by Rutter, M J
“Well then, you are in for a real treat.” I grinned and turned from her to get the eggs out of the fridge.
“Oh, yes, I can see that,” I turned my head, she was smiling while gazing at my butt. I couldn’t remember the last time a girl actually checked me out for being me, not Max, me, Kaden Wright. I felt warmth rush my face, she made me blush, something else that hadn’t happen in a long time.
I made pancakes under her very scrupulous, watchful eyes, loving the fact that she seemed fascinated by my ability to cook, but also pretty flattered that she liked what she saw. I served them with syrup and cream and enjoyed watching her take her first bite.
“Wow,” she groaned, “these are amazing.”
“Thanks,” I shrugged.
“So, the music thing, are you or were you in a band or something?”
I swallowed hard, I didn’t want to lie, “I was, but not anymore.”
“I don’t really listen to music these days, I have never watched MTV or VH… whatever it is. Last time I was in to music, the New Kids on The Block stole my heart.”
“Really?” I smiled.
“Yes, I had posters of them all over my bedroom walls, my dad hated it.”
“I remember them,” I nodded, “Jordan Knight and his brother.”
“Yes, Michael,” she grinned and took another bite. “Well, I know nothing about the music industry, but maybe you should send that music off, I bet they would make it into a song.”
“I have started writing lyrics for it,” I admitted.
“Can I hear them?” she asked.
“When they are finished,” I nodded and drank some of my juice. “How are your legs?” I asked.
“Better after the bath,” she answered. “I am going to drive over to see Misty in a while, do you want to come with me?”
“Sure,” I agreed. I wanted to show her what I had written, but didn’t know how she’d take the fact that it was written about her and in just the first few lines, she would know that.
Misty was pleased to see us, she looked so much better, but didn’t like it when we had to leave her there. Her little tail wagged and she whimpered a little before we left. I know Skylar was upset, so instead of going home, I took her to watch a movie. Anything was better than sitting at home and staring at the walls.
Thirteen
Skylar
Leaving Misty at the vets upset me, but at least she was okay. As Kaden drove us across town after suggesting we go to the movies, I thought about the last twenty-four hours and wondered how the hell I ended up making love to him three times. The ocean was amazing, I didn’t care if we were watched or anything, I wanted him like I had never wanted anyone before.
When I came out onto the deck and seen the effort he had put in, I couldn’t believe it, I never had him down as a romantic, candles and wine, it was pure bliss. As we made love again I gazed up at the stars and my eyes filled with tears, he was perfect and I had fallen one hundred percent in love with him. It scared me and made me feel extremely vulnerable, but I couldn’t help it.
Waking in his arms and opening my eyes to his beautiful eyes, seemed my idea of heaven, until I tried to move. My backside hurt but not as much as my legs. Our night of lovemaking had taken me above any preconceptions I might have had. I had read about it in the books I loved, but I had never experienced it though, not until that night. Under the deep blue sky and silver moon, it was so worth the pain and I woke adamant of the fact that he was mine and I intended on holding onto him for as long as I could.
The movie was okay, I suppose. Having Kaden beside me made it much more tolerable if I am honest. Until now, I never believed in falling in love so quickly, but I had learned that love had no time limits, it can be there instantly or over a period of time. Falling in love with Kaden went against everything I believed in, every moment we spent together I fell further and harder than I ever did with Jay in the beginning.
After the movie he took me out for dinner and I felt thoroughly spoiled. We talked more about the movie, not that I took that much notice of it, he enjoyed it and that was all that mattered that evening.
We went to bed early and both drifted off to a blissful sleep. I suppose we were exhausted from the night before and my legs still hurt, so to be honest, I didn’t feel like another night of mind blowing orgasms. Who am I kidding? I am being polite, but I accepted defeat, we were both tired and needed to rest.
Over the next few days, while we waited for Misty to heal and recuperate, we learned more about each other than I ever thought possible, he seemed intrigued by my life, saying that he had only known one person to die young and that was his father. I wanted to ask more, but felt if he really wanted me to know he would tell me.
The Baptism of baby Charlie was approaching fast and while he fretted about my friends, I was more worried about how I would introduce him to everyone. Were we going out? Was I just someone to pass the time with? He had never once hinted that I had become a girlfriend or even a lover, were we even seeing each other? I had no clue and no guts to ask him.
By the time Sunday had arrived, we had seen each other every day and he allowed me to stay with him while Misty was at the vets. She was coming home the following day, which was amazing, but I knew I would miss having him around me all of the time. We talked for hours, walked for miles, we watched movies and ate dinner, we made love most nights and I had begun to rely on him for company, the fear that everything would change consumed me, that and my usual PMS alongside a visit from mother nature, I mean, really. I was just getting used to being with someone and I worried that my bad mood would ruin everything we had built together.
I decided on a midnight blue dress, it had a layer of chiffon over it with beads across the neckline and matching blue shoes. I pinned up my hair because it was already over a hundred and it wasn’t even eleven. I came out of my house as Kaden stepped off the bottom step to his house. He looked so charming in his royal blue suit with a white shirt and black tie, on his feet he wore tan leather shoes and it added to his ensemble perfectly.
