Forever and Always (7 page)

Cortland sighed. “Then you lose Sean
as your boyfriend—permanently—or you don’t see Ryan like you used
to. I think the choice is clear, Scar. Learn from your mistakes.
Make an effort to stay in contact with Ryan and you won’t mess it
up again.”

I leaned back in my chair and crossed
my arms over my chest. “I’m done discussing this.”

Cortland nodded. “Can I buy you a
milkshake?” he asked.

“
I’m trying to cut back.”
I smiled. “Even though I play basketball with you guys, I’m
starting to gain weight.”

Cortland nodded. “We do eat here a
lot,” he said as he looked around the place. He turned his gaze
back to me. “Did Sean ever ask if you slept with
anyone?”

“
No,” I said. “I hope he
doesn’t.”

Cortland nodded. “I like Sean,” he
said. “I don’t want him to have a beef with me.”

“
Neither do I,” I said.
“It would be very childish of him. But then again, if I knew he
hung out with a woman he slept with, it would make me
uncomfortable. I trust him, but I would rather not know about
it.”

“
I suppose,” he said. “You
seem really happy when you’re with him.”

I smiled. “Yes, I am.”

“
I am happy for you,” he
said. “Did he still refuse to sleep with you?”

I shook my head. “I can’t believe Ryan
told you that.”

Cortland smiled. “The guy tells me
everything. So, what’s the story? Are you too much for
him?”

I laughed. “He said he wanted to take
it slow, make sure that I trusted him before we started a physical
relationship.”

“
And he kept it
up?”

“
No.” I laughed. “I broke
him down. He wouldn’t give it up, but I eventually won.”

Cortland laughed. “That sounds about
right,” he said. “I’ve been there, done that. So how was
it?”

“
It was amazing,” I said.
“It was the best sex I’ve ever had.”

“
That’s because you are in
love with him and he feels the same way.”

“
Well, it makes a huge
difference.”

“
I hope Monnique and I are
that way when we get together. I can see myself falling in love
with her. I just don’t want to get emotionally attached to her if
she doesn’t feel the same way.”

“
She will, Cortland. You
are an amazing guy.”

“
Thanks,” he said. “And
since we’ve slept together—twice—I’ll take your word for it. It
just doesn’t mean the same thing coming from my mom.”

I laughed. “I can see why.” My phone
started ringing and I smiled when I saw that it was Sean. I
answered the phone with a smile in my voice. “Hey,
babe.”

“
Hey,” he said. “I wanted
to talk to you before I turned in for the night.”

“
How was your
day?”

“
Uneventful, boring,
blah,” he said with a laugh. “I went to the gym after work, which I
haven’t done in a long time, then I cooked myself dinner. Now I’m
getting ready to do it again tomorrow. How was your
day?”

“
Pretty much the same,” I
said. “I helped Ryan at the shop for a few hours.”

“
What are you doing
now?”

“
Working at
Mega-Shake.”

Sean sighed. “I’m not trying to be
annoying, but I don’t like you walking home alone after dark,” he
said.

“
Cortland is here,” I
said. “He’ll walk me home.”

“
Good,” he said. “Just
don’t make it a habit.”

“
I won’t,” I said. “I miss
you.”

“
I miss you,
too.”

“
We’ll be together again
soon,” I whispered.

“
That moment can’t come
soon enough,” he said.

“
I’ll let you go,” I said.
“I know that you’re tired.”

“
Okay.” He sighed. “I love
you, Scar.”

“
I love you,
too.”

I hung up the phone and felt my heart
fall. Ending the call was the hardest part. Cortland caught my
saddened expression. “It looks like you’ve made your
choice.”

I smiled at him. “It seems like I
have.”

Cortland leaned back in his seat. “Are
you ready to go home?” he asked. “It sounded like Sean wants me to
take you.”

“
If you don’t mind,” I
said.

“
I never mind,” he
said.

We left the restaurant and drove up
the street. Cortland pulled over and we both got out of the
car.

“
You don’t need to walk me
to the door,” I said.

“
I have a feeling that
Sean would disagree with that,” he said. “I really don’t mind,
Scar. Besides, I can say hi to Ryan.”

We walked to the apartment and I
unlocked the door. Ryan was in the shower when we went into the
living room, so Cortland decided to hang around.

“
Are you going to tell
him?”

“
What?” I
asked.

“
About your plan?” he
said. “That you’ll stick around until the shop is prosperous, but
then you’ll be leaving? I think giving him enough time to deal with
it will make it easier for him to let you go. That’s just my
suggestion. But either way, he’ll be happy for you, Scar. I know he
will.”

“
Thanks,” I
said.

Ryan came into the room and smiled
when he saw Cortland. “Hey,” he said. “What are you doing
here?”

“
I just brought Scarlet
home and thought I would stick around for a while.”

“
How’s it going with
Monnique?” he asked.

“
Good,” Cortland said.
“I’m taking her out tonight.”

“
Has she put out yet?”
Ryan asked.

“
Ryan!” I said.

Cortland laughed. “No, she
hasn’t.”

“
Just make sure you look
good tonight,” he said. “Wearing the right clothes will make any
girl open her legs.”

“
Can you not see me?” I
asked my brother.

“
Since I actually like
this girl, I was hoping that she would want to commit first,”
Cortland said. “I want to settle down, especially with
her.”

Ryan nodded. “She sounds like the real
thing.”

“
You have no idea.”
Cortland smiled.

I turned to Ryan. “I can’t believe you
told Cortland what Sean said the other day.”

“
I figured you were going
to tell him anyway,” he said. “He’s your best friend,
right?”

