“We just arrived, so I’m sure we’ll hang out for a little longer.”
“Good, good,” he says, nodding his head. He takes another glance at me, and I hate that I can’t read his demeanor. “Well, I hope to chat with you again soon, Thalia,” he says, pulling her in and kissing both her cheeks.
He leans into her and seems to whisper something in her ear. When they part, Nathalia gives him a tiny nod with a hint of a smile. They communicate something in that moment, but I have no idea what.
“I’m sure you will,” she replies with a smirk.
“It was very nice meeting you, Marc,” he says, and this time he seems genuine.
I smile and return his handshake. “You too.”
When he walks away, I turn and face Nathalia. Her eyes look at me but she doesn’t move her head in my direction. She takes a sip from her straw, and then turns away from me to put it on the bar.
“Ex-boyfriend? Lover?” I ask.
It’s then that she looks at me, expressionless. A moment later a smile appears on her lips.
“He wishes.”
“Ah,” I say with a nod.
“Is that why I felt the frigid air coming off his shoulder in my direction?”
She laughs. “Oh, I don’t know. That was him being quite nice, actually.”
“Do you want to dance?” I ask, changing the subject.
Nathalia smiles happily at me. “Yes, please.”
I escort her onto the dance floor, and we find a nice spot near the wall of mirrors. A slow, sexy song comes on, and Nathalia puts her arms around my neck as I rest my hands at her waist.
She looks up at me with gorgeous green eyes and runs her fingers through my hair. The front of her body is pushed up against the front of mine, and as I look down at her, I have a perfect view of her ample cleavage. I lick my lips and she catches me enjoying the view.
Slowly, she turns her body until her ass is pressed up against my cock, and rests her back against my stomach and chest. She rests her head on my shoulder, and glides her hands alongside her body as she moves sexily to the music.
Her hands make their way up to her breasts and she gently and briefly gropes herself, squeezing them in a way that makes the cleavage that much more obvious. I lean down and put my mouth on her neck while I pull her ass into me, letting her know what her show is doing to me.
I hear her groan when my tongues dances across her soft skin.
Suddenly, she turns and grabs my hand, and leads me to a section of the club I didn’t notice before.
She slides a panel open and I close it behind us. We’re in a semi narrow area, but it’s fairly long, and along the back is a wide bench and curtains to close off sections.
Nathalia goes to the back corner, and I notice there’s only one other couple in here, and they’re on the other end.
Once we’re inside our own little cubicle, she closes the curtain and we’re enclosed in a small room that has mirrors above us. Very dim lights glow from above, and the bench is cushioned. Thank God.
For a few seconds, we look at each other, the sexual energy fills the small room, and at the same time, we both lunge for the other. My tongue glides across her lips, forcing them apart. When she opens her mouth, I explore her tongue with my own.
My hands go to her face, and I bring her even closer to me. She moans into my mouth, and digs her fingertips into my ass, pulling me into her.
I nip at her lips, and she sucks my bottom lip into her mouth. I let my hands go the base of her head, and tug on her hair. She gasps out in surprise and in pleasure and then begins running her hands down my chest, fumbling with my buttons.
“Oh, sorry. I uhh…”
I turn around and notice a woman at the curtain. I raise my brows at her waiting for her to either say what she needs to say or close the curtain and leave.
“Can I help you?” I ask in a nicer tone than I want to, because what I really want to do is slide my dick inside Nathalia.
“I didn’t know- uhh. I’m sorry.”
She continues to stand there, but looks back behind her, and then back at me.
What the hell is going on?
Nathalia stands up and adjusts her dress, and I run a hand through my hair in frustration. It’s then that the woman finally turns and leaves. I drop my head back and sigh, but then I find that I’m looking at myself in the mirror above me.
What really catches my attention is that I can see outside the room we’re in and I see Lincoln standing outside, speaking with the same woman who just left.
What the fuck?
I move to the curtain and snatch it open but he and the woman are already leaving.
