Griffin

by Marie James

  “When would I need to start?”

  “Tomorrow,” Ms. Lee says without missing a beat. “Eight sharp.”

  “I’ll be there,” I agree.

  We spend the next couple of minutes discussing which classes I’ll be responsible for and what I’ll be earning before hanging up. Freshman math and life science are nothing close to the basic alphabet and the bathroom rules I have concerned myself with learning to teach, but I vow to do my best.

  As anxious as I am to return to my old high school, I’m also excited for my first paid teaching job. After running a brush through my hair and getting dressed, I head out to find my mom. She’ll be ecstatic with the news.

  “Whoops,” Melissa says as she opens the door to Gigi’s room as I’m stepping out into the hall.

  “Mmm,” Cannon says as he runs into her back. His hands go to her hips to steady her, his face leaned down like he’s smelling her hair before he notices me.

  “Stop.” Melissa jabs him in the stomach with her elbow to get his attention.

  “Oh. Hey, Ivy.” Cannon doesn’t bother to release my friend as we all stand awkwardly in the hallway at the top of the stairs. “Sleep well?”

  Melissa giggles with his question like they share a secret, and I feel odd being on the outside. Cannon isn’t the first guy I’ve seen her with, but usually back in Rhode Island, I’m able to hide in my room until I know her guests have left to avoid weird situations like this.

  “See ya later,” Cannon says after pressing a brief kiss to my friend’s lips.

  We both watch his back as he practically skips down the stairs. Wondering how he’s going to explain his presence to my parents, I turn to look at my friend.

  “You and Cannon, huh?”

  She shrugs, but the grin on her face is contagious.

  “Just having a little fun,” she says after he clears the bottom step with an excited bounce.

  “So you guys aren’t, like, together now?”

  She grunts a quick laugh. “No, Ivy. I’m leaving in a week, and he said something about transferring to a college in Denver. This is a little fun, not a fairy tale in the making.”

  “He stayed the night with you,” I counter. “Did you see that smile on his face? He looks jubilant.”

  “Jubilant?” My friend sweeps her arm into the crook of my elbow and tries to steer me toward the stairs, but I don’t budge. “We had a great night, but that’s all that it was. Now, I want to know why you didn’t get home until super late last night. Did you and the elusive Griffin have a little fun, too?”

  “What did you hear?”

  My friend gives me a sly little smile.

  “Cannon told me you looked… what was the word he used last night when he got back?” She taps her finger on her lower lip for emphasis. “Tired? No, that wasn’t it. Satiated, yeah I think that’s the word he used.”

  “I was asleep when they got to the cottage,” I assure her. “We weren’t doing anything that would end in me being satiated.”

  Her laugh echoes off the walls, so I pinch her arm to get her to be quiet. “You were over there for hours.”

  I just blink at her.

  “Hours, Ivy. He didn’t try to make a move?”

  “Nope.” Even after the wink that made my knees weak and the reference to the kiss we shared, Griffin didn’t try a single thing. I don’t know if he was just being a gentleman, or if he doesn’t see me that way when he’s sober.

  I still haven’t told her about the kiss we’d shared two days ago. I’d die from embarrassment if anyone ever found out about the way he spoke to me.

  “We watched TV, and I fell asleep on his couch.”

  “Lame,” my friend says as she finally manages to get me moving down the stairs. “You need a little excitement in your life. We need to go out on the town and have a good time.”

  “There isn’t much of a night-life in Farmington,” I mutter as we make our way toward the kitchen.

  “Cannon said there’s a bar that’s pretty busy on the weekend.”

  “I’d rather you spend time at Jake’s if you’re going to be going anywhere,” my dad says as we round the corner into the family room.

  “He’s everywhere,” my friend whispers in my ear.

  “I still have excellent hearing, as well,” my dad says with a quick smile on his face as he walks in our direction. He presses a kiss to my forehead before looking at my friend. “No boys upstairs.”

