Changing Seasons

Fourteen

****

She picked up, her hair wet still, a towel wrapped around her, "Hey, Krist, I was just thinking about you," Atira told him.

"Mm," Krist replied, "Really? What you got under that towel?"

"If you behave, maybe I'll show you," she said suggestively.

"Damn, only maybe?"

Atira laughed, setting the phone on her bed. He could only see her ceiling and the ring of light from her bedside lamp, "How was your day?"

"Long. Long as fuck," he got up, heading into his apartment and sitting on the couch, "I worked like ten hours, all the people and traffic, shit was hella stressful. How 'bout you?"

Atira picked her phone back up. She now had on a violet t-shirt hair up in a ponytail, "Pretty good. I walked down to get a coffee. Aside from that, I just stayed in. I'm dreading tomorrow. I promised Jillian I would go, but I feel completely unmotivated, and don't really want to to feel like being social."

"I feel you. I'm going to my mom's, so I don't have to be social. I just would rather stay home and be lazy," he admitted.

"You need to take a day to do that, Krist. You're gonna get burnt out," she told him.

"Maybe we should skip everything and be lazy together," she smiled.

"I'd love that," he replied, "By the way, Mom told me to tell you that you are welcome to stop by her house any time you want."

"Aw," she gushed, "She did?"

"I told you, she loves you."

Atira held a hand to her chest, "That makes my heart happy. I'm glad to hear that. I'll have to see her one of these days."

"Hopefully soon," he smiled.

"Definitely soon," she responded before panning her camera to a large walk-in closet, "This stupid dinner is formal. Want to help me pick something out to wear for tomorrow?"

Krist gave her a funny look, "Y'all dress up for Thanksgiving dinner?" Krist would put nice clothes on himself and Rocco for holiday gatherings, but nothing considered formal. Shit, the last formal outfit he'd worn was to his mom's wedding.

Atira rolled her eyes, "Jillian gets all serious about her dinner parties. She likes to have a whole vibe."

He half wanted to joke about Jeordie and Cami's dinner parties being followed by an orgy but opted not to, "Y'all wild," he laughed.

Atira grabbed two dresses from her closet, hanging them side by side on the door. Both were black. One was mid-length but appeared to be form-fitting with a plunging neckline. The other was longer, the skirt fuller and the top less revealing, "Which one do you think?"

"Definitely not the shorter one."

Atira raised an eyebrow, "Why not?"

"That dress would look hot as hell on you. I don't need no dudes looking at my girl," he smirked.

She held back a smile, eyes lit up, "Telling me what to do, are you?"

"I am."

Atira panned to shelves filled with several pairs of shoes before holding up a pair of black stilettos with red bottoms, "Should I wear these?"

"If you wear those, I'm gonna need you to send me a picture of you in them, only them."

"You are so bad," she teased, "Are you always like this?"

"Nah, you bring it out."

"I like it," she laughed, setting the shoes down.

"I like it too," he needed to see her soon.