6

He saw outside the car windows, the orange lights passing, one after another. In his daze, he recalled her hands caressing him while he was lain in the back seats.

The car door opened.

Amarna paid the uber driver, and Azad struggled over his balance – tripping over potted daisies as Amarna keyed the apartment doors open, and she half-carried him up the stairs. The halls, dimly lit.

Then she came to a mahogany door, and inside, her room was cozy, though Azad only caught impressions of the kitchen and her kitties up and about, before she laid him upon her bed.

Azad was spent. He couldn't hold his liquor and reeked of one-too-many Jagermeisters. It was a while since she had a guy over, but it was the very least she could do. And seeing him lain, and so vulnerable, she felt an affection for him, so she covered Azad up with blankets.. no, it didn't feel right if she left his clothes on like that, it wasn't how she would like to relax, so she went through with taking off his shirt, unbuckling his jeans, then his socks -

"Ouugh, we had a good time .." Azad mumbled. He gazed up at her, the room light outlining the sheen of her hair. He had a semblance of awareness yet. "Is this the part.. where we make love?" he asked innocently.

"It's late.." Amarna answered. "Almost four in the morning."

She went to wash up, leaving Azad in his underwear, in her darkened bedroom. He had basically danced the night away, and was still humid after the fact – he needed to pee very bad. He was so exhausted that even if he badly wanted to, he wouldn't be able to keep it up, despite dreaming himself of the contrary as a young sex machine, breaching D Gates.

He had to pee. Didn't want to ruin her bedsheets, so in all his grogginess, he brought himself up, only to stumble down from her bed to the hardwood floor. He hoped she didn't hear that.

Azad heard her showering a few rooms away. Would she mind if he got in to use the toilet? He got back up, fumbled for the light switch to see better, and when he got the bedroom door open, he saw that the rest of her apartment was shrouded in a tranquil darkness. Everyone else was fast asleep.. the reality of that fact hit him.

Everyone else except her kitties, who some of them are nocturnal animals, eyeballing Azad – the total stranger who reeked of yesterday's sweat. One of them, a white-haired feline, went up and nuzzled her nose by his ankles. Usually, Azad would be ticklish, but he let the cat do her thing, trying to avoid tripping as he hugged the wall for support. His hands touched picture frames, the plastered wall, and then he was by her bathroom.

The door was slightly ajar. Azad was on the verge of exploding in his underwear, he didn't have time to debate if it was alright to venture upon Amarna's steamy shower session. He went in..

Her washroom, besides Amarna in the shower, had so many things – makeup, perfume, photos of pretty women.. it was a private haven of Amarna's own. Azad gawked, but the only thing which mattered was the toilet.

Amarna was just about done with lathering her body, and then from the steamy glass, she saw the silhouette of Azad – haphazardly reaching for his crotch, and she yelped.

Azad let his stream out in the toilet, and what a relief it was. He even let out a sigh of total elation, until it hit him that he was freaking Amarna out.

"What are you doing!" she went. "Out, out, get out of here!"

In Amarna's kitchen, she made a tomato salad. Her hair was wrapped by a towel, and in her bathrobes, she served Azad a plate – complete with olive oil dressing.

"I figured, since we're both pooped.." she went, "a small bite won't hurt."

You never realize how hungry you really are, after a long ordeal, until the food's right in front of you. Azad saliviated, the tomato slices, the lettuce and cucumbers, with a pinch of salt and pepper. He took the fork and, munch munch munch, it was so delicious.. was this how fresh food is? It stunned Amarna how fast he was eating, but only because he enjoyed it so much. This was for her a mere quick snack.

The kettle had finished boiling. Amarna poured jasmine tea, with honey, for the both of them. She sat down with Azad. Her blue eyes gently taking him in as the tea calmed her nerves.

It was starting to grow light outside.

"Azad, look, we made it through our first dance together!" Amarna said as an icebreaker, grinning. She pulled out her phone. On Instagram, the official troupe account had clips of Azad and Amarna's number as one of the highlights. "Dios.. we look sooo good.."

Amarna shared her phone screen. Their dance, fully realised with the outfits, lighting, and professionally recorded, made it look like ballet. Well, it was a ballet. Months of effort and preparation for a perfect moment, and all worth it.

Yet something else gnawed at Azad.