Breakaway: A New Adult Anthology

by Jay McLean

  "Unless you are dying or sick, then we should sleep in while we get the chance. Sam is an early riser and from sunup to sundown he's full throttle. I'm warning you now."

  "I think he's already awake." I stretched against him, then immediately regretted it at his groan.

  "You're trying to kill me."

  I giggled. "C'mon, Jamie. I have to get up."

  "No, too comfy."

  "I have to catch the ferry, check on my dad. Seriously. I have to go."

  His hand gentled on the small of my back and stroked up the sensitive skin of my spine. My entire body stilled in response to the deceptively erotic sensation that resulted. The light play of his fingers sent shockwaves across me and I immediately pulled away.

  He sat up, wiped his eyes. "Where are you going?"

  Instead of answering I crossed the porch to check on the weather. I didn't know whether to be resigned or relieved that the storm had passed and the ocean had calmed. "It stopped raining," I told him, my eyes carefully averted. "Do you think you could give me a ride? The ferry should be working now."

  He grunted in what I assumed was assent. "Let me grab my keys. Pa can watch Sam while I run you over there."

  I followed him back in the house where Sam's little head was barely visible over the counter as he ate a messy plate of pancakes drenched in syrup. Allen Montgomery hadn't changed in the years since we'd last seen each other. His weathered face was still creased in a big small and the same watery blue eyes twinkled in merriment.

  "Come here, girl, and give an old man a hug."

  Smiling, I embraced him and was thrown back to all the times I'd been in this very situation. At the Montgomery household, hiding from my own family, thrown amidst his like I was one of their own. The memory caused tears to prick the back of my throat, so I excused myself with another fierce hug and a wave at Sam.

  I grabbed my things from the couch where they'd been forgotten and ducked out of the house. Jameson followed behind me. The ride back to the ferry was even more rife with tension. Where would this leave us?

  All too soon he maneuvered the truck into a parking spot. In front of us, passengers were loading onto the ferry and the sun was just beginning to chase away the chill.

  "So—" I began.

  "Will—" he started.

  We both laughed.

  "It was good to see you." I twisted the straps of my bag, its ruined contents still damp.

  "You, too."

  Now or never, I thought. I gave him a one handed hug and tried to commit everything about the moment to memory. His scent, the new scar over the dark slash of his brow, how much he'd filled out. I would hold it all close to my heart and that would be enough. Like it had been in the time since he left.

  We stepped from the truck and he walked me to the loading dock. The roar of the waves was deafening over the silence between us. I had so much that I want to say, but I didn't have the nerve or the words to take the chance.

  Instead, I turned to him and gave him a small smile. "Thanks again, for all your help. I'm sorry if I wasn't the most welcoming."

  He didn't answer and there was no sign of any emotional response on his face. Had the kiss meant nothing? Was it just a goodbye for him?

  Confused beyond belief and on the verge of making a scene, I hefted my bag higher on my shoulder. "Alright, well I'd better get going. I'll see you, Jamie."

  I made to move towards the bridge that would bring me aboard the ferry, but stopped by his hand on my waist.

  "Is that it?" He raised his brows. "No kiss goodbye?"

  "Jamie. C'mon, I have to go."

  He used his grasp on my waist to turn me back facing him and his other hand moved to cup my cheek, tilting my head up to meet his eyes. "You're really just going to walk away?"

  My heart began to race. "What do you mean?"

  "Rue." He took a step closer. "There's no way I'm letting you go this time."

  "Letting me go?" I sputtered. "You didn't let me go the last time!"

  He ignored my protests. "One kiss. Then you can leave."

  "Jamie, you're going to make me miss the ferry again. Don't be stu—" The rest of my sentence was drowned out when his lips mated with mine. This guy really needed to learn how to have a conversation without molesting people with his mouth.

  The rest of my coherent thoughts were eclipsed by a sudden warmth that enveloped my chest and muddled my brain. He tasted the same, but oh how his body had changed in the best ways. He was marginally taller, definitely thicker throughout the arms and chest and had a new confidence that my body simply bowed to.

