Happily Never Forever

by Sarah Peis

  Another touch of his hand, this time across my stomach.

  “The picture said future Mrs. Rhett Cormack. And she was wearing a giant ring on her finger.”

  “I’ll say this again. I have never been engaged. Anyone could have posted that picture. I go to a lot of functions and meet a lot of people.”

  If that didn’t say I meet a lot of women and don’t remember who they are, I didn’t know what did. The real question was could I be mad at him for it? A little bit, because I was a woman. Was I willing to let it go to see where this was going? Probably. Who cared, we weren’t going to fall madly in love. I needed to have a bit of fun. And since I’d sworn off dating, this was going to be the next best thing. And despite my many declarations to the contrary, I trusted him.

  He pressed in closer and my breathing became choppy. I braced my shaky hands on the counter, relishing the feel of having him this close. What was he doing to me? God, I hoped he wasn’t playing one of his games.

  “Okay,” I squeaked out before my voice gave out when he pressed a kiss to my neck. It was so soft, I hardly felt it, wondering if I was imagining his gentle caress.

  “What about you, Emmi? Have you ever been engaged?”

  “Me? No, never got that far. My last boyfriend couldn’t run away fast enough when I got custody of Josie.”

  “He sounds like an idiot. And I’m glad for it.”

  “He was an idiot.”

  His hand was now splayed across my stomach, his thumb lightly brushing back and forth. What was happening? Did I fall asleep on the bed? Maybe the mac and cheese was drugged.

  “Mimi?” Josie’s voice came from the hallway. I pushed against Rhett, who released me and stepped back.

  “In the kitchen,” I responded, feeling flustered.

  Josie came toddling from the hallway, barely keeping her eyes open. I met her halfway and picked her up, cuddling her close. She instantly went limp, her head snuggling into my neck. “Me tired.”

  “I know, Spatz. Let’s brush your teeth and get you to bed. You want to say good night to Rhett?”

  “Night, Rhett,” she said, not moving a muscle.

  I was surprised she hadn’t fallen asleep on the bed already.

  “Night, honey. I’ll see you tomorrow at the office.” He didn’t sound put out about it. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was excited. He nodded at me and left. Without a word. Like the last ten minutes hadn’t happened.

  It was official. I had entered an alternate universe and Rhett was its gatekeeper. When we arrived at the office only eight minutes late on Friday, he was waiting for us. As soon as I reached my desk, my phone pinged and he told me to come into his office. I was ready for battle, but as soon as I opened the door, words failed to form.

  He had magically produced a playground in his office overnight. It looked like he had bought out an entire toy store. There were shelves filled with children’s books. An indoor slide. A train set. A dollhouse. Building blocks. You name it, he had it. Apparently, the gigantic bag I dragged with me wasn’t enough, so he thought he’d help out. Josie was in toy heaven. He left after telling us to use his office for the day because he’d be in meetings anyway. I set myself up on his coffee table, using my laptop. It was the perfect solution because I could contain Josie’s shrieks of glee behind a sturdy oak door.

  I didn’t see Rhett before we went home but sent him an email. If he could be nice so could I. We had after all been friends once, maybe we could go back there. All I had to do was squash my pesky feelings and move on. Which I would do this weekend. I had already mobilized Cassie, who would go out with me. Alcohol and my best friend were the perfect recipe to make me feel better.

  I arrived home just in time for dinner on Friday. Josie raced up to the house, and I followed at a much slower pace, lugging our stuff to the front door, unwilling to go twice and as a result was laden down with two suitcases, my handbag and a toy bag. Everyone knew you never went back to the car to get the rest, so I sucked it up and ignored the throbbing in my hands.

  I wondered where Gunner was. He’d come in handy right about now. Maybe Rhett had finally seen what a waste of his money it was to hire someone to watch me. All I knew was that I hadn’t seen him since I got to Denver.

