April awoke slowly, letting her eyes adjust to the morning sun that was pouring through the French doors she had left open last night. She reached out for Alyshia and only found an empty bed. Coming fully awake, she sat up a little and looked around her apartment. Finally, she found a little slip of paper, folded in half, laying on the pillow next to her with her name written on the front.
She got this feeling of foreboding, already sensing she wasn't going to like what the note said. Just the same, she propped herself up against the headboard and reached for the note, slowly opening it.
"April,
Sorry to leave like this but I got up to check my email and found a job offer I just can't pass up. They wanted me in L.A. this morning so I caught a cab to the airport. I'll try to e-mail you later. I left everything I was able to find so far in a folder on the coffee table. I had a great time.
Love,
Alyshia"
Angry, April smashed the note into a ball and sent it sailing towards the French doors. She watched, a little impressed with herself, as she watched the crumbled ball fly through the air, through the doors, over the balcony, clear the flower beds, then arch towards the ground, disappearing from sight.
Groaning, April scooted deeper into the bed and pulled the covers up over her head. Lying there, staring at the underside of the bedspread, she seriously considered just staying here the rest of the day. Any time your days starts with a Dear Jane letter, its only going to get worse from here, so why bother at all. "I'll just stay here, go back to sleep, and when I get up tomorrow, my luck will be a helluva lot better," she thought.
Contemplating the merits of never leaving the bed, she thought she heard a noise. She pulled the sheet down a little so she could hear better. Listening, she realized the noise she heard was someone knocking on her door. "Go away!" she shouted, and dived back under the covers.
Seconds later, she only heard silence and sighed with relief. There was no way she was going to answer that. They way her day started, she knew who ever was at her door was just trouble.
She heard the muffled sound of her screen door slamming shut and she bolted upright in bed, the bedspread dropping to her waist. There, standing in the middle of her hallway with her hands on her hips, was none other that Jasmine Dupree.
"Shit! Go away, Jasmine. I'm not in the mood to fight with you again." April quickly plopped down on her bed, twisting to lie on her stomach, pulling the covers back over her as she went. She laid there, buried under the covers, alert to any little sound, but all she could hear was her heart hammering in her chest.
Jasmine stood in the hallway considering the lump in the middle of the bed. This wasn't quite the welcome she was hoping for. She'd been staked out in her car since about five this morning. She parked at the opposite street corner waiting for the blonde to leave. When she'd seen the cab pick her up, then pull away, she started her car and drifted it across the street to park at the corner, at the end of April's little alleyway. She had walked as far as the bottom of the steps, then had spent the morning sitting on the bottom step. She didn't want to wake April up, or show up too soon after April's lover left, afraid April would get suspicious. When she'd heard a noise, she'd glanced over just in time to see a crumbled ball of paper hit the ground with a small plopping noise, just a foot away. Startled at first, she looked up, and then realized that April must have thrown it out the window. She picked it up, scanned it, and felt a moment of glee as she read the blonde's note. Man, she hadn't even bothered to wake April up to say good-bye, just took off in the middle of the night. The plan her and Mama had worked out yesterday was going even better than she had hoped.
She sat back down on the steps, trying to give April a few minutes, and then found she didn't have the patience to wait. Knocking at the door, she could feel the excitement bubbling inside her. April's rough order to leave, though, had taken some of the wind out of her sails. Now, watching April hide under the covers, she felt herself deflate a little more. She'd suspected April might not be entirely happy to see her, but she had pictured a slightly better greeting than this.
Feeling irritated, she stomped over to the other side of the bed and flopped down on her back, lying beside April. She folded her hands over her stomach and stared at the ceiling. Fine, she'd just wait her out.
April felt the bed shift and knew Jasmine was lying only inches away. She sucked in a breath and felt her heart pick up speed. It was torture to be this close, but not able to touch her. For all she knew, Jasmine was just here to ask about Jade. Or maybe Jasmine had gotten board and decided she'd come around for another battle royal. God, she was getting sick of this. One minute they were fucking each other blind, and the next they were tearing each other to shreds. She couldn't take much more.
Frustrated and mad, April stuck her head out. "Are you deaf?! I said go away, Jasmine. I'm not in the mood for you right now." That said, she dived back under the covers, securing them tightly over her head.
Jasmine couldn't help but smirk. Normally, April came across as cool, bordering on flat out hard cold. It was kind of fun to see her get all pissed off, even more fun knowing she seemed to have a natural talent for pushing April's buttons. Then again, that went both ways. That thought wiped the smirk off of her face. Deciding they weren't going to get any where like this. Jasmine shifted around, pulled the sheets up on her side, and dived under them.
Next thing April knew, she was lying on her back with Jasmine on top of her. Man, she hated it when Jasmine got one over on her. She kept forgetting how quick Jasmine could move when she wanted to.
"Morning sunshine," Jasmine purred. All she got in return was an angry look, and she could feel April's body tense. She didn't want this to spiral out of control into another fight so, instead of goading her; Jasmine just laid her cheek on April's chest and curled her hands over the top of April's shoulders. She'd just wait her out from here.
Every nerve ending in her body had sprung to life the instant Jasmine's body touched hers, and April cursed her body for a traitor. She always fell apart around Jasmine. Her pussy would just go wet the minute Jasmine walked into the same room. No matter how angry she was, Jasmine would get close enough to touch and she'd just snap. Well, not today. Today she needed to hold on to what little pride she had left. If she gave her the chance, Jasmine would snap what was left of her heart right in half. She couldn't go there.
Jasmine lay there, listening to April's pounding heart. She knew what effect she had on April, but today it didn't seem to be working to her advantage. Frustrated, she pushed herself up, ready to pick a fight, then stopped at the weary look on April's face. Jasmine lowered her head, which gave her an excellent view of April's breasts. Knowing that wouldn't help, she jumped off April, pushing the sheets out of her way, and sat at the edge of the bed, her back to April.
April grabbed the sheets and tucked them back around her, thankful and sorry, at the same time, that Jasmine had pulled away. Confused and frustrated, she wiggled on to her side, giving Jasmine her back and stared at her apartment.
Jasmine looked over her shoulder when she felt the bed shift, just in time to see April turn over and give her, her back. April had the sheets tucked under her arm, exposing most of her phoenix tattoo. She felt a little tug on her heart and knew she couldn't leave things like this.
April tensed up when she felt Jasmine snuggle against her back, Jasmine's arm snaking around to wrap itself around her waist. She stared at her kitchen, suddenly finding it incredibly interesting. "What do you want, Jasmine?" she snapped.
Jasmine pressed a kiss to April's back, then snuggled her nose against April's neck. "I want to talk, cher," she whispered in April's ear. "But right now isn't the time. You're mad at me, which you have a right to be. Plus, you're not a morning person, which is just adding to your irritation. Go back to sleep and we'll talk when you wake up."
"You gonna leave?"
"I don't want to. Please, April, let me stay. I just want to hold you for a little while, if that's ok?"
April didn't respond. Maybe if she went back to sleep, she'd wake up feeling better able to talk to Jasmine without starting a fight. She closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep. Feeling worn out, it was easier than she thought it would be, to slide back into sleep.
Jasmine let out a sigh of relief when she felt April relax in her arms. She listened as April's breathing evened out, turned shallow, and she knew she was finally asleep. She rested her forehead against April's back and tired to figure out what to do once April woke up.
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