Forever and Always (21 page)

Janice and I went down to Mega-Shake
for a few hours to work on our manuscripts. We were trying to
finish up our work as soon as possible so we could collect our
payment. If I lost the business, Ryan would have the money to pay
rent and take care of the shop for a while.

Janice sat across from me with her
laptop opened and we worked together in silence. Sometimes we would
ask for a second opinion about a sentence or grammatical issue, and
it was convenient having another editor for input.

Her phone kept vibrating all day,
indicating she’d received a text message. She always smiled as she
read the words on her phone. I rolled my eyes when I watched her.
It was Ryan. After a while, she ignored the phone altogether
because he continued to message her and it was disrupting her work.
Finally, her phone rang and she answered it.

“
Yes, I’m still at
Mega-Shake with Scarlet.” She smiled. “I don’t know—soon.” Ryan was
so hooked on Janice that it was just pathetic. Since he never felt
that way about anyone before, I decided not to tease him about it.
If he was happy, I was happy. “Okay,” she said. “I’ll head home now
but I do have work to do afterwards.” She hung up the phone and
started packing her equipment into her bag.

“
I’m sorry that my brother
is so annoying,” I said.

“
I think it’s sweet.” She
smiled. “Are you coming, too?”

I shook my head. “I’m going to stay
here for a while longer.”

“
I’ll see you at home,”
she said as she left the restaurant.

I was the only one left inside
Mega-Shake. There were no customers on that weeknight, and the
workers behind the counter were playing on their cell phones, bored
out of their minds. One of the employees was eating a bowl of fries
that would just go to waste if it wasn’t eaten. I stared at them
with a smile on my face then looked back at my computer
screen.

The door opened, but I didn’t look up
to see who entered the shop. The sentence I was reading on my
computer was poorly constructed, and I was trying to make it more
clear and concise. The table rocked as someone sat across from me.
Alarmed, I looked over my laptop and froze when I saw the person on
the other side.

I stared at him for a moment before I
found my bearings. I was so nervous and surprised that I didn’t
know how to react. My computer screen was blocking most of his face
so I closed it.

“
What are you doing here?”
I asked.

Sean stared at me with his blue eyes,
and I felt hypnotized by the look. Even though I left him and swore
that our relationship was over, I still missed him and thought
about him every day. I swallowed back those feelings as I looked at
him. Nothing had changed.

“
I want to say something
to you,” he said as he leaned forward. “And I don’t want you to
interrupt me. Okay?”

I nodded.

“
I’ve been thinking about
everything and I realized something. Even after everything I did to
you, fucking everything up, you still came to me when I hit my
lowest point. I know how much I hurt you, and the fact that you
helped me speaks louder than words. You are just as in love with me
as the first time you realized it, and nothing I do will change
that. Since this is how you feel, I think you should give me
another chance. I promise I won’t hurt you again and I’m yours
until you no longer want me.” He stared at me and waited for me to
speak. The panic was obvious in Sean’s eyes, and I knew he was
desperate to win me back. When I thought about everything that’d
happened, it made me realize that our relationship could never
work.

“
No.”

Sean sighed. “Scarlet—”

“
Now it’s my turn,” I
whispered. Sean fell silent. “You still had Penelope’s ring the
entire time, meaning that you were still waiting for her to come
back to you. You’ve never been over her, and that’s fine, but you
always wanted her back. You proposed to her when you were still
with me. I don’t want to be a second choice, Sean. Nothing you say
will change that. You were willing to sacrifice everything for her,
but you wouldn’t even consider moving here to make this
relationship work, and now I know why—you were waiting for
Penelope.”

“
That is completely
wrong,” he argued. “I never proposed to Penelope. She saw the ring
on the table and put it on herself. I just didn’t tell her to stop.
The only reason I didn’t move to Seattle is because of my job and
my friends—that’s it. And I know I would have made the move
eventually because I can’t live without you. I understand why you
feel the way you do, but please give me one more chance to prove
you wrong—I promise you won’t regret it.”

To say that I didn’t want to be with
Sean would be a lie—I did. But I also knew that I could never look
past everything he did. It wasn’t that I couldn’t forgive him. I
just couldn’t stand the pain of being less loved than Penelope.
Knowing that he didn’t propose to Penelope did make me feel better,
but I was still hurt that he left me. “I’m sorry that you wasted
your time, Sean,” I said. “You should go home.”

Sean stared at me. “I am home,
Scar.”

I looked at him. “What do you
mean?”

“
You
are home, Scar. I don’t know why I didn’t realize it before.
I’ve moved to Seattle. My apartment is down the street, fairly
close to you and Ryan, and I’m not going back to New York—whether
you give me another chance or not. You are going to be in my
life—nothing is more important to me.”

My tongue was immobile in my mouth. I
was speechless. Sean had moved there without me asking him. He gave
up his position at the firm, a job he loved, and now he was living
in Seattle with me. This was exactly what I wanted from the
beginning. “You moved here?”

Sean smiled at me. “Yes.”

The seat rocked as I leaned back in my
chair. I crossed my arms over my chest and thought for a moment. It
wasn’t enough. He still picked Penelope over me. He can argue it
was for the baby, but I didn’t see it that way. I never
would.

“
Please say something,” he
whispered.

“
That doesn’t change
anything.”

Sean ran his hands through his hair.
“I am completely devoted to you in every way. Please, Scarlet, give
me another chance. I am the one you want so take me—I won’t hurt
you again.”

I put my laptop into my bag and placed
the bag over my shoulder as I walked away from the table. Sean
followed me outside.

