“Mommy always says to use your inside voice when you’re indoors.”
“I know, and I will; I promise. Now, go back over there and finish coloring that pretty picture.” I smiled as I kissed the top of her head.
“Look, man, I’m sorry I upset you, but Lily’s a real nice girl, and she doesn’t deserve to be treated rudely. She’s never done anything to you,” Sam said.
I looked at him, sat back down on the couch, and threw back my beer. “You act like you’ve known her your whole life when it’s only been two days. Do you want to date her or something? Are you trying to get my approval?” I asked.
“No, I’m not trying to get your approval, and I don’t need it either. If I wanted to date Lily, I would ask her on a date, but I’m really into her friend, Gretchen.”
I took the last sip of my beer as Maddie came walking through the door. I got up from the couch and kissed her on the cheek.
“Hey, sis, do you need any help?”
“Nope, I already took the bags upstairs.” She smiled.
We both walked over to the table where Charley was coloring and looked at her picture. “That’s a pretty picture, Charley. Can I have it?” I asked.
“Sorry, Uncle Luke, this picture is for my new teacher tomorrow.” She smiled.
“Ah, well, she’s one lucky teacher to get such a pretty picture,” I said.
Maddie and Charley cleaned up the crayons and paper then walked out the door. Charley stopped in the middle of the hallway and turned to look at me.
“Uncle Luke, are you going to come over tomorrow morning before I go to school?”
“You bet I am, peanut.” I smiled at her as she waved goodbye.
I loved that little girl more than anything in my life.
***
Later that evening, Lucky came over, and we headed to Bernie’s. It’s the bar my sister worked at during the day and some evenings, but it’s also where me and the boys played a little music. We can draw in quite a crowd when Bernie, the owner, tells people when we’re playing. We weren’t playing tonight; we’re just having a few drinks and shooting some pool. I’ve known Lucky and Sam since freshman year at college. The three of us were roommates. Lucky’s a womanizer. He always has been, and he always will be. His real name’s Thomas, but we started calling him Lucky when he scored with the hottest chick on our college campus. He knows just the right things to say to a woman, and they always fall right under his spell. After a few games of pool and a few beers, I was calling it a night. Lucky invited a few girls over to the apartment to play his version of strip poker. I rolled my eyes, hearing the girls giggle when he said that.
We arrived back at the apartment, and Lucky got out the cards. It was him, Sam, and two other girls playing. The third girl didn’t want to play, and neither did I. I walked to the refrigerator and grabbed a beer. I took off the cap and flung it over to Sam as he put his hand up and caught it. I smiled and sat down on the couch. The girl introduced herself as Monica. I didn’t really care what her name was, and I wanted to be left alone. Lucky got up from the table and turned on some music. Sam yelled at him to turn it down. I shot Sam a look because he never tells anyone to turn down the music; he likes it loud. He tilted his head to the side, indicating it would be too loud for Lily. I rolled my eyes and went back to watching TV.
It wasn’t long before Monica scooted closer to me and started running her finger up and down my arm. I looked at her. She was attractive, but she wasn’t my type. She leaned in closer and whispered in my ear.
“I give great bl*w j*bs if you’re interested.” She smiled as she slowly licked her lips.
I was drunk, and I wasn’t going to have sex with her, so I took her up on her offer. It had been a while since I’ve had one, and I was ready. I got up from the couch and motioned for her to follow me into the bedroom. As I shut the door, Monica got on her knees and unbuttoned my jeans. She slid them down to my ankles along with my boxers. She wrapped her mouth around my hard c*ck as I fisted her hair and moved her head up and down. I was just about to come when the door opened. I looked up and saw Lily standing there.
4
Lily
I rummaged through my closet, trying to find the black skirt that I wanted to wear tomorrow. I couldn’t believe I was going to be teaching fourth grade for an entire year. The teacher that I replaced took a year off to take care of her terminally ill husband. I unpacked the last of the boxes and found my black skirt. I looked at the clock, and it was midnight. I needed to take a shower because I felt dirty from unpacking. As I walked to the bathroom, I undressed, and turned the shower on. As I reached up to adjust the shower head, the pipe broke, and water started pouring everywhere. I screamed then quickly reached down and turned the water off. I stood there in a fit of rage. It was late, I was dirty, and now, what the hell was I going to do? I had no choice; I had to ask Sam if I could use his shower. I knew he was up because I could hear the loud music through the paper-thin walls. I threw on a tank top and a pair of yoga pants then went next door. After several knocks, Sam finally opened the door.
“Lily, what’s up? Is everything ok?”
“No, the shower head pipe in my shower just broke, and I start my new job in about seven hours. Can I use your shower real quick?” I asked.
“Sure, come in. The bathroom’s right down the hall.” He smiled.
I walked into his apartment and quickly scanned for Luke. He was the last person I wanted to see right now. All I saw was some other guy and two half-naked girls. I looked at Sam and raised one eyebrow.
