Save Riley Read online

  Ms. Riley?

  “Nope. Got the day off,” I replied.

  “Then why are you going to bed so early?” he inquired.

  I shrugged instead of answering. A chuckle was his response at my verbal silence, which prompted me to ask what I was wondering.

  “How did you get my phone number?”

  “You can find a wealth of information on the internet. It’s quite amazing really what’s public record and so easy to find. Especially for someone like me who is an immensely talented researcher,” he replied simply.

  “For example?” I asked curiously.

  “Well your phone number for instance,” he said with a laugh.

  “Yeah but you would need my last name to go online snooping,” I pointed out. “I never gave it to you.”

  “Ah yes, but the cashier did. I asked her for it and explained that I wanted to write a letter to your manager commending your supreme customer service,” he replied slyly.

  “That’s creepy,” I said bluntly. “And I think I’m going to hang up now.”

  I suddenly didn’t find his accent delicious or the thought of his smile appealing. I did however find that if he could locate my private cell phone number online because he was some sort of super hacker, he might end up at my doorstep. I hung up the phone as he laughed and put it on the table next to my bed.

  I reached over for it again and was about to turn the volume off when the little text message box started dancing.

  I clicked it open and read the message from Jaxton.

  Too soon to call? I just wanted to hear your sexy American accent again.

  I rolled my eyes before responding.

  I don’t have an accent, New South Wales. And you could have just asked me for my phone number instead of acting like a teenager and sneaking around online to find it.

  A few moments passed before he responded again.

  Ouch. Good night then.

  I didn’t bother responding. Instead I shut the phone completely off and stuck it in the top drawer. If the phone was out of sight, I wouldn’t be tempted to turn it back on and see if he had sent another message.

  Three

  I sat up when I woke up the next morning. I yawned and stretched before pushing off the sheets and going into the bathroom to go through my morning ritual; pee, wash hands and face, brush teeth, floss.

  I walked out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. Tossing a couple of brown cinnamon Pop Tarts into the toaster, I went into the living room and switched the TV on. I took the remote back into the kitchen and set it on the counter as I turned on the coffee pot. I leaned on the counter and rubbed my face with my hands. I knew that not going to sleep sooner was going to leave me tired today, I just knew it.

  The toaster dinged next to me and my Pop Tarts sprang up. I grabbed a paper plate and quickly threw them on it trying not to burn my fingers. I started to nibble on one while I waited for the coffee to be done, when I realized something felt weird.

  I haven’t looked at my phone yet. I went into the bedroom and pulled it out of the drawer, powering it on, and setting it next to my paper plate in the kitchen.

  I had settled on some talk show that I never watched before and became so engrossed in it that I didn’t notice the light blinking on my phone for at least five minutes after I had made my coffee.

  When the show went to commercial, I threw away my paper plate and grabbed my phone and coffee. I sat down on the couch and put my coffee down before I brought the phone screen to life.

  I had one solitary message waiting to be read, so I shrugged and put my phone back down without reading it.

  I spent the next thirty minutes on the couch drinking coffee and flipping through channels. This was my typical day off; sit at home and not do much of anything. To most people that would seem boring, but the prospect of being able to sit and not run all over the place was a nice change for me.

  I was getting up to put my cold coffee cup in the sink when I saw the light blinking again. I raised an eyebrow and fell back onto the couch and finally opening my messages.

  They were from Jaxton. One was from last night and the other was from five minutes ago.

  I didn’t mean to frighten you. I’m sorry if I did.

  That was from last night, the one he sent this morning was a picture of himself giving me a sad face.

  I smiled and responded:

  I’m sorry if I came across as a bitch. It was just weird to meet you and have you get my last name and phone number the same day. No hard feelings?

  I put the phone down and went to empty my cup. I washed it and poured fresh coffee in it when I saw my light blinking again. I set the cup down and practically skipped to the couch.

  None whatsoever Ms. Riley. :)

  He should stop calling me that. I’ll get used to it and expect to hear it from everyone, I thought wryly.

  How is your morning going Mr. Jaxton?

  Jax is fine. Better now.

  Good.

  No response. He wound up staying quiet for the better part of the day and I wound up lounging on my couch happily being lazy for that same amount of time. When he did finally respond it was with a request.

  Ms. Riley, I’d like a picture of you please.

  I raised an eyebrow and didn’t respond right away. That was starting to cross into weird territory again. I decided to be witty and see if he would go for it.

  I’m pretty sure you can Google one.

  It wouldn’t be the same silly girl.

  As I read that message I realized that I couldn’t remember the last time besides my mother that someone wanted a picture of me, so I got up and went to the bedroom and stood in front of my full length mirror. I was wearing a white camisole top and black panties. As I stared at my reflection for a moment, I wondered if it would be crossing the line to send him a picture dressed like I was, but before I could ponder it any further I held up the phone, snapped the picture, and hit send.

  To say I was nervous about his response would be an understatement. If anything, I really just wanted to throw the phone in the trash can and never look at it again, but my curiosity wouldn’t let me. Instead, I sat on the bed and stared at my messages like a woman obsessed wondering what he had to say.