  “Meine Schaetze,” Oma greeted us. “You’re back.” She hugged Josie, who was all energy and wiggled out of her arms to show her the books we’d ‘borrowed’ from Rhett’s stash.

  I dropped the bags as soon as I made it inside and could close the door. They would stay there for a while until Oma yelled at me for blocking the entry. But for now she was too busy cooing at Josie. I kissed her cheek as I walked past and threw myself on the couch next to Freddie.

  “Hey,” I said and hugged her to my side with one arm around her shoulder. “Why are you watching football?”

  “Hey back.” She laid her head on my shoulder, already having overtaken me in height. “No reason. Just thought I’d try something new.”

  Right. My little sister was such a liar. I would bet one of my kidneys that it had something to do with Tate.

  “Are you going to fall asleep? Because if you are, that’s where you’re staying. I’m not waking you up again. You tried to kill me last time.”

  I opened one eye. “I wasn’t trying to kill you. You scared me. It was a reflex.”

  “You tackled me to the ground.”

  “As I said. Accident. And you’re still here, talking to me, so it was a failed attempt anyway.”

  “Whatever,” she mumbled and went back to watching a game she once told me was more boring than watching paint dry.

  “Dinner is ready,” Oma announced, and my sleepiness evaporated. It was Friday. We had fish and chips on Friday. Nobody, and I mean not a single soul, could fry a fish the way Oma did. She even made the fries herself.

  Freddie jumped off the couch and elbowed me in the stomach. Definitely not an accident. She wanted to get there first. Because the last fried bit would be the best. Oma used about double the amount of batter because she only had one piece of fish left but didn’t want to waste the batter. And we both wanted that piece. I raced after her and managed to grab onto the back of her t-shirt and hold her back. She pulled me with her, her height and strength well above mine. I shouldn’t have stopped exercising. Or stopped growing.

  “Stop fighting. You can share it. It’s a big piece,” Oma said and watched us elbow our way into the kitchen.

  “Never,” we both exclaimed at the same time.

  Josie bumped into my leg, and I let go of Freddie’s clothes. Unfortunately, that was the only opening she needed to dive for the food and grab the fish.

  “Mimi, wash,” Josie said and held up her hands that were covered in soap.

  “Good job, Spatz, let’s wash it again, okay? Otherwise you’ll be eating fish with a side of soap for dinner.”

  We went to the bathroom together, and I helped her rinse off, a job she loved and would do ten times a day if we let her. I lifted her back onto her highchair and gave her a plate Oma had already prepared.

  “How was Denver?” Freddie asked around a mouthful of fish once we were all seated on the barstools.

  I piled my plate full of food before I answered. “Good. I should take Josie with me all the time.”

  Oma shot me a look that told me she was onto me. I could get nothing past her. She could read between the lines like a pro and didn’t let anyone get away with anything. Except for my mom. But that was because she was a train wreck nobody could stop, and Oma had given up long ago.

  “It’s true,” I said in a lame attempt to move onto something else. “There were no problems. It was perfect.”

  Freddie pointed her fork at me. “Ha, now we all know that you’re lying out of your ass. Gave yourself away. Again.” She swallowed the bite of food she had talked around and mimicked me. “It was perfect. Perfect.” She drew out the last word with a high pitched voice.

  “Stop being such a smug little shit,” I told her, which ea
rned me a glare from Oma. I mouthed sorry to her, knowing how much she hated bad language around Josie.

  “You’re meeting with the lawyer Monday, no?” Oma asked. The earliest I could get in was Monday morning. I had to find out what was so important to Anna. The will was never officially read since the executor suddenly disappeared, and I failed to find out what happened. All that had mattered to me at the time was making sure Josie was taken care of. And since the executor confirmed that I had full custody, I didn’t care about the rest. Didn’t think past the funeral arrangements. We never had much, so whatever else was in that will didn’t matter to me.

  Cassie had let me take the time off and make up for it by being her bitch on Saturday. She had a cocktail party at her house and needed someone to organize everything and help on the day. At least I was a passable party planner and didn’t mind the trade.

