Running Back to You (The Running Series, #1) (18 page)

“There’s a stereo system and a flat screen TV that’s always programmed to
ESPN.  Change the channel, and I’ll have to ban you for life.”  He walks over
to me and lifts my chin so we’re eye-to-eye.  “Give me an hour, and then I’m
all yours.”  He kisses me and I melt.

“Sure.  Take your time.  I’m going to go downstairs to give Derek and
Emmy a call.  Come find me when you’re ready.”  I give him a kiss, then turn on
my heels, and scurry downstairs.

“Don’t forget to call your bar manager, too,” he calls after me.  That’s
a phone call I’m dreading.  I’ll make it my last call.  My first call is to
Emmy.  She answers on the fourth ring.

“Hey, Juliette.”  She gives a big yawn.  “What’s going on?”

“I’m sorry, Emmy.  Did I wake you?”  She sounds exhausted.

“No, I’m good.  We’ve been up for a while.”  She giggles a little and I
can only guess it’s Grant on the other side of the phone with her.

“Listen, I have to talk to you.  Something happened last night.”  Now I
have her full attention and I give her the whole short story.  Each time I tell
it, it sounds less and less dramatic to me.  I’m seriously thinking I did the
right thing when I talked Evan out of calling the police.

“You have to call Jack and tell him.  He needs to know about this, Jette. 
This shit is serious.  Who knows what that asshole had planned?”  Maybe she’s
right.

“I know.  I have one more call, and then I’ll let Jack know.  I don’t
know what difference it will make, though.  We have creepy guys in the bar
every night.”

“Yeah, remember that old creeper who was trolling the bar and winked at
you?  Maybe it was him.”  Actually, I kind of forgot about him.

“You think?  I guess it’s possible.”  Emmy and I chat for a few more
minutes.  When I hang up, I pause to think about my customers.  There was the
asshole that grabbed me and called me a slut.  There’s the mister-nice-guy who
asked for my number that I shot down.  Who knows how many unstable men were
watching me dance and flirt with Derek and Marcus.  That’s a pretty long list.

My next call is to Derek.  He answers on the first ring.  “Hey, Jette,
what’s up?”

“First of all, I want to thank you for driving me to my car last night. 
Turns out I needed you more than I realized.”

“Wait, what do you mean you needed me?  Are you okay?”  He sounds really
concerned.  It’s sweet.

“Yeah, I’m fine.  Some guy left a note on my windshield and followed me
around town.  I didn’t want to lead him to my house, so I drove to Evan’s.” 
It’s actually very helpful to talk about it.  I can see things more clearly
each time I tell it.

“Jette, I was right there.  You should have called me.  I would have been
there immediately.  You know that, right?”  He almost sounds dejected. 

“Of course I know that, Derek.  You’re so sweet.  Thank you.  There is
something you can do for me, though.”

“Sure, Jette.  Name it!”

“I think we should cool it behind the bar a little.  We may be sending
the wrong message.”

“Okay, whatever you need.  Are you going to call Jack now?”

“Yeah, I think I should.  Evan should be almost done by now.  Let me run
so I can call him.  I really wish I didn’t have to.  This sucks.  I just
started.  I hope he doesn’t think I’m too much trouble to keep around.”

“I could call him if you want.  I’ve been there a while.  I was there
when this guy dedicated that stalker anthem to you.  I could explain things
man-to-man.  Would that help?”

“Oh, Derek, you’re the best.  Remind me to give you a big kiss when I see
you.”  We end the call and I’m relieved.  I really didn’t want to call my boss
and try to explain this. 

I know I should call Auggie, but he’s going to overreact.  This is a
conversation I need to have in person. 

B
y noon, we’re at my house and Maddy is thrilled to see us.  Evan and I
take her in the backyard and toss the ball around for her.  I leave Evan with
her and head inside to get changed.  I’ve been in the same clothes since last
night, and I can’t wait to remove the last vestiges of that horrible night. 

