Forget You

by Jennifer Snyder

  “There, now where were we?” She arched a brow. “Oh, I remember.” Moving to position me at her entrance, she didn’t ease me in as I thought she would. Instead, she thrust her hips up, and I plunged inside her, quick and hard.

  The sensation was so good it was nearly crippling. Leaning over her, so I could get my bearings and take control of the rhythm, I slowed the pace to where I had wanted it to be from the start. Her teeth sank into her bottom lip, and her eyes hooded with lush, letting me know I was making her feel everything I’d hoped. This moment didn’t need to be quick and hot; it needed to be slow and sensual.

  This was my time to worship Eva, and show her everything I wasn’t sure I could tell her yet.

  * * * *

  “I’d made up my mind I was going to leave the next morning, even if she tried to stop me,” I said.

  We were lying in bed, eating strawberry PopTarts as I told my story to Eva. She had this look plastered across her face of pure concentration as she soaked in every word I was saying.

  “What happened in the morning? Did she try to stop you?” she asked.

  “No.” I shook my head, and took another bite of the sweet goodness. “She actually had a little basket packed with food and water, and was at the door waiting when I came out. She muttered something to me in a language I couldn’t understand, and motioned for me to come with her. I had no clue where she was taking me, but I went anyway, thinking if I didn’t like it, I could always run.”

  Eva sat up, and brushed sprinkles and crumbs from her hands over the side of her bed. “So where did she take you? Stop being so melodramatic, and spit it out. You’re killing me with the suspense!”

  “Sorry.” I laughed. “She took me to a camp. I remember how fast my heart was pounding, because I wasn’t sure if it was one of my people’s camps or hers.”

  The emotions from that moment tightened my chest, and forced my heart to pound at the thought. Eva huffed.

  “Oh, please,” she said. “If she was just going to turn you over, she wouldn’t have wasted however many weeks getting your ass better.”

  My lips curved into a smirk. “You’re right. It was a group of soldiers from another branch of the U.S. military. Before she turned me over to them, she kissed me on the forehead and said something I couldn’t understand. I think that will always bother me—not knowing what those words had been.”

  “That was sweet of her.” Eva smiled. “It’s almost as though she paid it forward with you. You detoured her and her son from harm’s way the first time you met, and then she healed you back to reasonable health before depositing you with your own as a thank you of sorts. I love it.”

  I’d never thought about it that way until now. Eva was right. That was exactly what had happened.

  “So, what does it mean now that you’re back? Are you still an active or what?” She bit her bottom lip without meeting my eyes. “Doesn’t nearly getting killed, and being the only survivor of your unit entitle you to be discharged with honor or whatever the term is?”

  Reaching out for her, I wrapped my arms around her waist, and pulled her into my lap. “Something like that. I actually have only twenty percent hearing in my right ear now. I’m sort of no good to the military now that I can’t fully hear whenever the enemy comes up behind me, so I don’t think I’ll be deployed for anything else.” I kissed the top of her bare shoulder. My heart pounded as the words I’d wanted to say to her for so long shifted through my mind once more, the words she’d whispered to me before falling asleep the last night I’d spent with her. “You’ve got me for the rest of ever, if you want me.”

  Eva shifted in my lap to look at me. I fought the urge to meet her stare, nervous of what I would find reflected in her eyes. Her fingers touched under my chin, and forced my face up to hers. She didn’t speak when our eyes locked. Instead, she pressed her lips to mine, and kissed me.

  “There,” She pulled back after a few moments, breathless as I was. “is your answer, Sawyer Keeton.”

  A goofy grin sprang onto my face, and I pushed her back against the mattress. Crushing my lips to hers, I trailed my hand down the side of her stomach until I met her hip. Pushing her thighs apart with my knee, I settled between them, ready for another round. Her phone rang from somewhere in the living room, but I didn’t let her up to answer it. Whoever it was would have to wait, because I was determined to show this woman how happy her words had made me.

