Rundown (Curveball Book 2) (24 page)

When
the tides have changed and the danger’s gone,

Make
a wish and say goodbye.

1-4-3

“
What
is it?” Breanne asks.

I
can’t find the words, so I shake my head, indicating that I need a
minute to process.   After reading it several times I still
can’t decipher what Alexis was talking about.  The only thing
I know for sure is that by using 1-4-3, our childish code for ‘I
love you’, she meant for me to find this and figure it out.   

Given
that Alexis somehow knew about Breanne, I’m fairly certain that
‘she the door to unlock’ refers to her.  But what key do I
have and what door needs to be unlocked?  The safe at her house
maybe?   

The
safe.  1-4-3.  I close my eyes and visually recall the
unlocking Alexis’s safe.  Opening my eyes, I re-read her note.
 
What was I supposed to find first?  This letter or the
safe?  
  I shut my eyes again and replay the
memory, hoping for it to reveal what Alexis kept inside, only to come
up short.  Pissed, I let out an aggravated growl and mutter
‘bullshit’ under my breath.  

“
Are
you ok?” Breanne asks, tentatively placing her hand on my shoulder.
 

I
shake my head and shoot upright.  I begin wandering around the
small room, sensing her eyes trailing my movement.  It’s in
that moment that I make the choice not to share this with Breanne.  I
need time to figure this out and I don’t want her to worry more
than she already does.  Shit, if she didn’t trust Spencer
before, she definitely won’t now.  I also don’t want to
admit that the last part is making
me
worry.  This
involves the two of us, and right now things between us are great.
  Of course I’ll guard her. But why would we need to say
goodbye?  

Fuck
that, Breanne and I will never say goodbye.  We are forever.  

The
more I think about the possibility of not being with Breanne, the
more agitated I become.  I stuff the paper in my pocket and
interlocking my hands behind my head.  

Damn
it, I want to punch something.

“
Hey,”
Breanne calls to me.  She puts her hands on my chest and looks
up at me.  

My
breathing is ragged and I badly wish I had my baseball bat and a
bucket of balls.  

“
I’m
guessing the note is from when you guys were little.”  She
phrases it as a statement but her tone reveals it’s a question.   

“
I
can’t talk about it.  Not right now.”  I tell myself
this is a true statement, though deep down I know I’m purposely
misleading her.

“
Ok,”
she timidly replies.  

Breanne
approaches me and unlinks my hands, placing my arms behind her back.
 We gaze into each other’s eyes, neither of us saying a word.
 Pulling my face to hers, she caresses my nose with hers and
then kisses me slowly.

“
Let’s
pretend this is our barn, Drew.  I want to show you how things
should have gone that day.”

She’s
trying to take my mind off of whatever’s hurting me, and I’m
trying to prevent her from experiencing more pain.  Whether or
not I keep Alexis’s note from her, it doesn’t matter.  She
knows something’s up, yet she won’t ask; she’s going to wait
until I’m ready and for that I love her even more.  The only
thing I’m ready for right now is her.  

“
No.
 I’m going to show you.”

We
moan in unison, our mouths clashing and our need for each other
intensifying.  She begins unbuttoning my shirt while our tongues
dance.  I’m not sure if it’s her sucking on my lower lip or
her hands fumbling to unzip my jeans, but the rage I’ve been
feeling towards our situation and my fear over potentially losing
her, turns to desperate lust.  

In
a flash we’re both shirtless.  Breanne yanks down my pants and
boxers and drops to her knees.  As much as I love her taking me
in her mouth, I need to be inside her.  I lift her up and
quickly undo her pants, shoving them down to her calves.  I’m
so wild for her that I can’t be bothered with taking them off.   I
lower us both to the ground, and lift her legs over her head.
 Spreading her legs as far apart as possible given the restraint
her pants have created, I crawl through the opening.  With her
legs secured high on my back, I waste no time finding her sweet spot
and slide home with a forceful drive.

I
capture her mouth with mine, swallowing both of our groans.   The
way she works her hips, meeting me thrust for thrust, it’s clear
she needs this just as much as I do.  Neither of us holds back
and I know it won’t be long.   Pain and pleasure blend
into one amazing sensation.  Her nails dig into my back at the
same time her sex clenches around me like a vice.  

“
Harder,”
she demands and I happily comply until we both detonate.

“
I’ve
missed you,” she pants.  

“
Me
too, baby.”

The
tides are turning, and if that means I could lose her, then I’ll do
whatever I can to keep this and anything else that threatens us,
away.  Even if it means keeping her in the dark.

