Page 87 of True Blue

“Are you almost done packing? You’re going to have to leave for your flight in an hour and I want to spend the majority of it with you since I won’t get to see you or Bentley for ten whole days before Morocco.”

I laugh, pulling the bag off my bed and setting the wheels on the ground. “I just finished. I’ll be up in a few minutes.”

Axel whoops and I hear Bentley’s muffled voice in the background. “She’s coming in a few,” Axel says to him before bringing the phone closer to his face. “We’ll see you soon, Blue.”

He hangs up and I double check my room, looking for anything I might have forgotten I’ll need. My eyes find Dad’s photo on my desk, and I smile. “Heading home to see Mom,” I tell him. I kiss the tips of my two fingers, pressing them to the glass. “Wish you were here to meet my guys.” My heart squelches as I stare at my dad’s wide smile and then turn and walk out of the room, shutting the light off as I leave.

I drop my suitcase off by the front door. The bathroom door sits open with the light on, and I can hear the faucet turn on and off after a second. Knocking, I peak my head in when I hear Mira murmur and see her brushing her teeth at the sink.

Heading in, I wrap my arm around her shoulders, squeezing her from the side. “I’m heading out,” I say.

Mira smiles at me in the mirror, leaning forward and spitting out her toothpaste. She turns and hugs me back. “I’ll see you in a few weeks.” I pull back, throat feeling tight as I think about how I’m going to miss seeing her every day. We’ve hung out a lot more since that first time I told her I was dating Axel. Layla and Autumn have even come over and we had a full-blown sleepover to relax before finals week started. I’ve gotten used to coming back to the suite and hanging out in the living room together most afternoons.

“Have a really good break, Janette.” Mira smiles softly.

“You too, Mir.” I smile back. “Text me if you need anything.” I wink and Mira chuckles, going back to rewet her toothbrush.

I head back to my suitcase, pulling my coat down and slipping into my boots. Leaving the dorm, I check that I have my key before shutting the door. A few people have their doorsopen, music playing in the hall. Finals week is over, but we don’t have to be out of the dorms for another few days officially. Mira invited me and the boys to a party tonight at her brother’s place, but I already had my ticket booked for home.

When I knock on Bentley and Axel’s door, only a moment passes before Axel rips it out of the way.

“You took way too long,” he complains, grabbing my wrist and pulling me into the suite. Bentley sits back on one of the couches, arms spread wide on either side of him, resting on top of the couch back. He smiles when I regain my balance, dropping my suitcase and coat by the door.

“He’s been a nightmare all day. Please make him shut up.” Bentley slips an arm around my shoulders when I plop down next to him, pulling me in to kiss the top of my head.

Axel flops down beside me, moving to lay his head in my lap. “We’re all going to be apart until Christmas.” He wraps an arm around my waist, snuggling into me like a pillow while the lower half of his legs dangled over the arm of the couch. “And even then, the two of us will have to wait another three days until we’re with you in Morocco.” He reaches over my lap, placing his hand on Bentley’s thigh. Bentley brings his arm off the back of the couch, taking Axel’s hand.

“It’ll be fine, Axe.” I run my fingers through his hair, and he closes his eyes. “Mom wants to spend some time with me, and we did kind of rob Bentley of his family time over Thanksgiving break.”

“Yeah, yeah, I guess.” Axel squeezes my side. We all sink into the couch, Bentley leaning his chin on my head while he plays with Axel’s fingers. Axel pops one eye open, staring up at us. “But we’re staying just like this until you have to leave.”

I smile, continuing to run my hands through his hair. “Okay, Axe. We’ll stay just like this.”

EPILOGUE

THREE WEEKS LATER

Iflop down onto the four-poster king sized bed, arms splaying out beside me as all the air leaves my body in a long sigh. The plush white duvet contours around me, making me feel like I'm sinking into a cloud. The bed smells like lavender and lemons, probably a freshener spray the maid used after making it this morning. The smell makes me groan and my skin starts to itch with the loss of familiarity I usually get when traveling. The vaulted popcorn ceiling above me fills my vision as I hear Blue and Bent shuffle around on the thick carpet, shutting the door to our room and convening in hushed voices.

“Ideas?”

“I can see if we can get some ice cream sent over?”

“Maybe we should put on that penguin doc he likes?”

“I’d rather just take turns sucking his dick.”

I raise up on my elbows, looking at my boyfriend and girlfriend as they stand a foot away, eyes wide. “What do you have against penguins?” I stare Bentley down as he holds his hands up in defense, taking a step back.

“Axel, baby,” Blue calls my attention over to her worried face. “What do you need right now?”

I fall back on the bed, another sigh escaping. “A do over.”

Bentley comes closer, face invading my line of sight. “It wasn’t that bad, Axe.”

I move an arm to cover my face, not wanting to see the loving look he and Blue will try giving me the rest of the night. We just spent the last twelve hours traveling from Dad’s house to this huge Moroccan mansion to meet Heather and Michael for the first time. And the first thing I did was trip over the entryway. We all laughed it off, but the whole thing just made me feel so off kilter that I hadn’t really said a word as they showed us around their vacation rental. Now we were supposed to be freshening up before sitting down for dinner with them, but all I wanted to do was crawl under the covers and hide.

“Seriously, Axel,” Janette adds, coming closer. I feel the bed dip on either side of me as they both sit around me. “I doubt they even noticed.”

---