Zaina

Probably the last person that Peter wanted to run into at this thing was Zaina Lopez. She had all but threatened him at their last run in so of course he’d responded just as aggressively, and he wasn’t entirely happy to see her now. Thankfully this time he’d been drinking and hooking up with a hot college girl in the bathroom earlier so he was in a better mood. That and his mother’s life was no longer hanging in the balance so he felt a tiny bit more at ease. “Why, are you gonna buy me one? Or are you just here to threaten more violence upon this town?” He didn’t even look over at the woman when she approached him, bringing his glass up to his lips and finishing the liquid left in the bottom. 

A brow lifted, “the gentlemanly thing to do would be to buy me a drink.”  Zaina’s hand moved down to her hip as she looked at the Valentine.  “Wow, you are so melodramatic.  C’mon Peter,” she pouted her lips and used her free hand to gently grab his shoulder and give it a light squeeze.  “There was a point in time, where you used to like me.  In fact, I remember you liking me a lot in so many different ways and places.”  She dropped her hand from his shoulder and eased up on the chair next to him.  Without thought, but natural instinct she placed one hand on his thigh as she leaned in.  “Can’t we just put everything on hold for tonight and play nice?”  Unable to help herself, she leaned in and kissed his neck.  “Not too nice though,” she whispered in his ear.

~ Spring Break with @zaina-lopez​ ~

“Hurry up Z, we’re going to be late.” Tyler called out the window of his truck as he waited for Zaina to get in. He had disappeared for work and probably didn’t handle them sleeping together as best as he should have. When he woke up beside her, there was a mix of emotions. Happiness, of course, but there was also a pinch of guilt. After all, she was his best friends little sister. Now that he was back in town, he felt like they needed to clear a lot of uncertainties between them. It was why he had invited her to a bonfire at the spring break party. It was a carefree way for them to spend time together and he was looking forward to it.

After their night together, things quickly became awkward and before she knew it Tyler had disappeared without a word.  No man up until now made her question her self worth, she was used to one night stands but that night she thought it was something more.  Not that she ever would tell the man, instead she would just act normal around him.  At least she told herself that, but when she heard his voice call out to her she felt that flutter in her heart and was mentally kicking herself that he had that power over her.  “Calm your horses,” she told him as she opened the truck door and slipped into the passenger’s seat.  “It is still daylight out, I’m sure it hasn’t started yet.”  She bit down on her lip wanting to ask how he has been, what he has been up to but she stayed quiet while she stared out the window.

Derek sipped on his beer, taking it all in. The pier, a quintessential spot in this little coastal North Carolina town, now filled with people having a wonderful time with their friends and family. He looked on over the crowd, wondering if this could be the place where his family could finally settle down. But he was drawn from his thoughts when a woman began talking to him eyes shifting towards her, “Oh–likely not. M’new here, I guess.” He scratched the back of his head readied for yet another one of these introductions in Asteria. Was he getting better at it yet? “Hi Zaina,” He acknowledged her, “I’m Derek.”

Although, Zaina had been visiting Asteria since she was a child and spent summers in the town.  When she moved to town just a couple of months ago, she felt like the new kid on the block.  So it was nice to know there were others.  “Welcome to Asteria,” she responded with a softness in her tone trying to read what kind of man he might be.  “Derek, lovely to meet you.  What brought you to Asteria if you do not mind me asking?”  She figured she would try and put some effort in being nice to people.  After all, she had enough enemies through the town.

For the most part, Zaina had made herself cozy in this coastal little town.  On occasion, she even forgot what she was doing there.  With a fresh small glass of Casa Noble single barrel extra anejo that she decided to indulge in, her dark eyes scanned the premises.  Even though she had been here a few months and was considering it home, she had yet to really find her place among Asteria.  It was then she caught sights of the “Target.”  Their first encounter went sour, but she was willing to look past it for the time being.  She approached him from behind, her fingers tapping on his shoulder as she offered a soft smile.  “And what are you drinking Valentine?”

“I had good influences, I don’t know where I would be without them,” his mom was the biggest one, she was one of the reasons why he remained sweet and knew how to treat others well. She taught him everything he knew. His dad used to be really sweet too, he also had some credit for it, but he sadly passed away when the boy was young, so his mom was the one that raised him most of his life, “Please, as if you don’t like bragging too,” he teased her, he wouldn’t see anything wrong with it if she did though. Being confident was not a flaw, “You can get wasted if you want, I can make sure you get home safe,” he assured her, “Cool, then it will be that one.”

Zaina wished she could say the same, but after her mother’s death things spiraled out of control and she found herself in a gang.  Stuff she did not want to reveal to her childhood best friend, because how do you even explain that lifestyle?  Zaina smirked hearing about the bragging, she was one to brag now in her adulthood since her confidence had risen drastically since they were children.  “Aren’t you a sweetheart,” she said reaching out and pinching his cheek playfully.”  As they approached the karaoke bar, Zaina looked over at him.  “Alright, let’s go.”  Pulling him inside, she headed straight for the bar to help prep her for the singing before the two settled at a small table and watched others go up on stage.

