"What are you doing?" He repeated.
"S-sorry!" She yelped.
"Hey no, don't get upset." His tone softened a little. "You just surprised me is all."
"Sorry…" She looked away from his enchanting eyes, they were a deep brown in colour, laced with a tint of red. She couldn't lie that whenever she looked at Apollo, she looked into his eyes first, in fact, it took her a long time to realise what he wore. "Is something wrong? You looked like you were having a nightmare."
"My mind just went into overdrive. I'm fine Ema." He assured. "It happens to me occasionally, it's a habit I suppose." Her eyes told him she was curious as to what he was dreaming of.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Do you want to know what I was dreaming of?"
"Huh?" She blushed. "Well…y-yeah…"
"I was dreaming of you." Apollo replied honestly, pulling on the corner of his bed sheet as a small blush crept up his face. "Or rather, I was thinking of what you've been telling me. About the pain you're in."
"Apollo…" Her cheeks had set alight as he said he was dreaming of her. "You don't have to worry about me."
"Well…if I don't who will?" Apollo offered his hands to pull her up on to his bed. She sat cross-legged beside him.
"Nobody I guess…except Lana…"
"What about her boyfriend? Jake?"
"That cowboy's a busy man. Too busy to care about me."
"You can be a pessimist sometimes…" Apollo sighed. "Look…get some rest ok. Klavier isn't here right now. Get a good night's sleep."
-x-x-
Ema seemed on edge on the morning, preoccupied by something Apollo couldn't quite work out.
"Apollo?" She suddenly broke her silent spell as she caught the bus with Apollo that morning.
"Ah, I wondered when you were going to talk. What's up?" She pulled her phone from her pocket. She began to type something as a text. Instead of sending it, she showed Apollo the screen.
'If I ask you a question will you answer it honestly?' The screen read.
"Of course I would." Apollo replied.
'Are you seriously still a virgin?'
"Yes. Why don't you believe me?"
"Well…it's just…every girl you come across wants to get laid by you."
"It doesn't mean I have to do anything with them." He noticed the conversation was attracting some rather unwanted attention. "Do I look like I'm happy with a girl I don't know?" He whispered.
"Well what about that friend of yours? I haven't met her but…"
"Do you mean Cass? Na, she fancies me and she's admitted it. Problem is, I think she wants to get with Spencer, so I don't interfere with her."
"Spencer? As in Spencer Shaw?"
"Yeah." Apollo replied.
"Well…" She went back to typing on her cellphone.
'Who do you fancy?'
"I'm not at liberty to say. A guy has to keep some secrets, right?" Apollo chuckled. "You already know my most secret of all my secrets."
'I know this is a bad time, but if I asked you to kiss me…would you do it?'
"Why would you want me to do that?" Apollo asked curiously.
"I just want to learn if all guys are crap at kissing like Klavier." Apollo felt his bracelet pinched at his wrist.
"Ema…I can't…" Ema looked upset now, turning her head away from him. "Oh Ema…please don't start crying! Please…" Apollo tried to ignore the pinch on his wrist from his wretched bracelet as he tugged at her arm.
She still wouldn't stop. Apollo felt his guilt attack his conscience savagely. At her refusal to turn round, he checked to see if anyone else was there, relieved the top deck of the bus was in fact empty and cupped her chin firmly. He turned her face to look at his, yet her eyes were still downcast.
"Ema…" He tried to sound as sympathetic as he could. "Ema look at me." Finally her dark green eyes stared straight into his, glazed with tears. "Ema, I didn't mean it like that… it's just Klavier's one of my best friends. He'd never forgive me for doing anything to you."
"Is that all you care about? Him!?" She bit.
"No! No! Not at all in fact I tend to care about girls a lot more. So you mean more to me. But well he has power over me…" Apollo noticed that the bus had just passed the precinct. "You…uh…do realise, we've passed the precinct. Right?" She nodded slowly.
"I'm not going into work today. I'm going to Lana's. I'm staying there for a night now. I had the best night's sleep in ages last night. I'm sure Klavier can cope without sex for one night. Are you coming too?"
