Be My December

by Rachel Brookes

  The sound of Josh’s soft laughter grabbed my attention. Reluctantly I pulled my eyes from Eden and shot daggers at him. I was fumbling and losing my shit because of this woman, and Josh loved it.

  “I might leave you to it.” Josh walked through my office and stood before Eden. He drunk her in and it pissed me off to no end. “It was great seeing you again Eden. You have my number if you ever need me. Call me day or night.”

  He leaned in and kissed her cheek. Cocky bastard.

  Josh walked out chuckling as he shut the door behind him. I was alone in my office with Eden. I took a minute to stare at her. She stood by the floor to ceiling window looking out over the city, her shoulders slightly slumped, and the sounds of her deep sighs penetrating the air. I took a moment to get my thoughts into check. My professionalism had flown out the window, and I needed to get a strong hold on it.

  Eden turned slowly and faced me. She looked petrified but with the signs that she was trying desperately to look confident. Just cut to the chase Ky. I took a seat at my desk and motioned to the vacant chair opposite. Without saying a word to me, Eden moved gracefully through my office and sat quietly in the chair I’d offered.

  “Why didn’t you tell me your name?” she questioned.

  “You didn’t ask Eden. Although, I specifically asked what your name was and yet you still blatantly lied to my face.”

  “I’m sorry. It was a shitty thing to do but for one night I just wanted to be someone else.”

  “I only want to talk to Eden,” I stated harshly. Her eyes widened, and I immediately regretted my tone. “All I want is Eden Rivers.” Fuck! “All we want is Eden Rivers,” I corrected myself quickly.

  “Why? I don’t understand. You don’t even know me yet you are offering the world.”

  “I’m definitely not offering you the world.”

  She stood from her chair and walked back toward the window. Her hand pressed so delicately against the glass, and I watched as her shoulders rose as she took a deep breath. I took three steps and stood directly behind her. My senses were overcome by her sweet scent. I was standing too close but I couldn’t move away.

  “If you are willing to still work with us then I’d be very happy to have you on board. What do you say Miss Rivers?”

  “Yes,” she whispered without hesitating, her words coming out in a husky breath. She turned slowly and there was barely a few inches between us. My gaze grew deep as I stared at this woman standing before me. There was no consideration in her answer, no breath taken, no deliberation flashing within her blue eyes. Tori’s words instantly came back to me. She couldn’t say no. “I should go. I have to get back to the island.” She spoke more confidently, taking a step away from me. An action I didn’t miss.

  “I will take you,” I blurted out, now I was the one spewing out things without consideration. “I’m about to leave for the day.”

  I stalked toward my desk without awaiting her answer, packing up my laptop and pulling my keys from the desk drawer while she waited in silence. I knew her eyes were on me. What the hell was I doing? It was four thirty on a Thursday afternoon. I should be staying at work for at least another eight hours. I didn’t give her a chance to answer, I pulled my jacket off the back of my chair and pulled my arms in, finally looking at her. She stared at me wide eyed and in confusion.

  “Ready?” I stood before her. “We should get to know each other considering we will be working together.”

  I walked out of my office without another word. My breath held until she fell in step beside me. I didn’t think she would follow me. I was expecting her to laugh in my face, tell me to fuck off, and pull out of our show completely. She shocked me yet confirmed my worst fears. Yes. In silence we walked toward the elevator and made our way to the ground floor. It wasn’t unusual to find Josh blatantly flirting with the new receptionist, to be honest I was shocked that he hadn’t already got to her. The look of shock on his face was almost too much to take in. Seeing me packed up for the day so early was confusing for anyone.

  “You’re leaving?” he gasped, his eyes wide.

  I coughed to hide the laugh that filtered out. “Yep, I’m going home.”

  “Are you sick?” His voice rose high in question.

  “No Josh, I am just leaving for the day.”

  “But you— Okay, I’ll stop by later.”

