Running Back to You (The Running Series, #1), page 16
Jette: Yes we need to talk but not today - tomorrow?
Evan: I’ll be waiting thank u XO
Just like last Friday, it’s only Emmy and me working the lunch shift on the patio. I’m stocking the reach-in cooler as Emmy arrives. “Jette, you look so much better. Did you and Evan work things out?”
“No, Emmy, we didn’t. He really hurt me and that’s not something I can just ignore.”
“You’re crazy. He is sooooo yummy.” I can tell she’s fantasizing about Evan. If I decide to take him back, that’s something I guess I’ll have to get used to.
Most of the schools are closed today for Good Friday, and the boardwalk is filled with families. Season tickets for the boardwalk rides went on sale today at a discount price, bringing lots of customers to the boardwalk for lunch. Since the majority of our guests are young mothers and small children, not many cocktails are being ordered today.
“So, Emmy, any plans tonight? Want to do something?” I really don’t want to be alone tonight.
“Yeah. why don’t you come hang with us at Grant’s? I’ll send Marcus a text. We can get the whole gang together.”
“Actually, that sounds perfect. I have some champagne cupcakes for Camilla to sample. Mind if I bring them?” I meant to call her yesterday, but things didn’t go exactly as planned.
“You know, if you’re serious about breaking up with Evan, I know someone else who would jump at the chance –“
“Emmy, please. Not now.”
A young couple catches my eye as they wander out onto the patio. They are a few years older than me, but not by many. The wife is pregnant, very pregnant in fact. She sits at a table looking out onto the ocean. Her husband is doting on her and it’s adorable. Once his wife is seated, he helps remove her sweater and puts his arm around the back of her chair. Then, it happens. He starts to caress her back, making tiny circles along her bare shoulders. Memories of dinner with Evan flood my thoughts. I can feel his hands on my shoulders, tracing the same tiny circles and making my heart beat faster.
Emmy notices my melancholy. “You miss him, don’t you?” I nod my head. “You could invite him, too. The guys would be psyched if Big Mac showed up.”
“Emmy, please stop thinking about him as a football star. Please? He’s just my ex-boyfriend. One that hurt me, a lot.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry. But there was a whole month last year when his picture was splayed across my computer screen.”
“Excuse me?”
“Desktop wallpaper. Right now every time I turn on my computer, Ian Somerhalder is there waiting for me, smiling.”
Two hours later our shift ends, and I’m making my way out to my car. Waiting for me on my windshield is a flower. It’s a single red rose wrapped in plastic – the kind you could buy at a gas station. It doesn’t feel like something Evan would do. I throw the car in drive and take off. This time, no one follows me.
I come home and lock all the doors, check all the windows, and close the curtains. I can’t call Evan. He’ll come right over and I’m not ready for that. Calling Auggie is a possibility, but suppose he’s with a client? He would drop everything and come home, I know it. Derek is off today. It’s probably best if I give him a call and ask him to come pick me up.
“Hi Derek, it’s Jette. Are you busy?”
“No, not at all. What do you need?”
“Well, I was wondering if you could come over and pick me up. I found something on my windshield, and I’m a little freaked out. Do you mind?”
“I’m on my way. I’ll be there in five minutes. Sit tight.” In less than five minutes, Derek is standing on my front porch. Maddy starts barking like crazy. I unlock the door and invite Derek in. Maddy won’t stop barking.
“Derek, have a seat, I’m going to put the dog in Auggie’s room. I’ll be right back.” I grab a bowl of water and take Maddy by the collar. Once I shut the door, she jumps onto Auggie’s bed and calms down.
“Sorry about that. She really doesn’t like men.” There is one man she liked other than Auggie.
“That’s okay. Go get ready. I’ll be fine. Mind if I turn on the television?”
I hand him the remote. “Here you go. There’s a six-pack in the fridge and some bottled water if you’re thirsty. Help yourself.”
Quickly, I gather a change of clothes and hop into the shower. I feel slightly uncomfortable showering with Derek in the next room, so I make it a quick shower. When I exit the bathroom, I am completely dressed, but my hair’s in a towel. I stick my head in the living room to check on Derek.
