Nick despite all his complaining actually liked inventory days, no customers all day to make sure stock was where it needed to be. He’d spend his night in the back only coming to the front to double check the numbers were correct. It was tedious and mind numbing work, but it was also easy and left him with a day off the next day. It was late at night and he made sure the closed sign was in place before heading towards the back.
Flicking on the light he froze when he heard a groan coming from the corner of the back. One of the back windows had been pushed up and there was a bunch of product knocked to the ground. Crue’s office seemed untouched thankfully still locked but looking deeper into the pile of furs under the window he could see a shape curled up in them. Slowly he walked towards the bathroom coming back with the broom as a makeshift weapon. Poking at the mound he spotted a familiar head of red hair. “The hell?” he poked at her leg a couple times, “Hey this isn’t a hotel, get the fuck up Kay.”
@zforzarina
Since receiving her boss’s, uhm, generous gift and sincere well wishes earlier that day, Zarina had pretty much been operating on autopilot. She couldn’t really think about it. She didn’t really want to think about it, or anything else other than the burning sensation of alcohol sliding down her throat. She didn’t want to do anything other than drown her brain in whiskey and black the fuck out so that she could forget about her stupid miserable life and her stupid miserable choices for one stupid miserable evening.
She wasn’t quite sure when the thought had come to her, or even how she had gotten herself from her condo to the main street, but once she was there it seemed like a perfectly reasonable idea to break into the record store that her ex-boyfriend owned. Problem was, of course, that when she had broken into places in the past, she wasn’t generally fuelled by having a week’s worth of alcohol in her system. Not only had she tripped and fallen to the floor on her way in, but she didn’t even realise that she might be in the wrong store until she heard someone speak to her and it didn’t immediately sound like Roger.
“Mmfgh, stop poking me,” Zarina whined, peering out from the pile of furs and levelling the person in question with a petulant glare. After a moment of blinking at him, trying to match the familiar face with any name, recognition slowly filled her eyes. It was Nick. Nick the Dick. Nicky 2. Not Roger. “Nick? What are you doing here?”
“Naturally” he repeated with a smirk on his lips. This thing between them had been going on for years much to the amusement of the other Mount Olympus employees and the onlooking customers that knew the drill. They just went round in circles like some strange Groundhog Day scenario. They relished in winding each other up.
Time was ticking on and there was only so much procrastinating Paxton could do before he had to head back to work and by work he meant the shadier side of things. He was due to head out and he’d do just that when the other barman showed up. Paxton leaned forward resting his elbows on the bar when Zarinas hands joined his on the bar “Hypothetically, my dear, we never quite got to the riding part, did we?” he teased with a lift of his eyebrow and pushed off the bar when the other barman strolled in. “I’ll try not to be, though I don’t know how I’ll go on. I expect nothing less than being the top of your list” he said with a wave of his hand to give her a goodbye.
FEATURING: Zarina Kay and Jake Rogers ( @jakefromaustralia )
RATING: R (Smut)
BRIEF SUMMARY: This is what happens when a bored security guard in need of a distraction meets a bored teacher’s assistant in need of a distraction.
ZARINA: After their brief exchange, Zarina was extremely eager to end the conversation part of their interaction and was incredibly pleased by the fact that Jake clearly felt the same way. She grabbed his collar tighter, following his movements and pushing herself closer to him as she deepened their kiss, her hands quickly wandering down to start unbuttoning the shirt of his uniform.
JAKE: Jake made a small contended noise as Zarina kissed him harder. While she started unbuttoning his shirt, he got to work himself. He continued kissing her while sliding her blazer off her shoulders and unzipping the back of her dress, fumbling a bit. Why'd these zippers always have to be so damn small?
ZARINA: Zarina wasted no time in working her way through the buttons, fumbling slightly from her haste before making it to the last one, after which she immediately shifted to help him slide her blazer off entirely. Breaking momentarily from their kiss, she smirked against his lips before her hands moved back to his chest, sliding his shirt open as she wrapped her legs around his waist to pull him closer.
JAKE: Without the blazer in the way Jake was finally able to unzip the dress and pull down the front of it. Just as he suspected, her breasts looked just as good out of the dress as they did in them, if not better. Nice. One hand grabbed a breast, running his thumb over her nipple, and the other tangled lightly in her hair. As Zarina pulled him in with her legs, his growing bulge was pressed against her. He needed to get his pants undone sooner rather than later.
ZARINA: Zarina let out a soft, satisfied sound when she felt his thumb brush against her nipple, her hands quickly sliding down his back toward his waist. She was both horny and impatient, and the feeling of Jake's cock pressed against her was doing nothing to alleviate that fact. Loosening her grip on him slightly, she shifted back on the desk in order to give herself enough room to undo the buckle on his belt, with the button on his pants quickly following.
JAKE: The corners of Jake's mouth twitched up at the sound Zarina made, and he increased his efforts on her breasts. He brought his other hand back around to grab her free breast, and lightly pinched both of her nipples between his fingers. He paused briefly and took his hands away to let her more easily undo his pants, and shimmied his hips to let them fall to the floor. His cock was visibly straining against his boxers, but he wanted to have some more fun before the main event. He quickly returned his left hand to her breast and brought his head to her chest, running his tongue over her other nipple.
ZARINA: Zarina's gaze dropped to the bulge in his boxers as soon as Jake's pants dropped to the floor, the urge to lean forward and slide her hand past the elastic increasing exponentially; as if for every step forward they took her impatience grew tenfold, and she really hadn't had a lot of patience to start with. The feeling of his tongue on her nipple was enough to distract her for now, her reactions getting slightly more audible as she shifted back to support her weight on her hands, arching her back to give him better access.
