Status: *** I plan to update every few days. Thanks for any comments/feedback received!
She's Not Afraid
Three
James lead me to my own living room. Jessie was in the kitchen heating up the soup.
"I hope you like potato..."James said.
"It's my favorite."
We took opposite sides of the couch. "I don't want to get you sick."
He smiled at me. He peered at the huge oak bookcase by the TV, it was 7 shelves high and filled completely of DVDs. The expression on his face was one of a little kid walking into a candy shop.
"You have every movie known to man. This puts my collection to shame." He awes, picking out one perfect for the occasion. While James tries to figure out how to work our DVD player, I sneak in the kitchen.
"I hate you." I whisper to Jessie.
"Just think though, you're interacting with a new client, getting to know him. It's not any different than when you take clients out for coffee. It's just a home visit." She laughed.
"Nothing is just a home visit for James Neal."
"Look at him," we both stare into the living room. James was sprawled on the floor pressing every button until the DVD tray popped open. "He just wants to get to know you. Surprisingly, from what I've seen, you two would make a lovely couple."
"Fuck you." I snort.
"No thanks. That's his job." She nods her head into his direction. James was standing in front of the TV looking at me. I couldn't help but smile.
"Movie is ready!" He yelled. I grabbed the soup bowls that Jessie filled for us and took them to the living room. I situated myself under my Maple Leafs throw blanket, the warmth from that and the soup was perfect. "You're really using that blanket right now?"
"Just Neal with it." I mutter, Jessie bursting out in laughter while I try to remain my 'cool' face.
"Did you just use my name and coin into a catch phrase?!" James was trying his hardest not to laugh and he was definitely amused by it.
"You're welcome to borrow it." I giggled.
***
The more I was here, the more I liked Celeste. Her apartment was pretty cool and her movie collection gave me a hard-on.
Turns out, she liked my movie choice. "10 Things I Hate About You," is my guilty pleasure. It was towards the end that I noticed Celeste being awfully quiet.
That scene. The poetry scene.
Kat was reading off a list about what she hates (but secretly loves) about Patrick and the sound of someone sniffling came from beside me. Celeste was a wreck. Her eyes were a little redder than normal but it was that single tear. The lone tear rolling down her cheek.
"You alright over there?" I whisper.
"Shut up." She mouthed.
The movie ended.
"That's such a lame movie." Celeste wiped her eyes while taking a deep breath.
I could tell she hated it. The vulnerability. She's one of those girls.
***
James walked around my apartment, his hands on his waist. He halted when he got to my trophies.
"So you play hockey, eh?"
"Hockey, soccer, cross country, track, softball....I did it all." My throat was getting raspy again as I tried to hold back a cough.
"She did it all, she won it all. Celeste here was an all-state athlete in hockey and soccer. She turned down an opportunity to play for the U.S." Jessie scoffed at my idiocy.
"You were that good? Damn, you know this only makes me like even more..." He picked up my championship hockey trophy. "You were a captain weren't you? You have that captain sass."
If I didn't say so, James was referring to Sidney Crosby. Captain Sass with the big ole ass.
"Why'd you turn it all down?" He was still admiring my trophies, careful not to drop any of them.
"I love sports too much. I played soccer professionally one summer in England and what I found out was, nowadays, people only play sports for the love of being rich and famous. It's never about passion anymore and I didn't want that to happen to me."
James turned around. "That makes sense."
I was expecting him to go on a rant about how much he loves hockey and how passionate he was and that's the real reason he's playing but alas, that never happened.
"Okay. Why in the hell do you have a sword hanging in you living room?" He grabbed the sword, removing it from its sheath. He started to pretend he was in Star Wars.
"I sword swallow." I say bluntly. James nearly dropped it.
"You're joking." He challenged me. I propped myself off the couch, straightening my shirt and grabbed the sword.
"Go sit down." I gesture. James sat on the edge of the seat behind him, his arms crossed in front.
I swallowed and took a deep breath. I tilted my head back and began shoving the sword down my esophagus. It hurt a little more than usual because I was developing a sore throat but I wanted to show James my little party trick. After the sword's handle reached my lips, I carefully bent forward, revealing the sword fully engulfed.
The look on James' face was priceless.
I stood back up and slowly removed it, wiping it off with a towel Jessie grabbed for me.
"Holy fuck me."
***
I wanted her. Right then and now. I wanted to rip all her clothes off, I've never been so turned on by something so sacred and absolutely crazy.
Celeste was one of a kind and I wanted her to be mine.
***
The moment Celeste swallowed that sword, I saw James shift in his seat. He was antsy. I think at one point, he might have grabbed himself but I can't remember.
I do remember James being completely aroused by her. Celeste might play the hard-to-get card but one thing is for sure, she knows how to make guys lose their minds. She drives them over the edge and sometimes all it takes is for her to swallow a 9" stainless steel sword blade to do it.
