Don't Turn Back (Coming Home Book 1)

by Stephens, Amy

  I suppose Brian must have walked out the side door of the hotel, because his car is gone from the parking lot. I know it was still here a few minutes ago because I kept glancing outside, hoping I would get to see him just one more time. He must have snuck out in the few minutes I had gone to the back. It makes me sad that I didn’t have the chance to tell him goodbye.

  I get to the car and call Rebecca, anxious to share all the recent details with her. Her phone goes straight to voicemail, indicating it is off. She more than likely talked to Greg most of the night after getting home from work, so she’s probably sleeping in this morning. I try my best to fall asleep, but I can’t seem to get Brian off my mind. After he left to go to his room last night, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. The things he shared with me lingered in my mind. Sometimes in life, some people are just dealt a bad hand. Everyone deserves a second chance, though. I’m appalled by his ex-girlfriend’s behavior, but I keep in mind there are always two sides to every story, and I’m sure he was probably leaving out a few details to save face.

  I lay down on the couch, wrapped up in my blanket, and toss and turn. I try watching television, hoping it will help me fall asleep. I must have finally drifted off, because when I wake up, it’s dark outside. I quickly check my phone and see that my best friend has sent me several text messages.

  Rebecca: Hey girl. We still on for the night?

  Rebecca: Jenn, you up yet?

  Rebecca: Call me.

  Jennifer: Sorry, I’m just now getting up. Yes, still going out tonight.

  Rebecca: Starting to get worried about you.

  Jennifer: I’m fine. Had hard time sleeping.

  Rebecca: Pick you up at 8:45?

  Jennifer: See you then.

  I manage to drag myself from the couch and walk to the kitchen. As I stand in front of the refrigerator, I realize I need to buy some groceries. I really hate that I slept most of the day away, but I have the next two days off to catch up on everything around my apartment and any errands I have. I pop a frozen dinner in the microwave and head to my bedroom to look through my closet for something cute to wear tonight.

  Everything I pull out doesn’t look right. I hold several outfits up to my body while glancing in the full-length mirror on the back of my closet door. Normally, I would wear something comfortable, but trendy. Now, I find myself looking for something a little more appealing, a little slinky, or even slightly sexy. If there’s even a slight chance Brian might show up tonight, I want to make sure I look good.

  I have never considered myself anything more than average-- I have a decent figure, and manage to keep my weight under control with little effort, thanks to having high metabolism. My long, pale blonde hair is natural and I usually wear it pulled back in a ponytail, but tonight I think about adding a little curl to it. I finally find an outfit that catches my eye. I pull out a silver sparkling top with spaghetti straps and hold it up to me. This will definitely do. I decide to pair it with my favorite jeans and high-heeled boots. I glance in the mirror once more and feel confident with the outfit I’ve chosen. Yes, I think to myself. This might catch his attention should a certain someone happen to show up tonight. The microwave beeps and I return my thoughts back to the present.

  Am I crazy to think he really might show? I probably am, considering I’m trying to select an outfit that might turn him on.

  I quickly eat my microwave dinner and jump in the shower. I’m finishing up my hair and makeup, spending a few minutes longer than normal, just as my doorbell rings. I head to the front door, always happy to see Rebecca.

  “Dang, girl, look at you,” she squeals. “Since when did my girl start dressing like this? And your hair! It looks amazing.” She reaches up to touch one of my springing curls.

  I feel my cheeks turning red. “I just decided to do a little extra tonight. You never know who we might happen to see.” I’m wondering if she is reading anything more into this.

  I haven’t had the chance to share anything more about Brian with her yet. I really wanted to talk to her as soon as I left work this morning, to tell her all the details, but since I was unable to reach her, I figured I would wait until tonight to mention anything. Besides, I may be investing more into this than I should. There’s always the chance I’ll never see him again. But the butterflies I’m feeling right now indicate otherwise.

