Another one-shot! Go me, go me, go me! I hope you liked the last one. So, you know the rules: I, Nubian Ishtar, claim this as my own work and is published under the screen name Nubian Ishtar only. Publishing under any other name without notification of a screen name change by me and/or a Title change is plagiarism. Great! Now, on with the story!


Part 1

She was always mine; it was my God given right for her to be mine. Her full dark red lips, her chocolate skin, her bright brown eyes, her lovely wealth of hair: all mine. I know her better than she knows herself. I know her favorite ice cream: Mint Chocolate Chip, I know her favorite color: pink, I know it all. I was waiting for the day when she would turn to me, open her arms, and take my lips in a searing kiss. I've always watched out for her, I saw it as my duty, and pleasure, to be her guardian, her protector from the evils of the world. I've prided myself on chasing away the boys who only wanted what was between her legs. Shameful, all of them. I have chased after her heart for years, but I won't delude you into thinking that I have always had noble thoughts. Of coarse not; she's beautiful, inside and out. My Elsie.

Life became hard for me once we started college. I couldn't be everywhere with her at every moment. I had to settle myself with her promise to meet me at lunch in one of the school's many cafés. We would meet in the morning; she would review what she had done the night before, while I would glare at the passing boys that would stare at her like they would stare at a Playboy magazine. I would bare my teeth at them, a nasty look passing over my face; Elsie was always unaware. After lunch, we would go to the only class we had together: History 1010. It went on this way for the whole semester: meeting, leaving, meeting, leaving. Several times I had wished that I had taken her offer to move into an apartment together; I saw it as too much temptation to act on my baser instincts and feelings.

I noticed at the beginning of next semester that Elsie was straying from me; whether from school or work, I didn't know. We met less and less. But she always had an excuse for not meeting me. I believed her because that was how much in love with her I was, I wasn't worried. I should have been. I should have been scared shitless. I remember the day my life changed and my dominion over Elsie was challenged.

"Wanna go to Olive Garden tonight?"

I was surprised. We haven't gone out to a nice restaurant in weeks.

"Sure. Anything special? Did I miss your birthday while I was buried in mid-term exams?" I teased her for the sake of doing it. I hadn't teased her for so long. She giggled, the sound like bells. I almost sighed in pleasure.

"Don't be an idiot! I just want to be with you. I want to share something special with you." She brushed a curl away from her eyes, the sun making the earrings I bought her for her last birthday sparkle.

"Oh," I say. I felt my heart skip a beat. In fact, my heart skipped several.

"What time? Do you want me to pick you up?"

Elsie ate a little of her roast beef sandwich, I made it for her just the way she likes it.

"That would be great! How about seven. Have I told you how much I love you?"

You have, I thought, but you don't mean it. Maybe tonight you will.

I showered, brushed my hair until it shone and chose my clothing with great care. I chose a nice navy blue shirt to go with the new kakis that I bought two weeks ago. I grabbed my wallet and checked to see how much money I had. I decided to swing by the bank. After checking my car for trash, I live in my car during school hours, I started the car then left my apartment. I had a fifteen minute drive from my place to Elsie's, but I stopped at the ATM machine for more money, so it was about a twenty-five minute drive. I pulled in to her apartment complex right at seven. I was surprised to see her standing next to her car. From in the driver's seat, I saw that she was dressed in a light green baby-doll dress with a light cover jacket. She looked ravishing. She hopped in the car and we took off. During the ride, she took my hand and squeezed before letting go. She seemed nervous and excited at the same time. I couldn't help but be nervous with her. We didn't speak, that took too much energy. We arrived at the restaurant, I opened the door for her and once at the table, I pulled out her chair. We ordered drinks: Sprite and Sweet Tea, then I waited. I waited for her to say "I love you, and I mean it", waited for her to take my hand across the table and hold it for all to see. Instead she smiled shyly at me as she fiddled with the red napkin in her lap.

"I've been wanting to tell you something. I know you've noticed that I haven't been around as much. It's just…" she trailed away for a minute. "It's not you!" she rushed.

