Robin
An incessant pounding coming from the end of the hallway dragged me out of my sleep the next morning. It hadn't completely registered to me, that I'd spent the night in bed with my brother's girlfriend until I glanced down and saw my fingers still tangled in her hair.
Ashley shifted slightly in my arms, mumbling before her breathing deepened again. I had never witnessed anything more adorable than her sleeping before. The pounding started again, causing me to groan. I shifted Ashley slightly and crawled out from beneath her, tiptoeing out of the bedroom.
I ran a hand through my dark hair, clearing my throat before I opened the front door.
"Hey Ashl—"
I stood face to face with the tall blonde that I'd met just last night, one of Ashley's friends.
"Alex right?" I stretched my hand and she shook it, staring at me sceptically.
Then, I realized exactly why she was staring at me like that. I was standing in boxer briefs and a bra, with a pretty outstanding wedgie on top of that.
"Um..." it was pretty awkward now. "I'll get Ashley for you," I motioned for her to come in, as if I owned the place. Jesus Christ. I scampered away quickly down the hall, only to run into Ashley. She was still wearing my costume shirt, with nothing underneath it.
The longer I stared at her, the louder my heart started beating. We were standing in the hallway, both half-naked just starting at each other. My eyes glanced down at her plush lips, then I'd remembered she had a visitor.
"Oh uh, Alex is here."
She raised a brow, "By herself?"
I nodded, walking past her. I searched around the room for my discarded clothing, frowning slightly. I don't know what had overcome me last night or us for that matter. It's not like I don't usually fuck around with women who claim they're in a relationship, but not all of them were dating my brother.
"Did Alex see you like that?" she asked.
I nodded again, not really finding the words anymore. I just wanted to get the fuck out of this place before things got any messier. I grabbed my pants and pulled them on, idly fixing my hair in the mirror.
"Do you have a shirt I could borrow? You look really comfortable in that one."
Jesus Christ, I did it again. I was unconsciously flirting with her, and the tension was strangling me by the second. Ashley shuffled around in her drawers and tossed me the black t-shirt I'd lent her weeks ago. I pushed my arms through the sleeves and inhaled deeply, it even smelled like her.
"I—I gotta get going."
She stared at me longingly, "Sorry about last night."
Why was she apologizing? Is it because she didn't mean for it to happen? Would she regret everything now that she was sober? I wanted to ask her all these things but I couldn't make the words come out. Quickly, I exited the room, dashing past Alex and leaving the house.
I glanced around, remembering that I'd driven Ashley's car here last night.
"Fuck."
I slid the smartphone out of my pocket and ordered an uber, there was one 8 minutes away. So I'd have to stand awkwardly in Ashley's driveway until it got here. I fingered a cigarette from my pocket, lighting it.
I took a deep draw, sighing. It's been a few days since I'd actually smoked one of these, since the day Ashley and I kissed in the elevator to be exact. So it wasn't like I was addicted, it was just a bad habit. Somehow Ashley had managed to turn me into an anxious little girl again, and I didn't like it.
After one last pull, I tossed to cigarette to the side as the car approached. It didn't take very long for me to get home, within fifteen minutes I was standing outside our apartment complex. The cool fall air wisped against my skin as I stepped out of the Toyota that had just dropped me home for twenty-five bucks.
Ben's sports car was parked in the driveway, where he usually parked. It was odd seeing it there, considering he'd told Ashley he was heading to Chicago for a business trip this weekend. The keys jingled as I opened the door, pushing my way through slightly.
A musty smell smacked me in the face as soon as I'd stepped inside. It smelled like sweat, and a whole lot of nasty. Ben was sitting at the counter with a woman sitting opposite him. Her hair was blonde, with long, pink stripes. She wore a club dress as if she was getting ready to do her walk of shame.
Although she was sitting, I'd observed her long, creamy legs; but somehow...she wasn't attractive to me, at least, not as beautiful as Ashley was. Ben looked genuinely startled to see me, as though this wasn't where I lived too.
As a person who frequently had random hook-ups, I knew exactly what had happened here last night. I didn't even need him to confirm it. He lied to Ashley about going on a business trip, probably went out on his own and picked up a stray. I felt a heat pulsing through my body as I assessed the situation. This was a new level of disrespect and I couldn't believe he had the audacity to bring her to his home, in his bed where he slept with Ashley.