JAKE: The noises Zarina was making were more than enough motivation for Jake to keep going. He put his right hand on the desk behind her as she leaned back, sucking at her nipple and flicking it with his tongue while his left pinched and rolled the other nipple. He could do this all night if she wanted him to, but he got the feeling Zarina wouldn't want to stop at this.
ZARINA: Zarina sighed and threw her head back, her breathing growing a little laboured as she ran her left hand through his hair, settling at the nape of his neck while keeping her balance with her right. She was enjoying all of this attention, but slow had never really been her speed and she could think of dozens of other things that they could be doing right now instead. Placing her hand on Jake's shoulder, she pushed both of them up into a more upright position and quickly moved to grab his boxers, pulling them down in a sharp, impatient motion before wrapping her hand around his cock. "Hi," she whispered, trailing her lips up the column of his throat until they settled against his ear. "Tell me what you want."
JAKE: Jake was continuing to enjoy getting familiar with Zarina's breasts when she pushed him back and pulled his boxers off. "Woah hey, hello -" He cut off with a strangled sound, a weird combination of a moan and an exclamation of surprise, as Zarina grabbed his dick. "H-hey." He was caught very far off guard and took a moment to compose himself. "Honestly I'm usually the one asking that question. I'm good following your lead."
ZARINA: A soft, amused laughter left Zarina's lips at the sound that Jake made, his reactions egging her on as she breathed into his ear and moved her hand slowly up and down his dick. It was like her own arousal only grew at being able to see and hear and feel her effect on him. "Well," she started, slowly kissing her way toward his chest, her unzipped dress falling to the floor when she eventually slid off the desk in order to continue further down. "You did rescue me from a late night at work. I think you should be rewarded for that."
JAKE: Jake made a low moan in the back of his throat as Zarina's hand started moving. His mouth quirked into a smirk as her dress fell the rest of the way off of her, leaving her in just her panties and shoes. Not a bad look. "If that's your angle, how 'bout you keep going down and put my cock in that pretty mouth of yours?"
ZARINA: Zarina paused in response to Jake's words, smirking against his skin for a moment before she answered his question by simply continuing further down, her hand sliding down to the base of his cock as she settled onto her knees in front of him. Wrapping her lips around his tip, she lifted her gaze in an attempt to catch his eyes before she pushed forward to take his dick into her mouth.
JAKE: He made eye contact with Zarina as she looked up, breaking it only briefly as his eyes drifted closed for a moment as she took him in her mouth. "Mnnhhf, yeah," he moaned. His hand went to the top of her head, fingers running through her hair. "You good with hair pulling?" He asked, starting to get a bit breathless.
ZARINA: Zarina started out slow and deliberate in her movements, taking her time to slide up and down his cock while continuing to hold Jake's gaze; watching his reactions carefully as she kept pushing just that little bit further, and taking him in just that little bit deeper. She let out a pleased hum when he ran his fingers through her hair, and while the question that followed took her a little bit by surprise, she was quick to nod in response.
JAKE: At Zarina's nod, Jake grabbed a fistful of her hair and held it tight. He was enjoying the show almost as much as her mouth on his cock. He started bucking his hips slightly in time with her motions, pushing himself deeper into her mouth. He was realizing belatedly that they hadn't set up any preferences for dirty talk, but you couldn't really go wrong with praise. "That's a good girl," he breathed in a husky voice.
ZARINA: Zarina moaned a little louder around his cock when he grabbed her hair, closing her eyes for just a moment and enjoying the feeling before looking back up at him again; the lascivious look in her eyes conveying what her mouth was currently a little too busy to say. Gripping Jake's hips with her hands, she responded to his motions by picking up the pace slightly, her enthusiasm and dedication to what she was doing visibly increasing as soon as he called her a good girl.
JAKE: Jake wasn't sure whether it was the hair pulling, praise, or combination of the two, but he'd obviously done something right. Fuck, she was good at this - the kind of good you only get from practice. He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold out, but he was pretty sure she wouldn't want it to end there. He decided to sprinkle a little more praise in. "God, your mouth feels so good."
ZARINA: Zarina knew that she was good at this, but she still happily welcomed affirmations of exactly how good she was---from Jake's words, from his expressions, and from how his movements continued to meet hers. He seemed like he was getting close, and that alone was enough to motivate her to go faster in a wild desire to push him over the edge. Half of the reason that she insisted on keeping her eyes on him was because watching him receive pleasure turned her on. The fact that he looked damn good also helped.
JAKE: Zarina's movements sped up, and Jake was definitely getting close. He stared at her face - damn she looked hot like this - losing himself in the rhythm for a moment before coming back to reality. "Mngh, fuck," he breathed. "I'm close." He loosened his grip on her hair and pressed the heel of his hand to her forehead to slow her down slightly. "Where do you want it?" He grunted.
ZARINA: When Jake pressed his hand to her forehead, it took Zarina a couple of seconds to register that he was trying to get her to slow down, and then another couple of seconds to register why. Following his lead, she blinked up at him in slight confusion trying to figure out how to respond. It wasn't that she hadn't been asked questions before, but she wasn't used to it happening when she was this far into it with someone.
After considering it for a moment, she responded by simply reaching for his hand and gently guiding it back to her hair before speeding up again, her eyes once more eagerly watching his reactions.
