Ten Days of Perfect (November Blue #1)

Bo’s phone rang. His face darkened when he looked at the caller ID.

“Um, I’ll leave you alone; I’m going to wander up to the widow’s watch.” I gave him a quick peck on the cheek, turned on my heels and didn’t look back - having an idea what that call was about.

The winding stairway to the upper most point in the house was brightly lit from the sunlight. When I reached the top and opened the door, Rachel and I both jumped.

“Sorry, Bo got a call so I’m wandering,” I stood outside of the room.

“Come in, silly. It’s not like I’m naked in here,” Rachel laughed.

When I entered, I gasped at the view. I didn’t know the city limits of Concord, but was pretty sure I could see them from where I stood. The stained glass window cast rainbow shadows throughout the room, but enough natural light peered in to keep out the church feel. The windows went all the way to the floor, where Rachel sat cross-legged.

“Sit,” She patted the dark wooden floor next to her. I sat, mimicking her position, and admired the view.

“It’s so peaceful,” I whispered.

“Isn’t it great? I feel like I’ve spent half my life up here,” she said wistfully. “So, you’ve had some meetings with Bo at your organization, right?” She turned to me.

“Yeah, we had a couple last week, including one with David Bryson,” I said, looking back at her.

“So, then, you know ‘my story.’” She put in air-quotes.

“Oh. Yeah, I do.” I shrugged, trying to keep emotion out of my voice.

“I just don’t want you to feel uncomfortable around me. I’m working on myself all the time, everyone knows, most people aren’t assholes about it.”

“Most people?”

“Well, you know, when you’re in your early twenties, your friends tell you they just want you to come out with them ‘to dance’ or just ‘hang out.’ Sometimes I can do that, no problem, but it’s the days that I’m feeling sad, depressed, angry, or otherwise weak that I don’t want to be around all of that. So, I don’t go out, and they don’t always get it.” I was impressed by her maturity and confidence.

We sat in silence for a few more seconds, before Bo’s footsteps drummed up the stairs.

“There you guys are,” he said as he entered the room. “Rae, I thought for sure you sent Ember running for the hills.” He sat between us.

“Ha. Hardly, Bo. You have no idea how happy it makes me to finally see you happy,” Rachel cooed as she rested her head on Bo’s shoulder.

Watching them, it was the first time I realized that I couldn’t comprehend the weight that had been on Bo’s shoulders for the past few years. The thought sent fresh tears to my eyes; I excused myself and made a bee-line to Bo’s bedroom.

When I got to his room I called Monica.

“Hey Em! How’s the trip?” She sounded cheerful, which was a good sign as far as she and Josh were concerned.

“It’s great so far. You should see his place - it’s a fucking palace. He has a recording studio in his basement.” I stopped there to avoid revealing my parents album that she had no idea about.

“You sound weird, is everything ok?” How does she do that?

“Yea. I met his sister, she’s great Mon. She loves Bo so much, it’s lovely to see but heartbreaking at the same time, knowing what they’ve been through.” I felt better getting it out there, and the tears stayed at bay.

“Well, he’s amazing, we all knew that. Have a great rest of the weekend and call or text me with the inappropriate details.”

“Hey, wait, how are things with Josh?”

“All good.” I could tell by the smile in her voice that he was standing next to her.

“Get a room. Bye.”

Suddenly, exhaustion bested me. Bo and Rachel were still up in the watch talking, so I crossed over to the bed. As I lay back, on top of the blankets, the emotional ups and downs of the week caught up with me and I gave in to the warm embrace of sleep.

*

“Ember. Hey,” soft whispers pulled me from a deep sleep. “Babe, wake up.” Bo kissed from my forehead to my collarbone.

I peeled my eyes open. According to the alarm clock it was 6:00pm; I’d been asleep for a few hours.

“Shit, sorry, I was exhausted.” I sat up slowly and tilted my head side to side. “Did I miss Rachel leaving? Did she go back to school yet?” I yawned.

“No, actually she likes you so much she wanted to stay and have dinner with us. She’s meeting some friends right now and we’ll catch up with her at the pub in an hour. Wanna shower?” Bo grinned ear to ear.

“Mmm. You bet I do.”

I sat up on my knees and rapped my arms around his neck; pressing my mouth to his. He responded by forcing my hips back down to the bed. Without wasting time, I pulled his shirt up and tossed it on the floor. He did the same with mine, before reaching for my pants.

“I love you, November.” He kept his hands on my face as he pulled away. Every single time he’d said that, he’d looked right in my eyes. This time was no different.

“I love you,” I replied, gripping the back of his neck.