Jason's Story Ch. 04

Chapter 4: The morning after, and making copies

Saturday morning came, and Nigha awoke alone in her bed. 'Was it all just a dream?' she thought to herself. She heard the shower and when she went to move, her entire body was sore. No such luck, it was all real and Jason was now in her shower.

She looked at the clock on the nightstand; the red numbers seared 10:45 into her brain. She was still so exhausted that she just flopped back onto her pillow and looked into the bathroom.

Jason was in her shower, and he looked so yummy that she just wanted to go right in there with him. Somehow she knew it would be wrong, no more wrong than what they'd done for so many hours the night before, but that was over and she was going to try to block it out and go back to her life. She had to; her future was with Brett and her boys.

Just as she was convincing herself that this was just a one time thing, he walked out of the bathroom, stark naked. He was so busy drying his hair he didn't even notice that she was awake.

He was indeed the most visually stunning man she'd ever seen. He was that same glorious tan color all over his sculpted body. If she were to describe the perfect man to a sculptor, the end result would be Jason.

Jason; the one she'd been so honest with and told him she'd been attracted to him since the first day they'd met. Jason; the one she'd told that any woman would be lucky to have him. Hell, she thought she was safe; after all she was a happily married mother of two.

Jason; the one she'd fantasized about before realizing that it was indeed him pleasuring her. Jason; the man that took advantage of her and made her do something she'd vowed never to do. Did she regret it?

Why did he have to be so skilled, sooooh skilled? Why couldn't she just hate him for what he'd done to her? Duh, he was the biggest and the best man she'd ever been with.

She was mesmerized by him; his legs long and chiseled, but not overly so. The water droplets he'd missed while drying off, glistening in the morning light. His perfect skin; the color of a latte with too much steamed milk added. His eight pack: yes friggin' eight pack, she wanted to run her tongue all over it, all over him. Damn it, he had to hurry up and leave!

She started to look up at his gorgeous face when she saw those eyes, the color of the ocean in the Caribbean, looking into hers. He was so beautiful, with the exception of the left side of his face which was a little swollen and almost burgundy in color.

He had no idea how long she'd been watching him standing there, but he could tell by the look in her eyes that she was enjoying the view.

He'd watched her sleeping for about an hour before he finally decided to leave her side to shower. There was nothing he wanted more than to stay there with her, all day, all weekend, but he decided it would be best if he just slipped out before she woke up, he'd done enough, he'd hurt her enough.

He'd tried so hard to get her out of his head, out of his heart, but he feared that after last night it would be impossible. He didn't want her out of his life completely, so he'd follow her lead and hope that they could salvage something of what they had before he'd ruined it.

When he'd caught a glimpse of himself, and the damage she'd done to his face, he chuckled and then winced at the pain. He'd grossly underestimated the power of that firecracker, but it only made his feelings for her deepen.

When he walked out of the bathroom, he just stood there for a moment taking all of it in, her beautiful Nigha brown, naked body lying in stark contrast against the lilac sheets. Nigha brown, his new favorite color; then he saw those eyes.

He was lost in those eyes less than twenty-four hours ago, and now they had the look behind them that he'd waited so long to see, but it was bittersweet.

Now his question had been answered, yes; she did want him, but it hurt his heart because he knew that that night was the only intimate time that they would share.

He'd memorized every curve of her face, every curve of her frame, branding her into his memory knowing that he'd never again see her like that. How in the hell would he get her out of his system now.

"Good morning slugger."

"Good morning lady-killer."

"Glad to see your sense of humor is still intact. I'm sorry I woke you, I'll be out of your hair as soon as I'm dressed."

"Well, I learn more and more about you everyday. I never would've pegged you as the Wham-Bam-Thank You-Ma'am kinda guy. Gosh, does your face feel as bad as it looks?"

"Every bit as bad as it looks, but I was a bastard and I had it coming" he said with a small smile as he adjusted his jaw.

