3 months later…

Within the past three months, I’ve managed to reconstruct Daniel Jones from a shy, fragile scrawny little homeless boy to a confident, sex god of a man. The way he began to carry himself was something I’d never thought I’d see when I first met him. He came a long way, I’ll tell you that. The thing that made him sexy was the amount of humility he kept all throughout the process of becoming one of the top male models in America. After his first official fashion show in New York a few months back, I received more calls than expected. It seemed to be that everyone wanted this new raven-haired, blue-eyed young model to showcase his or her new line of clothing. Nearly each day of the week, Daniel was scheduled to make an appearance somewhere, making me somewhat overwhelmed.

For the first time in ten years, I was actually overwhelmed with my job.

The two models I managed (Tricia and Merissa) came back from touring Europe. Having to deal with them and Daniel at the same time while attempting to provide equal attention was beginning to take its toll on me. When the girls first met him, they were not only in awe by his attractiveness, but from his outstanding personality. They were so used to being treated like objects by other men in our field that they didn’t really know how to react to such an intriguing person. Even after all of the magazine photo shoots, TV advertisements, and catwalks, Daniel remained the same person. Although he was beginning to become a little flirtatious, especially with other women, I loved the new him. I loved what I created.

The both of us tried to push whatever feelings we had for each other aside and attempted to focus more on work and getting him to the top, but of course it didn’t exactly work out like that. He wanted more from me and so did Laila. Her nosy ass was all up in our business playing Miss Matchmaker. During each of his shows, I’d be right in the crowd cheering him on like a proud mother. His signature smirk is what set him off the charts. Women ate that shit up. All he had to do was twitch the corner of his mouth up and I could practically hear hundreds of panties simultaneously dropping. It was a good thing that he didn’t live for the attention like so many of the models I’ve previously managed.

I must admit though. It’s extremely hard not to fall for a guy like him. The way he looked at me with those sexy sapphire eyes made my stomach churn every time I stared into them. They reminded me of the bottom of the ocean: mysterious and wildly captivating. So piercing that I felt the need to hide my soul from them. Daniel also had a way of challenging my intense persona. He never just took my bullshit and ran with it. He questioned me and yelled right back at me when I raised my voice at him. At first, it took me by surprise, but I’ve grown to adapt to it. I’ve grown to adapt to a lot of things he’s been doing. I was beginning to get used to his presence.

That became a problem.

I found myself missing him while he was either attending conferences in different states or simply going to sleep at night. His company was becoming essential to my everyday life. All I would like to know is how in the hell did I go from being immensely annoyed by him to wanting to be with him romantically? When did I began to fall for him would be the better question I suppose?

The first thought that came to mind was the event that took place about a month ago.

~******~

I had just walked into my apartment after a long day at the office filling out large amounts of paperwork and setting up appointments. As soon as I strolled through the door, I went straight into relaxation mode by kicking off my black pumps and taking an article of clothing off with each couple of steps I took towards my bedroom. By the time I reached the king sized canopy bed, I was only dressed in black laced panties and the matching bra.

A loud, consecutive set of knocks on the front door startled the hell out of me. I definitely was not expecting company, but I had an idea to who it was. He always showed up at the most inconvenient times. He began to knock again, leaving me no choice but to wrap myself up in a silk robe and sprint over to let him in.

Daniel stood on the other side of the door with a huge grin on his face as usual. I gave up on asking him what he was doing here, so I just widened the crease in the door and allowed him to walk passed me. For a few seconds after closing the door, I admired the way he looked. Dressed in a pair of loose fitting olive green sweatpants, a black v-neck t-shirt, and black Sanuks, I had to refrain from eliciting a slight moan. He looked so damn good even when he wasn’t trying.

“What brings you by, Daniel?” I asked with a clear to my throat.

He fearlessly pulled me into him, flashing a coy smirk before my face was completely buried in the confinements of his broad chest. I would have immediately protested this action if it weren’t for the delightful scent from the combination of his cologne and aftershave. While hugging me, he planted his face into the crook of my neck and began to speak. The feeling of his breath on my neck caused the small hairs to stand at attention.

“I have a surprise for you.”

“A hug?” I sarcastically replied.

He let me loose and gently grasped me by the shoulders, making me look at him with a raised eyebrow. “More than that. I’ll show you tomorrow.”

“Okay. Well, if it’s for tomorrow, why are you here now?”

“Because…” he started to say, moving his hands up to each side of my face and caressing my cheeks. “I’ve invited myself to stay the night with you.”

