my casanova

chapter thirteen

two months and several "dates" later, lavinia is pacing around the hallway by her front door. this time, wren is finally coming over to her house instead of the other way around, and she will never not find it incredibly attractive to have wren in her house, breathing the same air she does every day and night.

after mini golf, they had gone bowling, had a picnic in some park, walked around the mall and gorged themselves at the food court, and had multiple sleepovers - all without anyone else finding out. lavinia was spending less and less time at home and seeing less and less of her boyfriend, and she truly had never felt better. she suspected benjamin was cheating on her in her absence, but that's nothing new and the thought doesn't bother her in the slightest, anyway.

this weekend, wren's mother was staying stubbornly put - usually they were able to meet up at wren's because vivian barlow frequented bars and casinos so often. this time lavinia had promptly invited wren over when her parents informed her that they'd be going to some church charity event. apollo would be at the house, but she had urged him to spend the night at his friend's so she and wren could go off and spend time together without having to worry about babysitting.

she had felt a little bad about sending him off like that for her own selfish desires, but then his crush jesse had agreed to have him over and, judging by the crimson blush on apollo's cheeks, he wasn't going to be too upset about having to leave the house. everyone wins, everyone is happy, and lavinia is basically a matchmaker. perfect scenarios all around.

her school days were passing in blurs, hours spent watching the clock and waiting for the final bell to ring so she could rush home and text wren, or see her on the weekends. she hadn't seen much of ruby, and she wonders how their seeing each other so often might be affecting wren and ruby's relationship, but lavinia hadn't actually been seeing much of ben lately, either. everything is very confusing these days, but she feels alive and doesn't want to stop.

now, she's wearing holes into the hardwood floor waiting for wren to show up at her doorstep. her heart is beating like crazy in her chest and she wants to tear her hair out. lavinia isn't sure why she's so nervous considering the amount of time they've been spending together, but every time is new and fresh and exciting and scary, and every time reminds her how impossible it is to ignore how attracted she is to wren barlow. every time is like picking off a scab that has only just begun to heal again, a fresh stab of guilt to the gut as she remembers that these feelings are so very wrong and that there's seemingly nothing she can do about it.

she hears a car door shut and her heart leaps into her throat. lavinia lunges for the door as soon as she hears a knock, and she swings it open with what is most likely a manic expression on her face. she tones it down just so wren won't get spooked and decide to take a rain check for fear of lavinia's sanity.

"wren," she breathes, a smile spreading across her face as she takes in wren's appearance. nonchalant and beautiful as always, her short curly hair rustles against wren's forehead as a light breeze floats through the air.

"lavinia," wren greets with a small tip of her head. she steps close very suddenly and lavinia stumbles back, caught off guard and unsure as to what's happening. wren catches her, wrapping her arms around her and pulling her into her body. lavinia breathes her scent in and relaxes into her steady embrace.

"so," lavinia says as the hug drags on and on and she starts to get a little too comfortable. she pulls away and straightens her skirt, flattening her hair and regaining her composure. she can feel that her cheeks are warm and she avoids wren's eyes. "what did you have in mind for today?" wren had been planning every single one of their excursions because lavinia had been too cowardly to even extend the offer to hang out in the first place. she was still having trouble shaking the habit she had spent almost four years creating.