Planning on Forever (10 page)

After
taking a shower, I realize I’m too amped up to take a nap. I can’t stop smiling
from Alexa’s text message. So, I decide to do something I haven't done in
years. I go down to the garage, get my fishing pole and tackle box and go down
to the edge of the dock to fish. Matt, Travis, and I use to come out here all
the time when we were kids, drinking soda and fishing. We use to sit out here
all day, every day, but it just kind of faded away. Life got too busy between
school, football, girls, jobs, and whatever else. I miss those days when things
were easy, when we had no priorities or anywhere to be. Life was simple. What I
wouldn’t give to have things simple again.

Remembering
the good old days, I decide there is something I need to take care of. Taking
out my cell phone, I dial Travis’s number.

“Hey,
bro, you wanna come over?”

“On
my way, dude.”

– ALEXA –

Amanda
picks me up eleven. We stop to get a quick bite to eat, and then we head to the
mall. I’ve never gone to a club before so I have no clue what stores we’ll be
going into or what I’ll be wearing. Of course, Amanda leads us to a store that
I’ve never even noticed in the mall. I think their motto is “less is more” when
it comes to fabric, and everything is shiny and bright. Before I know it,
Amanda is throwing clothes at me, and pushing me into the changing rooms.

“I
want to see every single one of those outfits on...Got it?” she demands, and
takes a seat on the bench outside the changing room.

After
trying on a million outfits and dresses, we finally agree on one. It’s a
fuchsia strapless dress and is so tight that I can barely breathe, and stops at
what seems like a foot above my knees. Surprisingly, this is the most
conservative one I could find, but I have to admit, I look damn good in it.
Amanda picks out some matching stilettos to complete the look.

Our
next stop is to the salon for hair and makeup. Apparently, I have no say in
this either, because when the stylist asks me what I want, Amanda quickly
interrupts demanding that she make me look “Sexy as hell”.

Sexy
as hell is exactly what I am once finished. My hair is in long, loose, shiny
curls. The make-up artist went with the “smoky eye” look, and although it is
more make-up than I usually where, it looks freaking amazing.

Since
we don’t have much time left before we meet Nicole at my house, we decide to
stop at a “bar and grill” style restaurant, rather than a fancy one. I need to
squeeze back into that dress in a couple of hours, so I decide to just stick
with a salad. While we’re eating dinner, the waitress comes over with two
fruity drinks. I start to tell her that we didn't order them, but she says they
are compliments of the two gentlemen sitting at the bar. We look over to where
she points, and sure enough, there are two very good looking, wait no,
hot
guys
staring at us smiling.

“Well
break me off a piece of that. Which one do you want?” Amanda asks.

The
one on the right is beautiful. Although he’d probably not appreciate me calling
him that, beautiful is what he is. With slicked back, long blonde hair, eyes as
blue as the sky, and a broad, muscular build that I immediately picture without
clothes, he’s the definition of perfect.

“Well,
I guess that leaves me with the one on the left,” Amanda says, interrupting my
daydreaming.

“Huh…
Yeah. Whatever you say.” I’m still in an intense stare down with Mr. Perfect.

“I'll
be back,” she laughs, as she gets up, and walks over to them.

Wait,
what is she doing? Why is she talking to them and why does he keep looking at
me with a grin on his face? I’m going to kill her.

Finally,
I see her walking back, smiling ear to ear.

“What
did you just do? What did you say to them? Why was he looking at me like that?”
I ask, speaking a mile a minute.

“Whoa!
Slow down Miss twenty-one questions. I just thanked them for our drinks, told
them it was your birthday, and that we’ll be at the new club tonight
celebrating.”

“You
invited them out with us tonight? It's supposed to be a girls night. What did
he say?”

As
much as I’m really looking forward to my first real girls night, I can’t deny
that I wouldn't like to “get to know” Mr. Perfect a little better.

“Nothing
really, other than they’ll be there.”

– COLLIN –

“Before
I come any closer, are we good man?” Travis jokes, before walking down the
dock.

“We’re
good.” I respond, reaching to shake his hand to call it truce.

Even
though it would’ve been nice for him to keep his mouth shut, the reason why
Alexa left is not his fault. I was the one that messed up and it would’ve
eventually come out anyways. Travis is one of my best friends, and although he
can be an idiot, I still love the guy.

