19

“I don’t mind,” Ann smiles coquettishly, shooting me playful glances. “Just not too early. I’ll be coming off my shift.”

“What about around one? I know it’s the hottest part of the day, but I have incredibly dense giant umbrellas!” I persuade the brunette, and she laughs.

“Like the ones at the summer kiosks?”

“If those attract you that much, I can get ones exactly like that,” I say completely seriously, which makes the girl laugh even more.

And I just stare. That laugh, those dimples in her cheeks, those burning eyes. Unable to resist, I lean down and touch my lips to hers.

I’m not kissing her, not exactly. I’m caressing her lips with mine, barely brushing them. Ann begins breathing heavily and closes her eyes, allowing it, enjoying the sudden tenderness. Soon the caress turns into a real kiss, and damn it’s hard for me to pull away! Though judging by the look on her face, I’d bet it wasn’t any easier for her.

“See you tomorrow, Nazar,” the beauty whispers against my lips without looking into my eyes.

“See you…”

Ann disappears behind the door of her building, while I’m still standing there, savoring the aftertaste of the evening. God, the way she gets to me!

Did I really fall in love like some kid?! But the smile won’t leave my face, and neither will my hard-on calm down. And it all feels so damn unusual!

And we walked so much today! I didn’t even notice it with all our talking. Besides, she herself suggested walking.

I call a taxi since it’s quite a walk to my apartment and I hear my phone ring.

“Hey, Shade!” comes the already tipsy voice of my buddy Alex. “What’s up? How are you?”

“Fine,” I snort, getting into the taxi that just arrived. “Sounds like you’re already having fun.”

“Well of course!” Alex laughs. “But it’s kind of boring here without you! I found such a club! And the girls here are absolute fire!”

“I’m not interested,” I surprise even myself, because the words fly out before I even think about them.

“No way?! Are you sick or something?!” my friend nearly chokes.

“No,” I start making excuses. “My brother left his kids with me, so I can’t.”

“Ugh! Kids,” Alex stretches the word with disgust as if someone shoved a jar of shit under his nose. “My condolences. There’s this one Karina here… wait, no?” I hear him asking someone nearby. “Katerina! Oh! She really wants to meet you.”

“I told you, I can’t,” his drunken nonsense is starting to irritate me.

Alex isn’t a bad guy, but he’s very… well, like I was about ten years ago. He’s younger, cockier, and you can have a hell of a good time with him, which sometimes I miss.

Of course I love my brothers, but they’re annoyingly family-oriented and can’t take part in the kind of things Alex and I used to do.

Well… used to. Because after meeting Ann, I suddenly lost the desire to wander around random places.

“Your loss!” my friend sighs mockingly. “Though! Guess I’ll have to comfort this Karina-Katerina too,” the guy laughs and hangs up.

Before I even get out of the taxi, the thought knocks in my head that maybe I should still go to Alex and let that Katerina help me deal with the fire in my pants. But then I remember Ann’s burning brown eyes and her ringing laughter, and the thought disappears on its own.

No. Home. Shower. And jerking off.