by Sharlay
“Don’t use that as an excuse, Ned.”
She spins around after pulling her top over her head. She looks angry. “Really? You think I’m using the fact that I’m dying as an excuse?”
“Right now, yes.”
“You’re a jerk,” she huffs as she storms into the bathroom. I follow her quickly.
“Ok, maybe that was out of line but come on, this situation is a little screwed up right now.”
“Only because you’re making it out to be more than it is. Jackson is a good friend whether you like it or not and right now he is hurting. I’m not going to leave him like that just to make you happy. That’s not me, Cole, you should know better.”
“Ok, so you go down to his room and he tells you how in love he is with you, then what?”
“What are you talking about?”
I pin her with my eyes.
“Then what?”I repeat.
“This boils down to trust, Cole. You either trust me or you don’t. Put your ego to the side for five minutes and try acting like an adult.” She walks past me into the room.
“I don’t trust him,” I breathe.
“And I’m not asking you to. I’m asking you to trust me.”
“I do.”
“Good,” she says taking a step toward me. She stands on her tiptoes and kisses me gently. “Then you should know that I’ll always choose you.” I feel myself smile against her lips. She goes to pull back but I hold her tighter and press my lips firmly against hers. I bury my head in her neck and just inhale.
“I hate the thought of anyone but me with you,” I whisper against her skin.
“Good because you’ve ruined me for any other guy,” she giggles. I smile. I love that sound.
“That is the sexiest thing you’ve ever said. Say it again,” I whisper with a smile on my lips.
“You’ve ruined me for any other guy,” she repeats slowly. I feel myself shiver against her and I know that if I don’t let her go now then I never will. Which would be perfectly fine by me but I know that she has to do this. Talking to Jackson is important to her. Ned is a good person and she does things that still make little sense to me but I know that everything she does has a purpose so I trust her.
“Good, my ego is now officially back on its throne.”
I hear the sound of her laughter as I pull away.
“I love you,” she whispers. I’ll never tire of those words coming from her.
“I know,” I say. I kiss her one last time and then let her go.
I listen to the sound of the phone ringing as I wait patiently for someone to pick up.
“Hey, Bren.” It’s Jamie.
“Hey. How are you doing?”
“Surprisingly I feel pretty good. How’s Paris?”
“I knew Layla wouldn’t be able to keep it to herself.” I chuckle.
“Your sister is a romance addict; you just turned your life into one of her favorite movies. I’m surprised she hasn’t told the whole world yet.”
“Very funny,” I hear Layla say in the background. It feels so good to hear her voice after everything that has happened over the past few days.
“Anyway, I’m pretty sure this call isn’t cheap so I’ll pass you over to Lay. I’m sure she’ll tell me everything you say anyway.”
I laugh. “Yeah, I’m sure.”
“Hey little bro, how are you?” Layla’s chirpy voice fills my ear. I smile.
“I’m good, how about you? How are you feeling?”
“Oh, I’m fine. As well as can be but that is not what I am interested in right now. So, how did it go?”
“Great,” I say sitting back with a smile on my face.
“Did you tell her that you love her?”
“I did.”
“Did she say it back?”
“Yup.”
She squeals, loudly. I hold the phone away from my ear for a moment. “This is way too exciting. I can’t believe my baby brother is finally in love! This is amazing. I’m so happy for you, Bren. I can’t believe you flew to Paris to tell her, you need to give Jamie a few lessons in romance.”
“Yeah, still in the room, babe,” I hear him say.
I laugh. “Tell him that I can give him lessons but they will cost him.”
“I guess that’s that then, you know how tight he is,” she chuckles alongside me. I hear Jamie saying something in the background but I am distracted when Ned walks through the door.
“Sis, I’ve got to go but I’ll come see you as soon as we’re back ok?” Something’s wrong, I can see it on Ned’s face.
“Yeah, sure thing. Tell Ned I said hi.”
“Will do,” I say as I hang up. I stand to my feet and walk straight over to her. “What’s wrong?” I ask as I cup her face in my hands. She just shakes her head and falls against my chest. I feel the vibration against my chest as she cries. My stomach drops. I suddenly feel sick.
“Baby, what’s wrong?”
“He hates me,” she whispers against my chest.
“Who? Jackson?”
She nods. As much as this should feel good right now, the idea that he hates her fills me with pain. I never thought somebody else’s pain could become my own … until Ned.
“He doesn’t hate you, he’s just hurt.”
“He wants nothing to do with me,” she says softly staring down at the floor. I lift her chin so she can look into my eyes.
“Babe, he’s in love with you. Men don’t take rejection very well and so we do stupid stuff and say things we don’t mean.”
“You don’t understand. I’m running out of time. The last thing that I wanted was to fall out with the people I care about the most when I may never get a chance to fix it.”
“Don’t say that,” I whisper.
“It’s the truth. I don’t have time, Cole. All the stupid arguments and fall outs I took for granted before no longer exist. Tomorrow is promised to no one, that’s something I’ve learned. I know you don’t like him but he has been good to me over the years and the last thing I wanted to do was lose him.”