  But he didn’t respond. For the rest of the day and even when I went to bed, the phone never blinked again.

  I woke up the next morning and took a shower before getting dressed for work. I wanted to scrub the “stupid” off of me for sending him that damn picture, but unfortunately I couldn’t. The only thing I could do was pray that that picture wouldn’t end up online somewhere.

  I went into my room after I dried off and grabbed a loose light blue top and my black slacks. I slid on a pair of black ankle socks then reached under my bed for my light blue Mary Jane heels with bows on the side and gave myself a once over in the mirror. I ran my hands quickly through my hair and walked into the living room to grab my purse. Locking the door, I walked away from my apartment oblivious to the knowledge that my life was going to change forever.

  Four

  Work was fairly uneventful. I got stuck at the registers for my shift and spent most of my time looking up books on the computer. I had an evening shift and I didn’t realize it until I had arrived about six hours early, so I decided to go window shopping since I knew I didn’t have any money to spend. Then I went to eat some lunch, then I window shopped some more, then I came back to work.

  I yawned and leaned against the shelves behind me as I waited for a customer, any customer, to bring something to the front so I could do something worthwhile. Instead, I saw one of my managers approaching the front with a very serious look on her face.

  “Riley, come with me. Nancy is going to cover the rest of your shift,” Anya said.

  I’m fired. I’m so fired.

  Those were the only thoughts that ran through my head as I followed her back to the break room and into the manager’s office where she closed the door.

  “Sit down,�
� she said softly.

  I sat nervously on the edge of the seat across from her and started to wring my hands.

  “Did I do something wrong?” I asked, my voice breaking.

  “No. Riley, your mother called. Your grandmother just passed away,” she said gently.

  I stared at her for a moment. Your grandmother just passed away. Did she really just say that?

  “But ... She wasn’t sick,” I stammered.

  “She had a heart attack.”

  My body went numb as I tried to grasp onto the fact that my grandmother, one of my favorite people in the world, was dead.

  “I have to go,” I said getting shakily to my feet.

  “Of course,” Anya said. “Take some time off and let me know when you’re ready to come back. Your job will be waiting for you.”

  I nodded and opened the door to the office. I went over to my purse and picked it up with shaky hands. Because I hadn’t zipped it I could see the light flashing inside. I fumbled for it and left the break room with tears blurring my vision.

  I was hoping it was my mother but it turned out to be Jaxton.

  Beautiful picture, Ms. Riley. I apologize for the delayed response.

  I didn’t bother texting a response. I hit the small phone icon next to his name and listened to the phone ring. Once, twice, until he finally answered.

  “Miss me did you?” he asked with a laugh.

  “My grandmother just died,” I replied in a shaky voice as I pushed the doors open and walked out into the night air.

  “What? Where are you?” he asked in concern.

  “I just walked out of work. I’m sitting on the sidewalk outside. I don’t know what to do, Jax,” I replied as the tears finally began to flow.

  “I’ll be there in a minute, I was down the street,” he said before he hung up.

  I dropped the phone into my purse and my purse onto the sidewalk next to me, as I put my face in my hands and burst into tears. Customers walked in and out of the store and some stopped to ask me if I was okay. All I would do is nod and hope they would go away.

  Five minutes later, I heard a pair of footsteps making their way quickly toward me. Someone sat down next to me and I felt a strong arm go around my shoulder.

  “I’m here, Ms. Riley. It’ll be okay,” Jax said as he held me close.

  I put my head on his shoulder and just sobbed until I couldn’t any more. Until the tears dried up and until it was almost physically impossible for me to breathe. Jax would run his hands over my hair while he held me and at one point put his cheek against my hair, inhaling deeply.

  I finally pulled away from him and rubbed my face with the back of my hand. I sniffled a couple of times before I got to my feet, him standing up next to me.

  “Do you want to know why I’m really crying?” I asked.

  He pushed my hair behind my ears and nodded.

  “Because I don’t have any money. I can’t afford to go to the funeral,” I explained, dangerously close to tears again.

  “I can help you, Ms. Riley. If you‘d let me, I can help you with that. But I would have a couple of conditions,” he said softly.

  “You don’t even know me and you want to help me get to my grandmother’s funeral?” I asked with a sarcastic laugh.

  “Yes, Ms. Riley. But like I said, I have a couple of conditions.”

  “Fine. Name them, I’ll do anything to be able to go,” I replied blinking back tears.

  “The first is that you let me go with you. I won’t be in the way and your family won’t even know that I’m there. I just ... It would sadden me greatly to know that you’re going through that without me.”

  Whatever.

  I nodded.

  “And second is that you spend a little time with me when we get back. I’d like to get to know more about you before I decide,” he said.

  “Okay,” I agreed with a nod. “I’ll let you come with me and I’ll spend time with you, if you can get me to and from the funeral.”

  “Done,” he said with a triumphant smile.

  Five

  Two days later we were at the airport. Jax had been quiet up until today when he called me and told me that he would be picking me up this morning. He was even quiet on the ride here and while we stood at our gate.

  “Thanks again,” I said, desperate to break the silence.

