The runway affair, p.1
The runway affair, page 1
THE RUNWAY AFFAIR
C.L. SMOKE
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2024 C.L Smoke
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.
First paperback edition 2024
Book design by Books and Mood
Editing by Alexa at The Fiction Press
CONTENTS
Content Warning
Before you begin
Translation guide
1. Addie
2. Scarlett
3. Addie
4. Scarlett
5. Addie
6. Scarlett
7. Addie
8. Scarlett
9. Addie
10. Scarlett
11. Addie
12. Scarlett
13. Addie
14. Scarlett
15. Addie
16. Scarlett
17. Addie
18. Scarlett
19. Addie
20. Scarlett
21. Addie
22. Scarlett
23. Addie
24. Scarlett
25. Addie
26. Addie
27. Scarlett
28. Addie
29. Scarlett
30. Addie
31. Scarlett
32. Addie
33. Scarlett
34. Addie
35. Scarlett
36. Addie
37. Scarlett
38. Addie
39. Scarlett
40. Addie
41. Scarlett
42. Addie
43. Scarlett
44. Addie
45. Scarlett
46. Addie
47. Scarlett
48. Addie
49. Scarlett
50. Addie
51. Scarlett
52. Addie
53. Scarlett
54. Addie
55. Scarlett
56. Addie
57. Scarlett
58. Addie
59. Scarlett
60. Addie
61. Scarlett
62. Addie
63. Scarlett
64. Addie
Epilogue
Epilogue Two
Author’s Note
Thank you
To my mom
Thank you for believing me even if you didn’t read my book.
I expect it to be framed though. Love you.
CONTENT WARNING
This is a cute, sappy contemporary romance with graphic sexual content and some content that may be triggering for some readers. I would love for you to dive into this world and give my debut novel a chance, but please make sure you check over the list. Your mental health is more important than reading the love story I created.
The list contains spoilers so if you don’t have triggers and don’t want to be spoiled, continue on.
Content and triggers include:
Child sexual abuse
not in detail. Only mentioned by FMC’s
Religious trauma
Homophobic parent/town
One non-consensual kiss and grope from a boy
Parental drug abuse
Death of a parent from cancer
Peanut allergy
It does get used as a weapon by their stalker on more than one occasion
Stalking
Murder
Attempted murder
Brief sexual assault with a gun
Our stalker goes crazy and wants Addie hurting and Scarlett to see her misery.
Graphic sexual content
Praise
Toys
Public play
Dirty talk
(English and French)
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
This is a lesbian romance.
There is sex with two women. The only dick is silicone.
This book portrays sexual activity including: oral sex, fingering, and the use of sex toys. If this isn't of interest to you, please close this book and continue with something else. I don’t need nor want homophobic opinions or comments left because someone decided to read something they didn’t like. If you enjoy this, please continue on and enjoy the love story I created. It is the first of many.
Love
C. L
TRANSLATION GUIDE
Tu es tellement mouillé pour moi—You are so wet for me.
Tu as le goût du péché.—You taste like sin
Bon matin, ma belle—Good morning, gorgeous.
Sois une bonne petite pute et écoute maman—Be a good little whore and listen to mommy.”
Tu as été fait pour moi—You were made for me
Regarde à quel point tu es dans le besoin—look at how needy you are.
Mon amour—my love
J'aime la façon dont tu m'aimes—I love the way you love me
Ma jolie fille—my pretty girl
Vous faites de chaque moment passé ensemble une expérience inoubliable—you make every moment together an unforgettable experience
Je t'aime pour toujours et à jamais—I love you forever and always.
Si Dieu pouvait vous voir maintenant, pensez-vous qu'il serait heureux de la pute dans le besoin que vous êtes avérée être—If god could see you now do you think he’d be pleased at what a needy whore you turned out to be?
Tu fais du si bon travail, bébé—you’re doing such a good job baby.
Et je t’aime. Pour toujours—And I love you. Forever
Sois une bonne fille et mange ma chatte—Be a good girl and eat my pussy
Bonjour, Mademoiselle Scarlett. C’est Adeline, oui?—Hello Miss Scarlett. This is Adeline, yes?
Oui, Pierre. L'amour de ma vie—Yes, Pierre. The love of my life
Chaque partie de toi est à moi—Every part of you is mine.
Je t’aime, Adeline Grace. Chaque instant de chaque jour.
Jusqu'à la fin de l'éternité—I love you, Adeline Grace. Every moment of every day. Until forever ends.
Je t'aime, Scarlett Marie. Pour toujours. Toujours— I love you, Scarlett Marie. Forever. Always.
1
ADDIE
EIGHT YEARS AGO
I wonder if the stars shine so beautifully because they know the travesties of Earth. Stargazers, like me, discover solace in those radiant, fiery orbs of gas. The stars kindle hope within me for a future where it's just the two of us—no hiding, no secrets, liberated from the constraints of a homophobic town and a radical father.
