“I wish you didn’t either,” she sighed, taking a sip of her coffee. She wanted this to last forever.
“Maybe you could come and visit me?” She heard his hopeful tone. She would love to, but school was going to start in a month and then she would be very limited on time, at least until Christmas. Sure, she was off on weekends, but that didn’t give her much time.
“Maybe. You can come back and visit me as well.” He smiled, but she saw the same look in his eyes that she had in hers. He had a business to run and it would be difficult to take of time off. Matt just put his arm around her as they sat in a comfortable silence and sipped their coffee. They both knew the circumstances last night.
After exchanging numbers, but not promising anything, Megan drove Matt to Carlana’s so he could retrieve his rental car. He reached for her hand, looking intently at her as he said, “Megan, I had a great time. I really like you… a lot. Please consider coming to New York for a visit. Come anytime.” His eyes pleaded with her, and she smiled, silently agreeing. She would love to visit New York again. Her last visit had ended early. He took the back of her head in hand and pulled her to him so he could look into her eyes one last time. Tilting his head down, his lips devoured hers, letting her know how he felt with one last passionate kiss. Megan gave it back to him, letting him know that she felt the same. It ended just as quickly as it started, then he was gone as she stood there watching his taillights until they faded out of view.
Chapter 5
****
That night while sitting at her house, Megan could feel the tendrils of loneliness seeping in. It had been a long time since she had enjoyed a man’s company so much, and she missed Matt. She didn’t really understand how it was even possible that she had only known him for two days. Somehow, he had wormed his way inside her. He had called and let her that he made it home, and they’d talked for a few minutes, but what more could be said? It was an impossible situation, at least for now.
The week passed by at a snail’s pace and the only thing she had to look forward to was Matt’s nightly calls. She could feel herself growing more attached to him. She got excited every time his picture popped up on her phone. She knew he felt the same way, and she was planning a trip to New York very soon, at least in her head. She had learned a long time ago not to make rash decisions when it came to men so she would give it a little more time and see if absence really did make the heart grow fonder.
Friday night she found herself sitting at home…alone…once again. Deciding it was time to go out and have some fun, she called Eric to see if he would like to go with her. She never liked going anywhere by herself because she always felt it reeked of desperation.
“Hello, my friend. What’s up?” Eric answered on the second ring.
“Hey, Eric, you busy tonight?”
“No, my date canceled on me. Said something about a stomach bug. What about you?”
“I was thinking of going out and I hoped you’d go with me.” Eric was always up for anything, so she felt confident he would go, since he didn’t have a date.
“Sounds good to me. We can get something to eat and then go have drinks, maybe watch some live music. What do you think?”
“Great! How about meeting me at the park-and-ride in an hour?”
“Okay, see you then.”
About half an hour later, she had showered, dressed, and was touching up her make-up when she heard her cell ring. She felt like a giddy schoolgirl just from hearing Matt’s ringtone.
“Hey, Matt!” She answered the phone with a huge grin on her face.
“Hi Megan,” he sighed. “I love hearing your voice.” And just like that her insides turned to mush. “Are you sure you can’t come for a visit? There is no way I can get away from work right now.”
“What happened?” she asked, suddenly concerned by the tone of his voice.
“Nothing bad, so don’t worry. We’re just getting more business than we’re able to handle, so I’ve been busy interviewing, and hiring more security guards. They have to be trained before they’ll be able to work so it’s going to take time. The ones I have now are working overtime until I can bring more on board. I wish I could come there, but it’s impossible right now.”
“Okay, when would you like for me to come?” she asked, more than ready to see him again.
“You will?” She could hear the happiness in his voice.
“I miss you, Matt. But with school starting soon, I can come either now, or over Thanksgiving break. I have five days off then.”
“I miss you too. I would love for you to come now, but with the hours I’m working, I’m afraid I wouldn’t get to see you much. I don’t want to wait until Thanksgiving either, but I’ll take it. And if things slow down for me here I’ll come and visit you before then.”
“Great! At least now we have a plan.” Knowing she would see Matt soon made her feel much better.
They talked for a few more minutes and then he needed to get back to work. She was running late, but Eric would wait for her; he was always waiting for her.
She met Eric at the park-and-ride. He grinned and shook his head as he looked down at his watch and then back up at her, raising his eyebrows. She just chuckled as she locked her car and climbed into his truck. Buckling her seatbelt, Megan caught Eric watching her with an amused expression. “What?” she asked. He hadn’t looked at her like that in a long time. She tried to look sincere, but she still broke out in giddy laughter.
“Something you’d like to tell me?” he asked, giving her the look that said spill it.
As he put the truck in drive and headed south on Highway 19, she tried to figure out what she wanted to say. She must have taken too long because Eric startled her by saying, “I already know there’s a man involved, and by the blush on your cheeks, you got lucky. So who is he? What does he look like? I want details!”
She laughed, feeling like she was in high school again. “Yes, it’s because of a man and his name is Matt. He came down for Lana’s wedding, but unfortunately he lives in New York.” She sighed, “He’s gorgeous! Let’s see, he’s about six-feet-tall, and has dark hair with chocolate colored eyes, and of course he’s tan.”
