Runaway Love

by Amber Nation

  Maggie immediately cupped her hands over her face and said in a muffled voice, “I’m so embarrassed.”

  “Babe,” I pulled her hands down and intertwined our fingers together. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about. I just wish I was there in person to witness it firsthand rather than seeing it on the small screen of my phone. You looked fucking sexy and I must say that you do look pretty damn incredible tonight.” She also looked fucking edible, but I found it best to keep that thought to myself.

  I leaned forward and captured her lips in a kiss. I could spend hours with my lips pressed against hers and our tongues mingling together, and I have. Since that is as far as we’ve been, I made sure to spend my time and attention on her sexy mouth.

  I reluctantly pulled away, “I have to get back to work babe. Thank you for coming to see me play, even if I did con you into it. Meet me here tomorrow when I get off at seven and we will do something, yeah?”

  Today has been an unusually busy day for a Sunday. I kept finding myself relentlessly looking at the clock to see if was any closer to seven. But every time I did, I found only a few minutes had passed. Father Time apparently thought it was fucking hilarious to torture me.

  I just wanted to get this work day over with, and spend some time with Maggie. She’s had the entire weekend off, and I’ve barely gotten any time in with her. I know I sound like a whiney child, but I didn’t care. She worked sixteen hour shifts and the one time she had a weekend off, Grady had to be a punkass and schedule me. I’ll be glad when the charade is over and I didn’t have to work two jobs, it was really taking its toll on me.

  To top it all off, Tessa came in at six wearing the biggest ‘I know something you don’t know’ grin, and has been taunting me with it ever since. One thing I’ve learned about Tessa is that she can be a bit juvenile and came up with the oddest phrases, but if you were her friend there is absolutely nothing that she wouldn’t do for you. I was so glad to see that Toby, Tessa, and Emmy have taken Maggie under their wings and have become such great friends to her.

  Finally, it was five till seven, so I grabbed my white towel from my shoulder and slammed it to the bar, by the time it took me to go set up the music and clock out it would be seven.

  “Tess, I’m outta here. I believe Grady is coming in around eight to help, but you can call him early if you get too slammed.”

  “That’s right, gotcha a hot date, huh?” She leaned in towards me, “And I do mean hot.” Then she stepped back at winked at me.

  What the hell?

  I shrugged my shoulders and made my way out from behind the bar, coming around the front. Almost forgetting to tell Tessa, I whirled around and spoke up, snapping my fingers, “If Maggie comes in just tell her I’ll be a minute, yeah?”

  “Of course,” she said through the biggest smile I’ve ever seen come across her face.

  Something fishy was going on, and I was hoping that I’d find out exactly what it was.

  I headed towards the stage where our speaker system was set up. Normally on the weekends if we didn’t have a live band we would have a DJ playing different songs. On Sundays it wasn’t normally this crowded so we just set up a few mix CD’s and let them play. The college crowd from nearby towns really loved coming in here to dance, and Grady thought it would be another way to bring extra clientele into the bar. So far it had worked extremely well.

  There was a new mix CD setting on top of the stack, Tessa must have brought it in with her. So I loaded up the five disc CD changer and hurried on back to clock out. I spared one last glance at the bar to look for Maggie, and the only person I saw was a woman in a red dress talking to Tessa. Hopefully she would be here soon.

  I clocked out and walked into the men’s restroom and had to walk past a couple of guys who were conversing amongst their group. Since when did men go to the bathroom in packs? I thought that was just a woman thing.

  I overheard one guy say, “Man did you see that girl standing at the bar?”

  I immediately perked up thinking they were talking about Tessa, and no way was that going to fucking fly with me. I walked past them again, to get to the sink so I could wash my hands. I could see their backs as I looked in the mirror.

  Another one spoke, “What girl at the bar?”

  The first guy spoke again, “The girl wearing the red dress. DAMN she looked hot and fucking ripe for the picking. If she’s still out there, I think I may make my move.”

  Rolling my eyes, I decided that I had heard enough from those douchebags. Ripe for the picking? Where did they come up with this stuff?

