Riley Mackenzie - Beautifully Done

Shaking his head he continued to laugh. “Exactly my point … is there a hot nurse in this hospital you haven’t bagged? Don’t answer that. Just be ready to get your ass kicked. Gym at seven?”

I grinned and stood up to leave. “My only tip, pay attention. You wouldn’t want to miss the cup and waste your load. Dude, they’ll make you come back. Then you’d have to explain to Lil how you got distracted over some hot piece of ass in this month’s Playboy.” And with that I left. A string of expletives followed me down the hall.

I stepped onto the elevator and tapped a quick text.

Tear it up?

Yup.

Jealous.

Whatcha doing now?

Showering...

Alone?

Perv.

She thought I was joking. I wasn’t. Sure, I was jealous she got to mountain bike all year long, but the fact she was dripping wet and someone other than me might be enjoying the show, yeah, that thought made me crazy. That was one opportunity, if ever given the chance, I would never take for granted. Friends shower together, right? And there lied my problem—over the last few weeks I had become a jealous loser. Even though she told me straight out that the douche was a non-issue, I couldn’t seem to shake an overwhelming and completely foreign sense of jealousy bubbling deep in my gut. I wasn’t that guy. Never was and sure as shit never thought I could be.

I needed a plan to fix that. We had two lives. Two very separate, very different, very established lives. This was me contemplating a merge, aka, relationship. Since that word ceased to exist for me I needed to pull out a dictionary and read that definition. But the bigger question was would she even want that, or was she content with the friendship we had going?

The elevator doors opened to a sea of grey concrete. Sort of fit my mood. Dark and depressing.

“Asher? Why are you here?” Lili snapped me out of my fog as she closed her car door. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah fine—board meeting. More importantly, I just left your other half taking care of business as we speak.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head, making me chuckle.

“Hey, don’t blush on my account.”

“Shut it, Asher. I can’t believe he told you. This sucks. I wish he didn’t have to do this.”

“I’m sure he’s making the best of it,” I said through a smirk. One she luckily missed, distracted by digging in the bottomless pit of a bag hanging from her arm. Talia’s wristlet thingy looked that much more sexy.

“I’m actually glad he told you, though. I hate when he bottles stuff up.” Unfortunately she knew that shit firsthand. “I wanted us to get pregnant and stay pregnant on our own so bad. Between my first miscarriage and emergency surgery after my accident, and then this last miscarriage, I think my body is just plain screwed up. I’m sad and discouraged and I shouldn’t be either because there are so many people so much worse off than me … ugh, sorry, I’m venting.”

“Lil, you had another miscarriage?”

Her blue eyes filled with tears. “Crap. I just figured he told you…”

“Come here.” I hugged her. “Everything will work out, you have to believe that. Promise me you’re not dwelling on what you have no control over. This is the time to live for the moment. You and Chase have been through so much, you deserve to enjoy your life.” Figured I should push my motto. What the hell did I know about any of this? I could only hope and pray a baby was in their future.

I fingered a loose tear sliding down her cheek. “Hey, I haven’t even seen you since you’ve been back. And I know this unnecessary stress sucks, but how was the honeymoon? Looks like it agreed with you, you’re gorgeous as always.”

“Thanks, Ash. You always make me feel better. It was awesome. You know Chase, a total perfectionist. It was insanely romantic and absolutely beautiful.” Her lips turned up through her glistening eyes.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less, you know what they say about surgeons…”

“No detail goes left unturned, ya think?” She finished my thought and we laughed.

Chase was so fortunate to have found Lili. She was just plain awesome.

“Listen, I’ve got an appointment in a few, I’ve got to run.” She pecked my cheek and walked up to the parking garage elevator. Pushing the button she looked over her shoulder and continued, “Let’s plan something. You around the Wednesday before Thanksgiving? Sierra and Dodd will be in town—we were talking about dinner and drinks.”

“Sounds great, count me in.”

She smiled and stepped inside the elevator. “Bring a date,” she yelled before she disappeared between the closing doors.