“Excuse you? I don’t think so.”

“I think so.” Daniel grabbed my right hand and began to pull me towards the side of the apartment where my bedroom is located. “Did you already eat? Or should we order out?”

“Daniel!” I shouted, snatching my hand away and adjusting my robe. “No! You’re not staying the night. You can’t just show up and start running things. That’s not how it works, especially since you’re in my house.”

All he did was shake his head and smile like he was about to get me to change my mind or something. Not saying that this hasn’t happened before, but tonight was a night just like any other night for me. I didn’t want to be bothered.

He took a step towards me, carrying a dangerous expression. His eyes darkened and his smirk deepened. “I pride myself in having quite amazing tactics of persuasion.”

“You’re not going to persuade me to do anything. Now I’d like for you to leave” I lifted my hand and half-heartedly pointed my index finger towards the door.

“You don’t really mean that…” he whispered with a boyish expression.

I sighed and pretended to act annoyed. “If I didn’t mean it, I wouldn’t have said it. What part of this client-manager relationship do you not understand?”

“The part where we shamefully hide our affection and attraction for one another and continue to live our daily lives as if we’re not itching to see each other. Or…I don’t know, the part where every time I see you, I want to slam you on top of the nearest flat surface and do unimaginable things to you.”

My heart began to race at a rapid pace. No he didn’t just go there…

“Daniel…”

“Terri...” he whispered in reply.

“This isn’t college. I don’t do sleepovers.”

Daniel shrugged and, once again, tugged me closer to him. He tilted my chin up with his left hand and brought his head down. So close, that his lips were hovering over mines. “I guess I’m gonna have to kiss you until you have a change of heart.”

“Enough with the childish-“

He kissed me before I could finish. It started out with a peck, but of course ended up being much more than that. The sensation of the way his tongue slipped into my mouth felt oddly familiar; almost as it was supposed to be damn near down my throat. I groaned and wrapped my arms around the circumference of his neck, combing my fingers through the thickness of his hair. It took everything in me not to jump up, wrap my legs around his waist, tear his clothes off, and ride him into oblivion. Amazed that he could bring such a fiery emotion out of me, I broke the kiss and caught my breath.

“No…” I whimpered, wiping the corner of my mouth and avoiding eye contact.

Daniel forced me to make eye contact with him and then placed a line of kisses along my collarbone. My moans were no longer controlled at this point. He knew I wanted him. So bad. 

“Okay” I was defeated. He won. And that’s all it took. “Only for a night. And no funny business.”

“Of course not” Daniel smiled. “I knew you couldn’t resist me, Terri…”

I sucked my teeth and playfully smacked him upside the head. “Oh shut up. You’re the one begging me to let you stay here tonight. That means someone is yearning for their daily dose of Terri Lawson.”

“What can I say? Once you’ve had one taste, you can’t help but to come back for more.”

I bit down on my bottom lip, suppressing a laugh full of embarrassment. Where does he come up with these ridiculous lines?

~*****~

 The night ended with Daniel lying across my lap and staring up at me. We were sitting on my bed talking about a bunch of nothing, waiting to see who’d fall asleep first. My legs were crossed at the ankles and I had finally gotten around to putting on some real pajamas, a pair of purple shorts and a yellow t-shirt. Daniel found it strangely amusing when I tied my hair up in a silk scarf.

“Terri?” he whispered, still gazing up at me.

I wasn’t aware of how I was gently massaging his scalp until he spoke. “Hm?” A fit of yawns was begging to escape my lips.

“When I first saw you-“

“You thought I was the biggest bitch to ever live?”

“Not exactly” he softly chuckled. “Let me finish.”

“Okay.”

“I thought you were the most eloquent, exquisite, beautiful creature to ever live. The way you carry yourself speaks power without you even having to give a hint to how much power you actually possess.”

“Go on…” I smiled and looked down into his eyes.

“That’s all I have to say, baby.”

My heart fucking leaped out of my chest with that last word and the huskiness of his voice as he said it. Before he closed his eyes, he placed a quick peck on the lips and rolled over to the other side of the bed.

~******~

The next morning, not only was I awaken by the bright sun beaming through my windows, but by the smell of bacon. Such a lovely smell to wake up to. I was confused at first because I normally have the shades as well as the blinds down.

Suddenly remembering that Daniel had slept over, I leaped out of the bed and walked like a zombie into the kitchen. Seeing him leaned over the stove tossing the bacon around the pan was a blissful sight to see. He looked right at home with a dishtowel thrown over his right shoulder. Before he could realize that I was standing there ogling the hell out of him, I crossed my arms over my chest and cleared my throat.

