Running Back to You (The Running Series, #1) (7 page)

I
t’s Wednesday night and the bar is full.  Emmy, Derek and I are behind
the bar on the patio again.  The DJ is playing a good mix of music and I find
myself dancing behind the bar as I wait on my customers.  My ankle is strong
and sure, thanks to the healing touch of my knight in shining armor.  With each
new song, the three of us really begin to enjoy ourselves.  The tip jar is
getting fuller, which encourages us on.

Derek doesn’t need any help to fill up his tip jar.  He’s tall, nearly
six feet tall, and is built like a runner.  Not afraid to flirt with the women,
he draws crowds and keeps them coming back.  A nice dance mix comes on, and Derek
whisks me into his arms.  He’s lithe and graceful on his feet.  At the end of
our song, Derek gives a bow, I give a curtsey, and we receive a rousing round
of applause from our customers.

One of the head bartenders makes his way through the crowd and waves me
over to him. “Juliette, right?”

“Yes, that’s me.  I’m sorry, I don’t remember your name.”  I hope I’m not
in trouble for getting carried away behind the bar.  I immediately panic and
imagine the worst – Jack, the bar manager, is displeased with me and I’m in
trouble.

“That’s okay.  I don’t think we’ve met yet, actually.  I’m Marcus.  This
was just delivered here for you and I wanted to try and find you.”  He hands me
a large box imprinted with the name of a flower delivery service.  I thank Marcus,
open the box, and tucked inside are a dozen bright orange Gerbera Daisies. 
There’s a card with a short hand-written message.

I recognize the quote.  It’s from a poem by Thomas Hood that I read once
in college.  In typical Evan form, it’s cryptic and requires me to read between
the lines.  I thank Marcus and place the flowers beside the cash register for
now.

“All right, what are you not telling me?” Emmy asks.  She’s got her hands
on her hips and she’s impatiently tapping her feet on the floor.  “I should
have known something was up.  You’ve been grinning like a fool ever since you
got here.  Tell me everything.”

“Listen, Emmy, the bar’s packed.  Not now, I’ll explain later.”  I hope I
can hold her off for a little longer.  At least until I can figure out exactly
what that message means.

Sooner than I had hoped, there’s a lull at the bar and Emmy is on me
immediately.  “Well, are you going to tell me or do I have to beat it out of
you?” she asks.

“There’s nothing to tell, really.  I was jogging on the beach this
morning and I twisted my ankle.  This really nice guy showed up, we hung out
for a while, and he helped me to my car.  End of story.”  I can tell by the
expression on Emmy’s face that she’s not as gullible as I had hoped.

“Fine, if you don’t want to tell me, then don’t.”  I’ve hurt her
feelings.  That’s not at all what I meant to do.  Emmy turns around and begins
to walk away, sullen.

“Emmy, wait.  There’s more.”

“I knew it!”  She spins on her heels anxiously awaiting the rest of my
tale.  “What
really
happened today, Jette?”

“The guy who came to help me, well, he’s someone I’ve been running into
for the past few days.  He’s got an incredible body and a million dollar
smile.  Hot doesn’t even begin to describe him.  His name is Evan and we spent
a few hours together at his house on the beach.”

“Hours?  Really?  I’d think you would have trouble walking after a
marathon sex session.  Aren’t you sore?”  Her eyes twinkle and she looks like
she’s remembering her own past escapades. 

“Sorry, Em, it wasn’t like that.  He never touched me, at least not in
that way.  It was all very innocent.  We flirted a little, but it was all just
in fun.”  I shrug my shoulders.  “Besides, he’s way out of my league.”

“Not possible.  Jette,
you’re hot!  If I had a body like yours, I’d be putting it to good use.  You’ve
got the legs and boobs that most of us would kill for!  Hell, you don’t even
need any make-up to look gorgeous.  You’ve got that all-natural Cover Girl
look.”

“Whatever.  Besides, men like that can’t be trusted.  It’s better to find
someone ... I don’t know ... more down-to-earth.”

“If that’s your way of saying you want to find a dork, so be it.  But
believe me, any man would be lucky to have you and that includes this Evan
person.”  She flings her blonde and pink hair over her shoulder and rolls her
eyes.  “Tell me again what the card said.”

I read her the card and together we try to riddle its meaning.  “The message
talks about passion, right?  That definitely means he’s totally into you.”

“Maybe you’re right, but even if I wanted to, I have no way of getting in
touch with him.  Am I supposed to just show up at his door one day wearing
nothing but a big red bow?”

“Ooh, yes!  I’ll help.”  She starts jumping up and down, clapping her
hands together.  She thinks I’m serious.

“Forget it, Emmy!  If he wants me, he’ll have to come find me himself.”

I look around, and the bar is starting to get packed again.  For the rest
of the night, we keep busy and there’s little time to gossip.  Finally, at
closing, as we’re wiping down the bar, I promise Emmy that I’ll call her if
there are any new developments with Evan.

A
fter getting home in the wee hours of the night, I decide to turn off my
alarm and sleep in.  I skip my morning run for the first time since moving back
home.  I’m not ready to face Evan and there’s a very good chance I’d run into
him again. 

I emerge from my room around eleven o’clock to discover Auggie sitting in
the kitchen reading today’s news on his iPad.  Directly in front of him are my
flowers.  I turn to make my escape, hoping to go unnoticed, but I’m out of
luck.

“Oh no, Jepetto.  Get your ass over here and start dishing!”  Auggie
closes the flap on his iPad and pats his hand on the seat next to him.  “Who
the hell is Evan?”

“Auggie, if I tell you, you have to promise not to make a big deal out of
it.  Okay?  Promise?”  I look at him with the most serious look I can conjure
to let him know I mean business.

