One Reckless Night

by Stephanie Morris

  but she still had a few vulnerabilities. Last weekend he recognized there were a few issues within her

  past relationships he hadn’t been aware of.

  There were more layers to Bayleigh than he ever would have guessed. The realization of their

  relationship being separate from their friendship was more realistic than he thought. He was curious

  about details important to a relationship that weren’t vital to a friendship. Every time insecurity

  flashed across her expression he wanted to soothe it away. For the most part, he’d been able to. His

  biggest fear was pushing her too hard. In the years he had known Bayleigh she had become a

  permanent fixture in his life. She shared a lot of the important firsts in his life over the last five

  years.

  “Uh-oh, the expression on your face right now usually means trouble.”

  Dane put his rambling introspection aside, giving Isaac a blank stare. “What are you talking

  about?”

  Isaac chuckled. “The expression is hard to describe. You get this far away wistful look like

  you want something you can’t have. Only it usually pertains to Bayleigh, and since you are dating her

  now, there’s no reason for your expression.”

  Dane took a sip of his beer. “Well my friend, just because I’m dating Bayleigh doesn’t mean

  the hard work is over. It’s just beginning.”

  Isaac gave him a puzzled look. “What do you mean?”

  Dane leaned back in his chair. “I’ve been certain of my feeling for two years. Now, I have to

  be patient and wait for Bayleigh to catch up.”

  “True but you were patient enough to wait all this time. What's a few more months?”

  Dane sighed. “My patience is wearing thin. Now that Bayleigh is within my grasp it’s hard

  not to rush her.”

  Isaac smiled. “You know you’re going to put yourself into an institution if you keep this up,

  right?”

  Dane chuckled. “I’m already there man,” he stated, then took a sip of his beer. “Enough

  about Bayleigh. What’s new with you?”

  Isaac shook his head. “Nothing new here. Just the same old mundane life.”

  Dane laughed. “Isaac, I have known you forever, which is long enough to know your life

  isn’t boring in the least. If nothing else, you have a girlfriend of the month keeping it exciting for

  you.”

  Isaac smirked “Yes, but I prefer to leave the falling in love part to you. I’ve been there

  before and I don’t believe it’s everything everyone seems to think it is.”

  Dane looked at Isaac in surprise. “I don’t recall you being in love with a woman.”

  Isaac shrugged. “Trust me, I’ve been there. Having that someone you want to be with all the

  time. You want to stay in control of the entire situation so that it’s perfect. Yet, you can’t and it runs

  you ragged. You want her in your life twenty-four-seven, unfortunately you aren’t sure if she wants

  the same.”

  Dane stared at Isaac in shock. He couldn’t remember his friend ever mentioning a woman of

  significance. The words Isaac just spoke couldn’t ring more true for Dane. How else would Isaac

  know unless he had been there? True pain had laced Isaac’s words.

  Isaac grinned at him. “Why the stunned expression?”

  “Because I’m not feeling much like a friend right now.” Dane shook his head slowly. “When

  did you fall in love and why didn’t I notice?”

  Isaac’s expression turned somber. “It’s not your fault. I didn’t say anything. I had a

  reputation to upkeep.”

  “Who is she?”

  Isaac stared at his bottle for a moment before looking at Dane. “It doesn’t matter. We didn’t

  work out for a reason. I now also know love isn’t for me. I enjoy being single, experiencing the

  variety life has to offer.”

  Dane glanced around the bar at the women milling around. Several were looking in his

  direction. They paled in comparison to Bayleigh. Isaac on the other hand was smiling broadly at the

  voluptuous blonde on the other side of the bar. When Isaac’s gaze finally met Dane’s again, there

  was a serious expression there.

  “Just don’t make the same mistake I made. If you really want Bayleigh, make sure she never

  doubts it. Everything else will fall into place.”

  Dane nodded taking in Isaac’s words. He was seeing his friend in different way. Guilt ate

  him. Shouldn’t a friend know when the other was head-over-heels for another woman?

  Maybe that was how Isaac has picked on Dane’s attraction to Bayleigh. Dane smiled. Isaac

  had known he was more than physically attracted to Bayleigh as soon as he mentioned her. Even

  Dane hadn’t known it. Little did he know how right Isaac was at the time.

  He couldn’t think of any other woman who made him feel the way Bayleigh did. She was

  special. Dane could still remember the first day he met her five years ago. The Research and

  Development Department had been abuzz with the news of a new bright employee coming to the

  company. With the way he worked so closely with the department, his excitement level exceeded

  most.

  Laying eyes on Bayleigh the first time hadn’t been what he expected. Her shyness had come

  through immediately, along with her high level of intelligence. After a week she smiled at one of his

  corny jokes. From then on their friendship blossomed. He could understand why his relationships

  with other women were lacking. They didn’t come close to anything he had with Bayleigh. He

  looked up with Isaac chuckled. “What is it?”

