And what I needed now was for her to stay.
Tonight I would ask her just that.
I needed her in my life—it was as simple as that. I had waited too many years for this moment and now that it was in my grasp I wasn’t letting it go. Tonight I would tell her everything. I would admit my fears, my insecurities, my reasons, and who I really was. Over the past week I had let myself completely fall for her, something I had tried desperately to stop. How was I going to be able to watch her leave? There was no way in hell that I would let her walk away from me. I couldn’t even begin to comprehend that.
My day progressed like a freight train. Back to back meetings took up every minute of my morning and it wasn’t until Josh walked through my door that I finally looked up from my laptop.
“Lunch!” he announced with certainty. “We are going out of the office, get your ass up.”
“Fuck me. Your panties in a knot baby brother?” I laughed and logged out then closed my laptop. I looked down at my phone and immediately opened my inbox.
Ky: My asshole of a brother is taking me for lunch. Are you in the city? We are heading to Sami’s for burgers if you are.
Eden: I am desperate for a burger but I’m on the island. Scouting some places for the final shoot before I finish the project. Enjoy lunch and I’ll see you tonight.
Ky: I have big plans for tonight.
Eden: Like what?
Ky: It’s a surprise but I am sure I’ll end the night between your thighs
Eden: You have a wicked tongue.
Ky: That’s what you said the other night.
“Are you finished having phone sex?” Josh mused from the door. I shot him a ‘fuck off’ look and slammed my phone into my pocket as we finally left the office.
I needed to talk to Josh about my plans. I knew he was the one person who would give me brutal honesty, and that was what I craved. We caught a cab across town toward our favorite burger joint. Sami’s had been our go to place for years.
The moment we walked in we were hit.
“The Crawford boys! Where have you been? Sami has missed you!” Sami was a boisterous Greek man who loved nothing more than kissing our cheeks every time we came to his diner and today was no different. He fussed over us both, ruffling our hair like we were kids, and the fact that we were twenty-four and twenty-six seemed to have been lost. “Go sit down, I’ll bring you your usual orders!”
We took our regular table toward the back and the usual chatter of the packed diner intensified. Sami’s was right on the river and one of those hidden jewels that only regulars and locals knew about. Black and white photos of icons from the fifties and sixties graced the off-white walls which complemented the red, white, and black trim and a jukebox that hadn’t worked for years sat in the far corner. When Josh and I needed downtime from the office, this was where we would have lunch.
Two Cokes were placed in front of us by Angelica, Sami’s even more boisterous and touchy feely wife. She moved beside the table, hands on hips and looked between Josh and me. Oh fuck, here it comes.
“When are you two marrying my girls?”
“Ky’s got a girlfriend, and you know me, I can’t settle down yet.”
Her shriek pierced my ears. “Baby, you’ve got a girlfriend?”
Oh yes, I should have mentioned my nickname is Baby and Josh’s is Toots.
Girlfriend.
Was she my girlfriend? We had everything in our lives that would suggest we were in a relationship. She was living at my apartment; she was in my bed every night; she was the first person I saw in the morning and the last person I saw at night, and I was having the best sex of my life. She took up my every thought and when I thought of the future I saw her face.
Girlfriend.
“I think I do Angie.”
Josh whipped around to look at me with surprised eyes as he tried to come to terms with my admission. Fuck, I was still trying to come to terms with it.
“Well she better know who she’s got Baby. I’ll go put in your regular orders. Double bacon and cheese for you Toots and Sami’s Special for you Baby, with extra cheese. I’ve missed you two.” Before she turned on her heel and rushed off in a tizzy, Angelica fell into a zone as she gazed over both of us.
“Well I was going to ask how things were with you and Eden but fuck me it seems like you are officially pussy-whipped. Ky ‘I’ll always be single’ Crawford has a girlfriend.”
“Things are as confusing as fuck yet like nothing I could imagine. I’ve fallen hard for Eden, and its scaring the fuck out of me.”
“Mom is going to be planning your wedding, I hope you know that.”
“Jesus, let me ask her to stay first.”
After an amazing burger, Josh and I headed back to the office. My mind was filled with thoughts of the upcoming night. After my chat with Josh, I was more determined than ever to make it perfect. I needed her to see that she was protected, that she was adored, and that she was wanted.
Opening up my laptop, I groaned as I saw the email icon flashing that I had fifty-four emails awaiting my attention. Scrolling through the spam, the stationary requests, and the proofs that needed approving, my eyes fell onto a name and subject that made me stiffen in anger.
Chris Edwards.
My hands shook with rage as I moved the mouse and hovered over the email. When would he fuck off? His constant presence reminded me of everything and everyone I wanted to forget, a period of my life when I was at my worst, a time when the world seemed to stop.
From: ChrisEdwards@ThomasConstruction.com
To: KyCrawford@AndersonPublications.com
Subject: Secrets
Do you know where your sweet ass girlfriend is? Fuck I’d love to pound into her sweet pussy. She is sitting opposite me wearing this sexy pink top and her tits are just begging to be sucked on. Maybe after we have a little chat, I might take her back to my apartment, comfort her, and see what Jeremy saw in her all those years ago. You know, keep it in the family.
Secrets don’t stay hidden forever and in about two minutes all of your secrets will be unleashed upon the one person you didn’t want to know.
Fuck you Crawford.
No.
NO!
Everything was spinning so far out of control, and I didn’t have any ability to stop it. I had left it too late. My fear of the truth had got me into this mess and brought this to her. I knew as I stood in my empty office that the truth was being unraveled without me being there to explain. I couldn’t stay here. I couldn’t be away from the one person who had captured my thoughts the first time I saw her, four years ago. I had to try. I had to do whatever I could to get to her.
I bolted out of my office and collided chest to chest with Josh. His panic face showed that he knew what was happening.
“I need to find her Josh,” I pleaded as we bolted out of the office giving no explanation to anyone who asked. “She can’t be near him.”
“Come on, give me your keys. Aunt Carole just called, she is at the diner,” Josh's calm voice demanded as we stepped into the elevator and headed to the underground car park.
I shoved my keys toward him, thankful that he was with me. I was quickly crashing over the edge and heading into the pits of my mistakes. It felt like the trip to the parking lot took forever and every second that passed felt like a lifetime. I was becoming agitated and anxious. I needed to get to her. My thoughts concentrated on Eden, how this would be frightening the hell out of her and how I wasn’t there to protect her.