Silent No More

by N. E. Henderson

  “So I hear your second book will be out soon,” she says while hopping off the counter top to grab the pizza box; she tosses it in the trash.

  “There isn’t a release date yet, but it’s complete. I turned everything in yesterday.” How does she know about my book?

  Nikki and I continue talking. I have a great conversation with her. We learn that we’re both addicted to Starbucks. We share the same love for music. Papa Roach being my favorite band and Metallica being hers. We both agree Pulp Fiction is the best movie ever made. But my fun mood is short lived.

  “What the hell is this?” Nick asks as he’s walking back into the kitchen. I look over at him to see he’s holding something small and thin in-between his fingers. It looks like a card. As he nears, I see it’s the business card Jeffery gave me earlier today.

  What the hell!

  It seems like he blows a fucking gasket every time I turn around. Apparently, Sparky is making another appearance. He holds the card out and in front of my face. “It’s nothing,” I tell him. And really, it’s not, or at least it’s not really his business. “A client of mine gave it to me earlier today.”

  “Jeffery fucking Chaney is a client?” His voice is one of disbelief.. “And why the fuck did he need to give you his cellphone number?” Nikki’s eyes widen with concern when Nick pronounces Jeffery’s name, making me curious about Nick’s beef with the man. Nick is furiously mad. I can see written on his face. The veins in his neck are straining against his tight olive skin. I’m hoping this is about Jeffery himself and nothing more. I won’t deal with a jealous man.

  “Nick, calm down. It’s nothing, really. He was at the gallery when I stopped by today. He noticed I wasn’t wearing an engagement ring any longer and asked me to dinner. It’s not a big deal.” His eyes darken and he crushes the card in his hand.

  “What the fuck did you tell him?” He steps closer, caging me in with his arms. He places both hands palms down on the granite behind me and looks down at me. He’s searching my eyes for something.

  “I politely turned him down. There is no reason for you to get this mad.” Nikki hops off the counter giving me a sympathetic look. Jase walks in the kitchen and grabs Nikki by the elbow.

  “Nikki, I think we should go.” Jase is lightly pulling her by the arm.

  “Geez, Nick, maybe you should just let this go. Jeffery isn’t worth your time of day.” Nikki tells him while yanking her arm free from Jase’s grasp. She glare’s at her boyfriend briefly before turning her attention back to Nick.

  “And maybe you should do what your boyfriend says and get the fuck out of my house.” Nick doesn’t look at his sister as he says this. He continues to stare down at me. His eyes are full of anger.

  “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that to me and leave, jerk off.” If eyes could throw daggers, Nick would have plenty in the back of his head the way Nikki is looking at him. She storms off past Jase, and I hear the door slam a few seconds later.

  “There is no reason to get this mad,” I repeat. What’s his problem with Jeffery?

  “Oh, I’m far past mad right now.” He takes a half a step back and reaches into his pocket pulling out his cell.

  “What are you doing?” I’m pretty sure I know exactly what he’s about to do, and I can’t let him do this. Jeffery is a client, a really good client, if I ignore the “too friendly” side of him.

  “I’m taking care of this. He needs to know who the fuck you belong to.” He is dialing the number already.

  Oh, no he didn’t just go there.

  Now, I’m way past mad. Who the fuck does he think he is! “I’m not a piece of property, Nick. You don’t own me.” I try to reach for his phone, but it’s useless. He holds me back.

  “It’s Lockhart. Stay the fuck away from Shannon. Is. That. Fucking. Clear?” His breathing is heavy and his eyes widen. I can’t hear the other half of his conversation.

  “Because she is mine, so stay the fuck away from her, Chaney.” He ends the call.

  Shocked doesn’t even begin to cover what I’m feeling. I don’t know what to say or do. What the hell was that about? “You care to explain that?”

  I cross my arms over my chest and glare at him, waiting for an answer. I take a couple calming breaths. Maybe there’s a reasonable explanation. I’m not seeing one at the moment, but I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt.