“
Well, Sean is now,” I
said. “But you still shouldn’t have told him that.”

“
It’s too late now.” Ryan
sat on the couch next to Cortland.

I turned to Cortland. “Ryan has sex
really, really loud. He practically demolished the apartment the
other night.”

Cortland shrugged then gave Ryan a
high-five. “That’s awesome.”
I rolled my eyes at them. “You guys are annoying.”

“
Well, you slept with
Cortland, so I know he can’t be that irritating,” Ryan
jabbed.

“
I thought we weren’t
discussing that again?” I said. “And please don’t tell Sean. I
don’t want him to act weird around Cortland.”

“
You know I would never do
that,” my brother said.

“
Well, you just told
Cortland that Sean wouldn’t sleep with me.”

“
What?” He laughed. “I
thought it was funny.”

I stared at him. “I thought you
respected him for it.”

“
I do,” he said. “But I
also thought it was funny.”

Ryan and Cortland started watching a
game that was on and we said nothing for a while. When a commercial
came on, Cortland met my gaze, silently encouraging me to tell Ryan
that I was leaving, but I couldn’t do it. It was such a delicate
situation. Even though Ryan would never admit it, he would be
miserable after I left.

Eventually Cortland gave up and rose
from his chair. “I need to get ready for my date,” he said as he
walked to the front door.

“
Have a good night,” I
said.

“
I hope you score,” Ryan
added.

“
Thanks,” Cortland said
before he shut the door.

Ryan and I sat on the couch and said
nothing for a long time. Finally, Ryan turned to me. “I really
appreciate everything you have done for me, Scar, and not just the
money thing, but everything. I don’t want you to leave, but I think
you should go. I’ll be fine, Scar.”

“
I don’t want to,” I
whispered.

“
You have to,
Scarlet.”

“
No.”

“
Sean is your everything
now. I can’t always be the man in your life.”

I sighed. “I know.”

“
I’ll support whatever
decision you make,” he said. “But please do what makes you happy.
If you aren’t happy, then I’m not happy.”

I nodded.

“
And I think you should
tell Sean your decision when he gets here in a few days,” he said.
“Let him know what’s going on. I see how miserable you are without
him. I sincerely hope that you choose him and fly back to New York
with him when he leaves.”

“
I’ll think about
it.”

He stared at me for a moment then
dropped his gaze. “Okay.”

6

Sean

Even though Scarlet and I weren’t
together, she was still the first thing on my mind when we were
apart. My decision to commit to her was the best one I had ever
made. I should have done it sooner. Everything was so easy and
natural with her. We had a great time together without even trying,
and I loved being a part of her family. Cortland was a cool guy,
too.

When I was at work, I told Brian
everything that happened. He was happy for me, but I could also
tell he was bummed out. He had been crushing on Scarlet forever and
now she was officially off limits. She was mine.

“
What about Penelope?” he
asked when he got into the elevator after work.

“
What about her?” My voice
came out harsher than I meant it to.

“
You broke up only a few
weeks ago,” he said. “Are you sure you should be in another
relationship?”

“
I don’t know,” I said
honestly. “But I love Scarlet. I want to be with her.”

“
Does she know that you
aren’t over Penelope?”

“
I guess,” I said. “I
didn’t actually say it, but I’m sure she inferred it. Besides, I’ll
get over her soon. I’m happy with Scarlet.”

Brian sighed. “I don’t
know.”

“
You’re just mad because
you wanted Scarlet first.”

He smiled. “That may have something to
do with it,” he said. “But you’re right. Scarlet is way better than
Penelope. It seems like that girl never loved you. She has already
been dating a guy I know on Wall Street. In fact, she was probably
with him before you even broke up.”

I tried to control the emotions
charging through my body. I still loved Penelope and missed her.
His news was a stab to the heart. Obviously, she was already
fucking someone new, had been for a long time, but I didn’t want to
hear about it. “I wouldn’t doubt it,” I forced myself to
say.

“
But Scarlet is cool,”
Brian said. “She is funny and sexy at the same time. How is she in
bed?” he asked. “You have to tell me.”

I glared at him and he stepped away.
“Talk about my girlfriend like that again and I’ll beat the shit
out of you.”

Brian smiled. “I didn’t mean to offend
you,” he said. “I was just wondering.”

“
Well, stop
wondering.”

“
Okay,” he said. “Since
you aren’t with Penelope anymore and she cheated on you, tell me
about her. What was she like in the sack?”

I glared at him again.
“Don’t talk about
any
of my girlfriends that way.”

Brian rolled his eyes. “You’re no fun
anymore.”

The elevator doors opened and we
walked out to the sidewalk. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said as I
walked in the opposite direction as Brian, trying to get away from
him. I called down a cab and headed towards my apartment. Knowing
that Penelope was with some other guy made me want to die. I hated
the way I felt about her. I still loved her.

When I got into the apartment, I
picked up the ring on the kitchen table and opened the box, staring
at the diamonds. After a moment, I closed it and tossed it back on
the table. It was evident that Penelope was never coming back to
me. She was gone. It was time to get rid of the ring, but I still
didn’t reach for it. I sighed and took a shower instead. When I got
out, I called Scarlet and melted at the sound of her voice. I
missed her so much. This long-distance relationship was already
killing me. I wanted to be with her always, and not just because
she quieted my pain, but because I loved being with her. I sat in
the living room, looking for something to watch on the television,
when a knock on the door made me jump. It was late at night and I
wasn’t sure who would come to my apartment at that hour. When I saw
the person on the other side of the door through the peephole, I
almost didn’t answer it. It was Penelope.