Breaking Free: The Broken Hearts Club

by Michele Barlow

  “You know your way through a crowd.”

  Ford turned back to her and grinned. “I’ve spent a lot of time around crowds of people. I don’t like lingering. Do you mind?”

  “Not at all, forge ahead!”

  Ford got them to the ticket booth in record time. He also paid for their admission even when she tried to protest.

  “My date, I pay.”

  “So if I ask you out, will I get to pay?”

  He pretended to ponder that for a moment. “Nope.”

  “Hey, that’s not fair. I can pay for things too, you know.”

  “I know you can, but around me, you won’t.”

  “That’s ridiculously archaic!”

  “I know. I’m such a caveman. It’s who I am. Besides, you don’t understand that if my mom, or any of the guys at the station, found out that I let a woman pay for me, they would give me a ration of shit that may last years.”

  “It’s the twenty-first century, aren’t we beyond that?”

  “Intellectually yes, in my heart, no. I can’t help it, it’s in my nature to provide. I get a sense of pride and accomplishment in taking care of others. You wouldn’t want me to stop being myself would you?”

  “Well, no. Way to make me sound like a monster why don’t you.”

  “Here’s the thing, I know you can pay. So, allowing me to pay gives me something. It’s like a gift from you to me. So, thank you.”

  “Why do I get the feeling I’ve just been bamboozled?”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll get you some sugar and it’ll wear off.”

  Ford did get her some sugar. A huge cone of cotton candy that was three different colors.

  “I think this much sugar right off the bat might not be a great idea.”

  “It will give us energy. I’m thinking rides first, then food again, and then games, then more food.”

  “Got it all planned out, do you?”

  “I used to be a Boy Scout, I’m always prepared.”

  They shared the giant cotton candy and when Ford didn’t think she was taking enough he started feeding her pieces.

  It was awkward because no matter how hard she tried to avoid the contact, his fingers kept touching her lips. Luna knew her face was probably glowing red with embarrassment.

  “You are so pretty when you blush.”

  She couldn’t imagine that being true. “Tomato red is the new ‘hot’ color?”

  “On you it makes me think of other places and times you might be red and flushed. It’s a nice picture for me.”

  Did he just say what she thought he said? No, that wasn’t standard flirting and might be pushing the bounds of decency.

  “Uh…”

  Ford leaned down to her ear to say quietly, “In case you weren’t sure, I’m thinking of what you would look like under me, naked and sweating. It’s a pretty picture.”

  Luna almost choked on her cotton candy. Sex. With him. Dear lord, she’d never survive. She was wearing her jean jacket because while she was in the salon, she had realized that every time she thought about him her nipples got hard. Her jacket was covering up some of the evidence that she was responding to his words. Maybe it had been too long, but he painted a picture in her head that was hot and didn’t sound bad at all.

  These were some crazy new emotions she was dealing with. Life with Al had not been a steaming bed of sexual tension. It was a comfortable blanket of affection.

  Ford made her jittery and tense. Her body was screaming out for something that she wasn’t sure she was ready to embark on.

  “Ford…”

  “No pressure, but just in case you were thinking that I wasn’t interested in you in that way. Whatever might have been in that pretty little head of yours telling you this isn’t a real date. You’re wrong. This is a real date because I like you and want you to like me too.”

  “I’m not good at this.”

  “Good at what? Having fun?”

  “Dating! I haven’t really dated and I feel like I might do something wrong.”

  Ford grabbed the last of the candy and threw it in a nearby trashcan. He turned back to her and sucked his thumb into his mouth to wet a spot of stickiness left. That thumb left his mouth and moved over her bottom lip, she could feel the wetness over her trembling mouth.

  “Lick it.”

  She did, it was automatic that her tongue move over the cool dampness he’d left. When she did, her brain realized what she had done.

  Luna tried to step back and Ford’s hands came up to her face.

