Lady Luck
By
Avery Claire
Copyright © 2014 Avery Claire
All rights reserved.
This book contains material protected under the International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including, photocopying, recording, or by an information and retrieval system without express written permission from the Author/ Publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Dedication
This book is deidicated to all the women who have touched my life.
My mother, sister, aunts and my cousins. All of you have added a specail warmth and love to my life. I wouldn’t be here without you.
Prologue
Jeremiah
“This is your captain Preston Alexander, we will be landing in Austin International in just under ten minutes, the weather is humid, with a temperature of 98 degrees, estimated time on arrival, 6:35pm. Central time, please return your seats to upright position, while we continue our decent.”
Finally, I’m almost home, I can’t wait to see Cam, we’ve been hit or miss with our schedules, she’s been traveling so much for work. Its funny they moved her from New York to Austin, and still she’s in New York more than she’s been home.
Her job has been a little more demanding of her. She’s taken over a new role in the Austin headquarters, and it requires her to travel. I’m proud of all she’s accomplished. Just a year and a half ago, she was a lower level intern and in about a year’s time she’s worked her way into the industry. I just wished there could be more time for us to graduate to the next level in our relationship. I have a feeling that may all change soon.
When we moved to Texas, she told me she wanted to live in an old farmhouse. I researched and found a house within my budget, sort of. I had to cash in some of my savings and most of my trust fund, but its all worth it for her.
The house, well lets call it a structure, needs a more than just a little TLC, its needs new everything, including a new floor plan.
We still need to decide on the room demo we briefly touched on. I can’t begin tearing out stuff, if she doesn’t agree. I bought some software for us to use to design and visualize how it will look. I hope she’s at least interested in that. It’s been hard to get her attention lately, but I’m hoping with what I have planned for us this next weekend will bring her attention around. I picked up something in New York, and I can’t wait for her see it.
The drive home flies, maybe because I’m the one flying down the highway, racing to get tomy girl. I can’t wait to hold her in my arms, again.
This weekend was torture in the worse form, being around the wedding guests and my family, and seeing the love in everyone’s eyes, it made me miss her even more.
That’s why I took a risk and went out and bought her something extremely special to prove to her what she means to me.
When I pull up to our shack, I don’t see her vehicle in the driveway. That’s funny, where could she be? As soon as I’m out of the car, Charlie comes barreling towards me, extremely excited, shaking his whole body, his long tail whapping at my legs.
“Hey buddy, I missed you too. Let’s go find Mommy.”
He follows me up the front porch stairs and sits patiently at the door. Damn, I love that he was so easy to train. He learned fast, and loves to please his master. I rarely have to get onto him for misbehavior, the only time he gives me grief is when people drop by. He loves to tackle new people in slobbery dog kisses.
Opening the door, to complete darkness and silence. I know instantly she’s not home. Just as I’m pulling my cell phone from my pocket to call her, I see it. A note left for me on the kitchen counter. Picking it up, my heart sinks because she’s never left me notes before. EVER! Scanning the beautifully hand scripted words, I read what has determined my fate.
Jeremiah,
I’m sorry to have to do this, especially through a letter and not to your face. It was easier for me to leave after you were gone.
I feel like we’ve grown apart, I no longer want a suburban life, I thought that living in the country would be cool, but I realized my heart lies in the city. I also came to terms with my feelings for you. I realized that we are so very different, and that we’ve grown apart.
I can’t give you the life I thought I could. I will always have a special place in my heart for you, but for now I need to open my heart for others to love it and break it.
If you ever need a friend to talk you off the ledge don’t be a stranger, but that’s all I can be for you from now on, a friend. I’m leaving you the house and Charlie, please take care of them, I’d love to come back some day and see what all you’ve done here.
I’m sorry
Camryn
The walls of my life came crashing down on me, all I thought I ever knew was wrong. My reason for moving to live across the country, to leave the only life I’ve ever known, was all for her and now I’m alone and left to pick up the pieces.
At this very second, the only thing I’d love to do is punch the wall or destroy something. I’m deeply hurt and sad, but most of all I’m angry. She didn’t have it in her to face up to me, to tell me to my face that things were over. What a fucking pussy move?
She’s not the strong, confident, out spoken, I-don’t-give-a fuck-type-of -girl, I thought she was. She couldn’t even tell me when we fucked like crazy before I left a week ago, that things were over. She had to of known then, that she couldn’t be what I needed. How could she do this to me? How?
After nearly twenty years of friendship, and ten years exclusively dating, how could she just decide that I’m no longer the love of her life?
I pick up a beer from the fridge, I need something to help numb this pain that’s seeping into my bones like an ice storm. Nothing at this point matters to me.
CHAPTER 1
Three Months Later (June)
Drunken Nights: Day 45
I’ve never experienced this type of pain, the kind where all solutions begin and end in a bottle of some form. In this case it’s a Mason jar and plastic red canister. What would it take for me to feel free again?
