Love Me to Death

by Sharlay

  I smile. “It was great the first two times; I just wanted to kiss you again.”

  “You jer—” I cut her off by pressing my lips against hers again. I leave them there for a couple of seconds before pulling away.

  “You tricked me,” she whispers.

  “I did.” I smile.

  “Then I’m not a bad kisser?” she asks softly.

  “The best I’ve ever had, babe.” I untangle my hands from her hair and step back. Things are a little heated and I need to put a little distance between us before I give Ned my “crabs.”

  “Let’s watch a movie,” I say.

  “Huh?” She looks perplexed.

  “A movie.”

  “I know what a movie is, Cole. I’m just not sure why you want to watch one.”

  “It’s what people in relationships do with each other,” I say as if she’s crazy.

  “But we’re not in a relationship,” she states.

  “No, but we need everyone else to believe we are so we need to start doing things that couples do. If we don’t start creating some memories then we’ll have none to lie about.”

  “You’ve got a point,” she says. Only Ned would understand the logic behind the crap I just said.

  “I’m going to the store to grab a couple of movies and some snacks. You get comfortable.”

  “But what if someone comes while you’re gone?” She looks cute right now.

  “Don’t answer. Only Layla has a spare key and I doubt very much that she will be around tonight.”

  “How long are you going to be?”

  “Not long, why? Are you going to miss me?”

  “No, I’m hungry now hurry up and feed me.”

  “You just went to a restaurant, woman.”

  “Yeah and I didn’t get to finish my meal.”

  “You didn’t?”

  “No, it was cold by the time I got back to the table so we just left.” She squints her eyes and I smile.

  “Sorry,” I say knowing it was my fault.

  “It’s fine, but can you apologize with food, I’ll forgive you a lot quicker.”

  “That I can do,” I say before giving her a quick peck on the lips and walking out of the room. I’m pretty sure I just caused Ned Waters to blush. Nice. I grab my shirt off the couch, slip it on and head out the door.

  I buy the two movies along with some potato chips, candy, popcorn, soda, and a couple of sandwiches before heading back to my apartment.

  “Honey, I’m home!” I shout as I step through the door. Ned comes racing out and running toward me with a huge smile on her face. I like that she’s excited to see me. I stand and stare as she makes her way to me.

  “What did you get?” she asks, peeling the bag out of my hand. So, it’s not me she’s excited to see after all.

  I scan her body from top to bottom.

  “You got changed?”

  “Yeah, you said to get comfortable,” she says shyly.

  “You’re wearing one of my shirts?”

  “I’m sorry I just thought it would—”

  “Ssshh.” We stand in silence for a few seconds as she watches me in confusion. “Sorry, I just needed a minute of silence to acknowledge how hot you look in my shirt. Can you just twirl for a second?”

  “Seriously? You’re an idiot.”

  “What?” The smile on my face gets wider.

  “Look how much time you just wasted. Now please, can you just tell me what food you bought?”

  “And there I was thinking you were happy to see me,” I say, scanning my eyes over her bare legs again.

  “Of course not, I told you, I’m hungry. And eyes up, Cole.”

  “The legs are a major distraction. And apparently hungry Ned isn’t a very nice person.”

  “A ham sandwich! Yes!” She fist pumps the air before bringing the sandwich up to her lips and taking a bite. “Oh, this is good. This is really, really good.” She hands me the bag.

  “Did you really just fist pump the air?” I ask in shock.

  “Yes, do you have any idea how good this tastes? I would let you try some of mine but I don’t want to waste any,” she says, taking another bite.

  “You are a mean woman when you’re hungry,” I say, heading to my room. I empty the contents of the bag onto the nightstand and then slip my shoes off my feet.

  “What movies did you get?” she asks as she falls back on my bed. “Oh this is good,” she repeats, taking another bite of the sandwich which may I add is half finished already.

  “You eat like a dude, babe. I got some rom-com movies, the guy in the shop said they’re good.”

