Veronica paced back and forth, trying to calm down.

Warren could see her every move from the kitchen even as he fixed the both of them something to drink. She needed something relaxing and soothing to calm her nerves; it was obvious. So he decided on green tea for her.

“Here, Ronnie, take this.” Warren called out. “Sit down and chill out—you’re making me nervous with how anxious you’re acting.” He entered the living, setting the tea on the coffee table.

Veronica followed his instructions, taking a seat across from him. “Thanks Warren, I appreciate it. Im not keeping you up, am I?”

“No, not at all. You know, you are always welcome here.”

She politely smiled before blowing her tea and taking a little sip. Veronica knew that Warren meant that from the bottom of his heart. He was even more hospitable and kind to her than her asshole of a boyfriend—who happened to be Warren’s cousin. She was finding herself being drawn to Warren while waiting patiently for Jason to bring her car. What would happen after that… she had not yet decided how to handle the situation.

Veronica had the day from hell, and the evening turned out to be the bigger kick in the ass on top of that. She sighed as quietly as she could as she mentally recalled what had just happened.

~ ~ ~

 Veronica and Jason had made plans to meet up downtown to enjoy a night out with live music and dancing. It had been a long time since they had a date night, so Jason finally gave in after she did some pleading. Veronica wasn’t due to get off from her telemarketing job until 7:00 pm, the same time the band would start their set. Jason told her that he would just meet her there, since he worked downtown, and would just go straight there after he left work at 5:00 pm.

Living in Michigan during the winter was never something Veronica ever got used to, which said something since she’d been born and raised here. Now at age 25, her driving skills and comfort level had not improved one bit as the winters continued to get worse. Jason had been getting them around so far this winter in his gray Escalade, but now she had to fend for herself in her little blue Beetle. Veronica had taken her sweet time driving what was usually a 10-minute drive in decent weather conditions, but this turned out to be a 30-minute trip with still a few more blocks before parking.

Just as she turned on the street, she heard a loud, alarming noise and felt her car fighting to switch directions on her. 

Oh shit!

Veronica grabbed the steering wheel and was luckily able to maneuver her car into a space occupying a meter on the corner. The lounge she was trying to get to was still at least six long blocks down, and there was no way she was going to struggle to slide her way down those blocks in her black leather, knee-high boots on three-inch heels. That was all she needed—someone passing by seeing this big voluptuous, size-20, mocha-complexioned woman falling on her plump ass trying to be cute. With social media these days, someone would post it on Facebook or YouTube. 

“Babe…damn, I was hoping you had your phone in your hand, as you usually do. I have a flat tire—I’m on the street of the bar and lounge but many blocks down at the intersection of Monroe Place. I can’t walk the rest of the way down there in what I have on. It’s 7:33.”

Veronica ended the call to Jason’s voicemail, cursing under her breath. A part of her wondered for a few seconds if Warren made it there yet, but as soon as the thought crossed her mind she looked at her Facebook alerts, noticing there was one from over an hour ago showing that Jason had checked in at the lounge.

After sitting in her idling car for about 10 minutes, Veronica decided to make another call.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Warren, I’m so glad I got you!”

“Are you okay?”

“I could be better. Are you at the lounge on Ionia tonight…did Jason tell you about the jazz band playing there?”

“He did, but I hadn’t made up my mind if I was going. What’s up?”

It only took a few seconds before Warren cut Veronica off and told her he’d be there as soon as he could to get her out of cold. Veronica had met Warren even before she’d met Jason, but it wasn’t until she and Jason started dating that she found out they were cousins.  Whenever Warren was around them, Veronica always felt a bit awkward between the two. Secretly, Veronica had wished that Jason carried more of Warren’s ways about him. Although Warren was a bit more laid back and quiet, he was a sweetheart and gentleman.

