Finding Our Forever: (A Defining Moments Novel)

by Andee Michelle

  Ben laughs. “Earth-shattering you say?”

  “Whatever,” I retort with a roll of my eyes. “Look, I like Sara, a lot actually, but she’s going away to school in Arizona in a few months. We’re just enjoying our time together before she leaves.”

  Ben just nods and continues to stare out the window.

  “So what’s going on with you, ya big bastard?” I ask. “You don’t spend much time at home these days, and from the looks of it, you’ve been taking up residency at the gym.”

  Ben chuckles before replying. “Yeah, well, I also found myself a lady friend. I’m just not whipped.”

  What the hell?

  “What do you mean you found a lady friend? You have a girlfriend and you didn’t tell me!” I shout at him.

  “Calm down, dude. She’s not my girlfriend. Let’s just say we’re exclusively using each other to scratch an itch, and I’m telling you now.”

  “So, basically what you’re telling me is that you have become the manwhore,” I choke out before laughing myself to tears. He’d always given me a hard time about not being serious with anyone. I mean, hell, I don’t think Ben lost his virginity until our freshman year of college and he dated her for about six months or some shit. He’d always wanted the wife, two point five kids, and the house with a white picket fence. Honestly, the only one-night stand I’ve ever seen him have was the blonde he took home from the bar a few weeks ago. That must have popped his one-night-stand cherry and now he’s addicted.

  Ben just shakes his head and rolls his eyes. “It’s one chick, Eli. It’s not like I’m banging the whole cheerleading squad.”

  “Hey, don’t knock it. They knew what was up,” I brag, wiggling my eyebrows.

  Ben laughs loudly and smacks my shoulder hard enough to shove me into the driver side door, making me swerve.

  “Jesus, lay off the ‘roids, dude,” I mumble while rubbing my shoulder with my other hand.

  Ben just laughs and turns the radio up. It’s nice chatting with him. It’s been too long since we’ve done this.

  The moment we enter into the gym, I realize how much time he must be spending here. Almost all of the trainers talk to him and a few of the gym bunnies come rushing over to fawn over him.

  Where the hell have I been since this bullshit started?

  We spend a good two hours at the gym, and by the time we leave, I’m exhausted. I needed this workout. I’ve been slacking lately and need to be more dedicated to it. I feel so much better when I consistently work out. Plus, it’s a huge stress relief for me. When our parents were going through their divorce, Ben and I lived at the gym. It was our way of coping I think.

  Just as we pull back into our apartment complex, there is a loud bang when my tire blows and one side of my truck starts to lean.

  “Damn it,” I roar. I park in the closest parking space I can get to. Not now. I have less than an hour to shower, get ready, and pick up Sara for our date. My spare is a standard tire, not the big ones I put on it a few months ago, so my truck is now completely out of commission until I can get to the tire store.

  “Don’t worry about it. I’m not going anywhere tonight, so just take my truck,” Ben replies quickly. “We’ll go get you a new tire in the morning.”

  “You’re the best brother ever!” I yell as I run for our apartment door, not even waiting for him to follow. I have shit to do.

  I’D TOLD SARA that we were going to dinner in a fairly fancy restaurant and to dress nicely. She took that seriously apparently. When she opens the door to her house, I take in what she is wearing, and it takes every ounce of my strength not to rip it off her and never leave her house.

  She takes a step back from the door and holds her hands out as if asking my opinion. She makes a small turn and then speaks. “Well, what do you think? Nice enough?”

  I step inside the doorway, shutting it behind me, and pull her into me, pressing my lips to hers ever so softly. She looks like a dream.

  She’s wearing a navy blue wrap dress that hangs just above her knees. It hugs her tiny curves like a glove and she looks amazing in it. Her hair is down around her shoulders and curly. Curly, as in natural curls, not as though she curled it with one of those thingies.

  “You look beautiful, baby,” I sigh against her lips, feeling them pull back into a smile.

  “Thank you,” she whispers before pulling back from me and straightening her dress.

  I haven’t seen Diesel yet and am surprised to find him asleep beside the couch. I sit down next to him and rub his belly while he continues to snore away.

