Running Back to You (The Running Series, #1) (19 page)

“So Evan,” Auggie probes, “Jette tells me you work for the Sentinels. 
What exactly do you do there?”

“Well, technically, I haven’t started yet.  I’ll begin in a few months
when the team starts pre-season training.”  He pauses to take a sip of his
wine.  “I’ll be working with the offensive team in a variety of functions.”

“Do you get to go to the games?”  I inquire. 

“Oh, sure.  I’d love for you to come see a game.  You too, Auggie.  What
do you say?”  He reaches over to touch my arm, almost absentmindedly.  Every
few minutes, we find an excuse to touch one another.  Even if it’s just a
gentle stroke or an affectionate caress, my skin tingles with delight each and
every time.

“Heck yeah. Men in tight pants slapping each other on the ass?  Count me
in!”  I just shake my head and smirk. 

Dinner ends and we’re all pitching in to help clean up.  I step back and
watch as my two favorite men in the world share the same space.  Both men are
extremely attractive in their own right.  Evan has finely chiseled features and
a strong physique that makes women weak at the knees.  Auggie is just as tall,
but slender with softer features that could almost be described as pretty.  I’m
a very lucky girl in more ways than one.

Evan is at the sink washing the dishes.  “Juliette, let’s head back to my
place when we’re done.  We can stop for ice cream on the way home if you
like.”  Auggie gives me a thumbs-up and a wink.  Evan has passed his interview
with flying colors.

Evan surprises me when he continues, “Auggie, you’re welcome to join us
if you’re free tonight.”  I turn and look at Auggie vigorously shaking my
head.  I have other plans for tonight, and they don’t include an audience.

“Sorry, Evan, but Brandon and I have plans again tonight.  Next time,
maybe?”  I soundlessly mouth the words ‘thank you’.

On the way to Evan’s house, we drive to my favorite ice cream shop, Bob
Hoffman’s.  I walk up and down the cases of ice cream flavors, and decide on
mint chocolate chip ice cream with hot butterscotch topping.

“Are you seriously going to eat that?” Evan scoffs.  “It can’t possibly
taste good together.” 

I take a big spoonful and place it between my lips, close my eyes, and
suggestively slide it back out while letting out a small groan, “Mmm.”

The young teenage girls at the counter get my attention when they start
to giggle.  One girl pushes the other towards us and says, “Ask him.” 

“We were just wondering.  Are you someone famous?  She, I mean Brittany,
thinks she saw you on TV.”  She hands Evan his chocolate milkshake.

“No, sorry to disappoint, ladies.”  He turns to me and shrugs his
shoulders, hands the teens a twenty and adds, “Keep the change.”

As we are leaving the store, Evan seems bothered by that innocent
exchange.  “Sorry about that, Juliette.  It happens every once in a while. 
People sometimes recognize me from my college days.  You’d be surprised how
many people follow college football.”  He walks me to the car and opens the door
for me.

My phone beeps with a new text message.  I put the ice cream in the cup
holder, and dig through my purse to check it.  There’s a message from Auggie.

I look in my purse and nestled inside is my toothbrush wrapped in a
baggie and my phone charger.

“What’s up, Juliette?  Is everything okay?”  I’m so glad Evan is driving
and has to keep his eyes on the road.

“Oh, yeah.  It’s just Auggie telling me to have fun tonight.  He
approves, you know.”  I place my phone back in my bag and return to enjoying my
sundae.

“Good.  Then we have no choice, let’s go have some fun."

Clear as Mud

I
t’s a cool March evening and we decide to sit outside and enjoy the
view of the ocean.  It’s much quieter at night on the beach.  There are no cars
driving up and down the street.  There are no noisy seabirds searching for food
on the beach.  Quiet solitude.  Evan lights the fire pit, puts on his playlist,
and gets us a blanket. 

“I’ll be right back.  Sit tight.”  He returns quickly with two glasses of
wine and climbs under the blanket with me.  Evan extends his arm and invites me
in.  His body heat immediately warms me and I tingle from the sensation. 

Evan catches me completely by surprise when he offers a toast.  “Here’s
to unexpected gifts.  May we recognize them when they arrive and strive to
deserve them always.”  He kisses me, and we both take a sip of wine. 

“Can I ask you something, Evan?”  I’m feeling a little bolder and braver
right now.  "You say the sweetest things and make me feel so special.  How
many times have you done this before?”

Evan looks at me and sighs.  “That depends on what you mean by ‘this’.”

Knowing that this conversation needs to happen, I find the strength to
ask the question that has been burning in the back of my mind from the first
moment I saw him.  “I’m curious about how many ... I mean I was wondering if you
ever ... I don’t know how to say this.”

“Juliette, do you want to know how many women I’ve slept with or how many
women I’ve fallen for?”  The words don’t come, so I shrug my shoulders and nod. 
“Those are two completely different questions.”

Completely different questions?  I don’t see how.  For me, sex has always
required a certain amount of intimacy.  It involves trust and caring, along
with desire.  “Both, I guess.”

“Why?  It’s history.  A history I’m not terribly proud of.  If you know
everything about my past, I’m afraid there won’t be a future for us.”  I look
over at him, and his expression has changed.  There’s a sadness in his eyes
that wasn’t there before.  I know this is something that he doesn’t want to
share with me.  But if we’re going to build something together, it’s got to be
built on a solid foundation.

