Everything But The -

"Theresa, Theresa, oh my god, yes Theresa!" "Yeah? You like that? Right there?" "Yes, Theresa right the-" "Huh!?" I gasp for air. What was that? I lay still trying to recollect my thoughts. A few seconds pass and I finally notice my phone has been ringing. I look over to my night stand next to my bed, 7:45 am. I don't know why the f**k I have my alarm set to 7:45 am, every single damn day. I dismiss the alarm still laying on my bed trying to figure out what just happened. I feel awfully good, besides that rude awakening. What did I do last night? Hmm... I move my body to the side. Did I even eat last night? I don't know. I lay on the right side of my body. What day is it anyways? I become confused and irritated as I turn my body onto my sides. Okay, pull it together Theresa. I look over at my phone, 7:52 am on a Thursday. Let's see... Thursday, Thursdays... Right! I work the night shift today! I grin. I have all day to be productive! I get up too fast immediately regretting my actions. I sit back down on the edge of my bed. I am anemic but it isn't as bad as others. I don't crave ice, I don't have weird temperature drops in my body, I do struggle with my energy levels and often times get light headed and tired too easily. I finally regain some strength and make my way to my kitchen. I open the fridge rummaging through. Carbs, carbs, carbs, I mumble to myself. f**k yes! I almost cry of happiness. Left over pasta, my favorite. It always taste better the next day. I prop open my laptop skimming through to find something to watch on Netflix while I eat. I finally settle on Bojack Horseman. His depressing life resonates with me, not that I can relate to half of the s**t that he has done, but its something I can understand. After just completing one episode I finish my food. I place my plate down onto the sink. I ignore the pile of dirty dishes that have been starting to stack up. Ill take care of it later, I mumble to myself. I reach upstairs to my bedroom and sit on the edge of my bed. What to do, what to do... I lay down and grab my phone. I reply to one of my closest friends, Kaitlin. "Hey b***h :)" I text her, wondering if shell reply this early in the morning.  "Hiii Chica!!! I thought you were dead, how are you?"  I smile back at her response. You see, my life isn't all together. I tend to forget an awful lot of things, I have been extremely unmotivated for as long as I can remember and I am one of the fakest people I know. I tend to not reply to people but really its not my fault. It really is a lot of effort keeping up with people and sometimes its too much for me. Thankfully my friends just tease me about this, they never actually get offended.  "Haha no! Just living life. How are you sis?"  I met Kaitlin my sophomore year of high school. She is a beautiful tall lady. About 5'9. She has such a rich tanned colored skin, and her big hazel eyes are to die for! I am most envious of her beautiful afro hair! She tends to cut it very short giving her the cutest buzz cut! Kaitlin thought she was overweight but her figure is just stunning. She is thick but definitely on the slimmer side, probably because she's pretty tall. Kaitlin and I are both Dominican but it is clearer to see that her family has more African decent than anything else.  "Me too, Me and the hubby are going out for drinks later on, want to join? I miss you!"  I roll my eyes at the sight of her "hubby". Dont get me wrong, hes great and all that I just dont care for him as much and I am just happy shes happy. "Sorry sis, I have work later!" I quickly text her back. I close my phone, knowing this will be the end of the conversation.   My stomach rumbles. Damn I knew I shouldn't have drank Pepsi this early in the morning. I groan as the pain intensifies. I make my way to the bathroom and take care of business, afterwards I shower and brush my teeth. My bathroom is connected to my bedroom so I can easily come in and out whenever I want. Let me mention, this has come in handy countless times. As I make my way towards my closest I think back to the time when I came over for a tour of the condo.  I saw it online and many friends recommended me to get a loft. I use to live with my parents. I also had three other siblings and it was just a full house and about time I got my own space. Growing up, both my parents were strict. I was not allowed to have sleepovers or boyfriends. The people I saw on a daily bases were my cousins and other family members. I saw my friends at school as well and it was always an interesting time at my school seeing as I attended a public school. I had one twin brother named Lucas. He was the crazy one while I was the quiet and reserved one. We always played together and everyday it was filled with fun and imagination! My parents never had to get rough with me but me and Lucas fought just as much as we got along. I would never be able to get my own things because Lucas would get jealous and want what I had as well. So when I got my first gaming counsel, of course Lucas had to get one too.  