What Alyssa and I have isn’t just a side hookup, at least not for her.
Today, that’s been confirmed.
I’ve never regretted sex until now.
Last night with her was a huge mistake.
I wake up in my bra and panties to an awkwardly quiet house. Warm sunshine splashes across the hardwood floor of Drew’s room and I walk to the window and open the blinds to let the sunlight in. I walk through the house trying to decide how I’m going to spend my quiet day. I peek out the window and see Travis’ car is gone and release a deep sigh. Thank God. I have hours before he comes home.
I crawl back into bed and decide to finally read the text Drew sent me last night.
Drew: Stay away from my friends.
Ha. I love Drew, and I know he has my best interest in mind, but he has to realize we aren’t kids anymore. He doesn’t have control over his friends or me. I smile and send him a text back.
Viola: There’s nothing to worry about. It was just dinner. How’s Mia?
I only ask to get the attention off me and onto him and Mia instead. I don’t actually care much about how she is, only that she’s treating my brother well.
Drew: Oh, hey, she’s alive after all. Wow. Good job. You officially pissed me off yesterday. She’s fine. She asked about you and what you were doing this weekend.
I smile at the first part of his message. I don’t really know Mia on a personal level, but I do often wonder what Drew sees in her. She’s what I’d considered a spoiled trust-fund baby and a complete opposite of who I imagined Drew settling down with, but he talks highly of her, so I try not to judge.
Viola: Why? What’s up?
Drew: We’re leaving Friday afternoon to head up to Mia’s family cabin on the lake, and we want you to meet us. There’s plenty of room. But I told her you’d be too busy memorizing spells and potions.
I laugh, hearing his voice in my head at another one of his lame cracks about my love for Harry Potter.
Viola: Oh, he’s got jokes.
Drew: Just messing with you, baby sis :)
I roll my eyes and give in.
Viola: Fine, count me in. I’ll head up early Saturday morning.
Drew: Travis is coming up too, so just carpool with him. That’s if you don’t kill him before then.
My heart races when I think about the water dripping off his body. Closing my eyes, I’m transported to a fantasy of his lips running across my skin, and I sit straight up, then stand to stop the thoughts.
Viola: Whatever, Drew.
Drew: Well, good, I was going to anyway. Is everything going okay? Travis’s chicks been keeping you company?
I know he’s smiling.
Thank God he hasn’t brought too many of them home. I had watched it more times than I wanted over the years, and once I was able to avoid it, I did at all costs. Now that the ghost of his touch haunts my lips, I’m not sure I could physically handle it. I swallow hard and know Drew’s waiting for a response, so I grab my phone. Sometimes I wish I could just say what I feel, but that time is not now.
Viola: It’s fine.
I type back, before sending another.
Viola: Something like that.
Drew: Good. Warning, though. Mia’s been a little hormonal.
Ugh. I don’t want to be around her if she’s in one of her moods. I made that mistake once and promised I’d never do it again. But I feel bad for Drew and maybe being there will help break some of the tension. It annoys me, though, that she gets like that when he works so hard, barely taking time off because he wants to make a difference, and he loves his job. I liked her right away when they first started dating, but as of lately, I haven’t really found much to like.
Just to mess with him, I send him another text back.
Viola: I’m staying home then!
Drew: Ha! I’ll see you Saturday, sis! Expecto Patronum!
Viola: You’re an idiot. Avada Kedavra!
At least he could try to use spells in the right context. And yes, I used the killing spell because the thought of being around Mia and him while they are arguing makes me want to murder. I wish Courtney were home, so she could be my sidekick during this little weekend adventure. But at least Travis will be there to distract everyone. He’s perfected that, at least.
I stretch and close my eyes, trying to push Travis out of my mind. Those old feelings I buried so deeply are trying to resurface. I can feel them bubbling on the edge and soon, if I don’t gain control, they will spill over. I’ve tried to ignore the buzzing that’s been roaming my body since he touched me, but it’s useless. His intoxicating lips make me feel like I’m drowning, and with Travis King, there’s no chance of survival.
There was a time I believed Travis would’ve given me the world. Even though we were young, it didn’t matter. I was Ginny Weasley, and he was Harry Potter, and we were destined to be together. Sometimes, when you look at a person, you just know. I knew then.
The first time I met Travis, my ten-year-old heart told me I’d met the person I’d spend the rest of my life with. But the heart was wrong. The heart told lies. It took years to repair the damage he caused, and somehow, he’s ripped off the bandages that held me together. And I hate that I want him.
Something so wrong shouldn’t feel so right. His lips on my skin and his hands on my body make me forget everything. In those moments, it’s just Travis and me, and the raw emotions fueling the fire. I swallow hard and close my eyes tight. My body quickly begs for a release, and I can’t deny the need.
I need water for my parched mouth, but I stop outside of Travis’s door instead of going to the kitchen. I swallow as I put my hand on the knob and turn. I’d never paid much attention to his room, and I shouldn’t be nosy, but curiosity has gotten the best of me. I walk over to his dresser, and my eyes drift over the hardwood. I open the top drawer, and it’s full of photos, baseball cards, and trinkets. On top of the pile are pictures of his childhood dog, Beast, and him and Drew throughout the years, and tucked away is a Polaroid picture of me and him sitting under the big oak tree in the backyard. We aren’t looking at the camera, but he’s looking straight at me. His hair is shaggy, and he’s wearing a baseball cap. He always looked so cute in that hat. My head is tossed back, and I’m laughing hard at something he must have said. I don’t even remember this picture being taken. I turn it over, looking for some sort of date, and on the back I see the words “My Princess” scribbled in a messy handwriting. I can’t help but think about the summer that ruined it all and how things could have been different.
I set the picture back in the dresser and walk over to his bed. As I sit on the edge, I run my hand across the dark blue sheets that smell like summer rain. So, this is where the magic happens.
The light scent of his soap and cologne fills the room. I’m surrounded by him, and the need to have him almost swallows me whole. Sneaking around in his room and lying on his bed in nothing but a T-shirt and panties is a turn-on.