Broken Politics

by Janae Keyes

  “Kayla… I accept your apology and I apologize for reacting the way I did. I was wrong to treat you the way I did in these last few days.” I admitted to her. She didn’t speak, but just looked at me in the eyes. “Kayla I love you. I can’t pretend that I don’t. I can’t pretend that it didn’t break my heart to see you go. I don’t know if you want to be with me or not, but I need you to know I love you.”

  “Of course I want to be with you.” Kayla proclaimed. “I love you too. No matter how much I tell myself that I don’t. Matthew Von Hansen…I love you.” There was no thinking there. Thinking wasn’t needed. I instantly pulled her to me and kissed her fully. I had her and she was mine.

  BROKEN POLITICS

  Something Right for Once

  I was as shocked as everyone else when I learned of the Deliverance Bill. This bill is something truly historical in that it isn’t just a bipartisan effort, but it will also change the look of the food assistance programs around the country. President Von Hansen has actually started to pull off some positive changes it seems and for a Republican that is saying a lot. Has President Von Hansen seen the light? Or is he just trying to redeem himself in the eyes of the American people? Either way I can truthfully say I applaud his efforts. Now let’s see if this bill makes it past the House and the Senate. There are plenty in both parties who are speaking out against the bill in hopes of racking up votes to strike it down. The thing is if this bill doesn’t pass there is still the lack of funding for current Food Stamp recipients that President Von Hansen had stripped away in order to make funding for this new bill. Everything will be coming to a vote in emergency sessions that the President has ordered in order to get this bill moving. This could either lift him up or bite him in the ass… we’ll see very soon.

  Until Then,

  K

  Chapter Nine

  Matthew

  IT WAS LIKE everything was right in the world. I gawked at Kayla who was fast asleep next to me. It was Sunday morning and I didn’t want to wake her. She deserved all the sleep she could get. Since that day she’d spent every night with me here for the last week or so. She and I had come to an understanding when it came to her blog. She promised to not attack me personally as she’d done in the past. I promised to not meddle when it came to her blog. It wasn’t my place to influence what she wrote. We both seemed to agree on this and we chose to not talk about it.

  It was amazing to wake up to her beautiful face. I slid from the bed and tiptoed from the bedroom. I had a few things to take care of before she awoke.

  About an hour after I left the room I heard the sounds of Kayla waking. I picked up the tray I had waiting and walked into the bedroom. She looked gorgeous with her curls going in different directions. She sat up and pulled the sheet to cover her bare body.

  “Morning.” She said before she covered her mouth and yawned. I smiled and sat the tray on the bed with her. It was a tray filled with a breakfast of fresh cut fruit, a fresh muffin from the White House chef, and a cup of tea. There was also an single rose and an envelop on the tray.

  “Happy Birthday to you!” I sang and she smiled. I leaned down and kissed her softly.

  “Thank you.” She said sweetly. “Mmm I love Chef LaChance’s apple cinnamon muffins.”

  “I know.” I knew her well. I knew what she liked and what she didn’t like. I knew her and she knew me.

  We’d grown with one another in such a short amount of time. We don’t make complete sense, but I guessed that is what brought us together. I had found her, the woman of my dreams and there was no doubting that.

  My biggest fear were the possibilities of no longer being with her. I was afraid that something would and could tear us apart. For this reason I was grateful that we were keeping our relationship quiet. I knew that there were people who for their own selfish reasons would try to tear us apart to make a dime. This was our time to grow together and to be together as one. I wasn’t going to lose what we had. I’d nearly lost it already.

  I slipped into bed next to her. I ran my hand under the sheet and up her soft leg. She turned to me biting her lip. She simply shook her head.

  “Let me have breakfast first.” She said playfully. Just by being near I was pulled to her in so many ways. My heart, body, and soul were latched onto her. “What’s in the envelope?” she asked.

  “Why don’t you open it and find out.” I stated giving her a smile. She grinned and picked up the envelope. She opened it and pulled out two tickets. I watched her examine the tickets. Her face then began to light up. I don’t think I’d ever seen excitement like that on her face before.

