loml

four

When I woke up on Saturday morning, my head was throbbing slightly. Blinking my eyes a few times, I rolled over and flinched when I saw the man lying next to me, one of his arms draped over my waist. 

Oh, right. Last night was a bit of a blur, but I could remember most of it. I'd met Matty for drinks at a bar, a date. We'd spent a few hours there, and then we'd ended up at my apartment, tipsy. He'd kissed me, and by the sight of our naked bodies, we'd had sex. I sighed, running my hands through my hair.

I'd known Matty for about six months through some mutual friends and he'd asked me out two months ago, but I'd declined. I hadn't really felt like dating every since Poppy was born, and I was too deep into my Mom role to think about guys. It didn't fit with my lifestyle anymore. But Matty been a good friend both before and after I'd gently told him no, and he had responded eagerly when I'd texted him a few days ago to eventually say yes. I guess the date had been fun, but it was all a little hazy from the alcohol I'd consumed and I didn't remember a whole lot. 

Carefully, I took Matty's arm off my waist and got up, pulling on some shorts and an oversized shirt. He remained asleep as I tiptoed across the hall into the bathroom. I caught sight of myself in the mirror and paused, tugging the neck of my shirt aside to reveal the hickey plastered right above my collarbone. My heart thumped as I stared at it.

I'd probably made a mistake sleeping with Matty. He wanted more from me, and I'd just wanted something to make it seem like I was over Travis. I didn't really feel anything romantic towards Matty, and I felt awful about that, like I'd used him. I knew he wouldn't care, that he's just shrug and say that just sex was fine too. That was the kind of person Matty was.

Then a knocking sound caught my attention and I jumped, glancing out of the door. I was still for a moment before I realized that it was Travis bringing Poppy over and cursed, scrambling out of the bathroom. Shit, I'd forgotten he was bringing her back this morning, even though he brought her back every Saturday almost at the exact same time. It had slipped my mind. How was I going to explain the situation to my daughter? She was five. She didn't understand relationships.

"Hey." I murmured when I opened the door. Travis smiled at me as Poppy hugged my legs, and I reached down to ruffle her hair. "Did you have a good time with Daddy munchkin?" I asked.

"We went to the pool!" She told me. "Liv helped me to get better at swimming and she taught me how to do a handstand!"

"That's great." I smiled, a little twinge of jealousy tugging at me when I heard that. Liv was great, but I should be the one to teach her things, or Travis. I knew she only would have meant well, but I was very protective of my daughter.

"Bye Popstar." Travis held out a hand and Poppy gave him a fist bump. "See you soon."

"Bye Daddy." She smiled, skipping off into the apartment. 

"Hey, before I go, I wanted to talk to you about this whole living situation." Travis said, and I nodded, leaning against the doorframe. "Are you sure you won't come and live with me?"

"Travis...after what almost happened the other day I think it's best we don't go there." I said quietly, and he sighed with a nod. "I've talked to Mom, and I'm going to stay with her for a little while if Poppy can live with you. I've almost finished packing up here." I gestured behind me where some boxes were stacked in the living room. Poppy and I didn't have a ton of stuff since all of the furniture and appliances came with the apartment, so there weren't many boxes. "And we can just see how it works out."

"Yeah, sounds good." Travis agreed. "When do you move out?"

"Tomorrow." I sighed. "Okay if I bring her round at noon?"