|| Stefan||

It wasn't my pillow I was wrapped around like a pretzel. Bonnie. Her scent flooded my nose and I was wide awake. Alert. Too alert. Her head used my arm as a pillow, my dick was her cushion. I needed to piss like a horse and tame my morning breath before facing her. Dropping a kiss on the curve of her shoulder, I slid my arm out from beneath her and felt the blood rush to my fingertips. Shit, that's painful. Bonnie murmured but didn't wake up.

Getting out of bed, I was in my bathroom in two seconds, stripped. My cock sprang free, damn near violently engorged; the protruding veins along the shaft looked seconds from rupturing. Blue balls? Fuck that, blue penis was nothing to play with. I had never been so fucking hard before. Not even on the night I gave up my virginity. All from sleeping next to Bonnie?

I moved like I had rickets to the shower. I stood under the pelting water, one hand braced on the cold tile. Steam rose and I soaped my hand, fisted myself. Replays from last night hit me with broadband speed. Thoughts of Bonnie's twat, how it would feel cushioned on all sides of me, sucking me in and pushing me out determined the speed of my strokes. I envisioned the way her ass and tits would jiggle and bounce as I hit it from the back. Thought of her tweaking her nipples, her clit and her succulent juices running down her legs wetting the sheets. It was too much mental stimulation that spurts of cum shot out of my cock and splashed against the tile.

Breathing stucco, I braced an arm along the shower wall and to my horror…I was still painfully hard. Today was going to be a long day.

Bonnie was my absolute best friend and I wasn't going to fuck her, not casually anyways. I could separate my feelings from my dick when I needed to, but when I genuinely cared for someone getting to know them was sexier than the actual sex. Maybe I'm dated and old fashioned, but I wanted to know more about a person than make her come—in the beginning.

I knew Bonnie too well and therein laid the problem. I knew her breasts, nipples in particular, were the most sensitive part of her. She confided that to me during one of those lazy afternoons where you languished between boredom and horniness. I knew she didn't have a problem being kissed right after getting head, and cuddling afterwards was a non-negotiable must.

She knew things about me too. I wasn't turned off by sloppy blow jobs, the sloppier the better, teeth were okay but use 'em sparingly. I liked my nipples and balls to be played with simultaneously. And I wasn't adverse to pillow talk. Bonnie and I could be one in the same, which was peculiar because if I believed in astrology, our signs meant we clashed on every level that mattered. She's an Aquarius and I'm supposedly a Scorpio, and never the twain should we be compatible, but we were.

It was scary how much in tune we could be. I could look in Bonnie's eyes and know what she needed and she could peer in mine and do the same. It was the product of six years of friendship, and if I stuck my dick anywhere inside of her, could we be throwing that away for lust?

Stepping out of the shower, I quickly toweled off and went to work brushing my teeth. I thought about calling out to work but scratched the idea. I had a meeting with the head honcho and I couldn't miss it.

In my haste for freedom, I had forgotten to close my bedroom door. I couldn't exactly see inside of Bonnie's room, but the allure, the pull to climb back into bed and wake her up how I would a girlfriend was incredibly strong.

Staunching that need, I closed the door, dressed. By the time I emerged, coffee was brewing and the voices of Matt Lauer and Samantha Guthrie combated to make their points before a commercial break.

Barefoot and frumpy, my roommate stood near the stove cracking eggs into a bowl. I sidled next to her in which Bonnie did nothing more than peek at me.

I frowned.

"Good morning."

"Morning," she muttered tight-lipped.

Her mood wasn't hard to gauge. She was pissed. Or cranky. That wasn't unusual for Bonnie. Needless to say I expected a much different outcome after last night.

"Did I do something wrong?" I pushed a few unruly strands of hair behind her ear.

Bonnie finally looked up at me with a neutral expression. "I don't know. Did you?"

Ohmygod I hated when she did this. Throw my questions back at me in a passive aggressive manner. "Mad at me for abandoning you in bed?"

"Why do you think I'm mad, Stefan?" she seemed genuinely confused.

"Body language for one," I answered. "I had to shower. Am I not allowed to do that?"

"That's not the point."

