Mhmm...lunch!

*Computer was saved (no one likes seeing a blue screen pop up like I did last night!). Sorry for the late post! Xo, S.*

As someone who takes everything to heart, Jess' visit and very quick departure had taken its toll on me. By the time Monday rolled around I was tired but also grateful for the distraction work would provide. Monday was also the first time I would be firing an employee, or "parting ways" as Steel Publishing called it. Spencer sat in on it with me, although it was relatively quick and painless (for me anyways) and the lady I was letting go handled it rather well. After filing the appropriate paperwork it was lunch time already.

I was in the process of grabbing my purse to head down to the bistro in the lobby on the main floor when I heard a knock at my door. I glanced up and almost dropped my purse. "Oh! I wasn't expecting you."

Nathanial looked at me in the way he always did, like he could see right through me and into my soul. Of course he had to look like he was good enough to eat. "Miss Young."

A man of very few words apparently as he didn't say anything else. I inwardly scolded myself for being so flustered.

"I'm sorry, did we have an appointment?" I absentmindedly scanned over my desk calendar (still preferred it over my iPhone calendar).

 "No." He stepped further inside my office that seemed to shrink around us. "I was hoping you would accompany me to lunch." Not sure whether I had heard him correctly, I stared at him for a second.

"Me?" The second that came out of my mouth I regretted it. Tryyyyy to sound a little bit more intelligent, Skye!

Nathanial almost smiled. "Yes, you."

"Uh…sure?" What happened to the confident woman I usually was?

He waited for me silently as I made my way out the door. Kathy raised her eyebrows at me when we walked past but I avoided eye contact with her. Thankfully no one else was in the office to see us leave.

Instead of going to the bistro downstairs, Nathanial ushered me into a black town car that was waiting at the curb. Apparently my mom's warning to never accept a ride from a stranger was forgotten and I got in willingly.

We rode in silence as the driver navigated the way  to an upscale restaurant a few blocks down from the Steel building and I suddenly became time conscious. I had an hour for lunch which was usually more than enough but I also never went anywhere for lunch.

"I need to be back by one o'clock." I said trying to sound casual.

"You will be." Nathanial replied as he helped me out of the car.

I was so glad I had worn my cute, black pencil skirt and my dark purple blouse so I sort of fit into the crowd in the restaurant. Some people glanced our way, one lady openly stared. Looks like his insanely good looks didn’t just effect me. We were seated right away and drinks and appetizers were brought out right away.

I cast Nathanial a questioning look and he simply said he ordered ahead.

"You were pretty confident I was going to go with you."

"I was hoping you would come." He handed me a small plate for the appetizers. " Tell me about yourself."

"Um, what would you like to know?" I wasn't being coy, I just have never really known what to answer to questions like this.

He asked me about where I was from, about my family and how I was liking Seattle. I was surprised by how easily conversation flowed between us considering how awkward I usually was around him. Before I knew it we were done our delicious lunch and it was time for us to go.

As we got seated in the car (Nathanial opened my door like a true gentleman), I got that feeling of awkwardness again. I knew he was just Mr. Steel's assistant, but I considered him completely out of my league and like we had to sneak around because we worked in the same place. I calmed myself down by reminding myself that this was just a lunch, and nothing had happened that could be considered even remotely inappropriate.

Nathanial suddenly looked at me with his piercing eyes (as I tried to pretend I hadn't been staring at him). "Are you with anyone?"

I shook my head no. Mike and I were still just friends and would remain friends for the foreseeable future.  

Nathanial reached out, his hand completely engulfing mine. "I want to see you again."It was more of a request than a question but his eyes quietly searched my face for an answer.

"I would like that." I said casually even though my heart was beating ten million miles a minute.

We pulled up in front of the building and I got ready to go back to work. Nathanial continued to hold my hand and pulled me closer to him.

"I would walk you up, but I had a meeting to attend across the city." His face was close, his lips only an inch away, almost touching.

I was convinced he was going to kiss me, when he whispered. "I'll see you again." With that he pulled away I wordlessly got out of the car in a hurry and without looking back (okay maybe I looked once) went into the Steel building. Nathanial's car didn't leave until I was safely inside. As I rode up to my floor I thought about our lunch. I still knew absolutely nothing about him, except for his first name. 

Message from S.

Hey loves,
I'm having major computer problems as of last night :( I will try to have a new post up either tonight or tomorrow morning. So sorry for the delay!!
Keep your fingers crossed for my laptop (it has all my pictures and school stuff on there so it making it through this is so important to me!)
Xo,
S.

The Extent of the Mess

*Hey loves! When I started this blog I literally thought maybe 10 people would see my blog. Well last I checked I had 11 000 views!! Thank you to everyone who is reading and commenting. I love when you guys comment and I appreciate every bit of feedback! Xo, S.*

Jess took a shaky breath. "He got really drunk." She started. "I came home from a shoot, and he was passed out on the couch and I couldn't wake him up. I thought he was unconscious because no matter how hard I shook him he didn't wake up."

Chris and I remained silent so she would continue.

Jess reached for her wine glass but didn't drink it. "I found two bottles of vodka hidden behind the couch and one was empty and the other one almost empty. So I know for sure he was drinking. He woke up eventually and I had just started making dinner. He just lost it on me. He yelled about how I was fucking other people and I'm a prostitute not a model. How he thinks I'm unattractive and getting fat and that I would never find a guy better than him."

I was shocked at what she was saying, but given Rheece's previous behaviour I wasn't surprised. "All this happened today?"

Jess shook her head. "No, a couple of days ago. He left after that and came back in the morning to apologize. I went in to work the next day and when I came home he was drunk again and ranting about something. When he saw me all his anger turned to me. I tried to leave but he took my keys and smashed my phone into the wall. It missed me by an inch. I didn't know what to do so I locked myself in our bedroom. He broke the door in and stood and yelled at me. He fell asleep sometime during the night and I had no idea what to do so I slept on the couch and when he woke up in the morning he was still mad. He started packing up my stuff and threw some out the door and told me to get lost."

Chris spoke up for the first time. "Did you come straight here?"

