Undeniable Love

This book is a work of fiction.  All names, characters, and situations are completely made up.  Any resemblance to actual living or deceased persons is purely coincidental and should be taken as a compliment.  No part of this book may be reproduced without prior written permission from the author.

About the Author

Emeline Piaget is originally from Upstate New York.  She currently resides in Kentucky with her two children and pets.

Find out more at:

www.facebook.com/emelinepiaget

www.twitter.com/emelinepiaget

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to my two sweet baby girls for not just allowing me the time to write but encouraging me along the way. 

To my mother, I love you so much. Thank you for everything, and strive to be half the woman you are.

To my best chicas Michelle Symone and Amanda Lauzier, I would not have started this journey if you two hadn’t been there to hold my hand.  Thank you both and I love you.

Aunt Mel, thank you for always being in my corner. I think you are one of my biggest fans!  Love you!

“The most eloquent silence; that of two mouths meeting in a kiss.”

~Anonymous

Wyatt

Have you ever had one of those days that after it’s over you know your life is changed forever?  You may not know how, but you just know it’s different.  Halloween night, one year ago, was that day for me.  When I woke up the next morning, I had no memory of what happened at the party the previous night.  I knew I shouldn't have had that much to drink, but it was Halloween.  Plus, I was a slightly depressed since I had just broken up with my girlfriend April, again, and I was finally having a good time.  The way I figure, you're only young once. When I woke up, I had to lay there for a minute to get my bearings and figure out where I was. 
I’m still at Phil’s,
I realized.  Phil, my old college roommate, had thrown the party this year.  I turned my head and noticed makeup stains on the pillow next to me. 
So who left the makeup? 
I asked myself.  I rolled out of the bed half naked.  ‘
Crap! What the hell did I do?’ or maybe I should ask myself ‘Who did I do?’
  I got up out of the bed and looked around the room for my clothes and my head spun. 
Ugh I'm never drinking that much again
, a promise to myself that has been broken several times since making it.  It’s so true what they say about Halloween, it’s the one time of year that women dress like sluts and nobody says a word.  I for one have always loved it.  I'm a dude, what can I say.  I was still trying to get dressed, and I had on my jeans and boots but I couldn’t find the t-shirt I had on under my red leather jacket.  That year I had gone as Star-Lord from the Guardians of the Galaxy comic book.  Talk about being pumped when the movie came out a year later.  My phone buzzed in my back pocket as I was looking around for my shirt. 

Stephane: Hi! This is Stephane, from last night.  I hope you remember letting me borrow your t-shirt. I just wanted to know how to get it back to you.

Wyatt: Oh…hey!  Yea, maybe we can meet at Café Coco. Do you know where that is? Over by Elliston Place?

Stephane:  Yea, they have great food and coffee there.

Wyatt:  That's what I've heard.  Been wanting to try it.

Stephane:  Ok great, let me wash it and I’ll get it back to you. Friday? 6?

Wyatt: Ok sure, see you there.

Who the hell is Stephane and how did I get her number in my phone?
I thought.  Well that solved the mystery of my missing t-shirt but I still needed to figure out who Stephane was and I had six days to do it.

Stephane

Sydnee has been my best friend since we were in diapers and pacifiers.  She is the yin to my yang.  We are complete opposites in most ways.  For instance she’s outgoing and I’m rather shy.  She’s athletic and I’m, well give me a few books and I’m content.  She’s average height and curvy.  I should translate that as busty, with freckles and red hair.   I’m tall and slender but I’m blessed with a nice backside, with long brown hair and almond skin.  She was always up for a night, whether it's a night out dancing or a party.  So it didn’t surprise me when she texted me inviting me to tag along to a Halloween party.  A friend of Sydnee’s co-worker from the bank was throwing the party.  Sydnee went all out with her costumes every year.  Some of her past costumes included troll dolls, a nerd, the sisters from “Hocus Pocus” and the obvious “Little Mermaid.”  This year she wanted to do another group costume. 
Lord help me,
I thought.

Sydnee: Hey sweets, don’t be a Debbie Downer this year for Halloween, come with me and some girls from work to a party.

