by Rhonda James
“You want to talk about it?” I asked, placing a reassuring hand on his slumped shoulder. I’d never seen him like this. Defeated. Absolutely speechless. This was the guy who could talk to anything on legs, human or animal, he just seemed to have a way about him. Now, here he was standing before me and unable to formulate a sentence.
Something had definitely happened. I just had to find out what it was.
“Come on, talk to me.” I urged, crossing my arms and tipping back to balance my chair on two legs. “Maybe I can help.”
He scoffed at my remark and turned away. “I doubt it, looks like all is back to perfect in your little world. Any way, I’m not even sure how to explain what’s going on.”
“When did I give you the impression that everything was golden in my relationship? We haven’t worked everything out, we’re still miles apart, and we hardly see one another, let alone talk.” I planted the chair firmly on the ground, bending slightly to see his face.
“Yeah, well at least you’re on the same continent. We’ve tried talking, texting, even Skyping, but it doesn’t seem to change the fact that I’m here and she’s all the way over in Michigan. Even if I weren’t on tour she’d be far away.” I started to interject, but he held up a hand to cut me off. “And don’t bother giving me the argument that you and Brooke made it work, maybe your situation was different. Your relationship started under different circumstances, you know, damsel in distress and all. I didn’t get to come in and sweep Jade off her feet and rescue her. She's a very independent woman. I'm not even sure she needs me. Sometimes I think she just tolerates me.” He scowled, shaking his head in frustration.
“Well, maybe you didn’t rescue her, but that didn’t stop you from sweeping her off her feet. Maybe you’ve just lost your touch.” I joked, poking him in the arm.
“Yeah, well, we can’t all be Sebastian Miles now can we?” He snapped.
“Hey, that’s not fair. Don’t make it sound as if my life has been a bed of roses.” I snarled, suddenly feeling defensive.
“It sure smells pretty sweet from where I’m sitting.” He quipped, smartly.
“Well, don’t be fooled, there’ve been a hell of a lot of thorns in there too.” I huffed, pausing a moment to collect myself. “Listen, I can understand if you miss her, I really get it, but moaning about it won’t do you any good. Have you told her how you feel?”
“Not exactly,” he signed, finally relaxing his shoulders.
“Well that’s a great place to start. Go call her.”
“But she’s been acting weird, what if she blows it off, or doesn’t feel the same? Damn, when did I become such a wuss? I’ve never had trouble talking to women.” I clapped him on the back and laughed.
“I’m afraid that’s what they call love, my friend. Welcome to the club. Oh, and if you think you’re the only man frustrated with his woman, think again. I’m afraid that line is one that is far longer than either of us has the patience to stand in. Go call her.” He gave a lop-sided grin and turned, heading for the door.
“Thanks man, it’s good to know I’ve always got my best friend to count on. That means a lot to me bro’.”
“I’m always here for you.” I gave him a chin tip and pulled out my phone, deciding to take my own advice. I swiped my finger over her name and her beautiful face came onto my screen. I pressed send and waited for her to pick up.
However, I wasn’t expecting to hear a strange voice on the other end.
A male voice…
“Hello?”
Brooke~
I’d had a crazy week at work, all I wanted was to come home, jump in the shower, and wash away all of the frustrations. A major seafood order had arrived at the restaurant and had to be sent back, after discovering that it had spoiled. Two of my servers had walked out during service, leaving us short-handed, and to top it all off, my best line chef suffered a severe burn at work and I spent four hours with him at the hospital.
I stopped by the row of mailboxes to pick up my mail. As I turned to make my way up the stairs I heard a voice calling my name.
"Brooke, dear, is that you?" It was Mrs. Abbott, she was married to the building's superintendent.
"Yes, it's me." I called out.
"Oh, good. I have a package for you. It was delivered this morning." When she returned she handed me a large brown box. I struggled to add it to my ever-growing pile.
"Thank you." I smiled, and turned to tackle the stairs.
