatically let the glass I was holding slip from my hand, but very carefully made sure it fell on the sofa instead of crashing on the floor. I fluttered my eyes, took a deep breath and let out a faint sigh and fell limbless to the ground. Within seconds there was a crowd surrounding me, gasping. I heard several whispers, "Was it the champagne?!" I also heard someone say "Call the ambulance!" I knew though before my 'class act' went on any further, Riyana would have caught on and realized I was pulling one of my 'fake-faint' stunts again. Riyana was on her knees, pushing tangles of hair away from my face. She leaned in close to my face and hissed. "What in god's name is wrong with you? Did you say something you shouldn't have said to Owen? What did you say to him out there? What could you have possibly said that was be so bad for you to pull your famous stunt? Is that why you want to leave so fast? Curl your toes if it's a yes!" Riyana turned to look at her feet. I did as expected. Riyana stood up and said. "OK everyone. Nothing to panic about. I think it's just her blood sugar. She probably hasn't had anything to eat. That's all. No worries, I'll just help her onto the couch here and get her something to munch on and she'll be a-OK." I felt a couple of people helping me up onto the couch. I remained limbless. "Let's just give her a little room, now. Don't worry...just go on about your own ways and enjoy the party. Trust me...this happens a lot. She's completely fine." I heard Riyana's voice again. My eyes remained shut. Owen crept in closer to us. I remembered the smell of his perfume. Ohh, he smelled so freaking good. "Are you sure she's alright? Maybe we should get her into the room and let her lie on the bed or something? I can fetch a doctor from the building. I know someone from the floor above mine." "No, no. No need for that. Seriously. She'll be fine." Riyana assured her boss.

I finally thought it was time to snap out of the faint spell. I felt Riyana sprinkle a few drops of water on my face. I stirred my eye balls, and then fluttered my eyes open gently. I groaned and tried to sit up then fell back into the couch again. My body stirred a little. I let out a soft whimper. "Maybe you should take her home?" Owen said to Riyana. "Yeah, I think that's a great idea." "I'll help you." he offered. With that I immediately rose from the couch and grabbed hold of Riyana's hand. I pretended to steady myself and stood up. I wobble for a bit and leaned my whole body against Riyana's. "Riyana, what happened? Did I black out again? Is it OK if we go home now?" I said softly." "Yep, I think we should go home as well. Let's go you poor thing." I sensed the sarcasm in her tone. Riyana put her hands around my shoulders and steadied me. She turned to Owen, apologized and said she will see him at work on Monday. She waved to a couple more people on her way towards the door, still clutching on to me. As soon as we left the apartment, Riyana let go of me and I fell to the floor. This time for real. Riyana starred at me, brows crossed face crunched up like a raisin, demanding an explanation. 4: The drive home "Wow, that was the most fun I had throughout the entire party!" I said cheerfully and walked towards the elevator. "Oh no, you don't. You're not going to weasel your way out of this. What happened in there? Did you say something to Owen? Something you should not have? What? Everything was working out fine." I shrugged and popped a mint into her mouth. "Nothing, I just told him his party was a huge dud and that he shouldn't force his employers to come to them if they didn't want to." "You...you...I...What...YOU...OH MY GOD! I cannot believe you said that! What were you trying to do?! Get me fired? Oh my GOD! Why...why did I bring you?! I should have just left you home with Jerry Seinfeld." "Hey, look it's not my fault. And yes, why did you bring me? It's your fault for bringing me and it's your fault for not telling me your boss was a young hot, hot guy with a very tight ass. Geez, every time you talk about him at home, I always had the impression that he was this short, stout bald and old guy who was unhappy with his marriage and sex life!"

"Ugh, I can't even rationalize nor talk to you right now! He is going to fire me on Monday!" "Oh, come on. I don't think he'll do that...Well on second thought, if he could force you people to come to that party, then maybe..." Riyana starred at her and then hit her...hard on the shoulder with her handbag. "OW! OK OK! I'm sorry! I really, truly am. I swear to god I did not know who he was. All I thought to myself while I was at the balcony with him was, 'Oh, boy. hottie alert.' Must make conversation. What better than to talk about the host of the party. I thought he may have been another colleague of yours, and I'd be scoring points if we both got into an "insult your boss" conversation." We got into the car. Riyana drove in silence. I continued apologizing to my roommate and friend. The guilt slowly sipped in. Maybe I should have just shut up tonight and not tried to have been such a smartypants. Before Riyana moved in with me, I lived alone in our apartment. It's a small, cozy and beautiful place. A two bedroom apartment with two baths and one attached to a room which was mine. I hadn't planned on renting out the extra room at first. Since I could afford rent all on my own, I left the spare room empty for guests. Not that I actually had many guests come live with me. I lived alone for a little under 4 months when Riyana came knocking on my door one Sunday afternoon. Hey, we spoke on the phone, I'm Riyana, she put her hand out. I looked at her puzzled but shook her hand anyway and then she carried on talking. I know I'm a little late, I'm very sorry. But I just had this huge row with my boy friend and he threw practically everything I own out of his condo, so I was kinda picking everything up and then it started to rain and I said to myself, 'Well you've gone and done it now, couldn't put off the row till after the rain at least,' anyways I'm really desperate for a place to live and I'll pay anything...I'm so glad you said to come over and take a look immediately. Was she done? I wondered to myself. She hadn't even taken a second to breath. How could she possibly say so much in one breath, I wondered. And then she continued much to my surprise. So can I come in and see the room? I assure you I'm not very messy at all, and even if I am, the mess will just be in my room, I promise to keep all common areas clean. And I'm not much of a home-party-animal, I love to party sure, but usually never at home, because I really just hate the aftermath of a party...you know you're left with the cleaning and the apartment will smell of cigarettes and alcohol like for a week...

she pushed herself inside and looked around. I just stood by the door still in shock. Wow, this is a really nice place. Everything is so clean and ...disinfected? she took a wiff of the air. Call me Monica of 'F.R.I.E.N.D.S' really. I am a complete neat freak, which is so odd that Matt's apartment was strangely arousing to me. I finally found my voice. Uhm, Riyana was it? I asked. She lit up and came to shake my hand again. She shook it vigorously and nodded, then to my horror started talking again! Yea, and you know what I don't have to look at the room, I already love it here. I'll take it, I don't care how much it costs. I mean seriously I could see myself living here for a long, long time. My god that is such a great view you have! and she walked toward the balcony. I blinked like about a hundred time. When she returned to the living room she said animatedly, so...which one is my room? And you know you mentioned about not being able to rent out the master bedroom with the attached bathroom, which is great...because I'm not a fan of smelling my own toilet...so it's completely fine! She beamed at me. I had to talk loud and fast if I was going to get this through her head. Look, I think you made a mistake here. We did not talk on the phone. I do not have a room for rent. In fact, I never even put up an advertisement for a room for rent. I live alone and I don't even have any intentions in renting out my extra room. Why did I say 'extra' room. She really didn't need to know that. Her smile disappeared. It didn't just fade, it disappeared completely. In fact now she looked sad, so sad like she was about to cry. Oh boy, I thought to myself. And for a girl with many words, she finally said, Really? and then went silent. Really, I nodded. I think maybe you got the wrong apartment? I suggested to her. You're not Janet? She asked. No, I'm not Janet... I didn't think it was necessary for me to tell this stranger my name so I stopped there. She stood there between the kitchen and the living room and fished into the back pocket of jeans. She pulled out a scrunched up paper and starred at it as if reading a will. Oh good lord, I do have the wrong apartment. She frowned. I'm really, really sorry. She proceeded to walk to the front door. You do have an amazing place though, she said to me sadly. I'm very sorry to have bothered you, the apartment I'm looking for is actually right next to yours, you wouldn't happen to know if it looks exactly like yours would you?

I shook my head as I held the handle of the door ready to close it. She slowly stepped back clinging to her bag and moved away. Just as I was about to shut my door close, I heard her ringing the bell to the apartment next door. I was curious, so I stood by the door and listened as 'Janet' I can only assume, answered the door. I peeked outside. I saw a blond woman in her early 30's holding a screaming child at her hip. Her hair was all over the place. As she opened the door wider, all sorts of stuff started tumbling out onto the corridor. The child in her hands had not stopped screaming, not even for a second. Suddenly I found myself thanking god we had sound proof doors. As I stood there trying to eaves drop at their conversation, the girl called Riyana had walked into the apartment and was probably checking her room out by now. I closed my door and walked into my living room still a little surprised at the whole scene. 20 minuets later I heard another knock on my door. I had already anticipated what I was about to receive at the front door. Please, just consider. I really am willing to pay anything. I'm very desperate and I am everything I said. I'll clean, cook and even bake if you like! She was at my door step again, pleading. Turns out, Janet was a single mother with a very cranky 2 year old boy. The room she showed to Riyana was more of a storage space than an actual bedroom. Not that it was tiny, it was of sufficient size, but it was filled with storage items. There were stacks of boxes on each corner of the room, the wall painting was peeling off and there were old news papers everywhere. There was hardly any space to put a single bed let alone a wardrobe. No wonder the place was going for such a small price as Riyana had mentioned. Maybe, Riyana came knocking on my door first instead of Janet's for a reason. As it turned out, I let her move in that day itself and charged her a reasonable amount for rent. 3 years later, we still live together and have become the best of friends. And till today she always kept her end of the bargain. She cleans and cooks and even bakes on occasions! 5: The new guy While I was at work on Monday morning, I couldn't concentrate on anything but Riyana. I kept wondering if the girl got into any trouble. I prayed silently that nothing went wrong. There was a new guy at the office today and I was assigned to show him around and give him a week's worth of orientation. I was in absolutely no mood to do anything though right now. I sat the guy at his work station and told him to watch episodes of "Aqua Man" on Adult Swim.

I work at an advertising company. We create materials, sales pitches and marketing promotions for various companies. Depending on the orders sometimes all we needed to do was to come up with catchy blurbs or just creative graphics to attract a certain amount of sales and publication. Our clients varied from fortune 500 and giant companies to small scale business etc. The animated channel Adult Swim was one of our largest clients. One of the highest paying clients as well. So, basically watching programs from that network would actually be part of Dunstan, the new guy's his training. Dunstan, was more than happy to comply. Lunch time came and passed. I didn't have the appetite to eat anything, so instead I took a walk around the block and came back to the office. "That's my day's worth of exercise." I told myself gloomily. When I walked back into the office, I noticed Dunstan still at his work station where I'd left him in the morning. He was browsing the company's website and taking down notes. I approached him and asked if he'd gone to lunch. "Uhm, no. came his respond. I...well I'm new in town and it's my first day at the job. I don't really know where the cafeteria is, or where I can get good food at. I don't know anyone yet either. So I thought I'd just skip lunch and learn up on the history of the company." I suddenly felt the guilt creep up on me. I'd completely forgotten my responsibilities for the day, instead I was so caught up with my own problems! I remembered what it was like to be new in a company with absolutely no one to talk to and no guidance at all. Sure we're all adults now and can look out for ourselves. But everyone could use a little help to get around, especially on their first day at a new job. Dunstan looked young. This could even be his very first job! "How old are you, Dunstan?" I decided to ask. "I'll be 24 at the end of the year." he said chirpily. "Damn I feel old." I bit my bottom lip. "Really? How old are you?" he asked curiously. "Haven't you ever heard the saying, 'Never ask a woman her age?' I said defensively. "I didn't think it mattered this day in age." he looked hurt. "And there you go talking about age again, young man." I tsk'd and laughed at him. He seemed to ease up a little. "I've got almost 10 years on you, boy." I winked at him. I was lying through my teeth. I just turned 29 a couple of months ago. I dreaded the big 3-0 next year. Still this guy was 5 years younger and that made me feel even older. So, to overcome my guilt I spent the next few hours guiding Dunstan through the company's history, its literature and a bit of his duties for the rest of the quarter. And then I gave him a short tour of the office, which was located in a 6 story building. Our company took up two floors. Where we were seated was where the

entire operations area worked at. Upstairs was human resources, accounting and sales and marketing as well as where the 'head honcho' sat. Mr. Briggs. Ely Briggs. Now HE'S short, bald, stout and married. Dunstan was a fast learner. He was also attentive, obedient and extremely polite. Seems like I may have found a new pet around the office. I snickered to myself. Of course, I promise not to take advantage of him. He starred in complete awe and did everything I told him to. When the clock hit 5pm, I relaxed a little. It was the end of another working day again. I carried on with some last minuet work, completed a couple of drafts and marketing brochures. An hour later I packed up and walked out of the office. Usually, I leave at around 8pm or so mainly to beat the traffic. But today I just felt like heading home early. Dunstan was suddenly hot at my tail. "So, where do you live?" He came running next to me huffing and puffing, trying to keep up with my quick strides. "I'm only going to answer that question if you're offering me a ride home." I smiled at him. "OK, sure if you don't mind taking the bus with me, I'll tell the driver exactly where to stop you at." he grinned. The boy definitely had a sense of humor and seemed to have built some self confidence since this morning. "Tell you what, let me give you a ride instead." I offered. "Oh, you drive?" He looked puzzled. "Yes." I said and I continued walking, this time a lot faster than before, making the poor boy practically run after me. I dropped Dunstan off at the subway station and drove straight home. He lived in some secluded area, where I'd bound to get lost had I attempted to drive him to his door step and then back home to my apartment. When I got home however, Riyana was already waiting for me by the door of the apartment. "Hey, how are you?" I said to her. She ignored the question and blurted excitedly, "I don't know what you did or said to him that day, but Owen wants me to set him up on a date with you." Riyana grinned at her from ear to ear. 5: The Date The second I heard Riyana say Owen's name it took me back to that night. When Owen turned around to face me while we were at the balcony, I carefully studied his features. He was at least 6'2" with an oval face and chiseled jaw. He had tired but soft eyes and a couple of creases on his forehead that I guessed must either be from work stress or he could be a little older to me. He had a somewhat handsome face and his features were kind and stern all at the same time. His eyes were dark blue or

black, one couldn't tell that easily. He hardly smiled during the period of time I was with him, but if he did smile, I was sure it would be a fantastic smile. He was lean and from the angle I was standing at, I'm pretty sure he had a flat belly too. He probably works out, I thought to myself. I then snapped back and stared at Riyana my eyes wide opened. "What?! Seriously. Why!?" I almost exploded. "Well he thinks you're...in his own words, "bold, brave...not prissy, intelligent, somewhat funny and he was smitten." "Wow, I am impressed and honored. Actually that's exactly how I want people to see me as." I laughed happily. "OK, I am pretty excited now! When, where and how do I go about this 'date'?" I asked almost jumping out of my skin. "You're meeting him for lunch tomorrow. He doesn't have any other day free this week except for Saturday, which I think it's a tad too late. So I arranged it for tomorrow. You'll meet him in Joe's Sandwich, right across the street from your office." Riyana's and my office were only a 5 minuets drive away and a little over 15 minuets walk away from each other. So this was perfect! I was already picturing what I would wear to work tomorrow. "Deal! I'll meet him there at 12-ish. Did you give him my number or something?" I asked unable to contain my excitement. I can't remember the last time I was so excited about a man. After 'Elmo' I honestly considered going to the 'other side.' "No, not yet. But I will if you don't mind." Riyana walked towards the fridge and started stuffing her face. "Yeah, sure go ahead. I'm going to go take a shower and try on everything I have in my closet. Ooh, I am sooo excited. I actually thought he was getting tired of me that night. And then when I learned he was your boss, I thought to myself, great...you really did it this time. You've managed to repel men on an entirely different level all together. And with all that he's still interested, I have new found respect for him and other men like him!" After babbling to myself, I heard Riyana say, "Sweetie, to be honest, I haven't heard a word you said. I'm just glad I didn't get a ticking off for bringing some lunatic to the party. Have fun tomorrow. I really can't say much about Owen. He's stern for a boss sure, but I know for a fact he's also pretty generous and has a weird sense of humor. He's also not always as serious as when you met him that night." The next day while in the office, I spent the entire morning trying very hard to concentrate on work and keep my mind off 'the date.' I couldn't wait for the clock to strike 12 and when it finally did, I couldn't bring myself to step out of the office. I was so nervous! I've never ever felt like this before. I scolded myself. I've been dates before, but never on one where I was genuinely interested in the guy, like I was with

Owen. There was definitely something different about him. I rushed to the lady's, checked myself out in the mirror, applied lip gloss over and over on my lips, pressed them together till they hurt and when I was finally satisfied with the way I looked, I walked out confidently. I took the elevator down to the lobby. Throughout my journey towards the sandwich shop, I kept saying the alphabets in my head. A is for Anxiety which I may suffer from in a few minuets, B is bold which is what Owen thought I was...etc etc. Every time I came to O, it would be for Owen! Out side the shop, I checked my reflection on the glass window again. I straightened my skirt out and trotted pass the doors. I caught him seated in the middle of the room with a cigarette in his hand looking just as gorgeous as that night. He had on a long sleeved white shirt with a plain light solid yellow tie and neatly pressed black slacks. He hadn't spotted me yet. I wondered what his ass looked like in those pants. Just as the thought ran through my head, he stood up to grab an ash tray from the next table. "Oh yeah." I whispered to myself. I walked over and stood across from him. "Hey," I said and then went completely silent. I reminded myself over and over again to watch what I said this time. "Oh, hey! Glad you could make it." He immediately stood up and walked towards me to pull the chair out for me. "Please, sit." he smiled. My heart fluttered. He smelled good again, aside from the cigarette stench fresh on his breath. I took a seat and waited for him to take his and face me before I started talking. "How are you?" I asked. "Great! Less tired today, since I haven't been into the office yet." Riyana worked at one of the biggest tabloid publication in the city. She was in the Entertainment field and Owen was chief editor of the section. She had one of the coolest job in the world. She had the liberty to stalk any celebrity she wanted and not be thrown behind bars. She was at most of the galas, dinners, award shows and always came home with amazing stories to tell. Sometimes if the events were on a small scale, she'd bring me and I'd get to rub shoulders with some of the big names, but-not-really-that-big-yet. Of course her job can get rather stressful at times leaving her lifeless from time to time. I can just imagine what it was like for Owen being head of the department and all. "So here's the deal," Owen begin to talk just as I sat down. "I'm completely against abortions. If you find yourself pregnant, you keep it. No matter what the circumstances are. If you're poor, carry the child for 9 months then give it up for adoption later to a responsible couple who can't have children. If you're a teenager, fess up and deal with it in the correct way. There's no room for abortions in this world, every child, being or creature deserves a chance to at least see the world and then decide later for themselves if they want to still continue seeing the

world or not. That's my stand. Is that alright with you?" he starred intensely at me. At first, I looked at him in total bewilderment. And then, I started laughing. I laughed so hard that tiny snorts started coming out of me. I laughed and laughed and wiped tears of my cheeks. I hadn't laughed so much in so long. I think I laughed for a good ten minuets, till I finally looked up to see his face, and realized he was starring at me with a mixture of anger and shock. I quickly stopped laughing and sat upright. "Oh, oh....oh dear god. No, no. I respect every single thing you've said there, but you suddenly responding to my question out of nowhere was funny. I mean, I'd only asked that question the other night to create conversation. Which I still regret till today. I mean, it was a horrible question, seriously. I don't know what made me say that." "Oh, well I was afraid you might ask it to me again." I laughed even harder. He started laughing himself. "See, if you hadn't had asked that question though, I don't think we'd be sitting here. So in a way, good on you for putting me in a spot like that. No other woman has been able to do that." "Really?" I smiled. He smiled warmly up at me. "Shall we order then?" "Oh, yes. I'm starving." We ordered and talked some more. The conversation got smarter and smarter...then it got challenging then we got into a heated debate. I was having a fantastic time. I thought to myself for a moment, I'd definitely been meeting ALL the wrong guys all this while. I could see this turning into a second and then third and fourth date, and hopefully and eventually into a relationship. Maybe I was thinking too far as well. So not to jinx the moment I quickly stopped thinking about the 'what ifs' and enjoyed what was happening right now. Before I realized it, two hours had passed! I had gone an hour passed my lunch break! "Oh god! Look at the time! I have to go." I stood up and tried to push my chair away, I stumbled a little and almost tripped but steadied myself very quickly. Owen stood up, leaned across the table and grabbed my handbag that hung on the chair. "Don't forget this," he said. I turned around to take the bag from him, muttered something about, "trouble - I - get and myself," and as soon as I turned towards the other side, I walked straight into someone who was backing out of their chair at the next table, stumbled again and this time found myself flying towards the floor boards. I fell with a massive thud to the face and immediately blacked out, again for real. 6: Instant Messaging works too When I finally regained consciousness, I found myself on my back and on a couch. My head hurt pretty badly. I brought my fingers up to my face and softly brushed

them against the throbbing sensation I felt on my forehead. I felt a massive bump there. I pressed on it a little. "OWWW!!" I screamed out. "Hey! You're awake. Are you OK?" Owen's handsome face came into view. I slowly raised my body. "Uh...I think so. What the hell happened?!" "Nothing to panic about. You just tripped and fell on your face." I looked and noticed him red in the face. He was controlling himself from laughing out loud. I grinned. Then, burst out laughing myself. "Oh...god." I gasped breathlessly. He laughed even harder and then came to sit next to me. "Are we still at the sandwich shop?" I asked. "Yeah, I carried you inside to their kitchen. A couple of us had a good laugh first though mind you and then helped you off the ground and brought you in here." "I am so embarrassed," my face felt hot. "Don't be! I have to say, without a doubt, this was the best date I have ever been on in ages." He laughed some more then leaned against the couch and sighed. The two of us sat there for a good 20 seconds before I started to panic again. "Oh no, I have to get back to the office or I'm going to be in so much trouble." "Oh, yeah. You cell phone rang, so I answered. It was someone from the office. Someone called Neena? She asked if you were OK, and that you should have been back at the office over an hour ago. So I told her what happened and then she had a good laugh as well and I laughed along with her. I told her that you'd be back soon. I also mentioned it was nothing to worry about. Probably just a bump on the head." This time he moved his hands to my face and brushed his fingers on the swell. "Yep, a pretty nasty bump, though." "I'm going to be the laughing stock of the office." I sighed and then giggled softly. I turned to him, "Aren't you supposed to be back in the office yourself?" "Well, yes. I just got a couple of calls asking about my whereabouts. But I couldn't just leave you here on your own now could I?" He asked starring straight into my eyes. I smiled sweetly at him. Still embarrassed from the entire episode. "I think I'll be OK. You should go back to work. I'll go back myself and endure the humiliation. I'm sure the story has spread to all two floors of the office." He stood up and took my hand in his. He held it softly and walked me out of the kitchen and straight back into the shop. We thanked the owner and strolled out of the place still hand in hand. I was still giggling on my way out. Owen crossed the street with me and then finally let go of my hand once we were on the other side of the road.

"Well, this is my stop," I said. "So it is." He stood there just smiling at me. I felt weak in the knees. "I should go." I finally said. He nodded. "I had a fabulous time and I'd love to see you again, if you'd like to see me again as well." he smiled. "Yes!" I said with almost too much enthusiasm. I looked up at him and squinted as the sun shone right into my eyes. "I have your number. I'll call you alright? He suddenly sighed a rather serious sigh. Then he spoke again. "Thing is, I'm going to be pretty busy the next few weeks. I've got meetings and seminars coming up. And I'm also going to be out of town for the next week. Which is why today was the only day I could do this." "IM me," I suddenly said after a short pause. "Sorry?" "Instant Message! I'm sure you're on Windows Live, or something? Skype, maybe? We can keep in touch at all times while you're on the move. We'll video chat. What do you think?" He laughed. "Sounds great to me. Add me on everything you have then." He pulled out his business card, scribbled his details on the back and handed it to me. I'm not usually this bold on dates and I always wait for the man to make their move. But with Owen, I felt comfortable. I leaned over and gave him a soft peck on his cheek. I thanked him again for a wonderful time...we both laughed again. I finally brought myself to turn away from him and headed towards the office. When I was in the elevator heading to my floor, I sighed happily. My head still hurt like hell. But my heart was singing love songs from every Disney Cartoon I'd ever watched. 7: The wilderness When I got home that evening, Riyana asked me a hundred and one questions about the date. I answered everyone one of them with a smile on my face. I never got bored or tired off the topic. Owen remained in my mind the entire day. When Riyana asked if I would be seeing him again, I said, "Most definitely"! She was glad. For one of course, he hadn't told her off for bringing a complete lunatic to the party, instead he was surely be thanking Riyana for bringing me now! Over the next few days I spent most of my time texting Owen on my phone, talking to Owen on all the Instant Messaging tools we had each other on and speaking to Owen on the phone as well. He had been flying in and out of town for two weeks straight. They had only seen each other once again after the first date. All the other meetings were on web cam chat. I thought it was a great idea for us to keep in touch like that. It wasn't in the traditional sense of dating, still every web cam meet felt like a real date between us. Our conversation varied from past relationships, to politics, to the financial structure

of the country to the latest movie listings and right down to who made number 1 on the billboard charts. I learned though, from his stories, that he had a rather bitter passed relationship. The girl was his college sweetheart and they were together for 8 years. I almost chocked hearing how long their relationship lasted. This worried me a little. I was obviously looking for a serious relationship that would eventually lead to marriage. If he had already been in an 8 year relationship and it ended bitterly, I wondered where he stood on the marriage question. They broke up almost 4 years ago when Bella his ex girl friend went to Paris to pursue her dream of becoming a professional photographer and launching a studio of her own. He told her he would wait for her no matter how long it took for her to come back. She said she may never come back but he still held on to what little hope he had left. 8 years was a long time to just leave it all behind and go on with life. For almost 2 years he waited until she stopped returning his calls and e-mails. It took him a long time to finally get over her and realize she was never coming back. After hearing this piece of news, it worried me even more that Owen might never see me in the same light as he saw Bella. Despite all this, I still risked it and carried on with whatever was forming between us. To me, it felt like if I gave this up because of my own insecurities, I might lose what could be the best thing to ever happen to me. So for more than one reason, I ignored Owen's passed and was determined to be his future. When Owen finally came back from all his trips and finally had time for the both of us, I was more excited than ever. Maybe we will finally have a chance to go on a first official-candle-light-dinner date. I always looked forward to that. Not that I expect my dates to wine and dine me and provide me with all kinds of luxuries. I just thought the whole 'candle-light-dinner-date' was a symbol of romanticism. As cliche as it may be, I was after all a female with all the feminine needs. To my disappointment though, when the weekend finally came, Owen called off our plans by announcing his preplanned activities with his buddies. They were going camping up the mountains for the entire weekend. As immature and I can sometimes be, I didn't argue or insist he give up his time to spend it with me. Sure, I have been waiting to see him for weeks and I'd missed him very much even though we had just met and only gone out on a couple of dates. Still I was very much looking forward to spend some alone time with him. Plus, Riyana was going to be away this weekend which gave us some privacy. Instead, I braved it out and tried my level best to understand Owen's situation. "OK, no issues then, we can always do 'candle-light-dinner' next weekend." I said to Owen when he called me to tell me his plans. "Well, actually...I can't wait till next weekend to see you. So, I was thinking, why don't you come along with the guys and me on the trip? It'll be great!" Owen suddenly suggested. I hadn't seen this coming at all. "Really? Your buddies won't groan having a skirt tag along? I'm sure they've been

planing this whole 'male-bonding' session for a while themselves." "Perhaps...but I want to spend time with you as well. You're a cool chick, my friends will love you. What do you say? Will you come?" he asked me excitedly. I was a little skeptical. "I don't know, Owen. How about, you mention that you'll be bringing me to your friends first, give me their honest opinion about it and then I'll decide to come along or not." I wasn't going to be the girl friend who ruined her boy friend's time with his friends. I really didn't want them thinking I was this clingy chick who couldn't stand being away from her boy friend. "That's it? I just have to get their permission to bring you along? Fine, consider it done. Besides, you know even if they grumble about it, I'm still going to take you along with us right?" Owen assured me. "No way, if your friends aren't agreeable to it, then I am definitely not coming. I can understand how they would want the entire trip to be just amongst yourself." I said defiantly. "OK, calm down. My friends are nothing like that. If anything...they hear a chick is coming and sleeping in the same camp site as they are, they'll be more than happy to have you around. Trust me on this." "Oh great...now I'm actually worried," I giggled. "Don't worry about anything. They won't try anything stupid if they know what's good for them. And hey, you can meet my brother!" "Oh? It's a buddy-family outing?" "Well not exactly, James is my brother and best friend. His friends are my friends, and my friends are his friends. We've all been hanging out together since we were children." I gave in, after all this meant an entire weekend with Owen and it would be nice to meet his friends and family. This was actually a pretty big deal and the fact that Owen was comfortable with me meeting people who were so close to him, made me feel more special than anything. "OK then. Just let me know the details and I'll be ready." I suddenly had excitement in my voice. "Sweet, I'll probably pick you up Friday night at 5-ish. It's about an hours drive or so, we ought to get there by sunset, which would leave us just enough time to pitch our tents." "I have to gather camping gear now," I though to myself. I've never in my life gone camping. The stuff a girl would do to impress a guy! Part of me was really excited however. In the back of my mind though a rather 'raunchy' thought kept creeping in. I would be sleeping in the same tent as Owen. This meant, sleeping with him...in a tent...alone...together...at night...and maybe even in the same sleeping bag! This truly excited me and I was looking forward to it now! 8: At the camp site

