Igniting Sparks

Chapter 13.

edited by: Kitwulf           2-4-2020

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"I heard you gave Bethany quite a whooping yesterday." Jeff was beaming with curiosity as he offered Azura a beer.

She found herself in the giant man's kitchen. It was modern and only recently done so Azura guessed it was done when they moved in. Black cupboards combined with a dark wooden countertop and steel accents made for an industrial look. Together with light-colored walls and floor with a few big green plants made for a spacious and inviting kitchen. The ebony-haired woman glanced at the clock, which told her it was four in the afternoon, before she accepted the beer and took a sip from it.

"Me? It was Lucas who threw her out of the house. I just wanted to beat her pretty little face."

Well, more than beat-in but that was something Jeff didn't need to know. The feelings she had felt and what had come over her were not things she wanted to experience again, and she wasn't exactly proud of it either.

The giant man laughed so loud, Azura was afraid the windows wouldn't hold. He had invited her to come over after running into her at the supermarket. She had hesitated at first, not knowing Jeff all that well, but he had quickly convinced her to drop by seeing as he lived only a few feet away. The warmth and homeliness he emitted was so calming Azura couldn't refuse.

"No really," she continued, "I don't know why she was acting like that. I've never met her before and she became sickly obsessive over him without any reason. Like a badly written love story... It's not like I have a problem with him taking women home for some fun time, but it is kinda my home now too. A little respect would be nice."

"Beth and he have a strange history. She's had a crush on him since they were kids. They dated for a while back in high school but she was way too clingy and he wanted to be free to do as he pleased. Lucas has always managed to keep her at a distance since then but that never stopped her from chasing him whenever she saw an opportunity. My guess is that he was drunk and hurt over Rose and she probably took advantage of that."

"Isn't it a little unhealthy to have such a long crush on someone?" Azura scrunched her eyebrows together. "Sounds like 'obsessed' might be the right word."

"Might be, but it never came in such extreme forms-" He was interrupted by loud knocking on the door and excused himself to open it.

A sudden sneeze caught Azura off guard and from the living room she heard a 'bless you' being shouted at her by the big male. Azura smiled and took another sip of her beer. Normally she wouldn't drink this early but he had offered it to her and it wasn't like they were getting wasted. If anything, it made her feel a bit calmer and at ease for some reason. She did not have to pretend to be something she wasn't.

The front door closed and Jeff walked back in with Rose trailing after him. The short woman just entered the kitchen before engulfing Azura in a tight hug. She was surprisingly strong for a woman her size.

"Azu! It's all my fault! I'm so sorry!"

Jeff and Azura both looked puzzled as Rose spoke, but Jeff was the first to ask the question that was lingering on her tongue as well.

"What do you mean by your fault?"

"I had a short awkward talk with Lucas the day before yesterday. He actually wanted to try again but I turned him down definitively. He didn't take it too well..."

"But that doesn't explain why something is your fault." Azura interrupted Rose when she paused for a moment.

"You think it's your fault because Lucas didn't take the message too well and went off drinking and made stupid decisions?" The women turned to Jeff as he leaned against the kitchen counter.