"Imagine having someone in your family like that," Sasha said.
"Dolph must be so embarrassed," Becky said.
"He's stuck with her for a while. Someone lost control of their car and drove it into her house. Dolph was the bigger person and opened his house to her. I assume because no one else would take her," Sasha said.
AJ sighed and once again looked over at the woman they were talking about. Dolph's 38 year old cousin Eleanor. AJ found her very interesting. She didn't care what other people thought about her.
"Someone ought to tell her the hippie days are over," Sasha giggled.
"If she starts smoking a pipe, I'm dragging her outside to kick her ass myself," Becky said.
It was hard for AJ to ignore the two women talking shit for no reason. Eleanor hadn't done anything to them. She had been a sweetheart to everyone attending Dolph's party. Sure, she dressed differently than what they were used to. She wore a pair of orange and green striped bell-bottoms pants and a white flowy blouse with 3/4 quarter sleeves. Her hair was dark blonde and abnormally long. It reached her ass and she didn't use hair extensions to achieve that. It was all natural.
"Imagine her in a dress and with a bit of makeup, and she might actually look like a real woman," Sasha said.
"Did you hear she has a hamster?" Becky laughed. "A fucking hamster. Not a cat or a dog like a normal person. A 38 year old woman with a hamster. A hamster is for kids."
"Actually Becky," AJ looked at the two women. "Hamsters are nocturnal and they're probably one of the worst animals you could give to a child. If you want a child to have rodents, rats are the best choice. It doesn't take long to google for information like that instead of sitting on a couch talking shit while being jealous at someone who dares to be herself. And she's beautiful on top of it. No matter how much makeup you use, you'll always be ugly inside."
The two women were lost for words. They just sat there with their mouths open, trying to wrap theirs brains around what he had just said. Before they could think of a comeback, he got up from his seat and walked over to Eleanor. Her light blue eyes sparkled in the light as he came closer.
"You again," she smiled. "Are you always this sweet to all new people you meet?"
"I try," he said.
"Don't lose that. I like that about you," she said.
"I hear you have a hamster," he said.
"I do," her face lit up. "Do you wanna meet her?"
"She's here?" He asked.
"Of course she's here," she said.
"I'd love to meet her," he said.
She placed her drink down on the table and walked out of the living room. He followed after her into the guest room she was staying in these days. He closed the door behind them and looked at the cage on the floor.
"That's a big cage," he said.
"Hamsters need more room than a lot of people think," she said.
"I know. I read up about it," he said.
She smiled at him and sat down on her knees on the floor. She opened the cage, stuck a hand in and scratched her nails on top of the house. It didn't take long before a black and white hamster came walking out. She picked up the hamster and stood back up.
"This is Oreo," she said.
"Oreo?" He chuckled. "What a cool name. Very fitting with her colors."
"Here, she doesn't bite," she said.
She handed Oreo to him. He gently picked it up and stroked its back.
"She's super sweet and calm," he said.
"We just woke her up. She likes to cuddle for a few minutes before playing," she said.
"Maybe we should let her sleep a bit more. I feel bad for waking her up," he said.
"It's okay. She'll get a treat and I'm forgiven," she said.
She took Oreo back and placed it back down into the cage. She picked up a box of yogurt drops and handed one to Oreo. Oreo grabbed it, put it in her mouth and walked back into the house.
"See," she smiled. "I'm forgiven."
She closed the cage and stood back up. They were suddenly very close and he felt nervous. She placed a hand on his bearded cheek and stroked it.
"I love a full beard on a man," she said.
"Yeah?" He grinned. "What else do you love in a man?"
"Soft lips," she said.
He took the hint and kissed her. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. He moved his lips over her chin and down to her neck.
"What else do you love?" He asked.
"This. And teeth," she said.
He bit down on her neck and got himself a moan in return.
"And magic fingers. Oh boy, do I love a set of magic fingers," she said. "God, this feels good."
He kissed his way up to her lips again. As much as he would love to show her that he indeed had magic fingers, now was not the time or place. He broke the kiss and gave her a little smile.
"Not here," he said. "It's Dolph's house. It feels wrong."
"I agree," she said.
His smile grew wider hearing that. She didn't feel rejected. He had been scared for a second that would be the case and that she would never want to see him again.
"They're almost done with my house. I'm moving back next week," she said.
"Yeah?" He smirked.
"How about we do the classic two dates this week and then the so called magic third date next week where we all know what's supposed to happen according to lame sit-coms and stupid rom-coms?" She asked.
He burst out laughing and gave her a soft kiss.
"I'm all for it," he said. "First date tomorrow? There's a Mongolian barbecue not too far from here."
"I know it. Great food," she said.
"Meet you there tomorrow night at 5.30?" He asked.
"It's a date," she said.
He kissed her again and had to fight the urge to lay her down on the bed. He refused to act like a horny teenager in a friend's house. He wanted to do things the right way with her.
"We better get out of here before we do something we'll regret," he said.
"I doubt we'll regret it," she smirked. "But we might get caught."
He chuckled and walked over to open the door.
"Alas," she walked over to him. "I gotta wait a whole week."
"I promise to make it worth the wait," he said.
She giggled and leaned in to peck his lips.
"By the way, do those two women put makeup in their ears too? They think they whisper so I can't hear them but I hear every word," she said.
"I'm sorry," he said.
"It's not your fault. And it doesn't really hurt me. It's just empty words," she said.
"Spoken out of jealousy. They feel threatened about you. A woman who's a natural beauty and who dares to be who she is," he smiled. "And they're damn right to feel threatened. When you're in that room, no one looks at them."
She grinned and placed a finger on his lips.
"As good as it feels to be cruel back, don't sink that low," she said.
"You're right," he said. "Who cares about them? I got a date tomorrow with the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."