Owen was at my door step by 5pm just as he said he was going to be. He told me to be packed and ready before 5 and so I did. I was never one to delay anyone. I always was either too early, or extremely punctual. I waited for awhile sitting in my kitchen till my phone finally buzzed into action announcing a text from Owen. He said to come down in 3 minuets. I was down in two. "Wow, you look too good for someone who's going camping in the mountains." he took one look at me and whistled. I took a look down at myself and suddenly felt extremely foolish for putting on a mini skirt with a spaghetti strap top. "Do you think I should change?" "Well, I would strongly suggest it, since it's going to be dark soon and where we're going, that could be (pointing to her legs) a feast for mosquitoes. I also noticed how he couldn't stop starring at my freshly shaved legs. I truly came off as a girl who had never in her life been camping. I pondered if I should call this off and tell Owen I'll just see him next week or something. Feeling even more foolish than before, I blushed slightly. "Can you wait? I'll only be 2 minuets or less." I said to Owen. "Be as quick as you can." He replied. I thought for a second, then said "Forget it, I'll just change in the car. I brought a pair of jeans anyways." "OK then, get in if you're sure." He opened the passenger's seat door for me. I was pretty certain he wouldn't want to waste anymore time and get on the road as soon as he can. So I decided to change in the car itself. He helped me with my stuff right after I fished for the pair of jeans from my bag and loaded it into the booth. As soon as Owen got into the drivers seat he turned to look at me. And then he leaned forward and pressed his lips softly on mine. I 'smooched' him just as quickly as his lips came smacking on mine. I blushed. "Hi," he said and smiled warmly at me. My heart fluttered. I responded with a mummer myself. I quickly snapped out of it and proceeded to change into my jeans. I unbuckled the button on the top of my skirt and pulled the zipper down. Suddenly I felt self conscious. I was going to undress in front of Owen. I glanced over at him as he slowly pulled into gear and took off. He was definitely looking at me from the side of his eyes. And then I wasn't so shy anymore, instead I smiled delightfully to myself. I took my time at slowly wiggling out of my skirt. I lifted my bottom of the car seat, slipped my hands into the sides of my hips and slowly pulled the skirt down. My jeans lay on my lap while I did this. They kept sliding onto onto the floor of the car. I sighed in frustration, grabbed the pair and flung them into the back seat of the car. I took a quick glance at him and this time his head snapped back toward the road. He'd been looking at me, I knew for sure. When the skirt finally came off, I threw

them into the back seat as well. Now I sat in my seat with just a top and white cotton underwear. The sides of my hips were round and completely naked to Owen's full view. I suddenly jerked forward as Owen stepped on the accelerator and lurched the car forward driving way passed the speeding limit. "Sorry," he gasped in between breaths. I smiled coyly to herself. "That's OK," I said. Finally I got off my seat and turned toward the back My pantie clad bottom was now only inches away from Owen's arm. I brushed my hips gently against his arm and took my time grabbing the pair of jeans that were nestled at the back seat unmoved. Once I grabbed hold of the clothing, I let out a raspy gasp, "Ah...got it." I got back into the front seat, and plopped myself down. "No, peeking," I said to Owen and giggled. Knowing very well he did more than just peek all this time. I bent forward to get both legs into the material, then slowly pulled them up. Once again I lifted my bottom of the seat and pulled the jeans up securely around my waist. I buckled the top and pulled the zipper up. "All done," I grinned up at Owen. He gripped the wheel and just starred at me. I turned to look at the road and realized he'd missed the turning into the expressway. "Owen, you just missed the turning, or unless we're taking a different route to Mount Rivergreen." I mentioned. "Huh, what? Owen concentrated on the road again. Oh, shit-fuck," he cursed. There's another exit coming up, but much further. Well, crap we're going to arrive much later than the estimated time. The guys would already be there pitching their tents by the time we get there. Damnit!" he let out a loud sigh. Speaking of pitched tents though, someone sure was pitching one long before the rest of the gang. I glanced at Owen's crotch for a split second. I felt a certain power creep up inside her for that moment. I also felt a little bad, since I was definitely playing games with him moments ago which had caused him to miss the first turning. I tried to make light of the situation and started talking to take Owen's mood off the situation. "OK, tell me who your friends are and a little bit more about your brother. What are their names?" My eyes were fixed on the slight bulge in his pants. I made sure his eyes were on the road while I did this. I didn't want him catching me starring at him like that. "Oh, OK, well there's Peter, Richard, Ian and then James my brother. Peter, Richard and I went to college together and now they work with James. Ian was our neighbor back in Scarsdale, where we grew up in my dad's house. He now works for an accounting firm, and we've been friends for a little over 12 years or so. They're all genuinely good guys, well mannered, great sense of humor and pretty easy to get

along with. James however is a little different. He's usually cold, puts up this very tough exterior and isn't that friendly with anyone on the first meet. You'll need to take a bit of time to warm up to him. But, overall he's a much more patient, generous and more caring guy compared to me. He's just very careful at who he opens up to and who he is friendly with. I've only got good things to say about my brother. Did I tell you he's your age? Actually he's in advertising as well, so maybe you two might get along, at least I hope you both do. You know what, what am I saying, he'll love you...you're absolutely fantastic!" He smiled at me. Once I was sure the situation had softened and Owen no longer was agitated or annoyed that he'd taken the wrong turn, I started to relax herself. Our conversation continued with talk about work, family, friends etc. Before I knew it, we'd arrived at our destination. The two of us got out of the car, cleared out our stuff, locked the car and walked north. It was already dark by now but there were lights on the ground to help us find our path. Owen took my hands in his held them tightly and guided me up the hills. We walked for a good 25 minuets before I finally heard the sounds of a waterfall. "We're closing in to our favorite spot, only a few more meters away." He said that as if to assure me that the walk was almost over. I however was enjoying myself. I always liked out door activities even though I had never been camping and I never found any place too far to walk to. I loved walking! 5 minuets later we heard talking and then laughter. We were slowly approaching a brightly lighted area. Campfire! I got excited suddenly. As soon as we arrived at the site where the rest of the gang was at, I heard a howl No, not a grizzly bear, but a human howl. "Owen Gerald Horton. Where the fuck have you been at, man? We said to arrive at the camp site by 7pm!" The guy came forward and wrapped Owen in a massive bear hug. Owen let go of my immediately and wrapped his hands around the man as well. He was almost twice Owen's size but maybe a few inches shorter. To me though, he was huge, since I stood at a mere 5 foot 3 inches. Right behind the two hugging men were three other guys, one with a beer can in his hand, the other with a cooking pot in his and the third one squatted near the fire trying to probably make it blaze more. I stood my ground and didn't move an inch. Suddenly I felt like I didn't belong. I had a sudden urge to turn back and run towards the car and head home. "James, you ass. Owen roared referring to the man who hugged him. You're one to complain about being on time, you're never on time! How was the Bangkok trip? Did they buy the pitch? Are you in business? Sealed the deal?" I remembered Owen mentioning that James was in advertising as well at that moment.

So this is his brother James. I wondered how I didn't realize the facial similarities at the beginning. The two looked very much alike aside from the size difference. Owen was lean and and had a slim waist with a massively flat belly. He was taller too, maybe 4 - 6 inches more. Owen stood at 6' 2 and towered over me. James was big, rugged and sprouted a belly and perhaps stood at about 5' 11 or 6 even. Even though he wasn't as good looking as Owen, he had Owen's eyes, brows and crooked smile. He also looked like he needed a shave with a messy stubble growing on his face. Within moments, Owen almost forgot I was standing there as he shook hands, groped, hugged and slammed into the other guys simultaneously. I just stood there and smiled at the guys, fully amused at their behavior. Finally, it was James who had noticed me. He glanced up at me and stopped cold. His eyes were fixed onto mine and stared in stone silence for a while before he spoke. "Oh, hi." "Hi," I waved and smiled. "Oh Christ, I almost forgot. I'm so sorry!" Owen rushed to my side, took my hand again and planted a kiss on my cheek. "Guys, this is the girl I've been talking about. These are the guys." I shook hands with the first guy who addressed himself as Richard, and then Ian and Pete. "And this is my baby brother James." I raised my hands to shake his. He didn't comply. Instead his eyes were still fixed onto mine and then he commented, "You sure look like a cheerleader lost in the woods. I had no idea what that meant or whether it was an insult, but I simply responded; "Oh, sorry to disappoint, but I left my skirt in the car." I didn't even think that was funny, but the guys collapsed into laughter and taunted James on that remark. His starred after me making me feel extremely uncomfortable and then suddenly turned away and said "Anyone hungry? The beans and soup are almost done!" 9: What a disappointment After meeting the gang, I realized James had drifted off into the woods on his own. I was beginning to dislike him already. Though I quickly decided to give him a second chance. After all, what's worst than you and your boy friend's brother not getting along? I chatted with Owen's friends and quickly realized that Owen was right about them. They were a bunch of very down-to-earth and easy to get along with people. I was already having fun and was glad I came. Within a couple of hours, Owen and I had our tents up and were 'decorating' the insides. We were giggling together every 5 - 10 minuets. I was pretty sure the guys were getting annoyed with all the noise the both of us were making. We argued

about where we placed our sleeping bags and then we argued about just using one sleeping bag as we were pretty certain we wouldn't be needing the other. I slipped into a bag first to show Owen there was only place for one person in there as it was him who insisted we use one. He slipped in with me and quickly realized how tight the fit was. Well, I sure ain't complaining. He said and I burst out laughing. We stayed inside the tent and held each other for a while. Owen kissed me softly and I responded just as gently. Soon he was on top of me and we were making out like teenagers. I felt Owen's arousal pressed against my belly. I didn't want us to get into this position that soon. I thought it was rude of us to stay in the tent while the others were still outside setting up camp and talking amongst each other. Still laying inside kissing Owen's sweet soft lips was making me excited all over. I enjoyed the taste of his tongue against mine and the way he held me in his arms. 20 minuets later I broke our kiss and decided it was time to crawl out. We giggled like children and slowly came out of to join the rest of them. We had corn bread and beans for supper. It tasted awful. More bland than salted cardboard. Still, it settled a rumbling tummy. The three guys, Pete, Richard and Ian were very animated and I enjoyed talking to them. Richard was married and expecting his first child next year, Pete was single and Ian had just started seeing someone. As I slowly got to know the gang, my mind wondered again about James and where he was. I hadn't seen him since I first stepped foot onto the site with Owen. Of course this didn't seem to bother Owen much. Maybe he was used to his brother's behavior. Finally, the alcohol came out. Although I'm not much of a drinker, I didn't want to be rude tonight. So I politely accepted the brandy and had a couple of beers. I quickly found myself giggling none stop in mere minuets. Everything around me suddenly seemed so hilarious. Each time someone said the word fire, one of the guys would stand up and do the 'fire' dance. Richard's dance reminded me so much of James Belushi from the show 'According to Jim.' I laughed so hard at the guys. I was at Owen's side the entire night though enjoying his warm body next to mine. While we were all having fun, cussing and taunting each other and making fun at one another, James made an appearance a few times and then suddenly disappeared into the woods and went missing for several minuets. He'd then come back take a few sips at the alcohol leave again, only to stagger back and repeat the entire process over and over. I tried not to take much notice of him, but I couldn't help noticing how odd and different he was from Owen. As midnight slowly approached, Owen finally announced it was time for bed. He took my hand in his and staggered around. He was just as drunk as the rest of the guys. He suddenly announced to everyone that he was going into the tent with his girl friend and asked for someone to send in room service in the morning. The two of us giggled helplessly as we barely stumbled around and crawled into our tent together.

Inside, Owen sat on the ground and pulled me close to him. I pressed my soft breast against his hard chest. His eyes were fixated on mine. He slowly removed his shirt, not once leaving my gaze. I pressed myself even further towards him and felt my nipples hardening. Without touching me, he brought his head down close to mine and licked the side of my lips. He snaked his tongue into my mouth and kissed me hungrily. His hands finally closed around my shoulders and slowly crept up my neck and then into my hair. I kissed him with the same amount of force. He was on his knees facing me while I sat on the ground. His lips were still glued to mine. He snapped the hook on my bra open and I let it slip off. I still had my top on. His hands moved from my head to my sides and then crept under my shirt and cupped one hand on my right breast. He squeezed it as I moaned out. "Shhh..." he warned and then giggled against my mouth. "I don't want anyone to know what we're doing!" He continued giggling. "As if they don't already know", I said between hungry kisses and giggles. Owen's thumb ran across my already hardened nipple. He lowered his head and bit one nipple through the shirt. I groaned in ecstasy. I helped him remove my shirt and was now completely naked from waist up. He kissed the side of my neck and ran his nose up toward my ear. He gently nibbled on my ear lobe while his hands continued massaging my breasts. I ran my hands down to undo his pants. As I fumbled about I finally had them free. We both continued fumbling with our clothes until we finally managed to undress each other and threw our clothes to the other side of the tent. Owen had nothing but boxers on now. I was standing on my knees as well and rocked my hips back and forth against his hips. He groaned into my ear. I could feel him hardening against my crotch and couldn't wait any longer. I felt the warm tingling sensation in between my legs. I sighed sexily. Feeling slightly sobered, I suddenly said..."I can't believe you remembered to bring protection on a camping trip!" And then I fell back onto the ground in a fit of giggles. He starred blankly at me. I moved my foot up to his crotch and stroked his now very visible erection through his boxers.. Come on...what are you waiting for? I said coyly. When he didn't move, I sat up. "What's the matter?" I asked. He seemed more sober than me suddenly. "Uhm...I didn't exactly bring any protection with me," he said. "That's not a problem, is that?" He asked sounding almost disappointed. I moved away from him quickly and sat up straight. I suddenly felt very cold and realized just how completely naked I was. Owen noticed me shivering and handed me his sweater. I quickly put them on and tried to cover myself up as much as I could. "I've never done it without protection." I said to him. "There's a first time for everything?" He said, sounding hopeful. I shook my head. As much as I loved sex I still had rules to follow. I was a clean girl

and always played safe. I knew of course that Owen couldn't possibly carry any deceases, still I didn't want to risk unplanned pregnancies. "I'm sorry, I'd rather be safe than sorry." I chewed on my bottom lip. I couldn't bring herself to look at him anymore. I starred at the ground. He blinked a few times and giggled. He came closer to me and said, "You can't be serious?" I backed away. "I'm dead serious, Owen." He was truly taken aback now. He stood up displaying the bulge in his pants again. "Wow." was all he uttered. And then he got dressed. OK, I respect that. However, I don't think I can sleep in the same tent with you tonight. I'm afraid of what I may do in the middle of the night. Owen, that's ridiculous. We'll sleep in different sleeping bags. You don't have to leave the tent. I tried to reason with him. Yes, but I'll know you're right next to me and it'll be more painful than anything for me. What difference would it make for you, knowing that I'm in a different tent. I asked. We remained silent for a while. You can't leave me to sleep alone in this tent...please? I was close to pleading. I really did not want to sleep alone in the woods. Owen finally realized that I was his responsibility as he brought me up here and didn't want to leave me alone. He however, ordered me to put on as many layers of clothing as possible and to sleep as far away from him as possible. I complied with a smile on my face. He was truly a gentleman. Before drifting off to sleep, I thanked him for being so wonderful and said goodnight. 10: The next morning The next morning, I was awoken by sounds of birds chirping. It was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard. It felt like waking up in a fairy tale. Surprisingly enough, I didn't have a head ache or any signs of a hang over. I put my clothes on and crawled slowly out of the tent trying not to wake Owen up. I had with me a tooth brush, a towel, facial foam and a bar of soap. I listened for the soft sounds of snores coming from Owen. I was glad he was still asleep. I felt bad for stopping everything so abruptly last night. I had considered just going for it without any form of protection. But something inside me said I had better not. It must not have been so easy for him to just shut everything off and go to bed. I adored him so much for understanding. I walked toward the sound of the gushing water. I successfully found the water fall area and proceeded to wash my teeth, face and then my body. Absolutely no one was in sight. When I was done, I wiped myself dry slipped back into my clothes and made my way back to the camp site. Not wanting to risk waking Owen up again, I

simply left my items on the ground by the tent and tip toed around the site. "Morning," I jumped as I heard a voice. I looked up to see James starring at me. He may have been smiling, but I couldn't tell from the stone cold look in his eyes. I wondered what went through his head. And then I suddenly wondered if he had seen me washing up by the water fall. "Morning," I still managed and tried to make conversation. Did you sleep alright?" I asked. He didn't respond, but asked if I wanted some coffee instead. I just nodded. He grabbed a clean mug from a small box, unwrapped it and gave it to me. He then drained the steaming dark liquid from a pot that was lifted off the fire, and filled my mug up. I cupped the mug in both hands shut my eyes and breathed in the beautiful aroma of the beverage. I had been drinking coffee since I was six and grew addicted to the substance as time went on. However, I managed to kick the addiction, and could limit myself to one or two cups a day, which really was a huge improvement from my previous 6 - 8 cups a day. I sipped at it and let it settle happily into my stomach making me feel warm and fuzzy inside. "Coffee lover aren't you?" This time, James genuinely smiled. I broke into a soft giggle. "Can't live without it." "Me, too. It's my biggest weakness." He faced his back at me and took a few steps forward then gestured for me to follow him. I tagged along. Moments later he led me to what I thought was the most beautiful view I had ever seen. There displayed in front of my eyes was the view of the morning sky, crisp, dewy, blue and white at the same time with a blanket of green shrubs below. The sun was shinning magnificently and birds chirped happily like it were Christmas morning. It was breath taking. "My dad used to bring me, Owen and Ian up here when were kids. And when we grew up and moved out from home we always made it a point to come back whenever we found the time." "I can see why you guys keep coming back. It's amazing here. I mean, I slept like a baby last night. I almost forgot I was outdoors." "Yeah, we all get that feeling too." There was a moment of silence between us. Somehow it didn't feel awkward. Standing there sipping coffee and enjoying the view was enough to make any silence seem normal. This morning, James was a different person, he wasn't the same man I had met last night. He looked less threatening and his expression had softened. I decided it was a right time to get to know my boy friend's brother better. "What was it like growing up with Owen? I asked breaking the silence. As if he had heard a completely different question, James suddenly responded something else.

"We owe it all to our dad of course. He's the man behind all our successes." I decided to follow the conversation nevertheless. "What about your mom?" "Never needed her, with the way dad handled us. In fact, I was happy to go through life never knowing her." I suddenly realized I knew nothing about Owen and his family. I looked at James questioningly. He starred into space and then began to talk again. "Dad met mom while he was still in high school. She was the new kid in school. He fell head over heels for her instantly and cherished the grown she walked on. Soon after that, they started going out. He was 17 she was 16. They were inseparable. They did everything together, thought each other everything and were the best of friends. When dad graduated and went off to college, he promised my mom he'd be back to see her every chance he got and would wait for her to come join him in college the next year. He did exactly as he promised and one day when he came back to surprise her, he'd caught her in bed with another man. She had nothing to say, she didn't even apologize to him for what she did, in fact she didn't even think it was wrong. Ironically, she broke up with him, instead of him leaving her. He never saw her again after that. Three years later, through some 'luck or faith' dad would put it, he bumped into her at a bar in town. She was working there. This time she was alone and single. She somehow charmed him into bed with her and dumped him again the next week. When dad was done with college and was out building his own carpentry business she showed up at his work place announcing that she was pregnant with his child. He offered to marry her and look after her and she accepted. They lived together for 3 years until things started getting shaky between them again. Dad suspected mom was cheating on him again, although this time she really wasn't but who can blame him after the way she'd treated him before. They got into several rows, he'd get so mad he'd threaten to hit her but he never did. One day, she couldn't take all the yelling and fighting anymore, she filed for a divorce and left Owen with dad. She told him in her own words she didn't care much for him and knew she'd have a brighter future for herself without a child to block her from chasing after her dreams. Dad didn't put up a fight. He loved his son and thought Owen was the best thing to ever happen to him. He let her go. Dad's business really started flourishing soon after that. He opened up his own antique store and was making good money. Two years down the road, he was the most well known carpenter in our little town. And then mom was back again. She must have heard of his fortune and that's the only reason I would believe why she came back looking for him. She cried and pleaded for him to take her back and she promised they would live a good life and raise a family together. She said she wanted more children. With that, what more could dad do? He'd been taught to always to

forgive people for their sins and he took her back. Although they didn't re-marry they had me later that year, in November to be exact. When I turned 6, Owen was already coming close to 12. He'd seen more than I did between my parents. He witnessed the torments, the threats, the fights and all the abusing. As an older brother, he protected me in and out and not once exposed me to any of the domestic violence that were going on between our parents. Finally, my dad relented and went berserk. He couldn't take it anymore. Mom continued cheating on him and dad continued keeping one eye closed. But when she came home one day an announced that she was pregnant again and the baby was not his, dad got so mad and told her get out of his house and his life and that he never wanted to ever see her face near him or his children ever again. Out of nowhere though, she suddenly brought up a case against him and wanted to fight custody for her children. She was living with another man now. Dad went through hell. Court cases after court cases, pleas after please all kinds of legal disputes. If it were money she wanted, dad was ready to give her how ever much she demanded for. He swore on his life though that he would not let her take his children away. Finally, dad won the case fare and square. Owen and I continued living with him till the day we graduated college and moved out on our own. In fact me and Owen still live together and visit dad as often as we can." When James stopped talking, I starred at him. I couldn't quite understand why he'd shared their entire family history with me when he hardly knew me or liked me for that matter judging from the way he behaved toward me the day before. And then he continued talking. "I never knew the truth to my entire childhood, till I realize I had a grandmother in Canada. She's dad step mom whom dad never got along with because he refused to let her love him. His real mom walked out on him when he was a teenager. When my 'step-grandmother' told me the story, I demanded the truth from Owen and he told me mostly everything my grandmother left out. Since then though, our real mother has made several come backs and contact with us. I'll never find it in my heart to ever forgive her. But as for Owen, he still talks to her if she calls, and would go see her if he could. I never stopped him from doing it, but I stopped him from bringing me with him, or even trying to convince me to talk to her. I could never ever forgive and will never forget what she did to us." Silence fell between them for the longest time after that. James looked at me and smiled and I returned the smile. I patted his hand and just continued sipping on my coffee while we both starred into the morning sun. 11: It's all about protection Startled suddenly by the sound of my name, I snapped my head back to find Owen trotting towards us. I stood up and smiled in his direction. James continued looking

over the hills. He did not turn back, not once. "There you are," Owen smiled and planted a kiss on my forehead. "I wondered if you'd sneaked out at night and drove out of here!" I laughed. "I was just having some coffee, and your brother was kind enough to show me this amazing view." "It is something, isn't it?" Owen said as he glanced over the hill. We stood there for a few more minuets and stared into the sun. "Come on, I'll show you around more. The guys are going fishing too." Owen grabbed my hand and pulled me with him. "Are you coming, James?" I turned to look at him. He was still hypnotized by the scenery in front of him. He just shook his head, still not turning around. He sure is one odd ball, I said to myself and followed Owen. As soon as it hit noon, the caught fish landed into the fryer. We were back at the campsite getting lunch ready. And after that, it was time to pack up and head home. Surprisingly the food tasted good, with nothing but salt and pepper. Soon after that we got our gear together and were ready to leave the site James was still not in sight. I wondered why I kept thinking about him and his whereabouts. I was half worried he'd jump off the cliff for some reason. Just as we were about to walk down to our cars, he appeared out of nowhere, grabbed his knapsack, threw a couple of stuff inside, and followed us. I caught myself looking at him a few times, starring, trying to read him, wondering what went through his mind. Something about him intrigued me. Was it his stony expression? The weird mood swings? The cold shoulder? I could not tell. He was a mystery in a way. The journey back was peaceful and much faster. It's almost always like that. Heading back home, is always faster than getting to a certain place for the first time. Some people believed in an old folk about how when you head to a new area, one you've never been to before, it takes longer to get there but the journey back is usually quicker even though it's the same distance. It's because the creatures or the beings out there want to get to know you before you step into their territory. They want to get a sniff of what's invading their area, and whether you bring harm or not. However when you're heading back, they leave you alone since they've already gotten their sniffs at you when you first came. It's a little tale that's been told from time to time, which may or may not be true. Owen and I remained silent in the car. We took turns to drive as well, not wanting to tire us both out. I was going back to work the next day and he had a plane to catch for a business trip. The plan was for him to spend the night at my place since Riyana was away for the weekend. I wondered if we would continue from where we stopped last night.

