Love Me to Death

by Sharlay

  “Open your eyes,” I whisper as I move back slightly so I can see her face. She does. “Look around you.”

  I see the shock on her face as she sees how much water surrounds us. She holds me tighter but I feel her relax slightly.

  “Every time you get into the water, I want you to remember that moment. Remember the moment where you lost complete control but still didn’t go under. I held you up and I will never let you sink. Ever. You’re safe, Ned. You’re ok, baby.”

  “I did it,” she whispers with a smile. “Thank you,” she breathes as she falls against me and cries. “Thank you so much.”

  We stand in the middle of the pool for countless minutes and then we spend the next hour making sure she can check off another point on her bucket list. Ned learns how to swim.

  2 Weeks Later

  I am awoken by the sound of Ned choking. I blink my eyes a couple of times to wake up. I flick on the lamp next to the bed and pat her back.

  “Hey, it’s ok, just breathe.”

  She is sitting up on the bed holding her chest. Her face is red and she is gasping for air. I jump to my feet and head straight for the kitchen in her penthouse. I grab a glass out of one of the cabinets and fill it with water. Running back into the room, I flick the light on and hand her the glass. She grabs it out of my hand desperately and swallows nearly half of it. When the cool liquid has filled her throat she closes her eyes and just sits there in silence. I watch her cautiously waiting for her to finally speak.

  “Thanks,” she whispers as soon as she has fully caught her breath. I sit down beside her and take the glass from her hand. Placing it down on the nightstand. I turn back to her and move her hair out of her face and tuck it behind her ear.

  “Babe, we’ve been back in New York for two weeks now and you still have that nasty cough. I know you hate going to the doctors and taking medicine but I really think you need to get it checked out.”

  “I know, I just need some cough syrup, I’ve just been lazy. Plus it’s your fault I am coughing like a crazy person every day.”

  “My fault?” I chuckle.

  “Yes, that pool in Paris was freezing cold. One of us was bound to get ill. I could barely feel my fingers when we came out.”

  “Your fingers were working pretty well from what I can remember,” I tease. She hits me in the head with her pillow and I fall back. I grab onto her waist as I go down and she falls back with me. I pull her into my arms and smile.

  “What time is it?” she whispers as her hand strokes my face.

  I turn and grab my phone. “Nearly nine a.m., I need to get up in a minute anyway.”

  “What time’s the interview?”

  “Eleven thirty.”

  “Nervous?”

  I shake my head. “This is my sixth interview in two weeks; I’ve had too many rejections to feel nervous anymore. I figure that I don’t really have much to lose.”

  “Well, I’ve got a good feeling about this one and I’m very proud of you.”

  “Mmm, how proud are you exactly?” I wiggle my eyebrows suggestively.

  “You have a one track mind, Mr. Cole.”

  “Only when it comes to you, Miss Waters,” I say before pressing my lips against hers.

  “You’re going to get ill if you keep doing that.”

  I shake my head. “I don’t care. I’ll take anything you’re giving.”

  “That’s gross.”

  “No, that’s love. It makes you lose your balls and get all poetic.” She falls back and laughs.

  “I’m pretty sure your balls are still intact actually.”

  “Been spying have we?”

  “No need, you have them out more than they are in,” she says.

  “Can’t argue with that.” I smirk.

  “And I have never heard anything poetic come out of your mouth.”

  “Seriously? I am very poetic, you are clearly not listening to me, babe.”

  “Go ahead then, give me some poetry.” She leans up on her side and grins at me.

  “I can’t just be put on the spot; a true artist needs time to prepare.”

  “Not true, poetry is like rapping; you should be able to freestyle or are you too chicken?”

  “Pfft, please I’m not scared. I can freestyle,” I say rolling my eyes.

  “Be my guest,” she says with a smirk. Ok, if she wants poetry then poetry is what she’ll get. I sit staring at her for a moment before clearing my throat.

  “Right here we go … I love your thighs and I love your knees, open your legs so I can enter, please.”

  She howls with laughter and covers her face.

  “Oh my gosh, my boyfriend literally has no filter,” she says as she giggles.

  “Babe, you asked for poetry,” I grin.

  “That was not poetry.”

  “Of course it was! It even rhymed. I’m pretty impressed, I might write some more.”

  “Please don’t. I think you should probably go and get ready for your interview.”

  “If I didn’t know any better I’d think you were trying to get rid of me.” I grin.

  “Whatever has given you that impression?” she asks, feigning innocence.

  “I wonder,” I say before giving her a quick kiss and then jumping out of bed. “And stop staring at my ass,” I say as I walk into the bathroom. I hear her laughter filling the room and it brings a smile to my face. I turn the shower on, strip out of my boxers and get in. I close my eyes as the hot beads of water run down my back.

  Things have been so good since we returned from Paris. We’ve fallen into our own little routine and even though technically our worlds are far apart, they fit together perfectly. We actually don’t see each other as much as I would like. Ned landed that big deal in Paris and until she got ill she was working pretty hard on setting everything up for the new factory there. I, on the other hand, have been job hunting like crazy every day. If I am not lining up for an acting audition then I am either handing out my résumé or interviewing for any job I can get. I was serious when I said my life needed to change. I want more for myself but I know I have to work hard to get it.

