“That was random,” Robert remarked before going back to scrolling through emails on his phone.
Em smiled at Robert. He really had no clue. “Not really. Zavia is going upstairs to tell Isabel what I should and should not be allowed to do over the next forty-eight hours.”
Robert paused but didn’t look up from his phone. “You’re not going to go after them are you?” He finally looked over at Em, who had a bemused look on her face.
“Nope. I know better than to try and stop Zee when she is in mothering mode. Besides, I’m not really in any position to argue that I can take of myself, am I?”
*
Zavia reached Isabel’s door and knocked twice in rapid succession as she walked in. Isabel’s apartment was a fashion disaster area. She was the only one of the three friends that was what society and the fashion industry deemed “normal sized,” with Zavia being too tall and Em being too hippy. Isabel bought clothes constantly and judging from the disaster area that used to be a living room, she’d finally given up trying to get the clothes in any semblance of order.
“Jesus Zee, what took you so long? I’ve been waiting for you!”
“Sorry. After what happened, my brain isn’t functioning right.” Zavia moved a stack of tee-shirts aside to sit down on the sofa.
Isabel was pacing the tiny room. “When did he get back into town? I thought he promised to let one of us know if he came back.” She too remembered the mess of a woman left behind when Lukas left town before.
“I know. This is a disaster. We can’t let Emmalyn get wrapped up in him and his bullshit again. I don’t think any of us can take it.” Zavia held her head in her hands and grimaced.
“Agreed. I’ll stay with her for the weekend. Hopefully, by Monday she’ll be okay again.” Plan established, Isabel grabbed a bright pink designer tote bag and stuffed clothes and shoes inside.
“Good. I’ll be over tomorrow after Jared’s football game, and we’ll keep her busy. Somehow.” Zavia rose from the sofa to look out the window and started biting her nails. Isabel reached out and smacked her hand.
“Stop that,” Isabel admonished. “One basket case is all I can handle at a time. You’ll go home, fuck your husband, and be okay. Keep yourself together.”
Zavia glared at Isabel but accepted that what she said was true. And she had every intention of thanking Robert properly and reminding him how much she really loved him as soon as Jared went to bed.
“Fine. You’ve made your point. Let’s go before they come up here.” The two turned and headed for the door. As Isabel locked her door, Zavia spoke up.
“Under no circumstances is Lukas allowed near Em. He’ll kill her. She won’t be able to fight him off and she’ll get sucked under again. I don’t see how he’ll know where she lives now, but just in case, call the police if you have to. They do not need to talk or anything else.”
Isabel nodded. “All right. This should be fun,” she sighed as she and Zavia headed down her long hallway towards the elevator bank.
*
Robert dropped the friends off at Em’s townhouse just outside of the city. Her’s was a three-story end unit with a two-car garage on the lower level. Em had been so proud of herself when she’d bought the house.
They went inside and ordered food, giving Em time to wash the pasta sauce out of her hair and off her body before changing into clean clothes. Rejoining Isabel in the kitchen, Em went straight to the refrigerator, grabbing a bottle of wine and two glasses from the cabinet.
“Don’t you think you’ve had enough to drink?” Isabel walked around the big granite island with a concerned look on her face.
“Nope. Not even close.” Em poured one glass half full and drank the wine down in one swallow. She didn’t hesitate before pouring another.
“Well, then at least drink tequila. Mixing alcohols will just make you sick and hung over.” Isabel hustled into the living room and grabbed the bottle of tequila off the bar. She headed back to the kitchen quickly and deposited the tequila on the counter. She then grabbed the wine glass out of Em’s hand and the wine bottle off the counter.
“You’re the boss.” Em turned back to the cabinet and grabbed two shot glasses.
“Look, now, no more for me until after we eat.”
“Have it your way. I just want my brain to stop churning.” She poured a shot in each glass, took the first one, and threw the amber liquid back. She did the same with Isabel’s.
“Em…,” Isabel put her hand over Em’s and searched her mind for the right thing to say.
