Forever and Ever (Complete #1-7)

by E. L. Todd

  “American Psycho is another favorite. My dad recommended it.”

  “About the guy who kills prostitutes?” I blurted.

  “Yep. I’m guessing you’ve only seen the movie. Believe me, the book is a lot better.”

  “Your dad has interesting and violent tastes in literature.”

  She shrugged. “My dad can be a bit of a brute sometimes.”

  “So, are you going to ask me what my favorite book is?”

  She laughed. “You know how to read?”

  I narrowed my eyes at her. “Yes, I know how to read. Now ask me.”

  She stopped laughing. “Fine. What’s your favorite book?”

  “Schindler’s List.”

  She gave me an incredulous look. “About the holocaust?”

  “I’m a history major. It shouldn’t be that surprising.”

  “But that’s…so depressing.”

  “And your favorites aren’t?” I asked. “I like it because it’s real. What could be more terrifying, more meaningful, than something that horrific happening less than a hundred years ago? Isn’t it weird to think about it like that?”

  “I suppose.” She stared at me while she thought about it. “And it’s weird that slavery wasn’t really that long ago.”

  “Right?” I asked. “It’s really weird. That’s why I like to read about it because nothing like that would ever happen now—thankfully.”

  “If you want to ink, why didn’t you major in art?” she asked.

  “I already know how to draw. I’d rather learn something new that I’m interested in.”

  She nodded. “I guess that makes sense.”

  “A lot, actually. Why are you majoring in business if you hate it?”

  “I don’t hate it.”

  I gave her a look that clearly said, “Cut the shit.”

  “Okay, I loathe it,” she admitted. “I told my dad how I felt and he said I could pursue fashion if that’s what I wanted.”

  “He wasn’t mad?”

  She shook her head.

  “Wow. That’s really cool. Then why are you still here?”

  She shrugged. “I’m almost done with my degree. I may as well finish it.”

  “True. I can’t deny the logic in that.”

  “So, you’re really going to ink then? That’s set in stone?”

  “And I’m going to play in a band.”

  She smirked. “What band?”

  “I don’t know yet. But I’ll find them.”

  “I’ve never heard you play guitar.”

  “I’m pretty damn good,” I said.

  “Cocky.” She gave me a grin.

  “I know I’m good. Why does admitting that make me cocky?”

  “You could say it in a better way.”

  “How?”

  “Like, ‘I’ve been playing for a long time and I know all the chords.’”

  “But that’s pretty much what I said.”

  “But in a nicer way,” she said.

  I shook my head. “No. I’m blunt and honest and I’ll never change.”

  “Fine. Be hated by everyone you meet.”

  “I’d rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I’m not. Besides, you hate me but you’re sleeping with me.”

  She stared at me for a long time. “Slade, I don’t hate you…”

  “You don’t? Because I hate you.”

  She hit my arm lightly. “No, you don’t. I know you don’t.”

  I avoided eye contact and stared at her comforter.

  “I think there’s more to you than you let on, Slade. But don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. You can pretend to be shallow and rude all you want.”

  “I am shallow and rude.”

  “No. You just try to be. You can fool everyone else but you can’t fool me.”

  “What makes you say that?” I asked.

  “You’ve saved me twice now. And I didn’t even ask you to.”

  “I would have done it for any girl.”

  “But I don’t think you would have beaten the shit out of those guys for just any girl.”

  I guess she had a point.

  “And you even said you couldn’t stand the thought of something bad happening to me.”

  “Well…yeah. You’re family.”

  “See?” She gave me a victorious look. “You are a good guy.”

  “A guy that uses his friend as a fuck buddy?”

  “It’s mutual. I’m using you as much as you’re using me.”

  “Let me ask you something,” I said.

  “What?”

  “You can have any guy you want. So why are you settling for this arrangement?”

  Her eyes widened when she looked at me. “Did you just give me a compliment?”

  “No. Not at all.” Did I? I’m pretty sure I didn’t.

  “You just said I could have any guy I wanted.”

  “That’s not a compliment,” I argued.

  “Yes, it is. It means you think I’m pretty. And not hideous.”

  “If you were hideous, I wouldn’t be fucking you,” I said.

  She smirked. “Slade thinks I’m pretty.” She said it in a high-pitched sing-song voice.

  “No, I don’t!”

  “You think I’m pretty! You like my hair and my face. You like my body and my legs. You like my—”

  I sealed my mouth over hers and gave her a hard kiss. My hand dug into her hair, gripping her tightly. I breathed hard into her mouth and she reciprocated that. Our lips crashed together and our tongues danced. Then I pulled away. “Stop talking.”

  The redness moved into her face and she kept her mouth shut.

  “That’s better.” I settled down under the covers and got ready for bed. The room was dark and warm. Her bed was a million times more comfortable than mine.

  She remained quiet on her side of the bed, her breathing even. She never answered my question and I didn’t ask her again.

  When I woke up the following morning, our bodies were tangled together. Her head was resting on my chest and my arm was around her shoulder. Her leg was hooked around mine and it felt smooth against my skin. When I realized what we were doing, I slipped away and got dressed without waking her. Then I left without looking back.

