Where Forever Lies

by Tara Neideffer

  “I want you to take a walk with me. Please,” he whispered breathlessly. His voice was seductive and soft but with a hint of authority that she couldn’t miss. It intrigued her and she found herself unable to say no.

  She shook her head yes and told Kyleigh she’d be back in a few. Kyleigh gave her a hopeful smile, trying to hide her excitement.

  Paige got up and followed Tyler to the door, feeling a little nervous about what was to come. She wanted to be carefree about dating, the type of girl who could take them or leave them, and she normally could, but not when she knew she had feelings for a guy. And she couldn’t hide the feelings she had for Tyler, not after that kiss they’d shared.

  Once they got outside the club, he turned to her, giving her a chagrined smile as he started walking down the street. She followed; waiting for him to say something and when he finally did his voice was low, soft, apologetic. “Um, I’m sorry I haven’t called you and never responded to your texts. I’ve just been dealing with a lot of stuff and I needed some time to think things through.” He paused for a minute, his eyes scanning the scenery. She noticed his dark hair was a little shorter now, his facial hair was trimmed a little tighter, but everything else about him remained the same.

  “Tyler, it’s okay. I understand. We only went on one date, you don’t need to explain anything,” Paige said as she slowly walked beside him.

  Tyler sighed as if he was going to say something that he didn’t really want to say, or something that was difficult. “But I do, because, Paige, I really do have feelings for you and I don’t want you to think I was brushing you off and I wasn’t interested. I purposely ignored your texts, and that wasn’t right of me. But I am interested and that’s why I needed some time to think. I just... locked up, I guess. I panicked about it because I was feeling things for you after one date and it scared the shit out of me. And then I started wondering what I’d be feeling after the second date and so on and so on. It was just too much. After being married and divorced once already, I’m still pretty gun shy about getting too involved again, but with you it was like I didn’t really have a choice in how I felt.” He paused for a second as they came up to a courtyard with a huge garden. Paige loved this area. She’d been here numerous times, usually on her lunch break or after a day of shopping. It was peaceful and calming. After several minutes he finally continued, “I know it’s just excuses, but I want you to know I’m sorry, and I want to see you again, if you’re interested. We can take things slowly.” He stopped alongside a brick wall full of flowers and looked at her. His look was full of promise and hope.

  Paige bit her lip and looked away, contemplating her answer. She knew she’d love to go out with him again and she could understand where he was coming from. She was uneasy herself about getting involved with a guy again and she had never been through the turmoil of getting married and divorced. She couldn’t imagine dealing with all that and then trying to get back out into the dating world, and on top of that, having to worry about putting your child in the middle of it all. She looked back at him and noticed he was staring intently at her, waiting with bated breath for her answer. “Tyler, I completely understand what it’s like to be scared and unsure and I’d love to go out on a date with you again.”

  She gasped as he rushed towards her, pulling her into his arms as his mouth frantically found hers. She didn’t have time to think or react, and for her, being caught off guard was the best feeling in the world.

  He kissed her with such intensity that she was fighting with trying to breathe and trying to feel everything about him. Like the feel of his hands as they ran up her back, the way he gently tugged on her hair as he began to kiss her even more deeply, or the way his tongue intertwined with hers in a frenzied way that left her wanting more.

  She didn’t know how long they had stood there and kissed, but he finally pulled away, just enough to where he was now teasing her with the idea of another kiss. In a low, soft whisper he said, “Are you ready to go back and listen to more music?”

  Paige frowned, not really wanting to but knowing they couldn’t stay out here making out all night. “Sure, let’s go,” she said as she pulled him in for another kiss, feeling as if one small piece of the wall they’d both had up had crumbled. She knew the rest could come down in time, but for now, it was a start.