  I approached the bar looking everywhere for Maggie, still not seeing her, I made my way to Tessa. She was in the middle of talking to the girl in the red dress, who was currently perched upon a stool.

  I came up behind the woman, and the closer I got the more I realized who it was. It was my Maggie. She was wearing her hair styled more different than normal and that dress…

  Those douchebags were macking on MY Maggie. I had the right mind to go find those asswipes and show them how to properly treat a lady.

  I came up behind her wrapping my arms around waist, which made her jump in surprise. Giving her a kiss on her temple, I whispered in her ear, “I’m sorry baby. I didn’t meant to startle you.” I felt her shiver as I nuzzled her ear.

  She lifted herself off of the stool and turned towards me. I was able to get the first full look at her entire outfit. I took my time perusing her from head to toe, and oh my fucking God did she look sinfully delicious.

  This dress was way more than just a simple red dress. It almost looked like a bustier that had a zipper in the front that was just begging to be unzipped by my hand. The rest of the dress was a sheer type of flowy fabric. I didn’t know clothing terms, but I would almost bet Toby and Gio could tell me exactly what it was made of right down to the stitch count.

  And her shoes, God those shoes! My eyes bugged out of my head while looking at those shoes. They were nude colored pumps.

  Fuck me pumps!

  My shy little Maggie had gone full on sex kitten, and I fucking loved it.

  I never considered myself to have a shoe fetish, but seeing her in those pumps, made all sorts of dirty thoughts appear in my head. I officially had a new found appreciation for high heels.

  I wasn’t able to hide the growl that erupted from deep within my chest. I wanted nothing more than to take her home and defile her.

  “Charlie?” Maggie muttered, making my gaze instantly snap back to her. I literally think I swallowed my tongue. I had no words. “What’s wrong? Don’t you like it?”

  “L…li…like it?” Fuck, now I was stuttering. Pull it together, Charlie! Finally, I found my voice, and not a moment too soon. Her face had contorted into a look a pure hurt by my lack of response. “No, baby I don’t like it.” Even more anguish appeared on her features, I was really fucking this up. “No, you didn’t let me finish. I don’t like it, I absolutely one hundred percent without a doubt, love it! God, Maggie look what you do to me!”

  I glanced down indicating towards the straining bulge in my jeans. I had never ached this much to have someone. I wanted Maggie with every fiber of my being. I wanted to make her fully mine.

  She was mine in all sense of the word, but soon and very soon at that, she will be irrevocably mine.

  Her mouth parted and she inhaled a quick breath once her gaze reached my impossible to hide or ignore erection. Her nose flared as she closed her eyes, seemingly to calm herself which was exactly what I needed to do at that moment. When her eyes slowly opened, spreading her lashes apart, I could see the pure unadulterated lust twinkling in the depths.

  “Charlie…” she whispered, which was barely audible enough for me to hear.

  I cupped her cheeks in my hands and leaned in close to kiss her. Her hands tugged on my shirt as I thrust my tongue into her awaiting mouth. She let one hand drift underneath my shirt as she lightly scratched my abdomen. That invoked even more of a reaction and I pulled her
tightly to me, the evidence of my arousal jutting into her belly. I felt her breath falter as I knew she had just felt the hardness of my cock against her skin. I had to quickly move away as I realized we were still very much in the confines of the bar.

  “Holy shit!” I heard Tessa shriek, and Maggie and I both turned our heads towards her. “That was the hottest fucking thing I have ever seen. And coming from me, that’s saying something.”

  I felt my cock start to deflate as the images of Brock and Tessa fluttered through my mind. I leaned my forehead against Maggie’s and I let out a long sigh, “That wasn’t an image I wanted seared into my brain.”

  She nervously giggled, “Yeah, me either.” Maggie’s eyes lit up as she said, “I love this song, let’s dance!”

  She yanked me towards the makeshift dance floor, and I was able to hear the music for the first time since I laid eyes on Maggie tonight.