“
Scarlet, just think about
it,” he begged.

I turned around and looked at him.
“It’s over, Sean—we’re done. I suggest you move back to New York
because I’m not going to change my mind.” I marched up the street
back towards my apartment and I heard Sean following behind me.
Night had descended on the city and I knew Sean didn’t want me to
walk home alone. “I don’t need you to protect me, Sean. I can take
care of myself.”

Sean didn’t comment on my words. My
bag fell from my shoulder as he took it. He carried it for me up
the street. I didn’t bother yelling at him since I knew it would
accomplish nothing. When we got to the entrance of my building, I
stopped.

“
I can take it from
here.”

Sean opened the door and walked into
the building. I took a deep breath then followed him. We got into
the elevator and rode it up to the fifth floor. I felt Sean staring
at me as we stood next to each other. His fingers brushed mine, but
I pulled them away.

When the doors opened, I immediately
stepped out and headed down the hallway to my apartment. Sean
followed behind me without saying anything. When we got to my door,
I took my keys out of my pocket and inserted them into the
lock.

“
Good night, Sean,” I
said. “Have a safe trip back.”

Sean grabbed my arm and pulled me to
him. “You kissed me, Scarlet. The tears were falling from your eyes
like a river. Admit it—you love me. I’m not going to give up on you
so you may as well get used to it.” Sean grabbed my face and kissed
me. Initially, I tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t release his
grip on me. I gave into the moment and returned his kiss with
passion, running my hands through his hair while I felt him slide
his hands down my back. Logical thought eventually returned to me,
and I pushed him away.

“
Don’t ever touch me like
that again,” I yelled.

Sean’s face fell as he listened to
me.

“
Kissing me isn’t going to
fix everything, Sean, and neither is moving here. You fucked
everything up and it can’t be undone. We are through,
Sean—done.”

The front door opened and Ryan stared
at us for a moment. “Is everything okay?”

“
Get rid of him,” I said
as I walked into the apartment.

Ryan turned back to Sean. “Come in,”
he said.

Furious, I turned back to Ryan and
held my hand up to Sean. “I said get rid of him. I don’t want to
see him, Ryan. He just kissed me when I didn’t want it. If
anything, you should beat the shit out of him.”

Ryan stared at me for a moment.
“Fine,” he said. He walked outside and shut the door behind him,
standing with Sean in the hallway.

“
You have to be kidding
me,” I said under my breath. I dropped my bag on the table and
Janice flinched at my aggression. She didn’t say anything and I was
happy that she wasn’t dumping a bunch of questions on me. I was
shocked that Sean had moved to Seattle to be with me. My lips still
tingled from the kiss that we shared in the hallway, but I forced
the thought from my mind. It couldn’t happen again.

Twenty minutes later, Ryan came back
into the apartment and closed the door behind him. Sean didn’t
follow him inside, and I was relieved that he wasn’t coming into
the room. I glared at Ryan.

“
What were you talking
about?” I asked.

“
Sports,” he
said.

“
Tell me.”

“
I’m starting to get
irritated with you.”

“
What did I do?” I asked
incredulously.

“
Sean moved here for
you—
moved
. Give
him another chance, Scarlet. What else can the guy do to prove
himself?”

“
He can’t undo what he
did.”

“
I’m aware of that,” he
snapped. “But he’s doing everything he can to get you
back.”

“
You even told me he
didn’t deserve a second chance,” I said. “Why are you taking his
side? You are supposed to protect me.”

“
That was before—he made
an effort,” he said quietly. “Sean has proven his sincerity to you.
I don’t want you to regret this later when Sean moves on and it’s
too late. I don’t want you to be in a relationship with a
reasonable guy that doesn’t make you happy. Just give him one more
chance.”

“
This conversation is
over.”

“
Scarlet—”

“
Drop it.”

Ryan sighed as he stared at me. He
turned to Janice. “Let’s go to bed.” He turned and walked down the
hallway.

Janice looked at me. “Do you want to
talk about it?”

“
No.”

“
I agree with
Ryan.”

“
Good for you.”

“
Why don’t—”

“
Just go to bed,
Janice.”

Her eyes widened in offense at my
quick words. The skin of her lips stretched tight as she grabbed
her stuff and looked away. She grabbed her belongings and
disappeared from the room, leaving me alone in the kitchen. When
the late hours of night descended, I finally went to
bed.

21

“
You are playing ball with
us today,” Ryan said as he came into the living room in his gym
clothes with a basketball tucked under his arm. He made himself a
cup of coffee then looked at me while he drank from it. I was still
staring at my computer screen like I wasn’t listening. “Did you
hear me?”

“
Yes.”

“
Then go get
dressed.”

“
I’m going to stay
here.”

“
You need to get out of
the house and away from the screen. Come on. Cortland will be here
soon.”

“
What about
Janice?”

“
She says she’s too tired.
We were up late last night.” He smiled.

I sighed. I felt lethargic from the
lack of exercise and I realized I should take a break from my work.
It was moving as slow as a snail anyway. “Fine,” I said as I walked
down the hallway.

I returned a few moments later wearing
my workout clothes. Cortland was sitting at the kitchen
table.

“
I was wondering when you
were going to be done.” He smiled. “We are going to the courts—not
the Grammys.”

“
Save your trash talk for
the court.” I smiled. Ryan and Cortland didn’t mention Sean and I
was grateful for the silence. The three of us walked a few blocks
up the street until we made it to the basketball courts. There was
no one there except for a guy sitting on the benches. The man stood
up when we approached, and when he came closer, I realized it was
Sean.