Breathless (The Breathe Series)

by Rachel Brookes

  “Weren’t you here earlier?”

  I removed my eyes from the singer on stage and turned to my left to find Ali standing with her hands on her hips and a knowing look spreading across her face.

  Leaning in, I kissed her on the cheek and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. “What?” I scoffed. “I can’t come and work with my favorite cousin?”

  She narrowed her eyes on me and shook her head slowly. “I know what you are doing.”

  “And what would that be, Ali?” I asked with a smirk. I loved how she thought she could read me. She had been like this ever since we were little.

  “You are distracting yourself because you are wallowing in self-pity because Sav isn’t here.”

  “Bingo.” I nudged her shoulder and took off towards my office. My distraction would be engrossing myself in my work, the one thing I had been doing since Sav had left. This no contact business with Sav was killing me. I collapsed into my highly overpriced office chair and fired up my laptop. If I couldn’t see her, I would work. I tapped away mindlessly on my laptop, working through figures, projections, and recruitment. I hated this side of the business, and I’d hired Jennie for this reason. I groaned loudly, stretching my arms over my head. The music was growing louder by the hour, and the cute singer was still distracting me through the walls. My eyes tried to concentrate on the screen in front of me but my mind was scattered elsewhere.

  The door of my office flew open, startling me from my work. My eyes flew towards the door and my ears were overcome by the loud music throbbing through my office. Jack and Tanzi stumbled in, drunk off their tits.

  “Tatey potaty!”

  I cringed at the sound of my childhood nickname. Tanzi was beyond drunk if she was using it. Closing my laptop, I knew that my ‘work’ day was over. I shifted in my seat, clasping my hands behind my head and groaning as a stretch soared through my body. The smell of booze oozing out of Tanzi’s and Jack’s bodies hit my nose and my stomach lurched. My laughter escaped deep within my chest as I looked at my highly intoxicated sister and best friend and couldn’t help but laugh. Today was their anniversary and I knew that Jack had made reservations at some fancy restaurant in the city so seeing them standing in my office was the last thing I’d been expecting to see.

  “Shouldn’t you be out celebrating?” I asked with raised brows. Standing from my desk, I walked through the office to close my door. When I turned around, my eyes hovered between them both and my senses were overcome by the alcohol seeping from their pores.

  “We should be home fucking each other’s brains out but your dear sister wanted to check in on you.”

  “Christ, Jack! Sister filter, remember?!” Smirking, I squinted trying to get the image of Tanzi and Jack having sex out of my head.

  “Yeah but I’m your best friend. Remember, bros before hoes.”

  “Touché, my friend. Touché.”

  “Who are you calling a ho, you asshole?” Tanzi slapped Jack hard across the chest before bursting into a fit of giggles, bending over, and slapping her thighs as if she had just said the funniest joke ever. Suddenly she stood, and after an uneasy step, she pointed at me with fierce eyes. “I’m calling Sav.”

  Trying to reason, I spoke. “Tanzi, it’s like two in the morning there.”

  “I don’t care. If I am a ho, she is a ho. Ho sisters stick together.”

  Before I could object any further, Tanzi had her phone to her ear and was talking in a soft tone. Trying my hardest to hear, I moved towards her. Suddenly her eyes focused on me and she nodded at something Sav had said. Jack moved to her side and attached himself to her neck like a vacuum, not before firing a smirk at me.

  “Talk to your girlfriend,” Tanzi whispered and shoved her phone towards me. “Come find me and give me my phone when you are finished. Oh, and no phone sex on my phone.” She winked and pulled Jack out of my office, closing the door behind her. I looked towards the closed door and collapsed on the couch.

  “Savannah?” I whispered into the phone.

  The sound of her taking a shaky deep breath filled my ears, and my eyes instantly closed as my emotions ran out of control.

  “I love when you call me Savannah.”

  “Fuck, I miss you.”

