Chapter Five

I wake up to a pounding feeling in my head. I look over and it is the very guy I have been crushing on for months, maybe even years. We did it last night. We had sex, what the hell? At least my walk of shame will not be too far. I go to say good morning and its a just a pillow in his place.

I move the blanket off of me. This is a nice bed, soft cozy, and even pretty to look at. I would love to just turn over and go back to sleep. That's when I realize I am completely naked and my clothes are not on the floor. I pull the cover back on me and notice he isn't there as well, so it's not like I have to hide from someone. Panic sets in and my mind wanders to the worst possibilities. That is when I start to smell the amazing aroma of coffee. Wrapping a sheet around me I walked over to a dresser in hopes of finding something to wear. The top drawer has boxers and briefs. So I stole a pair of boxers. The second drawer on the top has socks neatly folded. I go to the middle drawer and it is full of white tank tops. My nipples are too dark for this shit, so I close it quickly but quietly. But I slip it on and walk out of the room ready to confront a man I slept with, who has stolen my clothes.

I walk down his stairs quietly, and that is when I get a huge whiff of muffins cooking. It smells like berries, vanilla, and coffee. 

I think he heard me coming down because he is standing at the doorway of the kitchen.

"Your clothes are in the washing machine. My cat Lucifer had a little accident on your pants this morning. I see you found some clothes for yourself. They do look much better on you than me if I might add. I much rather prefer them for you. " I smile when he says that to me. These clothes are huge on me. His boxers are so loose around the waistband I am afraid they will fall.

"I made breakfast so we can eat as we wait for the load to get done." He says moving out of the way and leading me to his very large and expensive white marble kitchen table.

"Okay, Blade. Those muffins do smell good though. What's in them?" I ask, really wanting to know.

"Well, Alicia." I blush remembering how he said my name last night. Well, not how he said it but how he moaned it out makes me want him back inside me. 

"I made sure they are vegetarian friendly. If you don't trust them I can make you some cereal with some almond milk." I shake my head 'no' I have never told this man my diet, so this shocks me.

"I trust you," I say with a sigh, grabbing a napkin from his dispenser. It's a beautiful silver napkin dispenser that you would see at a fancy restaurant. I saunter back to the table and sit down on the gray leather chair.

"Well, there are blueberries and strawberries in the muffins." He explains walking over with the large metal tin full of mini muffins. 

"Sounds delicious," I announce walking past him and into the kitchen.

"How do you take your coffee?" He asks, walking back with just the oven mitt in hand.

"Oat milk and loads of sugar," I explain, coffee just isn't good plain.

"That explains why I always see you with coffee cups from local businesses. You are thankfully not a Starbucks girl. Their drinks are too much of everything," he says as if I don't have a Starbucks rewards account. But I prefer supporting small businesses. Big corporations overwork their underpaid staff. Family-owned is where all the gold is at. Everything is handled with care because they all want to be there doing that. Not unlike Starbucks where people are just there to get paid, there is no passion in their drinks. Just a lot of sugar and unknown ingredients. 

"Small Businesses are always better, how about I take you out to a really good family-owned restaurant? Pick a date and I will see if I am not working all day at the clinic," I say, grabbing a muffin and taking a bite out of the bottom. Because the top of a muffin is my very favorite part. 

"Sure, I will pick a date. I can text you if you can give me your phone number," he says. I remember I left it on his nightstand and not on the charger so it is probably dead. Oh no, Thema, could she have called me to pick her up from her one nightstand? Wait, did I just have one of those? But technically no, because we did it early this morning. Is this going to be a one-and-done type of thing? I hear DJ Khaled in the back of my head saying "another one" as I study his face.

I hear a ding and that gets me out of my weird train of thought. 

"That should be your laundry. There is a bathroom behind that bookcase over by the stairs," he says pointing to a large bookcase.

