Forever Together (Forever Love #2)

by Jade Whitfield

  I decide to leave the light on for when I have to come back down. I've already survived the journey down the stairs twice today, I don’t wanna push my luck.

  On coming out of the damp basement, I give my eyes a few seconds to adjust to the much brighter light of the kitchen. Brady's gone from the stool at the breakfast bar and I spin around in a circle as if he'll jump out at me.

  "Brady!" I call out, getting no answer in return.

  I walk through the kitchen, into the den to find a naked Brady, his modesty covered in those ridiculous boxers, reclined on the couch with the dog on his chest. I lean against the door frame for a few moments, just to take in the sight in front of me.

  His one arm is laid behind his head, the big rippling muscles tensing. He’s covered in muscle, always has been due to playing football in High School. Of course he’s kept up with his weight training since and the bulging biceps are is proof of that.

  In one hand is the remote, his thumb jamming on buttons, flicking through the channels. Brian is laid across his chest, his little head resting on his paws just under Brady’s chin.

  He was gonna be my dog. Christ, that’s enough to break a girl already barely sticking together. It’s a sweetness I waited for in our entire relationship. That’s not saying Brady couldn’t be sweet or that he didn’t have his romantic moments, they were just few and far between. He was more of a pizza and movie kinda guy rather than the candlelight and opera type. And it was perfect. It just wasn’t enough.

  I can feel the stinging of my eyes as they fill up with tears. Seeing him like this, so relaxed, so... Brady makes me wish for things that'll never be. Despite how much I may want it, despite how my heart aches for it, I need more. And Brady will never be able to give me that.

  Now I just need to convince my heart to understand.

  ***

  I'm almost sorry that Brady needs to get dressed. Abs like that deserve to be shown off to the world even though just the thought of any other woman seeing Brady’s body has bile rising up in my throat. But who am I kidding? Brady wasn’t a virgin before we got together, I doubt he’s reverted back to one since.

  As the t-shirt slips down over his rippling stomach, rock hard with muscle, I find myself following its path, eager to take in as much of his body as I can before it's all covered up. It’s not like I'll be seeing it again, once has already put enough strain on my fragile heart and wayward hormones.

  "Thanks for washing my clothes Cinders. You're a doll."

  "No problem, I couldn’t really let you walk around covered in pee could I?"

  "No more than I deserve." He shrugs. "Listen-"

  "Yoo-hoo, Cindy are you still here?" My Mom's voice sounds through the house.

  "In here Mom." I call back, my eyes still stuck on Brady.

  "Cindy, Cindy, Cindy." Bailey chants, storming into the room. She then proceeds to run circles around me, holding a plastic pink fairy wand.

  "Hey Bails." I rub her dark head, tied up in a high ponytail that matches my own.

  "BRADY!" The high-pitched scream causes shivers to run through me.

  "Hey kiddo." She runs into his arms and is hoisted into the air.

  "Look, I got a fairy wand. I can turn you into a frog." She raises an eyebrow in warning and I can’t stop the snort escaping at the look on his face.

  "You're not though, are ya?" Brady gives a smirk that would melt most grown women but has no effect on a six-year-old Bailey.

  "Ummm." She taps the wand against her mouth and squints her eyes in thought. "I don’t know, depends." She shrugs.

  "On what?"

  "Have you brought Brian?" I frown at Bailey's question. How the hell does Bailey know Brian?

  "Look on the couch." Brady whispers, putting Bailey down. She runs out the room and screams, high and loud enough to crack glass. I have to put a finger to my ear to try and drown it out. Looks like she found Brian. Poor thing.

  "She'll have that dog in a pram within ten minutes." I point out.

  "Oh well." Brady shrugs his strong shoulders. "Serves the fucker right for getting pee on me."

  My Mom walks into the kitchen carrying grocery bags that Brady takes out of her arms and places on the granite worktop.

  "Thank you honey. Your Dad had a little trouble with Bailey in Savannah so I had to get her from his office. I thought you two were going out?"

  "Erm, Brady had a clothes emergency." I hide my smile by looking down as Brady squirms.

  "Oh really, like what?"

