Drowning In Love

by Beth Rinyu

  We were the last ones to arrive at Mike’s and Stacy’s, and I was hoping that it wouldn’t appear too rude when we were the first ones to leave. Mike and I had been best friends since college. There wasn’t any time since I had known him that he wasn’t with Stacy. She went to the same college as we did and they married a few years after graduation. I spent a lot of my down time with the two of them, so I was grateful that Stacy and Mia hit it off right away. They had a lot in common, including sharing one common enemy – Chloe. Chloe never did anything directly to Stacy for her to form an unfavorable opinion, but Stacy would always say there was something about her that she didn’t trust.

  “Well, it’s about time,” Stacy said as she made her way through her crowded living room. She gave me and Mia a kiss on the cheek and took our coats.

  “Come in the kitchen, you guys.” Stacy waved her hand at Mike, motioning for him to wrap up the conversation that he was having.

  We followed her into the kitchen as Mike came striding in behind us. “Hey, guys!” He leaned down and gave Mia a kiss.

  Stacy was so excited, she looked like she was ready to bust. “Travis, you are our very best friend and we wanted you to know first. “We’re going to have a baby!”

  “Wow, that’s great! Congratulations, guys!” I gave them both a hug. Mike had told me that they had been trying for a while, so this was so nice to hear.

  “Oh, my God, that’s wonderful news!” Mia’s smile was a mile wide, but I could still see a little want in her eyes. I knew that she would make a great mother. She was so kind and caring. It was almost as if that was what she was born to do. I imagined how adorable she would look pregnant. Most of all, I imagined how wonderful it would be to have her be the mother of my child.

  I knew it was horrible, but I was counting the minutes until we could get out of there. I was tired of talking about swimming, the Olympics, and my medals. I had one thing and one thing only on my mind: Mia. I was just wrapping up a conversation and was headed over to her to see if she was ready. She was talking to some man. I hadn’t a clue as to who he was. Stacy stopped me on my way. “Hey, Travis, thanks for coming tonight. I know you have an early flight-” Stacy stopped mid-sentence when she realized I was no longer paying attention. My insides were raging as I saw the man that Mia was talking to with his hand on her ass, pulling her into him. “Travis don’t -” Stacy grabbed my arm to try and stop me, but I broke free from her grip.

  I rushed over just as Mia was pushing him off of her. “Oh, come on, baby. I will rock your world,” he slurred. He was drunk off his ass.

  I was so enraged, all I could see was red. “Get your fuckin’ hands off her!” I shouted as the room suddenly got quiet.

  I had every intention of kicking his ass from one end of the room to the other until Mike came running over and held me back.

  . “Travis, it’s okay. He’s drunk and he’s an asshole. He’s not worth it.” Mia took my hand, calming me down right away.

  “Mia, he fuckin’-”

  She kissed me on the lips to stop me from talking. “Save that energy for later,” she whispered in my ear.

  “Travis, thank God!” Stacy said as she saw the guy still in one piece.

  “We’re going to get going,” I said, now feeling like I had the perfect excuse to slip out of there early.

  “Mia, I’m sorry, he’s just some obnoxious guy that Mike works with. I didn’t even want to invite him, but Mike insisted,” Stacy said.

  “It’s not a big deal,” Mia responded. I looked at her and shook my head. “What, Travis? Really, it wasn’t; he was drunk. If I recall, I remember a certain night when you had a little too much to drink and were just as obnoxious.”

  “Mia, that’s different. I’m your boyfriend.” The thought of another man putting his hands on her drove me completely insane.

  I was so happy finally to be walking out the door. I grabbed Mia’s hand as we walked down the hallway. I was still so pissed off over that fuckin’ dickhead guy and Mia’s carefree attitude about it. I pushed her up against the wall, just before we got to the stairs and kissed her. “It is a big deal – to me, Mia. I love you and I don’t intend to share you with anyone.”

  She bit her lip and looked up at me with a half grin. “Good, because I don’t intend to share you with anyone either, Travis.”

