As I unlocked the key to my apartment, I collapsed on the loveseat wallowing in depression. I knew I was probably overreacting but I was so worried about her. I knew Mackenzie’s family would take good care of her, but I still felt empty not knowing what she was doing. The fact that she was probably having a blast with her friends kept me from completely losing it.
“Baby, are you all right?” Drake asked as I answered my phone sniffing and wiping away my tears.
“Yeah…” I laughed slightly. “Stella is at her first sleepover tonight and I’m just sad about it. She’s growing up so fast.” I sniffed again trying to get it together.
“Aww baby, I’m sure she’s having fun. Don’t worry, okay? I wish I could come keep you company but dad and I have a dinner meeting tonight.”
“That’s okay honey.” I frowned.
“Can I see you after? I can stop by tonight,” he offered.
“Sure if you want to.” We said our goodbyes and I went into Stella’s room and lied on her bed.
An hour later, my phone rang again and I was confused as I saw Travis’ name.
“Hello?” I asked puzzled.
“Hey! Whatcha doing tonight?” He sounds perky.
“Wallowing in the fact that Stella is at her first sleepover and doesn’t need her mommy anymore,” I really laid it on that time. Hold it together Molly.
“Okay… get up. We’re going out,” he said assertively.
“What? No, I’m fine. I’ll be fine, don’t worry,” I lied.
“Oh come on! Jacob went to his grandparents for the night and you need a night out. Come on. I’ll come pick you up in a half hour. Get ready,” and with that he hung up the phone.
Ahh great.
I dragged myself out of bed and got ready. I decided since it was the first time in like ever that I’ll be going out on a Friday night that I should probably try not looking like death. I fixed my hair, put on some makeup, and wore black dress pants with a purple V-neck jeweled shirt, and purple heels. I glanced in the mirror and was surprised how it only took me a half hour to look decent. I shrugged and figured it was good enough.
Just as I was grabbing my purse and coat, Travis knocked on the door. I went to answer it and as I opened it, Travis was standing there looking absolutely amazing. Travis was good looking yes, but right now, he was stunning.
His eyes widened as he got a good look at me. He smiled and complimented on my ability to de-zombify. I chuckled and playfully punched his arm.
“So tell me, where are we going?” I asked as he flagged us a cab.
“To my favorite club, Midnight,” he gestured me into the cab and told the driver where to go.
“Midnight? Never heard of it.”
“That’s because it’s a little out of the city, more locals.” He rested his hand on my leg right above my knee. It wasn’t the first time Travis has touched me slightly, but it was usually to keep me from dropping something or tripping over my own feet.
I felt goose bumps all over me as he left his hand there. It wasn’t a feeling I was expecting. I had only seen Travis as a friend and mostly like a brother to me. I was sure he felt the same way too.
Hopefully.
“My friends should be there already. They’re excited to meet you,” he turned to look at me.
“Meet me? Why?” I asked confused. Has he been telling people about me?
“I’ve told them stories about class and about taking our kids to the Shedd. They liked all the funny stories I told them of you being clumsy,” he laughed as he pinched my knee. Another sensation of goose bumps and shivers ran through my body. Why is he having this affect on me?
“Oh my god, Travis!” I scowled. “How embarrassing.”
“No, no don’t worry. They’re great people.”
We finally arrived to the club and my heart was racing. I didn’t know if it was for Travis or because I was extremely nervous. I was already a mom when I turned twenty-one and never went to a club before. I didn’t do the whole binge drinking and dancing thing. I never wanted to leave my baby girl.
“Hey man!” Travis said to some guy reaching over to hug him and pat him on the back. He gestured for me to come over as I followed him through the mobs of people already there.
“Guys, this is Molly. She’s in my internship with me. Molly, this is Bentley, Mason, Mason’s girlfriend, Selena, Ruby, and her boyfriend, Leo.” I smiled and told them it was nice to meet them.
