Saving Ever After (Ever After #4)

by Stephanie Hoffman McManus

  He chuckled, “You can stay here tonight, if you want,” he offered and I looked at him trying to read his face for anything suggestive.

  “There’s only one bed,” I pointed out.

  “Right, I didn’t mean – I can uh, take the couch,” he fumbled. It was sweet, but I almost wished he had ulterior motives, at least then I would know what he was thinking. I decided to push him.

  “Or you could not. It’s a big bed. I’m fairly certain at least two people could fit in it quite comfortably.”

  His eyes narrowed on me but the corners of his mouth curled up in a smirk. “Is this all a ploy to get me into bed?”

  “That depends,” I grinned back, “do you want it to be?”

  “Now you’re stealing my thunder. I thought I was being all clever and seductive, luring you up here to my room, but really you just wanted to get me up here so you could take advantage of me.”

  I laughed, “As opposed to you taking advantage of me?”

  “Well, yeah.” The only thing missing was the “duh” at the end of that statement.

  I laughed again, but was silenced when he leaned forward and captured my lips with his. Over the past six months I’d thought a lot about the kisses we’d shared that time in my dorm room, right before I was introduced to rock bottom. I thought about how warm and soft his lips were and how they tasted. Hours of daydreaming were spent on just his lips and his kisses. It was to the point that I was pretty sure I’d exaggerated his kissing prowess in my mind, but nope. The real thing was so much better than the fantasy I’d been reliving over and over.

  He ended it almost as quickly as he started it, but the tingles that had slid across my lips and down the rest of my body remained. I drew in a deep breath and let out a breathy “damn.”

  His face was only inches from mine, so when the wide smile split those full lips and a soft chuckle passed over them, I felt the warm puff of air tickle across the corner of my mouth. All I had to do was lean forward a little, tilt my head and our lips would touch again.

  I wanted them to touch again. Maybe more than anyone in the history of the world had ever wanted anything.

  “Now that I have your full attention, we’re going to get a few things straight.” He sat back but didn’t break eye contact. “As much as I enjoy joking and teasing you, and as much as I’d like to kiss you again, I want to make sure that after tonight there’s no confusion about what I want. And that’s you.”

  The kissing bit was shoved to the back of my mind and I was suddenly riveted by his words. The kiss was great, but I wanted, no I needed him to keep going, needed to hear this like I needed my next breath.

  “Fuck, the way you’re looking at me right now absolutely makes me want to find out just how comfortable we can get in that big bed together, but this is way more than that. You’re more than just the girl I want in my bed. You’re the girl I want at my side. Preferably forever, but we can get to that bit later. I’m willing to take this slow, as long as you know you’re it for me.” He let out a heavy breath and shook his head slightly. All the while I was still just watching him intently, soaking up every word.

  “Damn, I was planning on working up to all that after we’d talked for a while, but then you distracted me with that laugh and those lips and I couldn’t help jumping right in.”

  “That’s alright,” I finally found my voice again. “I’m a big fan of jumping right in.”

  He smiled a slow easy smile that touched those damn mesmerizing blue eyes. It was beautiful. Brilliant. Distracting. It sent a warmth right through me and I forgot what I was saying and I was right back at wanting him to kiss me again.

  “You’re killing me, Mia. You’re making it impossible not to want to kiss you again, but we really have to get everything out. I need to know what you’re thinking, what you want. I want to know more about what you went through in treatment and what you’ve been doing since you got out. I want to know what your plans are and how you really feel about what I just said.”

  “I liked what you had to say. A lot.”

  “That’s it. That’s all you’re going to give me?”

  I sighed and sat up a little straighter, scooting back to put a few more inches between us like they would actually help against his powers of distraction. “Everything huh?”

  He gave a nod.

  “Okay then I guess I can start with the day Sadie brought me to Seattle.” We both settled in and I filled in all the missing bits of the puzzle that I hadn’t shared last night. I didn’t leave much of anything out, not even smacking the nurse that first week. I touched on my relationship with Kris, even though I knew it was a sensitive subject for him, but I helped him to understand that our friendship was now what it should have been all along and nothing more than that. I even took a risk and brought up Derek and Leland. He was just as upset as I’d been to learn that there wasn’t anything I could do about what they’d done. There was no proof and too much time had passed for me to try and press charges now. I’d had to come to terms with that, just like Chris would have to. It helped when I told him that three months ago a sixteen year old computer hacker name Matthew Davidson (MattyD16) had reached out to me after hacking my League account to get my personal information. He’d worried when I disappeared from the game and then Chris started asking them if they’s seen me online at all. Once he figured out who I was, he made contact with me.

  We’d struck up a friendship since then, emailing back and forth, texting sometimes. It was a little weird since he was a sixteen year old kid, but he was really mature for his age, and smart, really freakin’ smart. Like smart enough to hack all of Derek and Leland’s accounts, from their social networking accounts to their school records after I opened up about what they’d done. Matty was currently doing his best to make life very hard for them. It was less than they deserved, but it was something.

  I continued to talk for quite a while and he just listened, occasionally asking questions, but mostly he just let me get everything out, until we came to the past month and what my plans were for the future.

