A Second Chance at Forever (Chance #2)

by K. B. Andrews

  “Dad, this is Alissa,” I introduced when we walked into the kitchen to find breakfast. “Where is Kathryn? She didn’t cook breakfast today?”

  “She had to go into the office early today. Alissa, it’s nice to meet you. Please make yourself at home.” Dad put his cup in the sink before grabbing his keys and phone from the table.

  “I found an apartment. We’re probably going to move in today.”

  “Good for you, honey. Let me know if you need any help. I have to get to work now.” He kissed me on the forehead and walked out the door.

  I poured myself a cup of coffee while Alissa scoped out the fridge and cabinets. I settled for a Pop Tart while she got to work making a big bowl of cereal.

  “How do you eat that much and stay so skinny?” I asked her.

  She looked up with a big mouth full of Cocoa Puffs. “I have a quick metabolism?” Even with a mouth full of cereal, I still heard the question in that statement.

  I shook my head and left her in the kitchen to eat her cereal in peace. I sat down on the couch and began to make a list of everything I needed to buy for the new apartment.

  I started writing the basics, couch, TV, coffee maker. I quickly scratched that out and wrote, “EVERYTHING.”

  Tossing the pad of paper on the table, I started gathering my things to head out for one of the many stores I needed to visit.

  “Are you ready?” I asked, peeking my head into the kitchen.

  “Yeah.” Alissa stuffed a piece of toast into her mouth before brushing the crumbs from her shirt and following after me.

  I laughed quietly to myself and led the way toward the door.

  Shopping didn’t take as long since Alissa and I split up the rooms. She got everything for the kitchen, bathroom, and her room. I got the living room and my room.

  We split up the moment we walked into the furniture store and got to work. I picked out a light blue sofa and love seat with wooden tables and lamps to match. I also picked out a rug and a few decorative items. Once the furniture was picked out, we made our way to Target to grab supplies.

  We ended up buying so much we had to have employees follow us around pushing carts. After we got the items we needed for the kitchen, which wasn’t very much because neither of us cooked more than mac and cheese, we went to search for bed linens. Shopping took the majority of the day, but we made it back to the apartment in time to meet with the furniture delivery guys.

  They loaded everything into the apartment as Alissa and I told them which room the furniture needed to be taken to. I even paid a couple guys to bring the stuff up out of my car. It was a task, I don’t know how we managed to cram everything into my small VW Beetle, but we did.

  After everything was put into its general area, we got to work setting everything up. I was in middle of hooking up the living room TV when Alissa decided she was starving.

  “I can’t wait until morning,” she complained, throwing herself onto the couch for dramatic effect.

  “Run and grab something. My keys are on the counter, I think.” I lifted my eyes from the TV to scan the room for my keys.

  “Do you want anything?” Alissa asked while pulling her shoes on.

  “Yeah, just grab me whatever.” I pressed the power button on the TV and watched as it lit up.

  Alissa grabbed my keys and headed for the door.

  I was in middle of hooking up the Blu-ray player when someone knocked on the door. I stopped messing with the cords and stood from the floor.

  Thinking Alissa had forgotten something, I opened the door without looking through the peephole. It was Mason.

  “Hey, what are you doing here?” I asked, not bothering to let him in.

  “I went to your dad’s. He gave me this address. Can we talk?” His ice-blue eyes were shining in the dimly lit hallway.

  “Does your girlfriend know you’re here?” I opened the door wider so he could walk in.

  “Don’t do that.” He turned to look at me, pain showing through his eyes.

  “Do what?” I closed the door and turned to look at him. “You probably shouldn’t be here without her knowing.” I walked past him and sat on the couch.

  “We need to talk about that.” Mason sat down next to me. My whole body began to buzz and every hair stood on end.

  I pushed past the feelings. “What’s to talk about? You said you were going to break up with her, you slept with me, then didn’t break it off. Did I forget anything?”

