“I know, it’s crazy,” Neil agreed as he planted a kiss on my forehead.
“Okay, so wait though. When did you find out about his transplant surgery? Was it when you saw my application for the auction come through?”
He shook his head, but was quiet for a moment as Meredith came up with a tray full of breakfast items.
“Thank you,” I said as she set them all on the coffee table in front of us. I was hungry, as I had been all week with the increased activity, but I was more interested in hearing the rest of Neil’s story.
When Meredith had gone he spoke again. “It was a little while after he collapsed at the football game. My mom had told me that there had been some kind of accident at the game or something, but it wasn’t until about a week later that I got the real details from Brad. We had a charity event that my family often donates to and Brad and I were there, as each other’s date I guess you could say, because my parents were double booked that night and couldn’t make it for the event. I didn’t mind, it was always a good place to make some connections and hand out business cards. You never know who might be the next club member.”
“Anyway, Brad told me what had happened with Josh and I…honestly I had to keep myself from calling you that night, asking what your family needed, and rushing over. I hated the thought that all of you were in pain or that you were struggling to figure out how you were going to pay for such a drastic surgery. I knew what an ordeal that was going to be to pay for something like that because I remember when I was a kid and my mom had cancer. It was a struggle for us then. Having a family member who is sick and could potentially die has got to be one of the most difficult things anyone can go through.”
He brushed a bit of my hair out of my face and turned my chin toward him. “Are you doing okay in there? I mean, really?”
I nodded and offered him the tiniest of smiles. “Really, most days I am fine. Mostly I worry about my mom and how she is coping with the stress of it all. I know how my dad copes and I can tell by the number of absolutely gutted cars parked out back of his garage right now that he is getting any of that excess energy and grief out of his body and into something productive.”
“But you,” he said. “What about you, Samara?”
I inhaled deeply, smelling the coffee wafting up from the tray.
“I worry that I am going to lose him. I worry that none of this will work out or that the surgery will be a failure and we will lose my brother right there on the table. It is absolutely my worst nightmare, Neil. The boy is just a kid. I know he’s only a couple of years younger than me, but I am his big sister and I will forever be that. All I want to do is protect him and tell him that everything is going to be okay. For the first time in my life I can’t do that for him. There is nothing that me or my mom or my dad can do to make his fears go away. And it feels fucking unfair.”
I was sobbing now and I couldn’t remember when it started, but Neil pulled me into an embrace and held me close while I cried.
“And so you did what you knew you were able to do. You decided to give up a part of yourself so that you could do your part in saving your brother. It’s really admirable, Samara. I don’t think it’s something that everyone would do.”
I looked up at him and wiped the tears from my eyes. “You know what though? The thing that surprises me most about all of this is that I don’t feel like I gave anything up.”
“What do you mean?” Neil asked.
“I mean that my whole life I have been told that my virginity was some kind of big deal, and in the end it really wasn’t. Not that it wasn’t a ‘big deal’, you are a very big deal, Neil.” We both laughed at this. “But what I mean is that I don’t feel like I gave anything away. I didn’t lose any part of me. I simply opened up a door to a new part. There are things I can experience now that I never had before.”
“I should think you’ve already experienced a few new things so far this week.”
I grinned. “You have shown me a new universe to explore. I don’t know where I would be without you, honestly.”
Neil poured us each a cup of coffee and we sat enjoying the warm brew in the cool, crisp, spring morning air. It was beautiful up there, above the city, where everything had a kind of pinky golden glow to it in the first light of the morning.
“While we’re being honest, there’s probably something I should tell you,” Neil said with some hesitation.
“What’s that?”
“First of all, let me just say that I never intended to keep something from you, but I wasn’t sure you would ever see me otherwise. I could tell the sort of opinion you had of me the first time we met and I knew that I didn’t stand a chance. Even getting to know your brother, there was never going to be an opportunity for me to use that to my advantage and get you to go out on a date with me. And rumors run rampant at the club. The minute you had mentioned me to Suzy she would have been able to tell you twelve different things about me. Seriously, how did you never hear any of those things in the length of time that you worked there?”
I shrugged and took another sip of my coffee. “I don’t listen to gossip.” I said matter-of-factly.
Neil rolled his eyes. “Well, I’m glad you’re able to avoid it. Anyway, I knew you weren’t going to see me. I knew my chances sucked. So when I saw your name pop up in the stack of names that was going to go out to our elite members, I grabbed it before it could go anywhere. You literally never left my office once your name entered the building. Of course Elle already knew because she had compiled the list, but I told her to remove you from it immediately and that I was going to pay whatever the asking price was. I felt like some kind of crazed, lovesick guy in a stupid rom-com, doing whatever I could to make sure no one else could get their hands on you.”
He squeezed me tightly then and buried his nose in my hair, breathing me in.
“We are careful about who we let in, but when I think about who could have had their hands on you…it makes me sick. And how close it all came to happening. But I got to you in time.”
I was struggling to understand what the thing was that he was trying to be honest about. “I already knew that you basically called dibs on me early on. Elle explained to me how that works.”
