Take Me

Chapter 1

Eight years later

I smiled to myself at the excitement growing in the pit of my stomach. It was March 14th, seventy-five degrees and not a cloud in the sky. It was a good day. A damned good day.

In less then ten minutes I would be at South Florida International Airport to pick up my best friend, Lauren.

I haven't seen her since she left a year and a half ago to study in England at Oxford University. Considering I stayed here in Florida, distance wasn't in our favor.

I made it to the airport with minutes to spare and marveled at how convenient it was to zoom into a parking space just yards from the terminal. No parking garages, no confusing signs, no impatient drivers and rude hand gestures. Fort Myers was blessedly laid back, and that made finding my way all the less nerve wracking.

In the terminal, I boarded the escalator up to the second level where Lauren would be getting off her plane at any moment. I hurried to the gate already imaging Lauren with paled skin from the harsh England winter, and her hair not one bit less curled from the last time I'd seen her.

Pausing in front of the windows, I saw airport personnel preparing to unload the plane's cargo. The first passengers were trickling through the gate when a black limousine glided to a stop at the tarmac. Curious, I watched as the back door opened and a man stepped out.

A business man I assumed, a well-paid business man judging by the cut of his suit. He wore sunglasses and shoes as shiny black as the car.

Standing next to the limo, a breeze blowing tangles of dark hair across his forehead, he reminded me of a model in an advertisement for men's cologne. He had the body- broad shoulders suggested that muscles ripped under that tailored jacket, and a lean waistcoat spoke of regular workouts and skipped desserts. His jaw was angular and clenched as if in perpetual anger, his chin nearly square, with a cleft.

Yeah, he definitely had the "I'm-a-great-smelling-guy" look. All he needed was a blond, too-thin goddess in a form fitting red dress clinging to his arm.

He removed his sunglasses, and I realized with a jolt that he did it to see me better. The blazing Florida sun made him narrow his eyes, and I resisted the urge to shift under the probe of his gaze. I wanted to glance away but couldn't, as if the stare-down had become a dare to see who would buckle first.

A reflection in the window caught my eye, and I pivoted, grinning at the girl I'd known since we were both gangly, looking-for-trouble kids living on the same block. The man and his limo were instantly forgotten.

Lauren dropped her carry-on, and we hugged. Hard.

"God it's so great to see you" I say

Lauren, a small girl with blonde curls that you could without a doubt get a comb stuck in on the first try, she had huge brown eyes and shrews gaze, she drew back to look me up and down.

"Jesus, you've gotten more stunning then usual, what is that? Is that a tattoo?!" Laurens voice grows louder at the flower on my wrist.

My smile grew at the compliment. I wasn't beautiful; my slimness was more athletic due to years of dance than willowy. I had plain long dark auburn hair with waves that frizzed at five percent humidity.

A former boyfriend of mine said my green eyes reminded him of the ocean off the shores of Jamaica, a more-green-then-blue shade that hid the under currents of my emotion too well. My eyes just happen to be the favorite part of my body

"No it's just henna" I assure her. She breathes relaxing a hitch. "First one since junior high"

"Oh gosh don't bring back memories or I'll never leave again" Lauren says pulling me in for another hug. "God I've missed you much Rach" She pulls away and glances around. "I'm starving" She says without missing a beat.