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Exes and Oh's: Part 6

Serena and Marley Series

By Sharlene AlbaPublished 6 years ago 6 min read
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Photo by Ben Waardenburg on Unsplash

SERENA

I could see why the boys enjoyed the outdoors so much. The sunrise was absolutely stunning as it slowly paved the way for a new day and illuminated the sky. Morning dew cleared up as I sipped on my morning chamomile tea with honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon and I watched nature come back to life on the old porch swing. It was the middle of October and the simmering Texas heat was slowly decreasing by the day, which I couldn't be more grateful for. My hair needed a break from the humidity.

"You're up early." Michael's voice startled me and I turned to face him as he sat next to me on the swing and took a sniff at my tea. He nodded in approval and I raised an eyebrow at his odd behavior.

"I couldn't sleep," I explained and took another sip of my tea before placing it down on the armrest.

"Same here. I kept thinking about what we found in that shed. The newspaper clippings, the photos. They didn't even look that old," Michael added and I gave him my full attention.

"Are you saying they were planted there on purpose? As a decoy?"

"I think Gabe sent us here for something else," he replied as he gazed out into the heart of the woods before us. The man knew how to groom himself, and I could definitely appreciate that. He kept his beard cropped short and his lines clean. And he always smelled good. His new cologne, on the other hand, was tempting me to sneeze but I ignored it.

"Look, I know you hate me and all but I just wanted you to know—"

"I never hated you. I hated what you did to my best friend. He loses his mind when you're around," Michael corrected and held my gaze as he spoke.

"The feeling is mutual," I informed him, reminding him he also did a number on Marley before they broke up and took another sip of my tea. Michael lowered his head and chuckled lightly before he continued.

"He was doing so good before all this happened," he added and I wondered what he meant by that. I hadn't kept in touch with Daniel or kept up with his life after we broke up. All I knew was that he worked close to my office and that I had to avoid bumping into him at all costs.

"What do you mean?" I asked, wondering what I had missed during my cowardly avoidance towards him.

"I think I should let him tell you. How are you feeling?" Michael changed the subject. Being the EMT that he was, of course he was concerned about the woman who got lost in the woods last night and almost froze to death.

"I'll be fine. Thanks for asking."

"If you feel any weird symptoms, I'm just down the hall from you." he suggested as he placed his sunglasses on and sent me a wink before he stood up to go for a jog.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the group was downstairs as I finished packing up my stuff and I smirked when I heard Freddy cursing. Michael must've been kicking his ass at Poker again. I remembered some of my hair products were still in the bathroom and I hurried out of my room to grab them, but the door was closed and steam was coming out from underneath the door. I knocked and asked whoever was in there to hand me my shampoo bottles. The door opened and a mist of steam blew at me before I entered. I waved it away and tried to look for my shampoo but I had no luck. It must've been in the shower.

"I'm not looking, I swear. But I need my shampoo and conditioner. I think it's in there," I informed whoever it was, and when I heard the water stop and the shower door open, I quickly turned around and covered my eyes.

"It's safe to look. Nothing you haven't seen before." Daniel's voice made me straighten my posture and swallow hard. He was standing behind me, drying himself off, without a care in the world. Did he not understand how dangerous this situation was?

"I'll come back," I promised and hurried towards the door. He closed it before I could exit and my shoulders slumped in defeat.

"You haven't said a word all day. Mean or otherwise. Are you okay?" he asked, genuine concern swimming in his eyes as he read my face carefully. I kept my gaze away from his naked lower body as he wrapped a towel around himself and I felt the desperate desire to let that towel drop down to his feet.

"I'm fine. I just want my shampoo."

"I used it all."

"Tell me you didn't..." I whined and looked behind him, to find my empty shampoo bottle on the shower floor.

"Sorry," he lied, as he grinned and reached for his shaving kit underneath the sink.

"You have no idea how expensive that bottle was!"

"Relax. I'll buy you a new one. How much is it?"

"50 dollars."

"You're out of your damn mind, woman. 50 bucks for shampoo?!" he replied in complete shock, as he placed the shaving cream over his scruff and began to shave with his electric razor.

"Hey, staying pretty takes work!" I reminded him and he rolled his eyes as he finished up his chin and wiped away any excess shaving cream from his cheeks. I sighed in frustration and turned to leave once again. But in true Daniel fashion, he didn't want to let me go just yet. He stood behind me once again, breathing down my neck, suffocating me with his aftershave. I wanted to jump his bones so badly, I was close to giving in. He knew it. I knew it. And the rest would definitely hear it from here.

"How long has it been?" he asked, whispering the words into my ear, sending shivers down my spine as his warm breath and lips brushed against my neck. He knew how to get to me, and I hated that he still could.

"I'll make you a deal. We have one last fling, one last roll in the hay, and then you'll sign the papers. Sound good?" I offered, hoping he'd agree and we could move passed the sexual tension.

"You could've handled those papers all on your own. You know how to forge my signature. Maybe you should ask yourself why you decided to stay as my wife all this time instead of signing those papers for me," Daniel stated, as he reached around me and opened the door to let me out. I turned to look at him and opened my mouth to give him a witty comeback, but the the truth was, I really didn't need him to sign anything. I could forge his signature a hundred times and no one would notice.

"You left me. Do you remember that?" I reminded him and he nodded, reaching for my hand, but the memory of him leaving in the middle of the night without a word still pissed me off to this day. I took it as a sign that this marriage wasn't built on anything concrete and decided to put him and our past behind me. But it looked like neither was possible. At least not until we figured out how to let go.

"I was young and stupid and you were completely out of my league," he defended, but I shook my head as I blinked the tears away. He had no idea how wrong he was.

"No, Daniel. We were always in the same league. That was the problem."

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About the Creator

Sharlene Alba

Full of raw and unfiltered fluid poems, short stories and prompts on love, sex, relationships and life. I also review haircare, skincare and other beauty products. Instagram: grungefirepoetry MissBeautyBargain Facebook: grungefirepoetry

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