I Hate You, Mr. Boss-Man [18+]

012

A Week A Half Later...

Nine days, three hours, and twenty-two minutes had gone by since my little escapade with Jesse and I'd been avoiding him ever since.

From coffee runs to meetings in the office, I steered clear of the man who gave me my first orgasm in years, well from a person, anyway. His calls were constant but they all went unanswered, his texts were left on delivered. I couldn't pinpoint the exact reason as to why I didn't want to speak with him. Was it embarrassment, shame, guilt? Or maybe it was all of the above.

Italy felt like a century ago and I just wanted to forget the whole thing. I didn't want anything to ruin today. Today was the day my little brother was graduating college and I promised some time ago that I would make an appearance. Even if I happened to run into my mother.

I stared in the mirror, condensation dripping down the fogged glass. Wet hair sticking to the sides of my neck, my cheeks flushed at the image. Just below my ear—red, purple, and angry. The bastard marked me, how had I not noticed it before? Did other people see it? My co-workers, Jen? I shake my head, feeling myself start to smile. "Son of a bitch," I curse, reaching for the cabinet door juxtaposed with the giant mirror in front of me. I grab my toothbrush and paste, losing focus as I begin to remember that night.

"Does that feel good?"

I squeeze the paste onto the bristles, passing it under the running water before brushing my teeth—circular motion. At least that's what my mother would say, she was and still is the best orthodontist in Pearland. Wait...why is my mother coming to mind? At least it'll keep me from thinking about his lips...his hands...

"Kitty Kat!"

My toothbrush falls into the basin, the alarming sound of my roommate's voice startling me. "Jesus, fuck," I curse, silently cursing Jen for the splatter of toothpaste on my mirror. "What?!" I growl, taking my toothbrush from the sink, rinsing it off before applying more paste to finish.

"Hey," Jennifer's head pops into the bathroom, her hands gripping the frame, her bright smile faltering as she takes in my annoyed face. I quickly fix my bathrobe to cover my neck. "Woah, what happened to your mirror?"

"You happened," I reply, spitting the rest of the paste into the sink before meeting her eyes in the reflection. "Don't you know better than to shout for me like that?" I shake my head, reaching for the floss inside the drawer below me.

"Sorry," She smiles sheepishly, fully walking into the bathroom with me. "I called you for a reason, I just can't remember....Oh!" She exclaims. "I have a date with Karen tonight, so don't expect me home if you know what I mean," Jen wiggles her eyebrows, making me chuckle.

"I always know what you mean, Jennifer. So, I assume it's going well with you two?" I roll the floss between my fingers, waiting for her answer as I go for it.

"Better than well," She murmurs, trying to say it under her breath. "But yes, so much better than our first date. And as much as I hate this, I want to...mmm," Jen places her fist over her mouth, pretending as if she were about to throw up. "...Thank you..." She shudders.

"Awww," I gush, leaning away from the mirror to turn and look at her. "Was that hard to get out?"

"It was horrid," She answers. "I never want to do that again."

"Hmm," I scoff, smiling as I toss the floss into the trash can, grabbing the Listerine from beside the faucet. "Glad to know how much you actually respect me."

"Aww come on, I was joking!" Jennifer steps closer to me, wrapping her arm around my shoulder, placing a chaste kiss on my temple. "I love ya, don't you forget that."

 "I'm joking too," I admit, swatting away her puckering lips, her mouth creating kissing noises. "Stop!" I giggle. "What would Karen say!" I yelp as she goes in for the tickles.

"You're right," She sighs in disappointment, her arms retracting back to her sides. "But you will always be my best girl."

"I appreciate that."

"Mmhmm...You still need a ride to the ceremony?" Jen asks, leaning against the door frame now, watching me as I gargle the mouthwash before spitting out into the sink, wiping my mouth with the sleeve of my robe.

"Yeah, if you don't mind?" I say, gesturing for her to move back so I can find an outfit that won't expose my hickey. I still hadn't told Jennifer about the incident, and I told her everything. It didn't seem real, what had happened and I didn't want to mention something that would probably never happen again, especially since he avoided me first, to the morning after until we left.

"Girl, ya know I don't mind giving you a ride. Give me a heads up when you're ready." Jennifer walks out of my bedroom, closing my door behind her to let me get dressed.

 > > > > >

Turtle neck.

A fucking turtle neck was my best option. The bastard gave me no other choice. At least the weather wasn't that bad to wear one, it was actually cold enough to pair it with a coat.

My hand grips the door handle that leads to the auditorium, pulling it open, I step inside. The room was crowded, family and friends bumping into each other. Balloons and bouquets of flowers, grazing the shoulders of people who were just trying to find their seats.

I frown softly, looking between the giant arrangements to my small balloon bouquet I had gotten for Dylan. It was truly pathetic but he made it clear he didn't want anything big. Being in here brought me back to my graduation, and how the invite I sent out to my mother wasn't enough for her to show. It made me sad, knowing damn well that she could have swallowed her pride and requested PTO for my proudest moment but alas, nothing. If my dad were still here, I could've had both of them see me graduate. I mentally shake my head, not wanting to get into that right now. This was about my brother, Dylan, and how I was so proud of him. His high school years weren't always placed on the track, his motivation for education—limited. But, he was a smart kid and that's all that mattered.

I walk further down the aisle of seats, gripping the bouquet and ticket in my hand. I stop suddenly, my eyes widening at the person across. Jesse Thomas himself, shaking hands with the dean of the university. What the hell was he doing here? I take a sharp turn, using the bouquet to hide my face as I shuffle into an empty seat between an elderly lady and a kid who couldn't have been more than fifteen, spamming the buttons on what looked to be like a Gameboy. Jesus, I haven't seen one of those in years, where the hell did he get that? And where can I buy one?

I plop down, placing the flowers on my lap as I sneak a peek at the game he was playing. Squinting to get a better look, it was then I saw the pixelated castle and infamous green hood that I knew it was The Legend Of Zelda. Lucky bastard, I spent all of middle school trying to beat that game. Before I knew it, he was slowly turning to look at me.

I rip my eyes away, looking to the closed curtains of the stage ahead. "Link's Awakening, huh?" I speak, still looking ahead.

"Yeah, how'd you...?"

" Summer of 2005 was rough, I spent the entire season playing that game, day and night." I finally looked at him. Before he could respond, the dean was taking the stage, the curtains pulling back.

"I want to welcome the families, friends, and friends of families for making it out here today, I know some, if not most, took this day off to celebrate our graduates of 2018." 

My eyes wander through the crowd, aiming to see if I spotted my mother. I knew Dylan had arranged us separate seats, avoiding tension or conflict between the two of us. The falling out between mom and I wasn't his fault, but he knew better than to place either of us in that predicament. There were too many people lined up for me to make out her ash brown hair streaked with silver. I hadn't seen or spoken to her in seven years but her hair never changed.

That was one of many things that never seemed to change.