by Anna Edwards
He sighed and ran a hand through his short hair before looking at me. “May as well rip off the Band-Aid, huh?” He swallowed heavily. “I have a condition called Narcolepsy.”
I was wracking my brain. I could have sworn I’d heard the term before, but for the life of me couldn’t remember what it meant.
“Okay...”
My confusion must have showed, because he chuckled. “Basically, it means that my brain can’t regulate my sleeping patterns properly so I fall asleep at the most inopportune times. My symptoms only get worse if I’m nervous or have exercised a lot.”
I ran through the events of the week. It made total sense. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I like you.” His gorgeous baby-blue eyes met mine, a serious look in them. “But everyone I’ve ever liked couldn’t cope with my condition, it’s better to tell you now so you can run away.” His eyelids drooped again, and he yawned and scrubbed a hand through the scruff on his chiseled jaw. “I’m sorry.”
I had a million questions, but for now I didn’t mind waiting to hear the answers. “You know, I am a little tired.” I sat on his bed. “I could use a nap.”
“You’re not running for the hills?”
I pity the girls before me that couldn’t see him for all he was. “Not yet, Jack, not yet.”
The smile that lit up his face made my breath catch in my throat. God, he was so beautiful, so vulnerable in that moment. I patted the bed beside me and he climbed in, lifting his arm in the air for me to settle myself against his chest.
It was like I was seeing him in a different light. He was still the same amazing man I’d had fun with the last few days, but now I felt like there wasn’t a barrier between us.
I wanted to be as brave as he was with me. “I like you too, Jack.”
I twisted in his arms to look at him, but his eyes were closed and his mouth was slightly open. He was already asleep; he hadn’t heard me.
Damn.
Chapter Nine
Felicity
Jack had just finished telling me his childhood stories about when his condition started. Ever since he told me yesterday, I’d been asking him questions about his life.
I’d found out he was six when he first fell asleep in class, always for short bursts, but it was enough for his teachers to worry that something wasn’t right at home.
He told me all about his loving family, that nothing was wrong at home it was just one of those things. He was eventually diagnosed with Narcolepsy after his seventh birthday. It shocked me to learn that he’d suffered with hallucinations during his teen years, thinking someone was in the house when they weren’t.
“How many times did that happen?”
“A few times before my mom had to stop leaving me at home if she wanted to go on vacation. I felt like I was crazy, but my brain couldn’t distinguish between the reality of being awake or asleep.”
The complexity of his brain intrigued me, my journalist instincts kicking in. “Do you still get them?”
“Those stopped when I was around sixteen.” He stopped rowing our boat, flexing his hands. “Are you going to help me row this thing?”
I sat back like a lady of leisure. “I think you have it under control.”
I winked at him and he smiled genuinely. “I love that you know all of this about me and still trust me to not row us into weeds if I fell asleep.”
“‘Life is a daring adventure, or nothing at all.’”
“Huh?”
“Helen Keller.” I sucked in a deep breath, ready to divulge my struggle. “After I got the courage to walk away from my ex six months ago, Von bought me a book of inspirational quotes.”
“Okay...” He chewed on his lip as if he was stopping himself from saying something.
“It’s okay to ask me questions, I’m not as fragile as I once thought.”
We were floating in one spot; the sun shining down on us, and the moment our gazes connected a spark lit inside me.
“You’re right. Fragile isn’t a word I’d ever use to describe you, Felicity. You’re strong and you know what you want in life.”
I scoffed. “Hardly. Most of the time I don’t know if I’m coming or going, but I think I’m getting better. I…”
I told him about the narcissist that convinced me I was worthless, and he listened with rapt attention, anger etched into each one of his features.
“On behalf of all decent men, I’m sorry you were ever made to feel like that.”
I shrugged and murmured, “I came out stronger,” as he picked up the oars and rowed us back to the boat station.
He got out first and held his hand out for me. I maneuvered my way over to him and grasped it in time as the boat moved away from the edge. He pulled me into his arms and I laughed as the attendant caught it.
“Sorry,” I laughed.
“Happens all the time,” the guy said, although he didn’t look happy.
“Come on,” Jack whispered and tucked me under his arm.
We were meant to be meeting Brock, Nat, and Von for lunch, but I could tell Jack was struggling to keep up the pace.
“Do you want to skip out on this afternoon’s activity?”
“No, I’m okay.”
“Are you sure? There’s a bed with our name on it in my cabin. We can meet everyone tonight for the scavenger hunt.”
He stopped walking. “It’s our last day here. I don’t want you to miss out.”
I was trying to make light of the situation and didn’t want to be reminded that in twenty-four hours we’d all be going our separate ways. I’d not only miss Jack, but the guys were growing on me too. I loved Nat and I’s chats about his wife and daughters. “What I don’t want to miss out on is time with you. And I’ll take that time any way I can.”
