It is my first day back in the office after taking a two week holiday. If boozing it up and pissing your eyes out can count as one. And I have just managed to do that again. Now Joelle expects me to face someone with bloodshot and swollen eyes.
As I rip the door open to politely ask this person to make an appointment, I am confronted with what I can only describe as the face of a ghost, well that is what it feels like.
Damon ~”My god Skye, it is you!”
Skye ~”Hello Damon.”
Damon ~”Come into my office please. I am so glad to see you. I need to talk to you. I just need to look at you. I can’t believe it is really you.”
I pull her by the hand into my office.
Damon ~”Joelle.”
Joelle ~”Yes Mr Chase?”
Damon ~”I don’t care if the building burns down, you do not disturb me.”
I close the door behind us and make sure to lock it.
Damon ~”Where have you been? I have been phoning and texting you like crazy.”
Skye ~”I had to get away, I had to clear my head and figure out what this is. It totally gutted me seeing you with Tajsa.”
Damon ~”I am so sorry, I was a complete dick for expecting you to sit there, especially with what happened before you got there.”
Skye ~”I really don’t think you boys think before you do something but in saying that neither did us girls either.”
Damon ~”Believe me I had to do some growing up while you were gone and I must say it was really not pretty.”
Skye ~”Damon I was a complete bitch, if you want to be with Tajsa then I will be happy for you, I can’t say that I am going to like it.”
Damon ~”Tajsa and me are over, it lasted a whole day, we are better being friends and the truth is that I am in love with you.”
Skye ~”Sorry just say that again.”
Damon ~”I said I am in love with you.”
Skye ~”Fuck Damon, I did not think you would still feel the same.”
Damon ~”Well I do. You don’t have to say it back to me, all I ask if you can give us a chance.”
Skye ~”Damon I am so in love with you, I would really be dumb if I don’t.”
Damon ~”You have no idea what you have done for me, this makes those two weeks of hell totally worth it.”
Skye ~”I can’t promise you the world, all I can give you is my heart. Please don’t break it.”
Damon ~”I can’t promise you that I won’t hurt you, that I am not going to piss you off some days but I can promise you that I am going to do my damndest to protect your heart.”
Skye ~”Oh Damon, why have we been so stupid? All this drama could have been avoided if I only told you how I really felt. But I was scared, I have never felt this way before.”
Damon ~”Let’s just put it down as learning to get to know each other. All I care about is that you are here.”
I pull her closer into my embrace, even though she has not been here for weeks, it feels like she never left it.
I nudge her chin with my thumb, she takes my hand and hold it. Her touch sends warm ripples of shock through my body, thinning the air in my lungs. There is a gentleness in her eyes, a vulnerability and fear all at once. All I want to do is hold her, reassure her that this time it will be different.
My gaze falls down to her lips, parted and full, waiting to be kissed. In slow motion I bend towards her, closing my eyes to caress her mouth with my own. A weak gasp escapes me. With a fierce hold I cup the back of her neck and kiss her deeply, gently, possessive in my touch. And then all at once, my body melts into hers. I am lost in her, I am lost in her kiss, and all my defences give way before this woman that I am in love with.
Damon ~”What do you say I take you for dinner or do you want to meet the boys and girls at the pub for drinks?”
Skye ~”Boys and girls?”
Damon ~”There is a lot that have changed here. They go for dinners now, they don’t go to the club so much anymore.”
Skye ~”This I definitely got to see. I will meet you there at seven?”
Damon ~”Your bet your sweet ass you will. Now I have to go pick up Bella, she was staying at Maggie for the past two weeks.”
Skye ~”I can’t wait to see Max either.”
Damon ~”I will see you later then.”
Skye ~”You know what Damon Chase?”
Damon ~”No please do tell me?”
Skye ~”I cannot think of anybody else I want to be with.”
Do I love her or am I in love with her? I don’t really think that is a question. Do you know when to say which one? I really can’t answer that. For someone so new to this, I surely have a lot of questions.
Can you be in love with someone or even love them in less than a month? I think you can, well that is what my heart says. I mean what is really the difference than being in love and actually loving them. It is all about your perception and how you see love. No one can dictate to you how you should see it or most of all, feel it. You never know when it will happen but when it does, it was definitely worth the wait.
As soon as Skye leaves, I call Joelle into my office.
Damon ~”I am sorry for flipping off at you earlier. The thing was that this grown ass man was crying and I did not want anybody to see my face.”
Joelle ~”Oh it is totally fine, I really understand Mr Chase.”
Damon ~”Now are you joining us downstairs for drinks later? It’d be nice if Skye had someone to talk to.”
Joelle ~”Of course, I would really like to meet her, she is just as pretty as I thought she would be.”