  “I’ve been taking some online classes to get my Associate’s degree, and hopefully I’ll be able to transfer back into a university to complete a degree in counseling. I’m pretty sure I want to be a high school counselor. I know it’s not the most glamorous job and I’m not completely set on it, but I know that I want the chance to work with that age group, and maybe use my experiences to help prevent kids from heading down the same road I did.”

  He was still listening intently and I blushed at the pride I saw shining in his eyes. Having people be proud of me was still something I was getting used to.

  “I think that’s perfect, Mia,” he said softly. “Whichever path you end up choosing, you’re going to be incredible.”

  “Thanks. I feel really good about my decision. Before all this, I felt like I was just going to school because it was expected, because that was the next step, but I had no idea what I wanted to get out of it. It was a little terrifying and discouraging to think about a future without a real purpose, but now I’m actually excited. This isn’t just something I want. It feels bigger than that, like it’s something I’m supposed to do, something I need to do.”

  “I can see that excitement in you and I’ve always thought you were capable of doing something big. I think you’re going to change people’s lives just by being you. They’re going to see the life in you, the brightness that just shines from you, and then they’re going to hear your story and see the strength that you have. You’re going to give people hope, Mia.”

  Dammit. I was going to cry. His belief in me only made me more certain that he was it for me too. Six billion people, or twenty billion, it made no difference how many were out there. Only one mattered, and he was my choice. My only choice.

  I sniffed and rapidly blinked back the liquid emotion pooling in my eyes. I wiped at them and let out an embarrassed, half laugh, “Gah. You can’t say stuff like that. You’re going to make me start cry
ing.”

  The corners of his eyes crinkled with his soft smile. “You better get used to it.”

  I wasn’t sure that a lifetime would be long enough to get used to the way he made me feel, or that I even wanted to get used to it. I never wanted to stop being overwhelmed by this, by who he was and the way he could so easily reach right inside of me, and wrap himself around my heart and soul.

  “So, I have another question for you,” he said.

  I waited.

  “Have you given any thought to where you want to finish your schooling?”

  I grinned. “Yeah. I think I know exactly where I want to be.”

  He leaned in close again. “That’s good. Real good.” The last words were a whisper against my lips.

  I didn’t go back to my room after that.

  Epilogue

  Mia

  3 Months Later . . .

  “I know you’re going to love this place. The pictures online were so perfect. I think this will be the one!” Sadie insisted as we hopped out of her car to look at the tenth apartment of the day. Her words would have been encouraging, except that this was the tenth apartment she’d taken me to, and the previous nine had been about as far from “the one” as an apartment for me could get.

  Let’s review. The first apartment we looked at had been in a good location, close to Boston College, where I’d managed, through many letters and an official interview, to convince them that letting me into their school would not be a mistake and that I would not bring a negative spotlight down on their fine institution.

  That was the only selling point of that apartment. Right away, the gloomy interior lighting and broken elevator should have been an indicator to turn around and move on to the next apartment. Sadie insisted we give it a look though.

  We made it up three flights of sketchy stairs, down a hallway with about ten roaming cats, and the smell of deep fryer oil permeating the air, to a single bedroom apartment at the end.

  I don’t think the appliances inside had been updated since the eighties. There was peeling paint and cracked plaster. The carpet was older than the appliances and, I’d wager, had been victim to one too many parties as the smell of stale beer lingered.

  Rent was cheap though.

  Apartment number two was much nicer and more modern, not in a bad area and reasonably priced, but it was above a meat shop. No way could I endure the smell of walking down the alley beside it to get to the outer staircase leading up to the apartment, not to mention that some of the smell seeped into the apartment. I was actually considering becoming a vegetarian.

  I thought things were finally looking up when we got to apartment number three. Very nice building, great location, neat landscaping around the complex, even had a pool and gym. The fancy gate and rows of luxury cars should have been a clue about just how nice this place was. I was just so excited that there was no meat smell that I wasn’t thinking about much else. Once I saw how lavish the inside was and then Sadie showed me the listing price, I wanted to cry.

  After that it was six more bummers, and I was giving up hope of being able to find a cute, charming, nice smelling, reasonably priced apartment in a decent neighborhood not so far from the school that I would have a long commute.

  We walked up to place number ten and right away my heart sunk, because this place did look perfect. It wasn’t the standard apartment building, but a big beautiful home. It had a big fenced in yard and wraparound porch and patio that led to the back yard. There was staircase leading up to an upper balcony and door, the only sign that the place could be split into two apartments.

  The lot it sat on was pretty big and was bordered with trees along the fence, offering even more privacy. Something that seemed to be pretty standard in the quiet neighborhood where almost every house was as big and beautiful as this one. The yard and patio were beautifully landscaped with cobblestone walkways and lots of flowers. Everything I saw made me want to fall in love with this place, but I was too afraid to get my hopes up, thinking this was going to be a lot like apartment number three, too good to be true.