Zaina was hot, as fiery as her kiss, amd Tia was ready for more. She loved getting attention so she was already riding on a high as they drew a lot of stares before heading out of the bar. “I know a place.” She knew Abigail’s house was empty and it wasn’t really breaking in if she knew where the spare keys were, right? They were closest to it anyway, and she wanted to treat Zaina to a better fucking than she could give her in her small Eris home. “Come!” Tia ws excited and they made it down the block in no time. She grabbed the key from the hanging porch planted opened the door. The tipsy woman had already started to take her top off because the door even shut. “Hot tub?” She asked with a flirty smile, remembering how much she loved an assertive woman. 

What was it about a woman kissing another woman that caused a frenzy among men?  Zaina thought to herself as the two caught the attention from several patrons from their kiss.  On the way out, Zaina kept her hand at the bend of Tia’s back wanting the connection between them as they headed somewhere in Asteria.  As they walked down the block, Zaina’s eyes kept looking the other woman up and down amazed at her body and how badly she wanted her hands along her skin. Once they reached a house, Zaina smiled and waited for her to unlock the door and once they were inside, her eyes widened as the girl already took the initiative with the removal of her top.  “Damn,” Zaina reached for Tia’s waist to pull her body close to her hand easing down her backside as she leaned in where her lips were hovering over Tia’s.  “Hot tub in a moment,” she murmured.  “Kiss me.”

The sky was of shades of blue, pink, orange, and purple as the sun began to set.  Music echoed across the pier as Zaina walked down the line of food trucks alone, debating what she might want since everything looked appetizing.  Somewhere along the way, a young man peaked her interest.  He looked like a cute little lost puppy dog and her attention quickly shifted towards him.  The woman made her way towards him and a smirk formed, “I don’t think I have seen you around these parts before.”  Unable to resist, she moved even closer to him as her dark eyes settled on him.  “I’m Zaina and you are?”  Her eyebrow lifted.

“According to my close friends, I’m not an asshole, so your opinion is intact,” he let out a small laugh, he would like to think too that he wasn’t a bad person. There were some that thought he was rude before, but they were usually people that didn’t know him, while others were pressed because he was calling them out on a bad behavior. It was understandable why they would think that, especially when it came to the first option, “Really? I’m the opposite while on stage, it’s where I feel most comfortable with, may be because when I sing, I go to another world and barely notice my surrounds,” he admitted, “How about Yellow?”

“Glad to know you remained the sweet boy from Toronto.”  It meant there was at least one constant in her life and although the two drifted apart as adults, as luck would have it they were brought back together.  “Brag much?  Lucky you, I dunno.  It just depends on how much alcohol is coursing through my system.”  At the mention of the song, Zaina nodded her head.  “Yellow works for me dear.”  Without thinking, she took his arm as they headed towards the karaoke place.  “You’re gonna have to show me around and let me know who I should stay away from.”

Quinn laughed. “I mean I don’t know if I’d want to listen to whatever he wants to bring home so I would rather get a text saying hey, don’t come home for a few hours than coming home to a sock on the door so I understand his madness.” She teased. After the song was over, the woman walked over to the bar. “You had me at drink,” she chuckled as she walked to the bar, slipping onto the stool.

 “Good point, I suppose that would make things uncomfortable.”  Down from the stage, the two headed towards the counter of the bar.  The song made Zaina parched and plus she could always use an extra drink.  Zaina took the seat next to the woman and motioned for the bartender to come take their order.  “I will have a tequila sunrise please,” she ordered.  “And whatever she wants.”  While the bartender started to prepare their drinks, she looked over at Quinn.  “Okay, so are you from Asteria?  I am still trying to figure out my bearings.”

Tia really had to stop doubting the possibility of having fun when she went out. She tried to convince herself that she wasn’t missing out on anything particularly special when she stayed in and kept sober, but then little surprises like her moment with Zaine happened and she realized that she never wanted to miss those. It was why she went out almost every night and wasn’t the most model employee when she went to work late because of it a lot. “Be careful, Zaina. I don’t know what I’ll do if you keep looking at me that way.” And as she leaned in, Tia answered her question as if it had a different meaning. “Like this. I’ll have this.” She closed the gap between them, slipping a hand up to cup Zaina’s jaw as she pressed their lips together. Tia pulled away after a moment. “That’s just a sneak peak.” 

Zaina slid the tip of her tongue along her lips, curious as to what Tia might actually do.  Just as she received her card back, she entered a tip along the line and signed her name.  Before she knew it, Tia’s body was practically against hers and their lips were joined in a passionate kiss.  “Well, I want the fully viewing.”  Without notice, she placed her hand at the back of Tia’s neck and pulled her in for another fiery kiss, lightly tugging at the woman’s bottom lip.  “Your place or mine?”  Hell, for how aroused she was right now she would be okay with taking this into the ladies room if need be.  “You lead the way my dear,” she whispered just loud enough for Tia to hear as her fingers laced with Tia’s.

