38| Resisting The Temptation

Zoey listened to whatever Josh was saying absent-mindedly. They were on a dinner date and Zoey was trying her best to enjoy herself but she couldn't. Travis' face kept appearing in front of her eyes, making it hard for her to enjoy.

"So would you like to hangout at my apartment after this?" He offered.

Zoey knew what "hangout" meant for men. He was trying to get into her pants, not that she was complaining. It's been so long since she had sex. Maybe that's why she was so frustrated these days. She needed to divert her mind from Travis and Josh seemed like a perfect man for that.

"Sure." She said and watched as he paid the bill. After that, they both made way to his car and he started the engine. "Where do you live?"

"Few blocks away from that superstore." He told her and Zoey nodded.

It took them fifteen minutes to reach his apartment. It was a small apartment that was a little too messy for her taste. The place looked like it wasn't cleaned for days and there were pizza boxes and soda cans sprawled everywhere.

"That's my bedroom. Make yourself comfortable." He pointed towards the bedroom.

Zoey went inside the bedroom and looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a blue halter neck dress that reached the middle of her thighs. Her hair was styled in a half updo and light makeup was accentuating her features. Overall, she felt confident.

"So, did you enjoy tonight?" Josh asked as he appeared behind her.

"Yeah. It was fun." Zoey shrugged through the mirror.

Josh smirked before stepping closer to her. His front pressed against Zoey's back and he snaked his arms around her waist. "You are stunning. Do you know that?"

"I kinda do." Zoey replied confidently, though a part of her wanted to leave. She had slept with some boys before but it felt different this time. There was a vague heaviness in her stomach, making her slightly nauseous.

She closed her eyes when Josh kissed her neck. She tried to enjoy it but she couldn't, because a certain face appeared in front of her eyes for the millionth time that night.

"You like that?" He asked and she internally cringed. No, she didn't like when he was pecking her neck like she was a piece of toast.

"Hmmm..." She muttered.

His hands trailed upwards, to her chest and her anxiety heightened. She didn't know what to do or how to react when she wasn't feeling aroused by him.

"Shit." Josh mumbled when they both heard the bell ring. Zoey immediately pulled away and heaved a sigh of relaxation. "I'll check."

Once Josh left, Zoey took few deep breaths and looked at her face in the mirror. Her face looked pale all of sudden. Maybe it was the nauseous feeling in her stomach or maybe it was the disgust she felt at his touch. Whatever it was, she cursed Travis for causing her to feel like that.

"You have to go now." Josh said in panic as he reappeared through the door. His face was devoid of all the blood.

"What happened?" She asked.

"You need to go, please." He tugged her to the window and opened it. "Here, through this fire escape."

Zoey looked out at the dangerous array of stairs that led straight to the ground. "But why?"

"My wife is here." He said and Zoey's eyes widened.

"You are married?" She asked and he nodded. Hearing this, she aimed a tight slap at his face. "You son of a bitch."

"Yes, I deserve that. But believe me, my wife is crazy. She will kill me first and then she will kill you. Please leave." Josh begged.

"But---"

"Please, Zoey. Go. I beg you." He requested again.

Zoey sighed. She didn't have any other option than escaping, if she didn't want to suffer a wife's wrath. "Fuck you, Josh. Fuck you." She said and hopped over the window to the fire escape.

It took her a long time and effort to reach the ground. Once she did, she looked around and assessed her surroundings. She was in a deserted area with no cab around. She couldn't go to the mansion at this time because her father was at home tonight. If he catches her, he would definitely have her grounded for at least two weeks.

Picking up her phone, she decided to call someone to pick her up. The first person that came to her mind was Travis. It would take Zachary so long to come here and find her. Travis was a better option, as he lived in the same area.

Bracing herself, she called him and waited for him to pick up. Once he did, she said through the phone. "I need your help."

"Figured. Why else would you call me at this time of night?" He said dryly.

"Well, there are other reasons why a girl can call a boy at this time of the night, not that you would know." She pointed out.

"Come to the point, Zoey." He said.

"Can you pick me up? I am few blocks away from the store, near this ice cream parlour called Jellies." She said, looking at the signboard of a closed ice-cream parlour.

"What happened to your date?" He asked.

"Well, turned out, he is married." Zoey said and heard a chuckle from the other side.

"Can't you call someone else?" He said.

"Travis! I am alone in a deserted street. Anything can happen." She said and heard a sigh from the other side of the call.

"Okay, stay there. Don't go anywhere or let any man sense that you are alone and without any help. Act like you live in that area." He instructed her.

"Okay, Dad." She whispered under her breath.

"Zoey, I am serious." He said and Zoey smiled at the authority in his voice.

She cut the call and sitting on a nearby bench, waited for him to reach. A part of her was afraid of a drunk or drugged person reaching her before Travis. She kept tapping her feet on the ground in anxiety and when she finally saw his car from a distance, she felt safe all of sudden.

He stopped the car in front of her and she hopped on the passenger seat. "Thank you." She said, finally letting out the breath she was holding.

Without saying anything, Travis started the car and turned it towards the main road.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"To your house." He replied.

"Um... We can't go there." She said and he eyed her in confusion. "Dad doesn't know I am out on a date."

"Well, I guess that's probably not the first time " he said and kept driving.

"Please Travis, let me spend the night at your place. I will leave before you even wake up." She requested, pouting like a cute puppy and batting her eyelashes.

"Zoey, my mother will kill me." He said.

"No, she won't. Remember this isn't the first time. She wont' even find out." Zoey said. "Please Travis. Please."

