Skye

　　I headed into my apartment that I shared with my best friend, Amy. I kicked my shoes off and threw myself down on the sofa. I grabbed a pillow, covering my face and screaming into it. Yes, it has been one of those kinds of days. I tossed the pillow away, and closed my eyes, concentrating on my breathing, trying to calm myself.

　　“You OK?” I heard a male voice say.

　　I squealed, fell off the sofa and landed right on my ass. Who the hell was that? Why is some man in my apartment? I looked up and standing there was none other than the sexiest guy I have ever laid my eyes on. Parker. Amy’s brothers. He was beautiful. But what was he doing here? The last I heard he was travelling the world with his girlfriend. They were supposed to be away for a year, but they only left six months ago.

　　“Christ! A warning would have been nice, Parker,” I groaned, sitting up.

　　“Are you OK?” He managed to get out between his laughs.

　　“Not funny! I now have a sore ass,” I said, annoyed.

　　He came to where I was, offering me his hand. I glared at him but took it, and he helped me to my feet. I stumbled, falling into his chest, his muscular, hard chest, and his arms slipped around me. Oh my, hello there. No, stop Skye.

　　“Still as clumsy as ever I see,” He laughed.

　　“Some things never change,” I giggled, “What are you doing here? I thought you were travelling?” I added.

　　“Things changed,” He said, his arms still around me.

　　Don’t get lost in his brown eyes. Don’t get lost in his brown eyes.

　　I repeated this to myself in my head. I have always had a little crush on him, but I wouldn’t go down that road. That is a line I will not cross. One because he was Amy’s brother, and that could make things complicated. Two because he was too gorgeous for little old me. And three, he was a bit older than me, nine years to be exact. I was twenty-three, he was thirty-two. I know that isn’t too bad, but Parker prefers woman his age, not younger. He has been with his girlfriend for four years, and she was stunning.

　　“I am guessing Amy didn’t tell you I was here. And that I would be staying? Only until I find an apartment since I gave my last one up,” He said, removing his arms from around me.

　　“Nope, she didn’t say a word,” I said, “No, Heidi?” I added.

　　Those two were always together. It was strange she wasn’t here.

　　“Nope, she is in Greece with her new boyfriend,” He said.

　　“What? You aren’t together anymore?” I said, shocked.

　　I am not one for believing in soul mates and all that, but I honestly thought those two were. I was sure they were going to get married and have beautiful babies one day.

　　“Nope,” He said.

　　“I am sorry, Parker,” I said, squeezing his hand.

　　“Shit happens, can we not talk about this anymore, please?” He sighed.

　　I nodded. I didn’t want to upset him or pus him on it. I was still shocked, though. I didn’t think she was the type to do that.

　　“You still haven’t answered my question. Are you OK? You look like you had a tough day,” He said.

　　“Just stressed with work,” I said, “But that is not unusual for me,” I added laughing.

　　“No, you have always been a stressor,” He chuckled.

　　Amy and I have been friends since we were five, so I have known both of them for a long time. Parker was always around when we were growing up because he went to college close to home. Plus, Amy’s parents worked a lot, more than they should have, so he helped raise Amy.

　　“Coffee?” I asked.

　　“Coffee sounds good,” He smiled.

　　We headed into the kitchen, and I made us both a coffee, sitting down at the table. I have not had a chance to talk to him much in the last few years. He did a lot of travelling, so he wasn’t around much, and when he was, it wasn’t for long, or I wasn’t home.

　　“What has been going on with you? Amy told me you finally dumped that jackass you were dating?” He spoke.

　　“Yes, I saw sense,” I giggled, “He is long gone,” I added.

　　He was referring to my ex, Spencer. I was with him for about a year, and we broke up a few months ago. He was an idiot. I don’t even know why I stuck with him for so long. He was nothing special.

　　“Good, you deserved better than him,” He said, “Both you and Amy have terrible taste in men,” He added laughing.

　　“It isn’t our fault all guys aren’t like you,” I said.

　　“Like me? Should I take offence to that or take it as a compliment?” He laughed.

　　“A compliment, you are one of the good guys,” I smiled.

　　It was true, he was. Yes, he was a bit of an asshole when he was younger, who isn’t. Now though, he was a good man, charming and caring with a heart of gold. Heidi was an idiot, letting him go.

　　“Thank you, but obviously not good enough,” He sighed, taking a sip of his coffee.

　　“This is all on her, Parker, not you,” I said.

　　Parker gave me a small smile and then changed the subject. I could tell he was hurting and rightly so. It makes me wonder; do you truly know anyone? I am sure Parker didn’t expect to go travel the world with his girlfriend and end up coming home alone.

　　“Maybe, wish that would make it hurt less,” He said.

　　I reached over the table, resting my hand over his. He lifted his head to look at me.

　　“I am sorry you are hurting, Parker, you don’t deserve that,” I said softly, “You deserve better than her,” I added.

　　“Thanks,” He said, squeezing my hand back.

　　I tried to ignore the way my body was responding to his touch. This was not the time for it. I gave him a soft smile and pulled my hand away. A silence came between us, as we sipped our coffee. I wasn’t sure what else to say to him.

　　“SKYE. PARKER. ARE YOU HOME?” We hear Amy call out from the hallway.

　　“Kitchen,” I called back.

　　Amy came waltzing in, smiling brightly. The girl is always smiling.

　　“Hey Skye, Parker is staying for a little while. Is that alright?” She giggled.

　　“Yes, that is fine, but a heads up would have been nice,” I laughed, “I got a fright earlier because I had no clue he was here,” I added, shaking my head.

　　“She fell off the sofa, right on to her ass,” Parker said, laughing loudly.

　　I glared at him, which made him laugh harder. I ended up laughing with him. Amy looks between us, looking slightly surprised.

　　“You seem like you are doing better,” Amy smiled, looking at Parker.

　　“Not really, but Skye has been a good distraction with her clumsiness,” He smiled.

　　“Glad I could help,” I snickered, shaking my head.

　　I was glad I had distracted him, even only for a little while.

　　“Good,” Amy smiled, hugging her brother.

　　She grabbed a coffee and joined us at the table.

　　“How has your day been, sis?” Parker asked.

　　“I have had a good day,” She said, smiling.

　　The two of them chatted about her day, and about how Parker was doing. I left them to it. If Parker wanted to talk about it, he would rather me not be there when he does. I understood that, and I was OK with it.

　　I needed a shower, comfy clothes and a nap anyway. I was exhausted, mentally and physically. It would give those two, time to catch up to because if he only arrived today, they wouldn’t have had much time to talk before Amy had to go work.

　　I would join them later. I am sure the three of us can find something to keep ourselves occupied. I don’t know how this is going to go, though, Parker staying here with us. I thought I was over my crush, but I was lying to myself because seeing him today has made me realise it is still there. It wasn’t just a crush now though, it was a strong attraction to him, with a hint of lust. Him being around isn’t going to help with that.

　　I will just need to find ways to deal with it. I would not go there ever! And as I previously said, I wasn’t his type for many reasons, which was OK. He was Amy’s brother; after all, it was good that this was only a one-sided thing.

　　I sighed, going into my bedroom to grab what I needed for my shower.

　　You got this, Skye.