Running Away Page 3

  Oh, yes. That would be me.

  “Jeremy has a date, baby. With a nurse he met when he got here. Can you believe it?” Zoey looked over and stuck out her tongue at me.

  God, she was a brat sometimes.

  Andy raised his eyebrows. “A date, huh? Like an actual date?” He stood from his chair and put his empty plate and fork back in the bag, then washed his hands.

  I ignored them and rocked my niece. “Your parents are assholes, baby girl,” I whispered in her ear.

  “You’d better go, so you’re not late for your date.” Andy came over to get Hannah. “And quit teaching my girl bad words already. She’s gonna learn enough of them from her mother.”

  “Hey! I’m sitting right here, you know?” Zoey said.

  “Goodnight, Sweet Pea.” I kissed her on the head again then handed Andy’s daughter to him.

  With a few minutes to kill, I pulled the paper out of my pocket and unfolded it. “Her name is Cammie.”

  Zoey smirked at me again. “You’re lucky she wrote it down for you.”

  I flipped her off and watched as Andy kicked off his shoes and eased onto the bed. He cradled Hannah in his arms protectively and once he settled next to Zoey, he brushed her hair back over her shoulder.

  They were the perfect family, and for once in my life, I thought maybe my little sister was right about me settling down.

  Shit! I needed to get the hell outta here. These two were rubbing off on me.

  “I’d better go meet Cammie,” I said, pointing to Cammie’s name and phone number on the paper she’d given me.

  Quickly, I walked over and shook Andy’s hand. “Congratulations, man.”

  I leaned across the bed and kissed my sister on the cheek. “Good job cooking that baby, Z. She’s beautiful.”

  “Thanks, Jer. Let me know how your date goes.” She air-quoted the word “date” and playfully smacked my cheek, scrunching her nose up at me.

  “Smartass,” I muttered and straightened to leave.

  “Manwhore,” she retorted.

  Andy just sat with his eyes fixed on Hannah.

  We said our goodbyes and I gave one last kiss to Sweet Pea then headed out to the nurses’ station.

  On the way there, I thought about Z calling me a manwhore. I hated that my family assumed the worst of me when it came to women. Little did they know, I’d only been with four women in the last five years. I wasn’t a manwhore; I just had female friends with benefits.

  I found Cammie waiting for me with her purse slung over her shoulder.

  “I was wondering if you forgot about me,” she said.

  “Nah, I was holding my niece so my sister and brother-in-law could eat their dinner. You ready?”

  I followed Cammie to the elevator and down to the first floor.

  “So, where to Jeremy?” she asked when we reached the parking garage.

  “That depends on what you have in mind.” I was planning on asking her if she wanted to go home and change so I could take her out and get to know her a bit when she turned, and dragged me around the corner behind a concrete support wall. I pushed her farther into the corner where nobody would see us if they happened to walk past. By the time I backed her against the wall, my pants were undone, and she was yanking them and my boxers down my legs. Once they were at my knees, she grabbed my dick and pumped her hand up and down, getting straight to business.

  Apparently, she wasn’t expecting anything but a quick fuck from me. I wasn’t usually a one-night stand kind of guy, but I was horny as hell so I was going to make an exception tonight.

  I let my mind drift back to the task at hand, kissed her neck, and slipped my hand up her shirt to check out that fake rack of hers. I reached around and undid her bra, then pulled up her shirt to bury my face between her tits.

  Briefly, I paid attention to her nipples, and then pulled her pants and lacey panties down. I ran my hand down between her legs, sliding my fingers through her wetness. She was ready to roll and let out a throaty moan when my fingers made contact with her clit.

  “You need to get inside me right now,” she said as she exhaled. “I’m on the pill, hurry.”

  “Condom,” I muttered, reaching into my pants pocket to pull out my wallet. No condom, no sex. That was my cardinal rule, and I never, ever broke it.

  I ripped open the package and rolled the condom down over my dick. Cammie kicked her pants and underwear off one leg, and I hoisted her up against the wall. She wrapped her legs around my hips.

  “Fuck me hard,” she commanded as I centered against her.

