by J N Owens
“Finley Grace.”
“Noah Christopher.” I look into his eyes. They shine a dark sparkle green in the moonlight.
“Can you feel that?” He grins wide.
“Your dick? Yeah, I feel that. Are you going to do something with it, or do I have to beg you?” I lean down and start kissing up his neck. I can never get enough of him. His touch, his smell, the feel of his arms around me, his hands and mouth on me. All of it.
“Well, yes that. But I was talking about my heart. It beats for you. Every beat, Finley, is for you.” He holds my face between his hands. “Before you, it was so silent. It still beat, but it was a habit. It was doing what it knew to do, what every other heart does. But as soon as my heart heard your heart, it had purpose. You gave me purpose. Now my heart beats for you, every single beat is for you.” A single tear runs down my face.
“I love you, Noah.” It’s all I can get out. I push my lips against his. I pull his bottom lip into my mouth. I move my tongue into his mouth, he pushes his back against mine. He pushes inside me as I let out a hushed moan into his mouth. He rocks in and out of me gently in the middle of the ocean. I hold on to him and give him all of me and we both come together under the stars as Labor Day comes a glorious close.
19
Finley
It’s our last day at the beach. I’m sitting on the back patio drinking coffee, looking out over the water. It’s so peaceful here, I hate to leave. I’m worried at what we will return home to. I haven’t heard anything from Scott in over two weeks. It’s concerning to say the least. I don’t believe for a second he has just forgotten about me and his mission to either have me or ruin me. I pick up my phone to check my email. Of course, I have work emails, but there is one from a name I don’t recognize. At first, I think its spam and I start to delete it, but I notice the subject line says Scott Oliver. That has my attention. I open it, I am instantly shaking.
* * *
Ms. Carson,
* * *
You don’t know me, but I know you. I also know Scott Oliver. I have known him since we were in school together. I learned through a mutual friend that you and he were dating. I am only going to tell you this once, RUN. Run as fast as you can as far as you can. If he gets close to you, he will destroy you. He is not who he says he is, and he is not what you think. This is all I am willing to say to you. I made the mistake of trusting him once. Please don’t make that same mistake. I couldn’t warn the last one. She wasn’t lucky enough to get away.
* * *
Be smarter. He is dangerous.
* * *
And that’s it. It ends. I can feel my whole body shaking. I don’t know what to do. I don’t even know what it means. I hear Noah call my name.
“Yeah I’m out here.”
He comes out with a box in his hands.
“Did you get me a present on our last day? That was nice.” I try to smile. But it doesn’t reach my eyes. I know it doesn’t I’m too shaken. He sets the box down.
“Hey, what’s wrong? Are you alright?”
“Yeah. No. I don’t know. Read this.” I hand him my phone. He glances over it and I see the shock immediately.
“I don’t know what to say. We already knew he wasn’t stable and is dangerous. Do we even know who sent this?” I just shake my head.
“I don’t know. We will show my dad and it will be fine. I need to think about something else right now. What’s in the box?” I nod over to the table.
“I have no idea,” he says, still with a concerned look on his face.
“It’s not from you?”
“No, it was at the front door. No one knows where it came from. But it has your name on it.” We both just look at it. This doesn’t feel good. As soon I think how nice it was not having to worry about Scott, I get an email about him being crazy and now this random package. I don’t really want to know what’s inside.
“Well it’s not ticking, so it should be fine to open.” I look to him questioning.
He gives me a single nod but doesn’t look convinced. I pull it to me and pull the tape off. I open the flaps and just stare down at the box. Inside is full of peonies. Not a bouquet of flowers, but the petals and bulbs. Some are whole but without the stems, they are just thrown in there and crumbled up. I notice something sticking up out of the middle. It looks like a piece of wood; I reach in and pull it out. It’s a picture frame. My hands start shaking all over again. When I get it pulled out of the box, I turn it over, inside is an up-close picture of me and Noah in the water the night of Labor Day. Attached to the back is a piece of paper. I pull it off and it has messy scribbled writing on it. I look to Noah. He reaches over and takes it from me. He looks over to have me read it, but I shake my head. I can’t. So, he reads it to me.
“I see you everywhere you go, I see you whatever you do. You can’t see me, but I see you. I will have you again, you will be mine forever.” I run to the bushes and vomit. Noah is there instantly running his hand over my back. I stand up and turn to him. He wraps me in his arms.
“What do we do?” He pulls back and looks at me. I can see the concern and worry in his face.
“I don’t know. We need to talk to your dad. Now.” I nod.
We go inside and we all sit down and talk about everything. We put it all on the table. We discuss what we all need to do to stay safe, what precautions we can take. My father is furious. But he still manages to tell us all what we need to look out for. He is upping the security around my house, and Layla’s bar. He is going to send the picture into his guys to see if they can get any prints off it. We know who did it, but if we have proof that will help. He also wants to try and find out who sent the email. If he can find her, he thinks he can get some proof of other things Scott has done.
