by Emerson Rose
I contacted the people at Guide Dogs of America six months ago. My puppy has been at their training camp for a while now and in a few weeks, I will be secretly training alongside him. I have mixed feelings about that. Taking the class is the last step in admitting to myself that this is really going to happen. I can’t avoid it any longer. I can’t pretend it was a misdiagnosis or a temporary condition. I am going to be a blind man but not until I get that promotion.
Chapter 7
Tiana
I can’t believe my stupid pigheaded brother is smashed. Thank God, the bartender Al helped me pour him into the Uber, but now that we’re home I don’t know what to do with him. Six foot of Marine muscle passed out cold. I’m in heels and barely tip the scale at 125 lbs.
The Uber driver isn’t much help. She’s staring straight ahead while I struggle with my brother in the back seat.
“Hang on, I’m going to open the door. I’ll be right back.”
“Don’t leave him here, I’ll have to call the police if you abandon him and he’ll go to jail.”
I open the front passenger door and bend down to look at the pale, slight girl in the driver's seat. “Lady, you call the police you’ll have to deal with a bunch of pissed off Marines and me. I said I would be right back, what part of that don’t you understand?”
She shifts in her seat and looks out her window away from me.
“I’ll wait, but only for five minutes.”
I slam the door shut and leave Jayden’s open. I click up the front steps and unlock the door, kick off my heels and slide my feet into a pair of flip flops, dump my purse and head back to the car still unsure of how to get him inside.
“Need some help?” A voice comes from the front porch of the house next door, Drake’s house. Thank you, God, for sending me help wrapped in such a gorgeous package.
“Yes, please, he’s passed out and I can’t move him,” I say in a loud whisper so the neighbors don’t know our business. I don’t know why. They will anyway. It’ll be all over town in a few hours that Captain Williams was too drunk to get out of his Uber. I’m sure I’m the talk of the town as well. It wouldn’t surprise me if the headlines in the Jewel Falls Gazette today read Williams siblings bringing trouble to Jewel Falls. Ugh, stupid small towns.
I can hear Drake’s steps as he crosses the wraparound porch of his house but I don’t see him until he emerges out from under the mammoth oak tree in his front yard.
His steps seem careful, planned and a little hesitant at first but when he catches sight of Jay’s right arm and head drooping out of the car he picks up speed.
I try to keep my focus on my brother. Really, I do, but Drake is magnetic. It’s impossible to look at anything but him. Thankfully, his first priority is Jayden, as mine should be. He lifts him easily from the car and kicks the door shut. The Uber driver pulls away slowly, ducking down to catch an eyeful of Drake’s physique.
I frown at her and jump off the lawn onto the sidewalk blocking her vision of Drake’s backside as if his virtue is mine to defend. I wish it were, but I’m sure he’s been sworn not to touch me with a billion-foot pole for all eternity.
I love Jayden but he’s such a wanker. If he had things his way, I’d be locked up in the cellar reading books in bib overalls and pigtails forever.
Inside Drake maneuvers around in the dark with ease, heading for the staircase that leads to our bedrooms.
“He is going to need some water and a couple of Ibuprofen when he comes around,” he says clomping up the stairs carrying Jayden.
I switch on the light in the kitchen and rummage around for the medicine and a cold bottle of water. Upstairs, Drake has flopped Jay onto his bed and is taking off his boots in the dark.
“Just put them on the nightstand over here, he can get it when he wakes up.”
“Okay, but I can’t see, I need to turn on a light.”
Drake stops unlacing for a moment, stands up and crosses the room taking the water and pills from my hands.
“I really appreciate you helping. I’ve never seen him like this before.”
“He doesn’t usually drink this way.” He looks at me sideways narrowing his eyes and I feel like he’s accusing me of something.
I wave my hand in the direction of the bed, “What? You think this is my fault?”
