Beautiful Graves(26)

And then, before I can answer him, he leans forward and kisses me. It’s a surprising kiss. Ardent without being too aggressive. I feel that a wall has been broken between us. Just like when I fed Dom the other night, and he realized how hungry he was. I find myself surprisingly ravenous. For this kiss. For his touch. I’ve missed this. The skin, the heat, the scent of someone else’s body pressing against mine. And so, for the first time in six years, I forget about Joe.

I forget about Joe as Dom plunges his tongue deep into my mouth, grabs me by the waist, and pulls me into him.

I forget about Joe when I realize that I like Dom’s roughness. When I moan into Dom’s mouth, clutching the lapels of his dress shirt, tasting the bitterness of his cologne when my lips drag across his neck.

I forget all about Joe when Dom rolls his groin against mine with a grunt, letting me feel what I do to him, then grabs the back of my neck and kisses me even more passionately. When our teeth crash together and there’s an explosion of fireworks in the back of my eyelids.

I forget about Joe when Dom and I quiver in each other’s arms. When desire ripples through me, like the ocean, deep and vast and everywhere. When I’m suddenly hungry for things whose taste I fail to recall.

I forget about Joe, even when I’m desperate to remember.

Because what’s one night in an ocean of days in your life?





EIGHT


I get back to the apartment looking like I’ve just performed an epic walk of shame. My dress is askew, and my lips are raw and puffy. My hair is tangled in rough knots. The only thing that stopped me from going all the way with Dom was the sliver of common sense I had left.

When I flip the switch and turn on the light in the living room, I find Nora and Colt on the couch. Nora is straddling Colt and wearing nothing but his crimson MIT shirt, and I can see that his belt is unbuckled.

“Ahhh!” I toss my backpack in the air between us, like it’s an electric fence. “Get a room.”

Better yet, go to the one Nora is renting here.

I’m glad I didn’t eat much, because I’m pretty sure I accidentally got a glimpse of my roommate’s boyfriend’s penis. There was a pink, long thing between them while I processed everything that was happening.

“How was I supposed to know you were coming home?” Nora laughs lightly while I give her my back. By the sound of it, they’re both making themselves decent while I stare hard at the overhead clock in our kitchen.

“How was your date?” Colt asks.

“Awesome,” Nora answers for me. “Otherwise, she wouldn’t come back so late, and her lips wouldn’t look like two inflatable mattresses.”

They both cackle. I feel my cheeks warming up. Why am I blushing? They were having sex on my couch not even a minute ago. Okay, fine, our couch. But I think everyone can agree that once a couch doesn’t belong exclusively to a couple, it is not okay to consecrate it with bodily fluids.

“It was actually great.” And it was. Even if there’s a small part of me that’s sad to let go of my emotional crutches.

“That’s what I like to hear,” Colt says. I bet. He’s been asking Nora to move in with him for two years now. I know I’m in the way. He can’t move here—it’s a dumpster, and he is an aerospace engineer. He legitimately designs aircraft. He has a nice condo downtown, with a claw-foot bath and heated flooring, just ready for Nora to move into.

“Brings you a step closer to your goal, huh?” I grin.

“I’m rooting for Mr. Perfect,” Colt admits, laughing. “If he were a stock, I’d invest in the dude.”

I roll my eyes, kicking my boots off on my way to my room. Colt can be a little forward sometimes, but he means well, and it’s just our banter. When push comes to shove, he’s a great guy who’s always happy to help.

This time, I don’t have to worry if Loki is here. He is sitting on top of the dining table, staring at the wall.

“Your girlfriend is welcome to move out anytime she wants,” I inform him.

“She wants to make sure you’re settled first,” Colt says.

“Sorry my life is not to your satisfaction. I’ll get out of your hair soon enough.”

“Soon enough has already passed!” Colt hollers back at me, buttoning his jeans. “You’re deep in overdue territory, missy.”

Nora swats his chest, laughing. “Shh. You animal.”

“I know you are, but what am I?”

“Your little cheetah.” She giggles.

I’m going to vomit all over my feet, aren’t I? They’re leaving me no choice in the matter.

Ambling down the hallway toward my room, I hear them kissing and moaning again in the living room. I close the door, fall into the sea of fabric of my sheets, and close my eyes.

Expecting to see Mom on the other side of my eyelids.

Maybe Renn, maybe Dad, maybe Joe.

But looking back at me is my new obsession, marble eyes and dripping masculinity.

Dom.



The next morning, Renn calls. It’s eight a.m. eastern time, which makes it five a.m. on the West Coast. Renn is used to waking up at butt-crack o’clock to catch waves. What he is not used to is calling me, so I’m guessing Dad strong-armed him into this call.

“Hey,” I answer on the first ring. I’m so happy to see his name on my screen that it actually takes an effort not to weep. “Did you get my package?”