Forever and Ever (Complete #1-7)

by E. L. Todd

  Mitchell laughed then clinked his beer against Slade’s. “You’re alright, man.”

  “You’re more than alright,” Slade said. He spotted the sad look on my face. “But you’re way better,” he blurted. “Best friends forever.”

  I laughed for the first time in a week. “It’s okay. We aren’t exclusive.”

  We got settled in for the night and I slept in my new room. But I couldn’t sleep. Like every other night, my eyes wouldn’t close. And when they did, I had nightmares of Skye screwing some other guy with a built body and no face. The idea of her wrapping her legs around his waist made me want to scream.

  The next morning, I said goodbye to Slade outside the door.

  “Call me if you need anything,” Slade said. “I mean, anything.” He emphasized the last word. “If it’s three a.m. and you can’t sleep, call me. If you need me to come out here, I’ll be here. Okay?”

  I nodded slowly. “I know, man.”

  “And I’m coming out either way, so you better be prepared.”

  “To see Mitchell?” I teased.

  He chuckled then clapped my shoulder. “You’re going to be okay. See?”

  I nodded. “I hope so.”

  “You will, man. You’re going to love it here.”

  I could never put into words how much Slade meant to me. He’d been my best friend since we were two. We were so different, but that never got in the way. He was the best guy I knew, even if he didn’t act like it most of the time. “I…thank you…for everything.”

  His eyes softened. “Any time. I know you’ll always be there for me.”

  I cleared my throat. “I love you, man.”

  “I love you too, Cay.” He hugged me and held me close. “You’re going to be okay. One day, this will be a distant memory. We’ll be talking about it in the Bahamas while surrounded by beautiful women. And I’ll point at you and say I told you so.”

  “I hope so,” I said quietly.

  “Now go inside and get to know your new playmate.”

  I laughed then watched him walk away.

  He headed to the rental car, and before he got in, he waved at me. “You better fuck a lot of bitches!”

  I laughed and rolled my eyes.

  Then he drove away.

  When I couldn’t see his car anymore, I walked inside.

  “Slade is a cool guy,” Mitchell said. “Too bad he doesn’t live here.”

  “Yeah.” I’d miss him a lot. I didn’t say it aloud because it would be too hard. I sat down on the couch, feeling depressed and alone.

  “One of my regulars is coming over. I can have her bring a friend—an easy one. And don’t worry, she’s hot, not fat and ugly.” He smirked then drank his beer.

  “No.” I realized how rude I sounded. “I mean, no thanks.”

  He nodded. “You aren’t there yet. I get it.”

  I would never be there. “I’m going to bed.”

  I walked into my room then lay in bed. I stared at the ceiling, feeling more lost than ever before.

  88

  Skye

  Unable to do anything other than weep and lie in bed, I stayed in my beautiful penthouse and never left. My father was supposed to take me under his wing and show me the ropes, but I was physically and mentally unable to. I was traumatized, hurt, and unable to breathe.

  Life was meaningless and painful. I couldn’t do anything except cry. My tear ducts ran dry, and I was constantly dehydrated from the loss of water. I drank when I could, but sometimes I hoped I would become so malnourished that I would just die peacefully.

  Everyone left me alone, except Trinity, for the first two weeks. My parents didn’t bother me and blow up my phone. The silence and quiet were what I needed. But it also left me alone with my thoughts. And all I thought about was Cayson.

  Trinity stayed with me, made me eat and tried to distract my mind with talk of fashion and accessories. She was trying hard to cheer me up, but nothing was working.

  Then my mom came next. But even her grace and compassion couldn’t fix me. I was broken and unable to function. My days were spent staring out the window at the city. My nights were spent in the same way. The lights from the city burned like a forest fire, and they seemed to come alive. If I wasn’t so depressed, I might have actually appreciated it. But every time I wanted to tell Cayson something, share my life with him, I realized I couldn’t.

  I’d lost my best friend as well as my lover.

