Twelve Miles (Serendipity series Book 1)

by Robin Edwards

  I wouldn’t call it dating precisely, we had been more off than on. Despite Amy having a key to my house, it was a casual arrangement that I didn’t have the energy to put more effort into. I led a busy life running the Foundation, and it was my life’s work that I would continue doing for as long as I was able, and I did not see a future beyond that, I just didn’t tell her otherwise but I should soon. Plus, I couldn’t imagine more with her, and frankly, it’s the truth.

  You could call me a bastard for having my cake and eating it too, but it’s not like I mistreated her. I’m not an asshole despite what anyone would think. I wasn’t abusive, verbally or physically, we weren’t in a relationship, so I didn’t ‘cheat, ’ and although I haven’t put a stop to everything or correct her in her assumptions, it wasn’t as if I was lying to her. She’s just never asked me what ‘we’ were. If she had asked me at any point before, I would have told her. I am definitely not an asshole, and I’ll prove it to anyone.

  Sure she matched the Sutton Hill lifestyle and had a huge network that held a lot of power in the city, a skill that provided useful for the Foundation. As far as my personal life was concerned, she looked and talked the part and at least on a surface level, won over my mother and the rest of my family but as I’ve said, convenient was all it was.

  “Why, what happened?” Amy asked as she walked over and caressed my jaw with her lips. I really didn’t need this now from her, but the feel of her lips on me felt great.

  “Nothing happened. I’m just tired, and I’m sore all over. This jet-setting is getting to me.” I stepped away from her grasp. “I think I’m going to head to bed early, I’ll take you out tomorrow.”

  “Sure you don’t want me to give you a little massage? It will work wonders for you.” She winked and ran her hand over the bulge in my pants and planted a kiss on my lips.

  “Amy…” I put my hands on her shoulders to stop her from what she was doing.

  “Tell me what you want me to do.” She whispered as she snaked her hand inside my slacks.

  When I walked in, I didn’t initially know what she was wearing. Under her blazer, she wore a button down shirt that was tight enough to promise a lot of nasty things. She had previously unbuttoned the top two buttons and exposed more of her neckline and cleavage and untucked it from her skirt.

  It didn’t take long for me to feel aroused, I was human after all, but I just really wanted to be alone tonight. My body betrayed me, however. The thought of getting a good night’s rest went out the window.

  Without thinking, my hand slowly crept up underneath her blouse, I wanted to see if she was wearing anything underneath. I swiftly picked her up and carried her to the master bedroom for something a little more carnal. I proceeded to lay her down on the King Size bed and as I laid next to her caressed her smooth legs and slid my hand up further to see if she didn’t wear anything underneath her skirt either.

  As I reached the hem of her skirt, Amy placed her hand on top of mine and pulled our hands up her leg slowly until we reached in between her legs before she let go.

  I felt her stiffen a little as I moved my hand back down to her knee. Logic was pretty much gone, and all of my actions were dictated by my other head.

  I had to prop myself up to take off my suit jacket and my shirt as quickly as possible, but my eagerness hindered my ability to do so.

  “Looks like you need more help,” Amy said suggestively as she rolled me onto my back. She straddled my waist and placed my hands on either side of her hips.

  I moved her lower on my body and repositioned her to just that right spot, and she started to sway her hips to elicit more excitement out of me.

  Amy started taking off the remainder of the clothes that I had on before she moved her hands up across my stomach and up to my chest and kissed me there. As she started to lick my nipples, I moved my hands up to her breasts, pausing so that I could give them a gentle squeeze before tossing her top to the floor.

  Her hand started to linger over my bulge and then moved up to undo my belt, button and pulled my zipper down slowly. The outline I made was visible through my briefs, and after I had moved my hips up, Amy took them off completely before tossing them off to join the rest the clothes on the floor.

  Amy had wasted no time before she started to stroke me in long, swift motions while her left hand teased me elsewhere. After she had repeated this a few times eliciting loud moans from me, Amy circled her tongue for a few seconds before taking me into her mouth.

  I couldn’t take much more of it, and with fluidity, I roll her onto her back and rip off what clothes remained on her body, and I kissed the side of her neck, shoulder and down her chest towards her nipples and all the way to her stomach. My hands followed tracing the same pathway my lips took.

  I positioned myself above her, and I slid into her until I am completely inside and I thrust into her slowly at first eventually picking up speed.

  As she cried out, she called my name while I groaned to myself muttering unexplainable words. Several minutes later I felt I was starting to come closer to climaxing and I began thrusting in her harder over and over again.

  I grunted with raw lust, and I pumped into her as hard as I could. I knew I wouldn’t last much longer at the pace I went in, but I wanted a quick release. To hell with anything else.

  It didn’t take long for Amy to climax as well and when she did, she called out my name. I felt her shudder beneath me, and I immediately roll off her to catch my breath.

  “Ah, that was incredible.” Amy exhaled out loud before looking at me.