“Yes, but there is something else that Elle didn’t know about all of this.”
“What’s that?” I asked, truly confused at this point.
Neil looked me straight in the eyes. “Samara, I was going to pay for your brother’s surgery anyway. I had it on my agenda that day to make the call to Brad to find out who I needed to speak to about paying the medical bill. I had already written the blank check out to your parents, but then I saw your name.”
He paused to look at me, measuring my response. I was surprised by his admission, but not shocked. So he had always been willing to pay, that wasn’t a question. What he was admitting was that he had used the situation to his own advantage, to get to me and get what he wanted.
I reached up and touched his cheek gently. “Neil, I can hardly blame you. I had no way of knowing that you were going to do that for my brother. But it’s so kind of you. I think it shows the kind of heart you really have.”
He grasped my hand and pulled it to his chest. “The kind of heart I have is the kind that would do anything to get close to you. I would have paid anything to have this week with you. The fact that it could have ever been reality was more than I could have dreamed of.”
I leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips.
“Last day,” I said.
“Indeed,” he nodded. “Are you ready for me to take you home?”
I looked out across the expanse of the cityscape and shook my head. It was too beautiful to leave here just yet.
“You know, I think I can stay a little longer.”
Chapter 12
Epilogue
Six Months Later
I palmed the back of my neck nervously and then turned to look up at Neil. He smiled, looking down at me, indicating everyt
hing was going to be just fine. It had been a long road for my brother. The transplant had gone well although they had kept him in the hospital a little longer than expected as a precaution.
I could feel the sweat in my palms as I stood hand in hand with Neil on my parents front porch. Everyone had been invited to celebrate Josh’s return home. He had been released from the hospital a month prior but my mom felt it would be better to wait rather than to have so much anxiety and commotion so soon afterwards.
Neil and I had been inseparable since our first week together. We were two people that molded together like a puzzle. We were each other’s soulmate. People always say one is lucky to find their soulmate and that sometimes it doesn’t happen at all, so I guess we could both count our lucky stars that we found one another. After spending so much time with Neil, I quickly learned that he had the same interests and goals in life as me. He was a true family man at heart and when I had the chance to meet his folks two months ago it made me fall in love with him all that much more.
The kicker was when we had dinner with his folks one evening. We were all about to dive into the wonderful meal his mother had just cooked for us when Neil stood with his glass of champagne in his hand.
“Mom, Dad, I have an announcement to make.” He said, looking at both of them and then he turned to me and smiled. His eyes sparkling with a happiness that I had come to enjoy seeing. “Honey, you are the love of my life.” Neil paused and sat his glass on the table as he got down on one knee and reached into his pocket. I watched in shock as he pulled out a burgundy velvet box. Neil looked up at me then and smiled, “I know we have only been together six months, but you, Samara are everything I have ever dreamed of. You make me complete in every way. Would you do the honor of becoming my wife?” Neil asked as he opened the box revealing a five carat yellow canary princess cut engagement ring.
In one fluid motion my hand flew to my mouth. I was in shock and had absolutely no idea that he was going to propose. I could feel the tears pool in my eyes and then spill over onto my cheeks. I smiled and finally whispered, “Yes! Yes! I would love to be your wife!” I couldn’t stop my hand from shaking as he slid the large engagement ring onto my finger. I was mesmerized and then finally snapped out of my reverie and threw my arms around his neck. A moment later his parents started clapping and we turned to them to see their smiles.
“Oh honey. We’re so happy for you.” His mother said, getting up and giving us both a hug and his father followed suit right after.
So now I stood here on my parents porch with the love of my life, nervous as hell as to how everyone will react to the news. A moment later I opened the door and walked in to see my parent’s small living room busy with friends and family chatting among themselves.
“Honey, you made it.” My mom said, rushing over to greet us.
“Of course, Mom. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” I kissed her gently on the cheek and then motioned to Neil. “Mom, you remember Neil?”
“Yes, of course. It’s so nice to see you again.” She said, pulling him in for a hug. My mom was never one for hand shaking. “Come in and say ‘Hi’ to everyone. I’ll let your brother know you’re here.”
We made our way into the room and my rounds of hello’s and hugs to everyone while introducing Neil to the folks he hadn’t met yet, when finally Josh walked in from the kitchen. A grin from ear to ear splayed on his face. God, it was so good to see him feeling stronger; his old self.
“Hey you.” I said smiling and pulling him into a hug. “How you feeling?” I asked looking up him.
“I feel good. Getting stronger every day.” Josh smiled. “Hey Neil. So glad you came, man. Your brother’s in the kitchen raiding all the food.”
Neil laughed and gave Josh a light pat on the shoulder. “Glad you’re feeling better buddy.”
After an hour went by, my mom and dad brought out a celebration cake for Josh and we watched as he blew out the candles and thanked everyone for coming. I sat next to Neil on the love seat as my mom and dad made a quick speech about family, the unknown and to never take anything for granted in life. As they held their glasses up to say cheers to everyone, we did as well. I took a sip of my wine and then felt Neil release my hand and stand. My heart began to beat wildly when he started to speak.
