Ropyr
January 2026
I was having such a good day! Why did Davis Lewis have to come walking into my diner of all places? What was he even doing back in Honey Bell? Last I heard he was in Chicago. Okay, I didn't actually hear that he was in Chicago. I may have kept tabs on him over the years, and my dad was a fan, so I would've heard about him anyway. That didn't mean I wanted to see or talk to him.
Once up a time, he had been my best friend. My best friend. My safe place. The one person I thought would never hurt me. The person who made promises I believed. Then he left. No goodbye. No 'see ya later.' I called and sent messages every single day for three months. That's how long it took me to realize, to accept, he had moved on. Eventually I moved on, too.
I stood at the door watching him. His blue eyes locked onto mine. Not through me, but into me. Into my soul, my mind, and my heart. Davis was the only one who had the ability to do that, like it was his super power. He knew my next move before I did. I wanted to unlock the door and hug him. I wanted to breathe him in, to forgive him. I wanted to tell him that we were okay and I was so happy to have him back. But that would be a lie. I was not happy that he was back in town.
It took some time, but I was able to build a good life for myself. I won several scholarships for college and culinary school, made a few solid friends that I still keep in touch with. They don't live here in Honey Bell but we get together every couple of months, alternating where we meet. Susie lives on the coast of North Carolina so obviously that's our preferred destination. She's married to an actor on a teen drama being filmed in that area, and they have the most adorable little girl.
Out of all my friends, Susie is the one I'm most envious of and I know that is not a good way to think. She's so sweet and pretty. She has a close relationship with her whole family, including all seven of her foster siblings. She was a virgin until she married Scotty three years ago. Everyone adores her and she's a huge reason why Jeremy and I got back together.
I was hesitant to visit Kenny for his twenty-first birthday. He and Jeremy were roommates, and I hadn't been very kind to Jeremy at the end of our relationship. I'd pushed him away when all he wanted was to care about me. He said he loved me and I was scared to love him back. Scared to let him love me and all of my broken parts. So, what did I do? I hurt him.
Susie went to Colorado wit me that weekend. I thought she was interested in Jeremy because she spent most of her time with him. Turns out she was smoothing things over, telling him how sorry I was and that I missed him. It was all true. I just didn't have the courage to tell him myself.
Our flight back to South Carolina was scheduled for Monday afternoon and while I was ready to be back in my own bed, I wasn't ready to leave Colorado either. I wanted to talk to Jeremy. I wanted to clear the air, and more importantly, my conscience. I didn't want to feel bad anymore.
It wasn't until Davis left that I realized what I had done to Jeremy. If Davis had hurt me this badly, I couldn't imagine how the sweet boy with the red hair must have felt. After I told him what I'd done, he wasn't angry. He told me it was okay and that we could work through it. He was willing to forgive me, and he didn't want to lose me. He loved me in a way no one ever had. Davis made me feel like he loved me better than Jeremy had, but that wasn't true.
He shared an apartment off campus with Kenny. The dorms were too loud and neither of them could concentrate on their schoolwork. They took their education seriously and I loved that about them. I admired that. I felt inferior to them, and that had a little to do with why I did what I did to end the relationship.
I stepped out of Kenny's room on Monday morning. He insisted that Susie and I sleep in his room and he would not take no for an answer. Always the gentleman.
Jeremy's room was across the hall and before I could talk myself out of it, I knocked on the door. He opened it, shirtless and wearing only a pair of grey sweatpants. His hair was tied back from his face. "Hey. You okay?" He asked, concern laced his voice like something must have been terribly wrong for me to be at his door.
"Yeah." I just wanted to talk. If that's okay."
He stepped back for me to enter his room. The walls had posters of bands and movies. There was laundry scattered across the floor. His desk was chaotic, but I was sure he knew exactly where everything was. What looked messy on the outside made complete sense to Jeremy. "What's going on, Ro? You haven't said much to me all weekend."
He sounded hurt and I hated that. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt him all over again. "I'm sorry. For all sorts of things. Everything, actually. Everything that happened between us was my fault, and you didn't deserve any of it."
Jeremy forgave me in the kindest, most graceful way. That's who he was. If you looked up 'good man' in the dictionary there would be a picture of Jeremy. "It wasn't all your fault, Ropyr. We were kids. We both made mistakes. I wasn't exactly the perfect boyfriend," he sat on the bed and I sat beside him. "You were going through a lot and I pushed you too hard to open up. You needed space and I didn't give you that."
I shook my head and willed away the tears. "You wanted to care about me and I didn't know how to let you. Honestly, you scared me," I stopped spinning the ring on my index finger and looked at him. His eyes were a deep shade of grey that I could get lost in, like beautiful storm clouds. "How I feel about you scares me, Jeremy."
He sighed and briefly looked down to the floor before back at me. "You said feel. Present tense," a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Yeah. I still have feelings for you. When I walked into the apartment on Friday and saw you sitting at the table with your hair down the way I like, and saw how you were concentrating on your school work, all I wanted to do was kiss you."
