Free Kiss in the Dark by Marcia Lynn McClure

butter, Boston still had an hour or so before she was due to pick up Danielle. Glancing out the front window, however, she saw Steph step out of the city bus. Boston’s anxiety rose. An all too familiar nausea of anxiety began to churn in her stomach. She had to figure something out—she had to escape! She didn’t want to face Stephanie. Furthermore, she knew she couldn’t wait two more weeks to move out. She had to do something.
    Grabbing her purse, she hurried out of the apartment. Steph would see her—there was no avoiding it—unless…
    Racing up hard concrete stairs that led to the floor above, Boston ducked down behind the railing and waited—listened until she heard Steph open their apartment door downstairs and close it behind her. Heaving a sigh of relief, Boston made her way along the second-floor balcony to the other staircase. Stephanie wouldn’t be able to see her from the other staircase, and she hurried to her car. She just had to get to Danielle’s. Once she was there, she’d settle down. Once she was at Danielle’s, her anxieties and fears would settle. The thought passed through Boston’s mind that Danielle’s house seemed even more a haven—a safe harbor—than it ever had before. She wondered why it did, and an image of Danielle’s brother popped into her mind. Alone—walking to her car without anyone around who might possess the talent to read her mind—Boston consciously admitted there was something strong and protective about Danielle’s brother, something that calmed her and made her feel safe, even from Stephanie. Vance was rugged and handsome, muscular and flirtatious. She figured it was the fact Vance Nathaniel was an exemplar of the idealistic and nowadays very rare manly man that made her feel that way about him.
    Actually, Boston had made a conscious effort not to think about Danielle’s brother—even avoided thinking of him by name, letting her mind refer to him as “Danielle’s brother.” There was a certain sensation she experienced in his presence—a sense of impending, insatiable attraction—as if he were some wizard of seduction that might be able to lure her into some unbridled, impassioned, reckless abandon. This was by no means a comfortable sensation for Boston. It seemed dangerous—almost wicked—and therefore she suppressed it, ignored it, and refused to let her mind nest on thoughts of Vance Nathaniel. Any man who caused her to think such things—well, it was best not to think about him at all. And so, once again, Boston pushed Danielle’s brother to the back of her mind—just as she’d been doing all weekend.
    She unlocked her car and slid into the driver’s seat. Reaching over to the glove compartment, she retrieved a chocolate Tootsie Pop, grimacing when she noticed there were only three Tootsie Pops left. It would be awhile before she would be able to get to the little candy shop in Mustang to load up on chocolate Tootsie Pops again. Sandy’s Sweet Tooth Shop was the only place Boston knew that sold Tootsie Pops in bulk. Boston only liked chocolate Tootsie Pops. Thus, every three or four months, she and Danielle would head over to Mustang, Oklahoma, to pick through the bulk Tootsie Pop barrel at Sandy’s Sweet Tooth Shop. She’d always limit herself to fifty chocolate Tootsie Pops because she figured it wasn’t fair to the owner of the store or the other patrons to be too selfish. Sandy Sorenson owned the little candy store and always assured Boston she could take as many chocolate Tootsie Pops as she wanted. Still, Boston tried to imagine that there were others, like herself, who preferred the chocolate ones.
    As she unwrapped her fourth-to-last chocolate sucker, Boston realized she’d probably been eating more Tootsie Pops than usual because of the added stress over Steph and moving. What a nightmare! Cake decorating class would be good for her. It would offer another night of escape and a much-needed diversion for her tired mind.
     
    Boston