Breathless (Less Is More Book 1)
Page 13
The phone clicks in and Andrew picks up.
“Elliot?”
“Yes,” I say. “What is it?”
“It’s the London deal.”
My heart sinks and my blood pressure starts rising. I crack my neck to the side and firmly press my palm into the railing of the balcony.
“What about it?” I ask him.
He coughs and says, “They chose to back out of the partnership. They said that after thinking and surveying on the reading trends within the area, they don’t think it is a smart move to associate themselves with our brand and the content we provide. They said the audience they are trying to reach is not located within the works that we publish.”
I close my eyes and think about my hands around Andrew’s throat: his face slowly turning blue and his eyes growing wide and terrified.
My one chance to stay with the company that I know like the back of my hand, in a different area no less, and the opportunity to get away from him and he ruined it.
“Nothing to do with your phone call with them earlier today then?”
“No,” he says. “They just want to go in a different direction. I just thought you should be one of the first to know because I know how you were the one who they were looking to get over there to help with the start up and everything.”
Is it karma? I barely wanted the opportunity until I realized that he may have jeopardized it and now, that it is no longer in my reach, I’m beyond pissed at the fact that I no longer have the opportunity.
Would they have stayed with us if I had committed sooner? Will they even speak to me now that they don’t need what I have to offer?
My mind starts reeling and my anxiety skyrockets in a short span of a few seconds. I move away from the railing and sit down on the chair behind me. The chill of the cold bar sends a shock through my system, but I pay no attention to it. I sit there lifelessly with the phone to my ear and my mouth open and suddenly, the patio door opens again.
Will puts his hand on my shoulder and I slowly turn my gaze up at him. My eyes are wet and his grin slowly turns into a pained look of sadness that makes me look away.
“Can we talk about this more Monday?” I say.
“Yeah, whatever. Monday.”
The call ends and I instantly rest my elbows on my knees and mash my face into my hands. I run my fingers through my hair and slowly shake my head from side to side.
“He ruined it,” I say. “He ruined it all and now I’m stuck with him.”
“Let’s go back inside,” Will says.
I get up off the chair and go to make my way back inside and Will doesn’t budge. I look up at him and he wraps his arms around me and rubs the back of my neck.
He kisses the top of my head and says, “It’s going to be OK.”
I look up at him and his smile warms me.
Without a second thought, I swallow and say, “I love you.”
His eyes grow wide and his smile grows with them. He grabs my head on both sides and takes my bottom lip in for a kiss and says, “I love you, too.”
Chapter Twelve
Will
M ARCH COMES QUICKLY and I haven’t felt better. After choosing to only teach part time and focusing my other efforts on helping build I Am Me, You Are You, the LGBTQ youth group that I became apart of a month back, the anxiety of not knowing what I wanted to do and what my purpose was has slowly faded away with each day that passes.
It’s Friday night and I make my way home to pack for my weekend with Elliot. We were supposed to have dinner with Hadley tonight, but he moved it to tomorrow because he said he really needed to talk to me about something tonight. He sounded fine on the phone, his voice happier than he has been these past few months, but I still had a sickening feeling that something might be wrong.
Ever since he lost the opportunity to go overseas, he hasn’t been the same. I can tell when he talks about work that he is almost at his breaking point. He looks exhausted as the words about what happened that day come out of his mouth, but he doesn’t let it affect us. Even when I bring it up, he usually changes the subject into something more comforting.
I finish packing and make my way out to the car. The forecast called for heavy snow this whole weekend and as I pull out of the driveway, little flakes start sticking to my windshield, only to melt seconds later.
The drive to Elliot’s isn’t far, but the snow has already started coming down harder than expected. I eventually find a parking spot as I circle around and find someone pulling out and I take a breath before stepping outside and freezing to death.
The ground crunches beneath my feet and the wind is so heavy that I can barely see what is in front of me as I make my way inside his apartment complex.
“Snowing?” Elliot says as he opens the door.
He smiles and looks me up and down. My clothes are practically white and the thought of heat makes me plow through him into his apartment.
I move closer to the vent on the floor and slowly start removing everything wet that’s on me. The heat sends a warmth up my spine and my eyes close as I get lost in the sensation of it.
I feel Elliot place his hands on my chest and I open my eyes. He smiles and slowly moves them from side to side. They graze my nipples that are hard enough to cut glass and I feel my cock tighten beneath my pants.
“I’m making dinner,” he says, moving away, and I frown.
“What are you making?”
“Chicken,” he says, looking inside the oven. “Barbeque chicken, specifically.”
I make my way to his kitchen and look at all the food slowly cooking on the stove. The smell excites me and my stomach growls, as I make my way behind him and wrap my arms around him. I lay my head on his shoulder and take in the smell of his cologne on his neck.
“Did you have a good day?” he asks me.
“Yep,” I say. “Friday’s are always good because I no longer have to do anything and I get to see you.”