  Chapter 17

  Paige slid into her seat next to Kyleigh, who now had David sitting to her left. Paige wasn’t too surprised to see David; she knew they had a thing for each other, and had probably been seeing each other lately, so she figured Kyleigh must have called him after she’d left with Tyler. Tyler pulled up a chair next to her and draped his arm around her, pulling her close to him. Kyleigh’s eyes widened in excitement and David did a double take at her and Tyler together, a concerned look flaring in his eyes.

  “Hey, David, what’s up?” Paige asked as she leaned over to give him a quick hug.

  “Hey, Paige, it’s good to see ya. Kyleigh texted me and told me about how good this band was, so I thought I’d stop by for a minute.”

  “Yeah, they are really good. David, this is Tyler Evans.” Paige watched the band continue to play as David and Tyler chatted briefly. Paige could tell that David was definitely feeling him out as he asked several questions. She figured he felt like he needed to take on the protective guy role for Kyra’s sake since Randy was now gone. It made her feel good to have him care so much.

  They all sat around listening to the band play awhile longer as they drank a little more. Paige was on her third beer and knew it would be her last as she felt the alcohol beginning to hit her. She was lost in the music when Tyler leaned in and said, “I’d love to get you into those cowboy boots again. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a sexier sight in my life.”

  Paige felt heat rising in her cheeks and felt like hiding under the table when she noticed Kyleigh gaping at her. “Oh, my God, Paige. You wore cowboy boots? When? And why didn’t you tell me all about this?”

  Paige covered her face with her hands, not believing Tyler had just said that out loud. “Um, it was on our first date.”

  She looked at Kyleigh who, for once, was speechless. Finally, she shook her head and snapped out of it and said, “Tyler, I’m so disappointed in you for not getting a picture of this. I would have paid good money for a picture of her modeling her country gear.”

  Tyler started laughing. “I didn’t realize it was such a big deal for her to wear them or else I would have taken a picture,” he said still laughing.

  “Yeah, this is the girl who is adamantly against anything redneckish and come to find out she’s secretly slipping on cowboy boots behind my back. What have you done to her?”

  “Well, she really didn’t have a choice when she was helping me wrangle up the loose horses,” Tyler stated.

  Paige didn’t think Kyleigh’s eyes could get any bigger but they now looked as if they were about to pop out of their sockets. “You were helping catch horses? You don’t even like animals,” Kyleigh announced.

  Despising all the commotion centering on her lack of love for animals and her choice of clothing, Paige figured she’d better defend herself. “I do like animals; I’m just not an animal person. And cowboy boots are fine, even sexy on some people,” she said, meeting Tyler’s eyes, “but they’re just not my style, thank you very much. Now, I think we all need to forget about that adventure and listen to the band we all came here to see.”

  She could see them all smirking at her as she turned her attention back to the band, doing her best to ignore them all. It worked and within minutes Kyleigh had dropped the subject—for now—and continued drinking her beer and talking to David.

  A few minutes later a slower, mellower song came on and as she went to take a sip of her beer, she felt Tyler lean in closer to her. He began to hum to the beat of the song, and every so often his lips would brush against the edge of her ear, making waves of pleasure roll through her body. Feeling him this close, teasing her with his lips was putting he
r over the edge. She leaned into him, wanting to feel his body close to hers. He carefully brushed her hair back away from her cheek and slowly let his lips graze her skin. It was slow and deliberate, making her feel the sensation down to her toes.

  Tyler licked his lips and whispered in her ear, “Are you ready to leave?”

  Paige couldn’t stop the smile from appearing on her face, it was something she couldn’t control for once. She wanted more than anything to be alone with him right now. She barely got her answer out. “Yes.”

  She leaned into Kyleigh and mumbled against her hair, “I’m leaving. Have fun with David. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  Kyleigh just smiled as she said teasingly, “I already know I will, but make sure you do, too.” She gave Paige a subtle wink and shooed her out of there.