We got back to my apartment complex by 6:30pm. I unloaded the car, grabbed my stuff and headed up. Owen was right behind me. We walked into the elevator in silence, and then to my apartment door. I turned opened the lock and walked in. He came in with me, helped me settle my stuff on the floor and stood there waiting for me to say something. And when I remained silent, he clapped his hands together and said; "Well, I guess I'll be on my way then," and smiled at me. His eyes were filled with hope and questions. He waited for me to stop him and ask him something. And so I did. "You're not staying over then?" I asked. "Oh...well, if I did, and if you wanted me to, well I suppose...I mean I guess I should head out to the drug store?" I knew exactly what was going on in his mind. Both me and him wanted to take off from last night. We both also knew that nothing was going to happen unless Owen had protection. But it was getting late and we were both pretty tired. All I wanted to do right now was take a warm bath and crawl into bed with a nice book and fall asleep. I had a good nights sleep last night sure, but I was thankful to be back in my bed room and on my comfortable bed tonight. I knew Owen was just as tired and he had a trip to go on tomorrow. He'd need as much sleep as possible to be geared up for it. I bit my bottom lip and starred at the ground. What if you didn't need to go to the drug store? I said. His eyes lit up. But before he could react, I continued. "We could just go to bed instead? He looked at me for a few seconds, I was pretty sure I heard a disappointing sigh. I'm not sure why I was avoiding this. So many things were suddenly playing in my head. And then Owen said; "OK, look I'm going to be completely honest with you. I've not been to bed with someone in a long time, and last night almost killed me. I don't think I can trust myself at all to spend the night here with you...I want to put this in the politest way possible, but I can't get anything more than "without boning you" in my head..." he looked at me with one eye squinted. I laughed. I don't know why. But I laughed. I really should have been offended, but instead I laughed. It was funny. And he giggled nervously as well. And then he began to talk again. "Unless, you're tired...which I am too, but I could still...well go for it, but that of course will require me to go to the store...or maybe you might happen to have some here with you?" He looked at me with hopeful eyes.

I shook my head, still in smiles so he continued, "...and I really am a little too exhausted to go to the store right now, so here's what I suggest, we can always do this another time, but I can't stay here tonight that's for sure, I'm terribly sorry." Now he looked guilty. Like a school boy who'd dipped a little girl's hair in the ink pot. And then he began to talk again since I remained silent. "Please don't think of me as a huge ass pervert, I'm just being completely honest with you, I think you deserve that." When I said nothing back, he went on some more. "OK, so maybe I'll sleep on the couch if I spend the night, and you'll need to lock your room door. And..." I cut him off. I was going to burst into hysterical giggles if he didn't stop. "Owen, hush. OK, I get it. And I should give you props for being so honest. You're right, we can do this another time. Any time this week perhaps, or this coming weekend. No problem. But yeah, probably not tonight. I'm pretty beat myself and I'm sorry too." He took a few steps towards me. I wondered how turned on he was right now. He put his hands together and then said, "OK, next weekend then. I should be back from New York by Saturday or perhaps earlier. I'll call you. "Oh..." I bit my bottom lip again. Again I contemplated going on with it without protection, maybe it was a safe time for me? I thought. I was really tired. Then again, you usually slept better after a good orgasm. Part of me was getting pretty hot and bothered seeing him standing there, his hair in a slight mess, his large palms coming together every time he swung his arms around. All I could think of right now were those big palms around both my breast. But, I still couldn't do it either. And for the life of me I couldn't find a reason why, aside from the fact that we had no protection. If it didn't happen today, I would have to wait for another week. Somewhere in my head, I thought that wasn't that bad an idea. "OK, next weekend then. It's a date. I'm going to soak myself in some bath salts and wash all this grime off me, then settle in bed and maybe watch some TV or read my book." I said to him. "OK, maybe when I get home you could tell me how that bath went, eh?" He grinned. I laughed again and moved in to hug him. He squeezed me tight and I'm pretty sure I felt his arousal against my stomach again. Jesus how horny was this guy I wondered! "Well alright then, I'm going to get home...and think of you in the bath tub...I mean take a bath myself and maybe have a beer by the balcony." He ran his fingers through his hair. He looked pretty hot right now. I could jump him right if I wanted to but I didn't want

to. I was a confused mess. Owen walked towards the door, turned the knob open and headed out. I followed him and held the door. He turned around again, I tip toed for a kiss and he planted a light one against my lips. "Sleep well OK?" He said, "I will, you too." I smiled. And then he left. He didn't look back, and I was thankful he didn't or I might have changed my mind. I closed the door and pressed my back against the door and sighed. "What is wrong with me? I said out loud. 12: Monday morning...new projects...not so new faces Before I knew it, Monday morning crept in. I dragged myself out of bed, dragged myself into the shower and dragged myself to work. I'm usually not this unenthusiastic about work. I love my job and I look forward to going to work everyday. Maybe I'm just tired today and suddenly the entire weekends events just came thundering back into my head. I thought about Owen and wondered if he got back home save and if he had a good night sleep. While I was on my way to work, I got my answer. He called while I was driving. I answered on the third ring. "Hey you, good morning!" I tried to sound as chirpy as possible despite the draggy mood I was in. "Hello, beautiful, how's your morning been so far?" "Not bad at all, I'm a little tired, but looking forward to work again. Are you ready for your flight?" "Yea, it leaves at 11am. Which is why I'm calling now, in case I don't find time later." "Aw, how thoughtful of you." "So..." And there was an awkward silence between us, before I spoke again. "I liked your friends, they were pretty nice to me. And I think your brother James was too, but it was hot and cold with him, so I'm a little confused. But he seems like a nice guy too." "Oh, yeah. Don't be bothered much by James. He tends to get like that. But he means no harm of course. He can just be a little distant." Hm. I nodded as if Owen could see me. So did you sleep alright last night? I asked. Uh, yea I guess. He said and then fell silent. I'm in the car driving to work now, I'm not sure why I said that, but I was dying to make conversation suddenly. Yea? Should I hang up? I can call you later. Owen offered. No, no it's fine...I'm just saying I'm on my way to work that's all. I smiled to myself, still thinking Owen could see it. And then I started talking about James again. Oh, I thought it was really sweet of James to show me that view yesterday. At first, when I met him I wondered if he liked me or not, but then we got to talking and I think we bonded just a little bit on that hill top.

"You know, don't mind James. That's exactly what he's like. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll see more of him. I mean, we live together. Plus, I'm pretty sure you'll be making trips to our apartment. Maybe even spending nights?" He chuckled. I gave him a short laugh in response. "Well, OK. I'm going to let you go now. I'll call you when I land in New York, babe" Owen finally said. "OK, have a save trip." It was all I could find in my head to say to him. I could have said more, but I didn't know what to say. He hung up before another momentary silence. Then he said, "Bye," and click. For a split second, my mind wondered. Did we suddenly drift apart because of what took place during the weekend? I searched for the attraction I felt for Owen the night I met him. I searched again for the excitement that flamed up in me when Riyana told me he was interested in me. For some reason, all that seem to have faded away. It was as if since we missed the opportunity for sex last night, we seemed to have lost that certain connection that we shared. I thought how ridiculous all this had sounded and quickly brushed away the doubts I had in my mind. Dunstan the new guy was already at his place, taping away at his key board when I arrived at work. I wondered what he was so busy with at 8:45 in the morning. "Morning," I said to him. "Oh hey!" He quickly closed the window on the computer. "So how'd your weekend go?" "It was...nice. I went camping!" "Really...wow. First time eh?" I laughed, "How in the world did you know that?!" I asked him surprised. "You were a little too excited about camping compared to how a seasoned camper would sound." He smirked. "Is Conrad already in?" I asked, while taking a few glimpses into our bosses office. "I think so, not entirely sure though." I had spoken way too soon. Conrad walked out of his office and faced me. My boss is a very good looking man. He stood at 6'2", was lean, had a great tan with short cropped hair, dark brows and green eyes along with a dashing smile. Plus he was only 35. Such a great catch, but still single. I always wondered why. "Good, you're here. Can I see you in my office for a sec?" He said to me. "Yup, be there in a sec." I dropped my stuff at my work station and strolled into Conrad's office. I walked in and closed the door behind me. "Morning, boss. What's new?" I had an incredibly good relationship with my boss. We got along great, and I loved working for him. We were more than just boss and employer, we were friends. Conrad's one of those bosses who tries to be your friend instead of your superior but still gains your respect despite his soft nature. He knew when to play around and we knew

when he was serious. I couldn't ask for a more perfect boss. Even before I could take a sit, Conrad had started talking. "We're joining forces with another company this week called "Glitz Advertising." They're going to help us out with a campaign for Adult Swim. There's a new slot at night with a new program coming on. They want us to create a teaser, well actually 3 different rotating teasers, and then a scheduled advertisement before the show goes on live. We're going to place one in the TV guide this month and the rest will go on screen. As usual, your team will work on the creative side. Maybe you can combine both print and visual as one. I want it to be sent to production in the next week or so. We haven't really got much time. Glitz is going to be assisting us and we'll need to work together with their manager. I can't get his name right now, but he should be here with his team in a bit." "OK, sounds like a huge but exciting project. No problem. I'll gear the team up." "Great. I can always count on you. Also, try and work together with Glitz, I've hired them because I know we need extra help on this project and they're pretty well known. So, let's not have too many conflicting ideas and well, I know how egoistic we can get. Accept new ideas, share opinions. Make peace OK? he winked at me. "OK, you got it. Will the new guy be working on this as well?" "What new guy?" Conrad looked puzzled. It was always my duty to keep Conrad up to par on all the new stuff that was happening in the office. He so often forgot a lot of things with his busy schedule. "Uhm, the dude who sits opposite me? Dunstan?" "Oh, him! Yes, definitely. Let me get a list of you who'll be in the project. There's you, Dunstan, Roger, Claire and Holly, is that right?" "Yup, sounds about right. How many people from the other team?" "About four of them I reckon. I swear I have their names somewhere around here. I'll mail them to you as soon as I find them, thanks for your time." "OK, excellent." "Hey, we'll do lunch today OK? Catch up and stuff." "Sounds great!" I walked back to my work station and immediately drafted out an e-mail to my team about our new project and hit send. "Hey..." Someone stood behind me. I couldn't see his face, as he slipped a sling bag of his shoulders. When the bag came down and his face was fully visible to my view, I gasped a little. "H..ey...What...what're you doing here?" I slowly said. "I'm supposed to be working with you guys for the next couple of weeks. I brought my team. Didn't know you worked here, what a coincidence eh?" Conrad walked out of his office that instant and came down the stairs. "Ah, James. Good to see you again. I see you've got your team all ready to go."

The two shook hands. I stood inches away from them, still stunt. "Come, let me introduce you to the team you'll be working with. This is..." He shook my hand. "Yeah, we've met. She's dating my brother." He winked and grinned at Conrad. "Oh, you're seeing someone now? When did this happen?" Conrad grinned down at me. I stood motionless still staring at James. As Conrad brought James around the office. I slowly sat back into my chair. I could hardly believe it. I'll be working with James on this new project. Coincidence? I don't know. I find it a little creepy and somewhat exciting. We gathered into the board room half an hour later. James introduced his team around, we all got acquainted and settled down. Within seconds, James had taken control of the entire team. Not just his, but mine included. Surprisingly, I did not take offense to this. In fact, I couldn't stop thinking of how professional and organized he was. It really was quite admirable. We spent the entire morning going through proposals, early ideas, drafts and a few attempted sketches. My mind was filled with work all of a sudden, I had no space in it to think about anything else. 13: The Nerve By the time the clock hit 3pm, I had strained my eyes, my neck, my shoulders and my wrists. We had been working non stop since we started on this project at 9:30am. My stomach made a deep frightening rumble. I hadn't had anything to eat the entire day. I usually have breakfast as I believe it's the most important meal of the day, but I skipped it today because of all the events that took place during the weekend and when I woke up this morning, I could not stomach any kind of food at all. Seconds later sounds of people groaning and grunting pierced through the silence. "OK, I think we can take a break now. It's almost lunch time." James suddenly stood up and announced. "What do you mean almost lunch time, it's way passed lunch time," I surprised myself the words suddenly and automatically came out of my mouth. I sure sounded annoyed. His green eyes pierced right into mine. My stomach did a twist accompanied by another loud rumble. "Well, what are we waiting for then, let's go for lunch." James simply said. We slowly emptied the conference room. I walked to my cubicle, sat down and went through my e-mails. Dunstan hovered over at my area for a few seconds before asking me if I wanted to grab some food. I immediately agreed, since I could literally eat a horse right now. "Let's drive out to McDonalds. Seriously, I could gobble down on two quarter

pounders right away." I said rushing out of the office door. Dunstan laughed and walked with me. From the corner of my eye I caught James at one of the cubicles. Conrad had probably provided them all with temporary places. He was flipping through some papers, clicking at his computer, looking very serious. "Just a sec, k. I'll meet you by the elevator." I said to Dunstan. "OK," Dunstan walked out. "Hey," I walked up to James. "Yea?" He said back to me without even looking up. "Aren't you going for lunch?" I asked. "Not hungry." he answered shortly. His short snippy responds were starting to annoy me. I persisted. "Well Dunstan and I are going to McDonalds, would you like me to get you anything?" "Who's Dunstan?" He asked. I was a little puzzled. "Uh, he works with us. You just met him this morning." "Oh, yeah nah. I'm really not that hungry. Just make sure you're back in an hour, we still have a lot of drafts to work on." I said a soft "Whatever" and walked in a huff even more annoyed. What is with the attitude, I thought to myself. I made a mental note to tell Owen his brother really was one weird S.O.B. Dunstan and I drove to McDonalds and stuffed our faces silly. When we got back, everyone was already back in the conference room except our people. Our people meaning, my colleagues. And "everyone" meaning, his team. 'James' team.' What the hell is wrong with these people? They work like robots. Before I could even think of more things to say about them, we were rushed back into the room and were back at drowning ourselves into work. At this rate, I'm pretty sure we'd be done with this project in a week! My phone rang at about 4:45pm. I answered within the third ring. It was Riyana. "Hey, I just got home. Are you at work?" she asked. "Hey, welcome back. Yea, I'm work. A little busier than usual today. Where are you?" "I'm back home, chilling. I just took one of the longest bath I've had in quite awhile. By the way, thanks for allowing me to use your bubble bath." She giggled. "Anyways, screw that all, how'd your camping date go? Did you two do it amongst the wilderness, just like they do it on the discovery channel?" Riyana broke into heaps of giggles.

"Hah hah, funny. And no, we didn't. Long story, I'll have to tell you when I get back." I interrupted her. I heard someone make a sound in the office. "AHEM!" I looked up to see James giving me a look. "Take the call outside, or hang up, we're in the middle of something." He said authoritatively. Seriously, who made him head of this project, or boss? He might be boss of his team, but he is in our office, he can't act like that. I was furious. I turned my chair around, ignored him and continued talking. I kept my voice down though. "Tell you what, let's have dinner tonight, I'll bring home something and I'll tell you all about my disappointing weekend. Also, did you know he was going to be out of town..." Something hit my back. I turned around to see a pencil roll to the floor. "Haven't I made myself clear?" James had thrown a pencil at me! The nerve! "Riyana, I'll call you back." I said out loudly and hung up the phone. I stood up and glared at him. He didn't look back at me. Instead he carried on with work, and started talking to the person next to him. My face was red with not just anger, but mostly embarrassment. I took my seat again and slammed a few things here and there to let out my frustration. What a moron, I thought in my head. When 6 o'clock finally came, I stood up and walked out of the room. I wasn't bothered to announce that I was leaving, I just walked out. We were supposed to be done with work by 5 anyways. He'd made us stay an hour longer. It's not that I'm not used to staying after hours at work. I do it all the time. At times I only leave at 9pm or so. But James' bossy attitude was starting to piss me off. As soon as I walked out, the rest of my team walked out as well. I heard James voice faintly announcing it was time to pack up and leave and something about, "bright and early the next day." I really had to talk to Conrad about this. Was I being a little baby about the situation? Did we really have a situation? I was little confused right now. I got back to my seat. Checked my e-mails again, responded to the urgent ones and archived the rest. As I was about to leave my chair, a shadow stood over me. "So, nice work today." James was smiling down at me. I felt like punching him. Instead, I handed him a pencil and said, "You too, thought you might need a new one since yours got magically thrown across the table," and I walked passed him. He ran after me. I walked faster. I reached the elevator and slammed on the button a few hundred times. James managed to catch up with me. As the doors opened I walked in with him close behind me. I stood by the corner fidgeting with my cell

phone. I could feel his eyes on me. I didn't want to look up at all. As the doors opened at the lobby, I took quick steps out to the basement where my car was parked. Before I could reach the exit door, James called out to me. "Hey, what is your rush?" He grabbed my elbow gently before I could escape through the door. His touch was soft and gentle. I just had to stop and turn to look at him. I looked up at him and softened. "I have dinner plans with my room mate, and I'm already late." I said quickly. He ran his hands through his tussled dark hair. He let out a loud sigh. Was he going to apologize, I wondered. His fingers came to the door and drummed against it. I stood there with him towering over me. We were so close to each other, I could feel his warm breath against the nape of my neck. If I moved any closer, my back would crash into his chest. I just stood there. He sighed another loud sigh, and then began talking again. "I'm not sure how I should say or ask this, but do you think you could give me a ride back home? My car's actually with the mechanics, apparently something got into the tires and the pistons have gone flat...blah blah blah he continued talking. I completely blocked him out the second I heard, "...give me a ride back home." He could not be serious! THE NERVE of this man! 14: Coma White I turned around and headed towards my car. I was just about ready to get in and run him down. Did he not hear that I was already running late to meet Riyana? And then I thought to myself again. What if I denied him a ride, and he told Owen about it? I mean, they were pretty close, and one brother's words could mean a lot to the other. One brother's opinion on a girl friend could mean an end of a relationship. I shook my head turned around and asked him him, "Where do you live?" "You don't know where Owen lives?" he teased me. Right, they lived together. I almost forgot. That's way out of my direction. I tried to reason with him. "Oh, of course I do. I'm in Roanoke, though. It's really a little too far out of my way. Maybe I could drop you off some place close?" "Yeah, thing is...it's late, and it's really difficult to get cabs around here at this hour. Plus, you know when I heard I was going to be stationed here for a week, Owen immediately said you that you worked here too. Honestly, I was a little relieved, because when my car couldn't start this morning, I was certain you'd be able to help out." Reverse psychology! He was playing some sort of game. I invented this game! Did he say Owen knew we were going to be working together? "Wait, Owen knew you were going to work with me? Why didn't he tell me this?" I

demanded. I unlocked my car and he was already getting into the passenger's seat. My eyes opened wide. He didn't seem to notice nor did he care. He just assumed I was going to drive him home. My head was about to explode. "Oh, well he only found out last night. Actually, we both only found out last night." I got into the car and started the engine. There was no backing out of this now. I fished for my phone to text Riyana. "But I spoke to him this morning!" I said before scrolling to 'Messages.' "Maybe he wanted it to be a surprise, I don't know," he shrugged and grinned widely. I pulled out of the parking lot. James started talking again. "So where are you meeting your room mate for dinner?" He asked. "I was supposed to bring something back." I responded. "Well, there's this place near our complex that has great Mexican food. Pretty affordable too. If you want to just grab something from there, I would highly recommend it." I thought for a few seconds, and then decided against it since I'd already text Riyana and canceled our dinner plans. Plus, I was a little furious that I was driving James all the way to his door step, and then driving myself the other way across town back to my place. Of course, I'd be scoring points with Owen now. but I was still mad! James just went on talking. What had come over him? Yesterday he was as cold as ice. "You know, I think you've got a pretty amazing team. He started. team is amazing. They're attentive, hard working, cooperative and they've got brilliant ideas. I mean, I've never seen so much ideas thrown in on a brain storm activity. It's usually pretty laid back at my office. But with today's crowd, I was geared up myself. I felt like I'd be dragging you guys backward if my team worked according to our speed. I was a little blown away, I have to say." Huh? Wasn't it his team who were working like robots? Did I just imagine it all? Was he playing his little mind games again, knowing very well that I was at the verge of kicking him out of my moving car? He kept on talking. This was entire new James. The guy has split personality, I swear! "I know you kind of lead them, maybe that's what's different from our leadership. There's no female input. Sure we have one female in the team, but she might as well be a man. Did you notice the hair line on her lip?" and then he laughed, We've all made so many jokes about it, of course never directly at her." And then he switched topics again. "I think with someone intelligent, funny and cooperative as you, is what

the result of your team is. I truly am impressed." I was speechless. I was taken aback. I was flattered, truly flattered. All my anger suddenly vanished. "I've got a pretty cool team. Anything goes with them, and Dunstan the new guy, is showing amazing potential. After all he's only been with us for 2, 3 weeks tops." "Yea, that could be it too. But the way a team perform always reflects at their leader. And I think you're a great leader." "Well, thanks." I smiled. I suddenly heard "Coma White" being played. It was one of my favorite Manson songs. James shifted in his seat, slipped his hands into his pocket and pulled out his cell. He head banged to the tune for a while before answering it. Owen's phone played the Blue Danube Waltz. "Oh hey...no it's alright. He spoke through the phone. Someone from work is giving me a ride. Yea? So what...I just saw you last night! I told you, my car...yeah lunch tomorrow, I don't know maybe. Look, got to go, I'll call you later maybe...yea OK, OK. Oh god, sure." And then he hung up and got back into instant chatter with me. It was like he has ADD or was a schizophrenic. "Have you seen "The Shinning," it's got to be one of my most favorite horror movies ever." My eyes lit up. "Oh god, are you kidding, Jack Nicholson, is amazing. I exclaimed. "Yeah, tell me about it." Coma White played again. "Jesus. Sorry, one sec." he fished for his phone again. "What?" He answered the phone irritatedly. "No, I'm not hungry, I'll eat at home. Yea, sure. I don't think so, I'm tired, I just finished with work. Gloria...no. Look...yeah, OK, I'm sorry. Bye." He hung up and then suddenly went silent. This made me incredibly uncomfortable. I didn't know to ask if that was a girl friend, a friend or not talk about it at all. The silence however was getting extremely uncomfortable. Suddenly I found myself lost. "Uhm, James...I think I took a wrong turn somewhere, heh heh heh." I laughed nervously. "He sat up and looked into the front. "Nah, you're OK. Just take a left here, and then head towards the flyover, there's a U-turn at the bottom, just keep to the left there, and then swing at the U, and keep to your right again."

"Wow...that is a long turn. You know I never get lost, I mean I've got a pretty great sense of direction. It's got to be you sitting in my car that does this to me." I tried to joke. "Are you trying to say that I am such a distraction, that it makes you get lost?" "Ugh, I don't think so. I started laughing. "So you mentioned a room mate, is she as hot as you?" James suddenly asked. Like, whoa. What the hell. I laughed again. "Wow, wait till I tell Owen that." "Go ahead, he'd never believe I said that, or he might say, "So did you find out, is her roommate hot?" I laughed out loud. I don't think so. Riyana works with Owen." "Oh right, I completely forgot that part. I've met her. She's alright. Actually, pretty cute." "When have you guys met?" I asked and wondered why Riyana never mentioned James. "Well, pretty vaguely actually, when I've stopped by at Owen's office, and maybe we bumped into each other at one time, I really can't remember. But I know we've definitely on a few occasions met." "Yeah, that reminds me, how come I didn't see you at Owen's party the other night?" I suddenly remembered the party. "The night you fainted?" he chuckled. "You were there?!" I gasped. He laughed, "No, I was in Bangkok and then went home to see my dad to help him with some shipping, I think I told you he's got an antique shop? They were shipping in some new wood. Anyways, when I got back, Owen told me everything. And he couldn't stop talking about you since." "Wow, really? I'm very flattered." "Yeah, you really should be. Since his last girl friend, Bella, he's not dated or shown any genuine interest in any girl." "I think I'm going to melt now." I laughed. "So wait, does Owen tell you everything that goes on with him?" I suddenly asked curious to know if he mentioned whatever happened between us during the weekend to James. "Pretty much, we're very close." James said calmly. "So you mean, EVERYTHING?" I stressed the word 'everything'. "Yes, EVERYTHING," James stressed it back. He was looking at me from the corner of his eye. I knew he was thinking about the night at the campsite, with me and Owen under the tent, and then again the next night, when Owen had probably came home unexpectedly early. James let out a soft chuckle. I let out a nervous giggle.

"Oh, don't worry. We don't have to talk about it...not if you don't want to." I starred at him. "What, I'm kidding!" James yelled out playfully. I quickly changed the subject. "So you're a Manson fan?" "Eh, he's alright, but I listen to a lot of shit. Although, you'll never in this life hear my phone play a waltz tune." We both burst into laughter. I reached Owen's place 10 minuets later. James got out and hunched forward, poking his head through the window. "So you sure you don't want to pick up some dinner for you and your room mate? I could walk you to the restaurant and then back to your car." "I don't know, it's pretty late really and I've already texted her saying I won't be bringing dinner back." "Well, alright. I'm really sorry, though." He sounded genuinely guilty. "I guess I could have probably waited a little while and had my girl friend pick me up, but I made you send me back, it's just that...I though we hit it off pretty bad at the office and I wanted sometime to redeem myself with you. I mean, my brother adores you, and don't get me wrong, you've got my full respect and approval of you. And I would hate if we got off at the wrong foot. So...yeah I hope you understand. I'll make it up to you for the ride, take you out to McDonalds tomorrow?" He grinned. I laughed. "I've got your approval huh? I asked. James nodded, Yea, you're alright. he grinned. Well I was pretty pissed mad at first, and I would have driven you into a tree, but hey...if you hadn't said what you just did, I wouldn't have changed my mind about you." I joked. "Cool and thanks for the ride again, I'll see you in the morning then." "Yea, bright and early, right." I copied his tone. "Never any other way," he winked and walked away. 15: The Japanese have 'Tempayaki' When I got home that night, Riyana was in the living room flipping channels on the remote. Hey have you had dinner? I asked her guiltily. She turned around and looked at me and then stuck her tongue out at me. I laughed. Riyana can be so childish at times. She was a couple of years younger, but still she was in her late 20's as well! I'm sorry I had to cancel, I have a really good excuse though. Do you want to hear it? She swung her legs of the sofa and then looked at me again and finally spoke. OK, but if it's not a good enough excuse, I'm going to remain mad. Deal. I said and sat on the couch. You know Owen has a brother right? Yea, James. Did you meet him over the weekend? Riyana asked back.