“What’s wrong?” Nathalia asks.
“Your friend Lincoln was out here, and he was speaking with the woman who interrupted us. Do you think he had her do that on purpose?”
“Why would he?” she asks.
“I don’t know.”
“He might have just been checking things out. He tends to wander around and make sure everything is okay.”
I sigh. “Yeah, I guess. Well, now that the moment has been ruined, what would you like to do?” I ask, pulling her body into mine.
“Hmm. Maybe we should get out of here and go back to my place,” she replies as she bites down on her lip.
“I think that sounds like a great plan,” I say as I lean down and cover her lips with mine.
When we part, we step out of the small room and back to the panel doors that lead to the dance floor. As we’re passing another room, we hear the unmistakable sound of a woman crying out as she orgasms, followed by a man grunting.
Nathalia giggles. “I’m glad nobody heard us.”
“I didn’t get the chance to make you scream out my name,” I reply with a grin. “If I did, everybody on this dance floor would have heard you.”
She laughs. “Oh yeah? Mr. Confident too, I see.” She playfully smacks my arm as we move across the dance floor and towards the exit.
Before we get to the door, Lincoln comes into view. Great.
“Thalia,” he says in a husky voice. “May I speak with you before you leave?”
Nathalia glances at me, probably noticing my tense jaw. Why the fuck is this guy so dead set on interrupting our date. Is he that jealous? Maybe he had more feelings for her than she had for him. Maybe if I tell him that she and I aren’t serious, and that I’m her hired date, he won’t feel so insecure.
Fuck it. I’ll let him suffer.
“Mr. Cash, Nathalia and I have plans for the rest of the evening. Is this matter really that important?” I ask with a fake smile as I wrap my arm around her waist.
His eyes follow my movement before looking back at me. “I suppose not.”
“Great,” I answer with forced enthusiasm.
I pat his shoulder as I move to pass him. His eyes look at my hand, but he doesn’t say anything.
“Lincoln, I’ll talk with you soon,” Nathalia calls as we head to the door.
“I look forward to it,” he responds.
When we get to the door, I push it open and Nathalia steps out. I chance a quick glance back down the hall and notice Lincoln still standing there watching me. We lock eyes briefly before I step outside.
Excerpt from Shelter You
Available Now!
By
Alice Tribue
“I can only give you thirty minutes to get out of here before I have to report it to my supervisors that you’re gone. The clothes I brought for you are in the closet over there,” she says, pointing to a long closet built into the wall.
It reminds me of a high school locker, long and narrow. At the age of 17, I’ve become very familiar with those lockers, having used them all throughout my years in school and they were great years, happy years, right up until the end. It’s hard to believe that just a few months ago I was graduating high school, Miss Popular, top of my class, my pick of universities. To everyone on the outside looking in, it appeared that I had my whole future ahe
ad of me. The perfect life, great grades, an amazing family, the world was my oyster. Little did they know that my future had already been decided, mapped out and planned for me. None of which I had any say in, none of which I was comfortable with.
I turn my attention back to the tall gangly woman in front of me. She’s unnaturally thin, but I can almost see the attractiveness there, that she might have been beautiful once upon a time. Her blond hair is coarse, straw like and brittle, and her glasses are too big for her face, but I don’t care about any of that. To me, right now she’s an angel. A real live angel sent down to help me get out of an impossible situation.
“Besides clothes I was able to get you all of the basic supplies you’ll need. It’s not much, but it’ll get you by until you can afford to buy more,” she says, as I nod.
“When I leave this room, pick up the phone and call the operator. Ask for a volunteer to bring a wheelchair up to your room because you are being discharged. Once she comes up, tell her that your car is already waiting and that you need her to wheel you to the east entrance. Show her your hospital bracelet. It matches Lily’s so you’ll be fine; she won’t know any better. She’ll ask if you have a car seat, so just tell her that it’s already in the car.”
My heart starts to beat faster as I listen to her directions. Am I really doing this? Am I strong enough, brave enough to defy my parents, go against their wishes?
