Distant Myles

by Mae, Mandee

  “I’m not sure how long you were out because I fell asleep too. I just woke up, but we better head in, Amelia. You look a little pink.”

  “Okay, let’s get our stuff together and head back to the house.” God, I hope I’m not burnt.

  After packing everything thing up and plucking the umbrella from the sand, we head back toward the house. I don’t even know what time it is, but I would guess it’s at least noon, if not a little later.

  Once we reach our deck, we toss everything down and head back inside.

  “I’m gonna grab a shower, Jamie. I will catch up with you in a bit.” I look at the clock when I enter my bedroom. Holy hell. It’s almost three o’clock. Shit! Shit! Shit! This is not going to be good. I peel off my bikini and go into the bathroom to look at the damage.

  “Jamie!” I am yelling her name. It doesn’t take long for her to come running into the bathroom. She stops dead in her tracks as soon as she sees me.

  “God, Amelia. I thought you put sunblock on.”

  “I did put sunblock on!” I am red, like, really red. “Maybe it’s not as bad as it looks.” Yeah, right. It’s usually worse than what it looks. Nothing I can do about it now.

  “I hope not or you’re going to be hurting. Big time.” Jamie says as she leaves my room.

  I turn on the shower and jump in, careful to not have the water too hot. Oh, God. This hurts. How am I supposed to have dinner with Myles tonight? I start my usual routine, get it done and get out to dry off.

  I brush through my hair and put on a light sundress so it doesn’t rub against my skin. I just want to lay down. The sun really zapped my energy. Even though I fell asleep on the beach, I could really use a nap now. I crawl up on my bed and once I lay my head down, it doesn’t take long before I fall asleep. Again.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Myles

  I usually don’t sleep in, but for some reason today, I did. It’s late morning and even though I know I still have a lot of time until my dinner date with Amelia, I don’t. First and foremost, I have to figure out what I am going to cook for her and then go to the store to get the ingredients. It wouldn’t hurt to clean the house a little either. I’m an organized person by nature, but it doesn’t hurt to give it a quick once over. What I need to do now, is get my ass out of this bed and get busy.

  After jumping in the shower to help wake up, I get dressed and head downstairs to get something to eat. I think I am going to make veal parmesan. It’s nothing spectacular, but it’s good and easy. It’s something I can leave in the oven to keep warm when I go pick Amelia up. Grabbing my keys, I head out the door toward the car. Time to go grocery shopping.

  Returning home from shopping, I take all the groceries inside. I bought way more than I needed and took way too much time at the store. Everything is now in its place so it’s time to clean the place up a bit. The closer the time gets to picking up Amelia, the more nervous I get, which in turn makes me clean more.

  I have to tell her about Megan and how all of that made me put a wall up to keep from letting anyone get too close. I need to tell her I was afraid of going through that shit again. I also need to tell Amelia how scared I am that she’s already broken through.

  I haven’t figured out how she managed to do that yet, but honestly I don’t care. I just know I can’t let her go. I don’t want her to go back home. I want to convince her to move here with me. The only thing that concerns me is Jamie.

  Jamie is her family and they do everything together. The question is, would she be willing to move away from her — Jamie is all Amelia’s had for so long.

  Hopefully, after we talk tonight, I will be able to get a better idea how she is feeling. Before I know it, it’s time to get cooking. Shit! Where did the day go?

  Putting the pasta in the boiling water and browning the veal, I get everything together to make the sauce. It only takes about twenty minutes to get everything cooking and assembled. Then I place it into the oven before I go upstairs to take a quick shower.

  I want to smell like, well, me — Not Pledge or Lysol. After drying and dressing, I head back downstairs and take a quick look at dinner and turn the oven off. It looks perfect and it will stay warm enough while I go pick up Amelia. With a quick look at the clock, I realize it’s time to go.