I nodded, Yea we met... and then I paused. And he's also working with me for the next couple of weeks. I waited for a reaction from Riyana before I continued speaking. She remained quiet for awhile and then turned to face me. OK, this sounds like it might be a pretty good excuse. Wow, so your boy friend's brother is working with you. How awkward is that? Do you two get along? I don't know actually. I mean, yea at first I thought it was pretty awkward and when I met him over the weekend, he was very weird, one minuet he was nice, the next he was very cold. I replied to Riyana. ...and at the office today, I was so shocked to see him standing in front of me in the morning. We got off on the wrong foot at first, but when I gave him a ride back just now, I think we sort of bonded and maybe made friends. Yea? That's pretty cool! Oh yea, James is kind of like that. Riyana said simply, as if she knew him in and out. ...I've met him a couple of times, but I think he's really cool. He's a lot more laid back than Owen. Owen has all this rules and he plans things out, he's never spontaneous or adventurous. James on the other hand is kinda wild and does things on an impulse. Well, at least that's what I got when I met him. I can't say I know him that well, but from what I have seen and heard that's the kind of vibe I get from James. So hang on, you gave James a ride home just now? Riyana continued. I nodded. Huh...doesn't he live with Owen? Which means it's all the way on the other side of town? she asked. Oh yea, I replied. Which is why I tried to reason with him, saying I had plans with my roommate and perhaps I could drop him off somewhere closer. And then he played this whole reverse psychology games with me, something about him knowing that I would be able to help him out when he found out we were going to work together. So I ended up driving him back and in a way I guess I was glad I did it. For one, Owen's going to definitely appreciate it and two, at least I don't dislike James anymore. He is kind of cool and weird all at the same time. I starred off into a distance. Suddenly I heard Riyana's voice again, Well, alright. I forgive you this time! And now, I'm going to go to bed hungry, but that's OK, hopefully I'll dream off food and be full by that. she teased me. Oh, come on! You ate didn't you? Hey, it's me who hasn't eaten anything since lunch! I yelled as Riyana walked out of the living room heading toward her bedroom. There's left over mac and cheese with broccoli in the microwave if you want. she winked at me before saying 'good night' and disappearing into her room. I walked into the kitchen and helped myself to the food and then headed to my room, took a shower and trotted off to bed. I woke up the next morning feeling so confused. My dreams were filled with conversations with both Owen and James together. Sometimes Owen's head was on

James' body and sometimes my head was on Owen's body. I was between them talking to the both of them at the same time, both yearning for my attention. I woke up with a mild head ache. It was all so extremely odd. I also had a disturbing thought at the back of my head, but I couldn't quite pick out what it was. And for some reason I was really looking forward to work this morning. Something changed between yesterday and today. It wasn't just that we were making great progress on our current project, but I think I might have made a new friend too. I had one of those feelings like I did when I was back at school, when a new kid joined our class, and we instantly clicked and became friends. Today, I was eagerly waiting to get to the office because I was looking forward to hanging out with my new friend. The weird feeling I had kept gnawing in me still. Unconsciously I found myself taking time to dress for work today. I was picking out my best outfit, putting on more make-up than usual, and fixing my hair up differently. When I was fully satisfied with the way I looked, I felt slightly sick in the stomach. I suddenly tore everything off, washed my face and quickly threw on a collared blouse, a pleated skirt, tied my hair into a pony tail and slapped myself twice. Something was not right. What was I doing? I was suddenly dressing up for work this morning to impress someone. But why? And who? What was going on with me this morning? I quickly got my things, grabbed my keys and was out the door in a huff. I was going to be late. My mind was a complete mess of confusion as I drove to work. When I got to work, none of my team mates were around. I walked into the conference room and there they were. I pushed open the door and quickly apologized to everyone. I looked up and saw James standing by the white board. He looked straight at me and gave me the warmest smile. I smiled back and took a seat. There were donuts on the table and coffee from Starbucks. The atmosphere felt a lot more laid back today than it was yesterday. And then James spoke. "I think you ought to take the lead today," he gestured at me. "Oh, alright." I nodded. I got myself organized, walked up to the front and passed around empty A4 papers. James stood next to me. I could smell the soft but exotic aroma of his aftershave. It actually was beginning to make my knees weak. I finally found my voice. "OK, since we've already done drafts, layouts and blurbs, I thought today we'd start on visuals and creative. When we're done with this I suppose we can attempt to start the graphics. We only have dream weaver installed in the computers here, so I hope everyone can make do with what is there..." Work began and in no time it felt like another typical Tuesday morning in the office.

By the time the clock hit 1pm, I was starving yet again. I dismissed the team for lunch. I didn't want to let them out late again and have everyone so worked out like the previous day. I walked up to my cubicle as soon as I left the conference room and turned the computer on. As I waited for it to start up, I caught a glimpse of James walking towards me. My heart started pounding. I frowned to myself. I didn't really want to talk to him suddenly. This morning I was looking forward to see him again and now I'm trying to avoid him? I desperately looked for something to keep me occupied. Just as I pulled my cell phone out, Conrad came up to me and said; "Hey, sorry about yesterday I got caught up with work. I am however free for lunch today, are you good?" "YES!" I said almost blowing Conrad's ear drums off. "GREAT," he said back with equal amount of enthusiasm, "Where shall we go?" And before I could respond, James had already made his way to my cubicle. "So what are you folks doing for lunch? I'm starving!" He announced. Conrad seemed to be thrilled at an idea that suddenly popped up in his head. "Why don't you get your troops? We'll go together, it'll be on us." He winked at James. "Sounds like a plan, you're coming too aren't you?" James referred to me. I turned my seat towards the computer again and responded with my back facing him. "Yeah, OK...I'll get the rest of my team too, just let me know where we're going." Conrad walked away leaving James next to me. James grabbed the seat next to me sat down and stretched himself on it with his hands behind his head. "So, what do you feel like having?" When I didn't answer he sat up and crouched forward. "Hey, are you alright? You look a little...I don't know tensed?" It took me a while to respond to him. I finally turned towards him and said, "Maybe a little. I didn't have enough sleep last night, that's all. What do you say to Tempayaki?" "Sounds good to me. Let's go!" with that he stood up and walked away. When I went to suggest lunch to the rest of the gang, everyone had already gone their way except Dunstan. I groaned unsatisfactorily. So it's going to be just the four of us. I suddenly wished for some female companion. That's it! I dialed Riyana's number. Before she could even say hello, I quickly blurted out; Rye, listen you have to come to lunch with me. I'm stuck with 3 guys and one of them is James. What will we talk about?! Please, please, please...I am begging. You know what! You owe me for dragging me to that party of yours! I finally gave Riyana a chance to talk. You mean the party where I helped you find a boy friend? she said smugly. I giggled nervously, Uh, yea that party. Come to lunch! I insisted.

OK, OK! Where are you guys headed? Like I need that much convincing. I laughed again. "Can you get here in 20 minuets or so? We're going to that Japanese restaurant nearby where they have Tempayaki. Can you make it, can you make it?" I annoyed her. "Yes! Oh my god...I'm already getting out of my chair. I'll meet you guys there, OK!" "I love you, you're the best! See you soon." "Hey! You still owe me dinner! Riyana screamed before I hung up. Alright, tonight...I'll bring home dinner like I promised yesterday. Hey, wait a sec, I can just buy you lunch right now? I suggested. What? You're buying me lunch and dinner? Oh how generous of you! I accept graciously of course! and with that she hung up. I shut my phone and laughed to myself. At least I wouldn't be the only girl at lunch. As soon as we reached the restaurant, Riyana walked in right behind us. I hadn't told anyone she was coming. I didn't think they'd mind. I gave her a tight hug as soon as I spotted her. "Hey, I'm so glad you're here." "You're buying me lunch, why wouldn't I come?" Riyana winked and smacked me on my bottom. I jumped and caught my colleagues starring at me. "Quit it!" I warned her playfully. Riyana was one crazy girl. She was the only person I knew who could easily let her hair down and go nuts when the time called for it, but get very serious when the situation was otherwise. I don't know how I would go through life without her sometimes. I introduced Riyana to my crowd. "Oh, so this is the hot roommate." James grinned at her. "Like you and I have never met," she replied to James. She shook everyone's hands and then while shaking Dunstan's hand she said; "Actually, I've only never met you, you must be new. She had met Conrad on a few occasions, and he'd come by to the apartment a couple of times too. Dunstan introduced himself and I could see was immediately smitten by her. We took our seats, made our orders and got into instant chatter amongst ourselves forgetting work for a moment. I found myself sitting right next to James leaving Riyana on the other end of the table. So much for my 'female companion.' "Anyone catch yesterday's Frys.com Open? Pretty solid game play for the first day," James suddenly said out of nowhere. "Golf? Sorry man, don't watch the game. I play a little but I don't watch tournaments." Conrad replied. Dunstan was too busy asking Riyana a bunch of questions. I could hear her responding animatedly. At least she wasn't bored. "I wasn't able to catch it, did you see the repeat?" I asked James seeing that he'd pick my favorite topic to talk about.

"You watch golf?" he asked a little shocked. Before I could speak up, Riyana interrupted. "Oh boy, don't you get her started on golf. She's everything about golf except actually playing the game. "I do so play!" I objected. James' eyes lit up. Really? Where, when? What's your handicap?" He asked excitedly. This time it was Conrad's turn to interrupt and burst my bubble. "She plays computer golf. She's really good at it! You'd never beat her!" James erupted into laughter. "Don't make fun!" I screeched, but smiled at him. "I want to play, sometime. But I also love watching the tournaments. I follow the US PGA though, not so much the European or Asian, or the rest." "Yea, so do I pretty much. I watch both WPGA and PGA." James continued, "So, who do you usually look out for? Got a favorite player or something?" "Well somewhat, I enjoy watching Mickelson play but I've been routing for Justin Rose since I was in my early 20's. He's not great, but he's consistent. Then there's Harrington, who's had a really good year, and Steve Stricker too..." I suddenly went on and on about golf. James payed full attention and we talked about more than just golf. I found myself at ease. It was so incredibly easy to make conversation with him. Of course it also helped that we had quite a bit in common with each other. By the time I'd finished my food and jumped from a decent conversation to a friendly banter with James, 2 hours had passed. Of course, since I was actually having lunch with my boss, I didn't have to worry about being late for work. But we were running on a schedule. Conrad got the bill and we slowly headed out of the restaurant. I finally had two minuets with Riyana. "Hey, I think I have to cancel dinner tonight," she said to me. "Oh, OK. Why, what's up?" I asked, curious. "I'm going to see a play with Dunstan!" she grinned. "You harlot!" I almost yelled at her. We both laughed. "He seems sweet! It'll be fun. I'll probably be back late, you approve right?" "Oh, go ahead. He is rather sweet. I hope you have a good time." "K, cool. I'll see you at home." We hugged and parted. As we were walking back to the office, somehow I got paired up with James again. I don't know what made me say it, but suddenly I suggested something to him. "You want a ride later today? Riyana has plans, so she's canceled dinner on me tonight." James laughed. "Yes, I could use a ride! And I also owe you McDonalds." I laughed this time. "No, I think the next trip to a fast food restaurant for me will be in three weeks at least. But, I'm willing to try that Mexican place you suggested." "Great! It's just near the apartment, you're on. And I insist on buying. "No arguments." I giggled.

Yep, I was indeed one confused soul today. First I wanted to see James and catch up from where we left off last night, then I had this awkward feeling and wanted so badly to avoid him. Now I found myself wanting to spend more time with him again. What in the world is wrong with me today? I was really looking forward to dinner with James now. 16: Tacos, burritos and enchiladas As we got back to the office and started dwelling into work again, I caught myself looking at the clock every 10 - 15 minuets. The rest of the day dragged on and on. It felt like I'd been in the office for over 24 hours suddenly. Why was time passing so slowly today? We were making great progress however, and probably will be done with our project in less than two weeks. This was great news because if are able to provide Adult Swim with their materials sooner, we get paid earlier of course. And the sooner we get paid, the fatter our pockets would grow. I started thinking about the different things I could do with the extra cash. I'd been meaning to get some new sheets for my bed and maybe change my curtains too. Maybe I could get some new shoes as well? Although I was never one for shopping and needed to be literally dragged kicking and screaming if anyone ever suggested shopping, some new clothes wasn't a bad idea at all. Also, maybe if I got new sheets for my bed, I couldn't be so shy in letting Owen sleep over some day. I suddenly realized that this was the first time I thought about him since he left on his business trip. I wasn't just avoiding sex with Owen the other night because he had no protection, I was avoiding it because, for one, I was a little embarrassed at the condition of my room and two, for some strange reason, I just didn't want to sleep with him that night. I knew I was ready, I mean I had jumped into bed with Matt without even thinking, that unfortunate day, so it couldn't be because I wasn't ready. I just really didn't want to have sex with Owen that night. Something inside me said it just wasn't right. I couldn't quite point out what it was. I pondered on that thought again for the 5th time since that night. Could it have been the timing? Maybe it was an unsafe time for me? I stopped it from happening at the campsite mainly because of unsafe timing. I could hardly calculate my last period in my head because I was pretty horny at the time, and thought avoiding intercourse would be the safest way. But the next day, it could have happened but this time, I didn't want it to happen instead. I somehow couldn't see myself doing it. I concluded it as perhaps I wasn't ready to have a man spend the night just yet. Which is quite true, as I've not had any man spend the night at my place, nor have I spent the night at any one's place myself. Though, I can't avoid this forever, and will eventually be faced with the 'sleeping' situation with Owen again. I wondered if I would still be turned on by the idea of sleeping with him for the first time. In all honesty, it wasn't doing it for me right now. And then I started thinking of someone else, and almost chocked myself for doing so.

This is utterly ridiculous. Yesterday I wanted to run him over with my car, today I'm finding myself strangely attracted to him. How did this happen and why? Or more intriguing, what has suddenly changed? I'm getting myself more and more confused. I suddenly found myself staring at him. He caught my stare and smiled. I coughed nervously and looked away not returning the smile. I need some sort of therapy. Time was still passing at amazingly slow speed. I took 4 bathroom breaks and one coffee break in between and still had a couple of hours more to go by with work. I was also unexpectedly quiet today. I'm usually extremely chatty while I work. I have a great knack for multitasking, which means no matter how much chit-chat I get into, I still complete my work at an accurate speed. Maybe that's why time was passing so slowly. I was too quiet. However, I couldn't find it in my mind to start up a conversation with anyone, nor could I find a decent topic to converse about. All I could think about was Mexican food and the company I was going to have later tonight. I need to go home tonight and give Owen a call. I think that's all I need. A reminder of his presence, at least to hear his voice or something. After a second coffee break and a 5th visit to the ladies, it was finally time pack and leave work. I went back to my desk and did my ritual e-mail checking, messing about with my computer, leaving myself small notes around my desk and returning some phone calls. As I hung up with our supplier, a tall frame suddenly stood over me. "What time are you living, babe?" James came into view. I froze. Did he just call me 'babe'? Wasn't that just a little inappropriate? I shook it off, looked up at him and smiled. "I'm done, we can leave now if you want." "Great! Let's go!" he grinned. We walked out of the office together, took the elevator down in silence. As we reached the basement, he asked me if he could drive my car. "Hey, what do you say if I drove? It'll be easier, so I won't need to give you directions, and..." Before he was done, I said, "Sure! Here are the keys," I threw them at him and headed towards the passenger's seat. Have I mentioned that the only other person who has driven my car other than myself is me? Somehow I was confident enough to allow James behind the wheel. We got into the car and pulled out of the parking lot. James was a steady driver. He was also quite careful and used his signals when appropriate as well as never drove on two lanes. If I were driving behind him, I would appreciate his driving skills. The two things I cannot stand when driving are, people who don't use their signals, and those who drive on two lanes at once. It annoys the hell out of me. "Have you spoken to Owen since he left?" James suddenly asked me. Oh great, a conversation about Owen. This might be a good thing. It'll allow me to think about him, exactly what I needed to remind me about him.

"Uhm let's see. He called yesterday morning. Haven't spoken to him since." Has it only been one day? I thought to myself. It definitely felt like more than that. I argued with myself whether this was a good or bad thing. I decided it was a good thing. Owen had only been gone for a day. Which means I haven't spoken to Owen in only a day, but somehow I felt like it has been more than one day. Maybe I was starting to miss him? Yet, I didn't have the urge to pick up the phone and call him, nor did I even wonder when he would call me. We just started dating, I should be excited about receiving his calls and I should be wanting to c all him every half an hour or even text him! I hadn't done either! I was back to wondering again. Damn it! "Hello...?" I suddenly heard James voice again. "Sorry, what did you say? My mind's just a little occupied." "I asked if you've called him since?" "Oh, no. Last I spoke to him was yesterday, I haven't attempted to call him yet. I was thinking of doing it tonight though." That was somewhat a lie and yet the truth too. I did tell myself that I'd call him tonight, but part of me didn't think I was going to, and if I did it, it would be out of force. "I spoke to him last night," James continued. "Oh." I answered. Then kept quiet. I then realized James had paused because he was waiting for me to at least ask how Owen was doing. After several seconds of silence, I finally asked, "How's he doing? Has he been busy?" "Here and there, he says. But there's been a lot of down time, so he's finding the entire trip a little boring. He also said that there's a chance he may be back sooner." James finished. "What? Really?" I couldn't quite decide if that was good or bad news, but it made me wonder why Owen hadn't told me this, which is a good sign, because I was concern about him and maybe a little jealous that he had told his brother and not me. "You sound excited. You must miss him." James commented. I laughed nervously and nodded. "Yeah, totally," I responded. And then he changed subjects. "You might want to check on the alignment of your car as well as the tire pressure." "Really? I mean, I've been meaning to check on the tires but the alignment seems alright. James took both hands of the steering wheel and then spoke again. "Eh, it's alright but it could use a little tweak. I just like my alignment perfect, that's all. But yeah, you're probably right, it's not something to worry over. But we can do the tires right now if you like. The gas station near my place has an air compressor." "Oh, cool. Would you mind if we stop by for a bit?" I asked. "Of course not, I'll even do it for you." He looked at me a winked.

I smiled and said, "Great...always good to make use of a man for this kind of stuff." I giggled. "Yes, of course, since you woman would go to a gas station and ask the attendant, "Hey can you pump air into my tires using that blowy thing that has a hose attached to it?" I gasped, "I am insulted! For one, I don't call it that, and two, I only pump pressure to my tires when I take it for it's ritual servicing. Mainly because I wouldn't need to do it myself since it would be included in the servicing." I beamed. "Same thing, lady." James said, chuckling. "Still I think you take pretty good care of your car. I don't hear odd clanking or any out of the ordinary sounds like I sometimes do with my girl friend's car. I think it drives pretty smoothly." It suddenly clicked in my mind that James had also mentioned about a girl friend the day before. She was probably the one on the phone with him. I decided today was a better time to ask about her. "So you're seeing someone?" I asked him. "Uh, yeah I guess. Nothing serious really. I met her at a party, well actually our friends tried to set us up." James changed gears as we went up a steep hill. And then he continued talking. "I went to this party about a month or so ago. My friends casually introduced me to this girl named Gloria, and then started rattling on about how great she was etc etc. And then it hit me, it was a match make. So in the end we ended up together that night and bitched about how stupid our friends were. I've been on maybe two proper dates with her since." "Proper dates? What do you mean by proper dates?" "That's not exactly my definition, but hers. She says we've been on only two 'proper' dates." James added the air quotes for effect. "...and by proper dates she means, dressing up, coming to her place, picking her up and taking her out for the night and then dropping her back at her place, or either of us spending the night at each others. My coming over and spending the night with her out of nowhere unannounced, isn't considered a date according to her." "Really now? That is pretty weird. I would say any time you meet up should be considered a date, regardless of it being 'proper' or not." "Aha, thank you! You think like a guy. That's what I told her too. But no, the compulsory wine and dine is her definition of a proper date. So I figure, since that's how she wants to put it, that means we aren't really dating. Because, who says going out on two dates means that a couple are dating." "You can't base it like so, I mean clearly she thinks you're dating, since, like you've said you've spent the night at her place, and I'm assuming there are other meets, whether there were 'proper' dates or not," it was my turn to make quote gestures this time. "Correct, but I just say that to annoy her. So I make it look like I can still go ahead

and date other girls, and will define my dates how I want to define them. Which according to her is, if I don't take a girl out on a night for dinner and bring her back home isn't a date, that means everything else I do with the girl is not considered a date! You see my logic?" "Absolutely not! You know that's not what she means!" I laughed. "I mean sure, I agree with you that any meeting between the two of you are considered dates, but I'm pretty sure she doesn't mean that you can see other girls!" "I know, and I'm not. I tell her that because I'd like to drum some logic into her head." James said and chuckled. I laughed again. "So does that mean that we're on a date now according to Gloria? I mean you are taking me to dinner and paying for my dinner, and instead of you driving me back, I'm driving you home." James laughed, "Of course not. You're dating my brother, and she knows that." Why did I say that? How inappropriate was that? "Well you know what I mean..." I paused, "...wait you talk about me to your girl friend?" I suddenly asked. "No, I mean when she asked me if Owen was seeing anyone on Sunday night, I said yes and that I've met his girl friend." "Oh. I got pretty excited there for a moment thinking that you talk about me and all." I grinned at him. Was I flirting with my boy friend's brother? I suddenly asked myself. I decided it was best if I kept quiet throughout the rest of the drive. James drove into the gas station and stopped the car. "You want to fill the tank too?" he asked. I took a look at the gas meter. "Uh, yeah I guess." He walked up to the counter paid for gas and walked back to the car. I got out of the car and fished for my wallet. "How much?" I asked. "It's on me, don't worry about it. I've taken a ride from you twice this week, so it's only fair that I pay for gas." "Oh, come on don't be silly. I need gas to get around myself." "Yes, and most of your trips might involve giving me a ride home in the near future! He said with a mischievous smile. "...so let me pay for gas." I nodded and smiled back at him, "Fine, if you insist." "You could however slot a few coins into the air compressor machine, I'm out of small change, sorry." "Oh, don't worry, I have a bunch." I fished into my pockets.

As I stood there watching James move around the car filling up my tires, I couldn't help but think how sexy he looked. I've always had a thing for guys working with tools, I mean every girl does. And James certainly was no exception. When we were done, we got back into the car, talked about cars in general for another 5 minuets. Before I knew it, James stopped the car again. We were already at the restaurant. I could see Owen's apartment complex from where we stood. It was literally across the street. "Hey, you weren't kidding when you said this place was close to the apartment." I said to James. "Yea, it's close if you walk. But because of the road diversion and the one way street, it takes like 15 minuets to drive here, so we usually walk." James said back. "Well of course, I would walk too. 15 minuets to drive would be a complete waste of time and gas!" I snorted. He laughed, "Exactly!" We walked into the restaurant together. It smelt great and the ambiance was soft and pleasant. We took a seat at one of the booths and were handed menus just as we sat down. "OK, so what would you recommend?" I asked James while scheming through the menu. "Let's see, I'd say go for their 'personalized burritos,' they let you pick your ingredients and fillings, same goes for tacos, or if you like you can try the fajitas medley. It really depends on what you feel like having." "Oh, their burrito fillings look great!" I almost smacked my lips together. "Yeah? I like a girl who knows how to eat!" We both laughed. We made our orders and sank into our seats relaxing and just enjoying the atmosphere. "You must come here pretty often considering how close it is to home." I mentioned to James. "Generally, yeah. Every time we can't think of what to have for dinner, we just take a walk here." "We? As in Gloria and you?" "What, no...Owen and I." Oh right, of course what was I thinking! James continued, "We come here so often that we're not just regulars, we're almost permanent furniture. Because when we come, we sit here for hours." He laughed. And then he went on. "So come on, tell me about the guys you've dated before my brother?"

"What? Why would you want to know that?" I looked oddly at James. "So I can go report to my brother and let him know what sort of competition he would be facing according to your past." I laughed. "Oh come on. You really think when a girl dates, she always compares the current guy to her last boy friend?" "Obviously, I call bullshit if you don't compare my brother to other guys." I thought about Owen and then about Matt. What a huge difference it made, dating Owen. "Sure, I compare him to other guys, but I wouldn't always be comparing every detail of him with guys I've dated in the past." I said. "OK, so when you date someone new you don't look for an upgrade?" James asked. "Upgrade?" I raised my eye brow. "Yea, someone better than before, you know like if the first guy had a motorbike, the next one needs to have a car? "I don't know. You can't really say, I mean it depends. Also I don't judge the men I date based on their possessions. I know, what I mean is like, do you tend to look for someone better? James tried to phrase his question again. OK, so say I dated a millionaire before my current boy friend, but if the millionaire was all about money with no personality, then I'd consider the current poorer boy friend an upgrade for sure." "That's what I mean, it doesn't necessarily have to be an upgrade on status, wealth etc. It could be anything. Maybe the first guy was selfish and never donated to charity, but the next guy was as generous as Santa Clause. Know what I mean?" I laughed. "OK, sure there are different qualities I would seek in the next boy friend, or next person I date. But I won't be laying each and every quality down in comparison with the last boy friend. Sometimes there are news things you discover with a person. And sometimes there are traits you discover only after a few dates." I smiled at him. He looked straight at me and we just sat there starring at each other for several seconds. "Alright, fair enough." James finally said. "So how's Owen different from the other men you've dated." This took me awhile to think about. If you had asked me this question a couple of weeks ago, it would have been easy for me to answer. Right now though, I had to search my brain. How was Owen different, I asked myself. "Uh, well...he's more receptive." I finally said. What? I thought to myself.

