Global Distraction: Distracted, #2

Chapter One

I awoke to a knocking at the door, and when I say ‘knocking’ I mean it sounded like a SWAT team battering ram was trying to break the thing down. Heart beating frantically in my chest, I rolled over to check the alarm clock. Five fifty in the morning. Ugh, it should be illegal to be up this early, let alone wake me at the god-forsaken hour. Add in waking me like the sky is falling and it was downright wrong.

The beating continued and I groaned, tumbling myself out of bed, taking the covers with me.

Damn it! I cursed, trying to find a way out of the silken now-ropes. Surely getting out of bed shouldn’t be this difficult, and when the hell did I get so many sheets? I could never understand how people actually fell out of bed and woke up on the floor ... I couldn’t even get out of the makeshift ties that bound me.

Feeling ungraceful and more than a little grumpy, I got to my feet and made my way to the front door to the still-incessant pounding. Apparently when it came to my house, wherever I was, people made it a habit of trying to break them down. My poor door, it deserved flowers or a strong drink or something. Okay, you’re feeling sorry for a door. Get a grip, Ryen. The voice in my head made sense, but that didn’t stop me from feeling pity for the large hunk of solid wood. It didn’t deserve this treatment, especially this early.

Yeah? I yelled loudly, moving tentatively to the peephole to peer outside. Once upon a time, I would’ve just swung the silly thing open and probably given the person on the other side a piece of my mind. Unfortunately, a series of unbelievable events the past few months made me leery. So, like a good little girl, I was just following rules. Dane’s rules, that is, not mine – regardless of how smart they were.

Dane would be my ... well, I guess I could call him my boyfriend, but that just sounded like I was twelve and playing pattycake under the school bleachers. He and I have been dating for a while now, maybe six months? What, I’m bad about small details like that and it’s not like I drew a heart on the calendar the day we met or the day we decided to ‘go steady.’ Anyway, he’s great, more than likely too good to be true, with one exception: his dear old dad is the head of the mafia in New York. Yep, Godfather-like and all, with, I shit you not, a carnation and everything.

Good thing for Dane, he refused to follow in his father’s footsteps. Bad thing for Dane? He refused to follow in his footsteps. I know, I’m so helpful on this front, I just can’t help it. I’m proud of the man for standing strong to his morals, for ultimately giving Gianpaolo the finger, but at the same time, I worried every day now. Why would I worry? Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because his father threatened to ‘take me out’ if his heir didn’t change his mind. I’m pretty sure he’s not talking about taking me to dinner or dancing, either.

"Ryen? Are you ever going to open this door?"

I relaxed against the wood, a sigh of relief bubbling through me. Just the man I was thinking about. His voice was familiar, enticing, and still gave me little butterflies in my stomach, as corny as that was. Gathering myself, I unbolted the locks – I now had three of them, courtesy of said boyfriend – and opened the door, Dane’s eyes taking me in almost immediately.

He looked fantastic for this early in the morning; the terms bright-eyed and bushy-tailed came to mind. Jeans, signature pressed button-down with the sleeves rolled up, and the standard three-day stubble on his cheeks, he was every girl’s wet dream. I didn’t think that ... okay, I did ... but luckily he was my non-dream. And, let me tell you, reality is much better than nocturnal fantasy.

Hey, baby, he started, moving in to sweep me into his arms. I went willingly, breathing him in as his arms wrapped around me. As always, the world threatened to fall away for me in his embrace and I stepped back, quickly aware that I was half naked.

Mmmm, I murmured, somewhere between a contented sound and a grump, waving him inside and looking down. Yep, still in panties and a crop tank top with no bra. I said a silent prayer that my neighbors hadn’t gotten a show – that was one of the last things I needed. Clothes, I told him as he shut the door and I went back to my bedroom. Thankfully for me Dane understood Ryen speak, and knew I wanted to get dressed and that I wasn’t blowing him off. It’s something some people take for granted – I knew men in my past who would’ve gotten angry that I didn’t stay and make small talk first, or would be mad that I left the room with a one-worded explanation. It’s the little things.

I like what you’re wearing now. Dane’s voice from right behind me startled me and he snickered. I spun in my closet to find him grinning, his arms outstretched to reach for me.

Nuh-uh. I shook my head, stepping back as I blindly grabbed a shirt and a pair of jeans from their hangers. "No funny business. It’s entirely too early. Feed me first, then funny business."

Dane held his hands up in an ‘okay okay’ gesture, his smile never wavering at my short words. Coffee? he asked and I nodded, dressing. He shot me one last lustful grin before leaving the room. Thank God for coffee.

Shimmying into my jeans, I bounced into the bathroom. After washing my face and brushing my teeth, I ran a comb through my hair. I really needed a haircut. My deep chestnut mane was getting long, really long, but Dane liked it. The memory of him brushing and braiding my hair a couple nights ago brought a smile to my face. The little things, I tell you, definitely the little things.

