“Angel?” I said quietly, and when there was no response, I felt safe to say what I really wanted to say. I knew she wouldn’t hear me. I just wanted to say the words out loud. Emotion clogged my throat as they came out in a whisper. “I love you.”
Travis was so right about my body feeling worse the next day. My muscles and joints felt stiff and achy. Any movement at all caused pain to travel through every part of my body. I was feeling muscles I didn’t even know I had.
I couldn’t say I regretted it, though. I wasn’t sure I would be snowboarding again any time soon, but the experience was worth it. Just another amazing memory I had with Travis.
We decided to drive straight through on the ride back to Tolson. Usually, Travis liked to break up the driving time on the road, but we were both ready to be back home.
Home.
It didn’t even feel weird to think of Travis’s place as home.
Isn’t it funny how that could happen in such a short amount of time?
But my time was running out. In just four short days, we would be leaving for the Sacramento delivery and when Travis returned, it would be without me.
It was late when we finally fell into his big bed. We were both so exhausted that we barely muttered “goodnight” before sleep took over.
The next morning, I woke up to the feeling of soft kisses on the back of my neck.
The Colorado trip was fun, but nothing compared to waking up in Travis’s warm bed.
Spooning me from behind, Travis slid the strap of my tank top down to move his lips across my shoulder. I could feel his erection against my lower back, and my core pulsed with the need to feel him inside of me again.
I pushed my shorts off and reached behind me to wrap my hand around his hard length.
“Please,” I whispered, tilting my head back to look at him.
Without moving from our position, Travis kicked his boxer briefs off then slowly slid into me from behind.
Oh.
This was new. Different than before, but just as good.
Travis groaned as he grasped my hips and pushed himself into me over and over again. His hand slid down to my center and he circled his fingers over my sensitive bud.
I tried to keep my moans quiet because I didn’t know if we were alone in the apartment. Travis lifted my leg and hooked it over his, spreading me wider and giving him better access to my clit.
“That feels so good,” I breathed out.
As my body started to tingle and shake, I reached my hand behind my head to grip the back of Travis’s neck, needing something to hold on to.
When my climax hit, I muffled my sounds into the pillow.
In one swift movement, Travis rolled me onto my stomach and started pumping into me. I gasped because he was going so deep. He brought his hands up to clasp mine by the headboard.
“Fuck, baby. So fucking tight,” he whispered by my ear before lightly sinking his teeth into the side of my neck, and I couldn’t stop a loud whimper from coming out.
His thrusting sped up until he buried himself so deep it took my breath away. He moaned and panted against my shoulder as I milked him dry.
When he slipped out, I made a sound of protest at the loss. He rolled me over and hovered above me, smiling wide. The expression on his face was pure happiness, and I had a good view of his dimples. I poked each one with my finger.
“Best. Morning. Ever.” He punctuated each word with a kiss.
Over the next couple of days, Travis and I couldn’t keep our hands off each other. He didn’t have to work at the shop since he had two long hauls back to back, so it gave us a lot of alone time at the apartment.
We had sex in every position and every location possible. In his bed. Against the wall in the shower. Bent over the kitchen counter. On the couch. Him on top. Me on top.
One of my favorite times was on the bench seat of his pickup truck. We’d gone out for pizza, but ended up pulled over on the side of a country road on the way back. We kept the windows rolled up to make sure no mosquitoes could ruin the moment, which resulted in some very steamed-up glass.
Sometimes it was frantic and desperate, and other times it was slow and sweet.
The only place off limits was Colton’s room, for obvious reasons.
In between wearing ourselves out, we talked, watched movies, and even played some board games. I kicked his butt at Monopoly—because I was ruthless—but, to his credit, he always won at Scrabble.
“You know I don’t have the money to pay rent on North Carolina Avenue,” he sighed, shuffling through the multi-colored bills.
“You can always admit defeat. Again.” I smiled. “Or, you can let me have Park Place.” Holding out my hand, I did a ‘give me’ gesture.
“Ruthless.” He shook his head, then placed the property in my palm.
Two more turns and the game was over. We may or may not have ended up having sex on the coffee table after I won.
Wednesday morning, Angel and I woke up naked together. We didn’t see the point in wearing clothes to bed anymore. Pressing my lips to her neck, I followed our normal routine where I kissed her body until she was fully awake.
Kissing down the valley between her breasts, I trailed my lips down to her belly button and she giggled.
That’s when the realization hit me—this was one of the last mornings we would wake up together this way. Angel wasn’t even gone yet and I already missed her. By this time next week, I’d be back in my bed. Alone.
“Stay,” I said against the smooth skin above her hipbone, my mouth pausing its descent.
“What?”
She probably couldn’t understand me because the word had been muffled against her stomach.
Lifting my head, I looked up at her.
“Stay,” I begged. “Stay with me.” I could clearly hear the desperation in my voice, but I didn’t care.
Her face looked conflicted and her eyes held so much pain. Immediately, I regretted asking. I hadn’t planned on begging her to stay. The plea just bubbled up and burst out.
