The Apartment

The next few days fly by like a dream. I've learned Dane and Ant are roommates, which explains why they're always together. Dane and I rarely get any alone time. It almost feels like Ant is jealous. I'm not sure of what, but his behavior doesn't feel right to me. Maddy is still annoyed with me for leaving with Dane that night, but she's starting to get over it. Turns out Maddy met her own "Casanova" Saturday night. Frank, Ants buddy, is an interesting guy. He's on the shorter side, about 5'7, golden tanned skin, a shaved head with constant 5 o'clock shadow. But it's the beady brown rat eyes for me though. He always looks like he's up to something. It's almost unsettling.  Maddy said it was the uniform that got her. He's a volunteer firefighter and had a picture of himself on top of a car putting out a house fire in his wallet... who does that? Maddy thinks he is the sexiest man walking, I think he's probably on a list somewhere. But she's happy. So I'm happy for her. 

Dane and Ant knock on my door bright and early Thursday morning. Luckily my classes haven't started yet. I'm going to a local community college, I have no idea what I want to do with my life. My dads' death knocked me off my axis and the path I was on just doesn't seem to be the one I want anymore. So, I enrolled in school and will be taking 'the basics' until I decide what I want to do. 

I'm in my room sitting on the bed reading To Kill A Mockingbird, required reading for English 101 when they walk in. 

"Hey, Babe. Are you ready to go?" Dane asks while bending down to kiss me.

"Go where?" I ask confused. 

"We are going to help Tammy pack up her apartment. She's getting evicted, remember?" Ant said shuffling through my closet. My everyday wardrobe is jeans and t-shirts, Ant decided my collection of men's graphic t-shirts is community property. "Just let me shop at Foley's first."

I roll my eyes, "Who's Tammy?" trying to go over all the conversations from the past few days to remember who this Tammy person is. 

"You haven't met her yet. She used to have a huge thing for our boy Dane here," Ant smacks Dane on the shoulder and turns back to my closet " But she wasn't exactly his type." 

I eye Dane suspiciously as he sits next to me on the bed. "Oh yeah?"

"OH! Your girl Maddy might know about her since she's trying to get with her ex, Frank." Ant says nonchalantly while inspecting a Nirvana concert tee before stripping his own ratty t-shirt and putting on mine. 

I shoot another look of suspicion to Dane and he shrugs. "I didn't know until this morning, I promise. I was with you that the night they met, remember?" As he smiles and squeezes my hand. I smile and bow my head shyly. I definitely remember that night. It was the last time we had a drop of alone time, Ant is everywhere and doesn't take hints. 

"I guess I'm going to pack the enemy's apartment then," I say jokingly. This is going to be extremely awkward. Thank God Dane will be there. "Sooooo get out, so I can get dressed," I say looking at Ant, but like usual he shuffles Dane out with him. There goes that. 

I take my spot next to Dane in the truck and we start our journey across town. The apartment is a small one-bedroom on the northwest side of town. It's not exactly nice, but not exactly trashy either. There's already a lockout on the doorknob, so she leaves the window unlocked to crawl in when she leaves to get back in the apartment. We walk in and Ant makes introductions "Tammy this is Vivian, Dane's friend." I felt my body tense up at the word friend. 

"Girlfriend." Dane corrects

"Oh no... what happened to Autumn? I really liked her. She was the best." Tammy says snidely while looking me up and down. 

Dane lets go of my hand to wrap his arm around my shoulders and pulls me in close to his body protectively. The electricity surges through my skin. I breathe in his scent and relax. "She was ok, I guess. She wanted the break up as much as I did, and we're still friends. It's what we should have been from the start." He said blandly

Tammy wasn't happy with this response. "So you jumped into another relationship. Talk about your rebound girls." she was still eyeing me with disdain in her voice.

"Rebound," I say with a small snicker. "Guess it's better than wanting someone I'll never have a chance with. I'll take this rebound and run down the court with it." I feel Dane laugh and he leans down to kiss the top of my head. "So why are you being evicted? We noticed the lockout on the door already." I say with faked concern. 

