Indelible Love - Emily's Story

INDELIBLE LOVE—EMILY’S
STORY

By

DW Cee

Copyright © 2012 by DW Cee

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this
book may be copied, reproduced, transmitted, or downloaded, whether
electronic or mechanical, without the written consent of the
author.

This story is a work of fiction. Any
similarity to real persons, living or dead, is entirely
coincidental.

EBook Edition

To Joyce

For your countless hours of editing,
encouraging, and listening

Prologue

“Em?” Max called my name so
tentatively, that I figured he was nervous about
proposing.

“Yes?” I was so excited.
Four years and way too many uncertain days later, he was finally
going to ask me to marry him. Giddy…yes, I was incredibly
giddy.

“Em…you know how much I’ve
loved you the last four years, right? You were the most important
person in my life. Someone I couldn’t live without?”

I wondered why he spoke in
the past tense. “Of course I know this. I love you just as much,
Max.”

“Please don’t ever forget
this, no matter what.” I thought I saw tears welling up in his
eyes, but suddenly his gentle face turned stoic. It scared
me.

“Em. I need my freedom. I
want us to break up and experience life without each other.” There
was no more emotion in his voice.

“What?” Tears automatically
fell from my eyes. “What did you say?” Had I heard him correctly?
Was he breaking up with me? My head and my heart shook in
fear.

“I’m sorry. It’s over.”
Without another word, he went out of my room and out of my
life.

My heart stopped beating
with those last four words. How could I have believed we were about
to get engaged, when he believed it was over? How could I have
loved this man with all my heart, when his heart stopped loving me
some time ago? How could I have been so wrong about Max?

Four years ago, I met this
boy and fell in love instantly. Four days ago, I believed we were
getting married as soon as we graduated. Four seconds ago this same
boy broke my heart and wanted to move on with his life, without me.
Sobbing, I called Sarah.

Chapter 1
Christmas Ball

“What time is Jake picking you up?”
Sarah asked, as she sat in the salon chair next to me. “Charlie’s
coming straight here since we need to get to the Christmas Ball a
little earlier to help set up. Emily. Emily Logan. What are you
daydreaming about? You haven’t answered my question. What time is
Jake coming to pick you up?”

Ugh! The Christmas Ball! Why had I
agreed to go to this event? All of our college friends would be
there. Although it had been eighteen months since the breakup, I
dreaded seeing Max and his new girlfriend tonight.

Max Davis. My first love. My
world.

We had dated throughout undergrad, and
he was the absolute love of my life. He was tall, good looking, and
extremely intelligent. His sandy-brown hair and matching brown eyes
didn’t stand out until he smiled. His tender smile melted my heart
and made me smile along with him.

He was probably the smartest in our
group of friends, but not as driven as I would have liked. His lack
of motivation didn’t keep me from being absolutely crazy about him.
I thought he was it. I would marry no other but Max…until, he
dumped me on graduation night. Sadness filled my heart
again.

“Um…I’m not sure.” I hesitated with my
answer.

“What do you mean you’re not sure? You
did invite Jake to this ball?”

“Yeah, I did, last night when he came
over for dinner.” Sarah’s eyebrows arched up, which signaled bad
things to come. That meant there would be more questions followed
by a reprimand. Being the oldest of four siblings, Sarah was a bit
motherly toward me, the adult orphan.

“Emily! You asked him to this function
last night? What if he had to work? As it is, he’s always working.
What did he say?”

“Well, he wasn’t too happy with me. He
accused me of not wanting to go because I wasn’t over Max.” From
the corner of my eyes I saw Sarah’s head plop into her hands while
she made an ugly groaning sound. “And I was stupid enough to tell
him that though I didn’t like Max anymore, I still hurt a lot from
our breakup.” Sarah groaned even louder.

I regretted my honesty last night.
Jake and I had been dating six weeks, and from day one, I expounded
upon my past more than necessary.

“Then I was an even bigger idiot and
called what Jake and I have not a relationship but ‘whatever it is
that we have.’ That’s when he got up and left in the middle of
dinner.”

“Emily!” The groan, the sigh…every
exasperated noise came out in a flurry. “I thought everything was
going so well with you two. When you and I were in New York over
Thanksgiving, Charlie and I had a bet going on about you.” She
smiled in a weird way.

“What bet was that?”

“Which day you would come crying
telling me you had to go home to see Jake. You were miserable
without him.”

“I was not…well, I guess I kind of
was.” My lips pursed, apologetically. “So who won?”

“Charlie. He said you’d feel too
guilty to confess, but he was sure Jake would fly into New York to
see you instead.”

“He almost did. I had to hold him
back.” I laughed. “Anyhow, he texted last night and said he’s
coming over around 6:00pm. He’s going to shower and get ready at my
place.”

“Isn’t that a bit dangerous?” Always
on the naughty side, her questions confounded my simple
mind.

“Why would it be dangerous?” I asked
naively.

“Are you kidding me? I’ve never met
such a gorgeous doctor in my life!”

“Don’t be silly. We’ve done nothing
naughty, to your dismay.”

“Didn’t you practically make out with
him the first day you met him? And how old are you?” Sarah
questioned. “Aren’t you beyond the age of making a boy wait so long
before letting him do anything other than kiss you?”

Sarah always poked fun at what she
called my “unnecessary modesty.”

