Craft Beer & Roses

Chapter 17

Aviva stirred in her bed, carefully placing her hands over her eyes. Her head pounded, and the morning light threatened to burn her retinas. She still felt extremely dizzy; apparently, the alcohol hadn't finished working its way through her system. She groaned, cursing herself for going past her limits. Not only that, but she'd be hard-pressed to forget Finn holding her in place for the most seductive kiss she'd had in a long time. The memory of his fingers tightly clasped in hers, his luscious, hot lips, and his ample stiffness grazing her center had her squeezing her thighs together to contain her arousal.

Then she remembered the look on his face and how quickly he ran from her. Aviva scrubbed her face and slowly sat up; she'd been wanting to kiss him again for a while now, and despite it feeling so right in the moment, her soberness had her thinking the opposite.

I don't think I've ever had a man sprint away from me like that before...

Aviva managed to drag herself to the bathroom to get ready for the day. The room was empty, and she could only guess how late she'd slept in. She was almost grateful, not fully ready to face Finn and confront him about their encounter or his swift departure.

She emerged from the bathroom feeling a bit less hungover, though she was sure if someone were close enough, they could probably still smell the tequila on her. She grabbed a pair of sunnies and slid them over her face, blocking out the harsh Mallorcan sun. As she left the dressing room, she bumped into Kat's wiry frame.

"What the –" The brunette squinted at Aviva's face, examining her closely. Aviva shrank back, trying to hide behind her thick shades. "You look like shit." Kat said simply. She cocked her hip with a tilt of her head. "Actually, now that I have you here, we should talk."

Fuck, fuck, fuck. She knows about last night. Fuuuuck.

"Oh?" Aviva croaked.

"Come with me." Kat demanded more than requested. She grabbed Aviva's hand before she could answer fully.

Aviva allowed Kat to pull her up the stairs to the roof terrace. She pushed her glasses closer to her face as they made it outside. The sound of birdsong and cheery islanders needled at her brain, further exacerbating her aching head.

"I think it'll be good for us to chat." Kat said, sitting down on the bench.

Aviva slowly took a seat as her pulse raged inside, sweating in places she didn't know she had. She fully expected Kat to shove her off the edge of the terrace, but the girl was alarmingly composed. Perhaps it was that calm type of anger; those ones were always the scariest, and potentially the most deadly. She knew she had to come clean about Finn; it was the right thing to do. Even if it meant she might lose a limb or two.

Aviva inhaled the fresh air and emptied her lungs, ready to confess, until Kat blurted out excitedly.

"Finn and I had sex!"

When Aviva turned 22, she and her friends went to a Korean spa, and after basking in the warmth of the heated pool, they all forced themselves to jump into the ice bath. Like diving into the Arctic, she was chilled to her core; it was honestly so cold she thought she'd die.

As soon as Kat uttered those words, Aviva was reminded of that feeling. A frostiness coated her inside and out; not even the heat of the day could thaw her. Everything went numb; her stomach and lungs felt like they were constricting.

"O-oh..." She managed to squeeze through her tightened throat.

"All the other girls were busy, but I needed to tell someone! So it was yesterday morning, yeah? I wanted to look stunning, you know, more than I already am. And I'm heading to the dressing room when I see his gorgeous bum heading into the shower. So I got a little distracted, and I go in there, right? And we start kissing and touching, and he asks me to help scrub his back. But that shower's so small, you know, we have to get real, real close."