I hold her tight and kiss her head. “London, I don’t want you to enjoy life, I want you to love it.” That’s what I need to do to get her to trust me. I need to make her love life, and damn it, that is exactly what I’m going to do.
Chapter Eleven
London
The last few weeks have been so amazing, and I keep waiting for something to happen. Something to come rip away my happiness, kill my dreams, and end with my heart shredded to pieces. I tell myself every morning to enjoy today to the fullest because tomorrow it might all end. I absolutely hate that I do it, but in the same breath, life has never been so much fun. Blake and I have been together almost every day, even when I need to write. He sits there either watching me or hanging out in the living room until I’m done. We’ve gone out to dinner, relaxed on the beach, and even went out to the bar a few times. I’ve been swimming in his pool and been to every party they’ve had. I’ve laughed so hard I’ve cried, and I’ve started to become really close to Kallie and her friend Brinley. They’ve taken me out a few times for a girls’ night
and I got trashed. Blake, of course, loved that. He loves when I spill my guts, and being drunk makes that happen. I even finally met the infamous Braden, and Blake was right, he is a really great guy.
Shannon is coming out this week, probably not so much to see me as to see Brody, but I’m excited anyway. She’s flying out and I’m picking her up at the airport on Friday night. Blake convinced me to have everyone over for dinner and drinks on Saturday, and even though I’m excited to be the one entertaining, I’m a little nervous that it will suck. I don’t have a pool or hot tub or fire pit like he does. It’s just a boring backyard, so I’m hoping everyone has fun.
After everything that happened at work with Todd, it took me a while to get comfortable there again, but I’m back to being relaxed. Ben called the police, and a restraining order was put in place to keep Todd from coming near the restaurant. Luckily, he hasn’t. I know in my heart he won’t. He was just pissed he was fired. He’s probably off being a shitty employee somewhere else.
I pull out of my thoughts and focus back on work. I put my paperwork in my desk and try to sneak on the computer for a few minutes before I go check the floor. I pull up my Facebook and go right to Blake’s page. I don’t comment or anything, but I like to see what his fans write, even though some of it makes me want to claw their eyes out. He’s slowly putting up photos from the shoot with Lee. They are fucking amazing, and everyone loves them. I get off his page, go check mine, and talk to a few of my readers. I love interacting with them. It makes me so happy. I don’t think they understand how special it makes me feel, any author feel, when they inbox and say how much they loved a book. Every message I hold close to my heart, and there is no way to make them fully understand that.
I look at the clock and realize I’ve been hiding out in my office way too long. I need to get out on the floor since I’m leaving soon. I walk out and thankfully everything is going well and no one needs me. I go check each station and the bar, happy to see how well things have been going since Todd left.
“Hey, London?” I turn around and see Kallie and Brinley. I walk over to them and give them each a hug.
“What are you guys doing here?” I lead them over to the bar and sit with them.
“We wanted to go have some dinner. We were going to call to invite you but figured, what the hell, why not eat here.” I tell Jim, the bartender, to put their drinks on my tab.
“I’m off in about a half-hour, but you guys can have drinks until I’m done.” They stay and have a drink while I finish what needs done on my part. It’s the longest half-hour ever, but finally I clock out and get my stuff. I walk over to the bar and get the girls to go grab a booth. Once we sit down, Brinley looks me up and down.
“Damn, you seem totally different at work. All fancy and shit,” Brinley says.
I laugh and glance down at myself. I guess she’s right. I always wear pantsuits or skirts to work, definitely not my everyday style.
“Brin, shut up. She’s professional,” Kallie hisses.
Maybe she’s right. I should dress more like myself at work. I can be dressed up without being in a suit.
“It’s fine. I think you have a point actually, Brin. I should be more of me.” She gives Kallie a smug smile and we laugh.
The rest of the dinner is awesome. We laugh a lot and talk about the guys and this weekend. Brinley isn’t in a relationship and doesn’t want to be. She’s happy sleeping around, but I can see the disapproval on Kallie’s face when she talks about it. I don’t know the backstory, so I’ll never judge. Maybe, like me, she keeps men at a distance for a reason.
My cell phone vibrates. I peek at it and can’t help smiling when I see it’s Blake. “Someone just got the text that her man is ready for her to come home.” I laugh, but Kallie is right. He said he’s waiting in his bed for me.
“I still can’t believe playboy Blake has finally joined team monogamy.”
When I first met Brinley and she made comments like that, it used to piss me off. Now, I’m so used to it that I just ignore it. I told Blake I believe that she thought he would always screw around like her, and now that he’s not, she’s a little jealous. He, of course, doesn’t think so, but I pay attention. I’ve seen her with Max. She likes him whether she’ll admit it or not.
“All right, let’s go.” We stand up and Kallie pulls out her wallet. “No, don’t worry about it. I’ll write it off.” I give them a wink and we walk out to the parking lot. They hug me goodbye, and I text Blake to tell him I’m on my way. I can’t wait to get out of this suit, but I’m sure Blake will have me out of it before I know it. I’m not complaining, though. I haven’t been with a ton of guys, but holy shit, Blake is like no one else. He can do things to my body that I didn’t even know were possible.
I park my car in front of his house and walk up to the door. I knock and he answers with that sexy grin of his. “Damn, it’s only been a day and I’ve missed you.” He kisses me and hugs me close. That’s one thing I can say about Blake. He’s very honest with how he’s feeling. He isn’t afraid to tell me he missed me, that he’s horny, or that I’m frustrating him. He’s completely comfortable with who he is, and I love that about him.
“I missed you too.” I kiss his bare chest and pull away. “Did you eat?”
“Yes, Jax and I ate before he went to Kallie’s for the night. So we’re all alone tonight.” The way he says it gives me butterflies. “Why don’t you let me show you how much I missed you?” He doesn’t need to ask me twice. I may have gone years without sex, but now if we don’t have sex for a day, my body begs for release.
We go to his room, and he closes the door and sits on the bed. He’s only in his boxers and it is fucking hot. “Looks like I need to catch up.” I start to take off my jacket, but he holds his hand up.
“Strip for me.”
I stare at him with wide eyes. “What?”
He crosses his arms and gives me a completely serious face. “I said, strip for me.”