Stay With Me

by E. R. Wade

  “I wanted to let my grandkids take a look at them and take any they want . . .” She looks at me shrewdly. “You’ve always been a good kid, and I know you’ll take care of him. I can’t say the same for that girl of yours.” She adds with a warning look, “Try not to let her kill him.”

  “I promise, Mrs. Daniels. You’re the best,” I grin, leaning down and kissing her cheek. “I’ll come and see you next week. I’ll be happy to help you with anything you need around the house.” I’ve always liked Mrs. Daniels. She’s the next best thing to a grandmother to me and my sister, Liz. She’s been my parents’ neighbor for as long as I can remember. I can’t count how many times she baked cookies for me when I was a kid and let me play in her house and garden.

  She beams up at me. “Thank you, dear. Do you know which puppy you want?”

  “Yeah, we do. Addison and Sean are playing with him,” I say hoping that she doesn’t deduce that her puppy was about to be kidnapped. How did Sean and Addie get their hands on the puppy anyway? I should ask but I’m not sure I want to know.

  She shakes her head slightly at me. I should have known better. She has always been an astute woman. “Go meet your friends. I’ll see you next week.”

  “Thank you Mrs. Daniels. Have a good week. If you need anything before then, please call me.”

  She smiles at me and closes the door. She never calls. I know it’s because she never wants to impose, and no matter how many times I assure her that I’ll be happy to come whenever she calls, she never does. So I come every week to see her when I visit my parents, and my parents also keep an eye on her. She has a daughter and three grandkids who live a few hours away, and Mr. Daniels, her husband, passed away over a decade ago.

  I make my way back to Sean and Addie, and our new four-legged friend. Addie looks up at me expectantly. “We have a dog,” I smile at her.

  She squeals and jumps up at me, and kisses me like I’m the oxygen she needs to survive.

  “I love you so much. There will never be a better man than you,” she says in between kisses.

  I laugh. “You’re welcome.” I hear the puppy whining and I see he’s getting crushed between me and Addie so I set Addie aside. “We’re making the puppy uncomfortable.”

  “Oops . . . Sorry,” she says, quickly straightening and pulling the puppy out of her bag no longer concerned about getting caught by Mrs. Daniels. She’s cradling him like a baby which amuses me greatly.

  “He needs a name,” I tell her, stifling a laugh.

  “I think we should call him Zeus. What do you think?” She looks up from cooing at the puppy.

  “I like it.” I smile down at her, happy that she had already thought of a name. This might actually turn out better than I expect.

  “Come on lovebirds, let’s get going. I’m starving and I can’t wait to meet Savannah.” Savannah is one of Addie’s friends and Addie is setting her up with Sean. I know her fairly well. She’s a lovely girl and quite pretty. Sean has been insistent that he’s ready to get serious and stop playing the field, and true to his word he hasn’t been running after any pretty face in the past couple of months. I won’t have believed it if I hadn’t witnessed it myself. Over the last three years prior to that, he was a total man-whore and a self-proclaimed bachelor for life, but it seems he has suddenly changed his mind.

  Sean is good-looking and he knows it. He is just over six feet tall with broad shoulders, black hair and unique blue-gray eyes. He doesn’t have to try hard to get laid. Women are drawn to his good looks and easy charm. He has a not-too-obvious chip on his shoulder gotten from his childhood. His parents are poor, and his father bailed on him and his mom when he was five years old. His mom decided it was better to have a string of lovers who could give her a few dollars every once in a while instead of looking for a job. Sean hasn’t gotten over it. The fact that his mom only calls him when she wants him to send her money doesn’t help. He has since graduated from UCLA with a degree in economics and a Master’s in financial engineering, and doing very well working for a financial services firm.

  We met in elementary school and became fast friends. As a result of having a negligent mother and absentee father, he spent a lot of his time in my house. By the time we started high school, he was living with my family. We decided to go to the same college, choosing to leave San Francisco and go to Los Angeles. My parents took care of all his expenses including college tuition. He is much more than my best friend, he’s my brother.

