Forever and Almost Always

by Bennett, Amanda

  We pulled up between mine and Dax’s house a short while later, and I felt bad leaving Taylor to get home on her own. “Hey guys, can you stay with Taylor for just a second? I need to make a call real quick.”

  They both nodded their heads in agreement as I exited the van. I pulled my cell phone out of my purse and quickly dialed Taylor’s mom.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi Mom, it’s Charlee. Hey do you mind watching Katie overnight for Taylor? She had a run in with her ex, and she’s a bit shaken up. I just don’t feel comfortable having her drive home alone tonight.” I knew it was a long shot, but sometimes Taylor’s mom came through.

  “Yeah, honey. That’s fine. She’s already asleep anyway. Please make sure Taylor comes home first thing in the morning though. Her stepdad needs his van and we have plans.”

  “I promise I’ll make sure she gets home on time. Thanks so much, Mom.”

  “No problem, honey. Talk to you later.”

  I hung up the phone and made my way back to the van where Taylor, Dax and Wilton stood. “Okay, so your mom says you can stay here tonight. Let’s get you inside.”

  A look of shock fell over Taylor’s face, but when I shrugged my shoulders the look disappeared. I gave Taylor a quick hug and whispered something in her ear. She took the keys from my hand and started making her way up my front walkway. Wilton followed suit after Dax gave him a look, and I waved goodnight to him.

  “Dax, look-“

  His hands came up to my shoulders, as he crouched down to look me in the eyes. “Please don’t thank me again. I did what needed to be done. I’m just sorry any of that happened tonight. Not quite the first date I had in mind.”

  “Not quite a first date, at all.” I replied. “You usually have to ask me out before we can consider it a first date.”

  “Oh but I did ask you. How about tomorrow night? I’ll have to borrow my friend Ernie’s truck, but…just say yes.”

  I looked up into those smoldering eyes and found myself nodding in agreement, before I could even process what I was doing. Millions of butterflies suddenly took flight in my tummy and I gently pressed my lips against his, pulling back way too quickly for my liking. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

  “Absolutely.” He replied, and then he was gone.

  I gathered my things from the van and locked it up with the keys Wilton had left on the seat. As I started walking up the walkway to my front door, my phone started ringing. I glanced down at the screen and quickly hit ignore. There was only so much bullshit one girl could go through in one night.

  “Tay?” I shouted.

  “I’m in your room.”

  I made my way through my bedroom door and threw my purse down on my bed next to Taylor. “You doing okay, hun?”

  “Yeah. I’m fine. We both know we’ve both dealt with worse things.”

  “Agreed.”

  “Thanks for calling my mom. Do you care if we just go to sleep?”

  “Not at all. I’m just going to grab some water and turn on the porch light for my mom. Be back in a sec.”

  As I walked into the kitchen, I couldn’t help but look across the way into the open window at Dax’s house. A large part of me was hoping that I would get one last look at him, but I was severely disappointed when his house went dark. I filled up my glass of water and double checked all the locks on the doors, before heading back to my room. Taylor was already laying down, so I slipped on a pair of boxers and crawled into bed.

  “You were trying to get one last look at him, weren’t you?” She laughed.

  “Maybe.” We both broke out in a fit of giggles. There wasn’t anything that I could get past Taylor. She was like the sister I never had, and she knew me just as well.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  The next morning, I woke up to my mom banging on my bedroom door. “I swear to god Charlee, if there is a guy in there, I will break this door down.”

  I climbed over Taylor’s sleeping body and answered my door. “Good morning to you too, Mom. And I guess if you consider Taylor a guy, then yes, yes I have a guy in my room.” I giggled.

  “You’re not funny. What are your plans for today?”

  “Oh you know, go to work, make some dinner, then maybe hang out with you for a bit.” I let a sly smile creep across my smart ass face.

  “You think your funny, don’t you?”

  “Sometimes.” I replied.

  “Well, you’re not. You’re such a smart ass. Whatever! I have to work again tonight. I won’t be home until the morning and I’ll need to sleep today and tomorrow, so please be quiet.”

  “Will do, Mom. I have a date tonight.” I gloated.

  “That’s fantastic, Charlee. Remember, be quiet.”

  Before I could respond, my mom was walking into her bedroom and closing the door behind her. My mom was a nurse, and no matter how hard I tried, I could never get her attention. I did the typical bad teenager bit when I was younger to try. I did drugs, ran away, snuck out of my house, and not once did she ever go the extra mile to try and understand why. Instead, she worked. She worked, and dated every now and then. I knew she had her priorities and that I was very low on that list, but honestly I didn’t think it was asking too much for a simple conversation about what was going on in my life. Apparently, she had other ideas.

  I closed my bedroom door and slipped back into bed. I rolled over towards the window and as much as I wanted to go back to sleep, it wasn’t possible. So I just lay there, staring at my maple wood blinds that desperately needed to be dusted. I tried to remember a better time with my mom, but those memories were since long gone. I had come to terms with it quite some time ago, that I would never give my mom anything to be proud of like my brother did. He was the accomplished, smart older sibling, and I was just, well, I was me.

