Forever Love (6 page)

"Ok, well we get out here."

"In these shoes." She asks, her face covered in shock.

"Yep, don’t worry, it's not far. I can always carry you if you like." I say wiggling my eyebrows.

She reacts to that just as I thought she would, she shoves the door open and climbs out leaving me quietly chuckling. I follow her towards the gate as she looks back at me for direction.

"Where are we?" She looks around, spinning in a circle while I lift and push the gate just enough for us both to get through without getting stabbed by a rusty nail.

"Some old land just outside of town. I don’t know what it's for or who owns it, just that it's always been here." I grab her hand, feeling that familiar jolt of electricity running through me upon contact.

We walk for a few more minutes until we've passed the bushes and undergrowth and arrive in a big open field. I'll have to bring Liv another time in the day so that she can see the field full of white Phlox flowers, it's way too dark here to see them right now.

"We're in a field." She says deadpan.

"Look up."

She lifts her head and I hear her gasp. She looks at me with a wide smile on her face as she lets out a small giggle. I look up myself to see millions and millions of sparkling stars high in the sky.

"There are so many." There's no mistaking the awe and wonder in her voice and makes me feel fucking ecstatic that I helped put it there.

"There's no light pollution, no lampposts or house lights. The only light here is from the sky."

Liv stares at the sky, I'm sure it’s the most beautiful thing she's ever seen. Me, I'm definitely looking at the most beautiful thing I've ever seen but it's not in the sky. Luckily it’s a warm night and I pull my jacket off, laying it on the ground. I sit on the edge of it and pat next to me for Liv to follow.

"How'd you find this place?"

"My Dad used to bring me and Chase here when we were kids."

"Do you see much of your Dad now?"

I feel a pang in my chest, the same one I always feel when someone brings up my Dad. I clear my throat.

"He died, a couple years ago."

"I'm sorry, I had no idea." Livs voice is small and timid and I almost have to double check its still her. The look on her face breaks my heart, it's not pity, just sympathy. "How old were you when he died?"

"Um twelve. He was sick for a really long time before that though. He had skin cancer, the guy had worked outside his whole life, he thought lotion was for chicks and it was too late when they found it."

"What did he do? For work I mean."

"Oh, he had his own construction business. Built most of the newer houses round here. God knows where that gene went, I can't even put a fucking table together." I let out a small laugh on the last sentence. "Anyway enough about that, what about you? It's gotta be tough being away from your Mom."

Liv snorts, which is just about the cutest thing I've ever seen.

"It's tough that I'm not further." She mumbles as I look at her confused, waiting for her to elaborate. "We don’t really get along, like at all. Its no biggy, shes a raging bitch and I have a low tolerence for raging bitches."

We both laugh and settle into a comfortable silence. I realize that this is the most carefree I've seen her. The gentle breeze blows through her hair.

"Thanks for bringing me here. Way better than a party."

"Your welcome, come on, let's head back to the car. I don’t like leaving my baby there, don’t want no fucktards messing with her"

I get up and hold my hand out to help her up before picking up my jacket and brushing it off.

"What's the story with car? That’s not really a normal car for a seventeen year old to have."

"It was my Dads. He had it when he was younger. Of course, by the time I was born, it was a pile of shit. When I was a kid, he'd be working on the car and I'd help him by passing him the tools. When he died, there was still a few things that needed fixing so I worked the cashier desk at a garage and instead of getting paid, they'd help me do up the car. They loved the car so much, they was doing half the stuff for free anyway. By the time I got my license, it was finished."

She gives me a small smile that has me shooting one right back at her. The butterflies in my stomach are doing cartwheels or some shit.

***

I pull up onto the driveway behind Livs red pansy ass Mini. I may have taken a longer way home so that I could spend more time with her. I look over at her to find she's staring at me intently. If this was any other girl id be freaked the fuck out but the invisible string pulling us towards one another is just too strong, I should know, I've barely been able to take my eyes off her all night. I take a strand of her windswept hair and push it behind her ear, feeling her rub her face into my hand. There are no words passed between us as we stare into each others eyes, my Emerald green to her Turquoise blue. I look at her full pouty lips, the urge to kiss them indescribable.

"Why did you get so mad at Chris?" Her voice is just a whisper.

I know that I have two choices in this moment. I can tell her that he was a too rough, that he shouldn’t be touching a woman, that wouldn’t exactly be a lie. I could bid her goodnight and we go our separate ways at the top of the stairs, me cursing myself for being such a fucking idiot. Or I could take the path that I have every intention of taking.

