3. Friendly push

I showered as fast as I could, hoping that Clarissa hadn't used my phone to do something stupid. Not soon enough I rushed back to my room and relaxed as I saw that she hadn't moved from her place and my mobile was exactly where I had left it. I went to the dresser and picked out a loose green tank top and my favorite black shorts. I felt perfect in that outfit. Sexy, but comfortable.

I tossed the towel on my bed and dressed myself, without a drop of shame that there was another person in the room. We were so close - Clarissa and I. Ever since we were kids we shared clothes, rooms, secrets and my best summer vacations were always with her. Here was like a second home.

I looked over at her, she seemed so obsessed with her phone that I laughed. Her smart brown eyes moved only for a second to see me and go back down.

"Don't laugh at me! I am chatting with my future boyfriend." She explained.

"Is that Ethan?" I asked, but I already knew that he had occupied her mind.

She was shy and naive back when we were riding bikes with that boy, but she had changed a lot since then. Now, I believed that she would not leave the poor guy alone anytime soon.

"Maybe I should leave you two alone tomorrow. I will find something else to do here. I am not in the mood for Friday night out anyway." I said, feeling the disappointment from today creeping back inside me. "I don't want to be a third wheel," I added.

"What third wheel? I told you it will be a double date!" She pushed.

"Oh not that again! Haven't you forgotten it by now?" I teased as I rolled my eyes.

"Nope, not gonna" She grinned, showing me all of her teeth.

"Come on. Leave it, please!" I half begged, half demanded.

She didn't care and looked around, spotting my phone on the table. I ran from my bed, where I was standing as I saw her jump from the couch to get that damn device. Of course, she was closer, so she snatched it before me.

"Now let's call that dream boy of yours...or should we message?" She started as she hid my phone behind her back, stopping my attempt to retrieve it.

"Clarissa!" I said in a serious tone, but I was smiling.

"No way!"

She was funny, but I really didn't want her to call my boss. He was so strange today and I had no idea what was going on in his mind. I said to him that I would act as nothing happened. No romantic thoughts are allowed to escape my mouth. No double dating! I didn't even know where we stood after our almost make out session. We didn't even kiss. He thought that I would quit. Maybe he would feel so uncomfortable that he would fire me tomorrow. I didn't know what to think.

I reached again for my phone and Clarissa jumped up on the couch, standing tall above me and raised her hands to the ceiling.

Damn, she isn't giving up!

"Clarissa, please! I can't call him! Give it back!" I yelled. It wasn't funny anymore. "You are acting like a child."

I pouted and sat down on the couch, leaving her to consider me mad, and hopefully she would give up.

"Oh, don't be like that, Alex!" She begged while sitting next to me. "I am sorry, but you need to stop longing for him. Tell him how you feel. He might reject you, but at least you will stop wondering and can move to another guy."

"Just give me my damn phone back!" I said, looking at my fluffy red slippers.

A moment passed before any of us said something, but she didn't do what I said.

"I will give you tomorrow. If you don't set things straight, I will." She pointed.

She was partly right. This secret desire thing had been prolonged for too long, wanting him so much and not moving a single step forward. I used to wear my short jeans (thankful that my uniform was only a T-shirt with the name of the shop), curl my long hair after tying it into a ponytail, and would put some makeup on. Then, I would wait for any sign that he might like me, hoping that he was looking at me when I would bend over while working. But it was all in my head. Nothing ever happened. I never made a move.

Hmm, maybe I was the childish one, not Clarissa.

She must have had enough of me these past few months, moping around my boss and not wanting to date any of the guys we would meet.

"Don't get your hopes up!" I replied and snatched my phone from her hands, but she wasn't really fighting to keep it anymore.

"You know I love you, right?" She said, returning her smile as she bumped her fist at my shoulder, playfully.

"Love you too, cousin." I smiled back, knowing we might have the same fight again tomorrow. I hoped that Ethan would distract her from my business.

__________________________________________________

I was sitting on Michael’s desk again. Some documents spilled around us on the floor, and he was locking the door. He came to stand a breath away, put his hands around me, placing them low on my back, and whispered in my ear, “So, where were we?”

I opened my mouth starting to answer, but he put a finger on my lips, gazing into my eyes.

“Shh,” he whispered. His irises were the most perfect mix of green and gray, looking at me with such passion. I could drown in them. I loved how under different lights they would change their color.

Standing between my legs, he pulled me closer to him. I could feel him hard against my panties. Michael put his hands on my knees, tugging on my black dress and slowly sliding up my tights, lifting the cloth to my waist. Warm kisses burned my skin as his lips found their way to my neck. I moaned, lost all reason in the pleasure, in his touch, in his hot breath. I cupped his face, so I could see his eyes again before our lips finally crashed together. His tongue moved in sync with mine, building the sweetest pressure in me.

Suddenly he pulled away, helped me to get down from his desk, and turned me around so my back was towards him. Swiftly, he lifted my dress above my head and tossed it on his office chair. Gently, he pushed me to bend on the desk and I felt the warmth of his naked skin on mine. He must have removed his clothes too.

I was so impatient to feel more of him. Unable to wait any longer I tried to turn to face him, but he pushed me back, gently pulling my hair. I gasped in response.

“Just let me lead you.” I heard him whisper to my ear, pressing himself to me, just to tease me... but I was waking up.

“No, not now!” I mumbled, in the darkness of my bedroom. Often my dreams ended just when the most intense part began. I closed my eyes again before the dream left my thoughts, and it was as Michael’s face was in front of me. When I relaxed and realized I was alone in the middle of the night...dreaming of Michael, irritation, and sadness crept in bed with me. The feeling of his warmth against my skin was still alive like it was a memory of something that really happened a few minutes ago. But it didn’t and it seemed like it never would. My desire for him was a secret for so long. Yesterday he might have learned a bit about how I felt, but there was so much more.

"You never saw this coming?" he had asked me.

How could I?

Michael never did nor said anything to show his interest in me. I was watching him all day, searching for signs that he might like me. All I knew was that sometimes when we talked, he looked at me in an intense way like he could hear my thoughts or sense how attracted I was to his hot body. Of course, without anything to prove that this was something more than his ordinary behavior, I convinced myself that it was just how I felt around him. I imagined things because I wanted them to be true so desperately.