Running Back to You (The Running Series, #1) (26 page)

“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?

He picks the paper back up again so I cannot see his face.  “He doesn’t
deserve you, you know,” he says behind the newspaper.

“I know.”

My headache has already reduced to a dull ache and I definitely need food
in my stomach.  I rummage through the cabinets looking for something edible to
have for breakfast.  All I can find are different boxes of cereal and I nearly
settle on Frosted Flakes when I spot a box of Bisquick.  Scanning the room
quickly, I spot a bunch of overripe bananas and I immediately set to cooking
breakfast for my host and his still slumbering guests. 

“Derek, can you give me a hand?  I need a mixing bowl and a frying pan.”  Derek
puts down the paper and locates the necessary tools for me to get started.

“What are you making?”

“Bananas Foster Pancakes.  I really could use some help.  Do you think
you can handle following the recipe on the box and mixing up a batch of pancake
batter?  All you need to do is add milk and eggs, then mix it together.”  I
hand him the box and show him the recipe.  “I’ll cook, I just need you to get
it ready for me.”

Meanwhile, I’m relieved when I quickly find some brown sugar and
cinnamon.  Since this is a bachelor’s home, I’m surprised I can find any baking
ingredients at all.  Along with butter, that’s all I’ll need for my topping.

Derek’s kitchen is small and there’s not much room for us to move around
each other.  It’s almost like being behind the bar together.

“Let’s take a look at your batter.”  No sooner are the words leaving my
mouth when I realize how that could be taken.  What is wrong with me?

Derek eyes me and smirks.  “Is that how we’re going to play this, Jette? 
You want to play dirty with me?”

“You know what I mean.”  Damn.  I really don’t want to play games with Derek. 
He steps aside to let me assess his progress.  “It looks good, let’s get
started.  I’m going to start frying the pancakes.  Can you slice up all these
bananas for me?”  I hand him the bunch of bananas and send him back to the
kitchen table.

The pancakes fry up pretty quickly.  Once done, I get to work on the
topping.  I melt the butter in the pan, and then add the brown sugar and a
little cinnamon.  I instruct Derek to add the bananas for me as I continue to
stir.  Standing in front of the stove together is nice.  I’m starting to feel
like we can go back to our playful friendship. 

“Can you go grab some rum to top this off?”  Derek returns with three
different kinds of rum, and I quickly select the bottle of Bacardi and add it
to my mixture.

Just as I had hoped, the smell of breakfast cooking has roused Emmy and
Grant, and they join us in the kitchen.  Emmy makes us some coffee and Grant
sets the table.

The four of us sit and enjoy a nice meal together.  It feels like the awkwardness
between Derek and me earlier is dissolving.  I’m glad for it. 

Emmy and I leave after we finish cleaning up.  It’s a quick drive to my
house.  As I get out of her car, she has one simple thing to say to me before
leaving.  “Jette, work your shit out with Evan.  It’s tearing you up and making
you crazy.”

“I know.  You’re right.  See you at work.”

A
uggie is home hanging out with Maddy when I get in.  I fill him in on
the events that I can recall from last night.  I remember the heated discussion
about Evan.  I remember playing Apples to Apples.  I remember doing shots. 
After that, it gets a little fuzzy. 

“Evan called me last night,” Auggie announces.  “He sounded really
freaked out.”

Shit, I vaguely remember talking to him last night.  What the hell did I
say?  “And?”

“And ... he was worried about you.  Now I guess I understand why.”

“Auggie, I don’t know what to do.  He’s all I can think about.  I’m
thinking I may have overreacted a bit when I broke up with him.  I thought he
lied to me just to get me into bed.  But ever since our fight, he’s been
bending over backwards to apologize.  You’ve gotten to know him.  What do you
think?”

“Juliette, I know how hard it is for you to trust.  God knows you haven’t
had very good role models in that department.  From everything I’ve seen, this
boy is crazy about you, too.  When he left the other day, he was torn up pretty
bad.  Want to know what he told me?”  I nod.  “He was on his way here to tell
you everything.  He found out about the Internet picture of you two on the
beach and he knew his time was up.  If this was nothing more than a game to
him, he’d be long gone by now.”

“Maybe you’re right.”  It’s amazing what a powerful agent time is.  I
don’t know if it’s true about time healing all wounds, but it definitely
helps.  During the time that has passed, I have observed a man trying to make
amends.  Each gesture has brought me closer to forgiveness.  The closer I get
to forgiveness, the stronger I feel.  Holding onto anger makes me feel weak,
like someone who is too easily wounded.  I want to forgive.  I want to move
forward.  I want to release the anger.  If I choose to forgive, it must be with
the understanding that I will not forget.  As if on cue, Evan sends me a text
to confirm our plans for tonight. 

Auggie
grins at me, “Was that Evan?”

“Yeah, how did you know?”