“Making yourself at home, I see.”

Daniel slowly turned around with a smile planted on his face. “I said the same thing when you came to my apartment and decided to play Miss Interior Decorator.”

“Okay, you definitely needed that. Everything was black and grey.”

“I’m a man, Ter. What did you expect?”

“More than that!”

“Are you going to eat this bacon or what, woman?”

I walked closer to the stove and squinted my eyes. “Who said I wanted bacon?”

“What? You don’t like bacon? Everyone loves bacon…” he replied with a face full of faux disgust.

“It’s nothing but fat. Why would anyone want to put that junk into their body?” I challenged.

“Obviously you if you’ve got it in your fridge” he quickly replied. “Don’t give me that whole spill about this not being a cheat day. Eat up.”

I smirked and playfully punched him in the bicep. “Make me.”

“Okay” he replied with haste. I let out a yelp as he grabbed me by the waist, turned around, and lifted me up onto the counter behind the stove. Right as I was about to say something, he crushed his lips onto mines and gave me one of the soul-searching make-your-panties-wet kind of kisses. Trying to keep up with his movements, I wrapped my legs around his waist and brought him closer to me. Daniel grunted and gave my bottom lip a quick tug.

“Is this your version of making me do something?” I moaned into his mouth. “Because you taste like bacon.”

“Delicious, right?”

More than that, I wanted to say. But instead, I grabbed him by the collar and continued to kiss him. “As much as I’d enjoy staying here and making out with you all day, I promised you a surprise and you need to fill your stomach up before I can give it to you.”

“What does a full stomach have to do with your surprise?”

“So we won’t have to stop for food on the way to our destination…” Another soundly peck was placed on my lips. What the hell is he talking about “destination”?

“Come again? What destination?” I weakly pushed him away from me and raised my right brow.

“It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you, now would it? Take a shower and get dressed.”

“Not until you tell me what the hell is going on!”

Daniel bashfully looked down and smiled at the ground. “I’m giving you a late birthday present.”

“Daniel, my birthday was a month ago. You really don’t have to do this. Especially since you’re the one who organized that whole party.”

“Well I want to. Please don’t give me a hard time. We’re going whether you like it or not.”

“I don’t have to do anything!” I all but shouted.

“Is that so…” he tested, getting dangerously close to my face. “You know what happened last time when you were being difficult.”

“Wasn’t much of a punishment, to be honest.”

“Right…”

A loud yelp echoed throughout the tiny apartment as Daniel threw me over his shoulder like some type of caveman and gave me a firm slap on the ass.

“I am going to kill you! Put me down!!”

He chuckled at the sight of me pounding my fists into his back, clearly not hurting him. Two more slaps from his large hand stung through the thin shorts I wore. I simultaneously wanted to strangle and fuck him. This playful side to him turned me on in more ways than one. Like a true cougar would say, he made me feel young in that moment.

An hour later and the both of us were ready to go wherever he was taking me. Daniel was dressed in a pair of black fitted jeans and a grey v-neck shirt with the infamous leather jacket wrapped around him. I, however, threw on a pair of grey dress shorts, a teal colored camisole, and the matching cotton blazer. Because I had absolutely no clue to where we were going, I put on a pair of ordinary sandals.

Daniel wanted to ride in his car, so I agreed. No need to argue about that. He finally saved up enough money to purchase one on his own: a sleek black 2011 Camaro. Those fashion shows and photo shoots were really beginning to pay off.

Daniel

I couldn’t help but to smile every time I looked at Terri, that’s how infatuated I was with her. She somehow enhances who I am as a person and inspires me to do better every time we interact. As I was lying across her lap the previous night, I saw the real her. Granted, it was the middle of the night and everyone’s vulnerable at that time, but I wish that moment could have lasted forever. Seeing her in that light, mindlessly letting me in by giving me details about her life warmed my heart. It was like she was consciously aware of her words, but unable to stop them from flowing out.

Sometime during the middle of the night, I was awaken by her straddling me. My eyes suddenly became aware of the situation and full of desire. She moaned and bent down to snuggle up against my chest. I tried to wake her, but she never came to. Seeing her like this, this exposed and defenseless, made me instantaneously hard. So hard that I had to move her ass away from my cock, hoping she didn’t wake up to that. To save myself from embarrassment, I tried to lift her body up and place her back beside me, but she refused to move. All she did was moan and hold on to me tighter.

