10

It was impossible for Alex to ignore hearing them through the walls, doing the deed. It was sort of amusing to hear what sounded like Azad, tripping over his own feet, and Amarna doing those kissy-kissy noises. After a while it weirded him out, so he put Enter the Gungeon back on the PS4 and kept spamming dodge + shoot.

The thought of Azad being Romeo to Amarna's Juliet amused him, and he had a good laugh.

"Oh Azad, Azad, where art thou Azad?" Amarna was saying on top of a dance club balcony. "Forget thy Turkish heritage and eschew thy history, or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Miller.."

It was Shakespeare he was studying online, and beyond the archaic language, the stories were classy. He heard the thumping noises stop..

Amarna cradled Azad as he'd dozed off – having found a little piece of fulfillment in life. She seemed to admire him, as he slept, innocently in her arms like some cat who had once been so restless in its life, and was only now finding peace. Still, the lamps in her room bathed them both with a sun-lit warmth..

"Purr.." she went. It felt adorable, not to mention a respite from her anxieties. The tranquility of being with Azad.. her human cat. If she breathed, Azad's head would rise up in tandem with her chest.

A knock on her door. It shook Amarna out of her reverie; who else would it be besides Alex?

"Azad..!" She tapped him on the forehead, and he awoke with a daze.

"What, what?" he went.

"He's by the door!" she mouthed, as she heard another series of knocks.

A lightbulb went off in Azad, and he rushed – scrambled out of bed to get his clothes back on.

"Amarna!" Alex's muffled voice carried through the shut door. "There's someone here to visit you!"

"Just a minute."

Azad was buckling his pants, and Amarna threw Azad his shirt which was lain like a tattered outfit on the ground. As he put his clothes on, Amarna went to the dresser's mirror, dressing her rustled hair in a bun, and he felt another erection grow upon seeing her bare rear, while from the dresser, her shirted front was reflected back. It made his heart flutter especially, knowing how good it really felt to be with her.

"Hurry up!" Alex went. "My knuckles are getting blisters!"

Amarna grabbed a spray bottle of jasmine scent, spraying it so the room didn't reek of sex, and when she reached the door, she peeked it open. "Tell them I'll be right there."

Then she went over to Azad - helped him pull his shirt down, and unfolded his collar back. She gazed at him, admired his chiseled, youthful face, and then touched his chin as she gave him a friendly peck, grinning.

When they both came out, Alex glanced at Azad. You had a mighty good time in there, didn't ya? He suppressed the urge to shoot a knowing wink.

Azad thought to himself – there's no way he didn't hear us banging. Fuccckk! (But it was totally worth it though..)

..

At her door, Amarna answered it, and there was Misha – all huddled with a scarf. "Come in!" Amarna went, and helped her friend undress with a comforting hug.

By the coffee table, with Amarna pouring some of that jasmine tea, Misha spoke, "I was doing some thinking about your 'Mohammed' situation.. you are dealing with a possessive individual, and there is the possibility that you are going to be vulnerable to his abducting you. I've heard of such cases, reading the news. Only 30% live to tell the tale; the rest of the cases, you never hear about it, until a freak discovery happens."

Amarna recalled the numerous text messages she'd received, varying from "I need you," to "You're embarassing me, making me look so needy!"

She sipped some of the tea, to calm her nerves. "So what do I do?"

"Your situational awareness," Misha went, "it's first and foremost. Knowing if there's an escape route there, and the nearest police station.. I saw your video by the way, your interview with Alex. Your new boyfriend?"

"My young protege," she went. "He wants to dance.. like me, and Azad."

"Mo doesn't know where you live yet, does he?"

"No. I talked with Tania, on the troupe website, it says I'm still from Madrid. But he's got a hold of my phone number.."

"Have you tried changing it yet?"

"After seven months? It's troublesome getting the people I care about updated on staying in touch.. but I've thought about doing it."

"You should. The sooner, the better. And tell only who you must. Stalkers know your life and who's close to you; they can prod your friends, your acquaintences – posing as someone innoceous, and the next thing you realise, they show up on your phone.. or your doorstep. Limit your use of Instagram, Facebook and other social media.. you're a fairly known public figure, anyone can spot you, tag you in photos for Mohammed to see, so stay out of the limelight unless absolutely necessary. Think of your phone as a potential enemy too - the apps you have installed send information of what you're doing, even when you think they're not active.