What's
In a Name

The
weeks leading up to Christmas were magical.  We celebrated
Drew’s renewed contract with the Red Sox, and his birthday shortly
thereafter.  The day before Christmas Eve, my father flew in
from London and Drew’s parents drove in from New York.  Having
everyone together was more than I could have wished for, though there
wasn’t enough room for everyone to stay at my place, so at 6am Drew
dragged his poor parents from his house so that he could be here when
the kids came downstairs to do presents.  The expressions on
their faces when they opened their personalized Red Sox jerseys were
priceless.  I got one as well, but what do you think was on the
back of mine?  That’s right, the surname ‘Scott’ above the
number four.  

Smartass.
 

Every
time I wear it I tell him it’s out of obligation, and since that’s
pretty often, he knows I love it.  What made it even better is
that for his present I got him a Yankee’s jersey with the same
thing–his last name and our number.  He only wears it around
his house or mine, but I know he loves it too.

If
you knew nothing about my life other than what the outside world
sees, you’d think things were perfect, and for the most part they
are.  But ever since we returned from New York a few weeks back,
Drew’s mind has been elsewhere and I’m really starting to worry.
 He’s hiding something.  I don’t know what it is, but
something’s off.  

Today
is New Year’s Eve and instead of ringing in 2015 in style, I’m
laid up on the couch, exhausted and fighting a cold that has run it’s
course through the house and refuses to leave my system.  Drew
thinks the stress is getting to me and I’m starting to agree.  He
actually made me promise I’d go to the doctor if I didn’t start
feeling better this week, and he’s withholding sex until I do.  If
I said he’d only be punishing himself it’d be a total lie.  The
man plays my body like it’s an instrument he invented.  

Determined
to stay awake to mark another ‘first’ in our relationship, I’ve
refused to take cold medicine tonight.  Instead, I’m sipping
tea and watching Drew and the kids play ‘Just Dance’.  

A
little after 11pm, Sarah announces that although she’s had a lovely
evening, she’s exhausted and won’t make it until midnight.  She
plants a peck on my cheek and hugs the children goodbye.  

“
Should
you be driving, Sarah?  You’ve had a few drinks throughout the
night and there’s a ton of people driving that shouldn’t be.”

“
Nonsense,
I’ll be fine,” she insists.  “My place is only a few miles
away.”  

“
Breanne’s
right. Let me drive you home,” my father offers.

Sarah
tries to refuse, but loses in the end.  I wave goodbye to them
and close my eyes for a few seconds and imagine myself on a beach.
 We definitely need a real vacation.

I
must have drifted off because I wake to the kids shaking me as the
countdown begins.  Letting them stay up until midnight was
Drew’s idea and I’m shocked that they actually made it.  Before
Drew has a chance to throw out an age related quip, I quickly get up
and take a glass of sparkling grape juice from Colin.  

“
Six,
five, four, three, two, one.  Happy New Year!” All of us chant
as the ball falls.  

We
all toast and the kids jump up and down, cheering as Drew blasts
‘Celebrate’ over the sound system.  Maddie jumps into his
arms from the chair she’s been dancing on and squeals as Drew
twirls her around.  Colin and Aubrey grab my hands and we gallop
in a circle on our makeshift dance floor.  The song comes to an
end and I announce that it’s time for bed and everyone
groans—including Drew.

“
Come
on Mom,” Colin protests.

“
Just
a little bit longer,” Aubrey chimes in.

“
Please,
please, more dancing, Daddy!” Maddie cries.

The
music. Literally. Stops.

Everyone
besides Maddie, who is frantically shaking Drew while continuing to
call him ‘Daddy’, is frozen.  

It
just so happens that my reaction is a full on coughing fit.  Colin
runs to grab me a glass of water at the same time Aubrey begins
crying and runs off.  Drew looks like a deer caught in
headlights, and Maddie doesn’t have an inkling that anything is
wrong.

“
I
think your Mom’s right, sweetheart.  It’s time for bed,”
Drew says, snapping out of it.  

“
Noooooo!”
Maddie wails.

“
We
can dance more tomorrow, ok?”

My
coughing subsides and I ask Colin to help Maddie get ready for bed so
that I can check on Aubrey.  

“
Can’t
we stay up until you’re done?” he asks.

“
Fine,”
I cave, not having the energy to fight.  “But I’ll be down
in a few minutes.”

Climbing
the stairs to her room, I think back to when I was a kid.  I’d
always assumed that adults had the answers to everything.  I
figured that I’d wake up one day and be full of wisdom.  No
one tells you when you’re young that adults are just bigger
versions of your former self, only you have more experience…and
that experience doesn’t necessarily prepare you for difficult
conversations.  Not all questions have answers.  There’s
not always a good response.  And sometimes, like now, adults
have no idea what to say to make things better.

“
Knock,
knock,” I say, opening Aubrey’s door a crack.  

The
lights are off, save for her flashlight.  She ignores me and
continues making shadow puppets on the wall, so I take a seat on the
edge of her bed.

“
Can
we talk?” I ask, rubbing her feet through her comforter.

“
He
isn’t Dad.”