He took hold of my hand again. “I can’t make you do that. We’ll have lunch and then you can enjoy yourself with your friends.”
He pulled me into the dining hall and I frowned at his back. Why couldn’t he see my heart was hurting at the thought of leaving tomorrow?
JACK
My daytime drowsiness was at an all-time high. I didn’t sleep much last night, and I’d just exerted myself rowing the boat. I felt grumpy, and I needed a moment alone to process whatever I was feeling about Felicity. Or whatever I was trying not to feel about her.
She was under my skin and I had no right to try and keep her there. We were leaving tomorrow, and we’d yet to say what was happening between us.
I was quiet during lunch and when everyone was heading in the direction of the meeting place; I excused myself much to Felicity’s chagrin. She looked hurt, but I didn’t have the mental capacity to sort through it right now. I made it to my bed before my eyes fluttered shut.
I woke to someone shaking me. “Trying to sleep here.”
“Get your ass up! You’ve already missed the scavenger hunt, I won’t let you miss the final party tonight.”
Brock sat on my bed when I leaned up on my elbows. “Shit! I overslept.”
“Yeah, but you know what’s even more interesting?”
“Brock, I’ve just woken up. Give a man a minute.” I got out of bed and shuffled to the bathroom.
“You’ll want to hear this, trust me.”
I leaned against the doorjamb and rubbed my foggy eyes. “What?”
“I had a fascinating conversation with your girl during the scavenger hunt.”
“She isn’t my girl.”
No matter how much I wanted her to be.
“Stop interrupting me.” I zipped my lips, and he started again. “I had a fascinating conversation with Fliss during the scavenger hunt. It’s fucking strange how little you guys have talked since you’ve been spending all that time together.”
“What? We’ve talked.”
“Not about the stuff that really matters or you would know she lives twenty fucking minutes away from your apartment.”
The fog of sleep cleared and my heart stopped beating for a second. “If this is on
e of your pranks, I’ll kick your ass.”
He held his hands in the air. “I shit you not, she even went to the same college as us. How insane is it that your paths didn’t cross until now?”
Too insane, our college wasn’t a big Ivy league school, I would have noticed someone like her even if she was in the year below.
I snatched up my toothbrush from the side of the sink and brushed my teeth. “Where is she now?”
“The girls are getting an early night, it’s a boys’ only night for us. The guys are already in the party tent.”
“I have to see her.”
He intercepted my path. “Whoa, slow down. She said they were getting an early night. I don’t think she wants to see you, man.”
I’d turned her down when all she wanted to do was take a nap with me, and I’d slept through all the time we could have had together. I guess I’d be mad at me too.
FELICITY
I’d known the week was ending, and yet I’d still played with my heart and got involved with someone that was irrevocably perfect for me.
I hated to compare my feelings to paint, but they were just like it—messy. Colorful. Intense. I couldn’t help the way I was feeling any more than Jack could stop his brain from telling him he needed to sleep.
“Stop stomping around all mad at Jack. If you have something to say, now would be the time to say it to him,” Von reasoned.
“I’m not mad at him, I’m mad at myself for letting it get to this point.”
I’d told him I didn’t want to ruin our time here, but I had. I’d tainted an amazing week of memories with my murky-colored feelings. I should have kept away after our first kiss; I should have run. I wasn’t ready for the rejection he’d so readily dished out earlier.
Dani rolled her eyes. “Can we all stop trying to pretend that she isn’t in love with this guy?” Lennie glared at her and she shrugged. “What? She is.”
“She is in the room.” I shoved a handful of clothes into my suitcase, trying to get them to fit. “And she isn’t in love with him.”
Just intense like, I believed. The kind of like that turned people like me—writers with brains that analyzed everything—into love-struck idiots even though they’d only known a guy for less than a week.
“If you like him, why not see where things go? Things don’t have to end,” Lennie added.
The heat of the cabin was stifling, it was making it hard to think. I’d put myself in the position to let a guy hurt me again, and I knew I should have spoken up earlier instead of just walking away when he’d sent me off with my friends. And now we only had a little over twelve hours left here, and we would waste most of those sleeping.
I was an idiot for telling Brock I wasn’t going to the party tonight.
I blew my hair out of my face and flopped onto my backside. “I can’t be in love with Jack, because it would make me completely bat shit crazy if he didn’t feel the same way. And even if I did, how could I tell him?”
The cabin went silent enough for me to hear the creak of the cabin door, and someone cleared their throat.
Von smiled and lifted off her bed, and I heard the others do the same but I didn’t dare turn around. I knew who was standing at the door without being able to see him.
This was it; he was here.
The door closed and footsteps strode toward me. Had he heard everything I’d just said?
“If someone was wanting my advice, I’d tell that someone that any guy would be bat shit crazy to not feel the same way about you.” My heart rate skyrocketed as I lifted myself off the floor, everything I was feeling for him rushing to the surface. “I’d also tell that someone I was sorry for not thinking earlier. It didn’t mean that I didn’t want to spend time with you, I—”
“I have a problem.”
