Facade: Facade

by Ashley Suzanne

  “Wow.” That’s all my exhausted body will allow me to say between shallow breaths.

  “Welcome home.”

  I wake up, feeling too hot from Jacoby lying on top of me and a dull ache between my thighs that only he can satisfy.

  Yep, I’m moving in with him. I know it’s just a dream, but deep down, I know it will be our reality.

  It’s been a short three weeks since I made the decision to move in with Jacoby. He’s loved me and given me the benefit of the doubt time and time again. He’s been patient, when anyone else would have run away from my crazy. Most importantly, he wants me because I’m me; no fluff, just me. How could I not love a man like that and want to move forward with my life?

  Jacoby and I decide to sublease my apartment to an intern from his company. It’s a month to month lease, so if anything goes wrong with Jacoby and me, I have a place to come home to. I’m a little sad to not have my office, but Jacoby’s promised to give me an even better space. I don’t know how that’s going to be possible, but we’ll see how it goes.

  With Mira getting everything ready for her engagement non-party tonight, I’ve had to deal with most of this on my own. It’s kind of difficult, but I know it’s because we’re all going in different directions; Mira and Skylar planning their wedding, Danny and his busy work schedule and me moving in with Jacoby. It’s like all is right in the world, but I miss my friends.

  To top off the stress of Mira’s shindig, Shelby is coming to spend a week with Jacoby and it’s as good a time as any to meet her. From what I gather, he gets every other holiday and the extended breaks at school. I know he wishes he lived closer, but with Dawn, his ex, having her career in Chicago and Jacoby’s here, it’s too hard. I see the sadness in his eyes when he talks about her, but since Dawn let him know about Shelby’s upcoming break, there’s a bit more happiness behind those honey orbs.

  “Is that the last of it?” Jacoby asks, carrying the last box out of the apartment. I look around, making sure I’m not forgetting anything.

  “Yep. Everything that’s left stays.” I walk to the door, turn the lock and stare back inside the place that’s been home to me for the last four years. Remembering all the good times, and not so good times, my eyes mist, but I know my life can only get better from here.

  Jacoby carries everything inside, not letting me help with anything other than the one box with my office stuff inside. Once he has the last load in the house, he takes me by surprise when he picks me up to carry me to a door that’s behind the stairs.

  “What’s this?” I question as Jacoby fiddles with a few keys before picking the one that’s going to open the door.

  “You need a space to be creative and here it is.” Jacoby opens the door to another office space, and true to his word, it’s better than my last.

  The tones of this room are warm and comforting, while the furniture has a modern feel. My old bookcase is here, lined perfectly with all my stuff. The vast difference is a picture frame that sits behind the desk; it’s a photograph of the cover of my book with an article from the New York Times that lists my book as a best seller.

  “Jacoby,” I whisper, shocked that he could make something so beautiful and that I’m apparently a best seller; New York Times, no less.

  “I knew you could do it. With your first book, too. I’m so fucking proud of you, Red.” I jump into Jacoby’s arms and plant small but significant kisses all over his face.

  I should’ve known better than put my hands on him in an office. It seems that wherever computers or books are, we can’t help ourselves. One thing leads to another and I’m naked from the waist down, as is Jacoby, and I’m in for the ride of my life.

  “Hold on to the edge and don’t let go. Watching you bend and pack all day – shit Kylee,” he grunts, thrusting into me from behind.

  I do as he asks, anchoring myself to the desk, and take everything he gives to me. The sound of our lovemaking drives me higher until I feel the crescendo making its appearance.

  “Harder,” I pant, begging for the orgasm that’s on the brink.

  “Hold on, Red.” Jacoby nearly pulls entirely out of me before slamming home. He repeats this process a few times before I’m screaming in pleasure … pain … no, pleasure, ‘sweet mother of all things holy’ pleasure.

  His body goes rigid against mine, pouring into me, and marking me for his own. For being our first ten minutes of living together, this isn’t a bad way to start off.

  “Welcome home,” Jacoby says, just like in my dream and I’m ready for round two.

