XXV

Rummaging through her neatly arranged closet in nothing but a grey coloured bathrobe with her hair wrapped up in a towel around her head, Emerald skimmed through the rows and columns of hung clothes, looking for an outfit to wear to work.

Now that she looked at it, she noticed that she had more formal habiliments than casuals. Even down to her footwear; other than her plethora of slipper slides, she had only a cornucopia amount of Converse and sneakers to rely on for both a punctilious and dégagé setting, coupled with a few heels.

After a few more minutes of scrutiny, Emerald settled for a white and pink striped blazer and pant suit set before pairing them up with a white long sleeved turtleneck top.

On her way out of her closet, she grabbed a pair of white FILA sneakers to go with her outfit before proceeding to get dressed.

Few seconds later, she stood seemingly frozen in front of the full body length mirror in her room. She had loosened the rope of the bathrobe from around her frame so she stood before the looking glass in only her panties, baring her chest.

While a myriad of thoughts scampered around her mind, her eyes stayed glued to the hideous mark on her left breast. The scar, a clear indication of the vile past she had had to endure.

She closed her eyes, the scene of how she had gotten the mark skipping behind her closed lids before she turned abruptly from the mirror and got dressed. It was a horror she had to endure every single day.

Grabbing the case of her secured specs together with other essentials, she stuffed them in her black shoulder bag before walking towards the floor to ceiling glass door that connected her room to a little terrace which overlooked the East wing of the verdant Gramercy park whose greeneries shone in all their morning glory underneath the merciful and fulgent rays of the dawning sun.

On seeing what she had come to the terrace for – two flower vases that had been gifted to her by Alora and Levi, the couple who owned the Junoesque floral heaven across her therapy place  – she bent down and carefully uprooted the withered plants that had previously been very beautiful and well grown white roses two weeks ago.

After work, she would have to stop by their flower shop for fresh nosegays before coming home. With that thought, she shut the glass door and left her room, locking it behind her.

Walking into the kitchen, she met two male figures talking – well, one was doing all the talking while the other just sipped the liquid from his cup while listening to the first one's rants.

Since they had all started having dinner together, Logan and Jordan had grown a tad bit closer. Close enough for Logan to speak to Jordan without quivering and for Jordan to reciprocate with occasional nods, even Oriana had grown a bit comfortable around him.

Jordan was the first one to notice her as he looked up from behind the rim of his cup. She watched as his eyes raked up and down her body, taking in her form.

“Good morning,” she greeted, gaining Logan's attention as she walked further into the kitchen.

“Meme! Good morning, love,” Logan moved to wrap his arms around her before leaving a peck on her forehead. Emerald smiled as her eyes drifted towards Jordan who was still staring intently at them.

She gave him a little smile before greeting again, “Good morning, Mr. Kale.” To which he replied with a nod before standing up and strolling to the sink to wash his used cup, giving Emerald a clear view of his full body.

His muscular frame donned a white cotton shirt whose sleeves were rolled up, stopping just below his elbows with navy blue pants held up by suspenders.

Emerald was well aware that the suspenders were only there for fashion purposes; his pants fit him perfectly. Until today, she hadn't seen anyone pull off the suspenders look so glamorously like he currently did.

“I see you're all set for work?” Logan asked Emerald as she walked towards the trashcan to dispose of the wilted and dead plants.

“Yeah. What about you?” she looked at his clothes. He was still in his sleepwear – a white muscle tank with blue basketball shorts.

“I'm taking the day off since I already delivered the assignment to my last client.”

Her eyebrows rose in disbelief, “Yet you're up so early?” she turned on the faucet and washed her hands underneath the running water.

“This little monster of mine. . .” he patted his stomach, “. . .needed a refill.” He raised two bowls, one filled to the brim with potato chips while the other seemed to contain guacamole.

“And I was hoping to finally watch season five of Lucifer. I need to be able to spoil it for McStuffins,” he smirked. “Oh, I can practically feel the steam coming out of her ears as she turns red,” he chuckled.

Emerald shook her head, wondering how and where she had gotten such friends. She looked up to see Jordan grab his jacket from the counter and leave the kitchen but not before giving her one last look. “Is she still asleep?”

“Mhmm. . . She's ‘snoozing.’ You know, it makes me wonder how she hasn't been fired yet,” he shrugged. “Oh well.”