  Mia had achieved something that no one else was able to do. She completely owned me. My mind, body, heart, and soul belonged to her and the innocence that she possessed made her completely oblivious to it.

  Chapter 36

  Mia…

  I knew that Travis was still bothered by what had happened at the party. So I did my best to take his mind off it when we slipped into his bed for the night. I immediately began to kiss him, starting with his lips, then his neck, trailing little tiny kisses down his stomach. “We have a problem,” I said, looking up at him.

  “Oh, yeah, what’s that?” He looked down at me with a sexy grin.

  I snapped the waistband of his boxers against his stomach. “These – they need to come off.” I removed them with ease and wrapped my lips around my most favorite part of his body. I took him in and out of my mouth as I teased him with my tongue. He ran his hands through my hair. I could tell that I was driving him crazy and I loved every minute of it.

  “Mia, stop. I’m gonna -”

  I removed my mouth from him and looked up. “That is the plan, silly.”

  “Not that way.”

  “Oh, then how?”

  “Inside of you.” He pulled me up and quickly hovered over me. “I want to fuck you so bad. I’ve wanted to fuck you all night – I want to fuck you every second of the day.” He was inside of me within a matter of seconds and let out a groan of pleasure. “Baby, I wish you knew how good you feel.” He began to move around as I raised my hips to meet him. “Mia, I don’t know how long I could last tonight. This feels so damn good.” I pulled him closer, enjoying every bit of him. He had no idea what he did to me. Sex with him was unlike anything I had ever known. I felt like I could never get enough of him. Travis made sure that I was satisfied, which didn’t take me long, before he finally freed himself into doing what he was trying to hold back.

  "Oh my God, Mia," Travis shouted as he buried his face into my hair. I ran my fingers up and down his back while he caught his breath.

  He turned on his side and pulled me to him. "I think you're trying to kill me," he joked.

  "This is coming from a guy who swims ten miles at once. You shouldn't even be breaking a sweat." I giggled.

  "You have more of an effect on me than swimming does."

  "Well, I couldn’t let you go to L.A. with that little witch without a proper send off."

  "Mia, will you stop worrying about her?" he said as he kissed the top of my head.

  "Why would I need to worry about her? She has a bad dye job, cheap hair extensions, and fake boobs. Which, I might add, are totally out of proportion with her body."

  Travis began to laugh. "Well, not everyone can be as naturally gorgeous as you."

  "I know. What can I say?" I laughed.

  "One day, Mia."

  "One day, what?"

  "I'm going to get to see the beautiful babies that we make together."

  My stomach fluttered. A baby with Travis, what a wonderful thought. I hugged him tightly, wondering how I was going to get through the next five days without him.

  ***

  Two more days until Travis came home and my apartment had never been cleaner. In my effort to keep myself busy, I found that coming home and scrubbing my apartment for the past three nights really helped a lot. I had just gotten home from dinner with Juan. Since there was nothing left to clean, I decided to play around on my laptop instead. The late show that Travis was taping was being aired tonight. I was trying desperately to keep my mind occupied so I could stay awake to watch it. I logged on to my email, fifty-seven new messages. I really needed to keep up on checking this more often. I scrolled down through all
of them, which were mostly advertisements and junk mail. I immediately clicked on the name Linda Taylor, sent on December 28.

  Dear Mia,

  I wanted to let you know that your father passed away peacefully yesterday. He wanted me to make sure that you received the photo that I have attached. You have no idea how much it meant to him to see you one last time. He died a happy man because of you. I know that what he did to you was so very wrong. I met and married your dad a few years ago and I know the guilt of what he did to you and your sister weighed heavily on his mind. He did love you girls, Mia, the best way he knew how. Thank you again for being such a caring, kind, and forgiving person. I wish you nothing but happiness in life and hopefully now you can have a little closure.

