Blackout: A Romance Anthology

by Stephanie St. Klaire

  Tapping her foot, she speaks to me without turning in my direction. “I’m a big girl, I don’t need an escort.”

  “Just wanted to help.”

  Finally blessing me with eye contact, she turns on me and manages to grind her teeth while simultaneously barking out her disgust at me. “I don’t need your help. Haven’t needed it for twelve years now.”

  Her words strike home, just like she intended them to, making it clear she’s still hurt. What she doesn’t realize is that it still hurts me too.

  “Well, I’m here and whether you need me to or not I’m going to go with you and help in any way I can,” I push back, staring into her baby blue eyes. Eyes holding so much more than just her anger. I can see the passion she still has for me and I’m sure she can see the same thing shining back at her from me.

  Breaking our stare, she huffs crossing her arms and facing the opening doors of the elevator. “I think I can carry a bag of party favors, thank you very much.” She steps inside and pushes the button for the Penthouse.

  Standing beside her with my hands in my pockets and looking straight ahead because I’m not really sure what to do with myself now that we’re alone in such a small space.

  “Well, I’ll make sure you get to the room and back safely and grab our cigars while I’m at it.”

  This is all I can come up with and judging her reaction she’s heard enough.

  “Can you please just stop talking,” she says on almost a whisper. “That’s all I ask.”

  The doors open and in a few steps, we’re in our grandiose penthouse once again. She takes off running for the stairs that lead to the bedrooms. The four cigars are right where I left them on the bar and slide into my right inside pocket like they were meant to be there. I personally don’t like cigars and am grateful they’re in a tightly sealed plastic bag so I don’t reek of them.

  When she doesn’t come rushing back, I decide to go look for her, knowing it will piss her off but also knowing she doesn’t want to miss Nicolette.

  I make my way up the grandiose spiral staircase and I can’t help but feel uncomfortable when I think about how much it cost to build this place or to stay here for two or three nights. The good that could be done. Don’t get me wrong, I like nice things and I hope to do well in my career, but all of this opulence is just a bit excessive, even for Josh. At the top of the stairs, I walk through the second living room and down the hall where I hear a fury of flutters coming from the second door on the left. As I get closer to the doorway, I can’t help but hang back and watch her frantically putting everything together and muttering to herself the entire way.

  “I swear, if I ever get married we’re eloping and foregoing all this bullshit.”

  Duly noted.

  “Okay, bride sash, bridesmaid sashes, glow bracelets and necklaces, four penis suckers, bag of sour penis candies, four penis candy necklaces and one vibrating penis soap on a rope. What the hell am I missing?” She shoves everything in a bag that looks big enough to fit a couple small children in it, but I think it’s just a really expensive purse. With all those penes I guess she needs a bag that size, dear Lord.

  She passes a mirror and checks her hair really quick and this seems to do the trick. “Tiaras!” She digs deeper into a smaller suitcase and pulls out the missing tiaras. “Okay, I think that’s it. Whew. What a mess. Get your shit together Rachel.” She takes a deep breath. “Stop stressing that you finally got overtime shifts at work and had to take them off to come here during the week. You aren’t gonna get fired, but you aren’t gonna save up for that house any faster either.”

  I hate that she’s stressing over money, but I love that she is looking to buy. She’s always been strong, independent and hard working. Even if she is talking to herself.

  She throws her massive bag over her petite shoulder and swings around to leave the room as she says, “I mean why the hell did they want to get married on a Wednesday anyway?”

  She startles when she sees me leaning against the frame of the door. “Because of me.”

  Flustered and in a rush, she storms past me talking over her shoulder as she goes. “What was because of you?”

  “The reason we’re here during the week and not on the weekend. I couldn’t get here any sooner and when it comes to flights in and out of Uganda, I kind of have to go with what I can get.”

  She stops at the top of the stairs and her demeanor softens for the first time since I got here. “Wow, that was really nice of them.”

