Finding Solace (5 page)

 
"Sadie,
I don't think this is a good idea."

 
"Colt,
I don't care what you think. Tell me now!" I started opening and closing
doors. Each one was flung open harder and slammed louder. The last one I came
to, I found Heather. She and Shawn were in bed asleep.

 
"What
the fuck are you doing?" I screamed it over and over again. It was like I
was a stuck record player. Heather sat up, grabbing the sheets to cover her.
She kept looking around as if she were going to find the answer I was looking
for.

 
"I
don't know. Oh my God, I don't know!" Heather started panicking. She
grabbed her shirt off the floor and quickly threw it over her head. She slipped
on her flip-flops and ran with her head down to the car.

 
Shawn slowly
sat up, rubbing his eyes.

 
"Why
are you all being so loud? And why is Heather freaking out?'

 
I couldn't
believe Shawn was taking this so lightly. He knew about her and Jason. He was
friends with Jason, for Christ’s sake. Every one of us knew Shawn was the
biggest player of them all, but to fuck with Heather? It would be like picking
a fight with the devil if Jason found out.

 
I ran after
Heather and found her in the passenger seat.
Smart girl.
She was in no shape to drive. She cried so hard the whole way home. I tried
asking again, but she was not ready to talk about it yet. I love that girl like
a sister and would do anything she wanted, even though it was killing me to
know what happened.

 
I pulled up
to the apartment and turned off the car. Heather didn’t get out right away. She
just stared out the side window. I pulled the keys from the ignition and turned
to look at her. I pushed the hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear.
God, I felt bad for her. I patted her leg and said, “Come on,
chica
, time to go inside. Why don’t you go take a long hot
shower? You can wash some of that pain off." I opened my door and at the
same time, so did she. We got to the front door of the town house we rented and
after I unlocked it, I let her go in first. I pretended I left something in the
car and told her I would be right back. After she shut the door and I heard her
footsteps go up the stairs, I sat down on the porch step and put my head in my
hands. What a rollercoaster night! I hope she can forgive herself, because
everyone makes mistakes. It is the good ones like her that receive the
forgiveness they deserve, but never truly forgive themselves. After a couple
minutes I walked back inside and heard her bedroom door close. Then the light
went out. I stayed downstairs in the family room and turned on the TV. There
really was not much on, so I threw a text to Mike.

 
Me: SO PROUD
OF YOU TONIGHT. SORRY I WASN'T THERE, BUT IN MY HEART I WAS.

 
A response
came almost immediately after I hit send.

 
Mike: THANK
YOU! THAT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME

 
I read it
and then set my phone down. I let my head fall back on the couch. Just as my
eyes started to shut, a pair of headlights was coming through the window behind
me. The light was shining on the wall in front of me and man, was it bright.
Either that or my eyes were just that ready for some sleep. Whoever it was
killed the lights finally.
Apartment living at its best,
right?
That felt like it must have been my cue to go bed. I turned off
all the lights in the house and was starting the climb of the stairs when
someone knocked on the door.

 
I jump down
to the landing and opened it. The last person I thought I would see was staring
back at me, Jason was here.

 
All I wanted
to do was stare at him with my jaw dropped open. But that was exactly what I
couldn’t do. I loved Jason. I could not let him know what happened. It would
break his heart and it was not my place to say anything. So what did I do? I
threw my arms around him and welcomed him inside. He walked in and closed the
door behind him.

 
"What
are you doing here? How did you get here so fast?" The words were just
spilling from my mouth. "That was the craziest fight yet. I don't know how
you do it. Standing there, watching your brother get hit and kicked. I always
think you’re going to climb over the fence and start in on the other guy."

 
Jason just
laughed and said, “Slow down, Sadie.
One question at a time.
First, I'm here because I missed the hell out of my girl. Second, I drove like
a crazy man to get back here, hoping I could see her before she passed out.
Must not be my lucky day."

 
If he only knew the half of
it
.

 
"And
third, you’re absolutely right. I have to restrain myself. I have to keep
telling myself, I know Mike has got this. He doesn't need my help.
But, back to the most important part.
Where is my
girl?"

 
"She's
already asleep. She had a long day. I'm pretty sure she knew that she would be
sleeping alone tonight. So why drag it out,
ya
know?"

 
"Well,
I'm wiped out myself. So I guess it’s time to prove her wrong. She won't be
sleeping alone tonight after all." He stood as he said it and started the
climb to Heather’s room.

 
"Good
night, Sadie," he called over the banister rail.

 
"Good
night, Jason," I replied.

 
Boy, oh boy,
is tomorrow morning going to be all kinds of fucked up. I climbed the stairs
myself, brushed my teeth and was off to bed. When I walked in my room, I went
over to the nightstand to plug my phone in to charge. The little light was
blinking, indicating I had something pending. I unlocked the screen and a text
was waiting for me.

 
Colt: I'M
GLAD WE WERE ABLE TO WORK THROUGH OUR PROBLEMS TONIGHT. THANK YOU FOR HEARING
ME OUT. NOW THE ONLY PROBLEM I SEEM TO BE HAVING IS GETTING THE THOUGHT OF HOW
GOOD YOU TASTE AND FEEL OUT OF MY HEAD. GOOD NIGHT SADIE. SWEET DREAMS. ALL OF MINE
WILL BE OF YOU.

 
Wow! What a
text to get right before bed. Well, I guess he just made sure all of my dreams
will be of him too. Asshole!

