Conklin's Blueprints (11 page)

If Tyler did the blueprints, Ashlynn would be all over him and right in front of Connor.  I wouldn’t want him to see that, and I especially didn’t want Ashlynn anywhere near Tyler, no matter what our status was.

“Becca, please stop looking so sad.  I can’t take it.”

Tears started to flow down my cheeks.  “You can’t say those types of things to me.”

Tentatively, he reached over for my hand.  His skin felt so good on mine.  I wanted him to hold me, to tell me everything was going to disappear, and I could forget about at least a quarter of my past.  He flexed his hand under mine, trying to get me to grasp his.  I gave in and gave him a little squeeze.  He breathed deeply and slowly and brought the back of his hand to my face.  Still holding my hand, he said, “I can’t help it, I care about you, and I want you to know that someone cares about you.”

I leaned into our hands.  “Tyler, I can’t have any more people in my life who are ashamed of me.”

“I could never be ashamed of you,” he murmured.  His sincerity made my eyes water even more.  “I’m too afraid I could lose you.”

“I don’t understand.”

He sighed, contemplating something in his head.  Suddenly his face went blank.  He lowered our hands from my face and turned in his seat to start the car.  Quickly taking his hand away from mine to start the car, he pulled back onto the highway.  He reached for my hand again, but I pulled it away. 

“Can’t I hold your hand?”

“No.”

Chapter 7

The rest of the car ride was silent.  Surprisingly my phone didn’t go off again.  With my luck, my mother would have called.  Tyler dropped me off at my condo, taking my bag from the trunk of his car and walked me to the elevator.  I couldn’t even look at him. 

“I can take it from here.  Thanks for the ride,” I grumbled.

“Of course,” he said quickly. “Have a good weekend.”

“Yeah, you too,” I muttered.

The second I walked in the door Jamie greeted me with a glass of wine.  I took it gratefully and dropped my bag on the floor.

“I don’t know about you, but Florida is looking more and more tempting to run back to,” Jamie said, taking a swig of her wine.

I laughed for the first time all day.  “Yeah, I might have to agree with you.  Working, successful men are way more complicated than club man whores.”

“So I take it the lovely Tyler came along on your trip?”

“Yep.”  I gulped my wine.

“And…?”

“And… he is a bigger basket case then I am.  God Jamie, he is so confusing.  One minute he seems all into me then the next he is distant.  He told me we wouldn’t work out, but then wanted to hold my hand the whole way home,” I said into my wine.

“Hold your hand?  What is he 14?” She squinted.

“Yeah, he may want to hold hands a lot, but he is one hell of a kisser,” it escaped my mouth before I could stop it. 

“Wait, you kissed him?!” She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the couch, urging me to continue on.

I took another large swig of my wine.  Boy did it taste good.  “Yeah, we walked on the beach to the pier last night.  We sat out under the moon and talked then I reached for his hand and he freaked out at first.  But then he jumped up and grabbed my hand, quite tightly.” I drank more wine. “It was like he was holding onto me for dear life, like someone was going to push him off the pier or something.  Anyway, we got back to the hotel, he kissed me hardcore, but didn’t touch me.  He just held my hands.  It was kind of hot actually.”

“What is so difficult about this?” Jamie asked with a puzzled face.

“He freaked out when he saw someone come out of the hotel.  He is clearly ashamed to be seen with me.”

Jamie rolled her eyes at me. “Well, he is your boss.  That could look really bad.”  I hadn’t even thought of that.  But he never said anything about work, just about his family.

“Well then he lied to his brother about even being with me last night.  He said it right in front of me!” I was pissed now.  The wine was helping me to release my real emotions.

“Again, he works with his brother right?  Maybe you should just give him some time… you know get used to the fact of seeing someone from his office.”

Was she really taking his side?  “Jamie, it’s not going to work.  I should just stop thinking about it.”  But I couldn’t; he was constantly running through my mind.

“Well, then I will temporarily change the subject.  We are going out tomorrow night, like old times!” She perked up.  I gave her a glare.  We weren’t going to be who we were in Florida.

“Not exactly like old times, but I want to go out.  Remember a guy from my work invited us to go to The B.O.B tomorrow night?  He said it is the best bar.”