"No. I drove around most of the day. I didn't know where to go…." she looked helplessly at me as fresh tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm sorry to just show up here after the way dinner went the other day. He was so mad that day. I just don’t know where to go."

"The way he acted was not okay, but you coming here is definitely okay. Staying with me is not a problem at all. I'm so sorry you had to go through all this with Rheece. I don't even know what to say about it." I looked at Chris to see if he had any input.

"Has he tried to text you or call you?" Chris asked.

Jess silently handed her phone to Chris. He looked at it, scrolled down a couple of times, grimaced and handed it back to her.

"Apparently he hasn’t calmed down. Does he know you're here? We all know how he feels about Skye and I don’t really want him showing up here." I smiled gratefully at Chris because that thought had crossed my mind for a second.

According to Jess, Rheece didn’t know she was here. Chris went outside and moved mine and Jess' car around so that hers was off the side of the street and in my garage. This way if Rheece drove by to see where Jess was he wouldn’t see her car. Although, as Chris pointed out, Rheece had never been here so chances of him knowing where I lived were slim.

Jess went to bed in my spare bedroom shortly after telling us about the crazy drama that has happened. Chris and I sat cuddled together on the couch neither of us sure what to say.

"Are you worried about Rheece coming here?" He asked after a while.

I shook my head. "Not really. He doesn’t know she's here and he doesn’t know where I live. What do you think about the whole situation?"

He let out a big sigh. "I'm not even sure. Something tells me this isn't the first time this has happened. I mean, they’ve been together for a few years, and they are engaged. You would think that if she hasn’t bailed out by now, she would have at least said no to getting married to him. But I also have never been in this situation, and I honestly have no idea how you deal with something like this."

"I agree. I don't think it’s the first time it's happened, either, given his behaviour before. I hope she just stays here instead of going back to him."

We talked for a while longer on the couch, but we were both so worn out that we didn't stay up much longer. I got ready for bed and, after checking to make sure Jess was okay, fell fast asleep in my bed.

I woke up to the sound of my garage door opening. For a second I was confused, but then I remembered that Jess was here. I got up, ran to see if she was still in the guest room. As I suspected she wasn’t, so I booked it down the stairs, just to see her pulling her car out of the garage. By the time I got out my front door she was backed all the way onto the road.

"Jess!" I called out and felt a brief moment of relief when she slowed down and stopped.

She looked at me with a completely blank expression. Absolutely no emotion crossed her face as she said, "I'm going home to my fiancé."

"No!" I practically yelled, but she was already driving off.

Chris rushed out of his house as I sank down on my front steps. "Skye. Are you okay? What happened, babe? Where is Jess?"

"She left." I stared in the direction she had driven. "She left and went back to him."

"Shit!"

My sentiments exactly.

Sad Mess

I spend all day Saturday catching up on the Bachelorette (whyyyy would Andi ever let Chris go???) and Alaskan State Troopers (seriously, watch it!). Chris came over Saturday afternoon so we could go for a run, and then sat in the Alki Beach Park to people-watch and look at the sunset. I must have had good karma stored up from somewhere for Chris to be the first person I met in Seattle.

I nudged him with my elbow and grinned up at him.

"What?" Chris asked and slung his arm around my shoulders.

"I kinda love you a little bit."

He laughed. "Same here, kid."

We decided on not going out that night and just heading to my house to have some drinks, snacks, and a movie night. I don't know what happened to me in the last few years but I was more into nights in with friends than going out partying….maybe I'm just getting old? ;)

After a quick pit stop at the grocery store we drove home. As we pulled up closer to our houses I saw a person sitting in the light of my front porch.

"Who the eff is that?" Chris asked as we pulled up.

"I don’t know. This is weird." I chewed on my gel nails as I squinted out the windshield to see who it was.

"Stay in here." Chris pulled up into the driveway, unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car. Despite what he has said I got out the passenger side. "Skye, stay in the car."

I didn’t get back in the car but did stay mostly behind him. The person on the porch was huddled over with his or her hood up.

"Jess?" Chris asked as he got closer.

Um, what? "Jess?!" I echoed, confused. I peaked around Chris to get a closer look.

It was Jess, but I barely recognized her. She had no make-up on, and her hair was a greasy mess. Her eyes were blood shot, her cheeks streaked with tears, and her skin was so pale she looked almost sick. Although she usually towered over me, with her knees drawn up to her chest and bundled in the baggy hoodie, she looked like a child.

"Jess! Are you okay? Are you hurt?" I skirted around Chris and knelt in front of Jess on the steps.

She shook her head but didn’t say anything else. Her breathing was so uneven from crying I don’t think she could have talked if she wanted to.

"Come on, let's get you inside." I reach down for her hands to pull her up, while Chris put his arm around her waist to hold up the majority of her weight.

Once the light was turned on in the entry way we could truly see what a sad mess Jess really was. She looked completely hollow and her eyes held none of the sparkle it usually did. I led her to the couch and sat her down on one end. I wanted to be gentle with her but at the same time I wanted to know what was going on. Our last meeting had been less than friendly and I felt uncertain about her presence.

Chris set glasses of wine and water on the coffee table and silently gestured whether he should leave or not. Over Jess' sobbing figure I shook my head no. I felt like back up may be needed in this situation and because I could guess that this had something to do with Rheece it was probably safer with Chris around.

He took a seat on the plush chair across from us. After a moment of silence he gently said, "Jess, what's going on? Let us help you."

Instead of the glass of water, Jess reached for the glass of wine and took a big, shaky gulp. "I…I…don’t even know….I don’t know."

I still held one of her hands in mine. "Are you hurt?"

"N-no…."

We sat in silence. I didn’t know what to say, and Chris seemed just as puzzled as I did.

"Do you want to come upstairs and have a shower and get into some clean, comfy clothes?" I asked.

Jess nodded silently, so I took her upstairs, started the shower for her and set out a pair of my pyjamas for her. "Come downstairs when you're ready. No matter what happened, we're here for you."

