Rey heard the key turning her door handle of the front door to her studio apartment. She heard the floorboards creaking and a clacking noise as someone wearing high heels approached noisily by her bedside.
She couldn't see who it was because she had multiple layers of fabric covering her head and body. She knew though, she knew it was Rose Tico.
Who else but her best friend would barge into her apartment early in the morning and prance on over to her bed when she had made it clear to everyone in her life that she just wanted to be left alone.
The apartment was still enveloped in darkness. Rey liked to keep the lights off, with the only light being that from a window with sheer fabric blinds.
In an instant Rey was blinded by the light streaming through the blinds and seeing Rose crouched down beside her twin bed, her face mere inches from Rey's with her comforter held tightly in her fingers after she had yanked the covers off of Rey.
Rey shielded her eyes from the light.
"What the hell, Rose? What are you doing here? I don't have to be at work until 9 this morning. Just leave me alone.", Rey shouted at her, pulling back away from Rose's face, and shaking her head in disbelief that Rose had just let herself into her apartment.
Rose bit her lip and shook her head at Rey. "Rey its 9:30 already. Finn was concerned when you didn't show up at the café and sent me to check up on you", Rose exclaimed.
After she had lost her job three months prior at the law firm where she had worked for the past 6 years as a paralegal for being constantly late for two months straight, Rose's husband Finn, had offered her a job at their café that they had recently open.
Walking two blocks to the café and starting work at 9 am had seemed like a good situation for Rey. She was struggling to get by since she lost her fiancé, Armitage Hux or Armie as she affectionately had called him, in a car accident five months ago.
She took up several writing gigs, which she mostly completed at night after she got off her shift at the café.
Even working 12 hours a day couldn't make up for the loss of income and Rey felt like she was drowning financially as well as personally.
Rey shot up from the be bed, nearly knocking Rose down.
"Shit, shit, shit", she kept repeating as she ran to her closet to grab clothes to put on and then frantically locked herself in the bathroom to get ready and change her clothes.
"I'm so sorry Rose. I'll be ready in 10 minutes and I'll walk back to the Café with you", she shouted between spitting out her toothpaste after brushing her teeth.
Fifteen minutes later, Rey and Rose were hurrying out her door. Rey had gotten dressed rapidly and hadn't taken the time to groom herself properly. She had walked out sans deodorant, her hair was uncombed and she hadn't washed her face so there was still remnants of mascara under her eyes.
She hadn't slept well the night before. She had woken up after seeing an image of Armie, lying in a pile of broken glass, bruised and bloody in the asphalt of the street. His eyes were staring lifelessly as she peered down at him.
She had started screaming in her dream and woken herself up. She couldn't go back to sleep after that episode. She had sobbed into her pillow until tiredness had overwhelmed her.
She knew her eyes were still red and puffy from her tears, in addition to having deep purple tinged bags under her eyes.
She knew she looked like a hot mess and she didn't care. She just wanted to go to work, make it through the day without breaking down in tears and then leave to go back home to a silent, empty apartment.
She tried to pick up her pace while walking, so much so that she started to stumble and almost tripped when the toe of her sneaker hit the deep groove of the sidewalk. She started to fall forward when she heard footsteps rushing up from behind her. Rose grabbed her arm as she fell forward.
"Oh girl. Don't rush. We are almost there. We all have tough mornings and I know the mornings have been even tougher for you since Armitage passed. Finn and I are here to support you", she reassured Rey.
Rey smiled and glanced towards Rose. She knew that Rose and Finn were there for her. She'd been friends with them both for over a decade. She was the maid of honor at their wedding. Rose was supposed to be the maid of honor at Rey's wedding.
If it hadn't been for them, she wouldn't have had a steady source of income over the last past months. Working at the café wasn't as glamorous as working at a law office but she didn't have to worry about putting on a front that she couldn't maintain.
The suits that she wore every day as a paralegal were now shoved to the back of her closet. She didn't eat out at fancy restaurants for client lunches or dinners anymore. If it wasn't for Rose and Finn forcing her to take leftovers from the café she barely would remember to eat.
Rose and Finn had been there for her emotionally as well as financially. They reminded her that life was worth living and that she had to go on living her life.
Rose constantly told her that Armie loved her more than life itself and he wouldn't have wanted to see her withering away to nothing as she laid in her bed all day and night, curled under her covers, consumed by her desolation and sadness.
She prayed that he would come back to her. She knew that wasn't a possibility, but her heart ached for him even if she knew that he was gone.
Finn and Rose took turns coming over to her apartment and talking to her. They made sure she took her medication that her doctor had given her that he had said would alleviate some of her pain and sadness. They reminded her to bathe and to wash her clothing. Things she never thought she would need any reminding of.
Finn glanced up from the counter he was standing behind once Rose and herself walked in through the door.
He smiled at her. "Hey peanut. Glad to see you up and about today". She nodded and grabbed the black apron that was hung from a hook on the wall and tied it around her waist. Rey nodded at him and walked over to the customers in the corner booth that had just arrived.
She put on a large grin and asked them what she could get for them.