“Stay” she murmured. “Please…stay”

I cradled her head and placed my chin on the crown of it. “Baby, I’m not going anywhere. Like I said before, it’s going to take a hell of a lot more than your crazy talk to push me away.”

When she walked into the kitchen, I was anticipating an apology about her late night words, but I never got one. Either she didn’t know what the hell she said or she was acting like it never happened. Halfway through the ride to our destination, I glanced over at her to see how she was doing.

“Daniel, I don’t see the point in wearing this stupid thing” Terri complained. I made her put on a blindfold. “We’ve been on the road for two hours now. Please tell me where the hell we’re going!”

“We’re halfway there. Be patient” I teased.

“I’ve been patient for two hours!”

“It’ll all be worth it. I promise.”

I could feel the rolling of her eyes already. “It better be.”

Just as promised, we arrived to the city two hours later. Terri’s been knocked out cold since we made a gas stop a while back and I was ready to get a good stretch in. When I pulled up to the large two-story brick house, I took a deep breath and turned the engine off.

“Terri” I gently shook her in order wake her up. “We’re here.”

“About time” she yawned a few seconds later, snatching the blindfold away from her eyes.

It took her a while to realize where we were but when she finally did, all hell broke loose.

“Daniel…what the fuck are we doing at my parent’s house? What the hell?!?!”  she began to flip out. “Take me home! Take me home right now! I can’t believe you!!”

“Terri-“

“No! How the hell did you even know where they live?!!”

“I-“

“Laila…that bitch-“

“Terri, please. Shut up for a second!”

“Don’t tell me to shut up, little boy!”

We both paused for a minute, taking in her insult. Her eyes said sorry, but the rest of her face was seething. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are” Terri continued, with a much softer tone to her voice. “but you don’t know a damn thing about my life! How would you deem this as a surprise? What kind of sick mind do you possess?!”

“It is a surprise, judging by your reaction. No one mentioned anything about you initially enjoying this surprise, but you will be getting your ass out of this car and saying something to your parents! You can yell at me all you want, but that will not make me turn this car around any faster. I’m here for you, Terri, whether you fucking like it or not, okay? We’re both here to make each other better people. That’s who I am!”

She continued to glare at me through squinted eyes, her chest still rising and falling due to her heavy breathing pattern. “You can’t make me go up there.”

“But I can make them come out. If you try to make a run for it, I will run after you. Either way, you are going to face your parents today, Terri Lawson.”

Seconds passed before she said something. “I hate you” she spat out.

“Wow. I must have passed the childish stick down to you.”

Her reaction was to open the door to the car, lift herself out of the seat, and slam the door behind her. I followed behind her and absentmindedly smirked at the sight of her stomping her feet towards the staircase of her parents’ home. Knowing that she wouldn’t take the initiative to do it, I went ahead and pressed the doorbell. By this time, tears were rolling down Terry’s cheeks.

“I can’t believe you did this…” she whispered over and over again until someone answered the door. An older dark-skinned gentleman who carried the same eyes and cheekbones as Terri opened the door, leading me to assume it was her father. It took him a moment to realize that his one and only little girl was standing right in front of him.

The old man clenched his chest and took a step back to get a better look. “Katherine!” he yelled behind himself into the house. “Katherine! Come quick! I can’t tell if I’m seeing things again!!”

“Daddy” Terri sniffed. “It’s me.”

His wife came rushing from behind him and moved him out of the way. “What is-Oh Jesus.”

“Hey Momma.”

The three of them stood there for the next minute or so staring at each other in shock. Katherine was the first to knock out of it. “Terri?!! Jefferey! She’s home!!” she screamed, grabbing Terri into her arms and hugging the life out of her. Terri began to cough and attempted to pull away from her mother’s deathly grasp.

“Kath, let the child go. Let her breathe.” Jefferey said.

Katherine, who strongly resembled her daughter, held Terri by her shoulders and began to cry. “I can’t believe you’re here. After all of these years, your father and I thought we’d never see you again.”

“Yeah. Well, this visit is going to be short. I was practically forced to be here…all thanks to this guy” she waved me off.

“Are you her boyfriend?” Her mother looked between the two of us, probably taking notice of the huge age gap and of course the differences in our skin color.

“Uh-“ I began to say, but was immediately cut off by Terri.

“No. He’s a client.”

“Okay…you all should come inside. A storm is supposed to start any time now. I’d hate for you to be caught up in it.”

