by Logan Chance
Chapter Nine
I pulled into her driveway along Ocean Drive, cut the engine, and stared at her door. My system was a hodgepodge of mixed emotions. Should I just let all of this go and move the fuck on? I got played. Did it even matter what her reason was? I pulled my helmet off and hung it on the handlebar. Yeah, it mattered.
I climbed off my bike and stalked to the door, giving it two quick raps with my knuckles.
The door swung open, and everything I was mad about vanished when I saw her standing there in her black yoga pants and gray, baggy t-shirt with a pink cupcake on the front. That familiar pull to her tugged at me. Maybe I could take her shirt off, see if she was wearing a bra. No, I needed to remember what she did and calm my body's reaction to her.
“Hi,” she whispered.
“Hey.”
She moved aside, allowing me to enter.
The house smelled sweet, and I was sure she was baking something. She crossed over to the couch and sank down, pulling a throw pillow into her lap. “Want to sit down?”
“No, thanks.”
She looked down and traced her finger along the pillow before lifting her eyes to mine. “Erik, let me start by saying how sorry I am. I never meant for any of this to happen.”
Before I could answer the timer in the kitchen dinged, and she bounded from the couch. I wanted to follow, see what she had baked, but remained statuesque.
She was wearing me thin with the regret on her face. A few minutes later, she returned with cookies on a plate, holding them out to me. “They’re still a little hot.”
A cookie wasn't going to make this better. “Yeah, well, you’re hot,” I rasped. “Doesn't mean I want it.”
She blinked and dropped her eyes to the plate. “What do you want?”
“Someone who doesn't jerk me around.”
Her blue eyes, full of sadness, looked up at me. “Please, tell me you don’t like her.”
“Who?”
“Belinda.”
The anger, confusion, and madness was there like a loaded shotgun set to go off at any moment. “Well, I don't know the real Belinda, do I?”
I backed away from her, running my hands through my dark hair, and blew out a breath.
“Why?” I whispered. “Why did you do all of this?”
She turned and crossed to the coffee table, setting the cookies down. Her small shoulders slumped, and she kept her back to me when she answered. “I don’t know.”
That wasn’t good enough. “You made me believe in something that wasn’t real.”
She spun around. “Please, listen,” she begged. The tone of her plea no longer worked on me.
“You sexted me, got off with me, and let me believe it was Belinda. How could you?” My body burned with anger as she blankly stared at me. “Do you know how guilty I felt? I've got this girl I'm falling for through our conversations, but there's no spark. But, I tried. And then I've got this other girl who is a goddamn inferno burning through me. I didn't expect that to happen.”
“I didn't either. I was only trying to help her. She wanted to like you.”
Every time she opened her mouth more shit came out. “Was this some game you two play?” I was hurt. Big time.
“Oh my god, no. No, not at all. We wanted you and her to get together at first.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“I was going to tell you everything that night, but things… well, things got out of hand, and then you disappeared.” She pressed her palms to her eyes, then dropped them. “I’m sorry.”
I needed to get the hell out of here. Sort this out in my mind. Giving her a chin nod, I turned to leave. She followed me down the driveway to my bike.
“No. Erik, please don’t go,” she called after me.
“I just need a minute,” I bit out. At my house. With a drink. And a cold shower. Because, as mad as I was, I still wanted her.
Chapter Ten
Three days later and my phone never beeped. Not that I expected it to. But, I still found myself checking it every two minutes. The silence was unnerving. She filled a large part of my days and nights, and it was lonely without her. I missed that rush of getting her messages.
Every message, which was ever sent from ‘Belinda’ to me, was read over and over. Every action and encounter I had with either girl was replayed over in my mind as well.
My phone rang and I didn’t feel like answering. After the person didn’t give up, I checked the caller id. Marley.
I called her back and listened as she tried to console me over the Kayla/Belinda affair. I ended up telling her everything. And I do mean everything. Most times she agreed with me that it was fucked up, but at the end of the conversation she mentioned Steffie’s wedding, and I shook my head.
Escort? Little black book? I could figure something else out. Maybe the saucy real estate agent was still available. Who knew? Maybe I would say “Fuck it all” and not go. Because, making Steffie feel like I had landed something better suddenly didn't mean a damn thing to me.
I didn’t even want to go onto the Cupid crappy site. After shutting my phone off and flipping on the TV, I sunk onto my couch to sulk. I liked sulking. Sulking was good for the soul every now and then. A pity party for one was being had here, and no, there were no other guests invited. Wallowing in self-pity was something one needed to do alone, hence the name.
A knock at the door startled me just as my festivities of watching The Godfather marathon on TV started.
Moving at the pace of a slug, I walked to the door and opened it. Belinda stood, fidgeting, on my doorstep.
“What are you doing here?” Saying that brought back memories of Kayla, and I really didn’t want to deal with Belinda right now. Belinda didn’t care.
“Move aside big boy, we need to talk.” She pushed past me and stepped into my apartment.
“Please come in.” I slammed the door and headed back to the couch.
