Five

"Jas, you're scaring me. What's wrong?" Bethany said as she drew closer to her.

"I could feel his pain, Beth," she responded and the fear in her made her voice come out as a whisper.

"What pain are you talking about?" Jasmine ignored Bethany's question and slowly turned her head to the white sofa she was sure that would be Alex's favorite chair if he ever met Bethany and gotten into her house. Slowly, her mind drifted from focusing on the chair to wondering about why in her dream, she constantly saw Alex and Liam as close friends and also saw and felt Alex going through so much pain.

"Jas!" Bethany screamed when she got no response from Jasmine.

Turning her face swiftly toward Beth, Jasmine said with a smile. "Let's go back to bed. It was probably nothing."

Bethany squared her eyes as she looked at her friend. "It doesn't look that way to me."

"Look, Beth, I just had a bad dream and I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay," Bethany said as she let go of the topic and turned to her sides to turn off the lights. Jasmine slowly placed her head on her fluffy pillow and tried to focus her thought on anything apart from Alex or Liam.

*****

The drive back home was full of torture for Liam. He wanted more than anything to be with Jasmine. Her smiles were captivating and he felt his insides become hot with a hunger for her. She was such a beauty to behold. He widened his eyes and tried desperately to focus on the cars ahead. The sound of traffic didn't help him get rid of his thoughts of Jasmine.

He swerved into his parking position and brought his car engine to rest for the day. Looking over his passenger seat to ensure that he hadn't forgotten a thing, he imagined Jasmine sitting there and smiling at him. His face moved into an involuntary smile as he stared at his imagination of her. When he realized what he was doing, fear washed over him. He quickly closed his eyes and shook his head. Once he opened them back up, the image was gone and he heaved a sigh of relief.

He got out of the car, locked it and walked into his apartment. He decided that some exercise would help greatly in getting rid of his thoughts of Jasmine.

He was wrong.

Every step he took reminded him of the gorgeous lady he had set eyes on. His heart couldn't begin to fathom how beautiful she was, the way she walked and the soft sound of her voice when she spoke lit a fire in him that he didn't dare to quench.

Liam realized that taking the stairs was pointless. He was tired from a hectic day at work and he wanted what he could not have. At least not yet. Getting to the second floor of the building, he walked toward the elevator and in a matter of seconds, he was staring at his dimly lit penthouse apartment.

In the darkness, he walked to the mini-bar and poured himself a bottle of martini. He gulped it down at once, allowing the alcohol to dry out his mouth and throat.

He sat on the bar chair he had gotten and remembered the circumstances that led to him meeting Jasmine. Taking out his phone, he placed a call to Alexander.

"Alex." His voice sounded hoarse, and he blamed it on the alcohol.

"Liam, what's up?" Liam could sense the urgency in his voice and wasted no time in giving him the information he desired.

"I went there today man, but unfortunately, I found no one there."

"What?" Alex's voice came as a whisper. He had placed all his hopes on getting good news from Liam and when he didn't, his heart sank. Thoughts of where Ivy could be clouded his mind and he could feel his temper surfacing.

"Yeah, man. There was no one there."

"Okay, Liam. Could you check again tomorrow? Please?"

Liam hesitated for a moment as he allowed his head to run through what he had been asked to do, and for the love he had for his cousin, he decided that it won't be much trouble to check again.

"Okay, fine. I'll check again."

"Oh, thank God." Liam could hear Alex heave a sigh of relief. He was tempted to ask who the lady was to Alex, but decided to not give in to his temptations. "When you get there tomorrow and still don’t find her, please ask her neighbors about her... Just ask around, okay?"

"I will man," Liam said as he poured himself another drink. The first one hadn't completely helped him get rid of his longing need for Jasmine, and he hoped the second one would.

"Are you okay man? You sound a bit off," Alex asked with concern in his voice.