  My eyes were determined to lock onto the man sitting beside me. He had been a complete gentleman by opening the passenger door for me and making sure I buckled myself in before he walked around the front of the car with confidence exuding from each step. His body folded so perfectly against the leather of the seats, his hands gripped tightly to the steering wheel, and his strong jaw was locked tight. My eyes roamed vicariously over him, and I had no control to stop it. Seeing him dressed in tailored dress pants and a crisp white shirt was causing my heart to race frantically.

  “Where to?” he questioned, as he pulled out of the underground park and into the steady stream of traffic.

  “I am staying at Hotel De Luca.”

  “You are staying at a hotel? I thought your family lived on the island?”

  I shot him a curious look. How in the hell did he know about my family? I knew for a fact that I didn’t divulge that kind of information the other night. The faintest of smirks graced his lips as he took in my reaction, reading me like an open book.

  “Facebook Eden. You can find out everything on Facebook.”

  “Well it seems that I need to change my privacy settings.” I chuckled and folded my arms over my chest. He made me chuckle… What the hell was that about?

  “But if you did that, how could I possibly have found out that you live in San Fran, you and Tori have a tendency to take a hell of a lot of selfies in the bathroom, and you eat a shitload of pizza.”

  My mouth dropped open. He had definitely done his research. “Well aren’t you just a modern day Sherlock Holmes.”

  His deep laughter shot through me, relaxing every inch of my rigid body. I hadn’t realized how tense I was. I unclasped my arms from my chest and let my hands fall to my lap as I tried to calm down. Being in a car with a man should have sent me into a wild panic, I should have been overcome with fear, but I wasn’t. Nerves swept through me. It was as confusing as fuck.

  He shot me a quick look; the conversation was over and the hustle and bustle of New York City traffic was soon behind us. I gripped hold of the door handle and let my head fall against the window as I took in the fading sun. The city was so beautiful this time of year. The colors, the change in scenery, the falling light so early in the afternoon made it look like true perfection, and it was one of the only things I missed about living in this city.

  “Just to let you know I am only here until January fifth and then I’ll be flying back to sunny California to continue taking selfies with Tori and eating at Sammy’s Pizzeria.”

  “So that means you’ll be my December.” He whispered so delicately that it hit me with full force.

  We stopped at a red light, and I shifted in my seat to look at him. What did he mean by that? Be my December? His eyes glistened with purpose and his face remained completely unreadable. The dimple in his right cheek came to life as the slightest of smile took over his lips. I opened my mouth to question what he meant, but the shrill ringing of a cell phone seeped through the speakers and after a couple of clicks the sound of Josh’s deep voice filled the space of the car, instantly taking me away from Ky’s absurd statement. Ky shot me a look as Josh started rambling about a problem back at the office. The vibrations of the car hitting the road below swept calm to fleet through my tense body. My eyes fluttered closed under the rumblings, and I felt my body fall into comfortably bliss.

  “So are you taking out the lovely Miss Rivers on a date? Are you going to use some of that Ky Crawford charm? Fuck it’s been a long time coming.”

  My eyes shot open and my head fell to the side just in time to watch Ky’s shoulders tense and his knuckles turn brutal whi
te as he gripped the steering wheel. The question obviously hit a raw nerve. The atmosphere in the car sped out of control. The air thickened and I couldn’t draw my eyes away from him. I was anticipating his response so desperately. Why? I had absolutely no fucking clue.

  “You are on loud speaker, and Eden is in the car.”

  “Hi Eden, I hope my dear brother is driving safely. So what are you two cool kids doing this afternoon? It’s not often that my dear brother leaves the office when the sun is still up. Fuck Eden, you are good for him.”

  My mind expanded drastically trying to take in all of Josh Crawford’s words. Wasn’t this simply a ride back to the island? My hands fumbled in my lap and I shifted in my seat so my body was completely facing Ky. He still refused to look at me and the more his reluctance shone through the more my confidence roared to life.

