Old Habits Die Hard

"I thought I shook myself free
You see I bounce back quicker than most
But I'm half delirious, it's too mysterious
You walked through my walls like a ghost
And I take every day at a time
I'm proud as a lion in his lair
Now there's no denying it, and no decrying it
You're all tangled up in my hair
Old habits die hard
Old soldiers just fade away
Old habits die hard
Harder than November rain." Old Habits Die Hard by Mick Jagger 

"Ok, what's up?" Jasmine asked me as we cleared the dining room table.

Jake and Malik went to pick up dinner. They figured that would be easiest since I agreed to extend an invitation to Jasmine's family so they can all see the place together. Jasmine wanted to get it over with and I really needed the distraction.

I went on Facebook myself and saw that the photos were no longer linked to Trevor's page, meaning he untagged himself. Sneaky, but too fucking late. It infuriated me even more. I was friends with Peyton, and her page only had pictures of her and Chris selfies together.

Trevor did text me back, saying he was out with friends and would call me later. I decided not to respond or to confront him.

Yet.

I needed to calm down. I knew no good could come from talking to him, so I didn't. I took a hot shower, changed into a comfortable, black fleece romper and prepared for our guest.

"I'm good." I told Jasmine, running a sponge over the table.

"Lily, you're scrubbing that table like it did something to piss you off." Jasmine commented. "If this is about my family-" She continued.

"No!" I quickly cut her off. "I told you, this is your place as much as mine now. It's fine."

"It doesn't seem fine." Jasmine said.

I put the sponge down and sighed. I pulled out my phone and showed her the text. She just scrolled through the pictures.

"That's Trevor's ex." I explained.

"¡A qué la chingada! {what the fuck}" she exclaimed.

My lip twitched. "Yeah, everybody understands that, but him."

Jasmine handed me back the phone. "What did he have to say for himself?" She asked.

"Good question. I haven't spoken to him yet." I replied.

"You are going to talk to him about this right?"

"Yeah."

"Do you think something's going on between them?" Jasmine questioned.

I shook my head. "No, I think he feels guilty." I told her about running into Becca the night before and the whole, sordid history of Becca and Trevor.

As I finished, we heard a knock on the door. "You don't think he's trying to play y'all against each other?" Jasmine followed up as we walked to the front.

"No way. He's not that devious...or smart." I smirked as Jasmine opened the door. It was Jake and Malik with a ton of food from Pollo Salsa. The smell of the grilled chicken instantly improved my mood.

"Dining room!" Jasmine instructed them. "Dad, Jocelyn and Julissa are on their way!"

We followed them to the dining room and set up the food. I retrieved the brown sack of alcohol to get started on the drinks.

Jasmine and Malik bickered over frozen or on the rocks margaritas when I asked them which they preferred. I let them argue and went to the kitchen to make a pitcher of both.

Jake followed me into the kitchen. I didn't acknowledge him as I measured out the ingredients in the blender.

"You ok cariño?" He finally spoke.

"I'm good Jake." I said, emphasizing his name so he would call me by my name.

"My bad, Lily. Old habits die hard." He grinned. I started the blender, focusing on the drinks and not his sexy dimple. Old habits indeed.

By the time the drinks were ready, Jasmine and Jake's dad, Jose came with his wife, Stephanie. I greeted them both warmly and asked how married life was treating them. They said it was wonderful, and judging by their happy expressions, I believed them.

They were both so nice to me. They treated me exactly the same as when Jake and I were dating. I was surprised, but glad it wasn't awkward. Stephanie proudly showed me pictures of the wedding on her phone. It was beautiful.

I couldn't say the same about Julissa. Although she was never the friendly, outgoing type, I could tell she was uncomfortable around me.

Jasmine took them on a brief tour of the place before we sat down and ate. Jose and Stephanie asked me about the city of Addison, more specifically a street they had to drive to get to our place.

"They call it restaurant row. It's filled with bars and lounges too. I love it down there." I informed them.

"That restaurant Gloria's is in the same area Dad." Jake added.

"The Salvadoran place?" Jose asked.

Jake nodded. "That's the one."

"The pupusas there are outstanding. Have you been Lily?" Jose asked.

I ignored Jake's little smile as he drank his drink. "I have. I was surprised how good the tamales were."

"It's been forever since we went there. We should do that soon." Jasmine suggested to her dad.

My phone rang and I looked at it as they carried on their conversation. It was Trevor. I silenced it and continued to eat. I looked at my phone when it beeped, signaling a new message.

Trevor: Is the coast clear?  :-)

I texted back.

Me: Jasmine's family is here.

I hoped that would buy me some time to gather my thoughts without tipping him off that I knew.

Trevor: Is it cool for me to come over?

Dammit!

Me: Do whatever you want Trevor.

I put down my phone and answered Isaac's, Jake's nephew, questions about my xbox games. I told him about my Kinect and rock band. His eyes lit up when I offered to set it up for him and his sister if they were done eating. He looked at his mom, pleading.

"Don't put Lily out by getting too comfortable." Julissa scolded him.

"Really, I don't mind. I offered." I smiled.

"I'm sure you don't, but I do." Julissa smiled, tightly.

"Let the boy play Julissa." Jose butted in.

"They're kids: things tend to get broken or end up missing." She bristled back at him.

"The den is childproof. I babysit for my friend's kids all the time who are a lot younger. I can set them up in there." I added.

Jasmine gave her a look and Julissa nodded. "Be careful you two. Y'all don't have the money to replace anything." She warned.

I grinned. "That's fine. I take full responsibility. Jasmine, you can add that to the contract." I joked.

"What contract?" Jose asked as I led the kids into the den.

My phone rang, but I ignored it to get the kids set up. I showed them the games I had. I pulled out my phone while I waited for them to pick a game.

I had a miss call and another text.

Trevor: I'm guessing you saw the pictures

Me: Guess whatever you want Trevor.

"Can we play this one?" Isaac asked, holding up Kinect Sports.

"Sure!" I said, moving in front of the Kinect to set it up.

"We swear we won't break anything." Maryann promised.

I smiled at her. "Y'all are fine. This is your aunt's place now too. Get as comfortable as you want."

"Don't tell them that. You'll get them asking to sleep over." Jake smiled, joining us in the den.

I laughed. The kids wanted to play soccer so I showed them how to get to it. I stuck around, sitting on the couch next to Jake, making sure they got the gist of the game before leaving.

I responded to the last text from Trevor as well.

Trevor: Can we talk about it?

Me: Talk about whatever you want Trevor.

I listened to Jake coach them both playing the game. I playfully contradicted his advice. When my phone rang again, I saw it was Trevor and pressed ignored.

"What happened to fighting for things that are important to you?" Jake stated.

"Right now it wouldn't be a fight. It would be a homicide. I'm trying to calm down." I admitted.

"That bad?" He asked.

"I don't know yet. I'm just that mad about it. I have a tendency of ignoring my feelings or blowing up; trying to find some middle ground here."

"By going with the old ignore 'em punishment?" Jake commented.

I smirked, remembering how I ignored him for days during one of our first fights. "Old habits die hard." I repeated.

I looked at my phone when it beeped again.

Trevor: Can you come outside for a minute?

I groaned but headed for the front room. I grabbed my coat before telling everyone I'd be right back.

I went outside and saw Trevor in his car. I walked to join him.

"I'm sorry." He started, as soon as I closed the door.

"For what?" I said, turning to face him as Justine hopped in my lap. I put her back in the back seat. I wanted to be reasonable, but sorry wasn't enough without an explanation.

"For meeting with her. I just wanted to talk to her and tell her how sorry I was." Trevor confessed.

"I get that. What I don't get is why you didn't tell me." I said, crossing my arms, focusing on hearing him out before getting upset.

"I didn't think it would be a big deal. You were hanging out with Jake-"

"Yeah you did or you wouldn't have brought up Jake, like it's tit for tat. I asked you how you felt about Jake and Jasmine. I didn't go behind your back and do it."

Trevor sighed. "You're right. I just knew you wouldn't be ok with it."

"I wouldn't have agreed with you, you're right about that, but I wouldn't have stopped you either." I argued.

He looked at me, doubtfully. "Lily, you told me to let it go."

"Yeah, but that wasn't coming from a jealous girlfriend. It was coming from a place that I know how Becca feels. Obviously, she's still hurt."

"I know. I just didn't want to be some jerk that hurt her." Trevor said.

"Well sweetie, you are." I said, bitingly.

His face crumbled and I sighed.

"Look, all the apologizing can't change what you did. If you would have told me you were going, that's all I would have said. I wouldn't have stopped you." I continued.

He nodded.

"That doesn't make you a jerk. It makes you a person who made bad decisions." I finished.

"I know. Going over there was another one. I didn't even know they were taking pictures until I saw my Facebook. I didn't want you to find out like that-"

"I wouldn't have if Rocky didn't see it. By the time I got on Facebook, they were gone." I said, bitterly.

"Rocky told you?" Trevor said, his face turning red.

I cocked my head at him. "You should have fucking told me." Then it hit me. "You weren't planning on telling me." I muttered, quietly, looking down. That changed everything...

Trevor put his hand against me cheek, forcing me to look up at him. "Lilypad, I promise, I was going to tell you how it went. I was stupid; I should have told you before, but I would have never kept it a secret."

I nodded. I believed him. "Are we done with Becca?" I questioned him, warily.

"Yeah, I'm done. I thought we were ok till I saw the pictures with Justine. She did that to cause problems."

"I know. I gave her a pass on throwing the drink on you. I'm not excusing this one. If I see her, I'm punching her in the face."

"Don't baby. It's not worth it."

"She took a selfie with my dog. That's my baby. It's going down if I see her. There's only one get outta jail free card." I warned him.

Trevor chuckled. "Pretty sure there are two cards..."

"You betta take my threats seriously." I said, holding back my smile.

"I am. What can I do to make it better?" He said softly, playing with my hair.

"A bath for Justine number one. And a trip to the groomers."

"Done." Trevor smiled.

"Next, we get to go inside and make nice with Jake's family." I smiled too.