  With one swift push, I slammed inside her. “Aghh, shit . . .” I groaned. She was hot and tight, and had said to fuck her hard, so I pulled my hips back and rammed into her again. With her body pinned between the wall and me, she was making these sexy grunting noises each time I pounded into her, and I could feel her tightening around my dick.

  “Ohh, right there, Jeremy. Keep doing that. Mmm, almost there,” she murmured against my neck.

  Her back arched away from the wall and her inner muscles clenched around my dick. “Oh, that’s good . . . it feels so good,” she whispered as she rode out her orgasm.

  The tension in my body increased, my dick thickened, getting harder and more sensitive the deeper I drove into her. My thigh muscles burned and constricted with each movement and my brain focused on the contact of where our bodies joined. The pressure built up in my balls, they tightened then released as I came. I gave two final thrusts until the head of my dick was too sensitive and I had to stop. The rush of blood flowing back to the rest of my body made me hot and the tension quickly dissipated. God, it’s been too long . . .

  Taking in several ragged breaths, I kept her against the wall for another moment while my body relaxed from the exertion. Once I pulled out of her, I helped her get her feet back on the ground then let go of her. I slid the condom off and set it aside while I pulled up my boxers and pants.

  Cammie pulled her pants back on and re-hooked her bra. She looked at me with no hint of embarrassment in her expression. “That was fun. Call me, and we can do it again sometime.”

  She was going to make this easy on me. “Yeah, I definitely will. It was um . . . nice meeting you, Cammie.”

  She picked up her purse, slung it over her shoulder and left. I picked up the used condom and wrapper then tossed them into the trash.

  The strangest feeling washed over me when I sat in my car, and for the first time in my life, I felt like I needed something more. I quickly brushed the feeling away and drove home.

  Almost every day at lunchtime after I cleaned up, I grabbed my lunch from the break room fridge then headed up the stairs to my sister’s temporary apartment above the shop. Spending time with Zoey and Hannah when Andy couldn’t make it home for lunch was one of my new favorite things to do.

  Today, only halfway up the stairs, I could hear Hannah crying. I knocked, and Zoey opened the door a few minutes later while trying to calm a now screaming Hannah. She looked like she was about to cry, so I stepped inside the apartment and set my lunch on the table.

  I turned back to my sister. “Let me try, Z,” I said calmly, reaching out to take my niece.

  “I’ve tried everything, Jer. Feeding her, changing her diaper, singing to her—nothing works. What am I doing wrong?” Her bottom lip quivered slightly as she stared at the screaming baby in my arms.

  “Sounds like you’ve done everything you’re supposed to, Z. It’s just one of those things. I’ve got her now.”

  I hated seeing her stressed out, and with Andy working two jobs and overseeing their apartment renovation, he wasn’t able to come home often throughout the day. Z had gone through a lot the last few years so I felt it was my brotherly duty to do whatever I needed to help her.

  Her ex-husband, Rob, had accidentally killed himself by getting high and setting a fire in the back of the store Zoey and Andy owned. Although he was no longer a threat to her, she was my only sister, and I was very protective of her, espe
cially now that she had a baby. Besides, protecting her was second nature to me and would always be part of my job.

  She took Hannah’s hand in hers and kissed it as I cradled her to my chest. “Hey Sweet Pea, quiet down for Uncle Jeremy,” I said soothingly in her little ear. She pressed her soft forehead against my neck, taking in a deep breath. A wave of relief washed over Z’s face, but she was completely frazzled. “Zoey, I’ll take care of her. Go take a hot shower or something.”

  She stepped closer to me and threw her arms around my waist, squeezing me tight.

  I hugged her back one-armed and patted her on the shoulder.

  “Thank you, Jer.” She jogged down the hallway to her room, grabbed some clean clothes, and shut herself in the bathroom.

  I sat down at the kitchen table and ate my lunch one-handed while I rocked my niece to sleep. At just over a month old, she still looked exactly like my sister.

  I felt bad because Z was having a shitty day so I sent Andy a text.

