Runaway Girl

by Bailey, Tessa

  Naomi’s voice is feather light. “Why?”

  In contrast, I’m all but shouting. “What do you mean, why?”

  “Why would you do all of that?”

  Awareness creeps over me, not a moment too soon. Leave it to my clueless ass to leave out the most important factor when writing my speech. “Because I’m in love with you, Naomi Clemons. I’m standing here half alive from being without you.” I have to take a breath because my voice is shaking. “Come on, beauty queen. Revive me.”

  Her hands join at her waist, wringing together. “A-and Birdie?”

  A pang catches me in the chest. “She’s set to go live with my parents after graduation.”

  Naomi’s forehead wrinkles, but she nods, shifting side to side in her silver shoes. Here it is. She’s taking everything I offered into consideration and will either sentence me to live or die. I can do nothing but wait for my fate, like a man before a judge, the guillotine on one side, happiness on the other.

  “No,” she says, finally.

  “No,” I croak, blood draining from my head. “Please—”

  “Birdie should come live with me while you’re away,” she interrupts. “Don’t you think?”

  I start to double over, pulled beneath an undertow of relief, but Naomi runs and jumps into my arms, staggering me backward instead. “I love you, too,” she hiccups. “I love you, Jason. I’d wait decades for you. I have waited decades.”

  I’m barely capable of speech. “Is this happening? Did I get you back?”

  “Yes. Yes.”

  “Mine for good? You’re mine?”

  “Completely. Irrevocably.”

  “Oh my God.”

  Our mouths meet in a hard kiss, and hell if my eyes aren’t damp as I hold Naomi close as possible, crushing her against me and vowing to never let her go. Ever. When I become aware of our surroundings again, Elijah is escorting his girlfriend away, but not before stopping beside us to clear his throat. “I don’t know if you’ll find this information useful, but if you take a right out of the ballroom, there’s an empty office around the corner and three doors down.”

  I give him a look. “Don’t make me like you.”

  Naomi buries her face in my neck and laughs. I make short work of getting us to the doors, kicking them shut behind us and muffling the music…and applause. Yeah, there is definite clapping, some whistling, although I can barely hear it over the pounding of my heart. Need to get her alone. We’re together and that fact still isn’t sinking in. I don’t think it ever will, but having her wrapped around me, her mouth on mine, will make this real. It’s real, right?

  “I missed you so much,” she whispers into my neck, her legs sneaking up to rest on my hips, tightening in that way I’ve been dreaming about obsessively. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

  “You should. You should have known living without you wasn’t an option for me.” I have to stop to press her up against a wall as soon as we turn the corner, our mouths locking in a kiss fraught with shallow breaths. “I shouldn’t have let you leave without making sure you knew I love you, baby. I’ve been so fucked up. Christ, I thought you were with someone else.”

  Her mouth forms the word no, pain coloring her expression. “And you still came.”

  “I couldn’t be the only one who knew we were forever, Naomi. You had to know it, too. I had to believe that or I would have broken.”

  “I’m sorry,” she murmurs against my lips. “I’m yours, Jason. I could never be anyone but yours. Take me somewhere so I can show you.”

  I carry Naomi into the empty office, locking the door behind me—and I send a silent thank you, bro, to Elijah even though it hurts. I’m searching for somewhere to put down the love of my life, but she surprises me by wiggling out of my hold, taking me by the lapels of my jacket and throwing me into a wooden chair. Okay, fine, I let myself be thrown, but I’m not going to tell her that. I’m too busy enjoying the slide of her thighs on mine and she straddles me, her fingers busy down below on the fly of my pants.

  “Did you wear this uniform to drive me crazy?” The rasp of my lowering zipper sounds like an extension of her seductive voice. “You look so…so s-sexy. Why haven’t I seen you like this?”

  “Don’t worry, baby.” I groan as she wraps my cock in a fist, stroking light twice, then hard, hard, hard. “You sure as hell will now that I know how much you like it.”