  35

  Trinity

  Slade still annoyed me but he didn’t irritate me as much as he did before. But the friendship and bond forming between us was creating a huge problem. When we were around the others, we didn’t fight as much. We had to force it.

  Slade looked at me, and his eyes darted back and forth while he was thinking. “I hate you.”

  Everyone looked up from their food. We were having dinner at a burger place down the street.

  “That was random…” Roland eyed him suspiciously.

  It sounded forced and unnatural. I could tell Slade was trying too hard. I decided to take the lead. “Cayson told me he beat you at basketball the other day. I knew you sucked.”

  “I don’t suck,” he snapped. “You suck.”

  I gave him a look that said, “I suck your dick alright.”

  “I mean, you’re lame.” He picked at his French fries.

  “That was the weirdest fight I’ve ever seen the two of you have,” Conrad said. “That was totally out of nowhere.”

  “Well, I’ll always hate her and I never want her to forget it,” Slade said.

  We really needed to get better at this.

  “Why don’t you just try to get along?” Conrad asked. “Wouldn’t that make everything easier?”

  Slade shook his head. “Never.”

  I finished my fries and ignored him.

  “So…I bet you guys are anxious to get home.” Conrad gave Skye and Cayson a playful look.

  Cayson glanced at Slade and gave him a merciless glare. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Come on,” Conrad said. “We all know you guys finally did the deed.”

  “Slade, I’m going to kill you,” Cayson snapped.
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  “It wasn’t me!” Slade said immediately.

  “Who else would have said anything?” Cayson demanded.

  “Uh…I did,” I said. “Skye told me.”

  “Oh.” Cayson looked apologetic.

  “Are you mad I told her?” Skye asked fearfully.

  “No, of course not.” Cayson put his arm around her shoulders.

  “Excuse me?” Slade demanded. “Don’t I get an apology?”

  “For what?” Cayson asked.

  “For being called a liar.” He pushed his food away, finished with it.

  “Nah.” Cayson turned back to Skye and rubbed his nose against hers.

  Slade brooded from his seat. “Jackass…”

  A few days later, I was in the library reading a book. It’d become a pastime that I loved almost more than anything else. Fashion was always my number one choice. But it was nice to get lost in a story that was different from my lame and boring life.

  Slade pulled out the chair across from me then sat down. “Yo.”

  “Hi.” I didn’t look at him.

  He was eating a sandwich, chewing loudly. “What are you reading now?”

  “Same book.”

  He set his sandwich down then opened his backpack. “I got you something.”

  “If it’s a sandwich, I don’t want it.” All he cared about was food and sex.

  “No, it’s not that.” He placed a book in front of me. It was Schindler’s List.

  “Why are you giving this to me?” I examined the hardcover and the wear and tear along the pages.

  “I want you to read it. I’ll read The Odyssey.”

  What? “Are we in a book club now?”

  He shrugged. “I just thought it would be cool. You can understand why I liked this book so much and I can try to understand why you like yours so much.” He examined my open book. “And it looks like you’re almost done with that one.”

  This was weird. Slade and I never did anything together except screw. “Seriously?”

  “Yeah. Why not? Can you only be in a book club with one person?”

  I guess there was no harm. “Okay. Come over tonight and I’ll give you The Odyssey.”

  “We’re going to have sex too, right?” he blurted.

  I rolled my eyes. “If I’m in the mood.”

  He laughed. “You’re always in the mood.”

  “Then maybe you should do a better job of keeping me satisfied,” I jabbed.

  “Hey, I always make you come!”

  “Shh!” I narrowed my eyes at him.

  He closed his mouth and fell silent just as Skye took a seat at the table.

  “Hey,” she said.

  “Hi.” I smiled at her.

  “Yo.” He grabbed his sandwich and kept eating.

  Skye eyed our books. “Were you both reading?”

  Uh… “No, these are both mine.” I scooped them up and put them in my bag.

  “Schindler’s List?” Skye asked incredulously. “That doesn’t sound like something you’d want to read.”

  “I’m trying new things,” I blurted.

  Slade kept his eyes glued to his sandwich.

  “What’s going on with you?” I tried to change the subject.

  “Just school,” she said. “And Cayson.” A smile lit up her face.

  “He’s good in bed?” I asked.

  “Like you wouldn’t believe.” Skye kept smiling.

  “I taught him everything he knows.” Slade said it while chewing a mouthful of food.

  “I doubt that for some reason,” Skye said.

  Actually, I didn’t. Slade really knew his way around the bedroom. I was never left unsatisfied. It was a nice change to be with a guy that could rock your world and give you exactly what you wanted without having to ask for it. Unfortunately, he was a jerk covered in tattoos and had a horrible attitude. So, the package wasn’t pretty but the gift inside was exquisite.

  “And if you think his dick is big, you should see mine.” Slade shoved the rest of his sandwich into his mouth.

  “How would you know unless you’ve seen his?” Skye argued.

  “You look at Cayson’s package?” I asked Slade.

  “I just know, alright?” Slade said, annoyed.