  “Well he is ignoring me at the moment Josh. This afternoon I am going back to my hotel and then I am catching up with Ashlyn at her apartment.”

  “So I’ll be seeing you then?”

  “If your name is Ashlyn then I guess you will.”

  I shunted against the leather seat as the car screeched to a brutal stop. I looked up and focused on Ky’s unreadable face as he glared at me. What the fuck had I done to deserve that look? For once I didn’t feel fear being this close to a man. I didn’t feel the need to run screaming to the confines of my bed. I didn’t feel anything.

  “Josh I will call you when I’m home,” Ky stated with little emotion.

  With a loud click, the call ended without allowing Josh to have another word. Ky’s gaze never faltered, and it was only then that I realized we were no longer in traffic. Ky’s large frame leaned over from the driver’s seat toward me, and his eyes, which I was quickly learning had the ability to change right before me, continued to penetrate so deep in my soul that it was almost like he was completely devouring all of my innermost thoughts. His intrigued gaze, an endless pit of emotion, danced over every inch of my face; my blue eyes, my button nose, the freckle that sat in the middle of my cheek, and finally my gloss colored lips. I didn’t know what I’d do if he got any closer. I felt the buzz of an injection of panic flood through my veins. I didn’t like being this vulnerable. The feelings of being trapped like a caged animal warped my mind and my eyes slammed shut and my body completely froze.

  “Eden,” Ky’s soft voice filled my ears, and I finally opened my eyes to find him looking at me completely in shock. “I was just going to get you a card with my number out of the glove box.”

  It was an innocent move on his part yet I took it like a threat. What did I honestly think he was going to do? I unclasped the seat belt and opened the door and stilled. I turned back to look at him only to find his eyes still focused solely on me. I grabbed the business card he held out toward me and gave him the briefest of smiles.

  “Thanks for the lift. I’ll see you when you need me.”

  ••••

  TWO DAYS LATER

  “You were made to be fucked. I’ve been watching you for a long time and I’ve wanted to have a taste of this pussy and now here we are. Get yourself on that bed and open up wide because my tongue wants your sweet juices.”

  I woke up with a jolt, the sheets below me drenched in my sweat. My body shook in terror, my breathing was rushed and panicked. I repeated over and over again that it was just a dream but still I turned on my light and jumped out of bed. I thought the nightmares had ended but this one had been so real. I swear I could smell him on my body, latching onto my skin and claiming ownership once again. I tore my pajamas off in the middle of my room, ripping the fabric that seemed to strangle me, allowing his scent to penetrate me. I needed this off me. I ran to the shower and turned on just the hot water. I needed the feeling of burning, to feel like I was being completely destroyed by heat and steam that would get the feeling of him off my body. I scrubbed my body raw, using a whole bottle of my favorite body wash in the process and concentrating on the area between my legs. I needed him gone. My mind couldn’t comprehend that it had been four years ago, that the dream wasn’t real. My body slid down the tiled wall until I sat on the floor and I pulled my knees to my chest—this was so unbelievably real and here I was, alone.

  I sat under the heavy stream of water until it turned ice cold and caused a shiver to run down my spine. Time was lost to me. I climbed out of the shower and wrapped my body with a towel and took a chance and looked in the mirror. The girl looking back at me looked scared, like she was beginning to withdraw from the world. I hated being on my own for so long. I always had Tori just a room away but here I was in a hotel room, in the town I feared the most, and I didn’t have anything to grasp on to.

  My cell phone pinged on the side table beside my bed, causing me to look away from the girl I was becoming. It was almost midnight and though I went to bed relatively early so I would be fresh for my first meeting in the morning, I knew that sleep would now evade me. I looked at the bed and I knew I wouldn’t be sleeping there. The sheets were drenched, and I couldn’t think of anything worse than being back in that bed. I grabbed my phone and moved toward the sitting chair that was near the glass door that led out to the balcony. I guess that was going to be my refuge for the night.