  “Lennox, you know me. You know I wouldn’t do something like that to you. I was planning on breaking up with her Sunday night, but she surprised me with her parents. I couldn’t break up with her in front of them, so I decided to do it yesterday. That’s why we were at the bar, I was going to break up with her over dinner.”

  “So, did you?” I asked, not meeting his eyes. I knew they were something I needed to avoid. If I looked into them, I would’ve gotten lost and all thoughts would’ve flown out the window.

  “I tried.” His jaw flexed as his eyes locked on mine.

  I let out a loud breath and stood from the couch. “Do you not want to break up with her? Just had to take me for one more spin? What is it?” I felt the anger rise up inside of me.

  Mason stood and wrapped his arms around me. His heat sank into me while his scent clouded my head.

  “Don’t do that. You’re not getting out of this.” I shook free from his arms. I knew that if I stayed wrapped in them, everything would’ve fallen away again and we would’ve ended up doing something stupid.

  “She thinks she’s pregnant, Lennox.” He fell to the couch.

  Pregnant. She’s pregnant? How the fuck could this happen? Mason is supposed to be mine. I’m supposed to have his baby, not Nicole. He’s going to be gone forever now. He is my only chance for happiness, for love, for my ever after. I’m never going to get another chance like him again. He was it for me. I fucked up, I left him here, broke his heart, and he found someone else. Someone else he is now having a baby with.

  “Congratulations.” I moved to the kitchen.

  “I don’t want this, not with her,” he stood and followed me. “It’s not supposed to be this way. I want you, Lennox. I’ve only ever, wanted you.” He closed the distance between us and pressed a kiss to my lips.

  I was surprised. My lips tingled with pleasure, finally getting what they had wanted for so long.

  I allowed myself to forget everything for the moment. I just enjoyed feeling his soft lips against mine one last time. I wrapped my arms around his neck and tangled my fingers into his hair, gently pulling him closer to me.

  A whimper escaped me from the feeling the kiss stirred inside me.

  “Please, don’t do that,” Mason whispered against my lips.

  I opened my eyes to see his ice-blue eyes staring at me, causing a shiver to run up my spine.

  “We can’t do this,” I pushed away from him, shaking my head. “You should go.” I turned away from him and grabbed that special black label bottle that got me through so much.

  “I’m sorry, Lennox,” his eyes held so much sadness, it broke my heart to see him that way. “I never meant for this to happen.” Mason stepped forward, trying to close the gap between us again.

  I took a step back, my back pressed against the counter. “Please, just go.”

  I heard the hurt in my voice and I knew Mason felt it. He let out a loud breath before nodding his head and walking away from me.

  I opened the bottle and tipped it up, letting the warm, brown liquid burn its way down my throat. I wouldn’t let myself cry. Mason wasn’t mine anymore and he hadn’t been for a long time.

  Alissa walked in a few minutes later with her arms full of bags.

  “How much food did you get?” I questioned.

  “Just enough for me and you.” She shrugged before handing me one bag while she took the other three.

  She moved to the table and sat down. I picked up the bottle of Jack and took it with me.

  “What’s your deal
?” Alissa asked, pointing to the bottle of Jack sitting on the table beside me.

  “Nicole’s pregnant.”

  “Oh, that sucks. Is that why he didn’t break up with her?”

  I ignored her question. If there was anything I needed to do, it was keep my mind off Mason and start worrying about the whole Chris situation. “I need you to write the announcement and send it out first thing in the morning. The limitations on Chis’ threat ran out today. He will be looking for you now.” I picked up my bottle and took a long drink.

  Alissa eyed me but got up to get her laptop. She brought it back to the table and started typing something up. By the time I had finished eating she was done.

  “Send,” Alissa said with a click to the trackpad.

  “You sent it?”

  “Yeah, this way I don’t have to get up early.”

  I laughed. “I’m going to bed, it’s been a long day.” I threw my stuff in the trash and made my way to my bedroom.