"Urg, fine."

"And I will be buying a flogger. You won't be able to sit for a week." I threatened.

"You might want to skip that if you're trying to punish me..." Trevor said, kissing me against the lips.

"Shut up and come on." I laughed, as I got out the car.

We went back inside and I introduced Trevor as my boyfriend to everyone. Jocelyn and her daughter Isabella made it. I knew how awkward the situation could have been, but it really wasn't. Jose even grilled Trevor, stating that he needed to know about anyone spending time with me and therefore Jasmine. Trevor took it in stride, and it was actually kinda funny.

"It's good practice for your dad." Trevor winked at me. I snickered.

"That was foreplay compared to my dad. He's going to hate you." I informed him.

Everyone laughed while Trevor looked confused.

"Why? We met before."

"Not as my boyfriend. Now you have to give him a reason to like and trust you. No such thing as benefit of the doubt with him." I said, truthfully.

"{Good thing you never got that far, huh Jake?}" Jocelyn asked Jake in Spanish.

My mouth dropped. Trevor didn't understand what she said and he looked at me in confusion when the room went silent. Jake just glared at her but didn't respond

"Tell me about this stalking clause." Malik asked me, changing the subject, holding up the contract on the back the menu.

"Let me tell it. Lily likes to gloss over the details." Trevor smiled. He had everyone laughing at the way he retold my antics, complete with reenactments. Even Jake was smiling.

"Wow Lily." He said, shaking his head at me.

"We just broke up. I was in a bad place." I defended myself.

"Yeah, hiding in bushes!" Trevor added.

"Shut up, I was never in bushes." I laughed with everyone else.

The rest of the night went great. The only hiccup was when Isabella threw a fit over the game; she didn't want to share the rock band microphone with her cousins. Jasmine threatened to put her in time out in her room. That only made things worse.

Trevor solved it, convincing her to perform karaoke for us instead. I smiled as I watched him charm her out of her tears and into a cute performance of "Problem" by Ariana Grande. I couldn't help thinking about what a great dad he would be.

"Are you gonna sing with her? I know how much you like Ariana Grande." Jake teased.

"Why do you want me to upstage your niece like that?" I responded.

"She hit more notes than you did."

"I was dancing too!"

"Excuses."

"$20 bucks says I can sing the next song perfectly." I wagered.

"You're on."

I went next and tuned on the autotune and sang Daft Punk's "One More Time"

"Cheater!" Jake said when I was finished.

"Whatever. I want my money pronto." I held out my hand.

"I'll get you later."

We hung out, playing karaoke and drinking until the early hours of Sunday morning before everyone left. We slept into the afternoon and woke up to Jasmine making enchiladas with the leftover chicken.

"This is my thank you for putting up with my crazy family last night." Jasmine said as we joined her.

"Jasmine, stop. This is your apartment too." I chided her.

"Yeah, it was fun." Trevor agreed. "The only weird thing was when Jocelyn said something in Spanish."

"Oh, right." I told him what she said.

"She was making comments like that the whole night and wonders why I don't want to live with her." Jasmine rolled her eyes.

"Besides that, it was all good. I'm serious, you can have them over whenever." I added.

"Don't worry about that." She murmured.

I sighed. "You really don't know how good you have it. I would kill to have family like that growing up."

"What was it like growing up with your family?" She asked.

"It was just my dad and brother. My dad was all about order and structure. No time for craziness or fun." I told her.

"What about your mom's side? You're close to your cousin right?" Jasmine pressed.

"We met 3 years ago. I didn't know them growing up. I found them when I was searching for my mom." I explained.

"Did you find her?" Jasmine continued.

Fuck, how did I answer did? I found out enough that made me never want to find her.

"No." I said, simply.

Jasmine gave me a little smile. "You can borrow my family whenever you want. Trevor, I'm teaching you Spanish!"

"Uh-uh. English is hard enough." Trevor joked.

"English is the hardest language to learn. Besides, how are you gonna feel if you kids speak Spanish and you don't?" Jasmine declared.

I choked on the enchiladas I was eating. Trevor grinned, rubbing me on the back.

"Jasmine!" I exclaimed, after I swallowed.

"What, y'all don't want kids?" She said, as she began to clean.

"It's too soon for that-" I started.

"As many as she'll give me." Trevor answered at the same time as me. I looked at him, in disbelief.

"You can teach them Japanese after you learn that too." He winked at me.

"I'm sure your granny will love that. It's bad enough they won't have blond hair and blue eyes. She'll probably disown you if they spoke anything other than English."

Trevor just laughed, but I was dead serious.

After eating, we gave Justine a bath. Bathing Justine was never a fun task, but it was easier with Trevor. We were both exhausted afterwards and spent the rest of the weekend relaxing and watching TV together.

Crazy In Love

"Got me looking so crazy right now
Your love's got me looking so crazy right now
Got me looking so crazy right now
Your touch got me looking so crazy right now
Got me hoping you'll save me right now
Your kiss got me hoping you'll save me right now
Looking so crazy in love
Got me looking, got me looking so crazy in love
Uh oh, uh oh, uh oh, oh no no
Uh oh, uh oh, uh oh, oh no no
Uh oh, uh oh, uh oh, oh no no
Uh oh, uh oh, uh oh, oh no no" Crazy In Love (Fifty Shades Of Grey Version) by Beyoncé


By the end of the week, Trevor was adjusted to being back at work. He was back to his normal, positive self. Now that I knew he hated his job, I spent my free time during the week showing him how much I loved having him home.

Just like we planned, Trevor and I made a date night to go see Fifty Shades of Grey. I got off earlier than him, so I had plenty of time to get a work out in before I had to get ready. My workouts were suffering since I was spending all my time with Trevor.

I didn't think bedroom activities counted, but those tired me out, so the last thing I wanted to do during the week was get my workouts in. I desperately needed to work out since I was cooking less, eating out and drinking more. I ran with Justine, actually prolonging my workout when I felt how sluggish I was. I didn't feel like I was gaining weight yet, but I didn't want to be out of shape either.

I went home and showered quickly. Not quick enough, because when I came out, Trevor was sitting on my bed.

"Hey T-Rev. Give me 15 minutes and I'll be ready."

"No rush. I looked up movie times. There's a showing at 7:30."

"Cool. We can get dinner before." I said, heading to my closet. "How was your day?" I asked as I rummaged through my clothes.

"It was alright." He said in a monotone voice.

I stopped and looked at him. "What's wrong?" I asked, knowing his lack of details and tone meant something was up.

"William (his boss) gave me a hard time about requesting more time off for Japan. He gave it to me, but after warning me how I needed to decide if I wanted a future with the company." Trevor explained.

I winced. "He really said that?"

"He hinted at it. I wanted to tell him, I absolutely do not want a future here. I need the money, so I don't have much of a choice." He smiled, sardonically.

I approached him, placing my hands on his shoulders.

"You took the job to get experience. You have that. A guy is flying you out to Japan because he's so impressed with your work, remember?" I said, repeating what he told me.

Trevor smiled, for real this time.

"It'll all work out. All you have to do is go for what you want. Make it happen!" I smiled back.

He pulled the towel of my body. I tried to snatch it back, but he tossed it aside.

"You told me to go for what I want." Trevor chuckled, before pulling me into his lap.

"We’re gonna be late for the movie..."

"There's a later showing." He responded.

After a quickie on my bed, I threw on leggings and a boyfriend sweater. I didn't bother with make-up and just pulled my hair up in a messy bun. We didn't have time for dinner beforehand, but we did make the 7:30 showing. We grabbed snacks: a large popcorn to share, Raisinets and water for me, sour patch kids and Dr. Pepper for Trevor.

We snacked and enjoyed the movie. The audience reactions added to the entertainment. The gasps every time Jamie Dornan entered a scene were hilarious to me. I mean, he was good looking, but gasp worthy every scene? Eh, I'd save mine for Channing Tatum in Magic Mike XXL.

I was pleasantly surprised by Dakota Johnson and how funny she was. She played Anastasia really well. She was so much more likable than the book version of Ana. Or maybe that was because I wasn't subjected to her inner thoughts/goddess/subconscious. I swear I thought she had a personality disorder while reading the books.

At the final scene, everyone in the theater went silent.

"Spoiler alert: They get back together." Trevor said quietly to me.

I giggled. "Shhh, don't ruin the surprise for them."

"Really? What do they think the next two books are about?" Trevor chuckled.

"Ana transforming into a strong and independent woman?"

"No one wants to see that."

I pinched Trevor and we both laughed.

After we tossed our trash away, I grabbed Trevor's hand as we made our way to the closest exit.

"So what do you think? See anything we need to add to our relationship?" He asked as we walked down the long hallway.


"No, I'm good." I smiled.

"Not even an upgraded car?" Trevor grinned.

"You were this close to getting your ass kicked for defacing Lady Kitana with stickers." I said, holding up two fingers, a quarter of an inch apart. "If you ever make her disappear, you're dead!"

Trevor laughed. "Fine. How bout sexually?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "You wanna get flogged?"

"I'm willing to try anything once..." he smiled, opening the exit for me.

"You're crazy." I shook my head, walking through the door.

"Crazy in love." Trevor said, grabbing me by the waist and pulling me in for a kiss. We kissed by the side exit. I pulled away before it got too heated. The sex scenes in the movie definitely made me more open to the possibility of experimenting...

Trevor put his arm around my shoulders as he led us to the front of the building. I was about to ask Trevor if he had any experience with "experimenting" when he faltered in his steps.

"What-" I stopped when I saw what Trevor was focused on. In the line to purchase tickets were Peyton, her boyfriend Chris, Trevor’s ex Becca; her friend whose name I was blanking on and two guys I didn't recognize.

Chris offered us both a little smile while Peyton just looked as uncomfortable as I felt. Becca stared at Trevor, more specifically his arm draped over me while her friend glared at both of us. The other guys looked blissfully unaware.

"Hey." Trevor said, cordially, to them all. I smiled weakly.

"Hey. What did y'all see?" Chris asked Trevor.

"Fifty Shades." Trevor answered.