  “Come on. baby. Let’s go.” I snag Addie’s hand and we make our way to my Mercedes Benz E-Class parked out front.

  Two weeks, thousands of dollars in dog care and lots of shrieks later, Addie wants to put Zeus in a shelter or give him away. The novelty of owning a dog has worn off especially after Zeus destroyed some of her ridiculously expensive shoes and relieved himself on our bed among other places.

  Sean decides to step in and offers to take Zeus. I refuse because I feel like we’re abandoning him and I had promised Mrs. Daniels that I’d take care of him. I’m not ready to break my word. So Zeus stays but Addie is accusing me of choosing the dog over her.

  This goes on for another week. It turns out to be a miserable week for all of us including Zeus. Finally, at the end of the week, he goes to live with Sean.

  ELEVEN

  Sofia

  It’s Saturday evening, and I haven’t seen or heard from Julian in days. He was in the office the first three days of the week but since then he’s been a no-show. I didn’t get a text from him today like I hoped. By six o’clock, I’m mad at myself. I give myself a good talking-to about waiting around for him, and I call Skylar and invite her out.

  Dressed in an ego-boosting silver mini dress with thin straps, and revealing an impressive amount of cleavage, I knock on the door to Skylar’s condo. The door swings open a second later. Skylar’s eyes scan my body appreciatively.

  “You look like sex in heels. I don’t know what’s come over you tonight but I’m definitely game,” she says as she opens the door wider for me to come in. “Get comfortable. You know where everything is. I’m almost ready.”

  Skylar and I hit a popular bar in Nob Hill for cocktails and burlesque. The atmosphere is amazing. We chat about her work and her plans to head to New York for a week on a work assignment, and my invitation to my brother, Wesley, to come over for a visit. Wes hasn’t been back to San Francisco since we buried our parents. Their death hit us both hard, not necessarily because we were extremely close to them but because we had taken it for granted that they’d still be around for many years. They weren’t affectionate with each other or with us but they were good parents. I never had to worry about food or other basic necessities, and they let me choose my own path. Wes and I have always been close and it bothers me that I haven’t seen him in almost a year. I know he’s busy in Boston but I miss him. I wish I had made the time to visit him before my move here.

  I wonder what he’d think of Julian. Not that there’s any chance of them ever meeting. This thing between Julian and I is bound to end sooner rather than later. My mind goes to the last Saturday when he came over to my place. The sex was fantastic and I couldn’t get enough of him, but more than that I enjoyed his company. I like that he was willing to talk about our arrangement, and he couldn’t take his eyes off me – at least until we got to the bedroom and started having sex. And he brought bottles of wine. I’m not going to read any meaning into any of it. It would be foolish of me to do so. And besides, the fact that I barely see him during the week, and he acts like a complete stranger when I do, tells me everything I need to know. He definitely meant it when he said this was just about sex. Maybe I should have called or texted him, instead of waiting for him to text me – it’s just for sex, right?

  “What's with you tonight?” Skylar’s question breaks into my thoughts.

  “What do you mean?” I ask, dragging my mind back to the present.

  “You’ve barely heard a word I’ve said. Surely I’m not that boring?”r />
  “No, of course you’re not. You’re the most interesting person I know. I’m just a little distracted . . . I’m sorry. What were you saying?” I smile disarmingly.

  “First, tell me what’s wrong.”

  “Nothing’s wrong,” I say quickly. “Like I said, I was distracted but I’m a hundred percent here now.”

  “Sofia, what’s going on? I usually have to badger you for weeks before you agree to a night out. Then out of the blue, you turn up dressed to the nines seemingly ready to have a good time but you’re a million miles away.”

  I debate whether I should tell her about Julian. Telling Skylar would mean I would be violating one of his conditions. But I’m in unfamiliar territory here, and I have no idea how to handle this thing between Julian and I, and it’s driving me nuts.

  “Whatever I tell you stays between us, right?”

  “Of course. You know you don’t need to ask me that.”

  She’s right. Skylar is trustworthy and reliable. Okay, here goes. Taking a deep breath, I say, “Julian and I . . . He and I hooked up.”