One of the rules we both had was that neither of us were allowed to interfere in each other's personal lives. It pained me that he was cheating on Ashley, but if I wanted to continue living here, there was nothing I could do.
In reality, I never interfered—I'd never felt such a strong urge to before. As I walked past them, I gave Ben a dirty eye before heading down to my room without a word.
I showered quickly, washing the remnants of the Halloween party away, along with Ashley's scent. Somehow ever since we were introduced, she'd managed to consume my mind almost entirely. I found myself thinking about her, during class, even at work sometimes.
Just a few hours ago she was in my arms, crying because of the jumbled mess of a relationship she was in and here he was fucking around. My hands throbbed as I towelled my hair, the urge to punch my brother in the face growing with each passing moment. Benjamin and I had never really had a hard time living together, or even getting along.
He was the only remaining family I had, besides a few estranged relatives that we only saw around Christmas time. I placed a single braid in my hair before diving into the king-sized bed. The fluffy covers greeted me with open arms, and I sighed contentedly. Somehow this entire situation made me yearn to speak to someone I haven't spoken to in years.
I grabbed my phone, tapping the facebook app. I searched my friends list until I finally saw the name I was looking for, 'Melissa Matthew'. I could feel a bead of sweat forming above my brow as I tapped the message icon, what could I possibly say?
That I was in a situation and I needed someone to talk to? How about can I have my friend back?
Instead, I typed "hey."
Ashley
I hadn't heard from Robin in two weeks. Whenever I went over, she made herself scarce. I would ask Ben about her, without seeming too interested, but she was always out or had company in the basement.
For some reason it agitated me to know that she was avoiding me, but this was the first time I actually admitted it. Alex came over the day after Halloween to ask for some help with proposing to Jessica. It brought tears to my eyes hearing that she was finally ready to pop the question.
I caught myself wondering if I actually saw that future with Ben. I knew he cared about me, and he made up for missing the ball by taking me on a romantic getaway last weekend. The sun shone through the window of my car as I drove towards the Cineplex. A friend of my father's owned this branch of the cinema, so I was hoping he wouldn't mind too much if I asked him for a favour.
A few minutes later, I stood outside the huge double doors of the cinema; the wind blowing my sundress slightly as I glanced at the time on my phone. It was just after 2pm, so I knew he should be in his office by now. Quickly navigating through the long hallway, I stood outside of Michael's office.
Before I even got the chance to knock, the door flew open with one of the workers scampering away.
"Still scaring your employees I see,"
Michael laughed slightly, the crow's feet beside his eyes clearly visible. He was slightly balding, but for a man his age he looked pretty good.
"Ashley, what brings you here?" he leaned forward in his seat, clasping the coffee mug on his desk. "Would you like a cup?"
"No thanks, and I sorta need a favour." My fingers tugged at my hair nervously, it would be the first time I was actually asking this man for help. He wasn't really my friend, we just knew each other by default—so there was no guarantee he would actually agree to what I was asking.
He raised a brow, motioning for me to carry on. "A friend of mine wants to use one of your screens to propose to her girlfriend. It'll only take about twenty minutes, about a week from now. I was thinking we could do it between the scheduled clean up time so it doesn't take away from the actual schedule." I rambled.
His fingers traced the grey stubble under his chin as he answered. "I'll see what I can do. Give me a call in a few days just to be certain."
"Thank you so much," I hugged him awkwardly over the desk.
He chuckled, "No worries, tell your father I send my regards."
Once I was back in my car, I squealed as though I was the one being proposed to. My best friend would be getting married soon—if she said yes. It took a few minutes for me to calm myself down enough to call Alex and let her know that we basically secured the venue for her big proposal. Alex was ecstatic. I didn't know what the video was about, but she was creative so I was certain it would be amazing.
It was the weekend, and Ellie was away for some sort of retreat so I didn't have much to do but keep tabs on her email. I decided that I was in a good mood, and I wanted to share this good mood with Ben. I got takeout from his favourite restaurant, then headed to his house.
Ben would be home in the next half hour, considering he didn't work a full eight hour shift on the weekends. I inhaled the sweet aroma of the spicy Asian food as I made a left into his driveway. There was enough food here, just in case Robin was actually around today.
Ben had given me my own set of keys to the house the weekend he took me on a romantic getaway. We didn't live together or anything, but times like this I'd use it to surprise him. I keyed the door, pushing it open with my back turned in order to get the bags inside.
