Chapter 19
19
BAILEY
I t had been a few hours since Hank left and I was sitting on the floor of the living room scrolling job listings on my laptop. The TV was on in the background because I never liked to sit in pure silence for too long. My fingers swiped the trackpad on my computer as my eyes sifted through the sea of job openings based here in the city.
My heart sank as I continued to scroll because I missed the job I used to have. I had gone to school for hospitality and tourism, and had scored a major events director position at one of the largest banquet halls in the city. My job was chaotic, had insane hours, and I had to deal with crazy-ass people at least every other week, but I loved it. I loved how fast paced it was and the satisfaction that came with an event going off without a hitch. There was nothing more fulfilling than seeing the final event take place and hearing how much the attendees enjoyed themselves. I smiled, recalling all the fantastic events I had directed, when my mind took me back to the night that changed everything for me.
“Shut up and stay quiet and I won’t kill you,” the man had growled after he pulled me down to the ground by my ponytail. He’d come up from behind me as I was taking out the trash for the night. I was trying to help the caterers clean up so they could go home sooner and was alone in the back alley of the event hall. I had just turned the corner to head towards the dumpsters when my neck snapped behind me and I fell to the ground. He was on me before I could even process what was happening. “Now be a good little bitch and lie still for me, this won’t take very long.” I crushed my eyes closed trying to push his voice out of my head. I fought as hard as I could to get him off of me and had bruises for weeks after to prove it. When I wasn’t strong enough to escape him, he stripped me of my dignity and stole a piece of my soul in less than twenty minutes.
The sound of the door being unlocked pulled me out of my memory. I looked towards it to see Ophelia coming home for lunch as she had promised when she left this morning. I waved at her from my spot on the floor and waited to say hello as she was on the phone.
“Sure. Okay. Yes, Dale, that’s fine.” She looked at me and rolled her eyes as if the person on the other end was annoying her. “Mmhmm, okay well I’m home now and it’s my lunch hour so we can pick this up when I am back at the office. Goodbye, Dale.”
“Dale being a pain in the ass?” I laughed as she threw her bag down on the counter and kicked off her heels.
“He’s always a pain in the ass. But I pay him to be a pain in the ass, so it’s fine.” Ophelia was the head of a marketing firm and Dale was her second in command. She complained about him constantly, but deep down, I knew she appreciated everything he did for her.
My eyes went back to my computer, still searching for something to apply to so I could stop jumping from one side hustle to another, as Ophelia started to make her lunch in the kitchen. Our condo was split in the center with an open kitchen that looked out over the living room with our bedrooms on either side of it. It was the perfect size for the two of us, even though she hadn’t bought it with me living with her in mind. After I was attacked, I quit my job, too ashamed to go and work where it happened, and she offered to have me move in with her while I got back on my feet.
Two years later, I was still here trying to figure my shit out.
Walking over with her lunch, she sat on the couch behind me and looked at my computer screen. “Job hunting?”
“Yeah, I’m tired of working all these odd jobs and planning birthday parties. I want something stable and something that will help me get out of your hair,” I sighed.
“B, I wish you would stop saying that. You know you’re not in my hair. I love having you here.” She nudged me with her foot and I turned to look at her.
“All the same. I still need to find something that pays me more than what I’m making, which is almost less than nothing.” My current employment included picking up odd event planning jobs around the city. I’d been lucky and hosted events at my old job for some of the city's most prestigious families. After I left, a few of them had tracked me down and asked if I would organize private parties in their homes. The idea of starting my own event planning business had crossed my mind, but I didn’t currently have the money to make it happen. Hence, the job search.
“I know how much you’ve considered starting your own business. Why don’t you just let me loan you the money?”
“No way, Ophie, I’m not letting you do that.” I had shared my entrepreneurial dream with her in the past and she instantly offered to front me the money to get it off the ground. I’d already taken so much from her, though, that the thought of taking anything more was too much.
“I don’t know why you have to be so stubborn. You were the best of the best at your old gig, you would smash if you went out on your own.”
“Can we please drop this? I’m not taking your money, period.”
“Fine, fine. If you don’t wanna talk about job stuff, we can talk about the hot soldier who you snuck into your bed last night.” A devilish grin spread across her face as she brought him up. I felt my cheeks warm as the memories of last night flooded my brain. “Oooohhhh she’s blushing! Must have been a good night then.”
I rolled my eyes and pushed myself off the floor to sit on the other side of the couch. She placed her lunch plate on the coffee table and turned towards me, giving me her full attention.
“It wasn’t like that, Ophie. We didn’t do anything.” I shook my head at her as she gave me a disappointed look.
“Why the hell not? Could he not get it up?”