Stephane:  What! And break my yearly tradition of gorging on Halloween chocolate and watching Rom-Coms?

Sydnee: LOL girl you can watch chick flicks anytime.  Come on it'll be fun. 

Stephane: I have a hot date with Matthew McConaughey and there will be lots of wine.

Sydnee:  How to Lose a Guy again?

Stephane: Lmao! Yes, I love that movie!

Sydnee: You can love it another night, we ARE going out!  You ARE going to the party!

Stephane: Syd, come on.

Sydnee: Discussion over! I’ll be by later.

Great,
I thought. 
I hate parties. This should be about as fun as getting shots.
  Later that night, Syd dropped by like usual.  We were in the middle of eating take out and watching “America’s Next Top Model,” when she dropped the costume bomb on me.

“Ok Steph, the plan this year is to do a group costume.”

“What are you guys going to dress up as?”

“You mean what are WE dressing up as? And WE are dressing up as KISS.”             

“Um…first, we who? And second, KISS the rock group?”

“WE, as in you, me and two girls from the bank, Jenny and Stacy.  Yes! KISS the rock group.”

“Syd, we aren’t guys! And why are you dragging me into this?”

“Its Halloween Steph, we can dress however we want and it will be fun!  I promise.  There are four of them and four of us, it works.  The plus side of this is tons of makeup so you don’t have to worry about being recognized, Betty Bummer.”

"That's not what I'm worried about.  Leaving the house and missing date night with Matthew now that worries me."  She laughed and hit me with some white rice.

If I didn’t love that girl so much I would choke her and often felt like I should.  I had to laugh a bit at the idea of me dressed up in a KISS outfit. 
What the hell?
I figured. 
It’s just one night.  It’ll be good to get out.
I never expected to meet him.

Wyatt

I left Phil’s, still trying to figure out who Stephane was.  I was completely blank on most of the events from the preceding night.  I remembered getting to Phil’s and helping him get things ready.  Then I remember grabbing a few beers, chatting with a few people and then nothing.  My phone buzzed as soon as I hit the door to my apartment.

Phil: Sup dude? You have fun last night?

Wyatt:  Idk

Phil: ?? Wtf does that mean?

Wyatt:  Dude it means I don’t remember shit.

Phil:  LMAO, damn dude.   I’d say you had fun!

Wyatt: Hey...you know a chick named Stephane?

Phil: Hmm…Nope. Why?

Wyatt: We…idk…hung out last night I guess.  She text me this morning.

Phil:  Haha yea dawg, what’s up with that?

Wyatt: No clue, I’ll let you know. 

Phil: Yep, keep me posted

I unlocked the door and walked in when the idea hit me to check the photos on my phone.  I normally didn’t take too many pictures, but then again I didn’t normally get black out drunk either.  I pulled up the camera roll and thought that maybe I had hit the jackpot.  There was a ton of photos, but everyone was in costume and they were all group shots. 
Damn,
I thought. Guess I’ll to have to wing it.

Stephane

The days leading up to the party were torture for me because I’m an introvert, which means I’m perfectly comfortable at home, alone.  I was online doing research one time and I read the perfect analogy about introverts, they are like court reporters.  Consider me the court reporter in the corner of the room.  I’m in the background just listening, taking in the scene and making mental notes but don’t really expect me to participate.  Some people, like Sydnee, are the attorneys, always front and center.  It’s why we work I think. She shines bright like a sun and I enjoy her rays. 

Unbeknownst to me, Sydnee and her two co-workers were really, and I do mean really, into this costume.  They had been planning it for several weeks.  By the time she told me about it, it was all planned out, down to what girl would be which member of KISS.  I guess she figured if she didn’t, I wouldn’t agree.  Halloween was in the middle of the week, so the party was on the 26
th,
a Saturday.  That was good because I figured it would take me all day to get in the getup.  All the girls came to my apartment to get ready because I had the most space.  I had a three bedroom apartment. It seems like a lot of space for one person but one room was an office and then I had to have a guest room because my parents had a tendency to drop in to town unexpectedly.  I learned a long time ago, I need as much space as possible when they drop by.

