The XOXO New Adult Collection: 16 Full Length New Adult Stories (117 page)

“Mornin’,” I said, kissing the top of her head.

“Did I wake you?”

“No, the bacon did,” I said, giving her the same line she gave me the morning before.

For the first time, we had an awkward silence around us as we ate breakfast. We both knew I was leaving after breakfast.

“Do you want to come next weekend?” I asked.

“What about Cheyenne?”

“I want you to meet her.”

“I know, but should I like stay in a hotel?”

I thought for a moment. “No, I’ll sneak you in when she goes to bed.” I winked.

“Oh really?” She laughed.

“I’ll talk to Cheyenne. It will be fine. We’ll have dinner together and then watch a movie with her or something. She won’t care.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, cutting into her pancake with a fork.

“Well...I’ll let you know. She knows about you.”

“Wait, I thought you said she didn’t?”

“I didn’t think she did, but she heard my mom talking to my dad,” I said, sticking a bit of strawberry in my mouth.

“You talked to your mom?”

“Of course. I needed advice about introducing you to Cheyenne.”

“I see,” she said, not pressing the situation more.

After breakfast we said our long goodbye. Now I knew why she bolted when I was in the shower on the cruise. Goodbyes were hard even if they were only for a week. A lot could happen in five days, and I wanted to spend those five days with her. I wanted to spend every day with her.

B
rooke

Sunday was hard with Easton leaving. I didn’t want him to go, and it was nice not being in an empty apartment. I always thought I wanted to be alone when I was with Jared, but I realized it was because he would ignore me the whole time, and I was his slave. Easton helped me and he was a guest in my home.

I tried not to cry when I watched Easton drive away, but I couldn’t hold my tears in. I didn’t cry much, but I was sad. The stupid four and a half hour drive between us felt like the whole United States.

Me:
Did A leave yet?

Nicole:
Not yet. What’s up?

Me:
E left already because of Cheyenne.

Nicole:
He’s leaving soon. Want to do dinner?

Me:
Yeah, where?

Nicole:
Your place?

Me:
Sure.

Nicole had never really been over to my apartment before. Everything was different now that I broke up with Jared—or maybe Nicole thought I was fragile now that I had a tumor. We didn’t know how long I had the tumor, so I was leaning more towards that she was okay with coming over because Jared was long gone.

After I did my Sunday routine of laundry and cleaning my apartment, Nicole came over with bags of food.

“You do know I’m not helpless right?” I asked, staring at her arms full of bags.

“I know. I went to the store to get stuff to make dinner and I picked you up a few things.”

“A few things? You bought the whole store.”

“Eh, whatever,” she said, waving her hand to brush off my statement.

We put all the groceries away. I was actually grateful that she had gone to the store. Usually my shopping day was Saturday, but with all that had happened, I didn’t get a chance to go.

“How you feeling?”

“Good.”

“Does your neck hurt,” Nicole asked, twirling her finger around to motion for me to turn around. She lifted one side of the bandage and looked at my wound.

“No, it feels fine.”

“It looks good too. I think you can take this off.” She removed the bandage and threw it in the garbage.

“I don’t want to talk about it. Can we talk about you and Avery?”

Nicole’s eyes lit up. She loved talking about herself and the men she was dating. “Oh my God, B, he is so sweet. You want to know what sealed the deal for me?”

“His big cock?” I said with a laugh.

“Well, duh, but no. Did you know that he helped Easton raise Cheyenne after Easton’s wife died?”

“Easton briefly mentioned it.”

“I think Avery loves that girl like his own.”

“I think he is just a really good Uncle.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right, but knowing that he helped raise a kid just makes me want him more. My clock is tickin’,” she said, slicing chicken into bite size pieces.

“Tell me about it,” I huffed.

I never thought that I would be thirty and not married with kids. The times were changing, and women were having babies later, but I just always assumed I would at least have one by thirty.

“Also, the sex is really good. Like the best I’ve ever had.”

“Sex with Easton is the best I’ve ever had,” I said, putting a cup of brown rice in the rice cooker.

“Okay, start from the beginning with him showing up without telling you.”

