by Brooke Page
Once the water became colder I drug myself out of the bath. My muscles were so relaxed, and my skin felt smooth and delicate. I put on my robe and drained the bath water. Grabbing my phone and the empty wine glass, I went into my room and lay on my bed. Should I call Tyler? What would be my excuse? I didn’t want to talk about Connor with him; ex-boyfriend baggage is not a good conversation starter. Maybe I will just send him a text…
You will be happy to know my sorrows are down the drain, and I successfully remained above water. –Becca
A ping came on the screen almost instantly.
I was beginning to worry. Glad your sorrows are gone, that jerk doesn’t deserve your tears. Sorry I wasn’t there to lend a shoulder to cry on-Tyler
Hmm…
I figured it would’ve been very un-lady like of me to invite you in… -Becca
I bit my lip. Another instant ping.
You should go to sleep. I think the wine is starting to talk. Goodnight Becca. –Tyler
I huffed. Well, I would be embarrassed about that in the morning. I threw my phone to the side of my bed and buried myself under the covers and zonked.
~
The next morning came too quickly. I looked at my alarm clock and it was 8:30am, way too early for a Saturday. I rolled over and felt something poking me under my rib cage. It was my cell phone. I pulled it out and glanced at it. I had three missed calls, a text, and a voicemail.
I wouldn’t have thought you to be un-lady like at all, simply wanting a friend to talk to. I hope you weren’t offended by me saying the wine was talking. –Tyler
I smiled at the text then listened to my voicemail.
“Well I’m guessing the wine put you to sleep rather fast since you haven’t replied to my texts. I hope you have a great weekend… and thank you for a wonderful evening. ”
He sounded so nervous. Almost worried? I told him I made it out of the bathtub, what else did he have to worry about? I was suddenly super embarrassed by my un-lady like comment. I totally insinuated I wanted him to come upstairs for other reasons! How was I going to face him at work? The wine pushed the fact that he was my boss out of my mind. I really need to watch how much I drink. I decided to text him.
Sorry, I fell asleep. Wine can have that effect on me. I had a wonderful evening too. Thank you for the tea. I hope your flight sat for a while on the tarmac so you could sleep longer. -Becca
Ping. Gosh, is he always this quick on his phone?
Watch out for that wine, and you are very welcome for the tea. Unfortunately I was sitting next to someone who was snoring, and was unable to sleep. I will be the one not responding to texts on Sunday if you so choose to send me any. -Tyler
Snorers are the worst. May I suggest ear plugs? -Becca
Couldn’t you have suggested that last night? -Tyler
I giggled.
Sorry, my mind was on wine and bubbles. -Becca
And on your dreamy eyes.
Better that than ex-boyfriends and ex-friends. I better get back to my meeting. No one wants to stay here longer than they have to on a Saturday. Have a good weekend. -Tyler
Thanks, you too. -Becca.
Now I was wide awake. I plugged my phone in since I passed out without thinking to charge it the night before, and decided to hit the gym before Jamie got up. When I walked out into the kitchen I was in shock; she was sitting on the barstool drinking coffee and playing with her phone.
“You’re up awfully early for a Saturday,” I said.
She blew out her nose and kept playing with her phone. “I have a ton of crap to unpack. I was so tired last night I left half of it in my car. As you can see, I am getting very far.”
Going to the gym got put on the back burner and I decided to help Jamie unpack the rest of her things. It took us four elevator trips to get the rest of her stuff. We could have had the bell man do it, but we were both so independent. And why not? We were perfectly capable. We finally got all of her things unloaded by dinner time and decided to order out since cooking sounded like no fun. We agreed on Chinese.
“Uh, how can you eat that plain chicken and veggie crap. A little bit of fried rice would spice things up for you.” She nudged me.
“After last night, my life is spicy enough,” I sighed.
Her eyes narrowed. “Spicy because of a picture text? Or spicy because of your boss?”
“Both. Ashlynn called me three times today. I don’t want to answer it. It’s not that I want Connor anymore, it’s just uncomfortable territory.”
“And the other spice…”Jamie hinted.
I tilted my head and narrowed my eyes at her, “The other spice is my boss, and I doubt he is into me. He is dropped dead gorgeous and way out of my league. I wouldn’t be able to keep up with him.”
Jamie giggled, “Oh I’m sure you could keep up with him.”
I threw my head back and laughed, “That is so not what I meant!”
We both laughed. “Besides, moving here was to get away from men. Jumping into something the week I got here would be bogus.”
“Who said you had to jump into it? See how it plays out. He practically owns the company; he has to be good husband material,” she said, sitting up and putting her empty plate in the dishwasher.
She almost sounded like my mother. I didn’t want someone just because they would be good husband material. That was what Connor was and look how well that turned out.
~
By Sunday morning Jamie and I finally had our condo looking and feeling like home. We both slept in and took our time getting ready to go to my parents for Sunday dinner. They lived about 20 minutes from the city. I hadn’t had time to get a car yet, so I told my mother it would be okay if Roger chauffeured us. He arrived timely and met us at our front door.
