Alphabet Wing - B - Button
What was it about an undone top button that made her bat crazy?
Jennifer didn’t consider herself an amorous girl; she had fantasies like the next young woman, even though that Joey McIntyre from New Kids on the Block was cute (who didn’t, honestly?), but she wasn’t the type to imagine having hot monkey sex with a member of a boy band. She wasn’t the type who had hot flashes just by looking at a…ahem…good-looking specimen of the male species.
But then again, Trowa Barton wasn’t your typical male specimen.
“Yoo-hoo! Jennifer, come toward the light…”
Jennifer blinked, and found Danie’s hand waving in front of her face. She, Danie, and Crys were currently in Quatre’s large rose garden having a nice outdoor picnic. Trowa, Duo, and Heero were helping Quatre plant some rosebushes. (Wufei was off in some undisclosed location where the “stupid women” were nowhere to be found.) Quatre usually hired someone to do the work unless he wanted to do it himself. Since he had a bit of free time, and some pent-up exertion he wanted to get rid of, he enlisted the help of his friends with the task.
Heero and Duo were both in wifebeaters while Quatre and Trowa were both in labor-weight button-down shirts with the sleeves pushed all the way up. Danie and Jennifer had to grudgingly admit that the boys had nice physiques; the most astonishing revelations for the cousins were Heero’s biceps and Duo’s washboard abs. Crys was used to it by now and quite biased due to her love for Quatre. She also didn’t want to think of her brother in “that way.”
“Are you okay?” Crys asked. “That’s the second time today that you’ve spaced out on us.”
Jennifer shrugged her foggy-headedness away and smiled at her friend. “I’m fine, really.”
Danie slipped off her glasses and held the end of one of the arms between her teeth for a moment. With the flowers around her and the sunshine lighting her skin, she looked every bit the cover girl she used to be. That was something that Neither Jennifer nor Crys would tell her though; she was sensitive about her print model past for reasons Crys could not understand.
“I think she looks hot to me,” Danie remarked, causing Jennifer to flush. She gestured in the direction of the boys. “And there’s your reason why.”
Crys’s eyebrows arched. Her eyes went to the boys, then Jennifer, and back again as a smirk twirked up one side of her mouth. “Ah yes. I see it now.”
Jennifer turned to her with her cornflower blue eyes wide and a fear that sort of looked cute on her, like a Hello Kitty tee shirt. “What are you talking about?”
Crys shook her head in amusement. “Jennifer, you’re as transparent as freshly cleaned glass. We all know. You don’t have to deny it.”
Danie shared a glance with Crys as Jennifer squirmed. She sighed gustily and eyed the guys again. “Jen, you can’t just sit here and expect him to come over. You’ve got to go get what you want.” With that, she climbed to her feet and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Crys and Jennifer could only watch as she strode purposefully in barefeet over to the guys in her cutoff denim shorts and screen tee that told everyone, You’ve Never Seen a Pretty Girl Act This Tough.
“She doesn’t plan to-”Crys broke off as she watched Danie walk up to Quatre and offer a hand. Blinking, he accepted. Danie nudged Trowa and thumbed in Crys and Jennifer’s direction. “Oh yeah. It’s Danie. Of course she does.”
Jennifer’s eyes went huge. What? Now?! She fought the urge to whip out her compact and tried to act nonchalant as Trowa came toward them.
She and Trowa had not really spoken before. He was the strong and silent type and talked to hardly anyone other than his friends. Still, there was something about him that allured her. It wasn’t just his looks, although…if you wanted to be completely honest, he was the most handsome guy she had ever seen. However, she prided herself on seeing past one’s physical appearance, so she was committed to get more out of him than you just stepped on my foot.
Thump. Thump-thump. Gulp. Jennifer forced her gaze upon Trowa’s emerald green eyes and not downward, where the part in his shirt hinted at his well-muscled chest. She forced a smile at him, trying to dispel the nervous fluttering of her heart.
He merely blinked, a touch of bemusement lending a slight furrow to his brow. “Are you all right?” he asked. “You look a little flushed.”
Jennifer emitted what could be none other than a head laugh that had Crys cocking an eyebrow in her direction. “Oh I’m just fine. Never better. Hey-would you like some water?” Jennifer paused and removed a bottle of water from the cooler nearby. It’s really hot and…”
Trowa accepted the bottle. “Thank you,” he said. She couldn’t help but watch as he twisted the cap off of the bottle and lifted it. She expected to watch him drink. Instead, he poured it over his dark head, and the liquid washed down his tall, sculpted body.
Thumpa-thumpa-thumpa… Jennifer’s face went slack as if someone had removed her skull. The water had made Trowa’s white shirt all but transparent, clinging to his smooth skin like an added layer. Jennifer could see the outline of his chest and abs, which were so mouthwatering that saliva pooled in her mouth in response. Some buried part of her wanted to bite him to see how he would taste…
She gave herself a swift mental kick and tried to firm her features. Jennifer Cynthia Dunne-listen to yourself! He’s not a piece of meat you can just goggle at. Not to mention you can’t go around biting people like some errant cannibal. So, with that, she pulled herself together and decided she was going to try and have a normal conversation with Trowa. After all, gawking at him all dripping…ahem… gawking at him would not only be rude but also against her principles.
However, she nearly lost all her self-control whenhe cast aside his shirt and she found he hadn’t buttoned his jeans either. Because her self-control was already fragile, her thoughts went immediately south. Holy Mother of little baby Jesus…
Having watched the whole scene awash in subtext, Crys nudged Jennifer as her blue eyes went glassy again. Jennifer jumped a foot in the air and mumbled something about having to call her mother.
Crys groaned and sweatdropped as Jennifer flitted away. “Not again…” She glared at him with exasperation. “Trowa…”
Danie and the guys came drifting over at that moment, looking baffled at Jennifer’s quick retreat to the house. Trowa dripped and drank water in silence.
“What happened to Jennifer?” Quatre wanted to know.
Crys raised a meaningful eyebrow in the direction of wet, shirtless Trowa. Quatre sweatdropped, Danie had to purse her lips together to keep from smiling, and, as usual, Heero looked like he didn’t give a shit.
“Trowa, you’re going kill someone doing that shit one of these days, you know that?” Duo remarked.
Trowa drank water and stared straight ahead, saying nothing.