Serenity (Forever Book 1)

by India R. Adams

  Josh appears surprised and pulls his hand away quickly while staring at Dereck, who is moving his hand underneath me.

  “Umm, touching your heinie?” Dereck sheepishly replies.

  “Well, mind stopping?” Dereck pulls his hand out. I look at Josh. “And you have nothing to say?”

  Josh seems as if he’s seen a ghost. “Uh, a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do?”

  Jolene and Sky turn in the front seat with quizzical glares. With no smart-ass comment, Rocco starts driving. Hmm.

  Josh is protesting his costume. “Serenity, can you get me out of this bra?”

  As I unhook Josh, Dereck strips out of his fins to his jeans underneath. I wiggle because something is still poking me. “I think I have a fish under my butt.”

  “Want me to get it?” Dereck offers.

  “Why do you keep trying to get your hand under my butt?”

  “Unbelievable,” Josh mumbles.

  I glare at him. “Finally, you say something?”

  Josh ignores me, reaching under his seat. “Dereck, I know you have a shirt in here somewhere.” He pulls out three T-shirts. “Yes!” And throws one to each guy. Red wigs fly.

  They kept their end of the bargain. Proudly, I tell Dereck, “You are such a good boyfriend.”

  He puts on his shirt. “I don’t think I like you calling me that anymore.”

  “Whatcha gonna do, dump her, Hamilton?”

  “Nah, just ask her to marry me.”

  Rocco pulls his truck over as Jolene and Sky practically break their necks trying to see us.

  I explain, “Everyone settle. He’s not serious.”

  Josh points. “Check under your butt and see if he’s serious.”

  “What?” My heart starts pounding.

  Dereck chuckles. “Can I get under your ass now?”

  I lift a cheek while studying him. He reaches between the seats and pulls out a little black box. “Ya know, this was supposed to be romantic, to make up for my last proposal, but, well… your butt ate your ring.”

  Flabbergasted, I lean back, ending up against Josh. My nerves are shooting through the roof. I don’t understand why Dereck is doing this. Josh kisses my head, making me believe he is for this. But why? Sky unbuckles and spins around, putting her backside in Roc’s face in the process. Josh pushes Roc’s head away as he tries to bite Sky’s butt. Jolene is already wiping her eyes. Everyone seems so at ease and… happy for this. Maybe I’m the one being ridiculous, giving it too much thought instead of relaxing and enjoying the natural progression of this intense relationship, but—

  Dereck opens the box. “Serenity, will you marry me?”

  As Rocco’s headlights shine on Dereck’s house, Faith rushes out with flowers. She’s yelling, “Congratulations!” Until she sees us solemnly exit the vehicle. “Oh… She said no.”

  “I’m not doubting the sincerity of his proposal,” I tell a disappointed Faith, “just the reason for it in high school. I can’t possibly believe you are happy that your son is going to be tied down, in matrimony, at seventeen.” I look around. “Can someone please acknowledge I’m not this stupid?”

  Skyler slowly raises her hand. “Thank you.”

  I face Dereck. “And thank you for trying to make this such a wonderful evening.” I pat my chest. “Your love… it’s right here. Will never be anyone else’s.”

  He nods, looking at the ground.

  “Then… Dereck… why did you ask me to marry you? I mean, you’re so levelheaded and always thinking ahead. If I know you at all, you wouldn’t rush into a huge decision without good reasoning.”

  Josh, pacing behind me, tells me that I’m right. A very important detail about the “why” of this proposal is something I have been spared.

  Dereck gazes back up. “I love you, Serenity.”

  “You show me, every day.”

  “I want to marry you.”

  “And I want to marry you.”

  Dereck glances around at everyone then at Josh. Josh stops pacing and takes his place behind me, nodding for Dereck to continue. My heart races.

  Dereck lifts his chin and stands tall. “Rex is preparing a case against me, saying you’re underage.”

  Instantly, I’m getting lightheaded. I whisper, “But—so are you.”

  “I turn eighteen next month.”

