Suddenly Us

by Marie Skye

  Suddenly Us

  Marie Skye

  Contents

  Suddenly Us

  1. Gwen

  2. Gwen

  3. Hawkins

  4. Hawkins

  5. Gwen

  6. Gwen

  7. Hawkins

  8. Gwen

  9. Hawkins

  10. Gwen

  11. Hawkins

  12. Gwen

  13. Gwen

  14. Gwen

  15. Hawkins

  16. Gwen

  17. Hawkins

  18. Gwen

  19. Hawkins

  20. Gwen

  21. Hawkins

  22. Gwen

  23. Hawkins

  24. Gwen

  25. Hawkins

  26. Gwen

  27. Hawkins

  28. Hawkins

  29. Gwen

  30. Hawkins

  31. Gwen

  32. Hawkins

  33. Gwen

  34. Gwen

  35. Hawkins

  36. Gwen

  37. Hawkins

  38. Gwen

  39. Hawkins

  40. Gwen

  41. Hawkins

  42. Gwen

  43. Hawkins

  44. Gwen

  45. Hawkins

  46. Gwen

  47. Hawkins

  48. Hawkins

  49. Hawkins

  50. Hawkins

  Epilogue

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  Other Books By Marie Skye

  Suddenly Us

  Copyright © 2017 Marie Skye

  All rights reserved

  * * *

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except in the case of a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to any actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  When a person breaks your heart, it could take years to heal….

  One

  Gwen

  “What about sweatpants?”

  I looked at my phone, making sure I heard her correctly. “Are you serious right now? I can’t wear sweatpants on a date!” My sister Tara chuckled. This is why I don’t ever call her. Ever. She was too much of a jokester, at my expense.

  “I was just putting the option out there for you. You practically live in those things anyway. I don’t know why.” I heard her sigh, before she shouted to one of her kids in the background.

  “Okay well, they’re comfy, that’s why. I’ll figure it out. Thanks for the unhelpful advice. I got to go.” Before she could say more I hung up. That should count for my once a month phone call to a family member.

  I picked through a few more clothes in my closet, that wouldn’t do, before finally pulling out a black dress. Hmm, this could do. Especially with my Spanx. I could make this work. Black was always slimming. My phone beeped to an incoming text.

  Emmalin: Good luck tonight babe! Let me know how it goes!!!

  I smiled. She was so sweet. She knew I had a date, with a guy I had been talking to online, and was already skittish about it. The whole stranger danger thing. For good reasoning, of course, since one could never be too careful. Not to mention, she has the type of connections, that would’ve had a background check done on the poor guy before I even had a chance with him.

  I checked my phone again. I was meeting him in half an hour, and this was as ready as I was going to get. I grabbed my bag, and headed out. I didn’t want him meeting me at my apartment, so we agreed on a mutual place, and I made reservations.

  I made it to the restaurant, with about five minutes to spare. “Gwen Lockwood. I’m expecting another guest, but I’m not sure if he’s here yet.”

  I watched as the hostess, checked her sheet, and she smiled. “Not yet, but I can seat you now.” I nodded as she led me toward my table. I was nervous, and glad, I arrived first, but also a bit disappointed at the same time.

  I nervously sipped on my water, not wanting to order anything stronger. I didn’t want to come off as a complete lush in front of my date. At least not on the first date. Save that, for the third. If we got that far.

  “Gwen?”

  I looked up. “Dustin?”

  He nodded, and I stood up. Do we hug? Kiss on the cheek? We had been talking for a few months. I felt like we knew each other. He held out his hand. Well, I guess that answered that.

  “Nice to meet you.” I smiled at him. He nodded, but I also noticed how he slowly looked me up and down, and slightly frowned as he sat down.

  We were quiet for a few minutes. “You look exactly like you do in your pictures.”

  He didn’t look up. “So, do you,” he quietly mumbled.

  I took another sip of my water. He finally looked up when the waitress came over asking us if we wanted something to drink. I looked at him, expectantly. “I’ll have a vodka tonic.” He said to her, and gave her a warm smile. He smiled at her, but barely looked at me.

  “I’ll just stick with water, thank you.” The waitress left, leaving us alone, and it was back to awkwardness again. “So, you said you were studying for the bar exam, right? I have an uncle that does criminal law. Have you decided on what field you were thinking of going into yet?”

  The waitress set his drink down, and he basically downed it in one gulp. He focused on me finally, and I gave him my best smile. “How did you want to do this?”

  I was taken aback by his question. “Do what?”

  “Let’s not beat around the bush here. You’re....pretty, and if you lost about ten pounds, I would be attracted to you. I honestly thought you were bullshitting me in your pictures, clearly the joke was on me.” He sighed running his hand through his hair. “So, if anything, you’ll be good enough for a good fuck for the night, we’ll both get what we want, and we can go our separate ways. Okay?”

  My mouth was basically on the floor. I slowly got up. “Thank you for a lovely evening, douche bag.”

  I grabbed my bag, and stormed out. I should’ve known. Fucking asshole. I don’t even know why I bothered.

  “Gwen?”

  I stopped in my tracks and turned around. A tall, intimidating, yet brooding man was stalking toward me. “Gwen, right?”