Tammy ignored my question and turned her attention to Ant. They began discussing what needed to be packed and what she was leaving for Frank to come and get. Dane and I sat down on the couch. He pulled me in close and angled his body so we could cuddle on the couch while they talked. I laid my head on his shoulder and my arm across his broad chest. It felt like I was supposed to be there like he was made for me. He began to stroke my back gently and my skin came alive again. Chills ran through my body with every stroke. "I love the scent of your hair. It smells like vanilla." He says breathing in. "It's like home." he pulls me into him tighter. 

"There's no making out on my couch. I haven't even gotten to make out with anyone on there yet." Tammy said with a catty tone. "I broke up with Frank before I got it and I'm going to be the one to christen it."

"Gross." Dane mumbled and said "No ones making out on your couch. We are just laying here waiting for you two to finish whatever you're doing."

Tammy rolled her eyes "Ant are y'all still staying the night? If so we need to go get food or something. I don't have anything but an old thing of Oreos, some mustard, and beer." She said turning her attention to Ant again. 

"Staying the night? No one said anything about that to me..." I said quietly to Dane when Tammy walked away. "I don't have clothes, a toothbrush, or anything. I do not want to stay here tonight."

"It'll be ok babe. Maybe we'll actually get some alone time tonight. If Ant doesn't come and try to sleep between us. I wish I knew what his deal was." Dane whispered. 

"Fiiiiinnnee. But we at least need to go get toothbrushes or something. I don't need to smell your morning dragon breath already... it's only week one." I say as Dane tries to tickle me as I mock his possible morning breath. I laugh loud and look up to see Tammy watching us with hatred in her eyes. 

The day drags on as we pack the kitchen and bedroom. Dane and I move to the living room when Ant comes out of the bedroom and to get Dane to go to the corner store for some snacks. "I'll be back in a little bit, the store is just up the road. I promise. Do you want anything besides a toothbrush and toothpaste?" he asks. Ant is already outside waiting. 

"Dr. Pepper and a Snickers. Please hurry, I don't want to be here with her alone. I don't like her and I can tell the feeling is mutual." I say with a whine.

"Who cares what she thinks. I like you... a lot. Like a lot a lot." He says amusing himself into laughing. "One of these days I'll get to show you just how much I like you."  Dane pulls me in close and leans down to really kiss me for the first time today. As his lips got closer to mine I could feel his heartbeat in time with mine as the current ran through my body once again. He pressed his lips to mine and my knees became weak. His warm scent filled my nose. I felt his arms begin to tighten around me as his kiss became all-consuming and needful. His lips parted mine as our tongues began to dance with each other. I wrapped my arms around him, moving my hands under his shirt as I began to dig my nails into his back pulling him closer to my body. He moaned into our kiss and I could feel his need to be there at that moment. We pull away and pressed his forehead on mine breathing heavily. He gives me another lingering peck on the lips. "I could make out with you all day. I think I'm becoming addicted to those soft lips of yours." 

"They're here anytime you need a fix," I say breathlessly still clinging to him as though my life depended on it. 

"Let me go, so I can get back before he comes back in here talking shit. Dr. Pepper and sweets for my sweet," he says giving me another peck on the lips.

"Eww don't make it weird." I laugh and smack his butt while he's walking away. 

I go back to wrapping the ceramic figurines in the newspaper. I'm finishing up a small box and begin to tape it up when Tammy comes into the living room with me. "You know y'all won't last, right?" She says matter of factly. "He'll get bored with you in a couple of weeks or after he gets laid. Whichever happens first. Just like he did Autumn."

I just stare at her for a moment, in complete shock. What is her problem? There is no reason for her to be such a massive bitch. "What is wrong with you?" I say in disbelief. "You've been shitty from the minute I got here."

Tammy's laughing now, "I don't have a problem. I just know Dane. Wouldn't want you to get hurt or anything."

"Yeah, I'm not really buying that garbage. Ant told me about you and your crush on Dane. What happened, y'all go out and he didn't call you back the next day?" I watch her face change, and I know I hit a nerve. 

"Fuck you! That's not a problem I have. I didn't call your little boyfriend back. Ask him about it." She laughs. "That's why he's here today, to see me. Keep following behind him like a puppy, and when he gets bored he'll start calling me again. Don't forget to tape up those boxes." She turns and goes back into her room laughing. 