“I’m not going to bother saying I’m fine because we both know that would be a lie.” Em walked into the living room and dropped, face first, onto the sofa. “Want to hear the saddest truth of my entire existence?”
Isabel laid back on the chaise across from Em. “Sure.”
“I now understand why no men I date can survive beyond six months,” Em said sadly.
“Really?” Isabel really didn’t like where this was going, but she sensed Em needed to get this off her chest.
“Yup. They aren’t him. They are all like him in some way, but they aren’t him. And after six months of trying to mold them into him and realizing it’s never going to happen, I dump them. How pathetic is that?”
“It’s not that pathetic.”
Em turned her head and looked at her friend, hopeful that the other woman held some answers. Isabel tried to smile, to find some way of reassuring Em but couldn’t quite muster it.
“Isabel, for as long as I’ve known you, you have said that it’s wrong to sugarcoat the truth. Why start now?” She turned her head around and tried to bury her face in the sofa cushions.
“Because you are hurting, and right now, the harsh truth isn’t what you need. Tomorrow I’ll tell you all about the kind of idiot you are.”
Em laughed at that. She turned her head back toward Isabel. “I know you and Zavia are scared I am going to go running back to him. And while I can’t say it’s never going to happen, I can say it’s certainly not what I want.”
“That’s good to hear. And you’re right—we are very scared of that happening. After last time, let’s just say we have every right to be concerned.” Isabel sat up in the chair and gave Em her serious face. “Okay, so what do you want to do tonight?”
“I don’t care. Don’t you have any ideas?” Em flipped over on her side and pulled her knees up to her chest.
“Of course.” Isabel jumped off the chaise and ran to her bag in the kitchen. She came back holding DVDs. “We are going old new school –– Doctor Who marathon! I just love nine.”
“You are such a nerd,” Em laughed. “Besides, anyone with half-a-grain of sense knows eleven is the best.”
Isabel picked up a pillow and hit Em lightly across the shoulder. “Whatever. I notice you didn’t say no.”
“Shut up, and put the disc in,” Em mumbled, refusing to make eye contact. The two old friends laughed and settled in for several hours of sci-fi TV watching.
3
The Beginning and The End
All through high school, Em and Zavia knew they’d be going to college together. When the time finally came, they got rooms in the same dorm, just three doors from each other. They briefly considered rooming together, but with Em being just shy of a total disaster and Zavia being slightly obsessive compulsive, both knew that would be a terrible idea.
The college years seemed to fly by. Once senior year rolled around, the girls wanted to move off-campus and decided an apartment would be okay—Em had to promise not to junk up the public spaces, and Zavia had to promise not to clean Em’s room when she wasn’t home.
Zavia had always known that she wanted to be an interior designer when she grew up. As graduation neared, she was fielding several offers from design houses all along the east coast. Em never understood why Zavia studied civil engineering if she wanted to pick wall paper for a living, but Zavia was always one with a plan.
Em, on the other hand, flew through co
llege by the seat of her pants. She changed majors four times in two years then had to go to summer school to graduate with Zavia once she’d decided on computer science. She didn’t have a burning passion for the subject, but the subject was interesting and related careers paid well right out of college.
While in those CS courses, she’d met Lukas, who wasn’t a student at the university, but rather a local that worked in the computer lab. He would always flirt with her when she came to use the computers, and she found him to be attractive and funny. She finally got the nerve to ask him to coffee on campus, but he told her he couldn’t because dating students was against university regulations for staff.
The day after graduation, as Em and Zavia were packing up their apartment, Lukas stopped by and asked Em if the offer for coffee was still open. She jumped up and wiped her hands on her pants.
“Hi! Of course.” She paused. “How did you know where I live?”
Lukas had the most adorable sheepish smile when he replied that his sister lived in the building, and he had seen Em once while he was there visiting. “I’ve avoided the building since that day so you wouldn’t think I was some creep stalker.”