  “Let’s go take a shower.” I walk out the door, winking as I leave him to clean up his mess, and carefully walk up the stairs. I don’t know about you, but having come drip down my leg isn’t as hot as some might think.

  Round two … and three take place in the shower, and I don’t think I can have sex for at least a few days. My body is sore in places I didn’t know existed and I’m starved.

  “Babe, I need food,” I whine from the bed, where I sat down twenty minutes ago and am failing miserably at getting up.

  “Are you hungry?” Jacoby eyes me with lust in his eyes. Oh no, no, no. Not again. I’m exhausted, I think my vagina is broken and if my stomach growls one more time, it might just eat itself.

  “Food, Jacoby. I need food,” I demand. Whiny time is over; I get a little cranky when I’m starving.

  “Okay, okay,” Jacoby gets out of bed, taking my not so subtle hint, and goes downstairs.

  I muster up enough energy to follow him down and slump in one of the barstools at the breakfast bar in the kitchen. Jacoby’s rummaging through the fridge when I see strawberries and chocolate syrup.

  “That,” I point to the fruit, “I’d like those, please.” Jacoby’s eyebrows rise and his lips turn up in a deviant grin. “No, don’t even think about it. I’m out of commission for at least twenty-four hours. I want the strawberries and chocolate, nothing else, sir.”

  “Well, we’ll save that idea for another day,” Jacoby laughs, handing me my snack.

  He then proceeds to pull out enough food to feed a family of six and starts throwing things in a frying pan. Okay, I know that my vagina is broken in ways unknown to scientists, but watching my extremely sexy boyfriend, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers, cook—well it’s doing something to me.

  Licking my lips in appreciation, Jacoby turns around and catches me red-handed, staring at him like he’s a Thanksgiving turkey and I’m a ravenous Pilgrim.

  “Like what you see, Red?” Hell to the fuck yes, I do. Actually, I love it.

  “Oh, stop it. Hurry up, we have to get dressed. We only have a few hours left. If I’m late, Mira will kill me.” I brush off my arousal and finish my plate.

  Jacoby puts his meal on a plate, sits next to me at the breakfast bar, and puts his hand on my bare thigh. I almost jump out of my skin. How is it possible to be fully sated until he touches me? I’ll never understand.

  I rush upstairs to find the dress I’m going to wear, avoiding any more contact with Jacoby. He’s left laughing in the kitchen while I’m trying to calm down enough to make sure my underwear aren’t going on backward. Real fucking funny, mister.

  I’m finishing the last of my makeup, already wearing my blood red maxi dress, when Jacoby comes upstairs to change. While staring in the mirror, trying to put on mascara, I see Jacoby in his walk-in closet picking out his wardrobe. As he shrugs into a button-down black shirt, the muscles in his back ripple and flex. I almost miss my eyelashes and put the mascara wand straight through my eyeball. Maybe living with Adonis wasn’t such a smart idea. I’m never going to wear makeup again.

  It’s a short drive to the restaurant Mira’s chosen for her engagement non-party, since everyone except her and Skylar live in Ann Arbor, or just outside. Walking through the doors, the first person I spot is Mira’s mom. It feels like ages since I’ve been back to see her and the sudden pang of guilt hits me hard in the pit of my stomach. I know we’re all moving on in our lives,
but I should make time for her; she was always there for me growing up.

  “Hey, Mom,” I greet Mira’s mom.

  “Sweetheart, aren’t you just gorgeous.” She kisses my cheek and pulls me in for a hug. “Mira told me you wrote a book and it’s doing fantastic. I’m so proud of you.” Tears spring to my eyes. My own parents have been too consumed with their fucked up marriage to even consider calling and telling me congratulations or anything. It might help if I told them I wrote a book and didn’t publish it under a pen name, but still, they don’t even call to say hello. I’m not extending an olive branch.

  There’s a small platform at the front of the banquet room. I’m not sure if everyone knows why we’re all here, but this is going to get good. Mira takes her spot beside Skylar on the stage and all eyes are on the couple of the evening.

  “Thank you guys so much for coming. We’re so happy that so many of you came out to hear our announcement,” Skylar says.

  “Hey stranger,” Danny whispers, sneaking up behind me and kissing my cheek. “What did I miss?”

