by Dover, L. P.
“Happy New Year. Thanks for having me over. Who’s the woman?” I nod toward my former conversation partner.
Jordan looks over his shoulder, back and me and smiles. “Ramona. She works for the Celtics, upper management or something in legal, I think. Her husband left her for a younger version, a cheerleader or something. We bang every now and again. Neither of us are looking for anything but sex so it works out, especially on nights like tonight.”
“Yeah, she has a nice place.”
“She hates it but got it in the divorce, so she stays.”
I don’t really have anything to say in response, so I change the subject. “Do you remember Natalie O’Brien?”
Jordan’s eyes go wide. “Dude, you had such a hard on for her in high school.”
Still do.
“Yeah, I remember her, why?” he asks.
“I ran into her at the store.”
“She still cute?”
“She’s gorgeous,” I tell him.
He pushes me slightly. “Ah, Bren, you got a little crush.”
I can’t help but smile back. “Tell me it won’t work. Tell me I’m being stupid and thinking about her is going to get me nowhere. Tell me I shouldn’t text her.”
Jordan stops smiling and looks at me seriously. “Did you get her number?”
I nod as my hand grips the phone in my pocket. “She’s downstairs at another party too.”
Jordan’s hand is back on my shoulder and he pulls me toward him slightly. “Really? What are the odds?”
“Dunno, I never look at the odds, but I’m wondering—”
“Nah, man. Look around.” He turns me toward the living room. “You have your pick of pussy. Each one guaranteed not to call you the next day, not to hound you with memories from high school. We’ve moved on, man. Gotta leave the past in the past and welcome in the new year with someone you don’t have to remember the name of in the morning.”
I don’t agree with him. I’m not him and I’m definitely not what people would call the “Hollywood type”. Hook-ups have never been my thing. Sure, women throw themselves at me, wanting to spend time with me, but none of them interest me. One time, I tried to take a woman on a date, she wanted sex. I saw right through her the minute she snapped a picture of us and put it on her Instagram. The one real relationship I had, ended abruptly. One minute, we’re living together and the next, I’m single and have no idea what happened. Jordan may be okay with the bang ‘em and leave ‘em lifestyle, but it’s not for me.
Besides, I can’t get my mind off Natalie and knowing she’s downstairs, it’s where I want to be. A couple of Jordan’s friends join us, creating a little circle. The chit chat is idle, what do you do for work, which when I’m asked, usually results in a fangirl or boy moment or a “yeah, I thought you looked familiar” sort of thing. All while the door keeps opening, people are coming and going, making me wonder what else I could be doing tonight.
Natalie—not that I could be doing her—but spending time with her. I could take her on a date or bring food to the hospital for her since I’m assuming, she’ll have to work if tonight is her only night off. I have two days to spend time with someone I’ve missed and I might as well take advantage of what’s in front of me.
I catch Jordan staring at me and look at him oddly. “What?”
“You’re seriously standing here, surrounded by hot, single women, and thinking about your high school ex?” He grabs both my shoulders and shakes them. “What is wrong with you?”
“Nostalgic, I guess?”
“It’s a New Year’s Eve party. Each of these women would love to take you back to their place and bang the fuck out of you.”
“That’s just it, J. I get this all the time. I can fucking snap my fingers and five chicks will line up for a chase. Maybe I want something different.”
“You want what you lost, is that it?”
I shrug. “Maybe. Or maybe I want to spend a couple of hours with someone I know I have a connection with. What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing, man. I will never understand your emo moody ass, but the women dig ya. Go get Natalie, bring her up here. I want to see what ten years has done to her.”
With that, I walk out of the apartment, down the hall and to the elevator . . . and wait.
4
Natalie
As soon as I got out of the elevator, it took a while for it to really sink in on what just happened. I never thought I’d see Brennan McLean again and then there he was, right in front of me. I waited outside of Emerson’s door, leaning against it while I recollected every single thing Brennan and I talked about tonight. Yes, he’s famous now, but to me he will always be just Brennan, the guy I fell in love with back in high school.
The door swings open behind me and I shriek as I lose my balance.
“Oh my God,” Emerson laughs as she steadies me, “there you are.” She grabs one of the six packs of beer out of my hands before they fall to the floor.
I turn around and slap a hand to my chest. “You scared me.”
Emerson giggles and I can tell she’s already had a little too much to drink. She’s wearing a glittery gold top that shows off her shoulders that also goes along with her skinny jeans and gold heels. Her blonde hair is in long curls down her back and her makeup is absolutely perfect. She’s gorgeous and here I am in a sweater and snow boots.
She grabs the other six pack of beer in my hands and passes them to the first person she finds behind her. It’s a guy I’ve never seen before, but he had the build of a police officer. He has to be one of Callum’s friends. In my mind, I groan. I’m supposed to meet one of his fellow police buddies tonight.
Emerson flings her arms around my neck. “I was coming out into the hall to call you. It’s much quieter out here.”
The sound of music makes its way outside, but I hear more voices than music. My eyes widen when I see all the people in the apartment. Granted, she has a large home, but there are people everywhere. I recognize some of them from the hospital, but there are a lot I don’t know.
