Forever True (The Story of Us) (3 page)

"Maybe we can have a garage sale?" I suggested. He shrugged again, this time his reaction felt off to me. "Babe, are you okay?"

"Yeah."

I walked up behind him and put my arms around his waist and rested my head on his back. He let out a long exhale and relaxed his body into mine.

"All of this,” He gestured around to the boxes, “Should never have happened."

"I know. I'm sorry." I said as I rubbed my forehead lightly across his back. "So, so sorry."

"I need you, Court. It would kill me to lose you again." His voice was heavy with emotion as he cleared his throat to continue speaking. "Why am I so terrified that it could happen again? The next time we argue are you going to push me away? The next time a man shows you attention are you going to be tempted to run off with him?"

"No, Alex." I spun him around and held his tensed jaw between my hands and I met is golden brown eyes. "No. It will never happen again. Do you hear me? Never. I love you. I need you, too. It's you I want. Only you." The doubt slowly left his eyes as his face softened. I knew he wanted to believe me, and I would do everything in my power to earn his trust again.

"There is going to be a lot of good times but there will also be bad times. There may even be times when we aren’t going to like each other very much, but Courtney, I will always love you. I want to make sure that you remember that."

"As long as you remember that I love you even more." His mouth turned up into a small smile, but it was a smile no less. I stood on my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his. Just as his tongue was working its way into my mouth, we were interrupted.

"Eew, guh-woe-ss." Jordyn called out, clearly disgusted.

"Yeah, totally gross." Liv agreed with her sister as she followed her into the garage.

Alex and I reluctantly separated our mouths, although he kept his arm around my waist.

"So are you girls going to help out or what?" Both Liv and Jordyn nodded their heads. They were thrilled when Alex said that he would be moving all his stuff back to the house today. Just seeing his things makes it real to them, and they were anxious to help get things unpacked. It all just feels official now.

"Girls, go and grab your bikes and bring them back into the garage. Then you can help me with making piles."

"What kinds of piles?" Liv asked.

"Stuff we keep, stuff we sell, stuff we donate and stuff we trash." I explained.

"Oh, can I be in charge of the trash pile?" Liv eagerly requested. "I want to pretend that I'm Oscar the Grouch."

"No, I want to be Oscar!" Jordyn pouted.

"No, uh-uh," Alex answered before I could stop the emerging argument between the two girls, "It's my stuff so I will be in charge of the trash pile. Mommy has been trying to get rid of some of this for years. I'll be the judge of what stays and goes."

"Yeah, being the grouch suits you." I poked him in the ribs with my finger and in retaliation he put me in a loose headlock. We both squirmed and laughed as I tried to tickle him, and he refused to let go of me while twisting out of my grasp. The giggling of the girls mixed with our laughter eased all of our hearts and made me optimistic for the future.

****

Week three of the new Alex and Courtney.

Alex

“Alright, do you think it will hold?” I asked Liv after I tighten the hair band around her pony tail one more time. She gave her head a few shakes to test out my work and then nodded.

“I think it will hold, daddy.” She confirmed and then ran off to start dance class.

Girl hair and what to do with it was something I had to learn pretty quickly. During the weeks that Liv and Jordyn stayed with me, I had to get a crash course from my mom. It was something that Court always took care of and honestly I never thought much about it. On top of having long and heavy hair, my girls inherited my curls. I learned that there was a certain way you styled long curly hair and apparently running a simple brush through it was not the right thing to do.  My mom showed up with all sorts of hair shit; gels, shampoos and conditioners. I had no idea when to use what, but I did manage to perfect an ordinary and sometimes lopsided pony tail. Cole bragged about his boys being easier when it came to hair, but I wouldn’t change a thing. I loved my daughters. I would do anything for them, except learn how to braid. Nope. Fuck that. I've gone as far down the hairstyling road as I care to.

“Alex! Where have you been? Long time, no see.” Touchy-feely Fiona sidled up next to me on the bench in the parent waiting area. It was my turn to take Liv to dance. Court and I kept the alternating schedule that we had developed over the last year of our separation. It worked out for the both of us. I could still enjoy hanging out with my daughter and Court no longer carried the sole responsibility of getting the girls to all of their activities.

“What do you mean? I was here two weeks ago?” I responded blandly.

“Oh, right. Well, it just seems like forever.” She replied as she pulled her over processed platinum blonde hair over one shoulder and crossed her arms in front in order to squeeze her tits together. I repressed the urge to roll my eyes at her obvious attempts to impress me. She’d been doing the same things for the past year. As soon as she learned that Court and I had split she seemed to turn it up. Before it was only subtle movements that I wasn’t sure how to read but then it became obvious rather quickly.

“How was your Thanksgiving?” She asked breathily.

“Good. How was yours?” I gave the standard, courtesy reply.

“Oh, okay, I guess. Roger is still on deployment for another three months. It’s just hard sometimes, you know, being alone.”

Give me a fucking break.

“I’m sure it’s hard on him, too.” I offered in response, to which she just shrugged and somehow managed to slide even closer to me on the bench. We spent several minutes watching the rehearsal. It seemed like all of the kids were having a hard time with a certain dance move, everyone except Liv. She managed to execute the move perfectly every time. It made my heart swell with pride at how talented she was at only eight years old.

“I heard a rumor that you and Courtney are back together. Is that true?” Fiona asked suddenly. I nodded and smiled as I held up my hand to show her my wedding band. The initial disappointment on her face was quickly masked with fake enthusiasm.

“Oh, wow. Congrats. I bet you are both really happy.”

“Yep.” God, I wish I hadn’t left my phone in the car, I could have pretended to get a call or something in order to exit myself from this conversation. I usually don’t bring it in with me so that I am not one of those parents who spend the entire time with their face and fingers glued to their electronic devices.