  “It was.”

  “You’re like a brother to Parker. He misses you, Reece.” Her voice is soft and serious. I can’t help but feel her words hold more than just what I hear coming out of her mouth, but I’m sure it’s just wishful thinking.

  “I miss him too. I miss everyone. I miss home.”

  Our talk is over as she takes the stairs carefully holding on to the hand rail so she doesn’t topple head over ass on the way down.

  “Well, you should come home more often.”

  “Does that mean you want me to come home too, Rach?”

  “Didn’t say that did I, Reece?”

  “Didn’t have to, Rach.”

  “Oh, just shut up already. That was the deal, remember. You could tag along, but only if you stayed quiet. This isn’t quiet.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Ugh!” she grunts exasperated.

  I chuckle to myself but stay quiet as commanded and follow her out the door and to the elevator.

  I’ve gotten under her skin and I love it. It means there’s still something between us, and damn it if I wouldn’t love a do-over.

  CHAPTER 4

  Rachel

  The elevator doors finally open stopping the internal berating I’m giving myself for letting Reece Evans get to me.

  First, he had to tell me I looked beautiful standing there in his button-down shirt, dark jeans, and sexy yet casual blazer. He used to be a cute boy but now...now he’s an incredibly handsome man. The second reason I’m beating myself up is for having that brief yet sweet moment with him in the penthouse. Why did I have to say anything about him coming home to visit more often?

  Ugh. I don’t know how it happens but every now and then I forget I’m holding a grudge against him. That I can’t stand him. In those moments, I slip up and laugh at his jokes, join in on a story he’s telling or accidentally kiss him when he’s grieving.

  We both step into the semi-private elevator car and the space feels so much different with just the two of us in here. Trying to get as far away from Reece as possible in such a tiny space I move to the glass windows that make up the back wall of the elevator, I realize ours is much more private. The other elevators look more like glass bird cages lined with gold and leaving everyone inside exposed, whereas ours only has glass on the back wall and has lighting so low it would be hard to really make people out in here. No doubt catering to their celebrity guests, like Josh.

  When I don’t make a move to press the button with the big C on it, he makes the move. “Going down. Casino floor next stop.”

  His cute little show of playing elevator operator doesn’t work. My shield is back in place. I pull my phone out of my dress pocket, man I love a dress with pockets, and see it’s 5:59. By the time we weave our way through the maze of the casino floor, we should only be a few minutes late. Thank goodness. I can’t believe we all get to meet Nicolette Gwen.

  As if staying in the penthouse wasn’t nice enough, we get our own elevator that skips all the other floors and gets us where we’re going that much faster. Oh the perks of the rich and famous. I turn my attention to the glass wall and watch the other elevator cars moving up and down. Effectively ignoring Reece.

  I don’t realize I’m staring at one car in particular until one of the men waves at me. I blush and lift my hand to wave back when everything goes black and I’m thrown to the ground when the elevator comes to a sudden halt.

  In a sudden panic I shriek. “Oh my God! Holy Shit! What the hell is go
ing on?”

  “Rach, you okay? You okay, Rach?” He sounds anxious yet calm at the same time. How does he do that? I feel him kneel down next to me, his hand finding my back naturally rubbing calming circles.

  “I’m not hurt, but I’m scared shitless. What just happened?”

  “I have no idea. Here, give me your hand and I’ll help you up.”

  If I wasn’t so scared the feel of his fingers finding their way over my shoulder and down my arm to find my hand would have me in a puddle, but now is not the time. I give him my hand and he helps me up. I balance myself on my stilettos and we both move closer to the glass only to be met with darkness.

  The hotel and casino below us is nothing but a black abyss. No power or lights of any kind throughout the entire building. I can see the glow of cell phones in the elevator cars across from ours and I pull mine out of my pocket only to find no cell or Wi-Fi service of any kind.

  “Looks like the whole place is out.” Reece states the obvious.

