Cherishing Her During Adversity: A Friends to Lovers Romance

by Alexa McLean

  “Perv!” Lola smacked my arm and took back possession of her underwear.

  “Sorry!” I apologized thinking that she was about to pummel me to the ground.

  “Move.” She shoved me out of the way and grabbed a bundle of towels, tossing them at my feet. “If you want to help so badly then help by folding those and stay away from my underwear. Got it.”

  I pouted. “But we both know that staying away from your underwear isn’t any fun.”

  “I’m warning you.” She wagged her finger in my face.

  “What are you so worried about? I’ve already discovered that you like to wear thongs. What can be worse than that? Or are you scared that you still wear bright pink underwear with little hearts and unicorns —”

  In retaliation to my teasing, she threw a wad of socks right at my head.

  “Hey! Watch the pretty face. It’s the only thing this bankruptcy hasn’t taken away from me.”

  “Keep mocking me and my underwear and I’ll wipe that smirk right off your face. Permanently.”

  “Is that supposed to scare me?”

  “If you were smart, you’d be running for the hills right about now.” She screwed her face and pressed her hands to her hips. She even puffed out her chest to appear slightly more intimidating. It wasn’t working. She just looked as cute as ever. And if she kept it up I was bound to scoop her up and have my way with her. “That’s what I thought,” she said when I failed to respond.

  “Sorry, did you say something? I was too busy thinking about what you might look like with those little pink panties on.”

  “Ivan!” Her face was as red as a tomato as she lunged forward like she intended to tackle me to the ground. Who was she kidding? She couldn’t take me down — not even in her dreams. Now, going down on me, that was something else entirely.

  Her momentum nearly had her crashing into the table but I caught her at the last possible second and steadied her by wrapping my arms around her waist and anchoring her into my body. It was so incredibly hard to keep my composure when I could feel every inch of those curves. Oh, I wanted her. I wanted her so badly that I would have laid down my life just to be with her for one single night.

  “I think that’s enough horsing around for one night. I don’t want you to get hurt.” I whispered. “I’ll let you tend to the rest of your laundry because I can’t seem to help you without getting in trouble but you can’t say that I didn’t try.”

  She looked up at me like a deer caught in headlights. It seemed to me that there was something on the tip of her tongue but Lola never got around to speaking her mind because we ended up going our separate ways. Well, as separate as you can be in a tiny home.

  I was aware of every step she took. And when she finally made her way to bed in a skimpy pajama set, I was about ready to follow in her wake. I nearly convinced myself to do just that but I held back the impulses with the fear of ruining what we already had.

  Lola truly was the only person I could count on. She held out her hand to save me while everyone else just stood back and watched me drown.

  And so I laid on her couch and listened to the softness of her breathing because that was enough.

  Chapter 8: Lola

  THE FOLLOWING MORNING, I woke up to find Ivan completely passed out on the couch. He was so deeply into it that he hadn’t heard my alarm buzz for the past ten minutes. Then again, it had done very little to persuade me out of bed.

  I turned on the coffee machine and allowed it to brew as I changed into my uniform.

  I’ve lived alone in this home for many, many years so when I started to undress in the middle of the hallway, just outside the bathroom, I thought nothing of it.

  Instead, I closed my eyes and enjoyed the warmth of the sunshine against my skin. Tilting my head back, the tips of my hair brushed against my backside, sending a tingle through the base of my spine.

  After a few minutes, I donned a fresh pair of panties. It was the same pair that Ivan had pulled out of the washer. I swear, he had done so on purpose. But why? Was he simply playing some juvenile prank or was it something more than that? Was I insane for thinking that maybe he was trying to drop a hint?

  I mean, I might not be a supermodel but I can certainly hold my own. I could appreciate my own beauty and the effect I had on men whenever my hips swung from side to side. Maybe Ivan was my childhood friend but he wasn’t blind to the woman I had become.

  As the thong settled into place, I felt the weight of someone’s stare. I looked over my shoulder and saw Ivan propped onto his shoulders with this glazed over look on his face like he had just died and gone straight to heaven. “Man, if I could wake up to this view every single morning...” he murmured like he was still half asleep. “Oh, I’d kill for it.”

  I blushed. “What are you talking about?”

  “What am I talking about?” he questioned. “I’m talking about the fact that I am looking at the most beautiful woman in the world...” Ivan was on the verge of drooling. And that’s when I realized that he was probably daydreaming about someone else because sure, I had my charms, but I was nothing to drool over. On a good night, I could turn a couple of heads but the same wasn’t true first thing in the morning. My hair was a bird’s nest of a mess and my eyes puffy from sleep. My good looks wouldn’t kick in for a little while longer.

  Ivan’s jaw was close to hitting the ground. Yep, he was definitely lost in his own thoughts.

  Knowing he was beyond my reach, I slipped into the bathroom and out of sight.

  A groan echoed through the entire house. “Why’d you have to leave?” he grumbled loud enough for me to hear.

  I leaned against the door, heart racing because it was clear to me that his response was a direct response to the sight of my naked body. He truly found me attractive and honestly, I didn’t know what to do about it. I had always dreamt about this discovery but I never thought it would actually happen. It seemed too good to be true.