  “No way!” she screamed out happily. “Two front row tickets to see Loreen in New York City!”

  “Yes for you and Simone since it is also her birthday.” I explained to her. There was no secret to why she and Simone were so close and were the best of friends. The two of them shared a birthday. I thought sending them to see Kayla’s favorite singer would be the perfect gift. Kayla was always humming Loreen songs.

  “Baby this is amazing. Thank you.” She said happily before she quickly pressed her mouth to mine. I was happy to make her happy. It was all I really desired.

  “There’s more.” I said. She looked like she couldn’t believe her ears. “It’s in New York. Your transportation and hotel are all taken care of. It’s all setup for you and Simone to have a great Girls Weekend.”

  “Baby!” she squealed happily as she threw her arms around me. “Thank you so much. This is the best.”

  “But wait… there’s more.” I said in my best impression of a Game Show prize presenter. Her eyes seem to widen as she looked at me. I pulled a little light teal colored box with a white bow from my robe pocket. She instantly gasped.

  “Baby no.” she said at once.

  “You haven’t even opened it yet.” I pointed out.

  Kayla slipped the bow from the box and opened it. Inside of the box was a beautiful charm bracelet. There were already two charms on the bracelet. One of them was a rose gold heart with the letter K in diamonds. The other charm was a silver butterfly as I knew Kayla liked butterflies.

  “It’s beautiful.” She said in a whisper as she looked at it.

  “Let me put it on you.” I whispered as I took the bracelet from her hands. She gave me the wrist she wanted it on and I carefully put the bracelet around her wrist and fastened it. “Perfect.” I said as I ran the tips of my fingers over the supple skin of her wrist.

  “I love you.” She whispered looking me directly in the eyes and smiling. Hearing her say those words make my heart grow. I loved this girl beyond anything. I never knew I could fall in love so easily and so naturally, but I knew that she was the only one this could have happened with. We were perfection from the first moment; there was no denying that.

  “I love you too. Now eat up.” I said pointing to her neglected muffin that I’d asked the Chef to make especially for her.

  THE TWO OF us had spent the entire morning in bed. I was grateful for it being a Sunday because that meant I didn’t have to be in the Oval or working unless it was an emergency. I was going to rest and relax with my beautiful girl. I wasn’t going to stress about anything. The House was to vote on the Deliverance Bill this week and so far it seemed as if it was going to pass. Then there was the State Visit to Paris. I was excited because Kayla would be coming along, but first there were two weeks to go. I just wanted to be out of the country even though it was for work.

  “I need get going soon.” Kayla groaned as she peered up at me. Her head was on my chest. I didn’t want her to go. I ran my hand up her exposed back. “I have to.” She said knowing exactly what I was thinking.

  “I know you’re having a birthday lunch with Simone.” I sighed. I moved a stray piece of hair from her face.

  “Plus I need to do laundry.” She said.

  “There are people here who can do your laundry.” I protested. She laughed as she sat up pulling the sheet with her.

  “You just wan
t to keep me prisoner.” She huffed in mock disappointment.

  “That sounds about right.” I answered as I placed a kiss on her arm. She bent to kiss my lips. I quickly took her by the waist and pulled her on top of me. Her naked body was now straddling my body. I could smell lavender in the air. I wanted her. I craved her. I ran my hands up her curves before she stopped the kiss.

  “I need to go.” She whispered against me. I wasn’t ready to let her go. I wanted to keep her skin against mine. It was torture knowing she would be leaving even if it were for just a small about of time. My mind was enthralled with thoughts of all the things I could do to her.

  Kayla

  THE WEEK SEEMED to zoom quickly. I stood in the residence bathroom finishing my make-up. I turned to see Matthew getting out of the shower. He put a towel around his waist and walked to me. I’d never been happier than I was now. It had been two weeks since he’d not just forgiven me, but confessed his love for me. We were together fully with no secrets and it felt freeing. We were the only secret to the outside world.