I left her to get cleaned up and headed back downstairs. Chris had abandoned his seat in the chair and was cutting up cheese, pickles and crackers in the kitchen. I scooted up on the counter beside him and stole a cracker.

"Did she say anything to you?" Chris asked.

I shook my head. "No, she was completely silent. I'm so worried about her. This has to do with Rheece."

"No doubt." He agreed.

"She is always so vibrant, it's eerie seeing her so lifeless and…hollow."

We snacked in the kitchen for a while (whenever I'm nervous or uncertain I eat everything). When we heard Jess coming down the stairs, we met her in the living room. The shower seemed to have only brought out the dullness in her eyes more.

She sat beside me on the couch and dropped her head on my shoulder like it was too heavy for her to hold up.

"Tell us what happened." 

Hot and Sweaty

The whole thing with Jess and Rheece made me feel uneasy for the next couple of days. I felt like I should help but I didn't know how, and also didn't want to put myself in a situation where I could be hurt. Confrontations, even when I knew I had done nothing wrong, always make me feel super shitty and I couldn't help but take them to heart.

Luckily work was super busy which kept my mind of things. And Katie had convinced me to sign up for a hot yoga class with her. I had done yoga regularly over the last couple of years but after hot yoga I was exhausted and so dehydrated. On the plus side this was a yoga class that had a lot of cute guys in it so we had some eye candy while we sweated our asses off.

On Thursday, after an especially hot class, Katie and I decided we deserved some deliciousness from Alive Juice Bar. We went in all of our attractive sweatiness, complete with messy buns and tight yoga pants. As we were leaving I grabbed Katie's arm.

"That's Mr. Steel's assistant! Remember the hot guy I told you about on our drive to the farm?"

He was just getting out a sleek sports car, and opened to door for a gorgeous, long-legged brunette. He was impeccably dressed like the first time I had seen him and my brain cells all melted into one big puddle (and not from hot yoga).

"Holy shit, he is gorgeous." Katie openly stared at him. "The way you described him did not do him justice."

"I know, I know." Suddenly my brain powered up again. "Let's go this way so he doesn't see us."

The door had barely closed behind us when I heard his voice.

"Ms. Young."

Damn it! I turned around and I swear my heart was beating ten thousand beats a minute. "Oh! Hello! It's Skye. This is my friend Katie. Katie, this is...." I trailed off. I had no idea what his name is.

"Nathaniel." He supplied, shaking Katie's hand while she practically swooned beside me.

There was an awkward silence as I waited for him to introduce us to his companion, but the introduction never came. He simply looked at me with his intense blue eyes, and I stared right back. His lady friend finally cleared her throat pointedly and pulled us out of the trance.

"Uh, we were just heading home. We did a hot yoga class so we just stopped here." I rambled on. "It was great seeing you!"

I pulled Katie with me. "Could I be any more awkward?" I said the second we were out of earshot.

Katie swung her arm around my shoulders. "You were fine. He looked like he was going to eat you alive. Seriously he is gorgeous. And his eyes! I almost fainted when he shook my hand. I am extremely jealous that you get to work in the same building with him."

Too bad office romances were taboo, and he was obviously taken already. But having him around would certainly keep things interesting.

I checked my phone when we got into Katie's car. I had a couple of texts from Mike (Katie and I sent him a picture of us earlier when we were heading to yoga), one from Kathy asking for my coffee order for tomorrow morning (love!), and one from Jess.

"Jess sent me a text." I said before I opened it.

Katie slammed on the breaks a bit harder than she should have. "What?! Why??"

"I don't know. I almost feel like just deleting it but I'm worried about her."

"Well, see what she said, you don't have to respond."

I opened it.

I'm so sorry. Rheece was just having a bad day.

I read it out loud to Katie.

"What the fuck?! He sits there threatening you and obviously controlling her and she goes along with it because he has a bad day? There are no days bad enough for a person to act like that. I don't buy it at all."

I totally agreed and ended up deleting the message. I was loving being in Seattle so much, and the last thing I wanted was for Jess and her psycho boyfriend to ruin that for me. Deep down inside I was still worried for Jess though but unless she wanted help there wasn't much I could do.

I was tired and sore the next morning when I headed into work. This whole yoga thing was reminding me how out of shape I was. I swiped my card at the elevator to get in, and it got denied. I frowned and tried it again. The person behind me huffed impatiently.

I turned around and apologized, then went to the security desk.

"My card isn't working." I explained to the buff man behind the desk.

"The security has been updated in here. You're going to have to take it up with your supervisor. Can I see some identification?"

I dug out my driver's license and handed it over. He was taking his sweet time looking it over and I was getting anxious. I dislike being late for work and this was making me late for sure.

"I'm going to need to check your purse." The security guard said grimly.

"Seriously? I'm in this building every day. I know you're just doing your job, but you're making me late for mine."

"Ma'am." He held his hand out with the expectation that I would put my bag in it.

"That's not going to be necessary." A deep voice came from behind me.

Although I had only heard it once before, I immediately recognized it. "Nathaniel."

The security guard nodded and stepped back.

"I'll take you up." Nathaniel took me by the elbow and led me towards the elevator. "There have been issues with the cards, I'll make sure you get a new one right away."

"Thank you."

We were silent the entire ride up to the 7th floor where I worked. I mainly concentrated on not staring at him and keeping my jaw from hitting the floor. Seriously, that man did something to those suits. You could have cut the tension in the elevator with a knife, and when the doors opened at the right floor I jolted.

"Have a good day, Skye."

Thank god for my tan or I would be blushing hardcore right now. He had the faintest hint of a smile on his otherwise serious face as the elevator doors closed and took him up to where, I'm presuming, Mr. Steel had his offices. My heart thudded as I walked to my desk. The thoughts I was having about Nathaniel at that moment were so not office appropriate, but I couldn't wait to fill in Katie on this latest encounter. Who knew HR work was going to be so interesting! 