“I’m twenty-four and he’s thirty.
Yeah, that first weekend we met was crazy. It was so unlike me.
Anyhow, we’ve only had a handful of dates now. I don’t think I’m
doing anything wrong. We just haven’t gotten to know each other
well enough,” I retorted with a laugh. “Mind your own
business.”

“What does your dress look like,
Emily?” Jon, my hairdresser, interrupted. “And what shall we do
with this long brunette mane of yours today?”

“It’s a black low-cut sleeveless
dress. It’s fitted from top to bottom. I’m going to wear black
heels with it. Do what you like with my hair.”

“Ok.” As soon as Jon answered me, his
eyes twinkled. “I think I know what I want to do. How about a sleek
tie back? I think that will accentuate your high
cheekbones.”

“Sure.” It didn’t really matter. At
five feet five inches, I’d always been on the slender side but
since the breakup I’d lost a considerable amount of weight. I knew
I looked unhealthy, but there wasn’t much I could do…not much I
wanted to do.

It took forever to get my hair and
nails done. I figured while here, a facial would do wonders for my
dry skin, and an aesthetician could apply my makeup. She did a
great job coloring my eyes a smoky black and brushing my pale
cheeks with enough blush to give them a slightly flushed look. The
lipstick we picked out was the shade of a perfectly blossomed rose.
Why not look good? Whether for the present date, the ex, or his new
girlfriend, looking good was definitely the best revenge—though, a
part of me felt guilty for thinking this.

“Wow, Emily. You look great!”
exclaimed Charlie.

“Hey, what about me?” Sarah pouted.
“I’m your girlfriend!”

“You’re always gorgeous,” he said
lightly, kissing her pale pink lips.

“See you two later,” I called out as
we left the salon. “Are we sitting together? Jake won’t know too
many people there. Put us at a good table, please.”

“Don’t worry!” They chuckled.
Something about the undercurrent of those two words worried
me.

I glanced at my watch. Yikes! Running
late, I dashed to my car in four-inch heels and a dress that was a
size too big on me.

Jake was already at my door when I
pulled into my driveway. My house, a small Craftsman about eighteen
hundred square feet, sat on a beautifully tree-lined street. I had
saved all my money while working through college, then saved
another year’s worth of my pitiful teacher’s pay to put a down
payment on this beautiful old home. Built in 1922, it had good
bones. Wood beams ran across the ceilings and crown moldings
outlined every room. There was a Batchelder fireplace on one end of
the living room and built-in cabinets in each room. The bathrooms
needed a bit of updating, but to me this house was perfection. I
was proud to be a homeowner every time I drove up my long
driveway.

Dr. Jake Reid—another picture of
perfection. He was absolutely gorgeous. He was my ideal man at six
feet tall, fair skin, jet-black hair, and blue eyes the color of
Tahitian water. Women nurses probably swooned at the very sight of
this dashing doctor. If they found out, the women at the hospital
wouldn’t be too happy to know he was dating someone. I literally
ran into him at the supermarket while tiptoeing on a shelf,
reaching for a box of cereal. With the cereal in hand, my one foot
tripped over the other foot and I bumped into him hard enough to
knock us both down. Twisting my ankle from this misstep, Jake was
kind enough to take me to his hospital’s ER where he stayed with me
for three hours. That night, he asked for my number, and six weeks
and several dates later, I invited him to accompany me to this
ball.

The sight of him made me giddy with
joy. After last night’s argument, I thought he might have had
second thoughts about escorting me. My actions probably frustrated
him. Unintentional, but aggravating all the same, I played an
unfair game of keep away with my heart—almost giving, then taking
back at will. Jake was never shy about expressing his feelings for
me. Though his job as a doctor kept him working like a madman, he
made sure I knew he cared for me. Within a handful of dates, Jake
had managed to fill the void left by my parents who had passed away
years ago.

Jake showered me with both love and
attention from the very night I met him. Whenever we separated,
emptiness followed. How odd that a man I met less than two months
ago could have such an effect on me.

“Hi, Jake. I’m so happy to see you.
Have you been waiting long? I wish you had called me.” I rushed out
of the car as quickly as possible. Jake walked over to greet
me.

“Hi, Beautiful. You look stunning,” he
murmured, kissing my cheek. “Do you not have your phone on you? I
called and texted all day but you never answered. You had me
worried.”

“Sorry. I guess I forgot my phone at
home.” I stopped to hug him. “I’m really happy you’re here. Let’s
go in. You can use the guest room to get ready.”

“Did you not believe me last night
when I said I was coming to pick you up at six?”

In all honesty, I didn’t know what to
believe. Even with his apology via text late last night, I wasn’t
convinced that he wanted to attend this ball with me. A teeny tiny
part of me also wished to attend alone—though I’d never admit this
to Jake or even to Sarah. It had been eighteen months since I’d
seen Max. As to how I’d react when I saw him again was anybody’s
guess.

“Well?” he prodded.

I smiled and answered, “Go in and get
dressed.”

Fortunately, he didn’t push for an
answer but he began to take off his scrubs before closing the
bathroom door. His body look liked one of the many replica statues
of Michelangelo’s David that populated the city of Florence. His
body and face were close to perfection.

Deep breaths!

I went in my room to look over my
dress, added a strand of pearls, and touched up my makeup while
Jake got ready.