“Hi Roger, you remember Jamie Rae?”
He put his hand out to Jamie, “Of course. How are you ladies doing this afternoon?” He was polite as always. We all went down the elevator and hopped into the Navigator. I was fidgety the entire time.
“Would you relax? Your mother can’t possibly say anything to embarrass you in front of me. I have heard everything from that crazy woman.” Jamie frowned.
“I’m just hoping she hasn’t heard about Ashlynn and Connor,” I whispered. My mother was livid when she found out what happened between the three of us. For once she took my side. She was still good friends with Ashlynn’s mother and even brought it up to her. Ashlynn’s mother was just like her daughter and tried to make it sound like it was bound to happen because Connor and I weren’t a good match. My mother couldn’t believe Ashlynn’s mom was defending her actions. I guess she hadn’t talked to her ever since they fought about the infidelity. It made me happy she was on my side, but like Jamie, she was furious I let Ashlynn still be in my life. But she wasn’t in my life, not really. I tried to block her out, at least mentally. I never talked to her the same way, rarely answered her calls or text messages. But whenever I would, she would act like nothing had changed.
We pulled up to my parent’s estate and walked to the front door. My mother was there instantly to greet us with open arms. “I’m so glad you girls could make it! Wow Becca, you are almost to your goal weight finally, aren’t you? Jamie, you look sensational as always!” Jamie grimaced at my mother’s crude comment to me. I just shook my head and let it slide. I was used to her opening her mouth and not being able to control what she said.
It looked like Jamie and I were the only ones who would be joining my parents for family dinner. My brother was sick and Heather and Ray were still on vacation. My parents were watching my niece, Josie.
We all sat down in the living room while Josie played with her toys on the floor. My father opened his arms for me to come hug him as he sat in his chair reading the newspaper. He always looked so peaceful; you would never know he rarely slept and practically ran a city.
“So darling, how are you doing?” My mother asked me as if I were a small child. The tone she took with me told me she knew
about Connor and Ashlynn and didn’t know if I had heard.
“I’m fine mom. Work is keeping me busy, and now Jamie is here. I have nothing to put me down.”
My mother’s face went pale.
“Mom, I know about the engagement. You don’t have to walk on eggshells around me. It’s fine, I hope they are happy,” I whispered.
Jamie let out a loud groan, “I hope that bitch trips and falls down the aisle!”
My mother winced at Jamie’s curse, but then agreed, “Yes, she doesn’t deserve Connor.”
Oh gosh, not this rant again.
“Connor is a well-respected young man; he doesn’t deserve to be with a prissy selfish girl like Ashlynn,” my mother said matter of fact.
“He doesn’t deserve to be with anyone!” Jamie sneered.
My father tried to suppress his laughter while my mother looked sheepish. Seeing this conversation was going nowhere, I stood up and said, “Is dinner ready? Can I help with anything?” Can I do anything besides talk about Connor?
~
“Well, nothing beats a dinner at the Stine household,” Jamie sighed. “How did you live with that?”
I shook my head, “You wondered why I was so reserved. I had to hide under the rug in that house.”
“Well Becca, your siblings skipped out on dinner, so we can skip out now, too!” She said, hitting my thigh. “You just need to learn how to say no, Bec.”
Roger dropped us off at the condo and said goodbye. It was only 4:00pm, and I wondered what Tyler was doing. He said he slept all day on Sundays, but maybe he meant he just lounged?
“I’m going to go lay down for a bit,” I said to Jamie, wandering to my side of the condo. She shrugged her shoulders and went off to her hallway.
I laid on my bed and stared at my phone. Should I text him? Call him? It’s less invasive if I text, so if he were sleeping he wouldn’t hear it. Oh what the hell. I grabbed my phone and started to text.
I hope you are enjoying your lazy day :o)-Becca
I sat and stared at my phone, willing it to buzz with a text from him. I sat, and sat, and sat. Nothing. I sighed and decided to jump in the hot tub and try not to daydream about him.
~
The next morning, I still hadn’t received a text from Tyler. I thought it was strange, but maybe he was sleeping and saw it then forgot about it? Then I thought to myself, why do I care? It’s not like we were dating or even good friends. Maybe he just didn’t receive my text.
All day Monday and Tuesday I was very aware of my surroundings at work. I kept hoping to see Tyler. I saw Nathan once, but no Tyler following after him. Then Wednesday morning on my way into the building I saw him standing and looking at the statue in front of the Conklin building. Suddenly feeling nervous, I debated about walking up to him. He still hadn’t answered my text or called. I slowly approached him as his eyes were still fixed on the statue.
“Hey, did you have a good time in Chicago?” My voice practically squeaked.
He slowly turned his head to look at me then back to the statue with a blank expression. “Business as usual,” he sighed.
The air was heavy, and I didn’t know what else to say. Obviously he had things on his mind. “Well… I guess I will see you around,” was the only thing I could think to say.
He gave me a nod then pulled out his phone. I quickly walked into the building, wishing I hadn’t approached him.