  Ned has no idea how much she inspires me. She has achieved so much at such a young age and yet she keeps going. She makes me want to be a better man just for her. What’s really crazy is that I actually find something new that I love about her every day. Like yesterday when I realized that she only eats yellow or green candy and the day before when I found out that she never eats the first cookie in the pack. She’s so weird yet that’s what I love about her. Just thinking about her makes me smile.

  And when she talks I genuinely want to listen which is something that has never happened to me with another woman before. I actually find myself asking questions just so I can hear her voice some more. And I hate the fact that she is ill. I know she is in pain as well, yet she pretends she isn’t but every now and then I catch her clutching her chest. She always brushes it off like it is nothing but it has made me suspicious lately.

  It still kills me when I see her shoving another unopened letter into her top drawer or ignoring a call from an unknown number. It’s like a dark cloud is looming over us just waiting to rain but we are both just pretending it isn’t there, yet the reminders never go away. We don’t talk about the fact that she is ill anymore. There’s no point. I just want to enjoy every minute I have left with her now.

  I jump when I feel hands slip around my waist from behind.

  “Hey,” I whisper once I realize it’s just Ned. She doesn’t say a word but her hands run all the way up my body until they rest on my shoulders. Her hands start massaging. I let out a little groan as her fingers dig deeper into my back. I’m tense. Maybe all of the interviews and auditions are getting to me more than I thought.

  “That feels good,” I whisper.

  “You’re tense.” I nod. She kneads harder and deeper. I close my eyes and lean back a little into her touch. “I like taking care of you,” she says softly.

  �
��I love it when you take care of me but I like taking care of you more.”

  “I know.” I can hear the smile in her voice.

  “You should be resting anyway.”

  “I just have a little cough and I’m a bit exhausted, people are a lot worse off.”

  “True, but isn’t it better to take it easy and get well faster?”

  “I guess. I don’t have much to do today, just a bit of paperwork. I can do most of it from my bed anyway. I just hate lying around. I feel useless.”

  I turn around and her hands fall to her sides.

  “You are far from useless, I can assure you.” I lift her bottle of shampoo from the shelf and pull her closer before turning her around so that her head is under the water. I move us a little out of the sprays of water and then squirt some shampoo into the palm of my hand and start massaging it into her scalp. The smell of strawberries and cream fills my nose. It’s a scent that I’ve grown to love, one I will forever associate with Ned. The shampoo starts to lather up and her head falls back as she enjoys the feel of my hands. I step back until the water is covering her head again. She squeezes her eyes closed as I wash her hair clean. I repeat the routine three more times before we both wash and then get out.

  We begin drying ourselves with our towels and Ned starts coughing again. “Do you want me to bring you some cough syrup on my way home?” I ask.

  “No, Misty’s coming over in an hour. I’ll get her to bring some on the way.”

  “Ok, if you’re sure?”

  “I am. I just want you to concentrate on your interview. You worry about me too much.”

  “It’s my job.”

  She smiles.

  After getting ready, Ned and I have breakfast together and just talk. She doesn’t eat much since she says that the coughing has made her throat sore. I manage to get her to have a glass of orange juice and a banana. Once I’m satisfied that she has everything she needs, she practically pushes me out the door and I get going.

  I use her car to get to my interview. That’s one of the first things I plan to do once I am earning some real money again … buy myself a car. I already replaced Layla’s car with the money I had left from my first payment from Ned, so next on the list is one for myself. I didn’t get her anything fancy it was actually Bobby’s uncle’s old car. He was looking to upgrade and gave it to me for a ridiculously low price since he knows me. It made Layla happy and so that worked for me.

  I get to my interview ten minutes early. It’s for the position of a bartender, it’s not exactly what I was looking for but it’ll do for now. Ned said that she could have talked to Jonathon about me getting a position at Eccentric since she owns half of the place but I didn’t want that. This has to be something I do for myself. If she helps me then it will totally defeat the purpose.

  I walk up to the entrance of Maceys and step inside. It doesn’t open until this evening and so the place is empty. It’s pretty dark inside and I notice a pile of chairs all stacked up on top of each other. I scan quickly and count about twenty tables. They are all wooden and round in shape. The largest table appears to be able to fit at least eight chairs around it. It’s not the classiest place but it’s definitely not one of the worst I’ve seen and I’ve seen a lot of bars.

  “You must be Brennan?”

  I turn around to find a petite woman with black hair and blue eyes staring at me. She only looks a little older than me. She stands there with one hand on her curvy hip and is tapping her foot against the wooden floor. Before Ned, I would have definitely been checking her out and figuring out the best way to get her in my bed. But instead my eyes meet hers and I nod.

  “Yes,” I say politely.

  “Jerry,” she says holding out her hand for me to shake. I do. “I’m the bar manager at Maceys. Terrence, the owner, is not around today so I’ll be doing your interview.”