JAKE: After a brief pause of consideration, Zarina continued her efforts on his cock, even faster this time. That answered his question - mouth it was, then. Each bob of her head brought him closer and closer - he made one last thrust and held her head there, coming into her mouth with a grunt. Once his cock stopped twitching, he released his grip on her hair. "You good down there?"
ZARINA: Zarina waited for him to finish, slowly releasing his cock from her mouth before swallowing; a small smirk curling up at the corner of her lips as she wiped her bottom lip with her thumb. "Never better," she quipped back, pushing herself off the floor and standing up in front of him. Reaching for Jake's open shirt, her smirk grew as she tugged him toward her. "So, what now? I believe it's my turn to follow your lead."
JAKE: "My lead, eh?" He thought that's what they had already done, but whatever. He needed a bit of time to recover before the other next logical step, so he decided to return her the favor. He grabbed Zarina around the waist and hoisted her back up onto the table before getting on his knees and pulling down her panties. "Gotta be fair, right?" He licked his lips, eyeing her newly revealed pussy in anticipation.
ZARINA: Zarina wasn't entirely sure what was going to happen next, but she had a solid idea of what she wanted to happen---and as luck would have it, Jake did not disappoint. Leaning back on her hands, she looked down at him and bit her bottom lip before offering him a smile. "I'm all for equality," she responded, her eyes dropping to his lips as he licked them. She was finding it hard to stay still, shifting just a little closer as she tried and failed to tamp down on her impatience.
JAKE: Jake smirked as he noticed Zarina's impatient shuffling - he was feeling impatient, too. It was like having a juicy steak in front of a starving dog. He grabbed her thighs, spreading them a bit more before moving his face in on her crotch. As eager as he was, he didn't want it to go too fast; he gave a few long, slow licks up her pussy before focusing on her clit.
ZARINA: Zarina threw her head back slightly when he finally moved in, closing her eyes and practically holding her breath in anticipation; because if it had been up to her, slow wouldn't be a word in their shared vocabulary (funny how strongly she felt about that when the tables were turned). A few soft, impatient sighs left her lips before being cut off by a sharp intake of breath when he focused on her clit, her left hand moving to grip the edge of the table for support. "Oh, God," she moaned, opening her eyes for a moment to look down at him. "Fuck."
JAKE: Jake was planning to continue taking it slow, but Zarina's reaction made him decide otherwise. He continued his attentions on her clit, lightly sucking and flicking it with his tongue. He caught her eye as she looked down, and he wondered if she could feel his smile widening against her.
ZARINA: Zarina didn't need to see his expression to know that Jake was smiling---it was evident from the look in his eyes, and it was both infuriating and incredibly attractive at the same time. Her grip on the desk tightened, her breathing growing increasingly laboured as she latched on to a rare Responsible Moment and tried not to be too loud, at least at first. It was an endeavour that did not last for long, the moan escaping her lips before she could really do anything to stop it.
JAKE: Zarina's loud moan make Jake's cock twitch; he'd definitely be up for another round once Zarina was done. He, regrettably, had to break eye contact in order to concentrate on getting her there, fast. He dug his face further in, wondering in the back of his mind whether his stubble was scratching her thighs, and further wondering if she was into that or not.
ZARINA: Zarina would have let out a noise that sounded vaguely like a complaint when he stopped looking at her, if it weren't for the fact that she was entirely too distracted by what he was accomplishing because of it; another loud moan leaving her lips as she threw her head back again, knuckles practically whitening from her grip on the desk. "God, fuck," she repeated, guessing that Jake's ego probably didn't need to be stroked but figuring that fair was fair. "That feels so fucking good."
JAKE: Jake's eyebrow quirked up with the praise, trying not to smile too hard as his mouth was busy with other things at the moment. He gave a few long, hard licks up her pussy before returning his avid attentions on her clit. One of his hands left her thigh, reaching up to play with her nipple.
ZARINA: Zarina was definitely getting close, closing her eyes and blocking out the rest of the world as she focused on the feeling of his tongue on her clit, and his fingers on her nipple, and fuck, that felt so fucking great, her brain couldn't articulate words for how great it felt. "Oh god, yes, yes," she moaned, her muscles beginning to contract as she approached her peak. "Fuckinghellyes."
JAKE: Judging by the moans and shaking legs, Zarina was teetering on the edge of orgasm. She sounded damn hot like this. Jake briefly wondered if she was being loud enough to be heard outside, but he was having too much fun to care. His eyebrows furrowed as his tongue went into overtime, and his fingers dug into her thigh as he ramped up the intensity for that final sprint.
ZARINA: Zarina swore both internally and out loud when he kicked it up a notch (or five), and the extra intensity was more than enough to push her over the edge; a loud cry leaving her lips as the tension at her core released and rolled out in waves over the rest of her body. She found herself breathless and a little dizzy after riding out her orgasm, but my God, that was worth it. "Fucking hell, Jake," she whispered, peering down at him from her perch. "Where have you been all my life?"
JAKE: "In Australia, mostly." Jake grinned as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He left kisses up her stomach and chest as he hoisted himself up from the floor, using the desk as leverage. He stood close to her, but far enough for both of them to see that his cock was already half-hard again. "Do you need a minute or are you ready to keep going?"