  “Nothing much yet. This is my boyfriend Jacoby. Jacoby, this is Danny. Mira’s ex … Well shit, what do I call you?”

  “We’ve met, Kylee. And you can call me your friend,” Danny softly chuckles.

  “Where’s Melissa?” Danny’s face twists and he shakes his head telling me ‘not now’.

  Mira clears her throat behind the microphone and all of our eyes turn back to face them.

  “Skylar and I are really excited to tell you guys about our plans and we hope that you’ll be happy for us. A few weeks ago, Skylar proposed to me, and, well, I said yes!” Mira squeals, throwing her left hand in the air, showing off her gorgeous ring.

  From behind me, I hear Danny suck in a large breath of air, hissing out through his teeth. I’m not sure anyone else notices the climate change from our area of the room, but it’s turned ice cold.

  “I’m going to get a drink. You guys want anything?” Danny asks, turning to head to the bar.

  “I’ll come with you.” I kiss Jacoby on the cheek. “Something’s wrong with him, I’ll be right back,” I whisper in his ear.

  A roar of clapping, hooting and hollering gets quieter as I approach the bar where Danny’s slumped over a stool. I didn’t give much thought to how he would take this sudden news, and my heart breaks for the guy. He’s been in love with Mira since the second he saw her.

  “Danny,” I say, sitting in the stool next to him. He looks at me and he’s clearly choking back tears. This poor guy.

  “I’m good, Ky. Go on back, I’ll be right there.” He quickly turns his head back to the bartender and orders a beer. I catch the bartender’s attention, adding another beer to Danny’s order, preparing to wait with him until he’s composed enough to go back in.

  “Talk to me,” I plead.

  “I fucked up, Ky. I fucked up so bad.” Danny shakes his head, passing the bartender a twenty, paying for our beers.

  “What do you mean? With Mira?”

  “Yeah,” he says, taking a swig of his drink. “I shouldn’t have let her go. I thought I was doing the right thing, giving her a way out. Skylar’s like a brother to me, but I never thought they would make it, let alone get engaged.” Danny takes another long pull from the bottle.

  “This has to be hard, but you’re right, you let her go. You broke up with her.” I’m trying to wrap my head around all of this. This is why relationships are more trouble than they’re worth. Danny’s an excellent guy and he’s hurting because he put Mira’s feelings ahead of his own. “Where’s Melissa?”

  “We broke up a month ago. When Mira was in the hospital, I thought she wasn’t ever going to come back to us. Melissa was a good distraction from the pain I was feeling, and I think I was for her, too. Once we got together, it just wasn’t the same. I liked her a lot, but nowhere near the way I liked Mira. Melissa was an infatuation, Mira was my first love. Is my first love. My only love.”

  Mother fucker, this is going to be bad before it gets good.

  “Okay, this isn’t good. Mira’s with Skylar now, they’re engaged and she’s so happy. You can’t do anything to mess with that. Promise me, Danny. Promise you won’t do anything stupid.” I grab his face, forcing him to look at me and acknowledge what I’m saying.

  “You have a boyfriend now. What would you do if you fucked up? If there was the slightest chance that you could get him back, what would you do?” I know exactly what I would do. It’s not hard to think of those kinds of situations, as there have been so many, but Jacoby’s always fought for me. If I were in a position to fight for him, I would do so, tooth and nail.

  “I know,” I concede. There’s nothing more I can do if he won’t listen to me, and I simply have no argument to his last point.

  Danny orders another beer and downs it in a matter of minutes; I’m still nursing mine. I see Jacoby walking toward the bar with a smile on his face and I can’t help but reciprocate.

  “I’m gonna get out of here. Tell Mira I’ll call her next week or something.” Danny stands, shakes Jacoby’s hand and is out the door.

  “What was all that about?” Jacoby questions.

  “He’s gonna try to win her back. Fuck.”

  My best friend is in for a world of trouble and she doesn’t even know it. Looking at her standing with Skylar, hugging friends and family, she has no idea what’s going to happen if Danny doesn’t get his head on straight.

