just passing through town.”
“Okay, cool. Where you headed?”
Jesus Christ this guy asks a lot of questions that are none of his business. I watch him as he intently waits for me to respond. My eyes shift from his blue eyes and look to the other guys sitting with him.
I see Shelia step forward out of the corner of my eye.
“Let her go, Dault, she said she’s just passing through. Let the girl order her food and be on her way.”
I look to her and smile. For a moment I feel as though the two of us just bonded and she was willing to stick up for me.
“Fine with me, but if you need anything just let us know. Hell, even if you need a place to stay, my buddy and I have a place that just came up for rent.”
He throws me a wink and his killer smile before turning back around in the booth.
I look toward Shelia and mouth thank you. She smiles back at me and takes my order.
While I wait for my breakfast to be served, I think about what this stranger just offered me. A place to stay—here in this town? I honestly don’t even know where the hell I am.
I guess here would be as good a place as any to stop for a while and see if this is a place I’d want to settle. Otherwise, I’ll just get back in my car and keep driving…I can’t run for the rest of my life. I need to make a decision and plant my feet somewhere.
Chapter 9
I reach into my drawer and grab out a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. As I pull them on, I glance to the top of the dresser and stare at Jo’s red dress.
The image of how she looked in this dress last night sticks in the front of my mind—her mouthwatering curves, that tight little ass that I love to smack, and her perky tits that fit perfectly in the palm of my hand.
A knot forms in the pit of my stomach with the fear that she could really be gone. I hate the way things ended before we fell asleep last night. She’s been there for me when no one else has, and all she wanted was for me to love her in return.
She doesn’t know how broken I really am and how a relationship with me could never work.
I’d rather break her heart now rather than months down the road.
I know that this is best for both of us—I just hope I get a chance to tell her before it’s too late.
Turning the doorknob and swinging the door open, I run down the stairs to see if Jo is still here.
I look through the living room, she’s not there.
I look through the hallway and into the kitchen, but she’s not there, either.
Moving toward the table, I see a piece of paper folded in half. I sit down on the chair and reach for it. As I unfold it, I can tell that the handwriting is Jo’s. I set the offensive paper down on the table and flatten it out before me…
Linc,
I’m writing this letter, not to make you feel bad or regret anything we had, but to let you know that I’m leaving.
I sat in bed with you lying next to me for a while, debating whether or not to wake you. I felt it was better for me to leave and let things rest as we left them last night.
I love you and there’s no denying it. We’ve had a connection since the first day we met, but I never realized it would turn into so much more for me.
I don’t blame you for being confused and shocked; I probably would have been, too. But you are ‘it’ for me. I knew a long time ago that I had fallen in love with you, but was too afraid to tell you. Now I know my fear was warranted.
I don’t think that I can stay in Birmingham, at least not for now. I need some time to think things through and reevaluate my life. With you and me in the same town, I won’t be able to put the way I feel for you in the past.
I promise I’ll be okay, don’t worry about me.
I love you,
Jo
A huge lump forms in my throat and a sharp pain begins to stab me in the chest. I’ve experienced loss, the lack of an intimate connection and the rejection of my family in my life before, but nothing has ever hurt me like this.
She’s left and it’s my fault.
I’m a mess
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