Davis is pacing and has been making calls nonstop. He manages to get a friend of his at the attorney general’s office to get a warrant out for Scott’s arrest.
“Now Finley” He looks over to me. “I don’t know how long this will take, and I don’t know if there is enough to make it stick. But my hopes are that it will be enough to show him that we aren’t going to just sit back and let him play these games with you.”
“That’s right, he is going to get the message, one way or another,” my dad agrees. "Don’t worry, we will keep you safe.”
Seeing everyone around me showing their fear and concern does it, I let the tears come. They just start pouring down my face and before I know it, I’m sobbing uncontrollably. Noah picks me up and puts me in his lap and wraps his arms around me. I cry into his neck while he just runs his hand up and down back and arms. He lifts me up and starts to carry me.
“Come on, lets get you cleaned up. We need to get on the road. I’ll finish getting us packed while you take a shower.” I just nod and wrap my legs around him so he can carry me easier. He holds me with his arms under my legs. The tears are slowing as I just lay my head on his shoulder. I see everyone still sitting around the living room watching us walk away. And I can see the strain it’s causing them, the worry lines on their faces, and the tears on my mother and sisters faces.
We get upstairs, I pull away from Noah and stand up. I look at him and see the same worry on his face. “I can’t keep doing this to everyone. I can’t keep worrying everyone like this. This is my problem, not yours, and not theirs. Something must give. Something must be done. I can’t do this to everyone. Noah, I brought him into our lives. I don’t know how to stop him. But if it’s me he wants, and he isn’t going to stop until he has me, then I must keep everyone safe. Especially you, Noah. I love you and I would die if something happened to you. Nothing he could do to me is as bad as if he does something to you. Don’t you see that, that’s the worst-case scenario. So, I have to figure out how to stop this myself.” He is already shaking his head.
“Absolutely not, Finley. You are not in this alone. I get it, I do. I can see how you think you are responsible, but you are not. This guy is a lunatic. This is not on you. Do you hear me?�
�� He reaches out and takes me by the arms and holds me tight, almost too tight. His voice is getting louder. “I will not let you do this alone. Whatever happens, we are in this together. Do you hear me? Don’t you dare try and do something alone. Don’t you try and take him on alone. When I told you I love you, I meant it. I mean it till the end. Whatever you do, I do. You got it.”
I’m crying again. So, I just nod. He leans in and presses his mouth to mine. He takes my whole mouth, wrapping his hand behind my head pulling me in hard. It may just be the best kiss we have ever shared. It has all our feelings in it—our fear, our love, our sorrow, and our hope. He kisses my tears and wipes them away. I’m so scared and right now all I want is to wash it all away. Noah walks me to the bathroom. He helps me into the shower, taking my robe from me, he leaves me to shower. I watch him as he goes back into the room and starts getting the rest of our things together. I don’t know how I got so lucky to have him. I make my way out of the shower, taking a towel I dry off. I make my way into the bedroom and walk up behind Noah. I wrap my arms around his waist and lay my head against his back, breathing in his smell. He runs his hands over mine, holding them close to him. He pulls me around the front of him and lays us down on the bed together. We lay there for too short of a time. I could spend forever just laying in his arms. He runs his fingers through my wet hair as we stare silently at each other. “I love you, Finley Grace.”
“I love you, Noah Christopher.”
“You are my world. I’m going to make sure you know it every day. I promise. I’m going to protect you.” He kisses my nose, then my lips. I just smile at him. Then wrap my arms around him and enjoy the feel of being wrapped in him. We make our way off the bed so I can get dressed to leave. He has finished putting our things back in our suitcase. We take one final look around the room, the room that has been a safe haven for a week. We have everything, and it’s time to go. And for the first time in probably my whole life, I don’t want to go home. But we go anyway.
20
Noah
I absolutely hate that Finley is going through all this. If I could make it stop I would, in a minute. This isn’t my thing though. I don’t know what to do. All I can do right now is just be here for her. Make sure nothing happens to her, protect her. We had a great week at the beach. Everything was amazing. I know without a doubt I will spend my life with this woman. If anything happens to her, I don’t know what I will do. I watch her sleep as we make our way back into the city. Coming here was the best decision I have made. I start my new job this week and all my things from Boston should be arriving at by Thursday or Friday. I haven’t found a place to live as of yet, but Fin hasn’t said anything about me leaving. I guess we need to talk about it. And after this morning I’m inclined to think I need to stay here. At least for now, I think its best. She needs someone to be with her, and I don’t like the idea of her being alone. But I also don’t want to push her into being with me too soon. Of course, she did say she would marry me, not officially but there isn’t a rush on that either. There is just so much going on that I don’t want to put any more pressure on her than she already has. I love her, but I don’t want her being with me out of convenience or fear. I look over at her again as I pull down her street. She shifts in her seat. I pull into the driveway as she wakes up and looks around.
“Oh God, did I sleep the whole way? I’m so sorry.”
