Forbidden Forever (21 page)

It has been a couple
weeks since I took over the bar. We keep the business open while I am
learning the ropes, the previous owners sticking around is very
helpful in keeping the business flowing and also showing me what it
is like with a full house. I can't believe I am on my own tonight. I
am pretty sure I got it down pat, but a girl can be nervous. My first
night happens to be teen night and it was a big hit last week. I hope
we get the same turn out. Kaleb and Callie will be here helping with
the sodas and serving meals. The grill closes at nine and then the
kids can join in the fun. They have loved helping because they earn
some extra spending cash for things they want. Callie's birthday is
next month and she is hoping for a car and I think she thinks she
will save enough for one in six weeks. I don't have the heart to
break it to her but cars cost way more than what she will earn in six
weeks. I can remember wishing my parents would get me a car and when
they did it was about ten years older than me with rust down the
side. I sure thought I had a sweet ride. I laugh at the thought.

A flower delivery boy
holding what looks like three dozen white long stem roses walks
through my front door. I smile knowing that these are for me and I
walk over to him and sign for them. I hand him a tip before he turns
to leave. I set the flowers on my desk in my new office behind the
bar. I sit in the leather chair and open the card. It reads.
Sapphire, Good luck on your big night. I wish you all the success
the world has to offer. Forever, Chance.
I sit back and look out
the see-through mirror in front of me that overlooks the bar. I am
the luckiest woman alive at this very moment. A year ago I hated who
I was, and would have wished for a man who would make me love myself.
Now, I have the perfect life. There is no doubt, misery, or hate here
anymore. I set the card back in the flowers and take a deep breath.

The night has moved
along fast. So far only once has the food gotten spilled on the
floor. The teens have had some horrible singers on stage tonight.
Rumor is that the football team has a bet going on who can get the
most votes on best singing performance. If I were voting, I would
have to say none of the ones who have been up there yet. I shake my
head. The grill is finally closed and cleaned up so we can go enjoy
or, in tonight's case, hold our ears. Chance arrived earlier and has
the VIM (Very Important Mouth) table and I know for a fact his mouth
is very important. I have the stupidest big smile on my face when I
reach the table. I have in hand an order of fries perfectly seasoned
and two Bud Lights. The kids join their friends in the back of the
room away from the parents. I sit and lean over to kiss Chance on the
cheek. He moves his head just in time to plant one deliciously
smoldering kiss on my lips. I wonder if this feeling will ever go
away, the feelings of not getting close enough to him or having
enough of him. I feel like a giant horn ball on thick legs who is
getting old and should probably be learning to knit instead of having
sex. Who am I kidding? I am never giving up sex.

It would be nice if one
of the football players would sing something that didn't sound like a
dying dog on crack. Staring in astonishment as Callie takes the
stage, I have heard her sing before and she isn't bad, but I have
never heard her sing without a radio blaring in the background. This
should be good. She grabs the lips microphone and pulls it down even
to her face. The DJ changes to her song of choice and the music
starts to play. The words flow out of her mouth and send chills up my
spine. Her voice is so sweet and powerful. She carries out each note
perfectly and as her mother I am allowed to say that. "I
honestly love you," the words are of Olivia Newton John but the
voice is my sweet girl. It is like she is singing this song for me. I
am so glad I didn't blow my chance and I ended up with my true love.
If I had held onto a marriage that wasn't working, I would still be
in that black hole, desperately trying to climb out.

Kaleb runs up to the
table in complete disbelief at to what he just heard. "Mom, can
you believe she is up there singing and it's that good?" he
asks.

"Well, I can't
believe she is standing in front of all these people and, yes, I am
in a little shock as to how great she sounds," I answer.

Chance doesn't look
shocked at all and in all honesty, I think he has a hand in it. I
look over at him and nudge him with my arm. "Do you know
something I don't?" I ask.

"Well, I heard her
one day in her room and I asked her if she would like to practice and
sing here one night. She was nervous at first but we have been
practicing a few nights that you were here working. I guess tonight
she was finally ready." he explains.

I am not in shock that
he helped her overcome her fear of the stage. Chance has helped me
overcome my fear of pretty much everything so I don't know why I'm
shocked. She sounds amazing and I think she has won the crowd over
even with an oldie. On teen night you hear more of the karaoke songs
"Baby got back." When you hear anything with a slow beat,
people usually stop and listen. The song has ended and everyone in
the room stands up and gives her a round of applause. She does a
little curtsey and bounces off stage. Now that I think of it she was
made for the stage. She has such an awesome personality, of course
the crowd loves her. Callie's best friend Elizabeth comes over to the
table to congratulate Callie and ask her to stay at her house for the
night. Callie turns and tilts her head at me, batting those beautiful
baby blues, knowing good and well that she can go.

"Yes, honey, you
can go." I assure her.

"Later, Mom. I love
you morefinity." She uses my new way of saying I love you.

"Morefinity,"
I say back. Callie and Elizabeth go get their things and leave.

Kaleb helps us close the
bar and we all go back to the house together. I love how comfortable
things are with all of us. Kaleb has grown so much since everything
has happened, and Chance and he have really bonded. The big
competition is in two days and after weeks of hard core practicing
Kaleb will be competing against two dozen hopeful surfers. I get
butterflies in my stomach just thinking about him competing against
others. I know he is amazing but as a mother, I am nervous he will
get his dreams crushed. Chance took off work the next two days to
help Kaleb train. It is such a blessing to have a good hearted,
thoughtful and caring man in my son's life. I just hope that Michael
didn't damage him after everything he has done to our family. I know
that deep down we are all damaged, but with Chance in our lives we
will come out stronger.