  "Oh, we'll tell you later, Deena." Brady flicks his hand as if it’s of no importance. "We better get going Cinders, come on."

  "Wait, what?"

  "Plans, we’ve got plans." He grabs my hand, a sizzling shock trave l l ling through my body and heating me up. My face I’m sure is a picture of absolute horror though.

  "Wait Brady, I th-" We come to a quick stop and he turns around quickly. We're nose to nose.

  "I told you Cinders. We're spending the day together." His eyes look into mine and I let out the embarrassing squeak I've been holding in for most of the day. He smirks, a cocky one.

  "Ok you kids, have a good day. Oh Brady, I can take care of Brian if you like while you and Cindy are out." The traitor! Wait, how does she know Brian?

  "Thanks Deena, see ya later."

  I’m yanked through the den, past a very happy Bailey and a very unhappy Brian who right now is wearing a pale pink bonnet. Despite Brady frowning at the sight and the tensing of his hand that’s still clutching mine and sending electric shocks through my body, he doesn’t stop.

  "Brady wa-"

  "Come on Cindy." He interrupts me, again. Can I not get one sentence out?

  I’m pulled through the front door which automatically swings shut behind me. I yank my hand out of Brady’s, no matter how good it felt while there.

  "Wait, please."

  "Yes Cindy, how can I help you?"

  "I'm not going out with you."

  "Why not?" He frowns in confusion.

  "Because it’s weird. We are broken up, Brady. We're not together anymore." I take a deep breath, steeling myself for what I have to say next. "It’s too hard." My voice comes out softer, sadder than I thought it would.

  "I know it is Cinders." Brady’s voice is equally as sad and that’s about all I can take for one day.

  "I appreciate what you did last night and coming to check on me this morning was really nice but I’m not like you. You may be able to go back to how things were befor e e when we were together, but I can’t." And there it is. Something that I have barely admitted to myself and I've just gone and said it out loud. The thing that hurts nearly more than not being with Brady is how easily he’s forgotten. "It hurts too much."

  "You think I’m going back to how it fucking was before?" I nod to his question, looking at the footpath under our feet. "Have you not been hearing me or taking any notice of the signals I've been giving out?"

  "Signals?"

  "I fucking missed you Cindy. You think you’ve had it harder? You think after four fucking years I just got over you? Moved on?"

  "Well, yeah. I doubt you've turned into a nun since Christmas. I’m sure you’ve dated and-"

  "There’s been no one!" I shoot my head upwards at the sound of his rough, hard voice. "Not one fucking person. No dates, no hookups, nothing. Shit my fucking dick would shrivel up first."

  I don’t know what to say. I just stand there like some type of tree waiting for the other shoe to drop. Is it possible? Has Brady really not so much as kissed another girl in six months?

  "So, you've been hooking up then?" His question - though it sounds more like a statement - catches me off guard.

  "Wha-"

  "You think I have so does that mean you have?"

  "No!" He seems to like my answer judging by the smile that spreads across his face. Ass.

  "Well then that’s settled then."

  "Wai-"

  "Shh." A finger is put to my lips and I’m tempted to bite it of
f. What’s the point of me having a mouth if I’m not allowed to talk? "This is happening Cindy. I’m not the same douchenozzle I was six months ago and there’s not a damn chance in hell that I’m letting you drive away this time."

  My mouth drops open only to be pushed back up by Brady’s fingers under my chin. He spins around and heads towards the shiny blue truck parked up the curb. I can only stand there, my feet glued to the floor, in a daze.

  "Hey Cinders." He turns around halfway up the footpath. "You feeling dangerous babe?"

  ***

  "Is it moving at all?" I shout. My voice barely carries over the roar of the engine.

  "Fuck no!" Brady curses.

  Again, I press my foot down on the gas. I can hear the squealing of the tires even if we're not moving an inch.

  This is definitely a day of bad decisions. By far the worst decision I've made was not throwing Brady out of the house as soon as I set eyes on him this morning. He has a unique knack for attracting trouble and paired with my luck which is without a doubt very very bad, disaster was sure to happen as is evident by the predicament we find ourselves in now.

