What Happens Tomorrow (3 page)

Warm tears cascade down my cheeks as a deep sob escapes my throat before I can stop it. I quickly cover my mouth with my hands, trying to muffle the sound from Tyler.

“I don’t know what happened in your past to make you pull away from me, but I promise I’ll never hurt you.”

I believe his words. I do. But I’m not strong enough to let him in. My heart has only begun to heal and I can’t risk it. What if it doesn’t work out between us? What if I lose him completely?

After what feels like an eternity, I hear another faint knock at my door and the sound of his hand slowly sliding down the smooth wood.

“Please talk to me. Please tell me what happened.”

His whispered plea nearly guts me. I want so badly to be able to tell him. Can I do this? Can I let him into my heart?

I will myself up off of the floor. I can’t sit here all night avoiding him. I nervously reach for the door handle and open the door. Tyler is sitting on the floor, his back and head resting against the wall. He looks up at me, his beautiful blue eyes full of anguish.

I hate that I am the cause of his pain.

“I didn’t think you’d ever come out,” he says quietly as I take a seat on the floor beside him. As if sensing my despair, Charlie comes bounding down the hallway and leaps onto my lap. My little protector—always. I breathe in a deep breath, trying to settle my nerves, but it doesn’t help.

Breathe, Brooke. It’ll be okay.

“I-I….” I close my eyes and pause for a moment, trying to compose my thoughts. “You’re right. I do feel it,” I confess, unable to look at him for fear of letting go of my composure. “But I don’t know what to do…I’m scared.”
Damn it, the tears are back.

He reaches over, tenderly wiping away a rogue tear from my chin with the pad of his thumb. His touch makes me want to climb onto his lap and curl up into the safety of his arms. “You don’t have to do a thing. Just be you, that’s all. I meant what I said…I’ll never hurt you.”

I breathe in deeply, then slowly exhale as I rest my head on his shoulder. We sit quietly for a long time before I finally lift my head from the comfort of his shoulder.

“Tyler...” I whisper.

“Shhh…don’t say a word. You don’t need to say another word tonight.” He gets up off the floor, then reaches his hand out for mine and I grip onto it for dear life as he pulls me up from the floor. “I’m gonna go home and give you some space,” he whispers, kissing my forehead. “Don’t worry, I’m not giving up on you…on us. I can’t.” He tilts my chin making me look into his eyes “I’m giving you some space…some time to think, okay? We’ll talk later.”

He takes my hand and leads me down the hallway to the front door. I don’t want to let him go, but I’m terrified to ask him to stay.

He opens the door, still gazing intently into my eyes. “Get some sleep, Brooke.” I nod, lowering my head to look at my feet. I realize I’m being a coward by not talking to him, but I can’t. I’ve never been good at confrontation.

Grasping my face gently in his hands, he reverently kisses my forehead, leaving his lips to linger for a moment. My legs tremble as he turns and walks out into the courtyard. I close and lock the door behind him.

What just happened?

THREE YEARS AGO my life was a complete mess. I’d come home early from work one night to find my fiancee in the shower, her hands splayed against the wet tile as she was being pounded hard from behind…by my brother.

My own fucking asshole brother!

I still can’t believe it sometimes. I really thought I loved her, but enough time has passed that I now realize I was simply in love with the idea of love and that she was nothing more than a cold, heartless, gold digging bitch.

That was also the last time I spoke to my brother. He never could keep his dick in his pants, but fucking your brother’s fiancee?

Unforgivable.

As far as I am concerned, my brother is as good as dead.

Cardinal rule…Don’t fuck with family.

It’s funny how your life can change when you least expect it. I remember the day Brooke came crashing into my world… literally.

I was running late for a meeting with a very important client and needed a clear head, so I figured a caffeine fix was definitely in order. I remember her lush, chestnut waves floating past me as she quickly rushed towards the counter to order.

I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.

She was chewing on her bottom lip as she waited patiently for her coffee. I wondered what that bottom lip would taste like. But as I stared into her sad brown eyes I wondered what could have happened to make this beautiful woman look so lost.

I looked down at her hand, searching for evidence of a ring. Nothing. Why in the hell was I even looking? I had no time for a woman in my life. I had just moved into a new apartment building and was recently promoted to project manager for my firm, working a shit load of hours. I needed to focus on my career. This was what was important in my life now.

