Always and Forever (11 page)

He shoved up to his feet and was at my side in an instant. “Are you okay?” he whispered. “You haven't opened a single present yet.”

I lifted my shoulders in a small shrug and scooted over. Once upon a time, we could both comfortably fit in this chair together, but a growth spurt the previous summer left Ben a little too broad of shoulder to make the squeeze. Nonetheless, he didn't hesitate to settle down into the chair with me. He ended up half in my lap, but neither of us complained about the tight fit. I wrapped my arms around him as his head dropped onto my shoulder.

“I'm sorry,” he whispered in my ear, sniffling loudly. “For saying what I did, like I did. I don't want you to be sick, Mia. Not ever again.”

I tightened my hold on him and nodded. “I know, Benj. I'm sorry, too. I never should've yelled the way I did. I just…” I swallowed against the rapidly forming lump in my throat. “I just…” Clearing
my throat loudly, I shook my head. “I think I'm going to need some help opening all these gifts.”

He chuckled, low and deep. “I can do that. No problem.” He slid down to the floor next to my feet and handed me a brightly-papered box. “That's from me.”

This time, the smile that spread its wings across my face was bright and genuine. I accepted the gift, held it in my hands for a long moment, measuring its weight before gently shaking it. Then, I tore through the paper.

On the sofa, Mom and Dad clutched at each other and watched, silently. Their eyes shimmered with a wealth of unshed tears. Ben tore open my gifts and held them up for me to inspect. He was too busy to notice their turmoil, for which I was immensely glad.

It was better this way. Why turn this holiday black for him? Where was the hurry? He had the rest of forever to deal with losing me, but there was only this one tiny moment left, a snapshot in time for him to have true happiness. Why not let him hold onto it?

F
OURTEEN

I ROLLED OUT OF BED THE NEXT MORNING
with a low, tortured groan. My head pounded out an exotic, primitive rhythm that made me stumble into the bathroom to the medicine cabinet. Inside, a parade of orange pharmacy bottles taunted me. Drs. Shreve and Bernstein had both prescribed a mountain of pills, all geared toward taking the painful headaches away. Problem was: the same warning label was pasted on the side of each bottle. MAY CAUSE DROWSINESS. DO NOT OPERATE HEAVY MACHINERY WHEN TAKING THIS MEDICATION. DO NOT MIX WITH ALCOHOL. It all meant the same thing: any one of these pills would turn me into a brain-dead zombie.

No thank you.

Opting for the relative safety of aspirin, I shook out three tablets and dry swallowed them, grimacing against the chalky aftertaste even as I willed them to alleviate the pressure fast.

Food. Sometimes, eating would cause my headaches to magically disappear. I wasn't all that hungry, but I padded downstairs anyway. The first cupboard I opened contained the breakfast of champions, Pop-Tarts. I snagged a package and popped both in the toaster. When they jumped up with a ding, I transferred them to a plate, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and followed my ears into the living room. From the sounds of it, Ben was playing some kind of sports game.

I stopped short at the entrance to the living room when I found Kal playing a game of Madden with Ben. They paused the game
when they saw me. “Oh, crap Kal,” I muttered. “I completely forgot. Why didn't you wake me up?”

He shrugged, an easy smile riding his lips. “No worries. We're only in the first quarter. I would've come looking for you if you hadn't rolled out of bed by the time we were done.”

I meandered over to the couch and plopped down next to him. “So, you haven't been here long?” His affirmative nod made me feel a tiny bit better about forgetting our plans. I blew out a loud breath. “Okay. I'll go get changed then. I won't be but ten minutes.” I started to push up to my feet, but Kal's hand on my thigh stopped me, sending a bolt of super-charged electricity flying through me.

“No rush, babe,” he replied, squeezing my leg lightly. “Eat your breakfast. I've got to kick junior's ass before we can go anyway.”

At this, Ben snorted and unpaused the game. “You wish, old man.”

Kal's hand left my thigh, and he turned his attention to the game while I happily munched on my breakfast. My belly full, I tossed the plate onto the coffee table and yawned loudly. Both boys looked my way. Kal's hand landed on my back and rubbed small circles between my shoulder blades while Ben frowned worriedly.

“You alright?” Kal asked.

I nodded absently. “Yeah, just a little tired. Long day yesterday.”