  “Hey, you okay?” Taylor’s voice cut through my revelry, but it was a welcome distraction from my own self-destructive behavior.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  “I heard your mom. You’d think one day she’d get sick of being such a bitch.”

  “You’d think, but then you’d be thinking wrong. Oh well. So, I have a date tonight.” I sat up against the wall and stared at my somewhat non-existent wardrobe in my open closet.

  “That’s awesome, Char. Where’s he taking you?”

  “Honestly? I have no idea.” I laughed. “But anytime I get to spend with him, will be worth it.”

  “He is pretty damn hot, that’s for sure. Well, I gotta get home before my mom freaks. Katie wakes up early and I know my mom is gonna give me hell when I get home.”

  “Okay, well call me later.”

  “K. Love ya.”

  “Love ya too.”

  Taylor and I kissed the air towards one another and then she was gone. I slunk back down in my bed for a little while longer, contemplating going back to sleep, but I knew my mom would freak if I didn’t clean up the house and pull some weeds out back before I left for the night.

  I begrudgingly threw the covers off of my body and slipped on one of my tiniest bikinis. If I was going to have to go outside in this shitty heat, I might as well look good doing it. As I was lathering up with sunscreen, the house phone started ringing and I bolted into the kitchen to answer it. My mom usually put her phone in her room on silent when she slept, but she was a beast if the other one woke her up. I slid across the wood flooring into the kitchen and caught the phone just before falling on my ass.

  “Hello?” I half shouted.

  “Hey, what are you doing?”

  I knew the voice the second I heard it, and literally threw up a little in my mouth. “What do you want, Michael?”

  “You haven’t been answering your cell phone.”

  “No shit, Sherlock. Did you ever consider that there was a reason for that?”

  “Seriously, we’re doing this again?”

  “Seriously, you’re still calling me?”

  “Whatever, Charlee. I guess I’ll let you go then.”

  I knew ther
e was more he wanted to say, but honestly I could give two shits. “Okay, well hopefully I won’t see ya later.” I hung up the phone and snagged my sunglasses off of the table by the door leading to the garage, before I headed out to do yard work.

  I didn’t expect anybody in particular to be awake quite yet, but I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the truck he had used to move, parked in his driveway. A pleased smile formed across my face, as I made my way out to the curb to start pulling weeds. I had my headphones in my ears, so when I felt a hand tap my shoulder, I turned with my gardening tool, ready to kill if need be.

  “You don’t have to be so violent.”

  I pulled the headphones from my ears and let out a loud sigh of relief. “Mom, jesus. What do you want?”

  “Nice, Charlee. Love the language. I need you to move some of the pavers out back while you’re at it.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yes, seriously! Thanks dear.”

  As my mom turned to walk back inside through the garage, I flipped her off with a wide tooth smile. I didn’t know anybody was around, until I heard his distinct laugh.

  “I like the attitude.”

  “Oh, shut up. I’m surprised you’re even awake yet.” I started making my way towards the end of his driveway where he stood.

  “I’m a bit of an early riser.”

  “I see that. What are you doing?”

  “I have some stuff to take care of before tonight. You still coming right?”

  “I hope so.” I muttered under my breath.

  “What was that?”

  “Nothing. I said, I’m there. What time?”

  “Be outside around seven, that work for you?”

  I nodded my head and started walking back to my house. “Well Cinderella has chores to do. I’ll see you later.”

  “That you will.” He smiled and I had no choice, but to smile in return. His smile and pleasant nature was infectious, and I was beginning to really like having him around.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Dax

  I spent most of my day making sure I got our date right. This girl deserved everything and more, and I was more than willing to try and give it to her. I didn’t go the traditional way, getting flowers and chocolates, but I did try to make sure it was going to be a night that she wouldn't soon forget.

  When I pulled into my driveway a couple of hours later, I half expected to catch a glimpse of her, but I wasn’t so lucky. Knowing that I was going to see her in a couple of hours left me with a sense of contentment and that was good enough for me right now. Wilton was nowhere to be found, so I quickly jumped in the shower and started to get ready.

  As I stood under the steady stream of hot water, my thoughts were of nothing but the gorgeous girl next door that I was about to take on a date. I closed my eyes as I envisioned her getting ready. Unfortunately for me, I had only ever seen her in a bathing suit, so I had to let my imagination take hold and show me what I had yet to see. Before I could get too far into my daydream, some one knocked on the bathroom door.

  “WHAT?” I yelled.

  “Hey dude, how long you gonna be?”

  Ugh, I should’ve known it was going to be Wilton who would interrupt me. “I’ll be out in a bit, why?”

  “Someone is here to see you. Should I tell them to come back?”

  Who in the hell would be at my house? Not only did I not tell anybody where I moved to, but also there wasn’t anyone I wanted to find me. “No, I’ll be out in a second. Just have them wait.”

  “Sounds good, man.”

  I was forced to finish my shower, cold. Living with a roommate was starting to really get on my nerves. Wilton was cool and all, but sometimes I wish I just had my own space. I wrapped the towel around my waist and made my way across the hall to my bedroom. I pulled on a pair of ratty jeans and made my way into the living room, tugging my shirt over my head in the process. Before I could see who was waiting for me, I heard her.