He reached down and put his boxers on, then grabbed his shirt and stopped to look at her again. "Look Nigha, I'm sorry about how I went about what happened, but I'm not sorry that it happened. Quite frankly, it was the best night of my life and if I died today or tomorrow, I'd die a happy man to have spent one night with you..."

She'd stood up and limped her way over to him and put her fingertips over his mouth. She couldn't take another word, afraid of what it would do to her. But deep down she knew that she needed him to answer a question, scared to death of what the answer would be.

"Did you mean it?"

"Yes, I just said..."

"Jason, I heard you last night and I don't really think you were talking to me, but I heard you and I need to know; so I'm asking. Did you mean it?"

"Nigha...I'm...I can't..."

She put her hands on either side of his face, careful not to hurt him. She bent his head down so his eyes would have no choice but to meet hers.

He looked into her eyes, not caring that the object of his desire was standing naked in front of him; he knew that he was cornered and she'd know if he lied to her.

"Jason, I need to know. Did you mean it?" she knew the answer to the question. She could see it in his eyes, but he still wouldn't speak.

"Jason: did you mean it?"

"Yes...yes Nigha I do love you" he said as he sighed and relaxed his shoulders.

"I've been in love with you for months now."

Her heart sank and she felt faint. She knew he wouldn't lie to her, and she knew the answer to the question before he spoke. What did this mean for them? Could they salvage anything resembling their friendship? Had she lost her damn mind for even thinking that?

It was all too much for Nigha, and everything went black as she passed out. Jason caught her and just held her in his arms wondering if she was okay. Not knowing what to do next, he wrapped her up in a sheet and just held her close after making sure she was still breathing and wasn't feverish. He definitely couldn't leave her like this.

********************

Nigha awoke and looked around again to see that it was now 8:15 pm. Panicked, she tried to sit up but her movements were restricted. She looked down expecting to see her naked body, but realized that she was wrapped up in one of her sheets, like a mummy, and that there was a large, tanned arm holding her close to the warm figure at her back.

He was still there, and she could tell from his rhythmic breathing that he was asleep.

'Did I pass out? Man he really put it on me!' she thought to herself.

She was glad that he hadn't left her naked and passed out, but the fact that he'd stayed with her only complicated things more for both of them. She was so confused at this point, knowing that she was still very much in-love with her husband, but she also knew that she felt something for Jason too. Could she really go the rest of her life without having another night like that?

She moved his arm off of her; being careful not to wake him, and went into the bathroom to take a shower. She just stood there, enjoying the hot water cascading over her head and down her sore body.

Her muscles ached as though she'd just worked out for the first time in years, but she really didn't mind it anymore. She ran her hands over her body, the way he had, and found herself flashing back to the activities of the night before.

What did he see in her? This man that could have anyone he wanted had taken her because he couldn't bear to be without her for another day. She'd had guys really hard up for her back in her few single days, but nobody that came close to the kind of man that was Jason.

After 30 minutes in the shower, she knew that she had to get out and face him. When she got out, as she was drying off, she noticed him hurriedly getting dressed.

He was trying to skip out before she was done, so she quickly wrapped her hair in a towel, wrapped another around herself, and slowly walked into her bedroom.

"Nigha, are you OK? You fainted and I checked to see if you had a fever or anything, but you seemed fine. I know I probably should've left, but I just had to know that you were alright. You are aren't you?" he asked as he sat at the foot of her bed.

"I'm fine, and I'm glad you stayed. Jason, there are some things we need to talk about. If I led you on then I'm sorry. What you did, at first, was just plain wrong, but I think I understand why you did it. Neither one of us can change what happened last night, but we..." he grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to him.

"Do not apologize to me, you didn't do anything wrong. I'm the one who's sorry, and not sorry. Now that I know you're okay, I'm going to leave and hopefully we'll have a chance to work this out in a less loaded setting. I meant what I said, and I have no intentions of taking it back, but I am old enough to not expect you to feel the same way."

"There's just one more thing I need from you" he said as he carefully tugged the towel, making it fall from her head.