***
James looked stunned. In awe.
"I rarely do that outside of Halloween." I say shyly. James clapped, standing up and towering over me, he whispered into my ear.
"You're amazing."
"The Amazing Celeste. That'll be my stage name." Jessie was shaking her head in the background.
"James could be your ringleader." She added. He liked the sound of that, nodding approvingly.
"I work alone, sorry." I returned my sword back into his protective case, mounting it back on the wall. "I'm feeling a bit tired, a nap sounds good." I look at Jessie, hoping she'll back me up on this one.
"That sounds best. Maybe you can make it to work tomorrow."
James grabbed my hand before I walked up. "Feel better," he was sincere and his eyes were sexy as hell. I never noticed them until now but they were hazel almost, at least in this lighting. I could have sworn they were actually a dark blue color.
"If you want to reschedule this week, call Matt. I'm sure I'll be available tomorrow."
"I can't wait." I flash him a smile. He watched me as I walked up the stairs. Minutes later I hear a knock on my door and Jessie walks in.
"Holy shit, Celeste. You have him mesmerized." She was laughing.
"He left, right?" She nodded. "I don't know how I so-called mesmerized him but that can't be good."
Jessie crossed her legs on my bed. She was annoyed.
"You always do that." She said heavily.
"Do what?!"
"Pull a guy in with your alluring charm which you are too blind to notice, then you run for the hills!" Were we really having this conversation? At this moment?
"Ah whatever. I was being nice for the sake of being nice. It's at least I could do since you invited him over here unexpectedly knowing I had no interest in him."
"So you just swallow swords, watch romantic movies, talk about hockey and eat soup on couches with guys you don't like? Bullshit."
"First, he's a hockey player. We can talk about hockey. Second, you're the one that brought up my trophies as well as reaching out to him on twitter! Lastly, he didn't think I could swallow a sword. So I did. It's no big deal! Like you said, I was just getting to know him."
I pulled the covers over me, grabbing my phone and setting an alarm.
"Just remember, you brought this on yourself." Jessie jumped off my bed, slamming the door behind her.
Just as I was about to fall asleep, my phone went off. One new notification. I swiped open the lock screen.
One new follower.
I logged on to twitter and searched my mentions.
James Neal (Jneal_18) started following you.
"I hope you like potato..."James said.
"It's my favorite."
We took opposite sides of the couch. "I don't want to get you sick."
He smiled at me. He peered at the huge oak bookcase by the TV, it was 7 shelves high and filled completely of DVDs. The expression on his face was one of a little kid walking into a candy shop.
"You have every movie known to man. This puts my collection to shame." He awes, picking out one perfect for the occasion. While James tries to figure out how to work our DVD player, I sneak in the kitchen.
"I hate you." I whisper to Jessie.
"Just think though, you're interacting with a new client, getting to know him. It's not any different than when you take clients out for coffee. It's just a home visit." She laughed.
"Nothing is just a home visit for James Neal."
"Look at him," we both stare into the living room. James was sprawled on the floor pressing every button until the DVD tray popped open. "He just wants to get to know you. Surprisingly, from what I've seen, you two would make a lovely couple."
"Fuck you." I snort.
"No thanks. That's his job." She nods her head into his direction. James was standing in front of the TV looking at me. I couldn't help but smile.
"Movie is ready!" He yelled. I grabbed the soup bowls that Jessie filled for us and took them to the living room. I situated myself under my Maple Leafs throw blanket, the warmth from that and the soup was perfect. "You're really using that blanket right now?"
"Just Neal with it." I mutter, Jessie bursting out in laughter while I try to remain my 'cool' face.
"Did you just use my name and coin into a catch phrase?!" James was trying his hardest not to laugh and he was definitely amused by it.
"You're welcome to borrow it." I giggled.
***
The more I was here, the more I liked Celeste. Her apartment was pretty cool and her movie collection gave me a hard-on.
Turns out, she liked my movie choice. "10 Things I Hate About You," is my guilty pleasure. It was towards the end that I noticed Celeste being awfully quiet.
That scene. The poetry scene.
Kat was reading off a list about what she hates (but secretly loves) about Patrick and the sound of someone sniffling came from beside me. Celeste was a wreck. Her eyes were a little redder than normal but it was that single tear. The lone tear rolling down her cheek.
"You alright over there?" I whisper.
"Shut up." She mouthed.
The movie ended.
"That's such a lame movie." Celeste wiped her eyes while taking a deep breath.
I could tell she hated it. The vulnerability. She's one of those girls.
***
James walked around my apartment, his hands on his waist. He halted when he got to my trophies.
"So you play hockey, eh?"