   “You know, Alex,” Fiona started to speak again after several minutes of silence. “You are a wonderful man and I hope she knows that.”

“Fiona, I don’t--” I began to say, but she interrupted me.

“I know, I know. It’s none of my business. I just wanted to say that. Okay, I’m done. No need to say anymore about it.” She smiled at me this time without any of the usual flirtatiousness. Then she got up and moved to another bench. I realized just how lonely Fiona really was. It made me think about Courtney and the loneliness she must have felt. I knew without a doubt that if I came on to Fiona right now, I could have her. That fucking ass clown, Justin, knew the same thing when he went after what was mine.

“Daddy!” Liv brought me out of my thoughts sometime later. “It’s time to go.”

“Ok, darlin’. Let’s grab your stuff.” Liv and I gathered her gear and headed for the door. I made a point to look in Fiona’s direction as we passed her still sitting on the other bench.

“See you after winter break.” I said to her. “Chin up, Fiona, he’ll be home before you know it.” Fiona gave me a small smile and nodded before I grabbed Liv’s hand and left the studio.

Week Five of the New Alex and Courtney.

Alex

“Can I take this thing off yet?” Courtney asked impatiently. We had been driving for over a half hour, and I made her sit there with the blindfold the entire time. We dropped the girls off with Macy for the night so we could spend the evening together. Spontaneity was something that had been lacking in our marriage before, and we realized how much doing fun things together added to our relationship.

“We’re almost there, baby. I promise.” I drove around until I found a place to park. There was music and loud noise all around us.

“What is this? Where are we?”

“Take off the blindfold and look for yourself.” I replied. Courtney ripped the fabric from her eyes and immediately looked around.

“A concert?” She asked, and I nodded, waiting for her to gain full understanding. A group of people walked by wearing t-shirts that were a dead giveaway.

“Star 33? Is this a Star 33 concert?” She squealed excitedly. It had been years since we were able to see our favorite band in concert. They’ve come a long way in ten years and are now selling out stadiums and amphitheaters around the world. I was lucky enough to snag two tickets as soon as they went on sale.

“Alex! I can’t believe it!” She climbed over the seat and straddled me before she fastened her mouth onto mine in a hungry kiss. Her gratitude was evident in the way she ground herself into my hardening cock. I slipped my hands under the hem of her shirt and let my fingers caress the soft skin underneath.

“This is the best surprise ever, and I completely forgive you for keeping me blindfolded the entire ride.”

“Well, don’t lose that blindfold. I have plans for it later.” She gasped at me in shock before swatting a hand at my chest. “I’m not kidding, Court.” I laughed, and she hit me harder. I calmed her playful thrashing with another kiss. Soon everything else was forgotten except for her and me as we steamed up the car windows in a hot and heavy make-out session. I knew when she started to reach for my belt buckle that we needed to stop before we crossed into the land of no return. I wanted her so badly, but I knew there was no way I could take her in the car in the middle of a crowded parking lot.

“Baby, we have to stop or I’m going to fuck you right here.”

“Yes. God, yes.” She moaned against my mouth.

“No. Not now but I promise it will be worth the wait.” With a groan of protest, she slowly removed herself from my lap and settled back into her seat. We both took a minute to compose ourselves. I readjusted myself several times until my jeans began to feel less constricted. Court reapplied her cherry lip gloss and refastened her hair in her ponytail.

“Ready?” She looked over to me and asked brightly. The blush on her cheeks from our earlier activities gave her a happy glow. All I could do was nod with my mouth hanging open like an idiot, unable to comprehend how this beautiful woman became mine.

After ten years, she could still render me speechless with just one look. How was that even fair?

We exited the car and walked hand in hand to stand in the crowded line as we waited to enter the stadium.

We stopped for beer, and Court insisted on purchasing a brand new band t-shirt. After she had changed in the bathroom, we made our way to our seats. One of the luxuries of being financially secure is that we could afford better seats and avoid the crowded lawn area.

When the lights dimmed, we knew it was time for the show. Suddenly the light grew bright, and the tapping of drums sticks queued the start of the bands first song. Court and I were immediately out of our seats and singing the words.

I forgot how good it felt to hang with my best friend. For no reason in particular, I pulled her to me and kissed her hard. She responded immediately. When I’d had my fill, I pulled back and rested my forehead on hers.

“I love you so fucking much.” I said loud enough for her to hear.

“I love you too, Alex.” She replied immediately and gave be a brilliant smile.  I stepped away and laced my fingers with hers, and we stayed that way the rest of the night. Our hands joined, and our hearts soaring as we belted out lyrics together.

It was the best night ever…

****

Courtney

“I can’t see a thing, Alex.” I complained.

“I know, that’s the point.”

“How long do I have to stay like...oh my. What is that?”

“Baby, you can’t talk the whole time.” Alex growled in frustration.

“Okay.”

It took some convincing, but I allowed him to put the blindfold back on me. Now I was sprawled across our bed completely naked. I was suddenly hyper sensitive to everything around me. The softness of the sheets underneath me, the light smell of something vanilla, and the faint sounds of soft and slow music in the background.  I could feel the goose bumps all over my skin and how tight my nipples were, partially from the slight chill in the room but mostly in anticipation of what Alex had planned. I felt what I thought were his fingers running across my chest, but it was too light. When it dipped under the curve of my breast, I let out an involuntary moan. He repeated the same movement simultaneously on the other breast, and it startled me. When I brought my hands up to shield myself, Alex quickly moved his hands away so that I felt nothing but my own skin. My nipples were pulled into tight points, straining for attention.