“Wow,” he grinned looking me up and down, “you look beautiful.”
“Thank you,” I blushed not feeling half as beautiful as he looked.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
“Aside from the nerves and the fact that I have no idea of who else is going to be there, plus the fact that I haven’t stepped a foot inside a church since Jay’s funeral, yeah, I am great,” I answered sourly.
“Well, you have me at your side, I am sure you will be fine and if not, we can leave early.” He winked holding out his hand. I took hold of it and swallowed hard, my throat was already dry and I knew I was going to bake in my dress.
We went in his car, it was newer and it meant that I didn’t have to take my flip flops so I could drive. As we drove to the church I played with the gift tag on the silver Train money bank we had bought between us. Why couldn’t I just ask him what I should introduce him as? It put me on edge, that and the fact that my hormones were raging, I was actually relieved when I saw the white spire to St. Luke’s.
He parked the car and came around to my door, offering his hand so that I could climb out with dignity. Vanessa ran over to us and threw her tiny arms around my neck.
“You look amazing, Sky,” she gushed.
“So do you, Nessa, Belize really suits you,” I smiled as we parted.
“That’s what being married does… Oh my God, I am so sorry.”
“Its fine, uh, this is um, this is Kaden, Kaden, this is my best friend from high school, Vanessa Parish, now Vanessa Holland.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, Vanessa,” Kaden said holding out his hand.
“And you,” she smiled and looked at me with that, ‘Oh my God, he is hot, where the hell did you find him?’ look, “Jason never said you had a fella,” she beamed.
“That’s because we haven’t been together long,” I clarified and looked at Kaden. “He’s uh, my neighbor.”
“Nessa!�
� Her mother called out. “Father Richard is waiting to get started.”
She gazed over at her mother, “You are going to tell me how you two got together, I want details, okay?” I nodded, I daren’t look in Kaden’s direction. “Sienna and Matt are here and so is Lottie Michaels, you remember her, right?”
“I do, you better go, we’ll talk after.” I promised.
“Your neighbor,” Kaden frowned.
“I’m not lying, am I?”
“No, but…”
“We’d better get inside.” I said hurriedly and pulled him towards the church.
The service was short and sweet and baby Charlie was adorable. She handed him to me as soon as we arrived at her parent’s house after the service, for refreshments. Kaden had loosened his tie and I didn’t think it was possible that he could look any sexier, but he did, he looked a little reckless and he had no idea of how much I wanted to rip that suit off his body. I almost forgot that we had a little problem by way of a monthly visit. Yep, thanks, Mother Nature.
Nessa’s mom made a huge fuss of me and Kaden, once again I introduced him as my neighbor and because of the PMS I seemed to gain the enjoyment it gave me to watch him stiffen and frown.
We ate a little food and I had a glass of wine, he drank a Dr Pepper and after an hour or so, I suggested we leave. He silently agreed by way of a nod and I said my goodbyes. Nessa promised to keep in touch and I hugged her goodbye. Kaden heaved a huge sigh before starting the engine of his car.
“Are you alright?” I asked him.
“Yes,” he snapped. He was pissed and it made me smile slightly.
“Have I done something wrong?”
“No, you haven’t done anything wrong, its more about what you said to be honest.” He replied flatly.
“So,” I tried to supress my smile, “what did I say wrong?”
“Why did you tell them I was just your neighbor? A couple of those army guys asked if I was gay, because I must be crazy to just be your neighbor and not try and get in your pants.” He spat.
“They said that?” I frowned.
“No, they actually said, are you gay, because you should be tapping that fine piece of ass.”
“Wow,” was all I could muster.
“Wow? That’s all you have to say?” he demanded angrily. “Do you think I like them referring to you as a piece of ass?”
“I hope not.”
“No, and why, because I thought that I meant something to you, the way that you mean something to me, instead I am just the freaking neighbour, thanks.”
“What did you want me to say?” I demanded. “That you are my what, my boyfriend? My lover, what the hell are you to me? Because you have never said anything to me, or called me anything, are you my boyfriend, Kaden, is this a relationship or are you just passing through?”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Well, you keep saying that you can’t give me anything, that you will have to go back, so how long have I got you for and what do I call you?”
“I don’t know,” he answered after a pause, “I haven’t decided when and if I am going to leave, as for what to call me, how about my SO?”
“So?” I frowned.
“Significant Other,” he elaborated.
“So, you mean I can refer to you as my S-O?”
“Or just my SO or your SO,” he smiled slightly.
“I’ll think about it,” I sighed and we rode in silence for the rest of the way home.
I guess I was hoping for him to say, call me your boyfriend, he could see I wasn’t impressed and began sulking. For the rest of the ride home, he never said another word, well, not until we turned off the highway to find three people leaning against a black limo. A female, with legs up to her neck and two guys, one had hardly any hair and the other had blond, shoulder length, silky long hair.
The two men were both wearing leather jeans and the one with no hair had on a black, leather vest without a shirt underneath and the other wore a red and blue plaid shirt over a white t-shirt. The girl wore a short, black dress, fitted tightly to her tiny body and looked like a super model, I felt instantly self-conscious.
