The Lion’s Forbidden Mate

Walking into the bar, she sat down with her friends and ordered a cheeseburger and pickles, which sounded amazing right now for some reason. She wasn’t sure what the cravings were all about, but when she sat down across from Becca, who was eating a salad, she felt like a pig.

“You never did tell us how your meeting with Lynn went,” Justin said as he dove into his finger steaks.

There was a hungry lust in his eyes that Lucy didn’t want to get involved with, but she did find it funny that he was so hungry after this night’s show. It was easy and relatively simple. There was nothing about it that had been particularly stressful. She knew he was ready to move on to the next leg of the tour. Only two more months and they were going to be back in New York City, or at least on the long haul back. They still had the West to play and then hit the Canadian circuit that was waiting for them. It was a long haul and they were going to have a ton of fun as they went back. Lucy was going to be sad that she wasn’t there with them. There was no place she’d rather be in the world than with them. She wanted to be riding shotgun with them and helping out along the way, but that wasn’t in the cards.

“She was mad,” Lucy said with a shrug. “She told me that I was going to have to come up with an exit strategy when I couldn’t hide it anymore. I figure that I have about a month to find out when I can get out of here. But, she definitely isn’t happy with me.”

“We could tell,” Becca said, shaking her head. “She’s furious every time your name comes up and we’ve all resorted to not talking about you, in case she freaks out. I don’t know how you managed to piss off both Lynn and Violet.”

“By getting impregnated by Violet’s fiancé,” Justin reminded her with a grin on his lips.

Becca gave him a mild punch and shook her head at the crassness of the joke, but Lucy ended up laughing with him. It was the truth of the matter and there was no hiding it from anyone. She just shook her head and felt badly that she was the one that was going to end up ruining all of the fun. She was breaking up the trio they’d developed. Justin and Becca were going to be left alone together without Lucy there to break up their fights or to hang out with them when the other was still busy with the job.

“Well, I’m going to miss you a lot,” Becca said. “I want you to give me all of your information so that I can come and visit you once the tour is over. I want your child to think of me as an aunt.”

“I don’t do so well with babies,” Justin said with a shrug. “No offense, but you’ll probably be better off without me lurking around to make it cry.”

“Of course he’ll come visit you too,” Becca elbowed Justin and made him jump. “He’s just being an ass right now. He doesn’t do well with the thought of his friends moving on.”

“You will be sorely missed,” Justin assured her with the utmost confidence. “It’s going to su*k losing another member of the gang. I was just beginning to feel like we understood one another.”

“I want to thank both of you for everything you’ve done for me,” Lucy said to them with a sad smile on her lips.

She was trying her hardest not to get emotional, but she knew this was going to be the last time that she got to spend any real time with them. She wouldn’t be able to tell Becca where she lived, because James might find a way to get a hold of her and track her down, which would jeopardize the peace that Lucy and Lynn had brokered together under the dire circumstances that came. So, there would be no reunion after the tour and there would be no hanging out and having a great time together. In fact, the only thing that was assured was that they’d never see each other again.

“I don’t think I could have done this without you and when I was in a really dark place, the two of you were there to help me when no one else would. I’m just very grateful for how kind you’ve been to me.”

“Don’t mention it,” Justin said with a smile and a gentle pat on her shoulder. “You’re a good person Lucy and I’m glad that everything worked out all right for you in the end. You deserve a happily ever after.”

Those words cut deep and she tried her hardest not to burst out crying. She smiled and looked at Becca who was already beginning to suspect there was something else going on. Becca had a type of perception that was horrifying and Lucy tried her hardest to hide from the all-seeing eyes of Becca as she sat at the booth.

“You’ve come to be like a sister to me,” Becca assured her. Her words were strong and they were full of a knowledge that Lucy was afraid of. Becca knew. She knew and she was not going to say a thing about it. She knew that Lucy was going away tonight. There was no hiding it from her and there was no escaping it. “I love you, Lucy. I hope that only good things come to you.”

“Thank you,” Lucy said, swallowing her tears and refusing to cry.

She ended up getting out of the booth and hugging Becca who had been with her through thick and thin during this whole ordeal. If, in some way, Becca ever found her way to Lucy’s Podunk town, she would always have a place to stay.