  “Which ones?”

  “There’s Knocked-Up and The Ugly Truth.

  “Oh, I want the one with Gerard Butler,” she says all dreamy eyed. The Ugly Truth it is then.

  “What is it with you women and this guy?”

  “He’s hot,” she states as if I should know this already.

  “Really?”

  “In fact,” she says sitting up on her knees and analyzing my face, “you kind of look like him.”

  “I do?” I ask a little chirpier than I intended for it to come out.

  “Nope, not at all now put the movie on,” she complains.

  I grab my pillow and throw it at her head. I am pleased when she falls back with a thud.

  “Hey!” She laughs.

  “Teaches you to lie to me,” I say before slipping the DVD in. “And I cannot believe you’ve finished that sandwich already.”

  “I told you I was hungry.”

  “Yeah, you weren’t kidding.”

  I grab the remote, switch off the lights in my room, and jump on the bed next to her. I put the movie on pause for a moment.

  “You never told me why you came round here?” I ask curiously.

  “Didn’t you get my message?”

  “Nope.”

  “I said that we needed to talk and I was coming over.”

  “I didn’t see it.”

  “Yeah, I guessed that when you came to the door half naked and had a girl named after a car lying on your couch all flustered,” she says with a little twinge of jealousy in her voice. Why am I smiling?

  “So, what happened with Jerkson? Didn’t you guys go for a drink?”

  “Jackson and no, I told him that I needed to sort things out with you.”

  “You did?” She nods. “Thanks.”

  “I didn’t do it for you. I did it for my mom,” she says.

  “If you say so, now why are you all the way over there?” I ask.

  “It’s comfortable.”

  “Come here, Ned,” I say, beckoning her with my finger.

  “Nope, I’m good.”

  “Couples cuddle when they watch movies.”

  “Not all couples.”

  “Well, the fake ones do.”

  “They do not.”

  “Well we do, now get over here before I turn Gerard Butler off.”

  “You wouldn’t dare.” She squints her eyes at me.

  “Try me,” I say holding the remote up to the TV.

  “You evil little man.”

  “There’s nothing little about me, babe. Now come on so we can get comfortable and get this movie over with.”

  She looks at me for a few seconds and I know that she has no intention of following my instructions. I warned her. I lean over to her, wrap my arm around her waist and drag her over to my side of the bed. She lets out a little squeal that sounds like some kind of baby animal.

  “You cannot just drag me around like a rag doll, Cole.”

  “I can when you don’t take heed of my warning. Now please, can you get comfortable and stop talking?”

  She lifts her hand to swat my chest. When will she learn? I grab a hold of her hand and slide my fingers between hers. I wrap my other arm around her waist and lie back on my bed. Her head falls gently onto my chest and her side rests against mine. Having her in my arms feels good.

  “Now isn’t this nice?” I tease. S
he just grunts which makes me laugh. I free my hand from hers to turn the movie on and then entwine our fingers again.

  She doesn’t say another word for the rest of the movie. When it gets to the end she has already fallen asleep. I lie her down on my bed, switch off the TV and pull her against me. Then I drift off to sleep next to a beautiful girl. But for the first time, I actually want to see her in the morning.

  My eyes flutter open and I stretch my arms. I think I just had the most comfortable sleep ever. And it’s the first time I’ve woken up in my bed without a hangover in a long time.

  I turn onto my side and see brown hair lying on the pillow next to me. I smile. Why does seeing Ned, in my bed make me feel strange things? Ned is a messy sleeper; she completely kicked the sheets off her body last night. The shirt she borrowed is hitched up past her hips and—

  I stop for a moment and just stare in shock. Oh my gosh … she is wearing a pair of her floss panties and they are on full display. I blink my eyes a couple of times before I look again. I scoot over to her side of the bed and shake her a little.

  “Ned,” I whisper in her ear. No answer. “Ned, wake up.” She groans. I shake a little harder. “Ned?”