"Did you like it?" Peyton asked me with a smile.

"It was good. Better than the book, but I don't know if that saying much." I said, keeping a watchful eye on Becca. The last time I saw Becca and Trevor talking is when she threw a drink on him.

"I liked the books." Peyton said, looking over at Becca too. Becca didn't look angry, just terribly sad. It made me feel horrible.

"We gotta go. Have a good night." I said, before walking away with Trevor.

I looked down, feeling guilty about the bad things I thought about Becca. Maybe she didn't handle the breakup the best, but who does? I sighed.

"Are you ok?" Trevor asked me. I could hear the concern in his voice.

"Out of all the theaters in Dallas, in Texas, the United States..." I listed.

"The world?" Trevor joked, nervously.

"The fucking planet! Why did we have to choose this one? Why did they choose this one?" I said, with a little smile.

"It could have been worse..."

"How?"

"We could have been in the same showing together." Trevor grinned, weakly.

"Now that would have been fifty shades of fucked up." I smiled.

We went to dinner at Friday's. We looked at the menu in silence. When I ordered a Santa Fe chicken salad, Trevor looked at me.

"That's all you want?" He said.

"Yeah, too much popcorn." I stated.

Trevor than ordered their Jack Daniels ribs. After the waitress took our menus, I looked at Trevor, trying to get the date back on track.

"So are you missing anything out of our sex life?" I asked.

Trevor slowly swallowed his drink and studied me.

"Does this have to do with Becca?" Trevor asked.

I furrowed my eyebrows at him. "No... I was thinking about how we never established hard and soft limits. Do you have something to share about yall's sex life?"

"No." Trevor swiped his hand across his face. "Sorry. It was just weird seeing her. She looked so..."

"Sad?" I finished for him.

"Yeah. I liked it better when she was throwing drinks at me." He looked up at me. "I think I have to talk to her again."

"And tell her what?" I asked.

"I don't know. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to hurt her; that you and I just happened."

"And what part of that doesn't she know?"

Trevor was silent.

"Leave it. She'll move on." I comforted him.

Our food came out and we dropped the conversation.

After dinner, we went back to my place. Jasmine was moving in over the weekend, so it would be my last day of having the apartment roommate free. We held each other and cuddled. I could tell Trevor was still feeling bad. I wished there was a way I could take that guilt away. I knew how Becca felt too, so it was hard. In the end, I used my mouth on him to take his mind off things.

The next morning, Trevor was in a better mood. We made breakfast as I caught up with Jasmine. She told me she was packing up everything at her dad's house, and Jake and Malik would be over in the afternoon to help move her things over.

I told Trevor the plan and talked him into going for a run with me. We took Justine to a park and Trevor ran around with her while I went through a workout. I knew I was going to regret it, especially when I helped Jasmine unpack, but my body was aching in a way that made me feel good.

We walked back to my apartment for a cool down. Jasmine called and let me know they were on their way.

I showered and changed into jeans and a t-shirt. I docked my phone on my speaker and started to play music. I threw some Gatorade and water bottles in the freezer. When there was a knock at the door, I raced to answer it.

"Roomy!" I greeted Jasmine with a huge smile. "Let me get you your key so you'll never have to knock again." I said, whimsically.

"That would be amazing!" She said, just as dramatically. We both laughed and I let her in.

When Justine jumped on her, Trevor tried to pull her back. "Hey Jasmine." He said. "Calm down Justine."

"It's ok Trevor." Jasmine said "Are you excited for your new roommate?" She asked Justine, petting her.

I retrieved her key as I watched them with a smile. I saw Trevor tense as Jake and Malik walked in. I couldn't tell if Jake flinched because of Trevor or the storage container he was carrying, but I definitely noticed his muscles flex. They were displayed perfectly in a long sleeve Under Armour shirt.

"Where do you want this Jasmine?" Malik asked.

"Just in the living room till I figure out where everything is going." Jasmine answered.

I gave Jasmine her key and smiled at Malik and Jake. "Hey guys. How's it going?"

I introduced Malik to Trevor, because honestly, I couldn't remember if they had actually meet. I knew he knew of Trevor, but they both were cool as they shook hands. Trevor said "Hey" to Jake and Jake responded with a nod.

We went to work bringing in all of Jasmine things. I noticed Jake and Trevor avoided each other at all cost. I ignored them and focused on Jasmine's excitement and positive energy. It was worth whatever discomfort the guys were feeling.

We took a break once everything was inside. I distributed waters and Gatorades to everyone.

"I like this song." Jasmine said, bopping her head to the EDM song.

"Which one of your playlist is this?" Trevor asked me. "Moving?"

I smiled. "No. Christian's"

"How are any of these songs Christian?" Malik asked me.

"No. Christian is the name of the producer. Trevor, Rocky and I went to school with him." I explained.

"Really?" Jasmine asked, surprised.

I was surprised too when Christian texted me a link for all of the songs he worked on. While a lot of them I hadn't heard of, there were a few songs EVERYONE knew. I was fucking shocked. I looked up a few of them just to be sure. Sure enough, Christian was listed as a producer.

"Yeah, he's pretty cool." I confirmed.

"You need to hook me up!" Jasmine exclaimed.

"He lives in California now." I told her.

"And he's your typical music guy stereotype." Trevor added, looking up from his phone.

I folded my arms at him.

"Meaning?" I asked.

"Meaning he hops from girl to girl." Trevor explained.

"How would you know that? He might have changed. You did." I continued.

"I was nothing like him, and I know he hasn't changed." Trevor responded. He got up and headed upstairs to my room. I watched him with a frown.

"Haven't you learned your lesson about guys like that?" Jake questioned Jasmine after Trevor left the room.

"Whatever. I miss my club hookups." Jasmine said.

"You need to focus on your life not the club. Besides, you did enough dancing moving your stuff in." Malik pointed out.

We laughed while Jasmine pointed her finger at him. "Lifting heavy shit is one of the few things men are good at. Focus on that!"

"Where's your new friend at to help you if that's all were good for?" Malik asked.

"He's good for other things." Jasmine hinted.

"Gross Jasmine. Let's get this done with. Vamos {C'mon}" Jake said, standing up.

"I second that. I don't need to hear about my coworker like that." I said, standing too.

"What makes you think it's Kendal?" Jasmine grinned.

"'Cause I saw y'all making eyes at each other at Razzoos." I said.

"Whatever. I'm keeping my options open." Jasmine said.

I turned my music up downstairs, blaring it loud enough so the guys could hear it upstairs. Jasmine dictated what was going upstairs while we went through the items she brought for the kitchen and things that needed to go in the outside storage.

I tried to help, but most of my time was dedicated to keeping Justine out of Malik's and Jake's way.

I was getting the doggy gates when Trevor came back downstairs.

"Hey, I'll take Justine with me." He offered.

"You're leaving?" I asked.

"I'll be back if that's okay with you." He said, sheepishly.

"Of course baby."

I was kinda relieved he was leaving: it was awkward as fuck. I could tell he was in a funky mood. I understood him feeling weird about it. I appreciated him sticking around to show that he didn’t have a problem with Jasmine moving in. I didn't even have to ask him to.

I walked him to the door and grabbed Justine's leash.

"See you later." He said, taking the leash.

I gave him a kiss at the door. "Love you." I said, pulling away.

"Love you too." He smiled before leaving.

I was closing the door when Jake asked from behind me, "Where's your boyfriend going?"

I turned to look at him. He was bent over, grabbing a black bag full of shoes. I couldn't read his expression.

"Getting Justine outta yall's way." I said, simply.

Jake smirked. "She couldn't just go in your room?"

"Nope." I said, ending that conversation and joining Jasmine on the patio.

When we had everything unpacked, we took a break to decide what to do for dinner.

"You know dad wants to see the place. You might as well invite him over and get it over with." Jake said to Jasmine.

"I know, but he'll stay late cause it's a weekend. I want to relax."

I smiled and grabbed my phone. I texted Trevor to see where he was at. I read the text from Rocky afterwards.

Rocky: Da fuck?

It was in reference to a screen grab she sent of some girl Mallory's Facebook. I studied her profile picture for a moment before I realized it was Becca's friend from the night before. The photos she posted were captioned:

Reunited!

The photos consisted of candid shots and selfies of Mallory, Becca, Peyton, Chris and Trevor at some patio. The last fucking straw was Becca taking a selfie with my fucking dog. I literally saw red.

"What's wrong cariño?" Jake asked me, concerned. I snapped my phone shut and jammed it in my pocket.

"Nothing." I said. Jake eyed me like I was crazy. I probably looked crazy: I was pissed the fuck off!

"What do you wanna do for food?" Jasmine asked, looking between Jake and me.

"Whatever y'all want. I don't care."

I really didn't care. I lost my fucking appetite.

Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler

"Well I’m going down to Louisiana 

Gonna find myself a Cajun band
Well I love to hear it when they say
‘Laissez les bons temps rouler’
Laissez les bons temps rouler
That’s what all them Cajun people say
They sing and they dance the nignt away
Laissez les bons temps rouler
Make that coffee strong and hot
Put them crawfish in a pot
I can’t wait to taste that Étouffé
Laissez les bons temps rouler
Come sing for me a Cajun song
We’re gonna do the two-step all night long
Tomorrow will soon be another day
Laissez les bons temps rouler
Let them good times roll!"
Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler {Let The Good Times Roll} by Waylon Thibodeaux

The first thing I did when I returned to work Monday morning was schedule some time to talk to Sandra. I wanted to put in my request for time off as soon as possible.

Trevor and I spent majority of Sunday daydreaming about Tokyo. I expressed my desire to visit the neighborhood of Harajuku. I also downloaded Rosetta Stone and started practicing Japanese. Trevor made fun of me, calling me a nerd, so I mocked his want to visit their electronic shops. We eventually got serious and started coordinating the best day to leave and come back with Kenji's novel release. After running the dates by Kenji, we finally made a decision.

Sandra had me fill out the forms for the requested days and she submitted them to Ann for me. She told me there shouldn't be a problem, and to keep my charts updated so when I was gone, anyone could pick up my patients. I already did that, so there wasn't a problem.

