Sapphire Universe (22 page)

“Thank you so much girl!  I don’t know what I’d do without you!”  I hear the front door creak open and throw Lo a look as she quickly throws the notebook in her bag and we act as though we are doing nothing other than having girl talk while drinking margaritas.  Connor walks through the living room to the kitchen and gives me a quick kiss. 

“Hi Princess.  Hey Lola,
what are you two up to?”  He asks as he picks up my drink to look inside then set it back down.  “Is that tequila I smell?”

I smile and slurp some of the frozen drink through my straw and Connor just chuckles.  “Well if you can’t beat em.”  He reaches into the cabinet and grabs a glass.  Lo suddenly gets the “light bulb!” look on her face and
within seconds it turns into a Cheshire cat grin. 

“So
, Connor.”  Lo says nonchalantly, after finishing off her drink.  “What’s the status in New York?”  Connor gets this serious look on his face and I can tell he thinks she’s referring to the Maxwell Holden situation.  I’m not sure where she was going with it either, but I haven’t mentioned it to her yet. “Do you have to sell your place or anything like that?”

“Oh.  No my old roommate just had to find someone to move in with him.  It sounds like he hates the guy so far but I didn’t really have to do anything.  I brought most of my stuff with me and told him
to sell the rest.”  Connor replies easily, looking relieved.

“Were you and your roomie good friends?”  Lo asks and it hits me what she’s doing.  My best friend is a freaking genius.

“Yea we’ve been friends since college.  I actually kind of miss the big jerk.  Nick isn’t like anyone you’ve ever met before.  He always says exactly what he’s thinking and he’s actually kind of deep for a guy.  I think it’s from listening to all those drunken tales of heartbreak at the bar.”  Connor says looking into space for a moment with a small smile on his face. 

“Oh
, so Nick’s a bartender?”  I ask putting two and two together. 

“Sort of.  There’s a little more to it than that.  Nick has his Cicerone certification and he’s really knowledgeable about beer and liquor.  He’s a really popular bartender in New York because of it.”

“Oh that sounds interesting.”  I say, trying to be enthusiastic.  I’m sure it is, but honestly I just drink the stuff.  I know nothing about alcohol except for what it tastes like and what it does to me.  Connor doesn’t fall for my act and just laughs at me.

“Yea it’s definitely an unconventional interest but he’s good at what he does.”

“Do you have many more friends in New York?”  I ask going right along with Lo’s line of questioning. 

“A few but I worked a lot and didn’t go out much so Nick was really the only one that I saw o
n a regular basis.”  Connor answers, taking a drink of his margarita.  “Okay enough about New York.  How are things going with Drake Lo?”  Connor directs at my friend who has suddenly clammed up.

“Nothing really to tell.  We aren’t to
gether.  Just friends.”  Lo mutters without taking her eyes off of her drink. 

Connor and I exchange knowing
looks.  “I know what you mean.”

Lo doesn’t stay very long after that and I wonder if maybe Connor’s question about Drake ran her off. 
I sit in bed and listen for the sound of the shower turning on before I reach for Connor’s phone and click on his contacts to search for a Nick.  I come across a Nicholas and it’s the only name close enough to be the Nick that Connor was referring to.  Under his name there are three logged calls in the last month, but before that there were a few per day.  I quickly type the number into my phone and set Connor’s back where it was.  I decide to call him tomorrow, strip off all my clothes and join my man in the shower.

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CHAPTER 12

The next day Connor once again occupies all my time, not that I’m complaining, but it makes it difficult for me to get away to call Nick.  At some point during the
day I come up with a plan to take Samson for a walk as my cover for calling Nick to invite him to Connor’s birthday.  As soon as we get home from our movie I walk to the back door and let Samson in.  Connor makes us the usual cup of coffee and cider while I change out of my date clothes and into something more comfortable. 

“Thanks baby.”  I say giving Connor a kiss on the cheek before taking a drink of my cider. 

“Mmmm I love it when you call me baby.  And I
really
love it when you wear yoga pants.”  He says with the familiar gleam in his eye.

I know that look and there is no way I will be making that phone call
if I don’t get out of the house and fast.  “I think I’m going to take Samson for a walk.  He doesn’t get out enough and I feel bad.”  I pretend I don’t notice “the look” and set my mug in the sink 

Connor frowns at me for a second and then just smiles and nods.  “Okay Princess I suppose that’s a good idea.  Don’t go too far though okay?” 

“I won’t!  I call to him as I grab the leash from the hall closet, open the front door and whistle at Sam to follow.

After walking a safe distance from the house I click on
Nick’s number and press send.  “Go,” is the way he answers, completely throwing me off.  I pull the phone from my head briefly and look at the screen then put it back to my ear. 

“Hello?  Um, is this Nick?”

“You don’t know who you called?”  He asks sounding slightly annoyed.

“Well I was trying to get a hold of my boyfriend’s friend Nick
.”  Now I sound annoyed, but I can’t help it.  I don’t like being taken off guard.

“Oh Jeez. Alright babe who’s your boyfriend?”  He asks as though having other guys girlfriends call him is an everyday thing.

“Connor Wright.” 

“Connor
Wright?”  He repeats back to me incredulously.

“You don’t recognize the nam
e of your best friend?”  One small laugh is all that acknowledges my attempt at sarcasm, but he drops the attitude immediately.

“Touché!  What’s your name?”

“Nina Ryan.  I live with Connor in Wyoming.  This
is
Nick right?  You still haven’t told me.” 

