The Runaway, part two

As promised, part two... You can find part one, here.

I remembered Tom kissing me good-by the next morning, but with no particular reason to get up I had rolled over and snuggled down to sleep as late as I wanted. I had just dragged myself out of bed and had my coffee in hand when the phone rang.

“Get dressed. I won two free buffet luncheons at the casino last night. I’ll pick you up at noon. We’ll eat and spend the afternoon at the craps tables.”

I loved the luncheons at the casino and at that time gambling was one of my favorite pastimes. Tom’s rules drove me crazy. But like a good girl I told Sue, “I can’t go. I’m exhausted, really. Tom wanted me to stay home today. Can’t we go tomorrow?”

“Exhausted, my ass. No, we can’t go tomorrow, the tickets are for today. Now get ready.”

“Okay, sure. I’ll go but we have to be home before five. Tom really didn’t want me going out today and he’s going to be ticked if he finds out.”

“Fine, anything you want, but I have to tell you, you’re starting to pay way too much attention to what Tom says. You need to get over that.”

Easy for her to say. Back then, even more so than today, Tom spanked hard. Now there was no way on earth I was letting Sue know that. Although I liked to go out and have my fun, spankings were something I really wanted to avoid.

 I went, of course, and we had a wonderful time. I was even having a pretty good streak and won over seven hundred dollars that afternoon. We pulled into the driveway just before five. That was the earliest Tom got home. It was usually closer to six, but I still peeked into the garage with my heart pounding. Tom’s car wasn’t there and I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Sue came in and joined me for glass of wine. She quickly picked up a topic I really wanted to leave alone. “What’s with Tom anyway? Why would you be so worried if he knew you had gone out today? Are you some kind of prisoner or what?”

“It’s not that… well, I mean he worries when I get tired and crabby, so he told me to stay home. I usually don’t mind doing what he asks. Honest Sue, he’s the best man in the world, but… well, sometimes it’s hard doing everything he wants me to. I have to be creative. He wanted me to stay home. I wanted to go. I’ll tell him I stayed home – he’s happy. I got to go anyway – I’m happy. This way we both win.”

“That’s not really the way I see it,” Tom said, coming out of the bedroom.

I was as close to a coronary as I ever hope to be. I truly couldn’t speak. My heart lurched in my chest and I wasn’t able to make a sound.

“Where the hell did you come from?” Sue asked, seeing I was totally incapable of speech.

“I had the car serviced this afternoon and they drove me home. I came home a little early to get to spend some time with Cassie. But she wasn’t here.” Tom hadn’t taken his eyes off me.

“Yeah, well, that’s my fault. I really needed her today. I had to talk her into it. Sorry. I didn’t know you were coming home so early.” Sue seemed to sense I needed saving, although at the time she didn’t know from what.

“Cassie’s old enough to make her own choices,” Tom answered, still looking at me. “I don’t think she made a very good choice today.”

“Oh what’s the big friggin’ deal? We went to lunch – get over it,” Sue told him.

“The big deal is,” Tom said, still not looking away, “I asked her to stay home and she said she would. Cassie, I’d like to speak with you alone. Would you wait in the bedroom while I show Sue out?”

I still hadn’t regained the power of speech. Clutching my bag, I left the room without glancing at Sue. She was angry. “You’re sending her to her room? What is your problem?” Sue continued telling Tom what she thought of him for a few minutes before he was able to get her moving.

Tom escorted her to the door even as she was speaking. Totally ignoring her rant, he said, “I’m sure Cassie will call you tomorrow. Give my best to Steve.”

Sue didn’t like the, ‘Here’s your hat, what’s your hurry’, routine, but finding herself outside, she stormed to her car and yanked open the door before turning back to Tom. 

“Let me tell you one thing, you big jerk. Cassie’s been married to one asshole. I won’t see her in that situation again. If I ever find out you’ve lay one finger on her I’ll… I’ll…”

“Will you get your ass in this car and drive?” I hissed from my hiding place in the back seat. I’d startled Sue nearly as badly as Tom had startled me earlier. But she recovered quickly.

She looked back at Tom and spat out, “You’re an ass. You better have Cassie call me.”

Sue waited until she turned the corner and was out of sight of the house before she spoke. “You scared the crap outta me! What are you doing?”

“Momentarily avoiding confrontation,” I answered.

“So where we going?” Sue wanted to know. “My house?”

“No, too close.” I closed down my mind. I didn’t want to imagine Tom coming into the bedroom and finding I had made a break for it. The open window wouldn’t leave much doubt. “Drive me to Westly,” I told Sue. “I think I need a hotel for a few nights.”

~~

You can find part three here.