Right before I took a break for lunch, Kendal approached me.

"Why didn't you tell me Jasmine was your ex's sister?" He asked.

"I didn't think it was important. Why? Did you do something to piss him off?" I replied.

"Not that I know of." He answered cryptically as he grinned before walking off.

I shook my head and decided I was staying way out of whatever that was.

 At lunch, I didn't see Jordan at the front. I came into work early, so I missed her in the morning. When I came back from lunch, she was at the nurse's station. I said a quick hi and bye before I finished with the rest of my patients. When I was leaving for the day, Jordan was leaving too.

I asked her about her Valentine's Day with Derek. She cheerfully told me how nice it was to get away, unplug and just relax with Derek and their friends. She told me how the guy's made dinner for them and how they had a candlelight dinner on the porch. She also showed off the new Michael Kors wallet he got her. I owwed and awwed over it, not really surprised, (especially since she'd been not so subtlety hinting she wanted it on Facebook) but happy she got what she wanted.

"What did you and Trevor end up doing? I saw the fruit on Facebook. That was cute." She commented as we walked to our cars.

I showed off my new charm and told her about the karaoke machine and the clues revealing our trip to Japan.

"Why Japan?" She asked, making a face.

I told her it was for Trevor's website.

Jordan nodded. "No wonder he did the gifts leading up to Japan. It's really a work trip."

I didn't like her tone, but I felt like I might have been rehashing old feelings from our conversation last Friday. I was in too good of a mood to let anything upset me.

"I'm so excited for Tokyo. A free trip anywhere is amazing to me." I grinned.

Jordan laughed. "That's true."

I called Trevor on my way home.

"Are you off?" He asked me.

"I am. I'm heading home right now."

"Come over to my place. Spend the night since I gotta be at work tomorrow and you don't." He complained.

"Shut up! I've been working for the past 2 months."

"So have I... remember? There's a guy trying to buy the site. So badly he's sending me to Tokyo."

"Touché." I giggled. "Let me pick up Justine and some clothes-"

"Done and done."

"Dinner?"

"That's done too."

"Alright. I'm on my way."

I headed straight to Trevor's apartment. I let myself into the apartment and the smell of tomatoes and garlic hit me.

"Something smells good." I said, greeting Justine as she jumped up on me.

"Thank you. I did shower." Trevor came out to greet me.

"I'm talking about the food Pinky." I smiled, leaning in to give him a kiss. We wrapped our arms around each other and kissed a few more times before my stomach protested.

I pulled back.

"I know, I know. Food first." Trevor said good-naturedly. "Go sit."

I did exactly that and waited patiently until Trevor brought out two plates of salad. Next, he brought out plates of lasagna.

"Did you cook?" I said, surprised.

"Kinda." He said, leaving the room. He came back with soda cans. "Rachel Ray made this lasagna on her show-"

"You watch Rachel Ray now?" I interrupted.

"Not anymore, I'm gonna have to be a work. I got into her in Austin. She's hot."

"You're such a loser, but go on." I said, taking a bite of food. It was as delicious as the smells promised.

"So I bought everything, and followed the directions-"

"Perfectly. This is soooo good." I complimented him as I finished chewing.

"Yeah, I burnt the sauce on mine. I didn't realize it into after I poured it on the lasagna noodles. Which there are two types: boil and oven ready, by the way." Trevor explained.

I laughed at him. "So you made it all over again?"

"No. I went to Olive Garden." He grinned.

I laughed even harder. "Next time, get breadsticks."

"I forgot them in the microwave. Be right back."

He came back with a plate of breadsticks and a side of Alfredo sauce, the way I loved to eat them in college. Sad to say, I would binge eat them. I cut them out when I started losing weight.

"You don't ever have to cook if you can order like this." I teased him after we finished eating.

"Rachel made it look so easy." He commented as he gathered our plates.

"I appreciate the attempt." I smiled at him when he returned from the kitchen.

"Wanna show me some appreciation?" he said, sitting next to me.

"It depends...do two garlic breaths cancel each other out?" I pondered.

"Only one way to find out." Trevor grinned, pulling me to him.



The next morning, I wasn't appreciating his cooking attempt anymore. He left the evidence of his failure in the sink. I wanted to make him breakfast to send him off on his first day back, but I couldn't cook in a dirty kitchen. By the time I finished cleaning, Trevor was up.

"I wanted to make breakfast, but cleaning took too long." I complained, turning to glare at him.

"I have poptarts." Trevor shrugged, turning me back around. He rubbed into me as he leaned me against the counter. His erection was already pressing against me.

"When are we out of the honeymoon phase? I don't think I can keep up with you." I moaned, even though my body contradicted me. It was already responding to him.

"Honeymoon phase?" Trevor asked, moving one hand under my shirt to fondle my breasts. My nipples hardened against his touch.

"Yeah, Jordan said we'll get over wanting to be all over each other all the time." I replied, my breathing already heavy as I reached between our bodies to grab him through his boxer shorts.

He returned the favor by sliding his hand into my boxer shorts. "I don't think I'll ever get enough of you." He groaned in my ear as his finger found my clitoris and rubbed it. I clenched my thighs together, trapping his hand between my legs trying to increase the contact..

"You think it'll slow down?" I wondered out loud as he pressed harder against me. I inhaled sharply.

"I doubt it." He responded, pulling my shorts down to plunge inside me.

"Ooooo" I exhaled, shakily, grabbing onto the counter and rolling my hips back against him.

"Mmmmm, do that again Lily."

I rolled my hips again.

"Just like that. Don't stop." Trevor groaned, bucking into me harder.

I continued rolling my hips against him over and over as he rubbed my clitoris in circles matching my rhythm. My body trembled as my climax approached.

"So close, baby. Wait." Trevor grunted between breaths.

"I can't. I'm... about to...cum." I called out, clenching the counter as I came.

Trevor came right after me, pumping into me as he finished.

"You're right. It's never gonna change." I sputtered, catching my breath as I turned to face him. He looked at the time on the microwave and groaned.

"Never mind. It might. Work doesn't put me in the most loving mood." Trevor replied, pulling away.

I let him get ready. I had just enough time to scramble some eggs and heat him up a couple poptarts. I sent him on his way to work with food and a kiss on the lips.



I took Justine home and I spent the rest of the day deep cleaning Jasmine's room. I even rented a carpet cleaner to go over the carpet. Since I had it, I did the common areas too while Justine looked on, fearfully.

It was an all day affair. By the time I was done, it was around 3. I text a picture of the cleaned room to Jasmine saying:

Me: All yours when you are ready to work out the details!

She responded as I returned the carpet cleaner.

Jasmine: It looks great! Any plans today?

I texted her back I didn't have any and to give me a call.

When I got home, Amber called me.

"Hello stranger." I answered. It had been forever since we hung out.

"I know, I've been caught up with my new work schedule. Let's rectify that at Razzoo's for Fat Tuesday!" She suggested, excitedly.

"I'm so down!" I exclaimed.

"Should we invite everyone? I have my kids." Amber asked.

"Completely up to you." I answered.

"I think I will. I'll call when I'm ready."

"Sounds good."

I went home and took a hot shower to remove the cleaning chemical feeling I had. I blow dried my hair and put it up in a high ponytail. I kept my outfit casual with a black, long sleeved blouse, skinny jeans and flat boots. I added a purple, beaded statement necklace just to jazz it up and add a little festive-ness to my outfit.

Amber and Jasmine both called me. I texted Amber back, telling her I was heading to the restaurant.

I then called Jasmine and invited her to Razzoos. We hung up when she agreed to meet us. I texted Trevor to let him know where to meet us.

When I got to the restaurant, Amber was already waiting for me. I gave her and her kids a hug.

"I was thinking the patio since I have no idea how many people are coming." Amber told me.

"That sounds good to me. As long as it's not too cold for the kids." I nodded, looking at the enclosed patio overlooking a small pond.

"I checked, as long as the sun is out, it's fine."

We then got settled on the patio with a few tables close to the railing. We went ahead and ordered drinks and food for the kids so they didn't have to wait. Jasmine was the first person to show up.

"Hey!" She greeted us, before sitting across from me.

"Hey, how was your weekend?" I asked her.

"Good, even though you abandoned me with my brother Friday night." Jasmine said, smiling as she looked over the drink menu.

"I'm sorry. I was exhausted. What happened?"

"Nothing. We got a cab back to his place." Jasmine answered. The waiter came back to take her drink order. She got a frozen hurricane that was part of the Fat Tuesday drink special.

When the waiter left, Jasmine smiled at me. "We better work on the agreement before we start drinking."

I nodded and looked at Robbie. "Can I borrow your crayon sweetie?" I asked.

"No!" He responded, picking the unused crayons up.

Jasmine and I both laughed while Amber grabbed the blue on from him.

I shook my head. "I'm not taking that, he said no. Krista, can I borrow one?"

"Sure." She handed over a yellow one that would be impossible to read. I turned back to Robbie.

"Wanna trade?" I said, twirling the yellow crayon in my fingers, enticingly.

He nodded and we switched. I took an extra kids' menu and Jasmine and I drew out an agreement on the back.

We decided her name was going to be added to the lease and she would pay an even $700 a month. We also stipulated that the remaining of the lease was how long the contract was good for. We discussed everything including the basics, like overnight guest (heads up first) and the mundane, like chores (clean up after yourself in common areas). Jasmine's pet peeve was clothes left in the washing machine, so we added that to the list as well.

Amber and my gator punch Jr and Jasmine's Margarita arrived, so we started drinking and the list became more in-depth.

"Did you add no stalking each other?" Sammy asked when she showed up and realized what we were doing.

"Shut up!" I giggled, hugging her before she sat.

"Stalking?" Jasmine asked, confused.

Sammy decided to fill her in on how I trailed and followed her, accusing her of being a hooker.

"I was very sorry and very wrong. It will never happen again." I said, embarrassed.

"Still, add it to the list. No stalking." Jasmine declared as Sammy and Amber laughed. I added it.