Now, my family isn't rich but we were lucky enough to have a good amount of money. My parents came to the U.S with the mindset of working hard. Because of this, we did grow up having the essentials. We always had food, running water, clothes on our backs, the list goes on. For a family of six, always having the essentials was an amazing accomplishment! My other two siblings might as well be twins too. They look exactly alike. Besides there being a four year difference, the similarities are undeniable!  Joshua is just pushing 19 and Tenzin recently turned 15. Joshua is a very macho man. Just like Lucas, he is another trouble maker. He tends to take things too far and fools around too much. He just got accepted into University and decided to study abroad for an entire year. We all hope this trip will discipline him. Although Lucas is also a trouble maker, he attended ROTC in University and he is already 23, he knows he has to act mature.  Joshua is just as tall as Lucas, he is 6'1 while Lucas is 6'2. Joshua has an afro like hair but his curls are  soft brown and well defined. He has hazel eyes, hinting to almost be green. He definitely is the looks of the family. Joshua works out to entertain himself and keep himself busy, because of this, he is well built and muscullar. He has a very tanned skin complexion and has a very beautiful smile. He is always very eager and looking for something to do. He has always been the caring type and is a very sweet guy, I am waiting for the day he meets a girl. I just know he will treat her right because of how he treats me and Tenzin. Even though I am a bit older, he has always been looking out for me and Tenzin. He would not let anyone disrespect us. He is even more careful around Tenzin as she is the baby of our family. He is much more overprotective of her because of her character as well.  Tenzin is not as shy as me. She looks up to Joshua and therefore is on the wilder side. Tenzin accepts no disrespect from no one. She is just 15 and is beyond beautiful. No one knows how, but she has the lightest brunette hair and just like Joshua, beautiful hazel eyes just waiting to be green! Her long hair is just above her bum and they are also soft curls like Joshua. Me and Tenzin are both barely making it to 5'3, we aren't sure why. Our father is 5'11 and our mother is 5'5, the height gods have not blessed us in that region. Tenzin has the same skin complexion as Joshua, very tanned, its as if they grew up on the islands! Tenzin is very chatty and knows a lot of people. She is really sweet and seems to get a long with everyone. Whenever she opens her full pink lips to talk, everyone stops and listens. She definitely leaves an impression in the room. When I was back home, me and Tenzin would bicker all day, no one could hear the end of it! What would our family expect? Having two girls living in the same room together is only waiting to start drama! I laugh as I remember how funny she is. She is always trying to make light out of any situation. She gets along soo well with Joshua. I swear to god they are twins, they are both Leos so I guess it would make sense.   Lucas is for sure goofy by nature. He gets along with Joshua just fine. The two seem to have different schedules and because of this they do not fight as much. When we were growing up, Joshua was attached to Lucas to the hip! He was always following him and doing whatever he did. I didnt like to play with Joshua as much and would get jealous whenever Joshua was taking Lucas away from me.  Lucas and I are both a tad bit darker than Joshua and Tenzin. We both took on our parents complexion. We both have very curly hair and it is a lot darker than Joshua and Tenzin, falling at a dark brown tone. We both have very dark brown eyes and my hair is midback because of how curly it is. Whenever I do straighten my hair, which is rarely because I try to take very very good care of my hair, it falls mid bum. Lucas hair is is always in a little man bun, he has been trying to grow out his hair for almost a year now. He takes a lot of pride in his progress. Because his hair is just as curly as mine, sometimes he finds it very hard to manage which is why he leaves it in a little bun most of the time. Lucas is also very built because he was in ROTC during University. He use to work out with Joshua whenever they had the chance but now that Joshua is off to university he gets the room to himself and has been working out with his friends and sometimes in his room  I sigh, Lucas should really think about moving out.  I decided on wearing a black under armour long sleeve and black jeans. I know I wouldn't feel like changing outfits for work later on. I sprayed my hair down with some water until it was damp and added some more curling creame to it. I walked to my dresser and sprayed my body down lightly with a mist I bought from Pink. I put on my socks and shoes and sat down at my vanity.  