"She should be okay," a female muffled voice echoed in my throbbing mind. "Why hasn't she woken up yet?" a less muffled man's voice replied. "She will," the female's voice came into focus. I blinked the blur from my eyes to see an office-like ceiling above me. I raised my arm to feel something strange taped to it. I glanced down to see some form of IV in my arm. "Ivy!" Tanya exclaimed. I looked to my right to see Eric gripping my hand and Tanya rubbing my leg. I studied my surroundings to conclude that I was in the hospital. "What happened?" I croaked. Tanya held my cup of water and put the straw in my mouth. "I can do that-" "Drink!" she ordered. I gulped down two cups of water before being able to prop myself up. "Easy," Eric warned as he helped. "What happened?" I repeated. Eric and Tanya nervously looked at one another. "I remember the fight with Eve," I commented while wracking my foggy brain, "I remember seeing you laying there with blood coming out o
When I left the hospital, Zeus did everything I asked except write me a five-million-dollar check. The note he went with it explained that he wanted to make sure I was taken care of for the rest of my life. Little did he know that I used the money to book a first-class ticket to Monterey, CA, buy a two-million-dollar house on the beach, and never look back. I've lived here for nearly six months now. Waking up to the sounds of the waves crashing along the shoreline, followed by seagulls squawking, was peaceful. When I'd sit on my porch, all I could smell was the saltwater of the oceans, with the wind combining its fingers through my long red hair. The thought of the events that happened that day slowly faded away. Tanya and Eric were still in New York. Tanya couldn't leave until Cameron graduated from High School because of his football scholarship, and Eric was waiting for his apartment to be sold before he left. I was on my own again. I'd been going out every day, buying usel
I decided to accept Deacon's offer and come to the college. It wasn't a far walk from my beach house, making it convenient. Walking through the endless halls and classrooms, I finally came to a smaller building in the back. It was dark and quiet in this area of the college. I walked down the steps leading to two old brown double doors. I knocked before opening one of the handles, but they were locked. "Well, not here after all," I muttered to myself. I turned to walk back up the steps when I heard the bolt in luck. "Ivy! You came!" I heard Deacon's voice behind me. I rolled my eyes in annoyance; why did I come if I knew this would bother me so badly? I faked my best smile. "Yeah, I decided to see if you were a Professor or just trying to fuck me; I guess you won," I turned to leave when I felt a form rough hand seize my left wrist. "Wait, that's it? Come inside," he said. I didn't have a choice but to follow when he pulled me inside after him. It was small and dark, but
"Take off your clothes," Deacon ordered. I nervously laughed, "What?" "Take off your clothes," he repeated. "Why would I do that? Why can't you paint me dressed?" I defended. "Are you afraid?" he asked. "No, I'm not afraid to be seen naked," I scoffed. "Then what frightens you?" he questioned. I pressed my tongue to my cheek in annoyance. Can I not want to get naked in front of a man I barely know? It had been months since anyone had seen me naked. Perhaps I was a little anxious; why wouldn't I be? I don't know this man. I looked back at him and froze; I could have sworn I momentarily saw Zeus in Deacon's face. A pang of hurt hit me, and I didn't know how to feel. "I don't know," I confessed, "I don't know what's stopping me." With that confession, I dropped my purse to the ground and sat on the lounge chair. I fought the tears that were battling their way along my tear ducts. "I never meant to hurt you," he solemnly said, "I know how you feel. Unless someone bl
"That's all I could do," Deacon dropped his head in shame. There were balls of paper covering his feet and other attempts he had made while trying to sketch me. You can tell that he hadn't drawn in some time: the shaky lines and oblong faces to the langolier-like fingers. I looked back over at him to see his head still hanging low. "Hey, maybe I can come by after hours, and you can use me to practice until you get it right," I offered, "I'm sure it's like riding a bike, right?" "Don't you have to work?" he asked. "No, I don't work," I stated, "I could if I wanted to, but I don't." His confusion shined, "H-How-" "Buy me a drink, and I'll tell you all about it," I interrupted. "You don't need me to buy you a drink, remember?" he joked. "Shut up," I nudged him, "Come on, I'll buy you one." I strolled out of the classroom, and Deacon followed. Once we reached the bar, we met the bartender, who recognized me and brought out a shot glass with my bottle of Bushmills.
"Wanna come in?" I drunkenly offered. Deacon studied me in confusion, "Are you sure?" "Nothing I haven't done before," I answered. I seized his shirt within my grasp and pulled him through my front door after me, placing my lips firmly on his. He pushed me back my shoulder, breaking our kiss. "Wait, I don't think you know what you're doing," he hesitated. "Just shut up and fuck me!" I grunted while pulling him into me with such force that we fell back onto my couch. He tried resisting but soon gave in to me. I felt his rough, frigid body relax between my splayed legs. I wrapped my legs around him, pressing his hard-on against my sex, rubbing up against him with intent. "Wait," he pulled back, looking down at me lustfully, "Are you sure?" "Yes," I rasped, "Please, help me feel something again." Am I drunk, or did I just see an emotional look flash across his expression? "Where's your room?" he asked. "Down the hallway behind you to the right," I answered.
I blinked the fog from my eyes as a bright ray of light blinded me. I turned away with a wince and wiped my vision clear. The room began spinning, but not in a sickening way; I think I was still drunk. While glancing around the room, I realized I was completely naked. "Wait, what happened?" I asked myself while rubbing my head, "How drunk did I get last night?" I felt a deep soreness when trying to get off my bed."Ugh!" I heaved and froze in place, "Oh, no, who did I fuck last night?" I grabbed my red silk robe from the closet and entered my kitchen. Why did everything have to be so bright? I fumbled for my sunglasses before attempting to make myself coffee. "You're up-" "Oh! Fuck!" I hollered. I saw Deacon holding a carrier of coffee in one hand and a bag in the other. What was he doing here? "Oh, no," I whispered under my breath. Not him. "I thought you could use some coffee and a bagel," he continued while walking over to me. "That's real sweet," I forced. I
I walked through the familiar double doors of Deacon's classroom and found him dressed nicely instead of in his regular paint-stained pants and tank top. "What?" I hesitated. "Let go," he held his hand for me to take. "Where are we going?" I asked. "To dinner," he clarified. "Why would I want to go to dinner? I thought this was a work thing. You help me work through my fears, and I help you work through yours," I reminded. "Yeah," he concurred while closing the gap between us. His left arm held my waist, pressing me up against his rock-hard physique. I always wondered how an art professor had such a well-fit body. He leaned down to my right ear. "That was before you begged me to fuck you the other night. Now I can't get your perfect body out of my mind," he confessed. I tried wiggling from his grasp, but there was no use. He bit down on my neck. "Ugh," I moaned "Now, let me take you on a date," he added. "Fine!" I whimpered, "You don't have to be so mean."