I glanced down at my watch and panicked when I realized the time. “Shit, I’m fucking late.” I quickly popped the lid onto my coffee and turned to walk out the door when something, or should I say
someone
, slammed into me.

Fuck!

When I looked up I was rewarded by the angelic face of the lost girl who stole my thoughts only a few minutes earlier. She was even more captivating up close.

Beautiful.

She apologized profusely for the accident as I tried to assure her I was okay. It stung like a son-of-a-bitch, but she didn’t need to know that. I’d live. She leaned over toward the condiment counter to grab some napkins and all I could smell was coco butter. Mmmm. She smelled like sunshine and the beach.

I glanced at my watch again. Damn. I was really late now. This was a major client, and if I didn’t make this meeting, my boss would have my balls. I made a mental note to come back tomorrow at the same time, hoping I’d run into her again.

Imagine my surprise when I caught a glimpse of my mystery woman walking through the courtyard of my building. I watched as she unlocked the door of one of the lower apartments. Why had I never seen her before? I took this as a sign and decided to grow a pair and ask this beauty, who had stolen my thoughts for the better part of the afternoon, if she’d like to grab a coffee.

The rest is history.

We’ve been pretty close since that day. Brooke might appear to be always smiling, but her eyes tell me it’s a lie. That she’s hiding something.

Sorrow.

I don’t have many guy friends that I hang out with anymore. Most got married and started families or moved away. We aren’t young anymore. Hell, I’m nearly thirty-four. But I look forward to my weekends spent with Brooke. She’s down-to-earth and very easy to talk to. We have a lot of fun together and the more I get to know her, the more I want her.

Bad.

We’ll be curled up together watching a movie, and I want to wrap my arms around her and kiss the hell out of her beautiful plump lips. I think she feels it too, but I’m scared to tell her. I might lose her and I can’t risk that.

Not for me, and certainly not for her.

I remember the last time the singles from our complex got together. Todd Jones, the arrogant prick who lives across the hall from me, told me how he planned on getting into Brooke’s pants. It seriously took every ounce of strength I had not to slam his face into a fucking wall. He had no idea who she was, and didn’t know the first damn thing about her. Truthfully, neither did I, but I knew she needed support and friendship. Not some dickwad looking for a quick lay.

In the year we’ve been hanging out, I’ve never seen her with a guy.

Hope.

I’m holding on to that as a sign. A sign that there might be a chance for us eventually. I need her to know how I feel before that asshole Jones tries to get into her pants and my ass ends up in jail for beating him to death.

NOTHING LIKE THE sound of a ringing telephone to wake you from a deep sleep.
Who in the hell could be calling me at this time of the morning?
I roll over and look at the alarm clock.

8:25am

It’s Saturday morning for goodness sake. Everyone I know is either sleeping or at work.

What if it’s Tyler?

What do I say?

My heart stops beating for a moment as I cautiously pick up the phone and look at the caller ID.

Jenna.

I answer but before I have a chance to say hello I hear, “Brooke, you lazy ass. Get your butt out of bed because I’m taking you for breakfast.”

“Were you out drinking all night because you must still be drunk. It’s after eight on a Saturday morning. All the normal people are still sleeping! Why are you calling me?” I snap.

I hear her laughing at me on the other end of the line. “No, I’m not drunk. Come on...get up and let’s go for breakfast. I really want to hang out with my best friend today.”

We haven’t spent much time together lately. Jenna works two jobs and her shifts are constantly changing, plus she recently started seeing a musician named Jasper. He seems like a pretty decent guy because Jenna never stops talking about him, something she hasn’t done since I’ve met her.

“All right, all right. How can I argue with that? Some girl time would definitely be nice. Just give me a bit to get ready, okay?” I don’t even know why I ask. She’ll be over here in twenty minutes whether I’m ready to go or not.

“See you soon, bestie!”

As much as she can drive me completely crazy, I love her to death.

I hang up the phone and quickly hop in the shower. I feel the tension leave my body as the warm water cascades down my back. It feels heavenly, but my thoughts are flooded with Tyler and last night’s kiss. I replay it over and over in my mind as I gently run a fingertip across my lips, I close my eyes and try to remember how warm and tender his lips felt against mine. A sigh escapes my lips as I wonder how the kiss would have felt if I hadn't pulled away.

Waking from my daydream, I feel the enormity of what happened last night. I pray that the noise from the water raining down on me will drown out the thoughts. But it doesn't.

What the hell am I going to do?