"Other guys you've dated aren't as receptive?" "No, that's not what I meant. OK, see...Owen's a great listener, and I like the fact that he's intelligent and we can have good conversations." "Yea, but we have good conversations too, how's that differentiating him from other men?" I paused again. Then I laughed and decided to turn this against James instead. "Why are you grueling me about your brother?" I asked James. "Are you trying to see if I'm worthy enough to date your brother?" I asked with a bit of mischief in me. "Of course not. I'm just curious and trying to get to know you better." "No, I think that's just what it is! You're interviewing me and trying to see if I'm good enough for him! Why James Hornton I'm insulted." I tried to look hurt. "What...?! How did this conversation take this turn...no, that's not what I meant at all..." I could almost hear the panic in his tone. I laughed. "Oh geez, relax. I'm only fooling around with you." He starred at me, I smiled at him sweetly. He finally broke into a grin. "OK, fine I'll change the subject." Our food arrived. I dominated the conversation this time. "What about you, what kind of girl's do you date? Or do you seek for an 'upgrade' in the next person you date?" "You know, that's a good question. What kind of girl's I date. My brother's always wondered about that. And frankly I think he might be a tad worried..." James started laughing. And then he continued. "I don't really have a preference actually. And as of late, I mean don't think shallow of me, but I've been dating woman based purely on their looks. And you know, it's not because it's an actual preference, but it's because I've lost faith in finding an intelligent girl whom I can carry a conversation with, or who can at least hold a conversation for more than 15 minuets without letting her mind wonder off. Such girl's, I have to say don't exist anymore. So how I figure it is that, if I'm going to date, I might as well date for fun. Since I'm still young and am in no rush to settle down." he ended his explanation with a slow hard gulp of water. "And during that time, what if you suddenly meet a girl whom you can carry a conversation with?" I asked. At that second, I was pretty certain the two of us had a moment together. We stared at each, having the irony beat into our minds. It felt like a good 20 seconds before

James started speaking again. "Of course there's more than just that. I want an independent girl, someone who doesn't always expect the man to drive, or to lead and make decisions. I want a girl who has a mind of her own, who watches sports and gives football a chance. I want a girl who does unusual things, like camp in the woods, take a leech bite without screeching the entire forest down. A girl who'll challenge me and give me a reason to look forward to something everyday. Being with her has to be like an adventure and the attraction, may not necessarily be physical, but we need to connect mentally and spiritually." And there was another momentary pause, it was becoming almost automatic now in our conversation. Each time one of us said something, there would be a momentary pause between us, we would stare at each other awkwardly and then put a spoon full of food into our mouths and try to come up with something else to say to recover the awkwardness. I thought the conversation needed to take a different direction. "You're right, this is probably the best Mexican food I've had!" I exclaimed. "They're good...but not the best I'm sure." he laughed. "Yea, they're the best because I hardly have Mexican," I giggled. After the main dish we shared a cake, and after that James convinced me to have a beer with him. I was happy to and didn't really need that much convincing. However as soon as I drowned the glass, I peered at the time and almost chocked. It was closing into midnight! "James!" I exclaimed. "What, what..."he looked at me curiously. "Look at the time!" I gasped. "Shit, I didn't realize it was that late already!" He gasped himself. "What time does this place close?" I asked still gasping. "It doesn't really have a closing time, it just waits for the last customer to walk out." My eyes opened up in horror acting as if that was the scariest thing I had ever heard in my life. "Well they shouldn't do that! It's very miss leading!" I said in a state of panic. "Miss leading? How so?" James cocked his head to the side. "I don't know!" and then I started giggling helplessly. James giggled like a little boy himself. "Miss...leading..." he kept repeating the word and laughing again and again. We both knew we weren't drunk. We'd had only one drink each, but it was fun to act tipsy. We called for the bill. I spent about 10 minuets arguing with James that we should split it because he'd already paid for gas and he didn't owe me dinner. He eventually gave in, but said the beers were on him. I didn't want to insist otherwise, because I

really had to get back home. We walked out of the restaurant giggling still. He walked me to my car and said he would walk across to the apartment. I got in and thanked him for dinner, even though we split the bill. Mostly I was thanking him for such a great time. But we both knew that although it wasn't said and he thanked me back as well. We had another 'moment' by the car until I finally pulled out of the parking lot and drove home. 17: Guilt I walked into the apartment at half passed midnight and walked straight into my room and headed for the showers. I took a quick shower, put a loose fitting t-shirt on and climbed into bed. I fell asleep almost immediately with a huge smile on my face. The next morning I woke up surprisingly early and found myself refreshed. I wasn't the slightest bit tired either. I was looking forward to work again of course. I took a shower, threw something on and headed to the kitchen. Riyana was at the kitchen counter with a bowl of cereal. "Good morning," I said cheerfully and hugged my roommate. I grabbed a bowl myself, filled it with some bran flakes, fished the milk carton out of the fridge and filled the bowl up. I grabbed a spoon and sat at the table. As I took a spoon full of cereal, hearing the slow crackling sounds it made in my mouth, I caught Riyana starring at me. "You sure are in a good mood. What gives?" She asked curiously. "Nothing! It's a beautiful morning...also I'm always in a good mood, what are you talking about?" I beamed at her. "You're in an unusually good mood this morning." She stressed the word 'this.' "What time did you get home last night?" "Sometime after midnight, why?" I hadn't even looked at the time when I walked in last night, but assumed it was sometime after 12am. "Just curious. So how's the new boy friend?" she asked. I froze, oh crap Owen! I was supposed to have called him last night! I continued chewing my cereal slowly. Then I found my voice, "I'm not sure actually, I haven't spoken to him since he left for his trip." "Really? I would have thought you two would be leaving each other lovey-dovey messages by now and calling each other every chance you got!" "Yea, so did I. But you know, it's been really busy at work and I've been getting home so late, I just haven't really had the time to call him." "Why were you home so late last night anyway? Where were you?" Riyana asked me questioningly. "Uhm, James needed a ride home again. He also asked if I'd let him buy me dinner because he felt like he needed to pay me back for driving him home two nights in a row."

"Oh, really? Riyana took a gulp of her juice. Well, I think it's a good thing that you're making an effort to get to know James more. Owen would really appreciate that." "Yea, I'm sure he would." I shivered slightly and then thought to myself. Maybe that's what this is all about? I'm just getting to know my boy friend's brother better. And of course Owen would appreciate it! Why wouldn't he? Isn't it good news that his girl friend gets along with his brother? Judging from how close Owen and James are, I'm pretty sure he would like his brother's approval of the girl he's dating. James and I might have gotten on the wrong foot, but we're getting along great now. I think he's amazing. Riyana started talking again, interrupting me from my thoughts. "Well, my outing with Dunstan was pretty dull," she rolled her eyes and moved toward the kitchen sink. "Oh?" I had almost forgotten that she'd gone out with Dunstan. "Why, what happened?" Riyana took a gulp full of water next and then started to talk, "I dunno, I think he's a pretty dull guy. He came and picked me up at about 7:45-ish. We rode on his motorbike in silence. I mean he didn't even attempt any conversation. Sure we were on a bike, and it wouldn't be easy to talk to each other, but he could have said something at the traffic lights at least." Riyana shrugged her shoulders. I giggled. "OK, carry on." "Well, when we reached the club, he helped me with my helmet and then said, "OK, we're here. And then he started walking and gestured for me to follow him. He d idn't take my hand or anything! So I just followed. We walked into this dark dingy looking place and Dunstan guided me to a table. We took a seat, and a waitress came by. She took our orders, and when she left it was complete silence for like 20 minuets. All he did was look at me, smile, look at his watch, scratch his ear, pretend to flick dirt off his finger nail, look at me again, smile again, then play with his hair until our drinks finally arrived. I swear, waiting for him to make conversation, was like waiting for wet paint to dry!" I laughed at this comment. "Maybe you made him nervous? I thought you two got along pretty well at lunch yesterday?" "Exactly, which is why I agreed to go out with him last night! Anyways, I asked when this play was going to start, and do you know what he said? ...uh, I don't know actually, I hope we're at the right place. She imitated his voice. I looked at him completely surprised. And then he pulled out some flier from his back pocket, studied it like he was looking at a traffic summon or something and

finally spoke... Yea, this is the place. It should start soon. she imitated him again. And then we sat there in silence again till the stage lit up and this song came on. Riyana threw her hands up in the air and sighed. "Huh, I'm a little surprised at his behavior, I mean Dunstan's pretty talkative at work. I can't imagine what would have made him behave like that." I commented. "You got me! Once the play started we exchange some conversation, giving our opinions about the show. A couple of hours later we had some food, and then he said he had an early morning and thought we should head home. I agreed and he took me home. That's it. I was back at the apartment by 11-ish." "Wow, some date that was!" I raised both my eyebrows at Riyana. "I'll tell you though, it wasn't really the worst date I've been at. Maybe he was really nervous, I dunno...or he changed his mind about me and decided this wasn't going too well." "That's impossible." "No, I'm not saying it's a bad thing. He probably just suddenly thought we were a bad match after all." "It's still weird." I shrugged knowing well that Riyana always had an opened mind about bad dates. Dunstan must have been really nervous, because Riyana is a great person. Not only was she a knock out, she also had a great personality. The two of us were so alike, which is why we got along so well. Though out of the two of us, Riyana was the more 'wild' one. I was a little more grounded and wouldn't just jump off a cliff for thrill's sake. Riyana shrugged. "I have to get to work." "OK, tonight come rain or shine, we will have dinner together OK?" "Let's go to Pop's, we haven't been to Pop's in ages! I bet he misses us." "Pop's sounds great, I'll meet you there at 7:30? I think I might be home a little later, so we'll head straight for dinner, OK?" "Sure, no problem." She hugged me and left the apartment. I finished my breakfast, drowned my mug of coffee, threw the items into the dishwasher and waltz out the door myself a few minuets later. Just as I walked into the office building my cell phone rang. I fumbled into my bag for it and without looking at the caller ID, I snapped it open and answered. "Hello?" I said. "Hey sexy," came a voice of a man from the other side. I frowned to myself. "Who is this?!" I asked sounding annoyed.

"Uh, whoa. Hey it's me, are you alright? You sound pretty tensed." Who was it? I couldn't recognize the voice at all! I pulled the phone away from my ear and looked at the caller ID. There along with the timer was Owen's name. My heart skipped a beat. How could I have not recognized his voice? I slowly placed the phone back to my ear. "Hello...you still there gorgeous?" Owen's voice came into my ear again. "Owen...hey!" I tried to sound as cheerful as possible. "Jesus Christ, hon. Are you alright? You gave me a freight there." "Yea, I'm totally fine! I just came into the office, the traffic was crazy outside. I'm still cursing a couple of drivers in mind. Sorry, I didn't mean to be so rude." I made a quick lame excuse. Owen let out a small laugh. "Relax babe, it's still too early in the morning to be stressing out on dumb drivers. I would think you'd be needing more energy to get by a full day's worth of work than to be worked up about some maniac driver." Owen tried to assure me. I tried to laugh. "Yea, you're right." I took a seat at my work station. "So how are you!" I asked enthusiastically. "How's the trip so far? Everything going well? You enjoying yourself?" "Yea, I guess. It's a little draggy really, because we're only having one meeting a day, and the rest of the day I pretty much just sit in the hotel room and surf channels on the television. I mean am in New York, I could probably go sight seeing, but I just don't feel like it. I miss Florida, I miss home and I miss you! I really do." My heart sank. "Aw, I'm sorry you feel that way." And then Owen laughed heartily. "Why are you sorry that I miss you?" "What? No, that's now what I meant. I mean I'm sorry you're having such an awful time. But I heard from James that you might be back sooner?" "Yea, I spoke to him a couple of days back. But no, I don't think I'll be coming back sooner, because there's still a meeting on Friday as well and it's late in the evening. So I probably will only take the plane out on Saturday morning or so. I'll be back by Saturday and maybe I'll see you Saturday evening for dinner?" "Yep! That sounds like a date alright!" I said excitedly. "God, I can't wait. So talk to me, what've you been up to? Oh, were you surprised to see James at your office Monday morning? I would have given good money to see your face when you spotted him." "You knew he was going to be working with us?" "No, well not at first. We both only found out on Sunday night and James actually told me to be quiet about it, he wanted to surprise you or something, I don't know what he was thinking. He's such an odd ball." Owen laughed again.

Wait a second, I thought to myself. James is going to so get it! I grinned to myself. He said Owen wanted it to be a surprise to me but now the truth comes out. I found myself giggling. Owen hadn't noticed. And then I spoke again. "Yea, I was a little surprised at first. But you know what? We're getting along great. I mean, at the campsite I thought he was weird, but he really is quite wonderful." "Wow, James...wonderful? Really? Well he seems to have stolen your heart easily," Owen joked. You have no idea. I thought to myself. "Well I'm glad the two of you are getting along. It's great. How's everything else? Work's OK? How's Riyana doing? I should call the office and see how they're doing as well," "Yea, work is good. We're making great progress on our project. Your brother has a great team." "Yea? That's great, I'm really glad." Owen spoke again. "Riyana's OK. She hasn't talked much about work, they're all probably really glad you're away!" I tried to joke with Owen. He laughed. "OK, gorgeous, I have to go. I'm walking into the office building and into the elevator in a bit. Maybe I'll call you again tonight. Or you can call me you know!" Guilt washed over me again. "I know, and I will." I giggled softly into the phone. "I really, really miss you. We'll talk soon OK. Take care sweets." "You too, and have fun, bye." I hung up before Owen could suddenly ask me if I missed him too. I didn't want to lie right to him. I felt more guilt creeping up on me. I had so much of fun with James at dinner last night that I completely forgot I had wanted to call Owen. I made a mental note to give him a call tonight after dinner with Riyana. Right now though, I really wanted to talk to James. I'd been looking forward to seeing him again since last night. 18: The art of yelling When I looked at my watch it was 5 to 9am. As I walked into the office, most of our team members were already there. We slowly gathered into the conference room as usual. Everyone took their seats and chatted amongst themselves. I kept looking out for James. He was nowhere in sight. In the pass two days he was always on time for work. When I asked his team members if they'd seen him, everyone said no. It was 15 minuets passed 9am by now. Just at that moment, I wondered how he got to work without a car. I also made a mental note to ask him what was wrong with his car. I remember him saying

something about it being at the mechanics the first day he asked me for a ride. Of course I was too furious with him at the time to show any concern at all. We waited another 15 more minuets and when there was still no sign of James, I quickly took charge of the team and handed out the day's duties. We began work as usual. When the clock hit 10:10am, I started to worry. Where could he be? I didn't even have his number to check on him. "Can someone call James and find out where he is? He's over an hour late, I hope he's alright." I finally asked, not wanting to wonder anymore. A tall guy with curly brown hair named Richard volunteered to make the phone call. As he held the phone to his ear, we suddenly heard shouts coming from outside the room. It sounded like people arguing. I walked out of the room to catch James right outside the office holding the door open and yelling at the top of his lungs at someone. "You're crazy you know that, you can't follow me all the way up here, this is my office, I work here. For crying out loud, what is wrong with you? Stop acting like such a child!" Right in front of him I saw a very attractive petite woman, no more than 5 feet tall with curly blond locks yelling back at him. "I won't leave till you tell me what's going on? Are you seeing someone behind my back? Who is it? Why do you have to be so secretive? This is utterly unfair to me, I can't believe you're doing this to me!" she shrieked. And then James yelled back, closing the office door this time. We could still hear the screams. "Gloria, go home. I cannot deal with you right now, I cannot deal with us and this! You're out of your mind and being very unreasonable!" "I'm not being unreasonable," the pretty blond yelled and literally stomped her foot on the ground. "Just tell me who you were with last night, and I'll leave you at peace today! You were with a girl weren't you? Who is she?" her shrill voice rang through the doors. "Stop yelling this instant. You're going to get me into trouble and if you don't quit this little charade, I will get security to throw you out!" James voice was hard and authoritative. Her face was completely red with anger. "You can get whoever you want to throw me out Jamie, I'll still find my way back up here and demand the answers I deserve! I am your girl friend, don't I deserve some respect." She sounded so spoilt and childish. I hated myself for judging her like that knowing very well that I didn't know her. "I'll throw you out myself! I swear! Just get the fuck out of here, we will talk about

this later! GO HOME GLORIA!" James shouted again. I froze right in the middle of the office watching the two of them through our see through glass windows. By now our entire office stood up to watch the commotion outside. If Conrad heard any of this, James would be in a lot of trouble. This had to stop right now! I wondered if I should go out there and stop them myself. Conrad would be out of his office in no time to witness this. If we could hear it from the conference room, there's no doubt he would hear it too from his office. I marched towards the entrance of our office. I yanked the door open and said in my calmest voice possible; "James, I'm sorry to interrupt this, but I think you'd better settle whatever that is going on here downstairs at the lobby. If Conrad hears this, he's not going to like it one bit." Then I faced the woman named Gloria and smiled at her, "Miss, I'm terribly sorry." and then I turned back to James and said, "I don't mean to be rude, but everyone inside can hear you, and it is very distracting." James glared at me for half a second and then looked toward the floor. I could hear him breathing loudly. Gloria just starred at him, tears stung in her eyes now. I suddenly felt sorry for her. I thought I had said what needed to be said, turned my back and left the scene walking back into the office. I turned back in time to see James grabbed Gloria by her elbow and shoving her into the opened elevator doors, following her inside. Loud whispers broke throughout the office. Some were giggling, some were laughing out loud. As for our team members, everyone stared in shock. "Let's get back to work, guys." I said to them and walked back into the conference room. As I took my seat, I could feel my heart hammering through my chest. Why was I shaking all over? I did what I was supposed to do. I mainly told James off because I didn't want him to get into trouble with Conrad. Maybe I was shaking because I thought he might be mad at me for speaking to him that way? But I had to! I also couldn't help but think how attractive that girl called Gloria was. I tried to get my mind off the entire scene that just took place and concentrate on work. Everyone else in the room seemed to have forgotten all about it and were concentrating on work again. Why couldn't I? An hour later James walked into the room. His face was flushed, features grim and his fist were curled into a ball at his sides. He walked towards the front of the room and began to speak.

"I'm really sorry that everyone had to witnessed my little escapade earlier. He looked up and looked around as if he were searching my eyes. And when he found them, he locked his eyes to mine and said, "Especially to you, boss. I was out of line there, and thank you for coming out there and stopping us." I gave him one of my warmest smiles and responded, "Don't worry about it and I'm not your boss," I tried to laugh, and then continued by saying, "I hope everything is OK with the two of you," and then immediately looked down and tried to continue writing my slogan. James took a seat and started talking to Helen, the person next to him. Work resumed as usual. No one said anything about the incident that morning, nor did Conrad come out of his office to demand an explanation. Chances are he didn't hear anything, and James is very lucky for that. I still couldn't help but think about the conversation that went on between James and Gloria though. She had demanded to know where he was last night. Why couldn't he just tell her he was out having dinner with me? Would it be so difficult for her to accept that for a reason? I am after all his brother's girl friend. Why would James want to keep that from her? I also wondered how their argument ended. Did he finally tell her where he was? Did they break up? I shook my head vigorously and scolded myself for thinking that. Why would I wonder if they broke up? It was none of my business, I was out of line now. Still I was curious to know what happened and wondered if it were appropriate to ask James about it? Maybe I'll make it seem like I was concerned? After all, we are friends and I really was concerned. 19: Is there such things as soul mates? We worked right through lunch again and no one seemed to mind. Everyone seemed content with the 15 minuet coffee break we had between 9am and now. It was almost 3:30pm now. I however was starting to get hungry again. I wanted to eat something, or just take a break from work for a bit. I voiced out that we should take a break for an hour at least. Everyone else agreed stood up and slowly started emptying the room. As James rolled out his chair, stood up and left, I got off mine and left as well 30 seconds later. I made my way to my cubicle and kept a lookout to see where James had gone. He had disappeared. I sat at my work station and checked my emails again like I always did everyday. A minuet or two later, Conrad walked towards me. "Hello my favorite employee," he said cheerfully. "Hey, boss!" I said back with the same amount of enthusiasm. "So how are things going? All is well I hope?" "Yep, everything is going according to schedule. In fact, we are several steps ahead!" "That is good news indeed! I'd appreciate a short report by this evening, if you don't mind? Just keep me up to par at where you guys are. Something brief and clear. I'd

like to be able to estimate our progress so far." "Sure, not a problem at all. I'll stay on a couple of hours more after work and have something on your table before you leave." I smiled. "I might leave a little earlier today, but I'm not sure yet. If you can't get it in by today, first thing tomorrow morning would be great too." "You got it!" I said to Conrad. He truly is an amazing boss. In all my 3 years working for him, not once have I not looked forward to coming to work, not once have I found myself stressed out, and not once have the thoughts "My boss is being completely unreasonable" ever gone through my mind. "What are the Glitz members like? Are they easy to work with? Cooperative?" Conrad asked me. "Extremely. I think they may be the easiest team to work with. No one has complained so far, and we all seem to be getting along pretty well." "Excellent. I'm glad to hear that. Well, you keep up the good job and tell your team I said congratulations as well. Looking forward to that report, young lady." Conrad winked at me and walked back into his office. As I stretched in my seat and looked up, James stood right behind my chair. "Hey," he said softly. "Hey," I said back. And then we were silent for about 20 seconds. Very slowly, James pulled an empty chair up next to me and took a seat. He bent his body forward and buried his face into his palms. He then sipped his hands through his hair and laid his hands roughly on his lap with a soft smack. He sighed. His eyes looked tired. I just looked at him. He gave me a weak smile. I fought the urge to run my hands through his dark hair and hold his face in my hands. I finally found my voice. "Are you alright? You don't look so great." He laughed softly. "You don't say." He remained quiet for a bit again before he started talking, "I am a little embarrassed over this mornings outburst." I nodded and let him talk. "I don't get why she has to be so suspicious and not trust me. The entire situation was truly uncalled for this morning." I took a few moments to respond to him. "I don't think I understand exactly what you're trying to say. I can only assume there was some sort of misunderstanding between the two of you this morning." James sighed again, "OK, here's the story. While we were having dinner last night, Gloria texted me a couple of times. I didn't respond to any of them. In all honesty, I didn't want to be rude and we were having such a good time, I was almost afraid that if I responded to her, I might have had to cut our dinner short. So I ignored them thinking she could wait an hour or so more. And then she called twice as well, and I ignored both calls as well." He shifted in his seat. I watched him intensely and listened.

"When I got home, I gave her a call. She didn't answer until I hung up and tried again 5 minuets later. She was cold and unresponsive on the phone. So I apologized for not returning her texts and not responding to her call. I mean, it was only the right thing to do, to apologize, you know?" I nodded and said, "Of course." "Well, she didn't think so. I don't know what she thought. She immediately went completely loco. What are you sorry for Jamie!" she screeched over the phone. Then she went on to say something about me doing things behind her back, or I wouldn't be so apologetic, and demanded where I was and who I was with. I got a little mad. I was occupied, so I didn't respond to her messages and her calls and said I was sorry. I thought it was the right thing to do, but she kept going on saying that if I wasn't doing something, I wouldn't have anything to be sorry about. I mean, she's crazy I swear. Which is why I refused to tell her where I was and what I was doing when she demanded it like that. She just immediately assumed I was being unfaithful or I was cheating or something, which is ridiculous! Don't you think?" He looked up at me and demanded an answer from me right that moment. I didn't know what else to say but "Yeah," because mainly if it were me who was caught in this situation, I would think my girl friend was a paranoid nut. And if I were the girl friend, I would of course not be acting like that. "So, I told her what I did with my own time was none of her business and that she had no right to question me like that. I was my own person and she didn't own me." He paused. "She hadn't even given me a chance to explain. So I thought, if she was going to act so childish, I should give her what she deserved. She just hung up after that, and then suddenly turned up at my door step this morning offering me a ride to work. I thought she had come to her senses and was here for a peace offering, so I accepted and followed her. After 10 minuets on the road she began questioning me again, accusing me of all sorts of things. Asking me who I was working with at this new company, why I kept coming home late and who was it who kept sending me back home every night. I would have been completely honest with her, because there was nothing to hide," I interrupted him and said, "Of course there's nothing to hide! You were out with your brother's girl friend! That's harmless, it means nothing at all!" I was a little surprised at my little outburst. I wasn't sure if I was trying to convince myself, or simply agree with James. He hadn't noticed that I was getting edgy, he carried on talking. "Exactly, which is why I was so freaking pissed off at her, I could have strangled her. When she finally stopped the car, I got out after having a yelling contest with her in

the car, slammed the door and walked toward the office building. She flew out of her car and followed me. I kept telling her to go back home. She kept insisting on an explanation. An explanation that wasn't even required from the beginning! She followed me all the way up here and carried on yelling. She wouldn't calm down, not even for a second. I thought she might pop a vain or have a seizure and faint then and there." he chuckled at that statement. I couldn't laugh along with him. So I just looked at him. His eyes softened and then he looked towards the ground. "Anyways, after you came and stopped us I took her downstairs and told her that if she was going to be so suspicious about me and couldn't trust me, then I didn't want to continue whatever was going on between us anymore. I never thought our relationship was going anywhere anyways. I mean, I definitely did not see myself having a future with this girl at all. I finally told her where I was and what I was doing. I think she felt a pang of guilt suddenly, but it was too late anyways. I had already seen the psychotic side of her and wasn't going to continue this. She spell tears of course, but I couldn't bring myself to feel any pity toward her. We stopped yelling at each other finally and I apologized to her again and then just left her by her car and walked away." "Oh." I said. I searched my head to say something else, anything. I was really bad at this. I mean I am a great listener, but never expect me to give you feedback over something like this. Of course, I couldn't agree more with James. He definitely did the right thing. I'm not sure if he could have handled the situation any better, but he did what he needed to. I think. I truly had no clue, because you would never find me in a situation like this with a guy. I would never attack someone in a fit of paranoia like Gloria did to James. I just starred intensely at him. He started to speak again. "Well, yeah. So that was some drama this morning. I'll get over it I'm sure." I patted his knee and said, "I'm sorry it turned out so ugly. But hey, better to find out now than to have yourself in an even stickier mess in the future." This was the best I could manage for now. James nodded in agreement. "Are you hungry? I'm starving. There's a cafeteria in the building right. I could use a sandwich. Take a walk with me?" "Sure, I could grab something myself." We both stood up and walked towards the exit of the office. By the time we got back to work after our late lunch break it was almost 4:45. We continued with work till at least 6:15pm and then started leaving the office one by one. I stayed on to complete my report for Conrad. If I started immediately, I would

be done by 7, and will be able to leave by then. I hurried back to my work station and began with the report. Before I could even began working on the word document, I heard James' voice behind me again, "I feel like utter shit to be asking you for a ride home again. I swear my car will done tomorrow. And I won't bug you ever again!" I giggled a little. "No, don't be silly. I don't mind giving you a ride again. But only if you don't mind waiting. I need to submit a report on our progress so far to Conrad by tonight. I don't want to keep it till tomorrow morning, so I'm going to finish it now and mail it to him." "Oh, yeah sure. Maybe I can help?" James sat down next to me again for the second time today. "Great, that way I can finish sooner." I said to him. Or so I thought! Between the conversations we were having amongst each other and the disagreements on what to place in the report, a 45 minuet job turned into 2 hours. James wasn't helping, he was delaying my work. And I had no problem with this at all. I was having fun with him again. The office was empty by now and it was just the two of us. He kept contradicting everything I typed in my report and gave me such bogus ideas, that left me laughing so hard. I kept telling him how serious this report was but he didn't seem to care. I finally had to make him sit in a corner and face a wall while I finished the report myself and e-mail it to Conrad. Conrad had left the office a little over an hour ago and asked to see it in the morning. When I was finally done, James and I walked out of the office together. Once again he took over the wheel of my car and drove himself home. We were chatting animatedly in the car about various things. We talked about music, movies, TV, sports, work and several other stuff. When we reached his apartment, James leaned over and gave me a warm hug. He thanked me for the ride and thanked me for listening to him rant about his relationship. I got back behind the wheel of my car and sped off home feeling warm inside. Something was happening. Something so delightful yet so wrong and oh so confusing. I thought slow and hard to myself. I honestly began to wonder if I were dating the wrong brother and whether James was a better match for me. It completely slipped my mind that I was supposed to call Owen again tonight. I arrived home to see Riyana watching T.V. "Hey babe," she said and smiled warmly at me. "You're home at a somewhat reasonable hour tonight." I looked up at out wall clock and saw that it had just turned 10:30pm. I was

exhausted. "Not quite." I said back to Riyana and slumped into the couch next to her. "Rye," I began. "Have you ever felt that you were dating the wrong guy and that the right guy was just under your nose and and this time you actually know that he is the more suited guy for you?" "Uh, that sounds a little complicated. What do you mean? Are you trying to say you've met someone else whom you think is a better match than Owen for you suddenly?" I paused for a moment and took a breath before I responded to Riyana. I looked her in the eye without blinking and said, "I think I see myself more suited to be with James than Owen." 20: Pop's The room went quiet for a moment. Only the sound of the television could be heard between the two of us. Finally after what felt like several hours, Riayana finally said "Wow. I'm not sure how to react to that." And when I didn't respond, Riyana continued, "Are you sure? I mean, you've only known him for a few days." Riyana has always been an amazing friend. I wasn't surprised at all that she didn't blow up at me and tell me that I was crazy. She was very calm and collected. "I know. And it's so weird, because when I first met him, I thought he was such an odd ball. But after working with him and getting to know him better, I suddenly feel like we have quite a lot in common, and we want the same things in a partner. I mean just like the other day when we were having dinner..." suddenly I had so much to say about James. "...we were exchanging ideas on what sort of things we look for in a partner, and not to boast or anything, but the sort of girl James described he wants to be with sounded exactly like me and I think he realized it too. Because the second he stopped talking, we both starred at each other, and I could have sworn Rye, there is this spark between us." "I really don't know what to say. I mean, you said the same thing about Owen as well. And all of a sudden it's James now. Maybe you're just confused?" Riyana tried telling me. "I don't know. I can't explain it. It's pretty weird." I kept quiet and starred into space for a few minuets. I heard Riyana's voice again. "So, are you starting to develop feelings for him? Or is it that you just find the two of you more suitable compared to you and Owen? Because that could just mean you haven't clicked with someone like that in a long time? And maybe you're looking for a friend in him?"