  A whistle blew in the distance and I vaguely registered it over the sensation of his hands in my hair and the intimate tangle of his tongue with mine. He pulled back with one last nip at my bottom lip and I blinked rapidly, trying to regain my carefully constructed composure.

  "You've got to stop doing that." He grinned.

  "Are you kidding? You're the one that won't stop kissing me!" I shouted.

  "That's not what I mean." He turned me around. "You missed the ferry again."

  "Goddammit, Jameson."

  "I guess you're just going to have to stay with me until the next one," he whispered in my ear. "Though I have a feeling you may miss that one, too."

  NICOLE BLANCHARD

  Nicole Blanchard lives in Michigan with her husband, daughter, and their menagerie of animals. She quit college to chase her own fairy tale that spanned the course of three continents and contained it’s fair share of dragons. Now, she is back in school and living her happily ever after.

  She survives on a diet of too many books and substantial amounts of root beer and slim jims. When not reading, she’s lavishing attention on her family or inhaling every episode of Charmed and Sex in the City.

  Website: www.nsblanchard.wordpress.com

  CHERIE BLAKELEY

  Rained In

  Chapter ONE

  I strummed my nails impatiently on the smooth reclaimed wood of the counter How long could it possibly take to get a latte? The teenage barista seemed oblivious to the growing queue as she methodically prepared each cup as if she all the time in the world. I knew it was a mistake to stop at this particular Starbucks even though it was a block closer to the office. They always seemed to have someone ‘in training’ behind the counter which meant it would take forever even if the shop was nearly empty. I looked down at my phone again and bit my lip. 8:53. I was due my manager’s office in seven minutes.

  “Kiera?” the barista finally called in a tentative voice as she studied the sloppy writing on the paper cup.

  “Thanks,” I grumbled as I grabbed the coffee from her hand and dodged back through the crowd. Who scheduled meetings at 9:00 anyway? Wasn’t that supposed to be one of the perks of working at a tech company? It was just my luck to get a boss who loved to start his day early. He’d actually suggested we meet at 8:30, a suggestion which I’d shot down. No job was worth that.

  Soft rain hit my face as I stepped out onto the wet sidewalk. It was the kind of rain that made my mascara instantly run and my hair return to its natural messy wave regardless of how much hair product I had layered on. The walk signal at the intersection was already flashing orange. Shit. I dashed to the corner as fast as I could without spilling my coffee all over myself, but the signal blinked to the red hand and cars began to stream by. I looked down at my phone again. 8:55. Shit.

  I took a deep breath. Tonight I’d be on a flight to Maui. It was my boyfriend Rob’s birthday next week and we had planned the perfect spring break getaway. I wasn’t sure if you technically were supposed to take a spring break once you were out of school, but when you lived under the grey skies of Seattle it seemed reasonable. I’d been trying to get him to agree to a vacation for months, but there was always some excuse about work schedules or the expense. That was until a few months ago when his Aussie friend got a job at the Ritz-Carlton. All of the sudden he couldn’t wait to go.

  I felt a twinge of irritation that all
Rob’s excuses to stay home seemed to disappear as soon as his friend came into the picture, but he had asked me to go, so maybe he was just worried about the expense. Rob’s friend Paul had a three bedroom apartment he shared with a couple of guys, and they were going to be away, so we basically had our own room and he could get us access to the pool at the Ritz. All we had to pay for was plane tickets and food. It was going to be fantastic.

  The sharp ding of the cross signal jolted me from my thoughts. I glanced down at my phone again as I hurried across the intersection. 8:58. There was no way I’d make it up the elevator and to my bosses office on time. I hated to be late. Fortunately he wasn’t the type to reprimand. Will was actually pretty cool as far as managers go, but my office mate Emily would raise her eyebrows and make a show of noticing my arrival time. She was the kind of girl who is destined to be CEO someday, not because she is extra smart or creative, but because she is an obsessive Type A personality and is determined to do it. She pretty much took every opportunity to point out her superiority over me and it was all I could do at this point to be cordial.