“Give me ten more minutes. I have to dry my hair and put on some make up. Do you need anything?”
“Nope, I’m good. Take your time.” He has a beer in his hand, but other than that, it doesn’t appear he’s moved since I left him to shower. He’s sitting on my couch looking comfortable and at ease. I head into my room to dry my hair.
This is a glimpse of what my life would be like without Evan. It’s a good life. But I don’t want good. I don’t want good enough. I want amazing.
Derek and I arrive at his house and the gang’s all here: Marcus and Camilla, Grant and Emmy, and now Derek and me. I sit back to observe the easiness they all have around one another. Emmy and Camilla are talking wedding plans and the boys are all talking about basketball. Apparently it’s nearing the end of March Madness and the Jayhawks aren’t doing as well as Marcus had predicted.
Everyone is talking over and around one another until Emmy speaks up. “Come on, girls. Let’s go taste some wedding cupcakes.” Emmy leads us back into the kitchen where we busy ourselves around the table.
Camilla has brought with her a pitcher of Pomegranate Margaritas and Emmy is holding three glasses. While the girls prepare our drinks, I fish around the kitchen and find three small plates and some forks. I serve our desserts and anxiously await their response.
“Oh my God, Jette, this is delicious!” Camilla announces. I’m so relieved that she likes them.
“These are champagne flavored. I can make some Prosecco flavored cupcakes instead if you want to try.” We chat a little about various liquor flavors we could experiment with. Emmy wants me to make a coconut and rum flavored cupcake, and Camilla decides she’d like to try a mojito cupcake. It looks like I have a lot of experimental baking to do. It will be good to keep busy.
“Jette, can I ask you about Evan McGuire?” Camilla asks. I nod and she continues. “What’s he like? I mean, he’s so ... wow! Is he like that in real life?”
“You know who he is, too, Camilla? God, I feel like such an idiot.”
“Jette, you have to realize, I grew up with three brothers. Every one of them plays football. My younger brother, Mateo, still goes to UMD. When they heard rumors of Evan being traded to the Sentinels, it’s all they’ve been talking about.”
“Really? What do they say about him? I only know one side of him. That part of him, the public side, I really don’t know anything about.”
“They idolize him. He can’t do anything wrong in their eyes. Part of it is because he’s really good. He was in the running for the Heisman Trophy in college. But part of it is his social life. Are you sure you want me to go on?”
“Yeah, I think I need to hear this.” I finish my margarita and Emmy pours me a refill.
“Well, he’s been photographed with some really beautiful and famous women. He’s never with any of them for very long, though. It’s like he’s living every man’s dream – football, fame, and fortune.”
“The man I know is completely different. That guy sounds like a jerk. The Evan I know is kind, caring, and ... perfect.” The girls encourage me to go on, so I try to put our relationship into words.
“He’s romantic. I mean really romantic. And thoughtful. He gave me flowers three separate times already. The first time he did, it came with a riddle for me to solve. Did you know that different flowers have different meanings? He can just send me a flower and I can read his intention behind the gift. So far, I’ve gotten daisies which represent hope, a single tulip that means affection and caring, and hyacinths that ask for forgiveness.”
“Damn, Jette. Do you have any idea how lucky you are? He does sound perfect. But is he ... you know ... good in bed? A lot of these athletes take steroids. It really screws with their ... you know ...” Emmy holds up one finger, then slowly relaxes it until it’s limp in her hand. We start giggling like school girls.
“Um, no. That is most definitely not an issue here.” I can feel myself blush with embarrassment, and with a little lust.
Emmy adds, “He’s not hard to look at, either.”
“No, he’s not.” My mind wanders over his body, starting with his dimples, moving across his shoulders, and dwelling a little longer than I should on that sexy v-cut in his hips. But there’s also something sexy about Evan when he’s completely dressed, all except for those damn bare feet.
“I don’t get it. He’s hot, good in bed, a real romantic, and he sounds completely devoted to you. Why aren’t you with him right now, this very minute?” Now Camilla is sounding a lot like Emmy.