  As I kissed my way down her throat and between her breasts, the memory of the first time I’d seen her flipped through my mind. She’d been sitting on the bench in Gareth’s Park, with a book in her lap and a pen resting at the corner of her plump lips. My heart had kick-started at the sight of her, and I knew right then and there that she was something special. She was the one I would fight to spend the rest of my ever with.

  Smiling, I knew now how right I had been.

  EPILOGUE

  EVA

  Two weeks after Sawyer appeared on my doorstep, and patched up all the holes in my then fragile heart, we’d gone to the courthouse and gotten married. Maybe it was a naïve, juvenile thing to do, but that was us. One thing I’d learned while being with Sawyer was that life was too damn short to not indulge in immature things and accept what you feel when you feel it.

  Once my wish had been granted, and I’d gotten him back, I never wanted to let him go, regardless of how little time we’d known each other. As Jason’s mom had said, “Love knows no time limits.”

  “You ready for this?” Sawyer asked. His hand reached out for mine, and he brushed his thumb along my skin.

  Twirling the ring Sawyer had given me, I thought about the words he’d had engraved along the inside, and smiled. I pulled my hand from his, and took it off to read them once more. Holding the silver ring up, I read the swirling script, and felt my heart swell with happiness.

  For the rest of ever…

  “Yeah, let’s do this.” I nodded.

  Climbing out of Sawyer’s Mustang, I slammed my door shut and started around the front to meet him. We locked hands, and headed up the steps to Cameron’s house. Everyone was meeting here tonight for a dinner thing. It had been Paige’s idea. Now that our reunited lovebird time—as she’d called it—had passed for Sawyer and me, she wanted to throw a celebratory dinner in honor of him making it back to me safely. Little did they know, they would all be learning we’d eloped as well.

  Making our way through the front door without knocking, the scent of something amazing met my nose. We followed the laughter and sounds of talking to the kitchen, where everyone seemed to be congregating.

  “Hey, guys.” I smiled.

  “I was wondering if you two were going to be able to get out of bed to make it,” Lauren muttered with a wide grin. “I feel like we haven’t seen you since he got back. I get that you’re trying to catch up on all the missed sex, but dang.”

  Shaking my head, I narrowed my eyes at her. “It had to happen, okay?”

  Lauren laughed, and Ian came up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and leaned his chin on her shoulder. “Leave them alone. They deserved to hole up for a while after all the crap they’ve been through. Be happy for them,” he said.

  “I am happy for them.” Lauren beamed.

  “What’s that?” Blaire asked suddenly.

  “What’s what?” I countered.

  Damn her and her impeccable notice to detail.

  Blaire grinned from ear-to-ear. “The ring on your left hand finger!”

  Sawyer squeezed my hand in his, and I held up my other for everyone to see. Paige shrieked, and Lauren nearly died laughing.

  “You bitch!” Lauren shouted. “Why didn’t you tell us? Or hell, why didn’t we get to be there for it?”

  I shrugged. “It was a spur of the moment thing, but we’re telling you now.”

  Cameron burst into a fit of laughter. He was laughing so hard he actually had to wipe away a tear or two from his eyes. Paige smacked him on the chest.

 
“I don’t get what’s so funny about this to you,” she scolded him.

  “It’s just.” He gathered himself, and locked eyes with me. “I’m sorry. I’m just remembering you at Jason and Blaire’s wedding. You were the one who caught the fucking bouquet! There must be some truth to that superstition after all!”

  I’d nearly forgotten about that. Even though it was Blaire and Jason’s wedding, that day was stuck in the gray area of my time without Sawyer that I never wanted to dredge up.

  “That’s right, she did!” Blaire shouted.

  “Drinks!” Cam yelled. “Everyone, it’s time for some celebratory drinks!”

  Cameron poured us all a yellow concoction into some salt-rimmed glasses. Margaritas, my favorite!