“Did you invite the whole city?” I ask with a laugh.
Emerson lets me go and glances back at the crowd of people. “I’ll probably never have another New Year’s Eve off ever again. Callum and I thought we’d start this new year off with a bang.” She turns back to me and takes my hand. “Come on. Let’s get you a drink.”
She pulls me inside and drags me down the hall to her bedroom. “Where are we going?”
She looks at me over her shoulder. “You think I’m going to leave my good wine out for everyone to drink?”
When we get to her bedroom, she shuts the door. “You can leave your stuff in here if you want.” I take my coat off and set it on the bed. My hair is a mess so I run my fingers through it as best as I can. On her dresser are three bottles of her favorite Riesling wine. One of the bottles is almost empty. She picks it up and pours the rest into an empty wine glass she has set to the side.
“I wanted to wait on you to start, but you took forever to get here.” She fills my glass to the top and carefully hands it to me.
“Maybe it’s because someone had me stop by the store,” I say, taking a huge sip of the wine. And because I ran into one of my ex-boyfriends who also happens to be famous now. Other than people I went to high school with, no one knows about my past with Brennan. I doubt anyone would believe me anyway. I’m not the glamorous type he goes for now. Scrubs are my daily wardrobe and I usually leave work with blood on my clothes. Not exactly part of the rich and famous crowd.
Emerson holds up her glass and taps it against mine. “Thank you for going to the store. You’re here now which means we can party. Also, Zeke’s ready to meet you. I think you’ll like him.”
I try to appear excited to meet him, but all I can think about is Brennan. My phone is in my back pocket, but who am I kidding to think he’ll call. He’s probably at Jordan’s party getting drunk and hooking up with women. Plastering on a smile, I salute her w
ith my glass and take another huge gulp. I’m going to need it to get through the night if Zeke turns out to be a douche.
Emerson leads me out of the bedroom and past the kitchen to the living room where Callum is standing by the couch, telling one of his many stories from being on the force. There are about twenty people listening to him, all engaged in every single word that comes out of his mouth. He’s tall with light brown, closely shaved hair and he’s built like a bodybuilder. With him being a Boston cop, there’s always something crazy going on, but Callum loves the danger. Whether it be murders, burglaries, gang fights, or high-speed chases, he’s been in the crossfire more times than I can count. I’ve seen the toll it’s taken on Emerson, but she loves him and it’s what Callum wants to do.
Emerson nudges me in the side and leans in close. “That’s Zeke,” she says. I follow her line of sight to a man in the corner, dressed in a pair of gray slacks and a light blue button down that hugs his muscular arms. His hair is dark and from where I stand, I can tell his eyes are a bright blue. He’s very good looking and he’s laughing along with whatever Callum is announcing to the room. Maybe if I hadn’t seen Brennan, I’d be more excited about meeting him.
Emerson grabs my arm and pulls me to the other side of the living room toward Zeke. “I’ll introduce you.”
He sees us coming before we even get to him and he smiles. Emerson puts her arm around me and grins at him. “Zeke, this is my best friend, Natalie. She’s the one I was telling you about.”
Zeke’s smile widens and he holds out a hand. “Ah, yes. I’ve heard a lot about you. It’s nice to meet you.”
I shake his hand and grin back. “It’s nice to meet you too.”
Emerson tries to whisper in my ear, but it turns out to be her normal voice. “I’m going to give you two some time to talk.” She pats my shoulder and leaves, dancing to the sound of the music as she walks through the crowd.
Zeke chuckles as he watches her. “I’m surprised we haven’t met before. Callum and I hang out a good bit.”
Sighing, I take another sip of my wine. “I work a lot,” I inform him. “You wouldn’t believe the number of of patients we get in the ER every day.”
He nods. “I can imagine. I bet you see all sorts of stuff in there.”
I go on to tell him some of my most interesting stories, one of which happened to be a middle-aged man with part of a bar stool leg stuck in his anus. He said he’d fallen on the broken chair and left it at that. I really didn’t want to know the details.
Zeke and I talk for a few more minutes about random things about our jobs. My wine glass goes empty and I really wish I had more. It just so happens that Emerson comes by to save me.
“Girl, you need more wine.” She loops her arm with mine and starts to pull me away. “I’ll bring her right back, Zeke. Can’t let her go dry on you.” Her comment garners the attention of others and I can feel the blood rushing to my cheeks. Emerson slaps a hand over her mouth and gasps. “Oh my God, did I really just say that?”
“That’s hot,” someone yells from across the room. “Can I come watch?”
Callum throws his hands up in the air. “Hey, if anyone’s going to watch, it’ll be me.”
He winks at Emerson and she rolls her eyes. “You all need to get your minds out of the gutter,” she hollers out to everyone. Then she winks at me. “Come on. You need more to drink.”
I follow her back to her bedroom and she shuts the door behind us. She pours me more wine and then flops down on her bed. “I could really use a nap right now.”
Giggling, I sit down beside her. “Sorry, Em. There’s still four more hours till midnight. You have to stay awake until then.”
She sits up and sighs. “Hopefully I can last. I’m sure I’ll regret all this wine tomorrow morning.”
