Serious Snafu

Chapter 5

Chris couldn't remember the last time someone had made him so furious and frustrated. His brother Cade's behavior elicited similar emotions, but at least that could be explained by mental illness. Sonja's actions totally stymied his sense of reason.

In his fury, he nearly hit the tree in front of his house. He stormed in and shut the door so hard the glass shook. As he swung into the bedroom, he slammed his hand against the door jam.

"Mother-fuckin', son of a bitch!" he yelled. This physical pain amplified his inner turmoil.

He flopped down on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Her emotional flip messed up his mind and stomach. What was wrong with her? For the first time since Savannah was alive, he had made love to a woman, not just had sex. He couldn't stop thinking about last night - how she smelled, how she tasted, how she felt in his arms and on his lips. The way she responded told him that she was right there with him. Had he really been so wrong in reading her?

To make it worse, deep down he knew he was just getting was he deserved. Despite what he friends thought, he was fully aware that he had been a player. This was the payback, karma's bitter pill.

He looked at the clock. It was nearly 11:15. He really had to haul ass to get to work by noon. He stripped quickly and went into the bathroom. He looked in the mirror and thought of what Sonja had said about it. He saw a chump who had been well played.

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Sonja became a woman of action. A few minutes after LaSalle left, she got her shit together in record time. Before she knew it, she was behind the wheel on a mission. She pushed away any negative thoughts to concentrate on getting to Christopher's in one piece ASAP.

As usual, the traffic sucked. She had lived in New Orleans her whole life, and was used to the almost constant festival atmosphere with parades and tourists everywhere. Still, at this moment, she would gladly trade a year's worth of parades for an expressway. To add to her agony, the French Quarter was the worst. Silently cursing Chris for living there, she simultaneously recognized that given his personality, he couldn't live anywhere else - and she wouldn't want him any other way.

Through some miracle there was a parking space near LaSalle's house. She took it as a good sign. But, almost immediately, her nerve began to waver. Would he even let her in? Could she handle his rejection? She frowned knowing she deserved anything but forgiveness.

Wanting to avoid a huge scene on the busy street, she went around to the back and banged on the door.

"Chris, Chris, it's Sonja. We need to talk." Duh, that was obvious. Fuck what the neighbors thought, she had to give it her all.

"Chris, I'm so sorry. I was a total asshole. Please, let me in." Still getting no reaction, she paused and thought for a moment. With no hesitation, she picked up the third flower pot on the right. Sure enough, there was the key - good old predictable LaSalle. She knew the hiding place after accompanying him home more than a few times when he was too drunk to see.

She grabbed the key and opened the door slowly. She soon heard the shower and decided that was why he didn't respond.

After being in such a hurry to get there, she suddenly stopped with her hand on the bathroom knob. Taking a deep breath, she went in.

"Who's there?" he said turning the water off.

"It's me Chris," she said, not giving him time to reply. She knew if she didn't say what she wanted in one piece, she never would. "I don't blame you if you hate me, if you never want to see me again. But, you - you scare me. The way I feel about you scares me. Shit - I love you. I love you so much I don't know if I can handle it."

The shower started up again. Crushed by the silence, Sonja began to turn away. Suddenly, she was dragged into the deluge by two wet arms that squeezed her so tightly, she almost couldn't breath.

He moved away and began to shake her. "Is this real? Because if you're just jerking me around, I swear, I..." he let her go and trailed off

Oh my God, was he crying? Shower water streaming down her own face, Sonja grabbed his shoulders.

"The minute I let you go, I knew I was wrong," she kissed him. Sweet relief washed over her as he responded.

When they broke, he studied her. "How can I be sure the evil Percy won't appear again?"

"I, ah, covered up the hell hole in the bathroom. She won't bother us again," she said.

He put his hand under his chin and crunched up his face. "You're all wet," he said. "The real Sonja hates getting wet."

She smiled. "It's all because of you, you big jerk."

"You said you loved me," finally giving his trademark smirk. She rolled her eyes.

He cupped her face. "Hey, I love you too Sonja. And, I'm terrified!"

They kissed again, clinging on for dear life and getting soaked for what seemed like an eternity.

Finally she broke the silence. "We are going to be so late," she said.

He laughed. "Not me, I have extra clothes."

She shook her head. "Maybe, but I gotta do something while mine dry."