Bump and Run (Wide Open #6)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Jones

I watched as Charlie looked around the small foyer of my modest two-bedroom home before he moved into the living room. He was really here in my house, back in my life, and he had told me that he loved me. That he had never stopped. I was terrified that I would end up with another broken heart after I had worked so hard to heal the last one, but if Charlie was telling me the truth, which I believed he was, maybe we could be together. Make it work.

“This is nice, Jonesy,” he called out to me, and I preened happily when I followed his voice. “Do you like living here? You don’t mind being here alone?”

I nodded. “No, I really like it. I bought it right before Christmas of last year, after sharing an apartment with Ollie. We both decided we needed our own places, and I was lucky to find this one. It feels like home. I think the pool was what really won me over.”

“You have a pool?” Charlie smiled at me, his dark eyes sparkling. Was he thinking about that night, too, or was it just me? I had replayed that moment in my mind for years.

I took his hand despite my worries, linking our fingers together. “I miss living near the beach. At least here I can go sit outside when I have the chance and relax. ”

“Do you still take pictures?” he asked, tugging on my hand, and when I stepped closer, he wrapped his free arm around my waist to pull me flush against his broad chest. He still smelled the same, like the beach, and before I could stop myself, I reached out to touch the mole over his lip.

I nodded. “I do.”

I still had the ones of us, him, our summer together on my Instagram, and now that he was involved in the racing world, people might pick up that we had once been a couple. I had tried to delete them more than once but never had the guts. Keeping the memories was my way of remembering that it happened. That I had survived when I thought it would be the end of me.

“I lost you for a second. Where did you go, Bashful?” Charlie brushed the curls from my face.

I forced a smile. “Just remembering.” Only when he gripped my chin and forced me to look at him, I couldn’t lie. “I was thinking about the summer we spent together.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It was the best and worst time of my life.”

Charlie’s face softened. “I don’t blame you for hating me. I promised to take care of you, told you that I was yours, and then broke your heart when I left. I don’t...” He pressed his lips together. “I don’t deserve a second chance with you, Jonesy, but I’m so thankful you’re willing to try. I promise that I won’t let you down. That I will do whatever it takes to win you back.”

I murmured his name and reached up to cup his cheek with the palm of my hand. “Are you still mine, Charlie? ”

He nodded. “Yes, I’ve been yours since the moment I laid eyes on you on the beach.”

“I—” Tears stung my eyes, and I dropped my forehead against his neck. “I just... I’m terrified you’re going to do it again. I’m pretty sure that’s why I’ve never been able to have a relationship with another man. I tried, but it never worked out. Dates left me full of worry and anxiety. They were all men who didn’t live up to you. It was a horrible experience.”

Charlie tipped my head back up, forcing me to look at him. “If you want me to leave, I’ll go. If you want to start fresh and pretend we were never together, I can do that. It will suck, but I only want to make you happy. We can act like we don’t know one another.”

“No, I...I want you, Charlie. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.” I felt the tears as they slipped down my cheeks. “Did you... Have you...?” I couldn’t make myself say the words. I was terrified that it would be yes. Anger and jealousy filtered through my veins at the thought. If he touched someone else. Let them touch him back.

His thumbs stroked over my cheeks. “I won’t lie to you, Jonesy. I was never romantically involved with anyone.” I watched the guilt appear in his eyes, and it hurt. “I took Beverly out when it was expected of me, but that was only for show. You were the only one I loved, and the only one I want to love.”

“You have to take it slow with me.”

“We’ll go as slow as you want.”

I gave Charlie a shy smile. “You really love me?” When he nodded, warmth bloomed in my belly and spread through my body like wildfire. “You’re still mine? ”

“No one else’s, Bashful,” he murmured, then slid his lips against mine. “Now show me the rest of your house. I want to see this pool.”

Charlie linked our fingers together and hope began to stir inside of me again.

***

It felt perfect having Charlie here with me. He oohed and aahed over everything I showed him, taking time to take a couple of pictures of my Xfinity Championship trophy. We eventually ended up outside around the pool. We stripped off our socks and shoes so that we could drop our feet in the water and were enjoying the warm sun as it beat down on our skin. I didn’t get to do this as often as I liked with my busy racing schedule, but when I thought about it, dreamed about it, Charlie was always by my side.

“I’m so proud of you,” he said suddenly, and when I turned to look at him, Charlie beamed at me. “Your career, this house, everything you’ve achieved. You’re living your dream, bashful.”

I leaned into his frame. “All because you helped me by reaching out to Henry Richardson.” I felt his body stiffen next to mine.

“There’s something else I didn’t tell you. About why I left...” Charlie wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “My father threatened to ruin your career before it even took off.”

I gasped. “How could he do that?”

“You remember he’s friends with Henry? They went to school together and college, too. Henry isn’t a horrible person like my father, but he would listen to anything he told him. He trusts him, for whatever reason. That would include not hiring you. Whatever lie my father concocted would be believed, and he would have made sure that you never raced again. Not even locally. You’d be blackballed.”