The breadsticks came and I watched her tear them into tiny bits, never once taking a bite. She sipped her tea then smacked her lips lightly; the tea was good. She put her hand on the table, urging me to take it. Now I wasn't so worried.

"I didn't tell you what was going on because I wanted to think about things. You know I never think about things. Well, I'm just going to come out and say it. What's been happening is," her phone rang. Damn. Elsie gave me a look, a silent apology that I automatically forgave.

"I'll be right back, I need to take this." She rose and made her way to the front while I waited back at the table. My hand was warm and my heart thumped wildly. Everything was happening as I imagined. The nervousness, the handholding, it was all making sense. She was going to tell me that I was the one, the one her heart had been connected to so long ago and now she was realizing it. I heard her giggle, which wasn't unusual; she always made nice with the staff, this is her favorite restaurant. I heard her getting closer so I stood and turned to face her.

Who the hell is that?

I feel my eyes narrow. Elsie was hanging on the arm of some guy like a limpet; a good friend maybe? I let them get closer before I made a sound with my throat. Elsie looked away from the guy and stared at me, surprised.

"Oh, sorry, hon; this big lug was the one calling me. This is Aaron." Aaron held his hand out to me. I shook it with a bruising grip but he gripped me right back. We sat down and the waitress took Aaron's order. Silence spread over our table. What the hell is going on here?

Elsie sighed as she watched my face change expressions. Shaking her head, she began to talk.

"What I wanted to tell you, that's where we stopped right?" She took Aaron's hand.

"I wanted to tell you that I'm dating Aaron; I have been since final exams last semester."

I was shocked. No, shocked was too low a word. Pissed beyond human recognition was more appropriate. Surely, this had to be a joke: a horrible joke, but a joke. At that moment, I wanted to reach across the table and scream "she's mine you asshole!" I wanted to smash my fists across his face and turn him into a black and blue punching bag.

"You're surprised, I see. Don't worry, I can't replace you, I wouldn't even try. You mean so much to her. Elsie always talks about you, how good you are to her." Aaron pinned his gaze on me. Those big green eyes might draw Elsie into a sense of peace but not me. How dare he usurp my place in Elsie's heart!

"You'll have to excuse me then," I began, "this is the first time I've heard of you. Let's fix that, huh? Tell me about how you met and who you are."

Aaron squeezed Elsie's hand. "I'm a Junior at the moment. I'm twenty-two and I live in a rented house with three other dudes. I'm majoring in Mass Comm. In fact, that's how I met Easy. She was in my speech class."

"Easy?" I gave Elsie a look when she giggled at the name.

"Yeah, everything comes easy to her so I started calling Elsie, Easy. She's so smart."

"That she is." I almost chocked on my drink when I saw them make eyes at each other. That asshole, how dare he give Elsie a name that is suggestive of her sexual status. Unless… I chocked again.

"Easy tells me that you've always gotten along great since you were kids."

"It was hard not to," I replied, "we were always together."

We chatted some more, ate, and then chatted even more. I swore that by the time I got home, I would be in diabetic shock from all the "sugar" floating around me. Finally, Aaron called it a night; he had to work in the morning at some place that I didn't care to memorize. He walked with us back to my car and opened the passenger side for Elsie. I hopped in and slammed the door, a sure sign that I wanted to leave. He and Elsie whispered words to each other in soft tones that made me want to gag. With a kiss, something I could have done without, Elsie climbed into the car and we were headed home.

"So, did you like him?"

"Like a rabbit likes a fox," I thought. "He was okay."

Elsie pulled her hair back in a messy bun. "I knew you were going to say that," she sighed.

"Did you"?

"Yep, the whole time, I read you like a book".

"Oh, so you read me now? Quick, what am I thinking now?" I asked her.

"You're thinking that Aaron isn't good enough for me. But he is! He really is! He's sweet, kind, considerate."

"And I'm not all those things?"

To Elsie, it sounded like teasing but I was serious, dead serious.

"You know you are. It's just that Aaron is too, and maybe a little more."

I almost wrecked at the thought. Panicked, I asked, "what do you mean a little more? Why? Have you, you know! Well? Have you!"