Sydnee had my outfit laid out on my bed, I was Paul Stanley.  She was Gene Simmons, her co-workers, Jenny and Stacy went as Ace Frehley and Peter Criss.  I told Syd I thought it was crazy that girls were dressing as KISS, but she said it happened all the time at Dragon Con. 
What in the world is a Dragon Con,
I thought. 
Never mind.
  I just shook my head.  I knew not to fight her when she was stuck on an idea.  Jenny’s friend Phil was one the one throwing the party and when we got there, it was packed.  I cringed. 
Well I’m here now, I’ll have a few drinks to appease Syd, then I’ll excuse myself,
I thought.  It's why I always drive.  Soon after we arrived Jenny and Stacy went off and hung out with the person I assumed was Phil.  Syd and I were standing in the living room talking when some tall, dark haired guy dressed in a t-shirt that had a circle light underneath and a light on his hand, flirted with Syd.

“Who are you supposed to be?” I asked interrupting his flirtation with Sydnee.

“Tony Stark, from Iron Man,” I shrugged because I had no clue and didn't care.

“Oh, The Avengers’ guy?” Syd asked.

“Yea, him!”

“That’s hot!”  Syd said and winked at him.

Taking my cue I walked away to let her continue flirting undisturbed.  I grabbed a drink and found an empty spot on the couch in front of the TV but I wasn’t really paying attention to it.  I was trying to zone out from the party when he came and sat next to me.  He was absolutely gorgeous with dark blonde hair and green eyes.  He had on a red leather jacket, white t-shirt, messenger bag and boots. 

“Anything good on?”  He asked.  I looked around and realized he was talking to me.

“Oh, um, I don’t know. I just sat down.”

“Been here long?”

“Uh…just a few minutes.  You?”  I said glancing up at him, his eyes were mesmerizing.  I swear they were sparkling as he talked.

“Yea, I’ve been here for a while.  Phil’s my old roommate so I came over and helped him set up.”

“Oh, that’s nice!”  I said and looked back at the TV.

“How do you know Phil?”  He asked and I glanced back up at him.

“I don’t, he's the friend of a friend.” I said and looked away again.

“Ah, ok. Well I’m Wyatt.”

“Hi Wyatt.  Stephane. Nice to meet you!”

“And you,” he smiled trying to catcher attention.  “Well you seem into whatever is on the TV, I’ll leave you alone.”  He went to stand up, lost his balance and fell back on to the couch, spilling his drink all over me.

“Oh shit! I’m so sorry!” He said.  I jumped up to go find the bathroom.

“It’s ok.  It’s my excuse to get out of here early.  Can you tell me where the bathroom is?”

“I’ll show you, but only if you promise not to leave on my account.” He smiled at me. 
Wow
, he was gorgeous.   He had a great smile with a sexy dimple.  He reminded me of the older brother, Danny, on that TV show “Baby Daddy.”

“I can’t make any such promises but I would like to find a bathroom, this beer is extremely cold and I’d like to dry off.”

“I’m really sorry, follow me!”

He led me up the stairs and down a hallway to what I’m guessing was the master bedroom.  He pointed to a closet.

“The bathroom is through there.” He instructed as he sat on the bed.

I went into the bathroom, closed the door and took off the clunky heels, leather pants and tight black shirt I had on.  I looked in the linen closet and grabbed a towel to wrap around myself.  I grabbed another towel and I was trying to dry my stuff when there was a knock on the door.

“Anything I can do to help?” he asked. 

“Does he have a dryer?”

“As in hair dryer or laundry?”  I snickered at his question.

“Laundry.”

“Yes, what do you need?”

“I need to dry my shirt.  I'm going to have to towel dry these pants. I don’t want to shrink them.  Syd would have a fit if I did.”

“Sure, hand it here and I’ll put it in.” I opened the door and handed him my shirt.  “Be right back,” he said.

I was patting the pants with the towel when he came back.

“Should just take a few minutes.”

“Thank you!” I said.

“You look cold,” he said.  "Here.” He took off his jacket and his t-shirt and handed me the t-shirt.  “It’s the least I can do since I soaked you with beer.” I smiled.