  “You’ve already had a taste; there shouldn’t be anything uncomfortable between us now.”

  Ford brought his mouth to hers and kissed her.

  Luna was half frozen half a trembling mess. She gasped at how warm and sweet his mouth was as he swept his tongue into her mouth.

  He tasted like spun sugar and man. It was too much for her and she melted against him. She felt strong arms circle her and pull her tight against him. He was supporting her whole body as he captured her mouth.

  Luna should have cared that they were making out in front of a thousand of strangers, but her mind was preoccupied with cataloging everything about Ford that was different from the handful of kisses she’d received in her life. He didn’t kiss like the those junior high boys behind the bleachers. And he certainly didn’t kiss like Alton with his sweet, gentle, bordering on ‘friends only’ type affection.

  His strength showed in his kiss. He took charge, taking her mouth while urging her to respond. She did, hesitantly. Not sure what exactly she was supposed to do.

  Ford leaned back and his eyes were glistening with something that made Luna shiver. His hand came up between them and she thought he would touch her lips again. Instead, his thumb came up and rubbed her forehead between her eyes.

  “Busy in here,” he said.

  He wasn’t wrong. Her mind was firing on too many topics.

  “Sorry, I just…”

  “It’s okay. I’ll get it to turn off.”

  “Hah, good luck. Years of therapy and medication haven’t made that happen.”

  “Then it’s time to try something new.”

  Ford kissed her again and this time she had a little less static in her mind as her body and mouth remembered what to do.

  This kiss lasted a little longer and ended when Ford’s hands cupped her bottom and pulled her up against the hardness between them.

  It was a bit of a shock that she hadn’t thought about what state he might be putting himself in making out with her in public.

  She heard him make a growling noise as he broke their kiss. His head dropped down to hers. “I better stop. I’m all for public displays of affection, but my brain was just trying to convince me to find somewhere to get a better taste of you.”

  “Ford!”

  “Just being honest, babe. I think we better find a way to distract ourselves. What do you say?”

  “Good idea,” she said looking around to see who might have been watching them. She didn’t make any eye contact, but then again, staring would have been rude too.

  Luna wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to spend the rest of the evening not replaying those kisses over and over in her head. She wanted to message her friends and tell them she had already been kissed. They would probably be proud of her and tell her to lock him in a basement and keep him forever. Then again, their advice wasn’t always practical.

  They walked around looking at different booths that were selling everything from food to souvenir pictures. It gave her an idea.

  “Hey, why don’t we take a selfie and send it to Toby and Alton to prove we actually went on our date?”

  “Sure, just send it to me too. I will need proof next time the guys at the firehouse give me shit for being a monk.”

  Luna pulled out her phone and opened the camera. She quickly realized it would be a very unflattering picture from her angle. Handing him the phone she instructed, “Okay, now arm up high, angle it down so we are looking
up and don’t have double chins.”

  “Babe, we don’t have double chins.”

  “Speak for yourself. And take a couple just in case.”

  “Just in case of what?”

  “We have to pick the best one. Filters can only do so much, you know.”

  Ford took the pictures then handed her back her phone. She sent the picture off to Alton, Toby, and Ford with a message of having fun at the fair. Her phone buzzed back within thirty seconds with a message.

  “Alton said to remember to wash our hands after touching the animals. That’s helpful,” she laughed.

  Ford laughed and took her hand and started walking again. Luna managed to copy the picture over and send it to her girls with no explanation. She didn’t want to be rude, so she tucked her phone into her jean pocket and had to keep her giggles to herself as her phone practically blew up. The vibrations from the messages were making her legs tingle.

  They must approve.

  Chapter 10

  Ford kept to his plan. His goal was to keep them so busy that he wouldn’t try to drag her back to his condo and spend the next twelve hours making love to her. That one kiss had set into motion a series of thoughts in his head that he couldn’t control.