I rolled my eyes.  My father owned that bar.  “I don’t know Jay Rae…”

“Oh come on Bec, don’t make me go by myself!  We could have an awesome time!  Let’s just go dance.  We both know that was the best part of going out.  And, I have not gotten a really good buzz in a long time.  Besides, you already said you would go,” she whined.

I raised my glass.  “What’s wrong with tonight?”

She giggled.  “Why not both nights?”

I giggled with her.  “Oh what the hell, why not? Let’s have some fun tomorrow.”

“That’s the spirit!  I’m glad I made reservations at the spa for tomorrow morning!” she said, rubbing her hands between the stem of her wine glass.

I smirked.  The wine was getting to me, and I was more than happy to get lost in it.

~

I woke with a startle to Jamie sprawled out next to me.  She had jumped on my bed.  “Time to get up and get sexy!” she teased.

“What time is it?” I groaned.

“7:30am, our appointments start at 8:15am.”

“Why are we getting up so early?  What all did you schedule for us anyway?” I grumbled.

She picked at her nails, “Oh the usual, manicures, pedicures, massages, hair, waxing…” Her voice trailed off.

My eyes widened.  “What kind of waxing, Jamie…”

She rolled her eyes at me.  “Becca, it’s been at least two months since we both have had a Brazilian.  I don’t know about you, but I’m due for some maintenance down there.” 

I pursed my lips at her.  So what if it had been a while?  Not like I was planning on any visitors down there.  Not like I was ever into that anyway.  I’d be mortified whenever Connor would try, and I was way too self-conscious.  I would constantly worry about what he was thinking or if he was enjoying it.  After the first few times he just shrugged and never tried again.  Then I assumed he didn’t enjoy it and something was wrong with me.  I had no intention of ever letting a man go down there again, no matter how good it might feel.

“Oh, come on, Becca,” she exclaimed.  “You know you’ll feel better when it’s cleaned up down there!”

I blew out air and slowly stood up.  “Come on let’s get going.”

~

We took Jamie’s jeep to Tanaz Day Spa.  They greeted us warmly with our gowns and asked us what type of drinks we would like.  It was all a bit much, and it was everything I had grown up with.  The owner knew who I was.  My mother had taken me here plenty of times.  She was very friendly and greeted me warmly.  She even commented on my weight loss,
how nice of her
.

The pampering was going to be six hours long, and started out with our manicures and pedicures.  Jamie was telling me all about the real reason why we were going out tonight.  I guess she had been flirting with this guy, Sean, that she worked with, and he was the one who invited her.  She was hoping to get to know him a little better tonight.  I reminded her we weren’t going to do that anymore.  Jamie rolled her eyes at me and said, “I said I wasn’t going to have anymore one night stands.  I know him, and I would like to have multiple nights with him.” I laughed at her honesty.

Once we were done with our hands and feet, we went to get our massages and waxing done.  The waxing was just as horrible as always.  It wasn’t as painful as usual, but it was still awkward.  I hated it when the lady doing it would try to hold a conversation at the same time.  It’s like, really lady?  Your hand is on my cooter, can we not talk about your two year old?

Once we were massaged and waxed, we got our hair and makeup done.  The makeup specialist asked what look I was going for, and Jamie piped up, “Fuck-me eyes.”  The specialist smirked, and I rolled my eyes as if to say, why not. 

We left feeling pampered and relaxed.  My hair had fresh blonde highlights, dark low lights, and  nice clean swoop bangs.  It was still long.  Jamie convinced me to have it curled, so again, I went with it.  My makeup was dark and sexy, my nails and toes were a simple French manicure, and my skin felt fresh and renewed.  I would be lying if I said I was annoyed Jamie made me go.

We decided to shop downtown at a few small designer stores to find a perfect outfit to go out in.  Jamie decided on a cute red top that showed a lot of cleavage.  She was going to need to tape it to her boobs so they wouldn’t fly out.  She found a long gold chain and bracelet that looked gorgeous with her caramel hair.  She had fire engine red heels that would look awesome with her new shirt.  We both decided on our studded Silver jeans.  We never wore skirts out.  That was just asking for trouble while on the dance floor. 

“Oh Becca, this is gorgeous! It would look so hot with your complexion!” Jamie had found a white sleeveless shirt that had bronze and gold dull jewels outlining the straps and down into the V-slit over where my cleavage would show.  I didn’t have a whole lot to begin with. 

“My boobs would not make this,” I said shyly to her. 