Rocky and Brandon showed up next and we all greeted them as they sat down at the end of the table opposite to the kids.

"Who's all coming?" Rocky asked me.

"I'm not sure. Let me check my phone." I said, pulling it out. "Jordan and Derek are on their way."

"I was hoping to get Serena and Ethan back together, but she's out of town."

I checked my missed calls and asked, "How did it go at the ball?"

"I don't know. I didn't feel comfortable asking Serena and you know how vague Ethan is." Rocky shrugged.

"That's a good sign if he had nothing negative to say." Brandon added.

"True. I'm gonna call Rachel." I said. I did and it went to voicemail. I called Forrest next.

"Hey, what are y'all doing tonight?" I asked.

"We're hosting a basketball game at 7pm. I'm still at the school."

"We're in your area. Come join us before the game!" I invited him.

"I wish I could, but your future Baylor Bear has detention with me." Forrest declined.

"Why?" I asked, surprised Darren was in trouble.

"He decided to take part in a senior prank."

"Really Forrest? That's harmless."

"I know, but tell that to the parents of the juniors who had glow in the dark condoms on their locker."

I laughed. "Don't you teach health? You should be encouraging that, not punishing it."

"Don't go there. This is Texas. The school board does not allow that. I went to bat for him. He's lucky he only got detention." Forrest explained.

"So make him come, it can be educational. Like a field trip!" I exclaimed.

"How do you figure?"

"Fat Tuesday. Mardi Gras. Years of traditions and stuff. You're the expert." I said.

"Oh, that's right. I forgot about that. How am I the expert?"

"It's your holiday!"

"I'm not Catholic."

"You're from Louisiana." I argued.

"Not New Orleans." He disagreed.

"Same thing!!!" I exclaimed.

"No it's not, but we're on our way."

"Forrest is coming." I said, putting down my phone. I called Ethan next. He was still at work and EJ was with Megan. My educational argument I used on Forrest did not work and he declined.

We went ahead and ordered a ton of appetizers, including oysters, fried pickles and greens beans, boiled crawfish, fondue and fried alligator tails.

Jordan, Derek, Q and Kendal showed up next. I watched as Jasmine and Kendal shared a little smile as he sat at the opposite end of the table.

Everyone was chatting and recapping our Valentine's Day when my brother, Jenna and Trevor arrived.

I quickly greeted Cam and Jenna with a hug.

"Hey baby!" I gave Trevor a kiss before he greeted everyone. We sat on the end of the table with Rocky. Trevor pulled out the seat for me next to Rocky and he sat on my opposite side. There was just enough seats left for Forrest and Darren.

"How was work?" Rocky asked Trevor.

"Urg." Trevor answered her, shortly. I looked at him, suprised by his lack of answer to her.

"That good huh?" I joked, trying to guage his mood.

"Is it Friday yet?" Trevor asked me.

"No, turn up Tuesday, remember?" I said, leaning over to kiss him again.

"Enough. That needs to stop in front of me." Cam declared.

"Shut up Cam." I smiled when Trevor laughed.

The food arrived at the same time as Forrest and Darren. I gave them both a hug before introducing Darren to everyone. I then turned to Darren.

"You get to sit at the children's side of the table." I said, pointing out the chair I vacated.

"I'm not a kid."

"You're a minor." I countered.

"No I'm not. I'm 17." He smirked.

I looked at Forrest for confirmation.

"Yeah, by law he's an adult, but by recent behavior, you're a child. Go sit at the kid end." Forrest told him.

He begrudgingly left and Forrest and I sat down.

Forrest told everyone about Darren's senior prank.

Brandon laughed. "That's creative. We did water guns and balloons."

"We hijacked the PA system and played music randomly throughout the day. They couldn't figure out where it was coming from." Trevor grinned.

"Those are tame. We actually set up a crime scene inside our Principal's office. There was caution tape, a body outline and ketchup everywhere." Q shared.

"That's awful." Amber laughed.

"See, it could be worst." Darren pointed out to Forrest.

"So could your punishment. They wanted to make y'all not walk for graduation or ban you from prom."

"Who cares?" Darren shrugged.

"You should. It can still go on your transcript. Would that be worth your scholarship?" Forrest asked.

"It's not that serious." Darren played it off.

"It is, especially being a black athlete. It doesn't matter how good you are if you can't stay out of trouble." Forrest lectured.

"You gotta remember, this is Baylor. Not OU, TCU, UT or UNT..." I added, playfully dissing Forrest's, Kendal's, Q's and Derek's school. "Baylor holds you to a higher standard."

My comment started a debate to whose school was better and took the heat off Darren. He gave me a smile and I smiled back. When the food arrived, Trevor ordered a burger. I didn't comment how lame it was that he ordered a burger at a Cajun place, but I gladly shared my crawfish and oysters with Forrest. Darren stuck to alligator while his Po'boy was being prepared.

"What did Serena have to say about Ethan?" I asked Forrest.

"I wanted to ask you about that. Are you ok with it?" Forrest asked me.

"Of course." I said, brightly. Forrest looked surprised. "Really. I'm growing. Before, I wanted all my exes to be miserable. Now, I just want to be happier than them."

Forrest and Trevor laughed and Cam shook his head. "You sure have matured Lily." He said, sarcastically.

I gave him a smile. "I sure have."

"I'll get with Rachel and let you know about Serena." Forrest promised.

Dinner was so much fun. Forrest and Darren had to eat and run and Amber and her kids hung out until the sun started to go down. Q left about the same time and I noticed Jasmine and Kendal head out together. We all decided to head out after them.

"Did you have fun?" I asked Trevor when we got back to my place.

"I did."

"Really?" I asked, giving him a hug.

"Really. Why wouldn't I?" Trevor asked, holding me.

"I don't know. You were kinda short with Rocky. I thought it was because you didn't want to be there." I explained.

"I didn't mean to be short with her." Trevor sighed as we made our way to my room.

"I know. I just assumed you were coming. I didnt even think about it being your first day back or you needing time to decompress alone." I said apologetically.

"I'm not out of the honeymoon phase. I want to be wherever you are." He said, hugging me from behind, nuzzling against my neck.

"I thought you weren't in a loving mood after work." I smiled as we stumbled to the bed.

"I don't make love. I fuck...Hard."

I snorted. "What did I tell you about quoting that book?"

"C'mon. You know you want to see it."

"I told you I can't support it."

"I'll buy the tickets. You can even say I made you go."

"Deal!"

"Kiss on it?" Trevor said, brushing his lips against mine.

"Nope." I said, rolling on top of him. "Fuck on it."

"Jesus, I love you."

Cupid (Rocky POV)

"Now I don't need to bother you, but I'm in distress
There's dangerous of losing all of my happiness
But just between the two of us our love is concealed
So help me if you will
So, Cupid draw back your bow
And let your arrow go
Straight to my lover's heart, it's for me
Nobody but me
Cupid please hear my cry
And let your arrow fly
Straight to my lover's heart, for me
Nobody but me"
Cupid Otis Redding Version (I love Amy Winehouse's version too)

"Rocky, you gotta see this!" Brandon called to me from the bathroom of our room at the Omni Hotel in downtown Dallas.

"Just a minute." I said, returning back to the phone to confirm our reservations. I booked us the romance retreat package. For the price I was paying, I wanted to take full advantage of everything.

I left the modern decorated living room and joined him in the bathroom. Brandon smiled at me through the mirror, pointing at the mini TV screen in the glass.

"That's really what you should be doing in the bathroom mirror: watching TV." I stated, sarcastically.

"It's called multi-tasking. Let me show you." He pulled me into his arms as we both faced the mirror.

He rubbed his fingertips up and down my arms while watching me in the mirror.

"We can watch TV and each other..." he said suggestively, grinning as his eyes met mine in the reflection. I couldn't hold eye contact with him, so I looked away.

"Boy, stop." I said, pulling away. "Save it for later. We have plans right now."

"Alright, fine. I will." Brandon laughed. I smiled too, relieved he didn't pick up on my discomfort. "Are we going to dinner?"

"No, we have massages. If you're hungry, I can change the schedule." I frowned thinking about how crowded it was in the lobby. More than likely we would have to cancel the massage and wait to be seated for dinner. But if that's what Brandon wanted, it could be done. I would just be out of that deal-

"No. Just needed to know if I should get dressed now. I'm down for whatever you have planned bae." Brandon commented, watching me with an inquisitive look.

I gave him the most confident smile.

"Let's go then."

We went down to the spa together. The lady at the front desk gave us a brief tour of the amenities before we separated to different changing rooms to get undressed. I decided to take a quick hot shower to relax my nerves. I needed to. This retreat was to get things right with Brandon. I couldn't do that if I was stressing out about every little thing.

After my shower, I put on the huge, comfortable over-sized robe and joined Brandon in the waiting area. He was sitting on one of their chaise lounge chairs. I eyed the complimentary refreshments and asked Brandon if he wanted anything.

"Whatever you get." He shrugged, looking around the room. I couldn't help smiling at him. It was his first time at a spa. He was acting brand new. It was cute.

I made myself a cup of tea and secured Brandon a cucumber water. I then made us a plate of assorted nuts and fruits before joining him on the chair.

"What all are we doing?" Brandon asked, sipping on the water. He put it down after his first sip.

"Just a massage, nothing too crazy for your first time." I said, teasingly.

"Why pay for something I can get at home for free?" Brandon joked back. "Although, I bet they don't make me massage them back."

"I don't make you-" I started to snap back, but I caught myself.

Brandon just chuckled. "I'm just messing with you."

After we finished our snack, we laid back on the chair, propping our feet on the footrest. I kept checking the clock on the wall. It was 5 minutes passed our appointment time. The silence was maddening. It gave me way too much time to think. That's the opposite of what I wanted. I didn't need to think, reminisce or doubt myself. The weekend was about Brandon and me. That's it...

After another 5 minutes, I sat up.

"Where are you going?" Brandon asked.

"I going see how behind schedule they are." I answered.

