Susi lifted her head from between my legs; her eyes were filled with fear or shock. I’m not sure of which one. “When you last time wax?” I shrugged apologetically. She waved her finger. “Tsk, Tsk, Tsk, you no let grow like this, understand?” I nodded and threw my head back humiliated. Okay, so I’d neglected my sacred place, but no one had seen it in over two months.
****
Jeremy skeptically watched as I slowly walked across the living room with my legs spread opened. “What happened to you?”
“I got a wax.” I grumbled passing by him; he was by the kitchen island.
“Oooh, can I see?” He dropped the grin when I snapped an evil glare.
Lying in bed, I wondered if the pain would go away by morning. How red faced and embarrassed would I be to have Marcus staring at me while I walked like I’d been horseback riding? I heard my phone go off, so I reached for it.
Marcus (4:25pm): Thank you, Mia.
Me (4:26pm): For what?
Marcus (4:26pm): For today, for this weekend. I promise I won’t let you down.
Me (4:27pm): I hope you don’t, Marcus.
Marcus (4:27pm): Did you purchase anything good ;)
Me (4:28pm): Oh you’ll have to just have wait and see, DeLuca.
Marcus (4:29): I look forward to it! ;)
A nice cold shower soothed the soreness from my wax. The redness went down a lot, and I was walking normally by nine o’clock. Thank God! I decided to pack my bag for the weekend, only leaving out what I’d be wearing in the morning.
Feeling guilty that I hadn’t worked out in three days, I set my alarm to go off early so that I could fit in a good run in the morning. I threw on my yoga pants and a spandex sleeveless shirt so that I could jump right out of bed and just brush my teeth before my run.
I stepped out of my bedroom, and Jeremy was still playing his stupid game. I noticed he ordered pizza. Great, I should really cut back on the carbs. The past three days, I’d consumed more calories with alcohol and pasta than I had in months.
Then I remembered I needed to tell Jeremy about my weekend trip. I was nervous about saying anything, afraid of how he would react. I grabbed a slice of pizza and headed over to the couch. To my surprise, he didn’t seem shocked at all and even mentioned that he hoped I’d have a great time.
A half an hour later, I was in bed.
Chapter Six
Jogging cleared my mind and relieved all my tension. I had a mixed variety of music on my iPod, and as soon as the shuffle switched from Lady Gaga’s “Marry the Night” to Limp Bizkit’s “Rollin,” I picked up the pace. The wind was the perfect temperature against my damp skin. I felt like I was in control, and it was just me and the road.
Passing the university, I stopped near a tree to catch my breath before lying on the grass. I did a few sets of sit ups along with lunges and squats. Then I stretched against a bench and began the jog back to my apartment at an easier pace.
I ran in place while waiting for the red light to change when I noticed Romano’s restaurant. I smiled to myself. Marcus was every girl’s dream: he was successful, a gentleman, and absolutely, ridiculously HOT!
I’d known men like that…well not as handsome as Marcus, but they were all confident assholes. Although spending that one night with him at Romano’s made me truly believe that he might just be different.
He wanted to spend time with me, and who was I to not let him? It couldn’t hurt to give it a shot, could it? By agreeing to this weekend trip, I knew that something more than just getting to know each other would occur. I couldn’t resist his smile and his scent. Just thinking of him without his clothes on boggled my mind. A man brushed past me and ran across the street. I dismissed the thoughts of Marcus and continued with my run.
I was a couple blocks away from my building, so I sprinted. Stopping in front of the stairs, I took ten long minutes for a good stretch. My face was dripping with sweat, and I could feel the heat and blood rushing through my veins. It felt good.
Using the tree for support, I placed my right leg behind me and slowly bent my left. I repeated this, stretching on the other side. I sidestepped away from the tree, lifted my hands over my head, and reached for the sky very slowly, stretching my arms over to the right side and left side of my body.
I rolled my neck then bent over, reaching for my toes and aligning my back and legs. Slightly spreading my legs apart, I caught a glimpse of the bottom part of jeans and men’s white sneakers directly behind me.
The legs bent, and a set of big, brown eyes met mine. “Well good morning. You’ll have to let me in on your running schedule, so I can make it in time for your stretching.” That now-familiar smile peeped through my legs. I jerked up and quickly brushed a few loose strands of damp hair away from my face. Then I turned to face him.
“You’re early.” I stumbled back a few steps.
He eyed me up and down with an entertained, crooked grin. “And you’re sweaty. I love it.” He winked.
My eyes traced every inch of him; the casualwear suited him very well. This was the first time I was able to witness his firm biceps through his fitted, white, short-sleeved shirt. His loose, straight jeans flattered his waistline. He shoved his hands in his front jean pockets causing the muscles of his forearms to flex. His platinum Rolex was wrapped comfortably around his wrist. “I hope you don’t mind that I’ve arrived a little early; I wanted to make sure you wouldn’t bail on me.” He chuckled.
Bringing my attention back to his eyes, I blinked a few times. “Um, no, it’s fine; I just went for a quick run. I hope you don’t mind waiting while I take a shower and get ready. I can make you some coffee if you like?”
“Please lead the way.” His smile widened. We entered the building and walked up to the second floor. I was sticking the key in the lock when Trevor from the fourth floor approached me. He’s a very good-looking guy. He’d also tried on numerous occasions to ask me out, but I never dated anyone in my building. That was my number-one rule. Trevor handed me an envelope with a huge smile. “Good morning, sexy, my month’s rent,” he said.
“Ah, early as usual, Trevor, thank you.” I smiled as I grabbed the envelope.
“Dinner Saturday?”
“Trevor.” I narrowed my eyes.
Lifting his palms to surrender, he laughed. “Hey it was worth a shot. You can’t blame a man for trying?”
“No you can’t, unfortunately she has plans with me for the weekend.” Marcus just had to butt in. Oh my God, I rolled my eyes and opened the door. They both eyed each other, refusing to back down: Trevor with a cocky expression and Marcus with an amused grin. Trevor broke from the staring contest first and waved goodbye. I smiled at him and waved back. I walked into my apartment as Marcus followed.