Her hair fell down into her face and onto her shoulders. He softly swept it out of her face and looked deeply into her eyes before he pulled her close to him and kissed her: softly at first, then with all of the passion he could throw into it because he knew that the chances were pretty good that it would be the last time.

He kissed her on the forehead, and pushed her back just enough so that he could stand. They stood there both wanting the same thing, but knowing that it shouldn't happen again. He leaned into her and took her into his arms one final time, hugging her tightly, then grabbed his bag and left.

She stood there in a daze as she heard the door shut behind him, wondering what Monday would bring, glad that she had another week before she had to face Brett and act as if nothing had changed.

Monday:

On her way to work, she had feelings of anticipation and dread, both at seeing Jason. He had always brightened her day on Monday, always making sure that she smiled at least once. If only there were some way to get that back, someway to get her friend Jason back. She missed him already. As she was on her way to the elevator, her friend Kim was already waiting there.

"Girl, are you alright? You're walking around like somebody beat your ass and wearing...OH MY GOD...FLATS?" Kim said laughing out loud.

Nigha always wore heels because they gave her this sense of power and made her feel damn sexy.

"Girl, shut up! I think I pulled a muscle in my back moving furniture around the house" it sounded just as good as it had in her head when she'd thought up the excuse to explain her injured stride.

"Have you seen Jason?" Kim asked on the elevator ride.

"Jason?"

"Oh, do not act like you don't know who I'm talking about! You know I'm talking about Jason, your "work-husband.""

That was the cute little nickname the girls had given Jason because Nigha had been spending so much time with him.

"I saw him walking in about 10 minutes ago and the whole left side of his face is black and blue. According to him he'd gotten into some bar brawl this weekend. He looks a hot mess, but when he was talking about it, he just had this little smile on his face. Probably thinking about what the other guy looked like after it was all over. Aaaahh youth", Kim chuckled.

"Really? I'd hate to see the other guy" Nigha chimed in with a cocky little smirk, knowing full well that she was the "other guy".

She was on her way to her office, when she decided that if she didn't peek in to say "Good Morning" the same way she did everyday, someone would definitely notice. When she ducked her head in, even she was shocked by his face.

"Good morning...WHOA-OH MY GOD your face! Oooohhh!" she said grabbing the left side of her face as if to feel his pain.

"I heard you got into some sort of bar fight this weekend?" she asked smiling, knowing full well the answer.

"Yeah, stuff happens when you're having too much fun" he replied, laughing at her shocked expression, and the boldness of her statement.

"You should've seen and heard the other guy, he was screaming when he got his!" he said as he gave her that sexy look and a smirk.

"I know you probably don't want to spend anytime looking at this, but would you like to have lunch with me today?"

"WHAT?" she half-yelled as he totally caught her off guard.

This was almost too much, but she tried to play it off and remember that he was trying to keep up appearances too, and this was their usual routine.

"How could you say that, your face is still one of the best looking ones I've seen so of course, I'll have lunch with you, it's what we do."

He gave her the biggest smile he could muster and she walked out of his office. Maybe there was hope for their friendship after all. He was so excited that she didn't make up some excuse to not have lunch with him, although he would have completely understood if she had.

He noticed that she looked quite a bit shorter than normal: when she walked out, he noticed her walk and footwear, and instantly knew why. He smiled at the thought that he wasn't the only one with visible proof of their night together. She was so awesome.

********************

As the weeks turned into months, they fell back into another comfortable routine. She did spend more of her lunches with other friends, as did he. His desire for her refused to subside, but having the memory of their night together helped him out more than he thought.

After a while though, that memory had started to become a double-edged sword because he so longed for history to repeat itself.

Fantasizing about how great it must be to be with her paled in comparison to how it had actually been. A fantasy could be forgotten, but that hot night would never be. Never before had he gotten his ass kicked by a woman, let alone in bed, but that only served to add to his desire for her.

Nigha tried to move on as if nothing had happened; like that was even a possibility. She saw him everyday; she wondered how he spent his time alone.

