Losing Chelsea (Saving Bliss #2)

by Rachael Brownell

  Kissing me lightly on the cheek, Skylar turns and heads up the stairs. I watch her go until she’s safely behind her apartment door and I hear the latch slide into place. She didn’t even tell me goodbye. Why would she? I just promised her we would see each other again.

  Two blocks. That’s all I make it before I turn around.

  Not because I need to see her again. Because I want to.

  Tomorrow will come soon enough. My plane will leave at its scheduled departure time. I’ll be on it, heading back home to a life that consists of two things––work and sleep.

  Until my flight leaves, I want to be with her. Every minute of every hour. Awake or asleep.

  Stopping just outside the entrance to the building, I take a deep breath and contemplate what I’m about to do. I know I want to be with her, mentally and physically, to see where this is headed. This is a chance I want to take. There’s the possibility she won’t feel the same. I’m almost certain she does, but what if I’m wrong? What if she’s content with our goodbye?

  I have my doubts about everything, but she’s worth the risk. I may be putting my heart in a position it’s not ready for. Wounds that have been closed for years will be opened. The last thing I want to do is pour salt in them, but I won’t know for sure if I’m making the right or wrong decision if I don’t try.

  Pulling the door open, I’m pleasantly surprised to find Skylar at the top of the stairs, almost as if she’s been waiting for me. She’s sitting on the top step, picking at her fingernails. Her black dress is gone and has been replaced with a pair of running shorts and a tank top. Glancing up, she smiles when our eyes meet.

  “It’s about damn time,” she says, standing and stretching her arms above her head, giving me a glimpse of her tattoo.

  “Oh yeah?” I take the steps slowly, one at a time, until I’m standing directly in front of her, nose to nose.

  “Yeah,” she replies before pulling my face to hers, our lips clashing with both need and excitement.

  Slipping my arms around her hips, I gently lift her so she can wrap her legs around me. Taking the last few steps slowly, I carry her back to her apartment. Once the door is closed behind us, I push her against it and detach my mouth from hers.

  All I want right now is to take her to bed. To finish what we started this afternoon. I’m smarter than that, though. I need to know where we stand and if this is going to be something that continues past tonight and tomorrow and next week.

  “This is going to be hard–“

  Slipping her hand between us, Skylar grins at me. “Seems to me it already is.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” I state firmly, pressing against her hand. “This. Us. Living in separate cities, attempting to make this a thing. If that’s not what you want, tell me now. I won’t leave. I can be here for one night only, but I need to know what this is. The thing about me is when I decide to be with someone, that’s the only person I’m going to be with. Before Chelsea, I was with two girls. Both serious girlfriends. I haven’t been with anyone since her. That’s six years of pent up sexual frustration. All of which you get to experience in a few minutes if you’re up for the challenge. But before that happens, before I start thinking with my other head, I need to know what this is. What you want. What we are.”

  Skylar doesn’t say anything at first. I know I’ve given her a lot to think about and very little time to make a decision. If she’s in, if she’s serious about us making a go of this, I’m going to ravage her for the rest of the night. There will be no sleep happening in this apartment.

  If she decides that it’s one night only, no strings attached, no commitments, well, I’ll still have my way with her, but my heart won’t play a part in making tonight special.

  Pressing against me, I look up to find Skylar staring at me, waiting for my attention.

  “Put me down,” she says sternly.

  Backing away from the door, I slowly place her on the ground, but I don’t let go. I don’t plan to until I get an answer one way or the other.

  “You walked into my life and have turned everything upside in the last twenty-four hours. I had a date tonight with a nice guy. Someone who caught my attention a while ago but I was afraid to pursue. He actually sounded sad when I canceled on him. It surprised me, not that he was sad, but that all it took was you showing up here for me to want to cancel on him.

  “I’m not sure where this is going, or where I even want it to go, but I do know I want to find out. Whether we live ten minutes or ten hours away from each other, I think we owe it to each other to explore the idea of a relationship. I get why you are the way you are–that she meant the world to you and that you might still not be over her. It worries me that you might never get over her, but I’m willing to risk a part of my heart to find out. I can see myself falling in love with you someday, Jay. I can’t deny that any more than I can deny the fact that I’m excited to see how much pent-up sexual frustration you really have.”

  “You’re in, then?” I ask, just to make sure I heard her right.

  “All in.”

  12

  Seven Months Later

  The snow is finally starting to melt, and the temperatures are bearable again. As beautiful as the city is in the winter, I prefer visiting during warmer weather.

  The moving van came this morning and loaded up everything Skylar owns. Tomorrow morning, we hit the road. It’ll take us less than a day to get there, but it will be a beautiful drive. Outside the city, the snow is already gone, and everything is starting to bloom.

  Owen and Bliss will be right behind us.

  When they decided to make the move south, I decided to make the move north. We met in the middle and found a nice piece of land to build on. Almost fifty acres, with a stream and plenty of land to build two houses on.

  Our houses are separated by a line of thick trees. I can’t see his house from mine, and that’s the way we wanted it. Close, yet far enough apart to live separate lives. It was the perfect piece of property.