“Oh, he could get it up.” I licked my lips remembering how hard he’d felt on top of me.
“So what’s the issue? You’re hot as fuck, any man would be lucky to be with you.” I looked at my friend and took a breath before speaking.
“It was me. I kinda…got spooked.” My eyes fell to my hands which were in my lap. I don’t know why I felt embarrassed to share this with her, she was my best friend. Maybe it was because she never had any issue getting men to do exactly what she wanted them to do and was never shy about her sexuality.
“Did he hurt you? Did he try and do something you didn’t want to do?” The tone of her voice was cut with a fierce protectiveness.
“No, not at all.” I waved my hands in front of her, trying to calm her down. “It was me, I just…panicked for a second. He came over because he wanted to see me and then we started to, ya know. And I was into it until my brain jumped to what happened to me two years ago for a split second and I panicked. I tried to move past it, pretend like it didn’t happen, but he saw it…” I trailed off.
“And then what happened?”
“Well, I tried to keep going but he told me no. He said that we didn’t have to go any further than I wanted. He told me that he wanted me to know that I could trust him and that I was safe with him. So he helped me get dressed and we fell asleep. I hadn’t meant for him to stay the night, that was a total accident.”
“Girl, you know I don’t care who stays the night here.” When I caught the sly grin that had spread across her face I rolled my eyes at her for the third time.
“There’s something else…” I started, unsure if I should tell her what I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about.
“Oh no, please don’t tell me he has a tiny penis.”
“Ophelia, no. Stop, I’m being serious here,” I nearly whined.
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. Continue.”
“Well last night, when he had his shirt off, I could feel what felt like giant scars on his back. I didn’t see them because it was dark, but they were long and pronounced. And it wasn’t just one, there had to have been at least fifteen or twenty of them.” When I felt them last night, I wasn’t sure what to make of them. He hadn’t given me long to examine them before he flipped himself over and pulled me on top of him. When he had, I took it as his way of telling me not to ask any questions.
Ophelia let out a long breath before speaking. “Damn, did you ask him about them?”
“I didn’t think it was my place. He didn’t seem to want to talk about them so I just pretended not to notice. At least, I tried to pretend.”
“Do you think they’re from his time in the service?”
“I’m not sure. But Ophie, they were big and they felt…deep.” I couldn’t imagine what he had gone through to gain his scars. Just the thought of it made me sick to my stomach. The thought of anyone hurting a man like Hank so much to where they would leave marks like that made me so angry I could feel my insides getting hot.
“You like him.” She gave me a confident stare, dropping her chin and looking at me over the bridge of her nose.
“I—yeah, I do. He makes me feel safe and like I can trust him.” Before saying them, I hadn’t realized just how true my words felt.
“Then I think you should be honest with him, sweetie. Maybe, if you’re comfortable, if you share a piece of yourself with him, he’ll do the same. It sounds like you both have stories. Maybe if you share yours, he will be brave enough to share his.”
I looked at my friend who had never been one to share more than her physical self with a man in total shock. As her words sunk in, I knew she was probably right. Maybe if I shared more of my story with him, he would feel comfortable to do the same. I reached across the couch and pulled Ophelia into a hug.
“I think that’s a great idea, Ophie. Thanks for talking.”
“I am always here for you, B. Hank seems like a good guy and I love how happy he seems to make you.” She pulled away and placed both her hands on my shoulders, looking at me with a smile. “And just so you know, you can always find a stash of condoms in my bedside table in case you sneak the sexy soldier back into the condo late at night again. What’s mine is yours.”
I pushed her away from me and we both burst into a fit of laughter.
A few hours and multiple job applications later, I was lying on the couch reading a new trashy romance novel I had swiped from Ophie’s bookshelf when my phone buzzed on the coffee table. I reached for it, reading the clock on the wall as I did. Without realizing it, it was already five thirty. I swiped my thumb across the screen and checked my messages.
1 New Message: Soldier
Hey blondie.
I smiled at his text, loving how he always called me that.
Hey soldier.
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you today. I’m lucky my boss is also my best friend because after getting in late and then only doing about half of what I needed to do today, any other boss would have fired me.
The thought of him sitting at work thinking about me made my cheeks warm. If I was honest, I hadn’t really stopped thinking about him either.
The feeling is mutual.
I want to see you again. Would you make me a lucky man and let me take you to dinner this Saturday? I found somewhere new on the water that I think you’ll love.
How do you know I’ll love it?
Call it a feeling.
Someone’s feeling confident *wink emoji*
I would love to go to dinner on Saturday.
I’ll pick you up around five if that’s okay?
I’ll see you then.
I can’t wait.