I rub my palm against her cheek, her pupils dilate as her breathing becomes shallow matching my own. I want to take this slow, make sure it's ok and if it is, savor it. My body and mind are completely disconnected though as I smash my lips into hers, one hand l on her cheek, the other gripping the back of her neck. I feel her hand on my shoulder but she's not pushing me away, she's pulling me closer. Its like I cant get fucking close enough to her as I use my tongue to nudge open her mouth to explore it. The moans she makes, the sweet taste on her lips and in her mouth, they make me hard as a fucking rock. Our teeth clatter together, tongues battling and our hands roam. Her hands are running over my shoulders, down my stomach causing the muscles there to tense up. My body feels like its on fucking fire as it begs for release. Her little moans and purrs damn near making me lose my mind. Just then she tenses, her body goes rigid as her closed eyes open with a panicked look.

"I-I can't, this is wrong."

What the fuck?

"Sure didn’t feel wrong to me. Have you got a guy or something?" My voice rises, I'm confused as fuck.

"What, no of course not. I just, I just can't ok. I'm sorry." Liv throws open the car door and sets off running towards the house as I lie my head in my hands.

What the fuck just happened? I know for definite that she feels the same way for me as I do her. Girls don’t react that way to guys who they don’t like. Fuck knows why she panicked though. I don’t give a fuck, shes not getting away from me that easily. Something changed during that kiss, something shifted and I sure as hell am not letting her go. Whatever the fuck her problem is now, well, she'll just have to get over it because I won't stop until she's completely mine.

Chapter 6

Liv

That kiss. Christ, that kiss. It near enough killed me to stop it, to end the best fucking kiss of my life. Something happened though, something that’s never happened before. This guy is getting past all my defenses, breaking down all my walls and I just don’t know how to handle it. One part of my brain is telling me to just go with it, that this could be the best damn thing to ever happen to me. The other part of my brain is screaming at me not to let him in, not to let him see how truly broken and fucked up I am. I've only known Noah for a couple of days yet he is completely embedded under my skin. I mean, how the fuck is that even possible? This sorta thing happens in cheesy movies and books, not real life and definitely not my life.

I lie in my scolding bath, nearly twenty two hours since I ran from Noah like a bat out of hell. Yeah, I'm counting. My fingers and toes are pruned since I've been stewing in here for the past two hours, adding hot water every time it got a little chilly. I've been staring at the same page of my dog eared copy of Little Women for the past half an hour. My mind constantly wonders back to Noah and the feel of his lips against mine, his muscles tensing and rippling under my touch. I thought if I avoided him, I'd eventually get him out of my head, his face fills my mind though.

Aaaarrggghhh I feel like fucking screaming. Yeah sure, he took me to see the stars and it was the most romantic moment of my life. And yeah he punched a guy just for disrespecting me. He might be a complete hunk, so what. None of that matters, he's still the douchebag who shamelessly eye fucked me within sixty seconds of meeting me, who wanted to mess around in my panties. And, its his damn fault I was even at that dumbass party.

I squeeze my eyes shut, praying for the smell, the taste and the feel of him to just fuck off. Shit, I'm losing my mind here. I grab the huge fluffy towel that’s more like a bed sheet and wrap it around myself, not even bothering the rub myself dry. Yet again I've forgotten to bring my clothes in here for to change into. I really need to remember that I'm sharing my bathroom now. I unlock the bathroom door, taking a tentative step into the hallway. I breathe a sigh of relief that I appear to be alone.

"YES MOM, I WON'T FORGET!"

Holy crap, shit, fuck. I'm standing in the hallway, in just a towel AGAIN! I can't see him, especially not like this. I fling open a door and throw myself in the room leaving the door to slam closed behind me, making me jump.

Oh no, this cannot be happening to me, no one can have this much bad luck. This isn't my room and judging from the football trophies that litter the glass shelving against the far wall, this room belongs to the one person I'm trying to avoid. I frantically look around for a place to hide and eye the closet on the wall opposite what is definitely a King size bed. How come the fucker gets a King and I get a Queen? Never mind that, nows not the time for an inner debate on fucking equal oppurtunities. I slip into the closet, sinking to the floor in the corner as I whack shirts out of my face. I can hear Noah's stifled footsteps coming down the hallway becoming louder and louder as they get nearer and nearer. I've left the closet door the teeny tiniest bit ajar, just so I can see the door. I hold my breath, waiting for him to come in. I then hear knocking and I look around hoping to god that I haven't caused it and that it doesn’t bring attention to me.