"No, don't go off. Just chill, Listen to the mood music." Brandon enticed me to lay back beside him. He wrapped his arms around me and I tried me hardest to calm down. The new age music wasn't helping.

"You're so stiff." Brandon continued. It made me stiffen more. "Is everything ok at work? You've been a more high strung than normal" he smiles.

"No, it's fine. Nothing I can't handle. How bout you?" I asked.

"It's straight. I learned to keep my work stuff separate from my home life. It's just a paycheck."

I forced another smile. "I'll try."

Thankfully, our message therapist came to retrieve us and led us to a couples massage room. We got settled on the tables and got started.

Between the massage, and the lavender aromatherapy, I was able to relax. I almost fell asleep while my masseuse expertly worked the kinks out of my back.

Brandon's voice broke me out of my trance.

"I think you lost your job Rocky." I looked over at him as his masseuse finished.

"That's perfectly fine with me. Now you don't have to be forced to touch me." I said smartly as both masseuses giggled.

When they left the room, Brandon sat up and grabbed his robe. I took my time doing the same. My body felt more relaxed than it has in the last 2 weeks...

I jumped when I felt Brandon fingers caress my back.

"You really don't want me to touch you?" Brandon grinned, halting his movements on my bareback.

"You know I do." I said, quickly, pushing away the memory of rougher, calloused fingers and focusing on his smooth, gentle touch. "But not in here!"

"Never heard of a happy ending?"

"Shoulda asked your masseuse, considering she took my job." I joked, standing up to pull on my robe.

Brandon walked around to face me.

"You know no one is taking your spot." He said, hugging me.

I pressed my mouth against him to hide my shame.

After a trip to the sauna, we headed back to our room to get ready for dinner. I took the shower first, banishing him from the bathroom with a glass of champagne and the TV so I could get some privacy. I scrubbed hard, cleaning myself thoroughly even though I knew the reason why I felt so dirty couldn't be washed away...

I let him have the shower next. I was finishing up my make up when I heard the shower stop. I put my hair down, then clipped one side of it back.

I put on a slip dress right before Brandon emerged from the bathroom. He looked devastatingly handsome in a deep navy suit. It fit his body perfectly. I forgot how well he cleaned up in a suit. He had a plain, white t-shirt underneath versus a shirt and tie, but it fit his style. My heart lurched just looking at him.

"Damn, you look sexy." Brandon complimented me, grabbing my hand to give me a twirl. He let out a low whistle as I turned to face him.
"I'm a lucky man." He smiled.

"No, I'm the lucky one." I said, holding him close to me. I inhaled his scent. It was a combination of his body wash and Nautica cologne that made me feel like home. How could I ever let him leave my mind?... I fought back the tears that sprang in my eyes. When it was safe, I let him go.

"Let me put on my shoes and we'll go eat." I said, turning away to put on my heels.

When I had my heels on, we went to the steakhouse in the hotel. We were seated right away. When the waiter came, I immediately ordered red wine and Brandon followed suit. We toasted to each other and I drank the first glass quickly. I sipped on the second glass, feeling more at ease. The wine, plus the atmosphere: the candle light, the romantic music and all the happy couples, finally put me in the right mood.

I was on a date, with Brandon. His brown eyes gazing lovingly into mine were always easy to read. His smile brought nothing but happiness to my life. We had our ups in down, but at the end of the day, I knew he would do anything for me. He centered his life around me. What else could I possibly want?

"Can I sit next to you? You're too far away across the table." Brandon asked.

"You don't even have to ask." I told him. He scooted his chair closer to mine and we ordered dinner. We shared a spinach salad, crab cakes, jumbo fried shrimp and a New York strip.

It was easy to push everything else away. Regardless of anything, I loved him. I focused on that love for him. I fed him, kept constant body contact and kissed him often. It was different from the previous past 2 weeks. I wasn't doing it out of guilt, I did it cause I needed him to know how much I loved him.

We were kissing when the waiter returned, asking if we wanted dessert. I kissed Brandon lightly on the neck as the waiter ran down the dessert menu. I slid my hand over his groin as he listened.

"That sounds good. Can you send it up to our room?" Brandon replied, shortly, handing over his bank card to pay for dinner.

I pulled away. "It was my treat." I protested.

"I got it." Brandon said.

"Very good sir." The waiter said, before leaving us.

"What's gotten into you?" Brandon chuckled, grabbing my hand.

"Nothing yet." I said, nibbling on his ear.

The waiter returned with the check and bank card. Brandon signed for it before we left.

I pulled away from Brandon's embraced when we returned to the room.

"Where are you going?" He groaned.

"Be right back!" I said disappearing into the closet. I pulled out a Nike shoe box.

He laughed when I handed over the gift.

"You didn't." He exclaimed, opening up a pair of Air Jordan 4 “Columbia”. 

"I did. Happy Valentine's Day."

"I can't believe you got them." He said, shaking his head in shook.

He wanted a pair for Christmas. I just couldn't spend more than $200 on a pair of sneakers that people fought for. It was just dumb. I couldn't feed into that culture of trying to own a closet full of Jordan's instead of a home or car. Especially to fatten the wallet of a man who already had millions, but I broke my own rule to make Brandon's day special.

"Thank you Rocky." He said, putting the shoes down. He pulled me in his lap and gave me a kiss.

"You're welcome." I said.

The smile that was forming on my face disappeared when he pulled a small, jewelry box out of his coat pocket.

"Brandon-" I breathed, wiggling out his lap. The ease I had at dinner disappeared too. My heart was thumping out of my chest.

"Be honest if you like it or not." He said, opening the box to reveal little heart shaped earrings. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"They're beautiful." I smiled, taking the box from him. Truthfully, Valentine's Day would be the only time I would be caught in heart shaped earrings. I was so relieved it was just earrings though, I would wear them every day. "Thank you Brandon. I love them."

He looked me in the eye. "Were you expecting something else? Like a ring?..." He smiled

I blanched. "No Brandon!" I blurted out. When the smile faded from his lips, I continued. "I'm happy where we are at, aren't you?"

"Of course. People just assumed after hearing how long we've been together I would be buying a ring. I just wanted to make sure we were still on the same page." Brandon answered, still looking a little shocked.

"We are. No rush." I agreed, nodding enthusiastically.

We heard a knock on the door and Brandon went to open it. Brandon came back in the room, holding a big slice of strawberry cheesecake. He took a forkful after he sat down and fed me a piece.

"Good?" He questioned as I swallowed.

"I've had better. Try some." I replied, kissing him hungrily, sharing the sweet dessert with my lips.

We got undressed and laid back in the bed, sampling the cheesecake off of each other. After the last bite was eaten off my navel, Brandon lifted my hips from the bed and thrust into me. I loved the feel of his strong grip as he held my legs spread apart, his full, soft lips when he leaned forward to latch onto mine and finally the growl that escaped when he came inside me.

I moaned softly as I came too. It was the first time I came in two weeks. I had been faking it for just as long. I closed my eyes to hide my tears. This time, they were tears of relief and joy. I thought I would never have that again with Brandon. It felt incredible.

We ran a bath to clean up together. I leaned against Brandon's chest as we soaked in the hot water.

"I know there's no rush on anything Rocky. Before we weren't on the same page because I was worried about my job. I just wanted you to know I see my future now. With you." Brandon said against my ear.

I nodded, a tear falling from my eye. I made the mistake of letting my past lead me astray. The guilt eating away at me was making me question my feelings. I had to let go of both my past and guilt so I could be the woman Brandon deserved. That's all I needed to focus on: the future. My future was with Brandon. I was never going to let anything mess that up.

I turned to look Brandon in the eye. "I see that too. I love you Brandon. Always."

Cupid (Sammy's POV)

"Cupid doesn't lie
But you won't know unless you give it a try
Oh baby, true love won't lie 
but we won't know unless we give it a try
give it a try" Cupid by 112

"Are you doing the girl thing?" Corey asked me as he got dressed to go to work Friday afternoon. I admired his tattoos before he covered them up in his slim black pants and blue polo: his work uniform as a pharmacy tech.

"What girl thing?" I asked, looking at the clock. I had enough time to get some rest before I had to meet Jeff at a party the Honey B's were bartending.

"Saying you don't want to do anything for Valentine's, when you secretly do." He said, pushing his feet in his beat up Vans.

I rolled my eyes. "Valentine's Day is stupid. Just an excuse to sell overpriced, meaningless shit to prove you love someone."

"You don't like any of that overpriced, meaningless shit?" Corey raised an eyebrow at me.

"Hell yes! Assorted chocolates. I get it on side chick day- the day after Valentine's when it's cheap!" I smirked, kneeling on the bed to give him a goodbye kiss.

"You know you're my main chick." Corey said, putting his arms around my hips.

I bit my lip to hold back my smile.  I knew I was his only chick. He made that clear to me before we had sex: There would be no one else. The first time was on Thanksgiving. Not a sexy holiday: we spent Thanksgiving together with his friends and it was so nice.

Nice was something I wasn't used to. My mom and dad married young because they got pregnant with me. It was clear they stuck together out of obligation, not love. They never fought or argued. What could they argue about when they hardly spoke? They coexist to keep up the appearance of a happy home. It was depressing to say the least. I always wondered what changed so drastically so that two people that loved each other enough to get knocked up now no longer wanted to be in the same room as each other.

The holidays was the only time we actually spent time together. On holidays, I had to pretend like we were a happy family. On the outside, we were a regular, loving family. It was fucking disgusting, but I kept up appearances.

Corey understood that. He was an only child whose parents should have divorced too. Instead, they fought viciously about everything leaving Corey to be the referee or the pawn in their battles. Then, they called truce and the whole cycle started all over again. Corey had to pretend that he wasn't living in a war zone. He coped with drugs, alcohol and music.

On Thanksgiving, we both blew off our fucked up families in favor of friends at Jordan's and Derek's apartment. The only pretending I had to do was fake like I made an apple pie, which technically, I did. It was the frozen kind, but I had to bake it!