  After spending twenty minutes opening all the bed linens, I was finally able to crawl into bed. I closed my eyes but only saw those ice-blue ones staring back at me. Finally, after what seemed like half the night, I fell asleep.

  I woke the next morning with my phone ringing. I rolled over and answered it.

  “Hello?”

  “Where the fuck are you? I can’t believe you released that statement,” Chris said into the phone.

  Great, so that made headlines today.

  “I told you, Chris. I’m not coming back. I’m not marrying you. Accept it.”

  “I noticed Alissa is gone. I have my people searching for the both of you right now and when I find you two, I will kill her in front of you. You will be coming back, whether you realize it or not.” His voice was even and controlled, it was like we were having any normal conversation.

  I dropped the phone to the floor and pulled the blankets up over my head. Why does my life have to be so fucked up? The phone started ringing again.

  “What?” I answered thinking it was Chris.

  “Lennox?” a soft voice asked.

  “Yeah. Who is this?”

  “It’s Sarah, remember me?”

  “Of course I do. How are you?” Sarah was my only friend before I left to start singing. I hadn’t seen her since I left.

  “Good. Listen, I heard you were in town and was wondering if you were busy today.”

  “No, no plans. What’s up?”

  “Trent and I were going to go out on the water. I would love to catch up with you. Do you think you could make it? We’re going to be leaving around eleven.”

  “Yeah, that would be great. I’d love to catch up with you guys.”

  “Great, we’re going to be renting the houseboat.”

  “Oh, my dad’s houseboat?” I questioned.

  “Yeah, Mason bought it awhile back.”

  Hearing Mason’s name reminded me of the night before. “I don’t know if I can go. I don’t want to risk running into him.”

  “Please? I really want to see you and catch up. Please, Lennox.”

  I agreed before hanging up the phone. I wanted to see Sarah again but running into Mason was something I wasn’t prepared for. I didn’t want to see him, I didn’t want to be reminded of everything I had screwed up.

  I got up and made my way to Alissa’s room. “Get up, you’re coming with me.” I flipped on the light and shook her.

  “Where?” she groaned.

  “On the boat. Get up and get ready.”

  I searched through several boxes before I finally found a bathing suit. I went to my room to try it on when I remembered I was covered in bruises that weren’t going away anytime soon. I tossed the bikini onto my bed and pulled on a pair of shorts and a tank top.

  I looked myself over in the mirror. The person staring back at me looked lost. More than anything, I just needed to find her again.

  11

  Mason

  I went by Lennox’s new apartment to explain why I hadn’t broken up with Nicole, but all I did was hurt her more.

  Why do I keep doing this to this girl? How many times can I break her heart without her hating me? All I want is Lennox. All I’ve thought about for the past five years is Lennox. How to hold onto her, how to get over her, now she’s back and I still can’t have her. How do I keep fucking everything up? How can I fix this?

  By the time I had managed to stop thinking about how shitty my life had become and took a shower, I was running behind.

  I was in such a rush to get to the shop, that I jumped in and started the truck. Shifting into reverse, I noticed an envelope under my windshield wiper.

  I leaned forward, squinting against the morning sun trying to figure out how it got there and what it was. Finally, I rolled down the window and reached out, pulling the envelope back inside.

  I put the truck back in park and ripped it open.

  I reached in to pull out pictures of Lennox and me from our weekend.

  What the fuck is this?

  It was a picture of us at the bar, we were sitting across from one another. I was smiling and my hand was extended across the table holding hers.

  The next was a picture of us getting on my boat, then one of us at the coffee shop the next morning. I flipped to the last picture, it was a picture of Lennox and me in my kitchen, having sex.

  My hand was on her hip, fingertips turning white from pressure as she looked over her shoulder at me. Her lips were agape, while my head was thrown back in the heat of the moment.