  “Sure you don’t have a hot date lined up?” She asks. “I thought I was your date for the evening.” Rebecca and I always have a rule about going out-- we arrive together, and we leave together. Simple as that. Rebecca is always fun to hang out with and we have a great time together. When we do go out, we always dance with each other, and limit ourselves to two drinks apiece. Neither of us will drink anything in the last hour before we are ready to head home. Pretty much everyone in the club knows us because we’ve lived here our entire lives and thinks nothing about seeing us dance around together having a good time. Rebecca’s boyfriend trusts her completely. We are simply two best friends looking out for each other and having a good time.

  Taking a second glance at myself in the bathroom mirror, I’m satisfied with the way I look. Rebecca is waiting by the door for me.

  “I’ll drive us tonight if that’s okay with you.” Rebecca says as we walk to the parking lot, where she has parked her car next to mine.

  “Fine by me.”

  I flip through different radio stations trying to find a song that will get us pumped up for the band that’s going to be playing.

  “What’s up with you tonight? You’ve got this glow about you.” Rebecca asks me.

  “Oh, nothing. Just ready for a fun night with my girl.” Rebecca and I share a special friendship, and I wouldn’t trade her for anything in the world.

  “You sure you’re not holding out on me about something?”

  “Of course not, Becca.” I look over at her and smile. I get the feeling she suspects something is going on.

  We arrive at the club and see there’s already a line forming at the door. It moves rather quickly, and I find myself glancing around, looking for any sign of Brian. Looks like a good crowd has come out tonight to see the band.

  “Let’s grab a table and order. I’m starving,” Rebecca says as she pulls out a chair to one of the high top tables that line the side of the club. I’m not all that hungry since I just ate before getting ready to go out, but I agree to share a little something with her. Sitting off to the side gives me a clear view of the dance floor and the bar.

  I hop up to the table and glance at the menu. “I don’t know why I even bother looking at this thing. I think we’ve tried everything here.”

  A waitress walks up to the table, introduces herself, and takes our drink orders. “I think I’ll have a margarita on the rocks please.” I tell her. “Salt on the rim.” Rebecca orders the same.

  I look over at her and see she is swaying in her chair to some song that’s already blasting from the speakers. I tell myself that tonight I am going to relax and have fun, whether Brian makes an appearance or not.

  “How about the chicken tender plate? You up for that?”

  “Sounds good to me.” I tell her. “Get whatever you want. I’m just going to nibble a few bites. I had something already, before we left.”

  Rebecca places her order with the waitress when she returns with our margaritas. I glance around the club and see the dance floor is filling up quickly, everyone excited about watching the band perform tonight.

  “Damn, that’s good.” She tells me while licking some of the salt from the rim of the glass. “Ok, are you going to tell me why you keep looking around? Are you looking for someone? Every time I look over at you, your head is turned towards the door.”

  I am so busted!

  “Oh, nothing.” I say, hoping to play this off. “Just checking who’s out tonight.”

  The food arrives, thank goodness, and I’m able to quickly change the subject. I decide against telling Rebecca about Brian just yet. There’s literally enough
food here for three people. Rebecca dips her chicken in ketchup, and I dig into the fries. The waitress comes back, asking if everything is okay, and I order another margarita for both of us.

  “These margaritas are sooo good tonight.” I tell her and she agrees. We may have to break our two-drink limit tonight. My body is starting to feel the warm, relaxed sensation from the effects of the tequila already, and I’m ready to head to the dance floor.

  About that time, I see Rebecca’s eyes lock in on something towards the bar. “Don’t look behind you, but I swear there’s a cute guy over there that keeps checking you out.”

  Not listening to her, I quickly turn around in my chair and sure enough, I see Brian leaned up against the bar, nursing a beer. A huge smile comes over my face.

  “Wait, you know him?” She asks me.

  “Not exactly, but I can explain,” I manage to get out, just as Brian walks over to our table.