I'm done. Anger is radiating through me. I sit down and wait for them to get back. My mind is racing. Is she lying? Maybe she's just saying that to get into my head. Then I remember the conversation in my room this morning and that Dane never explained what Ant was talking about. Maybe she is telling the truth. Thirty minutes go by before they knock on the door to be let back in. Tammy comes out of the room to open the door and sees that I'm not packing her stuff anymore. She laughs and opens the door. The guys walk in carrying bags from the store and boxes of Dominos pizza.

"Hope pepperoni's ok," Dane says standing next to me. I have my arms folded across my chest and sitting in the chair next to the couch. I glare up at him. "Everything ok Babe?" He looks from Ant to Tammy. "What the hell happened while we were gone? It wasn't even that long." Dane is confused and worried. 

"It was long enough," I say sarcastically and roll my eyes at Tammy

Tammy grabs one of the boxes of pizza and a soda from the bags "Come on Ant, the love birds need a moment." Ant follows behind her and closes the door. A few seconds later I can hear them laughing.

"Babe? What's wrong?" Dane kneeled down next to the chair and puts the sodas and pizza on the coffee table. 

I look into his emerald green eyes and almost forget how upset I am. I just want to crawl into his lap and forget everything that has been said. "Tell me about you and Tammy," I say choking on the words. My stomach is turning with the thought of her touching him. 

"There's nothing to tell. We went on a date. We had fun. We kissed... she felt fireworks, I didn't.  I took her home. We agreed to stay friends. She got back with Frank. The end." he said plainly.

"That's it? There's nothing more to the story? Like calling her when you're bored with whoever you're with? Or you really want to be with her?" I ask with more venom than I intended

"What are you talking about? Yeah, I call her, but not because I'm bored or whatever. I call for advice. I actually talked to her about you, but didn't tell her your name, well because I didn't know it yet." He said trying to get me to look at him. "What did she say to you?" he sounded annoyed.

"She said we weren't going to work, that you'll get bored with me quick. Or that after we sleep together you'll break up with me and you'll try to get with her again. She implied that more happened on your date than you're telling me." I blurted out.

"Of course she did." irritation filled his voice "I've already told her to stop this shit. She thinks she is funny. Baby, nothing happened then and nothing will ever happen with her. I will not break up with you after sex. Besides, I might be waiting for marriage..." He winks at me and pokes my arm gently. "And as far as getting bored, you keep giving me the good kisses and I'll never get bored." I roll my eyes as he wiggles his eyebrows at me. "Seriously. Don't listen to her. She likes to start shit and watch the fallout. Vi, look at me. There is no one I want to be with besides you."

I see the sincerity and longing in his eyes. He lightly grips my chin and pulls me in for a kiss. My body lights on fire immediately. It's only another lingering peck, but it is followed by several quick pecks on my cheeks, my forehead, my nose, and my hand. "Are we good?" He askes

"Yeah, we're good.." I say smiling. "Let's eat. I'm hungry."

"I have an idea. Do you trust me?" he looks mischievous

"Ummmm... Sure." I say hesitantly

"Follow me." He's suddenly excited. He grabs the sodas and the pizza box then practically runs to the door. I laugh and get up and follow him.

He guides me through the apartment complex and leads me to what looks like the remains of a playground. There is a picnic table under a pink Wisteria tree. He dusts the table off before setting the bag of drinks and the pizza down. "I hope you like pepperoni. That's all we have. But I did get your Dr. Pepper and Snickers, as requested." He said while setting out the contents of the bag. 

"Thank you, Babe. Keeps this up and I might get spoiled." I winked while opening the soda. 

"That's the plan." He said opening the pizza box and handing me a slice of pizza. 

As we eat our pizza in silence as I look around the area and enjoy the cool breeze. "What's that building over there?" I ask pointing to a run-down-looking building on the other side of the park. 

"Oh, that's the gym and sauna. Tammy has been here about four months, and as far as I know, it's never worked." He said shrugging his shoulders. "Why you wanna go get sweaty?" He winks and bumps my shoulder with his. 

"Might be interesting to check out," I say and bump back. 

Dane smiles "Are you finished eating?"

"Yep. Thank you for getting me out of the apartment for a little bit." I lean in and kiss him softly.