  “Don’t thank me yet, Ms. Riley,” he replied. “Thank me after; when we’ve had some time alone together.”

  I sighed and turned my face. I didn’t know what he was expecting would happen, but I didn’t plan on much other than hanging out and watching some movies, possibly. I wouldn’t allow it to go further than that.

  The gate attendant called for our rows to board and he put a hand on my lower back, gently giving me a push. I glanced up at him and he smiled slightly as he fell in line behind me.

  We walked down the hallway and onto the airplane where I looked around for our seat numbers. Once I found them, Jax took my carry on bag and put it in the overhead before sliding his in and securing the door. He sat down next to me and fastened his seat belt. I opened the shutter that was covering the window and looked outside. I didn’t get a chance to fly very often and I loved watching the world grow smaller and smaller below us the higher we went.

  Jax leaned over and shut the shutter. I gave him a dirty look and opened it again, prompting him to lean across me and shut it again.

  “Is there a problem?” I asked through clenched teeth.

  “I don’t like the window open during takeoff,” he explained with a shrug.

  “Well, I do,” I replied opening the shutter again.

  A smirk appeared across Jax’s lips. He leaned back against his chair and closed his eyes.

  “You’re disobedient. I kind of enjoy that,” he said. “But you will close that shutter when we take off, Ms. Riley.”

  “I will?” I asked raising my eyebrows at him.

  “Yes.”

  His eyes were still closed and his head was still back against the chair. He seemed so damn confident that it was starting to drive me a little crazy. I wouldn’t mind if he asked me to close the shutter, but doing it himself and then telling me that I would when the plane took off was a bit much.

  The flight attendants finally started going through their safety routines and the captain finally made the announcement that the plane was going to take off, noting that we were second in line on the runway.

  As the plane backed away from the gate, I put my chin in my hand and watched out the window. I was excited for the takeoff even though the end result would be a heartbroken family and a funeral.

  I sighed as the plane slowly rolled forward. One more takeoff and we’d be next. Five minutes later, the engines on the plane came on as we started to roll down the runway.

  “Ms. Riley; the shutter,” Jax said quietly.

  I looked at Jax whose eyes were now open. His head was still leaned against the seat, but he was looking at me the same way he did in the Sci-Fi section of the bookstore. Dangerously and intensely, mixed with a hint of seductiveness.

  “What about it Jax?” I asked tiredly.

  “Shut it.”

  “No.”

  Jax gave me his sexy grin before he leaned over and pressed his forehead against the side of my head. He used his fingers to gently move my hair away from my ear.

  “I’d rather not do this to you so soon and in such a cramped environment if I don’t have too,” he whispered. “Close. The. Shutter.”

  The heat of his breath on the side of my face, the way his fingertips trailed along my neck when he moved my hair, and the grazing of his lips against my ear sparked something in me that I never felt before.

  Submission.

  With shuddery breaths and a shaky hand, I reached for the shutter and brought it down just in time for our plane to take off.

  Six

  “I’ve never been to Louisiana,” Jax remarked as we walked through the Louis Armstrong International Airport.
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  “I haven’t been here in five years,” I replied.

  “Was that when you left, Ms. Riley?” he asked, glancing at me.

  I nodded.

  We walked in silence after that. I led him out the main doors wondering how the hell we were going to get to my parents’ house from here.

  “I saw signs for rental agencies inside, Ms. Riley. Should we take a look?” Jax asked.

  “Yeah. Catching a cab from the airport is going to cost a fortune and I already owe you,” I replied.

  “Yes you do,” he said with a small smile creeping across his lips.

  I rolled my eyes as we went back through the terminal toward the rental car counters. Jax walked over to the closest counter with a female behind it and put his bag down. He leaned across the counter with a dashing smile and began to chat with her.

  She was bright red and giggling within seconds. I watched him reach a hand across the counter and take the pen from her shirt pocket and wink at her before he started filling out the rental information.

  And for some odd reason, I felt jealous. I felt damn angry that he had seemed to have forgotten why he was in Louisiana to begin with and that I was standing only twenty feet away from them watching.

  The rental car agent looked over at me and gave me a friendly smile. A smile that said, “I’ll be with you in just one second.” I returned it with a look that said, “Keep your hands to yourself or I’ll rip your hair out by the root.”

  Her smile faltered. Jax finally looked up and shoved the paperwork and pen across the counter toward her.

  Two can play this game.

  I knew that I potentially had enough money on my credit card to rent a car, so I went to the counter three spaces down from Jax and the Giggler. The guy behind the counter smiled brightly at me and I couldn’t help but notice how pretty his blue eyes were.

  “Hi there. My name’s Mason. What kind of car are you interested in?” he asked cheerfully.

  “Something small and compact. I won’t need much space, it’ll just be me and my bag,” I responded loudly.

  I felt Jax’s eyes turn to me, but I refused to return his look. Mason gave me a half smile and turned his computer screen to face me. Seeing as though I knew it would be hot in New Orleans, I was wearing a pastel yellow tank top and my short denim shorts. I lifted myself off of the floor and leaned over to get a better look at the screen. And also to give Mason a better look at me.