In my perfect world, my father wouldn’t have cancer, and my mother wouldn’t be an addict. They both call me a dreamer and that’s all my fantasy is—a dream for the next five months. Why did fate lead us to fall in love in the Bible Belt? Why did Scarlett's father have to be both a preacher and an asshole?
The click of my camera echoes through the night air, the flash momentarily blinding me as a semi-naked Scarlett smiles down at me. God exists because she created this masterpiece just for me Her beauty is undeniable, and yet, it's the way she looks at me—as if I am a godsend—that truly captivates me.
“Ya know, I’m going to keep this one.”
I arch my brow, perching up on my elbows. “Oh yeah? They say a picture is worth a thousand words. What do you think this one will say?"
She clicks the buttons on my camera, pulling the picture up before showing it to me. I glance between the picture and Scarlett. I look breathtaking. If my father ever laid eyes on it, he'd probably have a stroke. Yet, if her father caught even a glimpse, he'd likely summon an angry mob armed with pitchforks and a Catholic priest.
“Well it shows a beautiful woman who just got ravished by her girlfriend in a cornfield under the full moon.”
I laugh, pulling her on top of me. “So is this the part where you sacrifice me to the moon goddess?”
She kisses the tip of my nose. “She’d have to take me first, so I can meet you in the stars.”
I smile with a chuckle. “I love you, Scar.”
“I fucking love you, Addie.”
She wraps her arm around my waist, pulling me into her as she covers my naked body with the fleece blanket. I nuzzle my head into the nape of her neck, taking in her scent—lavender and vanilla. Our lives fade from view when we’re together, but we yearn for so much more.
We would openly embrace our relationship if it weren’t for her father, the preacher, extolling his conservative views every Sunday morning. It’s baffling that such a beautiful soul could come from such an insufferable man. I’d credit her mother for her beautiful personality and bubbly soul, but she isn’t much better. Anyone who abandons her child to drink and party in a different country doesn’t deserve to be a mother, especially when her child is hurting.
We hate sneaking around, yet it’s been our lives for the last six years—stealing kisses in the locker room, having sex in the back of her truck in the middle of the field, and tiptoeing around the Sunday school room before church. My love for her eclipses the hate spewed from the lips of this town. Still, it’s safer for us to keep our relationship hidden, as much as we both detest it. The pastor’s viewpoints terrify me, honestly. He’s supposed to be a man of God, but he wants to hurt people just for living their lives.
I furrow my brow, lifting my head. “When?”
She turns towards me, resting her cheek in the palm of her hand, the other moving my frizzy auburn hair from my eyes. “Right now. We can pack a bag and leave. You can work on your photography, and I can work on my fashion portfolio better in New York. We can be together. I hate this town, Addie. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you.”
Neither of our dreams involve Alabama. Scarlett doesn’t want to marry some blue-collar hick who drinks too much or raise a couple of kids in the church like her father wants. She has a talent for fashion, creating breathtaking ball gowns with her grandmother’s sewing machine. She wants to be a designer, to see her work on runways, in magazines, and worn by celebrities.
As for me, I dream of being a photographer—more precisely, a fashion photographer. The universe seemed to know that the two of us would blend perfectly. My photography ambitions wouldn’t go beyond senior portraits here, and I want more than that. I aspire for my work to grace magazines, inspiring the next generation of artists and dreamers.
My magazine collection is grotesquely large, piled away in my bedroom closet. Vogue. Elle. Passion. Every fashion magazine I can get my hands on. Passion has always been my favorite, even if getting it here is harder than it should be.
I open my mouth to respond, only to close it again. In a perfect world, we could run away, but there's one thing holding me back. “I can’t right now, Scar. I love you more than air, but I can’t leave my daddy.”
Her face falls, but she nods. She knows my relationship with my father is strong. “I know. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, my love. If he had my mother, and if he didn’t have cancer, I’d leave with you tonight. Unfortunately, he’s alone. He loved her almost as much as I love you, and she left him for heroin.”
She kisses the tip of my nose to calm me. “I will wait for you until the world stops spinning. I can wait five more months. My dad’s getting persistent about marrying me to Terry Tucker’s spawn.”
I scrunch my nose. The thought of Scarlett, a beautiful woman sculpted by God herself, on the arm of a boy who looks like he bathes once a week with a beer belly at eighteen grosses me out. Some people say opposites attract, but that match would be a mess. Besides, Scarlett Sumrall will always look better with her hand in mine and her face between my legs.
“Imagine being barefoot and pregnant in a kitchen, making ol’ Kyle a sammich.” I can’t help the raucous laughter vibrating from my lungs at the image.
“I can’t stand you sometimes,” she grumbles as she wraps her arms around my waist, pulling me against her.
I kiss her lips, letting mine linger as I take her in. “Yeah, but you love me.”