“I need to know a little about your past.  It will help me understand
you.  You’re so good at the romance part of this ... the seduction.  I need to
know if that’s all this is to you, a challenge.”  There, I’ve finally said it. 
I want to be with him in every way, but not if finally giving myself to him
will be our undoing.

“You do challenge me, but not in the ways you think.  You’re so different
from any of the other women I’ve ever known.”  He pauses, trying to find the
right words.  He runs his hands through his hair and he’s no longer looking at
me.  “I don’t know how to say this without sounding cocky.  But I’ve never had
to try very hard to find women who wanted to be with me.  They would openly
flirt with me, give me their numbers, and offer to take me home.  And none of
them,” he grabs my chin and tilts my head to look up at him, “have ever gotten
under my skin the way you have.”

“Evan, there must have been others.”  I look into his eyes, searching for
any signs of dishonesty; but he looks deep into me and I know he’s telling me
the truth.

“None.  Never.  It’s always been just about the sex.  Not just for me,
but for them, too.” 

“What about a high school sweetheart?  You must have been Prom King or
Homecoming King, or something.”

“I’ve dated, a lot.  But it was never ... serious.  I’ve never led any of
them to believe there was anything more going on than there actually was.  I
may be guilty of a lot of things, Juliette, but I was not dishonest with any of
them.”

His answer doesn’t seem right.  How is it possible?  “Didn’t you ever
want more?”

“Not with any of them.  They didn’t know me, they didn’t want me, the
real me.  They wanted something from me, and I gladly let them have it.”  He
breaks our connection and looks away from me and down at his hands.

I touch his arm to bring him back to me, “So what happened?”

“Well, I guess things kind of caught up with me.  There were a lot of
things I didn’t take seriously in my life, women were just one part of it.” 
His hands are now rubbing his face, like he’s trying to wipe away the
memories. 

“Is that why you moved?  Why you left Houston?” 

“Mostly.  Maybe someday I can tell you more, but right now, please don’t
ask.  I don’t want what we have here and now to be shadowed by my past
mistakes.” He looks right into my eyes and I can see the sincerity in his
words.  “Until now, I’ve never wanted to do better.  I’ve never wanted to be
better.  I’ve never wanted someone the way I want you.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“Right now, I can’t imagine being with anyone else.  When you’re not with
me, I’m thinking about the next time I will see you.  When you’re hurt, I want
to make you better.  There’s a primal instinct in me that makes me want to
protect you and make you happy.”  He takes a long pause before he continues. 
“I never thought I would feel this way.  I never thought I would
want
to
feel this way.”  He takes my hand and strokes it with his thumb. I love this
feeling. I love being here with him.

“Evan, I feel it too ... that connection.  I’ve been in and out of love
before.  At least I thought it was love.  But it was different.  I feel this
pull towards you that I cannot fight.  It was there the first time I saw you.” 

“I remember that day on the beach when Maddy jumped all over me.  Did I
ever tell you?  You haunted my dreams that night.  The next day, when I saw you
on the beach again, I was ready to make the first move.  Something I don’t
normally do.  But then you got hurt.  And you had sand all over your pretty
face.  I reached down to wipe it away and when I touched you, it was like
nothing I’ve ever felt before.  It was like a bolt of electricity that shot
right to my heart.  That’s when everything changed.”  He looks at me with those
big blue eyes and that face that I know I will never tire of seeing.  I cuddle
into his embrace a little deeper, wrapping my arms around his waist.

I admit, “I’m embarrassed to tell you how many nights you’ve visited me
in my dreams since that day.”  I’m glad he can’t see me blushing.

“I know.”

“Excuse me?”

“Last night, while you were sleeping in my bed ... well ... you kind of
talked a little.”  He looked down at me, grinning.

“What?”

“Well, I woke up first and you stirred a little.  Next thing I know,
you’re in my arms lying on my chest, sound asleep.  I’ve never felt anything
like it before.”  He leans down and kisses me gently.  “Then you said my name. 
Nothing else, just my name.  It was the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard.”

He deepens our kiss and this time, our tongues twirl and caress, seeking
more, wanting more, needing more.  Evan turns his entire body, and presses
himself against me.  Slowly, I begin to lie back onto the sofa, bringing him
with me.  I comb my fingers through his hair and he lets out a soft groan. 
He’s hovering above me, hands planted on either side of me, and I melt into the
cushions. 

Our breaths grow ragged as he presses his mouth against mine.  My body
responds to his immediately, and I can feel my breasts straining against the
silk of my bra, forming hard little points rubbing against the tightness of his
chest.

He slips one knee between mine, and I move my hips just enough to feel
him, fully erect and pressing against me.  His hips begin to move in unison
with my own, creating enough friction to make me slick with desire.

Slowly, cautiously, Evan’s hand is sliding across my middle, exploring my
skin, and moving upwards towards my breasts.  Every place his hand touches
burns in the most delightful way.  As our hips thrust and our tongues cavort,
my hand travels to his ass.  I find an opening beneath the waistband of his
shorts and I rake my nails across his skin, reveling in the delight of feeling
his body as it moves with mine.

His kisses move to my chin, behind my ear, then down my neck.  Moist lips
and wet tongue caress my shoulder.  His hand finds its target as his thumb brushes
against the tender peak of my breast.  Instinctively, I arch my back enough to encourage
him.  I need to feel him; I want to feel his lips on every part of my body.  I
ache for him.