My day dragged on until lunch. I decided to go sit outside and enjoy the crisp fall day. Soon winter would be here and it would be too cold to be outside. I sat on the bench, trying desperately to push Tyler and his bleakness towards me this morning out of my head. Then I heard an ear splitting voice from behind me.
Chapter 5
“Becca! I have been trying to get ahold of you! Is your phone broken?” Ashlynn screeched. People on the other side of the busy street could hear her she was so loud.
“Hey… Ashlynn. What are you doing here?” I croaked.
“Oh Becca! I’m setting up my shop! My mom said you were working for Conklin, so since you weren’t returning my calls or messages I thought I would stop by!” she said to me as though I were a loon. I tried to muster a smile. My stomach wanted to hurl out of my mouth and into her lap. I hated that she looked perfect. She had her blonde hair in an intricate braid, and she was wearing a light blue low cut blouse and tight white pants with extremely high blue heels. She must have been six inches taller than usual. I felt frumpy sitting in front of her. I was wearing dark khaki pants and a burnt orange button up blouse. I hastily threw my hair up and only had time to put on mascara, and slid my feet into flats instead of pumps.
“Well I have been trying to call you because,” she threw her hand out at me, “Connor proposed! Isn’t that exciting!”
I tried to smile at her. “That’s great Ashlynn.”
“I know, right? Anyway, since we are engaged now, we both want to build a house together. ”
Oh no, where is she going with this…
“We both thought you would be the perfect person to do the blueprints!” She was overly excited.
My face paled, “Ashlynn, I don’t know. I do commercial.” It was a plea.
“Oh don’t be silly. I know you would rather do residential. I have seen your plans. They are very good. Please, Becca it would mean so much to me.” She pouted her lips. Before I could even think, the words slipped out of my mouth.
“Okay, I guess I can help you out.”
Her grin was devilish, “Thank you Becca!” she exclaimed, giving me a hug. “How about Friday? Can we meet you here?”
“Sure, but I have to get back. My lunch is over,” I lied.
“Okay, I get it! See you Friday,” she said, walking off swaying her hips. I noticed a man sitting on a bench ten feet down from me watch her every move. I was disgusted.
I practically ran inside into the bathroom. I could hardly breathe. Why the hell did I just say yes to that? Tears threatened my eyes as I stared in the mirror. My life couldn’t get any worse.
When I finally gained my composure, I went back to my cubicle and tried to focus on my current project. I noticed I had an email from Will.
Becca,
Thursday morning we are going to visit a client in Ludington to discuss starting plans for Enterprise Yachts, a yacht warehouse and company building. Management wants you to come. Would you mind an overnight stay? We would be back by Friday evening.
Will Summers
Head of the Commercial Architecture Department
Conklin Architecture, Construction, and Design
Thank God! An out!
Will,
I would love to come.
Becca Stine
Junior Commercial Architect
Conklin Architecture, Construction, and Design.
Awesome! We are meeting here at 7:00am tomorrow morning.
Will Summers
Head of Architecture Department
Conklin Architecture, Construction, and Design
I quickly pulled out my cell to text Ashlynn that I couldn’t meet with her on Friday. I had no idea if I would make it back in time to meet with her. She replied with a frown face and rescheduled for the next Friday. I had a week and a half to loath over it. Great.
When I got home from the gym Jamie was starting to cook dinner.
“How was work, honey,” she joked.
I smiled back at her, “Lovely, and your day?”
“Eh, it was okay,” she shrugged.
Jamie wasn’t too sure about her new job at the marketing firm. The whole 9 to 5 job wasn’t her ideal lifestyle. “But, I did meet a few new co-workers. They were telling me about the Crush night club in The B.O.B. They invited us to go with them this Saturday, are you game?” She sounded nervous to ask me.
“Sure, but I’m going to be out of town until Friday night for work,” I said enthusiastically. I didn’t realize how excited I was for the trip. My mind had been on crazy Ashlynn. I decided to not tell Jamie about my v
isit with her.
Jamie raised her eyebrow, “Ah… night away with the boss?” I glared at her.
“I doubt Tyler is coming.”
She smirked. “Who said I was talking about Tyler, isn’t he your boss’s boss?” I was stone faced. Jamie laughed, “Why don’t you just admit you like him? And go for it! He is hot. I saw the picture of him you left up on your laptop.” Shit. I need to remember to keep my stuff on my side of the condo.
“I told you, he isn’t into me. He said three words to me today, and that was it. He wasn’t smiley and flirty like he was Friday night.” I blurted out.
“Um, you never said he was flirty. When are you going to stop holding out on me?” She sounded wounded.
“Look, all he told me was he thought Connor was crazy for cheating one me. And texted me a few times Friday night and left a message while I was asleep.” I tried to not sound interested.
“Hold up, you told him about Connor? You never talk about that,” she whispered.
“I got the picture text while I was with him. It all just sort of spilled out. He was asking all these probing questions. I was having trouble deflecting them,” I grumbled.