  My friend nods in agreement.

  “That’s all?” I watch his back as he retreats back to his bedroom. “I was sure he’d have Cannon down here by the throat.”

  “Is he gone?” Cannon asks as soon as we step into the kitchen. His eyes are darting past us to make sure my dad doesn’t follow us into the kitchen. “Did you tell him I was with Melissa and not in your room?”

  He says your room like he’d never even considered the idea. Seems to be the theme with my life these days.

  “Hey.” Melissa unlinks her arm from mine and sweeps her hands down Cannon’s chest. They kiss, only having eyes for each other, and I shamelessly watch. How can things seem so intimate between them if they are only having a little fun?

  “I was just telling Ivy that we need to go out and have a good time. What was the name of that bar you were telling me about?”

  “I can’t go out tonight,” I tell her as I walk to the coffee pot. “I’m starting a new job at the high school tomorrow.”

  “Work?” Her face screws up like she smells something funny. “Summertime is for sleeping in and getting drunk, not working. Why would you agree to that?”

  “Because she’s Ivy,” Cannon says with laughter in his voice.

  I know he doesn’t mean it in a derogatory way, but that still doesn’t keep it from sounding like an insult.

  Chapter 13

  Griffin

  Staring at my phone doesn’t make it ring.

  Tapping my finger on it doesn’t make a text from Ivy appear.

  She left in such a huff last night I figured she’d get home and send something to make her feel better. The phone has been silent for the last twelve hours. The demons were happy to fill in the cracks.

  I’ve walked the perimeter, chopped away the tree branches that taunted me from the back porch last night, and secured the door on the shed, but nothing holds all of my attention.

  The bar is calling my name, not necessarily for the liquor, although that does hold its own appeal. No, I need to be around people. I need to be reminded that no matter how hellish things are in my head, there are still people out there living normal lives. It gives me hope, albeit a quickly fading belief, that I will one day not have to look over my shoulder or drink to the point of blacking out.

  The roar of my bike doesn’t serve as a calming existence, rather the noise only makes my pounding headache worse. My bones ache from the angle I slept last night, and there’s a pain in my wrist from the grip I had on the shotgun. It makes it difficult to rev my bike, so I just mostly coast it to the bar.

  Since I was up with the sun this morning, I find myself waiting outside of the bar for it to open at noon.

  “Want to explain what happened here a couple of days ago?” Jake, the old guy who owns the bar, frowns as he climbs out of his truck.

  “Your bartender got shitty with me because the floors were filthy.” Jake huffs his disbelief. He takes such pride in this bar, he knows as well as I do that the floors aren’t dirty. “I could sue. My shoulder still hurts from the fall.”

  Jake narrows his eyes as I lift my shoulder and cup my rotator cuff in exaggeration.

  “You’re full of shit,” he spits without malice.

  I follow him as he opens the bar and begins flicking on the lights. Despite his effort to keep things clean, this place is a bar that serves fried foods, and the smell of grease sticks to the air.

  “Can’t serve you for another—” he looks down at his watch. “Twelve minutes.”

  “I can wait,” I assure him eve
n though my mouth is watering at the sight of the liquor bottles lining the wall behind the bar.

  I’m contemplating trying to convince him to let me buy a bottle to take home when the front door swings open.

  “Well hey there, stranger.”

  “Cara?” I squint my eyes as if I don’t recognize her in the dim light, but it’s actually because I think she caught the cringe on my face when I realized who was walking in.

  “The one and only,” she purrs as she walks right into my personal space. Her arms are around my neck, and her tits are squished into my chest, and all I can think is that the action pales in comparison to when Ivy was pressed against me.

  “So good to see you,” I lie as I lean back to get away from her.

  “More of me these days.” Her eyes dart down to her overflowing cleavage. My eyes instinctively follow. “You like?”