  ♥♥♥

  Tyler reached out and grabbed Paige’s hand as they exited the club, leading her out onto the sidewalk and down a couple of blocks to where he’d parked his truck. He wasn’t sure what she thought of his blatant affectionate gestures tonight but from what he could tell, she didn’t seem to mind. He thought she seemed to like it. He couldn’t believe the luck in running into her here. She’d been on his mind a lot lately, and needing some alone time, he’d come to Moirai to relax a little and get away from his mundane life in the country, never thinking he’d see her here. It seemed a little strange. With Brandon at a friend’s house for the weekend again, he couldn’t imagine another night sitting alone in his house. He hated the weekends when Brandon didn’t come down, but he knew his son also had friends he wanted to see and spend time with.

  They finally got to the side street where he’d parked and they climbed into his old truck. Ol’ Betsy looked out of place sitting in the middle of downtown Sweet Haven but her uniqueness was what he loved about the old truck. He didn’t see too many of them out anymore.

  The night was warm and breezy, making it a perfect night to roll the windows down and let the air drift in. He started the truck and glanced over at Paige. She looked beautiful tonight. Her hair was lightly curled, she had just a touch of make up on and the cute white shirt showed just enough cleavage to make his eyes wander too much. He tore his gaze away and began to drive down the road.

  “Where do you want to go?” he questioned as he slowed down for a stoplight.

  She gave it some thought and said, “Well, we could go back to my place and have a glass of wine. I don’t live too far from here anyway.” Tyler noticed that she’d said it quietly, almost as if she was afraid of his answer. Or afraid of what he thought of her inviting him over. He didn’t know why she would worry about that. He didn’t think badly of her at all. From what he could tell, she seemed to really have her life together and she seemed like a great mom. Those were two positives in his opinion.

  Tyler tried to contain the smile that wanted to take over his face, knowing it would probably make her feel uncomfortable to see how excited he was to go to her place. She’d probably start to panic, thinking he was some pervert or something. But, he couldn’t stop his thoughts from venturing in that direction. He was a guy and this time he couldn’t help it when a little bit of his smile slipped out.

  They pulled into her apartment building and got out. He followed behind as she led him up the stairs to her apartment. She unlocked the door, and once inside, he found he was a little nervous. He wanted to take things slowly with her, but at the same time he had never wanted one woman so badly in his life. Behaving while being alone in her place was going to be hard, but he’d do it to show her that he wanted something more than just sex from her.

  “Would you like something to drink?” she asked as she undid her shoes and slipped them off. He watched as she slowly unfastened the latch on the other shoe and slowly massage the top of her foot before he remembered her question.

  “Uh, yeah. You wouldn’t happen to have a beer, would ya?”

  With a raised eyebrow, she opened up the fridge and revealed a case of beer along with a bottle of wine. “Pick one.”

  Tyler grinned, thinking there wasn’t anything sexier than a girl with a refrigerator stocked with alcohol. It shocked him a little because he didn’t think she drank that much. Of course he noticed there was plenty of actual food in there as well. Mostly healthy food from what he could see.

  As if reading his thoughts she said with a smile, “I like to have a drink occasionally after work and after Kyra goes to bed. It helps me unwind from a long day, so don’t judge me.” She pulled out the wine bottle and poured herself a glass, not quite meeting his eyes. He could tell she was hesitant and unsure about having him here and it made him want to pull her into his arms and kiss all her insecurities away.

  “No judging here, I’m sure being a nurse is more than stressful,” Tyler said as he popped the top on his beer.

  Paige leaned against the counter and studied him for a moment before saying, “Yes, it is. I was really surprised to see you at Moirai. It seems a little out of your element.” He watched as she placed her lips to the glass of wine and then he reluctantly pulled his eyes away. He was finding it hard to stay focused on their conversation because every little thing she did had a sexual vibe to him. It seemed to pour out of her.

  “Yeah, it is, but I really love listening to blues and I needed to get out and do some thinking.” Tyler took a sip of his beer, meeting Paige’s eyes over his bottle.