  I took a half step back, a bit weary. He smiled. “Hawkins. I do security for Mr. Mandrake, and Ms. Ross. I thought you looked familiar.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief, and nodded. Grayson Mandrake was Emmalin’s boyfriend. Grayson was very keen on making sure Emmalin, had security at all times, especially after everything she’s gone through. At least I knew, I never had to worry about my safety, when I was around them. “Yes. Gwen. Right. Hawkins, I remember now.”

  He nodded. “I thought that was you. Everything okay?” He motioned back toward the restaurant.

  I slightly cringed, because that’s when Dustin decided he needed to come out as well, and lit up a cigarette. That bastard said he didn’t smoke. “Yeah. Peachy.”

  Hawkins looked back toward Dustin. “Doesn’t appear that way. Is that your date?”

  I scowled, and wrapped my arms around myself. “Not anymore.”

  Hawkins quickly straightened, and his brow creased, as he stared at me. “Did he hurt you?” Before, I could say anything, he turned, and walked straight for Dustin.

  I quickly ran after him.

  "Excuse me sir. I believe you know this young woman."

  I stood to the side, as Dustin smirked. "She's probably only good enough for a quick fuck, mate. The
fat ones normally are."

  Before, I could even blink, Hawkins had him by the neck up against the wall of the building and I shrieked. I clearly underestimated Hawkins’ strength, since he was covered in a suit. I watched as Dustin, struggled to breathe, and Hawkins glared at him with no chance of letting up anytime soon.

  "Hawkins, it's okay. Really." I urged him to let him go, but Hawkins didn’t appear to listen, or think about letting him go.

  Hawkins turned to me. "No. It's not okay. A piece of shit like this, doesn't get to walk around, disrespecting women." He turned back to Dustin. "I believe you owe her, an apology."

  Dustin was turning a fair shade of blue as Hawkins pressed harder. I started to panic. He would probably kill him, if I didn't say something. "He...He can't apologize if you kill him!"

  Hawkins rolled his eyes, and glanced at me, before turning back to Dustin, and he stepped back, as Dustin slumped to the ground like a rag doll, and started wheezing, and coughing. Hawkins picked him up, by the back of his shirt, and Dustin quickly cowered, as if Hawkins was about to hit him.

  "Don't make her wait, fucktard," Hawkins growled low.

  Dustin's eyes met mine. He had a look of fear in his eyes. He cleared his throat, and licked his lips. "I'm...I'm sorry for what I said back there. You really are a nice, sweet person, and I did enjoy our talks." He swallowed hard. "Maybe we can try this again."

  Hawkins pushed him away, and he stumbled. "Are you kidding me? If you ever go near her again, I will make sure you never see another day in your life. Now get the fuck out of here!"

  Dustin ran. And he ran fast. I stood there stunned. Hawkins casually brushed off his suit jacket, as if a piece of dust lightly caught on it, not that he just oh so casually threatened to kill someone on my behalf.

  “Were you dating long?”

  I felt my eyes starting to tear up. His stare was so damn intense. “That was my first date.” I looked away as I said the next part. “Ever.”

  I felt his head snap to mine. “Ever?”

  I nodded. “I’ve been out with other guys, but they weren’t dates.” I sighed. This was embarrassing. I was in my twenties, admitting that I’d never been on an actual date. And not because I had never wanted to. Because no one had ever asked, unless they felt sorry for me. I was a pro at being the third wheel amongst friends.

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  I huffed as I crossed my arms and faced Hawkins. He held a hint of a smile, at least that’s what I think he was trying to do. It was hard to tell, since he looked rather serious. “No. I’m not kidding.” The hint of a smile quickly faded, and he was back to overly intense man again. I waved toward the building. “Thanks for…that.” A cab came up to the curb, and I quickly went over to it. “See you around.”

  I quickly got in before he could say more, and sunk down in my seat, completely mortified from not only the night, but the fact that Hawkins swooped in on my behalf and rescued me, granted, Dustin did deserve it. I pulled out my phone. This deserved a phone call and not a text. Emmalin answered on the first ring.

  “Do you need me to call and say something bad happened to get you out of it?”

  I sighed, ignoring her question. “Did you have Grayson send Hawkins to spy on me?”

  She was silent a beat. “Not exactly…I asked Hawkins myself.”

  I leaned my head back against the seat with a thud. “Geeze, Emmalin. And here I thought it was Grayson that was overprotective.”

  “I’m sorry, okay? Hawkins was off duty, and all I said was that if he was looking for a place to eat dinner or have a drink, there was a place called Branch Olives, that he should go to, and while he’s there, I would really appreciate it if he kept an eye on my friend, Gwen, that may or may not be there, meeting a guy she, may or may not have met online. That was it. He showed up on his own! I promise!”

  I rolled my eyes at her justification, that made absolutely no sense.

  “How did he even know who I was? I think I met him once.”

  “Oh. Well, that’s Grayson’s fault. Hawkins is pretty much trained to know everyone I come across.” She lightly laughed. “Soooo, how was it?”

  I sighed, and felt my eyes tearing up. “Well…” Then my voice cracked.