  “Yeah, I miss you too.”

  I noticed the hesitation in her voice the moment she spoke.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I am okay.”

  “Savannah, I am pretty sure I know when something is wrong with my girlfriend.”

  “It’s nothing, Tate… Fine, I got a text from Lucas.”

  “And?”

  “He told me you were checking out chicks.”

  “Cheerleaders, Sav. They were the Chargers cheerleaders. Jack and I watched football and we always watch the cheerleaders. It’s what we do. Lucas is a fucking asshole who needs to stay out of my business.”

  “He is just protective.”

  “Stop defending him. He needs to mind his own business and worry about his girlfriend and stop worrying about mine.”

  “We are friends, Tate. Friends look out for each other. He is just looking out for me.”

  I rolled my eyes, knowing full well that Lucas had a hidden agenda. “Is that why you haven’t been returning my calls?”

  “No it’s not, I promise. The time difference sucks balls.” She took a deep breath that echoed through the phone. “How’s LA? What’s new?” Sav changed the subject as quickly as it began.

  “I’m working a lot.”

  “So I’ve heard.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Was it Tanzi or Ali?”

  “They are worried about you, and I need for you to take care of yourself. Believe me, your body needs to be in peak physical condition for what I have planned for you when I come home. I am going to have you on your back for days.”

  “Don’t change the subject, Sav.”

  “I’m not. I just don’t want to have an argument with you over the phone, especially if I can’t have amazing make-up sex with you.”

  I hissed as my body reacted instantly to her words. “You are going to make me explode in my pants right here.”

  “No phone sex, remember?”

  We both sat in silence on opposite sides of the country, listening to the other breathe. My anger towards Lucas had subsided by a simple word from Savannah, but I knew it was still playing on her mind. My eyes scanned the four corners of my office and it hit me. Owning a bar definitely had its perks, and I had used them to my advantage on more than one occasion, but what had started as a crazy dream with loose chicks and endless booze was now my livelihood. Red Velvet had been the dream of a guy mourning the life he’d thought was mapped out for him, but now Red Velvet was the place that was going to support my family. My thoughts had been running rampant. Time on my own always ended up with decisions being made at the drop of a hat, and I hoped I didn’t lose her when I made the toughest decision yet.

  “I’m coming to New York.”

  Her laughter filled my ears. “Don’t be silly. I’ll be home in a few weeks. You have work.”

  Little did she know I was already planning my arrival in the Big Apple.

  My suit was crisp, my shoes were shined, and I was in complete business mode, and for some reason it got me preferential treatment at LAX like I was someone of some importance, so who was I to reject it? My Thursday morning had been spent locked in an early morning business meeting with my business associates, amongst the talk of figures and expansion of the Red Velvet brand, I’d decided that today would be the day I went to New York. I was antsy to get out of LA, and after speaking with Savannah the night before, I knew I had to get to New York as soon as I could. The moment I’d shaken the investors’ hands and ceased the meeting, I made my way to LAX.

  My body molded into the pl
ush seat, and I couldn’t help but smile. In a matter of hours, I would be seeing Savannah. I’d be able to kiss her, hold her, and put my hands on her little stomach. I’d have my life back. My head rested back and my eyes closed as my smile grew wider.

  “You look super happy,” Tanzi spoke softly beside me, lifting her eyes from the laptop in front of her. Of course she and Jack were coming to New York with me. According to Tanzi, I couldn’t go and see Sav without them. From the time I’d sent Tanzi a text to tell her of my plans to go the moment I left the bar, she and Jack were waiting for me with their suitcases packed. Did she really think I’d be sharing Sav considering I hadn’t seen her in over a week?

  “I am pretty fucking happy,” I replied in a tone loud enough for the elderly woman in seat 3C to scowl at me. Smiling, Tanzi shook her head in amusement.

  “What are you planning on doing when you get there? Besides the obvious.” The way she scrunched her nose up caused a deep laugh to escape my chest.