He chuckled softly. “Up early opening gifts and then partying over at your grandparents' house all night?”

“Something like that.”

“Here,” Kal murmured. He pulled the throw pillow out from behind him and set it in his lap. He tugged me down until I curled up against him. Then, he yanked the afghan off the back of the couch and spread it out over me. “There. Now, you just relax for a little while. Get some rest.”

“I'm fine,” I assured him. “I don't need any more sleep.”

He shrugged and programmed in his team's next play. “Then, you can watch me win this game. My guys need a hot cheerleader.”

A loud snort tumbled out of me, and I snuggled down beneath the blanket. My head lay cradled in his lap, and while his fingers moved through my hair, gently massaging my scalp, my headache quickly dissipated. My eyelids fluttered closed, and I drifted off to sleep long before halftime.

*   *   *

A moment later, my eyes snapped open. Kal and Ben were still playing their game, but everything in the room seemed different. I just couldn't put my finger on what it was, though. Slowly, I sat up, leaning heavily against Kal until the room stopped spinning. Not taking his eyes off the television screen, he slid his arm around me, nestling me against his side.

“Finally decided to join us, princess?”

I jerked upright and swiveled around. “Dad! What are you doing here? Didn't you have to work—” The words skidded to a halt on my tongue as I finally realized why everything looked so different. The room was no longer bathed in the bright shine of morning, but the golden hues of early afternoon. I whirled around to pin Kal with an icy glare. “How could you let me sleep so long?”

He just shrugged, apparently more concerned with the state of his team than my anger. “Didn't want to wake you.”

I socked him in the arm and pushed myself off the couch. “Have your game finished in ten minutes,” I fairly growled. “I'll be ready to go by then. I can't believe you let me sleep all day.” I pushed past Dad as I left the living room but avoided his concerned gaze. I didn't need to deal with his worry. Not now. Not yet anyway.

I took the steps two at a time and raced upstairs. Once in my room, I yanked a change of clothes out of my dresser and headed into the bathroom for a three-minute shower. It was all I had time for. A quick blow dry, brush of the teeth, and slather of a thin layer of foundation, and I was back in the living room. I tapped my foot impatiently for Kal to end his game.

To his credit, Kal jumped up as soon as he saw me and tossed his controller to the side. Ben grumbled about him quitting early, but Kal brushed off his comments and instead came to my side. “Ready?” he asked. The corners of his lips twitched like he was fighting back a smile.

I turned around to yell to Dad that we were going only to find him hovering near the front door. “Kal and I are going out,” I told
him. “We shouldn't be too late, even if we were supposed to leave at ten—” I cut a quick glare at Kal. “—and it's past three now.”

Dad glanced at Kal, clearly amused. “So are you trying to tell me that you're going to be out five hours past curfew?” He shook his head, chuckling softly. “I don't think so, princess.”

“Don't worry, Mr. Gordon,” Kal laughed. “I'll have her home by midnight.” He held my coat out for me while I shrugged into it.

“See that you do.”

At that, we shuffled out of the house, across the lawn, and climbed into Kal's car. The interior was warm, the motor humming softly, indicating that Kal had the foresight to start the car up while I was getting dressed. I snapped my seatbelt into place and flipped on the radio.

“You grabbed my board already, right?” I asked as he backed the car down the driveway.

“Sure did,” he nodded. “Although, I really don't mind sharing mine.” He reached across the console and caught my hand in his, stringing our fingers together, then brought our combined hands up to his mouth to brush a series of light kisses over my knuckles.

I closed my eyes and sighed a little at how nice it was to be with Kal like this. I wanted to push all the bad things away and savor this moment, this snapshot in time where it was just the two of us in our own perfect little bubble.

This couldn't go much further. I shouldn't even allow this innocent little scene. Not when I knew what was to come. I should have pushed him away, made up some excuse as to why we couldn't be together. Not reveling in his touch, wishing for just one more week of this bliss. Or one more day. Or one more hour. Hell, even one more minute.

I should've said something designed to drive him away, protect him from the inevitable tragedy to come, right then and there.

But the words wouldn't come to my lips. My tongue was paralyzed with wanting this tiny sliver of happiness. What could a few more days hurt? Nothing, really. After the new year would be soon enough. It could wait until then. I could have some time to be happy, to enjoy myself. Right?