“I’m not blaming anyone but Jayden for his actions. However, showing up at his favorite weekend hangout with a Marine like Cameron started a storm he couldn’t control. I’m sure you’re aware of his overprotectiveness. He doesn’t need goading. He’s a big enough mess without you helping.”
“You’re siding with him? Seriously, this is how it’s been my whole life. I shouldn’t have come back.” I turn to leave but feel a warm strong hand take hold of my upper arm.
“I’m not siding with anyone, just take it easy on him, okay. He loves you, and I can see why.”
His eyes trail down my shoulder to where his hand is resting. We are so close I could lean in and kiss his perfect ample lips. I feel an irresistible tug between us, but Jayden stirs on the bed snapping the invisible thread pulling us together.
He drops his hand and turns away to tend to Jayden. I follow him through the dark at a slow pace compared to his comfortable stride. I feel around for the end table and sit the bottle of water and pills next to the lamp.
I’m tempted to turn it on but something stops me. I can see Drake’s profile, he removes both boots and swings Jay’s legs onto the bed. He leaves him in his clothes and props him on his side with some pillows behind his back. Jayden moans but he stays where Drake positions him.
“Don’t roll onto your back. Do you hear me?” Drake says with authority. Jayden moans and Drake accepts it as an agreement.
“You should stay with him, or I can if you want me to. If he rolls onto his back, he could vomit and aspirate.”
Drake is facing me in the dark. I can see the sharp angle of his jaw and broad shoulders. I recognize the smell of sandalwood on his skin from earlier tonight. His presence jumbles my thought process. I think I know what I want to say, but nothing comes out.
I need to tell him I’ll be fine watching my brother the rest of the night. I need to thank him for helping him inside and tell him goodbye. I should ask how his nose is feeling because I’m almost one hundred percent sure Jayden hit him because of me. But nope, I ask him to stay.
“Maybe you should stay. I wouldn’t know what to do with him if he choked in his sleep.”
What? Why did I say that? I know perfectly well what to do with a choking victim. I was a lifeguard at the beach all through high school. I’ve taken countless first aid and CPR classes. It’s like an alien is taking over my body, especially my mouth, and making me blurt out pathetic damsel-in-distress comments.
There’s tension in the air around him when I ask, but he pulls up a chair on the opposite side of the bed where he can watch Jayden’s face without a word.
“Thank you.” I see him nod in the shadows and I turn to leave.
“Have you been drinking?”
I stop with my hand on the doorknob, what’s it to him if I have? “No, why?” I ask.
“I wanted to know if I should be checking on you too,” Drake answers.
“No, I’ll be fine, thanks.” I turn to leave and he says, “Leave the door open.” I leave the door open without asking why and make my way to my old room.
I flick on the light switch and squint. Even in the dark, I could find my way around in here, all my furniture is white, the bedspread is white, white carpet, everything. My bedroom almost glows in the dark. I think Jayden has some crazy idea that everything I do is pure and virginal, therefore, I must be surrounded by white.
Well, maybe he used to think that. He’s seen the videos of me in the clubs. I was furious with Suki for sending them, but I know she did it out of concern and Jayden was much more understanding and rational than I expected. Until now, that is. He’s going to kill himself trying to keep track of my whereabouts and every
man I speak to.
Poor Cameron, he’s just an old schoolmate not to mention that he’s gay and has no interest in me other than being friends. Jayden treated him like a criminal and the drunker he got the more annoying and embarrassing he was.
Now thanks to his over-vigilance, I have his off-limits-sexy-ass best friend babysitting him down the hall, with the door open. I close my door and change into boxer shorts and a tank top. After I’ve brushed my teeth and washed my face, I crawl into my fluffy cloud of a bed and lie staring at the ceiling in the dark.
I can’t get Drake out of my head. There’s something about him that’s different but I can’t place it. He’s attractive, older, in perfect physical condition, he dresses well, he has a successful career and he seems to be the perfect blend of kind and authoritative. But, there is something vulnerable about him.
