Something More (17 page)

Drew and I settle in
for the night, after a much longer and much more satisfying sex session. We’re
sitting in bed, he working on his laptop and me looking for something to read
on my Kindle. I decide on a book and scoot over a little more, cozying up to
Drew. He wraps his arm around my shoulders and leans over to kiss me on the top
of my head. I can't help but sigh in contentment. This is pure bliss.

I start nodding off
after just a few pages of my book and decide I can't hold my eyes open any
longer. Just as I am putting my Kindle on the nightstand, I hear my phone ringing
in the other room. I look at the clock and see that it's after midnight. “Only
Charlie would call me this late,” I mumble as I get out of bed, not bothering
to put any clothes on, and start towards the sound.

Hurrying down the
hallway so I don't miss the call, I trip over my own feet and fall into the
wall. “Damn it!” I can hear Drew laughing from the bedroom. He sure does get a
kick out of my clumsiness.

Rolling my eyes and
groaning, I pick up my phone, quickly seeing that it's Charlie before I answer.
“Charlie?” I grumble into the phone, not pleased about the late night phone
call or tripping on my way to answer it. There is no response on the other end
of the line. Just silence. “Charlie, are you messing with me?” I ask, getting
more frustrated.

“Ma'am, are you the
parent of Charlotte Michaels?” My heart drops and my body stiffens, my face
drains of blood, and I start shaking. Tears immediately start forming in my
eyes. This can't be happening. I can't answer the question. I can't move a
muscle. I'm just...frozen. “Ma'am?”

Needing to answer her,
but not wanting this to be real, I manage to take a deep breath. I hadn't
breathed since I heard the foreign voice on the other end of the line. “Yes,” I
say, praying to God it's not my Charlie and there's been a mix up.

“Ma'am, your daughter
has been in an accident. She's in critical, but stable condition. We need you
to come to the hospital as soon as you can.” I know the lady is still talking,
but all her words are just floating in the air, going nowhere. My body turns to
ice, feeling heavy and lifeless. My arms drop to my sides and my phone crashes
to the floor, not able to hold on to it any longer. I'm numb. My Charlie could
die. My Charlie could die without me being there.

I hear shuffling and
muffled talking around me, but I can't make out anything. Only pictures of
Charlie flash in my head. My sweet baby girl.

Something snaps me out
of my daze and I'm looking into Drew's eyes. His hands are firmly on my
shoulders and he's bent over far enough that he's face-to-face with me. “Rebecca,
are you with me?” He is searching my eyes for a sign that I hear him. I blink
and focus on what he's said. “Rebecca?” His voice still sounds distant, like
he's talking to me through a wall.

“Yes,” I breathe.

Drew moves his hands
from my shoulders to my face, cradling it gently. “The woman on the phone
wouldn't give me any information except that you need to get to the hospital
immediately. I told her that you are in Portland and that you'd be on the next
flight out. What's happened?” Tears spill over the rim of my eyelids and down
my cheeks in a continuous stream. Drew's thumbs move to catch them, but end up
just being an obstacle in their course. “Baby, please tell me what's going on.”

My chin starts to
quiver as I think about the words I'm about to say. “It's Ch-Charlie.” Drew's
face turns long and sullen. He lets go of my face and wraps me tight in his
arms. He rests his cheek on top of my head, just holding me.

“Oh, baby, I'm so
sorry,” he says, pouring his warmth into me. I don't know how long we stand
embracing, but after some time, he breaks the hold. His hands are back to my
face and he angles mine to see his. “We've got to get you packed and to the
airport. There is no time to waste. I will make arrangements, you go start
packing.” I don't make a move. I just look into his eyes, tears still running
down my face. “Can you do that for me, baby?” I nod. “Good girl.”

He places a kiss on my
forehead and moves his hands back to my shoulders. He faces me in the direction
of my bedroom and pats me on the butt, urging me to move forward. I slowly drag
myself towards my room and when I enter, I spot my overnight bag that I had
packed to stay at Drew's.

Dumping the contents of
my bag out onto the bed, I separate what I won't need from what I will, which
is basically just my scrubs. I throw those onto my dresser, not worrying if I
leave the house a mess. I walk into my closet to grab a suitcase and I snag a
pair of shoes to throw in it. Tossing it up onto the bed and unzipping it, I
hear Drew talking, but I can't make out what he's saying.

I put in the shoes and
the stuff from my overnight bag, and then start for the bathroom to grab my
toiletries. I'm moving like a zombie…not really thinking, just getting to my
goal. Zipping along, I finish up fairly quickly. I stop to look around and see
if I forgot anything when I catch a glimpse of myself in the dresser mirror.
I'm still naked. I can't exactly get through security at the airport like this,
although it might make their job easier. Going back into my closet, I grab a
pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a light jacket. I snatch a bra and pair of
panties out of my dresser and get dressed. I'm slipping on a pair of sandals
when Drew walks in, still naked. I take him in, but I can't appreciate the
beauty before me right now. My face only shows sadness and weariness, my eyes
are probably blank.

