Jordan took the motorbike to take his sister home, it was his father’s request that he personally accompanied his sister to return safely home. It was an arrangement that didn’t sit well with Esmee, because once again she felt not only she’s second to his work, she’s also third to his family.
She leaned on Adrian’s arm as he walked her home. The sun was almost out of sight, the orange sky was slowly turning grey. It was true what Jordy had said, everyone had locked themselves in their homes earlier than usual. All the shops were closed and curtains down. It was just the two of them strolling along the empty streets.
Esmee was too close to his chest, he was afraid that she might hear his heartbeat getting louder. He put his hands in his pockets just to get her to stop clinging on to him, but it made her grip tighter around his arm and her head near his shoulder. Her sweet soft smell was teasing his nostrils, her warm body so close to him, and then he could feel her gentle hands rubbing his arms. “Esmee …” he wanted her to stop, but when she looked at him with puppy eyes, he just swallowed his words and kept walking.
There were no words spoken between them, but Adrian knew that every gesture, every twitch, and every breath that he drew screamed out his nervousness. The streets were silent but his head was loud, it was about to explode. Darkness had fallen, the only light guiding their sights were the street lights.
It felt like the weight of the world was lifted off his shoulders when they arrived at her doorsteps. She took her time taking out her keys to open the door. She took off Adrian’s hoodie from covering his head, “Why do you always hide under your hoodie?” she smiled. Adrian looked away, he still couldn’t look into her almond eyes and not lost every sense of sanity. “The world can’t see how beautiful you are,” she touched his cheek with one hand. “I have to go now,” he gently took Esmee’s hand away. “No! You can’t go!” That made Adrian confused. “My dad’s not here,” she said.
“What??”
Esmee started to move nervously, “That’s why I stayed at Jordy’s cause my dad won’t be back until Tuesday.” Adrian couldn’t believe what she just said, “Esmee … I can’t stay,” he said.
“But you have to … I can’t be alone … not with what’s happening right now?” She turned her key and opened the door. “Anyways, Jordy won’t be back either, he’s going to the police station to give his statement and whatever …” she said in annoyance.
“Can you at least call your dad to come home?” Adrian scratched his head. “He’s staying at his girlfriend’s house … he won’t come back to babysit me, I’m too old for that,” she joked and took Adrian’s hand. “Besides, you’re here … I feel safer with you, please …”
In all four years that he’d known Esmee, he could never say ‘No’ to her. He looked around the neighborhood, it was a sea of blackness. There was no way he could leave her there by herself, and so he stepped inside. He sat in the living room awkwardly, it was the first time he ever set foot in Esmee’s house. Usually, he picked her up and dropped her off and never went inside.
Esmee heated up some food in the microwave and went upstairs to get some towels and fresh clothes for Adrian. She cleaned up in the kitchen and looked comfortable to be back at home after a few days away. She made small talks about what Jordan had told them while they were eating, and tried to make him feel at home. She asked him about what Chief Colby had asked him in the interrogation room, it was the first time they ever had a real conversation. When Adrian remembered his dream, he started to withdraw again.
“You’re probably tired … I’m beat too, I’m gonna take a shower and go to bed … you can use the downstairs bathroom and sleep here on the sofa,” said Esmee. Adrian nodded, he only asked if he could turn off all the lights and turned on the TV if he couldn’t sleep. “Sure, just make yourself at home,” she smiled. “Good night,” she added and went upstairs.
Adrian went to the bathroom and took a shower, he looked at Esmee’s dad’s clothes and decided that green was not his color. He was going to sleep shirtless. When all the lights were off, he felt so much more relaxed. He sat on the sofa and turned on the TV, the static was on, it’s already past midnight. Images were starting to play in his head, of his dream, of Friday’s map, what Maduma said and what Colby had said. He closed his eyes when the image of Dorian’s body started to emerge in flashes, but it just wouldn’t go away.
“Are you cold?” a voice came from behind him, his eyes were wide open, he didn’t want to turn around, this was the moment he’s been dreading all night. “No,” he replied, hoping she would go away and leave him alone. But she came closer, he felt her breeze behind his neck. He didn’t budge, she walked around the sofa and stood in front of him, covered in a blanket. She dropped the blanket and exposed her naked body right in front of him.
“Look at me,” she said softly, but he wouldn’t look. She spread her legs and sat on his lap, he leaned back to the sofa to avoid her bare breasts from smothering his face. His pulse heightened. “Look at me,” she pleaded again, but he closed his eyes. “You don’t have to say it, I can feel you,” she whispered in his ear. “It’s so dark here, and it’s okay … no one can find us here,” she put his hands on her breasts. “Esmee … please don’t do this,” and then she stuck her tongue inside his mouth.
Once their lips were locked, he was sucked into a spell that he cannot free himself from. He grabbed her face and kissed her like she had never been kissed before. It was wet, it was hard, he kissed her with every cell of his body. The kind of kiss that made her head spin, and they were lost in a kind of dream that they couldn’t tell if what’s happening was real.
The next thing he knew, he was inside her warm and tender body. He held her so close and tight to his chest, her skin was rubbing on him as she moaned in his ears. He pulled her hair back gently, she looked up. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life.
She put her hands around his neck and squeezed gently, she licked the side of his face and bit his lips softly. She told him how good he made her feel and he kissed her again. She moved up and down, almost dancing to his rhythm until he felt her grip, gripping him smoothly as she moaned and they came. He was going to release her, but she wouldn’t let him go. She pressed on until the very last drop. He laid her limp body on the sofa, he covered their naked body under the blanket. The only sound in the room was their panting, the gasping for air of bodily pleasure that had dimmed the sound of their consciousness. He couldn’t understand why something so wrong, could feel so right.