  “I think someone is into Cayson,” Skye teased.

  “Am not,” Slade argued. “He’s my best friend. I know everything about him.”

  “Yeah…everything.” I loved teasing Slade. He would get so mad.

  He rolled his eyes then crinkled up his wrapper. “I’m out of here.”

  “Thank god,” I blurted.

  “Shut up, Trinity.” He left the table and put his backpack over his shoulder. Then he walked off.

  Skye looked at her textbook then eyed me. “That’s weird.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “Slade’s favorite book is Schindler’s List.”

  How did she know that? “Why do you say that?”

  “He mentioned it to me once.”

  “Oh.” What else was I supposed to say?

  “Did he give it to you?” she asked.

  I felt like she was cornering me. Sweat started to form on my palms. “No. It’s mine.”

  She finally backed off and looked at her textbook.

  Phew. I stared across the library and tried to gather my bearings while Skye wasn’t looking. Sneaking around was becoming more stressful than I realized. I was never good at keeping secrets and I was a horrible liar.

  While I stared across the library, I saw a familiar face. “Code red. Zack is in the building.”

  Skye sighed and slammed her textbook closed. “I’m going to beat him over the head with this if he comes over here.”

  Zack was approaching our side of the library. A book was under his arm and he was typing on his phone. When he looked up, he spotted Skye. Like he was scared, his eyes widened and he immediately turned around, practically running out of the library.

  “No running!” the librarian yelled at him.

  Skye turned to me, her eyebrows raised. “What the hell was that?”

  “I don’t know. It was like he was scared of you.”

  “But why would he be scared of me?”

  I shrugged. “I wouldn’t have believed that happened unless I’d seen it myself.”

  “That was…bizarre.” She was quiet for a long time. “Zack would never be scared of me. The only person I know who can possibly make a grown man scared is…” She stopped in midsentence. Her eyes were wide. “My father.”

  I watched her face, seeing the emotion and anger come through.

  Skye slammed her book down then packed her bag. Judging by her quick movements and the anger burning in her eyes, she was pissed.

  “What?”

  “Cayson told my father—even though I specifically asked him not to.” She put her bag over one shoulder and stormed off.

  Shit, I felt bad for Cayson.

  I just took dinner out of the oven when I got the message.

  Go to hell.

  Slade texted me four times that week to hook up. I didn’t mind. My mind wasn’t used to having four amazing orgasms in a week but my body could get used to it.

  Sure.

  I finished preparing the vegetables and rice just as the doorbell rang.

  “It’s open,” I yelled.

  Slade walked inside. “I could be a murderer.”

  “I doubt criminals ring the doorbell before they rob someone.”

  He shut the door then joined me in the kitchen. He wasn’t wearing a jacket, just jeans and a t-shirt. “You should still be smarter about it.”

  “I unlocked it because I knew you were coming.”

  “It takes two seconds to unlock the door and let me in. You better do it next time.”

  “If you want to get laid, I suggest you not be a dick to me.”

  “I’ve been worse and you still spread your legs,” he countered.

  I eyed his arms. “You really should wear a jacket.”

>   “I’m fine,” he growled.

  I felt his arm and was surprised by the heat.

  “Told you.” He pulled his arm away from my grasp. He walked through the kitchen then sniffed the air. “Something smells good.”

  “Chicken, broccoli, and rice,” I answered. “Would you like to join me?”

  “Free food?” He sat down at the table. “Hell yeah.”

  I served the food on plates then put them on the table.

  Slade cut into his food and stuffed it into his mouth. “Wow, this is good.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I wasn’t complimenting you,” he said quickly.

  “Well, I did make it.”

  “I’m still not flattering you.” He ate everything off his plate then moaned. “Even the green stuff was good.”

  “Again, thank you.”

  “Again, no compliment.” He leaned back in his chair while he waited for me to finish. “Do you cook a lot?”

  “About five times a week.”

  “How do you have time for that?”

  “I make time,” I answered. “Eating healthy is important.”

  “No wonder you have such a nice body.”

  I smirked. “You’re giving me compliments left and right.”

  He shook his head slightly. “Don’t let it go to your head.”

  “Too late.” I finished my food then put my dish in the sink. “Since I cooked, you should clean.”

  He laughed. “Yeah right.”

  Why did I expect anything else? I put hot water in the sink then placed the dishes inside to soak.

  “You got dessert too?”

  “I wouldn’t have a nice body if I ate junk all the time,” I countered.

  “I know there’s a little fat girl deep inside.”

  A lot of fat girls, actually. I opened the freezer and revealed a Ben and Jerry’s pint of chocolate ice cream.

  He winked. “Now that’s hot.”

  I grabbed two spoons then sat beside him at the table. We ate out of the same carton, our metal spoons tapping together as we tried to get to the large chunks of chocolate before the other.

  “That shit was good.” Slade left his spoon on the table. “If you cook every night, I’m coming over more often.”

  “I’ll make sure the door is locked,” I said sarcastically. I shoved the empty pint into the garbage can then walked into my bedroom. “Are we going to do this or what?”