A few things had been shifted around since the last time I'd visited. There was now a rustic look to their apartment, as opposed to the artistic look before. It was only after I'd placed the bags on the kitchen counter that I heard the sound of laughter coming from the back yard.
The inquisitive side of me wanted to see who was out there, but another side of me would rather leave it alone. If Robin had a guest over, I really didn't need to pry—at least that's what I told myself for about ten minutes before stepping out onto the patio. I instantly recognised Robin's dark hair, pinned in her usual messy bun. The woman sitting beside her however was unknown.
Hearing the door open, both women turned their attention in my direction. My cheeks felt hot as I stared at them awkwardly. "Uh...Hello." Robin eyed me for a moment, her expression unreadable. I almost thought she wasn't going to respond, but then she did.
"Hi."
Hi? Was that all she could say?
The woman sitting beside her was absolutely stunning, so stunning that I almost wanted to throw up. They were sitting in the lounge chairs, sipping beers, looking like two goddesses who fell out of heaven and here I was dressed in a plain sundress and sandals. The redhead smiled slightly, the freckles on her cheeks almost brightening as she spoke. "You must be the famous Ashley; I've heard lots about you."
"Is that right?" I eyed Robin, but she wouldn't meet my gaze. "I haven't heard a thing about you."
She chuckled at my snappy retort, I didn't really intend to sound rude—or maybe I did. Who knows anymore? Her legs were long, her skin bronze from the natural tan she was sporting, and God her teeth were perfect. I couldn't stop staring at her, comparing all her perfections to my faults.
Robin refused to glance my way and I didn't understand why. I thought we'd parted on good terms after the Halloween party, but I guess not.
"I brought takeout." I said, to no one in particular before making my way back inside. It was getting too awkward out there, and seeing them together made me feel as though I was suffering from asthma.
The glass door slid open, and a minute later Robin was towering over me. Our eyes met, both of us seemingly uncertain about what to say. The last time we were together, was in my bed two weeks ago, where I'd basically given her the go-ahead to sleep with me. And as if that wasn't bad enough, I started crying immediately after.
It was embarrassing. I felt like stuffing my head into a huge grocery bag and staying there until I slowly faded away.
"Look, I'm really sorry about what took place that weekend. I don't know what came over me; I was drunk and—"
"You don't need to feed me any excuses, I'm not a child." She said, a look of hurt appearing, then dissipating almost instantly. "I know it doesn't mean anything."
I didn't know what to say, so I changed the topic entirely. The redhead stood from the lounge chair, walking off into the backyard seemingly to take a phone call.
"She's cute," I motioned to the woman, "Where'd you find this one?"
She frowned, her perfectly trimmed eyebrow twitching slightly. "She's an old friend."
"You've had quite a few friends over since we've met—"
"Are you judging me?" Robin asked, a cross look on her face. "Even if I was fucking her, you'd still have no right to judge me." She growled.
"I'm not," I said, tugging at my hair slightly agitated.
"You are." She took a step closer. "Does it bother you that I sleep with so many women Ashley? Are you jealous or something?"
"Shut the fuck up," I sneered, growing impatient. "I'm dating your brother, why would anything you do make me jealous?"
Robin lazily rolled her eyes, her face just a few inches away from mine now. "Keep telling yourself that, you're in for a rude awakening." By this point, we were both breathing heavily, huffing at each other. She was close enough for me to feel the heat as it radiated from her body. Robin's hazel eyes stared into mine, as though she was searching for something and it made me slightly uncomfortable the effect that she had one me.
The brunette eyed my lips longingly, the tension almost suffocating me. I didn't know how much longer I'd be able to hold out if she continued staring at me like that. For some reason, I couldn't control myself around her. I behaved erratically, did things without thinking, things I would most likely regret.
Things like tiptoeing to capture her lips, and wrapping my arms around her neck. Robin's arms reached around my thin waist, holding me captive against the kitchen counter. The kiss was heated, slow and sensuous all at the same time. My lips parted slightly, and I basked in the unfamiliar taste of beer and mint.
"I smell takeout from Luan Lo's,"
Hearing Ben's voice was like the needle scratching a record. Robin took a step back, just as he rounded the corner to join us in the kitchen. I tugged at the waist of my dress nervously; my heart was beating as fast as a racehorse's as I glanced at Robin across the room.
Ben grabbed himself a container of food, sitting around the counter. "So, how was your day?"