She first met him out at a networking event, in which he displayed his quiet charm that started their friendship, but then some time had passed without them seeing each other out. By the time Veronica saw Warren again, it was when Jason took her to a family picnic and he introduced Warren as his older cousin. If there was ever something there between her and Warren, she knew they could never pursue it.

Now, almost four months later, here was “Cousin” Warren running to her rescue.

Warren did record time, making it to Veronica in 15 minutes.

“Warren, you didn’t have to do this. I am so sorry to have brought you out into this cold mess.”

“Are you kidding me? Ronnie, I’d never leave you out here like this. You look beautiful, by the way.”

“Thanks.” Veronica smiled, wondering how he could tell with her gray pea coat and matching gray hat covering her wild mane of natural, brown curls.

“Do you have a spare?” he asked.

“Yes, I do, but don’t worry about that, Warren. It’s so cold.”

“No, I can handle it. We want to make sure we have you moved before the meter kicks in tomorrow morning.”

“Well, let’s at least go down here to the lounge and listen to the band for a bit, and then Jason can help you or change the spare himself. Let him do something.”

Warren looked to be considering her proposal, and nodded in agreement. “I won’t be interrupting your date night with my cousin, will I?”

“No, not at all. He told me that a few of his work friends would be there, too, so it’s not really an exclusive date night.” Veronica’s mood had changed about this in the past few hours since she was now able to joke about it, because she wasn’t happy to hear during her lunch break conversation with Jason that he had invited his work buddies out on what was suppose to be a date.

“Okay, why not. It’s been a while since I’ve been out and had some fun.” Warren agreed.

“Well, let's go and get out of this cold!”

And so they did.

After finding another parking space and getting inside the crowded lounge, Veronica and Warren came in during the band’s intermission.

Jason was nowhere in sight on the lounge side. Leaving Warren behind to find an unoccupied table near the performance stage, Veronica took a walk around to see if she could find Jason in the crowded establishment.

Finally, she saw him at a corner pub table, laughing with a female who was occupying Jason’s personal space. Looking at the two of them, anyone would have thought they were together.

Veronica squeezed her way through until she reached the pub table. It was the strange blonde-haired female who noticed her first.

“Hey,” Veronica made her introduction. “I’ve been trying to call you.”

Jason turned around in surprise as he saw Veronica standing next to him. Looking back and forth between the two women, it took him a moment to get his words together.

“Yeah? Hey…Ronnie, this is Linda…she works at the agency with me.”

The two women shook hands and spoke. Although Veronica felt a sense of relief from hearing that Linda worked with him, she still could not shake the way she felt. Linda looked and acted like a woman who was irritated that they had been rudely interrupted.

“I’m sorry I’m late for our date night, babe, but I got a flat…I tried to call you.” Just in case there was any doubt, Veronica was making it clear to this Linda woman who she was to Jason.

“Oh, you know…I did see you had called and I meant to call you right back but got distracted. Are you okay?” Jason quickly asked, seemingly attempting to change the subject.

“I’ll give you two some alone time. It was nice to meet you,” Linda forced a smile toward Veronica and lightly placed her hand on Jason’s shoulder as she walked away.

“Same here.” Veronica forced a quick smile in Linda’s direction before turning her attention back to Jason. “So, she didn’t seem too happy for me to be interrupting your conversation.”

“Oh, don’t start, Ronnie. She and I just work together, but we were having a good conversation, though. And you’ve missed so much…the band was good.”

“Didn’t you just hear me say I got a flat? Way down on Monroe Place. I couldn’t walk down here in these boots. I would have gotten here sooner otherwise.”

“How did you get here?”

“I called Warren. I figured you told him about it…since you invited your coworkers on our date; figured you wouldn’t mind your cousin being here.”

Jason hadn’t even noticed Veronica’s sarcasm as he looked around, taking in the scenery and enjoying his drink. This pissed Veronica off even more; he did not even seem to care about what had just happened over the past hour or so.

