Beginning of Forever (Heaven Hill #7) (14 page)

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Thirty minutes later, another bike pulled into the parking lot and Jagger got off, scowling as he tossed his helmet onto the back of the bike. “Traffic fucking sucks,” he yelled, obviously frustrated. “I would have been here forty-five minutes ago, had it not been for traffic. Sorry I’m late.”

They all looked around at one another, amused. Jagger wasn’t one to normally get his man panties in a bunch about anything, but obviously traffic had pissed him off this morning.

“School started,” Travis said, slowly, as if he were talking to Addie.

Jagger leveled a glare in his direction. “I know, dipshit. My wife is a teacher,” he said in the same tone that Travis had used with him. “I’m just saying it bites ass, and if any of you want to get across town in the morning, you should probably leave way earlier than I did.”

Everyone gave him a wide berth as he walked towards the coffee pot that sat in the garage bay. “Maybe he’s not had his coffee yet,” Rooster whispered to Travis.

“I hope that cup helps then, because I like to try and remain civil with him, you know because of Christine and all.” Jagger and Christine were brother and sister, and for a while, Jagger had not been okay with her and Travis having a relationship.

They were all quiet, looking at Jagger, wondering if he was going to explode. He seemed in a very pissy mood when the door to the office opened and Liam came walking out.

“What the fuck are y’all doing just standing around?” he barked, talking around a cigarette in his mouth. In his hand, he held his own cup of coffee. “Get to work! We do have a business to run here, and if you want paychecks on Friday, I better hear less girlie gossiping and more pounding on cars. You got me?”

Everyone quickly stopped what they were doing and went to work. No matter how much of a family man he was, pres still packed a punch when he needed to.

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Chapter Sixteen

F
irst day of senior year and Mandy was ready for it to be over. “Are you two even gonna walk in with us?” she questioned Drew and Dalton. She and Charity had been trying to walk in for more than fifteen minutes. It was now fifteen minutes before the bell would ring signaling the pep rally to welcome them back to school.

“I ain’t in a hurry,” Drew told her. “We’re seniors; we can do what we want.”

The two girls exchanged a look. That attitude was going to get them nowhere but in detention, and they both knew it. Charity grabbed her stuff out of the front of Drew’s truck and glanced at Mandy. “I don’t know about you, but I want to start this year off on a good foot. B’s my homeroom teacher, and I don’t know about any of you all, but I don’t wanna be pissin’ off Mrs. Stone. Let’s go.” She grabbed hold of Mandy’s arm and dragged her toward one of the entrances.

“I don’t know why they have to act like they’re the hottest things at this school. I miss when they didn’t think so highly of themselves,” Mandy grumbled. She missed when things weren’t so serious, when it wasn’t all about feelings and stolen kisses and sex. There was something to be said for being able to be friends and have a good time.

“I know, I do too.”

“You should never have had sex with my brother.” Mandy clapped her hand over her mouth. She couldn’t believe she’d said that out loud, and looking at Charity’s face, it was obvious that she couldn’t either.

“What I do with your brother is really none of your business.” She shook her head. “Damn, Mandy, I thought you and I were friends.”

How the hell did she get herself out of this? “We are, you’re my best friend besides Layla.”

“Oh, and Layla’s perfect, just like you, because she hasn’t slept with Dalton’s brother yet, I’m sure. Just like you haven’t given it up to Dalton.”

People were too involved in who she was giving it up to, and it was
really
beginning to annoy her. “No,” she hissed. “I haven’t given it up to anybody, and that’s the problem.” Her cheeks burned a hot red.

That was it, then. Something was wrong. “C’mon.” Charity directed her towards the bathrooms in the back of the school. “Fuck the pep rally; you obviously need some girl talk with people who aren’t older than you and aren’t connected to your parents.”

Mandy wasn’t sure what she wanted, but she let Charity lead her down the hallway. Once they got to the back bathrooms, Charity grinned at her and pulled a key from her pocket, locking the gate that shut them off for cleaning.

“Where did you get that? And you’re a cheerleader, aren’t they gonna notice you aren’t at the pep rally?”

“Don’t ask questions, this gives us a little time by ourselves.”

They spread their backpacks out on the ground and had a seat. Since it was the first day, the bathrooms were probably the cleanest they were going to be.

“So what did you want to talk to me about?” Mandy asked, playing with a string on her blue jeans.

“I don’t want to talk to you about anything, but obviously you have a problem with me hanging out with Drew, so go ahead and get it out. You’re his sister and he loves you deeply. I don’t want there to be drama.”

Mandy inhaled and then exhaled. “I feel like I’m being left behind,” she whispered. “People want me to do things, and then other people don’t want me to do things. I want to make the right decision, but I don’t know what decision that is. Should I sleep with Dalton, should I not sleep with Dalton? I’m so damn confused.”