  It had been difficult and strange to keep this hidden while working here. There were so many times that I would be the same room with him and my mouth wanted to call him Baby, but my brain would correct me quickly to say, Mr. President.

  One good thing that had happened was the Deliverance Bill was voted on in the House and it passed. Now it was on to the Senate. Matthew was confident it would pass in the Senate and he would sign it into law. He was doing things and I was happy as his girlfriend, but even happier as a citizen of this country for a change was was going to have a positive impact.

  “What are your plans for the weekend?” he asked me as he slid his hands hands around my waist and pulled my body against his.

  “I’m going to Julie’s wedding.” I answered. I hated that I couldn’t bring him as my date, but doing that would instantly bring us into the spotlight. I wasn’t ready for that life yet.

  Things were going well for me. I’d started doing freelance works for the Huffington Post and a few other news sites and publications. I was moving up in my career and I loved it. Since my last Broken Politics post I’d lost some of my readers. Apparently I was too nice to President Von Hansen. I’d simply talked about what he was doing right rather than talk about what he was doing wrong.

  “Yeah. Well I’ll be here bored I guess.” He said with a huff.

  “I will head right back after the wedding. The Estate is only just over an hour away from here. I will be back in no time.” I reassured him. It was like the two of us had become inseparable in the last couple weeks.

  “Good.” He said before he pressed his mouth roughly to mine. I could feel the fervor in his kiss. I put my arms around his neck as he leaned me against the bathroom counter. His erection pressed against my lower stomach. He let a small growl loose into my mouth. I felt one of his hands working to get under my dress. I broke the kiss.

  “I have a MetroGirl meeting to get to.” I whispered against his warm lips. “And you have that breakfast thing.”

  “Why must you remind me of responsibilities?” he questioned with a groan.

  “I’ll see you later. I promise.” I said before giving him a quick kiss.

  “Okay. Have a good day.” He huffed as he let me go. I gave him a smile and one last kiss.

  “I love you.” I said sweetly.

  “I love you too.” He said.

  BEING AT METROGIRL was strange. I felt like I hadn’t been in this office in forever, but alas it was time for another staff meeting that I had to attend. The White House seemed to be my new office and now home since I had practically moved in. I was just ready for this meeting to be over so I could get right back to the White House and to Matthew.

  I walked into the conference room. Only half the people had arrived so far. I took my normal seat and pulled out my notebook. The girl across the table from me waved at me.

  “I’m so jealous.” She instantly said to me. “You get to spend all day with President Von Hottie. I would roll in bed with him any day.” I let out a laugh and smiled to myself knowing that I was the one rolling in bed with him every night.

  “I actually spend a lot of time with the press, but I do spend quite some time with the President himself.” I said.

  “What’s he like?” she asked me. She leaned in wanting to soak up every intricate detail.

  “Umm… he’s alright I guess.” I said with a shrug trying to seem uninterested in the man that I was head over heels in love with; the man whom I’d woken up to this morning. I tried to not smile to myself as I thought of him. As opposite as we could be we actually went well together in the strangest way and for once in a very long time I could truthfully say I was happy. In the moment I actually didn’t mind working at MetroGirl as much as I still despised the publication.

  “Just Alright?” she questioned in disbelief. “But he is so hot. I just saw some photos of him vacationing in Hawaii last year shirtless on the beach. I’d hit that.” I tried my best to snort back a laugh. I was then lucky that multiple people started to enter the room along with Kizzy.

  “Seats people.” Kizzy called out. Everyone in the room who wasn’t seated seemed to scramble to a seat and sit at attention for Kizzy. “Time to plan the August issue. It will once again be centered on the President as we have reached the last of Kayla’s article series. Kayla will be accompanying the President to Paris on his first state visit to France. I want to do something different with this one. I want this to be a full multimedia experience. I am sending members of our online video department to produce a segment for the website where Kayla will interview the President. I also want to send Tatiana to direct the interview. I want this last article to be the grand finale.” I just stared at Kizzy as she explained all of this. I’d already written most of my article and I was just going to throw in some of Paris to it. This had thrown everything off. I was going to have to actually interview Matthew. I hadn’t actually interviewed him since my first article.