My condo was fair sized. Upstairs led up to my room. On the left side of my room was my full bathroom. The shower was huge, inside the shower was a bathtub that I still haven't had the chance to use yet. I had a two person sink and the toilet was off to the side. Located on the other side of my bedroom was my walk in closest. The closest was a fair sized and it fit my vanity so I can do my makeup in there with no problem. In The corner of my room I had my desk. I wanted to place my desk there because there was a nice window that I can look out from. In the middle of my room lied my bed. It was a queen sized bed, a little dramatic of me to buy but I made the purchase anyways. I had two dressers on either sides of my bed as well.  Downstairs right off the staircase, I had a half bathroom with just a toilet, a cabinet to store extra feminine hygiene products and other bathroom essentials, and a two person sink. My kitchen was a fairly good size as well, I didnt have a dinning table as I opted out to have barstools to save some space. My living room was pretty cozy, with a three seater couch and a love seat infront of the fireplace. I did not want to buy a TV as I already have a phone, a tablet and my laptop.  I went downstairs to the kitchen and opened up my mini freezer. I had to keep a seperate freezer to store extra meats for my cat. I wanted to give my pal a good life and feed him a raw food diet. He meowed from across the room as soon as he heard his little freezer open. I placed one of his prepackaged containers in the fridge to let it defrost. As I grab another container that has already defrosted from last night, I feel him rub his little head on my ankles. He is so cute!  I place his food down and watch him eat. I make my way over to my laptop and sit down on one of the barstools. Living in New York City is fun and all but I just never know what to do. I currently live in Brooklyn. The area is pretty cozy, and my loft is such a great size. It is beyond expensive. If it weren't for the unemployment checks the government was giving out because of COVID, I would have never been able to afford this place. I was able to get around 10k in unemployment because I had lost my job due to COVID. It was a heavy loss and I did not know what to do as it was my only source of income. I use to work in an office area with finance. It was sickening to sit in an office from 8 am - 6 pm everyday either on the phone or on the computer but it was a good income. Because of COVID they had to lay off a whole bunch of people and sadly my position was very replaceable. Once I was getting unemployment I saved up all the money I could and began looking around. My parents lived in Queens and the area was very diverse. I loved it there. All of my friends recommended I move to a loft as it is something that was more of my style. I was able to find this beautiful cozy loft online and it was right by the waters too.  I looked over at my phone, it was already 11 am. I roll my eyes. I now work at starbucks. It is a very great job with a lot of benefits and my coworkers are great but sometimes the customers get too much to handle for me. Now that I am older I am not as shy as I use to be but I still don't speak up for myself as much. Not great for me, the ruthless starbucks customers can sense that and take full advantage of me. There is this one customer who always comes in...I blush as I all of a sudden begin to remember my dream from this morning. What in the hell is wrong with me? Was I really having a dirty dream about a guy I didn't even know? Whatever, I roll my eyes at the thought, Ive never even taken his order before, but he always comes in after work looking drained. Whenever he enters the room I can no longer smell the coffee beans brewing or the sweat of my other coworkers who have been working long shifts. Instead I am engulfed in the smell of his aroma. It is a smell of mixed sandalwood and eucaylptis. It smells soo good and masculine it makes me feel weak.  He stands above six feet and he is very built. He comes in wearing his suit with his tie a bit loosened, probably from all the stress of the day. He has a raged but very clean beard and his blonde hair is always slicked back. Im always caught in a trance whenever he walks in. He is so intoxicating. I wonder what his chest feels like.  I lose myself in a trance when my phone starts ringing.  Another alarm? Come on now. I really don't trust myself enough to wake up in time for anything. My shift starts at four. I decided to head out and walk around my neighborhood before my shift. As I lock my door I put my mask on. I see my neighbor just walking into his loft. I wonder how he decorated his.  