  “Is he sick? What’s wrong with him?” I ask Sara, looking up at her with concern.

  “Nothing. We went for a run this morning and he is a big old baby,” she laughs out. “I need to run him more. A couple miles in and he looked as though he might plop down and die.”

  “We should take him up to the lake and go hiking when finals are over,” I suggest to her, receiving a nod in return.

  “That sounds fun actually,” she replies with a smile.

  “Have you ever been camping?” I ask. “I’d love to take you camping this summer. Diesel would love it up there.”

  “Um, bugs,” she replies with her nose scrunched up.

  I laugh and shake my head at her. She’s going camping this summer if I have any say so in the matter. I’ll have to warm her up to it.

  “Let’s get out of here. We have reservations at Saint,” I tell her before grabbing her hand and heading for the door.

  “Whose truck is that?” she asks as we make our way down the sidewalk.

  “Oh, yeah, I blew a tire right before I needed to come get you, so Ben let me take his truck. He was staying in tonight.”

  “It’s just like yours only a different color,” she laughs. “Do you guys do everything identical?” She stops walking and puts her hand to her mouth. “That so came out wrong.”

  I laugh and pull her to me. “Stop it. Our dad thought it was ‘cool’ for us to have the same truck in different colors. They were our high school graduation gifts. We couldn’t exactly complain about getting new trucks for graduation.”

  She nods and I help her climb up into Ben’s truck. I had mine lifted so it’s taller than Ben’s, and mine has bigger tires, and I added more stuff. Yeah, mine almost doesn’t even resemble Ben’s now.

  We chat about how her day at work went and about me getting ready for finals. The conversation is light and easy.

  I’m surprised when we walk into Saint and we’re greeted by Cord.

  “Eli!” he blurts, holding out his hand for me to shake. “I was surprised to see your name on my reservation list tonight.” He turns to Sara before continuing. “And you’re Sara, right? You were Ellie’s nurse.” He gives me a subtle grin and a wink.

  “Hey, Cord,” I reply with a laugh. “Yeah, I had to bring my girl to the best damn restaurant in town.”

  “Suck up,” Cord coughs under his breath.

  I hear Sara chuckling, and I knock Cord on the arm. “Whatever, dude. This place is amazing. Not as amazing as when Mom worked here, but still amazing.”

  I realize what I said the moment Cord’s face falls and he shakes his head.

  “I’m sorry, Cord. I didn’t mean…” I start, but he just shakes his head and smiles.

  “Not your deal, Eli, don’t apologize. I’m the one who caused the dilemma, and I’ll fix it when she’s ready to let me,” he answers. I just nod. My mom hasn’t told me everything, but I know they had a falling out before she left for Italy, and from our conversations, I gather she hasn’t talked to him since before she left.

  I watch as Cord waves off the maître d’, grabs two menus, and shows us to the back of the restaurant, giving us an intimate table for two in a secluded area.

  “What was that about?” Sara asks me once Cord is gone.

  “I’m not sure what happened between them honestly, but something happened before Mom left for Italy and they aren’t on speaking terms,” I reply, pulling t
he menu open, hoping to nip this conversation in the bud. I don’t want to spend my night talking about my mom’s relationship with Cord.

  “So, what’s good here, Mr. Fancy Pants,” she snickers.

  “Everything.”

  Dinner is amazing, as I expected it to be, and we sit for what seems like hours talking. She tells me more about her family. I tell her about Ben’s new tattoo and gym addiction. I even tell her Ben has a new “lady friend,” which makes her laugh.

  After I pay the check and we’re walking out to the truck, she blurts out, “Do you want to meet Ramzi?” When I turn to look at her, her cheeks are red, which makes me stop moving.

  “Sure, babe, but only if you tell me why you’re blushing,” I bargain.

  “She’s going to embarrass me, I just know it. I love her to pieces, but she is very crass and has zero filter. I feel like I should warn you,” she explains with a small smile on her face.

  “I grew up in a house with two brothers. She can’t possibly be as filterless as three teenage boys,” I tell her, trying to ease her worry.