  A smile slowly lights up her face. She looks really pleased. “Well, well, well. I can’t say I'm surprised considering the thick sexual tension between you two.” Skylar is now grinning widely at me. “You’re having an affair with your boss. Wow. Sof, I’m impressed.”

  Why does she feel the need to state the obvious? “Don’t be. I’m not.”

  “You should be. He’s a great guy, and it doesn’t hurt that he’s hot. It’s obvious he’s into you.”

  “Skylar, you only met him once,” I point out.

  “And that one time was enough. He couldn’t take his eyes off you all night. I’m pretty certain he wanted everyone else in the bar to disappear. If you weren’t so busy pretending to yourself and everyone that you weren’t interested in him, you would have noticed it.” I ignore her last statement.

  “Well, if he’s interested he has a funny way of showing it,” I mutter.

  “What do you mean?”

  Sighing, I confess, “I haven’t heard from him in days.” Oh damn. That sounded suspiciously like a whine.

  “How many days?”

  “About a week.” God, please I don’t want to turn to one of those people that become obsessed after one date or after having sex with a guy – twice, in my case. I don’t want to become clingy.

  “But you’ve seen him in the office?”

  “Not since Wednesday.”

  “And you’re unhappy about it?” she asks carefully. How much more obvious does she want me to be?

  “Yes,” I say glumly. “I hate that I feel that way because we agreed to keep things casual but I can’t stop thinking about him.”

  “He doesn’t seem the casual type. He seems so . . . intense. And despite my best efforts, you don’t do casual,” she points out. “Anyway, I don’t see what the problem is. You’re thinking about him because you like him. Have you tried calling him?”

  Is she kidding me? “The problem is that since we got together, I’ve been hooked.” I’m starting to sound frustrated.

  “He’s that good?” she teases.

  “Skylar,” I moan, covering my face with my hands. I want to tell her that he’s not just good but amazing in bed.

  “Relax. I don’t need you to verbally confirm it, it’s written all over you.” I keep my eyes closed and my hands on my face. I’m not ready to look at her yet until my cheeks stop feeling hot. “Sweetie, you have nothing to worry about. The last time you saw him was Wednesday, and today is Saturday. Why don’t you just call him or send a text?”

  That’s definitely not going to happen. I can’t tell Skylar that even though I saw him on Wednesday, he barely spoke more than thirteen words to me. Yes, I counted. And no, I don’t think it’s pathetic. Okay, maybe a little. I don’t want to admit to her that he practically ignores me in the office. Yesterday, I caved and asked Erin if Julian always spends a lot of time outside the office, and she told me it’s a recent occurrence and he doesn’t usually stay away this much. She also revealed she found it a bit odd. So I concluded that he’s avoiding the office, and I can’t shake the feeling that it may be because of me.

  I spend the rest of the night trying not to think about him, and focus on Skylar. When she suggests going to a club, I agree. I drink more than usual and dance with perfect strangers, and at the end of the night, I fall asleep in her spare bedroom. The last thing on my mind as I gradually drift off to sleep is Julian’s handsome face and light blue eyes.

  ***

  The installation of the marble floor in the lobby of an office we are currently renovating is going smoothly. I’m on the site to check the progress of the work. My mind once again drifts to Julian. I’m seriously struggling to give my full attention to the work going on around me.

  Everything reminds me of him. I’m standing here looking at the marble floor being laid and in some weird way, it reminds me of his impressively sculpted chest. His smooth, hard chest. It’s obvious he works out. I wouldn’t mind watching him work up a sweat.

  I can’t get the man out of my mind. Two amazing, bone-melting rounds of sex and I’m already hooked? Yes, it’s the best sex ever. Yes, I have never come so fast in my life. And I want a lot more of that. Honestly, I could have gone all night, even days. I didn’t want to stop. I didn’t want him to leave. He is so damned addictive. It’s difficult for me to wrap my head around the reality that the man that has got me tied up in knots is my boss. Damn. This is so complicated.

