11
Travis
I knew staying late would mean I had to face Janice head on.
I have been avoiding her, especially since Violet came back, but there is no escaping those lingering eyes now that we’re the only two people left in the office. I know I need to talk to her about what happened, but I also know she holds onto things and I can’t seem to get her to let go.
Still, I try to sneak out past reception without her saying anything.
“I’m heading out,” I say casually, keeping my feet moving. “See you tomorrow.”
“Seriously, Travis?” she mutters.
Fuck.
I knew I wasn’t getting away that easily.
I turn to face her. “What is it?”
“You could at least pretend you’re not completely ignoring me,” she shakes her head, and I do hate that I hurt her, but I also never made her any promises.
“I’m not ignoring you.”
“Oh, bullshit. Come on, I’m not that stupid. You could at least talk to me.”
My jaw tightens, but I exhale. “Look, what happened between us wasn’t going to lead anywhere. I’m sorry if you got the wrong idea.”
“You sat there and told me just how much she destroyed you.”
“I know what I said.” I cut her off and hold up a hand. “But she wasn’t back and things were different.”
She gets up, moving around so she is standing in front of me. “You unleashed a lot of shit on me, Travis. You kissed me. You told me just how much she fucking destroyed you.”
“And that wasn’t fair. I’m not saying it was. But Violet’s back and I love her. I’m not going to fuck this up again.”
She laughs, and it’s bitter. “Seriously? She broke you. We all saw it. And you’re just going to let her do it again?”
I’m trying to keep my frustration at bay, but it’s really fucking hard when she is in my face like this. “It wasn’t that simple.”
Another laugh, a sad shake of her head. “So, if she hadn’t come back? What then?”
I clench my fists by my side. “I honestly don’t know. I can’t tell you where it would have led because she did come back. That’s what happened. I can’t rewrite that.”
“You don’t deserve me.”
She turns, snatching her bag off the reception desk and leaving.
I let out the breath I didn’t even know I was holding.
Well, thank fuck that’s over.
Violet
I am falling asleep on the nest of clean laundry I have been trying to make myself fold, when the door creaks. No knock. Just the tall, dark shadow of Travis in my doorway, already shirtless, jeans slung low on his hips. He crosses the room and drops onto the mattress, still wearing his work boots. His hand crawls behind my head, palm warm, thumb at my jaw.
He doesn’t say anything, just tugs my face toward his and kisses me, kisses me until I’m drunk on it, then bites down on mybottom lip a little. “I missed you,” he says, finally. The words are throaty and raw and he sounds exhausted.
“I missed you, too,” I whisper.