  Dad had offered to cover rent at any place I wanted while I was in school, but this was something I was trying to do on my own. I had my trust fund and during the months I’d lived with Dad, before moving back to Boston last month, I’d done intern work for him just to keep busy. I was pretty sure he’d paid me higher than intern wages, but he insisted he hadn’t. So I had a good chunk that I could live off pretty nicely for a while, but I wanted to be careful with it and hopefully find a part time job while I was in school.

  Unfortunately, choosing to be independent and self sufficient meant no to the place with the big pool and fancy security. I was afraid it was going to mean no to this place as well.

  Sadie said someone was supposed to be meeting us here to show the place, but when we got to the front door of the bottom story, she twisted the knob and pushed it right open.

  The entry was floored with sleek hardwood that appeared to run throughout much of the space, except for the living room area, which had almost brand new looking carpet. Just off to the right was a hall that appeared to lead toward bedrooms and the rest opened up into a big living room, dining room and kitchen area. We stepped in further, taking in all the open space. Big windows on every wall let in lots of natural light. Just off the back of the kitchen, gorgeous French doors framed in a dark wood led out to the back deck and yard. The kitchen was especially spacious with dark, stained cupboards, beautiful granite countertops and sleek, black, state of the art appliances.

  It was absolutely perfect, except for one thing. The more I looked around, the more it appeared as if someone was already living here. There was a pair of black Converse discarded just inside the door. A vacuum was plugged in and sitting just inside the living room, which was fully furnished, including a fully stocked entertainment center with a giant flat screen, an X-Box and shelves full of dvd’s and games that I was dying to peruse. The coffee table was stacked with a few magazines and books. A vase of flowers and a half full glass of water sat on the kitchen counter.

  “Sadie, are you sure this is the apartment we’re supposed to be looking at, and not the upstairs one?” I asked her, thinking we had just barged inside someone’s home.

  “No, this is it,” she smiled like I was missing some secret. I heard a door opening down the hall where the bedrooms were, followed by soft footsteps and then Chris appeared and I knew I was definitely missing something.

  “Welcome home, pretty girl.” He walked toward me barefoot in a pair of cargo shorts and a plain white v-neck that showed off his tan nicely.

  “Home?” I asked.

  “Yeah, what do you think?” He held out his arms in a wide gesture.

  “I think it just got even more perfect,” I grinned back at him.

  “That’s good, because I signed the lease yesterday.”

  “Yesterday?” I looked at him and then Sadie who was also smiling. “You knew?”

  “Yep,” Chris answered for her. “But I needed her to keep you busy this morning while I got all of our stuff moved in. You were determined to go apartment hunting, so I had her distract you with a few others until I had everything ready.”

  I was still stuck on “our stuff.” I loved the way that sounded, and when I looked closer at the games and books on various shelves, I could see that my things were mixed in with his, which meant he’d taken all my stuff from the guest room at Ace and Sadie’s where I ‘d been staying since I moved back.

  This was so much better than being right across the hall from him.

  “It’s really ours?”

  “Yeah. It is. You want the rest of the tour?”

  I bobbed my head enthusiastically.

  “Well, I’ll leave you guys to it,” Sadie excused herself and exited out the front door. Chris took my hand in his and led me through the living area to the kitchen so I could look around more thoroughly and peek at the back yard. It was as beautiful as I knew it would be. Then he led
me down the hall to the right. It appeared that there were three bedrooms and a bathroom down here. He opened up the door to the first, and I had a complete geek-out moment when I saw that it was set up as a serious gaming/studying computer room. I already knew it was going to be my favorite room in the house. My computer as well as his and every other gaming system we owned, which between us was quite a few, were all hooked up to different screens. There were two plush gaming chairs as well as a cushy love-seat, and a desk with another comfy looking rolling chair, just under one window.

  The next bedroom was of course his music room. His drum kit, as well as a keyboard and a small grand piano, were set up in there. There were shelves and shelves of records and music paraphernalia on the walls.

  “Are our upstairs neighbors going to mind you beating on those?” I asked.

  “I doubt it since our upstairs neighbors are Marcus and Maysie, and Marcus got pretty used to music going at all hours when he lived with us before.”

  “Really?” I asked excitedly. I hadn’t spent a lot of time around Marcus and Maysie, but enough to know that I liked Ace’s little brother and loved his girlfriend. Maysie was about the sweetest person I’d ever met.

  “Yeah. They let me know when the downstairs place became available, knowing that I was on the lookout. When I checked it out, it seemed pretty perfect, and I like the idea of them being around when I’m on the road and you’re here.”

  “It is pretty perfect, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, just wait until you see our bedroom.” He gave me a wicked grin that caused little flutters in my stomach, and my knees to grow a little weak.

  Our bedroom.

  It had been three long months since we had the talk in his hotel room and decided we were doing this thing. That night things had seriously heated up between us, but we’d both put the brakes on before it went all the way. I’d been happy to let him just hold me all night while he kissed me senseless.

  After that, it took me a few weeks to wrap up everything in Seattle and make arrangements to move to Boston again, but Chris spent most of that time in Seattle with me. Then we were pretty much living together at Ace and Sadie’s, just in a separate bedroom situation.