Travis placed his hand on my lower back leading me into the booth. A waitress came around and eyed Travis up and down before bringing her eyes on me. She frowned, as she must of thought Travis and I were together. I laughed as I ordered my drink.
“So Molly, Travis tells us you’re quite the cook,” Bentley said from across the booth.
I turned to look at Travis confused as to why he would be talking about me to his friends so much. “Well, I guess… but I have a great partner,” I said trying to lighten the weird tension. Travis’ hand ended up back on my knee as it had before. Once again, shivers shot up through my body as I tried to figure out why I was responding to him this way. We had been partners for weeks now with no tension and now tonight its like my emotions are on fire.
“She’s the great partner,” Travis interrupted. “Especially when she’s clumsy as hell and makes the day more interesting,” he laughed squeezing my knee again.
“Ha… “ I sneered at him for embarrassing me. “I remember a very clumsy person as well, Mr. sauce all over my pants,” I badgered him. Being with Travis felt natural. It felt odd to be here without Drake, but Travis and I were close. Like siblings, right?
“Oh my god, not the sauce story!” he chuckled embarrassingly.
His friends were hyper-aware of our teasing and leaned in to hear. “Oh you mean you never told you friends how you spilled Alfredo sauce all down your crotch and nearly burned yourself?” I said laughing remembering the memory of that day. Besides, Travis getting burned a little, it was hilarious. He was fooling around as usual, wasn’t paying attention and Alfredo went all down his pants.
His face reddened as he hid his face in his hand laughing softly. “Okay, you got me back good. No more stories!” He took his fingers to move my chin to look at him. He looked into my eyes deep and for a second I forgot where we were. The waitress broke the awkward tension as she brought us our drinks.
I took a large gulp and tried to get back into the zone. Travis remained talking and laughing with his friends. The girls moved closer to me since the boys were talking about sports.
“So you and Travis huh?” Selena asked me quietly winking.
“What? No. Travis and I are just friends. He’s like a brother,” I reassured her. And myself.
“Then how come he looks at you like that?” She nodded her head over to where Travis was sitting. He was staring at me like he needed me for air. I’ve never seen Travis look at me like that, but perhaps I wasn’t paying attention before. He smiled at me when he noticed I saw his expression. I smiled back hoping he didn’t see the confusion on my face.
I looked back at the girls who saw my puzzling look. “No, it’s not like that at all. We took our kids to the aquarium once and are just friends,” I tried reassuring her but she wasn’t buying it.
“Well, do you have a boyfriend?” Ruby chimed in.
“Yeah, I do. His name is Drake,” I smiled as I said his name. I took a couple more sips from my glass as I noticed Bentley hovering over to listen to our conversation.
“He’s a lucky man,” Bentley interrupted. He smiled at me as he put his beer to his mouth.
“Thanks,” I blushed. This was getting awkward.
“What does your boyfriend do?” Ruby asked curiously. Apparently, she hadn’t seen the millions of photos of me in the magazines and I was grateful Travis hadn’t told them.
“Umm… he runs a business,” I said trying to be as vague as possible.
“Oh my god, wait a minute!” Selena squealed starring at me. “I knew you looked f
amiliar!”
Travis must have noticed the attention and quickly came to my rescue. “Guys, no. Not now.” He looked them down firmly. I knew he was trying to be protective but I didn’t want to keep hiding behind him.
“It’s alright Travis,” I reassured him. I rubbed his arm and gave him a sincere look. “They will find out eventually.”
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“It’s fine.” I turned to look at his friends. “Drake Stagliano is his name. You probably saw the pictures.” I waited for their shocked expressions.
“Holy shit. You’re that Molly?” Selena gasped. I caught a glimpse of Bentley as he smirked and shook his head in disbelief. “Molly Woods?” she gasped again.
“Yes, yes… I’m that Molly. Guessing you saw the magazine photos?”
“Hell yeah, we did! They were hot too!” Leo chimed in all of a sudden. Travis gave him a death stare.
“Those pictures were real?” Bentley questioned as he stared at me. “I thought they were just another fabricated story.”