One light of this match and my whole prison would engulf in flames. Some would call this a home. Although it’s never really felt like one more like a roof and four walls barely held up my one hundred year old wood and nails. I often wonder how it could weather a large storm, because its structure is dooming, the moment I stepped foot through the front door, its plagued me.
I thought that moving here, to this farm house that she just had to have would solve all the problems I tried to push aside. What I learned its that shoving them under a rug solves nothing, if only it would sweeten the deal here, but there’s no escaping reality. I take another gulp of Jax’s homemade moonshine, contemplating my next move.
I could take it all back with this match, watch it all float away into dust and silver smoke. I could start anew, without this heavy burden bringing me down at every turn.
Charlie comes racing down the hallway, just as a storm breaks out. So much for starting a deadly fire tonight. I couldn’t do that to Charlie, not only would I be homeless, but he would be homeless too.
“Sorry Chars, I know how you hate storms. Come ‘ere.” I bend my knees and hold out my arms, as he comes closer. I rub his back, and scratch near his tail, he’s still shivering and sh
aking in my arms. I notice my own heart is beating profusely too. I just realized what a huge mistake that could’ve been.
“Its okay Chars, I’m here, you’re okay.” So much for a drunken night, interrupted by the responsibilities of being a dog owner. My melancholy buzz carries me on, soothing my pooch to sleep in my arms.
Drunken Nights: Day 49
The pain has lessened its noose around my mind while I've successfully cleared out my entire supply of Jax's moonshine. Last week he stopped by to hang out, and brought me three large mason jars to replenish my stock and I've demolished every last drop.
My brain is taking forever to react to my movements. It’s a weightless feeling, like I could fly if I ran fast enough. I imagine the feeling of the wind whipping past me, I wish I could feel this free all the time. I'd never have a day that I wished I were gone from this place. I want to float like a feather, be carefree and let life choose my destination, let gravity guide me to a more humbling place.
It’s hard to escape all the memories, they float around in my head, and I wish there was someway to relive them at times, but now I wish they were gone. All of my most memorable times have her mixed in between them, and it all feels so tainted because of her. My existence is tarnished, what else do I have to live for.
For as long as I could remember, Camryn and I were a pair. We always knew we'd end up together. Actually there was never a question that we'd end up together. From our first day of kindergarten we bonded so deep. It wasn’t a surprise that our parents quickly became close too, after noticing how much they saw us interacting. I can’t remember one special memory without her next to me.
How will I keep living on without her?
I ask myself that everyday. The only way I've been able to get through, or at least to forget for a short while is by consuming mass amounts of liquor. Today it was the lucky moonshine.
Stripping from my jeans, boxers and t-shirt, I race down the hallway, trying to get this freeing sensation to take flight.
It’s no use, I need wide open spaces if I'm going to get any air to float me away. There are just too many obstacles to get in the way.
I step outside and take in the fresh air, it’s refreshing to have the scent of warm summer air soothe your aches and pains away.
Lucky for me, I have moonshine running in my blood or else I'd care about the heat and humidity.
Taking off from the porch, I gallop through the air, towards the fields. I'd always imagined what it would feel like to run naked in the wind. It’s liberating and freeing. There’s nothing to hold me back.
I run as far as the tall grass grows. When I come to the fence line, marking mine and Jeremiah’s property lines. I stop to decipher what to do now. I know I shouldn’t continue in this direction, my poor white boy drunken ass isn’t something I’d rather like to explain, then again I don’t give a rats ass who sees me.
My mind is searching for the next idea but it’s taking a few seconds, or more like ten, to figure out my next move. I see the light from Jax and Jessa's house on. So I decide to lurk out near the cornfields. I start my flight again, taking off in one direction and turning around to run in the other.
Since it was such a last minute decision to come out here, I forgot the one thing that would make this outgoing epic.
Music.
Which is the second way to soothe my soul.
I try to hum out a few of the songs I can remember, but the words to the lyrics are getting jumbled in my brain.
"Cause I'm as free as a bird now, and this bird you can not change.... cannot change, bird is free now…damn I forgot the rest of it." I keep going, repeating the lines over an over again. I only hope to change into a real bird and fly away from all the troubles I cannot escape. I’d chose a sparrow or a black crow to show my inner darkness needs its own wings to fly.
As I'm sailing through the cornrows, I trip over my own two feet and land face down in the fresh mud from yesterday’s storm. It gives an all-new meaning to going mudding. Of course I’m doing with class in my birthday suit.
It doesn’t hit me at first, but I realize I may have twisted my ankle in this stunt. The weightlessness has caught up with me, seeing as how I cannot pick myself up off the ground. Gravity sucks when you’re drunk, the laws of physics should not matter when you’re shitfaced.
Which reminds me of a John Mayer song.