I look at the time on my phone and toss it down in the bed next to me, three a.m. Why was Drake still up and outside at this hour? He left the bar at ten thirty last night. I wonder what he’s been doing for the past four and a half hours. I’d like to think he came home and started reading a book and became so engrossed that the next thing he knew it was three in the morning and he heard a car door so he came to see what was happening.
More likely he had a date or a hook-up when he left Al’s and just got home and hadn’t gone to sleep yet. He’s too handsome to be spending his weekend nights alone.
It doesn’t matter, Jayden won’t let me date while I’m here and especially his best friend… ever. I can’t even hang with a gay friend without him going off.
I like Drake, though, and I’m sure he was into me at least a little bit. I hate being treated like I’m still twelve, but like Drake said, he does it because he loves me and who can fault him for that?
Chapter 8
Drake
I’m no stranger to staying up all night. I’ve had insomnia off and on since I was diagnosed with macular degeneration. The thought of going to sleep and waking up with no sight is terrifying no matter how prepared I am.
Then I woke up a couple weeks ago, and the dreaded gray blob in the center of my vision was darker. I haven’t slept more than two hours at a time since. I could take sleeping pills, no problem, but I don’t want to sleep. If I’m awake I know I have my sight, no surprises, no sudden bombs dropped.
Watching my inebriated friend sleep, however, may just be the cure for my insomnia. If it weren’t for the fact that his sex-kitten sister was yards away sleeping in her bed, Jayden’s rhythmic snoring might have put me out.
It’s six o’clock, the sun is up, and Jayden is still sleeping on his side softly snoring. I’m hungry and stiff. Usually, I’ve run five miles by this time and am making breakfast. I leave his room and take careful quiet steps down the hall toward the stairs but the closed door on my left, Tiana’s door, calls to me.
She said she hadn’t been drinking and I believe her but I still want to check on her. Why? Maybe to make sure she didn’t get a wild hair and take off last night because her brother lost his damn mind over her being out with a man, a gay man.
No, I would have heard her doing that. I know why I want to see her, because she intrigues me. The way my chest tightens when she looks at me and the zing that shot up my arm when she shook my hand last night is like nothing I’ve ever felt. God, that sounds like a fucking heart attack, not intrigue.
I must stay away from her, not only because Jayden will kill me but because she’s the closest thing to perfection I’ve ever seen and she deserves so much more than me.
At the rate I’m going, I could be blind by the end of the year, and nobody that looks as good as she does should go unseen. I hesitate outside her door, no, yes, no… fuck, yes. Without making a sound, I turn the knob and push the door open a crack. I turn my head to the side to look for her but the bed is made up neat and tidy with throw pillows placed uniformly at angles. She’s gone. Fuck, could she have snuck out last night?
I open the door all the way and look around for something personal. This woman is either a neat freak or she’s packed up and gone like a whisper in the night.
“What are you doing in here?” Her sharp accusing voice comes from behind me. She’s standing at the top of the stairs with one hand on her curved hip and the other on the curved railing. She’s dressed in shorts, an athletic tank top and coordinating running shoes. I can’t tell if she’s being fashionable or if she’s ready for a run.
Either way, her stance and her clothing accentuate her beautiful breasts, which makes my cock twitch. If she weren’t so off limits, I’d have her underneath me in a heartbeat.
“Looking for you,” I reply.
Her eyebrows draw together in a frown and she drops her arms to her sides, more alert now.
“Why? Is there something wrong with Jayden?”
“No, he’s sleeping like a baby. I was checking on you.”
Her eyebrows flow from a frown into two high arches over her distinctive multicolored eyes.
“What for? I told you I didn’t drink last night. I’m fine. Breakfast is ready in the kitchen if you’re hungry. I’m going for a run before it gets too hot.”
She’s going running, great. I need to run and I’d love nothing more than to run just one stride behind her but I shouldn’t, I can’t.