  He watched as she carefully swirled the wine around in her glass, looking as if she was in deep thought about something. Finally she said, “I love blues music too. Isn’t that strange? Who would’ve thought two people with totally different backgrounds would both love blues? Maybe we’re more alike than we think?” She locked her eyes with his, her stare carving into him in a way he’d never felt before. She made him feel like she noticed every little thing about him and that thought terrified him but also made him feel alive. He wanted her to know everything about him, he just hoped she liked what she saw.

  The feeling in the room was shifting, turning a corner that made Tyler want to drop his beer bottle on the floor and wrap his arms around her. He couldn’t deny the attraction they had for each other. He couldn’t pretend he didn’t think it was odd that he kept constantly running into her. It was all too much of a coincidence. They were like magnets that constantly pulled towards each other, finding one another even in a busy, crowded world.

  Was it fate? He didn’t know. That word had never come into his thoughts before, except when he was watching a movie or something. Even then, he never really believed in it. But now, he was wondering if fate was making its presence known in his life, giving him no choice but to believe.

  He set his beer bottle on the counter, he couldn’t take it anymore. If he didn’t get his lips on hers in the next few seconds, he’d go mad. As he stood in front of her, he slipped her wine glass out of her hand and placed it on the counter. She didn’t hesitate or say a word and that turned him on even more.

  He gently cupped her cheek in his hand, feeling her soft skin beneath. “I need to kiss you, Paige. I need to feel your lips on mine before you drive me crazy.” He leaned down and kissed her, pulling her bottom lip into his mouth and tasting the bitterness of the wine on her lips. The feeling of her hands clinging to his neck in an urgent way was almost more than he could handle. After several intense moments, he pulled away before he couldn’t control himself any longer. He didn’t want to be too aggressive, even though that desire was dying to come out.

  Rubbing his thumb against her wet lips, he whispered, “You are too much, Paige Griffin. I don’t know how you are able to turn someone like me into a pile of mush, but you do.”

  Her lips curved into a smile as she stared up into his eyes. “I think you are full of it,” she said, laughing.

  “No, you do crazy things to me. I can’t really explain it.”

  “Uh huh, sure, Tyler.” She pushed away from him, grabbed her wine glass and headed towards the balcony, not saying a word, just giving him a flirtatious look
over her shoulder.

  Tyler grabbed his beer and hurriedly followed her, curious as to what she had on her mind.

  Chapter 18

  Leaning her face down to the telescope, Paige peered out into the endless black sky. It was a beautiful sight. She took her eyes away from it and looked at Tyler. “Do you want to take a look?” she asked, not sure what he’d think of it. She doubted it would make him feel the way it made her feel.

  “Sure.” He leaned in close to her and peered into the telescope. She watched him for a moment as he moved it around just a bit. He was quiet the whole time as he studied the view. After several minutes, he finally took his eyes away and said, “It’s breathtaking. Is this where you come out to relax at night?”

  Paige took a sip of wine and then said, “Yeah. It’s my little slice of peace out here. I love it. It’s one of the few places where I feel that my mind will actually rest for a minute.”

  He looked at her for a minute and she could tell he was contemplating asking questions. She drew in a breath and decided that opening up couldn’t hurt. It might even be good for her soul and for some odd reason she felt that she could trust him. “When I told you I’d had a rough year, it was no joke. I’ve lost two people who were very close to me in a short time and it’s been a tough road coping with it all.” She broke her gaze away from him and looked out into the night. She didn’t know how to put her loss into words that could describe how she truly felt. How do you explain your grief to someone and expect them to understand and to know what you’re really feeling? Words couldn’t do her feelings any justice. They were just a thin layer compared to how deep her hurt went.

  Tyler was quiet as he waited for her to continue, and she exhaled a long breath, hoping to gather her inner strength to let him into her heart. At last she found the words that seemed to be buried deep within her, and said, “A close friend of mine committed suicide last year and then a short time after that Kyra’s dad died in a motorcycle accident.”