Arabian Nights

Arabian Nights (Aladdin)- Bruce Adler

I arrived at the IHOP by my apartment before him. He said to give him 15 minutes and he'll meet me there. I went ahead and went in to wait for him. It was pretty crowded with the late night club/bar hopping crowd like myself but I was seated right away. I ordered water and told the waitress I was waiting for someone.

"Hey little Mama! Why don't you come over here and join us?"

At first, I didn't even realize this guy was addressing me. But when I looked up, I saw the young guy that spoke was looking at me. He was with 3 other guys.

"I'm not. Alone, I mean. I'm waiting for someone. Thanks though." I said, politely.

He got up and headed to my table. His friends snickered at him.

"I don't mind keeping you company till they get here." He said, sitting in the chair across from me. "You look way too good to be sitting alone. You got a man?" He said, looking me over slowly. He stared at my chest.

"No. Not at the moment." I flushed at his unwelcome stare.

"That don't make no kinda sense. But it works for me." He grinned. "You look like you should be giving me a belly dance." He continued, looking me over. I was regretting my outfit choice.

Before I could even think of a nice way to turn him down, I saw Jake enter the restaurant. I met his eye. He looked confused for a moment, but I sent him my most desperate help me expression.

He walked over and sat in the chair right next to me. Before I could say anything, he grabbed my chin, tilted my face up and kissed me, deeply. It sent sparks from my lips straight down to my core. God, why do his kisses do this to me? Even when he pulled back, I kept my eyes closed, savoring the way his lips felt on mine. I finally opened my eyes, curious to see if our kiss has the same effect on him. But he was not even looking at me. He was staring down the guy across from us.

"Thanks for keeping my girl company. I was running a little late." Jake said, friendly.

The guy ignored him and addressed me. " I thought you didn't have a man."

"I don't at the moment. He's working on it." I said, looking at Jake.

"You mind excusing us so I can get to work?" He asked the guy, but kept his eyes glued to me. I smiled, before I watched as the guy got up and went back to his laughing friends.

"Thanks." I said, gratefully.

"Anytime." He replied, picking up his menu.

"So what is this? What are we doing?" I asked Jake, after we order our food.

"A friendly hangout."

"That kiss didn't feel friendly to me." I muttered.

"I don't remember. Come here." He said. I giggled, as he tried to pull me to him. I stopped him though.

"I don't know what to tell my friends about us." I said.

"Why don't we figure that out for ourselves? Before trying to explain it." Jake asked.

"Rocky and Sammy already know." I told him.

When he sighed, I explained. "I had to run it by Sammy. She's my roommate. I don't want any drama. And Rocky figured it out. Apparently, we were pretty obvious Sunday."

"Ok...do you think you can just get to know me? And not by what they think they know about me?" He asked.

I nodded, thinking about how Sammy said I let other people's feelings dictate my life.

"Deal."

I asked him about his day. He said he just chilled and did a whole lot of nothing. He was relaxing cause he knew next weekend would be busy. He was talking EJ to Hurricane Harbor and the Rangers game. He and some of his friends went to see Transformers. They were hanging at the movie cinema bar when I texted him.

I told him all about my day as well. And how I hung out with Rocky and Trevor.

"How did y'all all meet? I know in college, but how?" Jake asked me.

"Rocky and Trevor had a study group together. So they were already familiar. I met Trevor at the dining hall. You already know how my dad was about food, so we never had cereal for breakfast. So I was in like, cereal heaven on my meal plan. You have no idea" I smiled.

"Have you seen Forgetting Sarah Marshall?" Jake smiled at me.

I already knew where he was going with that."Yes. I didn't have a huge cereal bowl! I just mixed different cereals together. Like raisin brain and cocoa puffs." I explained.

"Ewww, that sounds disgusting." Jake laughed.

"Whatever. Not the point. Anyway, Trevor noticed it and made fun of me. I didn't know his personality at all, so I was like "why is he picking on me?" Eventually, Rocky told him to shut the hell up. And we've been friends ever since." I explained.

"That sounds like Rocky." Jake said. "That's really cool that y'all been friends for so long."

"Yep. There like my family." I stated. "Too much like my family..." I shuddered, thinking of how Trevor's been acting lately. Normally it was Rocky on my case. Now it was like they were playing good cop, bad cop.

"What is he on your case about?" He asked, after I explained how I felt sometimes.

"Mostly just my relationships. Like with Forrest or with Ethan." I said.

"I understand that. I do the same for my sisters. "

"Ok, Forrest, I understand. But I'm not a homewrecker!"

"Homewrecker? Who says that?" Jake smiled.

"I know right? But anyway, I'm not. So I would never cross that line with Forrest. But what about my relationship with Ethan was just soooo bad?"

"Well you wanted more and he didn't-"

"Yes he did. He wanted me to be his girlfriend.  I decided to move to California, so I didn't want a relationship at the time."

"Ok..." Jake said, thoughtfully. "So why did you move? Why didn't y'all keep in touch? Why aren't y'all together right now?" Jake fired off.

I frowned, not wanting to get into all that. I was still wrapping my brain around it.

"Exactly. It's not supposed to be that complicated." Jake answered, simply.

"Whatever."

Jake just smiled at me. Urgh, I can't even pretend to be irritated with him when he smiles. That dimple is my kryptonite.

After we ate, we stood up to walk to the front and pay.

"Now I see why that guy was trying so hard." Jake said, as he followed me to the front. "You look good enough to eat." He whispered, leaning in close to my ear. He rested his hand on the small of my back while we waited for the hostess.

I blushed but smiled. I was so glad I picked this outfit out now. Any unwanted attention was definitely worth the way Jake was looking at me. He paid the bill then walked me to my car.

"So..." I started, turning to face him.

"Soo...." he repeated.

"Thanks for hanging out with me buddy." I smiled.

He shook his head, but grinned. "Anytime pal."

I went in for a hug, but when I tried to pull back, he kept me pulled tight close to his body. I looked up at him and we both leaned in for a kiss. Our lips locked, and the kiss was as powerful as the one he gave me inside. We stood there, embracing, for a good minute.

"Quiero que seas mía." He whispered against my lips when we finally pulled away from each other.

"What was that?" I grinned.

"Spend the night with me." He lied.

I pretended to think about it.

"My place is closer... spend the night with me."