  Z’s having a bad day. I got Hannah to sleep and sent Z to the shower. I can cover your job at the shop. Get home ASAP.

  Not even five minutes later, he came through the door of the apartment. He stopped when he saw me sitting at the table. “Where is Zoey? Is she alright?” He scanned the apartment for her.

  “She’s still in the shower. I’ll take care of Sweet Pea. You go check on Z.”

  “Thanks, mate.”

  Andy walked over, kissed Hannah, and headed down the hallway. He knocked on the bathroom door and a moment later, he went in and closed the door behind him.

  I really liked Andy. He was good to my sister and would do anything for her and my family.

  He’d screwed up royally last summer when he’d left Zoey after freaking out over some bad news he’d received. They had worked everything out, got married, and were living the life they’d always dreamed of.

  I felt a minor pang of jealousy shoot through my gut. Not in a bad way—I was happy for them. But ever since noticing at the hospital how perfect they were for each other, and now seeing every day how happy they were, I’d realized spending most of my free time hanging out with my friends was getting old. And when I wasn’t with them or my family, I was at work.

  Although I hadn’t dated anyone in a few years, I had decided to give it another shot. No more friends with benefits for me. It was time to get serious. So a few days after I’d hooked up with Cammie in the parking garage of the hospital, I’d asked her out on an actual date.

  Zoey and Andy came into the kitchen as I was putting my lunch dishes back in my lunchbox. She looked much better and Andy had changed out of his work clothes. I didn’t dare ask why his hair was wet though because I didn’t need to know what had gone on after he went in to see my sister. The big grins on both their faces told me way more than I wanted to know as it was.

  I stood and handed Hannah off to Andy.

  “Thanks, mate. I appreciate your text and watching out for my girls when I can’t.”

  I nodded and clapped him on the back. “Anytime, man.”

  He dipped his head and kissed Hannah on the top of her small head. “Hey beautiful girl, Daddy missed you today,” he whispered.

  I left them to their family moment and returned to work. Once I tightened some bolts and cleaned up the import car Andy had been working on when I’d texted him, I was done for the day.

  Thank God it was Friday—MMA night at the bar with the guys. I hadn’t been to MMA night since I’d started dating Cammie and I was ready for a night with no female drama. There was probably going to be enough of it on Sunday when I took Cammie to meet my family for the first time.

  Two days later, as Cammie and I arrived at my parents’ house for dinner, I noticed Noah and his wife, Jess, had parked right behind us. We got out and waited for them.

  “Hey, bro,” I said, smacking Noah on the back. “This is Cammie. Cammie, this is my brother Noah, and his wife Jess.”

  Cammie shook their hands, and mumbled “hello” to them.

  Noah looked Cammie and I over, and I could tell he was holding back a smirk.

  Jess came over and hugged me, and Cammie glared at us.

  What the hell was that about?

  “What are we gonna do with you Jeremy James?” Jess whispered into my ear. “That girl is going to be nothing but trouble.”

  In my heart, I knew Jess was right. But, we were already at my parents’ house so it was too late to turn back now.

  I threw my arm over Jess’s shoulder, grabbed Cammie’s hand, and escorted them up the sidewalk.

  Jess was super sweet. She never cussed, and was a perfect angel according to my brother.

  As soon as we walked in the door, every female in the house descended upon Cammie and me.

  Once she’d met all the women, I introduced her to my parents, my brothers Jason and Adam, and Andy.

  Throughout dinner, Cammie picked at her food, complaining because it was “too fattening” and she didn’t really like Mexican food.

  My mom noticed, but didn’t say anything. All the women in the family tried to make Cammie feel welcome, but the constant scowl on her face showed that it wasn’t working.

  Finally, after dinner, I cornered Cammie when she came out of the bathroom. “What’s the problem, Cammie? I brought you here to meet my family and you’re being rude.”

  She huffed. “They’re making me uncomfortable asking all those questions about me. Make them stop!”

  Was she serious? “Cammie, they’re trying to get to know you. That’s what people do, they ask questions.”

  “Please take me home. I don’t want to be here anymore.”

