Cursed Love: Cursed Love (Cursed, #1) (8 page)

I run my fingers through my hair and pull the hair tie off of my wrist. There’s no one here to look pretty for, so I throw my wet hair up into a ponytail and call it a day.

Walking out of the bathroom, I glance to the alarm clock on the bedside table and see that it’s already a quarter past nine. I need to get back on the road and find a place to settle down. Being on the move is getting more exhausting every day. I just want a place to call home and start over.

My stomach starts to growl and I know it’s been almost a full day since I’ve eaten anything substantial.

I think I’ll treat myself to a nice hot breakfast before heading back to the highway. At least then I’ll know I’m still giving my body the nutrition it needs.

I refuse to neglect myself any longer. My life is
my
choice and Rick isn’t here to make the decisions for me. I’m on my own and ready to be the person I should have been years ago.

Tossing my dirty clothes into my suitcase, I zip it up and reach for my purse.

As I walk out the door and look behind me, I say good riddance to the cheap-ass motel. Time to move on and find something better—I just don’t know where yet.

I pull out of the parking lot and head down the road into town. Still completely clueless as to where the hell I am, I make my way toward the nearest diner.

The outside looks inviting, so I turn my car into the first parking spot available.

As I open the door, a bell chimes and a petite woman with an extremely short black skirt walks toward me.

She looks me up and down and rolls her eyes.

What the fuck?

I know I must look a hot mess, but she’s no super model, either.

I take a step toward her and she gives me a smirk.

“Can I help ya?” she asks.

“Table for one, please”

She reaches under the cashier’s counter for a menu and signals me to follow her.

As I walk behind her to the back of the diner, I glance around at the other customers. There’s a couple sitting to the left, a few older kids lined up along the counter bar, and a group of guys sitting in a booth to the far right.

I watch the guys as the waitress and I walk past their table. There are four of them totally engrossed in conversation, paying no attention to anything other than themselves.

The waitress tosses the menu on the table of the booth behind them.

Giving her a fake smile, I scoot myself into the booth and set my purse down next to my leg.

My eyes glance up to her as she just stands there watching me.

“Something to drink?”

“Sure. I’ll take a coffee and water, please.”

Without another word, she turns on her heels and walks past the table.

The one guy sitting on the end reaches out to her and smacks her on the ass as she walks by.

She jumps and giggles while turning back toward him to flash a wink and seductive smile.

Stupid whore.

I roll my eyes at her low grade level of flirting and stare out the window. After a few minutes, she comes trotting herself back to the table and slides a mug of coffee in my direction.

She moves to turn away when I choose to speak up, “I’m ready to order.”

She whips her head around to face me and gives me the look of death.

What the hell?
She’s a waitress; it’s her job to take my order and bring out my food. It’s not my problem if her life sucks and she hates the world.

A deep voice speaks and pulls us out of our heated stare down.

“Shelia, chill out, baby. Be nice to the pretty girl.”

“Daulton, shut the hell up and mind your damn business.”

The guy turns to face me from his booth and all eyes are on me.

“Don’t worry about Shelia, her bark is worse than her bite,” he says with a smile.

His dimples appear and instantly grab my attention.

“I’ll take your word for it,” I reply.

He lets out a laugh and blinks his bright blue eyes. I’m captured by this guy and I don’t even know who the hell he is. Between those dimples and eyes, I can guarantee he can get any girl he wants.

“You’re not from around here, are you?” he asks.

I shake my head.

“Where you from?”

This is not the time or the place to be starting a friendship with anyone. I’m on the run and I need to just eat my breakfast and get the hell out of here.

“Actually, I’m just passing through town.”

“Okay, cool. Where you headed?”

Jesus Christ this guy asks a lot of questions that are none of his business. I watch him as he intently waits for me to respond. My eyes shift from his blue eyes and look to the other guys sitting with him.

I see Shelia step forward out of the corner of my eye.

“Let her go, Dault, she said she’s just passing through. Let the girl order her food and be on her way.”

I look to her and smile. For a moment I feel as though the two of us just bonded and she was willing to stick up for me.

“Fine with me, but if you need anything just let us know. Hell, even if you need a place to stay, my buddy and I have a place that just came up for rent.”

He throws me a wink and his killer smile before turning back around in the booth.

I look toward Shelia and mouth
thank you.
She smiles back at me and takes my order.

While I wait for my breakfast to be served, I think about what this stranger just offered me. A place to stay—here in this town? I honestly don’t even know where the hell I am.

I guess here would be as good a place as any to stop for a while and see if this is a place I’d want to settle. Otherwise, I’ll just get back in my car and keep driving…I can’t run for the rest of my life. I need to make a decision and plant my feet somewhere.

Chapter 9

I reach into my drawer and grab out a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. As I pull them on, I glance to the top of the dresser and stare at Jo’s red dress.

The image of how she looked in this dress last night sticks in the front of my mind—her mouthwatering curves, that tight little ass that I love to smack, and her perky tits that fit perfectly in the palm of my hand.

A knot forms in the pit of my stomach with the fear that she could really be gone. I hate the way things ended before we fell asleep last night. She’s been there for me when no one else has, and all she wanted was for me to love her in return.

She doesn’t know how broken I really am and how a relationship with me could never work.

I’d rather break her heart now rather than months down the road.