"Let's go explore a busted sauna." He said throwing the trash away in a nearby garbage can. He holds out his hand to help me off the bench. As we cross the empty park you can see where the swings once stood. There were three large grooves where grass wouldn't grow. About thirty feet to the left there was a large rectangle of mulch where a slide used to be. Another thirty or so feet to the left of the slide was where the merry-go-round stood. Now it's just a circular blacktop. The only thing left was the sandpit. But it looked more like a giant litter box for the complex strays. We go to the weatherbeaten building. It looks like it hadn't been painted in decades. As we go through the double doors the smell hits you. A mixture of sweat, old rubber floors, and WD-40. The equipment inside looked as old as the building. Several of the machines had Out Of Order signs taped to them. Which wasn't a surprise at all. The sauna doors were at the back of the building. "Wonder if the doors are unlocked," he said pulling on the doors. "Score!" 

We walk in and you could smell mildew and burnt wood. He turned the lights on, the room was a mixture of pale blue and green tiles. There was a bench along the side of the wall that wrapped around the back wall. "I wonder how much mold is growing in this room?" I say laughing. 

"I told you it was busted," he said. "You wanna go sit down and make out?" He said teasing. 

"Yeah sure, then we can go get joint tetanus shots," I said laughing. "But shit, it would almost be worth it if I didn't have to go back and deal with her." I pointed in the direction of Tammy's apartment. "What is Ant's problem anyway? He was joining in with her bullshit."

"I brought that up while we were out, he said he was just goofing off." He shrugged his shoulders again. "He promised to give us some alone time tonight though, to make up for it. He's going to sleep in the room with Tammy."

"EWWW," I say fake gagging.

"Not like that. Nasty ass." He said laughing. "They're just friends." He opens the door for us to leave "This room smells worse than the gym. Ready to go?" 

"Thank God. I was getting a headache in here." I say and walk through the door brushing up against him along the way. He makes a low growl sound and bites the bottom of his lip. 

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the picnic table talking and occasionally making out. As the sun starts to set we slowly head back to the apartment. It's about seven o'clock when we finally get there. Ant opens the door. He and Tammy just started Interview with a Vampire. Lestat just turned Louis. Cool, at least she won't be running her mouth.

"Kiss and make-up?" Tammy said sarcastically

"Nothing to make up for. Just wanted some much-needed alone time." Dane eyed Tammy angrily. She rolled her eyes and went back to watching the movie. Dane steps aside to let me in the door first, I head to the chair and sit down. Dane follows behind and picks me up and sets me in his lap so we are both in the chair. The chair is big enough for me to slide my rear down next to him but leave my legs still draped across his lap and snuggle into his chest again. I could see Tammy watching us from the corner of her eyes. She folds her arms across her chest and huffs in annoyance. We all continue the movie in silence. 

As the movie credits run, Tammy decides it's time for another movie. "Might as well make it a movie marathon night," she says

"I'm tired, girl. Plus I promised my boy to give him and his girl some quality time together. We can watch the movie in your room." Ant says pushing Tammy toward her room and pantomiming humping gestures at Dane like I couldn't see him. 

"Remember I said no one is doing anything on my couch until I do," Tammy said snarkily. 

"Gross." I roll my eyes and lay my head back on Dane's chest. Ant brings out two pillows and a blanket and sets it on the couch. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do... Or... DO." he said laughing.  Ant closes the door and we hear another movie begin as the volume is turned up.

"I'm going to go to the couch. You coming?" He asks sliding from under me. "Not that I'm not enjoying you in my lap, that chair just sucks." He rubs his backside. "My butts asleep."

"Okay," I say and get up to sit next to him. 

"You want to watch another movie?" He asks with hesitation in his voice

"No. I'm all movied out. Want to make out on the super special couch?" I ask laughing. 

"Hell Yes!" He said."This couch needs to see some kind of action."

