Runaway ✔

137 • Dana

A hand raked through her hair, combing it to the side. Soon thereafter she felt warm lips in her neck, slowly descending. She stroked Juice's arm, that he had wrapped around her. His fingers laid around her breast, as they had done the past hour. And probably the hours before, when she had been sleeping. Now she was however awake for a while, staring at the wallpaper of grey tiles.

"You're awake for some time huh?" Juice's hoarse voice sounded. "Your breathin' is tellin' me."

The hand on her breast started to move too, stroking her nipple until it became hard. 

"Yeah," she answered, even though her eyes dropped again. She snuggled closer to him so she could feel his warm chest against her back, enjoying this early embrace. 

"Is my fiance looking forward to eggs and bacon for breakfast?"

Dana looked over her shoulder. "Hmm, sounds good." She almost twisted the muscles in her neck as she kissed him. "But not as good as lying her a bit longer with you." Even though she smiled, she turned back her head before he would notice she felt a bit sad. Those feelings would leave soon, his touch was always absorbing her doubts and sad feelings. She turned a bit, stroking the hand caressing her upper body. His erection was pressing against her butt and she tilted her pelvis a bit more, hoping he took the hint. He did, as always. 

While his fingers moved across her side, almost in an absent way, he pushed himself closer to her. Slowly he entered her from behind, in a easy pace thrusting inside her. Her eyes drooped. She couldn't think of a better way to wake up than feeling him inside her. Over time, the thoughts that had bothered her the past hour vanished. Juice's pace increased and Dana rolled a bit over so he could hit her deeper. His hand hugged her breast tightly and Dana curved her back as her walls were closing around him. 

She moaned as he hit the right spot. They knew by now what the other liked most, but it never kept Juice from asking. 

"You like this baby?" he panted in her ear, nipping her earlobe. "Right here huh?"

"You know that damn well," she answered with a grunt, her breathing faltering. 

Laughing, he kept massaging her breast, thrusting deeper inside her. Hearing his laughter made the experience ten times intenser. Her muscles tensed and she heard Juice gasp for breathe. Before she could reach her momentum, she felt his body shake against her back. With a tender smile she looked over her shoulder. His face was red, there was still an expression of rapture across his face. 

"Just one more minute," she said with smirk. "One more minute and I would have came too."

"I know. I tried," he replied, his voice still raspy of sleep. He stroked her cheek, an apologetic look in his eyes. Dana turned toward him, kissing his lips, while his fingers wandered off and finished what he had started. 

. . .

During breakfast her gloomy feelings returned. 

"What's wrong?" Juice asked, always sensing how she was feeling. He studied her face. 

Dana sighed softly. "Nothing."

He raised his eyebrows skeptically. "Yeah, not buyin' that."

Dana sipped from her coffee and glided with her thumb across the rim of her plate. She shrugged her shoulders, staring at her engagement ring. "It's just... Yesterday was perfect." She looked up to him again. "You asked me to marry you, the dream of every girl. And I dunno... I just wished I could have shared it with someone." She messed with her ring. "When I thought about this day, I imagined I would call my friends overly excited and that my mom would hug me and..." She sighed once more. "But my mother is dead, my brother and father are in jail and the few friends I have are miles away from here and I haven't spoken to them in weeks." She pressed her lips together and wiped her eyes. "All of a sudden I miss them so much. Cherry and Koz, and Opie..." A tear rolled down her cheek. 

Across the table, Juice took her hand and brushed his thumb along the back. "I get it. And there's nothing wrong with it, baby. Why don't you give Kozik a call? I got his number. In case of emergency, you know? And maybe you can talk to Cherry too. As long as you eh... don't blurt out certain things."

Dana understood his caution, Cherry had always been a blabbermouth, and she no less. They would mean no harm, but in their enthusiasm they might say things that they would regret later. But calling Kozik... yes, she would like that. He knew what questions to avoid. 

"I'll call Koz," she said, a smile around her lips. Even though Cherry had always been the one knowing everything about their romantic developments, she had trusted Kozik with everything, both in her youth and in the weeks before they went to Mexico. 

. . .

After breakfast she sat down in the garden and dialed the number. It was two hours earlier in California, but at eight he was probably awake. Juice had left to have a run before it would be too hot – even though Dana believed it was always too hot to do so – and however he did so almost every day, she had the feeling he wanted to give her some privacy now. 

"Hey," she heard as he took the call. Kozik's voice sounded tensed and Dana realized he was probably expecting bad news. 

"Hey Koz," she said. As soon as his name passed her lips, they bent into a smile. 

"Dana! Are you all right?"

"Yeah, we're fine," she told him quickly. "I – I..." Suddenly there was a lump in her throat and she blinked away a few tears.  She had never realized she missed him so much, as had happened before. "I miss you, Koz," she said softly, briefly wiping her eyes. "I just wanted to hear your voice."

"I miss you too, girl." Maybe she was imagining things, but his voice sounded more emotional than she had ever heard. "Is Juice treatin' you well?"

Dana chuckled softly. "He proposed me yesterday."

"What?" She heard the disbelief in Kozik's voice. She clearly hadn't been the only one who didn't see it coming. "Wow. Congratulations baby. At least – I assume you said yes? Or are you gonna ask me if I want to relieve him?"

Dana could picture his smirk clearly, making her miss him even more. "Yeah, I said yes. It remains to be seen when we can really marry. Of course you guys have to be there, and as long as there's a price on my head it is impossible anyway, but... I'm still glad we've taken this step. I thought – maybe you can tell it to Cherry? And Happy, if you ever see him again?"

"Sure. Well, I suppose I need to know every cheesy detail then?"

Dana giggled like a teenager having her first crush and summarized the day before – leaving out their intimate little party in the haunted house. She started to talk more and more enthusiastic. No matter how much she loved Juice's voice, it felt nice to speak with someone else for once. Someone who meant a lot to her. Kozik wasn't just a friend, she felt a deep affection towards him that made their friendship differ from all other friendships – both in the past and the present – without knowing what was causing that difference. It was something strange between a brother and a childhood crush – two opposing things which made it even more special.