Chance's
POV

It's been two days since
Callie sang at Mouth. I am so proud of her for being so brave and
getting on the stage. The night was even better when Sapphire's face
lit up in surprise. There is nothing more wonderful in the world then
seeing her smile. The big day for Kaleb is today and I know he has
this in the bag. He can ride any wave thrown at him and that shows he
has talent. You add in the practicing everyday daylight till dark and
you have heart. I am so glad I get to watch this young man kick ass
today. I have the tent already set up with chairs and coolers full of
drinks for all the family and friends coming to watch. I also had
shirts made up for the girls that say Kaleb's Beach Bunny Mom and
Kaleb's Beach Bunny Sister. It might be corny, but I know my girls
are going to get a kick out of them. I left them on their beds with a
note so they will see them when they wake up.

Kaleb walks in the
kitchen and I hand him a cup of coffee and start a fresh pot for the
girls. "Hey, man, you ready for the big day?" I ask him.

He does a boxer stance
and bounces back and forth between legs and shakes his shoulders like
he is going up against Mike Tyson. "I am amped, Dude." he
answers. "I'll keep my fingers crossed for a Honker. The bigger
wave the better." I punch him on the arm. The girls are coming
when the competition is ready to start while Kaleb and I are down to
the beach early to scope out the other surfers. I walk into the
bedroom and over to the bed. I lean down and kiss Sapphire on the
forehead. "Morefinity," I whisper. Her eyes open slightly
at the sound of my voice and a sleepy smile stretches across her
face. "Morefinity," she repeats back to me.

The surfers here are
from ages thirteen to eighteen and most of the ones we have met are
off the wall. I have watched a lot of them out here practicing the
past two weeks and I have to say they are pretty good. The only real
competition Kaleb has is Toby from California. He is on a traveling
surf team so he has a lot of experience. The guy has a serious chip
on his shoulder though, and needs to be wiped out. A few non-related
beach bunnies walk over to Kaleb to get his autograph. He is shocked
but totally stoked at the same time. He treats his fans with respect
and doesn't stare at their curves and make grunting noises like I see
some of the other guys doing. His mom would be proud.

The girls have arrived
at the tent and they brought along Laney's parents. This will be the
first time I have met them in person. We decided to have her parents
come here since the atmosphere is so much more relaxing. Mr. and Mrs.
Partin are dressed in what some would call cruise wear. I walk over
to introduce myself and just before reaching them, I turn and wave at
Kaleb to come say hello. He catches up with me and we walk over
together. Mrs. Partin extends her arms to hug her grandson.

I reach my hand out to
Mr. Partin and introduce myself. "Hi, I'm Chance. It is so nice
to finally meet you, sir."

"You too, son. I
have heard great things about you. They assure me that you are the
best man for my Laney. Let's hope so." His eyes narrow and lips
press into a thin line.

"I am, sir. I hope
you will have some time during your visit for some golf while you are
here," I add since Laney told me how much he loves to play golf.
I don't remember how long it has been since I had to win over a dad.

His eyes light up and he
says, "I see that nice golf course you have here and I can't
wait to get on the green. Just tell me when you have time available
and I will join you."

"We will probably
have time after the competition for an evening round of golf. Are you
up for it?" I ask him.

"You couldn't stop
this old man."

We turn our attention to
the ladies. I introduce myself to Mrs. Partin and she reciprocates
with a hug. I walk over to Laney and give her a quick kiss on the
cheek.

"Thank you for the
shirts. We love them." She waves her hands in front of her like
her shirt is on display.

"You look beautiful
in it, too, Sapphire," I compliment her.

Kaleb tells everyone bye
as he runs to get in line. I have to admit my stomach is in fucking
knots now that it is time to start. Laney looks hot in that slim fit
t-shirt. I have to be on my best behavior but I can't help but notice
how huge her breasts look in it. I adjust myself and try to shake the
dirty thoughts out of my head. Fuck, this is going to be a long day.
I walk over to the cooler and grab two waters and hand one to Laney.
I hear giggling and turn to see what the commotion is and notice
Callie, Brooke and Elizabeth. Sierra and John aren't far behind them.
Laney walks over and greets them all. I decide to wave and walk back
toward Mr. Partin. I need to be in his good graces.

Kaleb is out in the
water and is next in line. When it is his turn he waits patiently for
a set and starts paddling. Next thing I know, he is hot-dogging and
the crowd goes wild. Our tent is overwhelmed with excitement. He
comes to shore and gives us a hang ten hand symbol right before he
gets back in his spot. I look over at Laney and she is beaming. The
richest man in the world could walk up to me right now and offer me
everything he has and all I could say is that I already have more
than you can offer me. My whole world is wrapped in this woman who I
have only known several months. Most people would find me to be crazy
but I found my soul mate. I watch her laugh and I don't know how she
can't see how enchanting she is. I can't wait until the day she
becomes my wife. I just hope she won't decide what a bad mistake I am
and change her mind. My world would stop spinning without her to
complete it.

There is an hour long
break before they call the winners, so Kaleb comes back to the tent.
I start the grill for hotdogs and Laney gets the sides out of the
cooler. She sets a small table up with chips, coleslaw and other
hotdog fixings. My mom has always been big into party planning and I
guess I have come to inherit some of those traits from her. I ordered
surf board shaped cookies for dessert. Once all the hotdogs are
cooked, I walk over to Kaleb and put my hand on his shoulder. "I'm
proud of you and what you have accomplished today," I admit to
him. He smiles and then hits me in the arm.

"Thanks. I mean it.
Thank you for your help," he tells me. Being men, this was the
full meaningful conversation. Laney comes up behind me and wraps her
arms around me.