The café wasn't particularly busy that day but she made a decent amount of tips and even though her feet throbbed and her knees wobbled as she stood, running orders back to the kitchen, Rey was satisfied with what she had made.
The busier days were always welcomed because being busy kept Reys mind off of her loneliness.
The café was small. It only had seating for up to 20 customers, but Finn and Rose had ensured that the atmosphere was homey and bright. They painted the walls yellow, and Finn would say that the color of paint matched his perception of Rey. 'A ray of sunshine in his life' he would tell her.
She had met Armie during freshman orientation at Jakku State University in Long Island, New York. He was her dorm's Resident Assistant, a senior and lived on the floor below her. The first night she had met him they sat in her dorm room chatting about their lives and found that they had many common interests.
Her roommate Kaydel was rarely there as she lived 20 minutes from the University and spent most of her nights back at home or with her boyfriend. Rey saw it as a waste of money. Rey was on a full needs-based scholarship. She knew money didn't grow on trees and was thankful that she had the opportunity to earn her degree and to live on campus.
Armie's family came from money but he never made her feel like she was any less because of where she had come from. She worked hard during her time in school studying political science. He worked at the school bookstore part time.
After their initial meeting, Rey and Armie were never apart. He brought her home with him on holiday breaks since she didn't have any living family members. His family welcomed her with open arms.
After graduation, he started his master's program there and took a job as a teaching assistant so that he could be on campus more often to see Rey. They had dinner together almost every night.
After she had graduated with her bachelor's degree, she landed a job at a prestigious law firm where Armie's father worked at. She was thankful for the job even though she spent most of her day running coffee orders, , picking up dry cleaning and fielding calls for the partners rather then actually doing anything remotely related to law.
She moved in with Armie in a small studio apartment in Brooklyn because both of their salaries combined didn't add up to Manhattan apartment prices.
It wasn't until after she earned her Master of Legal Studies through taking online courses two years later that she actually started to be given work relating to cases that the firm was working on.
Armie made her feel like she was a princess sitting on a pedestal that he was worshipping even if the partners treated her like she was old bubble gum stuck to the heels of their oxford wingback shoes. Even as the role of a paralegal she was assigned to smaller, low profile cases to research. She wasn't privy to the high-profile corporate defense cases that she saw made the news.
Armie took her out to nice restaurants, bought her frilly, pretty dresses and spoiled her with more than she ever had in her life growing up. She hadn't had much in terms of material items as a child growing up in the foster system. She had put most of her items in a trash bag which she had taken with her from home to home.
Even when he proposed, it was more than she had ever expected. When Armie asked Rey to join him in Denver at a professional conference hey had gone to the top of what people had coined as "the lovers ravine" as it was known for a clear view of the city and was known as a popular proposal site.
Rey looked down at the beautiful diamond and sapphire encrusted ring on her right hand. She felt like Armie was still there with her when she glanced down at the ring. It was as if part of him was with her everywhere she went even if he wasn't there with her physically.
As she was sweeping the floor of the café after her shift ended, Rose came up to her and laid a hand on her shoulder.
She examined her face and frowned. "Darling you don't look you've been getting a lot of sleep. Your bags under your eyes are much more pronounced then usual", she told her.
Rey bit her lip and looked away from Rose. "That's because I haven't been getting much sleep. I keep waking up in the middle of the night from nightmares about Armie. Sometimes he's laying in a pool of blood and broken glass next to his flipped car and sometimes he's laying on a table in the morgue, bloody and cut up. Just like he did when I had to go to identify his body. The images keep haunting my dreams. I wake up screaming and can't go back to sleep", She explained with tears welling up in her eyes.
Rose looked at her concerned. "Do you have nightmares every night?", she asked.
"Practically every night. Sometimes I cry myself to sleep and wake up with just an overwhelming feeling of sadness.
Rose pulled out her phone and pulled up a webpage, which she showed to Rey.
"I know you are not ready to put yourself out there into the dating pool again but maybe you should consider a 'Cuddle Buddy'. My sister Paige used one after she broke up with her long term boyfriend. She said he was completely professional and made her feel completely at ease during every session.", Rose explained
Rey frowned and wrinkled her forehead. "What is a cuddle buddy?", she questioned.
Rose grabbed the chair at a table by the front window and gestured for Rey to site down as she looked at a profile of a Cuddle Buddy named 'Kylo Ren', that Rose had brought up. It almost looked like a photo from a dating profile but his photo was more casual. It was a photo of a tall man with shoulder length silky black hair, fair skin and gleaming amber eyes. He was sitting on top of a bed, holding a pillow and smiling.
Rose giggle as she pointed to Kylo's profile. "A cuddle buddy is a professional cuddler. You pay to cuddle with them. They'll come to your home. They will hold you Whereever you want. Your bed, couch, fouton, ect. Its not sexual. Cuddle Buddies aren't sex workers. You are paying for their time, companionship and for the comfort that they provide you by them holding and cuddling with you", she explained.
He's really a handsome man, Rey thought as she stared at Kylo's profile. She read it out loud to Rose.
'Hi I'm Kylo Ren. I'm 34, single and a lawyer during my day job. At night I am here to bring you the comfort and security that you need. I guarantee you will sleep better with me by your side and wake up refreshed and relaxed.'