Everything was so normal. It made me realize I could have that with Corey. As soon as we got back to my apartment, I pounced on him. He stopped us though, saying that sex would change things and he wanted to make sure I knew what that meant. I wasn't sure, sex was just sex, but I convinced him I was. By New Year's, I knew I wanted more than sex. I wanted to be in a relationship with him, so we made it official.

"Fuck Valentine's Day. Besides, your main chick has to work." I said, putting a cheerleader preppy fake smile on my face as I placed my hands on his shoulders.

He eyed me suspiciously and I kissed him hard on the lips. I swirled my tongue in his mouth, seducing him. When he grabbed my ass, I pushed him away.

"Bye!" I said, flopping on the bed, burying myself under the covers. I smiled as he pulled on a hoodie.

I was sure that he was wondering whether I really had to work or not. Truth is, I didn't have to. I planned to check in on my new girls at their event so I wouldn't have to deal with the bullshit that was Valentine's Day.

I watched Corey as he left. Covered up, his piercings and tattoos hidden, he looked completely non-descriptive. A skill we both mastered growing up: the ability to adapt and blend in like a chameleon. I just camouflaged my hatred of Valentine's Day with a disguise of hard-working girlfriend.

The only difference was Corey revealed his true self to me. I was one of the lucky few he was openly honest with. Not sure why me, but I appreciated it, even if I wasn't going to do the same for him.

After resting, aka playing on Facebook, I got dressed to meet up with Jeff at a convention building in Irving. We were hosting a Valentine's themed birthday party for a big lawyer in the DFW area. He was one of those lame, ambulance chaser guys whose commercials played constantly on the radio, but he had money, and connections. So on top of providing kiss ass service, Jeff and I needed to network.

"Samantha, you look nice." Jeff said.

I held back the urge to roll my eyes. His compliments were a double edged sword. It was his way of putting me in my place: as eye candy only.

Technically, we had the same title, but because he was a man and most likely did not sleep with the boss, he considered himself above me. I worked hard bringing in new business and finding new girls to keep him in his place: the same fucking level as me.

"Thanks." I said, straightening out the collar of my red sheer blouse. It fell conservatively over my black leggings, looking both festive but professional. "I'm going to check on the girls."

After making sure the bars were set up properly and spending a little extra time with Rose, our newest Honey B, I joined Jeff who was schmoozing with the man of the hour. Even with a wedding ring on his finger, he had no problem making a pass at me.

I turned on the charm, making sure I gave him my business card with my 2nd phone number, assuring him it was my personal line. I made the rounds before leaving.

I took a long, hot shower when I got home. I really did mean what I said earlier to Corey: Fuck Valentine's Day. Tonight just confirmed my convictions that Valentine's Day was a bullshit holiday. Even a holiday dedicated to love wasn't enough to keep a married man from trying to get pussy on the side. Nothing lasts forever. I knew love was not an exception. Why have a holiday dedicated to it?

Saturday, I woke up and sent a thank you e-mail to the lawyer we hosted for the night before. I called Rose next to see how her first night went. She told me it went fine and the other girls were helpful. I told her to give me a call if she needed anything.

I was trolling Facebook for potential new girls when Corey called.

"Want some company?" He asked.

"Sure, I can hang out. I still have to work tonight." I warned him.

"Gotcha."

30 minutes later, there was a knock on my door. I went to great lengths to show I didn't care about the stupid holiday with my appearance. I didn't even put on make-up or brush out my hair. I wore a loose, orange cotton dress and purple fuzzy socks. I was dead serious about not leaving or celebrating.

Corey was standing at the door wearing a white t-shirt and black cargo pants. He obviously had the same plans of just chilling with me. The only thing that peaked my interest was a backpack he had slung on his back.

"What's in the bag?" I asked, nosily.

"Don't worry about that." He moved past me, straight to the living room.

I followed him and watched as he pulled out a red, flannel blanket. He spread it out on the floor, smoothing it out between the couch and the TV.

I smirked as he sprinkled a bag of rose petals on the blanket. He then grabbed a few cushions from the couch and put them on the blanket. He pulled out heart shaped candles and lit them, setting them on the entertainment center.

Lastly, he pulled out an arrangement of foods: Taquitos, Doritos, popcorn chicken and apple soda. All my favorites. After he poured the soda in red and pink heart covered glasses, he patted the cushion next to him.

"Come sit." He said.

"I told you I didn't want to do anything for today." I crossed my arms.

"You're not. We're eating. Gotta eat before you work right?" He said.

"What's up with the hearts and decorations and shit?"

"$5 dollars at the 99 cents store. No overpriced meaningless shit. Now come eat."

I couldn't argue with that. Sneaky bastard. I joined him on the pallet on the floor. I was eating and telling him about the scummy lawyer at the party when Corey pulled out a big ass  box of Lindt chocolates.

"That was not at the 99 cent store!!!" I pointed out.

"Nope, but it's all yours if you tell me why you wanna work so badly tonight." Corey bargained.

"You don't believe I have to work?" I narrowed my eyes at him, daring him to contradict me.

I didn't necessarily blame him if he thought I was lying. I burnt that bridge when I lied to him before about working, but he told me he trusted me, so he should. I would rather discuss that than my disdain for the Valentine's.

"I believe you want to work. I want to know why." Corey stated, laying back casually, watching me.

Fuck! If there was one thing that bugged me about Corey it was his ability to read me. When I first met him, he let me do all the talking. It gave me a false sense of security that I had him wrapped around my finger like most guys wanting to get laid. That couldn't be further from the truth: he actually listened and observed me. Even when I tried to hide my true feelings, he saw through me now.

"I don't know. I just never got into Valentine's Day." I said, taking a long sip of my soda.

"Why not?" He asked.

"Girls like me didn't get asked out for Valentine's." I confessed.

Booty calls, yes. Fuck buddies, absolutely. Romantic dates for Valentine's Day? Not a chance in hell. Sluts weren't good Valentine's date. I got branded with the title slut the summer before my freshman year in high school.

Truthfully, I only slept with one guy. He just happened to be the boyfriend of one of the popular girls at school. I didn't know that at the time, but of course I was the slut while he was the innocent victim. She and her friends made my freshman year a living hell. I was so embarrassed and ashamed when the rumors about my 'slutty' behavior got around the school.

They eventually got to my mom as well.

My mom just put me on birth control. She didn't even ask me if the rumors were true. After that, I was completely done with my family. My dad stayed too buried in work to be bothered with me and my mom's only concerned was that I didn't come home pregnant and ruin the facade of her perfect family.

I did any and every thing just to stay out of my house and away from my parents. That included fucking the boyfriends of the girls that tortured me. I figured they already labeled me as one, I might as well embrace the role of slut.

It was easier to be a slut than an outcast. At least I made friends with the other 'bad girls'. We never got asked out. We would compete to see who could conquer the cutest guy or what we could get guys to do for us. I didn't wait for guys to choose me. I sought them out.

"What do you mean girls like you? Hot? 'Cause those girls get asked out first." Corey smiled.

"Sluts. We're fun to fuck, but not to date. I barely got a thank you, much less a box of Chocolate." I admitted, smiling wryly at him.

"Why would you call yourself a slut?" Corey questioned, sitting up and opening the chocolates.

"Because I am. I don't even remember half the guys I slept with." I told him honestly.

"All that shit is in the past." Corey said, offering me a chocolate.

I looked away from him. "I doesn't change who I am or what I've done."

"Do you think I'm an addict?"

I shook my head no. "No, you haven't drank or done drugs in years. I know you're not an addict."

"How is that any different from what you did? If you don't hold it against me, why do you hold it against yourself?" Corey asked.

I was stumped. I didn't have a good answer so I just sat there.

He pressed a chocolate to my lips. I parted my lips and he placed it in my mouth. I chewed the milk chocolate truffle and sighed happily.

"I did good?" Corey smiled.

"You did alright. Kinda cheesy." I grinned.

"You know you love it." Corey replied.

I laughed. "No, I love you, there's a difference." I argued, before I realized what I said. I tried to stay relaxed as blood rushed to my cheeks.

Corey just smirked and grabbed another piece of chocolate. He pulled it away from my lips when I tried to eat it.

"Call in." He said.

"Why?"

"'Cause I want to prove to you how much I love you with cheap Valentine's Day shit." He teased.

I smiled. "Be right back."

He gave me the chocolate and I went into my bedroom and sent a quick group text to the girls working the party to call me if they needed anything.

I looked myself over in the mirror before deciding against dressing up. There was really no need for it. Apparently, Corey loved what he saw.

I was going to give it a try.

Cupid (Lily's POV)

***Hey everyone! Since I had requests for Sammy & Corey and Rocky & Brandon relationship post, this week is dedicated to Valentine's Day. The post will be their dates. We'll start with Lily & Trevor's.


"You're the perfect part of me 
You're the oxygen I breathe 
You're a superstar 
A work of art 
It's electricity 
You're a yes in a world of no's 
You're the Beatles to my Stones 
It's a sweet romance 
A spotlight dance 
Girl you shake me to my bones
But every now and then 
I'll start to slip away 
I gotta' hear you say 
Take me out spin me around 
We can laugh when we both fall down 
Let's get stupid dancing with cupid tonight 
When I sing out of key 
Still play air guitar for me 
Let's get stupid dancing with cupid tonight 
Don't feel all kind of right" Cupid by Daniel Powter 


I woke up before Trevor, late Saturday morning, and rushed down the stairs to get breakfast ready for him. I had no idea what we were doing for Valentine's, but I knew at the very least we would be spending the weekend together. I wanted to make every moment of our first Valentine's Day special. I was planning to start with breakfast in bed.

I called IHOP on my way to the grocery store. I ordered stuffed strawberry French toast breakfast for the both of us. They told me it would be 30 minutes, so I spent that time at the grocery store buying orange juice, champagne, and candy. I then went to IHOP and picked up our breakfast.

When I came back home, Justine greeted me at the door. I heard Trevor in the kitchen.

"No! Get back in bed! Now Trevor!!!" I hollered at him.

"Alright, alright. Geez, Happy Valentine's to you too!" He replied.  I didn't go into the kitchen until I heard him go up the stairs.