Dinner with a Side of Uncomfortable Awkwardness

First day back to work after my extended long weekend was insanely hectic. Everyone was trying to catch up on meetings and paper work that was missed during the time the security system was upgraded. Even Spencer, whom I had only seen relaxed and laid back was stressed out. Before ten in the morning he had already snapped at me (and the apologized profusely and gotten me lunch later). I was starting to feel slightly annoyed with Mr. Steel and his short notice shut-down of the company. By the middle of the week it felt like we had all finally caught up. The best part of the last couple of days were the texts I got from Mike on a regular basis. He had even called me last night and we had ended up talking for over an hour. I absolutely adored this because so many friendships these days were built purely on texting. I live for phone dates even if they are just with my mom.

Jess had surprisingly texted me to see if I wanted to do dinner on Thursday night and I had somewhat reluctantly agreed. After her little freak out over me asking if she was okay I was sure I wasn't going to hear from her again. We agreed on Metropolitan Grill downtown.

I hurried home after work, changed into a cute green dress because it was effin hot out. I was jittery for the entire drive there but arrived first so I had a few minutes to sit down and chill out. Jess came through the door a few minutes later, followed closely by Rheece. I groaned inwardly and immediately felt outnumbered. None of the texts she had sent me said anything about bringing Rheece. Just the sight of him made me extremely uncomfortable.

"Skye, it's so good to see you again." Jess smiled brightly and leaned down to kiss both of my cheeks European style.

Okayyyy. "Sorry, I just got a table for two, I didn't know Rheece was coming…" I trailed off thinking she would at least apologize for just springing him on me.

"Rheece will take care of that." Jess said while her boyfriend snapped his fingers to get the waitresses attention. Ugh, I was already so over this.

We were moved to a booth that was large enough for all of us. I sat awkwardly across from them and thought of something to say.

"So, we just wanted to clear the air about your little misunderstanding a couple of weeks ago." Jess started. Rheece just sat there silently, his creepy, cold eyes never leaving mine.

"Um, okay. I don’t think I had a misunderstanding."

Rheece leaned in close at that point. "We don't appreciate you spreading rumours about our relationship, Skye."

I set down my drink hard on the table. "Woah! I didn't spread any rumours about anybody's relationship. All I asked was if you were okay the next day because you seemed upset when you left." I looked at Jess to see if she would back me up on this but she remained silent. What the fuck was going on here?

"I don’t need you sending those kind of messages to her."

"Um, I'm pretty sure I can send whatever kind of messages I feel like especially when I'm concerned about someone." Even though I felt extremely uncomfortable at this point, I still thought I should stand up for myself because I knew I didn’t do anything wrong.

If possible, Rheece's  eyes got even colder and I felt a shiver going down my spine. "Stay the fuck away from her."

For a second I was speechless. Was he seriously talking to me like this right now?! "What is this even about?" I directed the question to Jess, since there was clearly no talking to Rheece.

She seemed to have shrunken back into the seat and once again said nothing. I looked between her and Rheece and while I felt a little scared for myself, I felt even worse for her. At that moment there was nothing left of that vibrant, perfect person I knew.

"Jess?" I prodded gently, hoping for some sign that she needed help.

"You heard what he said. Stay away from me." She looked directly at me as she echoed Rheece's words.

Rheece leaned across the table. "I don’t want you contacting her again or you'll hear from me."

"Are you guys ready to order?" The perky waitress showed up at that moment with a bright smile that quickly faded as she must have noticed the tension at the table.

I stood up and grabbed my purse. "Actually, I'm going to get going." I don’t know what made me so brave at that moment, but before I left I looked back at Rheece and in front of the gaping waitress said, "I don't care what you pull with other people, but threaten me again and I will go straight to the police."

I booked it out of there and locked my car doors the second I got into my car. My hands were shaking, my heart was racing. Holy shit, what just happened? I almost felt like texting Jess and asking if she was actually okay, but after her reaction to that last time, and her behavior in there I couldn't do it. I drove home but barely remember the drive back. Instead of going into my house I went straight to Chris' who was thankfully home and opened the door right away.

I quickly filled him in on what had happened while he cooked us dinner. He was just as shocked as I was but agreed that I had definitely done nothing wrong. We talked it out and decided the best thing to do in this situation was to just stay away from in. As tempting as it was to text Jess and see what is really going on, it was clearly none of my business. Maybe better security at Steel Publishing was a good idea after all….

Back to Reality

* Hey lovelies, I'm taking off for the weekend bright and early tomorrow morning, so I thought I would post the newest post early! Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!! Xo, S.*

After a sleepless night I trudged down to breakfast. Helen and George were in the kitchen and I had heard Katie moving around upstairs but so far hadn't seen her or Chris. Chris didn't say anything about Mike and his friend last night and I was glad for it because I had no idea what to say about it. Obviously we had only shared one kiss that apparently meant nothing but i was still disappointed with Mike. That morning he didn't show up for breakfast and I could only assume why.

Chris went off to help George somewhere and Katie and I helped Helen clean everything up from the day before. After that was done we out on our bikinis, grabbed some towels and a lawn chair for Helen and all headed down to sit by the lake.

"What happened with you and Mike yesterday?" Katie whispered.

"Nothing. Didn't you see he was with that girl last night?" I whispered back.

"Yeah. She's such a slut. She went after Chris last year and was not impressed when he turned her down. I just thought you and Mike had something going on especially after the way you both looked when you showed up at the picnic."

I sighed. "We just kissed once that's all."

"You haven't kissed anyone other than your ex boyfriend for the last like 7 years, so don't pretend like it wasn't a big deal to you."

"Well at the time it totally was, but I feel pretty gross about it now."

Katie reached out and squeezed my hand (it must be a family trait, Chris does it all the time). "I'm sorry, 

sweetie."

"It's okay. Let's not let it ruin our weekend."

We spent the entire day at the beach mostly sun tanning and chatting with Helen, and Chris and George once they showed up. No one brought up Mike, which made relaxing in the sun so much easier.

For dinner we decided on leftovers from the day before and all grabbed a plate and sat at the table in the backyard. I was just about done dinner when Mike showed up. And damn it, he looked good! Helen got up to get him a plate of food and he sat down across from me. I smiled at him but said nothing while everyone talked about the picnic yesterday.