  Coming in at a close second in the bad decision awards was definitely agreeing to go mudding though. Yes, I’m a twenty-year-old college student and yes, I am literally stuck in the mud. These past few days have not been the best in terms of me making mature, adult choices and now I find myself sitting in Brady’s truck stuck in the middle of a very muddy field with no cell phone signal. Yay me!

  To make matters worse, for the second time today Brady is shirtless and though I’m trying my hardest to avert my eyes, they keep drifting back to the sculpted abs on his torso, heating my body enough that I’m surprised the mud caking my legs doesn’t melt.

  "Maybe you should stand at the back." I suggest.

  "No fucking way." He growls, looking at me as if I’m the one who's lost their mind. "The guy that stands at the back of the fucking truck always gets fucking covered in shit. It’s science."

  "Well, if you stand at the back you can tell me if spinning the tires is just making the truck sink deeper." I roll my eyes.

  "Have you got any bars on your phone yet?" He asks and I see him disappear round the back of the truck.

  "No." I call back. "Ok, I’m gonna start it. Back up and make sure you move out the way otherwise it’s gonna get messy."

  "What?"

  "I said make sure you move out the way!" I press my foot on the gas again, throwing the mud from the ground up into the air.

  The sound of the screeching tires is like murder to my ears. The sound vibrates through the air.

  "Well, was it budging?" I lean a little out of the driver’s side door and look towards the back of the very dirty truck.

  Oh hell. Brady steps from around the back not looking like Brady anymore. His hair, face, chest, basically everything is caked in sloppy brown crap. I bite my lip to try and stop myself from laughing but eventually lose. I hunch over, the laughter the kind that wracks your entire body, coming right from your stomach.

  "What. The. Fuck." His voice is calm and quiet while he wipes his eyes.

  "I told you to move out the way." I gasp out in between laughs. "Oh my God, you look like a mud monster."

  "I didn’t hear you Cindy." His voice is way too calm considering what a mess he's in. He creeps towards me, an evil glint in his eye, a sly troublesome smile stretching across his face.

  "W-what are you doing?" I still can’t stop the laughter, if only because the only clean thing on him is the white of his teeth. "B-Brady now think about this. Two of us being dirty isn’t gonna get us out of this puddle." I hold my hands up in surrender.

  "What?" He holds a hand to his ear. "I can’t hear you Cindy."

  "Don’t you dare!"

  "I only want a hug Cinders." The sing song of his voice freaks me out and I drop out of the truck.

  I slowly walk backwards, stalked by my roguishly handsome ex-boyfriend that has every intention of making me suffer. I purse my lips, ready to bolt. Before I even have a chance, he throws himself towards me, his hands clutching at me around my waist. I scream and laugh at the same time while he nuzzles his face into the crook of my neck.

  We're both laughing to tears and the only thing holding me up and stopping me from rolling on the floor is Brady’s strong arms wrapped tightly around me.

  "Now we can both be mud monsters." The warm breath drifting over my ear causes me to let out a little shiver. I make the mistake of looking up.

  My eyes meet his and it’s as if a sizzling hot current is running between us. It’s the kind that fills the surrounding space with tension and lays on the senses like a blanket, leaving only the two of us existing.

  His tongue slips out, wetting his bottom lip and I find myself mirroring his actions as his face comes closer to my own. My eyes flutter closed and I can feel his breath against my cheek.

  "You're so beautiful. You have no idea how much I've fucking missed you." His low voice rolls over me and I hum in agreement with no idea what I’m actually agreeing to. I just don’t want this moment to end.

  I can feel the faintest feather like touch against my lips, hesitant and light. My heart beats a staccato, the blood rushes through my body and instead of reason, instead of running in the opposite direction where my heart will be safe, all I can think is of is the feel of his lips against mine and how alive it makes me feel.

  That’s my reason, my excuse for laying my hands on his cheeks and pushing my mouth into his hungrily, starving. His fingers dig into my waist as he pulls me even closer, my chest crushing against his. I can feel his tongue nudge between my lips and I eagerly open them, my tongue dancing with his as I move my hand down over his strong shoulders, running them down his hard chest, his muscles tensing beneath my hands. It’s as if I've lost all control of my body.