"sure. Why not?" Apollo replied. I don't think Klavier can cope for six hours without some kind of sexual pleasure actually. Even if he isn't getting it off you… Again Apollo thought back to what he had caught Klavier doing before.
Lana had happily taken her sister in.
"Say Ema. Can you explain this?" She showed Ema her cellphone. "I received this rather horrid threat off Klavier this morning. He said he wanted me to take you back home this instant."
"You didn't reply did you!?" Ema cried.
"Of course not. You know I dislike the man." She paused. "Although I'd like to know why I received this and several other threats this morning."
"May I see?" Apollo held out his hand. "Get your sister back here or I WILL go down there and take her back by force…" He flicked to the next text. "Or your house will be destroyed and you will pay damages…you have thirty minutes…where is she? You have fifteen…" Ema brought her knees up and wrapped her arms around them, her head resting on the top. She was sobbing. "Ema…what did you tell Klavier last night? Before you left with me?" Apollo's tone as soft and sensitive.
"I couldn't tell him I was sneaking out with you. Could I!?" Ema sobbed. "So I…" She muffled a few more sobs. "So I…I told him I was going to Lana's for the night."
"You spent the night at Apollo's!?" Lana was shocked. "Oh dear god, you two aren't you know…um…"
"Ooh Charades." Apollo shook his head display. "I believe the word you're looking for is 'affair'. Are me and Ema having an 'affair'?"
"Y-yeah…are you?" She rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"No, anyway, I'm still a virgin…" Apollo didn't want Lana to know, yet it seemed the quickest way out of the situation.
"I'm texting Klavier back!" Ema declared.
'For every time you threaten my sister, I will stay one more night. You don't know where she lives!'
Apollo had stayed with Lana, Jake and Ema for several hours. Finally he had to leave, Trucy was stopping with him so Phoenix could go out for the night.
"See you Ema." He smiled a dazzling smile which rivalled Klavier's.
"Thank you for your hospitality, Lana, Jake."
"Not a problem deputy. Doors always open for ya boy!" Jake signalled goodbye before heading off to the study.
"I'll see you later now Apollo." Lana winked.
Apollo left. Lana turned to Ema.
"I don't know why you don't just come clean with him." Lana giggled.
"Even if I did. He has more moral values than that. He won't even kiss me while I'm still in a relationship with Klavier." She seemed upset again.
-x-x-
She almost fell asleep in the bathtub. Ema was fixed in a dream, a day dream. She dreamt of everything she wanted, and what she had got in return. Ever since her hormones had begun to alter her body as a teen she had dreamt of loving arms to be in when she woke in the morning, hearing the words 'I love you' during the day, romantic evenings and passion filled nights. She was a little more naïve back then and hadn't lost her virginity until an incident with a friend of hers in England. She knew about sex then though, her friends were all in their early teens when they lost theirs (she fell in with the wrong crowd).
While in England, she had fallen for the charms of one of her friends. He had sex with her, she didn't recall if she'd wanted it or not and he was intent on one thing - his own pleasure. She swore she would never fall for another man like that (only the English boy was a one-night stand) and yet she had ended up with Klavier.
To be honest with herself, she didn't have a good judgement. She fell for a man because he looked good. Nothing more. She regretted it all the time, she needed a man with a personality, with charm, who was capable of love and was unafraid of holding her hand in a public place.
She then thought of him…she gulped, her throat suddenly dry. She climbed out the bath, wrapping the towel around her and crawling under the bed sheets. The image flashed up again. It was him. Something was different. He was sat on a chair, his pants were down to his knees, he was…her hand slid down her body to that sensitive area of her body. She began to move her fingers in gentle circles, trying to pleasure herself as much as he was pleasuring himself in her vision. She pressed down harder and moved faster as his movements sped up.
As she reached the point of maximum pleasure she couldn't resist calling out his name.
"Apollo!" She cried.
-x-x-
As Apollo rested that night, Trucy safely asleep in the spare room. He shifted under the sheets. He was trying to work out the meaning behind Ema's actions recently but then…what he had caught Klavier doing that first time attacked him. He heard the cries echoing in the hall of the prosecutors office…