“Wait! You slept with him after just meeting him. That’s not like you Megs, you must really like him.”
“You have no idea how much, Eric.”
They had a great night with dinner and drinks; they talked and laughed a lot. It was so easy to be around Eric. She could talk to him as easily as she could Lana. She found it amusing to watch the women eye him, wondering if they were together. Some would be brave enough to approach them, asking if she was his girlfriend. Sometimes, Eric would pretend that she was, just to make them feel uncomfortable. Other times, he would say no, flirt with them and then accept their phone numbers as they handed him a little note. Megan would just raise her eyebrows and hold in a chuckle. Eric was gay and only dated other men, so the women were wasting their time. Of course, not many people knew that nor would they even suspect.
“Are you okay, Megs?” Eric asked as she sat in the passenger’s seat of his truck with her eyes closed.
“Yeah, just tired,” she mumbled.
“You don’t look like you can drive home. Tell you what, I’ll take you home and then tomorrow I’ll take you to your car.”
“No, I’m fine.”
“I don’t think so.” He passed up the park-and-ride and headed for her house. She would have protested more, but she’s known Eric a long time and knew it wouldn’t do any good.
As he pulled into the drive, he switched the engine off and came around to help her out of the truck. Maybe she did have a little too much to drink. He put his arm around her as they walked up to the front porch. He noticed the flowers sitting on her doorstep before she did. Reaching down to pick them up, he said, “What the hell is this?!” Megan didn’t even bother to look at them. Her head was swimming and she couldn’t hold her eyes open. She assumed it was just another vase of roses sent by her assho
le ex.
Eric found the house key and unlocked the door, helping her inside. She plopped down on the couch as she heard Eric walk through the house. Laying there with her head on the armrest, she was almost asleep when he came back. He bent down, picked her up, and carried her to the bedroom. “Okay sweetheart, you need to go to bed and I’m going to sleep on the couch.” He helped her undress and then tucked her in.
As he started to leave, Megan grabbed his arm and said, “Stay.” He gently smiled at her, then stripped down to his underwear and climbed into bed with her. The warmth of his body eased her loneliness, gave her comfort and she fell fast asleep, dreaming of chocolate-colored eyes.
Waking up the next morning to the smell of coffee and bacon, she climbed out of bed and grabbed some sleep bottoms from the drawer. She had slept in her tee and cotton panties, but she didn’t want to walk around in only that.
Walking through the house, she found Eric standing at the stove with a spatula in his hand. He didn’t hear her walk up, so she took a moment to look him over. Just because he was gay didn’t mean he wasn’t a man… a sexy, muscular man with a body that made most women drool. He had on low-rise jeans and nothing else. There was just something sexy about a man standing in the kitchen cooking, barefoot, and bare chested and wearing only a pair of jeans. His back and arms were very muscular from all the hours he spent at the gym.
As she stood there ogling his body, he turned around and caught her looking. With a smirk on his face, he said, “Do you like what you see?”
Her face turned red, and she defended, “Don’t be an ass! Just because you have a nice body doesn’t mean I’m interested. I was just admiring it.” He laughed as she grabbed a couple of plates from the cupboard.
“Thanks,” he replied with a cheeky grin.
“I thought you were going home last night, what changed your mind?” Megan asked as she grabbed a couple of coffee cups.
“Those flowers happened!” She must have looked confused because he explained further. “Did you see those flowers that were left for you?” She shook her head. “They’re in the living room. I would have gotten rid of them, but I think you should call the police.”
Megan hurried to the living room and found yellow carnations that were almost dead with red splattered stains. If it wasn’t blood, it was made to look like it was. She gasped and then covered her mouth, trying to hold in the scream that climbed its way to the surface. She didn’t see a card or note anywhere, but she didn’t look at it too closely. She was afraid to touch it. Eric came up and wrapped his arms around her, offering silent comfort before leading her back to the kitchen. With her appetite now gone, she accepted a cup of coffee as she took a seat at the breakfast table.
“Megan, do you have any idea who would send those to you?” She could see the worry in his eyes.
“I thought it was James, but now I don’t know.”
“Please, explain that to me.” She looked up and caught his intense stare.
“I don’t know. I’ve been getting flowers for a while now, usually about once a week. I’ve even got chocolates once. But they’ve all been alive, pretty, nothing like these. James has still been calling me, so I thought the flowers were from him.”
“You need to call the police, Megan.”
“And tell them what? Someone left flowers on my doorstep…almost dead…horrifying flowers. They would just laugh at me.”
“Megs, you need to call them,” he pleaded.
“Eric, I keep my door locked. Nobody can get in and as far as I know, nobody’s tried to get in. James is probably trying to scare me, hoping I’ll run to him for help.”
He let out a deep sigh, knowing that he’d lost the argument. “If anything else happens, you call me right away. Promise?” he asked, grabbing her hand and looking her straight in the eyes. She nodded, giving him a silent promise that she would.
****
Sitting at his desk, Matt was trying to get some paperwork finished. He still needed to schedule some interviews, call the ones he was going to hire to tell them that they had the job, and set up training sessions. He had been working 14 hours a day since they took on security for two more companies. He was both mentally and physically exhausted, and in need of some serious stress relief.
