If I Could Turn Back Time || Larissa Weems

𝐗𝐕

And give into the temptation I did. Monday night, after dinner, Larissa and I drove into Jericho to my townhouse.

"How's your cat?" Larissa asked. "Gingie, right?"

I giggled. "Gingie is fine. He's gonna be even happier when he has a whole castle to roam around in."

I put the car in park and we both got out, making our way to the door. Immediately when I stepped inside, Gingie ran over, meowing like he wouldn't meow again. He was rubbing on my legs before practically attaching himself to Larissa's.

She scooped him up in her arms, pampering him with chin scratches, and leaving faint lipstick marks where she kissed him on his head. Even when following me through the house to my bedroom, Larissa refused to put him down, and only dropped him when she decided on helping me pack.

I looked down at her as she sat on my bed, meticulously folding each item and placing it gently into the duffle bag. "Wow," I said. "I would've just thrown everything in the bag and then complained when nothing fits."

Larissa chuckled. "Yeah, I bet you would."

I leaned against the door frame of my closet, biting the inside of my lip and watching as she continued to fold. Eventually, she stopped and sighed. "Can I help you?"

"There is just something so hot about that..." I muttered, taking slow steps toward her. "Taking such care to make sure my..." I trailed off, thinking about all of the things I wanted her to do to me and vice versa. "Fuck it." I reached down and quickly shoved the bag onto the floor before straddling Larissa, taking great delight in the way she giggled as I pushed her onto the bed.

__________

After fitting his harness and leash on him, Gingie seemed almost ecstatic to be leaving the house. Larissa couldn't stop giggling as she kept looking into the back seat to see him mesmerized , staring out the window at the streetlights and cars flying by.

"How often does he get to do this?" she asked.

I looked in my rear-view mirror at Gingie and smiled before glancing at Larissa. "We used to do it every chance we got. But life got in the way, and we haven't gone out in a while. Sometimes I would take him to the Weathervane. The baristas loved him. I'm surprised the harness still fits, though. He was barely a year old when I got it for him."

"We should take him out more," Larissa laughed. "He seems to love it."

When we arrived at Nevermore, we rushed through the entrance hall and made our way to Larissa's office, Gingie in tow (and quite the pain in my ass having to force him away from sniffing statues and corners of the room). Once the door was shut, I let him roam the office and followed Larissa into her quarters.

As we unpacked some of my clothes and toiletries, I couldn't get the thought of Marilyn out of my head.

"Larissa," I called from the bed where the duffle bag sat. "Do you get any weird vibes from Marilyn?"

Larissa poked her head out of the bathroom. "Erm...No. I don't think so. Why?"

"I dunno," I shrugged. "Something feels off."

"Why? Because she's trying to get with you?" Larissa snickered.

I rolled my eyes and chuckled. "No...there's just something. I can't put my finger on it. Like...I know her from somewhere, I've seen her before. I just don't know where."

Larissa turned off the bathroom light and made her way over to me. Wrapping her arms around my waist, she pecked me on the cheek, "Maybe you two...I dunno...maybe you knew each other in a past life."