Giving up on an actual style, I pulled it into a top knot. I momentarily debated the merits of slapping on some makeup, but quickly changed my mind. It was just after six, I hadn’t had coffee or food, and I’d stayed up late talking to Dane on the phone. Wow, so I really did sound like I was twelve, but it couldn’t be helped. See, he lived in Birmingham, me in Atlanta. Only two hours away, but while we both made the effort to see each other a few days a week, sometimes the phone was all we had. Jobs got in the way, despite the fact that I’d gone part time – add in my newfound photography hobby, and it was like I was working full time again. Luckily, Dane didn’t seem to mind – quite the opposite, really. He was very supportive and, on nights like last night, when I was tired, he’d call and we’d watch TV together on the phone, or just talk. All of that culminated in me not passing out until almost three.

That coffee better be ready! I yelled, still sounding grumpy, even to myself, and made my way into the kitchen. It was seriously unfair that he could stand at the cabinets, pouring coffee into mugs, looking like he’d slept forever. If I was doing math right, which was iffy on such a lack of sleep, I’d say the man hadn’t even gone to bed yet. What did you do? Hop in your car the minute we got off the phone?

Here. He handed me a cup and ushered me to a stool at the bar. I blew the steam from the drink and took a tentative sip, pleased to find it prepped to perfection. You’ve trained him well, the voice in my head praised and I smiled, remembering our first ‘date’ and his Texas chainsaw massacre of coffee at the restaurant. No, I left about a half hour after we hung up, not a minute, he explained, full of humor, pulling me from my thoughts.

Why? The question left my lips sounding way worse than I’d meant them to. We’d made plans to get together on Friday; it was Thursday. Sure, I didn’t have to work this morning, but it was still god-awful early, and I wasn’t expecting him. Luckily, Dane just smiled at my mood and sat beside me.

Can’t I just miss you?

No ... not at this hour of morning you can’t, I answered, though my words held no heat to them now. How could they? The thought of him driving all this way, on no sleep, merely because he was missing me – totally swoon worthy. "Besides, you know how much I hate mornings. This is almost cruel. Not seeing you, I mean, that’s not cruel, but being awake right now is. And why didn’t you use your key?"

Dane had upgraded to key status three months ago. It’d been a big step for me – I’d never given my key to anyone before, well, no other man before, but it felt right. The fact that he’d surprised me on multiple occasions made it even better. Home-cooked dinners, junk food movie dates on the couch, black-tie event surprises – I reveled in it, in him. I kept waiting for him to turn into a frog, but so far, so good. Sure, we fought, but they usually lasted all of ten minutes. For the first time in my life I was in a real, adult-style relationship.

I know you hate being up with the sun, sorry about that. And I couldn’t use my key – you were on the phone with me last night when you hooked the chain on the door. Remember?

Oh yeah, I did do that. Oh, right.

A knock sounded on the door again and I froze. The only other person who may have dropped by my house was out of town. Elle, her husband Nick, and their twins were in Orlando doing the Mickey ears and stuff at Disney. My gaze moved to Dane, who just raised an eyebrow, shook his head, and grinned. He stood to open the door and spoke softly for a moment before shutting it, two big brown bags in his hands. I started to question who it was, but the smell of breakfast made its way over to me.

Bacon? I asked, sniffing the air like a dog. My mouth immediately watered and I steeled myself, not wanting to attack the bags like a hungry beast. Dane definitely knew me – wake me up early and I require coffee and food, in that order.

And pancakes and syrup, some eggs too, if you’re good.

I watched patiently as he plated the food before setting them on the bar. Wasting no time, I dumped maple syrup on my pancakes and took a large bite. Heaven. Dane reached over and ran a thumb across my lip, catching a drop of the sweet liquid as it threatened to drip down my chin. The motion captured me and I followed it as he placed his thumb in his mouth, sucking it off. Damn.

Breakfast, I groaned, knowing what he was doing. Swallowing hard, I reached for my coffee – the food hurt going down, not quite chewed enough. He was seducing me and he hadn’t even done anything. No. Nope. Not going to happen. Food, then the reason he was here – I was glad to see him, don’t get me wrong, but Dane didn’t do things without a real reason. Showing up at my place with food at six o’clock at night? Sure. Show up at six o’clock in the morning? No way – the man knew me better than that.

Start talking. Why are you here so early, Dane? I tried very hard to ignore his gaze, instead staring at my food as I spoke, using my best no-nonsense tone.

Couldn’t I just be missing you? he tried again, taking a bite of his own. I caught myself watching him again and inwardly scolded myself, forcing my gaze back to my own plate. Focus, Ryen.

"No. I mean, you could, but I know you better than that. Hell, you know me better than that. So spill."