  “I am. Hopefully he can tell me what’s going on with the will.”

  We finished dinner and after I gave Josie a bath and put her to bed, I got ready to meet Cassie and her latest beau. They were already at the Shack, a bar that not only served the best burgers but also had an extensive cocktail list. A combination not easily found in Butler so people flocked to the place. It was always packed.

  Oma reassured me a million times that they would be okay for a few hours. I was just down the road, and she wouldn’t open the door for anyone. Freddie promised to stay home as well and I finally left the house.

  I had squeezed myself into skin-tight, black jeans and a dark purple top that showed cleavage without giving Oma a heart attack. I was also wearing a pair of Cassie’s black pumps that I planned to never return. They made my legs look a mile long and at the same time didn’t cut off the circulation to my toes. My hair was behaving and hanging in curly waves down my back and I had even put on makeup. This included having done more than my usual foundation and mascara, and putting on dark eyeshadow that made my eyes pop. Not even Cassie could complain I didn’t put any effort into my appearance.

  I waved to Oma on my way out, still nervous about leaving her alone but knowing that I had to get out of the house at some point. At least I was close. Butler was small, most things were about a ten minute drive away. The Shack was no exception, and I made it to the big building without incident. There wasn’t much else around, so parking wasn’t an issue. The bar had started as a shack, hence the name, but was now a big double story building with a glass front overlooking Bonnie Lake.

  I could hear the music once I opened my car door. It was good to get out. An additional bonus was the clean clothes I was wearing. No spew, food or poo anywhere in sight. I felt like a new person.

  When I walked inside, the smell of fries and beer washed over me. I hadn’t been to the restaurant very often. We usually only went out for birthdays and funerals. My bar experience was limited, since I had done most of my drinking before I turned twenty-one. Then along came Josie and a hangover was double punishment when you had to take care of a toddler. In short, I didn’t go out much despite Cassie’s best efforts.

  I was excited, more than I would ever admit.

  I looked around the large room, trying to find Cassie. The huge bar to my right was heaving with people, but I couldn’t spot my friend’s black mane of hair. There was a dance floor in the middle that was already full of sweaty bodies and a stage was set up toward the back with the lake as a backdrop. Booths and tables lined the outside of the room, and I made my way toward the first row, hoping I didn’t have to fight my way to the back.

  There was also a beautiful outside deck that would be next on my list of places to look for her. I sent her a message before I left, but she still hadn’t gotten back to me. Spotting a few familiar faces, I tried to keep my head down and go past unnoticed, which wasn’t all that hard to accomplish thanks to my height.

  I made my way towards the patio, still unable to spot Cassie. My phone vibrated in my back pocket where I had stuffed it earlier, foregoing a bag.

  The display showed it was Rhett calling. Please don’t make this be work related. What was I saying? Please don’t make this personal. Since I had decided to give the whole friendship thing a go, I answered the call, stepping out onto the patio that I had finally reached so I could hear him.

  “Hello?” I answered and covered one of my ears.

  “Emmi,” his deep voice came on the line.

  “Hang on a second.” I walked to the edge of the huge stilted wooden deck, edging the lake.

  “Okay, go ahead.”

  “Why are you not at home?”

  “How do you know I’m not sitting on my couch?”

  “Turn around.”

  I did and spotted Gunner, who stuck out in the young crowd like a palm in the desert. When did he even have time to work out? That much muscle would require some serious commitment. And how was he back? Nobody told me a thing around here.

  “Are you serious? I thought you said he had better things to do.”

  He emailed me late last night and said that Gunner had something else to do. I thought that meant I was free.

  “I said he had something he needed to take care of. I would never leave you without him for long. And someone else was watching you while Gunner was away. Did you not see Peters? Dark hair, always wears a suit. He was sitting outside your house.”

  And here I thought my paranoia was totally unfounded.

  “Fine. So he’s still playing my shadow.” And it explained how Rhett knew where I was.

  “So you just called to let me know?”

