Another writing prompt attempting to push me out of a slump when it comes to all the story ideas I have. It feels good to get something on to the page even when it isn’t fully formed yet.
I had never seen the world so full of colors before. Shades of green, orange, and red coexisted together peacefully as summer took its final bow and let fall have her glorious entrance.
We were close to the hotel where we’d be staying for a few days off between shows. It was one of those days where I didn’t feel particularly connected to myself, when it seemed like I was watching my life from a place outside my body. When the van pulled into the hotel parking lot I started throwing all of my notebooks into my backpack and gathering up anything I needed for the next few days. I waited for the boys to get their duffles out of the way so I could pop the seat down and stretch my legs for the first time in six hours.
“I’m gonna go get us all checked in and grab the room keys,” Danny said, jogging off toward the lobby entrance.
Patrick and Quinn lingered outside to smoke a cigarette; it was their first in a while after we agreed to no smoking in the van. I had never been a smoker, but I was itching for something to keep my hands busy. A burst of cool air hit me when I wandered into the lobby and took a seat on an overstuffed armchair upholstered with fabric that was too scratchy against my skin. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and noticed another text from Maisie.
Just checking up on you again…please message me back! We haven’t talked in days and it’s killing me.
We hadn’t spoken since the night Theo and I nearly kissed. I called Maisie outside a dive bar somewhere in Montana after I swiftly took a shot of whiskey to calm my nerves. One shot turned into two and then three and then I woke up with a fuzzy feeling in my head. Theo and I had barely spoken to each other let alone looked in each other’s general direction since then, which took an extreme amount of skill when you shared a small van with four other people. Things were past teetering on awkward and we fell into the dangerous territory of everyone walking on eggshells around us.
Danny handed over room keys to all of us and disappeared out the front door to go do whatever it was he did when his job for the day was done. The five of us that were left rode the elevator up to the eighth floor in silence; we managed to get three rooms all in a row. Most places we’d stopped had us spread out across the whole hotel. I held my key over the electronic lock and turned to where the boys had been standing a moment ago. Theo was there, with his hand hesitating on the doorknob, staring right back at me. I cast my eyes down toward the ground and stepped into my empty room.
I threw my backpack onto the crisp, white comforter and fell down onto the bed next to it, staring blankly up at the ceiling. The sounds of laughter and horseplay were barely audible through the wall separating my room from Theo and Harrison’s. In my head I could picture them jumping on the beds and wrestling with each other, which is something I would never understand about men. Bonds were built between them when they were horsing around and generally doing things deemed somewhat dangerous.
My window looked out directly upon an expansive range of mountains covered in lush evergreens, and the sun beginning to dip just below the highest peak. For weeks I was surrounded by people everywhere I turned; there were days it was so suffocating I wanted to crawl out of my skin. When I had time to myself it was almost more unsettling sitting alone in the deafening silence with nothing but my own thoughts to keep me company. My thoughts were generally far from comforting. I heard a door near me open and close, the sound of some of the boys retreating down the hallway briefly snapped me out of my trance. A soft knock sounded at my door a few minutes later, three slow taps I wasn’t sure I’d really heard.
I pulled myself up sluggishly from the bed and shuffled over to the peephole; it was Theo. My heart began pounding faster, sending a warm feeling through my chest. I closed my fingers around the doorknob and inched the door open. Theo pushed through impatiently, nearly knocking me over but catching me around the middle, wrapping his arms around me. His lips pressed against mine feverishly; my hands instinctively reached up and I tangled my fingers in his hair. We were both feeding a hunger we’d been ignoring; every place his hands touched me seared white hot and he kissed me so hard I was seeing stars. When he broke away from the kiss his eyes lingered on my lips.
“I’ve been waiting to do this for weeks.”
He wound a hand around and placed it on the back of my neck, pulling me in so close I was worried we would melt into each other. I knew then he was going to upend everything, and I wanted nothing more than for him to derail all of my carefully laid plans.
The Rummy Writer 