My mouth falls open, a bathroom behind the bookcase. I jump up muffin in hand ready to run to it. They want to see how this contraption works out and jogs my need to eat.

"Do you have to pull out a certain book to open it?" I ask, excitedly. Seeing rooms like that in movies and tv shows for spies l.

I have to refrain from jumping up and down like a kid just about to open presents for Christmas. 

"No, it just slides open." He shrugs and opens it 

"Lame," I mumble and he smiles.

"Yeah, lame," he agrees, in a sarcastic tone. Blade puts his arms together with a bit of an annoyed look.

He gets up and we are off to get my clothes. I can see some of the tattoos on his back as I walk behind him. It's a shame it is covered up with his black shirt.

I wish I'd thrown a hoodie over the shirt I'm wearing. His eyes keep focusing on my nipples which are hard from how chilly it is here. He reaches for the laundry out of the dryer. It smells floral. Like a good flowery scent. When mixed with Gain™ it smells amazing and it is really warm.

"I am going to change real quick. Can you grab my phone off the nightstand?" I ask adjusting his boxers in hopes they don't fall around my ankles. 

"Yes," he answers on his way up the stairs in a matter of seconds. I don't know where his speed comes from. Hopefully, I don't have to confront him as a vampire in the woods. 

I changed into my old clothes from last night. Maybe Lucifer's revenge for having sex and waking him up was to pee on my stuff. My old clothes consist of a baggy t-shirt, black sweatpants, and granny panties. Nothing sexy about it. I put them on to go to sleep in, not sleep with some in. I didn't, my clothes were off. 

I open the door and he is standing there with my phone. His hair is a mess now, probably from running his hands through it.

"What is the story behind the bookcase door?" I ask, accepting my phone and placing it in my sweatpants pocket.

"It doubles as a safe room, I might have some sketchy clients, you know the people you never want to cross or say something wrong about. There is a secret door that leads to a pantry down in the basement. But it's mostly for storms though my basement is much more tornado-proof than a lot of other basements." When he explains this my mouth drops open. Now I know where to hide if he ever decides to show himself again.

"Oh, that's cool," I say, as I pull a book off and it is real.

It's a copy of 'THE GREAT GATSBY' 1st Edition 1st Issue. This is my favorite novel, I remember looking this up and they are over five thousand dollars, so I never got one because of the price. It has the original green-clothed and gilt lettering at the spine, Front-Cover Stamped In Blind. It's even signed, so I am in awe of this copy. Quickly putting it back, I turn to look at him. If I ever become a thief he would be on my rob list. 

"This is the first time we have met, since the yard sale we had last summer. You don't come to community events often," he says, grabbing the copy off the shelf to inspect it.

I don't want to tell him the real reason I didn't attend them. I was extremely nervous to be around him. I had just broken up with my long-time boyfriend. He is a really bad man and has done some horrible things. I couldn't be around people, my ex took away all my confidence and courage. I dated that deadbeat for three years and even almost married the bastard. It took years to finally be me. He was my second real heartbreak. He is a man I don't like to talk about even though it's been a few years now. 

"I work a lot," I say with disappointment because at the moment I have two jobs. Both take up so much space.

"You do? It's cool that you are passionate about your workplace," he says as we walk back to his dining area and eat the rest of the muffins. I feel incredibly disgusted. I have to go to work at twelve to bring the girls lunch. I need a shower, I am sticky as hell. Hopefully, I do not smell musty. 

"I have to go home, here is my number," I grab his phone and it has no lock on it. So I go to his contacts and add my number. I sent myself a quick "hi" text that I did not receive yet because my phone must have died early this morning.

I give him an awkward hug goodbye and he walks me to the door. I walk home, and as soon as I step foot into my house panic sets in.

I can't believe we did that.

I just let that happen, I slept with the guy next door and never thought this would happen to me. It was just a crush, but now I feel something more. I want something more. I walk over to charge my phone and text Thema, she will know what to do.