That’s exactly why I’m pacing myself. Having a hangover is no fun at all. “Stop while you’re ahead and drink lots of water. You’ll be fine,” I tell her.
She turns to face me. “Yeah, maybe you’re right.” I take another sip of the wine and her gaze narrows. “So, what do you think about Zeke? He’s pretty cute, isn’t he?”
I nod. “He is.”
Her lips pull back wider. “Think you guys will go out?” she asks curiously.
“Don’t know. I’m not really thinking about that right now.” There’s another man on my mind, one I really didn’t need to be thinking about.
Emerson snorts. “What exactly are you thinking about then?” When I don’t answer, she sits up straighter, her expression serious. “Uh-oh, I know that look. Something’s going on. What is it?”
Sheepishly, I bite my lip. “If I tell you, don’t freak out. It’s not something anyone knows.”
Her eyes light up. “Is it scandalous?”
I roll my eyes. “Only you would ask that. And no, it’s not scandalous. I ran into someone at the store and he walked with me here.”
She gasps. “Who?”
“Brennan McLean.”
The second I say his name, her mouth opens and then closes. She’s at a loss for words which isn’t normal for her. “Oh, my dear ever-loving God. The Brennan McLean?”
I laugh. “Yep. He also happens to be my ex-boyfriend. We grew up together.”
Her eyes widened so far, I thought they’d pop out of her head. “Shut the front door. You can’t be serious?”
I nod. “I am. We dated in high school before he got famous. He’s in town visiting his parents and it just so happens that he’s upstairs right now with a guy we graduated with.”
She jumps to her feet and squeals. “Holy shit, this is insane. My best friend used to date Brennan McLean.” After her squeal fest is over, she takes my wine glass away and pulls me to my feet. “What did you two talk about? Were you all super excited to see him?”
I shrug. “Of course, I was excited to see him. It’s been so long. We just talked about our lives in general.”
She fans herself. “Girl, if that was me, I’d be screaming from the rooftops.”
I shake my head. “It’s not like that between us.”
“Did you love him?” she asks.
There’s no hesitation in my answer. “Yes,” I admit honestly. “We were young, but our love was more real than anything I’d ever felt. He was my first in more ways than one.”
Her mouth gaped and she gasped. “You had sex with Brennan McLean. I don’t know if I hate you right now or if I’m just totally jealous. That’s so hot.”
She makes me laugh. “It was a long time ago. I was his first as well. I’m sure he’s gotten a lot of practice in since then.” I don’t even want to think about all the women he’s been with.
“Do you think you’ll see each other again?”
I look at her and sigh. “Don’t know. We exchanged numbers but I doubt he’ll call.”
She glances over at her bedside clock and smiles. “You know what? I think you should go to him. It’s New Year’s for goodness sake. Think of it like Las Vegas. What happens on New Year’s, stays on New Year’s. What do you have to lose?”
Everything. Things with Brennan couldn’t be simple like that. There’s too much history. With Zeke, I could handle a one-night stand, but with Brennan …
“I don’t think I can,” I say.
Emerson grabs my shoulders and squeezes. “Yes, you can. If you don’t, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. You might never get this opportunity again? He’s upstairs right now.” She shakes me. “Go to him, Natalie.”
I want to more than anything, but I’m scared. She has a point though. I might never see him again. If one night is all we have, then so be it. I have to take a chance.
I blow out a nervous breath and stand. “Okay, I’m going. Wish me luck.”
She squeals again and hugs me so hard I can barely breathe. “Good luck. I want all the details later.”
Grabbing my coat, I rush out of her bedroom and out the door to the elevators down the hall. My hands shake as I pull out my phone, but I d
on’t have the courage to call him yet. As soon as the elevator doors open, I step in and take a deep breath as I hit the button for the floor above.
“What the hell am I doing?” I groan.
Heart racing, I shut my eyes as the elevator comes to a stop and the doors open. The second I open my eyes, my heart stops completely. Standing right in front of me is Brennan looking just as surprised as I am.
“Brennan,” I breathe. “What are you doing?”
He smirks. “I could ask you the same thing.”
5
Brennan
My hand rests on the wall, waiting for the elevator to arrive on my floor. It seems slow, or maybe it’s because I’m impatient. It could also be because I have a million thoughts running through my mind right now, mostly about what I’m going to say to Natalie when I see her again or how I’m going to weasel my way into the party downstairs. Of course, I know once I knock on the door, whoever answers will let me in simply because of who I am. Celebrity status goes a long way in that regard.
The metal doors open slowly. I see the snow boots first, followed by jeans and a sweater. Typical winter wear in Boston. Funny thing is, people think it’s cold in Los Angeles right now, and it’s not, at least not compared to the North East.
Finally, my eyes travel north to look at the person who I will be sharing the ride with. It’s almost as if I’m seeing her for the first time all over again. I’m not talking about when I saw her earlier in the grocery store, but when she kneeled down next to me after I tripped, when she became my angel years ago.
“Brennan,” she says my name breathlessly and I pretend it does nothing to me. I’m a liar, that’s for sure. The instant attraction, the lust at first sight, it’s all there. “What are you doing?”