We sit on the couch and make ourselves comfortable. Both kicking off our shoes and laying on our sides facing each other. I wrap my leg around him and pull my body in closer to him. He rests his head on the pillow tucking his arm under my head and wrapping his arm around my shoulders pulling me in even closer. I can feel my arousal pooling between my legs again just from being close to him. "I have been looking forward to this all day long," he whispered in my ear as he leans pushing me to my back and him partially on top of me. He begins to kiss my neck softly sucking and biting while moving along my jawline toward my lips. He presses his lips on mine immediately parting my lips with his tongue. I moan into the kiss and try to clench my legs tight to fight off the flood of wetness. His hand starts to travel down my side to find the bottom of my shirt as he runs his hand across my stomach to cup one of my breasts in his hands. "Take it off," he whispers breathlessly in my ear. I sit up just enough to pull my shirt off. "Have I told you how beautiful you are?" He asks while he reaches inside my bra to cup one of my breasts in his hands. I shake my head no and my eyes roll in the back of my head as he pinches my nipple between his fingers. "Take this off too," he whispers again pulling the straps off my shoulders. I arch my back and unlatch my bra. He tugs the front of the bra until it comes off and drops it on the floor. "Those are some amazing tits baby." He says as he begins to kiss along my chest to my breasts. He takes one in his mouth sucking and tonguing my erect nipple taking possession of it. When he is satisfied with the attention given to my breast he moves to the other one making me moan louder. I'm grinding my hips into his leg begging for him to give my sex some attention too. He takes his time teasing and pleasing my nipples before he starts to kiss down my belly and unbuttons my pants. He unzips them and reaches in on both sides pulling my panties and pants off at the same time, dropping them on the floor. My heart is pounding, I feel like it can burst through my chest at any time. My skin was electrified and on fire. With every touch, my muscles tighten and I want to feel him inside me more and more. He lifts my legs with his shoulders as he kisses down my thighs as he gets to my core. Slowly he moves his fingers along the outsides caressing and teasing my lips as he continues to kiss up and down my thighs. I begin to squirm under his touch longing for his entrance. "Patience baby, I've been wanting to do this since the day we spent together." I moan as he runs his finger through my slit. "Oh my god. It's so wet." He moves his finger slowly up and down pressing a circular motion on my clit when he gets to the top. I grind my hips into his hand. "Ah ah ah. Patience greedy girl." He says as he moves his finger back down and slowly back up again, repeating the cycle. I have never wanted anyone as badly as I did at that moment. It was almost painful. Then with one slow motion, I felt his finger inside moving in rhythm with his thumb on my clit. I opened my legs wider willing him to put his shaft inside me. He leans down and I feel his tongue take the place of his thumb as his fingers move methodically in and out. He moves his fingers and places his tongue inside my entrance. He licks and sucks along my sex sending pleasure shockwaves along my essence with each motion. I feel my body tense and contract then release in a powerful orgasm. I moan his name and lock my fingers in his hair until the climax is over. My body relaxes and he sits up and removes his clothes laying them on top of mine on the floor. "Ah Nah baby, we aren't done yet. I'm not done with you."  He positions himself between my legs and slowly rubs his erection on my center before slowly inserting his length inside me. I gasp in pleasure with the initial entrance and lock my legs around his waist pulling him in deeper. He begins to move in and out while kissing me passionately. The motion becomes harder and faster and I moan louder as I grip his back and feel my body begin to tense and climb as I dig my nails into his skin. He thrusts hard a few more times before pouring himself inside me as my body begins to contract in climax again.

He falls down next to me. Both of us breathe heavily; our hearts pounding out of our chests. My legs were still wrapped around him.  "Good game Coach." he smacks my bottom. "Gimmie about twenty minutes and I'm ready for round two." He kisses me long and hard. "Ok maybe not." He rolls back on top of me and kisses me again. I feel my sex begin to get wet and warm again. 

"Are you sure you don't need a longer break?" I ask mockingly

"I'm ready if you are." He said reaching down to rub his fingers on my clit again. "I want to do you all night long. I can't get enough." He's kissing me again.

"I don't know why we are still talking about it," I say and bite his bottom lip after his kiss. 

I gasp again as I feel his entrance again. "That's my favorite part." I moan.

"This?" he says as he pulls out completely and enters again. I gasp in pleasure again as he smiles and repeats it one more time "Yeah that's it. It's my favorite now too." He bites my neck "What's my name baby?" as he locks his fingers in my hair and pulls. "Say it" He's thrusting hard again and I feel my body begin to rise and tense. As I fall over and begin to contract I moan his name. He thrusts a few more times and collapses on top of me again. "I don't think I'm ever going to get enough of you."

We spend the rest of the night exploring each other and making love until we fall into an exhausted sleep.