  Isaac shook his head. “You haven’t said what your family thinks about all of this.” Isaac

  paused. “You did tell them didn’t you?”

  Dane laughed. “Of course they know. Mom is already planning the wedding, not to mention

  the grandkids.”

  Isaac gave a full body shudder. “Vanquish the thought.”

  Dane smiled. “There is nothing wrong with marriage and children.”

  Isaac rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. “If marriage and children are desired,

  you’re right.”

  Dane finished off his beer before signaling to the bartender that he wanted another. “Well,

  marriage and children are what I desire. I have for a while now.”

  A look of horror spread across Isaac’s face. “I know.

  However, since the woman you’re fixated on is Bayleigh, I can deal.”

  Dane grinned. “Enough to be my best man if it comes down to it?”

  “If? Now, I’m not a betting man, but if I were I would put money on you and Bayleigh.”

  Dane reached for his new beer. “Glad to know I have your vote of confidence.”

  “That’s what friends are for.” Isaac slapped him on the shoulder. “I’m just glad our drinking

  night hasn’t been weeded out.”

  Dane glanced around the bar again. “I like being able to unwind with a few drinks after the

  long work week. Besides, don’t forget Bayleigh hangs out with her friends on Friday.”

  “So, you and Bayleigh have a date for tomorrow?”

  Dane nodded. “Yes we do. I’m taking her to Tribeca Steakhouse.”

  “Good choice.”

  Dane smiled at Isaac. “I learned from the best.”

  Isaac grinned and Dane enjoyed the rest of his beer while talking to Isaac. An hour later he

  was headed home. The blonde chick Isaac had flirted with all night came over to introduce herself.

  Dane had taken the opportunity to excuse
himself. He was past ready to leave anyway. His mind was

  preoccupied with Bayleigh again.

  Spending uninterrupted time with her was a luxury. So far things were okay but not exactly

  what he wanted them to be. It was different trying to balance their friendship, relationship, and work

  life all together. Bayleigh would panic if he wasn’t careful. He couldn’t figure out why the deer-in-

  headlights look would come out on occasion. When he looked into her eyes sometimes, he could

  read the uncertainty there. It puzzled him because Bayleigh had no reason to be unsure with him.

  The close friendship they had was a solid starting point, or so he hoped.

  Dane made the short drive home. Walking into his empty house, he sighed. Having Bayleigh

  in his bed beside him would be a nice bonus. Unfortunately it would have to wait until tomorrow.

  Once he had her there he didn’t plan on letting her out for a long time. Now he just had to perfect a

  plan to keep her there.

  * * * *

  “You look more happy than usual. Is your mystery guy responsible for that?”

  Bayleigh smiled as she cut into her swordfish. She was having an impromptu Saturday lunch

  with Tasha. Over the years she and Tasha had always been close and her marriage to Jarvis hadn’t

  changed that. They were still as close as ever. It bothered her not to tell her sister about her newly

  forming relationship with Dane, but she wasn’t ready for the fallout. Not when everything was so

  new. Still, she knew it was bound to come out eventually. She might as well do it on her terms.

  Bayleigh looked up at her sister, a small smile on her face. “I guess you could say he is

  responsible.”

  Tasha grinned. “You guess? Okay, I’ll pretend to buy into your nonchalant attitude. I can’t

  wait to find out more about him.”

  Bayleigh cleared her throat. “He’s not a complete mystery.”

  Tasha paused with her fork in mid-air. “What does that mean?”

  Bayleigh couldn’t keep this from her sister any longer, nor did she want to. “It’s Dane.”

  The look of shock on her sister’s face was comical. Tasha opened her mouth but no sound

  came out. Her sister closed her mouth, cleared her throat, and tried again.

  “Dane Holden? Your best friend, Dane?”

  Bayleigh nodded, still amused at her sister’s reaction. To be honest, it was similar to her own

  when Dane first told her of his attraction to her.

  “The only Dane I know.”

  Tasha sat her fork down. “Are you serious, Bayleigh?”

  She rolled her eyes. “We both know I wouldn’t joke about this, Tasha.”

  Tasha stared at her for another long moment before she spoke. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it

  before now. The two of you are good together.”

  It was Bayleigh’s turn to be shocked. “What do you mean?”

  Tasha picked her fork back up, a huge smile on her face. “Bayleigh, it’s no secret that you

  and Dane have a close friendship. One of the best foundations for a relationship, in case you didn’t

  know.”

  “If it doesn’t ruin the friendship,” Bayleigh murmured.

  Tasha laughed. “Why would your friendship be ruined?”

  Bayleigh sighed. “Because, if one of us hurts the other and our trial relationship ends, how

  can we go back to being friends?”

