New Year's Kiss (One Night in New York) (6 page)

“Thank you for staying here at our hotel.  Mr. Simmons left a note for you when he checked out and asked that I personally hand it to you.”

Mr. Simmons?  Wow, Haylee had just realized she didn’t even know Kyle’s last name.  How was that for slutty?

Feeling a little embarrassed, Haylee wanted to be sure that Kyle and Mr. Simmons were one and the same.  “Kyle left me a note?”

Jamie smiled brightly at her, “Yes.  Here it is.”  The receptionist handed Haylee a folded piece of paper with her name scrawled on the front.  “And, he arranged for you to have breakfast in the restaurant and a car to drive you back home.  All you have to do is let me know when you are ready and I will have the driver bring the car around front.”

Wow.

“Thank you.”  Haylee wanted to pretend that she wasn’t completely freaking out on the inside.  He didn’t leave without saying good-bye, he arranged for her to have breakfast and a car to drive her all the way back to New Jersey.

As Haylee walked to a small table in the hotel’s restaurant, her phone vibrated in her pocket.  Tugging it out of her jean pocket, she glanced at the screen and smiled.  Kyle.  He must’ve programmed his contact info in her phone before he left and now she had a waiting text message from him.  Haylee nodded at the young man that had escorted her to the table and pushed in her chair for her.  He winked and smiled as he walked away.

Haylee waited until the waitress brought out her pre-arranged breakfast, coffee and juice, before she read the text message or the note.  The text read, “
Don’t forget to read the note
.”  Haylee giggled.  When she opened up the note, her heart skipped a beat.

Dear Haylee,

Thank you for the most incredible night of my life.  If my plane went down today, I would die a happy man.  If it doesn’t, I will still be happy, although every day I am apart from you, I may die just a little bit on the inside.  I don’t know how long I’ll be gone.  After our time together, I pray it’s not long at all.  It wasn’t just sex, Haylee.  You touched my heart, my soul, my mind.  Do you now know why I wanted you?  Do you understand even just a little bit of how I feel?  I hope that you do.  I hope that you never forget.  I know I said “only one night” but please tell me that you want more than that.  Please give me something to come home to.  I will text you once I’ve reached London.  Until then…

Yours,

Kyle xoxo 

Haylee covered her mouth with a hand and squealed behind it like a school girl with a first crush.  Kyle was funny and sweet, a sensitive and attentive lover and apparently a romantic as well.  She glanced around and noticed that people were staring.  Unable to stop smiling, for once it didn’t matter if the whole world was looking at her.  Haylee didn’t feel used; rather exhilarated, sexy and above all else, truly cared for.  Sipping the hot coffee, she took a few bites of food and then grabbed her clutch and bag and headed back to Jamie.  She couldn’t wait to get back home.  Jamie provided a piece of paper and Haylee wrote a short note to her friends.  They didn’t need to worry about her when she didn’t show up at brunch or on the train home.  With a bounce in her step, Haylee headed out to wait for the car that would take her back to Jersey.

Six Weeks Later…Valentine’s Day

“Any big plans tonight
, Lee?”  Krista called out from the living room. 

“No.  Just staying in to watch a movie,” Haylee called back from the bathroom. 

Haylee brushed her wet hair as she made her way through the house.  “What about you, Kris?”

“Chuck and I are going to dinner and dancing.  Wanna come with?”

“Still with Chuck?   Wow, that has to be a new record for you.  What’s it been, six weeks?”  Haylee nudged her friend as she walked by.  She knew exactly how long they’d been together, since New Year’s Eve.  The same night she thought she’d met the man of
her
dreams.  Kyle.  Haylee shook her head.  “Anyway, who wants to be the third wheel on Valentine’s Day?  No thanks.”

“Hon, you gonna be okay?”  Krista slung an arm over Haylee’s shoulder.  “I don’t like the idea of you being home alone tonight.”

“I’m okay.”  Haylee avoided Krista’s knowing glare.  “I will be okay, I promise.  You guys can’t be walking around on egg shells just because I was stupid enough to get my heart broken.  Go out.  Have fun.  Call me tomorrow.”

Krista pecked a kiss on Haylee’s cheek.  “You know I am here for you, sweetie.”

Haylee pushed Krista towards the door.  “I know.  You’re going to be late so go.”

After a quick bear hug, Krista left and Haylee shut her door and locked the deadbolt.  She turned and leaned back against the door, her eyes scanning her empty home.  She had flowers on the counter from her friends.  They had each sent her a bouquet of assorted flowers, throughout the day, to cheer her up.  They were there to comfort her on one of the most romantic days of the year.  A day she would spend alone.  In fact, they’d been there for her, in one way or another, every single day for the past six weeks.  She owed it to them to get her shit together and get over Kyle.  He wasn’t coming back and she had to move on.

Haylee sat down on her couch and picked up her mug of cocoa.  The day had been unusually warm for February, but once the sun set, a bitter cold front had swept across the whole state and she took comfort in her thick blanket, fuzzy slippers, sweats and a large cup of hot cocoa.  Flipping through the channels, she finally settled on watching a Rom-Com.  She glanced over at her cell phone and decided that she was done waiting for the phone to ring.  Done waiting for him to come back.  Jake had even said that he wasn’t sure if Kyle would ever come back for good. Things were just too unstable in London.  They video conferenced and emailed daily, according to Jake, so it wasn’t like he was physically needed here.  Except by Haylee.