  “Looks like not too much has changed. How are you, doll?”

  I rolled my eyes as I took a seat across from Rachael. “What do you want?”

  “Well now, that’s not very welcoming. I figured you would be happy to see me.”

  “What in the world would give you that impression?”

  “The way things ended wasn’t okay with me, Dax. You can’t just walk out and say things are over. We should’ve talked about it, worked it out.”

  Rachael was doing her best to bat every fake eyelash at me; while I did everything I could to ignore her skank ass. “Rachael, there wasn’t anything left to work out. I caught you sleeping with one of my buddies. How exactly did you think that would end?”

  “It wasn’t what it looked like, doll.”

  I held my hand up to cut her off, “Look, it’s not going to work. I’m sorry, but I am no longer interested. So please leave my house and never come back.”

  “But baby…”

  “There is no, but baby. Get out of my house and don’t try to get a hold of me ever again. Do you understand me, or should I talk slower?”

  Rachael stood and started making her way over to the front door. I made no move to follow her, and that seemed to piss her off even more.

  “You know, one day you’ll be sorry.”

  “Trust me when I say, no I won’t. Bye.”

  The door slammed behind her, and I sighed. I swear that girl could be so exhausting, and not in a good way. I pushed my fingers back through my barely there hair, and started walking back to my room. I pulled back the blinds to make sure she was actually leaving, when I caught sight of Charlee pulling into her driveway.

  “Shit!” I shouted. I knew exactly what Charlee would think if she saw Rachael leaving right now, and I couldn’t have anything ruining our first date. Before I could decide what to do to diffuse the situation, Rachael took off and Charlee was none the wiser. I shook my head at the almost catastrophe that could’ve happened, and finished getting ready. I ran some gel through my hair and ran out to the kitchen to check the time.

  “Shit!” I was already ten minutes late. I grabbed my keys, wallet, and phone as I ran out the front door, not stopping to lock the door behind me. I almost tripped over my own feet when I caught sight of the gorgeous blond, waiting for me at the end of my driveway. She looked breath taking. Her hair was styled straight and it cascaded partly down her back and over one shoulder, concealing one breast. She had on a pair of tight jeans and a tight black top, that showed just enough of her toned, tan stomach to make my dick twitch.

  When my eyes finally made it back up to her face, I noticed she had on a bit more makeup than usual, but still just enough to still look natural. She was gorgeous, and as she stuck out her tongue to wet her lips, I knew I was going to have a hard time concentrating on anything other than wanting to explore every inch of that smooth skin that sat underneath all of those clothes.

  “You look, amazing.” I half whispered.

  “Thank you.” Her voice was hesitant.

  “You ready?” I held out my hand for her to take it, and she instantly slid her fingers through mine. The sheer connection of our skin had my heart racing. I walked her over to the passenger side of the truck and helped her in. When she was safely inside, I closed the door, and ran around the front of the truck.

  When I got in the drivers seat, I glanced over at Charlee to make sure she was comfortable, when I noticed a strange look on her face. “Sorry, it’s not my truck. I borrowed it from my friend at work. See, I had a motorcycle and then I wrecked-.” Her hand came down softly on my thigh.

  “Dax, that’s not what the look was for. I don’t mind that it’s not your truck. And, you don’t have to explain anything to me if you don’t want to. The look was because of the song that is playing.”

  I reached for the button to change the station, but her hand that was just on my leg was now stopping my hand from doing so. “Sorry, I thought you meant you didn’t like the song.”

  “No, not at all. I absolutely lo
ve the song. I was just thinking it’s a little strange that I haven’t heard it in quite some time.”

  I glanced over at her and her eyes were sparkling with delight. Something about this song touched a part of her, and I didn’t want to be the one to take that feeling away. I lowered my hand and put the truck in reverse. An overwhelmingly strange feeling settled into my chest, and I couldn’t help but wonder if this thing we were starting was going to be something good, or if she would be the death of me. Either way, I was ready for whatever came my way.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Charlee

  The band Soundgarden blared through the speakers, and I knew it was a sign. My mom had always taught me that there are signs for everything; you just have to learn to look for them. Well if this wasn’t a sign, then I didn’t know what was. The last time I heard ‘Black Hole Sun,’ was when I had left Michael for the last and final time. It was liberating, and that song reminded me that I would be okay on my own, and ever since that day, I have been.

  I wasn’t quite sure how to explain that to the sinfully hot guy that was taking me on our first date, so I just tried to play it off and hoped he would choose to ignore it. When he did, I let out a small sigh of relief. I didn’t know exactly where we were going on our date, so I sat staring out the windshield, catching small glimpses of Dax and his muscular forearm that was exposed out of the corner of my eye.

  When he first walked out of his house, I nearly almost came in my panties. He was wearing a pair of jeans that hugged his ass and thighs in the most glorious way. His biceps were bulging with every sway of his arms, and he looked mouth watering good.

  “You okay over there?” His soft husky voice broke through my inner monologue and a small smile moved across my lips.

  “Yeah, just wondering where you’re taking me. You’re not going to kill me, are you?” I teased.