A Naked Light

I found the fact that I was more stressed out about the wedding than Lindsay terrifying. All week long, I had been bombarded with colour swatches of various pinks, dozens of bridal magazines, shoe shopping and cake tasting. Sugary pastries were dead to me now. Frustration was eating away at my resilience. My life wasn't even in my control anymore and it had to stop, so the first thing I did when I got home from the eighth bakery we'd visited, was call my boss and beg him to put me on the next big project we had.

The moment I stepped into Glamour Kills' Baltimore office, the mere thought of scratchy tulle dresses and rose-coloured fondant faded into oblivion. I smiled at the sound of pens staining paper, phones ringing and impatient executives yelling out orders. I was home.

As I sunk into the worn-out monstrosity I called a chair, the smell of coffee hit my nostrils. Before I knew it, my bag and hoodie were thrown on my desk and I was sprinting down the corridor to the staff room. If there was anything more sacred than caffeine at 8am, I had yet to find it. It took all of ten seconds for me to walk into the room and realize that there was none left for me, before I nearly burst into tears. A quiet voice pulled me out of my daze.

"Why so glum, chum?"

I looked up from the counter and smiled as I saw Skip sitting on a stool with his hands wrapped around a mug, an identical, red, porcelain one right beside it. I grinned and scurried over to his side, perching myself on the seat next to his. "Boy, have I missed you."

"Awe, I'm touched," he gushed, clutching his chest.

"I was talking to the coffee," I murmured, taking a sip.

Skip pressed his lips to his own mug and shrugged. "I figured." He swallowed before looking up at me. "Don't they have coffee at your house?"

I gave him an evil glare. "Lindsey's had me waking up early as fuck to go shopping and scurrying and practically backpacking across this entire goddamn city for her wedding and you think I have time to drink coffee? I've barely had time to breathe, let alone eat or drink." Half the mug was empty by the time I resumed speaking. "I put on my skinny jeans this morning and they were loose. It's sickening."

"Got that right," he smirked. "If you get any skinnier, you'll put the coat rack out of business."

I kicked his shin and giggled as he jerked forward, milk-drenched coffee sputtering down his chin. I smiled and grabbed a napkin, shoving it in his face as he rubbed his leg.

"Low blow, Flick."

The nearly forgotten nickname brightened my mood even more. "I'm sorry, Skip. You had it coming, though."

"Yeah, yeah. I always seem to have it coming with you," he teased. "So, it's been bugging me all day. I couldn't even sleep last night."

I looked at him curiously, trying to decipher his psycho babble.

"Why in the hell would you want to take over a big project with your sister's wedding going on?"

"That statement's redundant, Skip."

"But," he paused. "Doesn't she need you?"

"She needs me to help show off her perfect life to the world," I scoffed. "It's been nearly a week and I'm fed up. I want to work. I want to be stuck in this office for 16 hours straight because I can't get perfection on a page and I want that to go on until she's married to that fiancé of hers and out of my life again."

Skip frowned, watching as I stared at the clouds in my coffee. They looked like unattainable dreams, floating around, bouncing against the walls of the mug as if they were trying to escape. I knew how they felt. I knew how badly they wanted to run away.

"Getting out's not the road you wanna take."

"You're my boss." I stared at him melancholically. "Getting out's exactly what you don't want me to do."

"I'm your boss first, and your friend second, but that doesn't mean it's a less important role. I care about you, Flick." He rubbed my back gently. "I don't like seeing you broken. It makes me want to fix you and sometimes I don't think I can."

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

"Hey, if it ain't broke, don't break it. I just wanna know who broke you because whoever it was, made a big mistake."

I laughed as tears crept to my eyes, threatening to make my mascara run. I blinked them back and looked over at Skip. Something about the way he was looking at me stole my breath. Words seemed next to impossible as his eyes shone in the fluorescent light. Right then, I found myself looking at Skip differently. I could feel my own eyes studying his entire body, analyzing every part of him that went together so perfectly that it all just felt right.

His chestnut hair swooped down in front of his eyes in a haphazard manner, shielding them from the world until the sun hit them and they sparkled like emeralds. Chocolate stubble graced his face like autumn leaves on pavement, accenting his square jaw line. A protective arm lay resting on the back of my chair, callused, worn out fingers brushed against my back, prickling my skin, barely covered by the shirt I was wearing. An ivory chest poked through the yellow v-neck he wore, brightening his face like daybreak. I watched as his perfect smile greeted me like Christmas in December; the right place at the right time. In essence, he was everything I loved and everything I wished I could be, and I suddenly felt stupid for not realizing it sooner. But not nearly as stupid as I did when he pressed his lips to mine, not caring to linger for more than a moment.

"He's an idiot," he whispered. "I'll help put you back together."

I smiled sheepishly, tucking a stray tuft of hair behind my ear. "I'm not broken, Skip. I promise." He gave me a dubious look, but I just pressed my hand to his cheek, stroking my thumb against his skin. "But if I was, you'd be the first person I'd come to for help."

He beamed like a child and all of a sudden, I envisioned Jack sitting right in front of me. Just the thought caused my body to shake with laughter and I sighed as Skip looked at me curiously. I shook my head and he just smirked, kissing my cheek before standing up to leave. "Our project meeting's at 10:30. Don't forget."

"Are you kidding me?" I laughed. "I begged you for this. I couldn't forget if I tried."

"Let's not try, just to be on the safe side."

"Smart ass."

I let Skip leave before I got up from my seat and rinsed out my cup. As I set the mug down on the drying rack, I felt a moment of déjà vu pass me by. I thought about the day Alex had waltzed into my life and our conversation in the kitchen, about how Lindsey had changed and how happy they were together. It was disgusting. She was using him and he was letting her, but I didn't pity him. He deserved it. Deep down, that son of a bitch deserved to be smashed to pieces because he deserved to know how it felt to be on the receiving end of it. He got himself caught in the mantrap and I wasn't going to help fish him out of it, not even as a friend. I frowned, realizing that wasn't even definite, then shrugged it off. Things had been going well so far. I touched my lips, remembering how perfectly Skip's had felt against them. It was almost like being in high school again, only it was the real world, and maybe, just maybe, the real world wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be.

I stared at the clock and yawned, grabbing a Vitamin Water from the fridge. I had more paperwork to go through and a four-inch thick fabric binder to pore over by the end of the week. If I didn't start now, I'd never finish and that would mean being sent back home to cater to Lindsey's every whim. A second hadn't gone by before the thought sent me racing to my desk, eager to get lost in the job I loved so much.