"He's a lawyer..uhh ..I don't know about that. I dealt with a lot of lawyers when I worked at Armie's dads law firm and 9- percent of them were arrogant, pompous assholes who treated me like I was there to serve them at their beck and call when I was the paralegal. It was even worse when I was the administrative assistant before I earned my graduate degree", Rey complained and let out a sigh.
"He's who Paige used and within two weeks of using his services she was sleeping better and performed so much better at her job. She didn't need him anymore after that. She said he was a perfect gentleman and even recommended certain sleeping positions that would lead to her being more relaxed in her sleep. There was never any funny business and he didn't bore her with any details about his day job. ", Rose gushed.
I can't afford him", Rey said pointing to his hourly rate of 15 dollars an hour. "I have what's left from Armie's life insurance and my Grandfather's trust. I won't know about the settlement funds from the accident for another three months.
Rose pointed to the fine print. Well there's a trial period discount, you get the first week for just $10 an hour as long as you sign a three week contract agreement.
Rey shook her head and grabbed for her purse. "I just don't know about this whole Cuddle Buddy thing, Rose. I mean, letting a complete stranger into my place and then into my bed at night. Trusting him to hold me all night and absolutely nothing romantic or sexual to happen between the two of us?", she said exasperated as she started to walk out the door.
Rose winked at her. "I trust my sister 100 percent Rey and I want what's best for you. Finn and I have been extremely concerned about both your physical and mental health lately and if someone like Kylo can help to destress your life and bring back the old Rey to me again, I'll be extremely grateful to him. He may just be what you need in your life to jumpstart your way back. Back to your health, your career and hopefully your happiness", Rose argued as Rey gave her one last half smile.
"I'll think about it", she told her as she stepped outside and let the door shut behind her.
As she walked back to her apartment, she thought to herself, what's the worse thing that could happen. He's like a contractor. He's licensed as a cuddler. He works for a company that contracts out the 'Cuddle Buddies" Plus Paige used his services before. Rey knew that Paige was next to impossible to please. She had really high standards with everyone in her life, especially men. She took every break up hard but always dove head first into the next relationship. If he was able to make Paige happy then maybe it wouldn't hurt just to try just one night with him.
It wasn't like it was a date. It wasn't a date. She was hiring him to share a bed with her but that was it. It was professional, not sexual. She could do this. She could bring Kylo into her bed and use him like he was a giant teddy bear. This could work.
When she got home, she changed her clothes. Took a warm shower and then heated up a microwave meal to eat.
She pulled out her phone and went to the webpage. She filled out her contact information, including her cell phone number. She included a picture of herself as was requested.
The webpage asked her to write a little blurb about herself and why she was requesting the services.
'Hi, I'm Rey. I'm 28. I'm a waitress but have a graduate degree in law. I recently lost my husband and am still grieving him. I have nightmares that keep me up at night. I am interested in obtaining your services so that I can sleep better.'.
She pressed send. Simple, to the point. Nothing she said was untrue and didn't give too much away as to her true state of disarray in her life since losing Armie.
She went into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water and was placing the pitcher back in the refrigerator when her phone started to ring.
She didn't recognize the number. It couldn't be him, she thought to herself. Could it?
She answered and hesitantly said, 'Hello'.
"Rey?", a deep, soothing voice asked.
"That's me", Rey responded in a soft tone.
"Hi there. This is…Kylo Ren, you sent an inquiry through the 'Cuddle Buddies' site. I think that I can help you sleep better. I can provide several recommendations, if needed. How about I come over tonight and we'll talk a little bit before going to bed? ", he asked.
"I uhh..this is all of a sudden. I didn't expect you to call so soon after my request. I am calling you based off of a recommendation. My friend Rose, Tico, her sister Paige used your services and raved about how well she's now able to sleep because of your help. I don't think I'm ready right now. I can meet you tomorrow though. I get off around 8 pm", Rey explained.
"What time do you typically get ready to go to sleep?", Kylo asked. His voice was low and soothing.
Rey took a deep breath. Truthfully, she typically spent her nights watching something on TV. Anything to drone out the pain and distract her. Typically, she didn't get into her bed until she couldn't stand to keep her eyes open any longer.
10 pm she thought. That was a more normal bedtime. That was what time Armie would typically drag her into bed with him.
"Around 10 pm", she responded.
"Ok, well then, I'll be at your place around 10 pm tomorrow. It's always best for the client if I don't distract them from their bedtime routine, rather I am there as an enhancement.", he told her.
A look of confusion appeared on Rey's face but she didn't want to be seen as naive to Kylo. She didn't know what he meant by an 'enhancement to a nighttime routine' but she was willing to give his services a try. She wanted to feel secure and safe. She wanted the nightmares to stop. She prayed that Kylo could provide that to her.
"Ok, tomorrow it is", she agreed. She gave him her address and told him goodnight before she hung up the phone.
She took a deep breath and moved towards the TV to switch it on. She wasn't sure exactly what to expect once Kylo arrived and felt a combination of nervousness and giddy anticipation.