"Then what is it?!"

"I guess," she sighed. "I guess I'm waiting for you to say last night was a mistake and that it'll never happen again."

"I thought we covered that last night," I dipped my head, peering at her intently. "Is that what you want me to say? You want me to regret it?"

Bonnie shrugged her tiny shoulders. "I know emotions change. For some the change is annually, weekly, or hourly. What you say at night might not be how you'll feel in the morning."

I folded my arms and leaned my weight into the countertop. "Don't you know me, Bon? I'm not finicky."

"I know that," Bonnie snapped her attention back to whipping up eggs.

"Have your feelings changed?"

"No."

Slinging an arm around her, I kissed her temple, lifted her chin and kissed her mouth. "Better?"

She finally cracked a smile. "Getting there. I was in my feelings."

I snorted, pinched her booty, and retrieved the juice from the fridge.

We sat down together to gorge on her eggs, toast, and bacon. While she was busy scrolling through her phone, I helped myself to seconds. And I wasn't talking about the food, but merely devouring every inch, crook, cranny and nuance of one of the world's most beautiful faces.

"I can see you staring at me like a perv," green eyes flicked to mine. "It's too early to make this weird."

"Apologies." I wasn't sorry.

"Yeah, right. Go to work or you'll be late."

Killing the last of my coffee I did as Bonnie suggested, but not without stealing another kiss. I guess some part of me should be concerned by how easy it was to show affection, or merely up the affection that had made us who we were.

"Dinner?" I asked walking backwards to dip inside my room and collect my work shit.

"I'll order!" Bonnie yelled from the kitchen.

I rejoined her once I had everything. "All right. I'll see you," I kissed her hand.

Her eyes followed me to the door where I paused. The look on her face imprinted in my brain. Bonnie had never stared at me like that and it shattered something inside of me but I couldn't name what it was.

Leaving home had never been so hard to do.


"I'm telling you the congressman will never go for that. He'll never go for total disclosure. Who wants to go on public record that one of their closest constituents has been investigated twice on corruption charges? If we pursue this I see us having to testify if the DOJ is sicced on us," prophesied the deputy editor Phaedra Lambert who for the last ten minutes tried to molest my ankle and calf with her foot.

Pulling my leg out of reach, I kept my focus strictly on the man seated right across from me at a table in a four-star restaurant in northeast.

So far my day had been shit, which meant it was a pretty average day. Interns who couldn't get along, graphics not working properly, everyone thinking they knew what was best yet offered no fresh perspective on how to keep print from becoming obsolete. Throw in having lunch with the last two people you wanted to break bread with, my day was fucking awesome.

"What if we frame it as nothing more than rumor and speculation? At least that way the story would be out and could gain traction," I argued it from another angle.

The Vice President, Larry Pepper leaned back in his chair, sighing in exasperation. "Then what would separate us, a respectable publication from a trashy tabloid only interested in covering what starlet 'accidentally' exposed her vagina on the red carpet?" Phaedra made a noise of disapproval. Larry ignored her. "No. We don't report on rumors and speculation but facts. I need a source willing to go on record, anonymously. I don't want any backlash on this either, but we wouldn't be journalists if we wanted simplicity. Get me something printable." Larry tapped his alma mater ring on the table twice, his signal the meeting was over.

"I'll bring it up in tomorrow's morning meeting. You're welcome to sit in," Phaedra offered as a nod of Larry's authority.

He was too busy checking the time on a watch that cost more than what I made in a year before taxes. Larry looked how you'd imagine a man with a lot of money who danced in circles that consisted of the president's chief of staff, congressmen, governors, and CEO's. Like an uncooked piece of chicken with gray hair, as Bonnie would say. For years he'd been trying to break into the bubble of the one percent of the one percent with no such luck. It was red and not blue blood that flowed through his veins. He could claim to be seven times removed from late President Truman, but we all knew better than to believe that lie.

"I wish I could but I have several meetings lined up," Larry finally spared Phaedra a glance, first making a pit stop at her tits before looking her directly in the eye. "I trust your judgement and know you'll carry out my specifications on this. I'll give you a call later this week to see how things are progressing."

