Page 46 of Breathless
Tears of joy sprang to Chaney’s eyes for her friend, but she also felt sorry for herself. Here she’d been flirting nonstop with Rawlins, and nothing had happened between them except he’d held her hand and there had been a few hugs initiated on her part.
Instead of texting Justus back, she called her.
“Okay. You can’t leave me hanging like that. More than talking had to have led up to a kiss,” Chaney said.
“Not necessarily. Unless you consider the days and weeks leading up to it,” Justus said.
“Well, that is a given. Had you been flirting with him like we talked about you doing?” Chaney asked, crawling onto her bed and sitting crossed legged.
“No, because it never seemed like the right time to start without it coming across as being obvious,” Justus explained.
“And he still kissed you?” Chaney said. “Amazing. Rawlins hasn’t made a move yet and we’ve been flirting for weeks now. So unfair.”
“Maybe you should make the first move,” Justus said.
“No. I’ve been flirting. If that isn’t a sign that I’m open to more with him and he can’t step up on his own, then I’m not exposing myself to ridicule or embarrassment because he doesn’t feel the same by making an overture.”
“It’s up to you,” Justus said. “I’m going to go grab a shower.”
“No wait. I wanted to ask if taking the combination of medication, I suggested had helped with your pain the other day,” Chaney said.
“It did. Thank you. I slept like a baby that night thanks to you,” she said.
“Good. I thought maybe it did since you didn’t call back. I’ve struggled with painful monthlies since I started so it wasn’t anything new for me after the implant was removed.”
“I’m so sorry,” Justus said. “I had no idea.”
“Just count your blessings.”
“I will,” she said. “Listen, I’m still tired from earlier in the week. I’m going to go get in the shower before I fall asleep talking to you. Talk to you later?”
“Sure.” Chaney hung up, still smiling. Maybe if Raffety could kiss Justus then Rawlins might eventually get around to kissing her. She turned on the bedside lamp and then went to turn off the overhead light before crawling under the covers. Then she patted the lamp’s base to turn it off again before closing her eyes and letting her thoughts drift to being out under the starsswinging high in the air with Rawlins beside her. She didn’t care if that was a childish thing to think about. She enjoyed swinging. And that was one place they’d been together that she could easily imagine.
However, when the swing slowed and her legs touched the ground again, it wasn’t Rawlins beaming face she saw, but the man in the black tuxedo from the night of the auction.
His face loomed at her, sneering with large, sharp teeth and he began laughing and pointing at her. And then she had a bird’s eye view of herself tied to a pole in the bikini and those high heels while horrible looking men gawked at her. Then hands, hundreds of pairs of hands started groping for her body.
And she woke, sitting up in bed, screaming at the top of her lungs. Her PJs were damp with sweat.
The overhead light flashed on as Rawlins rushed into the room calling out her name. “Chaney! Chaney!”
She cried and flinched when he tried to touch her.
“Chaney, it’s okay, it’s me, you’re safe,” he soothed.
She finally looked at him, registering where she was, and Rawlins gently caressed her face.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She shook her head as her lips trembled. “I saw him.”
“Who? Who did you see?”
“The man. The man in charge of the trafficking ring. I remembered him from the auction.”
He pulled her into his arms and held her close. “It’s okay. He can’t get to you. He’s long gone. No one has seen him since that night.”
“But what if he can?” Chaney questioned pushing Rawlins away. “What if he’s out there looking for me and Justus? Someone tried to steal her dog from the groomer. Do you think that was just a fluke? Some random man walked in off the street and decide I’m going to get a dog today?”