Once I’m changed, I head into the kitchen, throw on my apron, and call
for Evan and Maddy to come in.  Evan takes one long look at me and shakes his
head.  “What’s the matter, chief?”  I walk over to the cabinets and bend over
slowly to retrieve some mixing bowls.

“How am I supposed to help you in here when you’re wearing
that
?” 
I look down at my ensemble, and I’m quite proud of my selection.  The skinny
jeans and tank top that hug me in all the right places seem to be working their
magic.  So does the apron that says, “
I lick the batter from the beaters”.

“Focus, Evan.  Let’s start gathering the ingredients.  Can you go to the
refrigerator and find eggs, butter, heavy cream, and sour cream?  Just spread
it out across the counter.”  I start gathering the dry ingredients.

“Now, when you say to ‘spread it across the counter’, you were
talking about the dairy products, right?”  He laughs at his own wit as he
starts looking through the refrigerator.  I could listen to his laugh all day
long.

Once I have everything I think I will need, I have Evan lift the Kitchen
Aid mixer and place it on the counter.  “Come on, chief.  I need help over here. 
Are you ready?”  I motion for him to come and stand beside me.

I measure the sugar into the bowl and hand him the butter.  “First, we
need to cream the butter and sugar.  Take off the wrapping and stick it right
in here.”

“Juliette, I could have sworn you invited me here to make cupcakes, not
to torture me,” he says pleadingly.

“I don’t know what you mean.  Listen, if you don’t want to help me make
the cream, you can always stand over there and beat the eggs for me.” 
Honestly, this is almost too easy.

“You know,” Evan exasperates, “at this point, beating the eggs might be a
good idea.”  Poor guy.  I may have to put him out of his misery ... soon.

At that moment, I get an incoming text message and it’s from Reese.

“Sorry, that was Reese, my old college roommate, checking in on me. 
Let’s get back to work.”  Once I’m satisfied with the progress, I give Evan
instructions on mixing the dry ingredients while I combine some champagne and
sour cream.  I turn around to check on his progress, and he has the cutest
white patch of flour on the tip of his nose.  He probably doesn’t even know it’s
there.  I walk over to him and wipe it off with my dishtowel, and then I kiss
the spot where the flour once was.

Evan gets a devilish look on his face.  “You know, I might get flour in
all kinds of places today.”  I give him another kiss and try to refocus his
attention on our task at hand.

“Let’s get the cupcakes in the oven, chief.”  We finish combining the
ingredients, and I carefully pour out a dozen cupcakes.  Once they are in the
oven, I set the timer and start putting away some of my dry ingredients while
Evan washes the mixing bowl and attachments. 

“What’s next?”

“I’ll need your help with the filling.  If you do a nice job, I’ll let
you lick my beaters when we’re done.”

He shakes his head.  “False advertising.”

“What?”

“False advertising.  Your apron says
you
like to lick the
beaters.  I’ve had my hopes up this whole time.”

“Fine, if you don’t want to lick the beaters, I’m sure I could find someone
who would be willing...” I don’t even get to finish my sentence and he’s got me
wrapped up in his arms kissing me to get me to stop talking.

Once we break apart, I get Evan to help me make the cream.  It’s a very
delicate process of cooking the eggs and cream mixture, adding a variety of
ingredients slowly while whisking at the same time so the eggs don’t cook. 
Evan follows my directions perfectly well and I really like how we work
together in the kitchen.  The end result is a perfect champagne flavored
cream. 

I check on the cupcakes, and they need a few more minutes.  We have
enough time to work on the frosting.  I cream confectionary sugar and butter
while Evan is reducing the champagne on the stove.  Once it’s reduced, we set
it to the side to cool while I remove the cupcakes.  They look perfect. 

Evan and I go sit on the couch to relax while we wait.  “My friend Emmy
and her boyfriend Grant invited us to go out with them tonight.  What do you
think?”  I’d really like to find out how all my friends get along.

