Un-Valentine's Day

Scene 10: The Full Monty

Cassie finished dressing and laughed when she caught a glance of herself in the mirror atop Noah’s dresser. The man was a good eight inches taller and probably outweighed her by sixty pounds. She’d rolled up the waistband and the legs of the sweats as much as she could, but still she looked like a little girl playing dress-up. Whatever. This was Un-Valentine’s Day. She didn’t need to wear fancy clothes to prove she was good enough. With Noah, she could relax and be herself.

Passing the bathroom door, she heard water hitting the walls of the tiled shower. Heat surged in her veins as an image of Noah’s chest, water running over his smooth muscles and his flat stomach, popped into her mind. She stopped herself before her imagination filled in the rest of the picture. No, no! Her friendship with Noah was the best thing she had going right now. But God, he’d looked so amazing. So hot. The nerdy computer guy had become a dreamboat. When had that happened, and how was she going to get through the rest of the evening without jumping his bones? Well, for starters, she’d have to make sure he wore a damn shirt.

She dumped her laundry into the washing machine and went to wait for Noah in the living room. Seeing the spread on the coffee table, she smiled. He certainly was taking the Un-Valentine’s Day theme seriously. No champagne and shrimp for her tonight. She popped open a beer and sighed as the cold liquid slid down her throat. Delicious.

Today had been some of the most fun she’d had in a long time, and she couldn’t wait to see what else Noah had planned for them. The water turned off in the bathroom, then the door opened. She forced herself to look out the window instead of turning to catch another glimpse of Noah’s sexy body. Oh God. Had she really just thought that?

The apartment intercom buzzed, startling her. Was Noah expecting someone?

“Cassie? Can you get that for me? It’s probably the pizza guy. I left money on the coffee table.”

Her gaze landed on two twenty dollar bills lying next to the bags of chips. “No problem,” she said, getting up to press the intercom button. “Yes?”

“Pizza delivery for Noah Jensen.”

Bingo. She buzzed him in and went to collect the money.

Just then, the cordless phone on the end table next to the couch rang. The caller ID read Mom. “Noah?” she called. When he didn’t answer, she shrugged and picked up the phone. He seemed very close to his mom and probably wouldn’t want to miss her call. “Hello?”

“Um… hello. Is this Cassie?”

She pulled the phone away and frowned at it before returning it to her ear. Noah’s mother knew about her? “Yes,” she said, hearing the tentativeness in her own voice.

“Noah’s told me so much about you, dear. Are you having a fun day?”

“The best. Your son is a great friend, Mrs. Jensen.”

“Yes, he’s a wonderful boy.” A heavy pause extended a few moments before she continued, “Is he around? I’d like to say a few words to him.”

“He just finished a shower. Can I have him call you back?”

“It’s pretty urgent, actually. Could you get him for me?”

Cassie let out a puff of air. She couldn’t refuse to let Mrs. Jensen speak to her son, now could she?

The doorbell rang. Shoot. The pizza guy was here. Jeez. Noah needed a freaking assistant. She covered the mouthpiece on the phone and shouted in the direction of the front door. “One second.” At the same time, she ran down the hall to bring Noah the phone.

Crossing the threshold to his room, she skidded to a stop. Noah stood rummaging in his dresser, his back to the door. His naked butt greeted her. Hard, round, and perfect. The view took her breath away. Her fingers itched to reach out, to touch and stroke his smooth flesh.  It looked bitable.

She must have made a sound because he spun around, clutching a pair of boxers in hand. Her eyes perused the full frontal, slowly so as not to miss the slightest detail. He stirred to life beneath her stare, extending, swelling. Oh my. So beautifully proportioned.

He slapped the boxers over his crotch and turned sideways. “Cassie.” His tone was somewhere between annoyance and arousal.

Laughter rang out from the phone and the doorbell droned as though the pizza guy were leaning on it. “Your mother wants to talk to you, and the pizza guy’s here.” She threw the phone at him. He caught it in one hand—the hand that held the boxers. Grinning, she went to answer the door.

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you, Mom?” she heard him say, and even from the hallway, she could hear Mrs. Jensen’s laughter. So Noah’s mother had a sense of humor? She’d have to thank her someday. Noah was indeed a wonderful man. One she’d love to explore further, if it wasn’t Un-Valentine’s Day, and if she could be certain that afterwards, they’d remain friends.