A part of him was a bit worried about what was going to happen once they entered his apartment. It had been awhile since he had brought a woman home with him and the last thing that he wanted to do was disappoint Zaina. “You’re right, I probably wouldn’t last two minutes walking around in heels.” He admitted with a smile. Once she hopped onto his back, he grabbed hold of her thighs then walked them to his apartment building. After a few flights of stairs they had reached his door. He set her down then reached for his keys, opening the door for her with a nod. “I’d give you a tour, but it’s a one bedroom so there’s not much to see.” Tyler replied through a quiet chuckle. 

Impressed was an understatement when the man lifted her up on his back and carried her up several flights of stairs.  Once he set her down, she kept the heels in her hand as she waited patiently for him to unlock the door.  “I guess it will be a short tour,” she  smiled as she reached for his shirt and tugged at it to pull him inside the apartment.  Zaina knew what she wanted and was not scared to go for it as she closed the door behind them and pushed him up against it.  She looked up at him, biting at her lower lip hoping this was not a one-sided thing.  Standing up on her tippy toes, she went to kiss him as her hands rested against his chest.

“Everyone gossips in this town. We are all guilty of it.” Marcos chuckled as he sat down at the bar, putting his hand up to order his drink as he turned his head to look over at the woman sitting next to him. “I’ll take it as a compliment.” He brushed his tongue along his lower lip, shrugging his shoulders. “I mean I can’t tell you I’m anyone important but I’m a cop with the APD.”

“Oh?  I suppose I shall have to behave myself.  I would hate for word to get out otherwise.”  When the man joined her at the bar, she turned her focus on the man enjoying his company already.  “It is a compliment,” she assured him.  At the reveal of him being a cop, her brows popped up for a moment.  As a gang member cops tended to be off limits, but she was never one to play by the rules.  “A man in blue?  Is that your whole identity?  Or are you someone else in this town?”  She reached out and ran her fingers down his jaw.  “I feel as if there is more to you than just your uniform.”

God, what the hell was up that woman’s ass? Seeing people go from zero to one hundred was always crazy to see but she seemed to settle down, which was good because Avia wasn’t about to mediate the situation any further. Avia nodded when the woman opened the door for her and quipped a quick Thank You. She smiled at Mrs. and Mr. Osman behind the counter and took the only empty table with an extra seat in the restaurant. She motioned to the chair in front of her for the raven haired woman to sit in before one of the Osman kids came around with menus for the two. “I’m Avia Fletcher. Maybe we got off on the wrong foot.” She extended her hand to shake as a peace offering. “Are you visiting town?”

Just her luck, Zaina thought to herself seeing the only available seat was with the woman.  Of course, she greeted the Osmans.  The family and her had talked several times and swapped a few recipes.  Finally, she stepped up to the chair and sat down.  “Thank you for letting me sit with you.”  She said softly before they were handed menus.  “Zaina Azar Lopez,” she responded as she reached across and shook the other woman’s hand.  “At first, I was just visiting with some family and handling some matters.  However, as of late I have been thinking of extending my stay to a more permanent situation.”  It would be difficult given her task with Peter Valentine, but she missed Asteria and being around family members.  “Are you from Asteria?  I feel as if I would have met you on one of my visits during the summer time.”

Phillip smiled, he was very wrong about Zaina, he truly thought she was more into big cities than small towns but there she was proving to him how little he knew about her. He was not sure why he was getting so giggling and nervous, she was hot, that was obvious to anyone, but he was not interested in dating her at all, so why he was acting like he was 14 again. “That is impossible, all the guys, my brother’s included were always drooling about you, so I doubt that’s true.” He laughed and slowly move to put some distance between them “I still do care; I’m just thinking about how to do something else. But what about you, what have you been up to?”

Back in the day, the only person Zaina had eyes for was Tyler.  Her older brother’s best friend and the two guys always got annoyed when she would follow them around like a lost puppy.  “Oh, I never knew your brothers felt that way.  I certainly missed out.  Did you ever feel that way?”  Zaina’s dark eyes looked up at him all innocently, curious as to what the younger Phillip thought about her.”  When he eased away from her, she cocked a brow wondering what the hell was his problem.  “What is it that you are thinking about doing?”  Zaina shrugged, “oh, just a little of this and a little of that.  I am still finding my grounds here.”

Quinn laughed as she nodded her head. “No kidding,” she rolled her eyes. “I straight up had a guy ask me if we were doing it or nah… You bet I slapped him across the face.” She shook her head once again. “I am not rooming with my best friend and the one thing he asked is to make sure I don’t bring anyone home while he is so I’m doing my best to respect it.” She walked up to the stage with her, putting her own hand against the back of her mic and started to sing into the mic, glancing over at the dark haired woman every so often. As soon as the song was over, the blonde stepped off the stage. “You were amazing up there.”

Her next words made another blush appear on his cheeks, he wouldn’t stop blushing while he was in her presence, would he? But along with the blush, a smile also appeared, which meant that he enjoyed and appreciated the compliments, “You think very highly about me, hopefully I will be able to meet your standards,” he let out a laugh, he didn’t think his company was that good, but the fact she did, wasn’t a bad thing. It just meant she was enjoying his company like he was enjoying hers, “You have stage fright?” he was a little surprised, but he understood how overwhelming it could be. “Whatever song you pick, as long as I know, I will sing.”