Jamie shook her head.  “Your hot pink push up bra does wonders!  Go out on a limb.  This would be so sexy with your big curls.  Please, let’s just buy it!”

I looked at the shirt one more time, and again said, “What the hell,” and bought it.

~

Jamie was right.  My hot pink push up bra did work wonders.  I hadn’t worn it in a while, and I forgot the wonders it could do.  I decided to wear flats. Jamie shook her head at me and scoffed, but I was putting my foot down on this one.  I always wore flats out.  I knew I would be drinking and walking home in six inch heels would not be fun.

Once we were all dressed, we went into the kitchen and took a few shots.  Jamie’s phone chirped, and it was a text from Sean.  She squealed.  “He is at The B.O.B, wondering where I am!  Oh my gosh!  I’m so excited!  Let’s go!”

I smiled at her excitedly and then thought about Tyler.  It had been such a good girl's day that I hadn’t thought about him at all until now.  I secretly wished things between us would be different.  I hid my disappointment and became excited with Jamie.  She deserved this; she left everything for me. 

We took a cab and headed to The B.O.B.  I was praying the whole way there that no one would recognize me.  I didn’t want any special treatment.  I just wanted to have fun with my friend, who would soon ditch me for a guy.  It was okay though, I was doing this for her, and she wouldn’t completely ditch me.  I’m sure I would have to take a cab home by myself.  Maybe I would walk home?  It would allow me time to get some fresh air.  Maybe I could finally wrap my head around my crazy life.

We got to The B.O.B and gave the bouncer our IDs.  I was hoping to God he would only look at my birthday and not my name.  He must not have noticed my name and let us in.  Jamie scanned the crowd and grabbed my wrist.  “There he is!” she yelled in my ear over the loud music.  We walked around the bar and past the dance floor to the VIP section.  Their whole office had booked it for Sean’s birthday.  There were fancy lights and lasers everywhere.  The go-go dancers were working it hardcore on their stands, and the dance floor was crowded with young adults.

I instantly knew who Sean was.  He screamed Jamie’s type.  He was very tall and thin, and had sandy blonde hair and a huge white smile.  His skin was tan, and he was holding a beer bottle.  His face lit up when he noticed Jamie.  She was going to get what she wanted tonight, I could already tell.

“I’m so glad you could make it!  Hi, I’m Sean,” he said, putting his hand out to me.  I shook it and introduced myself.  Jamie stood right next to him with her sexy smirk.  

“What would you ladies like to drink?” he said smiling, waving their waitress over.

“How about a couple birthday blow jobs to start?  Then some long islands, does that sound good?” she flirted. 

Sean’s eyes widened along with his grin.  “Sounds great.”  He couldn’t take his eyes off her.  I might lose my friend sooner than I thought.

We all took the blow job shot then sipped on our long islands.  I already had a decent buzz from the few shots we took at home.  I wouldn’t be able to have too many more long islands or else I would be sleeping on the dance floor soon.  I hadn’t eaten that much today, and that was going to take a toll on how much I’d be drinking.  Jamie quickly grabbed my hand and pulled me to the dance floor. 

If I hadn’t been drinking, there would be no way I’d be dancing with all of these people around, but I was getting to the point where my lips were tingling.  We danced and laughed with each other to the latest Britney song.  I totally forgot about everything as I swayed my hips freely with my best friend, until I opened my eyes and looked up to the second floor.  There he was, beautiful as can be, drinking a beer and talking with another man.  Tyler was at the club.  I froze.   Jamie noticed my lack of movement and followed my eyes.  A slow smirk came across her face as she saw Tyler’s eyes lock with mine.

“Well, well, well if it isn’t Mr. Tyler Conklin… if he is going to stare, we might as well give him a show,” she whispered in my ear, very seductively.  She must have recognized him from the pictures on the website she caught me gawking at the other night.  I smirked as I felt her rub up slowly behind me.  We knew what we were doing.  It always worked.  I kept my eyes on him, hoping they were burning into him the way his always did to me.  A few guys came up to us, trying to join us.  Tyler’s stare was smoldering when he saw one of the men put his hand on my hip.  I gently pushed him back and turned into Jamie.  She had a guy trying to rub behind her.  Normally we wouldn’t mind, but there were other hands we both wanted on us.  We quickly left and went to the bar.  The two guys shrugged and went to find other girls.  We both ordered another drink and waited at the bar.