  Well, to be honest he could control them, but he didn’t want to. They were too good. That kiss stated potential. It was hot, and she had responded so timidly at first, and then he got a moment or two that told him that Luna was more than meets the eye. She had passion, it was just untapped, and there was nothing he liked more than a challenge.

  Luna was triggering all of his instinctual buttons. He wanted to protect her, provide for her, and fuck her six ways to Sunday. These were thoughts he’d shared with her outright but he didn’t go into detail. They were his own feelings and he was man enough to admit it when he saw something that he liked. He wanted Luna. He could almost say that he needed her. It wasn’t like him to rely on someone else, but Luna could be someone he could see in his future.

  Not wanting her to have time to overthink, he kept her moving. He bought them wristbands that let them go on any ride. They rode the roller coaster and his heart skipped a little not from the excitement of the ride, but from the sheer joy on Luna’s face. Her laughter was contagious and it looked like she was having a great time.

  In between rides, he took the opportunity to kiss her again. Not like their first or their second kiss, just short hot kisses that kept her cheeks flushed and her eyes shining. Luna Kind was wiggling her way into his heart and he wasn’t prepared for the depth of that feeling. Sure, she was sexy, but there was something else about her.

  “Time for food?”

  “After all that sugar we ate? That was probably a daily total for calories in one serving.”

  “Yeah, I’m not buying it. I’m starving, so you must be hungry too. And I’m thinking we can get a sample of a few things and see what we like?”

  “So, overeat and then more rides? That’s a recipe for disaster.”

  “Eat, games, then more rides. Need to let everything settle a bit. I’d hate to embarrass myself by throwing up in front of you.”

  “Oh gawd, I think I’d die of embarrassment.”

  “If I vomited?”

  “Yes, because if you do, I will, and then it will be a whole thing.”

  “Wow, you wouldn’t last long in my job. Like I said, it can get messy.”

  Ford walked towards a long row of food stands and the overwhelming aroma of so many foods mixing should have been repulsive. Instead, it made his stomach growl and Luna looked almost giddy.

  He stopped at a stand that was making smothered fries. He ordered some, then went over to a stand that had chicken fried rice served in a pineapple. He had his eye on some piroshkies and grilled corn. Grabbing those, they made their way to a picnic table under a tent with their haul.

  “Here you get us organized and I’ll grab drinks. Soda or lemonade?”

  “Ohh, lemonade, please.”

  Ford like the twinkle in her eye. She was having fun and that made him incredibly happy.

  Coming back with their drinks he saw she had organized the table in some fashion and was waiting for him.

  “You could have started without me.”

  “Cute that you would think I would. Besides I had to lay them out by carb content and junk food level.”

  “What did you come up with?”

  “Unfortunately, everything you got is all carbs and fat.”

  “Nothing unfortunate about it. This is all necessary fair food. Plus, I got enough that we can eat slowly and chat.”

  “I shouldn’t eat all of this. It’s so bad for you.”

  “It’s not great for you, but I’m sure we’ll figure out a way to work it off.”

  “Ford! Really?”

  “Absolutely really. What do we start with first?”

  “Fries, let’s start easy.”

  Ford dug into the fries and they laughed, as it was impossible to pick them up. He found them some forks to make consumption easier. She told him some funny stories from her work. About the first time she turned someone’s hair green when she was just starting out. He nodded and added in when he needed to. Mostly he was just watching her. She was so bright and alive, and she probably didn’t see that in herself.

  He watched her hesitate a few times, her eyes sliding over to something she wanted to eat and he could see her pull back. Stupid media convincing woman to not eat. It pissed him off. So what if she had some weight on her? She was all woman and soft and curvy was what he wanted to hold at night. If other men liked skinny, good for them. That wasn’t what he wanted.

  When her eyes traveled to a container on the table, he would just scoop up whatever it was and offer it to her. She always took it. She would chew, a little look of pleasure would hit her eyes, and it made Ford greedy for more of those looks.

