by Lucy Eden
“Princess.” I squeezed her thigh just above the knee. “We’re here.” She sighed and stifled a yawn, covering her mouth. I climbed out of the SUV before reaching back for her.
“Thanks, Francis. Get home safe.” Her sleepy voice was a deep, sexy whisper.
“Sure thing, pretty lady.”
I leaned in to thank Francis myself and he caught my eye and raised his eyebrows at me. “That is your lady. You hold on to her,” he said before I shut the door.
The king sized bed in the master suite was a lot more comfortable than the couch, but I was having trouble sleeping. When we entered the apartment the tension in the air was so thick it felt hard to breath. She thanked me for coming with her and I thanked her for inviting me. Unsaid words hung in the air like vines threatening to coil themselves around us and choke us. I wanted to touch her, but I knew if I did, I wouldn’t be able to stop touching her. Then I’d want to kiss her and if I did that…
We exchanged goodnights and went our separate ways. I showered until the hot water ran out and I still felt sick. The knot in my stomach that formed after my conversation with Nate returned and seemed to double in size after spending the day with Kimberly.
I rolled around in the bed, punched my pillow a few times and finally drifted off to sleep dreaming about Kimberly holding a wrinkly potato with arms and legs.
I jerked awake to a crashing noise coming from down the hall.
Protect her.
I remembered seeing a toolbox in the closet in my bathroom and rummaged through it quickly, grabbing the thing that would do the most damage to anyone dumb enough to break into this apartment, and ran towards the kitchen. The light was on but I didn’t see anyone.
“Adam?” Kimberly’s voice called from the floor behind the island.
“Yeah.” I tried to look over the island to get a glimpse of her before she popped up holding shards of a broken mug in one hand and shoving something cloth in her pajama pants pocket with the other.
“What are you doing here?”
“I live here, and I heard a crash, so I came to make sure—” I stopped myself from saying the word you. “Everything was okay. What happened?”
“I’m sorry. I was making a cup of tea and I dropped a mug.” She looked up at me from her handful of mug shards and she brightened, a smile spreading across her face. “Is that a hammer? I think you’re taking this Thor thing a little too far.”
I dropped the hammer onto the island and slid onto one of the barstools, smiling.
“What are you doing up anyway?” I checked my watch. “It’s 3:45.”
“I couldn’t sleep, so I came out here to make myself a cup of tea.”
“Does this happen a lot?”
“Almost every night.”
“Damn.” I resisted the impulse to reach for her hand. “What do you do?”
“Usually crossword puzzles, sometimes books, sometimes movies…”
“And tonight?”
“Definitely crosswords.”
“Well, I’m probably not going back to sleep anytime soon. I could hang out if you wanted.”
“Sure.” She smiled. “I’ll go get my tablet.”
“I’ll grab mine.”
Fifteen minutes later we were sitting on opposite ends of the couch with our backs against the arm rests. Kimberly fired up her tablet and I pulled up my sketch pad. Our knees were pulled up to support our devices. We weren’t touching, but I felt closer to her than I did when we were wrapped around each other on the balcony. We would occasionally catch each other’s eye and smile.
“Hey,” she called, “Is a hockey game called a match?”
“Sometimes, yeah.”
“That’s what I thought, but it doesn’t fit.”
“How many letters?”
“Seven and the last four might spell game.”
I thought for a second. “NHL game?”
She tapped on the screen a couple of times and rolled her eyes.
“Yup. I can’t believe I didn’t get that, and the other answer was PGA. I must be sleepy.” She laughed.
“Give me another one.” I put my tablet down and leaned forward. The next clue she gave me was harder, but we worked on the surrounding clues together and got the answer. Ironically, it was teambuilding.
“This might be easier if we just did it together,” she said. I grinned at her and raised my eyebrow. “The crossword puzzle. You are so silly.”
“I know what you meant. Come here, Princess.” I wrapped my arm around her waist, spun her on the couch and pulled her in-between my legs, her back resting on my chest. I reached for my tablet and she protested.
“I already have the puzzle pulled up.”
“Mine’s bigger.”
She laughed and said, “And I’ll bet you’re very proud of your giant not compensating for anything tablet.”
I shifted uncomfortably. I wanted to tell her that I’d love to give her an opportunity to test her theory, but instead I said, “I am.”
It took about five minutes for us to re-enter the answers Kimberly already had and another forty-five minutes to finish the rest of the puzzle. Admittedly, we did a lot of talking in between clues. Once we got our blue star from the app, I put my tablet aside and wrapped my arms around Kimberly’s waist and hugged. How could something that felt this good be wrong?
She asked me about my day at The Red Cross. I told her everything, beginning after Kyra led me to the supply trucks, casually mentioning that I wasn’t Kyra’s type and that she’d asked if Kimberly was seeing anyone. I purposely left out the conversation I interrupted about Kimberly that nearly ended in a fist fight and talked about arm wrestling little Amber and Seth, then every kid in the center. When I was in the middle of telling her I’d never volunteered before and how good it felt to be a part of something bigger than myself, I heard a soft snore. She’d fallen asleep against my chest with her mouth slightly open.
