The Running Series Complete Collection: 3-Book Set plus Bonus Novella (33 page)

Everyone who walks into a bar does so knowing full well that they are likely to get hit on.  When you factor in the allure of a painfully handsome pair of young, eligible men sitting alone at the bar, then you have to accept the fact that women are going to flirt and tease.  I know that, I’ve seen it.  Hell, I’ve even been on the receiving end of it from time to time, including tonight, but watching it with my own eyes is excruciating. 

Besides the women that are swooning from afar, there’s a pair of girls barely old enough to drink trying desperately to get Evan and Adam’s attention.  They are practically attempting to crawl onto their laps.

I walk over to check on the boys and get them a cold beer.  Unfortunately, I’m confronted with these overly enthusiastic girls continuing to throw themselves at the guys.  I try to smile and be understanding, but inwardly, I want to bash their skulls in.  I know that sounds a little extreme, but it’s honestly how I feel.

Marcus’ words from a few nights ago come crashing into my mind.  He questioned how Evan was going to be able to stay faithful to me when he’s travelling with the team.  I teeter between anger and jealousy, and it’s hard to hide my reaction from Derek and Marcus.  I toss bottles back into the speed rack with a little too much force.

“Hey Jette, you OK with all this?  I can call the bouncers to get the girls off him if it will make you feel better,” Marcus offers. 

I grab a few Buds out of the reach in, slam it shut, and bark at Marcus, “Don’t bother.  As soon as they leave, two more will take their place.”

He pulls me to the side, away from the spectacle.  “Listen, Jette, you knew exactly what you signed up for.  He’s always going to get this kind of attention.  If you can’t handle it, it’s best you get out now.”

He’s right.  I look over to Evan and he’s watching for my reaction.  I’ve got to calm down and show everyone, myself included, that I can handle this.  In that exact moment, my attention is drawn by the flashing of lights as the girls snap pictures of my boyfriend.  What the hell?  He’s not posing for them or encouraging them in any way, but it still upsets me.

I turn to Marcus for more help, “I need to get out of here.  Now.”

“You’re right.  You need to cool off.  Go back to the walk-in and get us a fresh keg of Bud.  One of the barbacks will wheel it out for you.”  That’s a great idea.  I need to take a walk and cool off.  First though, I think I’ll make a pit stop at the ladies room.

The bathroom is hidden inside the building between two of the bars.  Every bar I’ve ever visited has the ladies’ room at the end of a narrow hallway, probably to accommodate the long line that always congregates.  I’m surprised when I discover there’s no line tonight.  As I walk deep in my own thoughts down the hallway, I literally run into a customer as he exits the men’s room.

Grabbing me by the waist before I fall, he asks, “Whoa!  Are you OK?”  I look up at the stranger with his hands on me and I’m confronted by the Suit that I rejected several times earlier tonight.

“Um, yeah. I’m fine.  Sorry about that.”  I try to wiggle free, but he’s deceptively strong and he’s got a firm grasp on me.

He takes a few steps forward, and as I step back, I’m stopped by the wall.  “Jette, right?  Funny running into you here.  I was hoping to find you again tonight.”  He’s got me pinned against the wall and he’s whispering in my ear.  His breath smells like stale beer and liquor.  He’s definitely been drinking a lot.

“Listen, please leave me alone.  You’re making me very uncomfortable.”  As hard as I try, I can’t seem to get very far.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.  Just one little kiss and I’ll be on my way.”  He moves his hands from my waist up towards my breasts.  This guy is obviously not going to take no for an answer.

I find an opening and I take it. I bring my knee up to his crotch with every ounce of strength I have.  I hear the air leave his lungs as he struggles for a breath.  Unfortunately, he’s still got a strong grip on me and he’s not letting me go.  And now he’s pissed. 

I hear him grunt, “You fucking bitch.”  In what seems like slow motion, I watch as he balls up one fist and leans back, ready to punch me.  Having nowhere to turn, I close my eyes and brace for the impact.  My only hope is that I can duck just enough so that he misses. 