  Construction was completed last week. Owen and I put the finishing touches on our houses over the weekend while the girls packed up their shit. My stuff is already at my house. Not that I had much to contribute. An old sofa, my bed, and a few gadgets for the kitchen. Thankfully, Skylar has more than one person will ever need.

  And we’ll have even more stuff soon since I promised her she could go shopping and pick out whatever she wanted for the house. This sparked a debate between Owen and Bliss. Ultimately, he lost, and she’ll be shopping for their house with Skylar.

  Those two have become the best of friends over the last few months. Since we’re going to be neighbors, I’m happy they get along. The problem is they get along too well sometimes, and they like to gang up on us. Owen especially since he’s spent more time with them together than I have.

  I’ve done the best I could, traveling back and forth almost every weekend since we first met. There were a few times where work conflicted, but Skylar understood. It didn’t make it any easier, though. I’m grateful she understands my work is important to me, but I need her to know how important she is, too. And tomorrow, when we walk into the house, I’m pretty damn sure she’ll get the picture.

  “Ready?” I ask, taking one last look around her bare living room.

  “I think so. I feel like I’m missing something, but I can’t imagine what. I’ve checked every room, and there’s nothing left.” There’s concern in her voice. I knew this was going to be hard for her, but she assured me this is what she wants.

  “Come on. If you forgot anything, your parents can bring it down this weekend when they come to visit.” Extending my hand toward her, she slips her fingers in between mine and smiles weakly. “You’ll see them in a few day, Skylar. And we’re only a car ride away.”

  “I know, but I’m not ready to say goodbye to them,” she whines.

  “You can do it. I’ll be right by your side,” I assure her.

  “Like that’s always been helpful,�
� she teases.

  Ah, yes. The first time I met her parents was not the greatest moment of my life.

  The first night I spent at Skylar’s was a whirlwind. We never made it to her bedroom. With only a few hours before I needed to head to the airport, we decided to take a nap. I fell asleep with her in my arms on the couch and set an alarm on my phone.

  Exhausted from being up nearly all night, neither of us heard my phone go off. Her mother’s scream, on the other hand, could be heard all the way down the block.

  We never locked the door.

  Her parents heard the alarm on my phone and came to check on Skylar.

  They found us, naked and barely covered by a blanket, on her couch.

  If I hadn’t been running late, her father may have killed me. Skylar was able to hold him off long enough for me to get my pants on and out the door. I didn’t even have the chance to kiss her goodbye.

  When I came into town a few weekends later, dinner with them was awkward. I knew it would be, but I also knew I needed to officially meet them. If I was going to be part of her life, I wanted them to know me. Sure, the first time we “met” I was naked as the day I was born and in a state of panic, but that’s not who I was.

  Her mother didn’t seem to care about what she saw after she got over the initial shock of it all. Her father didn’t warm up to me until about a month ago, when I asked him for permission to marry Skylar. He knew I was serious about her. He knew I wasn’t using her for sex. Still, it took some convincing to get his blessing.

  When Skylar met my parents, it went much better. They fell in love with her right away. My parents aren’t hard to impress, but they don’t give their blessing unless they feel it’s warranted. My father told me the night he met Skylar that I better put a ring on her finger.

  “She’s good for you,” he said. “You can see how happy she makes you, and you’ve only been dating a month. I’d say she’s a keeper, son. The last woman to make you this happy was Chelsea, may she rest in peace.”

  My mother isn’t normally a woman of few words, but when she is, she makes sure they have an impact.

  “I think Chelsea would like her, Jayson.”

  At first, it felt like a slap in the face. I had already visited Chelsea and told her about Skylar. It was one of the first things I did when I got home. It took me a few weeks to really let what my mother said sink in.

  Chelsea would approve.

  If there was someone else in my life, I would want her approval. And I have it according yp my mother. If anyone knew how much I loved Chelsea, it was her. She understood our love for each other. My mother was the one that helped me grieve in the beginning. She grieved alongside me. Chelsea was the daughter she never had. When she was ripped from my life, she was ripped from my family’s, as well.

  After Skylar returned home, Owen called and announced they were looking to move out of the city. We began our search for property. At first, it was just for the two of them, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted it to be for all of us.

  This was my fresh start, my new beginning.

  Skylar and I would be able to have a life together. Away from the devastation that consumed me at home. Away from the constant reminders of heartbreak and loss.

  It would just be us. And Owen and Bliss a few acres away.

  We put the plan in motion without consulting the girls. That got us in hot water, but in the end, things are working out perfectly. Now, to get her to our new house. She hasn’t seen it yet. I’m hoping she likes it. Especially since the moment she walks in, she’ll see a huge banner asking her to marry me.

  13

  My nerves are on end. We’re only about an hour away from the house now. Skylar has been sleeping for the last few hundred miles, leaving me alone with my thoughts. Bad idea.

  Doubt is creeps in.

  What if she says no?

  Will she still want to stay and live together?

  Will this be the end of our beautiful relationship?