  Paige opened the oven, and pulled out a few bags with the logo for Verde Guacamole on the side. My smile widened. Verde Guacamole was the best Mexican restaurant in all of Coldcreek. My stomach rumbled as Paige set a stack of plates on the counter. Releasing Sawyer’s hand, I stepped beside Cameron, and reached for a plate while listening to everyone congratulate Sawyer and me on our eloping.

  “I’m happy for you, babe,” Cameron said in a voice so low only I could hear him. “Damn, it’s so good to see you smile again.”

  “Thanks.” I grinned, and scoped up a plate from the stack.

  “I mean it,” he insisted. His tone made me lift my eyes to his. “I’ve always told you that you deserved better than the shitheads you always seemed to settle for. I know I tried to get you for myself a few times in the past, and while I didn’t get the whole we’re too much alike and it would never work thing you’ve repeatedly tossed in my face over the years, it makes perfect since why we never would have worked out now.” He paused in what he was doing, and glanced at Paige for the briefest of moments. The love he felt for her still lingered in his eyes when he brought his stare back to mine. “I always knew there was someone out there for you, but as time seemed to drag on, I thought that person must have gotten hit by a train or some shit.” He grinned.

  I laughed and slapped him on the shoulder. He had no idea how many times I’d thought that same thing myself. “How nice of you,” I teased.

  Cam sank his teeth into his bottom lip, and his face grew serious. “But I can see that’s not true now, because you’ve finally found him. I’m happy for you, sweetheart. Happier than you will ever know.”

  Setting my plate down, I reached out, and pulled Cam into a hug. “Thank you.”

  His head leaned against mine, and we stood there, staring out at the people who had come into our lives at random and saved us from ourselves. The people who had forced us to realize the world wasn’t as bad or hopeless as we’d once thought. Cam and I had similar stories of heartache and pain, and now we each had a similar ending of happiness and love.

  My eyes locked with Sawyer’s from across the kitchen, and I refused to drop his stare, just like the first time I saw him. It took a confident person not to be afraid of eye contact, and that was the first thing about him that had grabbed my attention and held it. His mouth twisted into a lopsided grin as he continued to hold my stare, most likely thinking the same thing I was.

  Removing myself from Cameron’s side, I made my way toward Sawyer without moving my eyes from his.

  “You won’t win. I don’t even know why you try,” I teased him.

  “I won that first day,” he insisted. “I’m looking at my prize right now.”

  I crinkled my nose and laughed. “Corny.”

  “Whatever.” He grinned. “You know you loved it.”

  “I did,” I smiled as I pressed my lips to his to show him how much.

  Please continue reading for a Coldcreek Short Story.

  FORGIVE YOU

  A COLDCREEK SHORT STORY

  By

  JENNIFER SNYDER

  For most, the word forgive doesn’t hold any weight. It’s just a word in the English language, one that gets tossed around as much as all the others. Sometimes though, there are situations that arise when that one small, seemingly simple word can mean everything. It can lighten a load you were positive you would stay crushed beneath forever.

  ~ SAWYER ~

  Cobalt eyes, the same shade as my own, stared back at me. The second those beautiful eyes blinked, life was poured back into me, allowing me to breathe again.

  Ryker was a dad.

  I was an uncle.

  Veda Keeton stared into my eyes as though she could see straight to my soul. Her tiny fist moved up to rub her eyes, and for the briefest of moments, I felt as though time stood still. The reality of the moment crushed me.

  Here I was, sitting in the apartment of my high school sweetheart, the girl who had broken me with her list of generic reasons as to why we would never work out shortly after graduation, holding her three and a half month old child. The same child who was just as much my brother’s as hers.

  My brother was a dad, but his daughter was fatherless.

  Veda squirmed in my arms, and little fussy noises passed through her lips. She was most likely on the verge of crying, but I didn’t care. The sight of her made me happy—happier than I’d ever thought possible. Inside of her, there was a piece of my brother. He lived through her.

  “She’s beautiful,” Eva whispered from beside me.

  “Ryker did good.” I smiled.