  “Shouldn’t they have backup generators or something? They have to have some kind of plan for an outage, right?”

  “You’d think.”

  Wow, thanks for the genius insight.

  “Seriously, don’t elevators in newer buildings have fail-safes for situations like this?”

  “Sorry, Rach, I’m not really up to date with the latest in hotel elevator technology.”

  “Really, you’re gonna be a smart ass right now?”

  “Sorry,” he says on a sigh.

  “Wait, don’t elevators always have a phone in the console so you can call for help?” I pop open the flashlight app on my phone and light our way over to the console.

  He opens the little silver door and pulls out the phone pushing the only button available. Nothing. He pushes it again and still nothing.

  “Shit,” he says putting the phone back and moving to the elevator doors where he wedges his fingers in the crack between the doors attempting to pull them open.

  “Reece, what are we gonna do?”

  Just as I ask the question his hand lands on my shoulder so, naturally I take a step back and trip on what I’m pretty sure is a penis on a rope, but before I have a chance to fall on my ass strong hands catch me.

  “Whoa. What are you doin’ there, lady?”

  He was about to comfort me but felt me falling only to simultaneously stop my stumble while cocooning me in his arms holding me tight to his chest.

  “I think I tripped on a penis.”

  “Hahaha.” I can feel his head fall back and my body bounces up and down to the beat of the laughter booming from his chest. It feels good. Too good. Like the most natural thing in the world. If I thought the heat of our arms touching at the bar in the suite earlier was something, I was mistaken. He sends the best kind of shiver down my spine while filling me with a warmth I feel all the way to my core. A surge of electricity strong enough to momentarily take my mind off the fear of our current situation. “Now, that’s one I’ve never heard before.” He chuckles.

  Being in his arms is nice but the pain that will come later when he leaves, not so much. I pull back from his body and miss the warmth of his arms and his masculine clean scent instantly.

  “I’m glad I could amuse you in this moment,” I say with my protective shield back in place. Bending down into the dark I start picking up everything that fell out of my bag, once again using the light on my phone to find everything.

  “Here, let me help you with your penises.”

  I ignore him and we crawl around on our hands and knees until we’ve got everything we can find picked up. He stands back up and looks back down on the hotel.

  “Looks like everybody’s stuck from the look of the other elevators. The hotel floor is too dark to really see anything since there aren’t any windows for outside light to shine in. Looks like we might be stuck here for a bit.”

  “Great,” I say with an attitude that I know isn’t needed right now, but it’s my go-to with him and I’ve forgotten how to turn it off.

  Joining him at the glass it’s clear he’s right, the whole place is dark and from the little bit of light from cell phones in the other elevators they don’t seem to be going anywhere either. I can see some trying to pull open the doors like Reece did but no luck so far.

  “Well, it doesn’t look like we’re going anywhere right this second and I know those shoes can’t be comfortable. Shall we sit?”

  “I’m not taking my shoes off in an elevator where thousands of people have stood.”

  “Rach, the hotel isn’t even officially open yet and this elevator only goes to the penthouse.”

  Crap. He’s right, but I don’t tell him that. I do, however, take off my shoes sitting down against the cool glass wall. Shivers ripple through me as I think about how high we are and about the glass shattering, leaving me to fall to my death. Two seconds after this flashes through my muddled brain I scoot away from the glass and feel a bit better when my back rests against the paneled wall of the elevator and not made of glass.

  “Fuck. This sucks,” I say with my teeth chattering unable to hide the nerves building inside me.

  A moment later he slides down next to me and pulls me to his side. “Hey, we’re gonna be okay. They’ll figure it out and get the backup power going before you know it.”

  God, I love the feel of him comforting me. My body succumbs to his closeness, not consulting my brain first, and I momentarily melt into him.

  “I’ve got you, Rach.”

  Those four words are all it takes to bring me back to my senses. Pushing away from him our history flooding back and breaking my heart all over again.