  “Brian, hey, I see you made it out tonight.” I’m grinning from ear to ear. “This is my best friend Rebecca. Rebecca, this is Brian.”

  Brian extends his hand to Rebecca. She returns with a “Nice to meet ya.”

  Looking towards me, Rebecca asks, “So, Jenn, you going to tell me how you two know each other?”

  “Well, we, um, met at the hotel. Brian is new in town, and I invited him out to see what we do for fun around here.”

  All of a sudden, Rebecca shoots me a concerned look. “Uh Brian, will you please excuse us for a moment. Jenn and I need to go to the ladies room. Please help yourself to some fries and chicken tenders while we’re gone.” Rebecca grabs my hand and drags me down the hallway towards the bathrooms before I can get in another word edgewise.

  “Ok, lady. Spill it.” She’s directing this towards me as soon as the door shuts behind us. “Please tell me how you’ve managed to meet someone and not share the details with me.”

  Laughing, I volunteer the information. “No, Rebecca. Brian just moved here from the south part of the state. Remember that piece of junk car that was parked in my spot at work?” I stop long enough for her to let it all sink in. “Well, you’re never going to believe this, but that’s his car.”

  I see the worried look quickly appear on her face. “Come on Jennifer. You’ve got to be kidding me. Surely, you can find someone who has better transportation than that. Even you were cracking jokes about the condition of that car.” She quickly throws this back at me.

  “I know, I know. I said a few choice words about it. I shouldn’t have judged the owner so quickly without knowing who it belonged to.”

  “You still haven’t told me how you know him.”

  “Well, it’s a weird story, but two nights ago the cops happened to be driving through the parking lot, checking on things. Someone had reported a vehicle in the parking lot with kids left in it and they thought his car was the one they were looking for.”

  “Okay, so how does this involve you?” She is still staring at me with concern.

  “Brian had pulled over for the night-- short on gas and cash. The cops detected movement in the car, and they approached him. When they realized everything was okay and it wasn’t the car they were looking for, they sort of gave him a hard time about moving his car. He walked up to the hotel to use the phone, to see about getting some help. He came back last night to get a room and we talked and talked forever. In fact, we probably could have talked all night, but I needed to finish up some paperwork and he needed to get some sleep.” By this point, I’m hoping she’s accepting of the story. I didn’t bother to mention my giving him any money. I don’t need to raise any red flags.

  “Look, you know I love you like my own flesh and blood. I just want you to be careful since you don’t know anything about him, and he’s not from around here. He could be trouble.” She reaches out to give me a sisterly hug.

  As I pull away from her, I reply, “I know you mean well. It’s not like I invited him home or anything. We just talked. He’s new in town, and I was being nice. He can’t help that he’s also very attractive. Did you notice those piercing blue eyes of his?” I try lightening the tone of the conversation.

  “Come on Jenn. He probably thinks we got lost in here.”

  Rebecca and I head back out to our table. Brian had ordered himself a beer and already finished off every bit of chicken and fries we had left.

  “Sorry we took so long. Girl talk, you know.” I grin at him with my best smile.

  “That’s okay. Hope you girls didn’t mind me finishing off your food. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was.” Damn, he has a killer smile and those amazing eyes are even bluer tonight than I remember from earlier.

  Rebecca, being the awesome friend that she is, added, “Welcome to town Brian. So, are you just passing through or are you planning on staying here?” She’s going to give him a chance, I hope.

  I can sense the uneasiness in his voice as he answers. “Well, if I’m fortunate enough to find a job rather quickly, I plan on hanging around here. I sort of had to leave my last place pretty suddenly, so I don’t exactly have a flowing cash supply. I’ve got some buddies over in the next town, but I kind of like the feel of it here. Do you know of anyone doing any hiring?” Funny, but I don’t recall him mentioning before about having friends close by.

  “I’m not sure what kind of work you are looking for, but the fast food places are always hiring. Then, there are the local grocery stores and the new mall being built down the road. Surely something will appeal to you.”

