Chapter 16
Mia
There’s a wholeness that’s washed over me since Parker and Leo agreed to both be my boyfriends.
For the first time since I fell in love with them, I don’t feel like I’m being pulled in two different directions.
Everything is coming much easier, smoother, and just when I thought fooling around with each of them individually couldn’t get any better, fooling around with them at the same time has opened my eyes and shown me how incredibly wrong I was.
I guess it really comes down to what my heart wants, and if she’s happy, so is everything else.
I flip the pages of Wuthering Heights mindlessly, and even though I’ve read it ten times, I’m struggling to get my thoughts across for my paper on why romanticizing this book is setting up readers for disappointment because they fail to understand, or even recognize, Gothic literature.
Bored with it, I toss it off to the side, closing my laptop and setting it on my end table.
Even though I have everything I want, I know that Parker and Leo are both battling their own demons, and now they have this pressure from the secret society here.
Parker’s family is lovely, and they’re a lot like mine.
Growing up in Aspen Ridge, a small town in middle-of-nowhere, Washington State, was an incredible privilege.
It’s hard not to miss it at times. Like right now, when I’m craving a cheese Danish and a pumpkin spice latte from Bean Haven, and it’s all the way on the other side of the country.
Massachusetts does autumn well, but there’s something special about Aspen Ridge.
My parents are incredible and have always been supportive of me, regardless of what that looks like.
Leo’s parents, on the other hand? I’m grateful to have never had the displeasure of meeting them, and I hope I don’t have to.
The way Leo’s dad puts so much pressure on him to follow in his footsteps is cruel.
Leo is an incredible artist; he should be studying art, he should be painting and sculpting, and focusing on things that bring him joy.
Not stressing and obsessing over each perfectly curated step he’s forced to take because of his parents.
I stare up at the ceiling, contemplating life, when a raven drops down to perch on the thick tracery outside my window.
She seems lonely as her pretty, beady eyes look off into the distance, and I can’t help but wonder where her other half is.
She sits there alone for a moment before she croaks and flies off.
Not wanting to be stuck in my room any longer, I pull on my boots, slip on my jacket, and grab my phone.
One of my favorite things about attending Corvus College is exploring the grounds.
It’s a Gothic paradise, if you’re into that kind of atmosphere.
The sun is shrouded by overcast skies, casting a moody haze across campus.
I pass by the quad and the Veritas Tree, placing my hand on the center of her trunk to pay my respects before heading on.
It only takes me a few minutes before I reach the edge of the heavily wooded forest that surrounds the school.
The Corvus Cemetery is off to my right, but it’s surrounded by wrought iron gates with no way in or out. No one’s actually seen the doors open.
I take my first step into the forest, a calm excitement rushing through me.
My fingertips brush past stems and moss-covered trunks, the scent of fresh forest air filling my nose and putting me at ease.
Squirrels scurry, rustling through the dried leaves, foraging for the winter, and birds chirp from their branches above my head, watching, waiting.
The forest is dense, and one could easily get lost in it, which is why we aren’t supposed to explore it.
Good thing I don’t listen to the rules. I know my way around this forest like it’s my home, having spent the last three years wandering it.
What’s the saying? Into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.
Dried leaves crunch under the soles of my boots, a fog rolling in and kissing my ankles.
It doesn’t take me long before I find my destination, a small clearing in the middle of the woods, with an aged stone table.
I’ve spent countless times with it, wondering what it was used for, who put it here. If only the trees could talk.
Knowing exactly why I came here in the first place, I slip my panties off, shimmying them down my legs and sticking the fabric in the pocket of my jacket.
I lay back on the cold stone and hold up my camera, snapping a quick selfie.
My chestnut-brown hair glows against the light-colored stone, and my cheeks blush a bright red from the cold air.
I start a group chat with Parker and Leo, quickly sending them the photo.
Me: Dare you to come find me.
Three little bubbles appear and disappear from both of them before I finally get two texts, sent within a moment of each other.
Park: Little rebel. You had better be wet and ready by the time we get there
Leo: Naughty girl.
I’m sure it won’t take either of them too long before they find me, you can easily see the stone and the forest floor around me in the photo. I’ve brought both of them for long walks here before. But never have I done anything with either of them out here.
Anticipation rolls through me, shivers chilling my skin, but my blood is boiling just under the surface.
I don’t know how much time goes by, but the moment I hear the familiar crunch of boots on dried leaves, my heart leaps in my chest, a knot forming in my throat.
There’s no part of me that thinks it could be anyone but Parker or Leo, or both, from the sound of it.
So as the rustle gets closer and closer, I lie completely on my back and slowly spread my thighs in offering.
Come and get me, boys.