“The taxi driver will be waiting for you. His name is Seth, he’s a friend of my husband’s. He’ll take you to the bank first. Take out every single penny that is in your savings account and then have him take you to the bus station. Take the first bus out of here, Mia. Leave your cell phone behind and get a pre paid one the first chance you get. You’ll be eighteen in one month, and at that time you can call and request a copy of Lily’s birth certificate. This way, even if they can track you, they can’t legally force you to come back.
It takes me a minute, but I finally find my voice. “I don’t know how I can ever repay you for this.”
“No one should be forced to give up their child; it’s wrong. Just promise me you’ll be a good mom and that you’ll call me if you need anything at all.”
I look up at her with tears in my eyes. If not for this kind woman I’d be handing Lily over to her adoptive parents in a matter of hours. It may seem cruel of me to have promised to give my baby away to a couple who desperately wants one and then to just pick up and run away but none of this was my choice. Four months before my high school graduation I found out that I was pregnant. As you can probably imagine for a seventeen year old to hear that she’s going to become a mother is shocking and scary. So I did what I thought would be the right thing, I went to my parents and asked for their help. Their solution? Hide my pregnancy until after graduation and then keep me a virtual prisoner in my own home until I gave birth. When I expressed to them my desire to keep my child they gave me an ultimatum: Give the baby up for adoption, or keep the baby but leave their house with absolutely no financial help from them. What else could I have done? I had no choice but to agree to their demands and I thought I could do it. I thought I could go through with it until I held her, my Lily, and I knew that giving her away would literally kill me—would make it difficult to go on with the knowledge that she was out there in the world somewhere, living a life apart from mine. And because of this I made her a promise and I’ll die before I break that promise. I’ll die before I ever let her go
Nurse Kelly’s plan went down exactly the way she said it would. The volunteer that came up to take Lily and I out to the car barely checked that our bracelets matched before she helped me into the wheelchair and took me down to the exit where the cab was waiting for me. Seth, the driver helped get Lily in the car seat and then got us the hell out of there as fast as he could. He took me to my house and after verifying that my parents weren’t there, I ran inside. After packing some more clothes, all of my important documents and some cash that I had stored in my desk, I took one last look at my childhood bedroom and left.
Seth quickly took me to the bank where I was able to liquidate my entire savings account, a little over ten thousand dollars that I had been saving ever since I could remember. Every single dollar I’d ever been given from birthday and Christmas presents and from working at the local ice cream shop every summer was now in my backpack. Seth thought it would be a good idea to take me to a bus station a couple towns over. I wasn’t about to let anyone find me now that I had come this far, so I hopped on the first available bus out of state heading to Savannah Georgia, and told myself that once I got there I could stop for the night and make a decision on where to go next.
I’ve been traveling for about five hours now. We stopped earlier in Jacksonville, Florida, for about an hour—giving me just enough time to hide in a large bathroom stall to feed Lily in private and grab a bite to eat for myself. I’m terrified that she might start crying and disturb the other passengers on the bus, but the continuous motion seems to help her sleep. I close my eyes and wonder how I’m going to make this work, how I’m going to be able to take care of Lily without any help. The truth behind my situation is daunting. How will I know what she needs, why she’s crying, how to get her on a sleeping and feeding schedule? Will I know what to do and how to take care of her when she gets sick? What will I do for childcare when I find a job? The thoughts overwhelm me but I try not to panic. I have to keep it together for Lily, because I have to believe that a life with me is better for her than any life she could have had without me.
It’s a little after ten at night when we finally arrive in Savannah. I gather Lily and my belongings and grab a taxi cab. I tell the driver to take us to the most affordable hotel in the area and a little while later he drops us off at an inn right on Bay Street. It’s much too dark to explore outdoors but from what I can tell, it’s gorgeous here, someplace I’d love to come back and visit one day. When I reach the front desk the clerk eyes me suspiciously as she checks me in but mercifully doesn’t ask me any questions. I pay for my room in cash, grab my room key, and hop on the elevator. I get to my room as quickly as I can.