Suddenly, I hear a loud
thwack!
and the Suit no longer has a hold of me.  Cautiously, I open my eyes, and I find him crumpled on the floor, bleeding.

Standing above him is Evan, shaking with anger.  “Get up, you mother fucker.  You want to hit somebody, let’s go.”  Evan kicks the Suit trying to get him to stand up.

Before I can say or do anything, a crowd has formed and flashes are going off.  Things just went from bad to worse.

Circle the Wagons

I
n an instant, Adam is here standing between Evan and the Suit.  He is in a frenzy, trying to calm Evan and remove him from the situation.  “Evan, you have to leave.  Now.  Before the police arrive.”

Evan pushes him off and pulls me into his arms.  Frantically, he looks me over from head to toe, checking for injuries.  Confident that I’m not seriously injured, he wraps his protective arms around me and holds me tight.

“Bullshit.  Get the police here NOW.  This prick had his hands all over Juliette.  He was about to hit her.  She wants to press charges.” 

I open my mouth to protest, but think twice about it.  There are pictures and witnesses.  I guess we don’t have a choice but to involve the police.

The next hour is a flurry of activity.  The bouncers escort Evan, Adam, and me back to the manager’s office.  The Suit’s friends take him to the emergency room for x-rays.  It looks like Evan may have broken his nose. 

My boss Jack comes back to check on me.  After he’s certain that I’m all right, he asks me to explain what happened.  I give him the full story.  He listens compassionately, and then tells me that I can go home after the police take our statements. 

Before the police arrive, Derek comes back to check on us.  He’s got an open bottle of Patron Silver and some glasses.  I guess the whole bar knows what happened, including Derek and Marcus.  I’m grateful for Derek’s gesture.  I could use something to calm my nerves.  When Evan sees Derek’s offering he stands up, shakes his hand, and introduces him to Adam.  Together, we all do a shot of tequila.  The burn I feel as it slides down my throat is a welcome distraction.

When the police arrive, they have a few questions for us, but seem satisfied by our account of the events.  They take our contact information and then step out to get statements from the witnesses.  As far as I know, no one saw the Suit attacking me, so I can’t imagine how helpful those accounts can be.

Shortly before one in the morning, we arrive back at Evan’s house.  The entire ride home was strangely quiet.  I guess we both have a lot on our minds.  I’m feeling incredibly guilty about involving Evan in this mess.  He must be wondering about whether or not spending time with me is worth all this trouble.  I can’t blame him.  I feel like I want to cry.  I don’t think we will ever be able to have a nice, normal day together.

“Evan, you go ahead to bed.  I’ll join you in a few.  I just want to sit alone for a while.  OK?”  My mind is on overdrive.  I don’t think I can lie in bed and pretend nothing’s wrong. 

He walks over and gives me a sweet kiss.  “Sure, but don’t take too long.”  He locks up the house and disappears into his room.

This entire night was a complete nightmare from the moment Evan arrived.  Watching all those women hanging all over him was bad enough.  Now, thanks to me, Evan may have serious legal and professional problems. 

I literally brought trouble to his door the night I was followed in my car.  When my house was broken into, Evan felt obligated to spend a great deal of money on a security system.  Tonight, Evan came to my rescue and placed himself in harm’s way.  Fate brought us together.  It would seem that now fate is conspiring against us.

All the signs are there and it’s best if I acknowledge them now.  This relationship has run its course and it’s been a rocky road from the beginning.  It shouldn’t be this hard to start a new relationship.  It’s supposed to be easy and natural.  If we’re having these difficulties now, what’s going to happen later on Evan starts travelling with the team?

I find a glass and a bottle of Smirnoff Green Apple.  I’m hoping I can drink myself into a deep sleep and collapse here on the couch.  I really don’t want to face Evan tonight.  If I could go home, I would.  Tomorrow, I’ll explain everything and end it.