  “That’s what you think,” she mumbles before grabbing my hand again and continuing the trek to the truck.

  “She working at the bar. It’s just a few miles from here,” she tells me as I pull out into traffic.

  PULLING INTO THE parking lot of the bar Sara directed me to, I look up and am surprised to see a swanky-looking place. When Sara said Ramzi was working at the bar, I’d assumed it was some college hang out. This is a little more on the upscale side of “bars.”

  I strut around the truck to open the door for Sara, and the moment the door opens, I stop short. She has one leg slung to the side, ready to get out of the truck, but unbeknownst to her, it has caused her dress to slide up her thighs high enough that I can see the little scrap of white lace underneath. She reaches out her hand to let me help her down, but when she sees the look on my face, she raises an eyebrow.

  “What’s with the sexy look, Mr. Harper?” she questions with a small smile playing on her lips.

  I take a step closer and wedge myself in between her legs, running my finger up the inside of her thigh until I graze the edge of her panties. She sucks in a breath and her eyes flutter but never leave mine.

  “I can see your panties, Sara. Did you do that on purpose?” I ask her in a lust-filled voice. She shakes her head but starts to move her hips against my hand.

  I lean forward, pulling her head toward mine with my other hand. I nip at her bottom lip but don’t give her the kiss I can see she is begging for, and then I drag my lips down her jaw.

  “So responsive to my fingers, beautiful,” I mutter against her neck, just as my fingers make their way under the lace.

  She leans back to give me more access to her neck and chest, just as I hear a woman scream, “You lying motherfucker!”

  I pull Sara’s dress back down over her quickly and turn to see what the hell is going on, when I recognize a very pissed Ramzi. I’d seen her from the truck the day I dropped Sara off to get her car, but we hadn’t met yet. She’s hard to miss.

  I’m not sure what she’s yelling at, but she’s headed right for me. I hold my hands up and step away from the truck, and when her eyes land on Sara sitting in the truck, she stops, her face contorted in anger.

  “What the hell, Sara?” she yells, sounding as confused as I am while looking between Sara and me. No one says anything for a second because I don’t think either me or Sara understand why the hell Ramzi is so pissed.

  Ramzi turns to me, anger and hurt written all over her face. “You want to tell me why the hell you’re molesting my best friend in your truck, Benji?” she grinds out.

  Oh shit.

  Benji.

  Ben.

  My twin brother.

  His truck.

  And the moment it all connects, I can’t help but laugh.

  Ben’s lady friend is Ramzi.

  Laughing was a wrong move.

  Ramzi once again starts to stalk toward me, but I hold up my hands and stop laughing.

  “Wait, wait, wait,” I bark out because she’s still trained on ripping my balls off. “I’m Eli, Ben’s twin brother!” Because my back is to Sara, I don’t see her jump down from the truck until she’s in front of me, yelling at Ramzi to calm down.

  She stops her movement instantly and really looks at my face and then down my body before recognition sets in.

  “Oh my God. I’m so sorry,” she shrieks, laughing. “I seriously thought you were Benji, and I was so gonna kick your ass.” She continues to assess me before she continues. “I mean, you’re obviously not him. Not as big. Less dark. I guess if the asshole ever told me any personal information, I’d know he has a twin brother.”

  Ouch. He didn’t tell his lady friend he has a twin brother? What the hell.

  “Why are you driving his truck though? I know that truck. It’s his.” She crosses her arms over her chest and still looks somewhat pissed.

  “I blew a tire right before I was supposed to pick up Sara for our date. He let me use his.” I cross my arms over my chest and watch as her eyes take me in again. I’m not little by any means, but she’s right. Ben is huge as of late. She smirks and then looks down at Sara, who now looks pissed too.

  “Why the hell are you two checking each other out? I’m standing right here for shit’s sake!” she yells.

  I pull her to me and bury my face in her hair. “I’m just sizing her up, baby. I’m afraid she might be able to take me,” I whisper into her ear, making her laugh.

  “Stop it,” she pushes me off her while still laughing.