  My body falls backward, into my waiting Joshua. His arms come around my shoulders to hold me to his chest. Into my ear, he says, “Breathe, baby girl.”

  My eyes shut. “Josh, why won’t he let me go?”

  Faith grasps my hand as my eyes well with tears.

  Josh tells me, “We won’t let go either.”

  Dereck sadly says, “Serenity, your dad is claiming we fall under Romeo and Juliet laws. Have you heard of them?”

  I choke out a no.

  “When two underage teenagers engage in sexual relations, the one who comes of age first is the one who is guilty of statutory rape.”

  I feel as though I may throw up. “You. Eighteen. Next month.”

  He nods. “Yes, now here’s where it gets tricky. In Texas, at seventeen you are allowed to give consent to sex.”

  There’s hope! “I’m seventeen, Dereck!”

  He smiles at me endearingly. “Yes, I know, but…” His smile fades. “You were sixteen when we started our relationship.”

  “But Dereck, I was seventeen when we had sex.”

  “Serenity, he claims to have security video of when I climbed your tree, that night I came back to you.”

  I spin and hide in Josh’s chest. “Oh God. I forgot about his outside cameras.” I look up at Josh. “We didn’t do anything that night!”

  He holds my face. “I know that, but… you were on birth control already.”

  I cry out, “For other reasons!”

  Josh kisses my forehead. “Your father is now saying you falsified intense cramps, trying to outsmart the system.”

  I shake my head as tears tumble.

  “My lawyer has seen the video.”

  I slowly turn and face Dereck again.

  “It’s our word against his saying that you’re lying—just trying to protect me. My dad’s lawyers say, if we can prove a certain section of the penal code—a defense that we aren’t more than three years apart, you were over the age of fourteen, and I wasn’t a registered sex offender at the time—maybe I won’t become one.”

  Faith’s hand covers her mouth as if the thought alone might make her sick.

  I understand. My stomach is turning also. “No, I couldn’t live with that.”

  Dereck shakes his head. “And with your dad’s track record with rulings, who knows what will happen.”

  Just like that, all becomes clear. To love someone, truly love someone, means that self-sacrifice is sometimes the choice that has to be made. No matter how much I love Dereck, I can’t bear the thought of him having to make a hasty decision. Marrying me out of—

  “Dereck, I love you more than you may ever know, so please understand how my decision is killing me inside, but I can’t have you do anything you might regret someday. Even with this—I will be yours forever… My answer must be no.”

  In torment, I turn back to the only one who can help me now. Gasping through the tears rolling down my face, I ask, “Josh, may I live with you? If I leave Dereck, my dad will drop this case and stop this lunacy.”

  “Of course, but are you sure this is what you want?”

  “It’s not what I want.” I can barely breathe. “It’s what must be.” I’m being tormented by the man who’s in jail for trying to kidnap and hurt me.

  Dereck says, “I should be mad at you.” I barely find the strength to face him. “But I’m not. In fact, this makes me love you eve
n more. I know you love me. And I know to leave me is breaking your heart, yet you’re doing it, for me.”

  Faith finally breaks and silently cries.

  Dereck goes down on one knee. “Serenity, I cherish the ground you walk on. I cherish every breath you take, because with each breath, I get to live another moment next to the one person I cannot live without. Ever. So know that when I ask for your hand in marriage, it is not out of fear. It is not out of pity. It is because, with you… I’m alive.”

  I can only stare at the most beautiful soul in the world. The soul that has promised me the world. And who is now offering me all of him. He pulls the black box from his front pocket and holds out the ring as his own eyes fill. “Serenity, would you do me the honor of letting me be your husband? Be my wife, Serenity.” Tears drip down his face. “Let me love you, forever…” No longer able to speak, he whispers, “Will you marry me?”

  The cloaked one’s voice passes through me with song. Gives my heart courage to… fly… Then a vision blows through my soul… Dereck’s smile in front of me, lifetime after lifetime. In water, on land, in a bed, in a tree, on a swing, on his knee… My body surges forward and knocks Dereck over as I kiss him. “Yes, yes, yes. I’ll marry you.”

