Addicted

"And, what if you meet someone while I'm gone?" I pushed at his chest, wanting to see his dark blue eyes once more before I ejected him from my life.

He chuckled and touched the side of my face. "Then you're shit out of luck, toots. She's here and you're not."

I couldn't help but smile. His warped sense of humor was appreciated, but in all honestly, I hoped like hell he would meet someone while I was gone. Breaking his heart seemed impossible, but our time together was over.

His additional year at UCLA was going to be good for him, and I had a battle to fight in the middle of the arctic with my old man. I shivered at the thought of the cold weather before pushing Seth's hand away.

"Alright. Get out. I have to finish packing and catch my flight. I'll see you after Christmas for graduation."

He leaned in and brushed his lips against mine before jogging to the door. "No falling in love while you're gone. I'm going to be a big star one day and I need a hot blonde beside me. That's you, baby doll." He winked and I rolled my eyes.

There was no way in hell I was going to be some man's arm candy. I had too many dreams for that drama.

Yeah, our relationship was over. He could call it a break if that helped him.

The door clicked closed and I got busy finishing my packing for the trip. It had been a good semester for a final semester. My college career was ending six months early because of the classes I picked up the summer before. I was getting weary of studying and drawing designs only to have them downgraded and torn apart piece by piece in the name of education.

I was grateful when the buzzing of my phone pulled me from my thoughts. School had been a bitch and I was glad to have it done and over with.

"Hello?"

"You all packed up?" It was my sixteen-year-old brother, Parker.

"I am. Are you coming to pick me up at the airport?" I pressed the phone to the side of my face and finished emptying my drawers. The only thing left was a pair of candy panties Seth had bought as a joke for my birthday – or at least I had thought it was a joke until he asked to eat them off of me. I rolled my eyes at the thought.

"Hell, no. Dad won't let me drive in the snow." My brother let out a huff that caused me to smile. Spending the next twenty-five days with my father was going to be a bit torturous, but having Parker beside me would make it all worthwhile.

"So, you're without a car for the whole winter season? That sucks."

"Parents suck." He chuckled. "I'm honestly surprised you agreed to this. I know you hate the cold. What did he offer you?"

I hadn't shared the deal my father laid on the table with anyone, namely because it seemed ridiculous. "Twenty-five days in Aspen with you guys for the seed money for my clothing line."

I zipped up the last bag as my roommate Jessie walked into the dorm room.

"Why twenty-five days?" Parker asked.

"No clue. I think he's hoping that I find my love of the freezing-ass weather and want to stay up there to run his clothing line."

/> "Or to add to it. It's good, but it ain't great."

"Ain't isn't a word," I corrected him and sat down on my bed as Jessie plopped down next to me, her lips turned down in a frown. We had been together for five years in our dorm room. Leaving her was the hardest part of leaving school, without a doubt.

"Leave your grammar in Cali and bring your wicked cooking skills. I'm as thin as a rail and the ladies seem to like the beefy guys. Help?"

"That I can do. I'll see you soon. Love you."

"Hey," my brother's voice was nothing more than a whisper, making him sound all of eight years old.

"What?"

"I got some new Mortal Kombat games. You're up for an ass whooping, right?"

I laughed loudly. "You're so going down, buddy. Someone needs to teach you how to treat a lady."

"Bring it, old woman." He dropped the call and I slipped my phone in my back pocket.

The men in my life were comical, if nothing else.