I walk around the dog park and I start to think of my university life. I've met so many people and luckily still keep in touch. It has been two years since I had graduated. I remember thinking back in High School that I was soo grown. I only dated about three people while in high school.  I enter a small coffee shop. And pick up a glass mocha cold brew from the fridge. I look around the fridge and grab a carrot cake as well. I pay at the register and sit down in one of the empty seats inside.  My first relationship I thought I was going to be with the guy forever. He was such a jerk. He was three years ahead of me making him a junior in high school. He was applying for different colleges nearby his area but apparently it was all too much for him and he broke up with me. I was heartbroken. Completely shattered. It didn't take long until I found out he began dating a friend of mine. His senior year, a very close friend of mine, who was also his friend, had asked me their prom. I bought a beautiful red dress and he couldn't take his eyes off of me. By this time the girl he was dating wasn't my friend anymore, she probably felt bad for going after my ex and completely stopped talking to me. She noticed my ex constantly gawking at me and I think it finally hit a nerve when he complemented me infront of her. My friend couldn't stop laughing as he told me that my ex did not hear the end of it.  It took me awhile to get over my first ever boyfriend but a year later one of my exs' friend got held back and he was taking the same classes as me. He began talking to me and we got pretty close, always sitting next to each other in chemistry class. He would make jokes here and there and I finally gave him my number. He eventually mustered up the courage to ask me out. I was hesitant for awhile. He was one of my exs' closest friends. How would that make me look? How would that make him look? He was very persistent and so I ended up venting to one of my close friends and told her what was going on. He seemed very serious about me and wouldn't give up. He was very sweet as well and I finally decided to give him a chance. It was actually one of the best decisions I've made in my life. He was very sweet, he walked me to my bus stop, he always texted me and called whenever he could get the chance. He constantly paid for everything. We dated for a while, about two years. I met his mother and youngest sister. She was the sweetest. I truly loved him at the time, he was the one I lost my virginity to. I ended up breaking up with him because our relationship became too hyperfocused on s*x.  I wasn't disappointed in losing my virginity to him. It wasn't something I was holding too sacred to and at the time I really did love him and that was all that mattered to me.   The last person I dated was in my senior year of high school. He was in my year and we really didn't click. I was too shy and I only talked to him through text. Whenever we would meet in person I would only say a few things here and there. We just made out for a majority of the time. We never moved past that. Now that I think about it, I probably didn't even date him and it was more of just having fun.  When I entered my first year of university, I was very disappointed. The guys I met there were not the nicest. They were very rude and just wanted s*x but made it seem like they wanted a relationship. I got played numerous times on just my first year. It was very degrading.  My sophomore year I thought I met the love of my life. Castiel. He was so handsome. I was too afraid to talk to him and my friend was the one to actually stop him one day while I was working. She us talk and it only went on from there. We dated for two years but on my senior year he broke the news that he had to go back home. He was from Europe! I was all for long distance relationships but Europe?! We knew we had to break it off and it was one of the saddest things I had to do.  I finish slurping my drink. I love this little coffee shop. It was still too early to go in to work, its 2:30 pm... I look around. Everyone looks so caught up in their own lives. Busy on their phones, talking to their friends, or studying. Boy I do not miss university.  I throw out my empty containers and walk back to the dog park. Its so beautiful outside. Why on earth do I love working the night shift so bad? I should really enjoy my days and afternoon more often. I could be hanging out with my friends, out to the movies, living life. I sit back on one of the benches in the park. I hope I see him today at work. I blush and look down. Since I've never taken his order, I don't know his name. I never get a chance to hear it being called out.  