  Ivan likes me, I kept telling myself. He really likes me — as more than just a friend.

  The implications were out of this world.

  Did this mean that he wanted a serious relationship or was he looking for nothing more than a hookup? But if hooking up was what he was after, what would it mean for our relationship?

  I had the sneaking suspicion that this could end very, very badly.

  Maybe you had best leave this alone, came that logical part of my brain. Or you’ll wind up regretting it.

  But I will regret it even more if I do nothing, I answered as my hormones came to the forefront and overtook my thoughts.

  I wanted Ivan and if he wanted me too then there was nothing stopping me from getting what I wanted.

  But doubt tugged me in the other direction, sapping at my confidence. Turmoil churned until I no longer found it possible to think straight.

  “I need to get to work...” I whispered to myself, trying to return to reality.

  Lust burned through my body. There was an itch between my legs that I needed to scratch but I ignored it because I knew that time was running out. Putting on a bra was especially agonizing since my nipples were extra sensitive. I had never felt any like it before. It was like Ivan had gotten underneath my skin and he was bringing me to a boil from the inside out. The heat threatened to consume my every inch and I knew that there was only way to fight it: fire with fire, baby.

  But was I ready to get it on with Ivan? Was I ready to experiment with my wildest dreams?

  Ding! Ding! Ding!

  My second alarm went off to alert me that it was time for me to leave.

  “I’ve got to go,” I said to Ivan as I grabbed my coffee mug and screwed on the lid. “You’re free to come and go as you please. I’ll leave the spare keys in your capable hands.” If I wasn’t such a goodie-two-shoes I would have called out of work and listened to the needs of my body. I would have let loose and eased into the wild side of my soul.

  But that didn’t happen.

  As I said, I’m too
much of a goodie-two-shoes.

  But maybe Ivan could make this good girl go bad.

  I WAS GLAD WHEN LUNCH rolled around because I had been swamped from the second I clocked in. Lunch was the first time where I felt like I could breathe.

  “What’s up?” Mackenzie was filling up the vending machine with quarters. “Would you believe that this stupid thing is stuck again? I wanted a Mr. Goodbar and now I’m stuck having an overpriced Snickers.” She shook her head, disappointed by the turn of events. “It’s despicable. I’ve tried to get someone to fix this thing for months but no one in corporate seems capable of listening.”

  “I’m sure they have other things they are trying to deal with.”

  “Don’t take their side,” she snapped. “This is a critical issue that needs top prioritization.”

  “Right. You get nasty when you’re deprived of sugar.”

  “Speaking of sugar, what’s going on with that hunk of yours?”

  “Ivan?”

  “Who else?”

  “He’s sleeping on my couch.”

  “Your couch?” She slapped her hands onto the table, eyes wide. “What is he doing on your couch when he could be in your bed?” Her voice had escalated to the point where I thought the entire airport would learn my business and I’m really a very private person. I didn’t want my love life to become workplace gossip.

  “Shush, will you?”

  She glanced at the vending machine and saw that her second attempt at a candy bar had also failed. “Oh, come on!”

  “So much for that...” I whispered under my breathe.

  “What?”

  “Nothing.”

  She banged the side of the machine and both chocolate bars fell out of place. She looked like a person who had just won the lottery. I thought she would eat them both but to my surprise, she offered me the Snickers bar.

  “Thanks.”

  “Satisfied?” she grinned.

  I rolled my eyes, catching on to her sexual innuendo. “No, and that’s half the problem.”

  “If you want him then just tell him. Guys totally dig it when girls are upfront about what they want. Besides, he’s a total ten. What have you got to lose?”

  “Our friendship, for one,” I answered. “That’s what I’m afraid of the most.”

  “I get that but are you really going to let this opportunity slip you by? The guy is sleeping your couch. He’s ripe for the taking...”

  “Plus, making a move at this points feels like I’m taking advantage of his situation and I don’t want it to come across that way.”

  “You can’t wait around for the perfect moment because it’ll never happen. You need to make it happen!” Mackenzie was the kind of crazy person who liked to bite into chocolate bars instead of breaking off the individual bricks. Sometimes, I wondered whether she wasn’t a psychopath. “All I’m saying is —”

  Buzz. Buzz.

  My phone came alive and skidded across the table, nearly falling off the edge. I caught it at the very last moment and saw the words ‘County Jail’ on the caller I.D. My blood ran cold as I answered it. “Hello?”

  “Hello,” came a gruff voice. The line was full of static so I pressed my phone a little closer to my ear for fear that I wouldn’t hear what he had to say. “This is Ivan.”

  “Ivan?” It didn’t even sound like the ex-billionaire.

  “Where are you? Why did my caller I.D. say you were calling from the county jail?”

  “Because I am.”

  “Ivan! What happened? What did you do?”

  “They’re charging me with breaking and entering.”

  “Breaking and entering?”

  “I returned to my estate,” he admitted. “It was stupid of me to think that I could get with it but there’s something I was trying to find.”

  “What was so important that you had to risk putting yourself in jail?”