  Zendaya’s voice echoed through the speakers as she sang, “Replay”.

  I was able to get a front row seat to some of the dance moves that Maggie had done the previous two nights before. I liked to dance and I was certainly no stranger to it, so I began to get into the song as she came up in front of me and ground her ass up on my cock, which instantly had it stirring again. My resolve was beginning to ware extremely thin. I could only take so much more.

  She turned around to where she was facing me and she hitched one of her legs on my hip, which I promptly moved my hand to cradle her smooth, creamy thigh. She pulled my head down to where her lips were at my ear, “Charlie baby, please take me home and make love to me.” She pulled back just enough to where I could see her features silently begging for me to comply.

  Something inside of me snapped and my doubt became nonexistent, my selfishness to be with her won. I took her hand in mine and whirled around towards the door.

  On the way out we strode by the group of men who I encountered in the bathroom. I plastered on one of the cockiest grins and said, “Sorry assholes, you never had a chance,” and continued our way out to my car.

  I opened the passenger door for Maggie but before I let her get in, I pushed her up against the car and thrust my tongue quickly into her mouth, needing another taste. I broke away almost as quickly and said, “God, Maggie I want you so bad! I can’t wait anymore.”

  “I’m all yours Charlie, now hurry up and take me home.”

  After getting situated in the car, I fired up the Camaro and started in the direction of Maggie’s apartment.

  I couldn’t believe this was actually happening. I needed to calm myself before I ended up taking her too roughly. It being her first time, it was imperative for me to be patient and gentle, and the way my blood was boiling, I was anything but.

  All my senses were hyperaware. Having my calloused hand grip the gearshift and forcefully move it to shift gears even seemed sensual to me at the present time. I could hear her erratic breathing filling the quietness of the car. Neither of us spoke the entire length of time it took me to make it to Maggie’s apartment, which didn’t take near as long as it normally would have. The anticipation was killing us both, I could tell.

  Shutting off the engine to my car, I sat back in the seat to gather my thoughts for a second. Here was my chance to tell her all about me before she made the plunge. I wanted to tell her, I needed to tell her. But in the end, I couldn’t. My selfishness had finally taken over. The result of me confessing my occupation wouldn’t end well for either of us. I needed to be with her more.

  And if that didn’t make me even more of an asshole.

  (Maggie)

  Charlie took my hand and guided me the entire way, as I had totally checked out. I was more nervous than I had ever been. Before I even realized what had happened I was standing in the middle of my living room, not remembering the journey through the halls of my building.

  I honestly couldn’t believe I actually got up enough nerve to blurt those words out. It was like someone else had taken over my body entirely.

  Before Charlie came up behind me and scared the bejesus out of me, Tessa was in the middle of giving me one of her famous pep talks.

  She reassured me that I looked fabulous and that Charlie wouldn’t turn me down. I felt almost as if I were begging him for sex, and it made me feel a bit pathetic. But the look in his eyes once he got a glimpse of my appearance sealed the deal.

  I wanted this.

  I could do this.

  Earlier in the day, before the date, I went to the hospital to see how Sheridan was doing, if she was still admitted. When I walked into her hospital room she was on the phone¸ so I stayed over in the corner not wanting to interrupt.

  “How is he doing? Good, tell him I love and miss him.” She looked up and finally realized I was in the room, a look of surprise in her eyes. “Hey momma, I gotta go.” She quickly hung up the phone and shifted herself in the bed to where she was facing me.

  “Maggie, what a pleasant surprise. I’m actually glad you stopped by, I wanted to express my gratitude in your helping me yesterday. I really appreciate it.”

  She pointed to a vase of flowers that were perched upon the window sill. “Everyone has been super nice around here. Even Mike, he sent me those and has stopped by at least a half a dozen times.” I walked over to the flowers to see if there was a card, just to be a little nosy. “Here I thought the hospital would kick me out since I didn’t have any insurance.”

  Moving over to her bed, I said, “Oh Sheridan, Rick’s insurance is paying for your stay. It was his fault that you’re here. So are you going to go home once you get out?” I was genuinely concerned.

