Ten Days of Perfect (November Blue #1)

“Awe, thanks!”

“I told him to leave us alone, and you’d call him if you wanted to.” She smiled. “But I told him I would meet him tomorrow at Finnegan’s after I got out of work.”

Monica’s brow furrowed as I continued.

“He knows that I know what Bo said and, Monica, if I’m going to be spending any more time with him I need some more information on their discussion.” It wasn’t fair. Not to Josh, Monica, or Bo - especially Bo - that I was stalking out his feelings for me, and via Josh, no less.

“Why can’t you just bring it up with Bo?”

“I will talk to him about it, when he’s ready to talk to me about it. I’m sure he never intended for Josh to tell anything.”

Before she could answer, my phone dinged with a text message.

Bo: Wish I could see you now “Who’s that?” Monica questioned “Bo wishes he could see me.” I tried to shrug off the Irish jig trampling my insides.

“Em, you don’t need me here taking up your possibly limited time with Hottie Mc Guitar!” I flinched a little at ‘limited’, but quite enjoyed her nickname for him.

“Ha, thanks for your concern. But he’s in New Hampshire tonight - we’re going to get together tomorrow.” I picked up my phone and texted him back.

Me: I miss you too. Wish you were in town.

Bo: Me too.

Me: I’ve got to talk to Josh tomorrow after work, at Finnegan’s . . . stuff about Monica and whatever - want to meet me there around 7 and we can decide what to do from there?

Bo: I’ve got a better idea. I’ll text you in a little bit.

I didn’t text back; I just smiled at my phone.

“Ember,” Monica said dreamily, “it’s so nice to see you happy.”

“I’m always happy, you know that. My happiness and men are mutually exclusive. Though, it is nice when they intersect,” I winked.

“You know what I mean.”

We sat for a couple of hours, and I was supportive as Monica yelled, cried, laughed, and cried some more about her breakup with Josh. When there were no more tears left I drove her home – she wasn’t in any condition to drive on a number of levels. After she was safely in her apartment, I returned to mine. I ambled up the stairs, reached for my phone, and texted Bo.

Me: I really do miss you I hit send and immediately jumped at a beeping noise at the top of the stairs. What the hell?

As I rounded the corner I gasped at Bo sitting on the top step, just outside my door, elbows planted firmly on his knees, hands clasped in front of him. Sitting on that ‘Welcome’ mat under which my resolve hides, I see.

“What are you doing here?” I could barely contain the ridiculous smile crossing my lips.

“I told you I wished I could see you.” He shrugged, cocked his head to the side and drew a slow smile.

“Well, you made good time, weirdo stalker.” I was quite aware of the roughly 2.5 hour drive time from Concord to Barnstable. I sat next to him on the stairs and leaned my shoulder on his. I was emotionally drained, in all ways good and bad. Bo curled his arm around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head as he drew me in.

“You smell good,” I whispered as I turned my face toward his neck, kissing it softly.

“Mmm, you do too.” He buried his nose in my hair. “Come take a walk with me?”

“A walk? It’s nearly midnight.”

“We’ll drive down to the beach. The moon is huge. Please?” He stood and held his hand out to me.

Oh, what the hell.

*

I was thankful for the unseasonably warm weather as we strolled down the moonlit beach, hand in hand. Bo didn’t speak during our five minute drive, and I didn’t interrupt the silence. The past twenty-four hours were weighing heavy on me.

“Sorry, again, about today. It was all so much - Josh and Monica, my parents last night . . .” I shook my head and gazed at the heaving sea.

“November, stop apologizing. We’ve had a lot thrown at us from all different directions. How was the time with your parents?” His sincerity was palpable.

I wondered if I would smell the sorrow if I didn’t know his parents were dead. I stopped where I was and folded down to the sand, begging my tears to stay at bay. I hadn’t had a lot of time to process what my parents and I had spoken about the night before. Reckless abandon. Raven’s words echoed through my body as I remembered that I need to commit with my heart or my mind.

“They were all raised eyebrows, mouths open; they saw the open guitar case and asked what was going on.”

“What’d you tell them?” Bo sat next to me and gave me a little nudge.

Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.

“Um…”

Don’t cry!

“November,” he lifted my chin with his index finger and turned my face toward his, “what is it?” The pure light from the moon flooded his eyes with concern.

Don’t cry.