Bryan cups the back of my head and tangles his fingers into my long, wavy hair. Chills course over my skin and my pulse beats wildly. With his thumb brushing my cheek once again, he says, “Does this mean you’re ready to finally give me a chance?”
“Yes.” But before the softly spoken word is even past my lips, his mouth is on mine. Slow, tender, erotic – those are the only words I can come up with to describe how this first kiss real feels. He kisses every inch of my lips, the soft bow of the upper one - the plump fullness of the lower one. When his tongue licks at the corner, seeking permission to enter, I can no longer deny that I want him.
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pull him into my soft body. His arms band around the curves of my waist, and after the amazing day and night that we’ve spent together, I no longer feel self-conscious at his touch.
Completely out of breath and full of desire, I pull back from him when I hear giggling on the other side of the door. He hears it too and laughs lightly in response.
“My roommates,” I explain, thumbing the door behind me.
“Hi, Bryan!” Maddy, Cammie and Lia’s cheery sing-song voices carry through the door and essentially kill the mood.
“So, can I pick you up for class on Monday?” he asks as he presses his lips to mine one last time.
“Yes,” I respond, my voice laced with lust. I could seriously kill those girls for interrupting us. But watching Bryan’s fine ass strut away down the hall is a pretty sweet consolation prize.
For the first time since elementary school, I’m excited about a Monday morning.
5
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Present
Cammie and Lia are coming back today and I’m beyond thrilled to see them again. It’s been a while since I’ve been this excited.
There’s a knock on my bedroom door, and before I can say anything, it cracks open and Cammie’s bright, smiling face peers in at me. “Hey, girl!” She bounces over to my bed and nearly tackles me as I try to sit upright. I can hardly breathe as she squeezes the life out of me.
Breaking the hug, and holding me at arm’s length, she says, “I missed you so much. I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.”
I can’t help but squeeze her right back. “I missed you too. It’s so good to be back. Did Lia come with you?”
“Of course she did. She’ll be up in a minute. She’s just parking the car.” Cammie squeezes me one last time and then breaks the hug.
She moves over and leans her back up against the wall. I follow suit and we’re both staring at the neatly made bed on the other side of the room. Peyton’s bed.
Scanning the room, and then pointing at the light blue bedspread, Cammie says, “So I guess the new girl is here, huh?” She sounds nervous as a bit of trepidation colors her words.
A look of shock passes across my face as I twist to face Cammie. “You mean, you knew? Why didn’t you tell me? I nearly took her out yesterday when she got here. I thought she was trying to break in so I cracked her on the leg with that stupid bat Lia insists we keep up front.” Upon my admission of assaulting our new roommate, Cammie claps a hand over her mouth to try and hide her shock. It doesn’t work.
“You did what?” Her voice sounds banshee-like.
Folding my arms across my chest, I huff at Cammie as her shock morphs into laughter. “I’m not proud of it, but I didn’t know we were getting a new roommate. Why didn’t you guys tell me? Or, hell, why didn’t the school tell me?”
Okay, I’m being a little pouty about it. It shouldn’t be a big deal that I have to live with someone new, but honestly, everything in my life is such a shit storm of craziness right now; this whole new roomie situation feels like it’s going to be the straw that breaks my back.
Smoothing a piece of hair out of my eyes, Cammie smiles warmly as she tries to bite back the last of her laughter. “Oh, Mel, we did tell you. I texted you a few times about it, but you never got back to me. The school sent us all letters, but maybe with everything that was going on over break, it got lost in the shuffle.”
She’s probably right. I’ve never been one to pay attention to regular mail anyway. I shrug my shoulders at her because, at this point, it doesn’t matter – Peyton’s here and Maddy’s not. It’s just that simple.
“It’s okay.” Shaking my head and sighing, I feel ashamed for how disconnected I’ve been from everyone for the last month. “Sorry about not texting you back. I guess I was just distracted while I was home.” It’s a lame cover up for what was really going on. But telling Cammie, or anyone for that matter, about spending my vacation drinking and partying and my all-too-dark secret of cheating on Bryan, well, that’s just not an option.
Cammie’s nosiness gets the best of her as she launches herself up from my bed and starts picking through the items sitting atop Peyton’s desk. There’s nothing all that telling on display – a few family pictures, some of her favorite books, a few simple cosmetics.
“She’s cute,” Cammie says as she hold a picture of Peyton and her parents in her hands. “Is she nice?” she asks as she replaces the frame.
“Yeah, especially considering I caused her physical harm on her first day here. She’s really nice, actually.” At this point, I decide that I should get out of bed and quit wasting my day. It’s nearly two in the afternoon, anyway. Depression is not a mood that suits me and I’d like to kick this funk before Bryan gets back tonight. You can’t pretend to be perfect when you’re moping around all day.
Pulling my hair into a loose knot on top of my head, I’m startled when I hear another voice chime in from the door. “Hey, roomies.” Peyton slides past Cammie and extends her small hand.
I know better than that. Cammie will not stand for formality. If you live with her, you will hug her. That’s final. And wouldn’t you know it, that’s exactly what she does. Eyeing Peyton’s hand as if it is disease infested or something, Cammie wraps her arms around Peyton’s shoulders and hugs her instead.
Peyton is facing me and all I can do is laugh at the caught-off-guard look that’s plastered to her face. I can’t think of anything to say, so I just shrug my shoulders and try my best to convey an “I told you so” face.
When Cammie finally releases her, Peyton says, “So you must be Cammie. Melanie told me all about your predilection to hugging. Well, she warned me actually, but I didn’t believe her.” Peyton’s lips quirk up into a dorky smile and she rolls her eyes at me.
We may not have gotten off to the best start, but after a marathon Sex and the City session and lots of laughs, I feel pretty confident that Peyton and I will be more than good friends. She’ll never replace Maddy, but, hell, no one ever will. Still, I think we’re going to have a blast this semester.
“Can I get some help out here?” Lia’s words carry into our room from the front door. She’s pissed about something.
When we get to the door, I can tell why she’s pissed. She’s carrying in what looks like a month’s worth of groceries all by herself. Narrowing her eyes on Cammie, she says rather sarcastically, “So much for grabbing Mel and coming down to help me, huh?”
“Here, let me.” Peyton rushes over to Lia, who looks as if she’s being swallowed alive by the reusable canvas shopping bags.
“Damn these are heavy,” Peyton grunts as she hefts the weight of three bags in her right arm. “Who the hell loaded them up like this?”
Cue the death stare and snarky words, yet again. “That one over there,” Lia tips her chin at Cammie, “likes to fill them to the brim because she hates making too many trips from the car.”