“Well. . . I'm off to work,” she picked up her blazer and shoulder bag before walking up to Logan. “Remember to wake her up.”

“Oh, I will,” a mischievous grin spread across his face. “Still not going to have breakfast?” he asked, to which she shook her head in negation.

Logan let out a sigh and shook his head but he decided to drop the topic. Placing a lingering kiss on her forehead, he mumbled, “Take care of yourself, hmm?”

She nodded and gave him a smile before walking towards the front door. Opening the door, she stopped short when she met with the broad back of the man in the white shirt.

“Mr. Kale?” he turned around.

His eyes raked up and down her body again as though he couldn't seem to stop himself from taking in her appearance. The pantsuit accentuated her curves perfectly and when she had walked towards the kitchen sink, it had taken him all the effort in the world to drag his eyes away from her ass.

Now that he was right in front of her, he couldn't seem to get his eyes off her boobs. The white turtleneck top she wore did nothing to hide her ample bosoms. God had really been generous while creating this woman.

“Is something wrong?” she asked when he didn't speak.

“I'll drop you off,” he finally replied after a few minutes.

It took her a few seconds for his words to register in her head and when they did, she blinked once. Then twice before responding. “Oh there's no need for that, Mr. Kale. I wouldn't want to—”

“I insist,” he interrupted and immediately turned around and headed towards his car parked outside the house without waiting for her response.

Emerald blinked rapidly once again, having a hard time believing what just happened. It took her a few seconds to recover before finally making her way to his midnight black Porsche Cayenne.

‘Ok, what the hell is going on?’ she couldn't help but wonder as she neared his car to find him holding the passenger side door open for her. He was full of surprises today.

“Thank you,” she mumbled as she settled into the sleek brown leather seat while taking in the beautiful decor of the vehicle. It screamed luxury.

She prepared to strap herself in when she noticed Jordan's intent gaze on her. Even after she had caught him looking, he didn't look or shy away. He continued to stare blatantly.

“What?” she squeaked, feeling her voice go hoarse as his stare seemed to have an effect on her. ‘Why?’

He began to move closer and closer to her, making her back up against the closed door. “Uh. . . Mr. Kale?” she whispered nervously. He was invading her personal space.

Soon enough, she could feel his body heat against hers as his breath fanned her face. Her eyes widened when her brain shut down, leaving her to deal with his strangely comfortable contiguity.

Before she could react, he extended his arm towards her and took hold of her left hand which had been tightly gripping the seatbelt. He looked down at her hand while cradling it tenderly.

In confusion, she followed his gaze and found blood seeping through a cut on her index finger. She hadn't even realised she had been pierced by the thorns on the dead rose until now.

Before she could reach for a sanitary napkin in her bag, Jordan suddenly took her index finger into his mouth, making her jaw drop to the ground in shock.

Instantly, she felt the warmth of his mouth surround her finger and spread throughout her entire body. She felt her face heat up unintentionally and she didn't think she could feel more overwhelmed than she currently did until she felt his tongue slide across the cut. She shivered involuntarily as her mouth turned arid.

His tongue kept swabbing the cut as he sucked and swallowed, all the while staring deeply into the grassy greens of her eyes.

They seemed caged in their own little bubble until Emerald's brain finally decided to restore power to the rest of her body and immediately, she pulled her finger away from within the confinements of his toasty mouth with a gasp. And that way, their bubble popped.

“Mr. Kale!” she gasped, still in a daze. “That was very unhygienic,” she scolded as she began rummaging through her bag.

Jordan thought that she was perhaps looking for a sanitizer for her hands until she turned back to him with a mouth spray in hand.

“Open up,” she commanded and he watched in amusement as she grabbed his chin — or at least tried to — in her dainty hands before moving closer to his face and spraying the strawberry flavoured spray into his mouth.

“You shouldn't have done that, Mr. Kale. You could get sick,” she continued to scold as her entire focus was on his mouth while Jordan continued to watch her from beneath his long eyelashes.

“Alright, swallow.” She instructed after spraying almost the entire contents of the can into his mouth. Watching his Adam's apple bob as an indication that he had swallowed, she looked at his lips, diverse thoughts running through her mind as she stared at the soft pink fleshy folds surrounding his mouth.

‘What would it feel like to taste them?’ ‘How soft would they be?’ and many other thoughts filled her head as she continued to stare, oblivious to Jordan's scorching gaze.