“I want to,” she responded quietly. “I really do, but I can’t. I have to try things with my mom. If I don’t try, I’ll never know if we could’ve had a relationship. I can’t go my whole life wondering…”
“I know,” I told her.
Because I did know. I knew from the beginning she would be leaving, but that didn’t make it any easier. All along, this had been the plan. Nothing had changed.
Except everything changed.
I fell in love with her.
“This was always the plan.” She shook her head in frustration.
“I know,” I repeated. “I just wish we had more time.”
Angel swallowed hard. “I’ll try to come back to visit. I promise.”
Our conversation was interrupted by a door slamming in the hallway, followed by Tara’s voice. “What the hell is wrong with you? You don’t think I’m pretty?”
“Shh, Tara. Keep it down. I don’t want to wake everyone up,” Colton replied much more quietly.
“Oh, right,” she scoffed. “Wouldn’t want everyone to find out, would we?”
Heavy footsteps stomped by my bedroom door and their voices got quieter as they walked further away. I couldn’t hear what else was said, but that was probably a good thing. I had no desire to overhear their private business.
“What was that about?” Angel asked, concerned.
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Why does he stay with her? He deserves better.” A scowl marred her beautiful face, making her look like an angry kitten. Her protectiveness of my best friend was endearing, and I knew I wouldn’t be the only one missing her after she was gone.
“He’s a big boy. He can take care of himself,” I reassured her.
I looked at the clock on my dresser and noticed we’d slept in too late. I gave Angel a quick kiss before reluctantly leaving her naked body.
I wasn’t in the best mood as I took a shower and got dressed. Sad
ness weighed down on me when I thought about the unexpected conversation Travis and I had earlier.
The frustration I felt wasn’t because he asked me to stay—it had more to do with the fact that I really wanted it. There was a big part of me that wanted to throw all my plans away and just say YES.
But I had other obligations. Things I’d been looking forward to for years.
The possibilities flashed through my mind—what it would be like to rebuild a relationship with my mom. Movie nights. Shopping days. Mother-daughter manicures. The simple things so many people took for granted.
Travis came up behind me while I waited for the toaster to be done with my waffles.
“I’m sorry.” His breath tickled my ear. “I shouldn’t have even asked. I know how important this is to you.”
I knew I’d been moping all morning, but I just couldn’t help it. I turned in his arms and put my hand up to his cheek, scratching my fingers over his two-day stubble.
“I’m not mad.” I shook my head and tried to give him a smile. “I wish we had more time, too.”
Travis gave my lips a gentle kiss. “I have to run down to the shop for a bit to go over some details for the Sacramento job,” he said as he tucked some of my hair behind my ear. “You have lunch at Beverly’s, right?”
“Yep,” I replied, fighting a heavy feeling in my chest.
I couldn’t believe it was the last time I would see her—at least, for a while. I had no idea when I’d be able to come back.
Before I had time to feel too sad about it, Travis stripped me down and spread me out on the rickety kitchen table. It was so small my head hung off the end, and I was afraid it might not be able to hold my weight.
But all worry flew out the window when he buried his face between my thighs until I screamed.
Afterwards, I made him promise me he would never get rid of that table.
The walk to Beverly’s was bittersweet. I remembered the first time I walked these few blocks, not realizing I was going to find such a good, foul-mouthed friend.
In the grass along the sidewalk, I spotted a fuzzy dandelion. Thinking it would be perfect for a wish, I plucked it up. Except, this time I couldn’t decide what I wanted. While I was excited to see my mom, I dreaded leaving. In just three weeks, this place and these people had wormed their way into my heart.
I twirled the dandelion in my fingers.
Still unable to decide what to wish for, I blew on it anyway. The breeze caused some of the fuzz to blow back into my face and it tickled my nose. I sneezed, then I laughed.
That’s what I get for wasting a wish.
As I climbed the steps to Beverly’s porch, I saw a small yellow piece of paper taped to the screen door. It flapped in the breeze as I read what it said.
Come on in.
The hinges creaked as I pulled the door open and stepped into the living room. The familiar smell of Bengay and cupcakes filled my nose.
“Surprise!” a bunch of voices said in unison, and I jumped.
My mouth hung open as I took in the faces smiling at me. Beverly, Ernie, and Karen were standing by the dining room doorway, while Hank, Colton, and Travis stood in front of the couch.
A variety of balloon animals had been placed around the room, and multi-colored streamers hung from the ceiling fan.
“What’s going on?” I asked pointlessly. Obviously, they were throwing me a party. But why?
“We thought we’d give you a proper send-off.” Beverly beamed.
“A going-away party?” My voice cracked on the last word. This was the last thing I’d expected. I was completely blindsided. I guess that’s why they called it a surprise party.
After a round of hugs from everyone, I excused myself to the bathroom.
I shut myself inside and turned to grasp the edge of the pink sink while I tried to get my emotions in check. Unwelcome tears filled my eyes.
A grand gesture like this should’ve made me happy. And it did, but it also made the thought of leaving that much harder.