“Thank you.”

He stepped out of the room and went down the hallway.  I slipped his t-shirt over my head and walked out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom just as he walked back through the door.

“So Stephane, when you aren’t getting beer dumped on you by losers at parties, what do you do?”

“As you can see by the comfortable seat I had on the couch, I’m quite the social butterfly,” I said sarcastically.  It was his turn to laugh.

“What?  You mean you aren’t the party animal that your costume would suggest?”  I laughed again. 

“No not all. Not even a little.” He grinned at me.
That dimple is dangerous,
I thought.

“So who’s Syd?  Your boyfriend?”

“Huh?”

“Earlier you said Syd would have a fit about your pants.  Who’s Syd? Your boyfriend?”  I sort of cackled at that.

“Ha. No Syd is short for Sydnee.  She is my best friend and the reason I am here, dressed like this or was I should say.”

“I think you look great!”

“You mean looked? My costume is, well off right now. No pun intended.” I chuckled at myself.

“No I meant now, you look great!”  I blushed and changed the subject.

“So, tell me again how you know Phil?”

“We went to college together. We were in a bunch of the same classes and ended up rooming together. We’ve been buds ever since.”

“Sydnee and I have been best friends since we were babies.  Our moms were best friends so we grew up together.  She’s a wild child and I keep her in line.”  He smiled that dimply smile and it made my stomach drop.

“Stephane would you like something to drink?”

“No, I’m ok.”

“Ok.  I will run and check on your shirt and grab something to drink.  I’ll be right back.”

He returned with a six-pack of beer.

“Should just be a few more minutes on your shirt.” (He lied.  Her shirt was dry but he was enjoying her company.  She was beautiful from what he could see through the white face paint and he was single again.)

“Oh, ok!”

“You can keep my t-shirt until yours is dry.  So Stephane, what do you do?”

“I’m a social media manager for a hospitality chain, The Barrtin Group.  They have several high end restaurants and hotels around the country.”

“That sounds interesting!”

“It can be.  What do you do?”

“Graphic design, I work for a company called Bree & Elle Imaging.”

He cracked open a beer and offered one to me. 

“No thank you,” I said.

“You can’t come to a Halloween party and not have at least one beer,” he paused and winked “with me.” I laughed.

“Ok, just one.”

“You have a beautiful laugh Stephane.”  I blushed.

“Thank you Wyatt.”

We spent the next few hours drinking and talking, well he was doing most of the drinking.  He told me about college and some funny stories about him and Phil.  He talked about his hometown, which wasn’t far, about forty-five minutes away.  He also talked about his family. His parents have been happily married for thirty-five years and his grandparents were married for fifty-eight years before his grandfather passed.  Apparently his grandfather had been pretty well off.  He also told me about his recent break up with his cheating girlfriend April.  He said he caught her because she left her Facebook open on his computer and he saw messages between her and a guy from her office.  I felt really bad for him because he was obviously still really upset about it.  Finally after he drank his last beer, he leaned in and tried to kiss me but I pulled away.

“What’s wrong?” he said.

“Wyatt, you are gorgeous, strikingly so and under any other circumstance I would be flattered and love to kiss you but you are drunk and upset. I don’t want to be
that
girl. I’m not the ‘hook-up’ type.”

I thought he would get mad because he wasted his time talking to me when he could have been talking to someone else me and getting laid, but I was wrong.

“I apologize.  I’m not the hook-up type either normally.  And I’m sure it’s been utterly attractive sitting here listening to my venting about my ex.”

“No, no, it’s ok. Break ups can be hard.”  What happened next really surprised me, he started crying. I’m sure it was more alcohol than anything but I was stunned for a moment and didn’t know what to do.  This huge gorgeous man was sitting here in front of me crying.  After the shock wore off, I hugged him to my chest and let him cry.  We lay back against the pillows and he sobbed silently until he fell asleep.  I waited a few minutes then I carefully crawled out of the bed, so I wouldn’t wake him.  I covered him up, grabbed my leather pants, my clunky heels and I left.