Underneath the table I felt Phaedra's foot searching for my leg. I used that as an excuse to get to my feet as well. Larry shifted his focus to me, stretched out a hand. We shook. He showed the same courtesy to Phaedra then moseyed off.

Once he was gone, Phaedra arched her back, stretched her arms which pushed her generous tits out farther. If she was hoping I'd fall for that too obvious bait…well sometimes I loved to disappoint people.

"Join me for a cup of coffee," Phaedra practically purred.

"Can't," I scrolled through my phone and the numerous emails I had gotten since meeting Larry for lunch. "We need to get back to the office. There's too much that still needs to be done to get the magazine out by the deadline."

"Certainly you can carve out another fifteen minutes. With the holiday coming up…cheating a little won't hurt anything. Stay, Stefan."

I won't lie. Phaedra was hot. Brown-skinned, large onyx eyes, a beguiling beauty mark next to a pair of full lips. Far more intelligent than most of the people she took orders from. Phaedra was my boss. Dealing with her required an exercise in diplomacy. I had to rebuff her while seemingly leaving the door open for the possibility of a fuck in the future. Phaedra didn't have a reputation about being more accessible than a turnstile at the metro. But plenty knew she had a voracious appetite that made her tenacity to get her way in the journalism world something to marvel at.

Phaedra blinked owlishly beckoning me to sit my ass back in the chair since I was on her time and her dime—well she was using the company card. Regardless of that, we had jobs to do. Couldn't deviate no matter how tempting it would be to squeeze in a few minutes of pointless flirting that wouldn't change our status. Phaedra was aware I was seeing Amber and voiced her disapproval about it several times. Office romances rarely bloomed into anything long term.

That wouldn't be an issue for much longer.

Most guys in my shoes would probably relish having two women at his expense. One warming his bed, the other waiting her turn. I've never been about playing bullshit games, having my cake and eating it too. I wasn't about that choosing one and losing the other lifestyle; therefore, never making a choice. The choice had been made the first time I tasted Bonnie's mouth.

The thought of her made my fingers itch to pick up the phone, hear her voice see where it might take me. Six o'clock couldn't get here fast enough.

Just as soon as I opened my mouth I heard my name being called. Turning in the direction of the summons, I inhaled.

"Damon. What are you doing here?" How did I keep forgetting his ass lived in DC now?

Big brother weaved his way through the tables and stopped once he reached me and Phaedra. "Having lunch with a prospective client," he explained and acknowledged my boss who made it no secret she was appreciating what she was seeing. "Who's this?"

Phaedra rose to her feet, hand extended. I made the introductions, "Damon, I'd like you to meet my boss, Deputy Editor of the Politico Inquisitor, Phaedra Lambert. Phaedra this is my older brother, Damon."

"Nice to meet you," they spoke in chorus and shared a laugh.

"No, really it's nice to meet you, Phaedra," Damon turned on the charm, laid a kiss on her knuckles. "I see Stefan is a very lucky employee to have such a beautiful employer."

Phaedra melted at the praise. "Thank you. Would you care to join us? I was trying to convince your brother to have a cup of coffee with me."

Damon and I came up with this system, a secret language of sorts that entailed head knobs, pressed lips, and frowns. I was giving him a look that basically read: bail me out and I'll give you fifty bucks.

I wasn't sure if Damon would actually do me a solid and help me because he got off on watching me make an asshole out of myself. He turned to Phaedra who stared at him expectantly.

"Actually I need to steal him away for a few minutes…family business we need to talk about. Is that cool?"

Phaedra pouted, "I guess I can't really forbid Stefan from discussing family issues," she narrowed her eyes at me a bit. "But we still need to talk."

"Yeah, let's touch base at the close of business."

"Fine," Phaedra dismissed me, retook her seat, and flagged down our server.

Damon led me to another table that was thankfully out of Phaedra's line of sight. We sat down. My brother immediately ordered bourbon. I didn't order anything. I was full and my thirst quite quenched.

"Actually that wasn't just bullshit I said to get you away from your boss' pussy," Damon grumbled, played with the rolled silverware on the table. "I got a call from mom. Seems you broke Enzo's nose."