  I know he said he only wants sex, and I agreed with it but there is no point in lying to myself. I want more than that. Maybe it’s because I’ve never had casual sex so I don’t know how to handle it with him . . . I doubt it though.

  Oh man! It’s the middle of the afternoon and I’m standing in a project site, and making myself wet thinking of my boss. That’s pretty sad. Trying to push away the thoughts of me licking and stroking Julian’s chest, I focus on the task at hand. After a few minutes, I give up. This isn’t working. It may be better to go back to the office and focus on paperwork. Surely there’s no way that working through a ton of paperwork would remind me of him. I mean, it is paper and ink, right?

  Feeling a bit more determined, I tell Jim Ludgrin, the supervisor, that I’ll be back bright and early the next morning. His response is to grunt some unintelligible sound at me. Jim is a muscular, above average height, balding man in his late forties who rarely ever smiles and is economical with his words. He is extremely competent and from what I hear he’s been working on project sites for Scott Design since Julian started the firm. It took me a few days after our first meeting to figure him out. Jim is nothing but a kind-hearted man with a heart of gold. I smile sweetly at him and walk towards the exit, taking a left turn. I run into a wall of hard muscle.

  Gripping the stranger’s arm to steady myself, I look up with a ready apology on my lips and my eyes collide with Julian’s dazzling light blue eyes. The words never make it out of my mouth.

  My body reacts immediately to him. It’s like all my nerve endings are being electrified and tingles of awareness are racing through my entire body. The feelings Julian elicits in me are extraordinary and overpowering.

  “Ms. Landon. Where’s the fire?” he murmurs. Breathe, Sofia. Breathe.

  A figure comes into my peripheral vision. Tom Snow is standing right next to us, watching me ogle the boss. I quickly straighten and step back from Julian, and try to hide the tell-tale signs of embarrassment evident on my cheeks. Clearing my throat while avoiding making eye contact with the two men, I mumble a hasty apology and silently will my loud rapidly beating heart to slow down. I’m pretty sure that my cheeks are still a bright shade of red.

  “Sofia, I didn’t know you’d be here. How’s it going?” Tom asks. I haven’t spent a lot of time with Tom but from my limited interactions with him and what Alana says, I can see that he’s a kind and affable man. He’s easy to talk to, and always has a smile on his face. From what I know, he
’s thirty-five years old which makes him the oldest person in the firm – three years older than Nadya and five years older than Julian.

  “Good,” I answer politely and I hope, professionally. I’m looking at Tom as I speak and avoiding Julian’s gaze but I can feel his eyes on me. “I got here a couple of hours ago. I was just leaving.” I remember Julian’s question, so I add, “Back to the office.”

  Tom looks around the lobby. “It looks like it’s moving along nicely. We’re still on schedule.” He turns back to me, and I nod my agreement. Glancing at Julian, he says, “The –”

  His cell phone rings interrupting him. He pulls it out of his pocket, looks at the screen and then glances at Julian. “I have to take this. It’s Lynch.”

  I have no idea who Lynch is but I assume he has something to do with work and Julian knows the person at the other end of the line. Tom moves away and I am left alone with Julian. It would be rude of me to keep avoiding eye contact with him. I don’t have a choice but to turn to him.

  His eyes are a brilliant light blue and they are trained on me. Seriously, no one should look this good. The way he’s looking at me is making me wish we had the building all to ourselves.

  “I hear you’ve been working hard.”

  Who told him? Nadya? Alana? “That’s what you pay me so generously to do. Besides, I like having my own office and I’d hate to lose it,” I say, smiling tentatively at him.

  He doesn’t smile back. “You could never lose it.” What does that mean? Do not read anything into his comments, I tell myself. He’s probably just being nice. “How have you been?”

  “I’ve been good, thanks.” I would have been better if I had seen you last Saturday. “You?”

  “It’s been a busy last few days.”

  I’m not usually impulsive but I’ve also never felt this desperate need for anyone. So without thinking about it, I decide to do something completely out of character. I’m going to ask him to come over tonight. He did say the last time that I should let him know when I wanted him to come over, right?