  Skylar might just kill him.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Kylee

  “What time will Dawn and Shelby be here?” I ask in a frantic dash, preparing the house for Jacoby’s ex and daughter to arrive.

  “Within the hour. You don’t have to freak out, okay? The house doesn’t need to be spotless, I swear nobody’s going to judge you,” Jacoby reassures me, kissing my forehead, lingering longer than usual.

  “I just want everything to be perfect. What will Dawn think about the house being a wreck when she drops off Shelby? I can’t have her thinking I’m some slob who’s going to rub off on her daughter.” My heart’s racing, palms sweating and my brain’s running a million miles per minute.

  I’m not sure if I’m more nervous to meet Jacoby’s daughter or his ex, maybe a combination of both, but I’m freaking out. I’m sure he’s told Dawn about me, but still, walking into a house where your ex and his new girlfriend live to drop off your daughter for a week. I’d have my claws out, ready for battle.

  “First, the house isn’t anywhere near a wreck. Second, if it was, oh fucking well. Third, you’re not in competition with Dawn. Finally, fourth, please breathe, Red. Everything is going to be fine. Shelby is going to love you and Dawn will too, because I love you.” There he goes again; calming me down when I don’t think it’s humanly possible.

  “I love you, too,” I say, leaning into his touch.

  I’ve never really been around kids, so I’m not sure exactly how to act or what to be prepared for when Shelby gets here. My heart’s stopped racing, but my palms are sweaty as ever. Shaking my hands, trying to dry them off, I do a once over of the house, making sure it looks as presentable as possible.

  The sound of two car doors shutting in the driveway breaks my trance and I’m still not calm. Not even a little bit. When the knocking starts, Jacoby rushes to the door, obviously excited to see his daughter, flings it open and embraces the most adorable little human I’ve ever seen.

  “Look at my princess. You’re at least a foot taller,” Jacoby says, pulling her back and eyeing her from head to toe.

  “I’m not that big yet, Daddy. Mama says if I keep eating all my vegetables, I’ll be big and strong one day. I just hope I’ll be strong enough to beat up boys.”

  I can’t help but giggle, staring at this miniature version of Jacoby, except for her almost white, blonde hair and big blue eyes the size of saucers. The single dimple on her left cheek is large enough to fit a quarter inside. Everything else is strictly Jacoby. I’m wondering where she got t
he hair and eyes from when in walks the most gorgeous, supermodel-stunning woman I’ve ever seen.

  “You must be Kylee,” she says, walking into the living room and pulling me in for a hug. Awkward.

  “Dawn, it’s so nice to finally meet you,” I say, returning the embrace. Could I sound any more like my mother?

  An older man walks through the door, carrying a suitcase which I assume is Shelby’s, and sits it in the foyer. He walks over to Jacoby, shaking his hand and patting Shelby on her head.

  “Kylee, this is Michael, Dawn’s husband. Michael, my girlfriend, Kylee,” Jacoby says, catching me by surprise. Dawn really doesn’t have any feelings left for Jacoby, other than the shared love for their daughter. A wave of relief hits me and I suddenly feel lighter than air.

  I walk over to Michael and engage in some small talk until Dawn announces they have to get going. Something about she’s going to see her college friends while she’s in town. With a quick kiss and longer hug to Shelby, she’s out the door.

  “Shelby Marie Roberts, get your little butt over here and give me some love,” Jacoby bellows, chasing down Shelby who’s running up the stairs.

  A few squeals and giggles later, I know she’s been caught by the Daddy Monster. I decide to throw something together for lunch and let those two get reacquainted. Looking at the prepared meals from the housekeeper, I don’t find anything that’s kid friendly. I want to get off on the right foot. Nothing would suck more than her hating me because I try to feed her veal. Who am I kidding? At twenty-three, I still won’t eat veal.

  In the freezer, I find a box of chicken nuggets and a bag of French fries. Score. Insta-kid food. I preheat the oven, put this afternoon’s delicacies on cookie sheets and pick up a magazine I left on the counter earlier this morning.

  How to Tell If He’s the One. This seems interesting enough to read through.

  Question one – Does your heart skip a beat when he’s near? Check.