“Well, the band is about to start back up soon. Did you and Warren find a seat?” Jason started walking off, leading the way back to the lounge area where the band was starting to take the stage again.

“Yeah, he found a table for all of us over here by the stage…unless you have a seat saved for me? Can we pull a chair up for Warren?”

Jason stopped in his tracks, almost causing Veronica to bump into him. “Damn, Ronnie…I’m sorry but we don’t have anymore room at our table.”

“What do you mean ‘our’ table?” Veronica asked, looking past Jason to see who he was referring to.

“The guys…and Linda. All of us from the agency.”

“So, you didn’t save me a seat for our date night? What if I had gotten here just fine on my own—you would make me sit alone?”

Jason paused as he appeared to think about what he would say next. “Well, so much time passed and I did have a seat for you, but then Linda came and…”

“So you gave Linda my seat.”

“I wasn’t for sure if you were still coming.”

“And you didn’t call or text me to check, either.”

“Look Ronnie, let’s not do this now. My cousin is here and has a table for us, let me go tell them goodbye, and I will join you all in just a moment. Give me five minutes, okay, baby?”

Veronica nodded in agreement and watched Jason walk off in the opposite direction, but she was pissed the fuck off at him and this relationship. They would definitely be talking about this later in a more appropriate setting.

She turned to find Warren waving for her attention, so Veronica smiled and headed to the table that Warren found for them. It was a better spot than the one Jason and his coworkers occupied.

“Nice table. Jason will be surprised to see how close we are to the stage.”

After she said it, Veronica was angry with herself for caring what Jason thought at the moment. The look on Warren’s face seemed to show that he really didn’t give a fuck what Jason thought, either.

“Where is Jason, anyway?” Warren asked, looking around for him.

“He went to say goodbye to his coworkers. He said he’d be right over.”

“Well, I took it upon myself to order you some wine. You still like Moscato, right? I figured you’d be ready for a good drink once you returned.”

“Yes. I can’t believe you remembered.”

“Of course I do.”

Warren smiled and she was reminded of how handsome he was. The crazy thing was that she always thought about vampires when she saw him, because he looked just like Eric Northman from the True Blood TV series, except that Warren was only 5’11” and had darker hair. As for his cousin, he and Jason looked nothing alike; Jason was over 6’ feet and your everyday handsome curly-haired blonde with blue eyes. Veronica would joke several times that it was his looks that drew her in to Jason, but it was the truth. His personality sure wasn’t doing the job, but she kept hanging in there—for what? She wasn’t sure.

The band started back up again with Warren making small talk with Veronica while her mind kept going back to Jason and the fact that over 45 minutes had passed and he had not joined them at their table. She had even sent him a text message asking him what was taking him so long, but 20 minutes went by without a response. Veronica was doing her best to hold it together and enjoy herself, but she was fed up and ready to call it a night.

“Warren, I’m sorry. I’m ready to go now. Jason doesn’t seem to care if I’m here or not. Can we leave? Please?” Veronica felt the tears building up, so she dropped her head to prevent Warren from noticing.

“Yes, of course. I’m sorry, Ronnie. My cousin can be such an asshole sometimes. Let me find our waiter to pay the tab, and I’ll meet you by the door, okay?”

“Okay.”

Veronica and Warren stood up and moved in opposite directions. She was tempted to go in the direction that she saw Jason walk earlier to find him and give him a piece of her mind, but she decided against it. Veronica did not want Jason to see the emotion and hurt she felt, courtesy of his doing.

Instead of waiting inside, she stepped outside into the cold, dark, wintery air, which felt good considering how hot she had become from the combination of her anger, the glasses of wine she had consumed, and all of the people squeezed inside that place.

About five minutes later, Warren joined her outside.

“Ronnie, I’ll go get the car and pull up here for you. Please, go wait inside—it’s cold out here.”

“I need the air, Warren. I’ll be right here. Be careful on that ice.”