They went to coffee later that day. Zavia and Robert were busy finalizing plans for their wedding, so Em didn’t feel too guilty leaving the apartment half packed. Coffee easily turned into dinner. They talked for hours about any number of subjects.
“Why didn’t you ever go to college? You seem smart enough,” she blurted out, blushing in shame at the politically incorrect question.
“I went into the Army right after high school. I got injured pretty bad during a deployment. It took me a couple of years to be able to walk and regain the use of my right hand. After that, the thought of sitting in a classroom just made me crazy.”
“Oh my goodness,” Em exclaimed. “I never would have guessed.”
“Would either of you like something else? I am about to go off duty, so I’d like to close your ticket, if you don’t mind.” The waitress seemed impatient to be off, so they paid their bill and left the restaurant.
“I’ll walk you home.” Lukas reached out and took Em’s hand. Their hands touched, and alarms went off in Em’s head. She’d never had such a strong reaction with anyone else she’d dated before. She looked up at Lukas and noticed he had the same stunned look on his face.
When they reached her door, he leaned down and gently kissed her on the lips. Though brief, the kiss was powerful and intense. Emmalyn was totally breathless. She also couldn’t force herself to walk inside the apartment. They stood staring at each other until the apartment door was yanked open by a furious Zavia.
“Where the hell have you been? I’ve been calling you non-stop, but of course you’d never know that since you left your damn phone here. I don’t know why you bother paying for the damn thing since you never have it on you!” Zavia’s lecture cut off abruptly when she noticed neither Em nor Lukas had been paying her the least bit of attention.
“Hello!” Zavia reached out and pinched Em’s arm. Em reluctantly pulled her eyes away from Lukas and frowned at her friend.
“Ouch! What’s that all about?” asked Em, rubbing the sore spot on her arm.
“Are you shitting me right now? I’ve been worried sick about what could have happened to you. Damn it all Emmalyn Judith!” Zavia snarled, her eyes shifting back and forth between her friend and the complete stranger she’d worried had likely sold Em into slavery hours ago.
“Why didn’t you just call me?” Em began patting her pockets then looking in her purse for her phone. Zavia held it up for her to see.
“Looking for this? You left here without your phone. Again.”
“I’m sorry, Zee.”
In response to Em’s lame apology, Zavia turned back into the apartment and slammed the door behind her.
Em flinched. “I better go after her. Thanks for coffee and dinner. I really enjoyed being with you today.” She stood rooted in place, smiling like an idiot. She didn’t care. Lukas had the same ridiculous grin.
“When are you leaving town? I’d like to see you again.”
“Day after tomorrow. Zee is getting married Saturday morning, then after the reception, I’m moving into the city for my new job.” Emmalyn had a hard time focusing with Lukas’s thumbs rubbing circles in her palms.
“Okay. So, how about dinner tomorrow?”
“I can’t. The rehearsal dinner is tomorrow. But we can meet after that. We’re having the bachelorette party tonight. Zee doesn’t want to be hung over for the wedding.”
“Okay. I’ll be waiting.” He kissed her again, just as lightly, just as powerfully. He laid a finger on her cheek before walking down the hall away from the apartment. She watched him leave the building, not able to move until he was in his car and driving away.
Zavia opened the door again. “You’re an idiot.”
Em’s smile faltered just a bit as she turned to her very best friend in the world.
“I’m in love!” She gave her friend a huge, goofy grin as she stepped into the apartment.
Zavia groaned, having heard this before. Many times. “Just tell me you didn’t sleep with him.”
“What? Of course not. But he did kiss me. Twice. We just shared the most amazing kiss in the history of inter-lip relations.”
Zavia rolled her eyes and went back to packing books. She frowned when she realized Emmalyn was still standing in the doorway. “You do plan to help at some point tonight, right?”
“Yes, Master!” Em walked into the room with her arms out like a zombie. Zavia burst into laughter and threw the tape at her.
“Bitch!”
Em joined in the laughter and the two friends continued to prepare for the next stage of their lives.