She wondered if he thought about her, because she sure thought about him. She wanted to see him again, feel his beautiful, perfect skin against hers, and have that huge cock inside her again.

She couldn't get him out of her head, but she could put a little distance between them.

Over the past 3 months, they'd eaten lunch alone together all of 5 times. During those times, she could only think about the night they'd shared, what he looked like under those sexy business suits, being his again. She had to stop it because they could never be: she was still a happily married woman.

Three months later:

The next months brought promotions for both Nigha and Jason, and the new responsibilities cut into the time they had to obsess about each other. They never spoke about that night, feeling lucky that they'd been able to find a new routine. They were feeding off of the mutual desire for one another, and pouring that focus into their work performance.

The company had landed a large account, and the initial presentation was assigned to Jason and Nigha. Due to the importance of the account, there would be many long hours spent working on the presentation. With confidentiality being an issue, they were unable to bring in any subordinates to assist with the work; they would be working together -- alone.

********************

Jason was happy with the comfortable routine that he and Nigha had fallen into, but secretly he yearned for more.

Obviously he wanted to fill the role that her husband occupied, but more than that, he missed the candor that she once had when they carried on conversations. Strangely, he wanted her advice on his current situation: his obsession with a certain married woman.

The few times that they had lunch alone, there was this tension between them. He missed the Nigha that would give him a quick, sometimes harsh reality check whenever he needed it and sometimes when he didn't.

He missed being able to tell her anything without the fear of being looked down upon. He missed his new best friend and felt that she missed him too.

He thought that the only way they could get past this hurdle was to talk about "that night." They decided to have lunch together to discuss a plan of attack for their latest project, and he figured it would be a perfect time to bring it up.

"Jason, I know it seems like 2 months is a lot of time, but we really have to focus if we're going to get this thing buttoned up in time. I feel like our jobs may be riding on this one."

"I know, and I feel it too. I'm going to put my full attention into it, but there's something I've gotta get off my chest first. Nigha, I don't know if you ever think about...or ever wonder whether I...I just want you to know that I had been thoroughly checked out before it happened, and even though I, we, didn't use protection, I just wanted to make sure you knew that I was still safe".

"I...you...it's been over 6 months and now you tell me. I just figured that we'd go on like nothing had happened. I thought I knew you well enough to know that you would be smart enough not to give me anything, but I've got to admit it does make me feel better to know that you planned ahead...I guess. I mean I already knew because I'd been tested before I let Brett touch me again, but knowing that you had been checked out beforehand really means a lot. It doesn't excuse how you went about what happened, but as I'm sure you've figured out already, I forgave you a long time ago. We can't talk about this anymore Jason, we have work to do" and with that she went back to eating her lunch.

Jason was speechless at first, but he knew that he couldn't just drop it.

"Do you think that we can ever get it back?"

"Get what back?" she said while still chewing.

"What we had before" he answered matter of factly.

"Don't you miss it? God knows I do".

"Swee—Jason, I don't know anymore" she caught herself about to call him by one of her usual pet names, which she hadn't done in months.

"I've really tried to go back to the way things were, but I just can't seem to get there. I miss it too, but I can't look at you without thinking about..."

"What I did to you" he looked down, ashamed.

Seeing him like that hurt her and although she didn't want to reopen the can of worms, she couldn't let him continue to feel that way.

"Jase, that's not what I meant. I know that I probably should, and a small part of me does, but the larger part doesn't regret what happened between us. Looking back, I can see where I missed the signs, and you know what they say about hindsight. I just can't look at you without thinking about that night, and I can't go back there Jase, I just can't. I'm not going to patronize you by asking if you understand, because I know that you do..."

He reached up to wipe a dollop of salad dressing off of the side of her face, stopping her mid-statement, and just held his hand there for a moment.

She closed her eyes; took a deep breath, and bit her bottom lip at his touch, then came to her senses and grabbed his hand and slowly removed it from her face.