I entered the kitchen and saw a beautiful arrangement of a bouquet of fruit. I took a picture of it before a sampled a piece of pineapple. It was sweet and cold.

I set up our plates and made mimosas. I grabbed a TV tray and headed to my room. When I got there, Trevor was up, playing on his phone.

"No! You lay down and sleep!" I said, giving him a mock glare.

He chuckled and laid back down. When his eyes were closed, I put the TV tray down. I left to grab the plates. I peeked into the room when I returned with the food, making sure Trevor was still 'sleeping'. I made one final trip down the stairs to get the drinks. I also gave Justine fresh water and food.

 This time when I went back into my room, Trevor was fake snoring. I grinned and put the drinks down. I went into the bathroom and slipped on a red nightie I planned to wear that evening.

I then returned to the bed and slipped under the covers. Trevor's fake snoring stopped. In fact, all movement stopped from him as I repositioned myself in bed. I felt his hard on, so I knew he had been watching me. I decided to test his resolve and just laid there, watching him. One of his eyes peeked open and I grinned at him.

"You can't even fake sleep right."

"Huh?....uhhh..." he groaned, stretching and yawning as he pretended like he just woke up.  "What was that, darling? I just woke up."

I leaned over and kissed him on the mouth.

"Keep your day job baby, acting is not for you." I smiled. "Happy Valentine's Day! Thank you for the bouquet. It's delicious."

"You're welcome." He kissed me back. He rolled over me and ran his hands over my nightie.

"Breakfast first, then you get your present." I said softly. I ran my fingers through his hair, gripping lightly to pull his lips away. He pulled back but moved his hands under my gown.

"How bout my present for breakfast?" he countered, lightly stroking my inner thighs.

I shuddered involuntarily. "I'm not your present." I moaned as he pulled off my panties.

He grinned as he positioned himself between my legs. I gasped as he pushed himself all the way inside of me.

"Yeah, you are." He murmured, cupping my breast and playing with the little bow on my gown. "The best present ever." He breathed against my ear as he thrust inside of me.

Afterwards, we finally got around to breakfast. We lounged in bed, eating and talking.

"So how did the meeting go?" I asked him.

"It went well. Kenji is just like I expected." Trevor said, sipping his drink.

"What did he say about the site?"

"Nothing really. Everything is still up in the air." Trevor shrugged.

He was being so vague, I felt like I was keeping something from me...

"What's his plan?-" I pressed.

"I'm not sure about his plan, but I plan to enjoy the next few days with you before I go back to work." Trevor said, kissing my nose.

I grinned. "Do we have plans today? Because we don't have to do anything. We can stay right here, watch movies, order in and you can open your real present!"

"Of course we have plans. I want to see you in that dress. It's not until later, so we can do both." Trevor answered.

I smiled. "Ok. Be right back!"

I went downstairs to get his present. I got him a miniature crane game. I was going to buy him a candy dispenser since he said he wanted candy and whipped cream boobs at the Superbowl party, but I saw the game and figured he would love it. I filled it with Valentine's themed candy. I figured he could keep it at his cubicle at work so he would have something to cheer up his days.

I excitedly handed the present over when I returned back to bed. Trevor sat up and unwrapped it. A huge smile broke out on his face when he saw it.

"Where did you find this Lilypad?" He said, throwing the wrapping paper on the floor.

"Amazon. Do you like it?"

"I love it!" He chuckled. "I'm gonna take it to work."

I laughed. "That's what I was thinking."

We took turns trying to win candy from the machine. I won a Starburst and he won a Hershey's kiss. We traded our treats.

"Thank you. Second best gift I got all day." He said, setting it on the TV tray.

He then got his jeans from the floor and pulled out a little box.

He handed it over. "This is your first gift. All your gifts are clues to a bigger surprise." He told me as I opened the box.

"I thought the fruit was my gift!"

"No, flowers are a requirement. I just know you'd rather have edible ones. Open it!" Trevor beamed.

I did to reveal a pretty little sun charm.

I smiled. "It's beautiful." I said, holding out my wrist where the charm bracelet he gave me permanently stayed.

"Clue number one." He said, placing the charm on my bracelet.

"The surprise is you, because you're my sunshine." I said, kissing him on the lips.

"Yes, but no." Trevor laughed.

We hung out and watched movies together. I chose to watch SlumDog Millionaire.

"How many times are you gonna watch that movie?" Trevor asked when it was over. We took a break to go downstairs and order pizza.

"That movie has everything. Action, drama, comedy, love and a dance sequence. It's perfection!" I informed him.

"It's alright." He said, snacking on some fruit.

"A relationship that started as friendship and grew to something more. They were able to overcome all obstacles because they were destined to be together." I gave him a pointed look. "That's better than alright!"

"Fine. It's perfect." Trevor conceded.

When the pizza arrived, we ate. Afterwards, I threw on some pants and took Justine outside. We came back in and I went back into the kitchen to wash my hands.

"Trevor?!?" I said, loudly.

"In the den!" Trevor responded.

I joined him. He handed a microphone to me.

"Gift number two." He smiled, stepping aside to reveal a karaoke machine.

I giggled. "This is awesome! How do you get songs on it?" I asked.

"I downloaded an app on your IPhone since you don't use it for anything else, but you can dock your phone on it and play YouTube Karaoke videos." Trevor explained.

"Perfect! I know the first song I want to sing." I grinned, pushing him to sit on the couch as I searched YouTube for the song

"The mic is special too. It has an auto-tune feature."

"Don't need it!" I smiled, connecting my phone.

The Pussycat Dolls remake of "Jai Ho!" streamed perfectly from the machine. I didn't need the lyrics, I knew all the words. I gave Trevor a sexy little dance as I sang. I put my hand in the air and did a body shimmy, doing my best impersonation of a belly dancer.

Trevor didn't even let me finish the song before he bent me over the couch for round two.

We retired to my room for a nap. Trevor set his alarm and we cuddled together before falling asleep.

The alarm went off way too soon.

"No..." I pleaded as he got up.

"Yes, come on. I have dinner reservations." Trevor said.

"Cancel them."

"Nope. It's the last clue. Have any ideas?" He asked.

"Karaoke and the sun? I don't." I mumbled, rubbing my eyes.

"The last clue will help. C'mon. The reservations are for 8pm."

I looked at my phone. "An hour? Really?" I said, hopping out the bed.

"I told you to get up."

I took a quick shower, left my hair down in waves and applied minimal makeup. I put on the sweater dress I bought at the mall and my nude booties. I joined Trevor downstairs. He looked so sexy in a white button down and black jeans. I kissed him on the lips before we headed out.

"So think where they both come from." Trevor gave me a hint to the clues as we drove.

"Space? Hot gas?" I guessed, thinking of the sun. "What does that have to do with karaoke? Flames?... Hell! Because the creator of karaoke wanted to destroy classic songs?" I joked

"No, you're thinking too much." Trevor laughed. "More like where they originate from."

I was still thinking it over when we pulled up to a restaurant. It was called "Blue Fish". Now I was really confused.

"A seafood restaurant?" I asked as we got out the car.

"It's a hibachi and sushi restaurant."

It finally clicked. "Japan!" I exclaimed. "The sun rises in the east, karaoke started there, Japanese cuisine! It's Japan!!! You're surprise has something to do with Japan!!!"

Trevor was nodding at me, grinning.

Then my heart dropped. Kenji, the vagueness of his answers, the website...

No...

"Lilypad, what's wrong?" Trevor said, the smile fading from his face. He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me close to him.

"Don't tell me you're moving to Japan. Not like it's a stupid game..." I pleaded, miserably.

"Lily, no." Trevor said, looking me straight in the eye. "I would never make a decision like that without talking to you. Why would you think that?"

"Because you hate your job and you won't tell me what's going on with the site." I listed.

"It's just a job. I love you. You're more important to me than a job." Trevor said.

I nodded absentmindedly. He kissed me on the lips.

"Let's go inside and I'll explain everything."

I nodded and we held hands as we headed inside.

Trevor told the hostess we had reservations and she led us to our seats in the hibachi dining room. She took our drinks orders as well. I ordered a speciality cocktail and Trevor got a beer. I didn't even look at the menu. I looked at Trevor.

"I really don't know what's going to happen to the site. There is a buyer interested. His company is out of Austin. Cat let him take a look after the soft opening. Cat's intentions are to bring Kenji and the website to Austin." Trevor explained. "That's really what Kenji wanted to talk to me about: putting down in writing my percentage of ownership in the website if he decides to sell."

"A contract?" I gasped.

"Yeah, a contract." Trevor grinned. "Nothing is official, but if the offer is good enough, Kenji doesn't see his partners or himself turning it down."

"Is it good enough?" I asked after the waitress brought our drinks.

"I don't know that. Everyone has to sit down together to hear what they are offering. That's not going happen anytime soon with Kenji's book release date in Japan in March. That's why the company that wants to buy the site is offering an all expense paid trip to Japan to set a meeting."

I gasped. "You're going to Japan?!?!"

"We're going if you join me." He smiled.

"Ohmigod!!! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!" I squealed excitedly hugging him tightly as he laughed.

"Are you two engaged?" The waitress asked us with a smile.

"No! We're going to Japan!" I blurted, excitedly.

The rest of the night, we enjoyed dinner and the show. When the chef heard we were planning a trip to Japan, he gave us a quick Japanese lesson. He also teased Trevor mercilessly on his accent and refusal to try more exotic food. Trevor stuck with chicken teriyaki and left me to eat a dragon roll and a sashimi sampler by myself. The chef put on a wonderful show, expertly wielding his tools and controlling the flames.

The chef wished us all a Happy Valentine's Day and Trevor and me a happy trip after cleaning the station. We ordered a shot of peach sake and tempura ice cream after our meal.

"To our future, whatever it may be, together." Trevor said simply, raising his glass to mine.

"Together." I repeated, smiling, clinking my glass with his.

We ate our dessert and then headed home. It was the perfect Valentine's Day. I had no idea how I could top Japan, but next year's Valentine's Day, I knew I was going to try!