Leavenworth is pretty touristy—everything is made to look like an old Bavarian village—but the mountains are gorgeous and the weather is supposed to be perfect all weekend. We all show up late on Friday night and don’t do much other than pick rooms and sack out.
I try not to wonder whether Derek and Kylie are having sex in the room on the other side of the house. Aubrey sucks me off before we go to sleep, which I admit takes my mind off everything for a little while.
That probably makes me a bad person.
The next day, the girls want to go into town and walk around. The guys get roped into it by default, although I don’t know why they want us along. Selene and Kylie seem content to go without us, but Aubrey insists we all go. She says it’s so we can have lunch together, but I can’t shake the feeling that it’s because she wants to go shopping with my credit card.
She proves me right.
We wander in and out of the shops, and it isn’t long before Aubrey spots a jewelry store. She drags me inside by the arm, gasping over the selection. It’s not diamonds and shit, so I don’t have to worry about her hinting at engagement rings (because fuck that right in the ass). But she does find a necklace she loves, and makes some not-so-subtle hints that she’d love to have it. There’s a bit of eyelash batting. I shrug and buy it for her.
I buy a lot of things for her.
In fact, the longer this relationship goes on, the more I’m beginning to wonder whether it’s me Aubrey is into, or my money—because she seems to like me, but when I buy her things she really likes me. I’ve already figured out how to ensure I get a blowjob, for example: buy her a present.
I like blowjobs as much as the next guy, but this is getting old.
The girls shop for a while longer, and I buy Aubrey a dress and a pair of sandals. Kylie shoots me a weird look, but I pretend I don’t notice. We have bratwurst and beer for lunch, which is pretty damn good (and I pay for Aubrey’s, of course), then head back to the house. Aubrey, Selene, and Matthew decide to take a trip to the grocery store to get supplies. Derek wants to go for a run, and I think about joining him, but my hamstring is a little twitchy this week and I don’t want to pull something.
Plus I’m having a hard time dealing with Derek.
He’s my client, and within the walls of my gym it’s all business. I can stay focused on my job. I’m getting him ready for training camp, and like hell if I’m going to let this fucked-up storm in my head interfere with work.
Outside the gym, though, I vacillate between mild disdain and wanting to choke him out.
I decide to go sit out on the deck with a beer, relieved as fuck that Aubrey left. I already need some space from her, and the weekend isn’t half over.
Kylie comes through the sliding door and stops. She’s holding a beer in one hand and a book in the other. “Oh, hey. Sorry, I didn’t realize anyone was out here.”
“It’s fine, baby girl,” I say with a smile. “Come sit.”
She takes the lounge chair next to mine. Her shorts show the length of her legs, and her tits look magnificent in her little tank top. I try not to stare too much.
“What?” she says.
I raise my eyebrows. “What do you mean, what?”
“Why are you looking at me?”
Shit, I’m not doing a good job of not staring. Oh well, fuck it, then. “Because you’re a beautiful woman.”
“Knock it off, Brax,” she says.
“Knock what off?” I ask, feigning innocence.
“You know,” she says.
I’m getting hard looking at her, and I do need to knock that off. It’s been easier dating a girl who doesn’t seem to hate Kylie, but I can’t help but feel like Aubrey’s hiding a vindictive streak under that smile. She’s a little too friendly to Kylie. Too forced. If Aubrey comes back to find me sporting a hard-on while I’m alone with Ky, it might break that facade apart.
But would that be such a bad thing, really?
“What are you reading?” I ask. I should stop staring at her, but I don’t want to stop talking to her. We’ve hardly seen each other over the last couple months.
“Oh, I don’t know. It’s just a suspense thing someone at work loaned me.”
She opens the book, but I can tell from the angle of her face that she isn’t reading. She’s staring out at the river. I watch her from the corner of my eye, wondering what she’s thinking.
I’m losing her.
The thought comes to me out of nowhere, and I get a sick feeling in my stomach. We’re growing apart. In my quest to commit to a relationship, I’ve inadvertently pulled away from Kylie. She’s pulling away from me, too—more and more each day. Is this the inevitable decline of our relationship? Am I going to wake up ten years from now, married with a couple kids, and realize I haven’t talked to her in years?
I take another drink, trying to drown that thought.
“So, how are things with Aubrey?” she asks, her voice tentative.
Her question takes me completely by surprise. “Um…” I hesitate. Should I talk to her about this? What should I say? What can I say? “Yeah, you know, not bad.”
Chicken shit.
“Good,” she says. “That’s good.”