  “What?” She grumbles in a sleepy voice.

  “Babe, you’re wearing the floss panties.”

  “Mmmm,” she says, trying to go back to sleep. Oh no she doesn’t.

  “Ned?”

  “What?” She says drowsily.

  “I take back everything I said, we are not taking these back for a refund. Ever. I forbid it. In fact, we need to get more … lots more.” I look back down at the panties. “I think we should go today. These are the sexiest pair of panties I have ever seen. I think they just became my favorite,” I whisper. “Ned?”

  “What, Cole?” She moans. I run a single finger down her back and then trace the material of her floss panty. I press a gentle kiss under her ear before whispering in an awful British accent, “Oh gee, I think I just found a string.”

  Then the room is filled with a sound that I love hearing more and more each day: the sound of Ned laughing.

  “Now can I go back to sleep for a bit?” she asks.

  “Of course.” I chuckle before sliding my legs over the side of the bed and heading to the bathroom.

  I look in the mirror, above my sink, and decide that I need to shave later today. I splash some water on my face, brush my teeth, and then head to the kitchen. The sound of Ned’s phone ringing stops me. She tosses and turns a little but ignores it. I plan to just walk past but wonder if it might be important.

  I walk over and look at the phone lying on my nightstand. It’s a number she doesn’t have saved in her contacts so I pick up the phone and in a loud voice say, “Hello, Ned Waters’ PA.”

  “Hello, this is Jane Sconders from Millway Hospital, could I please speak to Miss Waters?”

  “Just a minute,” I say.

  I tap Ned lightly. She stirs a little before her eyes snap open.

  “Cole, what is it now? I’m too tired—”

  “It’s the hospital,” I say holding the phone out in front of her. She suddenly seems wide awake.

  “What?” she asks staring at the phone.

  “It’s the hospital; you were sleeping so I picked up.” She drags the phone out of my hand before I even finish the sentence. She is up and on her feet faster than ever. She holds the phone to her ear and turns her back to me.

  “Hello,” she says quietly as I stare at her tense back. “No, you have the wrong number, sorry.”

  She spins around and faces me angrily.

  “How dare you answer my phone,” she growls at me. She’s furious.

  “What? Ned, I’m sorry I just thought—”

  “No, you didn’t think that’s just it,” she says as her eyes fill with tears. I am so confused.

  “Ned, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to—”

  “I need to go home,” she whispers without making eye contact with me.

  “You don’t have to do that, you’re welcome to stay here—”

  “I want to go home, Cole. Could you just give me a minute to get changed, please?”

  “Yeah sure,” I say before walking out of the room and closing the door behind me.

  I sit on the couch in my living room and listen as she makes a call to someone before she gets ready. I don’t move a muscle as I try to figure out what on earth just happened and what I did wrong.

  I’ve been sitting on my couch for twenty minutes, waiting for Ned to come out when I hear a knocking sound coming from the direction of the door. I jump to my feet and answer it.

  “Misty?” I say when I see the little redhead smiling up at me.

  “Hey, Cole, I’ve come to get Neddie.”

  I get a weird feeling in my stomach as she tells me that she’s about to take Ned away from me.

  “Did I do something wrong?” I ask Misty.

  “No,” she says placing her hand on my arm. “I know this is all very confusing to you but Neddie just has a lot on her mind right now. She acts a lot tougher than she really is. Things are just … complicated. Just give her time, ok?”

  “What exactly am I giving her time for?”

  Just then I hear the sound of my bedroom door opening. Both of our heads shoot in that direction and we wait for Ned to appear. She’s changed back into her green dress. When she walks toward us I can see she’s been crying.

  “Ned, what’s the matter?” I ask as she walks past me.

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” she whispers, making eye contact with me for the first time since that stupid phone call. “Let’s go,” she says turning to face Misty. Misty nods her head and then smiles back at me before taking Ned away. Why do I feel like a piece of me just left with her? I shut the door and try to go through the scene this morning in intense detail. What did I do wrong?

