Her head whipped up in shock. “What?”
I looked to the side where Rayden and the girl Evony danced with were staring at me with the same wide shocked eyes.
I looked at Evony, tears falling from her eyes, shock and relief all at once blazing beneath them. Thunder started rolling in from the distance and a few rain drops began falling.
“I promised you I’d never let him hurt you again. You don’t know what seeing you like that did to me. A switch flipped and I went back to your house and I beat him almost to death and then I wrapped my fingers around his throat and didn’t stop squeezing. I hadn’t realized I was leaving you with just another jailer.”
Her eyes glistened and sparkled with more tears and then she was running to me. Evony’s arms thrust around me, hugging me like her life depended on it. I knew mine did. I thought maybe once she learned that it was me that made her father disappear that she might think differently about me. I was a fool to think so. If there was anyone’s loyalty I never questioned, it was Evony’s. Her loyalty to me was solid. Always had been. Even with me being gone.
“And I am so sorry I never came home. I was such a fucking idiot. Come on, baby. Enough of this. Let’s go home. Give me your keys, honey.”
She didn’t move much and grabbed her keys from some hidden pocket in that little, crazy ass skirt of hers. I kept her in my arms and turned to Rayden, tossing him the keys.
“Follow us back to the house.” He nodded, even though I saw the questions in his eyes. I hadn’t meant to say what I did in front of them and I didn’t know about the girl, but I knew Rayden would die before giving up my secret.
He hurried the girl over to Evony’s Mustang as I picked Evony up and hurried over to the truck. I thought tonight would go so differently. Seeing her all sexified and sexy as hell, dancing and then kissing her friend like that. What had she been thinking about? It was hot and erotic. Then it was like everything she had been bottling up for so long had decided to come free. She mentioned the letters. Did she read them? Is that why she finally let me in? I smelled a little alcohol on her breath so I’m sure some of it was liquid courage.
The rain had pretty much soaked us and I opened the driver’s side, scooting her inside. I got in and she leaned into my arm.
“Gavin?”
“Yeah, baby.”
“I missed you.”
Her broken voice almost broke me. I felt the tears bubbling back up and I turned, kissing her head.
“I missed you too, Evony.”
I drove us home and carried her up the house and inside where I showered her shivering wet body, trying to warm her back up. Then I laid her on my bed, kissing every single inch of her body. Letting her come to heights of passion before finally kissing her mouth with every ounce of love I had before pushing deep into her body.
Evony’s arms held on tightly to my arms, her nails locking on, and her legs wrapped themselves around me, cupping my ass as I thrust into her with long, deep, hard drives. Her eyes were locked on mine, her breathing breaking and catching. I could lose myself in her eyes. They were so beautiful. Just as she was. She had always been so beautiful to me. Will always be beautiful. No matter what happens in our future.
But I was going to make sure we had one. There was nothing more I wanted except her and growing old with her. Having babies and making sure our lives would never be like our pasts. She deserved to be happy.
I just want her to be happy with me. If she read my letters, she knew how I felt. I wanted to be with her for the rest of my life. I had always imagined that’s where we’d end up. I can almost believe this is still a dream. Her, here in my arms, loving my body with everything she had as I loved her right back.
I would never let her falter again. It was my right and my duty to make sure she never wanted again. Never needed again. It was my privilege to make her the happiest woman on earth. I wasn’t rich—I made a good living, but I knew she didn’t give a shit about whether or not I had money, but I could do that for her. Be what she wants and needs. She always had my loyalty. Always.
That’s one thing my mother never counted on. I had only been with Layla, with all those other women because I couldn’t have Evony. Because I thought she was happy with someone. There was no one for me except her. To learn she wasn’t with anyone and to know she’d never had anyone for a lover—Jesus Christ Almighty.
This girl was my everything.
“Gavin. Yes, please. Feels so incredible.”
Her body was quivering, her inner muscles fluttering around my dick, showing me she was almost ready to come. Her hands caressed up my shoulders until they cupped my neck and her fingers had a good grip on my ears. She brought down my mouth, kissing me with bruising force as she ground her body against mine. Kissing me with everything she had. I felt her release pour all over my cock, and it didn’t take me long before I was pouring and pushing every ounce of cum deep inside her body as she called out my name in elation.
When our bodies calmed down, her body was worn and tired and I let her bundle up against me until I felt her deep even breathing.
“I love you, Evony. Cross my heart.”
I kissed her forehead before shutting my own eyes.
⤧
It was early when I felt her body untangle from mine and I just laid there, waiting for her to come back to bed. When she didn’t come back, I thought she just went to the kitchen to grab a drink. Then ten minutes passed and I got up, letting the noises of the house settle so I could hear where she was. I pulled on a pair of jeans and walked from the room.