  Some days, I just stared at the phone and hoped Cayson would call. I knew he wouldn’t, but I prayed he’d be weak and just call me to check on me. It was selfish and stupid. There were times when I almost called him, but then I realized I’d be hurting both of us in the process. I asked Trinity to take my phone away at one point.

  Life was hopeless. I had everything anyone could ever want. I had an amazing job, an amazing apartment, and an amazing family, but I couldn’t appreciate any of it. Because it meant nothing without the man I loved.

  When two weeks had come and gone, I couldn’t take it anymore.

  Trinity was sitting on the couch reading a magazine when I stood up with purpose. She eyed me. “Are you ready to go out? See the city?”

  “This is stupid. So fucking stupid.”

  She flinched. “Sorry…?”

  “All of this means nothing without Cayson. I don’t care about running a company, I don’t care about this apartment, and I don’t care that there’s nothing for me to do in California. I’ll sit in his damn apartment all day and wait for him to come home. This is unbearable.”

  She stood up and dropped the magazine. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m moving to California and I’m going to tell Cayson the truth.”

  Her jaw dropped. “Are you serious?”

  “I’m damn serious.” I grabbed a bag and shoved everything inside. “He’ll forgive me for what I did. I know he will.”

  Trinity grabbed my arm. “Skye, think about this. Cayson even said he didn’t want you to go to California. He refused, remember?”

  “That’s too damn bad. Get his address from Slade.”

  “How?” she demanded. “If he knows it’s for you, he won’t give it to me.”

  “Just do it! You’ll figure it out.” I left the apartment then headed to the airport, not letting anything get in my way.

  After the plane landed, I took a taxi to the university. Trinity texted me the address and apartment number, and I found it easily. It was ten o’clock at night, but I didn’t care about the time. Knowing Cayson, he would be studying anyway.

  Once the cab stopped, I got out then practically ran to the door. I was so eager to see him to apologize for everything that I needed to move as fast as possible. Once I got to the door, I knocked louder than I meant to.

  Please be home. Please be home. Please be home.

  I imagined his handsome face. Those blue eyes were brighter than ice in the sun. His smile could warm my body with just a look. I needed to feel those lips against mine, to know everything would be okay. A life without Cayson was one I couldn’t contemplate. I was going to be a Californian.

  The door opened.

  But it wasn’t Cayson.

  “Hi…” A girl stood wearing a man’s t-shirt. It reached her thighs, and she had no bottoms on. Her hair was messy like she’d been rolling around in someone’s sheets. She was beautiful—really beautiful.

  My heart fell into my stomach. I couldn’t breathe. We’d only been apart for two weeks and he was already sleeping with someone else? He’d moved on from me that quickly? He could sleep with someone so easily? Whether I cheated on him or not shouldn’t make a difference. The pain broke me into a million pieces.

  But then there was hope. Maybe I got the wrong apartment. “Does Cayson live here…?” Please say no. Please say no.

  “He’s in the shower. Why?”

  God, kill me now.

  No. No. No.

  My heart gave out and the tears emerged.

  “You wan
t to talk to him?”

  I wanted to die. How could he move on so quickly? It was like I meant nothing to him. Cayson wasn’t like other guys. Maybe some other guy like Slade would sleep with someone else immediately, but not Cayson. The fact that he did was…unspeakable.

  “Um, hello?”

  “No! Don’t tell him I was here!”

  “Okay…are you alright?”

  “I’m fine. Please don’t say anything to him.”

  She looked at me like I was crazy.

  “I…have to go. I’m sorry.” I turned away and ran. There was nothing to run from, but I ran anyway. I somehow ended up in the center of the university, unsure where to go or what to do. I just kept walking in the darkness, feeling cold.

  My heart started to slow, barely beating. Breathing was becoming harder. At some point, my eyes were blurred from the tears. I fell to my knees and felt the agony rip through my chest. I broke down and sobbed, clutched my waist, and rocked back and forth. My world had ended. Everything was gone.

  Cayson was gone.