  "I love you so fucking much." He growls against my lips.

  No, no, no. He doesn’t. He can’t do. I rip myself away from his body as if it’s burning me and stumble backwards, shaking my head frantically.

  "Cinders?" He frowns.

  "This is a mistake."

  "Didn’t feel like a fucking mistake to me. What the hell is going on?" I ignore his question.

  "W-we need to try and get some help."

  Brady takes a step towards me. I flinch when I feel his touch on my shoulder and his eyebrows pull together in a frown.

  "Fuck!" He pulls at his hair and I take another step back. "What did I do wrong?"

  "N-nothing." I stutter. "Things can’t go back to how they were Brady. It’s not possible."

  "What the fuck are you talking about?"

  "I can’t do this." I shake my head. "It’s unfair."

  "What do you want me to do? I'll do anything." His eyes are pleading with me; I can barely look at them. Doesn’t he get it? Doesn’t he get what he did to me? Doesn’t he get that he fucking broke me?

  "It’s been six months Brady."

  "I know how long it’s been; what you think I haven’t been in fucking hell without you? I. Screwed. Up. I know."

  "I’m not getting into this with you right now." I look around the empty field for anything that can help me avoid this conversation.

  "Cinders..." Whatever he was going to say is drowned out by the pinging sound of a cellphone.

  I frown. Either an axe murderer is lurking around out here and his cover's been blown by a T t inder notification or we finally got signal. Both Brady and I pull our phones from our pockets. My shorts are super tight so I jump up and down a few times before the phone slips out.

  "Wasn’t me." Brady grunts, holding his phone up in front of my face to prove it for some reason. I snort at his screensaver, a picture of Brian wearing a top hat. "But I got signal. I'll call someone to tow this damn truck out."

  I nod my head and look at the screen on my own phone, seeing a text message notification. I open it to see Trina’s name flash.

  Bachelorette party! Stripper yay or nay? Plz say yay :)


  I smirk, knowing full well Liv will probably go on a murderous rampage if we get a stripper. Trina and I will be watching the show behind a damn upturned table. I type out a simple response.

  Ask Liv.

  The instant reply I get has me laughing out loud. I so need to laugh if only to distract me from the hot as hell kiss.

  :(

  Looks like Trina knows how the stripper idea will go down too.

  I squeeze my phone back into the insanely tight pocket of my shorts, vowing to bring a purse next time I wear them. I probably have a phone shaped imprint on my hips.

  Brady leans against the truck, staring at me intently as he talks into the phone. I walk on over, his voice becoming louder the nearer I get.

  "Yep.... About half hour past the gate on the old Coulson land... No I can’t fucking wait until after your fucking date... or that either... Yep... I'll see you in a bit then... Ok, bye." He lets out a breath and shoots me a smirk and a wink. "Tucker is on his way."

  "Great." I say, a little too enthusiastically.

  Brady’s smirk drops from his face and a pang of guilt runs through me. I don’t want to hurt him. I look down as the atmosphere between us becomes painfully awkward. I shouldn’t have encouraged him. The kiss was a mistake, no matter how good or right it felt in his arms.

  He prowls towards me, like a predator stalking its prey. I freeze on the spot staring at him with wide eyes. What if he kisses me again? Will I stop him? Can I stop him?

  He comes within an inch of me and stoops slightly and his mouth goes right past my mouth to by my ear.

  "I meant what I said, Cinders. I'm not letting you go. I don’t care if it takes six months, six years or fucking sixty, I'll show you I've changed. I'll show you that I'm the guy for you Cindy Martin." His breath over my skin causes goosebumps rise. "Plus, I'm Brady fucking Cooper. You can’t resist me." He winks at me with a wolfish smile.

  I let out a small squeak and spin around. I need to get away from him. My mind needs time to adjust to for the craziness that are my feelings.

  My mind is screaming at me to lock my heart away, lock it in a cell and throw away the key because that’s the only way to protect it. My heart is begging to be let loose and reunited with the rest of it, the part that had long ago been given to Brady Cooper and I'd never gotten back.