  “So, you call him Benji, huh?” I ask her with a laugh.

  “Yep, and he hates it,” she returns.

  “Good. Come here. Let’s take a picture. I’ll teach that asshole not to tell his girlfriend he has a twin brother.” I reach for Ramzi’s arm and she pulls away.

  “What are you doing?” She crosses her arms over her chest again, trying to look menacing. “I’m not his girlfriend, so whatever you have planned, it won’t fly with him. Let’s just say he’s made it quite clear that, although we aren’t in a relationship, we are only sleeping with each other. That’s the arrangement.” Although she is trying to be unaffected by her own words, she flinches during her explanation.

  She’s into Ben.

  “Let’s go inside, please. I’m freezing in this thin dress,” Sara whines from beside me. Shit. I wrap my arms around her and make my way toward the bar.

  “McIntyre’s,” I say out loud as I take in the sign on the front door. It’s the only thing that announces the name of this place.

  “Yep, Ramzi McIntyre, nice to meet you,” she replies with little emotion and then curtsies as if she’s wearing a dress, which she’s not. Instead, she’s in black, ripped skinny jeans, a light gray, old band T-shirt that’s hanging off one shoulder, and four-inch bright red stilettos. She really is gorgeous, but in a “don’t mess with me or I will shank you” kind of way. It’s hard for me to believe this is Ben’s lady friend. I mean, don’t get me wrong, she’s hot, but she just doesn’t seem like Ben’s type. He’s always dated “cardigan and pearl necklace” kind of girls.

  “Well, Ramzi McIntyre, I think we need to give little ole’ Benji a scare,” I tell her with a huge smile. “Asshole not telling you he has a twin brother pisses me off.”

  She responds by stepping to me, throwing her arms around my shoulders—yeah, she’s that tall with those heels—and flashing a seductive grin as I snap a selfie of us. Sara is standing to the side shaking her head with a grin on her face.

  “I knew you two would get along eventually. I just didn’t think you’d hit it off so quickly,” Sara says with a laugh. “Already playing pranks on the unsuspecting.”

  I pull up the picture of Ramzi and me, attach the comment “Check out this hot piece of ass,” and hit send.

  “So, wait a minute. You’re telling me that the hot, tatted-up business guy you’ve been seeing is Ben?” Sara asks
Ramzi in shock.

  And then I’m shocked too because she just called him a “business guy.”

  What the hell is going on? Ben is a college student.

  My phone lights up and I look down to see Ben calling. I hit ignore and continue to listen to the ladies discussing how cool it is that they’re seeing twins. My phone lights up again and this time I answer it.

  “Ben, what’s up? I’m a little busy right now,” I bark at him, watching Ramzi’s eyes bug out.

  “I will rip your arms off if you touch her, Eli. I swear to God,” Ben bellows into the phone. I pull the receiver back from my ear to ensure he doesn’t rupture it.

  Before I can reply, Ramzi removes the phone from my hand and puts it to her ear, listening for a second before she calmly says, “Benji,” and then the yelling stops. “When were you going to tell me you have a twin brother? ‘Cause I literally almost shanked him in the parking lot when I caught him making out with my best friend in your truck,” she hollers back and then starts toward the back of the bar, my phone still clutched in her hand.

  “Well, maybe that didn’t go as planned. He’s pissed.” I chuckle, grabbing Sara’s hand and pulling her with me in the direction Ramzi headed.

  I make a mental note to find out what the hell the whole “business” thing is about. She obviously doesn’t know much about him, but with his reaction to that picture, he is totally into this chick, no matter how much he wants to play it off as casual.

  We follow her all the way to an office in the back corner before she turns and hands me my phone back. “He wants to talk to you,” she grumbles, grabbing Sara’s hand and dragging her back toward the bar.

  “Ben, what the hell is going on?” I ask. “She called you a businessman.”

  “Don’t worry about it, Eli. I’ll explain everything later. Just don’t talk to her about me, please. We have an arrangement and her being Sara’s best friend kind of throws a kink in it.” His plea sounds pained, so I just agree and tell him we’ll discuss it later. He grunts and then hangs up.