ZARINA: Zarina loosened her grip on the desk, pushing her hair out of her face and pushing herself into a more upright position as he kissed his way up her torso, her eyes following his face as he stood up in front of her. She was still feeling a little bit shaky, but she also definitely didn't need a minute. "What do you think?" she asked in a playful tone, her gaze dropping pointedly to his cock before she looked back up at him. "Let's just say that I definitely haven't had enough just yet."
JAKE: "Alright then Miss Eager, hold on a sec." Jake suddenly knelt down and rummaged through the pocket of his discarded pants. Producing his wallet, he grabbed one of the several condoms he had in the second pocket before standing back up and starting to unwrap it.
ZARINA: For a moment, Zarina was genuinely confused about what she was meant to be holding on a second for, only clocking what was happening when Jake stood back up and she saw the condom in his hands. "You don't have to do that," she offered, assuming he would take the chance if he could. In her experience, pretty much everybody did. "If you don't want to."
JAKE: Jake blinked as he paused what he was doing. "Wwwwhat are you talking about." A lot of different thoughts ran through his mind, but enthusiasm wasn't one of them. Best case scenario, Zarina was on the pill and had been tested recently, but even then he'd rather be safe than sorry. Worst case, she was looking for an active sperm donor without asking permission - that had almost happened to him a couple times. He gave her a pointed look as he waited for her to clarify.
ZARINA: "Oh, I'm on the pill," Zarina clarified in a casual tone, briefly wondering when the last time someone had actually asked her to clarify that was. "Are we cool?" Normally, she would consider that the end of the conversation and just get on with it, but she decided to wait for Jake's lead; looking up at him from her perch on the desk expectantly as she waited for him to make his next move, the confidence that she normally felt in a situation like this wavering slightly in the face of this mostly unfamiliar experience.
JAKE: Jake pursed his lips. Good that she was on the pill, but she hadn't asked if he'd been tested. If she wasn't aware, that was a big problem, considering what he'd heard of her reputation. If she was aware, that was probably worse. "I'm thinking I'm just going to assume you know that pregnancy isn't the only reason to wear a condom and keep putting it on. Are we cool?" This conversation was proving to be a bit of a mood killer but it was definitely a discussion that needed to be had.
ZARINA: Zarina blinked at him, feeling guilty and incredibly stupid that that hadn't been her first thought, or her second thought, or even her third thought. It wasn't that she didn't think about it at all, but she was definitely used to her recklessness and general 'up for anything' irresponsibility being seen as more of a positive than a negative. Having to rethink that mental model was taking her a second but she found that she actually liked it. "Of course," she agreed, nodding resolutely. "We're cool. You're right."
JAKE: "Well I do like being right," Jake joked as he finished putting on the condom. He brought his smile back to alleviate the slight tension that had accumulated. He leaned forward and started kissing Zarina to get the mood back going again.
ZARINA: Zarina smiled in return, more than happy to get back into things as she deepened their kiss, wrapping her arms around his torso and pulling herself closer to him. This felt good. She felt good about this. Her hands drifted across his bare skin, exploring the contours of his muscles as she slowly lost herself in the moment, finding herself enjoying this part in its own right as opposed to thinking of it as simply a prelude to sex.
JAKE: Jake relaxed as they continued kissing, enjoying the feeling of Zarina's hands on his skin. One hand entwined in the back of her hair and the other lightly gripped her thigh. Considering the conversation that just passed, he decided he'd sit back and let her take the reins for proceeding further, and was more than happy to continue as it was for as long as she wanted.
ZARINA: Not rushing into things was definitely an experiment for Zarina, but it was one that she had to conclude was relatively successful---because she could get used to this. Breaking away, she started kissing her way down his neck, placing one hand flat against his shoulder while using the other to graze his back lightly with her nails. A thought occurred to her then, and she pulled away slightly to look at him. "Is this okay?"
JAKE: Jake hummed in his throat as Zarina kissed down his neck. Her nails were barely scratching down his back, so it took him a second to realize that was what she was asking about. "Yeah, go for it. You can go harder, if you want."
ZARINA: Zarina offered him a small smile, before doing exactly what Jake suggested and going for it. Catching his lips in hers again, she kissed him with not a small amount of fervour as she pushed her nails harder into his back, scratching his skin and pulling him closer to her. As much fun as she was having with this, it was definitely starting to reach a point where she wanted more; her desire evident in the increasingly sharp nature of her actions.
JAKE: Jake's surprised moan was muffled by Zarina's mouth on his. Her nails clawing down his back stung in a good way, and the closeness of their bodies was pushing him toward her level of desperation. His other hand also went to rest on her thigh, and he started grinding himself against her.
ZARINA: Jake grinding against her had Zarina humming impatiently against his lips, trying to pull him closer to her and realising that at the moment, they were probably as close to each other as they could physically be without him literally being inside her. Pulling away from the kiss, a smirk pulled at the corners of her lips as she pressed them against his ear. "Fuck me," she whispered, her hips instinctively moving to meet his.
JAKE: "Don't have to ask me twice," Jake breathed. He kissed her neck down to her collarbone before pulling away slightly to line himself up. He pushed in slowly, relishing in that initial feeling of her pussy around his cock.
ZARINA: Zarina wrapped her arms around him when he pushed inside her, placing one hand on his back and the other against the nape of his neck, her fingers nestling into his hair. Letting out a soft gasp, she allowed herself to truly appreciate this moment before her hips started rocking against him.
JAKE: Jake grabbed Zarina's waist as her hips started moving. He matched the rhythm she started, pushing himself further in with each thrust. "Damn, you feel so good," he moaned.