"And this.." Misha pulled out a book; the Gift of Fear (and other survival signals that protect us from violence) – "is your new best friend."

Amarna glanced at the book, a dumbfounded gaze. After those years where she pored over psychology and trauma-recovery books, it was to be another piece of verbiage to aid her toolkit in ridding herself of Mo.. but it was just running away from him.

"I don't want to run away anymore," Amarna went, "with him domineering my shadows forever."

"You're not – it's not like you can go out there, find him and beat that idiot's brains out. But you are a strong person, Amarna. You having left him to get here, is no small feat. If he dares get near you, you can nail that son of the bitch with all the evidence and support at hand."

Amarna glanced at the book upon the table, and her hands slid it onto her lap. "Thank you, Misha."

When Misha left, Azad popped up around the corner; while Alex was showing off his Platinum IV top laning in League, he'd been peering his ears to overhear the conversation, even though Amarna told him it was private girl talk. "So.. what's happening..?"

She gazed up, and said thus, "Azad.. so you know, I'm going to be changing my phone number again. My ex was sending me threatning messages, and I don't know how he found me. But I trust you – come here, look.."

Azad went over, and Amarna showed him a picture where she used to be younger, with Mohammed – whose blank eyes, even with his smile, his arm wrapped around Amarna, gave Azad the willies.

"That's the cunt?" Azad went. "Goddamn, he looks bulgy."

"Yes.. if you see him, or if he tries to get to me through you, please.. let me know. Don't try to engage him or fight."

A touch from Azad, and Amarna felt like she could melt into his hand. She guided his hand up to her stomach, where all the butterflies flew away, and her chest, where she found a renewed steadiness in breathing.

A new year had begun. Amarna had met Azad's family for the new year's celebration; for a second, she blushed wondering if they hadn't recognized her from somewhere (nearly everyone had watched porn).. but to them, she was a well-brought up woman, the kind who brought spice in the air, wherever she went.

"I'm so proud of you, my son," Azad's father said, patting him on the back, as the vodka was passed by, and boiled salmon was served as a delicacy.

And in the backyard, they lit fireworks to celebrate the occasion (along with Azad's upcoming 19th birthday). The result of cackling fire rained down, in unison with all the other fireworks being shot up from around the city.

It was so awesome, and Azad had snapped a bunch of pictures on his phone..

"Azad, a word?" Amarna took him to his room, while his little bro and cousins were dancing the favela. "Don't put pictures of me up on the internet."

"Why? What's the matter?"

"I don't want my ex to find out where I'm really at." She didn't want to sour on Azad's fun, so she gave a little smile. "Besides.. taking a lot of photos of an occasion.. it takes away the enjoyment."

Amarna grabbed Azad's phone from his pocket, and laid it aside, before she had him sit down on a chair. There, she sat on top of him, facing away, where she rubbed her derriere on his crotch, and slapped her own ass in front of him to sweeten the deal. She had taken the morning-after pill, back when she did it with Azad in the spur of the moment, and so didn't feel up for another. But there were more ways of expressing kinkiness, without penetration..

She let out a suppressed moan, as she danced upon Azad's lap, letting his hands feel her all over – his chair was squeaking with the rhythm.

"Ohhh!"

The door to Azad's room burst open, almost without warning. His little bro was running in, giddy, bubbly with a light dose of beer. Amarna jolted up from the shock, and she did her best to hide her aroused state from the young boy, even though her cheeks were visibly flushed and sweaty.

"Why did you barge in?!" Azad went.

"Good news, good news! You two are top dancers of the year!" His bro went over to Azad, and showed from his phone a vanity article; a publicity photo of Azad and Amarna from the Cine Callao showing, in the midst of their outrageous dance.

Amarna gaped over Azad's shoulder, and seeing herself in those moments immortalized, brought a surge of joy. "The judges would especially like to honour dancers Azad and Amarna," she mumbled out, "for their outstanding display of originality, as recipients of the 2016 Venus award from their troupe The Belladonna Lips! Oh Azad-"

She hugged him so dearly, and they got up and did a dancing ditty, as the celebratory fireworks had raged on, muffled away.