I hitched an eyebrow and shrugged. "He deserved it. On account of what he did to the both of us he's lucky that's all I did. You think I overreacted?"

Damon pinned me with a look, "You're talking to someone who flattened tires for being stood up. A broken nose is the least he could have walked away with. He gets our mother," he sneered, "and access to our family's wealth, and yet she wants to rage in my ear for twenty minutes thinking I put you up to the whole thing. So I politely reminded our dear mother of Enzo's checkered past. She didn't like that," Damon smiled broadly.

Enzo and Damon met their freshman year in high school, and quickly became close. Close enough that Damon confided certain secrets and truths despite my numerous warnings to Damon not to trust Enzo. He thought I was being overprotective and paranoid, but my gut was seldom wrong when it came to pointing out rats. Enzo had come off to me as being too needy for friendship. And though he said over and over how loyal he was—proved it a few times—I never escaped feeling that his "loyalty" was more so driven by envy. Essentially he wanted everything my brother had.

As with most of my brother's friendships, things turned tumultuous and Enzo accidentally on purpose told Giuseppe about Damon's secret relationship with a councilmen's son.

I thought my dad was going to make me into an only child that night.

Enzo tried to use me to make amends, but naturally I told him to fuck off. Eventually the dick would connive his way into Damon's good graces. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice—you're dead.

"Is this what you wanted to talk to me about? Your argument with mom about her slutty fiancé?" my jaw ticked.

"No, got thrown off track," he cleared his throat. "A friend of mine is putting together this fashion show and she's down a model. Interested?"

I stared at Damon drolly. "Hell. No."

"Oh, come on, Stefan. Why not?"

"What the hell do I look like? I'm not a model."

"Sure you're a bit on the average height side…"

"You are one to talk. I'm two inches taller than you."

Damon dismissed that with a wave of his hand. "You have a slim build which is exactly what Penelope is looking for."

"I said no, Damon. I'm not strutting around in a cheetah print Speedo and baby oil."

He snickered. "The gig is paying a thousand bucks."

A needle scratched over a record. I was down on spare change and couldn't dip anymore into my savings than I already had. The extra thousand would come in handy since my plans for Memorial Day weekend were to hit up the beach. It's not a vacation if you're flat broke and no one else is footing the bill.

Still, I couldn't roll over on this. I hated being the center of attention, having people gawk at me. "Why don't you do it? You're moderately attractive."

"That is a lie. I'm devastatingly sexy as fuck and you know it. But I'm already helping out behind the scenes. I can't be in the show."

"Who the hell is Penelope anyways?" It never ceased to amaze me how quickly my brother moved. He had barely been in DC for a month and already had amassed friends who threw fashion shows, and who knew what the hell else.

Damon crunched an ice cube between his teeth. "I met her in New York a couple of years ago. We've kept in touch. She's cool, Stefan, you'd like her. She's not just into fashion, but music, theater and shit."

That was telling me oh so much. I scratched at the growing whiskers around my jaw. "When do you need an answer by?"

"Right now would be good. The show is tomorrow night."

"And you're just now asking me?!"

"Will you calm down? Did you miss the part where I said a model had to drop out? It was short notice which makes everything else short notice. Are you in or not?" he penned with me with a glare. "Look at it this way…you'll have made yourself a thousand bucks for three, four hours of work, tops. You won't have to mingle with anyone and you can leave right after. Does that sweeten the deal any?"

No, not really. I thought about the work I had to do, the articles that needed placement within the upcoming issues, graphics and images that could help increase sales, sources that needed follow up, invoices that needed to be approved and paid. Somewhere in all of that came the look that took over Bonnie's face as she eyed my dick and the way it twitched in response.

I slapped my hands on the table. "Fine, sign me up."

Smiling victoriously because he got his way, Damon whipped out his phone, "Awesome. You'll have to head to her studio for a fitting."

"Well," I grumbled messing around with the silverware, "that's going to have to wait until I get off from work."

"That's fine. Penelope and friends are going to be burning the midnight oil anyways," Damon tucked his phone away after I'm assuming letting his fashion designer friend know I was in. "How are things at the homestead?"

"Kosher."