“He lied to me. He told me his name was Evan Thomas. I had no idea who he really was. How can I ever really truly trust him?”
“Jette, put yourself in his position. You find someone you’re crazy about and you get to start a relationship with a clean slate.” Camilla finishes her margarita slowly, and then looks directly at me. “I’m guessing that a lot of his relationships, if you can call them that, were purely based on fantasy. Girls are drawn to him for either the fame or fortune. You weren’t interested in either one. You wanted him. Besides, look what happened when you did find out. You ran.”
“But there were so many other girls, not just rich and famous. There were tons of young college girls, too. There’s always going to be women throwing themselves at him. I don’t think I’ll ever fully trust him.”
I didn’t notice that the boys had walked in looking for us. Apparently, they overheard part of our conversation. Grant doesn’t have too much to say, so he refills everyone’s glass and sits beside Emmy. Marcus is the first one to chime in with his perspective.
“Jette, stay clear of that boy. I don’t care how much he claims to have changed, don’t believe it. You deserve better. You don’t want to become a part of his fucked-up lifestyle. Once the season starts, he’ll be gone, a lot. Sure, he can keep his dick in his pants here in Point Pleasant, but how about when he starts travelling? Can you handle that? Do you really think that if he’s in California, Florida, or Tennessee and there’s a team party with tons of beautiful women, he’ll be able to keep his hands off them?” Marcus speaks the exact thoughts that have been plaguing me since I first discovered the truth.
“He’s going to hurt you. I know it. I don’t think I can stand to see you like you were yesterday. You came to work looking like a zombie. Marcus is right, you deserve better.” This time, it’s Derek speaking.
“You’re all right, all four of you. Let’s just forget about this crap for one fucking night – Okay? Please?”
I get up and find more plates for the boys so I can serve them my confectionary treats. I come back to the table and they have set up shot glasses and cards for a fun little party game. “What are we playing?”
“Apples to Apples, but with a twist. Do you know how to play?” Derek asks.
“Sure, everyone gets seven red apple cards and we take turns turning over a green apple card. The best match wins, right?” We played this game a lot in the common room of my dorm in college.
Grant adds some more rules. “Rule 1. Winning apple chooses someone to do a shot. Rule 2. Helen Keller card wins the game and everyone takes a shot. Ready?” Sounds like fun, mindless, silly fun and I love it.
Since I’m the newest addition to the group, I get to go first. I turn over a green apple card and read it aloud, “useless”. Everyone throws in a red apple card pretty quickly, except for Derek. “Come on, Derek, pick a card.”
“Gimme a minute. I have some pretty good choices here. Ready? Anne Frank, cucumbers, and ballerinas. I can’t pick.” Derek actually looks deep in thought.
“Well, since it’s my round, I’ll tell you not to pick cucumbers if you want to win. They have lots of uses.” The whole table erupts into laughter. This is exactly what I need. Derek’s selection of ballerinas wins the hand and he makes me do a shot.
Derek turns over the Green Apple card ‘important’. We all quickly make our choices and turn in our cards upside down so Derek doesn’t know who selected each. He turns each over and reads them one at a time: Backstreet Boys, Spam, whipped cream, x-ray vision, and friction. He quickly eliminates Backstreet Boys and Spam, leaving the other three to argue the merits of each.
Grant tries to persuade Derek to pick x-ray vision. “Dude, you work in a bar. Hot girls are everywhere. Think about it.”
Camilla picks whipped cream. “Well, can you think of any other condiment you’d take with you to bed? You have to have some on hand, just in case. Right, honey?” She kisses Marcus and he nods in agreement.
“I say friction,” Emmy argues. What’s the point in the whipped cream or x-ray vision if there’s no friction between the sheets? We all agree, and Emmy picks Grant to do a shot.
The next few rounds, everyone gets to do a shot, but after that, I seem to be a favorite target. Emmy makes me do a shot, then Derek makes me do two in a row, and I’m starting to feel the effects. “Derek Lattimer, are you trying to get me drunk?”