I had just pushed my door open when Reid came rushing out of his apartment, catching me off guard. He greeted me with a warm smile and began removing some of the items from my hands, carrying them into my apartment.
“I’m glad you’re home, I’ve been waiting for you.” I stared at him, mouth gaping open, unable to comprehend why he would have been waiting for me. I hoped he didn’t want to continue our interrupted conversation. He furrowed his brow, giving me a questioning look. “You forgot, didn’t you?” Then it dawned on me.
“Ugh, I am so sorry, I totally blanked out. It’s been a full week.” I groaned.
“Well, all the more reason you need to come with me and unwind. Go get ready and we’ll head over, I’m sure we haven’t missed much.” He sat on a stool, placing his elbows on the counter.
“Oh, I don’t know,” I stalled. “I’d need a shower.”
“So get moving, I’ll hang out here.”
“Um, okay I guess. I’ll try to be quick. Make yourself at home, there’s bottled water or wine in the fridge.”
“Thanks, now go.” He shooed me with a flip of his hand. I scurried off to my room, grabbing a change of clothes, before making my way back to the bathroom.
The hot water felt great on my tense shoulder muscles. I really had no business going out, even if it was just to another apartment in the building. This was a friendly group of tenants. Most of us were transplants so we longed for the companionship of other misplaced souls. Most were only here short-term, but Reid, and a few others, we here permanently, or at least until a better opportunity came up. I was just finishing up, having turned off the water and grabbed a towel, when I heard my phone ringing. Crap, I’d left it on the kitchen counter. Figuring it was Garrett, calling to let me know he’d made it home safely from the hospital, I opened the door to call to Reid, asking him to answer it for me. Too late, he’d taken it upon himself to answer it before I even asked.
“Who is this?” I heard him ask. “Sebastian? Sorry man, she’s in the shower right now.” No, I dropped my head into my hands, this wasn’t happening. This would not go over well. I felt a lump in my throat, making it very difficult to swallow. How was I going to explain this? “Dude, what the hell is your problem? Well, maybe you should be here and not clear across the country. Come again? Whatever.” I heard my phone hit the granite countertop and my body instinctively flinched.
I dressed quickly, reminding myself to take deep breaths. I needed to get Reid out of here so I could call Sebastian back, hopefully he would take my call. There was already bad blood between these two, and they hadn’t even met. Reid couldn’t stand him, a fact that he’d made quite obvious every time his name had come up in a conversation. Sebastian had expressed his concern over Reid making himself too available to me, especially in Sebastian’s absence. He’d been uncomfortable with the knowledge that Reid was a fellow chef, assuming that we would be drawn to one another based on our mutual love of the industry. He hadn’t been entirely wrong on that count, but we were just friends.
“Reid, what was that all about?” I charged at him, my jaw clenched tightly as I tried not to bite his head off. “Who told you to answer my phone?”
“I was just trying to help.” He smirked.
“Help? You knew who it was before you answered. I seriously don’t think you were trying to help. I think you were trying to stir up trouble. Why would you do that?” I stood before him, hands on my hips, lips pursed in anger.
“Oh come on, Brooke, the guy needed a little wake up call, don’t
you think? I mean, if you’re so important to him then why is he wasting his time on a stage when he could be here with you, going to a party in 4D?”
“I’m not going.” I stated, flatly. “I’d like for you to leave. I need to call him back.” I grabbed my phone, never breaking eye contact with Reid.
“You’re not going? I thought you were looking forward to unwinding.” He cocked his head, looking somewhat smug. “You can’t very well do that when you’re trying to talk to that hothead. You know, he has quite a temper.”
“I’ve changed my mind, Reid. I’m not in the mood to spend an evening with you right now. As far as Sebastian’s temper goes, you’d do well to stay on his good side.” I smiled, sweetly.
“Is that supposed to be some kind of threat or something?”
“No, just some friendly advice. Let’s just say that Sebastian is very protective of what’s his.”
