XOXO J.D.’

I turned and left the house. The warm, salty air blew across the driveway at me. I almost smiled at the fresh start and possibilities in it. I had at least a few days before Phil would alert my family. I could find a map, let my phone stay dead, and drive home the long way. I would need at least five days to figure it all out. My sister would know I was missing. She was like a hound when it came to the tone of my voice, or the way I paused.

She might have alerted them already. The look on my father’s face would be one of disappointment. He would wonder if I had done enough. He would wonder if I had ignored my fiancé or let myself slip just a little. I looked down at the capri jogging pants and scuffed boots and laughed to myself.

I shuddered from exhaustion and the possibility I would be made to return home.

“Jack!”

I looked back, seeing France running down the beach to me. “What are you doing?”

I pointed towards the tikis, “My car is down there.”

He held up the note, “You owe me more than a note.”

I stepped back, “France, we’ve talked about this a thousand times. Not today, okay? I’m hung over and exhausted, and I have a whole day of driving to get through.”

His cheeks blushed, “I love it when you call me France. Now you know I meant a proper goodbye and a game plan. You know if I wanted your sexy ass, I would wait for you to be dressed half decent, at least. Not slumming in my sister’s jogging pants.”

I laughed weakly, “Shit. I hate you sometimes.” I looked at him sincerely, “I’m really sorry about last night and I feel like an asshole.”

He put a hand up, “Stop saying that damned word. Say it again and you’ll be sorry.”

“Okay. I have no game plan and I’m thirsty for something like coffee and a pastry.”

He nodded, “Then you need to come with me. I know where all the good coffee and pastries are. Now what’s the plan, after you add carbs and coffee?”

I shook my head, “I don’t know. Go home.”

He pointed behind us, “Your car is at my house. You actually had to have walked right past it. How are you getting home anyway?”

"Driving." I frowned, was that even possible? How had I walked past my own car? I was a hot mess. I looked down at the jogging pants and sneered—okay, just a mess.

As we walked back, he took my hand in his, “Now let’s get you home.”

I frowned, “What?”

His eyes twinkled, “I have a couple weeks off; I can get you home and take a flight back.”

I shook my head, “I can't ask that of you. I know you have to get this place ready.”

He frowned, “You didn’t ask it of me, I offered. But that’s not the only reason though. You lost your license for a week last night. It’s being mailed to the police station closest to your address. They wouldn’t give it to me. The only reason they left you with me, was that they’re fans and you never actually drove.” He grabbed my bags and started walking towards the car in the driveway.

I slumped onto the ground in the driveway, “I lost my license?”

He ran inside and grabbed a small bag of stuff. I stayed where I was, enjoying my pity party for one. He came back out and offered me his hand, “Come on, baby. I’ll take you home and you can straighten this whole thing out with Phil. We’ll get you sorted out. You can stay with me. If Phil comes and grovels, I'll kick the shit out of him. It'll be fun. Willy told me you were upset. He said Phil was cheating. I need to beat his ass now anyway.”

I shook my head, “I don’t want to talk about it. I can’t believe this.” I took his hand.

He walked right over to my car, “This is going to be just like old times.”

I laughed, “You can't come with me. That’s outrageous. How can I pay for hotels with no license? I have to fly back. This is crazy.”

He nodded, “I agree. It’s also crazy to drive to South Carolina and get drunk on a beach and lure unsuspecting men to their demise with your striptease, and yet, here we are.” His eyes turned serious, “Jack, I can’t let you leave here without making sure you’re safe. You can't board a plane without ID, and you can't drive. I can’t let you go home to Phil until I know the story.” His eyes sparkled, “I mean, you’re welcome to stay if you want to.”

I laughed, “Seriously, me and you in a small space for the two-day drive is going to be messy. You forget how much we used to fight.”

He grinned, “Baby, I remember how annoying you are. Get in the car.” He walked over, opened the trunk of my car and stuffed CHANEL in there with everything else.

“You had my keys?”

He nodded, “Yeah, I had the special task of driving you home. Are you okay? We talked about this.”

I shook my head. He climbed into the driver’s seat. I sighed and got in, looking too big for my car. I closed the door, nestling into the warm seat. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed as he started the car.