  “I bet they’re amazing,” I tell her with a weak smile. One, I’m a man and honestly, I bet her tits do look amazing. Two, who cares if she dumped me after senior prom because I wasn’t interested in the new group of friends she was hanging out with from out of town. They were nothing but trouble, and I was on my way to living my dream as a Marine.

  “How’s Phil?” Jake says as he slams a high ball glass of whiskey on the bar in front of me.

  “He’s fine,” she answers through gritted teeth.

  Jake frowns and turns to walk away.

  Cara taps her long fingernails on the bar to grab his attention before he can walk off. The rock on her left hand keeps me from having to guess who Phil is.

  “Can I get a rum and coke?”

  Jake grunts before turning back to make her drink, and I have to choose between throwing back this one drink and getting out of here or suffering through her visit.

  “I heard you were back in town,” Cara says as she takes the stool beside me. “Tara said she saw you the other night, but you left before she could come say hi.”

  My glass is empty by the time she finishes her sentence, and I tap the bar to let Jake know I want another when he drops off her drink.

  “How is your sister doing?” I ask, knowing small talk will be necessary even though I’d rather slink into a corner and drink in silence.

  “She’s good.” Her fingernail traces down my arm. “Said you’re still as gorgeous as you ever were. I can see her vision is still good.”

  I give her a polite smile, my knuckles tapping lightly on the bar as I watch Jake putter around before making my drink. It’s as if he’s stalling, hoping I’ll forget the reason I’m here.

  “I have a little free time,” Cara whispers, and I realize just how close she’s leaning into me. “What do you say we get out of here and find a place to have a little fun? For old times’ sake?”

  “What would Phil say about that?” I ask while looking right into her eyes. Aggressive women aren’t really my thing. I don’t mind someone being forward, but she’s taking things a little too far. Add in the fact that she’s willing to cheat on her husband and the thought of messing with her makes me ill.

  I hope for anger, and for her to toss back her drink and leave, but she just grins wider as her tongue licks at her plump bottom lip.

  “Phil doesn’t have to know.”

  “Really?” She grins even wider. “And when he comes after me for fucking his wife? How would you feel if I had to kill him?”

  Most women would be angry at the mention of her husband’s death. Cara just shrugs. “I’d have a lot of fun with his life insurance money.”

  “Hard pass,” I mutter as Jake finally gets around to bringing me my drink.

  Cara chuckles as if she wasn’t just rejected, and continues to talk about mundane things, each and every sentence laced with innuendo. All I can think at first is that I dodged a bullet when she broke up with me, but after a few more drinks, her suggestions start to become easier to stomach. By drink six or seven, I can’t think of a better way to spend the afternoon than getting lost between her thighs.

  “Whataya say we get out of here?” Her words are drawn out, slowed by the amount of alcohol she’s imbibed.

  “Let me hit the head first.” She practically squeals in delight when I concede.

  The escape to the bathroom offers the results I was hoping for. The condom machine on the wall takes bills, so I grab a couple before heading back out.

  “I’ll follow you,” she purrs as I slap some money on the bar top. Jake is in the back, and I’m glad to be sneaking out without his judgmental eyes on me.

  How I make it home without either laying my bike over, getting arrested, or wrapping myself around a telephone pole, I’ll never know. Cara seems only slightly buzzed by the time she climbs out of her ancient Corolla.

  “Is that the same car you drove in high school?”

  She nods. “Phil keeps saying he’ll get me a new one, but we never seem to have the money.”

  “He’ll need to do it soon,” I tell her as I climb off my bike and head for the front door. “That loud squeal when you pulled in doesn’t sound very good.”

  I don’t bother mentioning the expense of her implants, or the apparent injections she’s had to make her lips so full, rather I focus on what she can do for me and how those silicone-filled lips are going to feel wrapped around my cock. I’m praying that she has more skill now than she did in high school. Simple eagerness isn’t going to work too well this go around.

  My hand is around a liquor bottle a second after I step inside the cottage. Just the sight of her in this space so soon after Ivy was here last night makes my stomach turn. The alcohol easily tells my brain to shut up, and that her being here is the best idea ever.