“Sounds good.  What do you have in mind?”  He’s running his hands through
his hair, and he’s not looking at me.

“I thought we would drive down to Atlantic City.  We could see a show,
hit the casinos, whatever you want.”  I was thinking that maybe tonight, we
could get a hotel room in AC and stay the night,  together.

“Juliette, I would love to take you to Atlantic City.  Do you think we
could wait a day or two?  Maybe just hang out at home tonight?  I’m still a
little worried about your safety.  I’d feel better if you and I just stayed at
my place tonight.”

It’s hard for me to hide my disappointment.  “Okay.”  He did take good
care of me last night.  If he feels we should stay put for one more night, I
guess that would be all right.  “Come on, let’s go frost some cupcakes.”

I show Evan how to cut divots in the center of each cupcake while I fill
pastry bags with the champagne cream filling.  I busy myself filling each
cupcake, and Evan trims the removed divot to make a cap.  There are only one
dozen cupcakes, so it goes quickly and efficiently.

Now, it’s time for the frosting.  I combine the cream and the champagne
reduction.  To test my creation, I swipe my finger through the confectionary
treat and taste.  “Mmm.”  Evan’s eyes grow wide.  I take another swipe and walk
slowly over to him.  “Want a taste?” I ask and he nods.  I hold my finger to
his mouth and he opens for me.  He grabs my wrist gently as he licks every bit
of frosting off my finger.  His tongue explores and caresses my finger. 
Slowly, he removed my finger from his mouth as his wet lips wrap around my
finger.  “Very tasty,” he proclaims.

“Well, what do we have going on in here?  Don’t let me interrupt!”  I
turn around and standing in the kitchen with us is Auggie.  We were so focused
on each other, I never even heard him come home.

“Auggie!  You’re home.  Come here.  Come meet Evan.”  The boys shake
hands and eye each other appraisingly.

“Well, Evan, it’s nice to finally meet you.  I’ve certainly heard an
awful lot about you.”  He hops onto a bar stool at the kitchen island and
awaits Evan’s response.

“Really?  What did you hear?”  Evan sits on a bar stool and pulls me
close to stand between his knees.  He wraps his arms around my waist and puts
his chin on my shoulder.

“Just the usual stuff – nice house, nice car, nice ass.”  I can’t believe
he just said that. 

“So Juliette likes my ass.  Good to know.  Anything else I should know?” 
They talk like I’m not even in the room.

“Actually, she likes to be romanced.  You know. wooed.  Apparently,
you’re doing pretty well in that department, too.”

“That part is one hundred percent my pleasure.”  He leans down and plants
a soft kiss on my shoulder. 

“Why don’t you boys go sit in the living room while I finish cleaning and
packing up my cupcakes?”  I kick them out of my kitchen so I can clean in peace.

I hear Evan try to make small talk with Auggie about sports.  The only
sports Auggie knows anything about are figure skating and swimming.

Once I finish cleaning and turn off the faucet, I hear the boys talking
in hushed tones.  I think Evan is talking about my escapades last night.  He’s
probably giving Auggie advice about how to secure the house at night and to
keep a watch out. 

I join the boys in the living room.  It’s such a relief to see how well
they seem to be getting along.  As different as they are, they appear to find
plenty in common.  Apparently, they are both fans of Queen and The Walking
Dead.

I sit beside Evan and ask, “Evan, would you like to stay for dinner?  I’d
love to cook for you both tonight.”

I prepare the boys a simple Chicken Caesar Salad and I open a bottle of
Pinot Grigio from a local winery.  Our dinner conversation is friendly with a
lot of give-and-take on all sides. 

Auggie starts the conversation by asking me about work.  “So, Jette, are
you working the Restore the Shore fundraiser next weekend?”

“Definitely.  No one gets the day off.  It’s all hands on deck.”  I can’t
believe that in only nine days, I’m going to be hob-knobbing with celebrities. 
I’m hoping Jon Bon Jovi shows up.  The latest rumor is that Jon Stewart may
even make an appearance.