Okay, okay. I wanted to see how you felt about something. See, I’ve been thinking ... Why don’t we take a vacation?

I just took a vacation, remember? New York City? You were there ... we were there ... together. That’s where we ‘started.’ I may have even used air quotes on the word ‘started.’ Don’t judge me.

Dane shook his head. "That wasn’t a vacation - I still had to work. Besides, there we had to deal with the outside world. I want to take you away somewhere. Away, away."

"We’ll always have to deal with the outside world, babe, it’s part of, well, the world. And I can’t – my work isn’t going to just give me time off again. I’m surprised they let me take an open-ended vacation the last time."

I was thinking we should go abroad. See the world some – you said you wanted to, remember?

I had said that ... at about two this morning. Yes, I did say that.

Dane reached into his back pocket, pulled out a couple pieces of paper, and pushed them toward me. I hesitantly put my fork down and took them, unfolding them to read the print. It was an itinerary ... for two. Paris, London, Dublin, Edinburgh, Sydney. Was he nuts? All those places would take forever to see!

Dane... I started, but he cut me off.

You work is already taken care of – I spoke to Carol this morning.

"What!? You’re going to get me fired, Dane!"

You’re not fired. You’re taking a leave of absence, a vacation, with me. She’s already approved it – no problem. So, what do you say?

What do I say? And what the hell do you mean she’s approved a leave of absence? There’s not a chance in hell she’d ever agree to that. My voice was rising, growing loud in the quiet of my kitchen, but I couldn’t help it. Surprises and me had a love/hate relationship. Little surprises equal good. Big surprises threw me off and generally resulted in a pissed-off Ryen.

Ryen, come on. I want to show you the world. You want to see the world. It’s a win. We’ll be gone a month or two – I’m paying, you don’t have to worry about anything. And, like I said, Carol has already agreed.

You don’t have to pay for everything, I said petulantly. He was winning me over, I could already feel it. This was the problem arguing with him – it never felt like I won. Usually, I was just overreacting. Was I now? Maybe. Here was my man, wanting to take me across the freaking globe, and I was being stupid. Did I want to go? Yes. Had we just talked about me wanting to go? Sigh, yes we had. But I actually cared about my job. As a general rule, I liked my job, with the exception of the asshole doctor who’d recently come aboard. I didn’t want to get fired. At the same time, I knew Dane wouldn’t lie to me, so if he said Carol already approved the time off, then she did. He must’ve done some crazy good smooth talking to win her over.

Fine, I finally relented, going with my gut and what would make him happy. Of course it would make me happy too, but I was sticking with making him happy for now.

Dane lit up like a stinking Christmas tree at my acquiescence. I’m sure he expected a much bigger fight from me, which, I was right, seeing the tension leave his shoulders. Seriously, he almost slumped.

When do we leave? I asked around another bite of my pancakes, grimacing that they were starting to get cold and slightly soggy.

Tomorrow.

*Me: I’m going on a vacation, I guess*

*Elle: I heard*

*Me: What do you mean ‘you heard?’*

*Elle: Dane called - asked my approval, of all things. I’m crazy jealous, by the way*

*Elle: The girls said to bring them something back – it’s the only way they’ll forgive you*

*Me: Forgive me for what?!*

*Elle: ...for missing their birthday party*

My heart dropped. I’d completely forgotten about Macey and Kallie’s fairy-themed birthday party. It was in three weeks ... their third birthday. Shit.

*Me: OMG. I completely forgot... maybe I can get Dane to cancel or postpone...or we can come back early...*

*Elle: Don’t you dare. They’re fine. I wasn’t trying to guilt you, except the part about me being jealous. The girls are excited for all the presents you’ll bring them anyway*

*Elle: Gotta go, Cinderella’s here to talk to them. Have fun, be safe, and know I’m green with envy.*

Feeling like crap on toast, I turned back to my suitcase and the clothes on my bed. After a slight panic attack, and fighting the desire to curl up into a ball like I child, I’d decided I needed to pack. Tomorrow would be here in no time – I suddenly wasn’t so upset that it was so early in the morning. Problem was, I had no idea what to pack, no idea what the weather was even like abroad, so I was taking a little of everything. If push came to shove, I could always just buy new things over there. I had no delusions of grandeur – I knew I would be shopping anyway. It wasn’t a hardship.

I’d never missed a moment of my godchildren’s lives. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmases, birthdays, Easters, you name it and Aunt Ryen was there. Missing their party, knowing how excited they were for it, was almost physically painful, almost like missing my own children’s birthday party. How could I have forgotten, even for a moment? It had to be the lack of sleep, seeing as I’d even gone shopping with them for their fairy outfits, helped make their wings. And when I say helped, I mean I stayed up for two days to be sure every piece of glitter was in