  “They are going to screw each other senseless, Tanzi.” Jack laughed from the seat on the other side of Tanzi and proceeded to lean across her to give me a high-five. I couldn’t leave him hanging so I overenthusiastically returned the high-five and nodded in agreement.

  “Jesus, Jack. Obviously that’s what I meant when I said ‘beside the obvious.’”

  Jack’s laughed echoed through the cabin and the scowling lady from before looked at us in disgrace.

  The pilot announced that we were taking off so I braced myself and sat back, my hands clasped tightly in my lap. Closing my eyes, I leaned back into my seat and held my breath as the plane took off down the runway. My mind was racing on what I was going to do when I got to New York. I had absolutely no plans; I hadn’t even packed a bag. All I had was the clothes on my back, my wallet, my cell, and a whole heap of anticipation. All I knew was that I needed to get to her. I needed to correct the fucked up thoughts Lucas had put in her head. The thought that she could be analyzing our relationship or trying to justify me being in her life made me sick to my stomach.

  “Tate, stop it! Everything will be fine.”

  I twisted in my seat to find Tanzi looking at me with wide, concerned eyes. Damn twin intuition. I didn’t even have to say a word and she knew what I was thinking. I gave her a weak smile and collapsed deep in my chair. Five hours of my mind playing tricks on me were ahead of me.

  My thoughts went back to my last trip to New York City when all hell had broken loose, and once again it had been Lucas. My stubbornness and insecurities about my relationship with Sav were on full display and all it took was one call. I heard Lucas answer her phone and was thrown back to the moment I’d found Blake with Sarah.

  I remember the day as if it were yesterday and I was pissed that it still affected me. Both of them didn’t deserve my time, and they certainly didn’t deserve the hours I had spent analyzing why they’d done it. Blake was a couple of years younger than Tanzi and me, and he and his grandparents had moved next door during my senior year. We bonded over surfing, and soon enough, every afternoon and weekend was spent at the beach. I was happy in my relationship with Candice while Blake was screwing himself around San Diego. I had to give him props though—he was by my side when my world came crushing down around me when I lost Candice. He was the one who got me out of the house to take me surfing, bought copious bottles of booze to numb it all, and first introduced me to Sarah. He was also the one I found pounding into her on the couch in my apartment—a sight that would forever be etched into my memories. I’d never forget the smirk she fired at me when she saw me or the way Blake begged for my forgiveness. It was from that moment I became the asshole Savannah first met, the asshole who spent his day drowning in booze, screwing random chicks, and being the prick of a guy I’d thought I deserved to be.

  “Tate!”

  Tanzi’s voice snatched me from reliving memories of my past and my ears were overcome with the sound of chatter around me. People were exiting the plane—I was in New York City. I was in the same city as Sav. Now what? I wasn’t just known for being an asshole—I was also known for spontaneity.

  I grabbed my cell from my jacket pocket and scrolled through, looking for Simon’s number, and sent a text.

  Me: Simon, it’s Tate. I am in New York. What’s the address of Beautify and where is she staying?

  Mr Davenport: What the fuck? What are you doing?

  Me: I need to see her.

  Mr Davenport: Don’t fuck this up.

  Me: Have faith in me, Simon. Do you think I’d fly 3000 miles to fuck this up? What more do I have to do to make you see that I am in this for good?

  Mr Davenport: I knew I liked you for a reason. I’ll call Beautify and tell them to let her off for the afternoon. She needs to work though, Tate, so don’t make me ban you from the office. I’ll text you the info. Give her a hug for me. I miss her too, you know.

  I jammed my phone into my pocket and rubbed my hands over my face in frustration. I knew I had a lot to prove to Simon, and if it was the last thing I did on this earth, I would prove to him that I was worthy of Savannah. Right now though I needed to shake my frustration and get to her. Unbuckling my seatbelt, I stood to stretch, looking down at Tanzi and Jack.

