“I quit my job today.”Audra breaks the silence as we lie together on her couch, wrapped in a plush gray and white leopard print blanket. I look down at her as she is snuggled into my chest. “What are you going to do now?” I feel my heart speed up, anxiety flooding my mind. “I’m not sure. I have enough in my savings to float for a couple months and my rent is paid until my lease ends in a month. Lexi said she could get me a spot in her club.”“Who is Lexi? What club and where? A spot doing what?” “Lexi is my best friend. It would be dancing at a club in Hurley. She dances there full time.”“Is that what you want?”She doesn’t answer me. “What if you stayed with me? I was serious when I offered before. If you really want to work, I can find you a position within my company. Hell, I would hire you as my housekeeper if you wanted. Whatever it takes for you to stay.”She stays silent, her eyes telling me she’s deep in thought. I kiss the top of her head and wrap my arms around her.
I am standing in the driveway of possibly the biggest house I’ve ever seen. When Matthew said he was viewing houses today, I didn’t think he meant ones six times the size of my childhood home. “Isn’t this a bit more space than 1 person needs? I mean… you could lose Butters in here.” It sounds like a joke but I’m actually kind of serious. “Do you want to skip this one?” “Oh no. My nosy ass wants to know what 1.3 million dollars looks like in the form of a house. We are going to look.”He laughs and shakes his head at me. “What kind of house do you want to look at? One you would seriously consider?”“I don’t know. Something probably a third of the size of this one. I would love something with a screened in porch for Butters. And a massive bathtub. One that can fit both of us comfortably.”“When we get back from viewing this one we can search homes with those qualities. I suppose it is silly for one man to have 13 bathrooms.”“I think you should get what you want. This is going to be
My heart pounds in my ears as I run down the sidewalk. I’m 2 blocks from home and about to set myself a new personal record. Moments later, I arrive back at my building, scan my key fob and push the glass door open. I still have my runner’s high going and I don’t see a dark figure emerge from the shadows and slip in behind me. The elevator opens and suddenly I’m pushed inside from behind. Before I can scream, a hand covers my mouth and the other holds my arms forcibly behind my back. “Hello, Audra.” My attacker whispers into my ear as he tightens his grip around my wrists. “It’s been a long time. You look good, baby.”I recognize his voice. His cologne. It’s Tyler. Panic takes over my entire body and I try to free myself. He tightens his grip on my arms and pulls me even closer to him. I can feel his erection against my backside. I stomp on his foot and use the weight of my body to slam him against the side of the elevator. It stuns him for a moment but I’m still trapped. We ar
I hiss with pain as Audra places an ice pack on my hand. My knuckles are swollen and I’ll probably have bruises by morning. “Here. Take these.” Audra instructs me, handing me 3 ibuprofen and a glass of water. “If you still have a lot of swelling in a couple days, we will need to get X-rays to make sure you didn’t fracture anything.”“Thank you.” I say as I take the ibuprofen and pop them into my mouth. I want to ask her more about this entire situation but I know she’s fairly shaken up. Whatever it is, it can’t be good. “I’m going to go clean up. Then I’ll make us some dinner. Wait here.” I watch her disappear into her bedroom and wish I could follow her. I want to take her mind off of this evening. I’m so glad I arrived when I did. I can’t stand the idea that something very bad could’ve happened tonight. She reappears about 20 minutes later wearing a T shirt and shorts. Her damp hair is pulled back into a messy braid. Even fresh out of the shower, wearing an old shirt and runnin
Images of Tyler haunted my dreams for weeks after the incident where Matthew came to my rescue. Matthew hasn’t left my side since then. He thinks that once we move my nightmares will get better. I hope he’s right. I don’t know how many more black eyes I can accidentally give the man before he runs away. He closes on the house tomorrow and we’ve been shopping online for furniture to fill our massive dream house. He told me to buy anything I wanted for the kitchen. Anything at all, the sky is the limit. It’s 3am now and Matthew is fast asleep next to me while I continue to procrastinate checking out my cart full of $3500 worth of dishes, pots and pants, utensils and small kitchen appliances. He told me everything brand new for a brand new start for the two of us. I decide to text Lexi since I know she’s just gotten done with work. I send her a link to the MLS listing with the words “I bought a house!”Not even 2 minutes later, she replies. Lexi: Bitch I know you’re lying! You don’t
“Are you ready?” I ask as I lead Audra into the main living space of our new home. “Just show me already!” She exclaims, trying to brush my hands from in front of her eyes. “Ok, open!”She looks around and gasps. She doesn’t need to say anything. Her face says it all. I had closed on the house 3 days early to have everything set up and ready for us to just start living in it. I even bought Butters his own massive 6 foot tall cat tree, which was placed right in front of the floor to ceiling windows in the living room so he could look outside to his furry little heart’s content. “What… how… when did you do all this?!” “I closed early and hired a team to do everything. I wanted it to be done so we could just walk in and start our new adventure together without the stress.”She places her arms around my neck and jumps up to wrap her legs around my waist and kisses me fiercely. “Thank you.” She whispers as she presses her forehead to mine. I kiss her gently and carry her upstairs to
When I wake up after our first night in our new home, I see that Audra is not next to me. Instead, Butters is happily stretched out next to me, as far as he can reach. I rub his back and he chirps at me before rolling over to expose his stomach. I give him some belly rubs for a few minutes before pulling on some sweatpants and heading downstairs. The smell of bacon greets me when I’m halfway down the stairs. I make my way into the kitchen where I’m greeted with a cup of coffee and a kiss. “Good morning.” She says as she returns to the stove. “I have to go into the office today. Is there anything you’d like to do today while I am out?”“I’m not sure. Normally I would go shopping on my day off but now every day is my day off and I need to conserve my money right now.”I reach into my wallet and pull out my black credit card. “Anything you want. It’s yours. With me, you’re never going to have to worry about money again. I want nothing more than to spoil you and give you everything y
I sit at my desk and contemplate if 9am is truly too early for a drink. I know her presence isn’t a coincidence. My mother had to have something to do with this nonsense. Kristine Whittemore. On paper she’s the real deal.In real life, she is unbearable. Her father owns an international company that designs and builds machines for manufacturing. She’s done nothing over the last decade but jet around the globe, collecting various fashion merchandising degrees that she will do nothing with. She’s not even unpleasant to look at. She’s a very pretty woman. But she’s about as deep as a damp napkin and her voice makes Fran Drescher sound like an angel. Kristine tried relentlessly to undermine my engagement to Lydia. Little did she know that my marriage to Lydia was based upon a business agreement. It didn’t matter if Lydia and I were in love. We did fall in love eventually, but it wasn’t always that way. A single knock sounds on my door before Kristine invites herself in. “Oh Matth