“What, who, me? Never!” He devilishly grins and slides my chair closer to his. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I give him a peck on the cheek.
“Excuse me.” I get up to use the bathroom. “I’ll be right back.” I walk to the bathroom, or perhaps stagger is the better word. When I sit down, the walls stop spinning for a moment and I’m grateful. Just then, my phone beeps signaling a new text message. I struggle to retrieve my phone from my pants, which is no small feat. It’s from Evan.
Good night running grl. Can’t wait 2 see u tomorrow. XO
Damn. Evan. I almost went an entire hour without thinking about him. Thinking about him makes me want him and wish he was here with me now. I know that in my present condition, there’s no way I could resist him. I should tell him.
Good think ur not here, id be not responsible
There. Maybe when he reads that, he’ll regret lying to me. If he didn’t lie to me, we would probably be in his bed right now. Naked. God, he looks good naked.
A ringing phone startles me from my fantasy. Wait, it’s my phone. I should answer it. “Buddy the Elf, what’s your favorite color?” I crack myself up.
“Juliette, is that you?”
“Duh.” It’s Evan, I’d recognize that schmexy voice anywhere.
“Are you Okay? Have you been drinking tonight?”
“Yup. I could have been with you, but you ruined it. Now I’m here with these other boys who aren’t you.”
“Juliette, who’s there with you? Is Emmy there? Can I talk to her?”
“Why would Emmy be in the bathroom with me? That’s silly. I have to go back to my party now. Bye-bye.”
I finish up in the bathroom and I’m washing my hands in the sink when there’s a knock on the door. I open it to find Emmy standing there with her hands on her hips. She’s mad. That’s not good. I wonder what happened.
“Juliette Evangeline Fletcher, why the hell did you just drunk dial your ex-boyfriend?” Shit, is that what I did? No. he called me. I’m pretty sure.
“He called me. Wait, how do you know? Emmy, are you a witch?”
“No, Jette, Evan just called me to make sure you were safe. You really did have a lot to drink tonight, didn’t you, honey?”
I guess she’s right. “Emmy, I’m tired. I think I should go home now.” I can hardly keep my eyes open all of a sudden.
“Sorry, but you’re crashing here tonight. Derek is making up the couch for you. Camilla and Marcus just left. Come on, let’s get you tucked in. You’ve had a rough night.”
I wake up with a pounding headache. I try to focus on my surroundings and it takes a minute for me to recall the events of the previous night. Shit. I’m at Derek’s. I got pretty drunk last night. I vaguely remember something about a phone call. God, I hope I didn’t call Evan and say anything embarrassing.
On the table beside me is a bottle of water and two aspirins. I wash them down and look around to see who left them there for me. Sitting alone in the kitchen is Derek, freshly showered. He’s not wearing any shoes and he’s sitting there in the quiet kitchen, alone, eating some cereal and reading the paper. What is it about bare feet?
Chapter Thirteen
Shifting Sands
“Good morning, Sunshine.” Derek must have heard me getting up.
“Good morning, Derek.” Slowly, I make my way into the kitchen to join him, sitting at the table directly across from him.
“How do you feel this morning, Jette?”
“My head is pounding. I really overdid it last night, didn’t I?”
“I don’t know, maybe. One minute you’re fine, the next minute, you’re gonzo. That’s mostly my fault, I think. Sorry about that.”
“Yeah, you know what? It is mostly your fault. If you didn’t make me do so many shots, I might not have this hangover.” I crumble up the napkin in front of me and throw it at his head. I don’t think he expected me to hit him, because he didn’t even try to avoid it. He looks almost as shocked as I am when it hits him square between the eyes.
“Well, then there’s only one thing left to do. You have to let me make it up to you. You’re working the lunch shift today, right?” I nod. “Me, too. How about you let me take you out to dinner? My treat. I promise, no alcohol.” He leans back in his chair and waits for my answer. There’s a sparkle in his eye as we talk. I don’t know if I’ve ever really noticed that before.
“Gee, Derek, that sounds great, but I have plans with Evan tonight. I promised him we could talk.” Why do I suddenly feel guilty about having plans with Evan?