  “Let’s go.”

  “What are we doing?” Tanzi asked as we rushed through the busyness of JFK arrivals.

  “I am going to see Sav. I don’t know about you two,” I said anxiously as I rushed through the arrivals, dodging other people excitedly arriving in the Big Apple with my eyes searching for a cab. I was a bundle of anxiety, excitement, nervousness, and anticipation.

  “Tate, I want to see Sav too.” Tanzi grabbed my arm and pulled me back so I was walking in step with her. She was whining like a five-year-old who had her Barbie taken from her.

  “Let’s go to dinner tonight in Times Square. I just really need to see her on my own. Do you really want to see your brother having sex?” I joked, desperate to ease the tension. My words were full of jokes but my eyes were pleading with her. Tanzi huffed a response before we took off in search of a cab while she desperately tried to get a room at the same hotel Sav was at.

  “I’ve seen you do a lot of shit, Tate. Thankfully having sex hasn’t been one of them and I don’t plan on changing that.”

  Why were there so many cabs in New York City? I was on edge, clutching my phone with a death grip. I’d been biting my bottom lip since the moment I gave the cab driver the address for Beautify. Mr. Confidence had run for the hills. My eyes darted out the window, trying desperately to find a distraction. New York City had definitely been an escape for me over the years, and I loved nothing more than getting distracted in the craziness of the city. I swear I had drunk my bodyweight in scotch in this city.

  “Sir, we are here.”

  I lifted my sunglasses from my eyes, turned my head, and looked out the window towards the glistening building in front of me. It towered sky high. Handing God only knows how much money to the cab driver, I opened the door and stepped out into the sunshine of Manhattan.

  “Good luck!” Tanzi yelled as the cab took off with a squeal.

  The interior of the building was as sleek as the exterior. The marble tiles reflected below my feet while my eyes scanned the board in front of me, desperately trying to find the floor that held Sav. Beautify NY—tenth floor. Impeccably dressed men and women rushed around me while I became with panic. What if Sav didn’t want to see me? What if she thought it was stupid of me to fly over on a whim? Last night she told me not to come over. Shut the fuck up, Tate, I scolded myself. I looked down at my phone. It was 3:14 pm. It was time to see Sav.

  I nervously strolled through the foyer, praying that I looked somewhat confident. My suit definitely allowed me to fit it. People nodded at me, and I attempted to smile back. I had no idea how I was going to even get in to see her. My goal of allowing S
av to have the experience of the thrill of surprise was key. I wanted her breath to catch in the back of her throat. I wanted her heart to beat frantically in her chest. And to be honest, I wanted her panties to explode.

  My eyes locked with a young girl who looked barely out of her teens. She was a pretty little thing with cropped copper hair and a huge smile gracing her face. My ego soared as her cheeks tinted when I fired a smile her way. Maybe I could use some of the Connors charm to get my way in? It wouldn’t be the first time I’d preyed on an innocent girl to get what I want. Sometimes my asshole tendencies served me well.

  “Um, hi, can I help you?” she squeaked, her eyes darting between me and the computer screen in front of her.

  Leaning over the desk, I threw her a thousand-watt smile and put on my flirt face. “I need a favor,” I cooed. She nodded in reply. I was an ass. Yet again I was using a girl to get what I want, but this time it wouldn’t result in an empty fuck—this time it would result in Savannah.

  “Um, yes sure. What can I do to you? I mean do for you?” Her cheeks went the same deep red of her blouse, and I couldn’t stop the short laugh from escaping my lips.

  Leaning over even farther, I closed the distance between us and whispered my plan. Thankfully she agreed to my crazy idea without hesitation.

  “Miss Rae is currently on a teleconference with Mr. Davenport from the Los Angeles office. I can take you to the boardroom to wait if you like. She shouldn’t be too long.”

  “That would be perfect. What was your name?”