She followed and sat down next to me on the gray leather sofa. I raised my brows and waited for her to speak.
She narrowed her eyes. Studied me. And then slapped her hands on her thighs. “Ok,” she started, “I need to explain some things.”
“Listen, you’ve already told me everything I need to know.”
“No, I didn’t. So, please, let me speak.”
I flipped the TV off, tossed the remote on the coffee table, and listened to her.
“I’ve had a problem dating for many years. I seem to attract the opposite of what I want, so I kind of gave up. Kayla wanted to help me. She put me on that site for me. Not to jerk guys around. She had a boyfriend when she first messaged you as me. She wasn't trying to hook up with anyone.”
Oh, right, the boyfriend.
“Ok.” My eyes were trained on her. “And?”
“Well, anyways, she had fun messaging you. She didn't plan on continuing conversations with you. Then her and her boyfriend broke up, and she was heartbroken. And you made it better for her. But she still wanted you to like me. She thought you did like me. And I wanted to like you, Erik. I really tried.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“Sorry,” she smiled, “she started liking you. A lot. But she kept fighting it. Then she has these trust issues with her ex. But, Kayla knew when she kissed you that night in the bakery that I didn’t like you. She begged me to go on the double date to give it one last try with you, and I told her during the date it just wasn’t working out.”
“I don’t understand. If she liked me, why didn’t she admit it?”
“Well, you kept messaging me. Well, her. You know what I mean.”
Yeah, what a clusterfuck.
“I guess. I liked talking to you. Well, her.” I liked everything about her. “She should have told me.”
“You need to give her another chance. She fucked up. She did. And she’s been a complete mess not having you to chat with these past few days.”
Yeah, feelings mutual, sister.
“I don’t know. I
don’t. I mean she thinks you and I had phone sex.”
She covered her ears, a smile on her face. “Whoa, too much information. I don’t need to know all the details.”
I laughed. “Sorry.”
“Honestly, I think you two are great for each other.”
“I think she’s great.”
She stood and I followed as she made her way to the door.
“She really is. Please don't judge her too harshly for this.”
“I just can’t understand why she did it.”
“She liked you, and everything got really complicated.” She opened the door and then turned to me, placing her hand on her hip. “And probably for the same reason you did it.” She raised her brows and I cringed. “I'm sure you don't normally mess around with best friends.”
I cringed again. “No. Never. Even though it wasn't you I was really falling for, I'm sorry.”
She smiled. “I know. Or I wouldn't have told her to go for it. I would've told her to dump your ass.” She stepped outside the door. “Sometimes you meet someone that makes you lose all reason, Erik. Be glad you found it.”
I didn’t add anymore, because there wasn’t much left to say to Belinda. I was still hurt, and needed more time before I reached out to Kayla again.
She said her goodbyes, and once again I retreated to my couch and sat in silence. No longer wanting to even watch The Godfather. Something was seriously wrong with me.
***
The next morning, I awoke to the sound of my phone buzzing. Lazily, I grabbed at it and swiped it on.
The Cupid site had one message pending, and I entered the app and saw a message from Kayla. She had changed her profile name. A picture of the back kitchen of the bakery sat on my phone.
The caption read: Our first kiss among other things.
I smiled as I remembered back to that night.
A few minutes later, another photo flashed across my screen. It was of the club the first time we saw each other. The caption read: The first time I saw your ‘dazzling’ eyes.
The remainder of the day no new photos came through.
The following day we were set to head to the Caribbean. The Bartlett’s needed us to drop them off and then return the jet as they set off around the world on a yacht.
While I was there, Kayla had sent a few more photos. One of the back of the club where we made out on the double date.
Each picture was the same. A memory of the two of us. The captions were like a walk down memory lane.
Uneasiness still lingered about how she played me the night of the double date. It was festering. Why couldn’t I drop it?
She was everything I ever wanted. I should have been stoked it was her the whole time. I needed to get out of my own head.
“Dude, what’s wrong with you?” Connor asked on our return trip from the Caribbean.
“Kayla.” As soon as I said her name I realized Connor still held a flame for her. Shit.
“What about her?” Connor appeared eager.
“I need to talk to you.” I told him everything. Leaving no stone unturned. He was shocked. Had I not been flying the jet he may have even punched me.
“I can’t believe you,” he said after I finished.
“It just sort of all happened.”
“So, what are you going to do?” Connor’s question rung in my ears.
What was I going to do? “I don’t know.”
“Are you a fucking moron? Who cares? So, she messaged you as her friend. Big deal. She had good intentions. She’s still hot and she’s sorry. You’re going to pass up somebody who, from the sound of it, seems perfect for you? You’re an idiot.”
I bit back a smile. “Why don’t you tell me how you really feel? Nah, I know man.”
Before take off there was a message that came through on my phone, and somewhere over the Atlantic, I decided to check it. Another picture. This time it was of the Miami International Airport. The caption read: My most favorite place, and now everytime I come here, I think of you.
Another picture was attached. An egg. A plane carved into the shell. The caption read: A little something to remind me of someone who means the world to me. Wherever you are, I’m thinking of you.