  “Because you are mine, and if he comes near you again, I will break his fucking neck.” He slams his phone on the counter and storms off to his bedroom.

  Yep, still standing here in shock. What the hell just happened? This is beyond crazy. This is something completely different. I’m not sure I want or need to be around this man. I hear the water from the shower come on as I make my way into his room. The bathroom door is closed so I don’t see him.

  Should I stay, should I go? I could go to Stacy and Katelyn’s, but I don’t know where he’s put all my things, and by the time I pack, he will probably be out of the shower. I need time to think, and I can’t think here with him.

  I grab my tennis shoes and decide to go for a walk. Walking or running always clears my head. I so need a clear head right now.

  * * * * *

  By the time I make it back, I know I’ve been gone awhile, maybe even an hour. The walk helped calm me down, but did nothing to help me decide anything about Nick’s behavior. The only thing that will help that is talking with him, but I have no idea what to say.

  I walk in the front door and come face-to-face with a hole the size of a fist punched in the wall in the foyer. Oh. My. God. Did he seriously do that? A shit load of red flags go up.

  I shut the door and I turn to see Nick walking from the living room to where I am. He looks panicked and worried. Guess I should have left a note.

  “Where have you been? I’ve been going out of my God damn mind for almost an hour. I called your cell, but it was here. Your car is here. Everything is here, except you.” He grabs me, pulling my head to his chest and takes a deep sigh. It’s like he’s relieved.

  “I just went for a walk to think and clear my head.” I wrap my arms around his waist. I know I should be mad at him, but when he’s holding me or touching me, I just seem to relax; this is where I want to be. I don’t know why that is. I’ve known him less than a week, but I don’t want to leave. I’m letting myself grow too accustomed to him and his damn touch.

  “Please don’t leave without telling me where you’re going. I was worried. Really. Fucking. Worried.” He tightens his hold on me.

  “Did you punch a hole in the wall because you’re mad at me?” Please say it wasn’t me, but even I know that’s wishful thinking. He loosens his grip and places his hands on both sides of my face. He leans down and kisses my forehead.

  “Yes, I punched a hole in the wall, but I’m not mad at you. I came out and I couldn’t find you. I thought you left and the wall was there. I’m sorry. I−”

  “It’s okay.” No it’s really not okay, but I cut him off anyways. I don’t want him to finish explaining. What the fuck have I gotten myself into?

  “Why don’t we go to bed and forget this happened? Deal?” I ask, sighing. I look up at him, waiting for a response. He takes a deep breath.

  “Sure.” His lips turn up in a small smile, but it looks forced. He grabs my hand and leads me to his bedroom. The talk I want to have really isn't much of a talk at all. I walk to the closet and remove my bra, tennis shoes and socks.

  Walking back to the bed, I remove my sweatpants and climb in. Nick is already in the bed naked; I realize when I lift the covers, sliding under. He grabs my waist, pulling me closer to him so my back is to his front. He slides his arm under my tank top, but doesn’t move further up than my ribs. He kisses my ear lightly while holding me tightly against his chest.

  “I know I overreacted and I’m sorry.” He tightens his hold on me and inhales a deep breath in my hair.

  I hesitate for a second, not sure I should push him, but I want to know why.
“Why don’t you like Jeffery Chaney?”

  He’s quiet for a long time, and I don’t think he’s going to answer my question. “I’ve known him a long time. He’s a fucking lunatic.”

  “Meaning what exactly?” I ask.

  He’s quiet again, but after a few seconds he sighs deeply. “Just let it go, and promise me that you will not see him again. I don’t care that he is a client.”

  “Nick, you aren’t telling me anything. I can’t just drop a client. I mean, it’s not like I’m a friend of the man. This shouldn’t be a big deal."

  I can feel his body go tight. He doesn’t like what I said, but he isn’t telling me why he has a problem with Jeffery. I don’t want to argue again. I need to distract him so he will let this go. I rise up on my hands and knees, and then crawl on top of him. He places his hands on my hips and gives me a sinister look.