  “Great,” I say.

  She turns around and starts walking down a dark corridor. “Come on then. Sorry about the mess, we had a big party here last night and the cleaners aren’t in until one so it’s a little crazy right now.”

  “It’s not so bad.”

  She laughs. “Now you’re just being polite.”

  I laugh in agreement. “Maybe.”

  “So have you done any bar work before?” she asks as she presses a few switches to illuminate the hallway. I’m watching as we walk farther down the hall and wonder how safe it is for a young woman to be interviewing a random guy all alone in this place. I wonder how often she has to do this.

  “I haven’t, no,” I say truthfully.

  “Why did you apply?”

  “Honestly, acting is what I want to do but it is not exactly the most stable career and I need something to fill the gaps.”

  “I appreciate the honesty,” she says as she stops in front of a burgundy door. She dips her hand into the back pocket of her skin tight jeans and pulls out a set of keys. She sticks one in the lock and pushes the door open. “Here we are,” she says as we enter a small and messy office.

  She rounds a wooden desk and sits down, facing me.

  “Take a seat.” She gestures with her hand to the seat across from hers. I sit down and watch her closely. She pulls out a stack of papers and starts going through them cursing as she does.

  “That man is so damn unorganized. I’ve been here for five years and I still can’t get used to this crazy filing system. Are you sure you’re not looking for a job as an administrative assistant?” she says baring her teeth.

  “Definitely not,” I say, scanning my eyes over all of the paperwork littered around the office.

  “Can’t say I blame you. Ah! Got it. Right, here we go. Brennan Cole,” she says reading off the sheet of paper in her hand. “Twenty-five years old, did ok in high school based on these grades. No work in the past seven months.” She looks up at me. “You a fast learner?”

  “I can be if I need to be.”

  “You know much about alcohol?”

  I smile. “More than I should.”

  “How are you with people?”

  “Pretty good, I’ve never had any problems getting to know people.”

  “Good, that’s what I like to hear. Now, not to be rude but you’re a pretty hot guy, Brennan. The math is simple, guys like to get served by hot girls and girls like to get served by hot guys. Can you play that role?”

  She’s asking if I can flirt. I am a pro.

  I grin. “I can.” She squirms in her chair a little and I smile at the reaction she just had to me.

  “You certainly can. You got a girlfriend?”

  “I do,” I answer confidently.

  “She the trouble making type?”

  “Nope.”

  “You got any baby mamas, crazy exes or stalkers?” I almost want to laugh but she is being deadly serious.

  “Not that I know of.”

  “Criminal record or trouble with anyone that might come looking for you?”

  “No.”

  “Good, then you’re hired. You start next Friday. It’ll be a trial shift. It’s not too crazy then but busy enough for you to get a feel of the place. You survive that and the job’s yours permanently.”

  “Seriously?” I ask in shock.

  “I don’t kid around, hon. I don’t have time.” She acts a lot older than she looks and I wonder if maybe she is.

  “Well, thanks.”

  “Not a problem, just don’t let me down. Terrence is trusting me to make the right decision and I’ve got a good feeling about you. Now, if you don’t mind I’ve got a lot to sort out,” she says standing to her feet.

  “Of course,” I say mirroring her action. I wait until she has walked past me and then follow behind her. We walk back up until we have reached the front door again. I turn to her and smile gratefully. I can’t wait to tell Ned. She did say that she had a good feeling about this.

  “Now if you can’t make it for any reason then you’ve got our number, please call. Do not jerk us around. You do and yo
ur chance is gone,” she warns.

  “I’ll be there,” I promise.

  “Great. See you on Friday.”

  “Yeah, see you then,” I say before she turns, closes the door and disappears. That was the weirdest yet most rewarding interview I have ever had. I have to refrain from dancing all the way to the car. As soon as I’m back inside the car I pull out my phone with a huge grin. I notice that Ned has called me twice. I want to call her but I decide to call Layla first. I want to tell Ned more than anything but if I call her first then all I’ll want to do is race back home and talk to her more. Instead, I pull up Layla’s number and call her.

  “Hello,” she answers after the second ring.

  “Someone sounds chirpy.” I laugh.

  “Nothing wrong with being happy, Bro. You sound pretty chirpy yourself.”

  “That’s because I just went and got myself a job.”

  “What! Oh my gosh, I am so proud of you, Bren!”

  “Thanks. Technically it’s only a trial shift but if all goes well then the job is mine.”

  “That is brilliant! I knew you could do it.”

  “Thanks.”

  “What is the job anyway?”

  “It’s just bartending.”

  “It’s not just anything, Bren. It’s a job and you worked hard to get it. You be happy. It’s fantastic news. What did Ned say?” she asks excitedly.

  “I haven’t told her yet, you’re the first to know. I’m going to call her as soon as I get off the phone with you.”

  “Oh, well then I’ll let you go but I really am so proud of you. Well done.”

  “Thanks, Sis that means a lot. I’ll speak to you soon. Ok?”