I knocked on the bathroom door, but she didn’t answer and I looked down to see the light wasn’t on. Where was she?
“Evony?”
I kept walking through the house until I got to the front foyer and there she was. A bag slung over her arms.
“Where are you going?”
She had her back to me. All hunched up and I could feel she was terrified. That’s the only way to describe the bad vibes screaming from her body.
“Evony?”
I took a step and she turned, eyes bright red from crying.
“What’s wrong? Why are you leaving?”
My heart was pounding. Racing with trepidation.
“You can’t love me, Gavin. You just can’t.”
“Don’t. You don’t get to tell me who I can and cannot love, Evony. And I’ve loved you since I was ten years old. A boy who had no direction until he saw you. And knew what he was meant to do for the rest of his life. And that was to protect you and care for you. I know I fucked up and left you stranded and alone for twelve years but you have to let me make that up to you. For the rest of my life Evony I will make sure there isn’t a day that goes by that you don’t know I love you.”
“Just stop!”
“You can’t tell me you don’t love me. I know you. I know your heart beats with love for me.”
“That’s just it. It doesn’t. I could never make your dreams come true. You need to find someone else.”
“You’re fucking lying to me and I don’t like it.”
“I’m not lying. I don’t love anyone. I can’t let you hope that there will be something when there never will be.”
She’s lying. There’s a twitch to her brow that always indicated that she was lying. I knew her that well. So why is she lying? What isn’t she telling me?
“Why? Why are you so fucking scared, Evony? Tell me!”
Tears were already falling from her eyes, big fat heart wrenching tears. She shifted her bag and what she said, I could swear knocked every breath from me.
“I can never have kids. In your letters you said you imagined my kids, about how you always thought they’d be yours. Well, Gavin. I can never have them. My father damaged my body too much to ever hope to have them. Remember when I told you that I wasn’t a virgin? That I had sex before. Just once. I was about eighteen. You remember John, the cop? Well, he was a virgin and my age. No one knew I was a virgin too and he figured it out pretty quickly. He saved up some money and was scared shitless but he asked me if I could, you know, take care of that for him. I felt bad for him, so I did. He used a condom and I was on the shot, but I was getting over a nasty cold a few days prior. Then the condom broke. I never told him, but I became pregnant. I hadn’t known until one night I had this God-awful cramping. And I had started bleeding. So I hurried to the hospital in Baytown. It was about ten minutes after I got there that I gave birth. I miscarried. I don’t remember it much, but they did all these tests and saw the damage on my ovaries. I couldn’t carry the baby, you see. There was just too much damage. Don’t you see? I can never give you a family. And I wouldn’t want to. I wouldn’t want to infect my children with my fucked-upness. I would never be a good mother. That’s why you need to find someone else.”
Jesus. My girl was truly lost. But I wasn’t going to give up. Not now.
“No. I’m never going to give you up, Evony. You are not alone. I’ve always been in this. Twelve years is only a glimpse in our forever. It breaks my heart that he did so much hurt to you and took something that could be so precious away from you. I would love to see you swell with my child. I’ve dreamed about it so many times. But I don’t want to live in this world if I don’t have you by my side. This is us. Me and you.”
She shook her head and said, “I just don’t have it in me.”
“Are you going back to Dayton?”
She shook her head. “No. There’s nothing for me there. I have a job here. I might go to Rhona’s and talk to her about finding a small place. I—I need some time, Gavin. I need to get my life right. I’ve been living so deep in the dark I don’t know how to crawl out of it. A week, Gavin. That’s how long you’ve been back in my life and you weren’t even here for the most part. I feel just like I did that day. Like my heart can’t breathe.”
“Then don’t leave me. We can weather any storm, baby. I know how to let you breathe.”
“I can’t. I need to not be dependent on you. It’ll be trading one prison for another. I need to do this. Alone.”
“Okay. If that’s what you really want. Go. Turn around and walk out that door. But it won’t change a goddamn thing. I will never give you up. I hope you find whatever it is that you’re looking for. But know this, there will be no one who loves you more than I do. The fact you think you have to do this alone breaks everything inside of me. Because taking care of you is what makes me happy. So if you have to, then go. I will never give you up, no matter what. If it has to take me a lifetime to win your heart and love. Then so be it. You are worth it, Evony. You’ve always been worth it. I love you, Evony. Cross my heart and hope to die love you. There will never be anyone for me except you. Kids, no kids. Those are just bonuses. You are the grandest prize. You have always been mine. Always will be. My heart is yours. Now and always. I will be here. If you ever need me.”
Evony was shaking with tears, but she just nodded, took a deep breath and turned, walking away. When that door shut, I couldn’t help but scream hard and I punched out, hitting the wall. Over and over. My world just walked out my door. But I understood what she’s trying to do. Be Evony without strings.
The only thing I felt now was numb.