“I get it,” I say genuinely. “I’m sorry, baby.”
“It’s not your fault.” Then why does it feel like it is?
“Come on,” I say slipping my hand in hers and leading her back to bed. I gently undo the buttons of her jeans and slip them down her legs until they are in a pile on the floor. I pull her shirt over her head and drop it on top of her jeans. “Lie down,” I instruct her. She does. I strip until I am just in my boxers and then crawl in behind her. I pull her back against my chest and wrap my arm around her waist. Her fingers instinctively slip between my own and I litter gentle kisses along her back.
“Go to sleep for a bit. I promise everything will be ok, just trust me.”
“I do.”
“Good.” I kiss the back of her neck again and hold her close. I would do anything for you, Ned. Anything.
It takes about twenty minutes until her breathing finally evens out. When I’m sure that she is fast asleep I slip out of the bed and get dressed. I hated seeing that look on Ned’s face and right now I will do anything to make sure I never have to see it again.
It turns out that Jackson was right, money really does talk. I glance down at the piece of folded paper the clerk downstairs gave me again.
1106
I look back up at the door and make sure the numbers match those on the paper. I clear my throat. This is for Ned. I knock three times and then wait. It’s not long before I hear the sound of footsteps heading toward me and the firm click of the door handle.
“Oh great. What the hell do you want?” Jackson asks as he opens the door and his eyes land on my face.
“We need to talk.”
“Really? If you’re here to gloat then you can save it, I’ve got things to do.”
“I don’t need to gloat, Ned is not a trophy.”
“Then why are you here?” he asks angrily.
“It’s about Neddie.”
“Well considering
that’s the only thing we have in common I pretty much figured that out. My question is what exactly do you want? She picked you, so as far as I can tell there is nothing else to discuss.”
“As much as I hate to say it she cares about you,” I say clearing my throat. “She’s really hurt.” I hate talking about her to him. She’s mine and I don’t want him knowing anything about her. I remind myself again … you’re here for Ned.
“I really don’t see how this is my problem anymore.”
I take a deep breath and curl my hands up in a fist trying to hold back from punching him. “She’s dying,” I growl. He doesn’t speak and I can see the confusion plastered all over his face. “Can I come in?” I ask as I take a step forward. He doesn’t answer and I don’t wait to be invited in but somehow I end up inside anyway.
His room is pretty much laid out like mine except he has a mini bar on the right-hand side. That’s currently where he is standing. I watch as he turns over two small glasses and pours a generous amount of scotch into each glass. I don’t refuse the glass when he hands it to me. We both throw it back way too quickly and the burn causes me to close my eyes for a couple of seconds.
“How long does she have left?” He finally asks in a whisper.
“A year at the most.” He gulps, places his empty glass down on the coffee table that separates us and then runs a hand through his hair. He looks at me as if expecting more and so I give it to him. “She has heart failure. Her heart is irreparable.”
“I don’t get it, she’s so young.”
“I know,” I breathe finally letting my words sink in.
“Why didn’t she tell me herself?”
I shrug my shoulders. “Knowing Ned, she probably wanted you to see her as strong. She wants your memories of her to be positive.” He nods slowly.
“And how do you fit into this?” he asks with a tone to his voice that I don’t like.
“What do you mean?”
He laughs a little. “Well, what is it you’re after, her money?”
I rise to my feet instantly and walk straight up to him until our faces are about an inch apart.
“Let me make this really clear. I have wanted to rip your head off your shoulders since the first day that you stepped into her penthouse, say another dumb comment like that and you might just give me a reason to.”
We are both breathing heavily before he nods and I back away a couple of steps.
“You can’t blame me for asking. You’ve sort of just appeared out of nowhere.”
“I couldn’t care less about her money. I’d rather be broke for the rest of my life if it meant that she would be ok.” I look down at the carpet and for the first time, I really consider a life without Ned. I lower myself to the sofa. I push the thoughts away.
“You really care about her, don’t you?” he asks as he takes a seat on the sofa opposite the one I am sitting on.
“I love her,” I admit.
“Me too,” he says. It should make me mad but instead I feel like we’ve finally reached an understanding.
“I hate the idea of her not being here one day but right now I’m trying to focus on making every day count. I want every day to be good for her.”
“Me too,” he repeats in a daze.
“Then you understand that you can’t walk away from her right now. She needs you,” I admit.
“I’m surprised you’re even telling me this,” he chuckles.
“Yeah well I’m not enjoying it, I can tell you that, but it’s the truth. I would never do anything to make her unhappy and if having you around makes her happy then so be it.”
He nods for a moment.
“You want me to go talk to her?”
“No,” I shake my head. “I have a plan and I need your help.” I turn to face him.
“Just say the word,” he says without hesitation.
I smile for a moment. “Maybe you’re not as bad as I thought, Jerkson.” I see the smile fill his face.
“Neither are you, Cale. Neither are you.”
I chuckle.