I wasn’t a mean person, but right now, I really hated Remi. What if he was cheating on Mama? What if he was horrible to her, and she was lying to me about it? Mama was strong. She could take care of herself, but that didn’t mean her husband couldn’t try to cut her down in any way possible. Wait, couldn’t he do the same to Charlie now that he was here with me again? The thought made my blood boil.

“Jonesy, you okay? You look really upset.” Charlie dragged his fingers through my hair.

I worried my lip between my teeth. “You’re here now. Aren’t you afraid that he’ll do all the things he threatened to do?”

“Not anymore.”

“Why?”

Charlie dragged his fingers through the water, lost in thought. Finally, he answered. “I’m twenty-three now. The money that both he and my mother secured for me is now mine to do with whatever I want. He can’t take that away from me. I know he’s afraid of what I might do now if he tried. He knew this was where I would end up, back with you, and there’s nothing he can do about it.”

“But what about Mama? What if he tries to do something horrible to her?” My vision swam with tears before they slipped down my cheeks .

Charlie brushed the wetness away with his thumbs. “He wouldn’t dare. I’m not afraid to go toe to toe with him. If he tries to hurt Alice, I’ll make sure he spends the rest of his life dealing with lawyers and living in courtrooms.”

“She loves your daddy,” I murmured. “She’s always talking about gifts he lavishes her with, the trips he takes her on... She’s never been like this.” I met his gaze, and his eyes shimmered like melted chocolate. “She’s happy.”

Charlie nodded, his hand seeking out mine. He didn’t say anything at first, just kept squeezing my fingers in reassurance. “I’d take care of your mama if something happened. If he hurts her or worse.”

“Are you engaged to Beverly?” The question surprised both of us. Guilt flashed over his face, and I felt my heart sink when he nodded. “I know you had no choice.”

“Hey.” Charlie twisted his frame to face me, bringing his left leg up out of the water. “I made it clear with Beverly that what we were was a farce. We aren’t in love. She’s very aware of where I stand. She’s in love with someone else, too.”

But still... “You gave her a ring. There were pictures and news stories about how two of Boston’s most prominent families were going to be united in marriage.” Reading that headline had been one of the worst days of my life.

“Keeping tabs on me, Jonesy?” Charlie teased, and I flushed. “You already know that I watched you. Followed your career in racing. I’ve been back here, to North Carolina, a few times to set up the race shop, and I’d be a liar if I didn’t say I drove past the RV park a few times. Even went to our spot on the beach.”

My jaw dropped. “You did? ”

“A couple of times. I guess maybe I thought you would show up.” He tilted my head up with his thumb and forefinger. “I wanted it to be you I was proposing to. I wanted it to be you by my side at all the charity functions I was forced to attend, your hand in mine. You were the one I wanted in my bed. No one else.”

I found myself crawling up into Charlie’s lap so that I could straddle his thighs. When I pressed my lips against his, everything shifted back into alignment, my heart no longer broken and begging to be repaired. Charlie’s tongue snaked inside my mouth to tangle together with mine. His hands tugged and pulled at my curls as I whimpered at his touch. I had wanted to find this again. The feeling that roared through my body. The way my skin hummed with his touch. The way he made me feel so alive. But I couldn’t because no one was my Charlie.

“My Charlie,” I whispered against his mouth.

He growled, and I felt it vibrate through his chest. “My Jones.”

I palmed Charlie’s length over his jeans, desperate to touch him. I wanted him to shove his hands down the front of my pants and get me off. To make me scream his name as I came apart for him. The thought had me whining, desperate, and rubbing against him. It had been too long since I felt like this.

“Jonesy, my sweet, beautiful Jonesy.”

The sob that escaped me caught me off guard. I thought I was done crying for him. I shook my head when Charlie tried to stop me from getting up, my hands in my hair and tears streaming down my face .

“You left me.”

“Jones, I’m sorry,” he said again.

I whirled around to find he had climbed to his feet.

“Shut up,” I hissed through clenched teeth. “You promised. You said you wouldn’t hurt me, that we were going to be together, and then you left. I know you said it was because of your father, but if you really loved me...You wouldn’t... You could have—”

“I fucking died that day, Jonesy,” Charlie cut me off. “I left my heart and soul in that room with you while I packed up everything else. Trust me when I tell you that the hurt you felt was a hundred times worse on my end. You are so damn special. You’re perfect in every way, and I had you. I had you, and I never should have... I...”

My heart shot up into my throat as I witnessed Charlie fall apart. He dropped to his knees, buried his face in the palms of his hand, and I was next to him before I could stop myself. I wrapped my arms around him, cooing into his ear and holding him as tightly as I could. When he finally looked up, his eyes were rimmed with red and the pain that shone through cracked my chest wide open.

“Touch me, Charlie,” I whispered. When he started to object, I placed a finger over his mouth. “Make love to me.”