  Pulling up the driveway is all of a sudden nerve wracking. It’s not like I have this huge secret that will make or break us. It’s just, I don’t like talking about my past. I thought I had put it all behind me. But after that text from Megan and seeing her again, I realize it still hurts more than I care to admit.

  I try to calm myself as I pull up to the garage and shut off the car. I just sit there for a few minutes to gather my thoughts. Okay, let’s get this over with. I get out of the car and head up to the door, taking a deep breath before I knock. Tapping a few times, waiting for someone to answer the door.

  Then it opens. “Hey, Myles. Come on in.”

  I walk through the door and past Jamie. “Thanks, Jamie. Is Amelia just about ready?”

  “She went to her room after we got back from the beach and haven’t really seen her since. You can go and check on her. She is probably still getting ready.” Jamie raises her index finger, waving it in front of me and continues “But, no hanky panky. You’ll know why when you see her.” She lowers her hand and laughs a little.

  “Okay. I guess I’ll go check on her. Thanks again, Jamie.”

  “Yeah, well, don’t thank me yet.”

  I head down the hall, wondering what Jamie was talking about. I guess I’m going to find out. I raise my hand to knock on her bedroom door. After knocking softly a couple of times, I stand there and wait for a couple of minutes. No answer. I reach for the handle to see if it’s locked, turn the handle and open the door slowly so I don’t scare her. What I see, pulls at my heart. I step into her room and shut the door, quietly calling out her name so I don’t startle her.

  “Amelia.” She’s laying on her bed, asleep. I can only make out her form so I walk over to her bed and turn on the lamp. Seeing her face makes me hold my breath for a moment.

  “Amelia, baby, wake up.” I sit down beside her, careful not to touch her too much.

  “Myles, is that you? What time is it?” She says, trying to raise her head.

  “It’s 6:40. Remember, I was coming to pick you up at 6:30 for dinner with me?”

  “Shit, I’m sorry. Let me get up.” She tries to sit up, but doesn’t get very far. “Ouch! God, this hurts.”

  “Can I turn on the light so I can see you better?”

  “Yes, Myles, you can turn on the light, although I’m not sure you’re going to like what you see.”

  Walking over I turn on the lights and turn back to face her. “Christ almighty, Amelia. Do you look like that all over? I thought you used sunblock religiously.”

  “Ha. Very funny. I did use sunblock, you ass.” At least she is laughing a little. “I was even under an umbrella, but evidently I moved and so did the sun.”

  “Is there anything I can do to help you?”

  “Actually…Would you be willing to rub aloe on me, please? It would help tremendously. It’s in the bathroom, on the counter.”

  “Of course I will. Let me go get it. Can you take your dress off or do you need me to help you?” I ask her walking into the bathroom to get the aloe. God, if her face and arms are that burnt, I can’t imagine what the rest of her looks like.

  “I think I am going to need help with that as well. I don’t seem to be moving all that well. It hurts too bad.”

  Walking back to the bed, I pull the sheet back and help her sit up. Lifting the hem of her dress, I try to ease it up slowly, so I can help her get it off. Reaching her hips, she raises her arms as best she can and then it’s over her head. I toss the dress at the foot of the bed and just stand there and look at her. Jesus! That looks bad…really bad. She is just sitting there watching me look at her. I grab the bottle of aloe of give it a little shake to mix it up a bit.

&n
bsp; “Do you want me to do the front first or your back?” I ask her with a smile.

  Even being burnt, she’s still beautiful.

  “You can do my front first, but don’t get any ideas. I can’t retaliate. I’m sorry I ruined this evening, but you can still talk to me while you rub me down.” She says as she tries to lay down as easily as she can.

  “Yeah, I was afraid of that. I agree to try not to get any ideas and I will try to only rub the burnt areas.” She may be burnt, but I’m not dead. I will keep my promise to her. “Are you ready? This is going to be cold.”

  “I’m ready,” she says while trying not to smile. That looks like it hurts too.

  I uncap the aloe, turn it upside down and squeeze a line down her arm. This causes her to jump a little. “Holy shit! That’s cold.”

