Chapter 17

Blaine

The sun was shining, it was an exceptionally gorgeous day outside, and I was shocked that I woke up without any hangover at all. For someone who helped down two bottles of wine and about half a case of beer, I assumed that I would feel like roadkill that morning. I walked around the house, whistling, and cleaning up from the night before. Reese was already gone, having left early that morning, and in a rather big hurry. She didn’t offer any explanation for the fact that she rushed out without even really saying goodbye, but I didn’t take it personally. I figured that she either had plans or it was something to do with her job.

I stopped what I was doing and looked up, trying to remember what she actually did for a living. I knew she told me that she owned her own business, something she had started right after high school with her best friend, but I didn’t think she actually ever told me what kind of business it was. Either way, no matter what business a person owned, there were always unexpected things that occurred that forced the owner to rush off to take care of them. I shrugged my shoulders and continued cleaning up.

It was going to be a long day if I didn’t keep myself busy, and since I rarely had time to really get in a good workout anymore, I figured that would be the first item of business on my agenda for the day. I loaded the dishwasher and threw on some tennis shoes, making my way to my home gym where I jumped on the treadmill and went to town, blasting the music through the house. Afterward, I headed over to the weight bench, realizing that I was going to need to start working out a little bit more. My arms were pretty weak these days. I had never been obsessed. I was never a gym rat, but I liked to stay in shape. It made my life easier.

After the gym, I jumped into the shower and washed away the remnants of the night before, and all the sweat from my workout. The smell of my body wash filled the bathroom, waking me up further and adding to my happy-go-lucky mood. When I was done, fully dressed, and feeling clean, I headed out to the kitchen to make a smoothie and oatmeal for breakfast. I sat at the breakfast bar in the kitchen and scrolled through my phone, looking at the different sensational headlines on the news. I closed out the news app and sent Reese a message, letting her know that I was thinking about her and seeing if she was having a good day.

I continued through the day, deciding to catch up on some sports for a bit and just relax. I knew I had a ton of stuff I could catch up on with work, but I wasn’t quite ready to get to that yet. Staring at the television for a few hours definitely chilled out my mind, and before I knew it, it was lunchtime. I flipped off the TV and stood up, stretching high into the air and looking out at the Philly skyline. Reese crossed my mind, and I dug into my pocket and pulled out my phone, realizing she never answered me back from earlier. I shrugged my shoulders and sent her another text before walking into my home office and sitting down behind the computer.

I pulled up my emails, answered back several I hadn’t gotten to the week before, and started to catch up on some ordering I needed to make sure was completed. We had a new project getting underway soon, and some of the parts we used were on back order. It made me rethink the whole idea of building my own manufacturing plants instead of working through an outside source. I went to type a note to myself to look into it but was distracted as the low battery on the phone lit up the screen. There was still no answer back from Reese. I tried to shake the thought and continue on, but I was now completely distracted by that fact. I picked up my phone and looked at the messages I had sent her, making sure I hadn’t said anything offensive. They were both sweet and caring, and they were both marked as sent. I took in a deep breath and set my phone back on the table, shaking my head.

I needed to focus on work, and I needed to get through the day without freaking out because Reese hadn’t answered me yet. For all I knew, she went home and crashed out, being hungover from all the alcohol she drank. Still, there was something about it that just wasn’t sitting right with me. I could feel a lump in my chest, and my intuition was telling me it was more than just a hangover or unexpected nap time. I tried to put it out of my mind several times, but finally, I just stopped working, sighing deeply and realizing I wasn’t going to feel better until I heard back from her. I picked up the phone and scrolled to her contact info, pressing the call button and holding it to my ear. It rang and rang in my ear, but shortly thereafter, it went to voicemail.

“Hey, Reese,” I said, realizing I had no real plan if she didn’t answer. “It’s Blaine, and I was just calling to check in because I hadn’t heard back from you. Hope you are having a fabulous ‘me’ day. Call me back when you get this, or just shoot me a text so I know you’re okay.”

I pressed the end button and nodded my head, laying it back on the desk next to me. As soon as my fingers were poised over my keyboard, my phone started to ring. I jumped in excitement and grabbed it, fumbling it in my hands and almost dropping it on the floor. When it was solid in my grasp, I turned it around and looked down at the name on the screen. My happy face quickly faded away. It wasn’t Reese at all. It was Caleb. I tried not to be annoyed by it, but damnit, why wasn’t she calling me?