"Skye?" Mike looked like he was about to say something but noticed everyone had gone quiet and was looking at him.

"Yeah?" I raised my eyebrows at him but said nothing else.

He cleared his throat and shook his head. Katie almost giggled beside me.

"Want to grab some dessert, Skye?" Katie asked as she picked up my empty place and hers along with it. "Anyone want any?"

We took down some orders for dessert and headed inside. He second we were out of earshot, Katie whispered, "I love Mikey, but don't cut him any slack on this."

I laughed and hooked my arm through hers. "Don't even worry about that. I'm over it."

We ate our dessert outside with everyone else.

"Why don't you kids go for a walk and we'll clean up here." Helen suggested. "You all have been such a big help with all the clean up today."

Chris, Katie, and I took her up on the offer and got up. Mike followed a little bit more slowly and stayed behind Katie and I with Chris. We took the path around the lake, Katie and I relatively quiet, while Chris and Mike were talking intently about something in low voices.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" Mike was suddenly beside is and had reached out to grab my hand.

I removed my hand from his and shrugged. "Sure."

We walked a little ways away from Chris and Katie who looked curious but didn't follow. He offered me a seat on the bench by the lake.

"I'm sorry." Mike burst out.

"About kissing me? Trust me, I am too." Maybe I wasn't over it like I had told Katie.

Mike ran his fingers through his hair. "No, no! That's not what I'm sorry about, I'm sorry about later...at he fireworks."

I sighed. "Look, you don't owe me an apology. We kissed once, it doesn't really matter. Let's just move on from it."

He looked at me like he wasn't entirely sure about that. "But it does matter. Cindy kissed me for all of two seconds and I know I should have never let it get to that point but she is so persistent. I am really sorry that it happened. I hated it and I hates the way you looked at me when it happened." He took my hand. "I like you, a lot."

I smiled, I couldn't resist Mike and his messy hair. And his apology seemed completely genuine. "I like you too. And you don't owe me an explanation either. I don't want this to ruin our weekend so let's just forget about it and move on."

Mike sighed a big sigh of relief and pulled me close to him. "I'm not forgetting about our kiss though."

My laugh was muffled against his chest.

"Now Chris can stop looking like he wants to beat you up." I glanced back at Chris and Katie who were busy looking anywhere but us.

"He was super pissed. And still is. Can't hurt his precious Skye." He got up and pulled me up with him. "Are we good?"

"We're good." I smiled up at him and he smiled down at me, until Katie yelled that she was getting eaten by Mosquitos and we has to get a move on.

As this was our last night with the Campbells we decided to have a campfire out by the lake complete with s'mores and wine for Katie and I in to-go cups. Mike scooted his chair right next to mine and I didn't mind one bit. I was going to miss this once we were back in Seattle. Helen and George went to bed an hour into the fire, and Chris and Katie following an hour later. That left Mike and I to ourselves. We sat in silence for a while before Mike spoke.

"I wish you weren't leaving tomorrow." He reached out to take my hand and pull me into his lap.

"Me too." I cuddled up close to him. "We'll see each other again though."

Mike didn't respond just lowered his head until our lips touched. I think I could spend all day kissing him. We sat in the campfire light and kissed for a while.

"We should probably stop before I can't stop anymore."

Part of me was debating going home with him. We were obviously crazy attracted to each other, but this was also the first person I had actually considered sleeping with after my break-up with Lane.

"Would it be weird if you came over for a sleepover here?" I nodded my head towards the house. "I'm not saying we're having sex, but I don't want this night to end either."

"Probably a little weird, but let's do it anyways."

We spent the night cuddled up in his old twin bed (pretty sure his feet were actually hanging off the end), and doing a lot of kissing and touching. We didn't have sex and for that I was glad because we were leaving tomorrow and if we were to hook up I would want it to be more than a one night-stand.

All the way home back to the city I thought about our night together. Mike had left before everyone else got up to avoid any awkwardness. After a big breakfast, we said our goodbyes to Helen and George and I thanked them again for their hospitality and had to promise that I would be back. Mike gave me a tight hug and a piece of paper with his number on it. I would definitely keep in touch with him! He kissed me lightly which caused raised eyebrows and smiles all around. The three of them stood in front if the house and waved until we couldn't see them anymore.

Such a great weekend, and now back to reality!

Extra-long Weekend Pt. 2

Helen had packed us a cooler full of beer and snacks to take to the beach, so we spent all afternoon laying by the lake. We had chicken fights in the water (because we are so grown up), and I took every opportunity to check out Mike behind my big sunglasses. He seemed to appreciate my navy blue bikini and jean shorts and sidled up beside me to lay on his back and soak up some sun. He had abs….actual defined abs. I was almost jealous. While I was relatively toned, defined abs had so far eluded me.

I rolled over on my stomach. "Tell me about the farm?"

He grinned and took off his sunglasses. "Well, we are mostly into crops now, corn and wheat, although we still do some hay for personal use. We only have about eighty cattle left because dad wanted to focus more on the crop end of it. Dad's got about fifteen horses at the moment and I've got 6 over at my house. Bought a beautiful buckskin gelding last weekend. Buckskin is…."

I smiled. "I know what a buckskin is, my parents have horses at home."

His face lit up. God, he was gorgeous! "So this weekend when I'm trying to convince Katie to go riding with us you'll be on my side?"

"For sure!"

He laughed, got up with lightening speed and pulled me up by my hands.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

Instead of answering he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder fireman-style. I laughed and fake wiggled to try to get out of his hold. He ran towards the lake and splashed into the water and tossed me like a rag-doll into the water beside Chris who was floating on a tube, tipping him over for in the process. And this was the start of another epic water battle.

Dinner was a casual barbecue. Katie and I had helped Helen make salads, while the men were busy figuring out the right technique for barbecuing the steaks. Helen also made a gigantic pitcher of strawberry margaritas which added to my slight buzz from all the beer by the lake. As I sat wedged between Katie and Chris, plans for the 4th of July barbecue/picnic were discussed. This was an annual event held at the farm, which Katie and Chris both proudly announced they had never missed. Every neighbour around either showed up on horseback, quads, or by car/truck. Chris, Mike, and George were in charge of the fireworks, and Helen announced that they were the best in Washington. I couldn't wait.

