"Are you talking to Pudge?" I grit through clenched teeth.
"Yeah, why?"
"Ask her where Sonya is."
Jake passes on my message, asking Pudge my question. His features pale. "She doesn't want to see you."
The rage I’ve been trying to keep at bay is surfacing to a point I’m going to explode. "Give me the phone."
He shakes his head frantically. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"Give me the goddamn phone!" My harsh, no-nonsense command has Jake handing it over.
"Best friend or brother, you upset her, and we’re gonna have problems."
I ignore him and suck in a deep breath of air and release it. "Pudge, please. I need you to tell me where she is."
I hear her breathing through the phone before she finally answers, “Cody, she doesn't want to see you."
"Pudge, listen to me. I can't let this be our goodbye. I need to see her before we leave. As crazy as this sounds, I'm fallin’ in love with her."
She laughs lightly. "It doesn't sound crazy at all. I see it in your eyes every time you look at her. She's at my apartment with me. Jake was gonna stop by anyway. Don't tell her I told you she’s here."
I grin with victory and hand the phone back to Jake. His body visibly relaxes when he realizes he won't have to try protecting Pudge from me. It appears I'm not the only one messed up over a woman after one weekend.
"I'm glad I don't have to beat the shit outta you,” Jake jokes as I pull out of the hotel parking garage.
"You could try." We laugh. Like me, Jake has never been hung up on a girl before, much less wanted to fight me to protect her.
We pull into the apartment complex about fifteen minutes later. With each step we climb, I feel my heart pound harder and harder against my chest. I’m more terrified now than I’ve ever been on the back of a bull. As we stand at the door, Jake knocks, it doesn't take long for Pudge to answer. Jake pulls her into his arms, and she glances at me and whispers, "She's in the room on the right."
I slowly open the door, noticing the light is off, but as the door opens more, it spills in from the hallway. My girl is laying on her stomach, face buried in a pillow, and her shoulders are shaking. It breaks my fucking heart to see her like this. "Pudge, I don't want to talk right now. Please shut the door." Her voice is ragged.
I get the door completely open, but I don't move any closer. "Hey, beautiful." Sonya's body shoots up into a sitting position and spins to face me. That's when I see it, the bruise on her cheek that wasn't there yesterday. In a flash, I’m at the end of the bed. I drop to my knees and gently cup her face with my hands. "Who did that to you?"
"No one you wanna mess with. Don't worry, though, I took care of it." A small smile touches her lips, but I'm not fucking smiling.
A different kind of anger boils inside of me. "Is this the reason you didn't want to see me? I want you to tell me who did it."
"Yes." Sonya tries casting her eyes downward, but I won't let her. "Cody, my life isn't a pretty one. There are things in my past…shit, it's not even my past, it was my present until yesterday. I'm not going to destroy you with it. Please, let it be."
I don't want to fight with her before I leave. I'll let it go, for now. "Will you spend the day with me, beautiful?”
Her eyes pool with unshed tears. "I'd like to, but I don't feel like going anywhere."
Laying my hand against her unhurt cheek, I caress her skin. "We don't have to go anywhere. We can lay here. I only want to hold you."
"That sounds really nice." Her grin grows, and I return it with one of my own.
"Lie down,” I tell her as I take my boots off and turn my ball cap around. I climb onto the full-size mattress next to her to lie on my back and pull Sonya as close as I can. Gently, I press her head down onto my chest and wrap her in my embrace. Staring at the ceiling, I think about what she said and wonder what kind of life she has had. I will get her to trust me, and she’ll confide in me. It might take some time, and I won't pressure her, but I will get Sonya to open up. "Why were you cryin'?" I can’t let this be goodbye. I can’t imagine what it would be like to never speak or see her again. The long-distance relationship is sounding pretty great right now.
Her fingers drift up and down against my t-shirt. "Because I thought I wasn't going to be able to see you. I was embarrassed. I didn't want you to see me like this."
"Don't be embarrassed." I slip a hand under her shirt, running my fingertips across the soft skin of her lower back. "I don't want this to end, Sonya. When I walk out that door to leave, I want you to be mine. I want to call you and text you. I want to come back and see you, or you could come to see me. But I don't ever want to see you cryin' because you’re sad or unhappy. I only want you to cry tears of joy and happiness that I bring to you. I'm fallin' hard and fast, beautiful, and I promise I'll make you happy."
"Cody—" she murmurs my name.
I place a kiss on the crown of her head. "Shh, don't say anythin’. Just let me hold you." I stopped her from speaking because I don't think I could handle her rejection. Her hand slips under my t-shirt, her fingers lightly tracing over my abs and the trail of hair that leads to my twitching cock.
I realize it's probably insane to feel the way I do about a woman I have barely touched. I haven't even kissed her because she pulls away every time I get close. I can't say it doesn't hurt like a son of a bitch, but I won't ever make her do something she isn't comfortable with. I know she has feelings for me, but something is holding her back. I'll give her the time she needs to work it out. Deep in my soul, I believe this girl was made for me, and I won't give up on her. She may not know it, and I may not know anything about her life, but what we’ve experienced over the weekend doesn’t happen except once in a lifetime: the pull I feel toward her, the connection we’ve shared, the electricity that sizzles between us from only one look.
We lay here for hours holding onto one another, nothing needing to be said, we’re simply enjoying the time we have left. But now our time is up, and I have to leave. "Beautiful, I have to go," I whisper the words I dread speaking.
"I know, but I don't want you to." Her voice is as quiet as mine as she hesitantly sits up on the bed.
Gazing up at her, my hand lifts to her cheek. My fingertips caress her skin before pushing strands of hair behind her ear. "I don't want to either. Will you walk me out?"
She nods. "Yeah."
Reluctantly, I get up, put my boots back on, and turn my hat backward. Sonya puts on the Chucks she wore the night I met her. I remember thinking how cute they looked on her feet. Black plaid and sparkly, they’re just as cute now when I’m sober.
Taking her hand in mine, I lace our fingers together and press her hand to my lips. “This isn’t the end for us, beautiful,” I reassure her, and am doing the same for myself.
Jake and Pudge are waiting next to my truck. I tell Pudge it was nice meeting her and let her and Jake have their goodbye while I focus on Sonya. I run my hands through her long dark hair and cup her cheeks in the palm of my hands. "I'm gonna miss you so fuckin' much, beautiful. When we get to our stop, I'll call you. Promise me you'll answer."