“I thought it was you at my door. He was on the phone with me, so I didn’t even think it could be him. When I looked in the peephole and saw him standing there, my heart like stopped. I swear to God, it stopped. The last time that I’d actually seen him face to face was when we awkwardly went to bed the last night of the cruise.”

“Okay, okay, get to the sex.” She laughed.

“Whenever I have imagined sex with him, he would throw me on the bed and fuck me hard, but it was so...passionate. I’ve never had it so slow and good before. I don’t know, I can’t explain it. Jared used to just lick and stick, but Easton...he paid attention to my needs. It was perfect.”

“Now are you happy I got you a cruise for your birthday?” Nicole had moved onto slicing a few bell peppers and zucchini.

“Yes, but I wish I didn’t waste a week with Easton.”

“I don’t think you wasted a week. You got to know him, and I know you, you wouldn’t have been able to wrap your head around the fact that he has been married before and has a kid if you didn’t get to know him first.”

“I know. I still can’t wrap my head around it actually.”

“B, I’m not telling you to marry the guy. Just have some fun.”

“Avery is rubbing off on you.”

“What does that mean?”

“Ever since you met him, you’ve called me B. You used to call me by my name or Brookie.”

“Huh...” she said, trailing off, and it looked like she was trying to think about what I was saying.

“Anyway, Easton wants me to meet Cheyenne.”

Nicole dropped the knife from her hands. “Oh my God, really? Avery said that he’s never introduced a girl to his daughter before.”

“I know. I’m really nervous. What if she doesn’t like me?”

“Well, I think you will be okay. She’s ten. If she were a teenager, I would tell you to wait until she was out of the house.”

I tried to remember what Bailee was like at ten. She was starting to figure herself out. She stopped playing with dolls and started to play more with the kids in the neighborhood. By thirteen, she thought she knew it all. If all girls were the same, I had three years to prove myself to Cheyenne.

We finished making the chicken teriyaki bowls that were our usual go to with a glass of wine. It was easy and healthy. After dinner, we watched some reality TV on Bravo and made plans to go to New York together on Friday after work, and then called it a night. She assured me that she would call me first thing when Doctor Sam got the biopsy results.

*~*~*

I
actually went to work on Monday. Ian dragged me into his office first thing, trying to reprimand me for being gone for two weeks. I explained to him about my tumor, and he apologized, but still seemed a little standoffish about it.

Each day as I tried to work, I waited for a text from Nicole about the biopsy. It didn’t come until Thursday. She told me that Doctor Sam couldn’t tell me the results, but Doctor Bloom, my surgeon needed to talk to me. I was scared, but she told me not to worry about it and that it was standard procedure since Doctor Bloom was the actual doctor to order it.

Not long after Nicole’s call, Doctor Bloom’s office assistant called to schedule an appointment with me. I didn’t want to miss any more work than needed, but I scheduled it for Friday at four. At five o’clock, Nicole and I were New York bound.

I didn’t tell Easton that I was coming on Friday. He thought I was coming on Saturday because I couldn’t get to New York until almost ten in the evening—if not later since Nicole would need to stop and pee a few times.

Just like the week before, Easton and I talked every night. It amazed me that we could talk every night, but our conversation never ended until it was time for us to go to bed so we could get at least a few hours of sleep. He also wanted me to call him first thing once I talked to Doctor Bloom.

*~*~*

I
arrived to Doctor Bloom’s office and waited to be called. Once I was called, the nurse weighed me and took my vitals. After she was done, she led me to an exam room where I waited for Doctor Bloom. Finally he came in, giving me bad news.

“Hi, Brooke, how are you doing?” he asked.

“I’m a little nervous.”

“Well...I know you’ve been through a lot in the last few weeks, and I hate to say that it’s not over.”

“What do you mean?”

“They weren’t able to get enough sample of the mass and can’t determine what it is.”

“I don’t understand.”

“They ran a few extra tests, but with the little sample that they got from the biopsy, it’s not enough to determine what the mass is.”

“So we don’t know if I have cancer?”

“I’m afraid not.”

I stared at him wide-eyed. How could they not get enough sample to determine what it was? It didn’t make sense. “Do I need to have another biopsy?”