Connor grabbed my phone, looked at the message, and then hit my arm. “You’re a fucking idiot. Get over it, and go after her.”
He was right. I had to see her.
“Control Center, Gulfstream thirty-two, level one-five thousand,” I spoke into the headset.
Kayla was at the airport in Miami, I was sure of it.
Waiting on her arrival.
“What are you doing, man?”
“Go ahead, Gulfstream thirty-two. This is Control,” the comptroller said through my headset. I shot a quick glance over to Connor with a smirk. I was going after my girl.
“Permission to change course from Area E to MIA.”
Connor shook his head and laughed as we waited for the comptroller to answer.
“Permission granted.”
With that, I set the new course for landing at Miami International Airport.
Chapter Eleven
KAYLA
I fucked up. Hardcore. I should have told him. So many times, I wanted to. But, instead I created a mess. He had every right in the world to hate me. I hated me.
Sitting in the arrivals area of the Miami International Airport, just outside of security, I watched as families reunited with loved ones. A silent tear trickled down my cheek as I went over my options. Correction: option. My Aunt in Kentucky mentioned me spending time with her for a while.
I loved it here in Florida. And I loved Belinda, but now was possibly time for a change.
I liked him from that very first message,
and now it had all turned to shit. Every message with the pictures attached had been ignored, so I gave up.
It was obvious he wanted nothing to do with me. Why would he? I deserved it.
I sunk into the blue chair across from the big screen with all the incoming flights.
Grabbing my phone, I dialed Belinda’s number.
“Hey.”
“Kayla, what’s wrong?”
“I’m thinking about heading to my aunt’s for a while.”
“What? Right now? Where are you?” Belinda sounded in a panic.
“I’m at the airport. I’m just thinking about everything. I think it might be time for a change,” I said.
“You listen to me. You can’t just up and leave me. What about the bakery? As for Erik, well he has a stick up his ass, and he’ll figure out his shit soon enough. Kayla, he cares about you,” she said, softening her voice on the last sentence.
“I don’t know.”
“Well, I’m not letting you make any crazy decisions right now. Why don’t you come home and we can order pizza and talk crap about men.”
“Yeah, ok. Maybe you’re right.” I sat up in the chair, stretching my legs out.
“I am right, and you love me.” I could tell she was smiling through the phone and it made me smile.
“I do love you,” I said before hanging up.
Glancing up at the throng of people coming through the security area, I watched as their loved ones greeted them.
Then, there he was. His dark hair towered over the crowd. It couldn’t be him. Could it? Unable to get a clear view of the man that looked like Erik, I stood.
He brushed past a few people, and his eyes met mine. It was Erik.
Chills floated down my body as he moved closer. My eyes must have been playing tricks on me.
From one of our conversations, I knew he normally landed the Gulfstream at the Executive Airport about twenty miles away.
He stopped a few feet from me. “Kayla.” His husky voice sounded as if he had just ran through the whole airport.
“Erik, what are you doing here?” I inched closer.
“I had to see you.” He took one step in my direction.
“Ok.” Did he want to yell more?
He sl
id his hands in the pockets of his navy suit pants. “Well, see, there’s this girl I kind of fell for, who likes carving eggs and sitting in airports. She made a mistake, but so did I.” My eyes widened at his unexpected words. “I should have told her how I felt and stopped with trying to hide my true feelings. And this girl, I kind of fell for, I never even got to taste her cookie.” His husky voice dropped lower, “And, you have no idea how bad I want to. I’m so sorry.”
It took a minute for what he was saying to sink in. His thick lashed blue eyes searched mine, waiting for my reply. I smiled. “Well, you’re in luck Mr. Kickass pilot, I happen to have just the cookie for you to sample.”
He smirked, his eyebrow raising. “Oh yeah?”
“Yes. Why don’t we get out of here?”
We stood toe to toe, and he cupped my cheeks with both hands. “Kayla, I really like you.”
I reached out and slid my hands under his suit jacket, stepping closer. “You sure it’s not just my mad skills in the kitchen you’re attracted to?”
“Yeah, I’m sure being with you I may have to start working out.”
“Oh what, with this body you don’t work out?” I ran my hand over his ripped chest hiding beneath his pilot suit. So sexy.
He wrapped me in his strong arms. I glanced up to him, gazing into his baby blues, laughing as he kissed my temple first, then landed his plump lips on mine.
Chapter Twelve
ERIK
We raced out of the airport, in search of her car.
Her long blonde hair flew around her face as the sun caught her eyes in its rays.
“I’ve missed you so much, baby girl.” Her pink tank rode up her sides as she lifted her arms around my neck. I kissed her hard, not wanting to ever stop.
When the kiss broke, she smiled. “I’m so sorry.”
I shook my head. “No more apologies.”
We hopped into her blue Camry, and I directed her to my condo. When she pulled into the parking spot, I jumped out to get her door.
Grabbing her, I wrapped my arms around her waist, kissing her neck, cheeks, then lips. “Why don’t we finish where we started?” I took her hand, leading her to the front door of my place.