“Dan, hey. Look, I need you to stay at the house and get it sorted out for Mom and Dad and everyone… I had a party last night, so it's messy. I cleared everyone out but it's still messy…Yeah, the beach house… About a week…New York… Thanks, man. Yup, I’ll let you know.” He hung up and looked at me, “My calendar is clear.”

I smiled, “I can stay here and help you get everything ready.”

He shrugged, “I really didn’t want to do it. This is good. It’ll force my family to participate in the task of running the beach house. I do everything, pay for everything, and they all take. This is going to be a treat for me.”

He drove slowly out of the parking lot. I closed my eyes, even though I didn’t want to, and drifted off to sleep.

I woke with a start. We were parked outside of a store. I looked at a strange man standing outside the window. I jumped up, but stopped myself from freaking out when I saw the gas pump.

“Shit.” I rubbed my eyes and grabbed my wallet and ran inside, barefoot. I looked down, he had taken my boots off. I growled and stalked across the store to where he was standing at the microwave with a stick of pepperoni hanging from his lips. He smiled. I scowled.

“What?”

I sighed, “You took my boots off? Let me pay for the gas.”

He shook his head, “That’s okay. You can pay me back some other time. If I pay, fucktard Phil can’t track you around the countryside.”

I stepped back, “Don't swear so loud in here." I glanced around the dingy gas station. No one even batted an eyelash at him cussing. I sighed, "Besides, he doesn’t care where I am.”

He shrugged, “If you were mine, which you should have been, and I screwed up as bad as he has, which for the record I would never do, I would be scouring the bank accounts to see if you’re alright. I would need to know where you were and I would be on a flight to come and get you.”

I flinched at the crazed look in his eyes, “He won't do that.”

He shook his head, “Then it’s like I always said—he never deserved you in the first place. Fuck him. Let him wonder where you are. Let him die of curiosity and hate himself. You want a man to suffer, don’t let him know what you’re doing. You women are all the same, you say too much. You let us in on too many things. We’re hunters, we need the chase.” The microwave beeped. He pulled out two wrapped-up round things. He carried them over to the counter, looking back at me as he paid, “You want anything else?”

I opened my mouth, “No. I’m sor…” I stopped myself when he gave me a look. “No.” I blushed and helped him carry the things from the store.

He placed a steamy round thing in my hand, “Gas-station cheeseburgers are the best.” He opened his and squirted packets of mustard and ketchup on his bun. I opened mine and let him do the same thing. He closed my bun and nodded. I took a bite, watching him take one as well. It was delicious, and yet, I knew somehow I would regret eating it.

I moaned and smiled, covering my mouth with my hand, “It’s good.” We stood outside the car, eating off the hood of the car. He opened a can of root beer and passed it to me. I drank from the can and sighed. The fact I was bare foot was bothering me less and less.

He pointed at a bush across the small, broken-concrete parking lot, “Look.”

I glanced over to see a duck with her babies walking alongside the parking lot and vanishing down a hillside. It was quiet, except for the buzzing of flies and things, but that was a peaceful sort of noise.

I finished off the burger and soda with a burp. I covered my mouth, horrified. He winked at me, “You shouldn’t hold them back. It’s better for you to let it all out.”

I shook my head, “I’m barefoot in a filthy parking lot, eating food from a packet and drinking soda from a can. I probably need a vaccine from all this.”

He scowled, “You’re such a princess now. Where is the fearless girl I once new?”

I wrinkled my nose at him, “I never was fearless.”

He cocked an eyebrow, “Yeah, you were. You were on fire when we were younger. You let them kill that part of you.”

I looked down at my pedicure and scowled at the broken toenail, “You know what it’s like there.”

“I always hated it there. Let’s just get in the car before I drag you into the woods, and make you climb a tree and eat a bug.”

My eye twitched. I watched his face the entire time I climbed into the car and locked my door. He got in, flinging bags of food and drinks on the back seat. My other bags were back there. I remembered the shoes I’d bought. I unbuckled, grabbed the bag, and pulled the box out. I looked at the brand new Prada wedges. They were silver and white and had thick straps crisscrossing the top. I looked down at my filthy feet and decided to wait to put them on. I put them in the back seat.

He gave me a sideways glance, “You need some flip-flops.”