  “I don’t need you to comfort me. Thanks.”

  “Rachel, you’re shaking. I can hear it in your voice. Are you cold?”

  “No, I’m not cold!” I bite back making my point and causing him to scoot away from me.

  “Claustrophobic?”

  “No.”

  “Still scared of heights?”

  Damn him and his memory.

  “Maybe.”

  His fingertips find my hand in the darkness and as soon as they do, I steal it back. “Reece, don’t. Just don’t.”

  He doesn’t say anything, but the floor bounces a little when he pops up and I can just barely make out the reflection of his tall frame standing near the glass.

  Minutes pass but no more questions do. The silence in the small space has to weigh more than the recommended weight listed on the plaque next to the elevator doors. Time and distance haven’t changed anything for me, but I can’t say the same for him.

  CHAPTER 5

  Reece

  I hate that she can’t trust me and she sure isn’t hiding the fact that she would rather be trapped in this god-forsaken elevator with anybody else. Me. I’m loving every minute of it. It’s pretty pathetic that I’m so desperate for time with her that I’ll take being trapped in an elevator filled with hate and mistrust on her side and nothing but regret and an undying love on mine.

  I finally give up trying to find any clues as to what’s going on and slide down the wall opposite her. I may not really be able to see her, but I know exactly where she is. I always know where she is if we’re in the same room. It’s a pretty sad pastime but one I’ve perfected over the years.

  I hear her rummaging through her bag followed by her opening something in a plastic package. Something breaks in two followed by a crunching sort of sound. It’s so dark in the elevator that when the pink glow of her glow stick begins moving around the brightness seems magnified. Moments ago she was bathed in blackness now the glow around her face screams like a beacon as she forms her glow stick into a necklace snapping it into place around her slender neck.

  I decide to try again. If we’re gonna be stuck in here together, the least we can do is have a conversation.

  “So, how’s work?”

  “Fine, thanks,” she replies disinterested.

  “Your parents?”

  “Fine, than
ks.”

  Well, this is fun.

  “What’s new back home?”

  “Same old same old.”

  If we weren’t covered in a veil of darkness, I swear you’d be able to see the frost on the windows from the chill in her voice. Never beating around the bush when it comes to her disdain for me there’s something about the blackness we found ourselves in that seems to intensify her feelings.

  She’ll never forgive me, and she’ll never know how she’s tearing me up inside. I’ve loved her since the sixth grade. She was my best friend. My first love. How can she not see that I never wanted things to end with us? Ending things with her was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do in my short eighteen years of life. I’ve seen a lot of pain since then but hurting someone you love is a pain that doesn’t fit into the same box as other kinds of pain or loss.

  Because the strength of my feelings for her are still so strong, I persevere. I’ve never been one to give up on something I want.

  “I like your necklace. Fancy.”

  “Jealous?”

  “A little,” I say trying to keep the banter going.

  I hear more rummaging in her big ass bag and then a small package hits me square in the chest. Seems she can find me in all this darkness as well.

  I open the package and break my stick, just like we used to at grade school birthday parties and later at dances where we were up to no good, and wrap it around my neck. “Purple. My signature color. How’d you know?”

  Silence.

  I guess her one word of banter is all I get.

  The necklace around her face puts off an aura of color that does nothing but illuminate her beauty. Even though she clearly took time on her honey-colored hair tonight, it’s still tucked behind her ears just like it always ends up since she can’t stand her hair touching her face. The luminescence of her skin magnified by the phosphorescent gleam coming from around her neck.

  Still a natural beauty, she takes my breath away every time I see her. I always thought she looked better without her hair and makeup done up. Rachel with no makeup, hair in a high ponytail, a simple t-shirt, cut off jean shorts and Chucks on her feet is pure perfection. I’m not saying this little black dress and heels she’s in right now isn’t hot, but she could start a fire without even trying.