  “I think you will look a lot better out of this tank top,” he says as he’s gathering the bottom and pushing it up. I pull it over my head and toss it behind me. I lean forward and kiss him on the mouth.

  “Panties off, now,” he demands.

  Jackpot.

  It worked.

  NINE

  I wake up to a puppy whining beside the bed. Ughhh, hush…please. I need more sleep after Nick thoroughly worked me over last night, and then a second time. I lift my head a little and look over to Nick’s side of the bed; he is still asleep, lightly snoring. It’s cute, but how does he sleep through her crying?

  For the love of God, shut up!

  I roll over onto my side and drape my right arm over the bed to pet her on the head. “Do you need to go outside, girl?”

  Pulling back the covers, I go to get out of bed when a warm hand reaches around my waist before my feet hit the floor. Apparently, he wasn’t sleeping very soundly. He rapidly pulls me back down into the bed, straddles me then pins my hands down by my head.

  “Going somewhere?” His dark brown hair is disheveled, but he looks scrumptious. He has a playful and youthful smile splayed across his face, and it occurs to me I don’t know how old he is.

  “I was going to let the dogs out, but first I want to know how old you are.”

  “Thirty. Why do you want to know?” He lowers his head to my neck and lightly kisses that spot right above my collarbone he likes so much. Then he moves to the right side and repeats.

  “Just curious. And your sister?” The dogs can surely hold their pee. I don’t want to move from this spot. His lips feel like velvet against my skin. The sensation ends too quickly.

  “Thirty,” he says as he chuckles. Releasing my pinned down arms, he gets out of bed. I rise up on my elbows and watch his hot ass walk to the closet.

  “Wait…are you and she twins?” They look a lot alike, but I never thought they were twins, plus I know he called her his little sister. He walks back into his bedroom wearing a pair of sweat pants and plain white t-shirt. The man knows how to rock the simple look.

  “No. Nikki turned thirty a month ago. I’m exactly ten months older than she is.” He walks over to my side of bed and reaches out to me. I place my hands in his and he pulls my naked self out of the bed. He’s kisses the corner of my mouth before releasing me.

  “I’ll let the dogs out and start breakfast. You need to put some clothes on that pretty little ass before my dirty mind is fully wake,” he says as he starts to head out the door.

  “So when is your birthday?” I ask him as I search for my discarded clothes from last night.

  He pauses at the door and turns to me. “June 20th,” he says and I look up. No way. Really? No fucking way. “What’s with the dumbfounded look?” he asks.

  “That is the same day as mine. Too cool,” I tell him and head into the closet carrying my dirty laundry. I toss it on the floor and faintly hear him laugh before walking out of the room.

  God, I’m getting more addicted to this man every day, and I don’t want to leave. I know I have to find an apartment if we are going to continue dating. Are we even dating? It feels like dating, but neither of us has clarified. Regardless, I have to leave this heavenly house. I haven’t felt like I was at home in a place or in my own skin since I was a young teenager.

  After I put my tank and sweats on, I head to the bathroom to pee and brush my teeth. My phone is lying on the bathroom sink. I don’t remember placing it there, but I scoop it up and send a text to my mom asking for her realtor’s name. I haven’t told her about my breakup with Luke yet. Hopefully, she won’t think anything of it. The last thing I want to hear is how much she adores Dr. Lucas Carter.

  After sending her a text, I wrap up my bathroom routine and head to the kitchen where I find Nick whisking eggs in a bowl. “I hope you like omelets,” he says as I hop up on the granite island next to him.

  “I love eggs cooked just about any way,” I say as I cross my legs Indian-style. “Is there anything I can help with?”

  “Yes, you can fix me a cup of coffee.” I hop off the counter. There are two coffee mugs next to a Keurig single-cup coffee maker. I position one of the mugs into place, and pop in a K-Cup of Green Mountain Coffee’s Nantucket Blend.

  “How do you like your coffee?” I ask as I place the other mug under the machine and repeat the process with the second cup.