  A shocked smile filtered over my lips as I looked at the screen and saw Ky’s name. It had been two days since I fled from his car and this was the first time I had heard from him.

  Ky: You ready for tomorrow?

  Eden: I’m nervous so I can’t really sleep.

  Well technically that wasn’t a lie.

  Ky: Would I have hired you if I didn’t think you were the best?

  Eden: Let’s just see what you think after the meeting.

  Ky: I’ll take that as a challenge.

  Eden: Who will be there tomorrow?

  Ky: What? Am I not good enough?

  Oh god!

  Eden: I didn’t mean that. That’s fine. I’m sorry.

  Ky: I was kidding Eden. Tomorrow you’ll be meeting with me and Simon Davenport who now runs the LA office of Anderson Publications.

  Eden: Crap

  I placed my phone on my lap. I was wide awake, and I knew sleep would continue to elude me. It confused me how a simple couple of texts from Ky had provided me with the sense of calm and peace I needed.

  I looked out of the window at the midnight sky and wondered when the nightmares and constant panic would all end. I wanted to forget what happened, but I knew it would be with me always. Somehow I had to find a way to stop the horrible memories from ruling my life.

  Being back here definitely wouldn’t help.

  I had six weeks that I needed to survive and then I was gone.

  Forever.

  I roamed through my apartment before sunrise. Today was meeting day. Simon Davenport was flying over from Los Angeles to discuss the editorial that Eden would be shooting. The band was expected to be arriving in two weeks. I stumbled to the kitchen in my sleepy state and turned on my coffeemaker, desperate for some strong caffeine to run through my veins and bring me to life. My night hadn’t panned out as expected, and I sure as hell hadn’t expected to texting Eden at midnight; I felt like a fucking teenager.

  She was getting to me at a fast fucking rate, and it was bringing me close to insanity. I had spent the past two days thinking about her reaction in the car. It had shocked me, confused me, and worried me. The most shocking part was that the need to protect her that I felt at Delights had come back at a rapid rate. When I saw her freeze in the car I wanted nothing more than to wrap my arms around her until the fear that was evident on her face had disbanded.

  I walked back to my room as the coffee simmered away and grabbed my phone from the nightstand. Immediately I scrolled through until I got to my messages. I reread the last message I had received from her.

  Eden: Crap.

  I hadn’t replied. The message had arrived just after I had finally passed out. The clock on my nightstand showed that it was five thirty in the morning when I
finally tapped in a quick text which I knew she’d get when she woke.

  Ky: Sorry I passed out. You have no need to be nervous. You will be fine.

  I locked my phone and made my way back through my apartment and poured myself a mug of coffee. The chime of an incoming message shocked me. Who the hell was awake at this time?

  Eden: Thanks :)

  What the hell was she doing awake?

  Ky: Why are you awake so early? I thought I was the only crazy one awake at this hour.

  Eden: I haven’t slept. I couldn’t shut off my head.

  I read her message over again and sighed loudly. For most of the night I also had the same problem, but it was for completely different reasons. I tapped the counter as I tried to think of what I could possibly say to her message. A minute passed, then five, and then fuck it!

  Ky: I’ll buy you a Red Bull and bring it to the office.

  Nice one Ky, that was a fucking great comeback. I groaned and mentally punched myself in the gut and busied myself by cooking breakfast.

  ••••

  “Eden has arrived.”

  Lauren’s head poked around my office door, and she smiled knowingly at me as she announced Eden’s arrival. I nodded and looked back at my laptop and looked at the time.

  She was early.

  The sound of her voice resonating as she was thanking Lauren grabbed my attention. I sucked in a deep breath as the sound ceased. She was at my door. Why the fuck was I nervous? The door slowly opened and Eden’s head poked around the door. Once again, she didn’t bother knocking. I liked that.