“Yeah… they were real,” I answered embarrassed trying to cover my face.
“Don’t be embarrassed, girl, you seriously are hot!” Ruby nudged me as she saw my face pale. I smiled weakly at her for trying to cheer me up.
“Come on Mols, let’s go dance!” Travis intervened trying to make me feel better. He led me out of the booth and onto the dance floor. I had two drinks so far and was starting to feel relaxed. I wasn’t much of a dancer unless it was Stella and I in the kitchen dancing around to music.
Travis grabbed me in close and placed one hand on my lower back and the other in my hand guiding me. Jay-Z blasted through the speakers as we danced together in a large crowd.
I couldn’t believe how much fun I was having with Travis. Every time his hands graced my body, my goose bumps reappeared. I was oddly comfortable with him and he made sure to always keep tabs on me.
Travis’ friends all came out while will.i.am rapped through the speakers. Ruby and Selena danced with me and were well tipsy by now. I couldn’t believe how his friends had welcomed me into their group. Their boyfriends, Mason and Leo came up to dance behind them and Travis leaned me back into him. I turned around to face away from Travis as he danced behind me. A few moments later, Bentley approached us all and started dancing in front of me. I was sandwiched between Travis and Bentley. Not that I am entirely minding.
I could smell the rum on Bentley’s breath. I could tell he was drunk and was very wild. Travis’ friends were all a blast to be around but Bentley was becoming a little much. I turned back around to face Travis to tell him that Bentley was hovering but Bentley had bumped into me forcing me into Travis’ arms.
“Hey there light weight,” Travis teased me. He continued to hold me until I stabled myself. I caught a whiff of his scent and without thinking leaned in closer to his chest. He noticed and gripped me tighter looking straight into my eyes. He was waiting for approval but I knew it wasn’t right, so I smoothly backed up tripping over Bentley’s feet, and in one swift move, he caught me in his arms. He wrapped his arms around me tightly groping my chest trying to hold me up. I felt like a ping pong ball bouncing and tripping over everything.
Damn, I’m a fricken klutz.
Before I could register what just happened, Travis’ fist slammed into Bentley’s face knocking him to the ground. I bent down seeing his nose covered in blood. His face looked as confused as mine. What the hell was that about?
“Travis, what the hell?” Leo asked trying to help Bentley to his feet.
“He was groping my date!” Travis squealed. I quickly turned my head to stare at him. Did he just call me his date? I could see the seriousness in his face.
“Travis, I tripped! He was trying to hold me up!” I squealed assisting Leo with Bentley.
“He’s been trying to find a reason all night to touch you, Molly! He would use any excuse to fondle you,” Travis retorted back.
“Travis, that is enough! Stop being an ass!” I yelled at him and walked away.
I couldn’t believe that Travis thought this was an actual date. Did he really mean that or just like a friend date? Ugh, either way I’m getting out of here.
I went to the booth and grabbed my things. I figured Travis wouldn’t be too far behind me, so I decided to leave without saying goodbye to anyone. I was tipsy and started to feel light headed. I paused for a moment and leaned up against a brick wall trying to catch my breath.
Selena and Ruby were running down the block and stopped when they caught up to me. I noticed they were tipsier than me as they stumbled to catch up to me. When they finally managed to, they leaned up against the wall for support.
“Are you okay girl?”
“Yeah… I just need to go home.”
“Well, let’s share a cab. The boys can get their own,” Selena proposed. She grabbed her phone to tell her boyfriend and then we bailed.
We flagged a cab and the three of us stumbled in. It was humorous watching them and seeing us all tipsy giggling like teenage girls. I haven’t had girlfriends in years, well unless you count Michael, but I never had girl-girlfriends. Even in high school, it was just Michael and Liam. This was nice. Really nice.
Suddenly my phone rang. It was Drake.
Shit.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“Hey baaaaaby,” I slurred as I answered my phone.
Way to not be obvious Molly!
“Are you alright? You sound weird,” he asked, sounding a little irritated.