  Looking from Rebecca to Brian, they could both go on and on, but I grab them both and pull them towards the dance floor. “Come on guys, let’s go have some fun.”

  The band cranks up the beat, and a trendy tune starts blaring from the amplifiers. They play a cover song to get everyone going, and continue to play several more hit songs in rapid succession.

  Both of my friends seem to be having a really good time tonight. Brian doesn’t seem to mind dancing with both of us. In fact, he takes a turn dancing with Rebecca, then turns to face me as we share a few moments together as well. When the band slows the beat down with a slow ballad, we all take a break and head back to our table. I’ve lost the little buzz I had earlier, but that’s ok.

  Glancing down at my watch, I notice it’s nearing two o’clock in the morning. The band should start closing out with the last few songs of the night. Reaching up to cover my yawn, I ask if everyone is ready to call it a night. Even though I’m not ready for the night to end, we can’t hang out here forever.

  Rebecca is the first to answer. “Dang, I didn’t realize how late it was getting. I don’t know about you guys, but I have had a blast tonight. Brian, where are you staying tonight? Did you drive or do you need a ride somewhere?” I could kick her for bringing this up.

  I notice his eyes fall to the floor. “Well, my car is in the lot by the hotel. I haven’t exactly decided where I’ll be staying. Maybe I will see if they’ve got a room still available for tonight.” He looks over at me, knowing full well that I’m aware he doesn’t have any money for a room. I never thought to ask where he got the money for his beers tonight. I don’t want to mention this in front of Rebecca, so I keep walking towards the door leading outside.

  I tell Rebecca I’m going to walk Brian to his car, so she can go ahead to her car and I will meet her there in a minute. “Thanks for hanging out with us tonight Brian. It was a lot of fun.” I’m trying to be as friendly as possible, to keep the door open for him to suggest possibly seeing each other again.

  “Both of you have been fun. Thank you Jennifer, for inviting me.” He reaches over and gives me a hug. “Hopefully, we can do it again real soon. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to let loose and not worry about things.”

  I don’t mention where he is planning on staying tonight and he doesn’t volunteer it.

  He gets into his clunker of a car, and Rebecca pulls up to get me. We both wave as we leave him behind in the parking lot.

  I get into the car and hope
the girls don’t wait for me to leave. I have no idea where I am going to sleep tonight, but I don’t want to take the chance of them following me. I glance over in the direction of Rebecca’s car stopped at the red light in the intersection, and l can already see both girls carrying on a conversion, about me, no doubt. I find myself saying out loud, “Come on, hurry up light. Change!”

  I use both hands to rub my face and eyes, tired from the night’s events. I need their car to be clearly out of sight before I decide which lot I am going to park in tonight. I have no other choice but to pull up beside the girls while waiting on the light to change.

  Jennifer looks over at me, and motions for me to roll the window down.

  “You okay Brian?” She yells over to me.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I guess I just drank too many beers tonight, because my head is starting to hurt a little.”

  She motions to the gas station across the way and points. “Pull over there, I’ve got some Advil.”

  I roll the window back up and pull across the street to meet them. She gets out and runs over to my car.

  “Aww, I’m sorry you’re feeling bad. Here you go,” she says while shaking the bottle of Advil at me. “Just keep them. I’ve got another bottle at home. Hope you start feeling better.”

  My hand briefly touches hers as she hands me the bottle. I look over to Rebecca in the driver’s seat and manage a wave. “Thanks, Jennifer. I’m just going to run inside and grab a Coke to wash these down. I really had a good time tonight.” I don’t want her to leave, yet I really don’t need her hanging around, either.

  Her face lights up. “I did too. Maybe we can do it again sometime.”

  This girl is too nice. I would really like to ask her if I could see her again, but given the circumstances, I’m not really sure that’s a good idea.

  “Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight Brian.” I can see her eyes twinkle as she turns to get back in the car. I hope I didn’t just disappoint her.