  “No. I wanted to make sure you’re okay and Anna hasn’t contacted you again. But since you’ve gone out, I could have just guessed that everything is fine.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Are you mad at me?”

  “No. Why would I be mad?”

  “I don’t know, maybe your clipped voice and short answers made me think that.”

  “Don’t worry about my voice. It’s just fine.”

  Now he definitely sounded pissed. But so was I if my raised voice was to be believed.

  “Glad you’re so thoughtful. Now can I hang up or is there a point to your call?”

  “Nope. None whatsoever. Have a great night.”

  The last part was hissed, like he didn’t want to say it.

  “I will,” I shot back and hung up. Moody asshole.

  I stared at my screen, confused. Why did he call when he didn’t sound like he wanted to talk to me in the first place?

  I was still staring at my screen when a message came through from Cassie.

  Cassie: “Outside near the Tiki bar.”

  Me: “OMW”

  I went around the side and spotted my friend straight away. She was laughing, one hand braced on the table, the other on what I assumed was her latest fling’s shoulder. She spotted me mid-laugh and shrieked. Definitely in her second stage for the night. It should be known that Cassie had stages of inebriation that had to be closely watched. You never wanted her to get to the last stage because once she was passed out, there was no way to wake her. She once fell asleep on my couch and I was so paranoid that she’d throw up and choke on her vomit that I watched her sleep. Sounds creepier than it was. It was also four hours of my life I would never get back.

  “Emmi,” she yelled and waved again, as if I hadn’t seen and heard her the first time.

  She hugged me tight once I made it to the table.

  “This is Callum.” She introduced the huge man next to her. He had muscles on his muscles and was almost as big as Gunner. Almost. Very different to her normal type of skinny nerd. She beamed at me and pointed to a guy across from us. “And this is Landon.”

  I held out my hand and he took it.

  “Pleasure to meet you. Cassie didn’t mention how gorgeous you are,” he said.

  I didn’t reply at first, just stared at him. His hair was dirty blond, a bit longer on top, shaved on the sides. The tattoos on his muscled upper arms
were half covered by his t-shirt, fitting him to perfection. If anyone could be called gorgeous, it was him.

  “Hi. Nice to meet you too,” I finally said. Always original. That was me. He pulled out the chair next to him, patting the seat while shooting me a grin.

  “Can I get you a drink?” he asked.

  “Mmh, sure. I’ll have a beer.”

  He nodded and winked at me. Winked. “Be right back.”

  Cassie pulled me off to the side and whisper-yelled at me. “What do you think?”

  “About who? Callum or Landon?”

  “Landon of course. Isn’t he gorgeous? And he lives in Humptulips.”

  Cassie tried winking at me but failed miserably. Humptulips was just a few towns over and home to the world’s best cake shop, Sweet Dreams. Everyone knew how much I loved to go there and did so frequently. Not sure why I needed to know this information about her date’s friend though. If she was trying to set me up with someone, she was failing miserably. Because this woman was closed for business.

  Landon returned a few minutes later with our drinks. He managed to get to the bar and back in record time and I had to admit I was impressed. He handed me the cool drink, and we clinked glasses.

  “To a great night,” he said.

  “Cheers to that,” Cassie screeched and waved her drink around.

  I sat back down and turned towards Landon, trying to make conversation. Cassie’s face was currently being sucked off and I had no interest in watching. “So what do you do?”

  “I’m a mechanic. What about you?”

  “Personal assistant. I work for Cassie.”

  Cassie must have followed our conversation because she leaned over and said, “She wouldn’t get a job anywhere else as a personal assistant. She is terrible at it. I consider scheduling my own meetings on a daily basis.”

  Guess that little barb was worth taking a break from her mouth-to-mouth.

  “Don’t try and spare my feelings or anything. Just tell me what you really think,” I said and stuck my tongue out at her.

  Cassie blew me a kiss and lifted her glass. “Don’t worry, I will. And you know it’s true.”