I realize the knocking is coming from out in the hallway. Whoever built this house must have made the walls paper thin if I can hear this much from in here.

"Liv, Liv I know your in there. I heard you coming out the bathroom." The sneaky bastard, so this whole situation I'm in is cause someone is a nosy fucker. "I just wanna talk, please."

He carries on knocking and I briefly wonder if he'll just walk on right into my room and find I'm not there. It's not like I could say much about it since I'm currently crouching in his closet in just a towel.

"Fucks sake, you cant avoid me forever."

There's no mistaking the determination in his voice as I hold in another breath as he walks past his own room towards what I'm guessing is the stairs. I wait a few more moments, petrified that he'll realize he has to get something and find me in all my naked glory in here. Pushing the door back open I scramble out sprawling in what I'm sure is a very unladylike fashion on the floor. I take a good look at the room. Its very grown up and I mentally curse when comparing it to my pink pussy palace next door. The walls are a light masculine gray, covered in shelves filled with football memorabilia and a few books. There are pictures of what I am sure are very famous, but not famous enough for me to know, football players. Its overall a simple room, all mature and looks very bachelory. It's so tidy which I'm sure is down to Pam, being the clean freak that she is.

I cautiously go back to own room, it’s a good job I'm alone since I probably look like a paranoid psycho at the moment, hey five minutes ago I would have looked like an obsessed stalker psycho so it’s a mild improvement. I chuckle to myself, realizing that I've probably cracked. I purposely try and make my life as simple as possible. I have a limited amount of friends to try and avoid all the bitchy drama that seems to cling to girls so much. I don’t have relationships because I don't want the trouble. Yeah, I know I come across as a pretty aloof bitch most of the time but that’s a lot easier than leaving myself open to pain and disappointment. Now here I am in probably the most stressful situation imaginable, hiding naked in closets, kissing step brothers in cars, kicking jackass' in the balls. Right now, my biggest worry is avoiding Noah forever, or at least until I can get my muddled thoughts in order.

***

I'm dressed ready for battle in my red high waisted skater skirt with a white halter top with a sweetheart neckline. I'm wearing a pair of brown Nine West wedges, my hair pin straight, my nails a fire engine red. Its Sunday night and I've officially avoided Noah for forty one hours, yep still counting. I feel like a Secret Agent with all the moves I've had to pull to avoid him. After feigning sickness yesterday to get out of dinner, today I was forced to make a miraculous recovery just to stop Pam faffing about me.

I'm being forced, yes forced to go down for dinner tonight, since my excuse is now fucking void. Apparently it’s a special occasion what with Noah and me starting our Senior year tomorrow and Chase his Freshman. Poor kid, he's dumb as wood and they're gonna eat him alive. I walk down the stairs, careful not to trip in my obscenely high wedges. I could have probably gone down in sweats but I wear my clothes like armor. If I look good, I feel good. I give Sylvester, who is sitting on the bottom step a wide berth. Fucking furball has really made an enemy outta me, evil little shit. Chase is sitting on the couch playing one of his video games on his XBOX.

"Hey, where is everyone?"

"Moms in the kitchen and Phil and Noah have gone to the store." The kid doesn’t take his eyes from the screen for a second.

"Oh, whatcha playing?"

"Battlefield"

His fingers are bashing all over the controller as I watch as someone's brains gets blown out on the screen, making me flinch. No wonder kids are so fucked up today if this is the shit theyre playing in their spare time. I walk through to the large kitchen, there are pots and pans filling the sink, bowls of food littering the countertop and Pam looks about five minutes from a total meltdown.

"Need any help?" I ask, making her jump and nearly drop the tray she's holding.

"Oh Liv, you scared me. I think I was a little too ambitious with this meal."

"That’s a whole lot of food."

"Oh shoot, I completely forgot to tell you, what with you being sick, my mother is coming to dinner tonight." She gestures at the mess. "She'll love this. Anything to snipe at me about."

I clap my hands together, taking in the devastation that is the kitchen. For someone like Pam, I'm sure this is pure hell.

"What can I do to help?"

"Liv, you're a sweetheart. If you could get the plates from in that top cupboard and some glasses out of the one next to the fridge. Oh, and make them the crystal wine glasses, Mother likes things to be perfect." She grimaces as she says this and It probably mirrors my own look when I have to spend time with the Bitch.