Warren smiled and dashed off to the parking ramp across the street to retrieve his car. Pulling up to the curb for Veronica to get in a short time later, it wasn’t until they were on the highway that Veronica broke their silence.

“Warren, I didn’t even think about it. What about my car?”

“I spoke to Jason before I came out. He’ll be changing your flat and bringing your car to you shortly to my place, if you don’t mind coming over for about an hour.”

“Oh. No, I don’t mind.” Veronica looked over at Warren, who kept his eyes on the road but she could tell that he was irritated with his cousin and his behavior just as much as she was.

“Did you tell him I was upset?”

“I told him that he was being an ass and that I wasn’t going to let you wait for him any longer. I told him he needed to make sure your flat got changed, and that he brought your car to you immediately. I told him I’d drop him back off to his car afterward. I‘m giving him an hour to get to my place since the roads are bad.”

“Oh.”

Veronica could not find any more words to say because Warren had basically said everything that needed to be said. She just wished that she could have been a fly on the wall witnessing this exchange.

Finally she asked, “Well, what happens if he doesn’t show up in an hour?”

“I told him he’d have to deal with me.”

“Alright, Warren.” Veronica smirked and looked over at Warren who kept his eyes on the road. She could see the smile forming on his lips, though, as a result of knowing that he had done good.

~ ~ ~

Almost two hours had passed and there was no word from Jason. Veronica felt like such a fool sitting here with her boyfriend’s cousin while her boyfriend had stood her up after totally disregarding her on what was supposed to be a fun night out making up for lost time. Veronica knew, without a doubt, that Jason was going to get cursed out as soon as he entered Warren’s place. 

“Ronnie, I am so sorry. I know you had thought this night would turn out much better than this. You deserve so much better.” Warren joined Veronica out on his enclosed and heated sun porch where she had excused to herself 15 minutes earlier.

She had called Jason only to get his voicemail; she left an angry message that would hopefully give Jason the heads up that he would have much explaining to do. When she ended the call, though, Veronica knew in her heart that Jason did not really care all that much if she was angry or not. She started preparing herself for the breakup that she should have seen coming way before now.

“Warren, no need for you to apologize—don’t feel responsible for what your cousin is doing.”

“I can apologize,” Warren gave just the briefest of pauses, “for not opening up and telling you a long time ago that I was interested in you.” 

Veronica turned and faced Warren, who was standing directly behind her. Her heart felt as it had skipped a few beats as she took in what he said.

“Yeah,” she finally said. “That would have been nice if you would have.”

“Really?” Warren ran his fingers across her tears that were starting to dry on her smooth cheeks.

“Yeah, really, Warren. When I first met you I was interested in you, but you never said anything to let me know what you felt. You never asked for my phone number—I never knew what you were thinking. Then the next time I saw you…”

“…you were with him at the picnic. It crushed me to see you with him because I knew he didn’t deserve you.”

Veronica reached for Warren, wrapping her arms around his neck. She leaned forward, looking up in his eyes and brushed her lips up against his. Before she knew it, Warren kissed her deeply as he wrapped his strong arms around her waist.

Their kisses became deeper as he moved his hands down lower palming Veronica’s ass that fit her jeans like a hand in a glove. Warren pushed his tongue into her mouth, moving his other hand up to grab a handful of her curls. As he pulled her head back, he used his thick tongue to lead a wet trail down the front of her neck into her cleavage, which he had been trying not focus on all night, but suddenly could indulge. The green blouse she wore looked perfect against her skin, and the cleavage she revealed seemed to welcome Warren. 

He pulled the blouse over her head and quickly grabbed both of her breasts as the white lace bra pushed them up higher to his mouth. As Warren led his tongue around Veronica’s erect nipples, which tried their hardest to force their way out of her bra, she helped him by unfastening the hooks and allowing her bra to freely fall and reveal her beautiful breasts that filled his hands perfectly.

