Page 56 of Redeemed in Crimson
No, that's okay. I’ll miss you too. So much. I’ll be fine as long as you promise we can go back sometime soon!
Devil:
We can go anytime you want, baby.
“Sloane!” my mom calls. “Are you just going to hide out in the bathroom all day?”
Me:
Ugh, I’m being summoned. I’ll call you when they leave tonight. I love you!
Devil:
I can’t wait. I love you most, Angel.
I rinse my face with cold water in an attempt to hide my tears and put my game face back on before heading backinto the living room.
The week feels like it drags by. My parents insisted on driving me to and from class because I “don’t need to be driving a car bought with drug money”. If I wasn’t in class, they found any reason possible to occupy my time, no doubt in order to keep me from seeing my “gangster boyfriend.”
When my parents drop me off at rehearsal, I jump out of the car and run into the church to see Ledger. We’ve been having group practices since Blanche discovered we were officially a couple, so there won’t be much one-on-one time, but I’ll take anything I can get at this point.
I find him immediately, standing at the front of the church talking to Blanche, and I take a moment to admire the muscular planes of his broad back. I do my best to sneak up on him, but as soon as I’m within an arm's length, he turns and greets me by lifting me into his arms. My legs instinctively wrap around his waist as I lose myself in a kiss that’s extremely inappropriate for church.
Blanche clears her throat, bringing us both back to the moment, and he gently puts me down, but doesn’t let go. “I’ve missed you, Angel,” he says before placing a kiss on the top of my head.
Before I can reply, Blanche starts practice, and we sit down at the table where our “date” takes place.
Between our lines, he hardly takes his hands off my thigh. Going from daily, multiple orgasms to nothing has my bodyigniting with every touch. I have to remind myself it's only four more nights. I’ll be back in our bed by Monday. The two hours of rehearsal are almost over, and I’m debating whether I should risk it all and climb him in front of God and everyone when I see my parents walking through the front doors.
Ledger must notice the change in my posture. “Relax, baby,” he whispers in my ear. “You aren’t doing anything wrong.”
I want to believe him, but one glance over at the look on my parents’ faces tells me all I need to know about how the rest of my evening is going to go.
“I love you, I’m so sorry, but I have to go,” I say when Blanche announces practice is over. I give Ledger’s hand a squeeze, fighting the tears welling up in my eyes, and sulk over to my parents before they can confront Ledger.
The thought of them saying something offensive to him is bad enough, but imagining his mom getting involved terrifies me. I turn back to get one last glimpse of my beautiful man before I walk out the door and can see the hurt in his eyes from across the sanctuary.
Me:
I’m so sorry. I just didn’t want them to cause a scene. Especially in front of your mom.
Devil:
It’s fine. I’m going to go ahead and take the jet to New York tonight. I set up some additional meetings since you aren’t coming with me. I’ll text you when I get there. I love you.
Me:
I love you too.
I can feel the defeat in his text, and it kills me. Instead of listening to my parents' discussions about the Christmas party, I stare at our text thread waiting for a response that I don’t receive until three o’clock in the morning.
Devil:
Just got to the hotel. Gonna get some rest. Wish it was with you.
It’s nine in the morning when I see his text, but I reply as soon as I do.
Me:
