The Outlaw Next Door

by Lacey Legend

  Afterward, they lay intertwined on the bed, the covers pulled up over them. His window was open, and there was a breeze inside the room. He marveled at how he hadn’t noticed that when they were making love. He hadn’t felt even slightly cold. Now, he shivered and moved closer to her. Her body was warm against his.

  “It’s so good to have you here. I was wondering what I was going to do with my day, and now here you are.”

  “Here I am.”

  “It’s so good to see you. I’ve missed you so much, Jasmine. I thought I might never see you again.”

  “No way. It’s impossible. We’re too connected, you and I.”

  “I still can’t believe you got a tattoo.”

  “Neither can I, to be honest,” she said, laughing. And hearing her laugh was one of the best things that he had ever heard. The sweetest sound in the world.

  They lay like that for a while, neither of them saying anything. Eric played with her hair and finally found the guts to say the words that had been playing on his lips ever since she arrived.

  “Jasmine, what’s going to happen now?”

  “I don’t know, Eric. I don’t know. I can’t stay here. I wish I could, but I can’t. First off, it would only put attention on you. And also, I can’t be with someone who has to constantly move. I’m not that sort of girl. I’m a homebody. I love you, Eric, but this lifestyle is not for me.”

  Eric closed his eyes. The words were hard to hear. A big part of him had hoped that she would tell him that she was moving in with him. But he couldn’t expect that of her. In fact, he shouldn’t expect that of her. She deserved more than this.

  “So… this is it?” Eric asked.

  The moment the words came out of his mouth, he was transported back to that day with Charlie. They’d said the same words to each other. But it felt so different now. Back then, he was happy to move out. Happy to start over. But now, he didn’t want it to be over.

  “This is it, I guess. I don’t want it to be, though. Oh Eric, why does it have to be this way?”

  Suddenly she was crying, and Eric didn’t know what to do to make things better.

  “Why don’t we run away?” he said instead. He looked at her, and she was smiling.

  “I like that idea. We can change our names.”

  “I already have,” he said.

  She turned to look at him. “You have?”

  “You’re looking at Dan Turner.”

  “Such a normal name for such an extraordinary man.”

  “Sometimes it’s nice to be normal.”

  “So … Dan Turner … where are we going?” she asked.

  “Hmm… I know a place. It’s a place my father used to talk about. He went there once. It’s a little island in Central America called Popa Island. I remember it because I used to think my father had made it up. It sounded made up to me when I was a kid. I thought he was saying ‘Papa’ Island. Even when he corrected the spelling, I didn’t believe him. But when I was old enough, I looked it up, and sure enough – there it was. My father went there once and told me it was the happiest time of his life. And I always told myself that one day I would go there, too – to the place that made him so happy.”

  “Popa Island. Something about that name – it makes me happy, too. I wish I had met your father, Eric.”

  “I wish you had met him, too. You would have loved him.”

  “I know. So … are we meeting there?”

  “On the island? Sure! How about we meet up there in six months’ time? Gives us time to sort everything out. Then we can spend the rest of our lives together drinking out of coconuts.”

  Jasmine laughed. “I could live with that idea. So, six months’ time. Let’s see – that means we’ll be together in May. Should we make it the 1st?”

  “The first of May. I’ll be there.”

  “I’ll be there, too. Under the trees, with a coconut.”

  “But how will I find you? I’m sure they are a lot of trees.”

  “Well, sure, but I’ll be the only one standing there with a coconut. I’ll be in front of the most popular café.”

  “How do you know what that is?”

  Jasmine laughed. “I don’t know. But surely there’s a popular café? Who knows, maybe it will be the only café. But that’s where I’ll be.”

  “I’ll meet you there. I should get there around midday.”

  They both laughed, and Jasmine moved in to snuggle him closer. It was a nice dream.

  “I’m going to miss you, Eric.”

  “I’m going to miss you, too. I love you.”

  “I love you.”

  Jasmine stayed for another few hours. They spent the time in bed, just snuggling and kissing. They didn’t say much more after that. There really was nothing else to say. They knew that the goodbye was inevitable and that it was going to happen soon. Eventually, Jasmine sat up.

  “It’s a long drive back. I better go, Eric.”

  “I know. Can’t I keep you here forever?”

  “I wish.”

  Eric felt a lone tear fall down his face. His heart felt as if it were about to break in two. But he was grateful that she had come. Perhaps he’d be able to carry on with his life now that he had been with her one more time. While she dressed, he tried to memorize her body. Then he stood up and took her face into his hands and examined every single detail until it was deeply etched into his mind.

  “Goodbye, Eric Storm.”

  “Goodbye, Jasmine Harris.”

  And then, just like that, she was gone.

  Eric climbed back into bed where the smell of her still lingered and closed his eyes. His life would eventually go back to normal. But not just yet. For now, he would stay in bed and pretend that Jasmine was still with him.

  Epilogue

  “Hello, can I help you? You look a little bit lost.”

  Jasmine turned around to see a man smiling at her. His face was etched with lines that made it look like he’d spent his whole life laughing and smiling. It was a kind face, and she felt immediately at ease.