  Take care ~

  Linda

  I took a deep breath, trying to hold in the sobs. I clicked on the attachment and the tears rolled down my face. It was a picture of my Dad and me. I must have been about two years old. He was holding me. I had my arms wrapped around his neck with my nose pressing up against his. He didn’t even look like the same man I had met in the coffee shop a few weeks ago. He was so young and full of life in this photo.

  I felt low, really low, mourning the loss of a man that I never really knew, but my heart was breaking just the same. I dialed my mother's number and gave her the news. She comforted me the best that she could. I didn't want to tell my sister; I was leaving that up to my mother to do. I felt a little bit better by the end of our conversation and with the beep of my phone I was suddenly feeling a lot better, seeing Travis' name coming through on the call waiting. I quickly said my goodbyes to my mother and switched over to Travis.

  "Hey, you." I tried sounding as upbeat as possible.

  "Hey, baby, what's going on?"

  "Not much." I didn't want to tell him right now. I knew that he was going to be taping the show in a little while and I didn't want him being bogged down with my problems.

  "Mia, what's wrong?" It amazed me how he could be so in tune to exactly how I was feeling.

  "I just found out that my dad passed away about a week ago."

  "Oh, Mia, I'm sorry, baby."

  "Thanks. So when is my big celebrity boyfriend going into his interview?" I said, shifting to a happier subject.

  "In an hour."

  "Well, I'm drinking coffee right now to stay up to see you."

  He laughed. "I miss you."

  I was on emotional overload as his words brought tears to my eyes. "I miss you too -very much. Make sure your hair looks good before you go on; your hairstylist has a reputation to uphold," I joked, trying to lighten my mood.

  "I will." He laughed.

  "Travis, are you ready?" I rolled my eyes at the sound of Chloe's voice in the background.

  "Really? Tell her to go away," I said.

  He laughed again. "I love you, Mia."

  "I love you too and good luck."

  I hung up the phone, feeling a little better just from hearing his voice. I took another sip of coffee, knowing that I would be feeling even better, seeing him on my TV in just about an hour.

  Chapter 37

  Travis…

  The studio was fifteen minutes away from the hotel. I sat in the back of the limo, not paying any mind to Chloe’s constant rambling. I wished that I could have been there for Mia tonight. Even though she was trying to disguise it, I knew she was hurting. I thought about all the sadness she had been handed in her life and how she didn’t let it break her spirit. She had so much love in her heart and she gave it away so easily to others. I just hoped that love was enough for her to be able to forgive me. I knew I had to tell her once I got back, I had no choice. I knew now more than ever that I wanted to marry her and I didn’t want to go into it with any secrets between us.

  “Travis?” Chloe waved her hand in front of my face.

  “Huh?”

  “Did you not hear a word I just said?” she asked.

  “Sorry, I’m just out of it.”

  "Well, I could see that. Just remember you have to nail this interview if you want to pick up endorsements from those other two companies."

  "Yeah, whatever." I looked out the window again, thinking about what these endorsements just might cost me.

  “Travis, I'm serious. If you blow this, I will kill you."

  In that split second, I realized why everyone had such an unfavorable opinion of Chloe; all she cared about was money and power. "Chloe, just shut up."

  "What the hell is your problem? What, did little Miss Perfect say something to upset you on the phone?"

  "My relationship with Mia is none of your fuckin’ business."

  "Oh really, I think your relationship with her has everything to do with me and don't you forget it.” Her eyes widened. “Are you ready?" she asked with a fake smile that made my skin crawl as the limo pulled up to the studio.

  Chapter 38

  Mia…

  I curled up on my couch with my nice warm blanket, waiting anxiously for Travis to appear on my TV screen. I found myself screaming in anticipation at the commercials. My stomach dropped when the host introduced him. I bit my lip as I watched him walk out onto the stage. He was dressed very casually and looked absolutely gorgeous. I didn’t even mind the screams from all the women in the audience. I would be screaming right along with them if I were there. The host went to ask him a question and had to wait until the shrieks were over. “Okay, Travis, I was going to wait to ask you this, but since these women want to rip your clothes off-” he paused again for more screams. “Do you have someone special in your life right now?”

