The Space In Between(17)

My father was the alcoholic, yet it appeared my mother was the one with the illness. Dad was her sculpture and she was trying to shape him into something he wasn’t. I wondered, if she would have gotten on the plane with me, how different things might have been.
I slid the wedding band back into my wallet; I wasn’t ready to part with it yet. Shit. I was going to let her be the first to text, but sitting in the dark hotel room with nothing left but memories was too much. I was in need of some forgetting.
Fuckin’ A.
Soda pop.


Chapter Nine

HE LIGHTLY STROKED the side of my face with his hand, my arms and legs intertwined with his. His body heat against mine made it easy for me to not want to move from that hotel bed ever again. This time it was different. He kissed me harder, deeper. His arms forcefully flipped me over as his mouth covered every inch of my body. He was trying to forget a lot that evening. I didn’t mind. It made it easier for me to forget, too.
“I should get going…” My mind started racing trying to figure out how I would exactly get home. Ladasha and I had just paid rent, and I only had a few dollar bills left after the taxi ride over here. I didn’t know it would cost that dang much and now I was completely…
Oh my….One moan and my worries about money disappeared. Cooper started to touch me in ways that made everything better. The way he massaged every single inch of my body with only his thumbs made me want to scream his name for the rest of my life. His hands traveled to my stomach, sending shivers throughout me.
“Coop…” I whimpered as I closed my eyes. I heard a muffled growl on my neck as he continued to kiss me lower and lower…Down, down, down...
My back was ready to arch at his command as he climbed on top of me. My hips thrust towards him, begging for more attention. I didn’t want to stop him. I ran my fingertips across his back, pulling him closer to my body. His lips glazed over mine as he lifted my thighs.
His sweet whispers turned me on more and more each time. “I want you so bad,” he hissed as his tongue explored my breasts. My lips parted in time for him to slide his tongue inside. He lifted my hands and held them tightly against the mattress.
My quiet moans grew louder as the two of us grew closer to one another. His eyes locked with mine for a moment’s time before we both shut them and let our heat fuel our connection. The world became a blur. There was nothing wrong on this earth within that moment and time. For the feeling of seclusion alone, I could see myself never leaving Cooper’s side.
For the next two rounds of Cooper Davidson that occurred after the passionate kiss, I forgot all about my money worries. And I forgot about all my demons that were trying to eat at me each and every day. Soon all that was heard was our light breaths of exhaustion.
Best freaking soda pop of my life.
But it was time to go home. Before he could try to get me to stay a few rounds longer, I stood up and started to step back into my clothing.
“Let’s get breakfast tomorrow,” he proposed. I rolled my eyes to the ceiling and continued to get dressed. “Come on, you need to eat.”
“Not with you.” I laughed.
“Come on, doesn’t that sound good?” He stood up and wrapped his arms around me, nibbling on my ear as my eyes closed. That felt good. “Eggs, bacon, muffins…Come on, Andie.”
My mind filled with the image of Derrick calling my name for the last time ever. I had shivers running through me—unnerving memories taking over my brain. My eyes opened and a wave of coldness washed over me as I whispered, “Panda.” Cooper stepped back, unsure how he had offended me. I smiled and shrugged my shoulders as I put on my jacket. “It’s nothing personal.”
“It’s definitely personal.” He could see the hurt in my eyes, but I ignored his expression and walked towards the door. Crap. How was I getting home? All I knew was I couldn’t stay here any longer. Not with the way my emotions were lighting up. I stepped into the hallway and started walking down towards the elevator, but froze when my arm was grabbed.
“Here, take a taxi home,” Cooper said, handing me cash. I felt ashamed and shook my head.
“You don’t have to pay for what we did.”
Cooper narrowed his eyes and looked at me as if I were crazy. “I’m not. I’m paying to get you home safe.” He wrapped my head in his hands and kissed my forehead. I tried to hold the tears back. But I didn’t take his money; it felt way too soon to be taking anything from him.
I pushed it back to him and smiled. “Thank you, but I’m good.” My voice cracked as I said it and continued walking. A guy held the elevator for me and I got the feeling I would be taking that elevator ride and walk of shame quite often.





A SIGH OF relief filled my body as I stepped out of the hotel building and saw a taxi waiting a little ways down the street. Walking over to it, I had to tap on the window. It appeared the driver had snoozed off, and he was startled when he opened his eyes to see me.
“Hey, sorry. Are you running? I could use a ride.”
He sat up in his seat and smiled a warm grin to me. He was an older man, probably in his fifties or sixties. He nodded at me and told me to hop in. Sliding into the back of the taxi, I gave him directions and allowed my body to sink into the hard cushions as I closed my eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
I opened my eyes to find the driver speaking to me. What was he talking about? He was looking at me through his rearview mirror, eyes filled with worry. He motioned to my eyes which had tears falling. Crap. I quickly wiped them and gazed at his identification at the front of the car. His name was Joe, and he was a complete stranger, asking me what was wrong. Did I really look that broken?