“Yea this is Nick. So you’re the girl Connor’s been acting like a dufis over.  Huh?  Well, Nina Ryan.  What can I do for you?”  This is the strangest conversation I have ever had, but for some reason the fact that Connor wou
ld be friends with someone this…unique, makes perfect sense.  He is dating me after all.

“Well, Nick.”  I repeat back to him and he laughs
that single guffaw again.  “I’m sure you already know that Connor's birthday is this Saturday and I’m throwing him a party.  I know its short notice but I wanted to see if there was any way you would be able to make it out to Cheyenne for it.”

“No shit.  Connor’s letting you throw a party?  You must be something special.  Saturday?”  It’s quiet for a couple of seconds before he speaks again.  “Oh what the hell.  I’m due for a vacation anyway
. I can probably come up for the weekend.  Where is it at?” 

“If you just email me your flight info
, I can have someone come pick you up.”  I’m so excited, but I don’t think Nick would appreciate my squealing in his ear so I suppress the urge.  I’m waiting for his reply when I look over and see Samson frolicking in the snow, his whole head covered in white.  The giggle bubbles over before I can suppress it and Nick curses softly on the other line.

“No wonder he’s lost his mind.
”  He mutters and I don’t question it.  Something tells me I wouldn’t get any answers out of him anyway.  “Alright Nina.  I’ll book my flight today and send you the info.  Do you know who you’ll be sending to pick me up?”  I think about that for a second, before deciding on the possible candidates. 

“Um, either my friend L
ola or Connor’s cousin Toni.”  Nick chokes on something on the other end and then recovers. 

“Don’t worry about it.  I can give Toni a call.  She and I go way back.
”  That makes sense.  Of course Connor’s best friend would know his family.  “Will Joseph be with her?”  He asks.

“Joseph?  Is that her
ex-husband?  I don’t think so.”  I’ve never really met the man, but Connor has made his feelings on the man pretty clear. The line is suddenly hissing with Nick’s intake of breath and another muffled curse.

“Alright then.  Thanks Nina.  Take care of my boy will ya.”  He says and
with no goodbye or parting words, the line cuts out.

I look over at Samson and put my phone back in my pocket.  “That was the weirdest conversation of my life Samson.  I have a feeling this party will be very interesting.”  Samson is way more interested in the snow and random birds walking around picking at the ground than our conversation.  We start walking a little further and Samson bounds over to the other side of the road and a little ways up the hill.  I should probably call him back and put the leash on him
, but the road is abandoned and it’s so open out here. I don’t have the heart to ruin his fun when I can’t see any real danger in it.

I start to make my way further up the hill towards Samson
a few minutes later so I can start leading him back home.  I call for him a few times before I see him start to run towards me from the other side of the hill.  He stops a few yards from me and starts to jump into the snow sneezing when it gets stuck in his nose and hopping around like a little puppy.  I’m laughing so hard at his little game, that I don’t hear the car coming up the road.  Just as the car crests the hill, I see it out of the corner of my eye and try to call Samson across the street.  Samson starts to run just as the car approaches him.  In slow motion the scene plays out before me as the brakes scream and Samson yelps.  I just start running.

  “Samson!”  I yell and rush over just as the car starts to break.  I hear tires squealing and my heart is pounding. 
Please don’t hit him, please don’t hit him, please don’t hit him.
  The SUV swerves just in time and I bend down to wrap my arms around Samson’s neck to hug him tight to me and click the leash into place with shaky fingers. 

“Is he okay?’  I look up and see a burly man with a shaved head walking toward me from the vehicle that almost hit Sam.  He stops and looks down at me through his aviators and bends to pat Samson on the head
.  The hair on Sam’s back bristles and a growl sounds out low and menacing in his throat.  “Whoa easy there fella.  I’m not going to hurt you.” 

“He’s fine you didn’t hit him.”  I start to get nervous and stand a few feet away from him.  This is usually my reaction to being around strange men, proving how unique my
instant attraction to Connor was.

“Thank God.  I was worried there for a minute.  I’m Lucas.”  He puts his hand out and
I feel Sam’s fur brush against my legs as I look at it warily. 

“Nina.”  I say
, finally shaking his hand firmly.  I’m no sissy after all.  “It’s nice to meet you.”

“So Nina are you from around here?”

I nod.  “Born and raised.  Are you new to town?” 

“Sort of.  I’m here visiting an old friend.  I was wondering where someone might go out for a few drinks around here.”

“There is this country bar on Nationway.  You can’t miss it.  A lot of people go there on the weekends.” 

“Yourself included?”  He turns his lips up in what I suppose was meant to be a seductive smile.  Again
, I feel nothing.

“Yea my boyfriend and I have gone there a couple of times.”  I say pointedly. 

“Damn.  The cute ones are never single.  My loss.  Do you need a ride anywhere?”  He offers politely.

“No thanks, we’ll walk.”  And if my boyfriend sees you drop me off
, he’ll kick your beef cake ass.

“Okay, have a nice day Nina.”  He turns and
struts back to the car.  Samson tugs on the leash, pulling me away from the road and the dark SUV towards home

When I get to the house,
I open the door and stomp my feet on the mat to get the snow off of my boots and hang up my coat.  I close the door behind me and Connor comes running out of the bedroom with his cell phone up to his ear.  “Never mind Ma’am.  I found her.  Yes she just got home.  Thank you.  You too.”  He pockets his phone and crushes me to him.