Runaway Read Online Free PDF

two men began to fly from ribbon to ribbon, arms and legs outstretched.
    A twinkling sound chimed as a new arrival was lowered on the same hoop the ringmaster had appeared on. She wore the same red corset as before but had dropped the tutu; Priscilla had joined in the act. I felt disappointed; her presence was a distraction from the men. After meeting the snide woman outside her charm had evaporated for me.
    The men circled her now, the music built up and crashed as they both reached out for her, but the man in white was quicker and had snatched her to his side, they tumbled together down the ribbon, which stretched wider and enveloped the two. The ringmaster was left alone atop the hoop; he peered down towards the cocoon the others had made.
    The music was changing; it was a sort of a magical chiming sound. The cocoon began to move, a pink ballerina toe peeked out from inside. The music soared louder and the ribbon burst open, the man in white tumbled down to the stage floor, while Priscilla bounded upwards. Her outfit had changed from red to pink and she had also added a small set of butterfly wings which seemed to help carry her around the ribbon tops.
    The ringmaster was following her progress up high, but my attention was glued to the man in white who laid on stage before me.
    He was just few feet from where I sat, but this close I could still tell it was him. Luke was the man in white. My heart, and other parts, fluttered to life. As he stood slowly I could see the cut of the muscles in his arm. Without the billowing pirate shirt I could see how lean and graceful he was, there was a lot of power hidden in those coiled muscles.
    It seemed he was going unnoticed by the audience who were all enthralled with what was going on overhead. He took hold of one of the ribbons, wrapping it around his arm. He looked up and smiled, and it felt like it was meant for me.
    He rose back into the air to join in the others, more of the circus performers from the show had joined in. So this must be the finale then, I thought . Which meant, that in a few moments the show would be over, the reality made a stone drop inside of me, would I stick around to meet him?
     

Chapter Five
    Outside the air was frosty, making goosebumps rise all over my arms. Carolyn looked completely comfortable, so the frigid feeling probably had more to do with me then the weather. Only about half the audience had departed, the rest were milling around aside like us. A few vendors had opened and were selling food and things. We had stopped at one such booth when Carolyn had spotted a stuffed lion with a ruby lipstick kiss on its cheek.
    I was still beside myself about meeting Luke or not. A one night fling sounded like a really good way to break my recent dry spell, but on the other hand, I was really more of a relationship type of girl.
    “Earth to Daphne you in there?” Carolyn waived her new stuffed lion in my face.
    “Er, yeah. Cute lion.” I mumbled causing me to receive a quizzical one eyebrow response.
    “That’s the only thing you’ve said since the show ended. What’s going on with you?” she asked. If I told her, she would do everything in her power to talk me into doing it, but if I tried to lie she would probably pick up on that too and annoy me to death until I eventually told her the truth anyway. Having a best friend could really be a pain in the ass sometimes.
    “Remember when I went out to smoke?” I started, she nodded. “Well I ran into one of the performers…” did I really want to go down this rabbit hole…
    “Ohhh! Tell me it was that hot ringmaster guy!” she squealed. Too late, might as well call me Alice.
    “No. It was the, um, the guy who was the pirate in the first performance, and then he was the aerialist in all white at the finale.” I blushed and she squealed again. “I think he hit on me,” I added. Carolyn looked as proud as a mama bird whose chick had flown for the first time.
    “Of course he did! You look