Stay With Me Tonight: A Drake Brothers Series (PART 1)

Stay With Me Tonight

A Drake brothers series

Part 1

by

Whitney D.

Copyright © 2015 Whitney D.

All rights reserved.  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means – except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles or reviews – without written permission from its publisher.

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious.  Any similarities to real persons, living or deceased, are purely coincidental and are not intended by the author.

Copyright © 2015 Whitney D.

All rights reserved.

Thank you to my mom who told me I could write

a novel when I was twelve, to my husband who

encouraged me to do it as an adult, and to my

amazing friends & family who have supported me

every step of the way.  I love you all!

Chapter One

              It was no wonder that I was having a hard time finding a job since graduating from Yale with my master's degree last spring.  The economy was still dwindling from the recession and a master's degree was proving to be just as useless as my bachelor's degree.  An ivy league education sure wasn't what it used to be.

              I had applied for what felt like a million job openings in the area, but I didn't get one phone call asking for an interview.  It was early fall and the last of the money I had saved from working my summer job was starting to dwindle.  I was getting a little desperate and wondered if perhaps I shouldn't have jumped the gun and quit my summer gig thinking I was going to get a job offer soon.

              I decided to call my mom to chat and discuss possibly moving home until I was able to secure a job.  She answered on the second ring.

              “Hi mom, it's Kate.”

              “Hi honey, how are you?  Your father and I were just getting ready to go to a movie in town.”

              “Oh okay, well I won't keep you.  I was actually calling because I still haven't been able to get a job since the summer job I had ended.  I was wondering if it would be okay for me to move back to Savannah with you guys for a few months until I can find a permanent job?”

              “Sure honey, that would be great.  It will be so nice to have us all under one roof again!”

              I could hear the smile in her tone.  I moved out to go to college when I was eighteen.  I spent four years as an undergraduate working on my bachelor's degree in Finance from The University of South Carolina.  When I finished my degree, I spent another three years taking courses at Yale to get my master's degree in Economics.  It felt so prestigious to have a master's level degree from an ivy league school.  However, a degree from such a prominent university was proving to be much less impressive than I had imagined, as I still had not managed to land a decent job since graduation.

              “Okay great, well I will need a few weeks to get things settled here with my landlord and to tie up a few loose ends before I can move back.  But I think I can be in Savannah around Halloween.  How does that sound?”

              “Sweetie, that's fine.  I have to run now or we will be late for the movie.  Keep me posted... can't wait to see you! Love you!”

              “Okay mom, love you.  Thanks!”

              I was not looking forward to moving back in with my parents and younger brother.  I hadn't lived at home in nearly seven years and I wasn't a kid anymore.  I was a bit worried that moving back was going to be a real nightmare with having to be in by a certain time and do chores.  My parents were a bit over zealous with those sorts of things.  My brother, Jack, was fifteen and he was what most would call an 'oops baby'.  Although, we didn't talk about it really, my mom once told me that her and my dad had only planned to have one child even though Jack was a pleasant addition to our family.  My dad worked as an accountant for a small firm in Savannah for the past twenty years and my mom was a sixth grade science teacher.  Jack was eight years old when I left for college.  The age gap between us had made for a strange relationship.  To say the least, we were not close, but I tried my best to be a decent big sister, even though we really only saw each other a handful of times each year.  Most of our visits over the last few years were during major holidays which were generally over-shadowed by grandparents, cousins, or aunts and uncles being in town to visit.  I thought if anything, that moving home may be a good chance to get to know my brother a little better.

              The next morning, I headed to the coffee shop down the block and grabbed the morning paper from the corner vendor.  This had been a daily ritual of mine for some time.  Wake up, throw on some clothes, comb my hair, brush my teeth, grab the paper from down the block, then sit at the coffee shop and look through the employment section to see if anything in particular piqued  my interest.  I scanned the same jobs as I had yesterday, they were posted again.  I had become a pro at noticing the new postings.  Since I had been doing this for the last few weeks, I noticed new job postings typically ran for three to five days before they were removed from the paper.  It was pretty easy for me to notice the new listings immediately when I opened the employment section.  I scanned each column, but didn't see anything new that I hadn't already applied for.  I slammed the paper shut as the aggravation set in. 
I had a master's degree from an ivy league school!
Something had to give and soon.  I wasn't really sure why I hadn't landed a job interview.  My resume, letters of recommendation, and internships were impressive.  To anyone who got my resume, I was just words on paper.  But if someone would just give me an interview, I would sell myself so impeccably that anyone would be stupid not to offer me a job.  Most of the jobs I had applied for were not even major positions.  I applied to be a finance analyst, accounting assistant, an auditor, financial aid assistant... I think I even applied to be a bank teller.  At this point I was desperate for a decent job, even if it wasn't quite my dream job.

              My phone rang.  I glanced at the caller ID.  It was Rachel.  My first college friend and my Alpha Delta Pi sister.

              “Hello?”

              “Hey Katie! I am in town for the weekend.  Want to grab a bite to eat and a few drinks tonight?  Are you free?  Please say yes!  I have some news to share with you!”

             
Sure why not, my bank account is nearing double digits and once I move back home soon, I probably won't see Rachel for a while.

              “Sure, I'd love to!  I feel like we haven't gotten together in ages.  I actually have some news for you as well.”

