Brock Howard and Zoe Byrne finished their glasses of champagne and shared another kiss. It was 8:00pm on New Year's Eve, and the two laughed as they sat on the floor in front of her couch, empty Chinese-food boxes strewn next to both of them.
"Think next year will be even better than this one?" Brock asked, his deep voice pleasing Zoe's ear.
"I hope so," Zoe replied, the lilt of her Brisbane accent bringing pleasure to Brock's face, as well as his cock.
"Man, I'm gonna catch so much shit when they hear you on my album," Brock replied, jokingly shaking his head. Brock's next release, "Raging Bull II," the sequel to his Grammy-nominated debut, was scheduled to hit stores on March 15, and the Brooklyn rapper knew that putting last year's winner of "Australia's Next Top Model" on his album would be controversial, even though Zoe was quite talented on the mic.
"I know--I apologize in advance!" Zoe smiled. Brock loved looking at her sweet face and body: lightly tanned skin, long blonde hair down to her waist, sea-blue eyes, and the most beautiful dimples he had ever seen on a white girl.
Zoe loved the way Brock looked as well; he reminded her of a younger Taye Diggs with his flawless brown skin, dark eyes, perfect smile and bald head. Despite his tough image, Zoe knew that Brock was a sweetheart--and that he was as crazy about her as she was about him.
Brock put his arm around Zoe. "But you know I don't really care, right? You know I'd do anything for you."
"I know," Zoe replied, kissing his cheek.
"Zoe..."
"Yeah?"
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Brock," Zoe smiled, "you know the answer."
"Aw, man...c'mon, baby, tonight would be perfect! We could start the new year off right."
"I know, but..."
"OK. You know I don't want to pressure you."
"I know."
Brock and Zoe had yet to make love, and Zoe had always politely deferred whenever Brock raised the issue. She always had an excuse--it wasn't the right time, she didn't have enough energy, she wasn't in the mood--but in reality, she wanted to fuck him from the first time she met him. However, her mother, Jillian, had given her a friendly bit of advice the night before she moved to New York: "Make a man wait for you. Don't just give yourself to anybody. If he really wants you, he'll wait. Otherwise, he'll just take off because he wants a toy, and he'll find another one."
Zoe had made a few men wait, and just as her mum predicted, they took off after a few weeks. Brock had been with her for several months, and Zoe knew he was serious about her.
"Brock?" she whispered.