“Sure, Jette.  You okay, honey?  Did something happen?”  Now he looks
serious and worried.  That’s not what I wanted, either.

“No, I’m fine.  Better than fine, I think.  I went jogging yesterday and
I ran into someone.  You’re never going to believe who.  Our mystery man from
Monday has a name, and it’s Evan.”  I wait for his response, and I’m not
disappointed.

Auggie jumps up out of his chair and nearly shouts, “Shut the front
door.  Are you shitting me?”

“No, I’m not shitting you, Auggie.  Now, do you want to hear the rest, or
do you want to continue to curse at me?”

I tell Auggie about my ankle, Evan’s chivalrous acts, the flirting, and
the flowers.  He doesn’t say much.  He just takes it all in and now I’m waiting
to hear what he has to say.  “Well, what do you think it all means?” I ask him.

“I have no idea, my Pet.  From everything you’ve told me, this boy sounds
like a straight shooter.  He didn’t press his advances on you, he made you feel
special, and he sent you beautiful flowers to let you know he’s thinking about
you.  He’s either a big tease who enjoys messing with the minds of beautiful
young women, or he’s just as conflicted as you are.”  He gets up and pours us
both a cup of coffee.  “You
said his sister is a florist, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“Well, that means he knows something about flowers.  Maybe the real
message is in the flowers themselves.  Doesn’t the choice of flowers reveal
something about the sender?  I’m pretty sure roses mean ‘true love’, but what
do daisies mean?”  He opens up his iPad and we do an online search for more
information.

Auggie finds an article on eHow entitled, “What is the meaning of Gerbera
Daisies?”  Together, we read the article and I’m no closer to understanding
Evan’s gesture than I was before.  It says that Gerbera Daisies represent
‘innocence, purity, friendship and classic beauty’.  Maybe that means Evan just
wants to be friends and is trying to make amends for the flirting.

“Click here, there’s more.”  Auggie spots a link to a related article
that further explains the meaning of orange Gerbera Daisies.  It says, ‘Because
of the bold color, orange Gerbera Daisies also represent sunshine, happiness,
and hope.’

“Don’t say a word.  I am not going to get all emotionally tied up in
knots about what Evan may or may not have meant.  It probably means nothing at
all, and I’m just over thinking things, as usual.”  Auggie opens his mouth to
say something, but I interrupt him. “I mean it, Auggie.  This conversation is
over and I’m done.”

A
uggie heads out to meet with some clients and I fix myself something to
eat, and then shower to get ready for my day.  I have a few errands to run and
I want to clear my mind.  Emmy calls and we make plans to go to the mall
together.

Emmy picks me up and we head off for Freehold Mall.  She’s great company
and I really enjoy being around her. 

“So, Jette, tell me about Evan.  What’s he like?”

My mind drifts to the morning we spent together yesterday.  Evan was sweet,
charming, and playful.  He has a gentle way about him that’s enchanting. 
Memories of him running along the beach, moving with such grace and ease, make
me tingle.  I could not erase the image of him taking my hand, placing his lips
on it, and looking directly into my eyes; the hypnotic vision of his devilish
grin accented by a pair of remarkable dimples; the spark that ran through my
body when we touched.

“Oh, Em, he’s perfect.  Too perfect.  He’s got the bluest eyes I’ve ever
seen.  Strong arms, washboard abs, chocolate brown hair.  Dreamy.”  I sigh
aloud.

“So when are you going to see him again?”

My mind is made up and the decision is surprisingly simple.  “I’m not.”

“Yeah, you’re right.  He sounds like a real loser.”  Emmy is shaking her
head trying to make sense of my last declaration.  “So, just to sum things up,
he’s attractive, kind, wealthy, and he makes you tingle in all the right
places.  Am I right?”  She’s tapping her finger on the steering wheel,
obviously losing patience with my thought process.

“I suppose.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

Exasperation hits me as I try to explain.  “He’s not a long-term
relationship kind of guy.  The way he flirts, it’s obvious he knows how he
affects women.  He probably has a different girl in his bed every night.”  The
words, once spoken aloud, seem to cement in my mind.  All kinds of beautiful
women must present themselves to him on a regular basis.  He’s got money and
with that comes opportunity; all the glamorous places he must see as he travels
with the football team; living in hotel rooms; drifting migrantly across the
country surely means having a different girl in every town.  “I have no
intention of having a one-night stand with any man, not even Evan.”

“You know what, Jette?  You surprise me.  I thought you were cool.  I
didn’t think you were the type to prejudge people and write them off without
giving them a chance.” 

Emmy is right.  I usually don’t judge people.  In fact, I’ve seen what
effect that can have on someone.  Auggie is the perfect example.  People judge
him all the time.  They think that because he’s gay, he must be promiscuous. 
Nothing could be further from the truth. 

“Do you think I’m wrong?” I ask her.

“The fact is Jette, neither one of us know if you’re right or wrong.  I
think that if you run into this boy again, you should give him the benefit of
the doubt.  Give him a chance.”

The only word that comes to my mind is, “Maybe.”  I sweep my hair back
off my face and rub my temple, trying to erase the images floating through my
mind.  “Maybe.”

After that, the conversation takes a lighter turn as we make our way
through the mall.  There’s not too many people shopping today.  It’s a weekday
and most people have jobs and busy lives.  We make our way through Sur La Table
where I get some cupcake sleeves and pastry bags.  Emmy is holding a bag full
of makeup from Sephora.  I introduce Emmy to Lush where they have the most
delicious hand-made soaps.  I even convince her to buy a bath bomb.  Then Emmy
insists on one final stop: Victoria’s Secret.