ZARINA: Zarina kept a steady rhythm, not looking to rush through what they were doing too much, at least, or even at all. After a few more thrusts, she moaned loudly and relinquished her hold on him, leaning back and steadying herself against the table.
JAKE: As Zarina leaned back, Jake took the opportunity to take a hand off her waist and push her all the way back on the desk; his other hand pushed her leg up as he tried to get a better angle, fucking her harder.
ZARINA: Zarina followed his lead, papers scattering to the floor as she lay down on the desk, relinquishing any control that she still had over the pace. Another, louder moan escaped her lips when he thrust into her harder. "Fuck yes, just like that," she encouraged, her breathing laboured. "God, that feels so good."
JAKE: Jake continued his harsh pace, as requested; his breaths were getting heavier as well. The hand that was previously on Zarina's shoulder moved to grab her breast roughly and rub her nipple with his thumb. "You're such a good girl, taking my cock like that," he grunted.
ZARINA: Zarina reached for the edge of her desk, if only to have something to told on to when he continued fucking her, hard and fast and just the way that she liked it. Apparently hearing him talk about it was almost as good as feeling it. "Oh God, Jake," she exclaimed, followed by a moan that was so loud that even she reacted to it, her other hand reflexively coming up to cover her mouth in an attempt to quiet down.
JAKE: Zarina's reactions were turning Jake back into his usual over-confident self. He smirked, leaning over as far as he could while keeping up the pace and growled in her ear. "Having a hard time keeping quiet? Is my cock that good?"
ZARINA: Zarina simply nodded, struggling at first to form a coherent response; whether that was because of the words themselves or the way that he growled them was up for debate. Removing her hand from her mouth, she took the opportunity now that he was leaning over her to run her nails down his back again, a lot less careful now than she had been earlier.
JAKE: Zarina's lack of verbal response made Jake smirk. How adorable. Her nails on his back made him curse under his breath. He could feel himself starting to get close, but he wanted to try to make sure Zarina got there first. He concentrated as much spare attention as he had on pinching and rolling her nipple as he sped up the pace of his thrusts.
ZARINA: Zarina smiled to herself when she heard Jake curse, applying the same amount of pressure as she dragged her nails back up, her hand settling on his shoulder. "Oh God, Jake, Jake, Jake," she repeated, her grip on both him and the desk tightening as she continued to meet his thrusts, almost single-mindedly chasing the climax that she knew was coming. God, that felt good. "I'm so... Close... FUCK..."
JAKE: By the way Zarina's nails on his back were digging in, Jake could tell that he'd have some nice souvenirs when this was over. Speaking of, she was close, and he could feel that he wouldn't be too far after her. He wanted to push her over the edge first, though. "Be a good girl and come for me, Zarina," he growled.
ZARINA: Zarina was already getting there, but Jake's words definitely heightened the experience as she toppled over the edge for the second time that evening; moaning loudly and practically digging her nails into his shoulder as she let go and allowed the feeling to overtake her. God, she had almost forgotten how great meaningless, casual sex could be.
JAKE: Jake was finally able to let himself completely go and lose himself in it as Zarina came. Between everything going on, it only took a few more quick thrusts to push him over the edge as well. He grunted and cursed loudly as he released into the condom. He stayed in place recovering, breathing heavily, before running an affectionate hand through Zarina's hair and starting to dismount. "This was fun."
ZARINA: Zarina closed her eyes and relaxed as they both recovered, absentmindedly running her fingers up and down his back, lightly and slowly, as she tried to catch her breath. She found herself leaning into Jake's touch just a little before he started pulling away, a soft, slightly worn out smile playing on her lips as she pushed herself up into a seated position. "Glad we agree on that," she quipped, holding on to the desk as she looked up at him. "We should do it again sometime. If you want."
JAKE: Jake glanced around at the floor, trying to make sure he knew where all of his belongings ended up. "I'm usually a one-and-done type, buuuuuut I make exceptions sometimes. You wanna exchange numbers?" He smiled before taking off and tying off the condom, glancing at the trash can next to Zarina's desk. "You cool with me tossing this here, or do you want me to..." he grimaced, "...hold on to it."
ZARINA: "Excellent, because I don't do commitment," Zarina replied, glancing around her and trying to remember where she'd left her phone. Ah, yes. Scooting back, she reached down behind her desk and just barely managed to grab the strap of her bag, pulling it up with her as she straightened back up. "Uhm, yeah, you can just---" she trailed off, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the trash can before dropping her gaze to her bag again, eventually locating her phone and unlocking it before offering it to him.
JAKE: "I'd heard as much. Works for me." He shrugged and tossed the condom before beginning to re-clothe himself, starting by pulling his boxers and pants back up. He managed to get the button done before taking her phone, inputting his number and setting name as your favourite security guard before handing it back. "Just hit me up whenever."
ZARINA: When he took the phone from her, Zarina took the opportunity to slide off the desk and pick her clothes off the floor, managing to step into her dress and pull the straps over her shoulders before taking the phone back from him. "Thanks, I will," she replied, before turning around and pulling her hair to the side to reveal the zipper on her dress. "Do you mind?"
JAKE: "Oh, sure." Jake obliged, struggling slightly (zipping it up was even worse than unzipping it somehow), and grabbed her jacket off the floor, handing it off to her. He buttoned up his shirt and tucked it in messily; he was into the attractively slightly-disheveled look anyway, so he doubted anyone would notice. "Well, I'll let you go ahead and get back to your... papers." He didn't really remember what the papers were for, but he did notice that the piles had gotten a bit disorganized and scattered over the desk. Oops. "Till next time, yeah?"