“How far do you run?” Why did I ask her that? I’m not supposed to get involved.
“Back home I did five miles on a treadmill, it’s different running outside, though. The humidity slows me down.”
“Impressive.” It’s easy to tell she’s not lying, the lean muscles in her legs say it all. I bite my tongue to keep from telling her I run five to ten miles every morning too. Chances are high that I’ll see her out and about anyway. There aren’t many places to run and the few who do tend to take the same paths.
“I’ve got to go. Jayden is going to feel like shit today, tell him not to worry about watching the game later.”
She rolls her eyes and steps out of my way when I pass.
“Yeah, now I get to do the yard work alone. Way to go, big bro.”
With my back to her in the hall, I stop and close my eyes to take a deep breath. I am used to getting what I want. Keeping Tiana at a distance is like punishment for a crime I didn’t commit. Yet.
“Come over when you’re ready and I’ll help you.” It’s not my fault he got so drunk he can’t help her plant her flowers.
“You don’t have…” She begins and without looking back I raise my hand in the air signaling that there is no room for argument. When I reach the front door, I open it and glance back up the stairs where she is still standing with her mouth agape holding the railing. I chuckle and saunter home to run on the treadmill.
I’m already pushing it by offering to help her with the yard work, no sense in torturing myself further by bumping into her on a trail where no one is around. I’m a good friend but I’m no saint.
Chapter 9
Tiana
The rhythmic thumping of my feet against the pavement usually distracts me from my worries but today it’s accentuating them.
Drake is going to help me plant flowers this afternoon and when Jayden finds out he will finish breaking his face. I need to come up with an excuse to bow out if he will accept one that is.
His arrogant exit this morning had me all kinds of turned on and pissed off. Even with a bruised-up face and no sleep, he was the most handsome man I’ve ever laid eyes on and easily the sexiest. I’m slipping. I can almost see myself falling off Jayden’s giant white pillar for him.
I can’t do it, though, he’s being gracious enough to let me move back home temporarily and I can’t disrespect him like that, it’s not who I am. But Drake makes me wish I were.
A woman with a golden retriever is running along the path ahead of me. Maybe I need a dog? It would give me something to take care of and focus on while I figure out my next move. A shelter dog would be perfect, I’ll save it and maybe it will save me from myself. Ha, not likely.
/>
An hour later, I fall into the house and stand in the foyer bent over with my hands on my knees panting. I pushed myself hard and ran much further than I usually do. Wonder why? Oh, maybe a sexy Marine, named Drake had something to do with it?
Sexual frustration is a bitch. I haven’t been with anyone in months. I’m not into sex without feelings. I don’t do hookups. My last boyfriend was a bouncer at The Aquarium named Mason. I liked him a lot, for a while. We dated for six months and when we started spending most of our dates at the gym and I caught him flirting with his hands at work, we went our separate ways.
Drake has me considering sex without feelings. I wonder if horny is considered a feeling? If it is then I’ve got a lot of “feelings” for Drake.
“How was your run?” Jayden is standing at the top of the curved staircase watching me gasp for breath and fantasize about his best friend.
“Great, it’s so damn hot here, though. I’ll have to start earlier from now on.”
“See anybody you knew out there?”
I stand up straight and put my hands on my hips. “What do you mean by that?”
“I mean did you run into anybody you know?”
“No, Jayden. I didn’t run into anyone other than a woman with a golden retriever. I want a dog by the way. Did you find your breakfast?”
“A dog?”
I knew that would throw him. “Yes, a shelter dog, can we go and look tomorrow?”
He sighs and leans hard against the railing. “Yeah, I guess so. Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.” I nod my head once and my ponytail bobs up and down. “So, did you eat or not?”
“Don’t talk about food. I appreciate the effort but I can’t. I took the Ibuprofen you left me, though, thanks.”
“You shouldn’t drink so much.”
“Yep.”