Aria Davenport returns for round two with the ever elusive, more sexually experienced Phoenix Prescott. And she's walking on a tight rope. The perfect job, perfect life and perfect relationship lie just beyond the finish line. All she has to do is a...
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1 Month Ago
January 10th (5 Months Pregnant)
I pull up to a gorgeous brownstone. "Troy, are you sure it's okay? I don't want to intrude on you and Aya."
Troy laughs. "First off, you could never intrude on anything dealing with me. You know that. And two, Aya isn't here. She's back in Milwaukee after the weekend because she had to work. We got the pad all to ourselves. Here I come to help you with your stuff." Troy hangs up and walks out the front door, down the stairs.
I get out and join him on the sidewalk.
"Come here!" He greets me with the warmest, most welcoming hug. I sigh, sinking into his arms.
"Oh, I've missed you so much! Where have you been?"
Troy kisses my forehead. "Just a call away." He gives me a squeeze. "Now, where are your bags?"
I ease off and press the trunk button on my key fob.
Troy looks over my shoulder as the trunk lifts. "Okay, I got you." He goes to grabs all three bags. "You weren't playing when you left, huh? Got enough for two weeks!" He laughs as we go inside.
"Let me give you a tour." He drops my bags and locks the door.
"Troy! I've been to your parents' house before, silly. Are they still in Italy?" I hand him my coat.
He hangs it in the closet. "Yeah, they loved it so much, they extended their tour for another month."
"Must be nice." I plop down on a plush, grey microfiber couch.
Troy sits next to me. "Yep." He rubs his hands together. "You hungry?" He comes in for a belly rub, then stops in his tracks. "I know, I know." He blows and rubs his hands until they're warm.
I lift my sweater, revealing my bulging baby bump. His large, warm hands embrace my belly. I lay my head back. "That feels so good, Troy—uh – I mean— uh— this belly rub feels amazing."
Troy laughs. "Relax. I know what you mean."
Panties soaked.
Somehow my hand finds its way to the back of Troy's head, grazing back and forth over the stubble of his faded cut. His green eyes meet mine in what feels like a magnetic hold. Something in his gaze. I'm lost for words. The sound of blood rushing to and fro feels as if it's filling the room.
Is that my heartbeat?
Troy sits up, looking directly into my eyes. His expression suddenly serious.
My lips throb.
He reaches for me. Without warning he dives in. His lips land on mine and I don't refuse. Something in me pours into him. A long-awaited release. Taking in a deep breath, I take him into me. He wants me just as much as I want him. His intoxicating, addictive lips nudge me over the edge. I kiss back. His lips give me something to grab onto. An unexpected bonus. Parting my lips, our tongues meet. And what's left of years of restraint, suddenly melts away. Like a rushing tide, there is no stopping what happens next. His gorgeous full lips embrace mine in a love-starved, hungry, time-running-out-the-clock sort of way. And I accept each and every time he comes back for more, grazing my lower lip, licking the tip of my tongue, pulling me into him. I grab his t-shirt and pull him into me.
I want more. I need more.
Without a thought, I turn to lay with my back on the sofa. His body responds to my thoughts.
How does he know?
Never breaking stride, he cradles my face ever so gently as he laps up my lips.
Has kissing always been this amazing?
Then he crawls on top of me, leaning his lower half into me. I feel him. It seems I'm his addiction.
Even still, I'm in a drunken stupor I can't seem to wake up out of. My breast are buzzing and alive. Somehow our bodies are in sink and my panties are nowhere near dry.
He pulls away for a brief second and comes up for air, then he pulls his t-shirt over his gorgeous wash board abs. Talk about chiseled. I gulp.
Oh my lord! WHAT are you doing?
Blinking at the thought, I push him away, dumbfounded. "Uh." Immediately I sit up out of breath. "I-I have to use the restroom?" I bolt to my feet looking blankly around. "Uh, where is it?"
Troy looks just as shocked as I feel. "Ari, I." He gulps. "Oh, fuck! I don't know what came over me."
"Restroom."
"Uh, yeah. Um." He takes a deep breath. "Down the hall to the right." He bites his lips as I walk away.
"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. . ." I practically fall into the bathroom as I shut and lock the door behind me.
Wtf just happened?
Staring in the mirror, I wipe my lips. "What just happened." My heart feels like a runaway train as it speeds up uncontrollably only to approach a dead-end track. I pitch a tent with my hands over my nose, mind racing, searching for a logical explanation that will let everything go back to what it was before. "Troy is my friend. One of my best friends. We're not into each other. There is no chemistry here. I'm with Phoenix. He's with Aya. We're just friends. Yeah. We're just friends. We just um, made a mistake. This is not real. We were just trying it on for size. You know, to see if there was anything there." I nod. "There wasn't. And so we just go back to doing us. Like before." I nod. "Yeah, that's it." I run water and dip my face into the coolness of the puddle in my hand. Taking a face towel of the towel rack, I pat my face dry and space out for bit, sitting on the closed toilet seat.
The knock on the door startles me.
"Yes?" I call out using a formal tone.
"Ari." Troy takes a deep breath. There's a long pause.
"Yes, Troy?"
"You need anything?"
"No. All good here." I reply.
He leans against the door. "Ari . . . I . . ."
A long pause spans the gulf between us. Thoughts. So many colors of thoughts pass through my mind at lightning speed. I can't tell what anything means anymore.
"Ari . . ."
Not wanting him to hurt in my absence, I get up and unlock the door. I crack it. "Yes, Troy."
Troy looks at his feet and laughs. "I . . ." He scratches his temple. "I don't know how that happened." He locks eyes with me, his smile falls away.
Again, there's that magnetic pull.
Don't do it!
I break eye contact and glance behind me. The red in my face rises, leaving me with burning cheeks. "Uh. I need a shower." I laugh. "Yeah, that sounds good right about now. I'm gonna get my stuff. Wanna set me up? Where am I sleeping?" I open the door and brush past him.
He follows. "Right. Let me show you the guest room."
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So. Yeah... That happened. We need to unpack this. What are your thoughts? Is she right? Wrong? What's her deal?