The funny thing was, it had always been a secret dream of mine to have someone throw me a surprise party. Every year when my birthday came around, I’d hoped for it. And now, here I was, getting exactly what I’d always wanted.
Everyone just wanted to show me how much they cared, but it was too much for me to handle.
After grabbing some toilet paper, I mopped at my face and blew my nose. A quiet knock came at the door.
“I’ll be out in a minute,” I called while fanning myself with my hands, hoping the cool air would take away the red splotches on my face.
A second later, the door swung open and Travis stepped in, shutting it behind him.
“What are you doing?” I asked incredulously. “I could’ve been pooping!”
“You’re not pooping.” He chuckled.
“But I could’ve been.”
His expression softened. “What’s wrong? You hate surprise parties?”
“I wouldn’t know.” I shrugged. “No one’s ever thrown one for me before. I guess it just made me a little emotional.”
“Come here.” Travis hugged me, and I wrapped my arms around him. I ran my hands over the hard muscles of his back and buried my nose in his chest, breathing in his comforting scent.
After a couple minutes, I felt prepared to go back out there.
“Ernie grilled hamburgers and hotdogs,” Travis told me with a smile.
“Mmm, hotdogs,” I said, and he laughed. If anything could get me to come out of the bathroom, it was food and he knew it.
While we ate, we all sat outside on Ernie’s back patio in a circle of mismatching lawn chairs. I didn’t miss the way he openly flirted with Beverly. I think she even blushed once or twice, which was too cute, because Beverly never blushed.
She made an appreciative sound as she finished her food. “Ernie, that was the best fucking burger I’ve ever had.”
Colton choked on some of his soda, and Travis slapped him on the back until he got his coughing and wheezing under control. I laughed so hard that I ended up making a very unattractive snorting noise into my napkin. I forgot some people weren’t used to hearing elderly women drop the F-word in casual conversation.
After all our plates were empty, Travis handed me a pink envelope and everyone watched while I opened it. It was a card that said ‘Good luck!’ on the front along with a picture of an otter that looked like it was waving.
It made me laugh, because how cute is that?
On the inside it said ‘You otter know we’ll be thinking of you!’ and it was signed by everyone.
“Thank you,” I told them while hugging the card to my chest. “You guys are awesome.”
There was a collective “you’re welcome” and “we’ll miss you” from everyone, and they started gathering their cups and plates to take inside. Travis took mine, leaving me alone with his mom.
“We sure are gonna miss you,” she said as she took the chair next to me.
“I’ll miss you, too. You have no idea how much.”
“I always wanted a daughter. I love having a son but I wanted a daughter, too. I wanted it all. After my husband died, I found out I was pregnant,” she said and my mouth opened in shock. “I never told Travis. I’ve never told anyone. I miscarried early, around seven weeks. It was too early to know if it was a girl or a boy, but I always felt like I knew it was a girl.”
Tears glistened in her eyes and I blinked rapidly when I felt my own eyes burning.
“I guess you’re probably wondering why I’m telling you this.” She smiled a little.
I couldn’t speak past the tightness in my throat, so I just nodded.
“You may have noticed I’m a little desperate for Travis to settle down, and my reasons aren’t completely selfless.” She laughed lightly. “It’s been so great getting to know you. I’ve never seen Travis this happy and he has such a big heart.” She paused. “I just wanted you to know that you’ll always have a place here. With us.”
Then she hugged me.
It was the kind of hug where you could tell the person really cares. She hugged me like she meant it.
“Thank you,” I managed, my voice scratchy.
“By the way.” She pulled back. “You and I are having a girls’ day after the party. Are you up for some shopping at our favorite thrift store?”
I laughed. “I think you know the answer to that question.”
She ran her hand over the side of my head in a motherly gesture before going back inside.
I sat back in the chair and thought about everything Karen just told me. My heart broke for her and what she’d been through. And it meant a lot that she decided to share that deep part of herself with me.
She’d turned to alcohol because she’d experienced something tragic, and it made me wonder if that’s what happened to my mom. Maybe she had a good explanation for leaving the way she did.
And while Karen’s story was sad, it also gave me hope. If she was able to overcome addiction, that meant my mom could, too.
I stood in Beverly’s kitchen, watching my mom and Angel from the window over the sink. From what I could tell, it looked like they were having a moment.
The sunlight reflected off of Angel’s hair, emitting a glow around her head. I smiled because my first impression of her had been dead-on. Somehow, I’d known she was going to be important to me, even before I ever talked to her.
A hand landed on my shoulder. “So, your girl goes to Cali this weekend.”
Glancing at Colton, I gave him a nod.
“Listen,” he started. “I’m sorry if I gave you shitty advice in the beginning. I didn’t really think about how hard it would be for you when she left. I’m not exactly an expert on the topic.”
I smirked at him. “You might not always know what you’re talking about, but you were right about one thing. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“You gonna do the long-distance thing?”
The Good Guys Box Set: TRUCKER, DANCER, DROPOUT, and A Trucker Wedding Page 20