“Let me ask you this, and it’s a serious question. What do
you
want to do? Whatever we talk about, I will not tell Drew, I won’t tell your mom, I won’t tell Dalton. What do
you
want?”

Running her tongue along her bottom lip, she raised her head and looked at Charity. “How was it? I mean forget the fact that you’re sleeping with my brother. How is it?”

It was Charity’s turn for her face to turn red, and she squirmed, but she also knew she had to see this through; she was the one who’d started it. “Honestly, to begin with, it sucked. Drew said it was the best thing ever, like he bragged to everybody. He shouldn’t have bragged.” She rolled her eyes.

That made Mandy grin before a full giggle rumbled up inside of her chest and came pouring out. “Oh, I know, it’s all I heard about, and I didn’t even want to hear about it.”

“But I’m not gonna lie,” Charity continued. “It’s gotten really good. I can understand the things I’ve heard women who work with my mom talk about now. There’s a lot to be said for the pleasure it can bring you. I know from talking to other people that not everyone feels that pleasure, but I do. I think it’s because I truly love Drew. I know I’m leaving next summer, but I whole-heartedly love everything about him. He’s much different around me than he is with everybody else. When we’re by ourselves, I can’t believe he’s the same person.”

Mandy saw the dreamy look in her friend’s eyes and wondered if she got that look herself when she talked about Dalton. She wondered if people could tell that she did want to be with him in that way. Sometimes when they were alone and he was kissing her like he never wanted to stop, she badly wanted to know what all the fuss was about. “Did it hurt?”

“Remember me saying it wasn’t that great to begin with? Yeah, it did, but you get over it, and if you have a good partner, you learn what the other person likes. Be aware though, when people say that it changes everything, it does. It’s like the moment you decide to cross that line; your whole life is different. I know what Drew looks like naked; I know what he feels like inside of me. I don’t know that about anyone else in this world. He’s touched a place in me that no one else has. He held me when I cried the first time, and he’s right there with me when I tell him how much I like it now. It’s intimate and it’s not a joke. It means something. He tells me he loves me and I believe him.” She stopped, blinking back tears. “Make sure what you feel for Dalton is worth it, because once you give it away, Mandy…you can’t take it back. And it should be given to someone who will cherish it. I made Drew work for it, so I know exactly where you’re coming from.”

“To hear him tell it, you fell at his feet.” Mandy rolled her eyes.

An unladylike snort sounded from Charity. “Uh no, that didn’t happen at all. He worked for it, trust me. Especially after the steroid situation, I didn’t know if I wanted to be with him anymore. He reminded me too much of the men my mom hangs around, but he worked hard to prove to me that he’s different. I believe that he is, and my heart is going to be broken when I leave next summer.”

“Do you two talk about it?” She needed to know, she needed to be there for her twin, no matter what happened.

“Sometimes, but we’ve both agreed that it does no good. I can’t change who my mom is, and he can’t change his situation either. Both of us believe if it’s meant to be it will come back around.”

Would Mandy ever be able to put that much trust into Dalton? That was the question, wasn’t it? How much did she trust him, how much did she love him, and how much did she want him? It was time to stop being a little girl and time to start being the grown up she preached to everyone that she was.

“You’ll be there for him, won’t you?”

“He’s my brother; I’ll do whatever I need to do to help him through it. I know he has to care deeply to let you walk away.”

The edge of Charity’s mouth tilted. “It’s my dream to be a lawyer, and Duke has already offered me a full ride. I can’t turn it down; I’d be crazy to do that.”

Mandy realized in this moment that this talk was about more than her having sex with Dalton, it was also about Charity needing to know that Drew was going to be okay. She needed to know that someone was going to be there to look out for him when she couldn’t be.

“You go do your thing, and when you’re ready, c’mon back. Drew will be here. He might be broken, but he’ll be here,” Mandy reached over and hugged her tightly. “He doesn’t love easy, and when he does, it’s forever. So if he says he loves you, and I know that he does, he means it.”

“The both of you are something else, you know that, right?”

“People have been tellin’ us that for years. It’s ’cause we’re twins and we’re both stubborn. Thank you for having this talk with me.”

They got up, and Charity grabbed the key to unlock the gate. Before she did so, she turned around and smirked at Mandy. “So what’s it gonna be?”

“I’m pretty sure it’s gonna be a freakin’ home run.”

They giggled before exiting the bathroom and making their way to the gym. Like she’d always been there, Charity slipped into her spot with the cheerleaders, and Mandy slipped into the spot between Drew and Dalton on the bleachers. Dalton glanced over at her then leaned in, kissing her on the cheek.

“Where’d you go?” he asked, slinging an arm around her shoulder.

“Nowhere.” She shrugged. “Just had a little girl talk with Charity.”

“Was it a good talk?”

She winked. “Guess you’ll just have to wait and find out.”

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Chapter Seventeen