“Problem?”
I turned around and placed my hand against his chest, plunging in at the deep end. He’d given me the confidence to say what I needed to say. If he rejected me, I knew I’d picked myself up from worse times in the past.
“I don’t have a Jack.”
He scanned my face before recognition lit up his features from the first time we’d met.
His arm snaked around my waist and he smirked. “Well, now you do.”
THE END
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Prologue
NOAH
The twenty-second walk out of Starbucks shouldn’t have pissed on my fire quite so easily.
But then I didn’t expect to see her—Claire ‘fucking’ Turner.
I looked down at her very pregnant figure. It mocked me.
“Claire,” I growled.
“Noah, how are you?” Her soft voice matched the delicate curls of her blonde hair. It was slightly longer than I remembered, but only a little. Time hadn’t moved that fast since she was sharing my bed.
“Good,” I answered noncommittally. “Looks like you’ve been busy.” I didn’t mean to sound bitter as I nodded toward her protruding stomach, but I didn’t offer an apology either. Fuck it.
“Yeah,” She blushed and wrung her hands together, it was a tell of hers. Nervous anticipation fluttered around her like dust, and I felt like a bastard. “I-It was unexpected.”
I raised an eyebrow and took a sip of my flat white, what I didn’t do was reply. It was a dick move, I was going to hell.
“I met someone and…” She sucked in air, her chest lifted with the breath. “It happens,” she finished, her small shoulders offered a shrug.
That was enough for me. “Right. Time to go.” My words were harsh, brash, hurried. I was done. I didn’t want to make small talk or be pleasant when I felt anything but, what I needed was to get away from her… to breathe again.
Her head dropped forward, breaking our eye contact. I preferred it that way. “I guess I’ll see you around?” Her voice was hopeful and already feeling like a douche, I decided to say nothing as I walked away. I managed to make it around the corner to my sleek silver Range Rover. I dived inside, behind the blacked out windows before I was able to really catch my breath.
Claire Turner. I shook my head. “Never again. Not a fucking chance.” I took a sharp U-turn and peeled away from Claire, my past, and now a forever tainted Starbucks.
Six months, one hundred and eighty-two days. That’s how long it had taken for my life to entirely fall apart. The only thing that remained intact, and had actually thrived, was my job. And that was only because I had thrown myself into work when the rest went to shit.
Chapter One
NOAH
The ringing in my cab is unwelcome. I don’t want to talk to a single soul. Lately, I prefer my own company, but seeing the caller is Donnie I know I can’t ignore it.
“Donnie. What’s up, man?”
“The new wood shipment’s here.” His reason for calling suddenly perks me up.
“Thanks. I’ll be at the workshop if you need me.”
“No problem. It’s all waiting for you when you’re ready.”
Taking a sharp right, I drive to the only place I still feel normal, whole, alive.
The smell hits me as I unbolt the outer door. I fucking love it, even after all this time. For years I’ve been mastering my art, and even though I enjoy studying new techniques, my best work isn’t learned instead, it’s felt. A wet nose butts against the back of my hand. Automatically I rub behind the ears of my rough coated collie, who’s unimaginatively called Lassie.
“Sorry I made you hang
at the workshop so long, dude, I got caught at Starbucks. Next time I’ll go through the drive in,” I tell him as I bend my head to the left and listen as my neck clicks before I do the same on the right.
Lassie woofs then walks away, dropping his body lazily onto the soft dog bed I keep in the corner of my workshop.
“You got the life, dude, no women fucking you up,” I complain to which he yawns, his tongue lolls out, before he closes his eyes and promptly starts snoring. Even my fucking dog doesn’t want to be around me.
The Phoenix heat sends rivulets of sweat journeying down the back of my neck and along my spine. I turn on the air-conditioner, but I know within seconds of working it’ll feel as hot as the seventh circle of hell, so I strip off my tee and throw it onto the workbench.
Walking around the room, my fingertips ghost across some of the pieces I’ve made over the last year. Wood grazes the calluses on my hands, giving me the gentle friction I’m so used to. Being able to mold something like wood into beautiful items which are also useful, is calming for me. When I was a teen, I couldn’t center myself. My grandfather taught me the art of crafting wood. It’s been me and my splinters ever since.
“What should I make today, Pop?” I ask, looking through the window toward the sky. “No answer, huh? What about you, Lassie?” My dog continues to snore ignoring me completely.
“Shit.” I murmur, rubbing my palm down my lower face. “What’s wrong with me?” I snort out a laugh and decide to make a piece I’ve been putting off for ages. I was commissioned to make a toy box for a little boy. His grandfather visited me a month ago and asked that I create something beautiful for his grandson for his second birthday. The look on the old man’s face had me saying yes, but that look didn’t stop my pain. Still, I agreed, and now I have to follow through.
