Replace Me (Kin #2)(50)
Author: Jennifer Foor

That didn’t go very well. The turbulence was horrific and a few times I thought the plane was going down. As much as the stewardess kept reassuring me, I wasn’t good with it until we touched ground. Even then, my stomach was in knots and I puked in the bathroom several times before I could get myself together enough to hail a taxi.

Of course, I didn’t speak Italian, so I had to hand the driver the written address and hope that he didn’t take me to some hostel and kill me.

We pulled up a narrow cobblestone road as the sun was setting. My driver barely spoke English, but he managed to point to the building before handing me back the address. I stood in front of an old metal door with shaky hands, praying that this wasn’t a huge mistake.

Before I could put my fist up to the door, I heard someone coming up behind me. There was giggling and a deep, familiar voice. I turned to see my biggest fear. Joey was standing there, with another woman. I froze and so did he.

The woman, with her strong accent spoke first. She said something in Italian and when I shook my head, she changed to English. “You need help?”

Joey turned to look at her. “Gia, she’s here to see me. Why don’t you go out without me tonight?”

The woman looked from me to Joey. “You sure?”

“Yeah.” She kissed him on each cheek before walking back down the road.

Joey turned to me with confusion in his eyes. “Lace, what the hell are you doin’ here?”

I covered my face. “I’m so sorry. I thought…Oh God, I feel like such a fool.”

Joey pushed me gently to the side and unlocked his door. He grabbed my bag and pulled me inside. After climbing a set of stairs, we went through another door and entered into the main apartment.

I was crying so heavy that I couldn’t even see the place with a clear set of eyes. Joey pulled me along and sat me down on a couch, where he kneeled down in front of me. “I can’t believe you’re here. How did you…What are you doin’?”

I shook my head, unable to tell him the truth. I couldn’t admit that I’d come all this way to profess my love, to a man that clearly didn’t leave Maryland because of me.

He grabbed my hands and put them up to his lips. “How did you find me? Did my mother put you up to this?”

I sniffled and finally opened my eyes. It was blurry, but I could see that he was concerned. “Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving?”

He leaned back and put his head down. “I didn’t need to explain my reasons to anyone, Lacey, especially you. You made it clear that we couldn’t be together.”

“No! You don’t understand.”

He stood up and started pacing. “Lacey, tell me why you’re here. You see, I’m tryin’ real hard to move on. I moved here to get away.”

“Get away from what? Are you in trouble?” I couldn’t understand what he was running from. Clearly since he’d already been hooking up with new people, me being the reason was out. There had to be something else.

He scrunched up his face. “No! I didn’t do anything wrong. Stop actin’ like you don’t know.”

I stood up and followed where he was walking. He came to the refrigerator and leaned against it. My hands touched his back and he didn’t move. “I really don’t know.”

He faced me and looked right into my eyes. His were sad and red. I lifted my hand and touched his face. “Don’t, Lace.”

“Why? Why can’t I touch you? Do you hate me that much? Did you leave because you hated me?”

Joey turned his head and rubbed his lips across my hand. “I can’t hate you.”

“I don’t understand.” He didn’t hate me or want me. I was nothing to him, just like all the other women in his life. I backed away from him, moving my hand away and crossing my arms over my chest.

I walked backward and he came forward, chasing me. He pulled my arms open and held them at my sides while peering into my eyes again. “What don’t you understand? I told you how I felt. I told you that you were different. I knew I shouldn’t have let myself feel that way. My mother always told us not to give a woman our heart. She said they’d just break it, but you were different. I couldn’t help myself. I had to know what it felt like to open myself to you.” He scratched his head and spun around like a mad man. “Then you go and sleep with Shayne, like I meant nothin’ to you. Do you have any idea what that felt like to finally fall for someone and have that happen? I had to leave, Lacey. I couldn’t see you again, even if it was by chance. It hurts too much knowin’ you don’t want me that way.” Joey walked into the bathroom and slammed the door behind him. “You need to go.”

I ran toward the door and placed my palms against it. “Joey, don’t shut me out. There’s something you need to know. I can’t tell you through the door.”

A few seconds passed and he opened it. His eyes were watery and I could tell he was emotional. This was a side of him that I’d never seen and I was scared of how he was acting. “Are you here because someone’s hurt? Is it my mom? Tell me, Lacey.” He was panicking.

“I came because I love you,” I sobbed. “I came as soon as I found out you were gone. I know it was stupid, but I couldn’t tell you over the phone. I needed to see you. Now, after seeing you with that other woman, I know I wasted my time.”

Joey grabbed me and pulled me into his arms. His lips were on mine. Warm passion ran through my veins as our tongues met and danced together. His hands started on my waist, but made a beeline up my shirt and under my bra. I felt his palms running over my ni**les, which became hard instantly.

Joey pulled away from our kissing and pressed his head against mine. His eyes were closed, so I closed mine. “I thought if I took this job I could forget about you and the way you made me feel, but I was wrong. I can’t get you out of my head.”

My heart ached thinking of him using other women as a means to forget me. “So you picked up other women?”

Joey laughed and held me closer, like he was teasing me for being jealous again. “That woman is my bosses wife. I don’t have a lot of stuff here yet, so I borrow theirs from time to time. She came to get their blender because they’re expectin’ company tomorrow night.”

“So, you weren’t hooking up?”

“Woman, you make me crazy!” He put both of his hands through his hair. “Why would I want to be with any other women, when all I want is you? Don’t you get it? I’m crazy for you, Lacey. I drink beer to forget you and pass out dreamin’ about you. You think I wanted to let myself feel this way? Damn it, I’ve gone my whole life without carin’ and the first time I open my heart, it gets torn to shit.”