I make my way to the cabinet and grab plates and silverware.
“Where’s Sam at tonight?”
“He has a date.”
“Oh,’ I say. “Well that’s exciting, right? It’s been awhile.”
“Yeah,” he says. “I don’t know. He doesn’t have much hope for it, but he said it was best to force himself to go out and look for something again.”
“He told me about his ex,” I say, “months ago when we all had dinner together.”
“He was a dick to Sam. I never liked the guy. I’m surprised he told you that to be honest. He doesn’t open up to a lot of people about stuff like that.”
“I have those tell-me-your-secrets eyes.”
Elliot laughs and takes the chicken out of the oven.
“This shit is dooone,” he says as he grabs two drinks out of the refrigerator.
He makes his way over to me and kisses my forehead. He sets down the drinks and picks up one of the plates. I pick up the other one and follow him in the process of stuffing my plate in excess.
“So,” I say as a piece of chicken slides down my throat, “what is it you need to tell me?”
Elliot raises his eyebrows and wipes his hands on his napkin.
“Well,” he says, “for starters, I quit my job today.”
“Oh,” I say, surprised.
“I didn’t leave on the best of terms, but I couldn’t do it anymore. Andrew had a meeting today with the heads of each department and he said he was going to focus less on fiction, which is what I’m in charge of, and focus more on nonfiction and other things like cook books and self-help books.”
I don’t say anything and instead force more food into my mouth.
“I don’t know what came over me, but I stood up, looked directly at him, and said, ‘Are you fucking serious?’ and his jaw dropped and he just sat there with his mouth open so I just said more things like, ‘This place was built on fiction being the focused genre and you just want to scrap it?’ and, ‘I’m done. I can’t work for a place that puts y
ou in charge. You are the worst, most annoying piece of shit that I have ever met and I honestly hope you rot in hell for all of the time that you have made me waste on you these past few years’.”
“Wow,” I say with a smile. “You’re a badass.”
“And unemployed,” he says. “At least until May.”
I look up at him and he has a huge grin on his face from ear to ear.
I smile and say, “Something else to tell me?”
“I got a call this morning from the London office that was wanting to do the deal with us. They explained their reasoning for everything and basically confirmed that Andrew is a piece of garbage that they want no part of.”
He stops talking and starts eating again.
Almost a minute passes and I say, “And?”
“They still want me,” he says. “They want me to start it from the ground up. They think I have the potential to draw in a huge audience of new and old readers.” He puts down his fork and pushes his plate to the side. “It would be from May basically until September as far as getting the process going and hopefully getting a few new authors names out there. After that they said there are a lot of options they could see us doing as far as over there and over here.”
“So you already said yes then?”
“Yeah,” he says and I can tell that he is waiting for my reaction about the fact that he is moving across the country.
“I think it’s fantastic,” I say, smiling over at him.
“Really?” he says.
“Of course. You need this. You need to feel that drive again and have that reason for waking up every morning.”
“It’s just really huge,” he says. “I’m still not sure I even believe it. Honestly, this morning when I got the call I knew as soon as I hung up the phone that this would be the day that I told Andrew to go fuck himself. I just didn’t think I would be lucky enough to have something to start the conversation, but thankfully he had the meeting.”
“Do they know about any of this?”
“No,” he says. “I’m not going to tell anyone there about it. I don’t want him calling them and trying to badmouth me or something. Not that they would listen anyway, but still, I’d rather not have all this ruined for me.”
“Well why did you cancel dinner with Hadley then? Shouldn’t this be something to celebrate?”
“We can celebrate with her tomorrow,” he says, getting off his chair. “Tonight, I want to celebrate with you until I’m exhausted and can’t celebrate anymore.” He climbs on top of me and gives me the hardest kiss he ever has. He takes my bottom lip between his teeth and I feel my cock stiffen. I feel his cock spring to life under his shorts and I smile as he kisses me more.
“Well,” I say, “let’s go celebrate then.”
***
The ground is covered in snow and our cars are invisible as we make our way down the street to the restaurant. We are both freezing and the thought of food warming my body makes my breathing quicken and my footsteps more extensive.
Elliot telling me he is moving didn’t disappoint me the way that it probably should have. Maybe my happiness for him is overshadowing the sadness I feel in the fact that my days with him are limited. He didn’t ask me to go with him and I wonder if he even will.
“Watch your step,” Elliot says, grabbing my shoulder and bringing me closer to him on the sidewalk.
He coughs and says, “Something on your mind?”
I look over at him and smile and say, “Nope, just hungry.”
His eyes are unsure, but he turns his focus back to the sidewalk and deepens into his coat.
“I haven’t told anybody else about the whole London thing,” he says, stepping around a fire hydrant hidden in the snow.
“Really?” I ask him surprised.
“I know they’ll be happy for me, but at the same time, I don’t want to see the disappointment on their faces. It’s hard enough seeing it on yours.”
