Ara stood at her office desk. It was covered with dozens of roses, all of them red. Walking across the room, she set her bag on the floor and sat in the chair behind the desk. An envelope caught her eye, propped up in the center of the flowers with her name written in old English caligraphy. Ara gingerly turned the crisp envelope over in her hands, running her fingers over the blood red sealing wax emblazened with a rose. She slid a finger under the flap, and with a sharp snap of the wrist, Ara pushed back the flap and pulled out a letter. The precise and scripted writing held a simple message:
~Treize
Treize. The name whispered through her mind like the wind, etching its way into her memory. She placed the envelope and letter down on the desk and rubbed her hands over her face. She was surprised to discover she was shaking.
/What’s wrong with me? I’m never nervous…/ Picking up her portable vid-phone, she punched an instant dial key. The phone rang at Thea’s apartment for a good minute before she hung up. Ara quickly opened a top drawer in her desk and pulled out a piece of paper full of names and numbers. Scrolling her finger down the page, Ara located the desired number and punched it into her phone.
After 5 rings, a topless Wufei answered. He raised an eyebrow, breathing hard and sweating.
"Onna! What do you want? I’m busy."
"I need to talk with Thea." Ara could see his heart racing in his throat for a moment when he threw back his head and closed his eyes. After a brief few seconds, he opened clouded eyes and answered huskily, "Why are you calling here for her?"
Ara sighed. "Cut the crap, Wufei. I know you two are involved, so if you could tell her to stop sucking your dick for a few moments so I could speak with her, I’d greatly appreciate it."
Growling, Wufei hit a button on the screen and it went black, except for the word "Hold" flashing across the surface every second. Thea appeared almost instantly. She was trying to straighten her hair, which was completely beyond help at that point.
"Yeah, what is it, hon?"
"You know," Ara said quietly, "he’s gotten quite developed over the past few years hasn’t he?"
"Onna!" came a shout from the background. Thea laughed. "Yeah, he is pretty built. But that’s not the reason you called…or have you become a professional voyeur?"
Ara smiled back at her friend. "No. I got a letter from Treize."
"Finally! So…what’s it say?"
"Well, beyond it being buried beneath 12 dozen red roses, which I have no clue how he got on this colony, he wants to meet me here at midnight. What do you think."
"What do I think?" Thea grinned through the screen. "I think somebody’s gettin’ lucky tonight! I mean, you two have been dating for years. I believe he is ready for commitment. And if you need a condom, I’ll swipe one from Wufei for you."
"That’d be great, actually. Just give it to me tonight at 9 when you come help me get ready, if ya would. That is, when you’re not too busy…speaking of which, I’ll let you get back you Wufei."
"I’ll be there, and he thanks you," Thea said, bowing slightly to the screen. "Catch ya later!"
Ara disconnected before having to witness her friends at it again. Running a hand over the petals of one of the roses, she began to envision her night, silently, of course, in her mind.
*******************
At 9 o’clock, Ara stepped out of the bathroom with one towel around her body, and another briskly rubbing her hair dry. She glanced at her bed, which was laden with clothes from her closet, which were being thrown onto it by Thea.
"Okay, some of these outfits are piles of shit, so I brought some of my stuff over for you. Now, I was thinking…." Thea held up an excuse for a black shirt, "You can borrow my leather mini, and wear your fishnets and that blood red silk shirt you’ve got somewhere here…you know how he likes red….OH! And my black stilettos, too. So. What do ya think?"
Ara just nodded dumbly, grabbing the clothes Thea held out to her.
"Now," Thea said, rummaging through Ara’s dresser. "The underwear is very crucial. Something that screams ‘I’m yours. Take me.’ Got anything like that?"
She looked up, and Ara pointed to the bag in the corner. Thea picked it up, reached in, and pulled out a black low-cut bra and matching panties.
"Nice."