ZARINA: "Thank you," Zarina replied, turning toward him and accepting her blazer with a slight smile, slipping it on without bothering to straighten it out or worry about looking presentable. It wasn't like anybody except Jake was going to see her anyway and he'd already seen a lot more than that. Walking over to the other side of her desk, she dropped down into her chair before looking back up at him, taking in his appearance one last time before nodding resolutely. "Yeah. 'Til next time."
Wendy raised her eyebrows at Zarina’s denial. At the idea that she would have been satisfied with just Wendy. But instead of commenting her head tipped back. Eyes gazing at the ceiling for a moment before laughter slipped out. When had her life become quite this ridiculous? From those damn marriage papers to this, gods above. Water bottle now empty, she placed it back on the table. The laughter still lingered on her lips as she pushed off the counter.
“Just give me fifteen. Help yourself to-” a wave at the kitchen and living room finished the sentence. Another laugh bursting forth as she walked back towards her bedroom. She might actually be losing it.
Twenty minutes later, wet hair hung around Wendy’s shoulders, leaving damp spots on her fresh clothing. “By the way,” several thoughts had bubbled up during her shower. She might have changed her mind about not commenting. “I don’t believe for a second that had I accepted your offer, you wouldn’t have resorted to your alternative methods anyway.” It wasn’t the reason Wendy had said no; Wendy had several, much more valid, reasons for saying so. Although, they all seemed rather pointless right then and there. Her pretty reasons were chafing as everyone else in her life seemed to be enjoying their own recklessness.
“Eating in or eating out?” A quick question. Plainly about breakfast even if she did not employ her usual efforts to avoid the innuendo.
Out of all of the things that Zarina might have expected from Wendy---admonishment, argument, maybe even mild amusement---straight up laughter was not one of them. Her eyebrows shot up in response, watching her friend with a skeptical expression that slowly veered into a little bit of concern. Of course, she knew that Wendy Darling wasn’t always as put together as she liked to seem, but it felt like it had been a while since she had been willing to let Zarina in on that part of herself. For fairly obvious reasons.
By the time that Wendy returned, Zarina had helped herself to her own bottle of water and hopped up onto the kitchen counter, having spent the past twenty minutes coming to the conclusion that she should at least try her best not to slip into old patterns. As much as she liked to flirt (or even mildly antagonise), she didn’t want to actually end up crossing a line with her friend that she couldn’t come back from. “You might be right about that,” she responded with a shrug, placing the almost empty water bottle next to her on the counter. “Guess we’ll never know now though, right?”
She was trying, although any good intentions that she might have had almost went straight out the window as soon as Wendy let the innuendo slip. A small smile tugged at Zarina’s lips, but other than that, the remark went mostly unacknowledged. “How about that place right off campus that you like?” she asked, sliding off the counter. What? She could remember things about other people when she wanted to.
(a brand new chemistry set arrives in the mail, along with a typed note) So sorry to hear about Roger, my dear. Consider this a consolation gift, as well as a thank you, for all your hard work. You’ve done well.
As far as gifts went, it had been a while since Zarina had received one that was so wholly unwelcome. It didn’t come with a signature, but she didn’t need a signature to know exactly who it was from. And she knew her boss well enough to know that sending a brand new chemistry set to her was as much a bribe as it was a threat.
It wasn’t news to her that Sykes knew about Roger. But she had never talked about him, and he had never brought him up to her---so mentioning him in writing now, so blatantly, so pointedly, felt extremely intentional. It might have seemed trivial to someone who didn’t know better, but ten years of working for him had taught her the hard way that nothing was ever trivial when it came to Sykes. Acknowledging her hard work was his way of reminding her that she was involved in whatever happened going forward whether she wanted to be or not. And acknowledging her ex-boyfriend was his way of reminding her that nothing, not even her personal relationships, was ever off the table if she decided not to play ball.
With Sykes, everything was fair game.
Zarina stood at the kitchen sink, lighter at the ready as she set the note on fire; watching as it shrivelled up and was consumed in her hand, holding on even as the flames started getting uncomfortably close to her skin, before she eventually dropped it into the basin and waited for it to burn out. Taking a deep breath, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and started scrolling through her list of contacts, desperately looking for anything that might be able to distract her from how incredibly fucked up her life had become.
Jake? Incredibly tempting, but it hadn’t taken her long to discover that underneath his smug overconfidence, he was actually a decent person. And she didn’t want to get any more decent people involved in whatever mess she had managed to make.
TJ? Normally, she wouldn’t even hesitate to ask him to come over, but regardless of how casual and effortless their arrangement was, he was still her friend. And he also had no idea what she was involved with outside of her job at the university.
Wendy? Just... No. Absolutely fucking not. Not only would she try to make Zarina confront her feelings, or whatever psychobabble bullshit she would pass it off as, but she would have an aneurysm if she found out about any of this.
Looking up, Zarina took a deep breath and eyed the bottle of whiskey that sat at the end of her kitchen counter. She glanced toward the chemistry set on the table, then down to her phone, and back to the bottle again.
Fuck it.