  No.

  She won’t say no.

  She’s in this for the long haul.

  If she wasn’t, she wouldn’t have agreed to move in with me. She wouldn’t be picking up her entire life to be with me. This is it for us. We’re in this, together, for the rest of our lives.

  As long as she says yes.

  Maybe she’s not ready to get married.

  Maybe she’s not certain I’m the one for her.

  And there’s that self-doubt again. I really need to get over it already.

  One of two things is going to happen when she walks through the front door of the house I had built for her. Either she’ll say yes, jump into my arms, and we live happily ever after or she freaks out, says no or not right now, and things get awkward really quick.

  Owen and Bliss said they are giving us one hour tops before they come barging in to congratulate us. If she says no, that’s going to be one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. Right next to her parents finding us naked. That will always be at the top of my list.

  “Wake up, beautiful,” I say, giving her thigh a light squeeze.

  “I don’t want to. I’m so tired,” Skylar whines, shifting in her seat.

  She waited until the last minute to pack, of course. The last two days have been spent throwing everything she owns into boxes to get ready for the moving company. We finished a few hours before they arrived this morning, and by the time we were done, the option of taking a nap was out of the picture.

  “We’re almost there. Maybe another thirty minutes or so, but we’re coming into town right now and I thought you might want to see it,” I explain, giving her a slight nudge.

  Looking over to see if she’s actually awake or not, I see she’s glaring at me. She’s not a morning person. In fact, if she falls asleep, which she can do anywhere, anytime if she feels like it, she’s crabby when she wakes up. I found this out the hard way after a few weeks. At first, she was pleasant and sweet. That started to fade, and when I asked her about it, she told me she hated waking up and that she had only been playing nice because things were new.

  After the first few mornings of death threats if I didn’t let her sleep, I tried waking her up with coffee and breakfast. That didn’t go over well either. I love mornings. I’ve always loved them. Watching the sun rise, a cup of fresh coffee in my hand. With Skylar, a new day meant a new adventure.

  I knew it was going to last between us when her threats didn’t bother me. I’d smile, leave her coffee on the nightstand and let her sleep. When she’d finally emerge from the bedroom, she would warm up her coffee in the microwave and was the same sweet girl I fell for. All she wanted was to wake up on her own terms.

  That’s a big part of why she decided not to get a teaching job. Her lack of early mornings and alarm clocks. Working at the bar was perfect for her. She never had to work until late afternoon.

  “Are you going to be crabby the rest of the day? If so, you don't get your surprise,” I tease, pulling off the interstate. Checking my rear-view mirror, I see that Owen and Bliss are still behind us. I’m surprised he kept up with me. He drives the speed limit, not a tick over. Not that he needs me to find the place, but I know they want to be there when everything goes down.

  “You never said there was a surprise involved if I wake up,” Skylar quips, sitting up in her seat.

  Town is just up the road. There’s not much to it, but there’s enough. If we need anything it doesn’t offer, we’re only an hour from a bigger city.

  “If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise, would it?”

  “Have I ever told you how much I hate when you get all cocky?”

  “Actually, I think you like it when I get all cocky. You’d never admit it, but I can tell. In fact, it may be your favorite thing about me.”

  Laughing, Skylar says, “You’ve got such a big head.”

  “Cock. Head. What’s on your mind?” I ask, knowing my comment will more than likely get me in trouble with her. She won’t
be mad at me once she sees her surprise, so it doesn’t matter.

  “Pull over and I’ll show you,” she teases, placing her hand high on my thigh and giving me a pinch.

  “Keep your panties on, beautiful. I don’t want to scare our neighbors off before we get settled.”

  As town comes into view, Skylar quiets, scanning the storefronts. There’s not much to the town, but there’s enough. If we need anything it doesn’t offer, we’re only an hour from a bigger city. Two stop lights later, we’re back on country roads. The house can’t be seen from the road, so when I pull onto a dirt road, our driveway, Skylar questions if I know where I’m going. Pointing behind me to Owen’s car, she rolls her eyes at me and sits back in her seat, holding onto the door as I curve through the wooded portion of our property faster than necessary.

  Owen’s going to rip me a new asshole when he gets out of the car. I promised to take it easy on the driveway until we get it paved. And I will. After today.

  As the trees begin to part, Owen and Bliss’ house comes into view. I honk as they pull up in front of their garage, and I take a sharp left, back into a line of trees, and head across the property to our house.

  The moment the house comes into view, Skylar reacts.

  “Holy shit! That’s your house?”

  Shaking my head, I let her slip up go for now. I smile. Once we’re inside, she’ll see why I want to her call it “our house.”

  Pulling to a stop in front of the garage, I put the car in park. Reaching into the center console, I grab the garage remote, hit the button, and the door slowly lifts.

  Skylar is out of the car, stretching her hands above her head and flashing me her tattoo. She knows it drives me crazy. My desire to trace it with my finger has only grown since that first night at the bar.

  By the time I open my door, she’s running toward the house before I can stop her. The front door is locked, and I have the only key. She won’t get far.

  14