  “I think I’m full. Seriously, I ate too much,” she said finally.

  “I have to agree with you there. I shouldn’t have shoved in that last piroshky. I love those things. We need to walk and digest. May I escort you through the vendor building? You might find a new wonder mop that you desperately need. Or some handmade candles?”

  She gave a laugh. “Just don’t let me leave with a flag pole. That’s happened before.”

  “Seriously, a flag pole?”

  “Yes, I needed one for my new house and it was collapsible. It was also huge and expensive.”

  “Okay, I’ll help you restrain yourself from giant flagpoles.”

  Ford dumped their trash and walked slowly towards the large building that held the vendors. It was warm out and the air-conditioning would feel good. He took her hand and she slid in next to him as if they had done it a million times.

  Chapter 11

  Luna wasn’t nervous anymore. She wasn’t quite sure when that feeling of inner dread had slipped away. Maybe it was on the Tilt-a-Whirl or the Scrambler where they were laughing so hard because Ford kept squishing her when the car whipped to the outside. Being with him was getting easier. It was almost comfortable, and she was surprised by it.

  They walked into the building that was packed with people, vendors, crying children and the smell of burnt popcorn. Luna spied the ladies’ room.

  “Do you mind if I stop for a minute?”

  “Sure, take your time. I’ll be over here looking at tin beer signs. Because you can never have enough of those.”

  “I’m sure.”

  Luna made quick work in the bathroom and then pulled out her phone. Ignoring the message from Alton’s grandmother that consisted of sad face emoticons and misspelled words, she sent a group text to her friends.

  Luna: He kissed me!

  Cambry: Shut up!

  Waverly: Oh, he’s good!

  Luna: I ate tons of junk food in front of him. He made me!

  Waverly: Made you? Girl no man has to force me to eat junk.

  Elena: What did I miss?

  Elena: Kissed? Junk Food? Is this a dr
eam date?

  Paisley: He kissed you at the fair? Does he have a fetish?

  Cambry: I know he’s hunky and he feeds you. I’m loving this. Ignore Paisley.

  Luna: He keeps hinting at other things. Like other things…

  Cambry: He’s moving fast. Gotta love that.

  Luna: Not loving that. What am I supposed to do?

  Elena: Where are you now?

  Luna: Bathroom.

  Waverly: Get back out there and have fun. Give yourself permission to do what feels right. It’s not hard. You make the choice and you are in control.

  Luna: You think?

  Cambry: He sounds nice, and your ex-husbands boyfriend approves of him so he must be okay.

  Luna: Har-har you’re a riot.

  Luna: Fine, but if I send a 911 later, you need to call Alton for a rescue op.

  Waverly: I have a feeling we won’t be hearing from you for a while.

  Luna: Thanks for that.

  Elena: Take pictures

  Luna: Sick bitch.

  Elena: Proud of it.

  Gianna: Shit, I came in late. Kiss him back, then find a dark corner and check out his corn dog.

  Adalyn: Oh my god I can’t believe you just said that.

  Dawn: Ignore them and have a good time!

  Luna went back out to find Ford looking at a book of crocheted baby hats.

  “Something you need to tell me?” she quipped.

  “I have a big family, someone is always announcing they’re pregnant. I’ve started buying gifts and storing them in the closet. Surprise baby shower? Boom, I’ve got it covered. I usually buy them something that they want, something I like, and then follow up with the usual firefighter baby gear. They are my nieces and nephews so I figure they can represent their uncle.”

  “I’m guessing they are all very well loved.”

  “Spoiled and smothered. We don’t know any other way. I’m jealous of my siblings. They have their own families and I hope that I can fit one into my lifestyle.”

  “Fit it in?”

  “I work sometimes twenty-four on twenty-four off. I’ll do four days on then four days off. I’ll sleep at the station. It just depends. I would hate to miss anything. You know they grow up so fast. What if I miss a first step or a first word? How do you get those moments back?”