"I am. I'm just tired that's all," he said as he stared into the glass of alcohol that he kept in front of him. Slowly, he took his index finger and stroked the tip of the glass.

"Okay, so I'll speak with you tomorrow."

"That's cool. Goodnight cuz," Liam said and ended the call. Gulping down the drink, he hissed as it made its way from his mouth to his throat and finally landed in his stomach. And still, he couldn't get Jasmine off his mind. He didn't realize how totally enamored by her beauty he really was till all he could do was think about it. He finally concluded that it was a waste of time and with that, he went straight to bed without taking a shower.

*****

Bethany was up early the next day to make a mouth-watering breakfast for her best friend who must have perceived the aroma of the food and rushed into the kitchen. Bethany was surprised to see that she was already dressed for work.

"Whoa, why are already dressed?"

"Because I'm running late. It's 7:24 a.m. and Liam will be here any minute."

"Wait, who is Liam?" Bethany asked as she accidentally dropped her spoon in the pot that contained their breakfast.

"I'll tell you all about it when I get back," she said as she picked up an apple and sunk her teeth into it.

"Well, at least have a bite of the delicious meal I prepared for you first," Bethany said as she placed a plate of hot and steaming macaroni and cheese on the table. She knew it was Jasmine's favorite breakfast and she wouldn't be able to reject it.

Jasmine looked at the food in front of her and started salivating. The sweet savoring aroma coming from the meal was too much for her to resist. "Okay, maybe just a bite," she said as she sat down and gulped down her breakfast. When she was done, she checked the time and noticed that she was two minutes late. She ran out of the door while screaming goodbye to Bethany who had gone to the bathroom to get ready for work.

Jasmine rushed down the stairs and when she got outside, she blushed at the sight before her. Liam was dressed sharply, with a well-ironed blue suit that looked tailored to only him which also brought out his eyes and a neatly combed hair, he looked like a model from Vogue Magazine and his stance made Jasmine blush harder. He had his legs crossed and his hands were tucked into his pocket. He looked up at Jasmine and smiled, showing off his well-dented pair of angel-white teeth.

Liam's heart raced as he finally set his eyes on the woman who had tortured him all night long without knowing it. She was dressed in a simple outfit and yet she still looked drop-dead gorgeous. The wind blew through her moon-shadowed black hair, revealing the golden neckpiece that she had on. Liam's eyes moved to her face and it was more beautiful than he had remembered. The body-fitted dress that she wore did little justice to her shapely figure and Liam knew it. He smiled when he caught her blushing just by staring at him.

Jasmine walked up to Liam who pulled her in for a slight hug.

"Good morning, Jasmine," Liam said as he looked into her dark eyes and his heart was filled with joy.

"Good morning Liam. How did you sleep?" As much as Jasmine wanted to, she couldn't tear her gaze away from his eyes.

"I slept very well. Are you set to go?" He asked with her still in his arms.

"Yeah," Jasmine said softly and allowed Liam to lead her to the passenger's seat. She watched in admiration as he moved back to the driver's seat.

"Can you give me the address to your workplace?" Liam asked as he turned on the engine of his car. Jasmine immediately took his phone and keyed in the address to his GPS. The rest of the drive was done in silence. Neither Jasmine nor Liam spoke to each other. They just sat down, enjoying each other's company and to Jasmine, it was the best experience ever.

She could finally enjoy all that nature had to offer. The grass seemed greener, the air felt softer, the birds sang joyfully and everything helped soothe her nerves. Her relaxed mind became threatened when she felt the car coming to a halt.

"Why are we stopping?" She asked.

Liam had decided to go check on this Ivy that his cousin kept asking of before heading to work. The street was, after all, just a few streets away from where he currently was.

"I want to go check on a someone down this road. Can we go together? After which, I’ll come drop you off at work." Jasmine looked at Liam and became puzzled. She still had a few minutes before she was expected to be at work and she would love nothing more than to spend more time with Liam. She stared into Liam's eyes and indecision washed over her.