  “Love it.” My balls press high, tight when she slides off my thighs, and just like that, I have a goddess kneeling between my legs. My goddess.

  “No. No, baby, baby. No.” Ignoring me, she licks the tip of my cock, then throats it with a savoring whimper that shakes me head to toe. “Fuck.” The sides of the chair creak where I hold on for dear life. “I love your mouth. God knows I love it, but I haven’t touched you in a month. I’ve been miserable needing you. I can’t handle this. Up. Come up here. Please.”

  Naomi must have missed me, too, because she can’t stop sucking me. I plant my heels hard on the ground, demanding my hips to stop rolling toward her mouth, but I can’t help it. She’s relentless perfection, sinking me deep again and again, jacking me off in a tight hand.

  “I’m going to come,” I growl. “Stop.” Of course, when she does let my dick go with a pop of her sweet lips, I want to cry. But then I don’t, because she’s climbing onto my lap, her incredible tits jiggling in the neckline of her dress. “Goddamn. I need you, baby. I’ve been hurting like hell.”

  “I need you, too, need you, Jason,” she babbles in that Southern girl accent I missed so much, her eyes glazed with hunger. “I’m so wet.”

  Desperate to feel the evidence of that claim, I gather the material of her dress as fast as possible in my hands. “Condom in my pocket. Condom.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I’m two weeks late.”

  My pulse clamors to a halt. “What?”

  Naomi’s eyes clear in a split second and she smacks a palm over her mouth. “Oh my God. I didn’t realize until now, but…I’m two weeks late, Jason.”

  I haven’t gotten this far. Kids. How could they have entered the equation when I poured all my hope and energy into just getting Naomi back? Surviving one day to the next? There’s no mistaking the absolute joy that assails me now, though. It’s nothing like I’ve ever experienced, my face inches away from the astonished woman I love with my whole soul. “A baby.” My voice is hoarse. “You’re pregnant with my baby.”

  Her hand falls away. “That night in the driveway…” Watching her lower lip tremble, I make a low sound. “I-I…was I trying to keep you with me somehow?”

  My mind drifts back to that night. That moment when I sank into Naomi and that primal energy gripped me. That need to form an unbreakable bond. To keep her. “No. We were trying to keep each other. Trying to make sure we stayed connected.” I finish bunching the dress around her waist and rock her closer. I work my hard flesh inside of her, biting back groans while simultaneously kissing away her beautiful gasps. Trying to keep myself from exploding. It’s been so long. “We’re going to have a baby, Naomi. Holy shit. I love you.”

  Her smile blooms against my mouth. “I love you, too.”

  “I love our baby.”

  “I love them, too. So much.”

  A knife cuts through my happiness, the reality of the situation dropping on my head. “Jesus, beauty queen. I’m leaving. I won’t be here while you’re pregnant.” Dizziness lands hard, followed quickly by all out panic. “Naomi—”

  “We’ll be fine.” She cuts me off with a kiss. Another. Another. “We’ll be fine. I’m the girl who can build and rule a kingdom, remember? You said so yourself.”

  Without seeing my face, I can feel my expression is one of total suffering. My woman. My life. How can I leave her alone at a time like this? Still, she’s right. I have to put my money where my mouth is or my words meant nothing. And she needs to know I’ll never say anything to her I don’t believe one hundred percent. I’ll be one hundred percent for her or nothing
at all. She can do this. She has my full faith. “I’ll come home to you, do you hear me?” I manage around the lump in my throat. “I’ll come back to you and the kingdom you build, Naomi. Tell me you know that.”

  “I know that,” she says, my confidence causing her to bloom right in front of my eyes. “I know you’ll come back to us. We’ll be waiting.”

  She clings to the collar of my jacket and works her hips up and back, the chair creaking beneath us as we speed faster and faster toward the fulfillment we’ve both been missing. Needing. Craving. And groaning, helping her move with both hands on her backside, I’m lost. Lost in the beauty of Naomi, our future. Even the obstacles ahead are beautiful, because this woman will be on the other side of them. I can’t wait to live every second of this life with her.