“Hello,” I said dismally.

“Well, you sound like a bag of sunshine,” Caleb said. “What’s wrong with you, dickhead?”

“Nothing,” I sighed.

“Bullshit,” Caleb replied. “Spill it.”

“I thought you were going to be Reese,” I said. “She hasn’t texted me back or returned my call today.”

“Uh oh,” Caleb said. “Did something happen last night?”

“No, we had a blast together last night,” I said. “Then, after we had amazing, mind-blowing sex, she got a little distant, but I figured it was because she was drunk. She left in a hurry this morning, and I haven’t talked to her since.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Caleb said. “She probably had a mad hangover and raced out to go home and sleep. She’s probably still passed out and didn’t even see that you called. Either way, buddy, you need to relax.”

“I’m having a hard time doing anything,” I replied. “I can’t concentrate on work. I’m worried I did something and don’t realize it, and I feel like a fool for opening up to her.”

“That’s what you do in relationships,” Caleb said. “You take a chance and open up. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. That’s how it goes.”

“I know, I’m just freaking out,” I said, letting out a deep breath.

“Well, do this,” he said. “Finish your work, get dressed, and meet me at Dressler’s at seven for dinner and drinks. We can talk about it there. Besides, the last thing you need to start doing is being pathetic and sitting around your house crying into your beer and talking to your AI.”

“I don’t talk to my AI,” I said defensively.

“Don’t act like it hasn’t crossed your mind in the past,” he said, chuckling. “Doesn’t matter. What do you think? Dinner and drinks? Or am I going to have to come drag you out?”

“I was supposed to talk to Reese tonight, but since I can’t get ahold of her, then sure,” I said miserably. “I’ll meet you there at seven, but I’m not there to pick up chicks or get wasted.”

“That’s fine,” he said. “I just want to have dinner and some whiskey with my best friend, who obviously needs me to save him from himself. Pull it together, bro. This is not the end of the world. God, you sound like a girl stressing over a guy.”

“Whatever,” I said. “I’ll see you at seven.”

I took a deep breath and continued with my orders, actually getting the work I needed to get finished, accomplished. I probably looked down at my phone a hundred times, but I got it done. I got up from the desk and looked at the time, realizing it was already close to six. I got dressed in a nice suit, did my hair, and headed out to Dressler’s to meet Caleb. When I got there, he was already seated, sipping a glass of whiskey and waiting for me. I was about ten minutes late, but then again, I was always late, so it was nothing new.

“Hey, buddy,” Caleb said as I took a seat. “You aren’t as late as usual. You’re getting better at this.”

“Thanks,” I said quietly.

“Still haven’t heard from Reese?”

“No,” I huffed. “I just don’t get it. It isn’t like her at all. She usually texts me back within an hour at the most, and that is usually when she’s at work. All the other times, it only takes a few minutes. She hasn’t even attempted to contact me in any way.”

“So, tell me about you guys,” Caleb said. “I mean, you’ve been dating now for a while, and you never talk to me about her.”

“She’s great,” I said, smiling. “We have the same interests, she likes comic books, she is easy to talk to, she is funny, and we laugh constantly.”

“And the sex?”

“Freaking mind-blowing, dude,” I said. “Like seriously, some of the best I’ve ever had. Maybe it’s just because it’s her, but I can’t seem to keep my hands off her. She responds to me so well, and we can actually have intellectual conversations. It’s crazy.”

“It sounds great,” Caleb said, smiling at the waitress as she brought us two drinks. “The thing is, it’s got you caught up in knots. She is obviously, at this point, not communicating with you on purpose. Girls know what that kind of shit does to a person. I just don’t understand how you got so wrapped up with this chick so fast. I mean, man, I’ve never heard you freak out over anything like this, even when the parts for projects are showing up late. It’s like she has you wrapped around her finger, and now she’s fucking with you.”

“No, seriously,” I said, leaning forward. “I can promise you she isn’t that kind of girl. Something happened that I obviously missed, and now, she’s spooked.”

I sat back and listened as Caleb continued to talk, trying to make me feel better about the situation. The reality was, though, nothing he could say would make me feel better. I needed to talk to her, to fix whatever it was that was going on. I realized fast that my feelings for her were far beyond lust, and now, I was worried that I had lost her forever.