The house was silent when I arrived home. Dad was at work, and Mom had left a note that she and Tommy were getting shoes for school. I had the house to myself.Well, almost to myself. Athena was still there. I heard her nails hit the floor as she jumped off the couch and ran to greet me. She danced around my ankles with the kind of smile that only a welcoming dog can achieve.“Were you on the couch?” I asked, lecturing her in tender baby-talk. “Were you sneaking in a little nap up there?”She pushed between my legs and circled back around without ever losing contact, her tail whipping from side to side.“You think you’re sneaky, but I bet if I go over there your beautiful gold fur will be all over it, huh?” I pet her head and loved on her for a moment. “You just leave too much evidence.”She followed me up the stairs and into my room.“Wanna come up?” I said, patting my bed. “Come on, come up.”Athena jumped onto my bed and circled once before plopping down onto one my pillows. I had

My head was turned over my shoulder as I edged the corners of my car into the spot behind a truck and in front of a bulky Jeep Rubicon. It was tight, but going to school in Los Angeles had allotted me near professional parallel parking skills.I’d driven myself on my own suggestion. It didn’t feel right asking Jacob to pick me up for a lunch where I’d then profess that I was moving away to take a job that would have me not only in another city, but working crazy hours.Driving myself eliminated the car ride back, which I figured was destined to be some level of awkward. I really had no idea how the news would go over, whether it would be significant like Caroline had alluded to, or if he’d simply say, “okay, nice knowing you,” before politely shaking my hand goodbye. This way, I eliminated any awkward drives home.It was noon-thirty and the morning warmth was beginning to transition into the heat of the day. I could feel it immediately after stepping out from my Focus and onto the dry

I woke up in a panic and ran to my bathroom, flipping up the lid of the toilet quickly as I dropped to my knees in front of it. Then I threw up, not once but three times, one right after the other. My stomach clenched until it was all over. Once the storm had passed, I laid down on the bathroom floor for a minute. I drew in a long breath and tried to relax. The nausea was gone, but my stomach still felt tight from the throwing up.Sunlight flickered on the bathroom floor and I shut my eyes against it. All I wanted to do was curl up in a ball and die. There was nothing I hated more than throwing up. It was terrible. The nausea, the retching, the smell. I wanted so badly to avoid it. I thought that maybe a sip of water could make the feeling go away, so I took a drink from the glass next to my sink. It only made it worse, though and my stomach turned again. That water was coming back up, whether I liked it or not.Dammit, I thought. I closed my eyes and willed the water to stay down. It

We went straight back to my place after lunch. The entire drive over, it was all I could do to keep my hands off of him. I wanted to touch every inch of him and make sure he was still real. That this whole day wasn't just a wonderful dream where I got everything that I wanted.As soon as he parked the car, I grabbed his hand and led him up the stairs to the front door of my apartment building. For the past six weeks, we'd only been able to talk on the phone. We'd done our share of dirty talk and sexy emails, but it was never as good as the real thing. I wanted to touch him, to taste him- which was just something I couldn't do over the phone or in an email.As we walked down the hallway toward my apartment, our hands were all over each other. He walked close behind me, burying his face into my neck and grabbing my butt. I’d reach back and playfully touch the front of his slacks, where his bulge had already formed. His every touch sent my senses into overdrive.I poked my head into my a

I sat in shock as I stared at the picture. It was most definitely Jacob. He was wearing the shirt he had left in and had the dark rimmed glasses that I thought made him look so smart on.Slowly, I read the first article:Reclusive Monster GO billionaire, Jacob Rigby, seen here exiting his new headquarters in Silicon Valley. After the sudden success of the game, the developer disappeared from Silicon Valley to regroup. Little to no information of the developer was available at that time.Fans were afraid that without the designer at the helm, the game would stagnate. But, during the last six weeks, major game changes were put into play and offices were opened as the company went on a hiring spree. Mr. Rigby has been incredibly busy with his business.Whatever Mr. Rigby did to regroup has worked well as the new updates to the game have fans joining in the highest numbers yet. The battle feature as well as the ability to see nearby friends has been lauded as “incredible” and “brilliant.”