“Kimberly,” I whispered, knowing that I wouldn’t get a response. I wasn’t disappointed because I didn’t want her to move.
Being careful not to wake her, I reached over and flipped up the lid on one of the ottomans, pulled out a thin blanket and covered us. Reaching into her pocket, I pulled out her scarf, carefully wrapped it around her hair and tied it. It didn’t look exactly like it did last night; granted, there was only moonlight and she was tip-toeing away from me, but I think I did okay.
Her now familiar scent of confectionary floral deliciousness invaded the cozy bubble we’d created and I leaned back, closing my eyes.
When I opened my eyes again, the room was filled with sunlight. Kimberly had flipped herself over at some point and we were pressed chest to chest with her arms wrapped around me. Her scarf was still on her head, and I took it as a sign that I did a good job tying it, though it had shifted a little bit. Her full lips were slightly parted, forming her mouth into an adorable pout. I tried to memorize every long lash that fanned her cheekbones and the feeling of her back rising and falling with each breath.
Her arms tightened around my chest and I looked down to see her eyelids fluttering. She looked up at me.
“Good morning, Princess.” Her eyes widened and she pushed herself up.
“Oh my god,” she said in her sexy, sleepy voice, “I thought I was dreaming.”
A grin that started from my toes swept across my entire body before reaching my face.
“Did we sleep like this all morning?”
“Yup. I guess I’m not as interesting as I thought I was because you passed out in the middle of my heartwarming story.”
“I’m sorry, you’re just so comfortable. You’re like a giant man-shaped pillow.” She stretched against me and grinned. One of her hands reached up, touching her head and she looked at me in alarm and surprise. “Did you tie my hair up?”
“Well, yeah. I mean, I couldn’t get it exactly like you had it the last night, and you passed out cold. I tried to wake you up.”
Whispering her name softly on
ce constituted trying, right?
She didn’t look upset, still surprised but alarm was replaced with suspicion.
“You saw me that night?”
“Well, it’s pretty hard not to wake up when you’re being groped in your sleep.”
She gasped before bursting out laughing. “I was not groping you in your sleep.”
“You fell asleep on me three times, and I was a perfect gentleman. I fall asleep in front of you once and you turn into little Miss Grabby McFeely.” I shook my head. She rolled her eyes and pushed herself off of the sofa. The warm pressure of her body was replaced by a rush of cool air and a feeling of emptiness.
“I’m so sorry. Could you ever find it in your heart to forgive me?” she said, not sounding very remorseful. “And thank you for this.” She pointed to her head.
“Already forgiven, Princess, and you’re welcome. Thank you for turning down the AC.”
Her watch chimed. She started to walk backwards away from the sofa.
“That’s my mom. I’m going to take this in my room. Then I’m going to brush my teeth. I suggest you do the same.”
I laughed.
“Then order us some breakfast. I am starving.”
When she disappeared into her room, I peeled myself off the couch and padded into my bathroom. I examined myself in the mirror. My hair looked like pigeons had been tap dancing in it. I touched the wide wet circle on my t-shirt where Kimberly left her mark and smiled before pulling the shirt off and tossing it in the pile of dirty clothes collecting in the corner.
“I’m going to brush my teeth. I suggest you do the same.”
I laughed to myself as I started brushing. Something made me pause and drop my toothbrush. I looked at my reflection, which now looked like a rabid shirtless lumberjack with bedhead.
Kimberly Simmons was really getting under my skin and I liked it.
ten
Adam
Newly outfitted in a drool-free shirt, I ran my fingers through my hair a few times until it looked halfway decent before heading back into the living room.
The room service menu was still next to the phone and I was deciding what to order when I heard Kimberly’s door open.
“Hey,” I called, my back turned, still hunched over the menu. “I’m trying to figure out what to order. I know you liked the waffles, so I could get those again—”
“Adam.” Something about the way she said my name set off an alarm. I turned around. She looked angry. Judging by the way she’d just said my name, her anger was directed at me.
“Kimberly, what’s wrong? What happened?”
She drew in a deep breath, and I braced myself.
“Did you tell people at the storm shelter that I was your girlfriend?”
Shit. I wasn’t expecting that. In the middle of a heated exchange, I blurted out something without considering the consequences. I didn’t regret it, but I never considered how it would affect Kimberly. I didn’t even tell her I said it.
“Kimberly, I—”
“Donna called my mother this morning to thank her for sending me and my boyfriend to volunteer. I told my mother that you were only a friend and Donna must have misunderstood, but apparently you told all of the people unloading the trucks with you that we were together. Now she thinks I’m lying. What were you thinking?”
“Look, I didn’t mean to do anything to upset you, but I had a good reason for saying what I said.”
“Which was?” She pressed her fists into her hips, striking that familiar sexy pose and I lost focus for a second. “Adam?”
“You don’t want to know.” I was sure of that, at least. The part of the conversation I interrupted made my stomach turn. She threw up her hands before crossing her arms under her breasts, which was even more distracting.
“Then let me guess,” she said. “Some of the guys were making lewd comments about me that you didn’t like, and the only way you could think to resolve the situation was to claim me like some kind of Viking marauder.”