“Oh, so what are you, some kind of possession? Doesn’t that sound bizarre to you?” He stared at me, arms crossed in front of him.
“No, I’m not his possession. He loves me and he takes care of me. That’s what you do when you love someone. I’d do the same for him. Now, please leave. I’ll talk to you later.” I ushered him out the door and steeled myself for the battle ahead. I hit speed dial and waited for him to answer. Instead, I got his voicemail.
“Hey, you’ve reached Sebastian. If you’ve reached this message it's probably because I didn’t want to talk to you. Either way, when you hear the beep you know what to do.”
That message was new. I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d made it especially for me. I rolled my eyes and thought about hanging up, but quickly deduced that would only cause more trouble.
“Hey, it’s me. Listen, I’m really sorry about that thing with Reid, there’s a perfectly good explanation and I’d love to share it with you. Please call me, baby. I love you.”
I slumped in the nearest chair and waited for him to call me back, praying that he would. This scenario reminded me of the time I’d caught Hilary coming on to him at the rehearsal dinner. I’d jumped to conclusions at the time but after a few minutes I had been able to realize that there must have been a logical explanation for what had happened, and it turned out that I’d been right, he had been completely innocent.
Just as I had been in this circumstance.
Hadn’t I?
Perhaps I should have asked Reid to wait for me at his apartment, it would have been more appropriate, considering that we were not dating, we were merely friends. I knew that he had a mild crush on me, I should have used better judgment. Surely Sebastian would understand that I had made a bad decision, and he knew how much I loved him, and that he could trust me.
My gaze shifted to the kitchen table. Mail and several other items still lay strewn about the surface. My eyes settled on the large box Mrs. Abbott had given me. I rose and held it in my hands. It weighed practically nothing, and I gave it a light shake. There wasn't a return address, but I recognized the handwriting on the shipping label. I placed it back on the table and opened it carefully. Inside was a dark pink envelope with my name written on the outside. I lifted the flap and pulled out the card it contained.
My sweetest Brooke,
I know this time apart has been hard on both of us. I also know this is what you need. Every day without you is sheer agony. Not knowing what you're doing, or who you are with, it makes me crazy. Just know that no matter where I am, or what I may be doing, I'm thinking of you. Only you. I hope that you're doing the same. Just in case that friendly neighbor of yours has any ideas, I had a little something made for you. I hope you're not mad.
Love, S.
Setting the card aside, I pulled back pale pink tissue paper to reveal a pink hoodie. He knew all too well that pink was my favorite color. A warm feeling ran through me when I thought of how well he knew me. White lettering adorned the upper left side on the front of the cotton material. It said two simple words.
Property of
I turned it over and burst out laughing. I ran my fingers over the large, raised lettering spread across the back, tracing each one individually.
SEBASTIAN MILES
I pulled off my T-shirt and slipped the hoodie over my head. The soft material was comforting against my skin. Knowing that he'd picked this out for me, his way of staking claim over me, gave me a warm feeling. Maybe I should have been offended that he wanted to mark me in this way. But I wasn’t. Instead, I felt loved.
Most of all, I felt needed.
Ten minutes later, my phone rang and my butterfly friends took that moment to begin their fluttering frenzy, intensifying the queasiness in my stomach.
“Hey, I’m glad you called me back.” I sighed, relieved to have the chance to explain myself.
“And I’m glad that you’re answering, and not some douche bag who's in my girlfriend’s apartment while she's naked in the shower.” He growled. “Seriously Brooke, what was that all about?”
“I’m sorry. I know it must have sounded really bad. I got home from work tonight, after a really crazy week, and he came over. We were supposed to go to a party in the building tonight. A bunch of friends just get together each week in a different apartment, I've told you about it before. Everyone here is basically a transplant and we just hang out. Any way, I hopped in the shower and he was hanging out in the kitchen, waiting for me. In hindsight, I should have told him to wait in his apartment, but I didn’t use my head.” I sighed, fully aware that I had, in fact, been groveling. At this point nothing was beneath me.