He thought about Megan every night before he went to bed. He tried to call her, even if it was only for five minutes. Tonight, she told him she’d come to New York over her Thanksgiving break, and that made his whole week. He just needed to have all this sorted before then, so he could spend most of his time with her.
His ringing cell interrupted his train of thought. Without looking at the screen, he answered, “Hello?”
“Hey man, whatcha up to tonight?”
“Hey, Dave. I’m up to my eyeballs with paperwork. So I guess you can say it’s the same as usual.” He chuckled.
“Okay, put it away. We’re going out tonight. You’ve worked nonstop for the last five days and it’s time for a break.”
“Dave, I have so much work to finish. I don’t think I can make it tonight,” he sighed.
“Listen Matt, I’m not taking no for an answer. You need a break and I’m going to make sure you take it. Be ready and I’ll pick you up in 30.” Dave hung up on him. What the hell?
He put his papers away, and decided he would go just the way he was. It wasn’t like he was out to meet someone, or take anyone home for a one-night stand. He went to the bathroom and splashed a little cold water on his face. After finger combing his hair, he declared himself ready.
Thirty minutes later, Dave arrived as promised and they headed south on the crowded street. “Where are we going?” Matt finally asked.
Dave gave him an incredulous look and said, “Club Jade, where else.”
Matt groaned, not really feeling up to the club scene, but he knew he would be able to relax and let off some steam.
He and Dave had been friends since elementary school. It didn’t start out that way. It started out with them fighting over the same girl at the ripe old age of eight. That faded quickly and they found they had a lot in common.
Dave and Matt always tried to include Colin in their outings, and even though Dave never complained, he never understood why Matt put up with him. Dave thought Colin was an asshole, and he was until he met Carlana. She changed him, and he deserved to be happy. If he hadn’t have met Carlana, then Matt never would have met Megan. Even though they were states apart right now, he was hoping that one day that might change. However, after being with Carly for two years it never occurred to him that she would suddenly leave. So he didn’t count on anything as a sure thing. He could hope though.
They bypassed the long line, entered Club Jade, and headed for the VIP area. They were frequent visitors with Colin, so nobody ever stopped or questioned them. They found their usual table in the corner, and as the busty waitress came over to take their orders, she tried to show off her cleavage.
“They must get paid more to do that,” Dave said with a grin.
“Do what?” Matt asked distractedly as he watched the dance floor but not really seeing anything. He was just sitting there, relaxing as much as he could. It was nice to shut off his mind.
“Wearing her dress with so much cleavage showing and then shoving it in our face.”
About that time, she brought their beer and set it down on the table. Matt took notice that she did shove her tits in Dave’s face. He couldn’t help but chuckle. Unlike him, Dave was always up for a good fuck. Oh, Matt had his share of one-night stands, but it was not his preference. He’d watched Colin have his endless one-night stands with a string of nameless women for years, and Matt had always known that he wanted more.
“How’s work,” Dave asked.
“Busy. How about you?”
“Busy,” he said. Dave was working in construction. Normally he worked on big projects, and stayed exceptionally busy during the summer months. “Heard from Colin?” he asked, taking a swig of beer.
“No, I th
ink they will be away for another week or so.” He just grunted to let Matt know he heard. He and Dave didn’t talk much, they didn’t have to.
A few minutes later, Dave stood and said, “I’m doing to the dance floor, I’ll be back.” Matt just nodded and took another swig of beer as his mind drifted back to Megan.
As soon as Dave vacated his chair, a blonde with big tits took a seat. Matt gave her the once over from the corner of his eye. Not only did she have big tits, but she also had very long legs that appeared to go on forever.
“Hi there handsome, is this seat taken?” she said, trying to sound seductive.
“Not at the moment,” Matt replied, and took another swig of beer.
“Good,” she purred. He glanced her way. She could sit there as long as she wanted, but he didn’t have any plans of entertaining her in any way. His dick even stayed soft, not even acknowledging her presence, or her body. Good.
A song or two later, he lost track; Dave made his way back upstairs. Noticing the knockout beside Matt, he put a little more swagger in his steps. Dave noticed his disinterest, so he pulled up a chair next to hers. Matt got to listen to them chat for about a half hour, not really paying attention, and certainly not contributing. Three beers later, he was ready to head home. Dave was still with…what’s her name…oh yeah, Sandy. He didn’t look like he would be ready to leave anytime soon and by the looks of things, he was hoping to take Sandy with him.
“Hey man, I’m gonna head home. I’ll see ya later.”
“Want me to drive ya?” Dave asked.
“No man, stay here and have fun. I’m gonna catch a cab.” Dave gave him a fist bump before he headed out the door just wanting to be home.
Chapter 6
****
Six Weeks Later
“Ms. Megan, can you help me with this problem. I can’t figure out how to do it.”
“Sure Emily, let me see.” Megan took the paper from her, carefully looking over the work. “You didn’t regroup properly. Watch, and I’ll show you.” Emily watched her teacher do the problem as she explained each move.
Finding Megan (The Kiser Series Book 2) Page 4