“That’s a good question. I’ve talked with another doctor that is an associate of mine, and we think it would be best to just remove it and then test it.”

“Oh, okay.”

“But, even if we remove it, your pain might not go away. Your mass is on a nerve, and the CT doesn’t show exactly where it is in your shoulder area. You might have nerve damage after.”

“Oh...”

“It’s hard to say, but the nerve damage might be in your arm, and you won’t be able to use it anymore.”

“Oh...” was all I could say. I assumed the tumor would be removed, and then I would be pain free again. I never thought about the consequences of having it removed. I was just tired of being in pain.

“I know it’s a lot to take in.”

“It is.”

“We can give you time to think about it before you make a decision.”

“No...I want to have the surgery.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am. The tumor is growing right?”

“Well, that is hard to tell, but I would say yes. I want you to get a second opinion before scheduling the surgery. If you want to still schedule the surgery, then we will get you set up. I’ll need you to get an MRI first. It will help us determine where the tumor is. Your body is made up of layers, and we need to map out a plan.”

“I understand.”

Doctor Bloom gave me the name of another surgeon to go to for the second opinion. I didn’t want to go; I knew I needed the surgery. I had a fucking tumor for Christ’s sake.

I reached in my purse to call Easton and had a missed text from Nicole:

Nicole:
I’ll be at your place at 5:15. Be ready. I looked and a storm is coming. I want to get there before it hits.

My appointment with Doctor Bloom lasted only a few minutes, but with the wait time, it was already a quarter to five. I walked to my car, calling Easton on the way, but he didn’t answer. I sent him a text:

Me:
Doc says they didn’t get enough sample to determine if I have cancer or not.

After hitting send, I headed home. Nicole pulled up at the same time, and I switched cars after grabbing my bag from my apartment. I looked at my phone when I slipped into her car. Easton still hadn’t called or texted me back.

After I filled Nicole in on the news from Doctor Bloom, Easton texted me:

Easton:
Sorry Baby. I can’t imagine what you’re going through right now. I wish I had answers for you. We are really busy, but I’ll call you on my break. Remember, you’re my Superwoman. Stay strong.

I smiled at his text. I was a little disappointed that it was a text and not a phone call, but it was Friday night, and he did run a bar.

Dark clouds started to roll in as we neared New York. Every few minutes, I looked at my phone to make sure I didn’t miss a call from Easton. I had no idea when he was going on break, and I had to tell him that I was on my way.

“We should surprise him at the bar,” Nicole said, reading my thoughts. “Avery’s there, too, but I didn’t tell him that we were both coming.”

“You didn’t? Where am I supposed to sleep?”

“I figured you would stay at Easton’s.” She shrugged.

“Hello, Easton hasn’t introduced me to Cheyenne, yet. I can just imagine us bumping into each other in the hall. “Hello, I’m Brooke, your Daddy’s fuck buddy.”.”

“You know you’re more than just a fuck buddy.”

“I hope so. I mean, I know, but once I meet Cheyenne, that will seal the deal in my eyes.”

“You already know that’s coming. Pull up directions to the bar on your phone,” she said, motioning to my phone in my hand.

There was still no call from Easton.

I typed Halo in the search engine on my phone and pulled up the address. After I punched in the directions, we arrived at the bar just as it started to pour.

“Looks like we made it just in time, but now we need to make a run for it,” Nicole said, looking at the drops of rain hitting her windshield.

We dashed through the parking lot, rain falling hard on my jeans and sparkly black tank top, getting soaked in the process. By the time we made it to the door, my hair no longer had the little curl that I’d put into it that morning. The water from the rain had flattened it to my head.

Nicole opened the heavy wooden door and we entered, showing a bouncer our IDs, and then I tried to fluff my hair to look somewhat decent. The bar was packed. Bodies were everywhere: on the dance floor, sitting at high top tables and at the bar. My eyes scanned the room until I saw Easton at the bar.

He was leaned over the bar, looking down at a red head with big boobs and flirting with her. I grabbed Nicole’s arm beside me and motioned to Easton with my heart
not
beating.