  “Yeah.” I managed to muster. Every single time I hardly said a word. It was because I felt that all too familiar feeling of guilt whenever we finished fucking. I wasn’t too sure what the exact source of my guilt was other than the possibility that Amy would be upset and accuse me of leading her own but I don’t think that was completely it either. Whatever the source of the guilt was, it came like clockwork, every single time. I was determined to find out what it was all about.

  After Amy had fallen asleep comfortably next to me, I used the opportunity to review some files for the NSK proposal we were still working on, determined to find a way win them over. I wasn’t sure Jack Holden and Mark’s way was the right one for our organization. I felt like there was something better out there and I had to figure it out. The answer was in these numbers somewhere.

  “Bzzz.” the sound of my cell phone vibrating in the pocket of my slacks on the floor – the aftermath of what had just taken place.

  According to the display, it was half-past eight, and the call was coming from an unknown number, “This is Sam.” I answered.

  “Oh, Hi Mr. Ellis. I mean Sam.”

  “Jamie? Is that you?”

  “Yeah, it’s me I’m sorry to disturb you…”

  “Why are you calling so late? Are you okay? Did something happen to you?” I asked.

  “No, nothing’s wrong. I’m really sorry I’m calling you late, but I got your number from the staff directory Amy gave me.” Jamie apologized.

  Was she always like this?

  “It’s quite alright, what’s going on?”

  “At work, in the afternoon Marta stepped away to get something from the supply room, and the phone rang. She didn’t hear it, so I answered it. A man named Corbin left a message for you and wanted to let you know he was going to stop in tomorrow to speak with you. Said it was urgent. I forgot to tell her. I’m really sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize, it was just a message. It could wait until tomorrow.” I laughed. She was such a worrier.

  “That’s the thing, it wouldn’t have been good to wait to tell you tomorrow. He was going to stop in around 9:00 am. By the time Marta came back, I had forgotten all about the call. I still have the message in my pocket.”

  “Well, 9:00 am is early. Good thing you had the initiative to call.”

  “I hope I didn’t ruin anything for you.”

  I chuckled,
“No, no you didn’t. In fact, you saved the day.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, I promise.”

  “Thank you, Sam. I’ll let you go. I’m sorry for calling you so late.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “Bye, Sam.”

  “Bye. Oh, Jamie?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Can I ask you something? That’s if, you don’t mind me asking you something personal.”

  “No, go ahead.”

  “Are you always this apologetic?”

  “….”

  “Jamie? Are you still there?”

  “Yeah, I was just trying to think of an answer.” I chuckled to myself as I got out of bed to get more comfortable in the reading chair next to the bay window. I cradled the cell phone between my ear and shoulder.

  “Just say whatever the truth is. The reason I ask is you grapple one way, but then you seem another way the rest of the time.”

  “Oh. I don’t know. I guess I’m just shy.”

  “What do you have to be so shy about?”

  “A lot of things. Isn’t everyone insecure about something?” She asked.

  “Yeah, you’re right. Want to know what I’m insecure about?”

  “What do you have to be insecure about?”

  “A lot of things. Nobody knows this, but there are days where I feel like I’m losing touch with what I’m supposed to be doing with the Foundation. I feel like we are straying from what I originally wanted more and more and I feel like there’s going to be a point in time where I ruin it completely, and I’ll have failed my father.” I confessed.

  “I don’t think you could ever fail your father. You have given up everything to keep it going. You’ve grown it to where it’s a household name, and you guys have impacted a lot of people. Me included.”

  “Really?” I was surprised but grateful to hear the kind words.

  “Yeah, I had this tape, you know, from a TV special that they aired about your family. It was a long time ago, but it was this documentary they’ve only aired once I think. I recorded it, and I used to watch it over and over probably wearing out the tape. I lost the video, though. Your father is the reason why I sing, why I write and why I play the guitar. He also helped me realize what a real man is and what kind of person I wanted to settle down with.”

  “What kind is that?” I asked.

  “What kind is what?” She asked.

  “What kind of man do you want to settle down with?”

  Chapter Eight

  JAMIE

  I THOUGHT I HEARD THINGS. I wasn’t sure if he just asked me what I thought he asked. My heart started to beat fast, and I had that sinking feeling again. I think I had a panic attack.

  It was still early in the evening but too late to be calling someone I work for, but I did. I had to, I didn’t want to get in trouble, I just started working there, and I loved it so far. It was a risk I had to take, not to mention I was scared as hell.

  I had just come from a fresh shower and was already in my pajamas snuggled underneath the warmth of my blankets, my cell phone glued to my ear.

  “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

  “I asked, what kind of man do you want to settle down with?”

  “Someone kind, sweet and caring…”

  “You know, that sounds kind of cliché.” I heard his suppressed laughter on the other end of the receiver.

  “I know it is, and it may sound like a fairytale, but I love those kinds of stories. The kind where Prince Charming rescues the fair maiden who was kidnapped by the wicked queen.”

  “So you want some guy to wear a lot of metal and to pick you up riding a horse.” I could help but laugh out loud.