 
Morning came
and I wasn't sure what I was going to be walking into when I rounded the corner
into the kitchen. What I didn't expect was Heather pressed up against the
counter, while Jason practically mauled her mouth. I mean, this isn't odd
behavior for these two, but after last night? It was a love-hate relationship
for me. I loved that they were so wild and happy. Neither cared what anyone
thought. But I hated watching them cram their tongues down each other’s
throats. Right now, is an exception
though.
I don’t
think I have been happier watching something so gross.

 
Heather came
up for air and looked at me over his shoulder. I am normally pretty good at
reading her expressions, but this one was different. It seemed to be a mix
between I want to hold onto this moment forever and I can’t do this. It killed
me inside to see her like that. Jason stepped back and kissed her one last time
before he said he needed to get going. Heather walked him out to his car while
I blew him a kiss. Jason is sex on a stick. He stands a powerful 6 feet tall
and is ripped to shreds with muscles. Mix all that with the sandy blond colored
hair and what you get is perfection. He has olive green eyes. The Harrison
brothers are half Italian so the coloring they share is a tan we all would die
for. He and Heather
are
a pair to be reckoned with.
She is tall. At least I consider five foot nine for a girl, tall. Her
strawberry blond hair is unbelievably thick. Her long layers make it jaw
dropping. Out of all my clients, she is hands down the easiest to work with
because I could do just about anything to her hair and she would be gorgeous.
She can eat whatever she wants and never goes higher on the scale than 125 lbs.
And if you thought you were jealous before, she has natural D-cups. Her curves
make me sick. I would hate her, if I didn't love her so much. What's so sad is
she has never had to work for any guy’s attention the way she has worked for
Jason’s. She has wanted him for what felt like forever. I hope she can still
hang on to him. More so, I hope the boys don't start yapping at the mouth.

 
I ate a
muffin quickly so I could start getting ready for work. Walking up the stairs,
I caught a glimpse of Heather outside. She was just standing there staring at
nothing. I wanted to go to her but decided she needed to figure this one out. I
jumped in the shower and while I was there, I started thinking about Colt. Why
did he send that text? But then again, how can anything that happened last
night make sense? Whatever, I was done over analyzing my life. Time to start
just living, don’t you think?

 
After I was
ready, I went in search of Heather. I walked into the family room and heard a
whistle. I turned my head in the direction it came from and was shocked to shit
to see Geoff.

 
"Nice
dress, Sadie. You look fantastic. If you dress like that every day to work, no
wonder you make a killing. I'm guessing it’s an all-male clientele."

 
I looked
down at myself to reevaluate my choice for the day. It was a simple shift dress
in royal blue. It hit me right below the knee. Now the shoes, I might give him
one for, they were 4 inch strappy camel stilettos. I love my shoes. All of it
paired with simple earrings and my hair was pulled up in a clip. Nothing about
my outfit was worth that reaction so I simply said, "You must like what
you see a lot."

 
Heather
looked over at me with a look that screamed what are you doing? I figured a
little flirting does not hurt anyone. I glanced back over at Geoff and said,
"What brings you here this morning?"

 
"I was
hoping to take you for breakfast before you had to go in." Huh, Geoff and
I have never been that close. He's always had the friend of a friend status.
But in this case, what do I do? I of course lie and say I haven’t had a chance
to eat yet and I would love to go.

 
"Great!
So should I drive or?" I cut him off before he could finish.

 
"No,
that's okay. I don't have much time before my first appointment so we can take
separate cars."

 
"Oh,
okay. So how does Waffle Hut sound?"

 
"Great to me.
You go on ahead and get us a table. I
just have to grab a couple of things and then I will be right behind you."
Geoff started for the door, turned and said bye to Heather, and I told him I'd
see him soon. When the door closed Heather jumped up from the couch and
screamed.

 
"When did
that start?"

 
I didn't
have an answer for her. It was just as weird for me.

 
"I'm
not sure. I mean, last night after Mike won, he picked me up by my ass of all
things and spun me around. I’ll admit it was a little out of character for
him."

 
"Is that
why I saw Colt and him arguing?"

 
"Why
would you assume them arguing had anything to do with me?
Even
though it totally did."

 
"I
don’t know. Maybe because it seems Colt says he wants one thing but acts like
he needs the other."

 
"I
don’t have time to do this conversation. Geoff is waiting. But the bitch part
about all of this is I don't have time to talk to you. Are you going to be
okay?"

 
"Always."
It is what we say in the event something
terrible happens.
Because unless you are dead, you always have
to get through it.

 
"Alright
girl, well I will call you later today. Try to have a good day. Love
ya
."

 
I pulled
into the parking lot and Geoff was waiting, leaning on his car. So much for
him getting
a table. I got out and walked over to him
wondering if maybe the restaurant is on a wait. He just stands there and says,
"You are a sight for sore eyes, Sadie."

 
I fought to
not roll my eyes. Was that really the line he chose to run with?

 
"Well,
um, thanks." It is the best that I could do.

 
"So,
you ready to go in?"

 
"Yeah, sure.
I thought you were going to get a table
already?"

 
"And
miss that grand entrance. No way. I knew there would be a chance when you got
out of your car that I'd be able to get a great leg shot. What I didn't expect
was the view I got instead." He wiggled his eyebrows up and down. What was
he talking about? And then it dawned on me. A panty shot, really?