He pushed my hair from my face, leaving a trail of heat where his fingers brushed my skin. "Then why didn't you?"
I leaned into his touch, remembering how it felt the first time he touched me. Like everything was right in the world and life could finally make sense. "I thought you might hate me."
Still cupping my face, he leaned in. "I never hated you."
I didn't answer him with words. I couldn't. The words had all been said, the apologies offered and accepted. What was left was the language our bodies had always spoken better than our mouths ever could. I closed the small distance between us, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. His eyes widened for a fraction of a second, a silent question, before I pressed my lips to his.
It wasn't a gentle, questioning kiss. It was a desperate, hungry collision. Years of regret and longing poured into it, and he met me with equal force. His other hand, which had been resting on his knees, came up to tangle in my hair, angling my head to deepen the kiss. His tongue swept against mine, claiming, tasting, and I moaned into his mouth. It was a sound I hadn't made for anyone else, a sound that was only ever for him.
He pulled back just enough to breathe, his forehead resting against mine. "Ropyr," he breathed, my name a raw, ragged sound. "God, Ropyr."
"Jeremy," I whispered back, my fingers gripping his shoulders. I needed to feel his skin, to erase the years of separation. My hands roamed over the familiar planes of his chest, the hard muscle that was more defined now than it had been in high school. He was a man now, not the boy I'd left behind, but the way he shivered under my touch was exactly the same.
His hands found the hem of my shirt, and he paused, his grey eyes searching mine. They weren't storm clouds anymore; they were dark with desire, swirling with an intensity that made my stomach clench. "Are you sure?"
In answer, I lifted my arms, granting him permission. He pulled my shirt over my head, his gaze dropping to the simple black lace of my bra. He reached behind me, his fingers deftly unhooking the clasp with a practiced ease that made me ache. The fabric fell away, and his eyes feasted on me. He lowered his head, his hot mouth closing over one tight peak while his hand cupped the other, his thumb stroking me to a point of unbearable sensitivity. I arched my back, a cry escaping my lips as pleasure shot through me, sharp and electric.
He laid me back against the pillows, his body covering mine. The weight of him was a comfort, an anchor in the storm of emotion raging through me. He kissed me again, slower this time, deeper, as if he had all the time in the world to relearn every part of me. His hand slid down my side, over the curve of my hip, to the button of my jeans. He popped it open and slowly dragged the zipper down.
He hooked his fingers into the denim and my panties, pulling them down my legs in one fluid motion. The cool air hit my heated skin, and I shivered, but the look in his eyes was enough to set me on fire all over again. He stood and shed his pants and boxers, and when he returned to me, there was nothing left between us. No secrets, no clothes, no past. Just us.
He settled between my thighs, his hard length pressing against my slick, aching center. He didn't enter me right away. Instead, he braced himself on his elbows and looked down at me, his expression so full of love and want it almost broke me. "I've missed you," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "Every single day."
"Me too," I choked out, the tears I'd been fighting finally spilling over. "Jeremy, please."
He finally gave me what I wanted, what I needed. He pushed into me with one slow, deliberate stroke, filling me completely. I gasped, my nails digging into his shoulders. It was a perfect, exquisite stretch, a feeling of coming home I hadn't realized I was searching for. He stilled for a moment, letting me adjust, his forehead pressed to mine again.
Then he began to move.
It started slow, a deep, rhythmic rocking that built a fire low in my belly. But the slow, tender pace couldn't last. The desperation, the years of needing this, took over. His thrusts became harder, faster, driving into me with a primal urgency that matched my own. I wrapped my legs around his waist, meeting him stroke for stroke, the sound of our bodies together, our ragged breaths, and my broken cries filling the room.
"Look at me," he commanded, his voice strained. I forced my eyes open, meeting his intense gaze as he moved inside me.
His words were my undoing. The coil of pleasure in my core tightened to an impossible degree before it snapped, sending waves of ecstasy crashing through me. I cried out his name, my body convulsing around his as the world shattered into a million brilliant pieces. He followed me over the edge a moment later, burying his face in my neck with a guttural groan as he found his own release.
We lay tangled together, our bodies slick with sweat, our hearts pounding in a frantic, syncopated rhythm. He didn't pull out, just stayed inside me, a warm, heavy weight that I never wanted to end. He pressed soft, open-mouthed kisses along my collarbone, up my neck, to the corner of my mouth.
"I love you," he whispered against my skin. "I never stopped."
Tears leaked from the corners of my eyes again, but these were different. These were tears of release, of healing. "I love you too, Jeremy. I'm so sorry."
"Shh," he murmured, finally pulling away to gather me in his arms. He settled me against his chest, my head tucked under his chin. "No more apologies. We're here now. That's all that matters."
"Do you mean that?" I moved so I could see his face.
"I've always loved you. I never wanted anybody else." The feather light feel of his fingers running up and down my back gave me chills, but the good kind. Jeremy and I like this, in bed, together, was the best I ever felt.