  “Sorry, but I did try to warn you.” I start to lightly rub the aloe in, slowly working my way up her arm. Then I add a little more for her neck and chest, and rub some more. I try really hard, really I do, not to notice how her nipples have hardened. I know it’s just from the aloe feeling so cold, but still. A hard nipple is a hard nipple. I repeat the process on her right arm and then work my way around the rest of her limbs.

  “Okay, I wanted to talk to you to explain some things, so I will just start. If you have any questions, please, just ask me. I don’t want to leave here tonight if you have any questions about me.”

  She closes her eyes and nods her head telling me to go ahead. As much as I want to see her eyes while I tell her this, it’s a little easier with her eyes closed. So I take a deep breath and resume rubbing aloe on her and get lost in what I need to tell her.

  I met Megan about 10 years ago at a company I was working for. I was a new employee and she was delegated to show me the ropes. The company I was working for was rather small, so I became friends with most of the staff, including Megan. She flirted a little with me in the beginning, but as time went on, she began to do it more and more. I found her attractive.

  I didn’t have a girlfriend at the time, so no harm done. It was actually three years before I decided to ask her out. We dated, were having fun, traveling together and our feelings deepened. I would take her on trips, buy her things. Anything she wanted, I would give it to her. Over the next year and a half, things progressed and I realized I was starting to fall in love with her. I even asked her to move in with me. She accepted the invitation before I even got the question out of my mouth. By the weekend she had all her stuff moved in.

  “Okay, time to roll over so I can do your back, Amelia.” She opened her eyes to look at me, raises her hand and rubs my cheeks, then slowly rolls over like I asked.

  Holy hell. That has got to hurt. I can see the outline of her bow to her bikini top. Squeezing more aloe, and hearing a quick intake of breath, I start rubbing it in and start in where I left off.

  We were coming up on our two year anniversary. I was happy. I thought I found the love of my life and was ready to move the relationship to the next step. I shopped for a ring, found the perfect one, and purchased it. I had a couple of weeks to figure out how I was going to ask her to marry me. I had a plan in my mind. I was going to get off work early on a Friday, go home and pack some bags to take her on a romantic weekend and ask her then. The Friday comes and I leave work early. I’m really excited, my heart is in my throat, excited to start this next chapter. I arrive home early and headed upstairs to start packing. Our bedroom door was closed, which was strange because we never shut the door, so I opened it. When I opened the door, I didn’t expect what I saw. Megan was in bed fucking two men. She must have heard me come in because she turned and looked right at me. She looked right into my eyes and didn’t do anything. She just stayed right where she was at, letting those two guys do that to her. I backed out of the room, shut the door, and left. I was so mad and so hurt that she would do that to me. If I didn’t leave, I would have killed them both. I got in the car and drove. I stayed away from the house all weekend. She tried to call several times that evening. I finally gave in and answered the phone, only talking long enough to tell her to get her stuff out of my house. She had until Sunday evening or it was going in the trash. I told her that we were obviously over and that I didn’t want to see or hear from her again. That was five years ago.

  “God, Myles. I’m so sorry that you had to go through that.”

  “Thanks,” I tell her, then pause before continuing my story.

  “After dinner the other night, Megan text me. That was the first I’ve heard from her in five years. Just getting that text from her sent me back there. Just hearing from her brought back all that anger. I didn’t want you to see me like that so that’s why I ran out the way I did. I can tolerate a lot of things, but cheating is one thing I can’t ever forgive.”

  “I can understand that, but I wish you would have told me what was going on or at least called me like you said you would. I mean, you just ran out on me. You didn’t call, didn’t text, you didn’t do anything. I thought we were hitting it off and then you just up and vanish like a fart in the wind. Jamie and Caleb were looking at me like I was….well, I don’t know what they were looking at me like, but it didn’t feel good. You leaving like that didn’t make me feel good.”

