Something Domestic

IIII

CHARISSE SLOWLY OPENED her eyes stifling a yawn. She sat up, not remembering Joshua was on the phone. She wasn't wearing anything – just a tight t-shirt and panties. Her eyes followed her bare skin, down to the sheets, finally landing on the phone resting against the headboard. Her eyes grew big and she scrambled to cover herself.

Joshua didn't pretend he didn't enjoy the sight. And even though he could no longer see her beautiful legs, he got a full sight of her breast. A light chuckle made its way out his mouth and she blushed.

"Sorry for looking, baby," Joshua apologized.

"It's fine." She stammered.

She grabbed her phone, laying it face down. Then she scrambled from her spot and quickly put her clothes on. She didn't pay attention to what she grabbed – another t-shirt and sweatpants. Besides, it was just something to cover her up.

Everything I own is tight on me now. Maria wasn't going to like that. She scooped up her phone and blushed down at it. Before she could say anything, her sister walked in. She had her normal makeup bag and flat iron in her hands, ready to do her sister's makeup. To Taliah's surprise, her sister waved her away. Taliah was confused but left anyway. She stood outside of her sister's door, listening to Charisse talk to this 'Joshua'. With her focus back on Joshua, Charisse asked him a question.

"Do you want me to hang up?"

Joshua looked down at his screen. "No, why would you do that?"

Charisse feigned confusion. "Don't you need to go to work?"

She noticed his grimace and sighed. I'm going to have to do a background check on him, now. She was fighting her instincts, wanting to trust the grey-eyed man. But that grimace told her everything she wanted to know. She grabbed at her laptop, doing as she thought while listening to Joshua's excuse.

"The kind of work I do is... complicated."

You're telling me, she thought scrolling through his history. There, she found out what he really has been hiding. And someone how, she wasn't concerned with what she found. If anything, she wanted to know more about 'Joshua'. Charisse shook out of her state of thinking with a smile.

"Okay. Well, I gotta go to school." She said, looking down at her phone.

"Okay, baby," Joshua said, about to hang up.

"Wait!" Charisse exclaimed. She blushed before continuing. "When can I see you again?"

An unknown feeling filled Joshua's heart as he stared at the blushing girl displayed on his screen. He smiled. He was glad he wasn't the only one who wanted to see the other.

"Whenever you want to see me, bebé linda. I'm only a text away," He answered.

Charisse giggled before hanging up. She felt happy, and surprisingly, it didn't worry her. She wanted to see 'Joshua' again. Really, she did. She loved the feeling that filled her every time she thought of him – which, for three days, is a lot. And the idea of him here, with her, filled her with something so foreign to her; something that was once upon of time forced on her.

She sighed, shaking the memories away. She walked into her closet and without thinking pulled something out. She didn't notice that she pulled out a fishnet top with red and black ripped jeans. She pulled off the t-shirt she had on and pulled on a camisole crop top. She combed out her hair as much as she could, allowing her brown hair to hang over her shoulders, undone and free. She didn't grasp it – she looked badass.

She pulled on her favorite black army boots with a small smile. Her head wasn't completely in the clouds; her mother wouldn't allow her to leave the house without any makeup on. She applied mascara onto her face before filling her lips with clear lip gloss. She slid a headband over her hairline to hold her hair back, grabbing her phone.

She grabbed her discarded notebooks and homework sheets before gasping. She never got to finish her homework the night before! She quickly finished the work before throwing the sheets neatly into her bookbag. She grabbed a light jacket to cover her arms while slinging the bookbag over her shoulders. Her thoughts were still focused on 'Joshua' as she descended the stairs, forgetting about her mother and sister in the kitchen.

Maria's jaw dropped when her eyes landed on her daughter. She was shocked, maybe beyond that, as she took the new look in. She instantly looked towards her stepdaughter. Look at what you've done, her glare said. I'm trying to protect her, and here you are messing everything up! Taliah wasn't paying Maria any mind. She hated to admit it, but the girl she called 'sister' looked good. Maybe a little better than that. And suddenly, and unknowingly, the green-eyed monster made its way into her.

"Charisse, what the hell are you wearing?!" Maria exclaimed.

"Sorry, mama," the girl replied, even though she wasn't, at all, sorry. "Would you like for me to go change?"

"Charisse, just go." Taliah snapped. "The bell rings, in what, 20 minutes?"

Charisse did as her sister said and left. She really wanted to eat breakfast, but if she did, Maria wouldn't allow her to eat dinner. Charisse sighed as her stomach growled lowly. She was fine being a mama's girl – the one who did everything right. Sooner or later, she'll be far, far away from them all.

That thought made her a little happier as she stepped through the gates of her school. A blush crept across her cheeks as boys did double takes, watching her walk. She was familiar with these looks, as they were also given to her by her father. She pulled open the front doors and quickly went to her locker. She grabbed any necessary books before walking away. She wasn't looking where she was going and neither was her English teacher because they ran right into one another. To the teacher, nobody else was around them, just him and his sexy, favorite student.

Charisse bent down to pick up her papers, expecting the person to walk away. After a second, though, the teacher helped. They both stood at the same time, getting ready to apologize. She, instead, paled, realizing who she bumped into. The teacher licked his lips, checking her out as if nothing else mattered. Charisse quickly gave him the few papers that he dropped before briskly walking away.

What the hell was I thinking? She muttered to herself. She wasn't thinking, that's the problem. Wearing something like this to this school where hormones ran faster than an engine. And with a sigh she sat down in her seat, laying her head in her arms. This was going to be a long day, she thought to herself.