“Its fine. It was a good drive. Come on let’s get you inside and get something to eat.” She smiles and gets out of the car.
We both walk inside. I bring the bags up and set them inside the door. We go into the kitchen and I sit on a barstool as she looks in the fridge.
“What do you feel like having?” she asks me while she yawns. I know this week has been tiring for her, it has been for everyone.
“Why don’t we just order a pizza and we can sit in bed, eat naked, watch a movie, and just relax for the rest of the night? We don’t even have to unpack.” She closes the fridge and leans against it. She lets out a heavy sigh.
“That’s the best thing I have heard all week. Well, besides you saying you wanted to marry me, that is.” I smile at her then I walk around the counter, picking her up and throwing her over my shoulder, I carry her upstairs. She screams and laughs the whole way. This is what I love, just having fun. The little things that make her laugh and smile. And if I must pick her up like a sack of potatoes and carry her to bed every night to do it, then so be it. We get upstairs, strip down, and shower. She climbs into the bed to pick out a movie while I order a pizza. We spend the rest of the night sitting in bed naked, eating pizza, talking, and watching TV.
“We need to talk about what we want to do about my living situation. All my furniture and things will be here at the end of this week and I need a place to put them. I know I have been here a while and I don’t want to be a burden on you. I don’t want to leave you alone, but I don’t want to stay either and push you too soon. We need to discuss what we want to do.” She reaches over and puts her hand on my chest.
“Noah, I want you here with me. I want you to stay here, more than anything. Please don’t think you are a burden or putting me out. I want you to be comfortable here and feel at home. So, my home is your home. We can do whatever you want to the place. When your stuff gets here, we can bring it in and move things around to fit it all. We will make it our place. Please Noah, stay with me.” Her big blue eyes are pleading and beautiful. I lean across her and start kissing her, ending up pushing her down and making my way on top of her. I wiggle my way in between her glorious thighs. I can feel the wetness already. I tickle her neck with my chin and then start to kiss and lick it. She wraps her legs around my waist, pushing her hot pussy onto my cock rubbing it up and down the front of my throbbing length. She knows exactly how to get me going. I’m always ready to go at any second when I’m around her. I just want to sink my cock into her whenever I look at her. So, that is exactly what I do, I plunge into her hot wet center, losing myself in her. It is absolute bliss. She wraps her arms around me. I cover her mouth with mine and just hold her close. I slowly make love to her. She wraps her legs around me as I move in and out of her. My lips never leave hers until I feel her whole-body tense, her back arches and she calls out my name. When she tightens around me that sets off my own release. We stay just like that the rest of the night. I fall asleep still inside her. We wake up still in each other arms.
The week went by quietly, but I can still see the worry on her face. I don’t know how to keep her safe. This entire situation has gotten out of hand. I hope and pray her dad and Davis were able to get something done with the arrest warrant. We haven’t heard anything from them, and I can tell it is really starting to concern her. She is always looking around her wherever we go. She never used to do that. And the guilt she carries around over feeling like she has caused her family to be in danger, is making her insane. It’s just ridiculous, of course. Not a single person is blaming her for this. All I do is worry about her. I can’t be with her 24 hours a day. We work at different hospitals, now that I have started work, I leave earlier than her and get home after her. I hate it. She has a fairly high-tech security system, but we have already seen that Scott can get around it. Fuck. I hate feeling this helpless.
We have been back just over a week when she gets a call from her dad. We are eating dinner when her phone rings. All I get is her side of the conversation.
“Hey dad. Oh? What happened? Are you kidding me? What… what.... WHAT? When? Fuck OK… OK. Love you too.”
I just look at her, waiting for her to tell me. But I can tell she isn’t going to until I ask. She lays her phone down, just staring at her food.
“Fin? You okay? What did he say?” She takes a big breath.
“Basically, they got the warrant. I guess Davis had enough pull to have him arrested. They went out and picked him up. But he lawyered up fast. He has an alibi for every incident, and they can’t pin anything on him. There is no proof, no fingerprints, no videos on h
is phone, nothing. So, they couldn’t keep him. He got out. Now dad is double worried he is going to come after me. The cops told dad he was beyond pissed when he left. Made some sort of underhanded threat to the entire family. He couldn’t tell me what he said though just said not to worry, he would take care of it.”
I throw my napkin down,
“Come on. We are leaving. We aren’t staying here where he knows where to find you. We can come back when this is over. I won’t just leave you out in the open like this. Absolutely not.”
“Noah, I get it. This is scary. He is obviously crazy, but I’m not running from him. I will always keep my gun on me. I’m prepared. I promise. Now that I know what he is capable of I won’t hesitate.”
“Babe I know you won’t, that’s not my worry. My worry is that he catches you completely unprepared. What if he gets to you the one moment when you aren’t looking? What if he takes advantage of the one time you think you are safe and he wouldn’t be there? He has some serious issues and I don’t put it past him to do something like that.”