Never say forever (Never series Book 1)

by Taylor, Courtney A.

“HAHA very funny.” I said with a fake laugh. “Anyways, I need some clothes. I can’t go home wearing Aiden’s clothes otherwise my mom will think something’s up.”

  “Yeah, sure. I’m sure I have some of your clothes lying around here somewhere.”

  She starts browsing her closet and comes out with a pink V-neck sweater and a pair of jeans. She tosses it to me. I look at the jeans and realize these are my favorite jeans that I have been looking everywhere for.

  “You have my favorite jeans? What the hell? I’ve been looking everywhere for these. Are you stealing clothes from my house now?” I asked not really meaning it, just messing with her.

  “You let me borrow them and you forgot about them. I’m not going to remind you when those jeans look amazing on me,” she teased.

  “Well I’m glad to have them back now.” I start changing the clothes and I put Aiden’s clothes in a bag to bring home with me. If he doesn’t ask me for them back, I think I may just keep them. He has been in my head a lot lately. If I ever miss him, I’ll have his smell on the clothes. This will be a reminder of the day my impression changed of him. Just as I put my clothes on, my phone dings.

  Aiden: I will pick up at 5 P.M. Destination is a secret. See you soon!

  Butterflies are swarming my belly at this moment. I wonder where he’s taking me. Even though I’m not in the dating phase, I can’t help but wish he’s bringing me somewhere romantic. I shouldn’t be thinking this, I should be sticking to school, but I’m beginning to think he’s irresistible. What can I say? He knows how to get to my head. I kind of like it though and don’t really want to change.

  I leave Larissa’s and walk home. My mom is not home, which makes this much easier. I go into my room and put the bag with Aiden’s clothes into my closet. I go and shower to get anything remaining of Jeremy off my body. I cringe just thinking about it. I scrub my body free of all remnants of last night. I wash my hair with my lavender shampoo. I love this shampoo, it makes me more relaxed. I start getting ready for my day with Aiden. Before I know it, I realize I’m actually getting ready. Full blown ready, hair, makeup, the works. I never do this. I want to look my best. I apply some eye shadow, eye liner, and mascara. I look in the mirror and don’t even recognize myself.

  I make myself some lunch and lie on the couch watching TV. I doze off for a little while. A little while ended up turning into four hours because my doorbell just rang. Shit did I oversleep? I walk up to the door and look through the peephole. There’s Aiden, which just confirmed my suspicions of oversleeping.

  “Hey Aiden,” I said, my body still waking up.

  “Did you just wake up?” He smirks at me.

  “Yeah I dozed for a little bit,” I said.

  “Well you look amazing for just rolling out of bed.” He smiles and winks at me.

  I’m so dead! How can I resist him? I literally have goose bumps running down my arms.

  “You ready?”

  “Yeah let me just lock up.”

  I make sure TV’s are off, lights are off, and the door is locked. I walk up to his car, and he’s standing there with the door open. He’s so sweet. He enters the car and before putting it into reverse, he pulls something from the glove box.

  “Since this is a surprise, you have to wear a blindfold,” he begins to tie the blindfold over my eyes and I can’t help the giddy emotions flowing through my body. I can’t stop the smile spreading across my face. The anticipation builds as he drives and I have no clue where we are going.

  “You better not be peeking. I’ll know if you are,” he teased me.

  “I’m not,” I laughed, not being able to keep the smile off my face.

  He’s quiet for some time and I’m not sure what’s going on. The car stops and I feel something at my side. All of a sudden I’m being tickled. I am laughing and squirming, trying to get away. With no sense of vision, that is very hard. He pulls off the blindfold and his face is right in front of mine. I bite my lip to prevent myself from kissing him because at that moment I think I just melted.

  I look around and it looks as if we are at a forest preserve.

  “We’re going to go on a hike and enjoy the scenery and nature.”

  This was not where I thought he was taking me but that’s okay. This seems fun. He walked over to my side of the car, opens the door and reached his hand out. I take it and feel the electricity flowing from his hand to mine. We start walking down a path. I notice everything beautiful around. All the birds and pretty flowers and trees. We start talking about school and friends. As we are talking, we come up to a beautiful waterfall. I stop to take a look, capturing the beauty of it. I turn to look at Aiden and he is looking out at the waterfall as well.

  “Beautiful isn’t it?”he said. The only coherent thought I have at the moment is: yes, you are beautiful.

  “Yes. I would love to have this in my backyard to look at every morning. It’s very calming,” I say as I turn back to look at it.

  “Well it’s a good thing the rest of the day is planned right here.”

  I’m a little confused by that. He walks closer to my side and turns me around. What I find made me gasp. There is a blanket set out with a picnic basket. Wow! I would have never thought he would do something like this. I turn to him with a huge smile on my face.

  “Thank you so much. I love it!” I’m excited now.

  “I figured you would like this. I brought some food for us in case you were hungry.”

  He sits down and starts going through the basket. “I’ve got sandwiches, watermelon, chips, water, and soda.”