  6. You Have My Heart

  89

  Conrad

  I had another year of school to get through, and I was dreading it. A lot of my friends and family had already left. I wouldn’t miss Trinity, but I would miss Slade, Cayson, and most of all, Roland.

  He was my best friend. Who would I get into trouble with? Who would I watch the game with? Silke was still around, but we weren’t particularly close. Theo was cool, but he wasn’t Roland.

  I’d just have to suck it up and carry on.

  I was jealous of Roland. I wish I could drop out of college. That would be awesome. But I knew my dad would butcher me. He was gentle with Trinity, but he was a dick to me. He had different expectations for each of us. Trinity could get away with pretty much anything. Me, not so much.

  Hot chicks littered the campus. They were everywhere, left and right. And new freshmen had just rolled in, providing new crops to pick from. I didn’t like younger women, but as long as they were over eighteen, it didn’t make a difference to me.

  I sat down in the library at our usual table. But the gang wasn’t around. Slade wasn’t eating his lunch obnoxiously, my sister wasn’t whining—being obnoxious—and Skye and Cayson weren’t studying obnoxiously like nerds. The silence was eerie. I didn’t realize how much I relied on their presence until it wasn’t there.

  “Creepy, huh?” Silke sat in a chair across from me. Her long brown hair was pulled into a braid over her shoulder. She wore a black jacket with a golden necklace. Her face was painted with makeup, and her green eyes stood out. Sometimes I forgot she and Slade were twins, because they looked nothing alike.

  “A little.” I pulled out my phone and tried to find something to entertain myself with.

  “I hate to say it, but I actually kinda miss my brother…a little.” She pulled out her textbooks then scattered them around. Then she pulled out an apple and took a big bite of it. “But don’t tell him I said that.”

  “He wouldn’t believe me anyway.”

  Theo came to the table then leaned back in a chair, putting his feet on the seat opposite of him. “Yo.”

  I glanced from Silke to Theo. “I guess we’re all that’s left.”

  “We’re the better ones anyway.” Theo rested his hands on the back of his neck, his brown hair dark and his green eyes bright. His skin was unusually pale, flawless. Sometimes I teased him for looking like a vampire.

  “Yeah,” I agreed halfheartedly.

  “Going to Cameron’s party?” Theo asked.

  “Are you going?” I asked.

  Theo shrugged. “I guess.”

  “Then I’ll go.” I took out my binder and tried to motivate myself to get back to work. School sucked, and it usually put me to sleep. I wasn’t sure why Skye and Cayson were so studious. Perhaps it was because they knew what they wanted to do at a very young age. I was still clueless.

  “Um…hello?” Silke gave us a pointed look.

  Theo eyed her. “Um…hi?”

  “Aren’t you going to invite me?” she demanded.

  I shrugged. “Come if you want. It just doesn’t seem like your scene.”

  “It might be my scene,” Silke said.

  “Well, come if you want,” Theo said. “We aren’t stopping you.”

  “Hmm…” Silke thought for a moment. “Nah, I have something else in mind.”

  Theo and I both shared a look then dropped it.

  What else did she have in mind?

  Theo and I grabbed our beers then moved through the crowd, mingling with other students we knew. The music was loud, and the bass was thumping in my ears. Kegs lined the wall, and there was more trash underneath my feet than a full garbage can.

  Theo eyed the girls surrounding us. “A lot of cute girls here.”

  My eyes scanned the crowd. While there were a lot of beauties in the midst, I felt a tinge of disappointment in my stomach. “Damn, I slept with most of them already.”

  “What about the blonde in the bootylicious jeans?”

  I sighed. “Yep. In the back of my truck.”

  He kept looking. “Brunette with curls?”

  “Yep. On my couch.” She was a pretty good lay, actually.

  “What about the girl in the black dress?”

  I tried to get a peek of her face but her back was to me. “It’s hard to tell…” I kept looking then my eyes moved down to her ankle. There was a tattoo of a red rose. I recognized it. “Her too. Once in the locker room, and another time behind a bar.”

