My Mother in Law

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Zachary's POV

Another long drag. And another .
And then another.

Why is this not working? Have I now become immune to the effect of cigarettes too?

Looking down at the busy street under me, I tried to detach myself. From everything. From work, the brewing headache, the oncoming business trip to seal a deal, my mother, and, though I hated to admit it, Talia.

I heard the sliding door that separated my office from the balcony slide open then shut, inwardly groaning because I knew I was going to have an unavoidable conversation.

I took a long drag and flicked the cigarette away, removing my forearms from the rail where they were previously situated and turning around on my heels.

As expected, Marc was standing with his arms crossed on his chest, leaning on the wall casually.

He quirked an eyebrow, looking at me expectantly. "So?" He finally asked when I remained silent, "Did you make a move?"

Yesterday after work, Marc went for a drink and I for a smoke  together. He kept on babbling that I was chainsmoking because there was a lot of stress and tension in my life, specifically, in my house.

And if you thought Marc was talking about some work stress or traveller's tension, then no, he wasn't. My friend here insisted that there was a lot of sexual tension between Talia and I. That her nonchalance when it comes to my presence was taking it's toll on me. I wasn't so sure he was wrong.

After countless arguments (and cigarettes) we agreed to bet on it.
I'd go home and "make a move" as requested by my friend. If Talia responded, I owed him a two-day leave. If I got pushed away and she told me never to do that again and (as Mark put it) threatened to chop my dick off, I get to sleep in for a week of workdays and he'd cover.

Now I knew Marc came with that cocky smirk thinking he'd won the bet, but to be completely honest, I wasn't even sure who did!

I mean Talia did respond, hell she kissed me so hard my half-healed lip cut bled. But then, she was quiet for the rest of the day, mostly kept to her room and the rare times we encountered when she wanted a drink, she didn't meet my eyes.

If her lack of eye contact wasn't enough of an indication, she literally aksed me not to do that again. But she said while Farris was there. I really didn't understand this situation. And as I told Marc all the gory details, I gathered from his face that neither did he.

"I guess we cancel out each other," he said after a while. "Maybe she was just on her period?"

I groaned again and reached out for my cigarette box. I just wanted us to have an understanding. The final stop of this crazy rollercoaster of a relationship was unknown. Neither its time nor its place. I couldn't work her out, so it was better to ignore her.

She was a workaholic, just like me. We both emmersed ourselves in work so that we could shut out our pain. I didn't know what her source of pain was, and by the looks of it, I won't find out anytime soon.

I heard the door slide open and shut again. Marc had left because he wasn't getting anywhere, he was just as confused as I was.

And if Marc, the expert who had dated countless women, was unable to decipher the situation, then I was screwed.

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The first sound that penetrated my eardrums as soon as I walked through the private elevator doors was the giggling of a little kid. And Talia's unmistakable chuckles.

It was coming from the kitchen so I dropped my laptop bag on the sofa, took off my tie and opened the first few buttons, rolling the sleeves up. In the kitchen isle, both "the kid" and Talia had their backs to me, he was on the counter and she kneeling before the refrigerator. Her tank was pooling around her plentiful hips clad in black tights, giving me the perfect view of her butt.

All too soon she stood straight and faced him (and me), "Got it!" She hollered holding out pack of candy which earned an excited squeal from the kid on the counter.

Then she noticed my presence. Her smile faltered briefly then resumed its previous width as she tucked a loose hair tendril behind her ear.

"Come here, Farris," she set him on the floor and gave him the pack, "This," she walked up next to me placing a hand on my chest, "Is your uncle Zachary."

"Hey, little man," I keeled on my hunches and ruffled his black hair. He looked over my shoulder at Talia, then his eyes flickered back to me, "Cool. Can I call you Zach?"

I nodded my approval, then turned back to his aunt. Nodding my head at the package I raised an eyebrow, "What was that all about?"

She flushed seeming embarrassed but Farris happily spoke on her behalf, "These are Brain Busters; they're awfully sour. We eat them at the same time, whoever spits it out first loses, you in?"

"Okay." I shrugged. This kid seemed really friendly and easy going, and he brought out a smile on Talia's face easily.

I could get used to him, I thought as he handed me an ovular orangish blob; handing one to Talia and taking one himself.

"One, two, and three!"

The three of us plopped them into our mouths simultaneously, and I instantly found reason as to why they were called "Brain Busters". It was unbearably sour, to the point were I felt my throat was raw, but I wasn't going to lose a challenge.

Farris made hilarious faces of disgust, and Talia almost choked laughing, and consequently so did I.

At one point, Farris screwed up his face, squinted his eyes and sucked in his cheeks like a fish while vigorously shaking his head and Talia just couldn't hold it in. She burst into laughter, sending her sweet straight across the kitchen where it crashed against a cupboard then fell on the tiles.

There was a second of silence, then the three of us burst into laughter, our own laughs increasing the hilarity of situation. This went on for a few minutes, where one of us would stop to take a breath, then remember the scene and fly into a new found laughter wave.

After we'd finally stopped, Talia asked Farris and I to wash up while she sets dinner, a warm smile on her face.

We ate in harmony, light conversation and the occasional chuckle gracing our scrumptious meal.

We later ate fried ice cream scoops that Talia seemed to be obsessed with in front of a Disney movie.

I couldn't take my eyes off her

Yup, I could definitely get use to this...

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Hold on, there's more coming.

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Later mi amigos....

Adios

~Raybae❤