  EPILOGUE

  ConspiracyCrowd.org

  Username: UrDadsFave69

  Damn. Finally, a man even I would brave monogamy for.

  Naomi

  Seven months later

  I press a hand to my sore lower back, groaning in gratitude when Birdie takes over the task, pressing her thumbs into my ache and massaging in circles. I’m actually a very agile and active pregnant woman—or so my doctor tells me—but we’ve been standing on the airport tarmac for two hours now and my stamina is waning. My excitement, however, is not.

  Jason is coming home today.

  Lord, I’m actually a little nervous. I haven’t seen my husband in person in six months. He’s not going to mind that my stomach enters a room a full minute before I do. No, we managed to Skype him during my last sonogram two weeks ago and he told me several times that my mountainous belly and I were the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen in his life. That was so nice to hear, wasn’t it? So sweet. It really was—

  A tissue appears in front of my face. “You’re crying again,” Birdie says. “Get yourself under control, would you? Jason has seen enough water over the last six months.”

  I take the tissue and press it carefully beneath each eye, careful not to smudge my makeup. “It’s a losing battle, I’m afraid. I cried at a cat food commercial this morning.”

  Birdie shakes her head, then sighs. “Aw, you know I think it’s cute. Cry away.”

  I well up again on cue. “Thank you.”

  Seven months ago, Jason came to Charleston and brought me back to St. Augustine—still wearing my silver ball gown. We spent a week there…reacquainting, so to speak. Vigorously. There are still grooves in his bedroom wall behind our headboard thanks to the hours we spent vigorously acquainting.

  While Birdie was in school, of course.

  At night, while she was home, we planned. Jason and Birdie’s parents genuinely seemed disappointed to lose their chance to make things right with Birdie, so visits were scheduled. Since Jason was deployed, Birdie and I have flown to Dallas a few times to see her mother and father, also known as my new in-laws. At first, there was awkwardness between them and their daughter. It took a visible effort for them to separate Birdie from Natalie and their grief, but Birdie impressed the heck out of me through it all. Something settled in her the day of the pageant and she’s matured in a way that makes me prouder by the day. I don’t know if I could have survived Jason’s absence without her. And I’m not sure she could have survived it without me. We’re a team.

  All three of us.

  As if summoned, my little man twists and turns inside my stomach, cozying into his favorite place—atop my bladder. I settle a hand on him, marveling at the miracle of life Jason and I created that night so many months ago. Lord, I miss my husband’s touch more than I ever could have imagined. I reach for him in the night, talk to him under my breath during the day. He’s my missing half, and as happy as I am to have this new life growing inside me, I need him back. Now. He hasn’t even landed yet and I’m already being stitched back together.

  Jason. Mine. My husband.

  That month before he left, we lived like we had all the time in the world, splitting our time between Charleston and St. Augustine. Since Beauty Queens Unlimited is based in Charleston, we rented an apartment, staying there on the weekends while waiting for Birdie to graduate. During that time, Jason took me scuba diving. To bed. A lot. And on dates. So many dates. Understanding my desire to experience new things, these dates were some­what…un­con­ven­tional. We went swimming with dolphins, drove to the Georgia State Fair and went on every single ride. Indoor rock climbing was my favorite date because of the feeling of accomplishment it gave me, and I’ve even been back several times since Jason left. Before he was deployed, I was thisclose to convincing him to participate in the next body art festival in Daytona Beach. My mission is still in the works, but I think he’ll cave.

  I can’t wait to see my big warrior covered in pink butterflies.

  Our wedding doesn’t really count as a date, I suppose, but we did go dancing afterward. Or rather, I danced and Jason smoldered at me, his hands roaming over my hips, his skillful tongue sliding along that full lower lip…

  Lord, pregnancy makes a woman horny. This day really could not come fast enough.

