Authors: Penny Reid
~*~
Anna Hamilton sighed impatiently. Her chiffon Gucci was making her stomach itch and the four-inch Armani heals were pinching her toes. She strained her neck towards the entrance, hoping to catch a glimpse of him- but he was nowhere in sight and she was getting tired of hodgepodging with the stiff rich. He was two hours late. He was never late.
An elderly woman dressed in a lavender pants suit approached her- she was wearing a thin, but polite, smile and carried her jewelry like she was born with it on. “Fabulous! Anna- What a success! Fabulous!”
Anna forced her very best interested smile and complimented the woman on her fabulous attire and her fabulous sense of style and her fabulous opal and diamond necklace and her obviously fabulous position in the social sphere. This had been the jist of her conversations the entire evening and her mind was on meltdown.
Where the hell was he?
~*~
Jake leaned against his bike, his black bow tie long ago loosen and his jacket hanging over the handle of his Harley. His arms were folded over his chest; he squinted at the all glass gallery across the street hoping to catch another glance of Anna. He had been on his way in when
he saw her- gorgeous in a black dress, her hair was gathered in a loose bun on the crown of her head. She was stunning… and she was embracing some hedge fund manager type with brown hair and too tan skin.
He stopped in his tracks and watched her- her face forced a smile as she politely listened to the society crowd. Only he could see the strain in her laugh. He was about to rescue her when a scruffy looking twenty something pulled her into an embrace and kissed her cheek. He stopped dead in his tracks and watched her laughter become lighter and more genuine, her smiles sincere.
And he left.
Well... he didn’t actually leave. He crossed 5th and leaned on his bike, biting his lip and berating himself for buying a tux. After a long while, he turned back to watch the scene play out in front of him: all those people in a glass enclosure. He smirked, they looked like fish: brightly colored, walking fishes with hair in their glass house.
He left the jacket on the handlebars, pulling his tie from the collar, and began a search for a hotdog stand, sparing one last glance at the aquarium. To his surprise, out of the corner of his eye he caught the very angry figure of Anna crossing the street- hands fisted at her sides as her arms motioned back and forth. She was staring directly at him.
He turned toward her and straightened, swallowing nervously and plunging his hands into the suit pockets. She jogged the last couple steps, the flowy fabric dusting over her shapely legs accentuated by the height of her heals.
She threw her hands up in the air- her mouth slightly agape and her countenance livid; “Where the hell have you been?” she threw out accusingly.
He stared at her blankly for a moment, trying not to picture what she was wearing underneath the thin dress. She waited for him to answer, her hands on her hips as she sauntered to stand directly in front of him.
“Jake?” Her eyes grew large and serious, “I was worried about you.”
His face softened and he looked away, biting his upper lip; “I was- I was here.”
She shook her head in exasperation, “Yeah, but you were supposed to be, “She pointed to the gallery with exaggeration, “over there.”
He studied her face and realized she was more relieved than upset; he leaned back on his bike- crossing his legs at his ankles- and cleared his throat, “I was over there…”
She took a step forward, placing a hand on the chopper, “Oh Jake… what am I going to do with you?” she tried to hide her smile.
He looked up at her sheepishly. She started to laugh softly as she reached for his hand, “Well, thank you for coming anyway.”
He allowed himself a small smile, “I’m sorry.”
She took his hand in both of hers and stepped so that her legs were on either side of his crossed ankles. She smiled at him- big and broad, “I’m just happy you’re ok. I was worried… and thank you for coming.”
Leaning forward she- unexpectedly- brushed a light kiss on his lips. His eyes widened in surprise and he blinked four times, his chest tightened allowing him only shallow breaths. On instinct, he brought his free hand up to the small of her back and ceased her retreat, gazing deeply into her downcast eyes. A red blush had taken over her cheeks and her ears- casting them in a dazzling rosy hue.
His heart was pounding in his ears and strumming in his throat at the same time. He pulled her forward and her body crashed into his. She let his hand drop and placed both hands on his shoulders, her eyes still lowered.
“Anna…” he whispered.
She raised her eyes to his and licked her lips, “Jake, I-”
“Ann!”
Anna turned her head over her shoulder, searching for the approaching voice. The same sandy haired youth that Jake had seen with Anna was quickly approaching, waving his hand in the air.
Anna pushed against Jake’s chest and- letting out a pained sigh- he released his hand from her waist and looked at his shoes, unable to raise his eyes.
“Anna! There you are!” The youth briskly walked to her position – a huge silly grin plastered over his visage.
Anna, clearing her throat, distanced herself from the bike- and Jake- smiling shakily at the approaching twenty something. “Devon! What are you doing out here? Shouldn’t you be inside selling your photographs?”
An excited smile nearly swallowed the entirety of his face, “I did! We are sold out! That last one was just bought by Mrs. Hems and she needs to speak with you about…” he trailed off, his gaze swinging over to Jake as the large man straightened to his full height and crossed his massive arms over his massive chest. Jake glared at the young man unabashedly.
The man-child called Devon swallowed and took a step backward, his eyes bouncing between Anna and the big man behind her, “I’m so sorry- did I interrupt something?”
“No!” She exclaimed a little too quickly. Jake gritted his teeth and looked away, focusing on the crosswalk sign. “I mean…” she turned around and held out a hand, indication Jake, “This is my good friend, Jake. Jake, this is Devon Spencer- this is his show tonight.” She explained, barely looking at him while she spoke.
Jake cleared his throat and straddled the chopper, tucking the tux coat into the container behind him and roared the engine to life. Anna did look at him then, her expression was mixed with confusion and panic. She opened her mouth to speak, but instead turned from him and began walking towards the gallery- Devon, after a brief and awkward wave goodbye, in tow.