  It’s been seven hours since Ned left my apartment with Misty and I haven’t heard from her since. I’ve left three messages and two voicemails, she’s ignored them all. I’m pretty annoyed since all I did was answer her damn phone. It’s not as if I don’t already know that she is ill, so why is she acting so strange? Maybe she doesn’t want me to know exactly what it is that is wrong with her. Either way, that is no reason to completely shut me out.

  I’m confused, no I’m mad. Mad that she couldn’t even be bothered to communicate with me before running off with her friend this morning.

  Screw it, I’m not about to sit here and waste my time worrying about somebody who couldn’t give a damn about me. All we have is a contract, and as long as she keeps paying me my money then I really don’t care whether or not she speaks to me. I’ve been way too nice to her anyway. From now on, I’ll show up to do my job when needed and that’s it. I’m done. This is the exact reason why I don’t get into relationships because they are the product of too much drama. Thank God this one is fake.

  I decide that it’s time to get out of my apartment. I grab my keys off the side table, push my feet in my shoes, and head out. It doesn’t take me long to come across a little bar. It’s quiet inside which is exactly what I want. I walk up to the bar and order a large rum and Coke. I take my drink and sit in a secluded booth near the back. The light sound of jazz music is playing in the background. I take a sip of my drink before closing my eyes and forgetting all about the events of today.

  I should have just slept with Mercedes when I had the chance. Not like I had much of a choice, though. I can’t believe that happened to me. It has never happened to me before. One thing every girl knows about Brennan Cole is that he delivers. Tonight was an epic fail. Not to mention the fact that she thinks I have crabs too! If Ned’s contract doesn’t end my sex life then Mercedes certainly will.

  I try to drown out the thoughts in my head and focus on what I came here to do: forget that today ever happened. In fact, I need to forget that the past few days ever happened. Since I signed that contract with Ned I feel like there has been nothing but drama. I made myself
a rule a long time ago. Never get attached to a woman. Ever. This is why I never do “morning afters.” “Morning afters” create conversations, conversations create relationships and relationships cause problems. And I don’t like problems. I tried to be nice to Ned because I sympathized with her need to please her mother. My mom died before I got that chance and it broke me. That’s why I keep chasing this stupid dream of being an actor because she told me to never give up and the truth is I don’t have it in me to let her down. I still feel like she’s watching me somehow and that I owe it to her to get this thing right; to make something of my life. If the past six years have been anything to go by then I’ve already messed up. But my point is that I had a soft spot for Ned because of that. I wanted to help her; maybe even be her friend but she ruined that when she threw it all in my face this morning. Now we go back to basics. This is strictly business. Friendship is officially out the window as far as I am concerned.

  “Brennan? Brennan Cole? No way, it’s really you isn’t it?” I’d know that voice anywhere. I try to pretend that I don’t recognize her at first but I’d know Lorraine anywhere. “Don’t act like you don’t know who I am. I know that you could never forget me.” She smirks. She flips her long braids over her shoulder and stares at me.

  I smile.

  “Lorraine.” I breathe, taking another sip of my drink. I feel the burn in my throat this time.

  “What are you doing sitting alone in a bar? I’m surprised you’re not out sleeping your way through New York.”

  “Hello to you too,” I say rolling my eyes. She slides into the chair opposite me. She places her elbows on the table, cups her hands and rests her chin on top of them.

  Staring at me she says, “Why do you look like you just got told that your penis is about to be chopped off?”

  I laugh. Loud.

  “I see you still have such a poetic way with words.”

  “Why thank you, I’m glad you can appreciate my talent. You look unhappy; tell Aunt Rain all about it.”

  “After having been inside of you, calling you aunt sounds very much like incest.” I raise my eyebrows at her.

  “Oh Bren, you did like a little role play from what I can remember so whatever works for you, hon.”