“Shit!” he sighed.
“Who is it?” I asked.
“Um, it’s Beth,” he frowned and stopped the car.
“Beth, as in your fiancé Beth,” I checked.
He nodded and frowned, “Yes, just uh, don’t say anything, okay?” I didn’t plan on saying anything, well, until he told me not to speak, that sorta pissed me off a little more. “Please, Skylar, just let me get rid of them.” He climbed out of the car. The window was open and I could hear everything.
“Well, well, well, look who it ain’t,” the bald guy snarled.
“Hey, Skip, how are ya?” Kaden asked shaking his hand.
“What gives?” Skip shrugged looking at the house.
“I am done, didn’t Braden tell you?” Braden, who the hell was Braden and why was this woman glaring at me?
“He did, and we didn’t believe that you would do this to us.” He answered.
“So, what’s going on, Max?” Beth asked. Max, did she just call him Max?
“We’ll talk inside, let me just uh…” he walked around to my door and opened it. “I’ll come over in a little while,” he told me.
“What’s going on?” I asked getting out of the car.
“I’ll tell you everything, I just need to deal with this and then we’ll talk, okay?”
“Who is this, Max?” The other guy asked.
“Parker, Skip and Beth, this is Skylar, she’s uh, she’s my neighbor,” Oh no he didn’t.
“So, you take your neighbor out now?” Beth frowned peering over the top of her sunglasses and looking me up and down. She was stunningly beautiful, it made me feel inadequate and ugly.
“I’ll explain,” he said. “I’ll be over soon, Skylar.”
I looked at the others, “Actually, don’t bother,” I snapped pulling my arm from his grip. If what he had to tell me about them was the truth, he would have told me in front of them. I was not playing games with him. I marched towards my house.
“Skylar,” he chased after me, “please, just let me get rid of them and I will tell you everything.”
“Why did she call you Max?” I asked.
“Max is the lead member of the international selling rock band SOS,” she retorted, “Seasons of Shame, haven’t you heard of them?”
“Is this true?” I asked him, my eyes began filling with tears. He was rock star. I fell for a freaking rock star.
“We need to talk,” he pleaded.
“No, Max, we are done talking.” I snapped.
“Alright,” Skip said walking towards me, he pulled out a check book. “How much do you want?”
“What?” I sniffed.
“How much will it take to buy your silence?”
“To buy my silence,” I fumed, how dare he?
“You girls are all the same,” he retorted. “It’s all about your five minutes of fame and a pay check.”
“I didn’t even know who he was, he told me his name is Kaden, not Max. I don’t listen to music, so how the hell would I know who he is let alone what band he plays for?” I demanded angrily. Kaden lowered his head, he couldn’t even look at me.
“Skip, man, don’t.” Kaden said eventually lifting his head to look at me, my tear filled eyes spilled over, but these were not tears of sadness, they were tears of rage running down my face.
“Get away from me now,” I shrieked, “all of you, just leave me the hell alone.” I hurried into my house, locked the door and ran up to my room.
He was a freaking rock star, no wonder he didn’t want me to know the truth, he probably thought that I would be after his money. I felt stupid and foolish. After everything we had done together it seemed he had used me after all.
Fourteen
Kaden
I should learn to trust my instincts. I should have learned that no matter how far away
you run and hide, eventually everything catches you up. Even I couldn’t understand why it had upset me so much that Skylar had introduced me to her friends as he neighbor. I suppose we hadn’t talked about what we had. Even during the week that led up to the baptism, it had never come up, not once.
In hindsight, I probably should have realized she wanted a label, that what we were doing needed a label. I was tired of labels though, why should everything be one thing or another, why couldn’t it just be what it was, two adults enjoying each other’s company and having amazing sex? What surprised me more though was my reaction to how she saw us. Neighbors!
The service was just how I liked church services to be, short and standing there beside her watching the Priest pour Holy water over the baby’s head, I couldn’t think about anything other than the fact that if she only saw me as a neighbor, then she didn’t see us having a real future together.
When we left I guess I shouldn’t have rattled my mouth off about the whole situation, not only did I sound immature, but I actually agreed with her. As we drove towards our houses, I saw the limo and everything changed.
“Please don’t say anything,” I told her and climbed out.
“Well, well, well, look who it ain’t,” Skip, my manager snarled.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded angrily and looked at Beth, she peered over the top of her sunglasses and then looked away.
“They heard we talked and as I Googled this deadbeat shit hole, I was able to find it.” Parker stated. “So, are you done with your tantrum now?”
“This isn’t a tantrum, Parker, I am done, I quit the band and this is my life now.”
“What, here?” Beth asked.
I walked around the car and opened the door, “What’s going on?” Skylar asked weakly, this must have looked as bad as it actually was.
I told her to go home and I would explain everything to her, in her eyes I was a liar and it wouldn’t take a genius to work that out. Her eyes filled with tears and all I wanted to do was make this shit go away. She eventually left after telling us all to leave her alone.