  As a little girl, I imagined a fancy, elaborate wedding with doves and sparkles. A lot like the one I ran away from. Maybe I only expected an extravagant wedding because I was supposed to. Because that’s what I knew was waiting for me. How could I have known that a civil ceremony on a Wednesday in city hall would be the most romantic wedding I ever imagined? Jason assured me he believed in my ability to provide for myself and care for our baby, but he wanted me to have the benefits of his military service should the worst happen. And I wanted to give him that peace of mind. I wanted him to have every single reassurance before leaving, so he wouldn’t be distracted. It goes without saying that I wanted to marry the man more than I’ve ever wanted anything.

  So we did. I married the love of my life. All because I reached for more within myself and found it. Found enough to offer someone and got more than I ever expected in return.

  I’ve found my more. I ran toward an adventure and got one that will never end.

  Beauty Queens Unlimited has taken on a life of its own. Contestants from all over South Carolina travel to Charleston for lessons and consultations. I make sure to keep a percentage of my schedule open for girls who can’t afford the lessons and do the work pro bono. Birdie is living on campus in Tallahassee and sometimes she stays at the St. Augustine house, which I hope to still visit often with Jason, because of the memories it represents.

  Birdie drives up to Charleston frequently on the weekends, too. She likes helping me with my pro bono contestants most of all, and it gave me the idea to start the coaching scholarship in Natalie’s name. We’re keeping the memory of Birdie’s twin alive, but I watch Birdie become her own person a little more every time I see her. I think she might even have a boyfriend, but she’s not giving up the goods.

  “There he is.”

  At Birdie’s words, every cell in my body lights up and I can’t feel the pain in my feet anymore. I can feel nothing but an overflowing of gratitude to the universe for bringing my husband back to me. He’s descending the stairs of the plane like an action hero, a gear pack strapped to his back. His hair is longer, his beard bushy, and there might even be some new lines on his face. Everything about Jason makes him the most handsome, wonderful man I’ve ever seen in my life. My breath grows short watching him stride toward me, brow furrowed, cutting through other soldiers and members of the crowd. His expression is so intense, I wonder how I can stand when the ground is surely shaking.

  “My God,” Jason rasps, encompassing Birdie and me in the tightest, most welcome hug of my life. I wrap myself around him and cling, positive I’m soaking his uniform with tears and not caring. “My God.” His voice shakes. “How am I the lucky bastard who comes home to this?”

  “All right, all right, I feel the love,” Birdie says, breaking the hug and slugging him in the chest. “Kiss your bride, man, before she expires.”

  Jason’s mouth lands before Bi
rdie finishes her watery command, his lips parting mine on a broken sound. His calloused hands cradle my jaw on both sides, sliding into my hair to tilt my head. His mouth is ravenous on mine, but there’s so much underlying tenderness and awe, that I wonder if I’ll ever be able to stem the moisture leaking down my cheeks ever again. His tongue flickers against mine, then dives back in for a more thorough taste, before he pulls away with a frustrated growl that echoes in my womb.

  That’s not all that’s happening in my womb. I take Jason’s hand and place it on my belly, so he can feel his son kicking, and I’ll never forget the look of wonder on his face as I press our foreheads together, smiling up into my most beloved face.

  “Welcome home, Blackbeard.”

  He releases an unsteady breath. “I’ll never leave you again, Naomi.”

  THE END

  ABOUT TESSA BAILEY

  Tessa Bailey is originally from Carlsbad, California. The day after high school graduation, she packed her yearbook, ripped jeans and laptop, driving cross-country to New York City in under four days.

  Her most valuable life experiences were learned thereafter while waitressing at K-Dees, a Manhattan pub owned by her uncle. Inside those four walls, she met her husband, best friend and discovered the magic of classic rock, managing to put herself through Kingsborough Community College and the English program at Pace University at the same time. Several stunted attempts to enter the work force as a journalist followed, but romance writing continued to demand her attention.

  She now lives in Long Island, New York with her husband of ten years and six-year-old daughter. Although she is severely sleep-deprived, she is incredibly happy to be living her dream of writing about people falling in love.

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  www.tessabailey.com

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  instagram.com/tessabaileyisanauthor

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