After explaining my entire plan to Jackson, I leave him to do his part. I head down to the clerk — Pierre — that gave me Jackson’s hotel room location and ask him to help me with part two of my plan. And by asking him to help me, I mean I paid him to help me. That guy really needs to lose his job.
I am currently sitting and waiting for Ned to resurface from the bathroom so we can leave. I do not want to be late.
“Babe, how long now?”
“Cole, you asked me that less than five minutes ago and I told you that I am moving as fast as I can,” she shouts at me through the door.
“Well, your fast is not all that fast. Do you need some help in there?”
“Does your help include taking my clothes off?” she asks sarcastically.
I think about it for a second. “Most likely.”
“Then no.”
“Good call.”
I sit on the bed messing around with my phone.
“Hey, babe?”
“Yes,” she calls impatiently.
“This chick just sent me a message asking if I want to hook up tonight, what should I say?” I smirk.
Just then Ned steps out of the bathroom wearing a purple dress that falls to just above her knees and a matching purple ring. She looks like an angel.
“What do you want to say?” she asks with a smile.
“After seeing you right now absolutely nothing. Excuse me while I delete her number.”
“And how many numbers do you have in your phone exactly?” She raises her eyebrows.
“Do you really want to know?”
“Probably not but try me.”
“It’s in the hundreds.”
“You are such a player.”
“Was,” I say before standing to my feet. I stroll toward her while grinning. “I was a player. I am now taken. My penis belongs to one woman.”
“Cole that is in no way a romantic comment,” she giggles.
“Of course it is. I’ve never told a woman that my penis belongs to her before. Do you understand the honor that has been bestowed upon you, woman?” I ask in amusement.
“You are a moron.”
“You love this moron,” I say pulling her into my arms.
“Yeah, I may need my head examined.”
“And your lips,” I stare at them for a moment. “I think your lips need to be examined too,” I whisper with a smile.
“Oh really?” she asks in shock. “You wouldn’t happen to know a doctor that could examine them for me do you?”
“Actually, I know a very highly qualified doctor who can perform the procedure.”
“That’s great and what exactly does the procedure entail?”
“Lots and lots of testing. Just to check they are in proper working order of course.”
“Of course.” She nods her head. “When will this doctor arrive?”
“He’s already here. Right in front of you actually.”
“Oh,” she says faking disappointment. “I was hoping for someone more qualified to run the tests.”
“I assure you, Miss Waters, there is no one more qualified in the entire world. I am trained specifically for those lips,” I say nodding toward hers.
“Well, that makes me feel better.”
“Mmm, I bet.” I move closer to her mouth. I brush my lips against hers softly. “Oh no, this just won’t do, I need to do much more extensive testing than I initially thought,” I whisper with a smile.
“Oh no,” she gasps.
“Oh no indeed,” I say before pressing my lips against hers. All games come to an end as my tongue plunges into her mouth and I explore every bit of her. I’ll never tire of the taste of this woman. The kiss slows down and I gently pull away.
“What’s the verdict, doctor?” she whispers.
“I need to run more tests later, it seems that the problem isn’t just with your lips, it’s with every inch of your body too.”
“We can’t have that.”
“Nope, we can’t,” I chuckle. “You know that if you carry on like this we aren’t going to make it out the door.”
“Maybe that’s my plan,” she says mischievously.
“I love that plan but we do really need to go now. Tests will commence later. If you’re really lucky I might use my advanced equipment on you.”
“Oh, I can’t wait.” She winks with a giggle before I pull her through the door of the bathroom and out of the hotel room. If I don’t get out now I never will. “So where exactly are you taking me?”
“Somewhere I know you’ll love,” I say, linking our hands together.
“That’s not much of an answer, Mr. Cole.”
“True but a real answer would ruin the surprise so I’m afraid that’s the best you’re going to get.” She rolls her eyes.
As we step out of the elevator on the ground floor Pierre heads straight toward us as soon as he sees me. “Mr. Cole, the car is waiting right outside for you.”
“Thank you, Pierre,” I say nodding my head as I walk past him.
“Enjoy your evening,” he adds. I glance at Ned who looks somewhat impressed. I like the feeling it gives me to see that expression on her face.
“Did I ever tell you that I think you’re amazing?” Ned says smiling over at me.
“You didn’t, no. Are you telling me now?” I smile. She bites her bottom lip causing me to become a little distracted. I take a little breath and try to concentrate on what she is saying.
“I am. I’m really glad you were the one that applied for the job,” she says seriously.
“Me too, although I’m pretty sure we would have found each other anyway.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Babe, we are meant to be together … I would have always found you.”
She doesn’t answer but I see the small grin on her face. I know that what I just said was the truth. Ned has completely changed my whole life. There is no way I can become the man that I am becoming if I never met her. It’s as if she was pre-written into my life. Maybe she was.
“Mr. Cole? Miss Waters?” A man wearing a black suit asks. I nod as he steps up to the back door of a black limousine and opens it. He gestures for us to get inside with his head. I hold Ned’s hand as she lowers herself inside and then I scoot in next to her. Once the door is closed I turn to Ned who is admiring the inside of the car.