  “Hi, yes, thank you. I’m wondering if there is a café nearby. I’m looking for the most popular café, if there is such a thing?”

  The man grinned again as if everything she said delighted him. “The most popular café? We have a few. But if you’re looking for the most popular than it would have to be Pop’s Café. It’s not far. Would you like me to take you there? We can walk.”

  “Really? That would be great. Thank you. Pop’s Café – cute name.”

  “The locals laugh at it, but the visitors all seem to love it. I’m a local, and I happen to think it’s a cute name, too. Oh, I’m Rian by the way.”

  “Rian, nice to meet you. I’m Jasmine.”

  “Pretty name.”

  The two of them walked together, side by side. Jasmine could feel the warm sun beaming down on her, and she felt a strange sort of calm for what she was doing. She’d taken a chance coming to the island. Quite possibly the biggest chance of her life. The date was the first of May, and it was just shy of midday. She wasn’t sure if Eric would be there. In fact, she assumed he probably wouldn’t be. After all, they’d just been joking that day. Pretending that they would one day be together again. But she had not been able to stop thinking about it. Popa Island had become all that she could think about. It grew bigger and bigger in her head until she knew what she had to do. And so, just as she had said she would, she made the necessary plans to change her life forever. It was a big leap of faith, but she was sick of playing it safe. Rian spoke non-stop, which was nice – it gave her a chance to stop thinking for a while. Then, after not even a ten-minute walk, he stopped and pointed to a lovely little café that sat right upon the beach.

  “Here it is. Pop’s Café. The best café on the island. I hope this is what you were looking for.”

  “I hope so, too. Thank you so much. This was so kind of you.”

  “Oh, it’s no problem at all. In fact, while I’m here, I’m going to get mys
elf a drink. Can I get you anything, Jasmine?”

  “No, that’s okay. Thank you for asking. I’m … uh … I’m actually meeting someone.”

  “No problem at all. Have a beautiful day, and hopefully I’ll see you around sometime.”

  “Thank you. I’m sure you will. Have a great day, Rian.”

  Jasmine looked around. Her heart was beating fast as she took in her surroundings. But Eric was not there. She found herself a seat and decided to wait it out. After all, she was a bit early. And perhaps he had gotten delayed. Five minutes passed, and nobody came. Ten minutes passed. Still nothing. For all she knew, she was at the wrong café. Or more than likely, he was not even on the island. Twenty minutes passed, and still he did not come. Jasmine felt a sadness overtake her. She needed to be a bit more realistic about the whole thing – she should’ve known that the chances of him waiting for her would’ve been minimal. What was she thinking anyway? They hadn’t even been serious when they had made those plans. She’d concocted this whole idea in her head. She felt so stupid. It was quarter to one when she got up and decided to walk out to the beach. She stepped out of the café and noticed a few trees out in the distance where she could just about make out someone standing there. Could it be? Jasmine quickened her pace, and as the figure started to become clearer, she knew that it was him. Eric was waiting under a tree, just as he had promised, and he was holding a coconut. She ran toward him and burst out laughing. When he saw her, he started laughing too. They were both running, laughing, and crying at the same time. If anyone was watching them, it would be clear that they were long-lost lovers finally reuniting with one another.

  “Jasmine! Jasmine! Jasmine!” Eric said over and over again, “I can’t believe you’re actually here. Please tell me that this is real and that I’m not dreaming this. I need this to be real. I thought I was going out of my mind waiting here for you. I mean … we weren’t even being serious that day. Well, at least I thought we weren’t. Yet somehow, here we both are.”

  Jasmine felt as if she were going to explode from all the happiness that was bubbling up inside of her.

  “I know! Me too! I mean, we were just kidding that day. When we were talking about it, I never for one minute thought that we were being serious. Not for one minute. It was just some lovely fantasy. Then I got home and Popa Island was all that I could think of. I was going crazy thinking about it. I couldn’t even work – I would just sit there looking up information on the island. Before I knew it, I had quit my job, found someone to take over my house, said goodbye to my family and friends, and moved to the Island.”

  “You moved here? You’re not just here on holiday?” Eric asked her.

  Jasmine started laughing again. “I know! I’m crazy. I think I’ve completely lost my mind. I actually moved here. And you?” Jasmine asked, assuming he was just here on holiday.

  He laughed. “I moved here, too. Jasmine, we are completely insane.”

  “We are. Which is probably why we’re perfect for each other. I’m sorry I’m late, by the way. I was waiting at the café the whole time. I didn’t notice these trees.”

  “How could you not notice the trees? They’re beautiful.”

  She giggled. “You really love trees, don’t you?”

  “Trees and Jasmine – the two most beautiful things in the world.”

  She smiled and took his hand. “So, is this it?”

  He smiled at her. “This is it.”

  THE END

  Lacey Legend Personal Message:

  Hey beautiful!

  I really hope you enjoyed my books and if you want to see all my other books then just check out my Amazon author page here. Collect them all! :)

  Thanks in advance

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  Table of Contents

  Chapter1

  Chapter2

  Chapter3

  Chapter4

  Chapter5

  Chapter6

  Chapter7

  Chapter8

  Chapter9

  Chapter10

  The Final Chapter