Holy shit.
She was right. She was exactly right. Not only that, I was now picturing Kimberly wearing her hair in that crown braid thing from two nights ago, wrapped in leather and fur before I tossed her over my shoulder, marched to my castle and—
“Hey!” She clapped her hands. “Are you even listening to me?”
“You don’t want to know the shit they were saying about you. I wasn’t just going to sit there and—”
“I’m a twenty-four year old woman. I’ve been hearing that shit since I was twelve years old, and believe me, whatever they were saying, I’ve heard worse.”
Twelve years old? Was she serious?
“And please don’t pretend you were defending my honor or some other macho bullshit. You were jealous.”
That stung, mostly because she was right. I didn’t want anyone else talking about what they wanted to do to Kimberly because she was mine. I mean, she wasn’t mine, but it felt like she was. She was mine to touch. Mine to protect. Mine to take care of.
Kimberly made me feel like a caveman, but in the best way. I wanted to bring her dead antelope to show her that I could always provide for her. I wanted to build her big fires so I could always keep her warm. I wanted to paint her portrait on the wall of our cave so she would always see how beautiful she was to me.
Kimberly also had the ability to read me like an open book and I didn’t like feeling so vulnerable and exposed.
Twelve years old? Really?
“You’re one to talk about jealousy. Do you want to talk about your reaction to Kyra? Are you going tell me you weren’t jealous?”
She opened her mouth to say something then closed it. Her brow furrowed and I could tell she was thinking. I felt a smug sense of satisfaction that I might actually have a chance at winning an argument with this woman. It was a feeling that immediately dissipated when Kimberly spoke.
“Okay, yes,” she admitted. “I was jealous of Kyra, but I handled it like an adult. I kept my composure and didn’t write Property of Kimberly Simmons on your forehead. One—” She held up a finger. “Because it would have been incredibly immature and inappropriate, and two—” Another finger. “It isn’t true. We agreed that us being together was a bad idea. Why would you do that to me? Do you know the position you put me in? What if this got back to our companies? Jesus, Adam! What, were you prepared to fight for my honor, too? Maybe you would arm wrestle for me and I’d have to ride off into the sunset with the winner?”
I chose to ignore her question about fighting for her honor because it was most likely rhetorical and the truth would have probably pissed her off more.
“If being together is such a bad idea then why the fuck can’t we stay away from each other?” I spat.
I hadn’t meant to say it, but like the night before last, I was no longer in control. She stared at me in shock for a second, her anger gone. She turned away from me and used both hands to support her weight on the kitchen counter.
“I don’t know. I’m so confused. But I would have liked the chance to figure it out before having to explain it to my family or whoever else is involved now. You took that away from me and left me to clean up the mess.”
Fuck. I bit my bottom lip in frustration and rolled my eyes. She was right again. What the fuck was wrong with me? What if it did get back to our jobs? Why the hell hadn’t any of this occurred to me before I opened my mouth?
Because you’re a fucking caveman, Adam, but in the worst way.
“Kimberly, I...” There was nothing I could say to fix this. Sorry seemed beyond inadequate. I wanted to offer to make it right. I could call Donna or her mother, but those both seemed like bad ideas.
Her watch chimed and she pulled her phone out of her pocket and answered it. I walked to the balcony door to give her some privacy. I ran my fingers through my hair and was almost overtaken by the urge to start pulling it out. It felt like my heart was being squeezed. I wanted to go to her, wrap my arms around her and tell her everything wo
uld be okay. But how could I do that when I was the one that fucked everything up in the first place?
“Well, that simplifies things,” she said, making me turn to face her. “The Sterling found me a room. It will be ready at three, so…” Her voice trailed off, her unsaid words spoke volumes. Kimberly wasn’t just leaving the apartment, she was leaving me.
“Kimberly, I —” Why the fuck couldn’t I say something other than her name?
“Please don’t.” She put up her hand and turned around before walking to her room. I watched her until the door closed.
I looked down at my hands and realized I was still holding the room service menu. It felt like years had passed since I woke up with Kimberly in my arms. I wasn’t hungry anymore. My skin felt too tight. I couldn’t bear the thought of the apartment without Kimberly in it. I needed to escape. I needed to run.
Four hours, fifteen miles and a giant toe blister later, I found myself sitting barefoot on the beach in a part of Barbados that I didn’t recognize. I occasionally stopped for water and my muscles were still screaming from yesterday but running through the pain felt better than sitting in an empty apartment feeling sorry for myself. This was the reason why I avoided relationships. I had no idea what the fuck I was doing.
There was an outdoor restaurant on the far side of the beach. I walked over, slapped a five on the bar, and asked for the restroom. One glance in the mirror told me I looked as bad as I felt. A few splashes of cold water improved my face, but nothing else. When I returned to the bar, there was a cold bottle of beer waiting for me.
“I didn’t order this.”
“It’s from the lady.” The bartender pointed his chin at a pretty redhead at the other end of the bar. She gave me a megawatt smile that did nothing to lighten my mood and approached me wearing a bikini top and cutoff jeans shorts.
“You looked like you could use a cold one,” she said, still smiling.