Elsie seemed to glare at me but I didn't care. "No, I haven't. I just think that he's the one. No, don't open your mouth. I know you don't like him but give him a chance."

I never agreed or disagreed but Elsie seemed satisfied with my silence. I dropped her off at her apartment. After making sure she was safely inside her place, I sped out of the parking lot, intent on getting the one thing that I knew would calm me down: a cigarette.

I pulled into a gas station and bought a pack of Marlboro's. I bought a lighter too then strolled out to my car. I lit a cig and took a deep breath. I blew it out, a large cloud of smoke leaving my lungs in a rush. I haven't smoked in over a year; I made a promise to Elsie to stop. To hell with it now; I needed a drag after this night. The smell and feeling of the cig in my hand calmed me and I felt more myself. Now that my head was clear, I gathered the facts; Aaron liked my Elsie, Elsie liked that faker, and I was left out in the cold. Damn, this is too much to think about. I pitched the bud out my window before lighting another one. I drove home, my cig teetering at the edge of my lips as I mumbled to myself. After getting home, I took a long shower to relax then snuggled into bed. I had a free weekend for once but I wanted to get up early to workout in the morning. I turned out my beside lamp, plunging my room into darkness. I twisted and turned, my mind too active to sleep. I kept thinking of what to do now that Aaron was in Elsie's life. Should I try to get along? Should I just ignore him? Oh hell, what am I talking about? Elsie is my territory, he can't just come in and take over! I'll have to get rid of him, that's the only option.

I woke to my phone ringing. I reach for it but I miss. I tuck my hand back inside my cocoon. Whoever it is, they'll call back. I breathe out a contented sigh as the phone stops it's noise. Before I know it, I hear my front door bang close. I jump out of bed, suddenly alert. I grab the bat from under my bed and rush into the living room. Elsie was taking off her jacket and shoes when I ran in, looking crazed. She smiled at me then jingled her keychain, which happened to contain a key to my apartment.

"What the hell? What are you doing here? It's too early. Go home," I ground out.

I put the bat by my couch, my glare still trained on Elsie.

"It's not that early," she says to me.

"The hell it ain't," I think, especially when I had nightmares of Aaron and Elsie together.

"What time is it?"

"Ten in the beautiful morning. Since you were so miserable when we parted yesterday, I thought I would make you breakfast. I tried calling."

Elsie trekked to the kitchen. She began doing as she said, making breakfast. I sat, waiting for a strong cup of coffee that I knew she would make.

"Is that the unimportant person that called me?"

Elsie laughed before she shook a spatula at me. "Who else would call you?"

"God? I don't know. At least God would have the decency to wait until the afternoon."

"I don't have to cook for you, you know."

I gave her my kicked puppy look. She shook her head then got back to cooking. I decided to go shower while Elsie destroyed my kitchen.

Breakfast had been great but now, knowing that I had been roped into seeing Aaron again, made me want to throw up. We took Elsie's car for the trip. We hit the interstate and drove into the next city, about thirty minutes away. Aaron worked at an ice cream parlor, a place I had never heard of. We met him at the counter where he served us free ice cream. I attacked my ice cream while Elsie saw fit to tell my rival about how evil I was this morning. Great, now he had ammo against me. Elsie went to the restroom and left Aaron and I alone.

"Hey," Aaron began. "I don't think you like me very much."

Really Sherlock? What helped you make that brilliant deduction?

"It's not that I don't like you, it's that I don't know you."

Or that I don't like you, but that'll be my secret.

"I get it. You're so protective over Easy that you feel uneasy about her being around others. I got ya." Aaron had the nerve to smile at me as if we were friends. I wanted to jab his eyes out with my spoon, but, how would I eat my ice cream? He left me alone so that he could take orders. So, the second he was gone, I plotted. I could stab him with the pie knife. I could trip him; it wouldn't really kill him but it would be for my own benefit. Oh, or I could…

"More Ice cream?"

…Eat more ice cream. Damn him. Next time, you will be in my turf, you ice cream happy freak.