“Jette my Pet, you’re grinning like a fool.  I know you haven’t made up
your mind, but if you listen to your heart, you’ll know what to do.” 

“Oh, I almost forgot to ask.  Are you still going to your parents’ for
Easter dinner tomorrow?”

“Yup.  You know you’re welcome to join us, right?”  Auggie has a big
family dinner at his parent’s house every year.  Their house is just a few
miles away, right on the Manasquan River.  But there’s no way I can leave my
mother and grandmother alone for the holiday.

“Thanks, Aug, but I’m going up to Bayonne tomorrow and I’m hoping you can
take care of Maddy for me.  I don’t know what time I’ll be home.”

“Are you going to invite Evan to join you?”

“Why would I do that?  We broke up, remember?”  His mother and sister
live in North Jersey and I’d bet my bottom dollar he’ll be spending the holiday
with them, anyway.

“Doesn’t really sound like you broke up to me.  Listen, I’m heading out
to meet with a client.  Will you be home for dinner?” Auggie asks.

“No, Evan invited me over for dinner so we could talk.”

“So you’re just going to talk?  Sure.  Good luck with that.”  I get a
comforting kiss and a hug from my best friend before he’s out the door.

After checking the clock, I panic when I realize I have to be at work in
an hour.  That’s barely enough time for a quick shower.  Forty-five minutes
later and I’m on my way.

The boardwalk is packed today.  Emmy and I are working the patio alone. 
Lunches on the patio usually mean a lot of soft drinks and bottled beer.  We
spend a good deal of our time cleaning the bar and the outdoor tables and
chairs. 

I leave Emmy to finish up as I head to the back to get more beer to stock
the reach-in for tonight.  I almost run directly into Derek as he’s rushing to
get behind the bar.

“Derek, you’re almost an hour late.  Are you okay?” I ask him.  He looks
terrible.  Something must have happened.

“I’m fine.  I got a flat tire on the way to work.  Good thing I had a
spare.”  He hurries off to start his shift at the indoor bar today.

The day drags on uneventfully.  Emmy and I pull apart nearly the entire
bar to give it a good spring-cleaning.  Customers come and go throughout the
day.  Jack pops over to check on us.  He seems pleased with our work.  I’m
glad.  When I took this job, I thought it would only be temporary.  I really
wanted to work in the Sweet Shoppe.  But that would mean no longer seeing my
friends every day.  I don’t know how I feel about that anymore.  Jack said
there might be an opening after Memorial Day.  That’s over a month and a half
away.  A lot can happen in that time.

Derek comes back to find us during his break.  He’s holding a stack of
small posters.  They must be the posters advertising the Restore the Shore
benefit next weekend.  When I see them, I cannot believe my eyes.  Among the
many faces of stars and celebrities staring at me is Evan “Big Mac” McGuire ...
and his dimples.  “Can I keep one?” I ask. 

He hands me two.  “Take two.”

The shift change starts at four o’clock.  Marcus shows up on the patio to
relieve Emmy and me.  He looks at the posters I’m bringing home and he just
shakes his head.  “So, when do I get to meet Big Mac?  I get the feeling he’s
going to be around a while, isn’t he?”  I give Marcus a kiss on the cheek and
head to the back room.  It’s time to go home.  I have a date tonight.

A
uggie’s not here when I arrive back home.  He knows I’m not going to be
around for dinner, so he and Brandon have probably made plans.  Maddy isn’t
waiting for me when I arrive.  I’m surprised.  She usually greets me and jumps
all over me when I get in.  I take a quick scan of the house, and she’s nowhere
to be found.  My panic is allayed when I find her outside in the backyard.  I
don’t remember leaving her out there.  Auggie must have come home for lunch and
let her out.  I hope she hasn’t been out there all day.  I’ll have to say
something next time I see him.

I plug in my iPod as I take a shower.  It’s a Bruno Mars kind of night.  First
up is one of my favorites, the
Lazy Song
.  I even had it for a ring tone
for a while.  Next, he croons about
buying flowers
which has such a
special meaning for me.  In his next song, he sings about loving someone
Just
the Way You Are
and I’m picturing Evan’s beautiful face, incredible
shoulders, amazing abs, and that ass!  I shouldn’t be thinking like this.  That’s
enough for me, time to get out of the shower. 

Wrapping myself in a towel, I head directly to my room.  I stop dead in
my tracks when I see that lying on my bed is a red dress that I bought for a
party last year.  It’s short, sexy, and shows just enough skin to be
seductive.  Lying beside the dress is a red thong and a pair of stiletto
heels.  Before I panic, I decide to send Auggie a text.  He likes to pick out
my clothes.  Maybe he selected tonight’s ensemble.  Trying to word it so as not
to alert him is key.  While I consider my options, I quickly walk around the
house, securing all the doors and windows.