Free Here For You by Denise Muniz Page A

He was suddenly all business. Here came the lecture.
    I lay back on the bed. “It’s nothing. He had to work.” Short and sweet. Nothing to it.
    Now he was the one sitting up. “Bullshit, Becca. He canceled on you.” He sounded pissed. Why was everyone angrier about this than me?
    “It’s no big deal anyway,” I said, which was the truth. “I got to spend much needed time with my dad, so it all worked out.”
    “Becca, I can see it in your face. You want me to punch him?” he asked me, smirking. I bet he’d been dying to do that.
    I could always count on James to put a smile on my face. “No, it’s okay. He apologized for it.”
    “Dick,” I heard him say before lying back down.
    “Oh hey, I forgot, Emma’s boyfriend is coming down around your way soon. Mind if we stop by and hang?” I didn’t know why I’d just remembered, but I was happy that I did. I knew James wouldn’t mind as long as he wasn’t doing something.
    He looked to his left real quick before answering. What the heck was he looking at? “Fuck yeah, just let me know when. You could stay at my place.” He winked.
    “We’ll talk about that later, but I’ll let Emma know you said okay.” A yawn escaped my mouth, which I tried to cover but it was too late. “Sorry about that.”
    “It’s okay, I just wanted to make sure you were alright after what Asshole pulled.” You could always count on James to speak his mind as well. “You get some sleep and dream about me.”
    “Oh yeah, you’ll be all over my dreams tonight, James.” Little did he know that he was in almost all of my dreams, in and out of them for the past eight years. “Goodnight.”
    “Goodnight, Becca,” he said, blowing me a kiss.
    I blew one right back.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter - 5
    James
     
     
    I swore it’d only been a few weeks since I’d last seen my mom and she’d already started calling me to ask me when I was coming back to visit. Would be nice for someone to come and visit me for a change, but I couldn’t see my mom driving a car for four hours. So I promised her I would let her know when I would be back. Maybe the next holiday? When was the next holiday anyway?
    After hanging up the phone with my mom, I switched my pajama pants for a pair of basketball shorts and threw on my running sneakers. Running; something to take my mind off of this crazy thing we called life. So many bills, so little time to enjoy the money.
    When I moved to Florida almost four years back I paired up with my cousin, Jim, and we started our own construction company. I loved to work with my hands, so when he asked me to be a part of it I jumped on board.
    Now I’m co-owner.
    Being your own boss is a hell of a lot better than working underneath someone. During those four years we had expanded our company and had a few employees. I’d say we were doing pretty well for ourselves. We weren’t making millions, but we were living comfortably, not much to complain about at all.
    I reached over the counter to grab my iPod, earphones, and strap for my arm. After stretching for a minute I was headed out the door.
    The most beautiful thing about Florida, for me, was the weather. I loved when the nice breeze brushed against my sweaty body and the smell of the ocean washed over my senses. It was warmth with a little chill. Everything else was a bonus; the women in bikinis on their roller blades, the vendors selling things on the boardwalk, the palm trees. I let it all slip my mind as Linkin Park’s ‘Hit The Floor’ played, kicking me into gear. I ignored the looks, the bodies, and just released my brain. Running was my thing. Not only did it relieve my stresses it took care of my body, and it always kept me sane.
    I was only eight years old when I found out my dad had left us to fend for ourselves. I was feeling so many emotions but the biggest one was anger. I was so pissed. I left my house without saying a word to my mom and just ran. I ended up running laps around the track