Waiting (3 page)

"Ugh,
I'm so bloated today. Only six
more weeks before this little rascal makes their debut."

Julie and Bruce decided against knowing the sex of the baby until the delivery day. There's no way I wouldn't be able to know before the big day.

"You look great. Glowing. Bruce can never keep his hands off you."

"Now we just need to find someone that you're interested in." She winked at me when I rolled my eyes. "We need to get you over this guy that's got you all twisted."

What?

"What guy?"

I got twitchy and re-crossed my legs. I'd never told anyone just how much I liked Parker or about that fateful night.

"Relax!" she laughed. "I was just poking. Trying to figure out if there was a guy, obviously there was, but you don't want to talk about it. I get it." I visibly shed my tension and smiled back at her. "He's not worth a minute of your time and I'm going to help you get over him," she assured me with a confidence that almost convinced me.

"There's no one. I'm just picky and don't really have the time to go out and meet new people." I quickly rambled off excuses I'd been telling myself for years. She bought it about as much as I did.

"Whatever. We're going to have fun tonight and I'm not going to stop hounding you until you get laid!" The cab driver swerved in traffic at her bold statement, effectively making me blush, then laugh once she did. "Sorry," she whispered. "But it's true," she ended more loudly.

She made small talk until we pulled up
in front of the hotel then push
ed me through the mass of people surrounding multiple bulletins that I couldn't read over all the heads. Once in the elevator she pushed the top button, exciting me since I loved views and looking out at the buildings and bright lights. The most important part about being at the top of a tall building was being able to see the stars more clearly.
 
They were beautiful.

As soon as we stepped out I realized the trap I'd unknowingly stepped into. There was a huge banner hung with blue letters and silver glitter accentuating them that read:
 
Welcome Class of 2001!

"Holy..."

She just giggled and tugged on my arm over to the name tag booth.

"Don't be mad at me," she pleaded. "But it's my birthday and this is what I wanted to do."

I couldn't technically be mad at her since I'd told her earlier that week that she could pick anything and I'd go along with her. My fault.

"Fine. But this is your Christmas present too."

I pasted a smile on my face after patting the sticker on my blouse.

We bee lined to the bar and grabbed drinks before joining Bruce and his group of friends. He'd graduated the year before us but he knew a lot of people in our class.

Our old clique showed up, from Ashley the prom queen, to Leslie the book nerd. It was actually fun catching up with everybody and I found myself forgetting my nerves almost immediately.

I’d gotten the pamphlet in the mail inviting me to come to the reunion, but hadn’t thought twice about coming. There was no use. Nobody I
really
wanted to see would be here.

Brian Collins showed up looking just as good as the last time I'd seen him, and we ended up talking most of the night. He told me stories about everyone since he kept in touch, and made me laugh until I had to excuse myself to the bathroom before I peed my pants. Ok, so maybe I'd get Julie a Christmas present after all.

The line to the bathroom was as long as usual but
I
busied myself talking
with the
other ladies
until it was finally my turn. I was almost hop
p
ing on one foot before I slammed the door and squatted, locking the stall for privacy. When I came out Julie was standing near the sink waiting for me.

"So, how’s it going?" She was smiling ear to ear in excitement. "You and Bri seem to be hitting it off, huh?" She nudged me as I grabbed some paper towels to dry my hands then took my purse from her.

"Oh, he's great. I actually found myself missing some of these people. It's been great catching up with everyone." I was buzzed and had no problem admitting the truth, though I'd probably regret it later.

"But..." she prompted, knowing something was lingering on my tongue.

"But nothing. I'm just having fun. Thank you for dragging me out."

I wrapped her in a side hug as we rejoined our group where Brian eagerly handed me another drink.
 
I thanked him and he started off like I'd never left. After a few more laughs from reminiscing he seemed to get bolder and wrapped his arm around my shoulders and whispered in my ear.

"Wana go up to the very top? There's seating up there and we can get some air."

More along the lines of thinking about the cool spring air and view, I nodded in agreement.

I told Julie where I'd be before following him up the two flights of stairs then out into the fresh, cool air. As soon as it hit my face I closed my eyes in silent joy. I leaned against the gate surrounding the ledge and just sat there for a minute enjoying the view.

When I turned back to face him he caught me off guard, leaning in and placing a quick kiss on my lips. I froze as soon as he made contact
,
and waited for something other than shock to replace my feelings. The kiss wasn't bad but it wasn't anything special. He pulled away after only a few seconds.

"Sorry. I've been wanting to do that since I saw you walk in tonight," he admitted with no shame or regret. "Feel free to say something. Anything."

We both nervously chuckled.

"Sorry. I just wasn't expecting that I guess."

This time he leaned down slowly, giving me time to reject him before his soft lips met mine again. I didn't resist him, hoping against all hope that I might actually like it. His tongue parted my lips and I gently stroked mine against his. Nothing. I pulled back slowly, trying not to reveal as much.

"I am
soo
glad I decided to come tonight. Oh, are you cold?" he asked when I shivered.

Instead of answering honestly I settled for nodding as he took off his suit jacket and wrapped it around me.

Now that he mentioned it, it did seem a little cooler, almost drastically cooler as a new wind chill blew across my neck making my eyes water. For early May, it felt like late February.
 