              Rachel had been dating her boyfriend, Damien since they were fifteen.  It made for an interesting time since as he went off to college on the west coast and she spent four years with me at Carolina.  All the while being tempted repeatedly by the southern man candy all over Carolina's campus.  It probably didn't help much that we were invited to pledge ADPi, which was the most popular sorority on campus.  Once we became ADPi sisters we were basically expected to attend all of the major social gatherings and as a result, we were thrust into the social circle of the fraternities with the hottest guys on campus.  To say the least, I was surprised their relationship lasted.  I thought for sure if she didn't call it off, he would have.  But low and behold, they made it through the four years.  Damien moved back east after graduating and they got a tiny apartment together in Wilmington.  Rachel lived three hours from me now and I missed her dearly.  The last time we saw each other was back in the spring.

              “Okay sounds great, let's meet at Bishop's for dinner and then we can head down to Incognito for some after dinner cocktails.  Meet you at about seven, okay?”

              “ Sure can't wait.  See you then!”

              I started getting ready around six.  I wasn't going to go over the top to get dolled-up anyways. 
What was the point any way
?

              My mind took me straight back to Andrew Klein.  He was my first and only college boyfriend.  He was the president of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.  Both of his parents were doctors and he had every thing since birth handed to him on a shiny silver platter.  He had been the pitcher on his high school's baseball team and had gotten a full scholarship to college to play ball, even though he really hadn't needed it.  We met at a mixer during my sophomore year at Carolina.  He was the all-American boy I had hoped I would meet, have a long courtship with, and eventually marry. Those dreams were crushed quickly.  We had dated for two years and were nearing graduation.  We were so in love and so happy, at least I thought we were.  Just when I thought he was going to propose, we met for lunch one afternoon and he told me he was no longer attracted to me and he had met someone. 
No longer attracted to me
.  Those words stuck me in the gut like a ten inch knife.  It hurt, badly.  Meanwhile, I was going on with my life thinking a wedding was in our future.  I imagined us with a football team of children, the white picket fence, growing old together., the whole she-bang... I was so wrong.  It was then that I decided I had imagined a life for myself that I wasn't sure I would ever have.  After Andrew, it took me months, but eventually I started casually dating again.  All of the men I met were actually boys and nothing panned out.  I decided I was done
looking
and was just going to let things happen naturally, if they were meant to.

              It had been three years since Andrew broke my heart and six months since I had meaningless sex with some random guy I had met one night at Incognito.  I wasn't a slut and I didn't want to have random hook-ups, but my vibrator just wasn't cutting it lately.  I yearned for a man's rough hands touching me all over my body.  A man to make me feel naughty and bring me over the edge again and again.  Perhaps not looking was a bad idea.

              I took a cab to Bishop's to meet Rachel for dinner.  I imagined she would too or maybe Damien would drop her off.  Either way, our evening get-togethers usually ended in one too many glasses of wine and either tears or laughter depending on which direction our conversation went that night.

              I hopped out of the cab and stood at the front to wait for Rachel.  She arrived promptly at 7:00 as I expected she would.

              “Oh my God Katie!  You look great!” Rachel screeched as she threw her arms around me.

              “Thanks Rach, you too.  I can't believe how long it has been since we've gotten together.  We cannot let this continue or eventually the time between seeing each other will get longer and longer and I don't want to lose touch with you.”

              “Well actually, that's funny you mention that,” she dragged on.

              We told the hostess it was just the two of us and then followed her to a table in the back.

              “Ok girl, dish.  You said you had news,” I threw it out there as soon as we were seated.

              Rachel lifted her left hand from under the table.  There it was.  The enormous rock I thought for sure I was going to get before she did.  I couldn't believe it.  I mean her and Damien had been dating for years and I knew it was inevitable that they would eventually settle down, but I would be lying if I said that I wasn't jealous of what she had... where her life was going... it was what I wanted.

              “OH MY GOD!! When did he propose?”

              “Well actually, it was the most romantic thing ever.  We took an evening boat cruise out of Wilmington last weekend.  We were out on the deck, alone after dinner.  He told me how beautiful I was and how I made him a better man, how I completed him.  Then he just came out and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him.  It was perfect, magical really.  And the ring, I don't think I have stopped staring at it since the moment he proposed.  Isn't it just the most beautiful ring you have ever seen?”

              It was and I
was
happy for Rachel, but insanely jealous.  I smiled and gushed to her about how lucky she was.  She was my best friend and deserved only the best.   After all,  I hoped one day I could have what she had.

              “Oh what I meant to tell you earlier was that Damien just accepted a job at Drake Dynamics right here in Charleston.  So, guess what?  We're moving here and we can hang out all the time now.  It's going to be so great.  He starts in four weeks and we're moving kind of near you in three weeks.  That's why we're in town actually.  We were apartment hunting and we signed a lease today.”

              “Drake Dynamics?”

              “Oh yeah, it's an advertising and marketing firm.  Way up on the totem pole for its type of firm.  They do marketing and advertising for major companies all over the world.  Damien took a job as a graphic designer in the advertising department.  It pays so well, this is huge for us.”

              Again, I was jealous. 
Stop it, Kate!  Rachel is your best friend, be happy for her!
  I was happy for her, but the ping of jealously was stinging again.  Here Rachel was with all of her dreams coming true.  Her fiancé
snagged a major job with a huge firm and a southern wedding was in the midst.  They were my hopes, my dreams  My hopes and my dreams.. right down the toilet.  I didn't want to break her mood by telling her I was moving back to Savannah in a few weeks because I couldn't find a job.  So instead, I did what any best friend would do... we took on the night and we celebrated!