“We have a flight waiting
for us,” he says plainly, heading over to where his clothes are draped over a
chair and starts getting dressed.

“We?” I whisper.

“Yes, baby. We. I can't
let you go alone to deal with…I don't know what. I want to be there for you.
I've made all the arrangements. And I can meet Charlie.” His words make me tear
up again.
Charlie.
Drew sees my eyes welling up when he glances my way. “Don't
worry, baby. She will be fine.” Swiping the tears away, my head droops to look
at the floor. Silently, I start to pray to the powers that be for my baby girl
to be alright.

Somehow Drew is dressed
and ready to go in no time at all. We are already in the limo, Benjamin taking
us to the airport.

I'm still in a bit of a
haze, but I notice the signs to the airport as I'm staring out the window into
the dark night sky. Drew is sitting next to me with one arm around my shoulders
while his other hand is holding mine. Every so often he brings my hand to his
lips and kisses it. I am so out of it the entire ride that I hadn't acknowledged
his affection. Realization hits me so when he does it again, I whisper, “Thank
you.”

“No need to thank me
for those, baby. I give them to you willingly.” He pulls me in so that I'm
leaning on him.

“Thank you for
everything else, too. I'm sure I would've managed to get myself on a flight
eventually, but this was incredibly fast,” I say, not knowing exactly how he
did it. I really don't
care
how he did it. I'm getting to my daughter as
fast as I can because of him.

The car finally comes
to a stop and Benjamin opens Drew’s door. He lets go of me and scoots out. I
just get out of the door on my side, not really wanting to slide all the way
across the seat or waiting for Benjamin to open my door. When I step out of the
car, I quickly become aware that we are not at the passenger drop-off by the
terminals. We are on the tarmac and there is a private plane right before my
eyes. People are scurrying about, inside and out.

Right now, I'm in a
haze and completely stupefied. I feel arms slide around my waist from behind
and Drew's warm, hard body presses against my back. Placing my arms on top of
his, I lace our fingers. He rests his chin on my shoulder. “I guess now you see
how I got us on a flight so quickly.”

I lean my head into
his. “This will be a conversation for another time, but I'm beyond grateful.
I'm ready to get to Charlie.” Drew places a kiss on my cheek and lets me out of
his embrace. Now feeling cold, I reach into my bag and grab my hoodie. After I
get it on, Drew takes me by the hand and leads me towards the plane.

Out of the corner of my
eye, I see Benjamin carrying my suitcase and another, along with a garment bag.
How did Drew get everything packed that he needs? His house manager must be a
jack of all trades. Cooking, cleaning, packing. Must be nice.

Drew stops at the
bottom of the steps to let me go up them first. When I arrive at the top, I'm
greeted by…the captain, I guess. “Ma'am,” he says and reaches out to shake my
hand. I reciprocate and keep moving into the plane. Standing near some seats
waiting to greet us is a flight attendant. I turn around to see Drew talking to
the captain and shaking his hand. He starts towards me and puts on a smile. It
warms me from the inside out. Seconds later, his arm is around my waist and a
kiss is planted on my forehead. He turns me back towards the flight attendant
and urges me forward to one of the seats. “Mr. Chambers, so good to see you
again,” she says.

“Alexa,” he says, curtly.
“Baby, do you need anything? There is just about anything you need here.”

Shaking my head, I say,
“I just need you touching me.” His eyes widen and he raises his brows. I can't
help but giggle. “Drew! I'm hardly in the right frame of mind for that. I just
need to be touching you.” He smiles and, after taking his jacket off and
hanging it over an empty chair, takes a seat next to me. He takes my hand in
his and holds it in his lap, running his thumb back and forth across my skin.

Taking a look around at
the little, but spacious, plane, I notice that it resembles his apartment.
White and wood grain this time, though, instead of white and black. Well, it's
a change, at least. It’s a little warmer, but not much. I smirk and shake my
head. “What's so amusing over there?”

He squeezes my hand to
let me know he's talking to me. I turn to look at him, still with a smirk. “You
should fire every decorator you've ever had. I don't see how you can look at
the same color palettes over and over again, wherever you go.”

He takes a look around
himself. “You are right, Rebecca. Everything looks the same with very minor
differences. It's quite...”

I cut him off. “Boring?
Monotonous? Plain? Cold?”

He laughs. “Yes, baby.
All of those things. Consider them all fired.” I'm not sure if he's joking or
not, but I really don't care. 