“Gravity is working against me, And gravity wants to bring me down”
I laugh, just thinking how fitting that I’m lying in the mud, because of my own stupidity and of all things, gravity.
Lyrics keep chiming in my head, so I continue blaring them from my lungs. This drunken love song performance should not fall on deaf ears, only my own. "Just keep me where the light is...." Just as utter those words aloud, I see a light that’s headed in my direction. That’s funny, I thought when you died you were the one-stepping into the light, but this is so fucking confusing, it’s headed towards me, getting closer and closer to me.
Damn, God must be drunk too. It makes me crack a smile, even though I’m not in the best of all moods right now. Especially since someone is about to bear witness to my ill-soughed schemes, my only wish is it wasn’t God. What a way to explain to the big man, why I’m buck ass naked in the fields at night. I just wanted to feel free again. But I feel like the world is crashing down on me, holding me frozen in one place. I hate this prison I’m living in.
I just wanted this feeling to carry me through. Now I’ve got to answer to the man upstairs. Here comes my redemption, uh yeah right.
"What the hell?" Oh shit, its not God, someone has found me. But I can’t make out whom. All I see is a small dark figure with an incredibly sweet voice. I groan and smile.
"Jeremiah?" She asks me. My face falls. Oh no, she knows who I am, and she is at the better advantage. I don’t have a clue who she is. Her voice though, its like the angel of God I thought was coming to take me from this place.
"Yeah that’s me, who are-?" She immediately interrupts me.
"What's wrong with you?" I glare up at her, only to soften my features when I see the look on her face. Sincerity.
"I wanted to fly, but I couldn’t get enough wind." Boy, don’t I sound like a pussy. I realize to sober ears I must sound like a five year old that dropped their Popsicle.
"Why are you naked and drunk?" Oh shit, I forgot I was naked.
Fuck.
Luckily I’m lying with my ass up in the air, so she doesn’t get to meet JJ for the first time.
"Why not?" My words stutter, to my avail.
"I'm calling in reinforcements., I really don’t know what to do with you." she pulls out her phone and dials a number, tapping her booted foot in an agitated way. I take in her every move, which is enough for me to concentrate on. I wish I could check out her ass in those jeans.
Damn.
Just taking her in for the first time, even if I’m hammered, I see a beautiful creature before me. It’s like the veil has been lifted and I can see her for the first time.
Why hadn’t I noticed before?
"Can you come out to the corn field behind the house? I need a hand. Bring a shirt and some boxers." She tells the person on the other end of line.
"Just do it, I'll explain when you get here."
Killing the call, she turns to me again. "Why did you come out here?"
"Because I w-w-want-ted to f-feel free.” I'm losing at every turn, nothing is working out for me. Why didn’t I just pack up and foreclose on the house? Sure my credit would be shot for the next seven years, but would I still feel like I'm stuck six feet under with the never-ending money pit, the never-ending heartbreak?
Or better yet, why didn’t I light that match and watch the flames engulf the one thing that keeps bringing me down?
"You’re trashed. I'm getting you home but you're probably going to hate yourself in the morning though." What? Do I really look that bad?
"Why's that?" I ask curiously.
"Not only wi
ll I have seen you naked along with my brother, but your head is going to hurt, and I would reckon your ankle as well. Drunk injuries always hurt the worse the second day, so you may want to pop a few Advil before hitting the hay." She says as she’s examining the swelling around my ankle. It’s obvious I did something to it, but I know it’s not broken.
“Thanks.” Ugh, the one person, I’d hope would never see me this way. Even if I am, a little bit, or no a lot drunk, I know she would rather I pack up my stuff and head back to the city.
Uh huh.
Nope.
Little lady will have something else coming if she thinks I’ll leave.
Fuck. My head is spinning. I’m laying here naked as the day I was born, and she’s probably going to see my junk.
Great, now the whole town is going to be talking about me, and my drunken tendencies. I only hope people don’t believe her.
“Please don’t tell anyone about this. I’m embarrassed already as it is.” I plead. She smiles warmly back at me.
“I don’t have anyone to tell, other than my brother whose bringing you clothes, and please don’t feel ashamed, from what little I did see, I can tell you have a nice body.”
Her quiet, somber voice is like a peaceful melody to ears, slowing the thrumming and spinning and allowing me to focus on her, instead of the pain. My buzz is gone, or rather replaced from alcohol induced to Addison induced. I can see in her eyes, she holds a naivety to the flirtations that most would understand.
Jax mentioned she’s never really dated, or been into girly things. She followed him around growing up, and never really branched off to the female kind until Jessa came into the picture last summer. She’s hasn’t been known to wear dresses, or anything other than jeans or shorts. She’s like one of the guys, only difference is she’s got boobs and beauty.
In our current predicament, I don’t think asking her out would be wise. I’d like to skate around with our attraction to one another. I’m new to the dating game, as is she.
Lady Luck (Lucky You Book 2 1) Page 1