“Wow,
dude, this brings back some memories, huh?” he says, sitting down on the dock
and putting a lure on a pole.

“Yeah,
we gotta do this more often,” I reply, casting my line out next to his. “I
gotta go meet up with Matt in a little bit to lift, you wanna come?”

Travis
has decided not to play football in the fall. He didn’t qualify for a
scholarship, and since his mom can’t afford to send him to a private school,
he’s going to stay here and go to the local college. “Yeah, dude, I'm down.”

The
weight room is like our man cave. No girl steps in there, not that I don't
think girls should lift weights, but they never understand the intensity we
have in there. Alexa use to always say we sounded like a bunch of possessed
gorillas. It's tradition to have loud, hard music playing as we push each other
to go the extra mile, so yes, you hear the grunting or growling. It's both
exhilarating and exhausting, but it is a brotherly bond that we all have and
love.

“Well,
I see you two kissed and made up,” Matt jokes as Travis and I walk into the
gym.

“Oh
shut it, jerk off,” I reply with a smile on my face.

“Wow,
is that a smile, pretty boy? What the hell happened after this morning?”

Today
has been a good day; the best in a while, actually. My best friend and I made
up, and I heard from my love.

“Well,
I met up with this son of bitch,” I say motioning to Travis. “And, Alexa texted
me back this morning.”

“Really?
What'd she say?”

“Thanked
me for the birthday wish. Said she still loves me, but needs some time.”

“Well
that’s good, right?”

“You
bet your ass it is!”

– ALEXA –

Staring
in the mirror, I can’t believe this is the same person that stood here just
three weeks ago. Then, I was staring at a numb, lost girl with disheveled hair
and mascara smeared across her face. Today, I look at an independent,
confident, hot (if I do say so myself) woman. It is amazing how much can change
in three weeks, and I have to say that I like the improvement.

Don't
get me wrong, I miss Collin. Before yesterday, I still never imagined life
without him. Surprisingly, I think maybe I needed this break-up. For as long as
I can remember, I’ve been coupled with someone. I even had a boyfriend in kindergarten.
I don't really know why this is; it just always seemed to happen. I’m ready to
break the cycle. I’m ready to just be Alexa.

“I
love that dress.” Nicole says walking into the bathroom to touch up her makeup
and hair.

“Me
too, I’m not going to be able to breathe all night, but as long as I look
good.”

I
still can’t believe Amanda talked me into buying it. I’ve always been told that
I have the cutest clothes and I’m always described as cute or really pretty,
never hot or sexy. In this dress, I feel like both.

“You
ladies ready to get this party started?” Amanda asks, standing in the door
frame.

On
the way to the club, we blast the radio and sing at the top of our lungs,
getting ourselves pumped for the night. Unfortunately, when we get there, the line
is wrapped around the building and after standing in line for twenty minutes,
we still haven’t moved. Apparently the club is already at maximum capacity and
the only way anyone is getting in is if somebody comes out.         

Just
as we’re getting ready to step out of line and go somewhere else, I feel two
hands clasp my hips from behind, and a husky voice whispers in my ear, “Leaving
so soon?” My body immediately reacts with a shock that moves at an intense
speed from my head to my toes.
Holy cow!
When I finally turn around, I
see Mr. Perfect from the restaurant. He is even more beautiful up close, and
man, does he smell amazing.

“Yeah,
we’re bailin’. This line is ridiculous,” Amanda answers for me. Apparently, I
lost my speaking capabilities at the sight of him.

“No
need, follow me,” he responds. Wrapping his arm around my waist, he starts
walking towards the entrance.

Feeling
confident, I place my hand in the back pocket of his jeans. He glances down at
me with a grin that makes me weak. I guess he approves. As he walks, I can feel
his butt muscles flexing with every step he takes and I’m doing everything in
my power not to squeeze it. His body screams sexy. When we get up to the
entrance, he whispers something into the bouncer’s ear. The hulk like man looks
up at the group of people behind us. Hot pants, I think that is his new
nickname, also has two other guys with him, and then there’s Amanda and Nicole.
He nods and unhooks the velvet rope that crosses in front of the entrance,
letting us in. Of course, there are some groans and yells from some of the
people that have been waiting to get in. Feeling like a celebrity, I can’t help
but smile.