"I'll bet."

I sure as hell wasn't going to tell Damon about the turn things had taken with me and Bonnie.

"Stefan?"

Shit, I had forgotten about Phaedra being here. I said to her once she came into view, "I'm coming," to Damon, "I'll see you tonight, I guess."

"Work hard, play hard, Stefan."


Night had fallen though the sun refused to set. The day had come to an end but there was still one matter left I needed to take care of.

Growing up I used to do the easiest assignments first before tackling the ones that had me pulling out my hair and contemplating jumping out of a window. It was a stall tactic I hadn't grown out of and it was one I was going to apply once more.

I called Amber into my office.

This probably wasn't the best place to do this, but I didn't have time to head to her apartment to end things. A bar was never far in DC, but again there simply wasn't enough time to sit and shoot the shit before I took an I.E.D. to her future dreams of matrimony between the two of us. If I wanted to be poetic, things started in our place of business so hey, why not end it here.

I hope she didn't slap my ass with a lawsuit.

A light tap sounded and I bellowed for Amber to come inside. She did with that usual radiant smile that made you smile. The scent of her perfume immediately dominated every square foot of space in my office, which let me know she had freshened up before coming to see me.

"Hey," Amber rounded my desk and came to stand beside me at the window.

"Hey."

Amber really was beautiful. She didn't remind me of any particular Hollywood actress, but her attributes were so common you could see someone like her a hundred times a day. A dime a dozen.

"I'm sorry to do this here… but there's no easy way for me to say this…I can't see you anymore, Amber."

The smile on her face caved like a sinkhole. "What?"

"You're a lovely person…any guy would be lucky to have you…"

Amber lifted a hand effectively cutting off my speech. "Are you seriously breaking up with me in your office right now? Stefan, what the hell? Where is this coming from all of a sudden? I thought things were great between us. I mean, that's what you led me to believe. Are you seeing someone else?"

Technically, yes and no. I saw Bonnie every day because I lived with her, but it wasn't until last night my curiosity had grown. See if she and I could be something more than friends. I, of course, was going to say none of that to Amber.

My throat grew dry. "I'm sorry if I led you to think you and I could have something. When this started I never made any promises."

Amber scoffed and rolled her blue eyes. "No, we weren't pre-contracted," gotta love that ancient European sarcasm. "Yet you never said that you were going to see other people while dating me. I can't believe this! I've been good to you. Haven't I?"

Arguably, yes Amber had been good to me. But I just needed…more. I gently took her by the arms. "You're a wonderful woman. I just don't think I'm the guy for you."

She wrestled out of my hold. "That's nonsense, Stefan. I enjoy being with you. Shit, sometimes I have to tell myself to back off, not come on too strong, demand too much of your time out of fear you'll run away. Ha," Amber threw her hands up in the air. "The irony. All of that caution and holding myself back for what?"

"Amber…"

"What did I do?"

"It was nothing you did."

"Okay," she began pacing, "so if it's nothing I did, then what was it I should have done?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Chemistry…our chemistry isn't where I thought it would be by this point."

Amber gaped, open mouth. "You didn't seem to have a problem with our chemistry," yeah she used air quotation marks, "when you motoboated my tits the other day."

I folded my top lip under my teeth. "Sexual chemistry can only last for so long."

"So you're not sexually attracted to me anymore, is that it? Pig," she sniffed and looked ready to slap me.

"Amber…" I retorted firmly.

"Don't do this. Please," her anger wilted. "If you need time to figure out what you want, then I'll give you that time. Just don't throw away the time we've spent together. Okay."

My head moved from side to side. "Amber, I'm not going to sideline you. That's not fair and you deserve better. You should be with someone who wants what you want in the long run. My thoughts on this won't change."

I wish I could say she accepted my decision and left. Nope. We talked in circles for fifteen minutes while I dodged the precise reason I was leaving her by the wayside. At the end Amber stormed out, retribution shining in her eyes.

Perfect. Maybe I should confer with legal and see what my options were. I didn't need blinking lights to know uneven pavement and bumps were ahead.