The next day I got up early to help Helen with breakfast and found George already sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and the newspaper. It seemed so much like my dad, and I had to fight the tears I could feel coming.

"Hey, pumpkin. What are you doing up so early? This is your holiday, you're supposed to sleep in." He pulled out the chair beside him and I sat down.

"I would much rather help with something than sleep around all morning. I thought I could help Helen with breakfast."

“Getting the eggs from the chickens. If you’re up for helping out though we will for sure put you to work.”

I laughed. “I’m up for it.”

We spend a few minutes chatting about my parents’ farm before Helen came in with Mike in tow. He looked insanely adorable carrying a wicker basket full of eggs, and those dimples when he smiled just made my heart beat double. Sigh!!

Well, they definitely took me up on my offer to help. We spend the entire day setting up picnic tables, baking pies, cleaning up around the farm, and running errands. The men disappeared for a couple of hours to do something in regards to fireworks, while Katie, Helen, and I prepped salads. I was thinking about twenty people were going to show up, but when I mentioned this, Helen laughed and multiplied that number by five.

We were pretty much prepped by dinner time, and I was tired but so excited to see what tomorrow had in store. After dinner we all sat and relaxed on the porch outside. Mike brought out some beer for us as we were watching the sun set. Katie and I shared the porch swing, and she gently rocked us back and forth with her feet. I couldn't remember the last time I had felt so content. We all went to bed relatively early that night because tomorrow was a big day. I’m not going to lie, I was kind of disappointed that Mike hadn't made any sort of move on me. I wasn't really sure how to make a move on him because since high school I've only dated one guy.

I was just about asleep when I got a text from Chris.

You should totally go for Mike. He brought you up every chance he could today.

Interesting.

-              -              -              -

The next morning everyone was bustling around by eight o’clock. We spend the morning wiping down the picnic tables, filling tubs with ice, prepping more food (we could have seriously fed a small country), and stealing glances at Mike….okay, that last one was just me.

In the early afternoon, Katie and I went inside to shower and get ready. I loosely curled my hair and picked out the white summer dress with tiny blue and red flowers I had packed specifically for today (it was somewhat patriotic). With the tan I had going on I kept my make-up minimal, and just threw on some mascara, blush, and lip gloss. Katie was still getting ready when I went downstairs and saw the first few people arrive.

“Oh, you look stunning, my dear.” Helen had also gotten ready at some point but done it so quickly that I had no idea when it happened. “Chris, can you go get Mike? He was supposed to be here a while ago to help greet everyone but I’m sure he’s hiding out in his barn.”

“Ah, I actually need to go shower really quick. But Skye will go!” He volunteered and winked at me. Sneaky!

“That would be great, love. Here,” she handed me a set of keys. “Just take George’s truck down there. Try the house first, but I’m sure he’ll be in the barn.”

I had no other choice but to go, so I took the keys and drove the short distance to Mike’s house. I’d seen it from a distance, and it looked even better from up close. Like his parents’ house it sported a wrap-around porch, but what I really like about it was that the entire house was made out of logs with a green metal roof to complete it. And the barn was matching.

I jumped out of the truck (literally, this thing was huge), and went to knock on the front door. No answer. I slid my sunglasses back on and headed towards the barn that practically glowed in the later afternoon sun.

“Mike?”

Still no answer, so I peaked inside the large barn doors. He was just untying his horse from one of the stalls. He must have sensed that I was behind him (just kidding, pretty sure that doesn’t actually happen, but his horse did perk up its ears) and he turned around. He was clad in tight jeans that did all sorts of things for his butt, and white t-shirt that showed off his muscles.

“Did my mom send you to get me out of hiding?” He asked and led his horse towards me.

“Little bit.” I held out my hand for the horse to sniff. “Hey, big guy.”

“This is Cash. He’s the one I just bought. Such a beauty.” He ran his hand down my arm to my hand. “You look amazing.”

I blushed, and hoped my tan was hiding it. “Thanks, you don’t look so bad yourself.”

“Do you mind hanging out here for a couple of minutes and then I’ll catch a ride back with you. I just need to check out one of his feet that cracked on the side the other day.”

“No, not at all.” I sat down on a straw bale and took the rope Mike handed me while he went and grabbed some oil. Cash was a beauty, and so friendly. He nuzzled my hand and then moved up to blow a big horse sigh into my hair.

“Hey, don’t do that. You're going to mess up her pretty hair.” Mike scolded halfheartedly.

“He can do that all day long. He’s making me miss my horse at home.”

Mike bent over in front of me to pick up Cash’s hoof, and it took every ounce of my self-control to not reach out and touch his butt. I seriously felt like I was 16 again with my first crush. When Mike straightened up again I made a point to pay some serious attention to Cash.

“Want to take him out with me?”

“Definitely.” I stood up and was suddenly right in front of Mike.

He looked down at me and slowly set down the can of oil behind me on the straw bale. “I've been wanting to do this since the second I saw you.”

One of his large hands cupped the back of my head as he pulled me closer. Finally his lips gently touched mine, and I was in heaven. After a second he deepened the kiss and I had absolutely no objections to it. I have no idea how long we stood in his barn kissing, with me holding his horse, but I never wanted it to end. After years of getting pecks here and there, getting a real kiss from someone as incredibly hot as Mike was totally mind-blowing. Eventually we broke apart. Somewhat reluctantly he took a step back.

“I thought about what it would be like to kiss you, and it didn't even come close to how this was.”

I couldn't have formed a coherent sentence if my life depended on it, so I just stood there and stared at him. Until Cash nudged his big head into my shoulder hard.

I laughed. “Did we ignore you, baby?”

Mike and I smiled at each other, then he took my hand and led Cash and I outside. We let him out into his corral, then headed to the truck to attend the picnic that we were now for sure late for.