"That's a great point," I found my voice immediately..."And honestly, I've been thinking the same thing too. But there are these strange feelings that I get whenever he's close to me. Just the other day, I felt weak in the knees from the way he smelt. And sometimes, when I talk to him, I get nervous and I have been looking forward to work so much this whole week because I know he's going to be there. Like this morning, I was so worried when he hadn't showed up for work by 9 and when he told me about his girl friend, I had this sudden jealousy pang. Although, he broke up with her this morning. There was this whole drama going on in the office today, and that's why he was in late." I related this morning's happenings to Riyana. "So, he could have just told his girl friend the truth last night, but for some reason, if you really think about it, he wanted to keep it from her and he talked all around it. I hate to admit this because I don't want to encourage it either, but maybe, just maybe he could be developing something for you as well." Riyana said. "You really think so?" I asked with hope. "Like I said, babe. I don't want you to make big deal out of this, because I'm definitely against it, but if you both feel the same way, and by that, you need to be absolutely sure he feels the same way you do too, then you both will have to come clean with Owen." I nodded. "And I should also say, you have to be clear to yourself. It could just be that you're suddenly spending a lot of time with James, and you think you like him that way, but you're just feeling like this because your boy friend is away and the closest thing that reminds you of him, is his brother." Riyana added. I thought for a moment before I responded to Riyana, "You know...you may be right, I never looked at it that way." I chewed on my bottom lip. If you really want my advice, go on being friends with him, see where that takes you and when Owen comes back, you might feel completely different all over again." I sighed and stood up, "I don't want to think about this anymore. I mean a couple of weeks ago, I was ready to swear off men. Now everything seems like a huge confusion. It's so complicated. I don't want to hurt Owen but if there is a chance with James and he really is the one, I shouldn't be this confused." "There's no such thing as 'the one' these days, come on. You of all people should understand that." Riyana reminded me. "I know, but I'd like to believe so. I'm a hopeless romantic inside, although I don't

seem to show it. I live for love." I smiled at Riyana. "You know what, you're right. You shouldn't be thinking about this anymore. 'soul mates,' 'the one' whatever it is, just let it go. You promised me we'd go to Pop's tonight. Come rain or shine! So let's go. I'm pretty sure you haven't eaten yet. And I could have some hot chocolate with marshmallows." I laughed. "I'm game, let's go. I'll come back and shower later." Pop's is a cafe that's located on the ground floor of our apartment complex. It's own by a man named Milton Grant. He runs it with his wife, Mildred. They've been running the place for several years now even long before Riyana and I moved into our apartment. The two of us go there very often, so often that it's like going to your grand parents' place whenever you feel like having home cooked meals. Mildred's cookies, cakes and muffins are so good, they're comforting on any type of day, hot or cold. I never say no to a visit to Pop's. I could almost taste the home made hot chocolate in my mouth as we made our way down to the cafe. We took our seats at our usual spot close to the counter. Milton, whom we have gotten used to calling "Pop" by now, came to greet us. "Well if it isn't my two favorite customers! I haven't seen you two young ladies in a while! Found someplace else to have your meals? Please say it isn't so!" He beamed at us. "Of course not!" Riyana objected immediately. "We wouldn't ever think about it!" "Yea, we're pretty offended that you would suggest something like that, Pop!" I added. He laughed. "Of course not, I'm only pulling your legs. What'll you two have at this time of the day then? Pretty late for dinner, although the kitchen is still opened." He winked at us. They were both the most hardworking elderly couple you have ever seen. Pop's cafe is opened at 8:30am every day and closes at midnight, everyday except for Sundays, which Pop calls, "Out for the night with the misus." Riyana and I always thought that was the sweetest thing ever. Of course they had people working for them as well and it was so pleasant to work with Mr and Mrs Grant. I don't think I've ever heard any of their workers complain. Both Riyana and I made our orders. Although we could probably go for a meal, we didn't want Mrs. Grant to be slaving over the stove at this hour, so instead we both ordered a mug of hot chocolate and shared a quiche that was ready at the counter top. Sometimes, at Pop's, it didn't matter what you ordered, the atmosphere alone was all we came in for. It was beautifully decorated with pink floral wall papers, light yellow wall paints and soft lighting inside. It looked like one of those old sweet shops from the 1960's. It always felt like 'grandma's kitchen' at Pop's.

After our satisfied visit to Pop's we both headed back up to the apartment. Riyana locked the doors while I strolled into the bathroom and took a warm bath before I retired to bed. I couldn't sleep till an hour later though. I kept thinking about my conversation with Riyana, and whether I really did have feelings for James, or was it just the closeness I suddenly felt with someone new. I thought I would wait for Owen to come back and see if being with him changed my feelings towards James. And if it did, I thought about how I would break it to Owen. Furthermore, I also wondered if James truly felt the same way or could I just be hoping he did? He did after all only just break up with his girl friend. On the other hand, he also said he dated for fun and he wasn't looking for anything serious yet. And then once again, I remembered him describing the type of girl he wanted to be with. My mind was filled with thoughts of James and a bunch of 'what ifs.' 21: Guilt II The next morning I was awoken by an unknown caller on my cell phone. I rubbed my eyes hard, picked up the cell phone and flipped it open. Trying not to sound like someone who had just woken up from from a long slumber, I said "Hello!" as cheerfully as possible. "Morning!" Came an equally cheerful voice on the other end. My heart skipped several beats. "I hope I haven't woken you up?" came the voice again. "Of course not, I'm always up at this hour," I said and smiled to myself. I recognize the voice instantly. "Really? It's 5:45 in the morning, what would you be doing up at this hour?" the voice asked me, questioningly. "What?!" I screeched. I turned to look at the clock on my night stand. It showed 15 passed 7. "Ha ha...very funny, James." I smiled contentedly again. "See, I got you. You just woke up didn't you?" "No, you just woke me up! You'd better have a very good excuse too, mister." "Well what time are you usually up, otherwise?" "I dunno, 7:30 sometimes. Did you call me to ask me this?" "Absolutely not! How did you know it was me?" he asked still with a good cheer in his voice. "How can I not recognize that voice?" I asked him back. "Wow, I'm awfully flattered. So, may I ask if you're still in your pajamas with your hair all tussled around and maybe you've got a little bedroom eyes going on there?" "I think that question is most inappropriate. You'll be please to know though, that I have a serious case of morning breath!" "Oh ew...woman. Go brush or something. Please!" I laughed. "Hey!" I exclaimed over the phone and shifted into a sitting position in bed. I held my phone tightly against my ear and grinned to myself.

"Hey, what? You're the one telling me about your stinking mouth," James retorted. I laughed again. "No, I mean is there something you wanted to say? Are you coming into work today?" "Of course I'm coming into work, what sort of question is that? I called to see...well I can't remember now." "James!" I screamed. "I'm going to hang up now, because if I sit here any longer talking to you, I'm going to be late." "Oh, that's right! You don't have to drive today, let me do the honors of driving you to work and back home safely tonight." "Oh? You got your car back?" "Yes! Frank, my mechanic and friend actually, called last night and brought the car over. So, I no longer feel like I've lost an arm." "Oh, fantastic! I'm happy for you!" "OK, cut the sentimental crap, do you want a ride or not, woman?" I laughed so hard. "Yes! You bet your ass I do. It is your turn to drive me around after making me your chauffeur for three days in a row!" James laughed this time. "OK, excellent, I'll be there in 15 minuets, I'm already on my way!" "What, I just got out of bed! And, hanging on the phone with you is already eating into my getting ready for work time." "Well, move it then! Get dressed quickly, I'm already on the road. I'll probably be there in less than 15 minuets. And if you're not ready by then, I would totally understand. You woman and your hour long showers along with your hour long finding something to wear etc etc." "Hey, I'm deeply offended by that! I don't take hour long showers." "You know, the clock is still ticking as you try to convince me otherwise here." "Oh fine, hang up already. I'll be ready in 15 minuets. And if I'm not, you're buying me breakfast!" "Deal!" and click. James hung up. I laughed like a little school girl to myself and sped off to my attached bathroom. I was showered in 5 minuets, dressed in 3 minuets and took another 5 minuets to get my hair and make up done. I was down at the entrance of the complex by 7:45. I surprised myself at how quickly I moved. 5 minuets later I noticed a car slowing down and there was James. He drove a silver gray Honda Accord. He stopped the car by the side of the road, put it into park and got out. "Wow, you're ready. I'm impressed! Wait...did you brush?" he asked and walked around the car towards me. I punched him on the arm hard. "Ow!" he screamed. "Man you scream like a little girl!" I giggled. "And you punch like a little boy." he whined.

He glared at me and then broke into a smile. "OK, ma'am, so I owe you breakfast. Where to?" I of course immediately thought of Pop's. "There's a great cafe at my complex itself, if you're interested?" "Sure, we've got time to kill right?" It's only ten to 8. Work starts at 9, no?" "Yep! More than enough time to kill." "Lead the way, then." he grinned at me. I headed to Pop's with James walking by my side. He looked good today. He was clad in a dark blue long sleeve shirt and black slacks. His hair was gelled and pointed upwards in tiny spikes. He hadn't shaved completely which left a little stubble around his mouth and under his chin. He looked incredibly gorgeous to me. No, James wasn't exactly a looker, and he wasn't exactly handsome either. And he could probably use to lose a couple of pounds as well. Though he hid what I can only assume is a beer belly, pretty well. He stood at 6 feet and weighed probably around 200 pounds or so. Still I found him wildly sexy. Mainly because of his personality. I thought he was so difficult to read when we first met. But, he became an open book once we go closer. We walked into a very crowded Pop's and manage to find a seat. We made our orders just as soon as we sat down. James was a big eater. He wanted the big breakfast set, which sometimes can be shared three ways between me Riyana and probably one other person. The set contained 3 pancakes, 5 pieces of bacon strips, 2 sausages and eggs, 2 slices of toast buttered, coffee and a muffin. All I had was scrambled eggs with 2 slices of toast and a cup of coffee. For a big man, he definitely ate like one too. When we were done with breakfast, James asked if I would like to drive his car instead. I refused at first since I wasn't comfortable driving anyone else's car except mine. "The worst that could happen is we crash and die, so come on, just drive the car. I'll be here sitting right next to you! I've seen you drive, and if I trust you to drive my car, I probably think you're a good driver." I smirked and grabbed the keys from him. When I got into the drivers seat, I sped off even before he could put his belt on. I did this on purpose of course. I drove so fast, James gripped to his seat. I couldn't help laughing out loud when we arrived at work. "OK, so that's the last time you ever touch my car," he remarked. "You know I was only fooling around. Besides, we got to work safe and sound," I pointed out. "I will drive back still, thank you very much!" He said and then grinned.

We walked into the office and then headed to the conference room together giggling at each other. When we arrived, everyone's eyes were on us. It was exactly 9am. I felt a shiver down my spine. Maybe James and I were getting too comfortable with each other, that we forgot our surroundings and people might be observing us. I decided I didn't care at that moment. We started on work immediately. We would be ready to go into trial production by tomorrow if we kept this speed up throughout the week. Conrad waltzed in at almost noon to comment on the report I had sent him. He was rather satisfied at the progress we were making, and suggested a mock presentation by the end of the day. We would be going into the production office by tomorrow morning, and if everything goes well, it would go straight onto the screen for a trial run by the end of tomorrow. I was extremely proud of my team at that moment. I suddenly somewhat felt uneasy. If we went into trial production tomorrow, that would mean we would be ready to wrap things up with this project already. Which means, James' team would be packing up and leaving soon. I felt sad suddenly and wondered if I would see James as often, once our project was over. I knew that no matter how things turned out between me and James, whether we became friends or anything more than that, it would hurt me greatly if I never saw him again. We worked right through lunch time again and then took a break at around 3pm. I was pretty exhausted by now. I realized that I'd been getting home pretty late the entire week. I hadn't gone on my evening jogs either in quite awhile. I used to jog around the neighborhood at least 3 - 4 times a week. Lack of exercise always made me feel lethargic and I would tire easily. I had to get home early today and jog for at least 45 minuets. It didn't matter how far I jogged, I usually measured my exercise based on time. "Do you want to drive out for something to eat?" James interrupted my thoughts suddenly. "What did you have in mind?" I asked. "I don't know, I'm just hungry!" "After that breakfast, you're still hungry?" "Hey, breakfast was at 7:30, it's..." he counted with his fingers before he continued talking "...almost 8 hours now. My food has digested and my stomach is ready for action again." I giggled at this. It wasn't even funny, yet I giggled. I am completely and utterly smitten by James. I sighed. "OK, let's go to the fish shop that's close to the Hillside park." "I know that place. The fish and chips there are awesome." "Great! Can we get back in an hour?" "I doubt it, but I'm boss, so everyone gets an hour and a half break!" James announced proudly. With that he just walked towards the exit of the office with me trailing behind.

We arrived at the Fish shop within minuets, made our orders and sat down. "This is nice isn't it?" He said to me. "What is nice?" I asked. "Us, I think we're getting along great, and I really enjoy the time we spend together." I smiled and nodded. "Yea, it is nice..." and before I could finish my sentence, James started to talk again. "It's been quite awhile since I've been able to connect with someone of the opposite sex like this. I mean, you're different I guess. Seriously though, I've really enjoyed your company this entire week, and getting to know you. Owen's one lucky man, I can definitely say that." He winked at me. My heart sank. I suppose everything was just in my head. James didn't have feelings for me. He just enjoyed my company as a friend and I was looking too much into it. Why was I so disappointed then? Perhaps it was just me who was falling for him? And if I really were, I have to snap out of it, I thought to myself! Lunch was pleasant as always. We talked and laughed together and as always I was at ease with James and had fun. Once we got back to the office it was just a couple more hours into work and we were ready to head home. Right after the presentation to Conrad everyone started packing up. Thank god, I thought to myself. Finally, I'll be home early today. I almost forgot that I was going home with James. As I walked to my work station to do the everyday necessitates, I turned my computer off and fished into my hand bag for my car keys. I jiggled them in my hands and walked towards James to say goodbye. And then he reminded me. "Hey, I hope you don't mind if I head to my office for a bit before I drive you home. I just need to stop by and key in some data into our files and then we can head straight home." "Oh right," I whispered to myself. "Oh sure, no problem." Well there goes my jog today as well then. James' office was about a 20 minuet drive away. This of course was with the rush hour traffic. It would probably be shorter if there was no traffic. When we arrived at the office building, the guard at the entrance greeted James warmly. James was well known, I thought to myself. I didn't even realize if we had a security guard at our building. I followed James up to his floor. He said no one was around the office and it was already after hours, so it was fine to walk in. His office was pretty nice. For an advertising company called 'Glitz Advertising' the entire office glittered. I realized how comfy the place looked. As you walk through the entrance, there is an ovule table in front which I assumed was the reception. Towards your left it led you to a couple of tiny offices and then a huge meeting room on the right. I walked straight in passing the meeting room and a couple more small office cubicles on my left toward the middle and noticed a large couch, a coffee table and a big screen T.V.

There was a pool table to the corner and on the far left another room that had 'Pantry' labeled on the door. Wow, this office was pretty awesome I thought to myself. We really should have something as laid back as this too back at our place. James walked into one of the small offices. He told me to wait at the 'common' room and watch T.V if I wanted to. As he walked into his office and shut the door, I saw his name on the plate pasted to the door. "James S. Hornton, Head of Marketing and Advertising." Pretty impressive. I didn't even have an office of my own. Of course, I was only team lead. Not 'Head' of an entire division. Just that moment, James' sexiness went up another notch. Maybe I should pay a visit to Riyana's office and see what it says on Owen's plate. As I sat on the couch waiting for James a young woman in her early 30's approached me. "Can I help you please?" she asked in a stern voice. I looked up at her and smiled politely. "Oh, no. I'm just waiting for a friend of mine. James, he's in his room." She looked at me without smiling and gave me a short, "Oh." and then clicked her heals and marched into James' office without knocking calling out his name loudly. "James!" "Karen!" I heard James' voice. It almost sounded as if he panicked for a moment there. I couldn't really hear the entire conversation, because whoever Karen was had just shut the door to James' office. When they returned, I stood up. Karen approached me and offered her hand. I was a little surprised at this, but shook her hand and smiled. "Hi, I'm Karen Lloyd, it's a pleasure to meet you!" she smiled sweetly this time. "Oh, hello..." I said nervously. "I'm..." I began to stutter. I was a little shock at her approach and was wondering who she was as well as trying to remember my name. But before I could even say anything else, she continued. "Oh, I know very well who you are! We've seen your company's work and are very thrilled and honored to work with you guys! "Karen's my boss," James said to me. "Oooh!" I exclaimed. "I was going to give him a huge ticking off for letting a stranger into the office just like that. Of course I had no idea who you were, until moments ago." she spoke very fast and her movements were very fast too. And then, just as quickly as she arrived into the scene, she stormed off at lightning speed. "Well I have to go, dinner plans with my dad. Tell Conrad I said hello and will be

looking forward to seeing him again. Maybe we should all do lunch sometime, yea?" Yes, I think that's a splendid idea, I'll have Pam call Conrad sometime next week. It was great meeting you! Great job too! Good night you two." Then she turned to James and said something that made me love her that very second. "Who would have guessed James, that you go and work for them and end up dating one of their finest! Good job! You two look great together." and Karen was gone. James stood in his spot not moving an inch. He then began to laugh nervously after a couple of minuets. "Pam's our receptionist, by the way," he managed to finally find his voice. "Oh, OK." I said nodding. Neither of us made any reference to what Karen had said but walked out of the office quietly instead. I couldn't help but smile though. Just as he promised, James drove me straight home after that short but pleasant visit to his office. I commented on what a great office he had and told him that we might steal a few ideas from them and have a gaming room like theirs as well. James said he was surprised we didn't already have one. As James stopped his car right in front of my complex I prepared to get out of the car and then turned around to say thank you to him for the ride. He looked up at me for a few moments without saying anything. And then I suddenly saw guilt in his eyes and his facial expression changed. I wondered if he was going to say something about what Karen had just said, instead what he had to say next made me spill tears. He sighed before he spoke and then quickly frowned. "You should give Owen a call tonight. He's been asking me if everything is alright with you," and then he remained quiet and looked away from me. He couldn't look me in the eye anymore. "I spoke to him yesterday, and he asked a lot about you, and he wondered why you hadn't attempted any contact with him. He's been wondering if he did anything wrong." And then as if he knew why I hadn't contact Owen up till now, James just sighed and carried on talking. "I probably should have told you this in the morning itself, but I guess it slipped my mind." James continued looking straight ahead without turning his head to face me. I remained silent. I just stood there next to the car with the door ajar and my hand at the handle. And then suddenly James said, "Well I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Then he leaned forward, still without looking at me and grabbed the door to close it. I managed a soft, "Bye," and then starred blankly at the back of his car's number plate while it disappeared into the distance. My eyes welled up in tears. I don't know why I was feeling so emotional all off a sudden. I suddenly felt like I was cheating on Owen, emotionally.

I tried to register James' reaction as well. Was he angry that I hadn't contacted his brother? Or was he feeling guilty for spending so much time with me these passed couple of days? All I knew was, I felt extremely guilty for having such a great time with my boy friend's brother and not once thinking about my friend. As it turns out, I had time to go for a run after all. I got into my running gear and started my run. I ran away the depression that had suddenly engulfed me, I ran away the sadness that had suddenly found itself into my happiness. I hated this feeling. The feeling of guilt mixed with so much confusion. And for the first time this week, I finally let my mind free and stopped thinking about the complicated relationship I was in. And it helped, because once I stopped thinking with my mind, my heart opened and I felt a little seed of passion growing inside me. I was falling for James. And I think I might be falling in love with him. 22: Celebration When tomorrow finally arrived, I didn't feel like going to work in the morning. I had such a long night thinking about everything that had taken place in my life this passed one month. So much had happened in only 30 days. I contemplated calling in sick. But obviously that was out of the question. Today might be our last day to work with Glitz, I have to go in. My eyes were tired and swollen from all the tears I cried last night. I don't even know what I have been crying about. I just wept all night. I slowly and reluctantly dragged myself to the bathroom, took a shower and put some clothes on. It was casual Friday, so anything goes. I pulled on a pair of jeans and a white cardigan over my head and down my body. It was the closest items my hand could reach for from the closet. I looked into the mirror and saw my tear stained face, even though I'd washed my face two minuets ago. I tried to dab on as much concealer as possible to hide the puffiness. I let my hair lose today and set my curls free to cascade down my back. When I walked out of my room, Riyana was in the kitchen having breakfast. I prayed she wouldn't notice the way I looked and ask me about it. I smiled at her. "Morning," I said to her. "Hey." She responded. "I didn't see you at all yesterday. Late night again?" "Actually, no. I was home by 7pm last night. I went for a run, got back and went straight to bed. I've been pretty tired this entire week." "Well who wouldn't be. You've been returning home late everyday of the week except for last night, I guess." "Yeah, tell me about it." I managed a soft chuckle. "So what are you doing this weekend?" Riyana asked. "I don't know, what have you got in mind?" I poured myself a cup of coffee. I didn't add in any cream or sugar like I always did. This morning, the taste of bitter black coffee was comforting to me. "Isn't Owen coming back? I thought you might have plans with him."

I froze. With all the emotions I was going through last night, it slipped my mind that Owen would be returning from his trip either today or tomorrow. Riyana starred intently at me. "You're not still into James, are you?" she asked. I sighed heavily and said nothing. And then looked up at Riyana and asked, "What do I do, Rye?" She stood up, came over to me and gave me a hug, "The right thing, of course." And then she smiled and said she had to leave for work. Before I left for work myself, I searched through some drawers for a pair of shades, put them on and walked out the door. The atmosphere in the office on a Friday was always uplifting. Everyone was geared up for the weekend and you could hear loud chatter throughout the office room. I walked towards my table and sat down. I told myself that I would have to avoid James at all cost today. I knew it wasn't going to be so easy. He was nowhere in sight right now. Conrad came over to me a second later. "You'll be taking the material up to our production house later, I assume?" he asked. "Oh, yea. The second we're done I'll grab everything, send over the necessary files via e-mail and be there as quick as I can." "Great! You'll be going with James then?" So much for avoiding him, I thought to myself. I tried again. "Uhm, actually I don't think there's a need. Maybe I'll take Dunstan with me, and we'll be back with the DVD as soon as their done with the copying etc." "Why Dunstan? I think it's best to go with James, that way he can correct any minor or major errors if any. And I'm pretty sure he'd like to go too." I was being so unreasonable suddenly. "OK, but I still think it'll be good exposure for Dunstan if I get him to come as well." "Fine, that's alright with me. As long as James is there, he needs to see the final animation before it comes to me and is sent to his boss." "Oh, that's right. OK." I sighed and bit my bottom lip. "Just let me know when you leave the office, OK?" "No problem." I replied to Conrad. I slowly walked into the conference room where everyone was starting to gather. James was already there at the head of the table giving instructions like a machine gun. He was really determine to complete this project by today. I got into work myself and tried to concentrate. Amazingly enough, James and I didn't exchange a word with each other. It was as if he was trying to avoid me as well.

By 11:45am we were already running the final touch ups on everything. The graphics were complete and were being sent of for production. We had all our banners ready to go online as well and the final layouts were sent for print. All we had to do now was to get everything on DVD and then present it to Conrad for his final approval. Once that was done, it will be sent to Adult Swim for their approval and payment of course. By 12:30 I was ready to leave for the production house. I gave Conrad a call from my extension and told him we were leaving. Just as I hung up with his permission to leave the office, James walked up towards me. When he spoke, his voice was cold and hard. There was no humor in it, no warmth or friendliness. "I'll drive. So I'll meet you and Dunstan downstairs." I simply nodded. There was certainly a gray cloud above both our heads. "You ready, Dunstan?" I was glad Conrad had approved of Dunstan coming along. He was my buffer. I wouldn't have to talk to James much this way. Yes, in a way I was using him as well as giving him a chance to learn about our work, so I didn't feel too guilty about the whole thing. We rode the lift down together walked towards James car and drove off. I thought it was a good idea if I sat in the backseat while Dunstan rode shot gun. When we arrived at the production house, Henry the person we always dealt with was already expecting us. We went through some slides together, checked out everything before letting it go into trial production. James had a bunch of last minuet adjustment that I merely just agreed to without any objections or arguments. He seemed to have everything under control. Finally we got to see the whole animation on DVD. It was probably one of the best work we've done. Something lit up in me that moment. If this project was a success, which I had no doubt that it would be, maybe Conrad would hire James' company to work with us again in the future? Or vise verse? This meant that I might work with James again in the coming future. Was I thrilled or not by this thought? I couldn't decide. When we were done, it was almost 4pm. All three of us had skipped lunch and were starving by now. We couldn't stop for a bite to eat though, we had to get the material back to our office, have Conrad take a look at the final animation on screen and then have all the agreements settled with Adult Swim. If we could complete it by today, we'd probably get paid by Monday or latest by Wednesday. And I'm pretty sure we could all use the money. The sooner the better. So we drove straight back to the office and prepared the conference room for the final presentation. As Conrad walked in, James had his boss Karen on video conference with us. We sat silently watching the entire animation of the advertisement.

At the end of the presentation there were loud cheers and claps throughout the room. Conrad stood up and beamed at us. He then leaned over to James and shook his hand. "Excellent work, Mr. Hornton. Oh..." he turned to look at the rest of us. "...you guys too of course. I have to say, definitely the best we have done so far." He began to clap, and we followed suit. Karen had already expressed her views on the presentation and left the video conference. Conrad then congratulated everyone on a job well done and continued to say how much of an honor it was to work with Glitz Advertising and that he hoped we will see each other again in the near future for other promotions, events and projects. After that he said something that brought even louder cheers throughout the room. "So, in return for such amazing work from you lot, I thought we'd all go to the bar down the road and celebrate our work as well as sit back, relax and maybe get to know each other a little better. Everything will be on us, so don't be shy, just come over and have fun." When the cheers died down, Conrad continued, "So I'll see you folks in a while then?" He beamed and walked out of the room. Everyone broke into instant laughs and chatter. I couldn't help but feel good again. I set aside all my other worries and decided to let my hair down and have fun tonight. As I walked out of the room and headed to my desk, James came by and sat down in the empty seat next to me. They have got to get someone to occupy the desk next to mine! I thought to myself. I wondered suddenly why no one sat there. "So..." James began talking. "So," I repeated. "I guess we're done then? My team will be packing up and leaving soon." "You're not going to join us later at the bar?" I said quickly, sounding disappointed that he might not be there tonight. "Oh, no of course we're coming. Free food and beer? Are you kidding me?" James was back to himself again. I laughed. "Yea, exactly." I said to him. "Do you want to drive there together? I'll drive you back here later so you can get your car. You'll save some gas that way." "Yea, sure. Why not?" I smiled. "OK, let me know when you're ready to go. I'm just going to pop into the men's room."

