Page 541 of Tease Me


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“Dragon Noodles,” I say. “I hope you like Asian food with a bit of kick to it.”

“Yum, my favorite.”

I cook while Jamie helps. The tension has subsided. The dragon noodles are an easy dish that cook in less than a half-hour. When everything is ready, we sit at the table.

Jamie picks up a bottle of wine that is chilling in a bucket on the table. “Wine?” he asks.

I nod, and he pours some in my glass. “I hope Sauvignon Blanc is a good choice for what you made.”

“It’s perfect and what I always drink with this dish.” I notice the label on the bottle of wine, Vitali Vineyards. The elephant in the room has just reared its ugly head.

He takes a bite of his noodles and says, “Damn Gina, these are delicious.”

“Thanks. Found the recipe online a while back. I make it a lot because it doesn’t require a lot of ingredients, and it is a quick meal.”

We continue to eat in silence, the awkwardness returning, and I know the only way to get rid of it this time is to talk. So, I do. I tell him everything about my parents, the Vitali’s, Susie, and the motorcycle club. I tell him every place I’ve lived, my alias, and lastly, about Hawk and Lucas.

After he absorbs everything I just told him, the first words out of his mouth are, “Did you love him?”

Men. I will never understand them. I tell this man I have been running for eighteen years, and the only thing that renders is jealousy.

“Yes, I did.” I rake my hands through my hair. “Hawk was the first man that I felt safe with. He was kind and a good man. He would have made a wonderful father if he knew about Lucas. But that was my stupidity. Lucas will never know his dad because I was not honest with him.” I take a deep breath. “But now that I am sitting here with you, I would have never ended up here if Hawk and I got married and raised Lucas together.”

“You always had a way of looking at things from different perspectives.” He shakes his head. “I always envied that about you.”

“So, are you still angry with me?” I ask. I fear the answer the most.

“No, I just can’t understand why didn’t you ever try to contact me, to explain?”

“Anyone connected to me or my parents had to believe we were dead. If you knew we were on the run, it would have put you in danger too.”

We continue to talk throughout the evening and into the morning hours. After I answer his questions about the last eighteen years, we reminisce about our childhood and teen years together and all the fun times we had.

I fall asleep on his couch and wake up to him sound asleep on the chair. I quietly grab my bag and leave. The ball is now in his court.

10

I wake up to Gina being gone again. Something about her ability to disappear rubs me the wrong way. When we were younger, I could never get her to be too far away from me. And once she started running, she just never stopped, I guess. She’s probably long gone somewhere new.

She explained her reasons, told me all the whys. I should be happy to know the truth finally but honestly; it does nothing to make me feel better. I understand it all. Every tiny detail of her relocation and being on the run. I know she was trying to protect me by not telling me the truth. She also had every reason her decisions were right for her.

Maybe I am arrogant and full of myself, but she hadn’t even thought to look me up. In a world where social media proof is greater than building real-life foundations, she never looked me up. Never thought for a second that I hadn’t moved on. She assumed that our relationship meant nothing to me, but it had been the complete opposite. I’d planned every move in my future around being with her that here I am, eighteen years later, still doing the same thing.

Looking around this house, I know it too is because of her, even if it is subconsciously. Four bedrooms? Even if I used the remaining rooms as an office and two guest rooms, who would stay over? I meant all of this house for the life I’d wanted to have. I’m not sure if it is right for the one I am currently living in.

The sound of my phone ringing drags me out of the chair I’d uncomfortably slept in. Stretching as I walk, I know today will be a shit day since everything ached, and I was more tired than when I’d fallen asleep.

“Michaels,” I answer.

“Williams, reporting for duty, sir!” Well, I’ll be damn!

“Bro! I didn’t expect to hear from you soon.” The smile I wear can’t be wiped off my face. Andre Williams is my best friend. We’d served two tours together, having each other’s six.

“You told me you were coming to Norfolk to settle. Figured since I don’t have a reason to return to Fucksville, Arkansas, that I saw what Norfolk was about. See if I can bug you daily out here like I did in all them round-ups we did together.”

“When did you get here?” I ask.

“About thirty minutes ago. I’m waiting for them to clean up my room so I can take a fucking nap. That flight was hell and back.”

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