  Travis smiled his deep dimple smile. “Yes, very special.” The screams from earlier turned to groans.

  “Well, you just silenced every single female in this audience.”

  Travis’ smile was contagious; I couldn’t wipe mine from my face. “We’ll get to the Olympics, swimming, and your medals in a minute. But first we want to hear about the important stuff, like this special girl in your life, right, ladies?” They began to scream again. “So, who is this lucky lady?”

  “Uh, you know what, I don’t think she would want me mentioning her name on national TV.”

  “Ah, come on, she’s dating Travis Montgomery. I’m sure she doesn’t mind if the world knows about it. I will say that your hair is looking really good; do you have a new hairstylist?” he teased, clearly knowing exactly who Travis’ “mystery girlfriend” was.

  Travis laughed and rubbed the side of his face, like he was a little nervous. “Yes, I have the best hair stylist around.”

  “All right. One last question and then we’ll move onto the stuff we’re supposed to be talking about. On a scale from one to ten, how crazy are you for this girl?”

  Travis’ familiar smile that he had on his face from the time he appeared on my screen suddenly turned serious. “Twenty.”

  “Aw….” was the only sound that was coming from the audience.

  “Really, twenty?” the host said as if he were surprised.

  “Yeah, she’s really special and she means the world to me.”

  Another round of “Aws” came from the audience as tears rolled down my face.

  The subject finally shifted to swimming. I sat and watched this gorgeous, loving man on my TV screen. I meant the world to him. He could have any woman in that audience or probably anywhere, for that matter, and he chose me. I jumped at the ringing of my phone. I looked down to see it was my sister.

  “Tressa, what are you still doing up?”

  “Um, I have an infant that doesn’t sleep, remember?”

  I laughed. “Oh yeah, I forgot.”

  “Oh my God, Mia, I am in tears watching this interview. He is so in love with you. I think I need to start picking out my bridesmaid dress.”

  “Oh, my God, between you and Juan. You both have me walking down the aisle.” I was silent for a moment. I took a deep breath and asked the question that I was going to avoid with her. “Did you hear about Dad?”

  “Ye
ah, I did. Oh, Mia, you have got yourself one good-looking guy who’s crazy in love with you, girl!” Okay, this was her way of saying she didn’t want to discuss my dad. So I wasn’t going to force her.

  “Yeah, he’s pretty cute.” I laughed.

  We talked for a little while longer before my niece started getting restless for her bottle and we had to hang up. I realized that I was so busy talking to my sister that I missed the end of Travis’ interview. I had DVR’d it so I knew I could watch it over again tomorrow, then again and again….

  I was so sleepy, I texted Travis before heading into to bed: I’m going to bed with a smile. I didn’t think I could love you anymore than I already did. Get home soon, I want to show you how just how much I do! xoxoxo

  Chapter 39

  Travis….

  I arrived back to my hotel room. I sat down on the bed and finally checked the twenty plus text messages that had come through on my phone. I ignored them all, only opening the one from Mia. I smiled upon reading it. God, I wish I could be holding her right now. I didn’t want to text her back because I knew she was probably sleeping. It was late here and even later in New York. I would call her in the morning, I would much rather hear her voice anyway. I was so tired. I was still on New York time and had some meetings that I had to be up early for. I was just about to climb in bed, when I heard a knock on my door…..

  Chapter 40

  Mia…

  I was spending my day off curled up on my couch. It was a freezing cold Monday afternoon and the best place to be was under a blanket and in front of my TV. I was flicking through the channels trying to find something to watch. I was a little surprised when I heard a knock on my door. I wasn’t expecting anyone and even if I were, I would have to buzz them in. I figured it was probably my next door neighbor Luis. A smile stretched across my face when I opened the door not to find Luis, but Travis, instead.

  “Hey, you, what are doing here? You weren’t supposed to be home until tomorrow.”