I can’t help but to feel exposed when I’m out in the open, as if by some off chance someone might recognize me.
I change Lily’s diaper and put her in a pink one piece pajama, turn down the bed and crawl in with her. I lie on my side with her snuggled close and offer her my breast. Kelly showed me what to do that first night after my parents had left for the evening. I remember being grossed out initially but I wanted to be able to feed her even if it was only one time. To be able to give her even just a small piece of me was important, it felt right. I’m thankful that I did it now because given my limited resources nursing her seems to be the most cost effective way to keep her fed. It doesn’t take long for me to give into the exhaustion, my eyes start to get heavy and before I know it I’m asleep.
I was looking forward to at least taking in a few of the sites in Savannah but fear of being found or recognized kept me a virtual prisoner in my hotel room. We stayed for two days and then hopped the midnight bus to Richmond, Virginia. We stopped a few hours into the trip in North Carolina and then drove straight through the remainder of the night; thankfully Lily slept most of the way but I sat in the back of the bus and when she woke up for her feeding I was able to cover her up with a blanket and nurse her privately. It helped that almost everyone on the bus was asleep.
The hotel in Virginia is not quite as nice as the one in Georgia but it’s safe, clean and affordable. I allow myself to wander around Richmond a bit more than I did in Savannah, but I keep to myself and keep my head down most of the time. I find a small pharmacy near the hotel where I pick up diapers, baby wipes, infant Tylenol just in case of an unexpected emergency, a pair of scissors and two boxes of brown hair dye. If anyone is looking for Lily and me we’ll be a lot harder to recognize if I alter my appearance and making my hair darker seems like the easiest way.
“Well isn’t this a beautiful baby.” I look up and se
e an elderly woman standing behind me in the line to pay.
I instantly tense up, and go on alert. Maybe I’m paranoid. I mean, it’s only a little old lady but I can’t be too careful. I’m not sure if there’s anyone out there looking for me. I don’t know if the police were called, if the media was alerted, or if a reward was offered, but I certainly wouldn’t put anything past my parents.
“Thank you,” I respond quietly, never actually looking at her and hoping that she’ll just leave me alone.
“Is she yours dear?” She questions, just as the person ahead of me is done paying for his items. I ignore her and quickly move up, putting my things on the counter and paying for my purchases as fast as possible. I get the hell out of there and back to the hotel in record time.
Lily begins to cry and I know that she must be hungry because she’s just woken up so she can’t be sleepy and her diaper is dry. I lie down in the king size bed with her and feed her until she falls asleep again. Strange as it may seem these moments with her calm me down, they give me the reassurance I need that running away was worth it. I’m beginning to feel more and more confident with her, like maybe I can do this, make this work with her and be a good mom. I think about the things I’ll have to give up, the things that I have already given up—my friends, enjoying my youth. I know I should be out doing the things that normal kids my age do, partying, dating, living the college life but all of those things were taken away from me and replaced with this life instead and the thing of it is, I’m okay with that. Yes, I’m young, inexperienced and I know that making the decision to keep Lily will never be the easy choice. But when it came down to it, when I was given the option, it was the only choice.
I look different as a brunette, I barely recognize myself when I look in the mirror. I feel better to a certain degree now that I’ve changed my hair, coloring and cutting it shoulder length, my long blond locks were always my signature look so it will take some getting used to for me but it’s what I need to do to keep my anonymity. After weighing out my options, I decided that I prefer traveling at night when there aren’t many people out and about. Lily and I left the hotel in Virginia and hopped on our next bus at three o’ clock in the morning driving through the night and stopping at eight the next morning in Baltimore Maryland. I decide to stop here for the night and let myself get some rest before catching my final bus into Pennsylvania. I’m not sure why I’m drawn there of all places, it was just a random choice plus it’s a big enough state that I can hopefully just blend into.
Unspeakable Truths Page 24