AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My head shakes slightly. “No, I’ll be right back.”
With Davis’s protective eyes on me, I wander away, into the thick of the crowd.
The party is in full swing on the riverbank a few miles down the road from Rainbow and Jimmy’s. Residents of Starlight Falls mingle with stranded visitors from other towns here this evening, milling around with cheap snacks and plastic cups, dancing and gossiping and laughing as the bonfire blazes on.
The air smells of campfire and that after-rain scent. Laughter and conversation mix with the crackle of the burning wood.
Parents help their young children roast marshmallows over the flickering fire. Lumberjacks lean on tailgates, drinking beer. Palm readers and food vendors and performers compete for the crowd’s attention. There’s even a juggler. And everyone’s seemingly having a good ol’ time.
It’s like no one even remembers that we’re all practically prisoners in this town until the fallen trees are cleared from the highway.
“You tried the hot dogs yet, honey?” A woman wearing a green maxi dress and colorful beads in her hair keeps right on hola-hooping as she flashes me a smile. She gestures with her chin to the massive sausages and hamburger patties sitting on a smoking grill nearby.
The aroma lures me in. “A hot dog sounds good.” I approach the table, digging into the pocket of my jeans for change.
The woman abandons her hola-hoop just long enough to slide a huge hotdog into a bun for me. These are definitely big enough for Davis and me to share. As she prepares my snack, my eyes float over the gathering.
Rainbow sits, legs criss-crossed, on a colorful blanket, eye closed as she chants along with a group of women her age. Jimmy is on the other side of the gathering, with his own friends, looking like a lumberjack boy band as they scowl at everyone who passes by.
And then, I find Davis. He’s moved to the other side of the festivities. Now, he’s chatting animatedly with a bunch of locals. I watch the way he commands the crowd. They hang off of his every word. The women can’t take their eyes off of him while the men nod along with interest as he speaks.
I stand here in awe of him.What a man…
Wearing a simple white T-shirt molded to his bulging biceps, he effortlessly looks hot as fuck. And in that pair of beat-up jeans, his ass looks like it belongs on a hamburger bun. I’d eat it right up.
A petite brunette sidles up to him, curling her hair around her finger and batting her eyes at him. She looks spellbound as Davis speaks. And despite the instant pang of jealousy I feel, I can’t blame her.
There’s no question that this man was born to command attention. He was born to lead. And that’s what I want for him. Even if it means he has to leave me behind.
Because sometimes, love is sacrifice.
Love is knowing when to cut the cord. Knowing when to walk away. Acknowledging that holding on with selfish motives isn’t love at all.
That’s why I had to let Davis go. He always had his blinders on when it came to me. I was the high school crush he never quite grew out of. But I eventually matured to the point where I could admit to myself that his life would be better without me in it. It’s the hardest decision I ever had to make. But it was a decision I made so he could become the man he was clearly meant to be.
It’s so frustrating that he’s still holding back. That he’s not going full steam ahead with his dreams.
Davis says something to the group circled around him. They all go up in laughter. The pretty brunette kicks her head back, laying a hand on his bicep to steal his attention.
Jealousy riots like a furious mob in my gut.
Jealousy, Alana? Seriously?
I can’t keep letting the green-eye monster rear her ugly head anytime Davis gets attention from the opposite sex. He’s a drop-dead gorgeous man. He’s brilliant. He’s thoughtful. And he’s not mine.
Sex with Davis has shattered the nice neat compartmentalizing I’ve perfected over the past four years. I’ve always been an all or nothing kind of woman, and this exes-with-benefits thing is obviously messing with my head.
Every time we’re alone, he keeps trying to talk about ‘us’, trying to bring up topics we should have laid to rest four years ago. But I get it. He’s looking for the closure he needs to move on. He deserves that. Too damn bad for me.
Because the more time I spend with him, the more I’m starting to realize that the last thing I want to do is move on.
I’msodamn screwed, it’s not even funny.
I really let my feelings get away from me these past few days. I’m gonna have a huge task ahead of me, trying to get myself under control when we get back home.
“Here ya go, sweetie.” I startle and turn to find the vendor stretching my enormous hotdog out to me.
I clear my throat. “Thank you.”