  He really thought this through. I couldn’t be anymore happier than I am in this moment. He really did do something romantic and that is really making my heart flutter. We start eating our food and there’s so many questions that’s flooding my mind. I figure I’ll get some out of the way while we are here.

  “I saw a picture on your dresser. Was that you and your mom?”

  I hope I’m not intruding or bringing up painful memories.

  “Yeah, that was the best picture of us. I treasure it. It’s the first thing I see when I wake up in the morning. It’s a substitute for not waking up to the real her,” he said with a little sadness in his face. I feel a pang of guilt because I can feel the sadness coming from him.

  “She’s very pretty. What was her name? I’m sorry if I’m being too intrusive. If you don’t want to share, just tell me I’m being too pushy,” I say with a little hesitance.

  “No, it’s okay. You’re my best friend. I’ll tell you anything you want to know,” he said with sincerity. “Her name was Theresa, but everyone called her Tee. She grew by the name. Little kids called her Tee Tee, and she loved it. She was the perfect example of a mother. She was loving, always cared, always there. She was the type of mother you can tell anything to and she wouldn’t judge you or get pissed off. That’s what was so hard for me. I’ve never had anyone I could tell everything to. Every time I tried, I was judged or lost a friend or two. So eventually I closed up and wouldn’t tell anyone anything. My dad is similar to my mom. I can tell him mostly everything but it’s not the same as telling your mom. She always has the sensitive side, whereas, my father is more masculine.”

  With that, he lies on the blanket on his side and props his head with his hand and looks up at me.

  “Well you can trust me. I won’t judge you,” I promised.

  “I know Serena. There’s something about you that’s different than everyone else. I saw it the moment I saw you in chemistry class.” He looked in my eyes at that moment and I can tell that he is being honest.

  “How did your mom pass away?” I ask, almost regretting asking because I don’t want him to clam up on me.

  “I used to play football. I was the best on the team and my mom never missed a game. She was always the number one fan there. One day, I was at practice before a very big game and my mom was running late from work. She texted me saying she was running late and hopes to be here right before kickoff. Ri
ght as we were about to kickoff, a timeout was called. The coach pulled me off the field and said that my dad was on the phone. I’ll never forget that phone call. I could barely make out the words my father was telling me because he was crying and he broke down. His sobs washed away the words that crushed my heart. My mom was on the way here, rushing, and a drunk driver slammed into her car. The car smashed into her driver’s side. She was rushed to the ER but she was already gone. They couldn’t save her. The impact killed her instantly. That’s why I don’t play football anymore. Football took the one person I loved most. I won’t let it happen again. If I’ve learned anything by this, it’s that forever is not always there. I need to live in the moment. I can’t ever say forever anymore because the moment I do, my forever gets ripped away from me,” he said.

  His eyes look glossy as if he’s ready to cry. He is in a very emotional state and I feel as if it’s my fault.

  “You shouldn’t give up football. It wasn’t your fault. The drunk driver is at fault. I’m sorry for bringing up such tragic times,” I said.

  “It is my fault. If she wasn’t rushing to the football game to see me play, she wouldn’t have crossed paths with that driver. It’s okay that you’re asking. It actually feels kind of good to talk about it. I haven’t told anyone besides talking about it with my dad,” he said.

  I leaned over him and hugged him. I didn’t want to let go. I know he is hurting and I have become so close to him. I want to ease the hurt. He let me hold him, and he held back.

  “I’m sorry you had to go through that, Aiden.” I feel so bad for him, I feel as if I’m about to cry.

  Now I know why he hasn’t tried out for football. I wish I could get through to him but I know he won’t give in. He’s not going to play. His whole world was taken away from him. I can’t blame him for closing that part of his life out. I lie next to him, looking him in the eyes and seeing all the emotion that he just laid out on the table in front of me. I can’t help but be mesmerized by his bravery to let it all out. I feel so much closer to him than I did an hour ago and I wouldn’t change that for anything.

  ***

  Aiden

  I can’t believe I just told her everything. I haven’t told anyone at this new school about my mother or my football. I do feel a lot better getting everything off my chest. I know it was right to tell her. I feel as if I can trust her wholeheartedly. When we first moved here, a few months back, I needed a place to getaway to. A place where I could think in peace and just be alone. I happened to stumble across this place when I went for a walk by myself. I couldn’t turn away from the beauty of the waterfalls. I sat here the first night and just thought about everything for what seemed like hours. When she asked me to pick the place, this was my first thought. I knew she would love it here. I was surprised to see her in makeup today, but she still looks beautiful anyway. I thought I might crumble when she hugged me. It’s not something I was expecting, just came out of the blue. It was a pleasant surprise at that. I did not want to let her go. She did let go first. She looked troubled, as if she wants to say something to me. I can’t imagine what.

  We lie there on the blanket, giving her time to open up to what she wants to tell me. I stare up at the sky, feeling at peace. I notice how cloudy it is and I remember our conversation before about the cloud shapes.

  “Hey look at that. Do you see what I see?” I point to the sky and she looks up.

  “Yeah, it kind of looks like a horse,” she said.

  I start laughing. “Are you crazy? That’s a dragon.”