"But---"

"I'll never ask for your help again, I swear. Just last time." She beseeched.

Travis pondered over her request for few minutes, thinking the pros and cons of letting her stay there. At the end, he finally sighed, "Fine. But it's the last time."

••••••••••

"Ssshhhh. Don't make a noise." Travis said as he led her through the door.

"That's what he said." Zoey whispered under her breath but Travis heard it nonetheless.

They silently tiptoed upstairs to Travis' bedroom and once they were inside, he locked the door and let out a sigh of relief.

"This is the last time this is happening." Travis said and looked at Zoey, who looked quite amused with this whole thing while he was on the verge of having a heart attack.

"That's what he said." She repeated and Travis balled his fists in frustration. It didn't help that she was wearing a dress that made her look sexy as hell. Having her in his room in such outfit was jumbling his thoughts.

He went towards his small cupboard and pulled out a T-shirt and a pyjama pants. Throwing it towards her, he leaned down in front of his bed to pull out the extra set of mattress from underneath it.

When he stood up again, he turned around to look at her and gasped when he found her taking off her dress.

"Shit, Zoey. There is a bathroom for changing clothes." He said, fighting his eyes that were trailing down her body covered in a pair of black undergarments. His pants started to feel tight as his eyes lingered on her chest.

"I can't risk getting caught." She said and then bent down to slip into the pyjama pants. Her cleavage became more prominent and Travis sucked a sharp breath.

Travis averted his eyes and left the room with his own nightwear in his hands. He returned after fifteen minutes when he had taken a cold shower to calm himself. This night was going to be hell for him. The last time Zoey was here, they both were practically strangers and she wasn't that open with him. But the same can't be said about this time.

By the time he walked inside the room, Zoey had cozied herself on the bed and the room was drowned in darkness, except the faint light coming from the window.

Travis didn't speak anything and silently lay down on the mattress. There was deafening silence prevailed in the room and in this silence, he could hear her shallow breaths easily.

He kept staring at the window, thinking if he should say something or not. The silence was uncomfortable and all he wanted was to hear her voice, her annoying voice. This was one of those rare times she wasn't speaking anything and it irked him.

"Are you sad about your date?" He finally asked.

He heard her chuckle at this. "Not really."

"Why? I thought you liked that guy." Travis asked, although saying these words wasn't easy. He despised that guy a lot more than he should, the reason being Zoey's liking for him.

"I thought that too. But when his hands were all over my body, I couldn't feel aroused." She replied.

"Too much information, Zoey." He scrunched his nose and rested his arm on top of his eyes, trying to block the image of someone else's hands on her body.

Few minutes passed again when neither of them spoke anything. Travis felt like she had slept but few minutes later, she hopped out of the bed and lay down beside him on the mattress.

"It's hot in here." She said. "I can't sleep."

"I don't have an air conditioner in my room." He replied.

"Yeah, I can see that." Zoey replied, rolling her eyes.

She turned to her side and propped her head over her elbow, observing Travis who was trying his best to ignore her.

"So how does it feel?" she asked. "Having your crush on your bed?"

"It's anticlimactic." He replied with a smirk and Zoey contorted her face at his reply.

"Liar. I bet it must be really hard for you." She said the hard part in a really low voice.

"Not really. I can resist the worldly temptations." He replied calmly.

"What if I move really close to you? Will you still be able to resist?" Zoey said and scooted closer to him.

"Yep." He said dryly.

He was a challenge and it makes him much more irresistible to Zoey. Surprisingly, his proximity made her more excited than Josh ever did, or in fact any other guy.

"What if I put my hand on your torso?" She said and then rested her arm over his stomach, feeling his abs tighten under her touch. "Still nothing?"

Even in the dark, she saw the hint of red on his cheeks. "Y... Yeah." He said, angling his neck to look at her. His mouth was slightly parted and his expressions pulled Zoey like an invisible thread.

"What if I...." She leaned closer to him. "Kiss you?"

He inhaled deeper when Zoey inclined her face towards him. Slowly, teasingly, she reached his face and then lowered her head in a way that there were only few inches between them.

"Do you still want to resist the temptation?" She asked and she got her answer the next moment when Travis put his hand on the nape of her neck and pulled her towards him. Their mouths crashed together in such a delicious way that made Zoey's toes curl. She balanced herself by holding his shoulder and angled her neck to deepen the kiss. But Travis soon broke the kiss, leaving her hot and bothered, and wanting for more.

"I hate this. You... You make me lose control." He whispered against her lips.

"Control is overrated, Travis." She said and once again kissed him. Instead of resisting, Travis rolled her over in a way that he was straddling her now. He used one hand to support himself over her and used the other hand to pin her hands above her head. They were kissing each other hungrily, as if their life depended on it, while their lower bodies slowly kept grinding against each other.

Zoey felt the unbearable pull in her stomach, as if someone had let free hundreds of butterflies inside. She wanted him in the most intimate way possible and to achieve that, she slowly travelled her hands inside his shirt, teasing the skin of his lower belly.

Travis pulled apart with a groan and jumped out of the mattress. She eyed him with confusion as he picked up his pillow and comforter. "Where are you going?"

"Downstairs. I can't sleep here." He said with his face close to exploding any moment now.

"Too much for resisting the temptation." Zoey said and lay down once he rushed out of the room. The bedsheet smelled like him and even she herself now smelled like him. A lazy smile appeared on her face as she remembered their kiss and the butterflies once again did tango inside her lower stomach.

"Oh Travis." She groaned, clenching her thighs shut to relieve herself of the tingling.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Things are heating up between Travis and Zoey. :P