  It was taken from the kitchen window. Whoever had been taking them wasn’t in the house, but they had been following us.

  Who would do this? Has Nicole seen them? Does she know about Lennox and me?

  I placed the pictures back in the envelope and tossed them in the seat, anger rising up inside of me. I could feel my face reddening at the thought of someone taking pictures of Lennox like that, someone other than me seeing her naked body.

  I threw the truck in reverse and stomped the gas. I made it to the shop in under an hour. Even the long drive didn’t calm my anger. By the time I parked, I could hear my heart beating in my ears. I was damn near breathless as I made my way down to the rental counter to talk to Trent.

  I flung open the door, rage fueling me, until I was stopped in my tracks by Jake, one of the guys on the weekend crew, behind the counter. “What are you doing here? Where’s Trent?”

  “Trent said you gave him the day off, said he was taking out the houseboat.” Jake shrugged before turning his attention back to the computer.

  Fuck, I forgot about that.

  I rubbed my hands over my head as I made my way toward the boat.

  “Are you coming?” Trent asked when he noticed me walking down the dock.

  I stopped just a few feet from him. “I have a problem.”

  He shrugged. “So what’s new, you always have a problem.”

  “I’m not joking this time, Trent. Someone has been following me. They took pictures of Lennox and me together.”

  “What? Who the fuck would do that?” He sat the cooler down in the boat and gave me his full attention.

  “I don’t know. Someone who wants to hurt Lennox, or me, I guess. But who?” I ran my hands through my hair, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

  I heard girls talking and turned around to see Lennox and Alissa heading toward the boat.

  “Lennox is going?” I asked Trent.

  “Yeah, Sarah wanted to see her.”

  “I’m going, just let me tell Joey.” I walked past Lennox without even looking at her, I kept my eyes narrowed on the dock as I walked.

  “Joey, I’m going out on the boat with Trent. Do you think you can hold down the fort?”

  “That’s fine, sweetie.”

  “Thanks, Joe.”

  Walking out the door, Nicole approached me. “Hey babe, where are you going?”

  Fuck.

  I felt my shoulders slump knowing what I was in for. “I’m going out on
the boat with Trent and Sarah.” I hoped like hell she didn’t notice Lennox and Alissa.

  She peeked her head around and noticed them as soon as I closed my mouth.

  “And Lennox and her little friend, it looks like.”

  “Sarah invited them. I didn’t know she was going when I accepted.” Great, now I’m lying.

  “Do you mind if I come?” She looked up at me with a big smile.

  “Yeah, if you want.” I didn’t know what else to say. I couldn’t tell her no, then she would wonder why I wanted to be alone with Lennox.

  “Great, let’s go.” She took my hand, leading me down toward the dock.

  “Mase,” I heard Dane shout from behind me.

  I turned to see him jogging toward me with a small cooler. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m going with.”

  “You know Alissa is going, right?”

  “Yep.” He had a big smile.

  Great, this is going to be a fantastic fucking day. Alissa has already run away from Dane once before. Then you have Lennox, Nicole, and myself. What kind of shit am I getting into?

  I let out a sigh and headed toward the boat. When we approached, I heard Lennox and Alissa whispering quietly to one another, probably trying to figure out how to get off the boat without anyone noticing.

  “Dane? You’re going?” Trent questioned.

  “That’s right, fucker. Now get us out of here quick before anyone can get off.” Dane lightly punched Trent’s shoulder. I helped Nicole on the boat and Trent and I untied it. Once we were all on board, Trent started up the engine and steered away from the dock.

  There we were, Lennox, Sarah, and Alissa sitting around a table trying not to make eye contact. Nicole sat across from them, smiling like she didn’t have a fucking clue as to what was going on. Dane and I, hovered around Trent, trying to keep our distance from the girls. We were still close enough to shore that they could jump overboard and swim back. And I was sure they would, just to get away from us.

  “Who wants a beer?” Sarah asked standing.