Damon ~”Thank you, now will you send her some flowers to the coffee shop.”
Joelle ~”I will do it right away.”
Damon ~”You can go home afterwards, go make yourself pretty of Brody. Don’t tell them that Skye is back, I want it to be a surprise.”
Joelle ~”Will do, thank you Mr Chase.”
Okay where is Damon and what have you done to him? This one is way too nice and way too happy. Which reminds me I have to go pick up my little lady.
I head downtown to Maggie’s place. I have told her so many times that I will move her out of here but she refuses. This is the type of neighbourhood where you park your car only to find when you want to leave that they have stolen your tyres right off the car.
I find her boy Nicolas hanging with his friends in the street.
Damon ~”Hey Nicolas. Is your crazy mother here?”
Nicolas ~”Nah Damon, she just ran to the shop.”
Damon ~”She still runs at her age?”
Nicolas ~”Argh man, I meant that she walked.”
Damon ~”I came to fetch Bella.”
Nicolas ~”Yes please. She has been driving us crazy. Wait here and I will go get her for you.”
Nicolas is a good kid, I have been helping Maggie to put him through school so he does not end up in one of these gangs. Since his dad passed, Maggie has been really struggling. Yes, yes, I am a good guy, I just chose to be a jerk.
Nicolas ~”Here is your lady.”
Damon ~”Thanks, tell your mom I say hello.”
Nicolas ~”Sure Damon.”
Bella is absolutely beside herself the whole way home. I must say that I have missed her. It feels real damn good having the two most important women back in my life. I know I sound like a cliché but what can I say it feels good to feel good.
I get home and the little nutter goes straight for the bed. Oh Maggie is so going to kill her. I watch her roll around in circles as I get dressed.
Half an hour later my ass is out the door. I have not seen the boys in ages, I can’t wait to see them. And yes by stupid ass is damn excited for them to see that Skye is back.
What I don’t know is how Tajsa is going to take. I know that we decided that things won’t work between us but what has had me wondering. Now I love her as a dear friend even though we stopped talking towards the end of the two weeks. What I have been thinking, how do you love someone one day and the next you do not all of a sudden? I mean what is up with that. My head said that she played me but my heart, well it surely hopes that she did not.
I get to the pub just before seven just to make sure Skye does not show up before me. Everyone is here just as I hope they would be.
Mason ~”Well hello, did you finally leave your dung hole.”
Damon ~”I see you are still into making stupid jokes.”
Brody ~”Damn bro it is good to see you, you had me worried there for a bit.”
I have completely ignored all of their calls and texts for at least the better part of the two-week. If you want to have a pity party, then there is nothing better than having it on your own.
Joelle ~”Hi Damon.”
Damon ~”Hi Joelle, you looking very pretty tonight.”
Ya, I know, pretty is such a weak compliment but I am saving my gorgeous for another woman.
Tajsa ~”Hey Damon.”
Damon ~”Hey Tajsa. Are you doing well?”
Tajsa ~”Yes I am doing great.”
Well take that with a hint of sarcasm, she is just the poster child for happiness. I am not going to let her sour ass mess up my evening.
Damon ~”So what have you boys been up to? I hear all these stories about taking girls for dinner, don’t tell me you have gone all soft?”
Mason ~”Where did you hear that?”
Damon ~”You should know that nothing around the office stays a secret.”
Mason ~”Joelle?”
Damon ~”No it was not her, you seem to forget that I know more than half the women.”
Tajsa ~”Well it is not like it is any of your business.”
Well slap me silly and call me Sarah, she is in one hell of a mood.
Damon ~
“Fuck, who pissed on your battery?”
Tajsa ~”Do I even need to remind you?”
Damon ~”What the hell has gotten into you? Are you struggling to cope with the pressure?”
Tajsa ~”I am just coping great, thanks to you dumping your shit on me.”
Damon ~”Well I was going to say thank you but somehow I don’t think your pissed off ass is going to appreciate it.”
Tajsa ~”Yes just like you don’t appreciate any shit in your life.”
Damon ~”Fuck Tajsa, what the hell has gotten into you? I am not going to take your damn shit. I did fuck all wrong to you.”
Tajsa ~”You walk in here after two weeks and pretend that nothing happened.”
Damon ~”You know what, it is not about you, if I want to take time off, and I do not need your damn permission. You would do well and remember who the hell you work for. And if this is your attitude as a friend then I want no part of it. I suggest you treat me like a person or just leave me well enough alone.”
Tajsa ~”You are such a goddamn jerk.”
Brody ~”Hey guys, come on now, there is no need to fight.”
Mason ~”I mean we are all here for a good time.”