  I huddled further under the warmth of my comforters, “Of course not, but your father was kind, generous and he had a great heart. He was one of a kind, and you rarely see that these days. It may sound cliché, but it’s what I want, and I won’t settle.”

  ****

  It had been several weeks since I started working at the Ellis Foundation and my primary responsibility in the office was to support both Amy and Sam. I still had not worked up the courage to confront Sam about his intentions and went back and forth in my mind if it was even a big deal to do so but I just had to know especially after how things have changed since I called him.

  I hadn’t made any personal calls to him since then, but it was as if that phone call improved the dynamic between us and I couldn’t have been any happier, but at the same time, I was also confused about where I stood. I was on the phone with him for two hours until I started to get drowsy and he insisted that I get some sleep. We talked about a lot of things that night everything from the opposite sex, work, my family, hobbies, politics and even philosophy.

  At one point we talked about our favorite films, and he started making impressions of some of our favorite comedies. He was hilarious, and I can honestly say I fell in love that night. I may believe in fairytales, but I do know that you don’t need to spend a whole lifetime with someone to realize how special they are or to recognize adoration when you feel it. Call it infatuation or not, but I know what I feel about Sam, and our phone call confirmed what I already knew from the beginning.

  Ever since the phone call, work was, even more, fun with him around at times. The more time I spent with him at work, the more I learned about him. He was ambitious, hardworking and he did everything with a purpose. It was that purpose that was the driving factor for his motivation. It was admirable.

  There was also a lot of positive signs that I was in his good graces. It was the little things he sometimes did – the quick corny joke he’d tell me every morning at the kitchen coffee station, the way he agreed with my opinions during staff meetings, and it was the way Sam always said he liked the blueberry flavor whenever he pulled a lollipop from the jar of candy on my desk.

  I wished it happened more often than it did because he was always in meetings or traveling and if he was in the office he usually had his door shut. Most of the time, though, Sam went through Amy to delegate work to me, and if Sam did give me work directly, he professionally addressed me.

  Despite the yearning for more attention than I had gotten, I was a good place in my life, and I was enjoying it. Granted it wasn’t what I ideally wanted, but I couldn’t ask for anything more. The only cause for concern that I had was that Amy always gave me a hard time whenever the other staff wasn’t around. I got the impression that Amy didn’t like me from the get-go and it really angered her when Sam blew off a planning meeting with her on early evening and decided to check out for the night instead.

  “Are you doing anything later?” he asked as he appeared in front of me. I was focused on my computer screen, creating a spreadsheet with some data Amy and given me that morning. She wanted it finished before I left, even if it meant I worked overtime.

  “I’m sorry, what.” I didn’t look up.

  “I asked if you had plans later.” Sam took out the headphones from my ears and repeated his question. It was after closing time, and all of the other staff members had already left, except for Amy, Sam and I.

  “No, I don’t.”

  “I was going to go for a walk to the beach, would you want to come with me?”

  “Sure.” I agreed to try to contain my excitement.

  “You don’t have to, you could say no if you want I won’t be offended.”

  “No, I’d like to join you. Really.”

  “Are you sure?” Sam asked.

  “Definitely. When would you like to go?”

  “Right now.” He laughed.

  “Now? Amy wanted me to finish this report before I left.”

  “Don’t worry about it, you can finish it tomorrow. If she gives you a hard time, tell her I said you could. I could really use a change of scenery, and I really don’t feel like going home right now.”

  “Alright, I just need to grab my jacket and purse,” I said as I stood up to c
ollect my belongings until Amy joined the conversation in protest.

  “Jamie, are you finished with the report? Sam and I are getting ready to leave, and I wanted to review it tonight.”

  “I…uh…” I didn’t know what to say.

  “I told her to finish it tomorrow, it’s getting late. Oh, can we also push back our meeting to tomorrow? I’m going to head out and go for a walk.”

  “We were going to go over the strategic plan. Did you at least want me to join you? We could discuss it while we walk.” She asked Sam.

  “No, it’s okay. I already asked Jamie to accompany me. You go on home, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Oh, uh…okay, Sam. If that’s what you want.” Amy was befuddled and then turned to me, “First thing tomorrow, Jamie.”

  “It can wait, Amy,” Sam said in my defense.

  “But Sam...” Amy protested before giving me the subtle stink eye.

  “We have time, don’t worry. The Foundation won’t fall apart because of one spreadsheet you reviewed a day later than normal.” Sam laughed and patted Amy’s shoulder. He had incredible patience.

  “Shall we go?” Sam asked before placing a hand on the small of my back urging me forward.

  “Yes, lets.” I glanced at Amy, who didn’t look too happy but I didn’t care I wanted to spend more time with him away from others, and I was excited to find out what was going to happen. As silly as it sounded, I hoped there was a particular reason he invited me.

  “Do you go to the beach much?” Sam asked after we had walked in silence for a bit. It was cold that night, and the air was crisp. I could subtly see our breath fog up every time we exhaled. I pulled my pea coat shut and folded my arms to keep myself warm.