“Sorry, but we’re playing strip poker,” he said.
“None of my business, Sam,” I said as I held up my hand.
Suddenly, standing before me, was the guy that was sitting at the table.
“Sammy, who’s your friend?” Lucky asked.
“This is Lily. She just moved in next door.”
“Hello, beautiful.” He smiled as he softly kissed my hand. “I’m Lucky, and it’s my pleasure to meet such a gorgeous woman.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Lucky,” I said with a fake smile. I know his kind, and I wasn’t about to fall for it.
I excused myself and headed down the hall. I opened the door—to which I thought was the bathroom—and gasped when I saw Luke standing there, getting a bl*w j*b. I instantly shut the door and left the apartment. Sam came after me and asked what was wrong. I told him that I’d changed my mind. I went back into my apartment, shut the door, and slid down until I was on the ground. I cupped my face in my hands and sat there. I was startled when there was a knock at the door. I got up and looked out the peephole; it was Luke. I opened the door, and he was standing there in his jeans and a t-shirt, carrying a tool box in his hand. I couldn’t even look at him after what I saw; I was so embarrassed.
“Sam said the pipe in your shower broke.”
“Yeah, it did. What are you, the handyman?” I asked.
“As a matter of fact, I am. I’m the maintenance guy, and I need to take a look so that I can get whatever parts I need and come back tomorrow to fix it.”
“Fine, come in,” I snarled as I stepped aside.
I couldn’t stop staring at his ass as he walked down the hall. What the hell’s the matter with me? I don’t want to look at him or any part of his body. I followed him into the bathroom as he set his tool box on the toilet.
“So, what the hell did you do to this?” he asked.
“I didn’t do anything. I just went to adjust it, and it broke off.”
“These things just don’t break off that easily. You must’ve really grabbed it and yanked it hard.”
He was making me angry with his attitude, and I was thinking about something on him that I was going to grab and yank really hard. I rolled my eyes as I stood there, leaning up against the sink.
“You know what, Mr. Handyman? You’re right; it must be my superhuman strength that broke it.”
He turned his head and looked at me. The corners of his mouth turned up into a small smile that grabbed my attention. I couldn’t look at him anymore. I was getting turned on, and that’s something that hasn’t happened to me in a very long time. I was starting to get annoyed with the way my body was reacting just at the mere sight of him, and the worst part was I couldn’t get what I just saw out of my head.
“I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me,” I said as I walked out of the bathroom.
I looked at the clock on the stove, and it was 2:00 a.m. I was practically in tears because I had to be in my classroom at 7:00 a.m., but I still needed to clean myself up. Luke came walking out of the bathroom with his tool box.
“I’ll get the parts that I need tomorrow, and I’ll come back to fix it. Will you be home?” he asked as he looked at me. “Lily, what’s wrong?”
I turned towards the refrigerator and acted like I was getting a bottle of water so that he couldn’t see the tears that were about to fall.
“Nothing’s wrong. I’m just really tired; I start my new job in a few hours, and I feel disgusting from unpacking boxes all day. And to answer your question, no, I won’t be home tomorrow; at least not until after 3:00 p.m.”
I heard him take a few steps closer to me from behind. “Hey, grab your things and take a quick shower at my place. By the way, I’m sorry for what you saw earlier.”
I put my hand up to stop him. “Please, don’t apologize. You did nothing wrong. It was my fault for walking in on you and your girlfriend.”
“She’s not my girlfriend,” he said unexpectedly. “Come on. Time’s ticking away, and you need a shower.”
I turned around and looked at him. “Thank you, Luke. Let me grab my things.”
He waited for me, and we walked to his apartment. He opened the door, and as I stepped inside, the only thing I saw were two completely nak*d girls sitting at the table while Sam and Lucky were fully dressed. Luke sighed and walked over to the table. He gathered up the girl’s clothing and threw it at them.
“Girls, it’s been fun, but it’s time to leave now.”
“Hey, man, what the hell are you doing?” Lucky said as he stood up.
“Lily, the bathroom’s on the left,” he said.
I started to walk to the bathroom, and I heard Luke tell Lucky the party’s over and that he needed to leave as well. Lucky wasn’t happy about it, but he did what Luke said. I shut and locked the door. I stepped into the shower and stood under the hot water and relaxed. As I was shampooing my hair, I heard the door open.
“It’s just me; don’t freak out,” Luke said.
I froze. “What the hell, Luke? Get out!” I yelled.
“You’re not the only one who has to get up early. I just need to brush my teeth real quick,” he said.
“You can’t wait until I’m out of the shower and back in my apartment?”
“No, I’m tired, and I want to go to bed. Besides, you women take long showers.”
I heard him start brushing his teeth. I couldn’t believe the nerve of him. “The door was locked; how did you get in?” I asked.