TGI Friday

Here's a little something to distract you prom all of the political drama today has infiltrated us with.


D-Tour

Tempie

I take one last look at the goodbye letter I slid under the wiper of the Challenger. The walk from the barn to the house seems a lot longer than it usually does. The snow has melted considerably but still rises to my ankles as I trudge my way up the front steps. I need to get out as fast as possible.

My bags are packed and ready within five minutes. I was able to sneak in without waking Maddie and am hoping I can get these bags back out to my jeep with the same luck. At the bottom of the stairs I stop to pull my boots back on.  The letter I wrote thanking Maddie is my last course of action. Tiptoeing to the kitchen, I am startled by a stout form leaning against the counter by the coffee pot. The very spot I was going to place the letter.

“Leaving under cover of darkness dear? I never figured you for a runner. “ Maggie’s  skeptical eyes meet mine as I compose myself from the fright.

“Umm I need to get to California. My aunt will be worried, and my new job was supposed to start Monday.”

Maggie nods into her cup of coffee, inhaling its sweet richness before taking a drink. “That couldn’t wait till morning, so we could get proper good byes?” My eyes dart to the barn then to the floor. I don’t have a rebuttal for that. She can read me like a billboard, has been able to since the first time she met me. “No, I suppose not.  Clean breaks are easier to mend. “  Maddie regards me thoughtfully,  setting her cup down on the counter next to her.  Her arms are around me before I am able to turn to leave. The motherly embrace she gives me melts me and I stifle a sob as I hug her back. This goodbye hurts, but not as bad as the one that will have to happen if I don’t leave soon. “You take care of yourself sugar.” Maggie whispers, releasing me and turning away.

“Bye Maggs.” I say solemnly as I turn and head out to my jeep.

I make my way back to the highway on autopilot. I am watching the road but my mind is still lying next to Rayce in the bed in his loft. The smell of his Azzaro Chrome has infiltrated the interior of my car sending shock waves through my core every time I breathe in. I can still feel his big arm draped over me as I came out of my peaceful slumber this morning. I can still see his eyes as he devoured me last night.

Turning on to the long stretch of interstate I push away those thoughts. Rayce was never meant to be. He was just a small detour on my journey to bigger and better things. Rayce isn’t the type of man that wants more than a weekend from a woman.  He will not miss me. He will just go back to his life and all of his weekend trysts with the rich girls from Aspen.

My hopeful side emerges telling me that he truly did care for me. He will never just let me walk away like this, even if it is what was best for both of us. My heart wants to believe I meant more to him than just a toy he could forget about.

 However, I am the one running.

After  Peyton,  I don’t know if I can suffer another heartbreak. I was starting to feel again. Rayce was bringing out something in me that I haven’t experienced in years. The numbness and disappointment are gone. In their wake was a tingle, a stirring of the soul, something I didn’t think I would ever feel again. It scares the hell out of me. In my experience, things that are too good to be true usually are.

Drawing a deep breath I push it all away. Rayce is not going to send me flowers at work, because he has no clue where I will be employed. He is not going to show up on my doorstep, because he doesn’t know where I am moving. And he most definitely is not going to message me, because he didn’t bother asking for my phone number.

Everything in me wishes he would though.

I am the one doing the running, and Rayce is not going to chase me. This was my choice, I just left him with a clean break.

Why do men get to separate everything.

Damn I hate men.