  I pushed through the large glass doors to my building and brushed the damp hair out of my eyes. About fifteen people were already waiting for the elevator. I checked my phone again. 9:00. Damn. I took a long drink of my coffee. One painful minute later an elevator finally opened and the crowd rushed in. I hesitated for a moment in anticipation of claustrophobia, but stepped on anyway. I was on the 12th floor and nearly every button between two and twelve was already lit up. This was going to take forever.

  An eternity later the steel doors of the elevator finally stopped on my floor. I couldn’t wait to get out of this box. I walked over to my cubicle, set down my coffee, and stashed my bag under the desk as discreetly as I could manage, but Emily’s polished head still popped up over the small divider to greet me. I checked my phone again as I picked up my notepad. 9:06. I was officially late.

  “Good morning Kiera,” she smiled, her voice sticky sweet. Emily wore trendy thick black frame glasses although I doubted her vision was even impaired. She was one of those girls whose giant green eyes looked good glasses or no glasses. It was annoying.

  “Hey Em,” I returned, avoiding eye contact as I turned away and for the hall. As much as I’d like to pretend she didn’t exist, the last think I needed was to get on her bad side. It was much easier to let her believe she had one up on me—which she probably did.

  I slowed my pace and tried to tame my frizzy hair as I put on my best expression of breezy indifference. Maybe Will wouldn’t even notice I was late. I finally reached his office and peered through the crooked blinds. It was empty. Shit. All that stress over nothing. I started back down the hall when I heard my name.

  “Kiera! I’m sorry to keep you waiting. My meeting ran over.” Will almost bounced as he walked. Sometimes it made me tired just to watch him. I’d caught him running down the hall on a few occasions.

  Will was forty two years old—per his Facebook account— and had never had a serious relationship as far as I knew. He had those outdoorsy good looks associated with people who were into rock climbing and triathlons, and was known for running all over town with twenty one year old marketing coordinators much like myself. Fortunately he steered clear of the ones who worked for him. He was smart enough to avoid that. He was not smart enough to avoid skinny jeans. Unless you’re a rock star you probably shouldn’t wear skinny jeans past thirty.

  “No worries,” I replied heading back into his office. At least he didn’t catch me walking in late.

  “How’s it going?” he asked distractedly, as he opened his laptop and started skimming his emails.

  “Um, fine. Working on the weekly status reports,” I paused. Was he even listening to me?

  “Damn.” His eyes narrowed as they traced across the words on his screen.

  I raised my eyebrows in question.

  “Sorry, not you.” He smiled but his expression was strained.

  I bit my lip. It was none of my business, but I couldn’t stop myself. “What’s wrong?”

  He glared at his screen. “My damn house sitter just cancelled.”

  “And you’re going to the launch event in London this weekend,” I volunteered. “Can’t you leave your house for a few days unattended?”

  “It’s not my house. It’s Mocha.” He looked really forlorn. “She cut her foot last week and I can’t take her to the Pet Hotel for two weeks.”

  “What about Harmony?” Harmony was his most recent ex-girlfriend who shared custody of Mocha. She was gorgeous with long thick black hair you usually only see in shampoo ads and a killer figure. I’d met her at the Christmas party and drooled over her crystal encrusted Louboutins. Probably a gift from Will after some argument. He loved the grand gesture.

  “She’s in Mexico with Brad,” he replied flatly. “I saw the pool shot on Instagram.”

  Harmony had traded up. Will was successful, but Brad was a vice president and could whisk her off to a Mexico or Paris on a whim. Perfect places to wear those Louboutins. I almost felt sorry for Will—despite the fact that he brought these dead end relationships upon himself.

  I sat in awkward silence as he stared moodily at his screen. Should I leave? Should I say something else? If I wasn’t going to Hawaii I could offer to help, but I’d been looking forward to this vacation forever. My bag was already packed and ready to take to the airport at 2PM sharp.

  He finally looked up. “Do you mind if we just catch up next time? I need to sort this out.”