  “Bedroom?” she coos as she pulls the bottle from my hand and places it on the coffee table.

  I agree, pointing down the hall to one of the rooms. I know bringing her here was a mistake the second I pulled up, but that doesn’t stop me from disappearing into the darkness with her. Maybe getting lost in her for a few hours is exactly what I need to get everything back on track, at least that’s what the whiskey tells me as she closes the door to the bedroom.

  Chapter 14

  Ivy

  “Where exactly are you?”

  I keep quiet even though I’m in the car by myself.

  “Driving,” I eventually tell Melissa.

  “I know you’re driving, Ivy. Where are you going?”

  “I just got off work.”

  “And you’re still dodging the question. Are you going to see him?”

  Him, I know is referring to Griffin, so I don’t bother to ask her who she’s talking about.

  “He hasn’t texted or called since I was over there the other night.”

  “You mean since you watched TV and nothing happened?” Mirth fills her tone, but she doesn’t know what a weird place Griffin has been in lately. All she’s told me is that if he isn’t interested that I need to move on. Chasing after any man is beneath me, and there are tons of interested guys out there. Anyone worth his weight would be groveling at my feet, not hiding in some cottage in the woods, anticipating that I’ll come to him.

  “Nothing happened,” I repeat. The words have been on replay for the last thirty-six hours.

  “How was work?”

  I narrow my eyes even though she can’t see me through the Bluetooth system in the car.

  “It was day two. High school guys are still just as annoying as they were when I was going.”

  “Anyone hot for teacher?”

  I snort a laugh. I could easily tell her about the group of guys who seem to have some sort of bet going to see who can make me blush the most, but for some reason, I’m not as keen to share my personal life with her since we got to New Mexico. It’s weird that she’s involved with one of my childhood friends, and even stranger that in less than a week they’ll part ways without so much as a look back for either of them. I just can’t reconcile that, which is ridiculous because it’s their lives, not mine.

  “There’s one ki
d who just cannot comprehend variables, so I showed him—”

  “That is not what I meant.” Melissa sighs with a chuckle into the phone. “When are you coming home? Cannon and I were planning to go grab a bite to eat. We’ll wait until you get here if you want.”

  I put the car in park outside of the little cottage Griffin has been calling his and stare at the front door. His bike is in the drive, but I’m still not one hundred percent sure he’s even here.

  “You guys go ahead. I don’t know how long I’ll be. I’ll grab something on the way home.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah. Chat later.” I press the end button on the dash screen, but I don’t immediately move to get out of the car. He hasn’t texted or called since I left him the other night. His silence isn’t unusual since we don’t have a close relationship. The only thing that pulls me out of the car is the silence and the sinking feeling in my gut. The unease strengthens when I knock on the door only for it to slowly open from the force of my hand.

  The door not being locked is weird, but I slowly step inside. Remembering the shotgun, I call out his name, talking the entire time as I walk through the house. The TV is on, but there isn’t anyone in the living room. The shotgun he kept so close by the other night is propped against the couch, but the sight of it doesn’t bring relief. He could have more than one, so I continue to announce myself as I walk through the house.

  “Griffin? It’s Ivy. I just stopped by to see how you’re doing.”

  I still don’t get an answer, so the next place I check is the room with the open door. My senses are heightened, and my hands are trembling when I push the door open further. A tangy scent fills my nose, and I can’t place the scent. I’m only grateful there isn’t a pool of blood as far as I can tell.

  I see used condoms littering the floor on the side of the bed, and I can’t help scrunching my nose up in disgust. I’m so appalled, now understanding what the humid scent in the air is, I can’t even freak out when I look at the bed and find Griffin buck naked and face down on top of the disheveled blankets. Thankfully, he’s alone, but the knowledge that he’s recently been with someone pulls more of my focus than the sight of his leanly muscled back and round butt cheeks.