  Her face fell and her lips turned into a frown, “I don’t know yet. I haven’t thought that far ahead.” She then rolled over and shut her eyes, “I’m going to rest now, thank you again Maggie. For everything.” I knew I was being dismissed, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that Sheridan wasn’t alright. I wrote my name and cellphone number on a stray piece of paper along with a note letting her know to call anytime.

  Once I got back from my visiting Sheridan, I had a blast getting ready for this date, it just goes to show how a few months could change everything.

  This time I was very much in active participant amongst the gossip and conversation, and I was having a ball. The only thing that would have made this little shindig better, was if Gio could’ve been there, but then again it could’ve also made it awkward as hell.

  I had cornered Toby earlier in the day while Tessa and Emmy were dishing up Emmalynne’s “Better than Sex” cake that she brought along. He had been in a somewhat distant and somber mood ever since he had arrived, and I wanted to get to the bottom of it.

  “Toby what’s going on?” I asked.

  “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.” I couldn’t forget the look of pure anguish that reflected in his eyes. There was only one simple solution to his melancholy state, and I wasn’t favoring this turn of events.

  “What did Gio do?” Although Gio would never do anything to hurt me he was notorious for pissing other people off. And the words that came out of Toby’s mouth next were exactly what I knew he was going to say.

  “Maggie, my own parents have an aversion to me,” he paused to take a deep breath the sadness was overwhelming in his voice, “I can’t be with someone who is constantly afraid of someone seeing us out together.” He averted his eyes from me, “I really started to like him too, but he would only be with me in private.” Finally, looking back into my eyes, “I’m proud to be gay, you know me I would shout it from the rooftops. And if anyone didn’t like it I would tell them to shove it where the sun doesn’t shine.”

  And there it was.

  I thought Gio had gotten over all of his misgivings. He was a closet gay. His own parents and brother didn’t even know. Hell, it took him two years of knowing me before he could finally tell me, and we talked every single day. I had my suspicions, but it wasn’t my place to delve into the depths of his sexuality. Girls were always fawning all over him and h
e never would take them up on any of their advances. We were each-others company, like two peas in a pod. So I knew he was either gay or he was interested in me. And until Charlie, I never once believed that anyone would cast me a second glance.

  I guess I always imagined he would’ve finally came out once he found that someone special to spend his life with. And Toby was a million times more than just something special. They complimented each other perfectly, they belonged together. Toby said that he was really starting to like Gio, but he couldn’t hide his true feelings from me.

  “Toby you have the same look in your eyes when you talk about Gio that I have in mine whenever I talk about Charlie. There is more to your feelings than just lust. You love him don’t you?” I asked sympathetically.

  “Yeah, it’s that obvious huh?” he said as he looked up to me while fiddling with a lone string he had pulled from his shirt. “I want to yell at him to snap out of his own thoughts and insecurities, but then I realize that not everyone is as forthcoming as I am. If he doesn’t want to come out and be proud to be with me, then I’ll just have to move on to someone more worthy of my time and attention. It’ll hurt like the hell in the process, but I have amazing friends that will be there to stand behind me.”

  “You’re right. And even though Gio and I have been friends for a long time, I will still always be here for you.” I placed my hand on his shoulder, “I hope you know that.”

  He wiped a stray tear off of his cheek as he let out a long drawn out sigh. “Yeah, I know doll. Now what’s this about you?” He instantly turns the tables onto me and lowers his voice, “You are in love with Charlie?”

  Shit. I did kind of admit that, didn’t I? Not in so many words, but the implication was there. Aw hell, who was I kidding I was undeniably in love with one Charlie Hennings.

  “Undoubtedly. I’ve never felt this way before. I didn’t even think that I was capable of not only receiving love but giving it as well. I know that’s wrong now, because I have so much love for so many people. Not only Gio, but you guys as well, and above all else, Charlie. I just hope that someday he will love me in return.” A hint of sadness crept its way into my voice.