“Hmpf.” Haylee shifted on the couch trying to get comfortable.  She couldn’t get into the movie, and slowly her eyes shut.  Fitful dreams came to her once again, as they had every night over the past few weeks.  It was like watching snippets of a movie.  Bits and pieces of memories mixed with wishful thinking.  But, every night, they started out with her memories of the last time she’d seen him.

Kyle waved goodbye as he made his way to the plane.  Haylee wanted to beg him to stay, but she knew he had to go.  She raised her hand and waved goodbye as he made his way to board the plane.  He had flown in for the weekend and they’d spent almost every minute together, naked, in her bed.  They ordered take-out and made a meal out of each other, exploring and tasting, tempting and teasing until they were both completely sated and exhausted.

That following Monday, when she called him, he couldn’t talk.  The same for every day that week until Saturday.  He told her that he was sorry, his apologies sincere but his explanation vague.  When Haylee asked when he was coming home again, all he could say was that he would let her know.  When they hung up, she heard a woman’s laughing and yelling “stop tickling me” on the other end of the line.  Before she could say anything, however, the line went dead.  When she called back, it went straight to voicemail.

Sure enough, the following day, she got the text message.  The break-up text.  Well, that’s how she interpreted it.  All it said was, “Need to focus on work.  Will call soon. XOXO –K”  There it was.  The end. 

Haylee woke up in a cold sweat.  The dream was so real, just like always.  She knew she had to get some help, but she hadn’t told anyone about the text or the laughing woman, not even Krista and surely not Jake.  All she had told her friends was that she and Kyle decided to wait to see each other if and when he came back to Jersey.

Running into the bathroom to wash her face with cold water, Haylee could still see Kyle standing in her bathroom the last day she saw him.  How he’d dragged her into the shower with him and soaped her up, then slipped inside of her and thrust hard and fast, until she screamed with pleasure.  It had been such a wonderful weekend.  Then, everything went to hell.  What had gone wrong?   Why hadn’t she been good enough?

Haylee had barely survived the deep depression that consumed her for the past few weeks.  Her friends had seen it, but were too caring to comment about it.  Haylee lost ten pounds in the three weeks that followed the text message from hell.  She stopped going out with her friends and stayed home, crying herself to sleep every night. 

The past few nights, the dream had morphed. At first, it was the same.  Her amazing weekend with Kyle, him waving goodbye to her at the airport.  Recently, however, as Kyle was leaving for his plane, he gave her the finger while he had an arm wrapped around the waist of some faceless blonde.  Why blonde? They were always blonde, weren’t they?  Haylee’s red hair and brown eyes could never compete with a Barbie clone.  And, instead of the text messages and calls the dream had a horrible ending.  The plane crashed to earth in a ball of flames.

She couldn’t say when the dreams had changed.  The memory of his leaving was painful, but what she’d gone through after that was excruciating.  Maybe her mind was dealing with the hurt by inflicting a painful death on him and his mystery woman.  Haylee chuckled to herself as she changed into her pajamas for the night.  Maybe she was beyond the grief and working through the anger stage.  She could only hope that it wouldn’t last long.

Haylee heard thumping outside of her front door and she stopped mid-stride.  She was between the bathroom and the living room now and she craned her head to hear the sound better.  Another few thumps.  Someone was pounding on her front door.  Haylee quietly made her way over to the closet and pulled out a baseball bat.  Making her way to the door, she tried to avoid the curtained windows on either side.  She looked through the peephole and the bat slipped from her hands.

Kyle.  He was here.

“Haylee, I know you’re in there.  Please let me in.  We need to talk.”

Haylee’s heart thundered in her chest.  Her beautiful Kyle was standing outside her front door on midnight of Valentine’s Day.  But, he wasn’t
her
beautiful Kyle anymore. He never belonged to her.  The mystery blonde had replaced her.  Okay, so she didn’t know that the giggling, ticklish woman was blonde, but it made it easier for Haylee to blame someone that way.  Anger rose up in her.

“Go away, Kyle.  It’s late.”

“Please, just open the door. I’ll stand out here.  I just want to talk to you.”

“Kyle, I can’t.  Please just go.”  Haylee felt the fire burn out of her as he pleaded with her.

“You won’t answer your phone.  You won’t reply to my emails.  Haylee, I don’t know what I did wrong, but please…” His voice wavered.  “Please talk to me.”

No, she didn’t answer her phone.  Or his emails.  That’s because after that night he broke it off with her she’d block his number and his email.  She didn’t want to hear from him.  Shit.  What if she’d been wrong?  No, she’d heard the other woman.  But, still…

Haylee groaned and reached over to unlock the deadbolt.  She could hear him mumbling to himself.  Just as she flipped the lock, she heard him say, “I’m sorry, Haylee.  Please.”

When she opened the door, he no longer stood there.  Instead, he kneeled at her feet and his cheeks shimmered.  Had he been crying?  No, it had to be raining outside.  But his hair was dry.  Haylee shook her head.  “Come in.”  She left the door open and turned away, moving into the kitchen where she could separate herself from him with the counter there.  “Drink?”  She didn’t wait for his answer, but set a beer on the counter.  She popped the tab on another can and started to gulp.  Ick.  She hated beer but Mack had left a six-pack in her fridge and she needed the liquid courage right now.