Page 47 of Forbidden
My muscles are burning. There’s sweat dripping from every part of my body and I can barely breathe, but I push on. I have eighties rock booming through my headphones, and “Eye of the Tiger” gives me a second wind as I round the corner to our street. I’ve recently taken up jogging. I needed something other than work to keep me busy. Ever since that night with Gage two weeks ago, I can’t stop thinking about him. He creeps into my thoughts every quiet moment I have. It was hardnotto think about him when he left a reminder on my stomach. Thank God, it’s finally faded.
I also needed some kind of physical activity to work off my frustration. I’ve been reading nothing but erotic romance books, or more specifically,MCerotic romance books. They’ve only made me think about him more, if that’s even possible. I don’t know why I’ve been torturing myself but I’ve been reading any one I can get my hands on. I now know all about club hierarchy, and learned new terms such as one percenters, cuts, rockers, patches, colors, and club pussy. If what I’ve read is anything like the real thing, no wonder Gage is the way he is. Why settle down when there are women just waiting around for him to fuck them?
Toni’s advice didn’t help. At all.
Fuck the hot, old guy and get it out of your system.
Yeah, right.Thatwould get him out of my system. I haven’t heard from him. I’ve seen him around but he’s ignored me every time, won’t even look at me. It’s for the best, though. Lonnie’s not the only variable in the situation. I can’t hurt Chris. What Gage doesn’t know about that night is that I received a text from Chrissy.
My brother’s got it bad for you.
It fucked me the hell up.
Lonnie isn’t even an issue for me anymore. She’s delusional. There’s no way she has a chance of being anything to Gage, let alone his old lady. But hey, if she wants to keep living in la la land, then she can be my guest. We don’t talk. Most of the time, she barely acknowledges my presence. I’ll get a nasty look or a grunt, but that’s it. I leave money for my half of the bills on the kitchen table so I don’t need to come in contact with her. We stay out of each other’s way and it’s working out fine so far.
I look ahead and there’s a little boy running toward the street. His mother is unpacking groceries from the car and doesn’t realize what’s going on. And there’s a car coming.
“Hey!”
Fuck! She didn’t turn around. I speed up, praying I get to him in time. Just as he’s about to step onto the street, I grab him up and hold him to me.
“Hey there. Where you going?”
His mother turns around and I see the blood drain from her face. I remove my earphones and approach her.
“Mikey!”
She rushes forward and takes him from my arms, squeezing him until he begins to squirm.
“Jesus! I put him inside. I didn’t see him come out.”
“It’s okay. I’m just glad I got to him in time.”
“Thank you! Thank you so much. I don’t know how I could ever repay you.”
Tears gather in her eyes. I know it was a close call.
“I’m sorry. I lost his father right before he was born. I couldn’t bear to lose him, too.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
She wipes at her tears and I get a good look at her. There’s something familiar about her. Have we met? Maybe I’ve just seen her around the neighborhood. She sticks out her hand and I shake it gently.
“I’m Ellen.”
“Raven.”
“Nice to meet you, Raven. This is Mikey. Say hi to Raven, Mikey.”
“Hi, Raven. You wet.”
My name comes out as “Waben”. I giggle, not only at his mispronunciation, but at his cute, little voice. He has his mom’s eyes. He’s an adorable little thing with shoulder-length, brown hair. I just want to eat him up.
“That’s because I’ve been running.”
“Run? We play!”
“No, Mikey –” Ellen cuts in.