  We lie in the front yard as my friends cry for the love they’re witnessing. Dereck speaks between my kisses. “Umm, the ring flew out of my hand.”

  Faith shrieks, “What?”

  Roc smirks. “It’s a pricey one, ain’t it?”

  Her eyes bulge and she nods, making everyone around us gasp.

  My Sky, my best friend, gets on her hands and knees. “I’m finding that rock if it kills me. Rocco!”

  “Coming, dear.”

  I kiss my forever as Faith and my Crew hunt in the dark, on their hands and knees, for my engagement ring.

  “Dear Lord, Serenity. So much for playing hard to get. She’s swallowing his face, Joles.”

  “Josh, they are setting the bar high for my proposal.”

  “What? We are on our hands and knees searching for her ring!”

  She starts to cry. “It’s so romantic.”

  “Are you kidding me? He proposed in the back of a truck—”

  “In a dress,” Rocco adds.

  “Yeah!” Josh hollers. “Not to mention, her butt ate the ring—”

  Sky starts crying, too. “Just the way it was meant to be.”

  “Aw, Sweet Pea.”

  “Found it!” Faith yells in relief.

  Dereck, still on his back—with me lying on him—smiles up at me. And his smile is all mine. “You just made me the happiest man in the world.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Not Even Death

  After Friday night’s game, we decide to get some pizza at the Italians, a pizza parlor that we love.

  Jolene, being Mama Hen, says, “No going out for Josh. Big game tomorrow. Say good night, Joshua.”

  He’s not putting up the slightest fight. His eyes look so tired. “Good game, little boys. Good night, my ladies.”

  Jolene blows a kiss and heads to her car with her football star. I don’t know why, but watching them walk away is extra hard tonight. Sky and I see them less and less now, and it feels like my young parents are leaving me.

  Skyler must be feeling the same way because she yells out, “Wait!”

  Like shooting stars racing across the night sky, Skyler and I rush across the dark pavement. Josh and Jolene both turn to see us coming. They open their arms and hearts. Sky rushes to Jolene as I slam into Josh. I suddenly realize we have our favorites. Sky needs Jolene’s motherly ways because her mom is overworked and has her hands full with many girls. Josh is mine because there’s a little girl in me that’s desperate for fatherly affections that will never come. Only Josh can fill these shoes now.

  Josh rocks me. “You okay?”

  I nod and nuzzle his chest then gaze up. “Will you walk me down the aisle?”

  Jolene gasps as she holds Sky. “Aw, Serenity.”

  Josh can barely speak. “It would be my honor.”

  Jolene’s car pulls away. Sky and I stand next to Roc’s truck, watching with tears in our eyes. Roc opens the door. His radio volume rises considerably. “Dereck, it’s time.”

  Dereck smirks at his buddy. “It’s time, huh?”

  “Yes, my friend. You ready?”

  Sky gets a little excited. “Ready for what?”

  Rocco shouts into the night, “To. Break. It. Down!”

  Next thing I know, Dereck and Rocco are busting some of the worst dance moves ever. Skyler and I laugh and laugh at the train wreck forming right before our eyes.

  Then we hear, “Break it down, white boys!” Marcus runs up and starts to move his huge body.

  Sky and I laugh even harder. Now everyone in the parking lot is joining in. It’s something right out of the movies. And what would happen next in a movie? That’s right. The night sky opens up and… rains.

  We dance and scream while our hearts soar. I’m sure this is one of those nights I’ll never forget—like the ones Tim McGraw sings about.

  Rocco appears so pleased that his little angel’s tears have evaporated and transformed into smiles. He bends his knees, wraps his arms around her thighs, picks her up, and spins her around. “I love you, Skyler O’Donnell.” His eyes suddenly widen as he stops twirling her. “I’m sorry, girl. I didn’t mean to push you.”

  As she stares, Rocco lets her body slide down his. Halfway down, her hands affectionately land on his cheeks. He stops her descent and waits. Sky smiles at her Teddy Bear, face to face, raindrops falling… “I love you, too, Rocco Martelli.”