Dropping her phone onto the table, she grabbed the whiskey bottle off the counter and headed out of the kitchen, leaving the chemistry set unopened behind her.
with zarina things were always straightforward and no fuss. they had that in common. they knew each other like the back of their hands and both felt the same in terms of what they had going on. there was no complications. things wouldn’t get weird. things worked out pretty well for tj, he had celia next door where he went to hang out while he waited for whoever he was with the night before to leave and two doors down he had zarina who he had a no strings attached friends with benefits thing going on. tj loved the apartment and the set up it gave him, he was no complaining about it at all. “i can comfortably say we’ve never had an issue with making things up to each other” he grinned and gave her a wink of his eye “you abandoned me and i was left to my lonesome.” which was an utter lie. he buried himself in someone new in what felt like almost every night during that time. it wasn’t, but it damn near felt like it. “true, true. you just couldn’t keep away from me and my hot bod, i’m too tempting”
Most of Zarina’s life was Complicated, and on some level she definitely blamed herself for only realising belatedly that being in a relationship was not only complicated in and of itself, but it made everything else more complicated as well. Luckily, things with TJ had always been the opposite of complicated. It was probably why she never hesitated to come back to it, and why what they had with each other had lasted for years without any major speed bumps. She was comfortable, and any intimacy that they experienced in their day to day life was nothing more or less than that. “Please, as if you’ve ever actually been left to your lonesome,” she retorted, a smirk playing on her lips before she closed the distance between them to give him a quick kiss. Pulling away, she rolled her eyes at him and affected a dramatic expression. “Well, you caught me. I want you. I need you. Oh baby, oh baby.”
Sliding out of bed, Zarina padded across the floor and picked up his t-shirt, pulling it on as she made her way to the bedroom door. “If you don’t tell me what you want for breakfast, I’m going to make whatever I want to eat,” she called out over her shoulder.
“No lecture,” she angled her head behind her as she inserted her key into the lock. “But if she comes crying to me, I’m giving her your phone number.” That was a rather callous decree coming from Wendy, but her emotional bandwidth was running on empty. Between work and her own personal life, she didn’t have the energy for anyone else’s upsets.
Pushing her door open with one hip, she gestured Zarina inside. “If you don’t mind giving me a minute to shower, I’ll join you for breakfast.” She nearly managed a smile, a close approximation at least, in response to the invite. “And please-” a stern look towards the door, a clattering filling the small open kitchen as her keys and phone hit the table, “it’s too early for any innuendos about saving water.”
Despite her promise of showering, she went first to the fridge, practically chugging a bottle of water as she leaned against the counter. “So is there any method to choosing your bed mates? Or is it whoever is nearest?“ She nearly quipped about Zarina distracting herself from Roger but managed to hold the harsh comment inside. It had company with the other thoughts swirling through her head.
Zarina pouted visibly at the threat, but said nothing else on the matter as she followed Wendy inside. She could have argued that just because Wendy craved an emotional connection with sex didn’t mean that everyone else in the world did, but 1) she didn’t have the mental capacity to start that discussion this early in the morning, and 2) she was rather looking forward to having a nice breakfast with her friend. Or at least her friend-adjacent ex-lover.
“Hey, I wasn’t going to make any innuendos,” she quipped back in a tone that very much suggested that she would have made multiple innuendos. A smirk played on her lips as she casually leaned against the side of the fridge. “And I resent that assumption. It’s not always whoever is nearest. But you already turned me down, so it’s not my fault that I had to resort to an alternative method of getting my kicks.”
Don’t you know the rumours?
They talk about, talk about you, boy
They say that you’re never gonna treat me right
I know that your forever’s only one night
One night
Don’t you know the rumours?
They talk about, talk about me too, boy
I know that your intentions are as bad as mine
So let’s pretend forever’s only one night
One night
he lifted his arms to let her sling her legs over and his hands roamed up and down her skin while she patted down his bed hair. at times they felt pretty domestic but that wasn’t what this was. they both knew what it was and it was everything unholy and unsavoury that two people could do in a bedroom, on a sofa, on a dining table, in a shower, on kitchen counters and anywhere else in between that they could get their hands on each other. tj nodded in agreement at her since it was the same for him. zarina was the only person he’d been with so far that could keep up with him. “hey, that was your choice and it’s going to take more than one night to make up for you abandoning me but i don’t see us having an issue with that, do you?” he said leaning in closer.
It had been a few months since they had last been here, but being around TJ felt so familiar and comfortable to Zarina that it almost felt like no time had passed at all. For as much as they joked about it, it was comforting to know that no matter what happened between them, they were both the kind of people who could stay friends and never get weird about it. It was also extremely convenient that he had a stupidly high stamina and happened to live two doors down from her. She really couldn’t have asked for a better neighbour. (Sorry, Celia, but nothing beats an attractive and shameless nymphomaniac.) “Have we ever?” she asked rhetorically, lowering her voice to a whisper as she mirrored his actions by leaning in even closer. “Stop being so dramatic, TJ. I didn’t abandon you. I came back, didn’t I?”
he let out a yawn and pulled himself up to a sitting position, rubbing his eyes to get accustomed to being quite literally smacked out of his slumber. christ she had to stop waking him up so early he needed his beauty sleep “what can i say, i’m insatiable” he smirked at her when she moved next to him. he was a guy in his twenties, his stamina was going nowhere anytime soon “was there ever a time we were not counting those? not my fault you’re just as bad as i am. we had some time to make up.”
Zarina turned to lean her shoulder against the headboard, slinging her bare legs over him and reaching out to smooth out his bed hair (not that hers looked any tidier), ever amused by how horribly bad he was at handling mornings. Then again, they really hadn’t gotten that much sleep the night before. “You are indeed insatiable, but that’s what I like about you. You can keep up with me.” Returning his smirk, she shuffled a little bit closer to him and cocked her head to the side. “I went over to the dark side for three months, TJ. It’s going to take a lot more than one night to make up all of that time. Not that I’m complaining.”