  Tasha frowned. “Trial relationship?”

  Bayleigh nodded. “Dane suggested we give a trial relationship a try to see if we’re a good fit

  for each other.”

  “A trial relationship? The two of you are nuts.” Tasha shook her head in disbelief. “I

  probably shouldn’t ask, but how long is this trial relationship supposed to last?”

  Bayleigh gave her sister a small smile. “Six months, providing we don’t call it quits before

  then.”

  “What happens if you do make it to six months?”

  Bayleigh shrugged. “We extend the relationship?”

  Tasha rolled her eyes. “The two of you are certifiable. Good Lord, Bayleigh. Dane is nice,

  attractive, he cares about you, and more importantly he isn’t a jackass like Erwin. You are insane to

  be wasting time like this.” Tasha reached across the table. “Things don’t always turn out the way we

  expect them to. Sometimes they turn out better.”

  Tasha gave Bayleigh a look of understanding. “I’ll tell you a secret. For a long time I was

  afraid to settle down. I think it was the reason I chose the guys I did before Jarvis.” Tasha smiled

  sadly.

  “Guys that didn’t treat me the way I was worth being treated.”

  Bayleigh couldn’t hide her surprise. “I never knew you felt like that.”

  Tasha shrugged. “I didn’t know either, until I met Jarvis. Do you remember how insane

  Jarvis drove me in the beginning?”

  Bayleigh smiled. She could recall, very clearly how irritated Tasha had been in the beginning

  when her sister first mentioned Jarvis. “Yes, I do.”

  Tasha released her hand. “I never told you how we met.”

  Bayleigh shook her head. “No you didn’t”

  Tasha sighed. “I met Jarvis the night of my messy breakup with Darius. I was a complete

  mess, drunk and belligerent. Jarvis saw me, realized I was the ex-roommate of his friend’s girlfriend,

  so he decided to come to my rescue. He kept the bartender from calling the police, and promised to

  escort me home.”

  Bayleigh chuckled. “So you made a good first impression?”

  “It gets better. Jarvis had to pull over twice on the way home so I could throw up. When he

  finally got me home, he put me to bed, where I made a pass at him. He thwarted my attempt before

  making me take aspirin and drink two cups of water,”

  Bayleigh looked at Tasha, amused. “Jarvis always had been a gentleman.”

  “Oh, it gets better. Jarvis left for the night, but showed up early the next morning to nurse

  me back to health because I had a massive hangover. After he fed me a light breakfast, he made me

  drink this horrible concoction, which made me want to hurl again. He then escorted me into a cool

  shower. Afterwards, I realized everything he was doing and it made me feel embarrassed.”

  Bayleigh looked at her sister with puzzlement. “Why? He was taking care of you.”

  Tasha nodded. “I know. I felt pitiful, but Jarvis stayed with me the whole day. He made me

  lunch and dinner. I wanted to repay him, so I offered him sex.”

  Bayleigh gasped. “Tasha!”

  “Don’t worry. Jarvis turned me down, for four months to be exact. I thought I was going to

  go crazy. Jarvis kept insisting he wanted to get to know me first. When we finally did it, I thought

  the earth moved and that scared the hell out of me. I avoided him after that, but he wouldn’t let up.”

  Bayleigh shook her head. “I had no idea.”

  “That isn’t the end of it. My relationship with Jarvis was good. No, it was great. Even so

  when he proposed to me a little over a year into our relationship, I broke up with him.”

  Bayleigh’s mouth dropped open. Here she had been thinking she was feeling irrational when

  it came to Dane. Her sister had her beat big time. “You what?”

  Tasha nodded, pausing to take a sip of her tea. Bayleigh was stunned. As well as she knew

  her sister all of this was news to her. How had she missed this? When she thought about it,

  everything seemed perfect. Tasha must have read the question in her eyes. “I hid it well. Remember


  the two month period when I stayed away, making up excuses about school, work, even Jarvis?”

  Bayleigh nodded, recalling the time frame her sister referred to. “I remember.”

  “I was hiding my break up with Jarvis. I was confused, embarrassed, upset, and basically an

  emotional wreck. I was miserable. Realizing I made a mistake, I crawled back to Jarvis begging him

  to take me back. Thankfully he took me back and here we are today, but it wasn’t easy.” Tasha

  exhaled softly. “I know your fear Bayleigh, but don’t be afraid of your own happiness. Trust

  yourself. Dane is good to you. He always has been. Don’t be afraid to admit you’re happy with him.

  It won’t go away if you do.”

  Bayleigh stared at her sister, wanting to give her a hug. She and her sister might not be alike

  personality wise, but they seemed to be on the same wavelength when it came to emotional issues.

  Looking into Tasha’s eyes, she knew her sister understood. Unfortunately, she had limited herself in