  Because I didn’t want my family to witness an argument between us, we said our hasty goodbyes and left. I dropped Cammie off at her apartment and went home. I had a lot of thinking to do, and I needed space from her.

  It was time for me to figure my shit out.

  “Come on, Teagan,” Reese growled in my ear as he squatted on the mat next to me. “Ten more, then you’re done.”

  I was close to completing a series of crunches that would end my workout, but I didn’t know if I had two more crunches in me, let alone ten. My stomach muscles were on fire. My roomie must be trying to kill me.

  After my weeklong motel stay, I’d gone straight to the only friend I had left in Denver. Reese.

  Once I’d told him what Gary and Katie had done, he’d insisted I move in with him. I didn’t hesitate. I couldn’t afford to rent my own place and had nowhere else to go.

  We’d made a pact then to get me back into shape—the shape I was in when I moved to Denver. He’d taken me quite literally when I’d told him to kick my ass in the gym. Not only did he create an exercise regimen and hold me to it, he’d outlined a diet, too. No more fast food. No more being lazy. But most of all, no more excuses. Now I was down twenty pounds, with only fifteen left to lose.

  This was my life, and I was done standing in my own way of living it. I was getting me back!

  Reese chanted the final countdown for me, and the second I finished the last miserable crunch I threw myself backward onto the mat to let the burn in my muscles subside. I slowed my breathing and relaxed for a few minutes.

  “I hate you,” I muttered to Reese as he threw a towel at me. I didn’t have the energy to block it or catch it, so it landed on my face.

  “Honey, you love me and you know it, don’t try to lie.” He smirked, grabbed my hand, and pulled me up from the mat.

  Reese was dressed in his black shorts and T-shirt with the gym’s name stretched across his muscled chest, and I couldn’t help but notice all the women around us take notice. Too bad for those women that he batted for the other team. Great news for the other team, though.

  I laughed as my body trembled from the vigorous workout he had put me through for the last hour and a half.

  “You’re right, I do love you. I’m gonna hit the showers. I’ll see ya at home tonight,” I said, and made my way to the locker room for a show
er. Once I was dressed in my scrubs and had my hair twisted back in a knot, I headed to work in my Neon.

  After my shift ended, I went home, got ready for bed, and crawled in next to Reese. His apartment had only one bedroom, so we’d decided to share rather than take turns sleeping on the couch. With his being gay and us being such good friends, our sleeping arrangement was like a slumber party. Some nights we’d watch movies or crazy videos on YouTube, eat popcorn in bed, or gossip about men.

  To anyone else, our relationship might have seemed odd, but it worked perfectly for us. Reese called me his “snuggle buddy” which I thought was hilarious. There was only one issue with our sleeping situation.

  “Reese, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you have feelings for me,” I teased one day as his morning wood pressed against the back of my thigh. I wiggled my hips, so he’d know what I meant.

  Reese laughed quietly and moved back. “No offense sweetie, but Reese junior hasn’t seen a vajayjay since the day I lost my virginity twelve years ago. Pretty much guaranteed he’ll never see another because that one terrified him.”

  Later, after Reese had gone to work, I was in the kitchen cooking an egg white omelet when my cell rang with “Mama,” by Flyleaf. I answered, “Mornin,’ Mama, how are you?

  “Hi, honey,” she said, her voice unsteady as she spoke. “I’m not doing so well this morning. I’m afraid I have some upsetting news.”

  “Mama, is it Dad?” I feared the day I would get the call that my dad’s cancer had come back.

  “Teagan, Dad’s fine.” She took a breath and let it out. “It’s Nanna. She’s had a stroke.”

  Oh God, no. Not Nanna. I was very close with her. My mom had even named me after her. Dread spread like wildfire through my body, and I swallowed around the lump in my throat.

  “Is she alive?” I asked hesitantly, squeezing my eyes shut until she responded. I would never forgive myself if she passed away without me there to say goodbye first.

  “Yes she is, honey. They’re running tests right now to see how bad it is. She is conscious, but she’s very confused. Her right side is numb, and she’s having a hard time speaking.”