Lil anticipated my answer, that’s why she waited until the last minute to throw it out there. Random social and work functions, absolutely. I loved the company of a beautiful woman. Close friends and family events, rarely. That’s why I always got harassed. But it worked. I’ve been satisfied and content for the last twenty years. So when those elevator doors shut and Talia was my only thought, I felt my boat rock. Damn, up until now I was lucky if I thought about a woman longer than it took to get her in my bed. Here I was obsessing about a woman, someone I’ve known a good portion of my life, have yet to kiss, let alone share a bed with, and I was completely undone.

“Hi Ace.”

I missed her voice. Texting, even if it was twice a day, wasn’t the same.

“Hey, you. How was your day?”

“Busy, you know popping zits, dermabrasions, a little Botox. Oh and when I have a little extra time, saving a couple of lives here and there. Ever heard of those pesky little skin cancers?”

“You know I’m just teasing. Without you we wouldn’t be able to bake in the sun, apply those browning oils, and bust out the tinfoil.”

“Asher!” She snapped.

“I’m kidding, kidding. You know I think you’re awesome.”

“Yeah well, thanks, I think.” It was hard to hear her through the blaring music in the background.

“Damn, Tal, that shit’s loud. You trying to blow an eardrum?” The girl still loved music. Sweet.

“Oh sorry, hold on a second.” And then dead silence. She totally muted our call. “It was a neighbor. I’m constantly telling them to turn it down.” Liar. “Better, right? So what are your plans for Thanksgiving?” I debated calling her on the music bit, but was content enough knowing Dr. Pryce and TP were still one and the same. Or so I hoped. I couldn’t let my mind wander to any more scenarios that fueled my green-eyed absurdity.

“Heading out East. Maggie would never go a single holiday without cooking a feast. What about you? Your mom still in New York?”

“Not anymore, she passed away a couple of years ago. Had a massive heart attack. I’d say it took us by surprise but it really didn’t. Even though my parents were divorced, she never really stopped loving him. After he died she let herself go—overweight, high blood pressure, high cholesterol—the perfect setup for heart disease.”

“Teeps, I’m so sorry. I had no idea. I heard your dad had passed and I tried to find you and send my condolences… ” She was so young to be alone.

“Thanks for that. It was tough for a while. A little lonely. You never realize growing up how important it is to have a sibling until both your parents have died. Fortunately, I’ve made a great group of friends over the years who have opened their doors and adopted me and … and don’t mind an extra guest around during the holidays.”

“It sucks I’ve missed so much of your life, Tal.”

“We’re working on changing that…” She perked up a bit.

“Well, you’re one lucky girl, getting out of cooking every year. Maggie’s got me trained for that damn kitchen. She’s got three daughters, yet she’s got her only son rolling out pie dough at eight in the morning.”

She laughed. “Asher in the kitchen. I need to see this.”

Did my completely delusional mind hear her correctly? She wanted me in a kitchen. Done. I’d fly in shrimp from Aruba and handpick oysters in Wellfleet to see her at my table sipping her bubbly and savoring each bite.

“Not so lucky, this year I’m in charge of making the turkey … sounds like I need some tips from the Master Chef.”

“Hey, I like that show, don’t make fun.”

“Listen, I’ll take whatever help I can get. Thanksgiving is two days away and I haven’t even bought a turkey yet. First on the list for tomorrow morning.”

“Nothing like waiting until the last minute.”

“Thanks for rubbing in my procrastination, Ace,” she sarcastically retorted. “But seriously, send your family my best. How are your parents?”

“Mom’s great, Dad’s becoming a little forgetful, nothing crazy yet.” Without saying it out loud she understood what I meant. She saw my grandfather mentally deteriorate and knew my uncle had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s too. “It’s been two years since his official diagnosis, seems all the meds are slowing it down.” I never talked about this shit. Ever. And over the phone, no less. I hated the forced rhetoric that always followed.

They might find a cure...

Just because three generations of Craig men died from it, doesn’t mean…

I’m so sorry.

I was relieved she didn’t go there. “That’s a good sign, it is. Getting old just sucks.”

“Isn’t that the truth.”

“That’s why we need to live for now. Period.”