"Hockey, soccer, cross country, track, softball....I did it all." My throat was getting raspy again as I tried to hold back a cough.
"She did it all, she won it all. Celeste here was an all-state athlete in hockey and soccer. She turned down an opportunity to play for the U.S." Jessie scoffed at my idiocy.
"You were that good? Damn, you know this only makes me like even more..." He picked up my championship hockey trophy. "You were a captain weren't you? You have that captain sass."
If I didn't say so, James was referring to Sidney Crosby. Captain Sass with the big ole ass.
"Why'd you turn it all down?" He was still admiring my trophies, careful not to drop any of them.
"I love sports too much. I played soccer professionally one summer in England and what I found out was, nowadays, people only play sports for the love of being rich and famous. It's never about passion anymore and I didn't want that to happen to me."
James turned around. "That makes sense."
I was expecting him to go on a rant about how much he loves hockey and how passionate he was and that's the real reason he's playing but alas, that never happened.
"Okay. Why in the hell do you have a sword hanging in you living room?" He grabbed the sword, removing it from its sheath. He started to pretend he was in Star Wars.
"I sword swallow." I say bluntly. James nearly dropped it.
"You're joking." He challenged me. I propped myself off the couch, straightening my shirt and grabbed the sword.
"Go sit down." I gesture. James sat on the edge of the seat behind him, his arms crossed in front.
I swallowed and took a deep breath. I tilted my head back and began shoving the sword down my esophagus. It hurt a little more than usual because I was developing a sore throat but I wanted to show James my little party trick. After the sword's handle reached my lips, I carefully bent forward, revealing the sword fully engulfed.
The look on James' face was priceless.
I stood back up and slowly removed it, wiping it off with a towel Jessie grabbed for me.
"Holy fuck me."
***
I wanted her. Right then and now. I wanted to rip all her clothes off, I've never been so turned on by something so sacred and absolutely crazy.
Celeste was one of a kind and I wanted her to be mine.
***
The moment Celeste swallowed that sword, I saw James shift in his seat. He was antsy. I think at one point, he might have grabbed himself but I can't remember.
I do remember James being completely aroused by her. Celeste might play the hard-to-get card but one thing is for sure, she knows how to make guys lose their minds. She drives them over the edge and sometimes all it takes is for her to swallow a 9" stainless steel sword blade to do it.
***
James looked stunned. In awe.
"I rarely do that outside of Halloween." I say shyly. James clapped, standing up and towering over me, he whispered into my ear.
"You're amazing."
"The Amazing Celeste. That'll be my stage name." Jessie was shaking her head in the background.
"James could be your ringleader." She added. He liked the sound of that, nodding approvingly.
"I work alone, sorry." I returned my sword back into his protective case, mounting it back on the wall. "I'm feeling a bit tired, a nap sounds good." I look at Jessie, hoping she'll back me up on this one.
"That sounds best. Maybe you can make it to work tomorrow."
James grabbed my hand before I walked up. "Feel better," he was sincere and his eyes were sexy as hell. I never noticed them until now but they were hazel almost, at least in this lighting. I could have sworn they were actually a dark blue color.
"If you want to reschedule this week, call Matt. I'm sure I'll be available tomorrow."
"I can't wait." I flash him a smile. He watched me as I walked up the stairs. Minutes later I hear a knock on my door and Jessie walks in.
"Holy shit, Celeste. You have him mesmerized." She was laughing.
"He left, right?" She nodded. "I don't know how I so-called mesmerized him but that can't be good."
Jessie crossed her legs on my bed. She was annoyed.
"You always do that." She said heavily.
"Do what?!"
"Pull a guy in with your alluring charm which you are too blind to notice, then you run for the hills!" Were we really having this conversation? At this moment?
"Ah whatever. I was being nice for the sake of being nice. It's at least I could do since you invited him over here unexpectedly knowing I had no interest in him."
"So you just swallow swords, watch romantic movies, talk about hockey and eat soup on couches with guys you don't like? Bullshit."
"First, he's a hockey player. We can talk about hockey. Second, you're the one that brought up my trophies as well as reaching out to him on twitter! Lastly, he didn't think I could swallow a sword. So I did. It's no big deal! Like you said, I was just getting to know him."
I pulled the covers over me, grabbing my phone and setting an alarm.
"Just remember, you brought this on yourself." Jessie jumped off my bed, slamming the door behind her.
Just as I was about to fall asleep, my phone went off. One new notification. I swiped open the lock screen.
One new follower.
I logged on to twitter and searched my mentions.
James Neal (Jneal_18) started following you.
♠ ♠ ♠
*** I hope it's easy for you readers to decipher changes in POV. If not, let me know. I try my hardest to work all aspects of POV in there for story progression and detail.Thanks for all the comments and votes. I love them!