  “Black with a little sugar. The sugar is in the cabinet in front of you.” I take the sugar out of the cabinet and scoop a tablespoon into each cup. I stir his and place it on the island behind me. I take my coffee to the refrigerator and pour in a small amount of milk since I don’t see any creamer. I walk the few feet back to the island, stirring my coffee. Nick sits a plate of the large omelet on the island countertop.

  “I hope we are sharing that? There is no way I can eat all of that.” I take a sip of my coffee.

  “We are,” he chuckles. I love hearing him laugh. It puts a smile on my face. I’ve never paid attention to someone’s laugh before.

  Is that weird?

  We finish the omelet in no time. I didn’t realize how hungry I was, but then I haven’t worked up an appetite in a long time.

  “So what do you want to do today?” he asks placing the plate in the sink.

  I hear my phone beep with a text message. I grab it and it’s my mom responding. She sent the name of her realtor and nothing else. No, ‘Hi, how are you?’, ‘I miss you.’, ‘I love you’. That’s my mom. I love her, but to say we are not close is an understatement.

  “Whatever you want, but first I need make an appointment with a realtor for tomorrow so I can find a new apartment,” I say as I shoot Vicky Smith, Mom’s realtor a text telling her who I am and what I’m looking for.

  “What?” I snap my head up from my phone. He’s wearing an alarmed expression. “What the fuck is wrong with my house?" he asks, waving his hand about, indicating his home.

  “Your home is great and I love it, but I don’t live here. Nick, I don’t even know what we are.” I indicate the space between the two of us. “Are we dating or is this just casual fun for you?” I place my hands on my hips. I’m pretty sure we are about to have an argument…yet another common theme with this man. I can’t recall one argument Luke and I ever had, but with Nick, it’s been something every day.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap.” He runs his hands through his hair as he’s eyeing me.

  “I…I haven’t been someone’s boyfriend in a very long time. Not since high school actually, and I don’t really consider that a real relationship.” He’s not asking a question. Wow, he’s thirty and has never dated. What’s wrong with him?

  I wrap my arms around his waist as he cages me in against the counter top. “You’re right, we haven’t talked about this. Us,” he says as he lifts his right hand on the counter to move his index finger in between both of us. I don’t interrupt him, but I continue to stare up at him.

  “I don’t exactly know how to do the normal relationship thing, but there is something about you. From the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew I wanted you. Wanted to get to
know you. I want all of you and I want you here. I don’t want a causal relationship. I want you as mine…as my girlfriend.” He’s waiting for my response. Is that what I want? I just got out of a long relationship. I know in my head this is moving way too fast, but damn it I want him too.

  “Okay.” I hear myself saying. I have no idea what I’m agreeing to.

  “Okay, you’re staying?” His lips turn up into a smile.

  “Okay, I’ll be your girlfriend. I’ve never really done a casual relationship before, and I really don’t want that. However, if that is what we are going to do, I still can’t live here.” I like the sound of being his girlfriend.

  “Why the hell not?” His lips quickly turn down into a frown as he pulls his eyebrows together.

  “Because normal people don’t start dating and move right in together, that’s why.” What does he not get here?

  “Maybe I don’t want a normal relationship. Babe, I can guarantee you I’m certainly not the normal boyfriend type. I want what I want. It’s really that simple,” he says back to me.

  No, he’s certainly not normal, and apparently, he’s used to people doing what he says. I try to push him back, but he isn’t having it. He’s not being forceful, but he’s holding his position. What is it going to take to get through to him?

  “Nick, if you want this to work,” I say moving my finger back and forth just as he did a moment ago, “then we need space, and we need time to get to know each other. We need to slow us down.” He rolls his eyes, not liking what I have just told him.

  “Fine, I’ll concede on the apartment if it’s what you want.” He pauses, but I can tell he isn’t done with this conversation. “You can have you own space so long as you are here with me most nights.”

  “Thanks for the permission,” I say sarcastically, ducking under his arm.

  “Babe, I don’t want to argue. Tell me what you want and I’ll have a furnished apartment for you by this time tomorrow.” He’s following me out of the kitchen into the living room.