  Dereck and I jump up and down along with Marcus as the two fall into a kiss so beautiful it could last a girl a lifetime.

  From the passenger side of the truck, Dereck complains as he looks under Roc’s backseat. “Dude! No extra shirts?”

  Roc is standing at his open driver’s side door with Sky between him and the driver’s seat. “Not everyone stashes laundry and emergency supplies under their seats, Dereck.”

  Sky and I rode to the game with Jolene. Dereck rode with Roc and Josh, so his truck is not here for us to “shop” from. My being soaking wet doesn’t seem to be at the top of Dereck’s “things that make me happy” list.

  I’m standing in front of Dereck, and he reaches over me to the front passenger seat and digs through his gym bag. He pulls out a dirty T-shirt. “That’s all I got, babe.”

  Skyler laughs at my disgusted face until she catches a glimpse of the stinky shirt Roc is offering from his gym bag. She raises a brow, looking over her shoulder. “Lost your mind, Tower? Plus, that’ll be a dress on me.”

  From across the front seat comes Dereck’s rebuttal. “No wet girls sitting in freezing AC. You want pizza? Put it on, little monkey.”

  Skyler snatches it out of Roc’s hands. “This is bullshit,” she says and rips off her wet shirt.

  Rocco’s jaw drops. He quickly shields her with his open door and his body. “Sky! Everyone can see you!”

  “Just my bra. Settle down.”

  Dereck holds up another dirty shirt behind me so I can strip. Once covered, Sky and I glance down at our muumuus. Sky climbs over Rocco’s driver’s seat. “I look ri-dunk-u-lous.” She checks out his rearview mirror and gasps. “Abort! Abort! My hair!”

  I get an idea. “Sky, take off your boots and jeans and give me your belt.”

  Sky stands on the middle of the front seat, facing me, and proceeds to undress. Rocco blocks the view again. “More stripping in public?”

  “It’s like a bikini.”

  Rocco stares at the silk panties in his face, lulling him into a trance. “Not really, Sweet Pea.”

  I remove my jeans, boots, and belt, then put my boots back
on, wrap my belt around the T-shirt, and fluff it a little. Voilà, a dress has been born.

  Sky loves it. “Fix me. I want to be cute, too.”

  Rocco grins. “My dirty laundry has never looked so damn good.”

  We’re in line at the pizza parlor when the arguing begins. “No, Rocco. Bell peppers make you gassy.”

  Rocco shamelessly laughs at the memory. “It was great. Sky kept rolling the windows down. I kept rolling them up.”

  “It was god-awful.” Her nose twitches as if still sensitive due to the torture.

  A group of guys in front of us captures my attention. They are picking on a smaller guy in line in front of them. The little guy gets pushed by a bigger guy, who then laughs with his friends. His profile has my stomach twisting into knots.

  Rocco leans forward to the Pusher and chuckles. “That’s funny. A big guy picking on a little guy.”

  Pusher glances over his shoulder, smiling. “I know, right?”

  Looking in front of him again, Pusher falls two steps forward when Rocco performs a shove of his own. Pusher turns to Rocco a little flabbergasted. “What was that for?”

  Rocco shrugs. “I thought you thought the bigger guy picking on a little dude was funny.” Rocco tops Pusher by half a foot and at least fifty pounds.

  Sky takes hold of Roc’s hand as she says to Pusher, “Hey, Junior.”

  Pusher seems reserved now. “Hey, Skyler.” He looks at me. “Hey, Serenity.”

  “Hey, Junior.”

  Rocco’s head tilts. “You two know this punk?”

  Sky timidly leans into his arm. “My mom’s ex-boyfriend’s son.”

  Rocco’s shoulders swell as he realizes Pusher’s dad is the reason Sky had to hide in her closet, scared. Junior’s friends notice the mood going south and turn to help Junior, as if he’s done nothing wrong. Dereck pulls Sky behind him, where he already has me, and faces the five guys now facing Roc. Everyone in the pizza parlor witnesses the tension growing.