"OK." James stood up and walked away. Just then Dunstan came up to me. "Hey, thanks for letting me tag along earlier. It was pretty cool." "No problem, I wanted you to see the full specs of your job." "Yea, it was interesting. And you know I've been having such a great time, and I'm really enjoying work." "Fantastic, I'm glad to hear that! I cheered Dunstan on. You're coming for drinks later right?" "Yeah, definitely. Can I get a ride though because I don't really know where this place is." "Oh, sure. I'm actually car pooling with James. I'm sure he wouldn't mind." "Cool, thanks. So I'll see you in a bit." "Sure." I smiled up at Dunstan. He's such a good boy I thought to myself. Twenty minuets later we were all headed out together. A couple of people from James' team rode in his car as well. When we arrived at the bar, it was still early, so their usual crowd hadn't come in yet. We managed to get a table for 10 and were seated pretty quickly. As usual, I somehow caught myself seated next to James. Between me and myself, if I weren't seated next to him, I probably would have moved a few chairs up just so I'd be seated next to him anyway. Conrad made sure we all had free flow of beers throughout the night. I finally had a chance to eat something as well. The low rumble deep inside my stomach reminded me that I hadn't eaten anything all day. I ordered myself a massive cheese burger with a side of fries and salad. James took one look at my meal and laughed. "And here I thought you were a small eater!" "I haven't eaten all day, I get to pig out, don't you dare say anything," I warned him with a cheeky smile. "Are you sure you're going to be able to finish that, Thumbelina?" Conrad asked, pointing at my delicious looking burger. Everyone at the office knew that I was a small eater. So it came as a surprise to them all that I was having such a huge meal. "Yes! And I might even have desert!" I said out loud grinning from ear to ear. "Hey, I'm willing to bet on that," James teased me. ...and if we're lucky we might see her explode! and he collapsed into laughter. I ignored him and munched on a fry resisting the urge to stick my tongue out at him. Soon we were all eating, drinking and talking to each other like old friends. We were also making the most noise in the bar. James was flushed in the face, he was definitely getting a little tipsy.

"Let's play some pool!" He suddenly stood up and yelled. He then gestured toward Conrad and said, "Come on, you and me. One on one!" Conrad stood up shook his head excitedly. "You really don't want to play with me. He commented. You want to play with Thumbelina over there. She's a hustler, I swear. She's ranging queen of pool for two years in a row now." I quickly blushed. Conrad was right though. I've been playing the game since I was 15. And I took the title for the last two years that we had a pool competition at work. "Is that so now?" James commented. "Well, I'm always up for a challenge. What do you say, Thumbelina?" He gave me a sly look. At first, I didn't think it was a good idea. "I don't feel like it really, and I'm so full right now." I starred at my half eaten burger and fries. As expected I hadn't been able to finish it. They were all right, I really am a small eater. "Oh come on, one game. You'll work out the food and then maybe you be able to finish the rest of it." He teased. And then he taunted. "What, are you chicken now? Think you'll lose and give up your title?" He still had a silly grin across his face. That's it! No one calls me 'chicken.' I stood up. "Fine, you're on, punk." I got out of my seat and walked towards the pool table. One by one our colleagues started gathering around the pool table as well. "OK, let's make this more interesting. Loser, has to chug down an entire jug of beer." Conrad said. Cheers were heard. "And the winner?" I asked smugly. "Pfft, you're not going to win," James made a face. "Alright, alright...winner gets bragging rights, obviously." Conrad concluded. That was enough for me. "Deal!" I exclaimed and offered to shake hands with James. "You're going down, lady." James said while positioning his thumb downwards. I just picked up a cue stick and got into position. James arranged the balls on the table and backed away. "Ladies first," he said. Big mistake, I thought to myself. I always liked the first shot. Breaking the balls was the best way to get at least 2 into the holes. I grinned and walked up to the table, adjusted the stick in my hand, bent forward and took my shot. Just as I expected, I pocketed two solid colored balls.

"Ooooh," came the echoes from the rest of our colleagues. James stood at his spot, flabbergasted. I took another shot and missed. I backed away from the table and took a seat on a stool. James jumped into action. In under 30 seconds he had two striped balls in himself! It was my turn to look shocked now. And when he went for the third one, it sliced neatly into the hole. I was a little nervous now. James walked over to the other side of the table, positioned his cue stick, and gently tapped the white ball on the edge. The ball rolled and hit a yellow striped ball which rolled into the hole. That's 4 James, and 2 me! I think I felt sweat trickling down my forehead. Our colleagues clapped cheerfully. I turned to look at them. Whose side were they on! They all went silent, and I laughed. James finally missed at his 5th shot. I wasn't going to lose! I studied the table intensely. I measured the distance of each ball to each other and toward a hole, in my head. I walked around and looked at the position of the balls. When I had made up my mind, I finally crouched forward and took my shot. Snap! I missed. I starred at the ball in horror. I could hear James snicker behind me. He came next to me and gently shoved me away with his hips. I stumbled and stared in shock at him. How dare he! Our colleagues were now paying full attention to us. I felt like I was about to explode. When James missed his next shot, I was geared up like a ranging bull now. I stepped forward and took my shot...success! I had one in the hole. The crowd went quiet. I positioned myself again, and took another shot. The ball rolled steadily into the hole as well. I got my mojo back! When I took the next shot and successfully slammed the next ball into a hole, I turned to look at James. I think he was sweating now. I smiled to myself. I took the fourth shot and missed. I cursed silently. "Finish it off, boss" screamed one of James' team mate. My team yelled "boo!" I laughed to myself. When James missed the second shot, I breathed a sigh of relief. This was it. I was going to finish the game off now. And so I did. When it was just the black 8 left on the table, I was confident I had it in the bag. The ball was positioned in a perfect angle. Loud cheers erupted from my team when I gently hit the white ball, which gave the black a slight nudge and then fell into the hole. Conrad came up to me and lifted me off the ground swinging me around. Everyone clapped. I was laughing and giggling all at the same time. I was at such a high that I almost forgot to "boo" at James myself. I mean, bragging rights were bragging rights!

When the sounds died out. I turned to face James. He was covered in sweat. I giggled to myself. "Impressive game play, loser." I taunted. "Not so bad yourself, shorty." "Not so bad?! Are you kidding? I just whipped your ass there!" And then I went into a steady boo and blasted his ear off. James laughed and shoved me away. "OK, OK you did great! And that's one more thing I can add to my list of things about you that impresses me." James said and winked at me. I melted. He pulled me in for a hug and rubbed the top oh head messing my hair up a little. I laughed and pushed him away this time. "OK, so as promised..." Conrad held a pitcher in his hand. "...loser chugs down an entire jug." He handed it over to James. "Oh shit, come on. How about just half the jug?" James tried reason with us. "Absolutely not, the bet was the entire jug. Whenever you're ready, man." Conrad cheered him on. "Alright then!" James grunted. He stood up on a stool, held the jug in both hands, and went for it. Everyone started chanting, "Chug, chug, chug, chug!!!" I laughed my butt off. It was too funny, really. The entire situation, the whole image in front of me now. I carried on laughing and clapping my hands jumping up and down chanting with the rest. When James was finally done, he spurted beer through his nose, and coughed a little before he burst out laughing. He stumbled a few times before regaining his balance. His shirt front was drenched in beer. His arms were dripping. He was completely flushed. Everyone in the bar roared and cheered. I rushed to his side as he was about to stumble to his left. I grabbed hold of him and kept him steady. He grabbed hold of my shoulders, steadied himself, thankful for the assistance. We laughed all the way back to our seats. As it seemed, I actually was able to finish my food in the end. At least it didn't go to waste. I completely forgot all about Owen that second and sitting next to James made me feel like we were together. I leaned against him and laughed the night through. I was having so much fun, I didn't have a worry in the world that moment. 23: The drunk say the funniest things At a quarter to midnight we were all stumbling out of the bar one by one. Everyone staggered around saying their goodbyes giggling to themselves. I gave Conrad a hug and told him to have a great holiday! And then he reminded me it was only the weekend and that he would be back at work again on Monday. I giggled again. I wasn't really that drunk. Maybe a little tipsy. I could still walk in a straight line. Everyone found their ways back. Some of them took cabs home, the rest car pooled

with one another back to the office. When everyone cleared out, I found myself standing at the pavement alone with James. He smelled of cigarettes and beer. No, James didn't smoke, but you can't expect to smell like roses coming out of a bar. He grabbed my hand and we linked arms walking together. We sang Christmas carols, and then sang 'Happy New Year' to each other. The good thing was that it was almost Christmas and of course New Year's was also closing in. So no one really thought we were mad or anything like that. "OK, I'm too drunk to drive, babe." James snorted at me. "You're not drunk, you're fine. You just like having me drive you around. Admit it, you lazy fucker." I snorted myself. "Hey, don't talk to me like that...hustler!" We both erupted into giggles again. "OK, this is crazy. Neither one of us is in a state to drive. I say we find a coffee house, drink lots of beer and sober up." James suggested. "You mean coffee!" I said laughing "Yes, coffee. What did I say?" "You said beer." I snickered. "Nonsense, you must be drunker than I thought." He snorted. I ignored his comment and looked for the nearest coffee house, or diner. Thankfully there was one on the other side of the road. Somehow we made it there without getting run over. Of course it helped that the roads were almost empty at this time of the day. We walked into the diner and took a seat at the nearest booth. When the waitress came over, James said. "Your finest bottle of wine, I've got a lady to impress." And he winked at the waitress. I started laughing again. "He's kidding. A pot of strong black coffee and a jug of warm water please." I made the order. "Anything to eat?" the girl asked. "Yes, I would like the lobster with loads of butter..." Before James said anything else, I simply shook my head at the waitress and thanked her. "Hey, she didn't take my order..." James commented. I carried on laughing at him. He was a funny drunk. "You need to sober up quickly, James! I can't have you driving home in that condition." "Well!" He started "...it was you people who made me chug down an entire pitcher of beer!" "You lost to a girl at pool." I tsk'd at him and giggled. James looked into my eyes and smiled. "Did I ever tell you, that you're quite the knock out?" he suddenly said. We sat there looking at each for a few seconds before

James suddenly said, "I have to go," he stood up and walked towards the men's room. For a moment, when he said he had to go, I thought he was going to head out of the diner. I panicked a little bit. I didn't want to leave him alone in the condition he was. 10 minuets later he returned and took his seat again. "Feel better?" I asked him. "Slight head ache coming up I think." He chuckled. Our coffee had arrived a few minuets later. I chugged down a glass of water before I sipped on a mug of hot coffee. James was still kind of drunk and I was slowly snapping out of it. I wasn't actually drunk to begin with, so I had nothing to worry about. I worried about James driving on his own back home though. I didn't want him to be pulled over by the cops, or even worst, drive into a ditch. When we finished the last cup out of the entire pot, I paid for the drinks and grabbed James' hand again. He was still very tipsy and could hardly stand up straight. "I really cant' drive in this condition," he said to me. "Alright don't worry about it, I'll drive back to the office and we'll see how you feel by then OK?" He nodded and we walked out of the diner. We got into James' car and I took the wheel. As I pulled into the parking lot at my office building, James was already fast asleep in the car. I tried to wake him up. I nudged him a little. When he didn't stir, I shook him harder. His eyes slowly fluttered open. "Are we home yet?" he asked. Oh no. There's no way he's going to be able to drive home in this condition, I told myself. I sat behind the wheel and thought for awhile. Within seconds I heard snores from James again. I walked out of his car and walked over to mine. I unlocked it and got inside. I made sure I didn't leave any valuables in the car locked the steering wheel and locked the car after that. I got back into James car and pushed the key into its ignition and started the car. I'll drive back home, let James crash on our couch and come back in the morning for my car. It was the best I could do. If I drove him back and then drove myself back, his car would be left behind. Since I lived closer to the office, I decided to leave my car behind and drive James' home. I figured that was my best option right now. So I headed back to my apartment. I put the car into park when we reached home. Walked to the passenger seat and woke James up again. He slowly woke up and got out of the car still stumbling about. I locked the car and helped him into the elevator. I prayed Riyana wouldn't still be up by the time I got upstairs.

I walked towards my apartment still with James at my side. I was surprised how my tiny frame could take his weight. My body is going to hurt like hell in the morning. I slowly and quietly unlocked the door to the apartment and walked in. Not being able to hold James' weight anymore I quickly pushed him toward the couch in the living room. Just as soon as I walked into the kitchen for a glass of water, I heard the front door open. Riyana walked in humming to herself. She quickly spotted me in the kitchen. "Hey, did you just get back?" she asked cheerfully. "Uh, yea. Only just walked in." I responded to her nervously. "Another late night huh?" she asked. "Well, yea but mostly because we were celebrating the completion of our project." "Ah! Congratulations, so what did you guys do?" "Conrad took the entire team to a bar, I played some pool, kicked James' ass pretty badly and then got a little drunk, but sobered up." Riayana laughed. "Sounds like you guys had a pretty awesome time." "We did!" Riyana strolled into the living room. She hadn't noticed James yet. She reached for the TV remote and before I could warn her she had plopped her ass on our couch and fell right on top of James. She shrieked and stood up. "What the hell...!" James didn't move an inch. He remained on the couch snoring peacefully. "Who the hell is this?" Riyana screeched again. I took a deep breath and then started talking. "OK, here's the thing. James got so hammered, he couldn't walk or talk straight anymore. Thing is, we made him chug down an entire pitcher of beer because he lost at the pool table. So in addition to that and a few more beers that he had throughout the night, he's out cold." I bit my bottom lip waiting for a reaction from her. Riyana remained silent for a while. And the she spoke again. "OK, so that's James sleeping in our couch?" "Yes." I nodded slowly. She looked at me. Before she could say anything else, I began to talk. "Look, I didn't know what else to do. He drove me to the bar, since it was nearby and he said he'd drive me back to the office so I could get my car. But he was so hammered and there was no way I was going to let him drive home on his own. So I left my car at the office, and drove him here. He'll probably give me a ride to the office tomorrow so I can take my car back." When Riyana didn't say anything, I continued talking again. "It's just for tonight and I'm pretty sure he won't be any trouble. Let him just sleep it

out here and he'll be out of the apartment first thing in the morning." Riyana finally spoke. "Of course he can sleep here for the night. Geez, hon, there's no way I would have left a friend to drive back home in that condition either. Just as long as you're sure about what you're doing here, I have nothing else to say." "I'm sure. It'll be fine." "When's Owen coming back?" "I don't know, probably tomorrow." Drat, I still hadn't called him I thought to myself. "What if he finds out about this?" "He won't because neither of us will tell him. I'm pretty sure James won't either. We simply won't mention it." We both remained silent. James stirred in the couch suddenly. We slowly moved out of the living room and into the kitchen. "I'm pretty beat myself. I know you'll deal with this the right way. If you need any help in the morning, let me know. I'll drive you to the office myself too if you want." "OK, thanks. I'll see you in the morning. Good night." "Night." Before Riyana marched off to her room she said, "I guess there's no TV for me tonight! And hey, don't, like sit there and watch him sleep or anything OK?" I let out a soft giggle. "Oh god, girl. You've really gone and fallen for the brother haven't you? Look at the worry in your eyes. I can tell you genuinely care about him." I nodded at Riyana. "He was so funny tonight. I whispered while looking at James' body lying in my couch breathing steadily. You should have seen him. We had so much of fun. We laughed and talked and got drunk together. I've not had this much fun in so long with anyone, Rye!" "You've got to tell him how you feel. Riyana shook her head. And then come clean with Owen as well and do it soon, babe!" I hugged Riyana tight and then walked into my room to get James a blanket. I walked back to the hall, covered him with the blanket, and slipped my fingers through his hair. I fought every urge inside me to bend down and kiss him on his forehead. I then removed his shoes as he stirred in his sleep again. I quickly moved away. I padded softly to my bedroom and shut the door. I took a quick shower, put on a tshirt and shorts and went to bed myself. Despite it being December, it was still kind of warm tonight. 24: Facing the truth

Saturday morning came and I was awaken by the sun shining directly into my face. I sprang out of bed immediately. I wanted to be in the living room before James woke up and panicked. I marched quietly out of my room. He was still asleep. I moved closer and heard soft snores coming from him. I tip toed back into my room, brushed my teeth, washed my face and threw some fresh clothes on. And then I brushed my hair down neatly. When I walked back into the living room, James was slowly rising from the couch. His hands went straight to his head. He groaned out. "Morning," I said softly behind him. He slowly turned around. "Hey..." and then he got out of the couch. "Where am I? What happened last night?" He walked towards the balcony rubbing his eyes. He turned and squinted at me, walked towards the couch and stood behind it. He placed his hands behind his head, stretched and then let out a loud sigh. And then all of a sudden his eyes opened wide. "Oh good lord...no...tell me we didn't. We...didn't...did we?" He looked in horror at me. For a second I was really puzzled, I wondered what he was talking about. And then he went on. "Last night...we did not..." I then realized what he was trying to say! I quickly interrupted him before he said it. "Last night you were pretty hammered. You were already asleep by the time I drove back to the office from the bar. I tried to wake you, but you were out cold. So I figured, I might as well drive your car back to my place, leave mine at the car park at work and let you crash on the couch. As soon as I got you into the couch I went to bed myself." "Oh OK! So you went straight to bed after that. He said assuring himself once again that nothing happened. I walked towards the couch nodded at him and grabbed the blanket to fold it. He came over to my end and slowly took it from my hands. "I can do that, don't worry." I let him take the blanket away. I walked towards the kitchen and put the coffee pot on. Coffee? I asked. "Uh, yeah sure. Black no--...sugar nor creamer, I know. I smiled at him and he returned the smile. So this is your place huh?" He walked about poking his head around nosily. I giggled to myself. "Yeah, kinda small I know."

"Oh no, it's very nice. It's really sweet actually, and damn that's a comfortable couch. I laughed this time. Uh, bathroom? James asked. Straight down the hall on your left. I pointed him toward the common bathroom. When he got out of the bathroom he walked into the kitchen and stood by the sink next to me. He washed his hands and I handed him a towel to dry them off. And then I spoke to him. "How are you feeling? Hangover? Head ache? Do you need some aspirin?" "Nah, actually I'm alright. I mean my head feels a little heavy, but I think I'll survive it. Where's your roommate?" "Probably asleep, she likes sleeping in on Saturdays." "Oh, god! It's the weekend already isn't it? Man, this week went by pretty quickly. He commented. He walked around the kitchen at sat a the bar stool by the counter and played with my fake fruit lying in a basket on the counter top. "Hey, when is Owen coming back?" he suddenly asked. Oh crap. If I had at least called him this morning just as soon as I woke up, I would know the answer to this question. "Uh, I don't know...actually." I refused to look him in the face. I pretended to put the dishes away and kept my back towards him. "You haven't called him?" he asked again. "Uh, no. Not yet." I replied softly. I sensed movement, and when I turned around James had gotten up and was looking around. "Where are my car keys?" he asked, his tone now different. I looked at him puzzled. "They're hanging on the hook there," I pointed toward the wall where Riyana and I hung all our keys at. James grabbed his keys, and then said, "Shoes?" "There by the corner. I continued looking at him surprised by his sudden movements. Are you leaving now?" I asked as he grabbed the handle of the front door. He just said, "Yeah," and then turned the knob around and opened the door. "I thought you wanted some coffee?" I frowned.

He paused at the door with one foot outside and then slowly moved the top half of his body back into the apartment and looked at me. And then he finally spoke. "Why haven't you call Owen? I thought we had this conversation like two days ago, and I mentioned for you to call him." "I..." I started to speak but couldn't find the words to respond to him. "Didn't I tell you that he was worried about you? He still seems to think he did something wrong. You can't tell me you couldn't fine at least 10 minuets in your busy schedule to give him a short call? And then he paused and carried on again. "Do you mean to say you haven't called him, not once since he's been away?" I shook my head, looking towards the side. "Why not?" his questions turned into accusations suddenly. "Too busy? Too expensive? Too occupied? Why? Too distracted? I remained silent and starred at my feet for a few moments. James just stood by the door. And then while still looking down, I slowly said. "You know very well why I haven't called him, James," and then I found the courage to stare him straight in the eye. He just stood by the door still half opened and starred at me. "What are you talking about?" he said frowning. I finally exploded. "Oh, please. You know very well what I'm talking about! You know why I haven't called him! Only seconds ago you were making suggestions that you thought we slept together last night!" I yelled out and then breathed out heavily. And then I continued. "Yea, I knew exactly what you were thinking, but I thought it would be inappropriate for you to say it, yet you thought it, and before you could say it I quickly stopped you!" He closed the door finally, took a step back and looked down at the floor. He kept jiggling his keys in his hands. I stood still but I was shivering all over. I felt the heat rise to my cheeks. You have to know why I haven't called him all this time, I said softly again. After what I thought was an eternity and as if James and I had shared the same thoughts that second, he finally spoke. "But...he's my brother" he said in a low growl. My heart sore for a moment. Did that mean that James knew what I was talking about? Did but he's my brother mean he didn't want to betray Owen, or was he

protecting him? Did it mean that he felt the same way about me? I relented. "I know," I said softly. And then I got angry. It angered me that he hid his feelings if it were true and questioned me like that. I began to yell again. "He is your brother, and yet last night you still had cheek to tell me I was a knock out? You think that's appropriate? Telling your brother's girl friend that she's a knock out?" I don't know where these words were coming from, but now that I started I couldn't stop. "And you know what? I was so worried about you driving home in your condition last night, that I left my own car at the building and drove you back here so you would be safe and you can't even think to at least say "thank you?" What was I saying, what did all this have to do with the conversation we were having now? And then James yelled back. "Yea, and the first thing I could think about was my brother, whom you've yet to call! He could be on his way up here right now for all we know! How "appropriate" do you think this will look?!" He added the air quotes. I had it, he was being so rude and putting this all on me. Like he wasn't to be blamed at all. It takes two to tango! "Get out of my apartment," was all I could hear myself saying next. Tears filled my eyes, and there was no way I was going to let James see me crying. "Just get out. PLEASE!" He just stood there and starred into space. He wasn't looking at me anymore. He just starred at nothing. And then my phone started ringing. I was still shivering from head to toe. I finally moved a foot forward and reached out for my phone. I took a look at the caller id. "It's him." I said shakily. With that, James walked out of the apartment and slammed the door behind him. I let out a long loud sob and let the tears roll down my face. I was shaking so badly I had to sit down. My phone carried on ringing. After a good 15 seconds, I finally answered it. I wiped the tears off my face and tried to sound like myself. "Hey, Owen!" I couldn't hide the low sobs that came within me. "Hey gorgeous! Oh god, you know I thought you might been eaten by sharks or something!" he said humorously.

I tried to let out a soft chuckle. "We're way too far from the sea, babe." I said back to him. He laughed. "Why haven't you called me, sweetie? I waited by my phone several times. I wanted to call you too, but I thought if you still haven't called yet you're probably busy and I shouldn't bother you either." "Owen, I am so sorry." I truly was. Another tear rolled down my left chick. "...I really really am. I should have called..." "OK, you what, it doesn't matter. So guess what? I'm back! And boy am I glad to be back!" My heart raced. "Oh? When did you get back? Only just?" "No, actually I got back to my apartment at around 2am-ish. I wanted to call you at that time itself, but I didn't think it was a good idea and that you may have been asleep too. So I waited till now." "Oh yeah, we had a pretty late night yesterday, I came home rather late and went straight to bed." "Yeah? Well see good thing I hadn't called then. And then Owen suddenly asked. Hey have you seen or heard from James?" My heart stopped. "Uhm, well he was with us last night. Conrad my boss, took us all out to the bar nearby for a celebratory drink and dinner because we completed our project under the dateline. I'm not sure where James headed to after that." I lied. "OK, well no worries I guess. I'll just give him a call once I end this call with you." "Yeah, I hope he's alright." I added. "Eh, it's James. He'll be fine. Probably out with his girl friend. Listen beautiful, how about I come over and take you out to breakfast?" "Really?" I tried to sound enthusiastic. "Yea! I can be there in half an hour." "Would you mind giving me about an hour? I just need to shower and groom up a little. You know late night yesterday and all." Yea, no problem. Take as much time as you need. I'll be there at around 10am or so, then. Perfect, I said and hung up the phone. My heart beat loudly inside my chest. I was actually giving James time to leave my area completely and hopefully be home before Owen left. I didn't want to risk them bumping into each other half way. Maybe it would give James sometime to get home first and if Owen saw him first, at least the situation wouldn't be so complicated.

After I put the phone away, I walked into my room threw myself onto my bed and cried to myself. I was in such a confused state. I didn't have time to think about this now though, I had to pick myself up, get ready and be prepared to meet Owen. I took a shower and scrubbed my face red. Once again I tried to conceal the puffiness in my eyes and look as bright and cheerful as possible. I picked out the brightest dress from my closet and put it on. I let my curls loose behind my neck and walked out of my room and then out of the apartment. Owen was already downstairs waiting in his car by the time I was out of the complex. He got out of his car and walked towards me. He looked so handsome. He wore a navy blue shirt with black jeans. I smiled sweetly at him. He came over and gave me a huge hug lifting me off the ground. "It's so good to see you!" He said. And then he kissed me lightly on my lips. "It's good to see you too!" Again I tried to sound as bright as possible. "Welcome back," I whispered to him. We got into his car and drove off without even deciding where to go yet. "So how is everything with you, then beautiful?" Owen asked smiling warmly at me. "You look incredible by the way," he added. "Every thing's great, you look pretty ravishing yourself." I grinned. I was surprised at myself. Despite how I was feeling, I could still find the right words to say. "How was your trip?" I tried to sound interested. "It was pretty good and well like I said on the phone, kinda dull at times, so I'm really, really glad to be back." I smiled again. And then, the weirdest thing happened. We had nothing else to say to each other. The both of us just remained silent. Then Owen mentioned something about going to the 'Waffle House' for breakfast. I merely nodded in agreement. Suddenly he said something that got my attention. "Oh, James walked into the apartment as I was about to leave to come see you." "Oh, is he alright? Did you talk to him?" I sounded anxious. Owen didn't seem to realize. "Yea, he's fine. You know, I've been gone one week and so much has happened." "Really? Like what?" I looked curiously at Owen wondering if he had any idea of what has been going on between James and I. "Well, I'm not sure if you know about this girl named Gloria? She was dating James and it seems that they broke up. I mean he was hardly with her for 3 - 5 weeks maybe?" "Actually, yeah. He's talked about her and I heard about the break up too. Pretty much everyone in the office did." "What do you mean?" Owen cocked an eye brow at me. "He came into the office a couple of days back with her yelling behind him. God knows what it was all about, and then later that day he told me they broke up."