  Theo laughed. “Damn, you made your way around the campus and now you’re going back for seconds.”

  “Sounds about right,” I said with a sigh.

  Cameron came over to us. “Hey, bros.” He held a red Solo cup in his hand. “Thanks for gracing us with your presence.” He bowed in mockery.

  He was drunk. “Hey, Cam.”

  “Is this place the shit or what?” he asked.

  I adjusted my feet since I was standing on a graveyard of red cups. “This will be a bitch to clean up tomorrow.”

  “It’s called a cleaning service,” Cameron said.

  “It’s still a bitch no matter who cleans it,” Theo said.

  Cameron turned to him. “Oh, hey, didn’t see you there.” He wobbled slightly then laughed.

  “I’m pretty hard to miss,” Theo said in annoyance. He had five different black belts and was arguably one of the best fighters in the country. He could do flips and kicks off roofs. He was the real deal. His thighs were thicker than tree trunks, and his abs could shatter a plank of wood easily.

  Cameron started doing judo chops, spilling his beer on his shoes. “Hi-yah!”

  I rolled my eyes and drank my beer.

  Theo watched him, not impressed.

  “You need to show me your moves,” Cameron said. “You must get chicks all the time.”

  “I do.” Theo said it simply and without emotion. He was quiet about his personal life, at least for the most part, but it was common knowledge he had a lot of flings and a long list of girls. I was a little jealous. I wished I could do crazy flips to impress women. I had to rely solely on my looks and lines.

  “Bad turnout, huh?” Cameron asked, surveying the crowd.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked. “There’re loads of people here.”

  “I meant chick-wise,” Cameron said. “It’s the same slutty girls over and over, you know? You would think they’d make friends and bring them along.”

  “Word,” I said.

  “Pete was just telling me an awesome idea.” Cameron shifted his weight and almost fell over.

  “You okay, man?” Theo asked.

  “Fo sho,” Cameron said, shaking it off. “There’s this speed-dating thing they have at some girl’s place. I guess it’s where all the classy debutantes find suitable partners. They aren’t the skanky kind that we usually go for, but that’s not a bad thing, right?”

  Theo’s eyes shot up in interest.
“Like, the girls looking for relationships, not one-night stands.”

  “Bingo!” Cameron added a nod. “It’s perfect, right? We can hang out with some classy women for once in our lives.”

  I was always honest with my intentions toward women. I never pretended I would call if I didn’t plan on it. Women were more sensitive about that sort of thing than men. But there had to be some kinky girls there that wanted to have fun for a night. It was worth a shot. “I’m down.”

  “Me too,” Theo said. “When I show them my martial arts, they’ll be a puddle at my feet.”

  “Alright!” Cameron gave us awkward high-fives. “Let’s do it.” He walked away, tripping as he went, but he regained his footing and kept going.

  “This will be fun,” Theo said with a smirk.

  “Too fun,” I said with a laugh.

  A few girls started dancing in the center of the room. Judging by their quick movements and loud screams, they were drunk off their asses and having a good time.

  “Come on!” A blond girl wearing pearls and a skirt pulled her brunette friend onto the floor. “Loosen up!”

  The brunette rolled her eyes then did the bare minimum in terms of dancing so her friend would stop pestering her.

  My eyes immediately moved to the brunette, and my heart suddenly stopped.

  Her brown hair was shiny, shinier than any other girl’s I’d ever seen. It had a bounce to it every time she moved. It was long, moving down her chest to the area just above her breasts. Her skin was fair, and a slight pink colored her cheeks. Her eyes looked like emerald gems, the kind you found in a buried treasure chest. She wore dark jeans that fit every curve of her ass and thighs. A blue blouse clung to her hourglass frame, showing her petite waistline and birthing hips. A gold bracelet was on her wrist, and one hand wore a silver ring.

  Even when she forced a smile, it was captivating. Her eyes sparkled while she moved, trying to convince her friend she was having a good time when she wasn’t. Even though she didn’t want to dance, she was clearly good at it. She had perfect form and natural flow.