We nodded our heads and followed her parents inside the comfortable looking home. They guided us into the living room and suggested that we sit down and make ourselves at home. Mr. Lawson propped his feet on top of the ottoman and laid back in the recliner as his wife breezed into the kitchen to prepare something for us to eat.

“Sweetheart, you have no idea how pleased we are to see you. Your mother worries about you everyday. We think about you all of the time.”

Terri

So many emotions coursed through my veins all at once. Too many to deal with. I was angry for the most part. What gave him the right to do this?! All I wanted to do was slap and punch him, but the small part in me that actually wanted to see my parents slowly came to surface and was somehow calming me down. Seeing them alive and well made me want to cry because what if they had died? What if I came home to my father answering the door and breaking the news to me that my mom had died three years ago? That’s all I could think about…

What if…

Thank God that none of that was true. By the looks of it, they were their same old selves, just a few years older. My dad still sat in that deteriorating recliner of his and my mom still wore the charm bracelet I made her when I was in the third grade. The house was also the exact same. The smell of it brought back so many memories for me. I could remember running up and down the stairs coming to and from school. My parents were always so supportive of me and my dreams as I was growing up and to think about how I treated them made me sick to the stomach. It was sad and ridiculous that Daniel had to force me to come out here just for these thoughts to arise.

All because they were overprotective and caring. I kept asking myself if it was worth it and now that I’m actually thinking about it? I know it wasn’t. It hurt my soul to see them scared to say what they really wanted to say due to the fear of me getting up and leaving.

“I’m sorry” was all I could choke up before bursting out in tears. Daniel immediately wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer to him. My mother, who now had dreadlocks, ran out of the kitchen with a plate of cookies and placed them on top of the coffee table. She noticed my distress and came over to comfort me, along with my father. Daniel, feeling like the third wheel excused himself and stepped out of the room.

“I love you guys so much and I don’t think I can ever fully apologize and make up for all of those lost years between us. It’s all because of me and I hate myself because of it. To be honest, I’ve done a lot of things that I’m not proud of. One of them being the situation I put the two of you in. I’m not proud of that. And I’m just now coming to the realization that I haven’t done anything to deserve a happy life.”

“Sweetheart, you will always be our daughter. We’ll always be here for you. What you did was wrong and selfish, but we forgive you” Mom said while hugging me and running her fingers through my hair. “Consider this a new beginning.”

I nodded my head and wiped away a few of my endless tears.

“Over the years, your mother and I have been trying to figure out what the hell it was that made you push us away and we couldn’t possibly figure out what we were doing wrong. Terri, you could have been stuck with a mother on drugs, a father who constantly molested you, or an extremely unstable home, but all you had was two loving parents.”

“I know, dad. And I’m so sorry. I overreacted. Please, daddy, I want to start over. I know I’m forty now and I shouldn’t be calling you daddy but I can’t help it. I missed you guys so much.”

“Baby girl…” he touched the side of my face. “Next time things get out of whack, let us know. Talk to us. We don’t read minds, you know. Ten years is way too long for us to not have any kind of contact with our one and only daughter. Consider our feelings next time you do something like this.”

“There will be no next time. I assure you.”

“Good” was all my mother said before she placed a tender kiss on my cheek and rose up into a standing position. “Now call your friend back in here so we can grill him.”

“Grill him about what? He’s just a friend.”

“Lying gets you nowhere but hell, my beautiful daughter” my father joked as he walked back over to his recliner. After wiping my eyes and sniffling my nose, I shook my head and made my way out of the living room. Daniel was stationed on the bottom of the staircase rummaging through his phone.

“Hey” I said.

He looked up from his iPhone with a serious expression on his face. I guess he was still feeling some kind of way about what I called him earlier. “Look, I’m sorry about earlier.”

“No apology needed. You were all up in your feelings.”

“Seriously. I feel so bad. You were trying to do something good for me and I treated you like that. I feel like such a bitch.”

“It’s fine Terri, really.”

“You were right, ya know” I stepped between his legs and placed his angular jawbones between my hands. “It was worth it. And I really appreciate you.”

Daniel put his phone down on the carpeted stair and looked up at me with those piercing eyes of his. “Promise not to degrade me next time I’m doing you a favor?” he said in a slightly humorous way.

“I promise.”

He gave me a quick kiss on the lips and quickly moved me aside. “Let’s go back in there before your parents think I’m more than a friend…” he sarcastically said.

I stared at his back as he walked into the living room and sighed. If only.