  “Sure, of course.” I rose from my chair, slipped out into the hall and slowly walked back to my desk. Well, the day we certainly starting off a little shaky. This is exactly why I needed a vacation.

  As soon as I sat down Emily’s face popped back up over the divider. Didn’t she have work to do?

  “That was quick,” she paused looking at her watch. “Well, I mean you were running a little late this morning, no?”

  I ignored her barb. “Will’s pet sitter cancelled.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “This weekend? When he’s supposed to be at the launch?”

  “Yeah, this weekend.” I wished she would leave me alone. All I wanted to do was sit with my coffee and check my Facebook feed in peace.

  “Wow, he’s really in a tight spot.” Emily was silent for a moment, but looked thoughtful. “Hopefully someone can come to the rescue.”

  I studied her face. She was up to something. She was going to offer to help Will. It wasn’t enough that she tried to take over every project he gave us or that she treated me like I worked for her. No, this was the pinnacle. We’d been planning this launch party for months, and she was not only going to rescue the event, she was going to stay in his damn house, bonding with his dog. I might as well quit. I could never compete with that.

  A smile spread across her face. “Well, I’m sure he’ll tell me all about it at our ten o’clock.”

  I gave her a fake smile in return and felt a wave of relief as she finally dropped back below the divider. Why did the universe seem to aid her at every turn? I was the one who needed an opportunity to stand out, not her. It wasn’t fair.

  I turned on my laptop and opened Facebook. I just needed a few minutes to decompress before I faced my spreadsheets. I scrolled through a few pages, sipping my coffee. Rob posted a snapshot of the weather forecast for Maui—eighty one degrees, eighty two degrees, seventy eight degrees. A genuine smile finally pulled at the corners of my mouth. It was perfect. I was finally relaxing. Until I got to the next post.

  There was Emily’s perfect picture next to her status update “Join Seattle Tech Chicks a great new community for young women in technology!”

  That was my idea! I’d said last week how I wanted to start a networking group for twenty something women in technology. I’d even thrown out the name Tech Chicks. What the hell? I could feel my cheeks getting warm with anger. I looked at my paper coffee cup and considered throwing it over the divider. Ugh, all that would do is get
me is fired.

  I was so mad, I hardly noticed when Will walked up behind me. “Do you mind pulling the month to date numbers, I’d like to take a look?”

  “Sure,” I stammered, shifting slightly to block my screen. “Any luck finding someone to watch Mocha?”

  Emily’s head popped back up as if on cue. Why didn’t I have an office with walls?

  Will frowned. “Not yet. It’s a bit late notice, but I’m sure something will work out.” His tone was less than confident.

  I glanced over and Emily and saw her take a breath, ready to say something and I couldn’t stop myself. She was not going to be the savior today. I squared my shoulders and looked right at Will. “I could watch her."

  Emily’s mouth snapped shut and her eyes narrowed. She was not used to being second place. I felt a rush of euphoria at beating her for once. I was going to save the day and not with some measly report or email. Will would never forget this favor.

  Will’s eyes lit up. “You would do that Kiera? Aren’t you going to Hawaii?”

  Shit. I was going to Hawaii. I couldn’t wait to go to Hawaii. A vision of Rob sitting next to an empty seat flashed before my eyes, but it was too late. “Um, I’m not leaving until Monday,” I lied. How hard could it be to change a ticket?

  “You’re a lifesaver,” he jumped up beaming, then paused, his expression serious. “Please don’t feel you need to help. I’m sure I can figure something else out…”

  “I love dogs—you know that,” I smiled cheerfully. What the hell did I just agree to?

  Chapter TWO

  I dropped my worn grey canvas weekend bag on the pristine black leather of the sofa and looked around. Nothing in Will’s place looked even the slightest bit worn. In fact, it barely looked like anyone lived here. The main room was open to a huge chef’s kitchen with gleaming granite countertops—not a stray dish in sight. Not that you would notice the interior, when faced with the wall of glass that looked out over the lake. His view was freaking amazing! How could he even afford this place? Will was successful for sure, but this was something out of a magazine.