We got raised eyebrows and a wink from Chris when we arrived, but Katie quickly swept me off to introduce me to some people that I “just have to meet.” During the picnic we barely saw each other as Mike was busy mingling with the guests, and I was helping Helen bring out dishes. For the fireworks, Chris, Katie, Mike, and I sat with a few people our age that they knew. Secretly I had hoped to watch the fireworks with Mike somewhere and possibly explore this whole kissing thing a little more, but a girl with bright red hair that had been sticking pretty close to Mike all afternoon sat snuggled next to him. Obviously I had no claim to him, but it still felt weird to kiss him and then have him sit with another girl practically on his lap a couple of hours later. Awkward!

The fireworks were incredible. While Chris and Mike had helped set them up earlier, according to Chris the lighting of them was still up to his uncle and a few of his buddies. I glanced at Mike to see if he was loving the fireworks as much as me, but when I looked over I knew he wasn't seeing them. That’s because he was currently making out with Miss Perky Red Hair.

Chris put his arm around me, pulled me closer to him, and gave me a tight squeeze. Fuck!!

Extra-long Weekend Pt. 1

I made it through my two insanely busy days!!! I stayed till almost 10pm every night (without any complaints because I got two extra days off). I did find it interesting that Mr. Steel had no issues with shutting down the office with such short notice, but because I got to see his hot assistant I totally didn't mind.

Jess hadn't texted me anymore and I was starting to think that our very short conversation through text on Saturday would be the last I would hear from her. Oh well!

Our long weekend started off with Katie coming over in Tuesday night once I was home from work with a bottle of wine. I was just starting to pack and packing with wine is ALWAYS better. We ended up finishing one bottle of wine and getting through the majority of a second one....let the long weekend begin!

After sleeping in and finishing packing we crammed all of our stuff into Chris' car, along with snacks and an iPod filled with music. We spend the entire drive laughing and talking about random things as we headed out of the city. There was no weekend traffic yet because we left a couple of days early so it was smooth sailing all the way to the farm. I grew up on a farm, and being able to go visit one for a few days was exciting for me (and made me a tiny bit homesick).

Chris and Katie's aunt's and uncle's farm was absolutely beautiful. As we were driving they pointed out where their land started and we finally made it to a gate with a sign that read The Campbells. The long, tree-lined driveway wound through fields and past a small lake (Katie: "It has a beach!") towards a beautiful house. Two stories high with a beautiful wrap-around porch and dark red shutters, it stood beside a red barn. If you think of the stereotypical farm, this is it, tractor and all.

A large dog, followed by a smaller dog, were the first to greet us. The larger one was a border collie mix, while the smaller one was a Jack Russell (which my parents had two of at home).

Katie got out of the car. "Hey, Blue! Hey, Jones!" She patted the enthusiastic dogs.

A middle aged woman came out of the house, her arms outstretched. "My loves!! I'm so glad you made it. And you must be Skye. Oh look at you, aren't you just the prettiest little thing. George! The kids are here!" We were all hugged and squeezed and hugged again, while a man with graying hair made his way towards them.

"It's so nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Campbell." I said between more hugs and a thump on the back from George that almost knocked the wind out of me.

"Oh, just call us Helen and George, dear. You came with my favourite niece and nephew, so you are part of the family." Helen put her arms around Katie and I and led us towards the house. George and Chris followed with our bags.

Helen ushered us to the kitchen table and immediately produced a pitcher of iced tea and plates full of delicious snack foods. I definitely wasn't losing any weight this weekend.

While we all got settled she filled us in on her son's whereabouts. "Now Mikey should be home any minute. He took is new horse out, a beautiful gelding, a couple of hours ago. He was so excited that you guys were coming." She smiled fondly at Chris. "When Chris used to spend the summers here those to were inseparable. Just the best of friends. I don't think much has changed now that they are grown up."

I didn't know Chris had spend his summers here when he was younger, but I would ask him about them later. I felt so at home and comfortable here. George seemed like the strong and silent type, while Helen was the chatty one.

She showed us our rooms upstairs. I would be sleeping in Mike's old room since he had his own house on the property. Helen left us to unpack and Katie immediately came in and flopped down on the bed.

"These twin beds have been in here since we were little. Chris' feet hang over the end but he refused to tell auntie that he doesn't fit in them anymore. I can't wait for you to meet Mike, you're gonna love him!"

Chris came in and sat down on the floor. "You're gonna fit in the bed at least, Skye. You're mini-sized."

I threw the shirt I was unpacking at him. "You suck!"

"Knock, knock!" A deep voice said from the door way.

I whipped around, still holding a hand full of underwear. Well hello, handsome! This must be Mike. He was about the same height has Chris. He had dark hair, and hazel eyes and sported a dark tan. He looked sweaty, and dusty, and insanely delicious.

Katie jumped up and into his arms. "My favourite cousin!"

He whirled her around before setting her down and reaching over to give Chris a bear hug.

"I've missed you guys! Who is this pretty lady?" He grinned down at me showing off perfect teeth.

I quickly shoved my handful of underwear in the drawer behind me. "I'm Skye. It's so nice to meet you." I stuck out my hand.

"I'm a little sweaty so let's save the handshake for later." He winked at me. "Actually, if these two don't care you probably won't either." My outstretched hand was ignored as I received the same bear hug Chris had. "I'm going to run home, shower and change. Meet you guys at the lake in an hour?"

We were all up for it, and thank you Katie for making me pack my cute bikinis. Katie got up and pulled 

Chris up with her. "On a scale of one to ten, how cute is he?"

"Cute doesn't even do him justice." I said laughing. "This is going to be a fun weekend!"

Busy Days

* Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian readers!!! Xo, S.*

It had only been 12.30am when we got home (I say it so nonchalantly, but some days staying up till 10pm was hard for me) so we all vegged out on the couch and watched ‘We're the Millers’. I need to look like Jennifer Aniston when I'm her age (or now…whatever). Chris fell asleep on the couch right away and was still out by the time the movie was over, so I offered Daniel the spare bedroom upstairs and Katie half of my bed. On Saturday while we were at lunch I decided to text Jess to make sure she was okay. She responded right away.

J: What r u talking about? Of course I am!

S: You seemed upset last night so I wanted to make sure you were okay.