I walk over to the cupboard, my wedges thankfully giving me some extra height when reaching for the glasses. I still haven't had time to fully look around the house. It's hard to believe I've already been here four days. The Bitch hasn’t called, of course I never expected her to. I'm sure my Dad's happy for the respite from her constant whining in his ear about my so called exploits.

"So, how was the party the other night? Did you make any new friends?"

Her question catches me off guard. I think it's wise that I don’t tell her about her son punching some ass for touching me and then my steamy make out session with said son in his car. Yep, I think it's best I keep that info to myself.

***

Dinner is beyond uncomfortable. You can cut the tension with a knife. Pam's mother, Martha, has her attention focused solely on me and it's really starting to fuck me off. I've more than once had to remind myself that this is an old lady, otherwise I would have bitch slapped her ass by now.

"You know Liv, you'd make a very nice beauty queen." My Dad's knife and fork clatters onto his plate. It's been like this all night.

"Mother." Pam draws out the word in warning, though the old bat doesn’t take any notice.

"Oh quiet Pamela. You know, Olivia, I was a beauty queen. I was Miss Georgia 1969. Of course, when I had a daughter, I wanted her to follow if my footsteps but I got oh mousy brown over there who certainly didn’t have what it takes. Then when she had children, I got lumbered with Bert and Ernie over here. I think my luck maybe changing though because you definitely have what it takes."

I'm not sure what part pisses me off more, the way she's just described her family or the fact that the old biddy thinks id stand in front of a crowd in a bikini spouting off some dribble about world fucking peace. I mean, that’s just laughable. This woman sure is a piece of work and I'm itching to put her in her place.

"I think Pam would have made a stunning beauty queen." I say giving her a tight smile that’s just about killing me. That comment gets the first smile of the night from Pam and not the first frown from Martha.

"Oh no dear, she was a real disappointment. You though, you'd be like the daughter I've always wished for."

Oh, hell no. This lady's cuckoo, I've already got one bitch to cope with back in Atlanta, I don’t need another one here.

"Well, you definitely remind me of my Mother." That gets a snort out of my Dad and Noah, who I've avoided looking at all night.

She leans towards me, as if sharing a secret.

"I still have some connections in the pageant world. You’re a little older than I would have hoped but that can't be helped. It's best to take advantage of your looks before they fade dear."

"No thank you Martha. Liv won't be doing pageants, she's got school to focus on." My Dad says sharply, causing the old witch to scowl at him.

I chance a look at Noah who looks incredible fuckable when hes angry, his jaw twitching, his fists clenching and unclenching. He's too busy staring at his plate as I look at him. When he looks, our eyes meet and I see a brief look of longing pass over his features before its gone again. The whole room disappears around me as I stare into his green orbs.

I've spent nearly two days avoiding him and as I look over him, I can't fathom why I would avoid this gorgeous guy. The feelings he brings out are just too damn much though.

Dinner continues in much the same manner, Martha trying to drag me into the damn pageant world and my Dad constantly shooting her down. Pam looks more and more down as the night continues and I'm more than happy when we're all told to go to bed early under the excuse that we've got school in the morning. From the way my Dads jaw is shifting, I'm sure it has more to do with getting us away from the viper than our sleeping patterns.

I sit on my bed, sending Trina a long text with the happenings of the night which has become routine since I got here. I've found it hard not seeing her everyday. I feel like I've lost a sibling but I take comfort in the fact that I'll be seeing her in Savannah soon. There's a knock at my door and I know who it is without even opening it. Might as well get this shit over with.

"Come in." I shout, trying to calm my nerves. I just hope I can control myself with us being alone and in such close proximity.

He opens the door, coming in and Holy mother of God, all he has on are a pair of checkered pajama bottoms. His chest is completely bare. His toned and muscled body is on display and I take a deep gulp. I feel a little inferior in my Tatty Teddy pajama shorts and white t-shirt. He sits himself on my bed without saying a word. He takes a big breath as if building himself up for something.

"Why did you run?" Though I should have expected this question, it still leaves me shocked, mainly because I don’t know how to answer.

"It's too complicated." I answer, I don’t want to tell him the full messed up truth.

"I can't stop thinking about you." He looks towards me and I fully take in his face. There are dark circles under his eyes as if he hasn’t slept a wink. Surely that’s not because of me though. Id be lying if his confession doesn’t send those oh so familiar butterflies soaring. "Ive been like this for fucking four days and it's driving me crazy. It was bad enough before the kiss but now." He rubs his hands over his face. "I was there Liv, I felt that kiss, I felt how you responded. You can act like it was a big mistake all you want but I know that’s not the whole story. I just want the truth dammit"