We were each other's first everything. First date, first kiss, first…yeah. I loved him when I was sixteen but that was an innocent sort of love. That's why I gravitated toward Davis. He was consuming and reckless, a little dangerous. Davis was broken like me. He understood my heart in ways that Jeremy couldn't. In ways that I had been worried would scare off Jeremy. Instead of giving him a chance, I ran.
He rode with us to the airport that afternoon. He sat with me in the backseat, holding my hand for the entire drive. We were content and the world around us ceased to exist.
Kenny had to pull us apart at the gate. Since we made up, I didn't want to go. I was feeling impulsive and ready to transfer to a college out here so we could be together again, but I didn't. "I love it when a plan comes together," Kenny whispered as he hugged me.
"Did you just quote The A-Team about my love life?" I asked with a laugh.
"Love you, Princess. Call me when your flight lands." He smacked a big kiss on my cheek.
Jeremy and I talked every day after that. We had to reconnect and be totally honest with each other. No secrets this time. It wasn't until he moved back to Honey Bell that we officially started dating again.
Kenny didn't come home with him. He accepted a position as a high school guidance counselor, and he started a non-profit the following year. I missed him a lot, but I was so proud of him.
I called Jeremy when I got home. After I made sure Davis did drive away in his truck and it was safe for me to leave. All I wanted was to hear his voice and to take a hot shower. I could still feel Davis all over my skin even though he hadn't touched me.
There was a laughter on the line before he spoke. I grinned. "Hey, babe, how's it going?" he asked. I heard a door close in the background.
"I'm good. I just got home from work. We were swamped today. How's it going there? Sounds like you're having a good time." I put the call on speaker and began undressing.
"We are," he chuckled. "Jayden invited some friends and we're playing Cards Against Humanity. My mother has a filthy mind. It's hilarious."
You're playing that with your parents? That is so not a family game!" I laughed.
"They insisted. I tried to warn them. You know how they are, trying to make up for lost time. They're all about spending time together now." His tone shifted just the tiniest bit. He would never admit it, but Jeremy held some resentment toward his parents. They missed a big part of his childhood and all the big milestones a teenager has. They didn't reconnect until he was an adult. He'd never admit that was how he felt, but I knew him better than anyone else.
"Has Jayden told you the big news yet?" I took out the ponytail and ran my fingers through my very sweaty, very tangled hair.
"No," he exhaled in annoyance. "She says she's waiting until tomorrow. The suspense is killing me."
I laughed again. "I bet it is. You're not good at the waiting game." There was a loud knock on the door and I heard his name being called. "Sounds like Abigail wants her favorite uncle." I loved Jayden's daughter, but she was a reminder of what I didn't have. What I wanted to have.
"Yeah, she's hitting me up for more Cheetos. I better go. I love you."
"I love you, too."
I couldn't tell him that Davis Lewis was back in town. Davis was the main source of problems in my relationship with Jeremy. We were in a really good place and we were trying for a baby. I didn't need the speed bump that was Davis. If Jeremy knew he was around again, then our relationship would veer off course and I wouldn't be able to walk away from the damage.
The next day at work I tried my hardest to forget about Davis. I arrived before my dad, who was always in the kitchen at 5 a. m. sharp. He lived in the apartment upstairs, which is why he was here before Pressley every day. I busied myself sweeping, mopping, and dusting everything in sight.
I was diagnosed with anxiety when I was eighteen. I lived with it since the day my dad was arrested, but I never saw a doctor until Davis left me on a baseball field by myself. I went in for a routine visit and to complain about constant headaches and not being able to sleep. After a twenty minute conversation Dr. Shakeel told me I had anxiety. I hated taking pills, but he had a list of alternatives. Yoga, running, no sugar, meditation. Those things definitely helped and I hadn't experienced much panic in recent years.
Until Davis Lewis walked into my diner at ten o'clock at night. Now I had a bottle of pills in my apron pocket.
"'Morning, Sunshine. You're here early," my dad said. He poured himself a cup of coffee and added a small amount of bourbon. He kept a tiny bottle with him to keep the "edge" off. His words. He never got drunk and it didn't interfere with his work, so I didn't care.
"Yeah. Couldn't sleep. I didn't wake you, did I?"
"No. No, not at all. I sleep like a rock now that I have a real bed." I didn't like hearing about his time in prison and he did a good job of not bringing it up. Most of the time. "Why couldn't you sleep? First night away from Jeremy?" He knew me well. I couldn't lie to him.
"Davis's back. He came here last night when I was closing."
Dad slowly sipped his coffee but his eyes were smiling. He liked Davis. Davis was the one that drove me to visit my dad in Wren's Harbor during senior year. It was a January day, a snow storm came through, forcing us to stay an additional night at the hotel. Things happened. Forced proximity, one bed, no power, nothing to do.
"And how do you feel about that?" he asked.
"Like I'm sixteen all over again."