J: Um no I wasn’t. Why r u so obsessed with this???

"What did she say?" Katie asked looked over at my phone. "Whoa, seriously? She practically ran off after Rheece dragged her away from us."

Chris put a hand on her shoulder, and squeezed it. Katie and Chris together made me miss my brother. While we had always been close, in the last few years we became super close. Since I moved I've talked to him maybe once and it made me sad that there was so much distance between us. I made a silent vow to call him that night.

I decided to not text Jess back because I just had nothing to say to that.

Lunch was relaxing and super comfortable. We found out more about Daniel, who is an interior designer and has recently moved here from LA. After lunch we went our separate ways with Chris and I heading back to our houses together.

"What did you think of Daniel?" Chris asked me once we were in his car.

I smiled at him. "He seemed genuinely nice. I really liked him. I'm so sorry about how Rheece acted last night."

Chris reached over and took my hand. "Hey, that is absolutely not your fault. You're one of the most accepting people I have met, how that douchebag acted has nothing to do with you."

"I guess. I just hated their whole situation last night, it was so uncomfortable. And now she's acting like nothing happened."

"Maybe nothing did happen, we don't know. But she is a grown up, and she can deal with this the way she wants to."

Very true. The rest of the drive we talked about random things. When we got home I gave him a tight hug and promised to go for a run with him tomorrow (hopefully he doesn't judge me when I'm out of breath after 5 minutes).

The remainder of the weekend was spent napping, texting Breanne, grocery shopping, instagramming pictures of Seattle (including one of Chris and I running where he looks perfect and I look like I'm half dead), and finally calling my little brother.

"Booboo!" I yelled the second he answered the phone.

"Sis!" Man I missed him. He always sounded like he was 45 years old on the phone because his voice was so insanely deep. Stevie was 3 years younger than me, and was turning 21 in a week.

"I miss you! Tell me everything that's new?"

"Not much is new. I'm sort of seeing a new year from school."

That peaked my interest. My brother was a known man whore around the town we grew up so him admitting he was seeing someone was interesting for sure. "Ooh, that's exciting. From school as in university?"

He laughed nervously. "No, she's still in high school. She turned 16 a few months ago."

Um!! I didn't even know what to say....barely 16 seemed a little young. I told him I thought so and he immediately defended her.

"No, she's super mature and everything. You'll have to meet her when you come home to visit."

"Yeah, that sounds good." Anything but good but I wasn't about to tell him that. I was hoping this would just be one of those things that fizzled out super quick.

We spend another half an hour catching up and I promised to text more and call again soon.Once I got off the phone with him I checked my work e-mail. So far I haven't had too many e-mails to deal with but Spencer had warned me that within a few weeks once everyone was familiar with me I would get bombarded with them. I'm glad I did check because one e-mail was company-wide and announced a staff meeting early at 9.00 am sharp. Interesting!

-              -              -              -

Armed with a Grande non-fat chai tea latte and a white chocolate Mocha from Starbucks, I sailed passed the receptionist ("Sara without the 'h'!") and into my office on Monday morning. Technically my hours were 9am to 5pm but with the meeting scheduled for this morning I decided to come in a bit early to get a head start on the files I wanted to go through.

"Good morning, Skye!" Kathy peaked into my office. "You're here bright and early."

“I definitely didn't want to be late for the meeting. Just the idea of being late makes me anxious. Here!" I handed her the white chocolate mocha.

"You are a doll." She took a sip and smiled appreciatively. "You know I'm your assistant so technically I should be getting these for you, but this has just made my morning so much brighter."

"I don't expect you to bring me coffee. Do you know what this meeting is about? The e-mail was sort of vague."

"Rumours are it's about security but apparently Mr. Steel called this one personally so it's all just been rumours." Kathy shrugged. "We'll find out soon."

I read over resumes until Spencer knocked on my door just before 9. "Time to go see what's up."

I wasn't sure if Spencer didn't know about the contents of the meeting either or he was just keeping them to himself, but I followed him to a big conference room a floor above us. For the number of people sitting in the conference room it was relatively quiet.

"Mr. Steel is making an appearance at this meeting, and whenever this happens there is this nervous quietness through the whole room." Spencer explained. So apparently we were going to meet the secretive Mr. Steel today. Did he even have a first name?

Thirty seconds after we sat down, the most gorgeous guy walked in (I almost drooled) along with a white haired, older man with a little bit of a belly. The younger man, probably early thirties, was over 6 feet tall, his broad shoulder’s filled out his immaculate suit jacket. His dark hair was complimented with the most incredible blue eyes I have ever seen. I couldn’t take my eyes off him.Spencer elbowed me and winked. He totally knew what I was thinking.

The older gentleman, Mr. Steel I’m guessing, started talking about security improvements that were being made to the building in the two days before the Independence Day long weekend, and that offices would be closed. Extra-long weekend for me? Score!

I’m not going to lie, I barely listened to Mr. Steel, and instead stared at his insanely handsome assistant that stood beside him. I was giving him a causal once over when I reached his face and realized his eyes were on me. We made eye contact, and his blue eyes were so unwavering and intense that I had to look away. For the rest of the meeting I fidgeted beside Spencer.

After the meeting, Spencer gave Kathy the task of moving any appointments we had on Wednesday and Thursday to Tuesday. We ended up having to schedule meetings into the evening. I was definitely in for a long couple of days, but pretty excited about having that extra-long weekend. I between meetings I checked my phone and saw I had a message from Katie.

K: Morning, love! Any long weekend plans?

S: None yet, I was just thinking about sticking around Seattle. I got Wed/Thurs off too!!

K: Perfection! Want to come to my aunts and uncles farm with Chris and me?

S: More details?

K: Leave Wednesday morning, it’s a 4ish our drive, huge farm, eye candy for you because my cousin will be there, and come back Sunday night?

Eff yes, this sounds amazing.

S: I am so in!!

K: Woohoo, go visit Chris after work, he will give you more details. This weekend just got hundred times better!!

Two crazy busy days of work, and I will be off to a mini-vacay to farm with two wicked people!