  “Look, I don’t have the time to explain. There’s a guard breathing down my neck.”

  “So, what do you want me to do?”

  “Nothing. I just wanted you to know where I was so you wouldn’t worry.” And with that, he hung up the phone. I heard that telltale click but still, I called his name as if I expected him to answer me.

  “What happened?” Mackenzie asked as soon as I dropped the phone to my lap.

  “I need you to find someone to cover my shift.”

  “What happened?” she asked a second time but I was already out the door.

  I GATHERED AS MUCH bond money as I could forfeit if it meant buying Ivan’s freedom. I didn’t care about the price because the thought of Ivan rotting inside a jail cell was too much to bear. I didn’t even want to think about it and I didn’t think about it as I sped my way through town. With the way I was driving, I was gunning to get myself thrown in jail right alongside the man I was trying to save. But I couldn’t slow down.

  By some miracle, I made it to the county jail in one piece and without a single citation for reckless driving.

  Feeling a little nervous, I stepped inside the building. Instantly, I was slammed with a feeling of gloom. It was like breathing through a straw on a humid day. All I wanted to do was turn on my heels and get out of there as fast as I could but I knew Ivan was depending on me and I wasn’t about to let him down when he needed me most.

  “Can I help you?” The officer sitting behind a thick pane of bulletproof glass did not look happy to be there.

  “Yes. I’m hoping to help someone by the name of Ivan Manning.”

  “Could you spell that for me?”

  As I did, he typed it into the computer. With a definitive clack, he slammed the ‘Enter’ button and sent the computer on the search for my best friend. “And what exactly are you trying to help him with? His charges have been dropped.”

  “Really?”

  “That’s what the computer says and it very rarely lies. Give me a moment and I will confirm the status of Mr. Manning for you.” He rose from his chair with a puff of air that made his nostrils flare. “I’ll be right back.”

  He left me alone in the lobby — if you could even call the drab little room a lobby. It had a couple of benches bolted into place and there were security cameras all over the place.

  The strange thing, in my opinion, was the lack of staff. Then again, our sleepy little town wasn’t well known for its crime rate. Petty theft usually made the headlines of our local newspaper.

  With nowhere else to go, I sat down. The bench was incredibly cold. I thought about returning to my car for the sweater I always kept in the trunk but I didn’t want the officer to return while I was outside, so I stayed put and waited.

  After what felt like an eternity, he returned with Ivan in tow. His clothes looked a little ragged and I didn’t know whether that was due to his stay at the jail or the fact that he had been couch surfing for the past couple of days. I didn’t think that doing laundry was on his list of priorities. Not that I bothered to notice when we were home alone and I kept picturing him without his clothes on.

  “Ivan, are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  The officer grunted and I could tell that it was a warning for us to take our conversation elsewhere so we returned to the car.

  “Tell me what happened.”

  “I returned to my estate thinking I could find something.”

  “That stuff isn’t yours anymore,” I said. “The repossession agency owns it now and they could have made your life a living hell for trespassing on their property.”

  “But they didn’t.”

  “But they could of,” I countered. “And I don’t think that this is something that you should be taking lightly.”

  “I’m not taking it lightly.”

  “Ivan.” I turned in my seat so that I could look him in the eye. “Tell me what was in that house that was so important to you that you had to risk jail time to get it.”

  He rubbed his palms against his thighs, wiping away the sweat. “The truth is, my mo
ther always told me that if I found myself in a pinch that I’d be able to find her ‘secret stash’ and that it would help me out of any situation. I’ve searched every inch of that house but I’ve never managed to find it. I have no idea where she could have hidden it.”

  “Look, I don’t care. It’s gone. And you won’t be breaking and entering ever again. Or else.”

  Chapter 9: Ivan

  LOLA WAS KIND ENOUGH to let me crash at her place for as long as I needed to. With my options limited, I took her up on her offer and kept couch surfing for a few weeks.

  Now, don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t taking advantage of my friend. Far from it. I did everything in my power to pull my weight. I’d clean the floors and cook dinner. I’d tend to the laundry and water all of her plants. I’d go down to the local library and pick up her favorite movie so we could watch it at the end of the night because I knew it would help her relax.

  And yet, it never felt like I was doing enough.

  Then came the phone call I had been waiting for. On a whim, I had applied to be a fire fighter. There had been a written exam and I had yet to know whether I had passed that exam or not.

  “Hello?” I was using Lola’s landline which meant I was locked into place, limited in movement by the length of the curled telephone wire. Most people had switched over to cordless but Lola was still living in the 90s.

  “Is this Ivan Manning?”

  “It is.”

  “This is the fire department. We were wondering whether you were still looking for a job.”

  “I am.”

  “Then we would like to get you in for an interview.”

  “Okay, great.” My breath hitched at the back of my throat. Excitement coursed through every inch of my body because it felt like I was finally on the verge of getting my life back together. Maybe being a fire fighter wasn’t a billion dollar career but it was definitely a respectable one. With a full-time position, I’d be able to get a place of my own and finally get out of Lola’s hair. I was sure she was getting sick and tired of having me around all the time.