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“Oh God. So that’s what throwing up in your own mouth tastes like. Wouldn’t have known until just now.” I give my brother a smile, and my face goes serious when I look back at Travis. He crosses his arms over his chest, and I know this means war.
I have a feeling the next two weeks will be pure hell with a devil named Travis supervising.
CHAPTERTHREE
TRAVIS
I’m a man of routine.I like structure and schedules. Every morning as I blend my protein shake, I watch the news and catch up on current events before heading to the gym before work.
I watch Viola sleeping peacefully on the couch, and it stops me in my tracks. Once her phone alarm goes off, all peace is gone. But it’s not hard to notice that when her lips aren't pulled tight in her normal pout and her eyes aren't shooting daggers at me, she actually looks sweet. Almost like when we first met as kids.
I was so ticked when my parents told me we were moving from Arizona to California, even if it was because my dad found a better paying job. I didn’t talk to them for a week, but at twelve years old, I didn’t have much power over the situation. Leaving my friends and the only home I’d ever known didn’t settle well with me. That first night we were officially moved into our new home, I saw a couple of kids around my age playing across the street. Still avoiding my parents, I hid up in my bedroom and watched from the window. The boy looked around my age and the girl probably a couple of years younger, but something about the two of them made me walk out my bedroom door, down the stairs, out the front door, and walk across the street toward them. The girl immediately stopped giggling, and they both stared at me.
Eventually, I told them my name, and they immediately accepted me into their lives. Viola was only ten, but she seemed mature for her age. Drew seemed to be bothered that she was always following us around, but I didn’t have a little sister, so I thought it was cute. Drew not so much.
For the next couple of years, Drew and I were teammates in basketball and football. His parents let me carpool with them, Viola always tagging along to our practices and games, and she was pretty cool most of the time. I grew to enjoy her company, and a part of me became protective of her. Anytime Drew told her to get lost, I’d stand up for her and tell her she could stay. I knew she didn’t have many friends at school, and I had started thinking of her as one of my closest friends. Drew didn’t want her hanging around us, but I didn’t mind. In fact, the two of us often hung out, and those were the moments I longed for most. But then one summer our relationship changed, and it’s never been the same.
Once I’m at the gym, I push myself harder than usual. Lifting weights is an outlet I desperately need. Ever since college, I’d been working out religiously. I needed a way to blow off some steam, and once I figured out that working out was a good way to release it, I became an addict.
Today, I bench an extra twenty pounds and run three miles without stopping. Sweat drips from my body, so I take a quick shower at the gym, then rush home. There’s too much pent-up aggression inside me.
On the way home, I can’t help thinking about Viola and how we’ll be living in the same house for two weeks without a referee. Though it’ll be fun to watch her squirm as I cross her perfectly drawn line, she’s right about getting in my way. Hopefully, her disdain and hatred doesn’t wear on my balls. However, I’m thinking I’ll make it my mission to push her to the limit. Either she really hates me or she secretly wants to fuck me. I’m pretty certain it’s the latter.
Once I arrive back at the house, I grab my gym bag and head back inside. After I quickly toss my bag filled with dirty clothes on the floor, I head straight for my bedroom. I grab one of my suits from the closet and toss it on top of my bed. As much as I hate wearing them every single day, I’m determined more than ever to climb the corporate ladder and prove to myself and everyone else that I can do it.
At the firm, I’m one of the youngest employees, and it’s my mission to become one of the youngest executives in the history of Crawford Marketing. I’m on track, but it’s been a lot of proving myself and learning as much about the industry as I can. But I love a challenge. The job itself can sometimes be a bore, but it doesn’t hurt to have the CEO’s daughter suck me off every week. That alone makes me feel like I’m on top of the world.
It’s Thursday, and if everything goes as planned, I may take a vacation day tomorrow and start my weekend early. No reason to let Viola ruin my plans.
Crisp white shirt, black tie and suit, and dress shoes make me look like I own the place—bonus when it makes women drop to their knees in point five seconds. As I’m pouring a cup of steaming hot coffee in my travel mug, I see Viola’s iPhone sitting on the table in the living room out of the corner of my eye. With a devilish grin, I grab it and place it in my breast pocket before heading back out the door.
The moment I walk to my car, Viola pulls into the driveway like a bat out of hell. She looks annoyed, or maybe that’s just her regular expression, but I flash a smile at her because I know it eats at her sanity.
“Have you seen my phone?” she asks.
I place a hand in my pocket and feel her phone as I lean against the door of the Challenger. She glares at me, and I look down at my watch to catch the time. Viola whispers something under her breath, obscenities probably, as she turns on her heels and walks toward the house. I don’t have to be at work for another twenty minutes, so I have time to play. I put my thermos of coffee in the car, and then follow her back inside.
She’s frantically pulling cushions from the couch and storming around the house like a madwoman. It’s cute when she’s worked up, which seems to be all the time when she’s around me. I stand and watch for a few more minutes, then pull it from my pocket and hold it in the air. She stops immediately, and I tilt my head and look at her. She releases a deep breath of relief and walks toward me, but I place it back in my pocket.It won’t be that easy, sweetheart.
“If you want it, come get it.”
“Fuck off,” she hisses. “I really need my phone. Give it back.”
“Well, we both know it’s not for a booty call.” I grin, but she looks less than amused. “Do you even know what that is?” My condescending tone has her nostrils flaring.
She groans and tucks her chestnut-colored hair behind her ears. “Travis, I’m going to count to five and then you’re going to hand me my phone, or so help me God, I’ll rip your balls off and shove them down your throat.”
“I dare you,” I whisper and take a step forward. I’m messing with her, but she doesn’t think it’s funny at all, which pleases me even more.
She puts her hand out with her palm flat. “One.”
“I’m not a child.”
“Then don’t act like one,” she fires right back.
I take another step forward.
“Two.” She raises a brow. “I’m serious, Travis.”