By the time I made it home after the fitting which was more intrusive than a doctor's visit, in my mind I had everything planned out. Unwind, unload, relax, destress, and maybe if Bonnie was feeling in a generous mood she'd let me taste her luscious lips.

Only there was a problem.

Jared fucking Malone. He sat on my couch, drinking my beer, sitting next to my girl—er roommate. My knuckles popped and I told my jaw to relax.

"Hey, Stefan," Bonnie drawled. From her partially slurred speech she had been knocking them back. Then again, Bonnie couldn't drink a toddler under the table.

"Sup," I addressed her and then glared at Jared. "Hey, man. Surprised to see you here."

Jared shrugged his GI Joe shoulders. "I was in the neighborhood, figured I say hello," he swung his head toward Bonnie, "Hello."

She giggled.

Nostrils flared, chest out, I sauntered into my castle and tossed my keys with more force than necessary on the table. I quickly catalogued things. Besides the bottle in Jared's hand there was only one bottle of brew on the table. Nothing else seemed out of place. There wasn't an incriminating box of condoms lying around and, discreetly sniffing, I didn't smell a trace of sex.

"How was your day?" Bonnie stretched her arms above her head. Jared watched her. I watched him watching.

"It was all right. Can I talk to you for a second? You don't mind if I steal her away, do you, Jared?"

"Not at all."

I said nothing as Jared took Bonnie by the hand and helped her off the sofa.

My lush of a roomie stomped in front of me. I pulled her into my bedroom once we were out of earshot.

"What is he doing here, Bonnie?"

"He just stopped by. Like he said. We weren't doing anything."

Yeah I saw that but I also saw the convenience of the situation. What were the odds of Jared randomly showing up at our place the same day I broke up with his BFF? He was either here to speak on Amber's behalf to convince me to take her back, or he was here spying to have a suspicion of hers confirmed that a lot more was going on with Bonnie and I. At this point I wouldn't be shocked by either variable.

He needed to go.

"What do you want from him?" I asked.

Bonnie opened and closed her mouth several times and said, "Before last night I wanted to take things slow."

"Now?" I bit out tersely.

"I think you should know what I want. Did I not prove to you by my actions?"

I gulped as Bonnie sauntered closer. She tilted her head just so affording me the chance to stare at her kissable neck, peek into her delectable cleavage. I couldn't even name the sorcery she was working on me at present, and honestly I didn't give a damn.

"He's good people, Stefan," her slender hand came into contact with my chest. "I can see us being friends."

I laughed tiredly at that. "That dude does not want to go shopping with you and hold your purse while you try things on." I paused. "I broke things off with Amber."

Bonnie gripped the collar of my shirt. "How'd she take it?"

I squinted. "How does anyone take being dumped? Like her world was ending."

"How do you feel about it, Stefan?"

"Relief."

Bonnie studied me carefully, dissecting me from forehead to chin. "I really do like Jared, as a friend," she hastily tacked on. Now both of her hands were on me. Damn, she was warm, inviting. "I can keep the two separate."

"Maybe you can but I doubt he would be able to."

That notorious Mona Lisa smile crossed her face. What was she thinking? "People can surprise you, Stefan. Not everything is as deep as it looks."

Bonnie slipped away but I nabbed her before she could slink out the door. I pushed her up against it. She inhaled sharply and I made damn sure she felt how solid I was behind my zipper.

Bonnie moaned, wound her arms around my neck. Just like that I didn't care Jared was in the other room. He could be listening. In fact I wanted him to hear the noises I could inspire out of Bonnie. Little else was more gratifying to the ego to know you got one up on someone you deemed the enemy.

"What are you doing?" Bonnie whispered.

Fisting her hair was my answer. I didn't kiss her because that's what she wanted. I licked the dip beneath her bottom lip before trapping said lip between my teeth. I let go and breathed right into her ear:

"While you're out there entertaining him, I'll be in here making myself come."

Bonnie whimpered.

I opened the door and gently pushed her into the hallway.

"Wait, Stefan…wait."

"If you want to watch, get rid of him."

I closed the door in her face. Evil? Yes. Did I care? No.

A/N: See, the angst isn't totally gone. In fact, it might just be starting. Please, let me know what you think. Thanks for reading.