She rips her lips from mine to bury her head into my neck, and I feel myself arch into her. “How’d I get so lucky to fall in love with you?” Her hand trails down my torso, slipping between my thighs, and I spread my legs for her. “That’s it, pretty girl.”
My body is so reactive to her touch, coming alive like the night sky on the Fourth of July. We were each other's first everything, from the moment I stole a kiss in sixth grade to the first time we slept together in the church choir room our freshman year.
The two of us are bound together.
A match made in heaven.
Two souls forever connected as one.
“That’s it, Addie,” she growls in my ear as my pleasure bubbles up and my pussy clenches hard around her fingers.
I can’t help the pleasure-filled cry that falls from my lips, echoing through the trees and into the Alabama night sky. Her lips find my neck, leaving soft kisses on my skin as she gently rubs my clit, easing me down from cloud nine.
“Forever,” she whispers in my ear.
“And even after that.”
2
SCARLETT
I hate Sunday mornings and the fake smile I have to plaster on my face. I think the thing I hate the most, though, is having to play the devoted preacher’s daughter, who loves her father more than anything. Hate is a strong word, but I hate him with a burning passion deep in my soul, and every day I have to pretend he’s not the devil incarnate. The anger and hate grow. The Bible says to honor your mother and father, but God should have thought about that before letting my mother get knocked up by this prick. He should’ve blessed me with better parents, or, hell, an abortion. It would have saved me from a life of trauma.
If God loved all his children like the bible claims, he'd strike my father dead in the middle of his sermon, but God doesn’t love me enough to care. I may be in these pews, but I’ll never believe in a fictional man that allowed one of his followers to molest me and have my father call me a liar. The one good thing that came from this town and this church will always be Adeline. That girl brought a smile to my tear-filled eyes. She saved me without even realizing it.
I love her.
I don’t care if it’s the ultimate sin or if I’ll burn for eternity. My father sins every day when he drowns his sorrows with a bottle of Jack Daniels, or when he had me out of wedlock with my mother. Everyone is a sinner, and every sin is looked at equally in the eyes of the Lord, even though she should treat child molesters and murderers differently than people who love the same gender.
Addie’s smile is enough to calm the demons in my heart and get me through a long, two-hour church service. She’s my rock; the universe knew I needed her, so she came into my life. Of course, she didn’t know the truth until she walked in on him touching me after choir practice one night. His fumbling and stuttering couldn’t destroy what she witnessed.
The pale blue dress itches my sensitive skin as I tug at the tulle underskirt. He must hate me too, because this dress feels like I’m wearing hay. We had a cold front hit, the humidity non-existent, or else this dress would have been unbearable.
I hate this.
I look at Addie laughing with her father and another woman, and my heart flutters. Mr. Ellis looks like walking death, and I know it won’t be too much longer until he passes. Addie will be devastated by losing her father, and I’ll be there every step of the way. She’ll never know, but I’m envious of their relationship—having the man who raised you, loves and cherishes you, supports your dreams and wants nothing but the best for you, is a dream in itself. It’s her reality, and I’m ecstatic she has one parent who loves her.
I’d never wish my parents on even my greatest enemy. A father who throws the word of God around like its confetti, controlling my everyday life. A man who doesn’t listen to me when I tell him how his friend hurt me, who blamed me because my body was tempting. I was a child in my church clothes every single time. A mother who abandoned me to live in Europe, fucking old white men to get into their pockets. I don’t blame her for wanting to leave my father. She’s beautiful—dark, glowing skin and beautiful mocha brown eyes, with a figure that makes the holiest of men sin. My mother was ethereal. A goddess. I got my looks from her, mixed with my father’s pasty white skin. At least I only really got his last name; I don’t resemble him at all.
Mr. Ellis looks at me and smiles, so I make that my excuse to walk over to them. He grabs my hand weakly. “Hello, Scarlett.”
“Hi, Mr. Ellis.”
He chuckles softly. “Scarlett, you’ve been to my house how many times? Your father raised you well, but call me Oliver or Oli, or even Pop. I’ve watched you grow up.”
I smile. “Sorry, Pop. How are you today?”
“I’m still here. Still kicking’”
“I’m so glad. Addie, are you going to join me for Sunday school today?”
She smiles, a small blush creeping up her neck. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
“Care to join me right now to set up?”
She looks at her father, and he nods. Addie kisses his cheek as she slips past him. “I’ll be back shortly, Daddy. I love you.”
“I love you, angel.”
Addie and I dart to the back, knowing no one would be joining us for the next ten minutes or so. I want to kiss her, to hold her, to forget the world, even if it’s just for a few seconds. She pushes open the door to the Sunday school room, and I make sure no one is inside before pushing her up against the door and capturing her lips in a hungry kiss. I grab her leg, pulling her around my waist and nuzzling myself between her thighs as I continue to assault her mouth.