I stop in my tracks and he throws his head back with a surprised look on his face.
“I haven’t done anything to let on that I was mad about the fact that you are leaving.”
“I know that’s what you were thinking about back there,” he says.
“Yeah,” I say, slowly stepping towards him, “but I’m happy for you. I’d much rather you be hours away and happy then right beside me and unhappy.”
“I’m not unhappy when I’m around you.”
“I know that. That’s not what I meant.”
We get closer to the restaurant and there are still no cars in site. My hands have frozen in my pockets from the lack of gloves and my teeth are chattering.
“Is she even going to be able to make it?” I ask.
“Yeah,” he says, taking his phone out.
He scrolls down his screen and looks at a new message from Hadley.
“She said she’s walking too, so she has a few more blocks than we do.”
“What do you think she’ll say about it?”
“Whatever I think is best is what I should do.”
“Good advice,” I say, smiling.
I watch the smoke cloud of my breath wash back across my face as I lean my head back and exhale. There’s a hint of tension between us now that wasn’t there an hour ago, and all I can think about now is what’s going to happen once May gets here.
***
“I absolutely hate this fucking weather,” Hadley says as she sits down across the table from Elliot and I. “I’ve never liked snow and I never will.”
“This is a bad year for it,” Elliot says as he sets down his menu and takes a drink.
“How is William today?” Hadley asks, picking her menu up.
“Absolutely hating this fucking weather as well.”
She smiles over her menu and Elliot lets out a small cough.
“So, there’s something specific that I wanted to tell you tonight,” he says.
She looks from Elliot to me and back to Elliot. She sets her menu down and her eyes focus on him.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he says quickly, “it’s really good, actually. I quit my job.”
“That’s good because…”
“I got a completely new job offer in London.”
Hadley’s eyes widen and she opens her mouth as if to say something, but doesn’t. After a few seconds she says, “That’s awesome, Elliot.” She looks over at me real quick and my eyes dart down to my menu immediately.
“I leave in May.”
“For how long?”
“At least the summer,” he says. “Just depends on how things progress.”
“I’ve always wanted to go to London,” she says. “Now I have a reason to visit. British guys are sexy as hell.” She takes a drink and laughs. “Big cocks, too.”
“Having a dry spell, Hads?”
“No,” she says. “Well, yeah. Obviously work has become me so I haven’t been properly plowed in awhile. Seeing you two love birds all the time makes me think I should get something, too.”
“All my straight friends are married,” I say.
“Happily?” she says. I laugh and she says, “Kidding, kidding.”
“Speaking of love,” Elliot says, “is Ethan still looking for that special someone.”
“Yes, surprisingly. He’s been seeing some guy for like a month now. He didn’t tell me about it; I walked in on him making out with the guy on his couch and yeah.”
“What’s his name?” he asks.
“Conner,” she says. “I think? Conner or Colten or Conrad or something.”
“I’ll have to bring it up to him,” he says.
“He hasn’t mentioned how big his dick is to me yet, so I think this might be a special one.”
“Has he always been the promiscuous type?” I ask.
“No,” Hadley says. “He just hasn’t had luck with dating and after his last relationship, he basically said fuck it and started having fun. At least, he thinks of it as having fun.”
An hour passes and we finish our food. I lean back and rub my stomach with both hands under my shirt.
“I feel awful,” Hadley says, closing her eyes.
“We ate too much,” Elliot says.
Hadley gets out of her chair and stretches. She turns towards us and says, “I’ll be right back. Probably.”
“I wonder if it snowed anymore,” Elliot says.
“God, I hope not. I already can’t see anything out there.”
“Thanks for having dinner with me tonight.”
Elliot looks over to me and his eyes are moist. He closes them and a tear runs down his cheek.
“What’s wrong?” I ask him as I wipe the tear away with my thumb. He closes his eyes and sniffs.
“I’m trying to be happy about leaving, but the thought of leaving you won’t stop pounding it’s way through my mind and it’s been bugging me all day and last night and—“
“Hey,” I say, bringing his head to my shoulder. I kiss the top of his head and lean my head on his hair. “Stop worrying about us. You leaving for the summer doesn’t mean we can’t be together or that I love you any less.”
He leans his head up and looks into my eyes and I say, “I think you’ve had a little too much to drink.”
He laughs and says, “I know, I’m sorry. This is why I don’t drink my weight when I go out. You never know which version of me you’re going to get.”
“Tonight is special, so you drink as much as you want. I’m not carrying you out of here, though, so maybe you should stick to water from here on out.”
“I think I feel worse,” Hadley says. She sits back down and pulls her wallet out of her purse.
“Excuse me,” a guy says as he stops beside Hadley, “but I saw you over at the bar and saw you walk back to your seat and I just had to introduce myself.”
The guy looks a little over six foot and is wearing a light blue button up with dark jeans. His hair is marine-cut and his smile makes Hadley blush as she tries to find the words to say back to him.