Maria sat in her apartment staring into the void that had become her life. These funks that she seemed to slip into more and more these days were certainly not doing her any favors. It just annoyed her every time she thought of Kevin and his new girlfriend. It wasn't like he technically was hers. They were just friends. She had known him her entire life. Somewhere along the way, he became more than a guy. She started to view him as a man.
It wasn't a hard thing to do. He was fairly tall, golden skinned as a result of his mixed Anglican and African heritage, and dark haired. His big brown eyes and pouty full lips made the butterflies in her stomach dance every time she glanced at him. He wasn't aware of that, though. Was he? As far as she knew, all he thought about her was that she was his best friend for life.
It didn't matter, now. He was Angelica's. Hard to believe that he could have such poor taste in a girlfriend. Angelica was such a superficial twit, but Kevin thought she was "hot" and that's all it took.
"Maria!" she heard a voice booming from the other side of her front door. She knew that sexy baritone.
"Kevin.....what the fuck are you doing here?" she asked as she opened the door and pulled him inside.
"I need some advice on my relationship." she heard him slur obviously intoxicated.
"I think you need to sleep it off, hun." She said ushering him toward her bedroom.
She had slept beside him many times before. They had spent the night at each others houses as kids, even crashed each other's dorms in college just to talk problems out, so having him in her bed wouldn't mean a thing.
"She says she wants me to have a better job so I can be prepared to meet her parents." He said pausing for a response.
"Do you think you need a different job?" Maria asked
"Of course not, but love is about compromising isn't it?" he asked as he sat down on her bed.
Love? The words stung her the minute they spilled from his beautiful mouth. How could he love her? They'd only been going out a month or so, and from was she'd seen of Sarah, she was a horrible example of a human being...in a short skirt albeit. "Well, yeah. If you love her, then compromise is important." Maria said shakily.
"I don't know." He said as he kicked his shoes off.
She found it hard to take her eyes away as he pulled his shirt over his head to reveal a beautifully bronzed chest. He was muscled slightly, a little on the thin side, but very masculine. Her gaze followed the light spattering of jet black chest hair that tapered into a thin line and disappeared beneath the waistline of his jeans. She stood seemingly unable to move as he unbuckled his belt and unzipped his jeans before sliding them to the floor. His black boxer briefs clung to his narrow hips and to every curve of his muscled thighs.
Maria could feel the heat of a blush creeping up her neck and face. She turned walked back into her living room unsure of what had come over her. She had seen Kevin in his skivvies before. What was different about tonight? She forced herself to read a novel she had been nursing for a few weeks. He probably needed some alone time to sort out his thoughts and definitely time to sleep off the affects of what appeared to be a rough night at the bar.
The hours seemed to blur together and before she knew it, she had finished the book. With tired eyes and a fatigued body, she knew where she'd have to go. Of course she didn't "have" to go there. She could always sleep on the sofa. But, she'd never miss an opportunity to be next to Kevin. She wanted to smell his manliness. She wanted to feel his warmth beside her.
She tiptoed into her bedroom. He was laying on his back, dark lashes laying in crescents on his cheeks. In that moment, she knew what love was. It was him and her, whether he was aware of it or not. She quickly slipped out of her tee shirt, bra, and jeans, and slipped her sleep shirt over her head.
She crawled into bed beside him and turned off her bedside lamp. The dark oblivion of sleep enveloped her as she sank into her side of her bed.
Some sound in the distance seemed to stir her. Her eyes fluttered open and adjusted to the light of the morning sun seeping in through the window. Immediately, she noticed that she was draped lazily over Kevin. Her head lay on his arm, her hand was splayed possessively over his chest, and her right thigh had slipped dangerously between his.