“Oh, baby, come here.” Warren once again grabbed them and took his time licking and sucking each breast and nipple as Veronica ran her French manicured fingers through his head of dark spiked hair.

Warren moved his hands down to her jeans and started unfastening them as she anxiously tugged at the zipper on his black sweater. His scent was so intoxicating to her and she knew that she had to have him. Just as she got his sweater open to reveal his hairy chest and toned waist, Veronica moaned out upon feeling Warren’s fingers entering her and making her wetter.

She placed her arms on his shoulders for support as his fingers moved in and out, bumping her clitoris and bringing her even more pleasure in the process.

“Oh, I can’t take it anymore,” Veronica finally yelled after her orgasm, as she spread her legs farther for Warren. “Give me your dick.”

As Warren unfastened his pants and allowed his slacks and briefs to fall to his ankles, Veronica’s mouth opened in awe at his long, thick erection. She pulled her fitted jeans down below her thick thighs and used the pads of her feet to free herself of any further clothing that could distract them.

Without any more words, Warren reached for Veronica and lifted her up by her ass. As she wrapped her legs around him, Warren carried her over to the lounger and placed her on her back. He allowed his dick to lead the way inside her, causing her to scream out in pleasure as her pussy spread to take in Warren’s length and width.

As Warren moved in and out of her, with Veronica joining him in their rhythm to meet him and take him inside of her even deeper, Veronica thought about how this was much better than she had ever imagined it would be with Warren. She had always pictured him being the lovey-dovey, gentle kind of romantic lover. And though Warren carried a natural warmth and affection, she was getting what one would consider a good fuck, and she did not mind it at all.

Veronica could not remember the last time Jason had given it to her this good, if ever. As of late, all he wanted was his dick to be sucked. If he didn’t cum from that, then he might give her about a minute’s worth of some humping action. She’d then have to finish herself off with her vibrator after he left.

Warren was making sure that no vibrator would be needed this evening.

“Oh Ronnie, I’m about to nut, baby. Can you cum with me?”

“Yes!”

They climaxed together before Warren lowered himself on his side next to Veronica, wrapping his arms around her and starting to passionately kissing her again.

“You have no idea how many times I have fantasized about having you like this. I can’t believe it happened,” Warren confessed before continuing to kiss her full lips and squeezing her ass cheeks. He moved his fingers in deeper to once again enter her, making her almost purr with pleasure in between their kisses.

“Ronnie, you know that it’s not just about the sex with you, don’t you? I want more than this with you. Are you ready for that?” Warren spoke in a low serious tone as he continued pleasing her. “I know you need to handle things with Jason, and I’m willing to give you the time to do that. I just need you to know what I feel for you—you deserve so much better, and I can give you better.”

Veronica looked Warren into his eyes, trying to catch her breath as she reacted to Warren’s fingers inside of her and the words he spoke. She knew he came from a sincere place, and the fact was that she wanted to see where things could go with Warren, too.

Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the front doorbell.

They continued to look into each other’s eyes, apparently unbothered. Veronica smiled and nodded her answer to Warren, and gave him a kiss on his lips.

“Well, I better go handle this then,” she said as she stood up over them looking around for her clothing.

“Oh no, you don’t. I told him if he wasn’t here in an hour that he would have to deal with me. Tonight, I will talk to him when I give him a ride home. I’m not even letting him inside,” Warren started dressing as he spoke. “You can have your talk with him later. I’ll be back and I want you to stay the night—I don’t want you driving on the roads tonight. Plus, we need to make up for lost time, don’t you agree?”

Warren smiled at Veronica as the doorbell continued to ring incessantly. They were in their own zone, though, and blocking everything and everyone else out.

Veronica nodded in agreement and smiled back at Warren. Finally her day had turned around for the better. She decided she’d let Warren handle Jason tonight, and she would deal with him tomorrow. It was time to look out for herself, for once, and her happiness.

Happiness, she thought with a satisfied smile. It was clear to her now that Warren was going to play a major part in that.