  “No way! Look at that. You can see the long head. That’s a total horse.”

  She isn’t going to give up on this one. I can feel it. I point to a part of the cloud.

  “You mean to tell me that the clouds right there is a horse’s head and not fire coming from the dragon’s mouth?”

  “Well now that you point it out. I guess it does kind of look like a dragon.” She giggles. Moments like this make it all worthwhile. This must have given her the courage to talk because she looks a bit more at ease now.

  “I wish my sister was here to meet you. You would get along well with her,” she says as her eyes drift down.

  “Where is she? Did she move away?” I lean on my arm and give her all my attention. I am intrigued to find out more about her.

  “I don’t know. Right before freshman year she ran away. I guess she became pregnant. She never told me. She left me a note pretty much saying goodbye and I haven’t seen her since. We had that sister bond that seemed indestructible, or at least I thought. I can’t believe she was holding secrets from me. We told each other everything,” she said as she looked right at me with those sad eyes.

  “I’m sorry Serena, I had no idea. I’m sure there’s a good reason she didn’t tell you. What if something happened and you wouldn’t believe her? Sometimes people do things out of character because they’re afraid. Maybe one day, it will all come to light. I am very sorry that you had to go through that. Looks like we both have a lot in common. We both lost someone dear to our hearts,” I say hoping to make her feel better.

  “I remember a few weeks before she left. She was so excited about getting a letter of recommendation to any school she wanted. I have never seen her so excited before. It doesn’t make sense why she would leave without a proper goodbye. Why couldn’t she say it to my face? Why couldn’t she just tell me?”

  I can tell she’s hurt by this.

  “I wish I could answer those for you, but the only person who can answer that is your sister. I wouldn’t worry too much about it. It will come out someday. There’s no point stressing over it. I know it’s hard, I’ve had to do the same. But in the end, you will feel much better. And who knows, maybe your sister will appear sometime soon and you’ll have all your questions answered.” I smile at her, hoping to break this sadness. I didn’t want to come out here with these intention, but I am enjoying getting to know her.

  “That’s not going to happen. She’s been gone just over two years. She would have come home sooner.”

  I know she’s blocking out what I’m saying because of the hurt and damage that was caused. No matter what her mood is, her eyes stand out. They show the beauty within her, even when she’s sad. I start to feel light raindrops.

  “We better get the stuff to the car before we get soaked,” I say as I start putting all the food into the basket. I grab the blanket and fold it and cram that in the basket as well. “We’re going to have to walk pretty fast before the downpour hits. You ready?” I say as I grab her hand. We both run through the forest hand in hand. We’re trying to make it fast before is starts pouring. If I can freeze time, I would. I don’t want to make it to the car, because that would mean this day would be over. I don’t want this day to be over. We make it out of the forest and the rain really starts coming down. I am drenched head to toe. I look over at Serena and she is soaked as well. Her hair is wet and her clothes are starting to stick to her skin. Were both standing there staring at each other as the rain pelts us harder. My feet feel as if they’re glued to the ground. She starts moving towards me. I want to move closer, but I can’t. I can’t seem to move as my heart pounds fast in my chest. She approaches me and smiles. I want to kiss her so bad. I lean in with a smile and I go for it. I could care less if she slaps me in the face. This will be worth any pain I receive for my actions. My only thought is to be with her. I lift her chin as I look in her beautiful eyes and I touch my lips softly to hers. I’m waiting for the slap. But nothing comes.

  She wraps her arms around my neck and tilts her head. She wants this as bad as I do. She opens her mouth and lets me caress the inside of her mouth with my tongue. This is something I’ve been longing for. She feels it, too. She must. She deepens the kiss and we are seriously kissing in the rain and it feels amazing. She finally pulls away and looks right in my eyes.

  “Thank you, Aiden. You are a true, gentleman.”

  Fuck, am I in trouble. I will not be able to live with just that
kiss. I need more. She has turned me into a fiend. I’m addicted to her.

  “Aren’t you coming?” she asked. I look over and she’s already at the car. I start heading to the car and open the door for her. We get in the car and head back to her house. I’m speechless. I have no idea what to say. I turn the music on. I can feel her eyes keep glancing my way. I want to say something, anything, but the words don’t come out.

  We reach her house and words finally seem to come to the surface.

  “I’m sorry I got your clothes soaked,” I say as I glance her way.

  “Its okay, I had a lot of fun. We should do that again.” She leans over and hugs me. I wrap my arms around her, unable to let go. She leans back and pecks me on the cheek. “Thank you for tonight. It was amazing.” Then she walks out.

  I grab hold of her arm. She turns around and looks at me with question in her eyes. “I can’t wait to ask any longer. Will you go out with me Serena?” Damn, I just asked her that and now I am fearful of the rejection I have coming. I shouldn’t have asked her. If she says no, our friendship could be ruined. How stupid can I be?

  I don’t hear a response from her. She standing there, thinking. I hope I didn’t make the wrong move. She then leans over and kisses me. She turns around and heads back into the house. She didn’t say a single word. I’m a little confused now. Was that a yes?