“Shyeah babe! I’m great. Getting in the cab and heading home now. Wanna come over and make me yours?” I teased.
Wow, I am drunk.
He chuckled a little at the last part, “Are you drunk Molly?”
“Jussta little. We went dancing!” I paused to catch my breath. “I want to have my way with you, Drake Matthew Staglianooooo,” I slurred dragging out his last name as the girls were giggling in the background.
“Molly, I’ll meet you at your apartment. You sound beyond wasted,” and with that he hung up. Oh shit, was he mad?
The girls and I exchanged numbers before exiting the cab. I could see myself having a lot of fun with them. I stumbled to my apartment and opened the door. I suddenly felt the urge to throw up. Oh shit… I darted to the bathroom and aimed right for the toilet.
Ugh, man this sucks.
“Molly!” Drake called as he entered my apartment. “Molly, where are you?”
I wasn’t able to answer as I continued hurling chucks into the toilet. Oh god, this is so embarrassing.
Drake finally found me and rushed to my side. “A little too much huh babe?” he snickered just a little. “Are you okay?” he asked genuinely as I started to sit up slowly.
“Oh my god, my head.” I collapsed into his lap and closed my eyes.
I woke up to the heat of the sun beaming on my face. I moaned and rolled over. As soon as I moved, I felt the urge to throw up again. I quickly ran to the bathroom and aimed for the toilet again. Today is going to suck. I’m going to kill Travis for letting me drink that much.
“Babe, here drink this.” Drake walked in with a glass of water. He handed it to me as I slowly sat up. “You look horrible honey,” he said through sad eyes. Hell, if I looked horrible, I felt horrible.
“God, I can’t believe how awful I feel.” I rubbed my head trying to hold it up. “And this is why I never drink hard liquor,” I mumbled mostly to myself.
“Come on. Let’s get you back in bed. You should sleep this off.” He lifted me off the floor and let my head sink into his chest. I could stay here all day in his arms.
I must have slept for hours because before I knew it, it was dark outside again. Oh, shit. Stella!
I panicked as I looked around and didn’t see anyone. I slowly rolled out of bed and walked to the living room. I stopped in my footsteps as I immediately took in the view. Drake was snuggling with Stella on the loveseat sharing a bowl of popcorn with her. She was laughing and grabbing handf
uls of popcorn shoving it into her mouth. They were watching her favorite movie, Tangled and it was the sweetest thing I have ever witnessed. The man I love and the daughter that means the world to me were together bonding.
I slowly walked over behind Stella and kissed the top of her head. Drake turned to me with a smile. I kissed his lips and wrapped my arms around his neck. This was the best sight I have ever seen. And they were mine.
“How long have you been here?” I asked hoping for an explanation of what’s been happening since I’ve been comatose.
“I haven’t left since last night babe. Michael picked up Stella this morning and we’ve been hanging out ever since,” he smiled. “Michael went to meet up with Troy and we’ve just been waiting for you, sweetheart.” He was the most amazing man I have ever met. First, he deals with his wasted girlfriend, and then he completely takes care of Stella as I sleep it off.
Could this get any better?
Drake got up and walked with me into the kitchen. He handed me another glass of water and told me to rehydrate. “Baby, you need to eat something. What can I make you?”
“Ugh, I can’t even think about food right now,” I moaned as I leaned against the counter.
“I know baby, but you need to get some food in your system. Just something light.” He reached in to kiss my lips. “How about some peanut butter toast?” he smiled and winked at me. I couldn’t resist that look. He was absolutely adorable.
“Why are you so great?” I asked as he started putting the bread into the toaster. “I mean seriously, Drake, are you even human?”
He laughed and leaned over to kiss me again. “You make me want to be great, Molly. You are an amazing person! Not a lot of women could do what you do. Raising a child without a father, going to school full time, making sure Stella has an amazing life… I should be asking you if you’re even human!” He took my arms and wrapped them around him.
Kitchen Affairs: A Riverside Novel (The Riverside Trilogy) Page 13