Wow that man smells amazing. I begin to day dream again. I imagine him coming in late one day. It was a long day at work, hes exhausted. He comes in and orders a drink. I don't notice him come in because I am clocking out. As I open the door to leave I notice him behind me. I hold open the door for him but the door was too strong and beat me. The door slams on his muscular body. My body jumps and my hands immediately  cover my face. "Oh my gosh! I am soo soo sorry! I didn't mean to!" I say opening the door again. He looks down on me with a slight smile. He looks perfect. "Oh its okay, its fine really!" He is so polite. "Let me buy you another drink please! Its fine I work here, I get it for free!" I insist. I feel horrible. He shyly smiles, taking up my offer. I remake his drink and take a handful of napkins. He tries to grab the drink from me but I make sure to let him know to walk back to his car to make sure his drink gets in safely. As he opens the passenger seat of his car, I bend over to place his drink on the cupholder, as I rise to get up, I am immediately greeted by his strong smell... and the smell of his earlier drink. Hes so tall... I can see just how fitted his work shirt is. "Wow..." I accidently let out.  "What was that?" He says as he leans down towards me. I am so flustered I fall into his passenger seat. "OH MY GOSH I AM SO SORRY, ITS BEEN A LONG DAY!!" I stutter out, embarrassed.  I grab the napkins and get up. I am once again infront of him. I look up at him, hes looking down out me, curious. I begin wiping the coffee spills, feeling his hard abs through his shirt. Oh they feel so good... I rub up his chest wanting to feel more... I am immediately snapped out of my own thoughts as a dog is running full speed at me.  Oh my gosh! His owner comes running after him.  "RICHEY! RICHEY! COME HERE BOY COME!" Luckily the dog stops, the owner heads my way and immediately apologizes.  "Oh its okay, don't worry about it really!" I say as I get up from my seat.  Well I might as well get up and head to work now. Work is only a fifteen minute walk. I arrive a few minutes late and head towards the back. I go into the staff room and find my locker. I switch out my shoes and put on my hair net and apron. Lets get this bread I guess.  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A few hours go by and its almost closing time. I am wiping down the countertops, its been a long and busy couple of hours. I am drained.  "Hi, can I get a large green chai latte? Thank you."  I look up. Oh my... its him... he came in later than he usually does... "Aaron, yes two A's. Haha, thank you!" He steps to the side and goes on his phone while he waits for his order. "Hey, Theresa can you make this order please? I want to start cleaning up." "Yeah sure." I quickly respond.  Oh wow, I am making his order, hes super hot. Wow, lets not f**k this up...Okay. I totally got this. I catch Aaron looking up every once in awhile to check if his order is ready. I gulp each time. Geez, hes so hot. I finish up his drink and just in time he approaches me. I am immediately hit with his smell. Wow. So good, he smells amazing... Its now or never Theresa... come on you can do it... "You came later than usual..." I ask confidently, accidently throwing in a little sass.  One of his eyebrows lift up as he finally reaches me. Oh shit... "Haha well, I didn't know I was being timed." He responds jokingly.  "Well, you usually come in on our busiest times, we missed you then." Wow I am trying my luck here. "Missed me? Well, isnt that good to know." He winks at me as he takes his drink from my hand. His fingers lightly brush mine and my face immediately turns red. f**k.  He is beyond hot.  "Ill stop by tomorrow again, see you then," He looks down at my name tag, "Theresa." He lifts up his drink at me, as if he was saying cheers. Wow. Who would have thought... me... Theresa actually had the guts to say something. I bet he was smirking underneath that mask. Woah. That was spicey. I liked that... A lot. I smile as I watch him leave and get into his car.  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I finally head home. Today was interesting. I am immediately excited for tomorrow and what is to come.  I open my door and I am greeted by Gunther.  "Hi baby! How was your day!?" I coo to him as I pick him up. I walk to the fridge as his food has now been defrosted from this morning. He starts meowing. I place his food down and he begins to eat.  "Good boy!" I walk back and lock my door. I look over to the kitchen and see the pile of dishes... Nope, not yet satan.  I am ecstatic, in such an amazing mood! I run upstairs to my bed. I feel so good. I close my eyes thinking about my day dream from earlier. Hmm, how would that end? I begin to wonder again. He touched my hand today, it felt so good, he felt so warm. And his voice. Wow.  "Ahh!!!" I yell out excited. I wish he were here, kissing me, touching me... filling me up... I blush, thinking of what he would do with me.  Ugh, just sleep it off girl!  I throw my clothes to the side and turn on my fan. It is starting to get hot with summer just around the corner. I fall asleep knowing I will see Aaron at work tomorrow.