"Ah, huh I'll have to talk to him about it later, if I remember. So what was it like working with him? I'm sorry I hadn't told you that he was going to be working at your place. We talked about it that night after the camping trip and James said not to say anything about it to you." I laughed. Yea? But do you know what he told me? He said you wanted it to be a surprise and that's why you didn't tell me. Oh, bullshit! Owen laughed. " Working with him was really, really pleasant actually. His team is amazing. Without them we couldn't have completed our project so quickly. And James is a great leader. Most of the time he took lead of us all, even my team and I it never bothered me. I really enjoyed working with him." I couldn't stop talking about James to Owen. I wasn't sure if I should stop or maintain the conversation. All I could think of was, at least we weren't driving in silence again. When we were finally done with breakfast I was glad. It was too weird. If we weren't talking about James, we weren't talking at all. I wondered if Owen noticed this. He seemed pretty oblivious to the entire situation. I got out of the car and walked toward the elevator. Owen walked with me. When we reached my floor and were in front of the apartment. I turned to Owen, leaned into him and placed my palm on the middle of his chest. I rubbed my fingers against him and sighed softly. I figured if we couldn't come up with stuff to talk about, maybe I still felt some physical attraction towards him. He held my hand and came in for a kiss. I pressed my body against him, tipped my toes up and reached for his lips with mine. My other hand crept up behind him and I ran my fingers lightly up his back to slowly moved my hand up to hold the back of his neck. I slipped my fingers into his hair and locked my lips with him. I slid my tongue gently into his mouth and explored the insides of his mouth. We kissed long and hard. I refused to let go and searched within me for something to stir. I searched for some passion to ignite. I kissed him so hard, that it was him who had to finally pull away to break the kiss. When he stepped back, I slowly crawled my hands away from him. I looked at him, smiled and thanked him for breakfast. I felt nothing. I was completely detached from him. Finally, he said something about calling me later and then left me standing in front of my apartment door. I unlocked the door, walked in and sighed heavily. It's over I thought to myself. I can't carry this on anymore. I had to talk to James. If there was a chance for us to be together, I didn't want to escape it. And in the process if I hurt Owen, I knew I would hate myself forever, but sooner or later he will have to understand. I would have to make him see it. It wasn't going to be easy at all.

25: The real kiss of passion When I got home, Riyana was awake sitting at the table in the kitchen having her breakfast. Hey, she looked up at me. Got your car back? she asked. Nope, I simply shook my head. But guess who's back? I pulled out a carton of orange juice from the fridge and filled a glass up. Uh oh, Owen? Riyana looked at me. Bingo! And, I just came back from having breakfast with him. Oh. She paused and then spoke again. So where's James? Oh god...Owen found him here? No, no...thank god for that. I sat down at the table facing her. Everything was fine this morning, James woke up and I told him what happened last night and then offered him some coffee. I took a sip at my juice. But then, he had to go ask me if I had called Owen. When I answered no, he went completely loco, accusing me of being too busy, too distracted or somewhat and demanded to know why I hadn't called his brother. Oh, boy. Riyana said rolling her eyes. Then what happened? she asked. I blew up. I accused him back, saying he knows exactly why I haven't called Owen yet since he left for his trip. Indirectly I said to him that he must have realized all this flirting that was going on between us and that he had something to do with it as well. Riyana listened intently and nodded every now and then. I drummed my fingers on the table and then spoke again. Do you know that he thought we slept together last night?! He was about to say it as soon as he woke up this morning, but the second I realized what he was thinking, I quickly interrupted him not wanting any thoughts like that go through his mind at all. I took a deep breath. Tears were forming in my eyes again. And with all that, he hadn't even said thank you to me for driving him all the way here and leaving my precious car over night at the office just so he could get home safely afterward! I sobbed. God Riyana, it's so complicated! How did I get here? I don't want to have feelings for him, but I do! It was Riyana's turn to flare up now. Oh, stop your crying! You're stronger than this, I know you way too well! If you want him, go get him! You can't sit here and mop around about it. Tell Owen you think things aren't turning out the way you both thought they might and that you're into someone else. And when he asks who, you'll just have to pray Owen doesn't kill you after saying James' name. Riyana chuckled softly.

I looked at her and smiled myself. She was right. Owen just had to understand. Riyana gave me a ride to the office an hour later to pick my car up. When I got to the basement, there were only a couple of cars there. I got into my car and contemplated going to James' place to talk to him and quickly get this all over with. Then I decided it wasn't a good idea since Owen would obviously be there. I contemplated giving James a call and asking him to meet me somewhere. We had to do it in private. But how? I wondered how I was going to convince James to talk about us as well, seeing as how he obviously was not going to betray his brother, he might want to ignore the entire situation. My heart sank at the thought. It started to pour as I pulled the car into my parking spot back home. I walked into the apartment and headed straight to my bedroom. What I really needed right now was some sleep. And with the rain outside, it really was the perfect time to cuddle under the sheets and chase all my worries away. While I napped, I thought about how I would talk things over with James and then I thought about how I would end it with Owen. I also wondered if I should tell Owen about how I felt towards James and what his reaction would be. As I slowly fell into a deep slumber, I was awoken an hour later by the sounds of someone banging at the front door. The loud thuds were even heard through my closed room door. I scrambled out of bed and headed to the door. The banging continued. Whoever it was, was beginning to scare me. I walked into the kitchen and looked for a weapon, just in case. I grabbed hold of a frying pan and clutched it tightly. Where was Riyana, I wondered? Where could she be in this rain? Maybe that was her outside the door? She must have forgotten her keys. As I slowly approached the door, the banging stopped. My heart started racing suddenly fearing what was on the other side. I stopped to listen again. Nothing. The sounds had stopped, everything was silent again. I padded softly towards the door and slowly twisted its knob. What was I so afraid of? If it was someone coming to hurt me, they wouldn't make all that noise. Maybe it was a fire drill? But there were no alarms. I pulled the door open very carefully, still clutching the frying pan in my other hand. I peeked outside and saw no one there! I was surprised. I walked outside and examined the hall way. I walked towards my right and then to my left to see if anyone was around. No one, absolutely nothing. I looked under the door to see if there was a note. Nothing! I frowned to myself. I walked back into the apartment and closed the door behind me. I bolted the locks shut and put the frying pan away. I walked over to Riyana's room and knocked on her door. When there was no answer, I knocked harder. She wasn't home. I went back to my bedroom and looked for my phone. It wasn't by the

table next to my bed where I usually kept it. I searched the room for it. It was no where in sight. I searched the living room and the kitchen too, I couldn't find it anywhere. And then it hit me, I'd left it in my car! I sighed to myself. Whoever it was at the door, could have been trying to call me on my phone! I grabbed the house keys and took the elevator down to get to my car. It was still raining very heavily. As the doors opened at the ground floor, I felt the gush of the rain hit me in my face. It was extremely windy as well. I stepped into a puddle of water in front of me. "Shit," I cursed to myself. I hadn't noticed a figure standing right in front of me. As I looked up I almost screamed in fear. And then I saw him standing there. Little droplets of water fell from his wet hair. His clothes were soaked from the rain. His eyes were filled with hurt and they looked questioningly at me. I gasped and stared into his eyes lost in the moment. When I finally found my voice, I couldn't find the words to say what I was thinking. James stood in front of me like a rock, not moving an inch. His mouth opened to talk, but it closed again and he remained silent. When I opened my mouth to try and speak again, all I could manage was to say his name. "James," I whispered. He took a step forward. I remained still. And then his hands came to my face and held my chin between his thumb and fingers. He tilted my head upward towards his. I continued to stare at him, my body slowly registering his touch. When his face came closer to mine, I could feel his warm breath against my cheeks. I felt a warmth within me. Simultaneously we both moved our heads closer to each other until our lips finally met. And then, there was no looking back. I whimpered and brought my hands up around James' neck. He quickly brought his hands around me and squeezed me towards his wet body. When his tongue came out to sneak between my lips, I opened my mouth willingly to let him inside. My heart fluttered, my stomach exploded, I felt a fire inside my body and the passion I seek for so long came pouring out. We kissed with so much eagerness and strength. His lips and tongue danced around my mouth and let my spirits free. When we finally pulled apart, I felt my knees go completely limb. I could not stand anymore. James held me tightly and I melted into his strong arms. We held and supported each other for as long as we could, unmoving from that spot. The rain was slowing down and all that could be heard was little splashes on the ground and suddenly the world around us became nothing but a vacuum. 26: The Ultimatum As if it were all a dream, I pinched myself to see if I were still asleep. I felt the pain and winced. I stood facing James.

"Would you like to come up?" I asked him. He looked me in the eye. "What does this mean?" he asked me out of nowhere like a confused school boy. I frowned looking at him. After giving me the kiss of a lifetime, he still wanted to know what this meant? "I think it means we're in a lot of trouble." I finally said. "We can't do this!" He totally panicked. "...what about Owen? You and Owen, you're with Owen, you and Owen are together. Owen's my brother!" I reached out for him and caressed his face gently. He didn't push my hand away, but sank his face into my palms and murmured. "I can't be with Owen if I'm in love with you, James." I said to him. He looked at me and took my hand in his. "I love you too." he suddenly said, in one breath. I smiled. My heart sang that moment. I was in complete bliss. James was the one, there was no doubt anymore. I no longer wanted to deny my feelings. "We have to talk to him. I have to talk to him. It's not our faults that we fell for each other. I know it's not going to be so easy, but maybe he'll understand?" I truly hope that he would. "You're right, it's not going to be easy at all. I can't do this to my brother, I won't betray him. Owen has been everything to me, my friend, my confidant...his my brother!" I ran my fingers through my hair. "As your brother, wouldn't he also want the best for you?" I knew I sounded selfish that moment, but somehow I thought I would be able to talk to Owen and he would understand the situation. "I'm stealing his girl friend away from him, he's going to hate me for the rest of his life!" James was frantic now. "James, listen. It's not like you seduced me, or hit on me or anything. What happened between us is completely natural. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to just stand here and tell you that we can't be together, there has to be a way and I know for sure I no longer can be with Owen!" "You're going to break up with him?" He asked startled. "Of course I'm going to break up with him! I can't lead him on like this can I? I can't lie to him any longer, and I obviously cannot cheat on him!" Of course not! James exclaimed. So what do we do? If you want to be with me, I want to be with you too. he said softly to me. "Of course I do, with every beat of my heart, I do. And yes, if there is a chance for us to be together without hurting Owen, I'm going to go for it!" "God, you and your crap load of sentimental words." He grinned.

He stepped forward to kiss me again. This time, we kissed lightly and then parted. "OK," James said. "We'll do the right thing and tell him, then." "I'll talk to him, I'll tell him everything. I think only one person should approach him about this, and I really think it should be me. Because if he's going to end up hating one of us, I really want him to channel his anger towards me and not you." It was James turn to run his fingers through his hair. "Alright, then." He put out his other hand and stopped me from coming any closer to him. "And until then, we don't come near each other at all. We don't see each other, we don't talk to each other and we definitely cannot kiss like we did just now!" "That sounds fair to me." I nodded. "I'll talk to him either tomorrow or the day after. And if he asks to meet tonight, I'll have to come up with an excuse. I can't possibly see him tonight now after this." I bit my bottom lip. And then I spoke again. "You're soaking wet, you should come up and dry yourself up." "Nooooo, see we cannot be anywhere near each other. All I want to do now is take you in my arms throw you over my shoulder and carry you to bed with me. And no! That would be cheating!" My knees went weak again and my heart started racing hearing James talk to me like that. I took a few steps forward again, and James freaked out. "No, no what are you doing. No don't come any closer to me." He backed away. This made me laugh. I have never seen James this nervous. He was always so composed and macho. "I need to get my phone, it's in my car. I walked passed him and headed to my car. I unlocked it and reached inside to grab my phone which was lying in the passenger seat. When I got out of the car, Jame was still standing by the elevator. I locked my car and stood next by it. "OK then," James clasped his palms together. "I'm going to go now, and I will see you as soon as you've spoken to Owen. I just hope I can survive the weekend with him in the same house." "You'll be fine," I said. We fought every nerve in our bodies not to embrace each other again. Slowly, James walked out of the building. The rain had stopped now. I stood where I was and before waving him off I said; "If I do anything else besides call you, that means I have good news. But if your phone rings, and it's me calling, I'd appreciate it if you didn't answer. And if we didn't see each other again for a long period of time after that, it would be because I can't bear to see you anymore and I'll just need sometime to myself to try and get over you...

....which I doubt I will." I finished with a whisper. James simply nodded and walked toward the exit. I watched him slowly leave the complex and get into his car. The moment he pulled away, I got into the elevator and ran back to my apartment. 27: The end I got into the apartment, closed the front door and collapsed against the back of the door. I couldn't stop smiling and laughing to myself. I knew the worst was not over yet, but the feeling of knowing that James felt the same was enough to send me over the moon right now. As I sighed and swooned to myself, suddenly there was a loud thud on the door. I jumped up immediately. Did he come back? I wondered. I starred at the door waiting for the knock to come again. And then it did. "Who is it?" I asked softly. "Hey, it's me! I forgot my keys, open up!!" It was Riyana. I laughed out loud to myself thinking how ironic the situation was. I turned open the knob to see my best friend standing there frowning. She stormed in frowning and mumbling to herself. "Where could I have left it? How could I have been so careless...damnit!" I was still grinning from ear to ear. When Riyana finally turned to look a me, she tilted her head to the side. "Is it somewhat amusing to you that I might have lost my keys?" she asked. "No, but I'm sure you'll find them." I said still grinning. I could feel my cheeks go red. "OK, what the hell is wrong with you, I'm going crazy here thinking my house keys are right now in the possession of some lunatic stranger and you're standing there with this rosy glow smiling to yourself. Did you just win the lottery or something?' "James said he loves me." I blurted out. "Oh, my god!" Riyana exclaimed. "Really?! When, how? When did this happen?" I grabbed her shoulders and shook her not being able to hide my excitement anymore. "He came by here just now and kissed me. It was the most electrifying kiss I have ever experienced. I knew immediately that I this wasn't just a crush, or an infatuation, it's real, Rye. I'm in love with him...and he loves me back!" I screamed. I let go of Riyana and did a twirl. "We talked about it and decided that I will talk to Owen and explain the entire situation. I really hope he'll understand. He has to! I mean, if James had a chance for true love, wouldn't he want the best for him?" "I don't know babe, it's going to be a bit of a pickle. But, no matter what happens,

you know, I'll always be here for you. Good or bad, I have your back, OK?" She looked straight at me and nodded. I grabbed Riyana into a huge embrace and squeezed her tight sighing to myself. _____________________________________________________________________________ As it seems, everything turned out the way it was supposed to. James and I are expecting our first born in 6 weeks. We've been married for a year and a half now. How did it happen? Well, it was nothing I imagined it to be. As I'd expected, Owen called that night, the day James had kissed me for the first time. Owen suggested I come over to his place and spend the weekend there. Of course I wouldn't be able to do that. What more with James under the same roof. So I feigned sick and told Owen I'd caught some horrible stomach flu and was having the trots since breakfast. I could have said I was throwing up all day, but if I had said that he might have suggested coming over to my place and watch over me. So the more disgusting the situation was the further he would stay away from me, I hoped. And it worked. He said he was sorry I wasn't feeling good and suggested certain remedies to cure myself. I appreciated the concern he showed and felt a little guilty for doing this to him. Luckily even James took the hint when he found out from Owen that I wasn't well and suggested the brothers have a weekend together. So they went up to see their dad instead. This bought me time throughout the weekend to think and plan what I was going to say to Owen when I saw him next. I had to carefully plan my words and my approach. I figured, I would rip the band aid off as fast as possible as a figure of speech of course. The sooner this was done and over with the better. I'll go and see him during lunch on Monday. This way I would spend lesser time and hopefully be able to come out in the open about everything quickly. As Monday approached, I tried hard not to call James over the weekend or to see him. It wasn't easy of course. Since the moment we both confessed our feelings, all I could think about was to be with him, to hold his hand, kiss him, talk to him and laugh with him. Only several weeks ago I felt this way about Owen but my emotions weren't as strong as how I it was for James. I longed to see him and tell him about how I slowly started falling for him. I thought about the day we met and how weird I thought he was and then the anger I felt for him on the first day at the office when he threw a pencil at me. I thought about how I wanted to run him over with my car when he asked me for a ride home later that day. Now, everything seemed so funny and I laughed to myself as I though about the happenings of the week.

When Monday slowly rolled in, I hoped out of bed and rushed off to work as soon as I could. I had revised the entire dialogue with Owen in my head over and over again. I had it nicely planned and prayed Owen would understand and be able to accept it. When I was in the office, I couldn't concentrate on work at all. I kept looking at the time on my desktop, waiting for it to hit noon. Conrad had already provided me with my next assignment. It wasn't too difficult though. I just needed to come up with an attractive advertising campaign for a small bookstore. They were promoting their latest best seller and needed a creative design as well as a great slogan to attract sales. The assignment was due by the end of this week, which left me ample time to figure out what I was going to come up with...after I spoke to Owen. Noon finally arrived and I had to turn down lunch invitation from both Conrad and Dunstan. Why don't these people ask me out to lunch when I really need the company on other days when I walk out to lunch on my own? I rushed to the car park, got into my car and sped off. I hadn't even called Owen to tell him I was coming. I figured, if I talked to him on the phone, I might chicken out from seeing him in person. And I certainly was not a "chicken"! When I reached Owen's office and pulled into the parking lot, my heart hammered hard inside my chest. I was so nervous but excited all at the same time. I sat in the car at first and took a deep breath. Then I slowly got out, locked the car and almost collapsed on the pavement. I was way too nervous. All sorts of 'What ifs' took place in my head. I braced it and marched towards the entrance of the building. I'd been to this office several times before to see Riyana. I had no issues getting up to Owen's floor of course. As I rode the elevator, I started to have butterfly in my stomach. It felt like I was going to give the speech of a lifetime to the president or something. When the elevator doors finally opened, I walked out and headed toward Riyana's office. I walked straight to the reception desk and requested to see Owen. The girl behind the counter was very polite. She asked me if I had an appointment and I shook my head. She then proceeded to give me the recorded speech about how her boss was busy and he couldn't see any walk-ins right now. I told her to give him a call and to tell him who I was and that I really had to talk to him. She nodded and complied without any objections. Just as soon as she hung up the phone, she led me to a small meeting room. She told me Owen would be out to see me soon. I smiled and thanked her then walked into the cold lonely room at sat down on the sofa. My hands were shaking and my palms were wet. I looked around to see if I could spot Riyana. A familiar face may comfort my nerves I thought. No such luck though, I couldn't see her anywhere. As I waited in the room,

the girl at the reception came up to me and said Owen was a little caught up and will be in to see me in a 5 minuets. I looked at my watch and timed him. 5 minuets suddenly seemed like an eternity. When he finally walked in. My heart slammed against my chest again. I could almost hear it beating loudly. I took several deep breaths again. "Sonia, hi! I'm so glad you're here, I was going to come see you myself actually." He smiled warmly. I stepped forward to give him a hug. Oh yes, did I forget to mention my name throughout this story? My parents named me 'Sonia' after my great grandmother. Owen embraced me and touched his lips softly to my forehead. He felt different. He wasn't as warm as he always was, he was a little rigid. For a moment, I panicked myself. Maybe James told him after all? "We really need to talk," Owen suddenly said. I froze. My palms were now soaked in sweat. I swallowed hard before I began to speak. "I need to talk to you too." I said softly and then continued. "...is this a good time, though?" I asked. "Yea, yea. Definitely. Look, maybe I should go first, I'm really not sure how to say this, but I know really have to and you have absolutely nothing to worry about..." He stopped and held my hand tightly. Oh god, he knows. He definitely knows! I began to perspire. I had to tell him first, no matter what. I wanted to be the one to break it. "Owen, I really think I should say what I came in here to first. Because if I don't say anything I'm going to explode." I shivered slightly. "Sonia, no...I..." he began and the wiped his forehead with the back of his other hand. Before he said anything else, I blurted it out. "Owen, I don't think I can see you anymore." I looked at my hand entangled in his. He still held them tightly. First he was taken aback. And then he said, "OK..." he started. But I quickly cut in. I still insisted on going on with my part of the speech first. "Well my reason is because during the one week you were away on your trip. I don't know how it happened or why it happened, but it happened and I fell for someone else." He looked at me as if he understood everything I said and knew what was coming next. "Well, I've sort of got some news for you too." He said.

That's it, it was now or never. If Owen was going to mention James now, he'd have to wait, because I still wasn't done. I stood up and walked toward the closed door. "Owen, I am so sorry. We didn't mean for this to happen and certainly didn't mean to hurt you. I insisted to be the one to break it to you, because I didn't want you to think bad of him. When I realized I was falling in love with James and that he felt the same way, I was ecstatic. But really, all he could think about was you---" "You what?!" Owen suddenly rose up and yelled. I staggered behind. This is new. I thought to myself. "You're in LOVE with James? And he loves you back?" Oh boy, so he did not know anything. I bit my bottom lip and tried to look up at him. "Please tell me this is another James and not my brother, James!" he bellowed. I wondered if anyone out side the room could hear us. I found my voice and started to talk again. "I thought you knew...and that you were going to tell me about it right now." "How could I possibly know?" he boomed out. "...James didn't tell me anything!" "Owen," I reached out for him. He stepped back. I saw the anger in his eyes, the hurt and rejection. "How did this happen? One week working with him and he seduced you into his bed?" His words felt like poisonous darts hitting me in my stomach. "No, of course not. James was a perfect gentleman. He never came on to me, or hit on me. He didn't even so much as flirt. It was me who realized I was slowly falling for him." And then I went off like a speeding bullet. "After spending so much time with him, I started developing all this emotions and feelings towards him. I mean at first I really disliked him and thought he was the oddest human being I had ever met. And then we got closer and started spending time with each other. We drove back home together, had lunch and dinner together. We talked and laughed and shared stories. Each time I spoke to him, I wanted to know more about him, I wanted to tell him about me. I felt so at home, at ease and comfortable with him." I finally paused and took a breather. Owen stood on the opposite side of the room and just looked at me. "We haven't done anything, I swear. After all this feelings started stirring in me, I finally and indirectly told James how I felt. And he refused to admit anything, all he could think about was betraying you. He said he couldn't do this to you. But he came back and said that he felt like a horrible human being for denying his feelings but an even horrible brother for admitting it. I told him I didn't want to lie to you anymore, didn't want to lead you on anymore. I wanted to come out clean and truly hoped that you would understand."

Owen paced about the room. He brought his hand up to his hips and then rubbed his chin with his other hand. "I want to be able to be 'cool' with this, but I honestly cannot get over the shock. I mean when you said you had fallen for someone else, I did not in my wildest imagination think it could be my own brother." And then he stopped and turned to look me in the eye. My eyes had tears in them again. I haven't cried so much in all my life in the passed one week. I hadn't shed a tear when my father left us as a child and when my mother died, I cried for her life. But right now I was crying for mine and hoping that I could get the life I want, finally and with the man I loved. Owen started to speak again. "I suppose, whether I like it or not...eventually I will have to accept this. It won't be easy, but I have to. I love James more than anything and there's nothing I want in life than to see him happy. And if it's you that makes him happy, I don't want to be the one who comes in between you two." I let out a couple of sobs and smiled. I was so glad to hear this. I had so much respect for Owen right now. I moved closer to him to hug him again. "Wait, before that. I have something to say myself." He said to me. I suddenly remembered that Owen also said that we had to talk and if he didn't already know about James. What could it be? He walked towards the door of the room, opened it and walked outside. "Come with me please," he said. I picked up my bag and slowly walked behind him. He walked outside of the office and headed to the elevator. I just followed him in silence. We got into the elevator and Owen pressed on the ground floor. Before the doors opened, he said to me. "There's someone I want you to meet." I was at a state of complete confusion, what was going on I wondered. As Owen led me to the lobby of the building, he walked towards the waiting area and approached a woman sitting on a red sofa. She stood up and smiled warmly at him. She had long dark hair that cascaded down her back and ended slightly above her hips. She was tall, with dark eyes and had an amazing smile. She looked so exotic. She was by far the most incredibly beautiful woman I had ever seen. Owen leaned into her and gave her a hug. Not just any kind of hug, but a passionate one. When I looked at the way he looked at her, I could see love and tenderness. And when she saw him approaching she smiled up at him with a warmth only a lover could contain. Suddenly something snapped inside me. I think I know who this is. "Sonia," Owen gestured toward me. "I want you to meet..."

And before he could say her name. I approached the beautiful woman, took her hand in mine and squeezed it. "It's an absolute pleasure to meet you, Bella." I said. How could I not know it was her? The look in both their eyes was a sure give away. It was the most beautiful love affair I had ever seen. This was a couple who had been together for such a long time and part with each other with broken hearts. When they saw each other in the room that day, it looked like a love that had always been there, a love that was never absent from both their minds. They may have been apart and had an entire ocean separating them, but when they were together none of that seemed to matter. And again, tears welled up in my eyes. _____________________________________________________________________________ Bella had come back from Paris the night before and contacted Owen. She said she was back for good and had made the biggest mistake of her life to leave him. She didn't care about her business anymore, she didn't care that she was making a lot of money and was living life like a celebrity. None of that mattered when she didn't have her Owen. When they met again Bella told Owen how she felt and begged for him to take her back. She said she wanted to be with him and be his wife. She wanted to raise a family with him and grow old with him. And as for Owen? How could he say no? This was the love of his life. The one who escaped and then came back. Life never gave you second chances like this. He immediately accepted and proposed to her on the spot. Everything fell into place just as it was meant to. Owen kept telling me that things always happened for a reason. There was a reason Bella came back and there was a reason him and I met. Owen led me to James and I had found my soul mate in him. 3 months later, Owen and Bella were married. It was the fastest wedding anyone had put together, yet one of the most beautiful ceremony I had ever witnessed. ___________________________________________________________________________________ When I got back to my office that day, I rushed to my computer and immediately emailed James relating the entire situation to him. Once I hit send, I tried so hard not to pick up the phone and call him. I wanted him to call me, I wanted him to make the next move. I waited for almost 2 hours when my email finally lit up with James name as the sender. As I opened the mail to read it, I couldn't stop my hands from shaking on the mouse. There on my computer screen was the biggest most beautiful picture of a diamond ring I had ever seen in all my life. Obviously James was busy creating it which was

why it took him 2 hours to respond to me. And below the ring the words, "Will you marry me?" were written in large italic letters. I yelped when I saw the message. The rest as they say is history of course. James and I let Owen and Bella run to the alter first obviously. 4 months after they were married, we exchanged our vows at a small and private ceremony ourselves. Today, I live with James in his and Owen's apartment. Owen moved out with Bella after buying themselves a house of their own. It broke my heart to leave Riyana and move out from our apartment which we lived in for almost 4 years. Riyana is the sister I never had. So when the day came for me to move, it was even more difficult for me to leave her than to confess to Owen about James and my love affair. I surrender my lease over to her and told her it was up to her if she wanted to keep the extra room empty or to rent it out. Some nights, I would run back to my old apartment and spend the night there. This never bothered James. He was the most kindest, most understanding man I had ever met. When I related to him about how I felt about him when we first met, he couldn't say anything but laugh at me. He was a little surprised that he had come off that way and I was more than surprised that he never noticed that about himself! James admitted that during that one week we worked together, he sometimes went home wishing it was him who had met me first instead of Owen. I love him so dearly. After James and I had our daughter, later that year, a young teacher named Vincent moved into our building right across from James' and my apartment. When Riyana and him met, there was an instant connection and they started dating. Before I knew it, I was practically living with my best friend again as she moved in with Vincent. Life could not be more perfect than it already was. And as Owen once said, some things always...always happen for a reason.