I know that this is best for both of us—I just hope I get a chance to tell her before it’s too late.

Turning the doorknob and swinging the door open, I run down the stairs to see if Jo is still here.

I look through the living room, she’s not there.

I look through the hallway and into the kitchen, but she’s not there, either.

Moving toward the table, I see a piece of paper folded in half. I sit down on the chair and reach for it. As I unfold it, I can tell that the handwriting is Jo’s. I set the offensive paper down on the table and flatten it out before me…

Linc,

I’m writing this letter, not to make you feel bad or regret anything we had, but to let you know that I’m leaving.

I sat in bed with you lying next to me for a while, debating whether or not to wake you. I felt it was better for me to leave and let things rest as we left them last night.

I love you and there’s no denying it. We’ve had a connection since the first day we met, but I never realized it would turn into so much more for me.

I don’t blame you for being confused and shocked; I probably would have been, too. But you are ‘it’ for me. I knew a long time ago that I had fallen in love with you, but was too afraid to tell you. Now I know my fear was warranted.

I don’t think that I can stay in Birmingham, at least not for now. I need some time to think things through and reevaluate my life. With you and me in the same town, I won’t be able to put the way I feel for you in the past.

I promise I’ll be okay, don’t worry about me.

I love you,

Jo

A huge lump forms in my throat and a sharp pain begins to stab me in the chest. I’ve experienced loss, the lack of an intimate connection and the rejection of my family in my life before, but nothing has ever hurt me like this.

She’s left and it’s my fault.

I’m a mess of a man.

I’m not good enough for her.

I’m not worthy of Jo’s love.

Instead of being selfish and self-centered I should have been there for her—supported her and made her happy.

I fold the paper back in half and then in half again. As I reach to stick it in my pocket, I hear the front door open and slam shut.

Daulton walks into the kitchen just as I’m about to get up from the table.

“Hey, man,” he says, slapping me on the back.

I nod my head in his direction and move toward the cabinet to grab a coffee mug.

“How’d last night go with Jo? You guys pitched out before we made it to Duke’s.”

“Yeah, I know. We didn’t stay too long.” I reply while setting my mug into the Keurig coffee stand.

I need my caffeine fix. Not like it’ll make my morning any better, but nonetheless I still need it.

“I gathered that much. But what the fuck happened after you left? Jo woke me up at seven thirty wanting me to take her back to her car.”

I turn to face him as he sits down and starts to drum his fingers on the top of the table.

“It’s a long story that I’m not in the mood to talk about right now.”

“Well, you must’ve pissed her off pretty damn bad. She was really upset when I dropped her off.”

I look at the expression on his face; he’s concerned about her and I can’t blame him.

“Did she say anything to you?” I ask.

“Nah, man, she just woke me up and asked for a ride. I figured if she wanted to talk she would’ve said something.”

“Yeah, guess you’re right.”

I can’t stand here and talk about this with him. My heart hurts for a woman I can’t love, and there’s no way in hell I want to sit down and talk it through with Dault.

His idea of a relationship is a one night stand and a door slamming into the chick’s ass on the way out.

He’d never understand what Jo and I had. Fuck, he’d probably blame me for causing her to leave.

Dault is my best friend; we’ve been through hell and back together. But one thing that is different between the two of us is how we handle the situations that come in and out of our lives.

He’s a fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants kind of guy, whereas I’m the obsessive and structured one.

For as long as I’ve known him, he’s never been one to dwell on the past. Instead, he makes the most of every moment and always has to be the center of attention.

No matter what’s happened to us in our lives, he can move on and start over in a heartbeat. Not me. I need to know the how and why of everything.

Explaining to him what’s just happened with Jo isn’t something I’m ready to do, not yet. We’ve known her for the past few years and she’s always been around. Her presence is going to be missed by all the guys at the shop.

I need to figure how I’m going to survive without her in my life and who’s going to pick up the pieces at the shop.

There aren’t many women that would put up with the shit we shell out, but she handled us just fine and did it with a smile every day.

Fuck, I’m going to miss her.

The guys and I can pick up the slack for a while, but I’ll need to find a replacement before we fuck everything up.

No one will be able to claim the place she held in my life; she was too good to the guys and to me.

Letting out a deep breath, I turn to reach for my coffee. The pain in my chest is still there and I hate how I’m feeling right now.

What the hell is wrong with me…do I love her?

Fucking hell, I don’t know what the hell to think.

Dault gets up from the table and pushes in the chair while clearing his throat.

“Well, on a side note, I have some good news and some bad news. Which do you want first?”

My head turns to face him as I give him a glare.

“Dude, I’m not in the mood for games. Just tell me what you need to tell me.”

“Damn it, Linc, you’re PMS-ing like a bitch today. Didn’t Jo give it up last night?”

My glare deepens and I have to restrain my urge to punch him in the face. We may be best friends, but the fucker really knows how to piss me off.

“Seriously, Dault, today is
not
the day. Give me the bad news first, that way the good news will sound that much better.”

He smiles and nods his head.

“Right on, man. Now don’t get all pissy with me, it’s not my fault the way things happen, but the tenant that was supposed to be moving in today bailed on us last night. She called and said she got a job in North Carolina and wouldn’t be staying in town that much longer.”

I slam my mug of coffee down on the counter, spilling it all over my hand.