“I just wanted to hear your voice, imagine my surprise when I heard a man’s voice asking me who the hell I was, and then telling me that you were naked in the next room.” His voice went up a few octaves with each spoken word, clearly alerting me that he was still upset.
“I know." I replied, in the calmest voice I could manage. "That must have been very upsetting, but you do trust me, right? You know I would never do anything behind your back. He’s just my neighbor.”
“Yeah, and isn’t he the same guy that has a thing for you? Honey, I may trust you, but I will never trust that guy. I know what men think, especially when they're looking at you. I don’t ever want to call and find him there when you’re showering, that’s just not cool.”
“So, are you telling me you don’t want him in my apartment? Or just when I am not wearing full body armor?” I chuckled, trying to ease the tension.
“Very funny. I’m serious, Brooke. How would you feel if the roles were reversed?” His words pierced me, his deep voice could calm even the most hyper of butterflies. I knew exactly how I would feel if it had been me calling and having another woman tell me that he was in the shower. I would have gone ballistic.
“No, you’re right, I wouldn’t like it one bit. In fact, I would probably be screaming in your ear right now. I’m sorry. I know that it was inappropriate, on many levels. I wasn’t thinking.” The groveling continued, without shame. I had to prove to him that I was serious about protecting our relationship.
“I’m not asking you to stop talking to the guy, I just don’t trust him.”
“I know, but I think he’s harmless. I’ve made it perfectly clear, on many occasions, that I am only interested in you.”
“Oh have you now? That must be pretty hard to do given that I am never around.”
“Then maybe you’ll have to change that.” I challenged.
“Maybe I will." His voice changed from frustrated to husky.
"I opened your gift."
"Oh did you now? And?"
"And I think Reid won't have any problem knowing just who it is that I belong to." I replied, breathlessly.
"That was the whole point. Are you wearing it now?" I practically heard his smile through the phone.
"I'll bet you would like to know what I'm wearing." I teased, playfully.
"I want to know everything about you. Always." He answered, all playfulness disappearing.
“So, tell me about your da
y.” I smiled to myself, thankful to change the subject.
"No way baby, you still haven't told me what you're wearing. You're not getting off that easily." He laughed, huskily.
"Hmm, let me see. Your sweatshirt."
"And?" He encouraged me to continue.
"That's it." A soft giggle escaped my throat.
"Damn, baby. You're killing me. You know that?" He groaned. I couldn't help but laugh at his words, happy that his anger had subsided, and even more thankful that we were okay.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Dek has been acting weird lately.” Jade sighed dramatically into the phone. We were only two minutes into our weekly phone call when she dropped this beauty on me. I was beginning to realize that Sebastian and I weren’t the only ones going through a rocky patch in our relationship, it seemed to be the trend these days.
“What do you mean by weird? Like not calling, or being too clingy, not clingy enough?”
“Sshh, stop talking,” she huffed. Even through the phone I could visualize the pout on her lips. “I was getting to that. Well, we’ve been dating now for four months, give or take, and so far everything has been great. We talk on the phone once in awhile, but we do our own thing, live our own lives. I’m not stupid or naïve, I know girls are throwing themselves at his feet on a regular basis, and for the most part I am okay with that. I don’t ask him questions about his private life, and maybe I don’t want to know, but he doesn’t ask me about mine either. We’re not really what you’d call exclusive, although he’s the only man I am currently seeing, even though I never see him…” Her voice trailed off, and I detected a hint of sadness. “So far we both seem to have been comfortable with that arrangement. I mean, I never really intended to get attached. I just figured we would have some fun and that would be the end of it. But lately, I don’t know, something is different.”
“Wait a minute, why wouldn’t you expect more? He’s always acted as if he were crazy about you, and I thought you felt the same way about him.” Now I was confused. Since when did they have such a casual relationship?