“Well actually she’s not an accountant,” Peter shook his head, totally missing the not so veiled insult hurled in his direction. “She worked as a booth babe for the McGregor Office Supplies Co-op. She is, however, planning to study accounting at Clayton Community College next semester, right after she turns 20!”
A nodding Jasmin rose from the bed, now scowling in the direction of her red faced boyfriend.
“Well that’s just grand,” she growled. “Maybe the two of you can work together to tally up the amount of money that I loaned you to complete your own stint at accounting school-plus the cool thou I fronted you a few months ago to help pay your rent.”
Peter shook his head.
“We said we’d arrange a payment plan,” he said vaguely, “with a specific due date for all funds loaned.”
“The due date has been readjusted to reflect the following,” she leaned over to stare her stunned visitor straight in the eyes. “You will pay me the money, in cash mind you, by this Friday-or I’ll be making some informative calls to the IRS.”
She rather enjoyed the ashen expression that crossed his ruddy features as he stood to his feet and made a mad dash for the door.
Jasmin watched him leave with a cool expression that dissolved the moment she heard the door close; then she sat down hard on the edge of her bed and stared at the door he’d closed behind him.
“Two years of my life is just… I don’t know,” she wrapped her arms around her legs, shaking her head from side to side as she struggled to grasp the news.
Oh, she knew that she’d survive this; she, after all, was a self-made woman who had never depended on a man for money, respect or emotional support. Still and all, it had been nice to have Peter in her life; someone to hold her, to listen as she shared the news of her day.
“I guess I never felt swept off my feet,” she shrugged. “It just made sense for us to be together. And I thought we always would be. So now what?”
Her head shot up as she noted the entrance of her roommate; a man who rushed immediately to her side and wrapped his strong, sturdy arms around her frozen body.
“I’m so sorry babe.” Pulling her flush up against the planes of his hard muscled body, Joel cradled her closer than close as he kissed her flushed cheek. “I saw the bastard out in the parking lot and asked him why he seemed so upset. When he told me I made him even more upset.”
Jasmin’s eyes flew wide at this news, and her face erupted in a giddy smile.
“Did you haul off and slug him?” Hope sprang eternal.
Joel shook his head.
“I was sorely tempted,” he admitted, adding with a wink, “but I thought that an assault charge wouldn’t do much to improve your situation-so instead I just gave him a light whack with an empty rubber laundry basket.” With these words he bowed low before her. “Just call me your brave knight in shining leather, milady.”
Jasmin laughed.
“I’ll be very proud to do just that my friend,” she rested her head on his muscled shoulder. “Thank you so much for being here for me right now.”
“Not a problem.” Joel touched her lips with a soft, sweet kiss. “You were the kind lady who took me in a year ago when I had no place else to go-charging me much less rent than you needed to pay the bills around here, because you knew it was all I could afford.”
Jasmin shook her head.
“You more than paid me back by keeping this place spotless-a state of being it never came close to attaining when I lived here alone,” she rolled her eyes heavenward.
It was Joel’s turn to shake his head.
“You did a great job, babe, considering that you were working all the time.” With this he waved an admiring hand in her direction. “And now just look at us. You’re a junior partner in a big time marketing firm, and I’m a model who’s actually finding work in LA.”
A beaming Jasmin nodded in agreement, pulling her friend to her in an affectionate hug.
“You’re so right,” she graced his chiseled cheek with a warm, sweet kiss. “We don’t need that jerk in our lives. We’ll get along just fine.”
“Of course we will,” Joel agreed, nestling her neck. “And to celebrate his timely and very welcome departure, I say we pull an all-nighter.”
Jasmin arched her eyebrows.
“An all-nighter?” She froze in his arms. “Sounds fun.”
“You know it.” Joel waggled his eyebrows.
***
This isn’t exactly what I had in mind.
Sprawled out across the smooth ivory carpeting that covered her living room floor, Jasmin munched on a piece of luscious homemade pepperoni pizza; one prepared by the man whose fine rear she unabashedly admired as he slipped a shiny disc into the multifunctional DVD player that topped their television.
“We might want to make this our last flick before we crash for the evening,” Joel grinned at her over his shoulder, “which would be fitting, since this is the last movie in Leslie Nielson’s immortal Naked Gun trilogy.”
“Indeed,” she nodded. “It’s been forever since we pulled an all-nighter-I just can’t think of anything more fun.”
Well actually, she mused, she could at least ponder one activity that would indeed be even more fun; an act she pondered even more seriously moments later, as Joel took his place beside her on the floor.
Wrapping his muscled arm around her shoulders, his crisp citrus tinged scent filled her senses as the silken strands of his ebony hair brushed against her chest.
“I’m so glad to be here with you tonight,” he whispered in her ear. “You’re such a good friend.”
Heaving a heavy, frustrated sigh, Jasmin relaxed in Joel’s arms and forced her gaze in the direction of the television screen.
It’s going to be a long night, she crossed her eyes, chomping down on a defenseless piece of pepperoni. And no, the extra cheese didn’t help one bit.
***
Two weeks later
The weeks that followed were busy ones for Jasmin, who threw herself into various marketing projects as she readjusted to the life of a single woman.
She found that on reflection that she didn’t really miss her deceptive, unfaithful ex-boyfriend-why, she reasoned, would she miss a man who wasn’t really what he seemed?
One thing she did miss was his intimate touch; the feel of a man’s hands all over her body, of a warm pair of masculine lips as they covered her mouth, her breasts…
“I need orgasms!” she declared now, quite loudly as a matter of fact.
Luckily she stood in the central aisle of a place where such declarations were not uncommon. Owned by one of her closest gal pals, Val’s Vibes was a bright, expansive store that sold all manner of sex toys and adult DVDs.
Despite her great familiarity with and affection for the bright, funny Val, she’d never visited this store alone; and the times that she did venture through its doors she usually came with Peter, she’d mostly cringed and covered her eyes in horror as she reviewed his choices in merchandise.
“No more copies of Dee Dee Does Denver or Busty Baby-Sitters!” She thrust a triumphant fist high in the air, greeting a laughing Val with a bright smile.
“You go Girl!” Val met her in a victorious high five, all the while bagging up her purchases for the day.
Jasmin grinned in spite of herself as she regarded the cover of the DVD, which boasted a photograph that likened the cover of a sensual romance novel; depicting a beautiful young couple kissing passionately and languishing in one another’s arms.
“They look like they’re having substantially more fun in life than I am,” she decided with a sigh. “Their movie, working in tandem with that delish looking jelly vibe, should help to tide me over until I dive back into the dating pool.”
Val, a slender blonde in a tank top and jeans, laughed.
“Have at it Kid,” she handed the bag to Jasmin, who took it firmly in hand before examining its contents.