*
The next couple of months passed quickly. Emmalyn and Lukas grew closer, seeing each other every weekend. The first time they slept together, Em was absolutely sure she had found her soul mate. Everything about the experience was perfect. Though she had been able to bring herself to orgasm for some time, Lukas was the first man to be able to, and he brought her intense pleasure many times that night. He knew exactly how to touch her, kiss her, hold her. He instinctively understood what her body needed and was able to give her that and so much more.
And she found ways to please him that no other woman had. Every part of her melded perfectly with his, as if made just for him. He felt so incredibly lucky to have found someone that was so compatible with him, and didn’t feel the need to be false or misleading.
The first time Lukas told Em he loved her was on their six-month anniversary. They were out to dinner, and he had presented her with a beautiful pair of pearl earrings. She was putting them in her ears when his words shocked her into absolute stillness.
“This can’t be a surprise to you, Em,” he laughed. “I mean, you had to know how I feel about you.”
“I did know. I just wasn’t sure if it was real or if I just really wanted it to be. I love you too. I think I’ve always known.”
“Thank God.” Lukas leaned back in his chair and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. “I’ll admit I was a little worried by the look on your face.”
“I just wasn’t expecting you to say that so soon. It’s been a perfect night. Let’s get out of here.”
That night they made love over and over. Lukas took Em in just about every way possible, the depth of their love displayed in every kiss, every caress, and every stroke. Just when Em felt she wouldn’t be able to take another breath, Lukas was able to find another sensitive place and get her going all over again. Em wanted the night to go on forever. She loved the man and loved every orgasm he gave her. Eventually, she fell asleep, fully sated, against Lukas’s chest, dreaming of their wedding day and the house full of kids they were going to have.
The relationship wasn’t always a bed of roses, though. Emmalyn was exacting and had a tendency to be somewhat intolerant of faults in others. She expected perfection in herself and
pushed hard to succeed in her career. Lukas was the exact opposite. While he worked hard for what he wanted, he was happy where he was and preferred to run his life as the situations occurred. He had very little patience for Em’s planning and tended to break plans with no notice. Lukas’s seat-of-the-pants attitude drove Em crazy. The majority of their fights were because Lukas broke his word to Em, not showing when he said he would but mostly breaking or changing plans at the last minute.
There were times when Em felt that if Lukas really loved her as he said he did, he’d be able to keep his word. Lukas, on the other hand, felt that Em put too many restrictions on him with her incessant planning and wished she would relax and enjoy life more. What he couldn’t see was that with each broken promise and each missed date, he was pushing her further and further away.
Their worst and final fight came the night Lukas missed Em’s promotion party. His father needed help moving furniture, and he’d stopped there first to give his old man a hand. He and his father ended up talking so long that by the time he made his way to the restaurant where the party was held, Em was gone. Isabel had told him that Emmalyn had left the restaurant more than an hour before, crying. Lukas felt terrible, but he really didn’t think the situation was that big a deal. His pops needed him. Surely, that took precedent over some work party, right? By that point, he was no longer so sure.
He walked slowly into the apartment carrying the flowers and present he’d bought for her. As he crossed the threshold, he stumbled, tripping over something large in the darkness of the foyer. He flipped on the light to find a pair of large suitcases. He didn’t recognize them, but he didn’t think that was a good sign. He dropped his head to his chest and took a deep breath, steeling himself before walking into the fight he knew was waiting for him. He found Emmalyn sitting at the dining room table eating an entire round cake with a glass of wine. She wasn’t crying, and she didn’t look upset. Perhaps fortune was smiling on him—except for the suitcases in the hall. This was Em’s apartment, so obviously she wasn’t leaving.
She finally spoke, her voice calm and clear and devoid of any emotion, bringing Lukas out of his musing. “Those are your bags in the hallway. I took the liberty of stopping on the way home and picking up the bags since you didn’t have any here and you sure as hell aren’t taking any of mine. Now, get out.” She lifted the wine glass and took a long drink.
Fairytale Lost Page 2