Damon ~”Well something has her knickers in a knot and she is taking it out on me.”
Then it dawns on me, she might have seen Skye at my office or someone told her. Whatever her problem is, I really do not care. She is being rude and just acting like a child. One thing I will say, if she takes this out on Skye then there is going to be hell loose.
Just then my phone buzzes.
It is Skye.
Skye ~”I am just parking the car, will see you in five.”
I turn my back on Tajsa and go to talk to Joelle.
Damon ~”She is here.”
Joelle ~”Oh this is so exciting, I am so happy for you Damon.”
Damon ~”Do you know what Tajsa’s problem is?”
Joelle ~”She has been like that since she got here. She has been really mean to Mason.”
Damon ~”Do you think she saw Skye?”
Joelle ~”No, she was in a meeting the time that Skye was there.”
Damon ~”Are you her assistant too?”
Joelle ~”Yes, she said she has not had time to find someone else.”
Damon ~”I will sort it out tomorrow.”
Joelle ~”Thank you Damon.”
Then that is when I see her. My god she is gorgeous, yes I reserved that especially for her. Fuck I sound like a love sick puppy, am I always going to be like this?
Brody ~”Uhm, Damon?”
Damon ~”Yes Brody?”
Brody ~”I think I see Skye.”
Damon ~”I think you must be seeing things. Are you sure you not going crazy?”
Mason ~”I think I see her too and damn she looks different. There look for yourself.”
I turn and face her as she comes walking up to the table.
Skye ~”Hey handsome.”
Damon ~”Hey baby.”
I pull her closer, with my on hand resting on the small of her, I take her face in my hand and kiss her.
Damon ~”I missed you this afternoon.”
Skye ~
Did you go fetch Bella?
Damon ~”Yes, both of my babies are home now.”
Mason ~”Uhm, what is going on here?”
Brody ~”Yes, when did you come back?”
Mason ~”Have you been back those whole two weeks?”
Brody ~”I thought that his ass seemed too happy.”
Damon ~”She came back this afternoon.”
Brody ~”And you did not tell me?”
Mason ~”I thought we were friends.”
Tajsa ~”Yes Damon, I thought we were friends.”
Here we go, the last time she acted like this is when she and Brody split up.
Skye ~”Hey Tajsa.”
Tajsa ~”Skye, see you have finally made your way back to Damon. It’s about time too, his sad little act was really starting to get boring.”
Skye ~”I, I guess every one deals with hurt in their own way.”
Tajsa ~”Like for instance you, you chase him away then come rushing back and expect him to drop everything and everyone and when you don’t get your little way, you disappear for two weeks. Now I see you back for seconds.”
Damon ~”Tajsa that is enough!”
Tajsa ~”Come on Damon, we both know you are going to get tired of her, just like you get tired of all the other women.”
Damon ~”You are testing my fucking patience. Why are you being such a bitch? Skye did fuck all to you!”
Tajsa ~”Oh it is not Skye, it is you, and you are my damn problem.”
Damon ~”Well don’t make your fucking problem mine. We both decided to not go further!”
Tajsa ~”Have you ever for one second thought that I lied?”
Damon ~”Well it is not my problem that you lie to me and yourself. Like I told you very clearly and I am going to tell you again. I want to be with this woman standing next to me. What happened between us was a mistake.”
Tajsa ~”You know what Damon Chase, you and your little tramp can go to hell. And you know what else, you can take your damn job and shove it.”
Damon ~”In that case Tajsa, clear your desk, I want you out of my building.”
Mason ~”Damon wait, you guys are just over reacting.”
Brody ~”Oh believe me Mason, you are off better. You see Tajsa here has a bit of anger issues when it comes to relationships. I had to deal with this shit every night. She can be an amazing woman but she can also turn into a monster.”
Tajsa ~”Thanks for the introduction. You all can go to hell.”
Damon ~”Tajsa please leave while you still have some of your dignity left.”
With that she storms out of the bar. What have I done? I really thought that we were okay, I mean it was all fine. Now this, in front of everyone, in front of Skye. I really hope that this did not hurt her, especially watching us go at each other in front of her.
Damon ~”Baby are you okay?”
Skye ~”Yes, thank you for standing up for me.”
Damon ~”I would do anything for you.”
Skye ~”Can we go fetch Max and then go to your place?”
Damon ~”Yes we can, I somehow do not feel up to this anymore.”
We say our goodbyes to everyone, promising to do it again soon, hopefully under better circumstances. Tonight might have been a disaster, I might have lost a good friend but I have gain something even bigger. I have gain something beautiful, something even more special. I am on a new journey, I am on a new path with someone that I might even spend the rest of my life with.