  She swore under her breath. “Honey, I’m coming over.”

  “It’s fine. It’s fine. I’ll be okay. Things like this happen, right? On to the next.” I stared out the window. “Anyway, I should go. We’ll talk about it later, okay?”

  “I’m here for you, okay?”

  “I know, and I appreciate it.”

  I got home, and kicked off my heels. My clothes quickly followed, and I struggled as I pulled off my Spanx. I grabbed the first pair of leggings I saw. It was like I couldn’t put them on fast enough, along with a long shirt. My stomach rumbled. I was so nervous about tonight’s date I hadn’t eaten all day. I made my way into the kitchen, and grabbed a frozen lean meal out the freezer. Because that’s right. I’m always dieting.

  I threw it in the microwave for the allotted time. Didn’t matter anyway, half the time it tasted like cardboard. That’s how they tricked you into losing weight. Make it as tasteless as possible. You were basically starving yourself. Great idea, food industry, as you laugh all the way to the bank. You got my money!

  I sighed as I turned on the TV, and flipped on Netflix. At least I can say Netflix never lets me down. My phone beeped to an incoming text. I peered at it, and frowned at the number I didn’t recognize.

  Are you home safely?

  What the hell? The microwave beeped, and I set my phone down, going to get tonight’s lucky chosen dinner. I hit play on my show, and after a few minutes, my phone beeped again.

  Either you’re not home safely, or you’re just ignoring me.

  I rolled my eyes, and sent a text back.

  NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS WHOEVER THE HELL THIS IS!!!!!!

  There. Nothing like getting your point across in all caps. I sighed cutting into my overcooked baked chicken that tasted like rubber. I jumped at the sudden knock at my door. Who the hell was here? I didn’t even bother setting my tray down, and made my way to the door. It was probably Emmalin, coming to console me. I didn’t even bother looking out the peephole. I swung the door open, and my eyes widened at seeing who it was.

  Hawkins stood there, looking at me sternly, his brow creased, and he had a worried look on his face. He held up his phone.

  “A simple ‘yes, I made it home safely’ would’ve sufficed.”

  I looked at my own phone, and then back at him. “I didn’t know that was you.” He arched an eyebrow. “How did you get my number?”

  “That should be the least of your worries. Do you always answer the door without checking to see who it is first? Safety, should always be your first priority.” He crinkled his nose as he stared down at my tray of food. “What’s that?”

  I suddenly blushed. “Um…it’s nothing. I was eating dinner.”

  He nodded. “Right, because you didn’t get to eat at the restaurant.” His expression suddenly took on a dark expression as he looked away from me. He finally glanced back at me. He looked like he wanted to say more. Was I supposed to invite him in? Before I could think more on that, he made the choice for me. “Have a great night.” He turned abruptly and left.

  “You too,” I half muttered. But he was already gone.

  Two

  Gwen

  “Do you think that’s a good choice?”

  I sighed before glancing up from my menu. I already knew I was about to be picked on. I hated the ‘mandatory’ Sunday dinners my parents had us do. “Is what not a good choice?”

  “What you’re thinking of ordering?”

  I rolled my eyes. For as long as I could remember, my mother was always getting on me about something. The way I dressed, the way I wore my hair. She even went as far, as showing up to a slumber party, I practically begged to go to, just to make sure I wouldn’t be eating pizza like everyone else. She definitely had a
way of making me feel like I couldn’t do anything right. She was all about image. “How do you know what I’m thinking of ordering? I’m just looking at the menu, just like everyone else.” I waved my hand around the table.

  My mom tilted her eyebrow. “You’re hovering over the burgers way longer than you should be, Gwenivere. You should be ordering a salad. No dressing.”

  “Jesus, Vivian, let the girl order what she wants. You make it sound like she’s the size of an elephant.”

  My mom narrowed her eyes at my father. “Well, she would be if it weren’t for me. Yet, no matter what, you were always there undermining me, weren’t you, Thomas?”

  I shut my eyes. My parents should’ve been divorced years ago, but stayed together for appearance’s sake. They did nothing but argue, which pretty much drove everyone crazy. We all did our best to ignore them, but most of the time it got out of hand. We were basically miserable.

  “It’s no wonder that boy left her.”

  My head snapped up toward my mom. Those words were like a knife stabbed through me. I slowly stood up, placing my cloth napkin on the table. “I’m done here. I have things to do.”

  “Gwenivere! Where are, you going? We haven’t even ordered yet!” My mother, shouted behind me.

  I didn’t care. I just had to get out of there. There’s only so much verbal abuse I could take from my her.

  ‘Gwenivere, don’t order that.’

  ‘Gwenivere, when are you going to get a job that pays well?’

  ‘Gwenivere, you have such a pretty face, if you could just lose the extra weight…’

  ‘Gwenivere, we didn’t invite you on the cruise, because we thought you would be uncomfortable.’

  * * *

  The funny thing is, I didn’t mind those comments. I was used to them. Over the years, I became immune to them, as well as being left out of family holidays, because my mom had it in her head I looked the size of a whale. But the comments that stung the most? When she brought up my ex-boyfriend.