  “Wow…ummm… There are only a few days until we leave to Paris. I wasn’t... expecting... all of this.” I said stumbling to find my words.

  “Well, you will need to get working. I’ve already cleared the production staff and Tatiana with the White House. Apparently Tatiana will be flying with you and the Press Corp on Air Force One.” Kizzy explained. My heart sank. I knew I would never be able to sneak away with Tatiana around. Julie was already flying separately. She was leaving straight to Europe after her wedding and would be coming to Paris for work before continuing her honeymoon.

  “No way I get to fly on Air Force One with President Von Hottie!” Tatiana squealed in delight. I was going to strangle the next person who referred to Matthew as President Von Hottie. That nickname was overused and didn’t describe him as a person at all.

  Tatiana was the typical MetroGirl girl. She was blond, overly made-up, and overly caffeinated. She also didn’t seem to be that intelligent for the most part and whenever you walked past her desk all she could talk about was celebrity gossip, the newest club on the scene, or the last guy she slept with. I tried my best to not show my disapproval of her, but she wasn’t my type of person to spend time with and now I was going to be stuck with her in a foreign country when I just wanted to spend time with my boyfriend.

  THE DRIVE TO the wedding was a peaceful one though I already missed Matthew. The wedding was on an Estate in Virginia. The car I was in pulled up to a beautiful white estate home with grand columns. We stopped and the driver opened my door. I gave him a nod as he took my hand and helped me from the car. I stood at the entrance in my midnight blue colored one-shoulder tiered chiffon gown. I wore my hair straight for once and it flowed down my back.

  I walked inside where an usher led me to the ceremony spot on the back side of the mansion. I found a seat on the bride’s side of the aisle. Everything was beautiful in Julie’s selected color palette of yellow, white, and grey. There was a small orchestra playing classical music as the guests were se
ated.

  It seemed as if everyone was seated before one final guest walked in flocked in security that I all recognized. I simply couldn’t believe my eyes as I saw Matthew in a black tux taking a seat. What was he doing here? It wasn’t like he knew Julie that well, but I was sure Julie had an invitation sent to his office. What I found interesting was he was seated on the groom’s side.

  All of the guests were abuzz with the entrance of the President. I gazed in his direction and I saw him looking around the crowd. His green eyes then came in contact with mine. I saw him smirk. I shook my head and looked away trying to not draw attention, but I couldn’t help, but to glance back over at him. Just then the music changed.

  The procession started with both the families of Julie and her fiancé Joseph. Then the bridesmaids and groomsmen began their descent. The bridesmaids wore bright yellow strapless asymmetrical organza petal bubble dresses with dark grey waist sashes. Carrying beautiful bouquets filled with yellow and white flowers. While the groomsmen all wore grey suits with white shirts and bright yellow ties. I’d seen a picture of Julie’s dress, but when she walked down the aisle with her dad it looked even better on her. She looked how she described that she wanted to look, like a Southern Belle Princess. Her dress was strapless with a sweetheart neckline, the bodice was covered in jewels that sparkled in the sun, and the skirt was organza and ruffled.

  During the ceremony I would steal glances at Matthew. At one point I caught him taking a glance at me. He gave me a grin before he turned back toward to the ceremony. I couldn’t help, but think of what it would be like to marry Matthew. I knew I loved him and I knew he was whom I wanted to be with, there was no denying that. After I’d finally given into my feelings for him there was no doubting that he was everything and it wasn’t because of what he did, but because of whom he really was.

  The entire ceremony was beautiful and Julie looked amazing and incredibly happy, as she became Mrs. Joseph P. Adamsen III. The reception was held inside of the estate house. Julie’s theme was very minimal in parts and over the top in others. Each table was decorated plainly, but there were large centerpieces filled with beautiful yellow flowers in the middle of each table. My seat was at a table with a few other reporters from the Press Corp. I glanced over to see Matthew seated at his table that was of course filled with senators and congressmen.