“So what, you’re making up for those centuries by objectifying me?” he asked “Well now I definitely feel like piece of meat.” This was the argument that kept resurfacing with them every time. He couldn’t argue that men had objectified women for years because it was true, it was a legitimate point she always raised during their back and fourths. “I see how it is then”
Compared to his brother, compared to anyone actually, Paxton was a closed off person. Given his line of work he preferred it that way but the thought had reached him over the years that no one really knows more than the basics with him other than Patrick and Hayden. “Apparently not” he said huffing a laugh “Yes, that’s me, a limitless void” he added sarcastically and wiped down the bar “Damn it Zarina” he said, hitting his hand off the bar “What happened to our love? Where did we go wrong?”
“Naturally,” Zarina replied with an innocent smile soft shrug, speaking as if her logic was evident and infallible. Which of course it wasn’t, but they had gone back and forth like this so many times in the past that it didn’t really need to make sense anymore. Neither of them were trying to achieve anything or reach any kind of conclusion through their arguments. At this point it was simply banter for the sake of banter.
With her drink finished and her craving for meaningless flirtation satisfied, Zarina figured it was time to call it a night---sliding off the stool and running a hand through her hair before his sudden movement caught her attention. Her eyes dropped to his hand when he slammed it into the counter, her lips twitching at the corners before she affected a scandalised expression and brought both of her hands down onto the bar in dramatic fashion, leaning forward slightly to look him in the eyes. “I don’t know, my darling, but it was a hell of a ride, wasn’t it?” Winking at him, she pushed herself away from the bar and started backing toward the exit. “Don’t be too sad about it, handsome. Just remember that if I’m ever single again, you’ll be at the top of my list.”
abruptly awoken by a tshirt forcefully thrown at his beautiful face had him let out a groan to alert zarina that she did indeed wake him up. where zarina was a morning person, tj was not. rolling over in the bed he stretched out his arms and tossed the tshirt back to the redhead. “i’m awake thanks to you.” he spoke, the presence of sleep still in his voice “do you count or does it have to be food?”
Zarina caught the t-shirt with one hand, rolling her eyes and shaking her head at him before simply dropping it to the floor; after all, its purpose had been to wake him up, she didn’t need him to actually put it on. In fact, she preferred that he didn’t. “Didn’t you get enough of me last evening?” she questioned with a grin, walking around the bed and dropping down next to him with a soft thud, leaning her back against the headboard. “And last night. And technically this morning, if we’re counting the hours after midnight.”
Contrary to popular belief, Zarina was more of a morning person than her general lifestyle would suggest that she should be. She had already been awake for about an hour and a half, killing time by reading a book and drinking the first of many cups of coffee, by the time that she decided to walk back into her bedroom to try to get TJ out of bed. Picking up his shirt from the floor, she bundled it up into a ball and threw it with at least some force in the general direction of his head. “Hey, wake up, asshole,” she called out from the foot of the bed, a smirk tugging at her lips. “What do you want for breakfast?”
🖤- For something they secretly wish they could do with your muse
Zarina thinks it would be really useful to carry a pocket-sized version of Nick around with her at all times so that she always has something to look at when she wants to feel better about how her life has gone.
He’s easy on the eyes, too. Just saying. She wouldn’t not go there.
👻 - For something that scares or disturbs them, but they refuse to tell anyone
Zarina is genuinely terrified of what the future holds. She is all too aware that the path that she’s walking doesn’t lead anywhere good, and while there is a part of her that has almost resigned herself to that fate, there is a part of her that still holds on to the hope that her life could be normal. She mentally kicks herself every day for the decisions that she made in the past when she was convinced that her life would amount to nothing, because she knows now that she can actually be successful on her own intellect and merit; and truth be told, her academic achievements are something that she is more proud of than anything she has achieved with Sykes.
📲 - Talk about someone/something you dislike, but only pretend to like
She doesn’t actually like being such a messy, chaotic, and generally problematic person, but at this point she doesn’t really know how to be anything else. Pretending that she likes being a ‘free spirit’ is a lot easier than confronting her issues.
Zarina does not develop crushes, much less crushes that she feels the need to keep a secret. She’s always been pretty straight forward when it comes to acting on her attraction to someone. It’s perhaps the one thing she’s always honest about.
🍏 - For something they secretly wish didn’t exist
William Sykes. Her secret drug lab funded by William Sykes. The drug that she invented and then gave to William Sykes. The whole goddamn operation that she’s in with William Sykes. And, in an ideal world, pickles. Who the fuck likes pickles?
🍎- For something they secretly wish did exist
Sometimes, she wishes that she was better at setting boundaries with other people. Zarina has spent her entire life agreeing to things that she might not actually want to do because she doesn’t have enough self-respect or self-worth to really care about what happens to her. And because she doesn’t care about what happens to her, she doesn’t quite understand that she’s allowed to say no, or have limits, or not want things.
🐇- For a secret item they keep (stuffed animal, comfort object, etc)
Zarina hasn’t kept anything from her childhood, and she isn’t really the type of person to keep anything for sentimental value in general. The only thing that she owns that she might secretly feel a little bit of nostalgia for are books. For example, she still has the textbooks her brother stole from the university library when she was 13 years old, and she has the copy of Madame Bovary that her high school science teacher gave her.