"Thank you. For the coat," I added, not wanting to encourage him to kiss me again.

He smiled while rubbing his hands up and down my arms to warm me faster. Or maybe it was to warm him.

"Why don't we go back inside? I
t got cold pretty fast," I stated the obvious with a smile while trying to walk around him, hoping he'd follow.

He smiled before grabbing my hand through his too long for me coat sleeve.

We'd taken a few steps before a
tall,
shadowy figure emerged from the d
arkness walking straight toward
us. At first glance he looked a little familiar. When I glanced back again it looked like he could be a family member or somehow related to my dream man.
The one and only man consuming my thoughts for the last ten years.

This man had dark brown hair with the same jawline and physique of the man I’d pined after for years.
 
Instead of the intense purple and black eyes, his were a muddy black. He was also a few inches taller, if memory served right.
And thinner.

I smiled politely before stepping around him then stopped when his hand shot out to grab the hand Brian was still holding onto.

"Hey buddy, i
s there a problem?" Brian asked
while standing taller. His six feet had nothing on this mysterious man.

"No problem. You were just leaving."

That voice. It was enticing and Brian let go of me immediately, eyeing me, silently telling me to go on ahead.

"As soon as she's safely inside, I'll follow suit," Brian bravely responded, crossing his arms over his chest.

The man merely threw back his head in laughter before seeming
to give a flick of his wrist that
sent Brian flying back against the outside wall, crumbling a layer off before his head lolled to the side and he fell unconscious.

Fear swept over me and I hesitated too long before my feet found their
momentum to run toward
the sealed metal door in a mad dash.

Brian was just tossed to the side as if he were a wadded up piece of paper. How on Earth could this be real?

THREE

A scream was ripped from my throat when arms encircled me from be
hind the same time
a hand was thrust over my mouth, effectively drowning out any noise from me. I kicked and threw my head back in an attempt to get free but my attacker held firm, and actually chuckled at my feeble attempts.

"Calm down! I'm not going to hurt you unless I have to."

Well now,
that's
reassuring!

I picked up my struggle and wriggled, scratched and fought, but he didn't move an inch. His skin was harder than anything; my nails didn't leave any scratch marks. My gaze fell back on Brian when I began to cry
in defeat
.

"He should be here soon, if he's not already. My brother's been very hard to keep track of over the last few years but I
do
know that he's been deliberately driving me away from you. And now I know why."

What? Why? His brother? In a last ditch effort to get out of this alive I went
still, stopped struggling al
together in hopes that he'd loosen his grip and give me a breath of hope that this wouldn't be how my life ended.

"Good. You're going to play along unt
il you think you can escape.
I can deal with that," he assured me before letting me go and taking a step back after turning me to face him. He had a faint English accent that got more and more pronounced as he spoke.

He put himself between me and the door, smiling wickedly since he knew what I planned on doing. Gesturing to the
seat behind me, he slowly sat.
I did the same, my heart almost pounding out of my chest, my t
ears streaming down my cheeks while
I remained silent.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Francis and I'll be taking care of you tonight." He winked at his apparent joke before continuing. I sat at the edge of my seat, anxious to keep him talking and away from me. "My brother and I have been in a quarrel for some years now and it's time to end it. I hope he can find it in his heart to show himself tonight, but if
he doesn't show in the next five
minutes I'll be taking you home with me where you'll be harder to protect."

He spoke loudly as if his brother was listening on the other side of the rooftop, making me crane my neck to see if anyone else was actually up here.

Come on Piper, come up with something, and fast. Anything.

"My
name is Piper and I think you’
ve
mistaken me
for someone else. I have children and I'd like to get back to them."

I stood slowly, gauging his reaction, a wicked grin growing on his face as he gestured for me to sit back down, which I obligingly did.
So much for plan A.

"Lovely to meet you
,
Piper. You don't have any children, barely even practiced if my senses are correct, so let's just have a nice little chat for a few more minutes until Parker shows up."

Parker.

I stopped breathing at the mention of his name, lamely trying to cover my shock with a cough.

"P-P-Parker Smith?" I asked in a low tone. He nodded and the grin on his face remained. "I haven't seen him in over ten years, and before that I only knew him for a few months in high school. I really think you have the wrong person." There I go again, ineffectively trying to sway him into letting me go. I glanced back at Brian to see he was still knocked out. And bleeding. There was blood dripping over his forehea
d. "I need to call an ambulance.
Brian might be really hurt."

I didn't comment on how he'd gotten hurt since I'd clearly missed what really happened. There's no way Francis flung him across the rooftop twenty f
eet with the strength of a bull
dozer.

"Brian's fine. His heartbeat is steady," he assured me in a conversationalist tone. "And you might not have seen Parker in years, but I'll bet my right nut that he's seen you. He probably watched that tosser kiss you and barely managed to
stop from revealing himself to
knock him out before he sensed me here." He looked around as if expecting him to step from the shadows as he'd done. "
Really, I can sense you brother.  Y
ou might as well come out now unless it's a bloody fight you want. Piper here would probably be less scared and less effected if she left here un-bruised and untouched. But hey, it’s up to you."