Jake watched their departing forms, his chest tightening more and more as she disappeared. He released slow breath and pulled on his leather jacket. If he wasn’t certain before about what had to be done, he was most definitely certain now.
~*~
The Key
“Tell her I’m not here.”
Vergil gaped at him, his dark eyes lit by confusion, “But… it’s Anna.” He stated as though Jake either hadn’t heard him or understood him the first time.
Jake nodded and looked away, whispering, “I know.”
Vergil lowered the phone, his hand still covering the receiver. “Jake…” Vergil started to speak but couldn’t find any words. This was a first. This was the first time Jake had ever not taken a phone call from her let alone rejected it.
Whenever she called he would grab for the phone- unsuccessfully hiding anticipation. In fact, Anna Hamilton was the only person, place or thing that could break through the concrete fortress Jake Reid lived in.
“Hello?”
Jake closed his eyes at the sound of her voice- taking a deep breath; quickly recovering, he turned and walked out of the warehouse- as though not inviting temptation. Vergil could only stare after his retreating form.
Slowly, he brought the phone back to his ear, “Hey Anna, I can’t find him anywhere.”
“Oh…”
Vergil could hear the disappointment in her voice and he knitted his brows, frowning at his lie.
“Well, could you leave a message to have him call me?”
“Sure thing… bye Anna.”
~*~
Anna stared at the phone for a full minute- her brow creased. She knew he was there. What she didn’t know was why Vergil had lied about it. After the gallery opening she tried to call him, but he didn’t pick up his cell phone.
After two weeks she walked by his building- accidentally on purpose- hoping to catch him on his way home or on his way out. Finally- as a last resort- she called him at work. She never called him at work unless it was an emergency and he always took her calls- always and without fail.
She worried her lip, thinking back to the last time she saw him. She kissed him and now he was avoiding her. Granted, it was barely a kiss at all but still, she felt like a shmuck. Setting her jaw resolutely, she stalked to her office and grabbed her purse, tucking it under her arm. She needed to see him and explain…
Explain what?
Shaking her head furiously, she tried to still her chaotic thoughts. The feelings were unexpected and buried- buried from a long time ago.
She thought she was over her infatuation with him- months turned into years and she found she could be around him without thinking about stripping him naked every time he bent over the refrigerator to retrieve a beer. She honestly thought she was in a place where friendship was what she wanted… friendship… nothing more.
That’s what she thought… and any ideas to the contrary made her extremely nervous.
Key hunting wasn’t the same without him. She hoped he would find her key- that it would be a sign; a sign he felt the same way, or could feel the same way, about her. Looking for keys became depressing. If she found the key one her own did that mean she was destined to be in friendship hell with Jake for the rest of her life?
Better friendship hell than nothing at all.
Stepping into a taxi she directed the cabbie to their destination. She was not going to loose her best friend, not if she could bully him into taking her back.
~*~
“Hey Vergil.” Anna promenaded into the warehouse with quick steps- as stark contrast to her surroundings in knee high leather boots and a black mini-dress.
Vergil turned towards her voice- offering a genuine dimpled smile, “Anna....” He set the papers he had been reading on the top of a stack of coffee and sauntered to her, kissing her cheek as they met.
She offered him a small, anxious smile, “Is Jake here?” she was already scoping out his office and the warehouse, her eyes hunting for him.
Vergil watched the young woman as her eyes darted and scanned, his smile lost some of its naturalness. “How have you been?”
Her eyes suddenly flickered over his face, her brows drawing into a deep V. “Where is Jake, Vergil?”
Vergil sighed, and brought a hand up to rub over his face. “He doesn’t want to see you, Anna…” he spoke the words as though they pained him. “He left an hour ago for business and won’t be back for several weeks.”
She opened her mouth in shock, “What?” stuttering, her lashes fluttered, “But- but why?”
He shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know…” he responded sadly. Several workers entered the warehouse; Vergil and Anna turned in the direction of their chatter. Taking a deep breath, Vergil moved toward the offices, gesturing for her to follow. She felt the sting of tears behind her eyes and bit her lower lip to still her chin.
He closed the door and led her to a chair in front of his desk. Instead of taking a seat behind the big table, he sat next to her- his hand loosely covering his mouth as he rested his face against his fingers.
She turned her sad doe eyes to his, searched his face for a clue; “Did he say anything?” she was almost afraid of his answer.
He shook his head silently then- more to himself- said, “I don’t know what is going on with him…” He looked up and studied her face, “I was hoping you could tell me.”
She let out a shaky breath and shook her head, speechless.
~*~
Jake was finally getting used to the tropical weather. He was considerably tanner and his hair had bleached out with the sun. He would have looked positively healthy if he hadn’t lost so much weight. He couldn’t help it. He didn’t like the taste of anything- it was all either too bland or… too bland.
Everything- even in the middle of the Caribbean ocean- reminded him of Anna. There was a small art gallery in the middle of town; his first thought was: I should take Anna here. He was constantly correcting himself, constantly driving thoughts of her from his mind, constantly waking up in the middle of the night- swearing he smelled her perfume- that she was in the room with him.
After the third month he thought the pain would have faded, the longing and need would have subsided. Instead, every time he saw something beautiful it was like a reopened wound. Walking home from the local dive- having decided to drown his worries for an afternoon- he accidentally crashed into a street vendor’s supply; once neatly laid out on a blanket, it was now a jumbled mess.
He offered profuse apologies to the old woman; she merely gave him a dirty look and pushed him off her blanket. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a substantial wad of cash- forcing it into the woman’s hand.