“Mr. & Mrs. Tanza, everyone. I also have something I would like to share with you all.” He said and then looked down at me. He reached for my hand and pulled me to my feet to stand beside him. When I looked up at the crowd, my eyes instantly fell on my mother and then to my dad. She could always read me like a book. She was holding her hand over her mouth almost ready to cry and my dad had a wide grin on his face.
“I would like to announce that I proposed to Samara a little time ago and she accepted. We’re getting married!” He said cheerfully.
I caught my brother’s eye and he gave me a proud smile and a thumbs up.
As the crowd broke out in a cheer I watched my parents walk to us. “Congratulations honey. We are so happy for you both.” They said, giving us each a kiss and hug.
“You knew?” I asked looking at my dad.
“Of course. You don’t go ahead with something like without asking the parents permission first now do you?” He said giving Neil a quick wink.
“Honey, I didn’t want to freak you out. A week before I proposed, I met your parents for lunch. I didn’t feel comfortable proposing until I asked for their blessing first. I hope you’re not upset?”
I smiled to myself feeling a little foolish about being so nervous. I should have known he would have done this. Neil was an old fashioned soul. I gave him a slap on the arm and said, “It’s okay. You have the rest of your life to make it up to me.”
Sold
Chapter 1
Tiffany
Monday evenings were girls night in our apartment in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn. All three of us worked as Realtors for a Brooklyn Real Estate company and we worked damn hard. So Mondays were downtime, complete with pizza and beer. There was me, Kayla and Haley. Mondays were there to share stories about work and to catch up on our--currently nightmarish--love lives. None of us were having much luck on the romantic front.
“Please can we not watch a movie with a sexy leading man tonight, because I swear my pussy will combust and it won’t be a pretty sight,” Kayla moaned. At twenty-four Kayla was tall and slim, with pale skin and long wavy red hair. She was stunning but attracted to men who were dicks. She hadn’t had a date for at least two weeks and it was killing her.
“That bad, huh?” I asked.
“Yeah, I might go visit Daniel. While I’m there I can see if there are any hot men currently hanging around Long Island.” Kayla’s stepfather lived on Long Island. Her mother--a serial cheater--had moved on long ago and had lost touch with her daughter. Kayla hadn’t stayed at Daniel Scott’s much, but out of all her many stepfathers’ he had been the only one to be a pretty decent man and he had always said there was a room for her at his home, even after her mother’s departure. She visited rarely, but felt she owed it to him to check in. Guilt from her mother screwing him out of a lot of his cash no doubt.
“Well I have a date tomorrow night. I think this might be the one,” Haley said.
Kayla and I groaned simultaneously. Haley was born a romantic and every date she had, she thought would be her Prince Charming. Instead they ended up being the Princes’ of Darkness. Petite, with long straight dark brown hair, and an ass a Kardashian would envy, Haley was soft spoken and quite innocent. She’d only had one lover, a long term sweetheart, and when he had left her after college she had been devastated. She had felt he was her one and we were sure she believed that one day he would actually come back for her.
“God, dating fucking sucks,” I proclaimed. “I had another guy send me a message through the company email today.”
“Ugh, creep.” Kayla said with a smirk on her face.
It happened a lot at Greens Real Estate. Our photographs were on t
he web page under Agents, along with our direct line and email address. Usually, it’s a breathy phone call asking whether I’m wearing panties, but today’s had been an actual email.
I brought it up on my cell. “Listen to this,” I told my friends, then began to read it out loud.
Tiffany,
Is this really you on your photograph? I guess I’ll have to find out by meeting you. I’m looking at this headshot right now, with my ten inch dick in my hand. I’m imagining that my other hand is fisting your shoulder length blond hair, dragging your head downward towards my cock. Those green eyes are wide and begging for me to open your pouting lips and fill you with my girth. Your pink gloss is smeared over my cock while I push myself in and out of your hot mouth. You might try and hide your breasts under that baggy top but I can tell you have huge tits begging for release. I’m going to suck on your nipples and then I’m going to stick my cock between those creamy mountains and fuck them until I come all over your face, your smeared pink gloss mixed with my creamy cum.
Speak soon, H.
“Oh my fucking God, what a creep,” Haley gasped. “Did you report it?”
“Nah, I get similar things at least once a week. Don’t you?”
Haley shook her head. “No. I’ve never had a message like that.”
“She doesn’t have a photo up does she?” Kayla reminded me. “She’s the sensible one.”
“Well, I replied that I found his post offensive and to not contact me again.”
“Really?” Kayla asked cocking an eyebrow. “I think it’s damn hot.”
“You think everything’s hot today. You need to go out and get laid.”
“I do. I really do.” She whined.
“Okay, Haley, get the pizza ordered. Kayla go grab some beer from the fridge and I’ll choose a movie. One with some ugly dudes and no sex scenes whatsoever.”
Unravel (Club V Book 1) Page 10