Tossing them to Ara, she herded her to the bathroom again. "Now, go change, blow-dry your hair, and come back out. I’ll get the shoes and the make-up." An hour and a half later, Ara was ready to go. The shirt clung to her curves, and the low cut skirt only made her legs look longer. The stilettos added to her already tall height, and tossed hairstyle made her look almost windblown. She wore only chapstick and eyeliner. She eyed herself in the mirror as Thea smiled at her handiwork.
"I look like a whore. Maybe if the outfit didn’t scream prostitute, I’d go for it."
Thea just shoved her to the bed. "No, the outfit screams desire. And if you’re a prostitute, what the hell does that make me?"
"My pimp?" Ara wisecracked.
"Yeah, bitch, and Treize is your sugar daddy. Now, here are the condoms-"
"Whoa!" Ara yelled pushing them away. "Plural? What’ll he think of that? I need one, Thea, only one."
Thea just raised an eyebrow. "No, you need more than that. Have you taken a close look at his body? That physique’ll have stamina built into it. Trust me."
"Fine," Ara growled, ripping them from her hand. “Where do I put them?"
"Down your bra. Where else?”
Ara stared at her friend. "Gee. How silly of me. I should have known you’d say that…of course, you shove things down your bra all the-"
"Enough!" Thea snapped, playfully hitting her on the shoulder. "I brought sandwiches for dinner, so eat, and then get down there early."
They sat in companionable silence as they ate.
***************
Ara clumsily made her way into her office. It was nearing midnight as she sat in a chair, and faced the doorway. Trying to adjust the clothes so her intent was obvious, she faced the door with a sultry glance. As her desk clock beeped midnight, the door opened with the flourish of a cape. Treize stepped inside, and stopped to stare at Ara as the door closed behind him. His gaze raked over her form, and a heat flushed her cheeks. The room was permeated with the scent of sweet roses, and it only added to the intensity between the two.
Treize stepped to her, greeting her with a passionate kiss. He tasted of warm honey; she could have tasted it all day and not had her fill. He broke the kiss just as suddenly, leaving both of them gasping for breath and wanting more. He ran the petals of a red rose down her cheek, over her neck and collar bone, and it came to rest between her heaving chest. A hand cupped her face as he knelt in front of her, and leaned in, kissing her jaw line until he reached her ear.
"I want you," was all her whispered to her, then locking their gazes, he stood and pulled her to her feet. She leaned into him, their lips a breath apart. They touched briefly, then pulled away before pushing together in equal earnest. Tongue and lips sought pleasure as Ara ran her hands up his chest to the cape. Undoing the clasp, she pushed it from his shoulders as he slowly unbuttoned her shirt, leaving it to slide down her body until it rest in a puddle on the floor.
Quickly breaking contact from him, Ara reached into her bra and pulled out the three condoms. "Protection," she said, unable to create meaningful sentences at this point. He nodded, kneeling to set them on the floor. On his way to his feet, he ran a hand along the backside of her left leg, causing her to sway dangerously on her 4-inch shoes. Loosing patience, he lifted each leg in turn to take off her shoes, and once done, yanked down her skirt, stockings, and panties in one pull. As her bra came off, Ara ripped Trieze’s pants from his form, and he stopped long enough to remove his socks and shoes. Breathing hard and only inches from one another, they dove.
Desperate need turned into languid desire and soon Ara felt the pleasure Treize had been slowly administering, build up to a crisis. He removed his hands from her body and let the pleasure fall as he prepared himself for her. Gliding his hands up her body once more, he heard her breath begin to hitch, her body tremble, and he entered her as he took her up. Ara closed her eyes on the long moan that escaped from her lips. Their lips met reverently as Treize moved, filling Ara with a white-hot passion. As they creschendoed together, Ara let a tear slip down her cheek.
When they could once more move, Treize scooped her up and rolled so that Ara lay on top of him. He pulled her to him and closed his eyes, relishing in the feel of her skin against his. They both knew this could only lead to heartache, but as he was taught at a very early age, amo est sum. To love is to be.