  As though she were protesting, Veda let out a long-winded wail. She squirmed even more in my arms as her little lungs bawled out cries louder than one would think possible from something so small.

  “I think she’s hungry,” Camilla said.

  She stood, and walked to where I was seated on the couch to peel Veda from my arms. Chewing the inside of my cheek, my mind continued in its struggle to wrap around the news of my brother’s child.

  “Do you two care?” Camilla asked over Veda’s cries as she motioned to her chest. “I breast feed.”

  Eva jumped up, and handed her the thin blanket from between us. “No, go right ahead.”

  “Thanks.” Camilla smiled. She took the blanket, and then proceeded to cover herself and Veda.

  Silence soon filled the room. My mind continued to fumble through thought after thought. I’d only learned of Veda’s existence a week ago, Easter dinner to be exact. It had been a dinner for the record books to say the least. Why my parents had chosen that moment to spill the news, I couldn’t be sure. Eva and I had talked about it later on, and she seemed to think it was symbolic in some weird way. While Eva wasn’t religious by any means, she still had her deep philosophical moments. Her reasoning as to why Easter had been the perfect time to learn of my brother’s child was because Easter stood for a time of rebirth, and what better way to celebrate such a thing than with the news of an actual birth. I, on the other hand, wasn’t buying it.

  “She has such a beautiful name,” Eva said. “How did you choose it?”

  “Thanks.” Camilla adjusted the blanket draped over Veda and herself. She locked eyes with me for a split second, and I knew what her answer would be, because I knew her. Even though so much time had passed since we’d been together, I still remembered everything about her. You never forget your first love. “I was always a sucker for the movie My Girl.” She smiled.

  The countless times I’d sat through that movie with her flashed before my eyes, and I smiled.

  “You always said if you had a girl, you’d name her Veda. I guess you weren’t joking, huh?” I chuckled.

  Camilla shook her head, and grinned. “Nope.”

  “I loved that movie,” Eva added. “I always cried when the girl’s best friend died.”

  “Me too! It was so sad!” Camilla agreed.

  As the two continued in their talk about My Girl and its sequel, I zoned out. My brother should be here for this moment and so many more. He should have been there for the birth of his daughter; he should be here now, while we sit around and discuss where her name came from.

  The simple fact that he wasn’t was unbelievable.

  I
thought back to the moment my parents decided to drop the bomb on me about Ryker and Camilla’s relationship. The entire conversation surged through my mind once more. I remembered the sinking feeling that had penetrated my stomach. I remembered the level of betrayal that had sliced through me. How I’d been conflicted by my emotions. I had Eva, my beautiful wife, who I loved dearly, sitting directly beside me, but at the same time, learning of my brother and my ex sleeping together and creating a kid still shattered me. My mind had been so split. The only words that passed through my lips had been, did he love her?

  I’d been so fearful to look at Eva after saying such a thing. I had never intended to hurt her with those words, but the question mattered to me. Its answer was important in a way I couldn’t explain. If Ryker had loved Camilla, then I could forgive him for dating the girl who had crushed my heart, but only because I knew from personal experience what love could do to a person, how it could change your view on the entire world, how easily it was to get swept away by it. If that had been what my brother had somehow found in Camilla, then I was happy for him.

  The moment I’d been reliving cracked to reveal the ugly truth hidden beneath. Ryker had kept his relationship with Camilla, as well as the pregnancy, a secret. This was what won out in the battle within my mind; this was the stuff that kept me up at night lately. I hadn’t been sure I could forgive him for thinking so little of me that he would withhold this information from me for so long. What had he thought I would have done? Disown him for dating my ex? Was he worried it would have been awkward? Well, it would have been, for a while, but then eventually things would have mellowed out. Ryker and Camilla would have become a couple in my eyes and not my brother with my ex.

  “There you go,” Camilla cooed to Veda as she pulled her from beneath the blanket, and rested her against her shoulder. “Are you full now?”