Looking around again, I
see plain and boring. It's beautiful, but boring. Kind of like me. Maybe that's
why he likes me…for my simplicity.

A yawn fights to get
out and wins the battle. “I know you're tired, baby. When we get up in the air,
we can go rest in the bedroom.”

“There's a bedroom?” I
ask, surprised.

“Oh, yes. It's a small
apartment with wings. A small kitchen, a bedroom, a shower. Every necessity.”
He grins at me and wraps an arm around my shoulders, still holding my hand. A
bed sounds really good right about now, but I don't know how much sleep I can
get while I’m worried about Charlie.

Moments later, we are
in the air and approaching our target altitude. Drew unbuckles me, picks me up,
and carries me into the bedroom. He lays me down on the bed and climbs in
behind me, wrapping his arm around me, pulling me close. He whispers into my
ear, “I can't promise not to try anything, but get some rest while I can still
control myself.” I can feel his hardness pressing against my backside. I can't
say I wouldn't enjoy having sex with him right now, but I just can't stop
worrying about Charlie. Once I know more about how she is and how she will be,
I will feel better. I hope.

Lying in Drew's arms
soothes my body, but it doesn't stop my mind from racing in every direction
possible. Charlie is in critical condition. Every second that goes by can
change for better or worse. I hope they called her dad and he gets there fast
so someone is there with her. Hell, I might get there before him if he still
drives like a grandpa. I place my hand over Drew's, which is nestled on my
ribcage. I'm so thankful for him, his plane, and his crew for doing this for
me. They might not know why they are on this flight in the middle of the night,
but I'm still grateful that they are.

Drew must actually be
asleep because he didn't move or say anything when I laid my hand on his. Good.
He needs sleep. It seems like he’s always awake.

*
* * * *

My eyes fly open and I
take in my surroundings. I'm in the bedroom on Drew’s plane. Damn. It wasn't a
dream. I must have dozed off. I start to feel the plane descending and I snatch
my phone to look at the time. Holy shit! I slept the whole trip! I sit up in
the bed and reach over to crack open a window shade. Sunlight shines in, nearly
blinding me, and I quickly close it. Rubbing my eyes, I crack it open again to
use it for light. Looking around, I see that Drew brought my bag in here and
leaned it up against the bed. I'd have tripped over it had I not cracked the
shade open. I also notice he's not in here and I scowl. He said he'd never let
me wake up alone again.
Liar!
 

Taking the bag, I head
into the bathroom. It's pretty big for an airplane, but tiny in comparison to a
normal bathroom. Of course, it's all wood grain and white, like everything
else. All I can do is roll my eyes.

Getting myself back to
looking human and brushing my rank morning breath away, I feel less
zombie-like. I just need to stay positive. Charlie will be okay. I need to keep
repeating that in my head. 

Making my way out to
the main cabin, I see Drew sitting at a makeshift desk, typing on his laptop.
His eyes dart to me when I enter the room and he raises his arm to beckon me
over. When I get there, he pulls me into his lap. “How did you sleep, Rebecca?”
he asks, wrapping his arms around me.

“Better than I expected
to,” I reply, wrapping one arm around his shoulders. “But I woke up alone.
Again. So much for your promises.” He looks at me in horror. I'm not really mad
or upset, but it would've been nice to wake up with him next to me. It's fun to
make him squirm a little.

“I know, baby. I'm so
sorry, but I had to make sure everything was taken care of with your boss and
at my office. I would never leave you alone in bed, but I should've gone back
in there when I knew we were approaching our destination.” I gasp. I forgot
about calling Dr. Thompson.

“What did Dr. Thompson
say?” 

“Don't worry. I let him
know what I knew and that we were going to Florida.” I let out a deep breath. “He
understood and he said to please call with updates. You still have a job, baby.”
I slump down. 

“At least for now. I'm
sure I won't if I have to be gone for a while.”

Drew rubs my arm up and
down, soothing me. “I'm sure I could find something for you to do if you were
to get fired.” I can hear the mischief in his voice. I jab him lightly in his
side. 

“Are we there?” I ask,
anxiously.

“Yes, actually. We are.”
The plane starts to descend a little more. “You should grab something to eat
because I know you won't want anything once you get there.” My stomach growls
at the mention of food and my hand flies to it. I grimace at the defiance of my
belly. “See. You should grab a muffin or a bagel or something. You need food.”

“Fine, but only to shut
this thing up.” It growls even louder. It's not usually this bad this early in
the morning, but it
is
past ten back in Portland. This time change is
going to mess with me and I've only been gone a few weeks. Drew smacks my butt
and gives me a shove to get off his lap. “Hey. No need to be pushy.”