  She rolls back over and looks at me. “I thought I did something wrong. All this time, I thought I did something wrong.” She is trying to move her arms and talk with her hands while she is yelling at me. I really screwed up. I hope I can fix this.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t call and I’m sorry I made you feel that way. You didn’t do anything wrong. I know you called the other evening when Megan answered my phone. I went up to take a shower after going for a run and when I came back downstairs, she was on the phone with you. She found my spare key and let herself in. She told me she wanted to let the past go and start over again. I pretty much told her to stay the hell away. I don’t ever want to see her again.”

  “No wonder the bitch sounded like she had every right to answer your phone. Thank you for telling me. I appreciate it, really I do. But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m still pissed and hurt. I know she hurt you, but how would you feel if I just ran out on you and didn’t call you for two days, didn’t text you to let you know what was going on? You’d feel pretty shitty wouldn’t you? Listen, what she did to you was terrible, but I’m not Megan. If we are going to see each other, and right now that’s a big if, then I need to see all sides of Myles. Even the pissed off one. Understand?” She tries to sit up enough to lean against the headboard. “Now, hand me the sheet, please?”

  “Sure.” I stand up and pull the sheet up for her so she can cover herself. I would rather she just lay there naked, but I don’t want her to be uncomfortable. I sit back on the bed beside her and reach for her hand. I just need to feel her hand in mine for a bit.

  “After that happened with Megan,

  I closed off. If I dated a woman, I never got too close and never let them get too close. I didn’t want to put myself in that position again. I didn’t want to have those feelings again, but the first time I met you, I knew you were different.” I’m telling her this, trying to watch her face for any reaction she might have to what I am trying to tell her.

  “Amelia, I am usually not so quick to let my emotions get the better of me, but for some reason, you have been able to break through and get to me a way no one else has in quite some time. I really like you. I know you are only here for two weeks, but I don’t want you to go back. I don’t want you to leave. I want you to stay here and see where this leads. Is there any chance at all that I can convince you to stay? I know it’s a huge risk, but I promise you won’t be disappointed. Just stay and give us a chance.”

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Amelia

  Oh. My. God. Did he really just say what I think he said? He is watching me to see what I do. What am I supposed to tell him?

  “Myles, thank you for being honest with me. I’m not sure what to say. I felt the same way when we first met and
I really like you too. I know this is crazy. We have only known each other for a few days and now you want me to give up everything that I know and just move down here with you. This is all just happening so fast.”

  Myles squeezes my hand. “Yes, I know this is crazy. Amelia, I began to have feelings for you in less than two days. I can’t get enough of you. I can’t keep my hands off you — except right now and that’s only because you’re so burnt.” I laugh a little, trying to lighten the tension in the room. “I think you feel the same way. We are both scared of not knowing where this is going, but isn’t it worth the risk? I see it in your eyes. I can see it in your facial expressions, your body language, and the way you act when I’m around. I know this is a huge step. It’s a step I wouldn’t even consider mentioning if I didn’t believe it in my heart. I know I fucked up, big time, but all I am asking is that you think about it. Give me a chance to make it up to you. Can you promise me you will at least think about it?”

  Can I seriously be considering this? Sure, I can promise to think about it, but that doesn’t mean I am going to do it. Do I want to do it? Do I want to move here to be with him?

  “Okay Myles. I promise to think about it on one condition?”

  “Name it. Whatever it is, just say it.” He says with a smile on his face.

  “I’m still pissed, but I will promise to think about it if you can go to the kitchen and get me something to eat and drink. I am starving.”

  I didn’t think his smile could get any bigger, but it did. If I could move, I would lean forward and hug him.

  “I would love to go get you something. Do you want anything particular?” He asks, standing up, heading towards the door.

  “I don’t care. I could even go for a PB&J. It really doesn’t matter to me. If it’s food, I will eat it. And just some water to drink please.”

  “Okay, I will go get us something to eat. I will be back in a few.” He says, walking out the door and down the hall.