Kal, blissfully unaware of my tumultuous thoughts, pulled into the Starbucks drive-thru and ordered us a couple of caramel lattes. Coffees in hand, he turned the car toward our destination. The Pit.

We pulled in through the back entrance where we usually snuck in only to find three other cars parked there. I groaned loudly. This was what happened when you waited until the last minute. Everyone got the good hills before you did, and I told Kal so.

He grinned and shook his head. “I doubt it, Mia.” He pointed toward the black Explorer parked farthest away from us. “That's Tony Hendrickson's SUV over there, and I can pretty much guarantee that he didn't come here for outdoor sports.”

I leaned forward, squinting out my window. The windows of the other vehicle were, indeed, fogged up. My lips curled back in a pained grimace. “Ewww, Kal. I could've done without you pointing that out.” I shivered. “Now, I'm going to have that image burned into my brain for the rest of my life.”

“So, I guess you don't want me doing this then?” He hooked his arm around my neck and reeled me in, his lips landing on mine before I could utter a single protest—not that I even once thought about doing so.

Within seconds, I clung to him. My arms snaked inside his coat and around his waist. I leaned heavily on the console, not caring that it bit painfully into my side. I just wanted to get as close to him as I possibly could. Yes, it wouldn't hurt at all to wait a few days. That would be okay. It had to be because I needed this feeling like I needed water. Needed him like I needed air. Without it, I'd surely die—a slow, agonizingly painful death.

“Mmm…maybe Tony has the right idea,” he gasped, his breath hot and delicious against my lips. I surged up against him, telling him without words that I wholeheartedly agreed. My mouth claimed his in a fierce kiss to which he growled in approval. The arm he had hooked around my neck slid to my shoulders and tightened, dragging me in even closer, if that were at all possible. I mewled softly in response; my fingers dug into his back and urged him on.

The back doors both swung open at the same time. Cold air splashed over us in one giant gust. We didn't spring apart, although
the kiss did halt abruptly. My fingers still clutched at his back, and his still threaded through my hair, but our heads turned to find Ricki and Adam clamoring into the car.

“Don't mind us,” Ricki grinned. “We just saw you two pull up and figured we'd warm up some.” She waved her hands in a
carry on
motion and giggled. “Just pretend we're not here.”

With twin groans of exasperation, we reluctantly released each other and slumped back to our own respective sides of the console. “You want a show,” Kal snapped. “Go climb into Tony's car.”

“That was my first choice, bro,” Adam hooted, grinning from ear to ear. “I want to know who he's got with him. You know he and Shelly DeVaine only broke up last week. Boy's a
playa
.”

“So, how long you guys been here?” Kal asked, clearly ignoring Adam's comment.

“About an hour,” Adam supplied. “We thought you two would've beaten us here today, but then Dave and Brad showed up, and then Tony with his mystery woman a little bit ago. What took you so long, anyway?”

I turned to him, intensely curious. “Dave and Brad showed up here?
Together
?” I demanded. Wow. That was fast. Guess Brad was wrong about their breakup being for good this time. I shouldn't have been so surprised. But good for them, anyway. They were just too cute together not to be a couple.

Ricki nodded, excitedly. “Yeah, they boarded with us for a little while on Mammoth and then—” She smiled knowingly. “—they went off on their own. Said they wanted to try another hill, but we all know they just wanted to get naked together.”

Adam shivered. “Babe, I'm fine with their gayness. Really, I am, but I could do without the disturbing mental images.”

I couldn't help but giggle at that. Kal looked like he was making a valiant attempt at choking back his own laughter. “Are you guys warm enough yet?” I asked them. “Kal and I came here to board, not sit in the car gossiping.”

“So, that's what you two were doing when we showed up?” Ricki snickered. “Gossiping?”

“Yeah,” Kal smiled winningly. “We were sharing secrets.” He turned off the car and pocketed his keys. “Everybody out.” Ricki and
Adam groaned, but he shook his head. “Come on. Only about an hour of good light left.”

We all climbed out. Kal popped the trunk open to get our boards while Ricki and Adam headed up the steep incline. They'd just disappeared from sight when Dave and Brad rounded the corner, coming from the opposite direction. Seeing us, they ambled over to the car.