I turn on the television, keeping the volume down as low as I can.  Flipping through the channels, I find the movie, “Marley and Me”
.
  It suits my mood, depressed and heartbroken.

It’s during the burial scene that Evan comes looking for me.  He finds me still on the couch, weeping, with a glass of vodka in my hand.  “Juliette?”  Evan is looking at me in stunned confusion.

“Evan, go back to bed.  Please don’t make this any harder than it has to be.”  I blow my nose and wipe my eyes.

“What are you talking about?” he asks, standing there staring at me.  I wish he would just go.

“Don’t play dumb, Evan.  We both know that this isn’t working.  It’s too hard.  I’m going to ruin your career.  You don’t need this in your life.  Just leave me here, please.”  More tears start streaming down my face.

How do I tell him that the pain I feel when I watch him suffer because of me is nearly unbearable?  I want to tell him how much my heart aches for him when we’re not together.  I want him to know how happy he makes me when he holds me in his arms.  But where would that get me?  We’d just be right back here again, facing the same problems and making the same decisions.

“What the hell are you saying?” he asks, bewildered.

“I’m telling you that tomorrow morning I’m going home and you won’t have to deal with me anymore.  I’ll find a way to pay you back for the alarm system.”

“Juliette, no.  Don’t say that.  You don’t mean it.  You’re upset right now.  Things will look better in the morning.  You’ll see.”  He’s looking at me with those beautiful blue eyes, but the sparkle is gone. 

“No, Evan, I do mean it.  What’s the point?  You’ll be travelling and going places without me.  If we break it off now, you’ll be free to date anyone you choose.  Someone who can make you happy.”  I try to explain.

“But I choose you, Juliette, I choose YOU!”  A lone tear appears in the corner of his eye.

“You say that now, but we both know how this is going to end.  Sooner or later, you’re going to get tired of taking care of me and trying to protect me.  And I’m going to get tired of watching women fawning all over you.  How long do you truly believe we can keep this up?”  I close my eyes, trying to stem the tide of tears rushing down my face.  “And now, tonight, you get yourself in serious trouble because I seem to attract all the unstable nutcases within a hundred mile radius.  What’s going to happen when this gets leaked to the press, Evan?  Have you thought about that?  You could lose your job, all because of me!”  Evan brushes away my tears with his hand.  The touch of his skin on mine is almost too much to bear.

“Nothing is going to happen.  Adam will make sure of it.  And even if it does, I don’t care.  I would do it all over again if it means you’re safe and protected.  Nothing else matters.”

“You don’t mean that.  If you lose your job because of me, neither one of us will ever be able to get past that.  For once, Evan, let’s just be honest with each other.  We can end it now without any hard feelings.  We tried.  We failed.  No worries.  No regrets.”

“Honest?  Juliette, if you want me to be honest, then here goes. I love you!  With every fiber of my being, I love you!” 

“No you don’t.  You can’t possibly.” 

“Juliette, you’re the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about before I go to sleep.”  Evan pauses to compose himself.  He’s visibly upset, running his fingers through his hair, clearly exasperated.  He sits beside me on the couch and continues.  “Every time I think about my future, I picture you there with me.  I know that being with me is difficult.  I wish things were normal.  I wish things were simple.  But they’re not.  I know how I feel and I know what I want.  I want a life with you.  But if you don’t feel the same way, if you don’t want to build a life with me, then you need to tell me now.” 

“Evan, I do love you.  I love you so much it hurts.  But it feels like no matter how hard I try, I just keep bringing you pain and aggravation.  That’s why I feel like I have to let you go.  We’re just going to continue to hurt each other.  It’s just too hard.  If we were meant to be together, it would be simple, easy, and effortless.” 

He looks at me with those big blue eyes and confesses.  “Here’s where I think you’re wrong. I don’t think love should be easy, I think it’s meant to be tough.  We’re supposed to work through our challenges together, learn from them, and become closer.  Love that’s easy to find is also easy to lose.  I don’t want easy. I want fierce, deep, and profound.”

His words hit me hard.