Only when Jordan's tongue darted out of his mouth to lick his lips, did she finally snap back to reality. She blinked, managing to clear her foggy mind before looking up to meet dark chocolate eyes staring down at her.

All amusement had evaporated from Jordan's eyes, replaced with pure lust as he stared into the depths of her eyes. She was turning him on wildly without even knowing it.

Clearing her throat, she pulled away from him with cheeks flaming hot as she had just realised how close their faces had been. Fidgeting with the seatbelt once again, she mumbled “Thank you, Mr. Kale.”

“Call me Jordan.” He said and they drove to her workplace with sexual tension thick in the air–conditioned atmosphere of the car.

▬▬▬▬▬

The little bell stationed above the shop's entrance dinged, signalling the arrival of a customer.

“Welcome to Alora's Floral Bliss. What would you like to— Oh! Gem!” the short and plump middle-aged woman squealed as she hurried from behind the counter, where she had been arranging a few bouquets of flowers, to grip Emerald in a bear hug.

Emerald chuckled, always wondering where she had gotten such strength, especially for someone her age. “You know, sometimes I can't help but wonder if you perhaps visit the gym,” she laughed as she wrapped her arms around the woman who was like a grandmother to her.

“You're just so strong,” she teased, earning a hit from Alora who pulled back and feigned a displeased glare.

“Oh shush! You can't blame me, it's one of the perks of having been a veteran nurse. Back then, you gotta be strong and tough to survive the war, be it a man or woman,” she held Emerald at arm's length as she explained.

“Ever heard of survival of the fittest?” she winked and made a show of kissing both of her now non-existent biceps. Emerald laughed again, watching the display of the woman in front of her before pulling her into her embrace once again.

She snuggled up against the short woman, basking in her warmth and flowery scent as she dug her nose into her black hair. Emerald was much taller than the old woman who stood at a height of 5'5 thereabout but that didn't hinder the comfort she always derived from being in her embrace.

She couldn't deny the fact that the woman always reminded her of her mother and at this moment, she realised how much she actually missed her. She sighed.

“Is everything alright, Gem?” Alora asked, rubbing soothing patterns on Emerald's back.

“I'm ok, Lori. I just realised how much I've missed you,” she smiled.

“Then you should've come more often.” Another voice echoed round the empty shop, causing the two women to pull away to look at the intruder.

The tall middle aged man with salt–and–pepper hair walked in through the backdoor which led to the beautiful garden where the breathtaking flowers they sold, were grown.

Another wide grin graced Emerald's face and in record speed, he pulled her into a bone crushing hug just like his wife had done earlier, eliciting a groan from her. “Again with the killer hugs,” she teased.

“You say you miss us, yet you refuse to come see us and we're just a road cross away from you,” he complained as he pulled away.

“I'm sorry, Levi. I have no excuse, really but I'm here now to spend the hour with you guys.” She promised.

“Fine, if you say so,” his childish pout remained on his face.

“Oh, come on,” she giggled, before placing both her hands on either side of his cheeks. “Don't gimme that look, Lee. And I need fresh new flowers for my vases. The roses have withered.”

“Oh, we'll be happy to help!” Alora exclaimed excitedly while clapping her hands together, her husband mirroring her expression. These two basically lived for flowers.

Levi hastily flipped the board dangling from the entrance door, turning the Open to Closed before all three of them started making their way towards the garden, only to be stopped by a phone ringing.

Lulu flashed across the screen as Emerald looked down at her phone. “Uh. . . You guys go ahead. I need to take this call.” The couple nodded and Levi held the door open for his wife as they both walked through the backdoor.

“Hi, Lulu.”

“Piccolo, come stai mimma?”

“I'm doing great, Lulu and you?”

“I'm ok, amore. Thanks for asking. I hope I'm not disturbing you.”

“No, of course not.” Silence followed after. “Well. . . Why'd you call? Is something wrong? You sound strangely. . . nervous,” she observed.

A deep sigh came from the other side. “It irks me sometimes when I'm so predictable to the most important women in my life.” Emerald chuckled at his grumble.

“It shows how much we love and know you. Now, spill the beans.” And just like that, Luca explained to Emerald why he was nervous.

Instantaneously, a grin spread across her face from ear to ear at his words.

“I thought this day would never come.”