Forever the One (Always and Forever 3)

She sighs crossing her arms over her chest. “Where would you like me to start, the part where you pretty much said we aren’t best friends anymore? Or was it the part where you said you would finger me on the beach?”

“Seriously, this shit started way before that. It started in the fucking bathroom. I wake up happy and well fucked, ready to take a bath then come find you, when you come in the bathroom and give me sass and challenge me. For what reason, Lana?” She gapes at me, as if what I said was complete mockery.

“You made love to me all morning, rocked my world and then when I came in the bathroom you didn’t even fight to have me get in the bath with you. Instead you just shrugged and moved on.” Okay, am I fucking high or is this some real bullshit?

“Oh my fuck, L. What do you want from me? I beg you to be my girlfriend, beg you to let me in, beg you to give me an inch and you always turn it down. I knew you wouldn’t get in with me, you tell me no every time I ask. I didn’t want to piss you off and push you away. Fuck, all we’ve done this trip is fight and fuck. We haven’t even laughed or done anything fun like we use to.” I take off my hat, run my hands through my hair and reposition my cap.

“All you talk about or want to do is fuck, Kingston!”

“Because that’s the only way you will let me have you!” The earth must have felt my wrath because the breeze around us stops and even though we’re outside, I feel like we’re in a tiny box, suffocating with the palpable tension. Her eyes drift across the water behind me, growing wet with her own tears.

“Kings...”

“You know what Lana, I’m done. We leave tomorrow, I’ll sleep on the couch and give you your fucking space.” She didn’t ask for it, but I need it. Deflecting is what they call it, right? I can’t do this, we just made up and already we’re fighting again less than twenty-four hours from our last one. California did the complete opposite of what I wanted, throwing me off balance, because the fights are coming closer than far between.

I move around her, making sure I don’t even make physical contact. If she even touches me, I will lose it, I will be sucked back into our vortex.

“Kings!” she yells after me and I fight with everything in me to ignore it. Maybe when we get home I will give her even more space. This trip was supposed to unite us again, strengthen our bond and rebuild our relationship. As far as I’m concerned, it did the fucking opposite, where the fuck is the woman I knew?

“Your turn and don’t you dare peak!” Lana threatens me. Her hand over my eyes shields my sight but I can still see her perfectly in my mind. Her hair is pulled back in a loose pony, her glasses are on her cute little face, my oversized sleep shirt and boxers adorn her petite body. My beautiful Queen.

“I won’t and guys you better fucking stop her if this shit is something that’ll make me barf.” It’s a typical Friday night in the Donovan household. After work Trey and I came home and waited for Lana and Shay to get home from whatever they were doing. Trey is my best friend, has been for years. We do all kinds of crazy shit together, I’m surprised we haven’t been arrested...yet.

Anyway, here we are, Friday night, having our ‘guess what I put in your mouth’ challenge. Yes, it sounds perverted and yes that was the whole reason I named it that.

“Ok, shush and open up!” Lana yells over our laughing. I feel the cold tip of the spoon hit my lip and I open, letting the substance hit my tongue. Instantly, my taste buds reject the sour, thick taste of something I can’t fucking name. All I know is it’s gross. I spit it out and Lana’s hand leaves my eyes as she jolts back to avoid getting hit with my spit up.

“What the fuck, Lana! What was that?” I lap at my tongue with a paper towel, trying my best to get rid of the awful taste. Her giggle sounds like music to my ears and I can’t help but smile at the guilty look on her face. She looks perfect in my clothes, she looks stunning always, even with the black eye she’s currently wearing. That fucker hit her today. When she came over and I saw her eye, I almost killed him. Rage boiled deep in my blood, never truly cooling down, only simmering. Lana begged me not to do anything and I was the coward who obeyed, caring more about keeping her alive.

She cried in my arms for a couple hours tonight and then I picked her up and carried her to the bathroom, starting her a bath and leaving her some fresh clothes, then I left her like the gentlemen I didn’t want to be.

“It was cottage cheese, your favorite.” I knew I knew that taste, gah I fucking hate cottage cheese!

“That’s it!” The spoon in her hand drops, she knows what’s coming. Jumping down from my place on the counter I reach my long arm out and yank her back before she gets too far.

“Kings! No, I’m sorry!” She’s laughing, I love that laugh. I love that I can make her laugh like this when she was just crying a few hours ago.

“I bet you are, come here!” Pulling her flush against my chest, she begs for someone to help her. Instead Trey, Shay and my dad just sit back and let us play.

“You want to play dirty, I’ll give you dirty, baby!” Grabbing the cottage cheese, I dig my hand into the cold tub and pull it back out. “Open up, L!”

“No Ki...”

Slosh!

I wipe the cottage cheese all over her mouth and face, causing her to laugh louder and struggle against me harder. After I cover her a few more times with cottage cheese and it’s dripping down her shirt, onto her tan legs, then sliding to the floor, I wave the white flag. Letting her go, she bends over trying to catch her breath. I walk to the sink and turn on the hot water, washing off the remaining slimy, repulsive shit from my hands. Turning it off, I move to dry my hands when I’m caught off guard. My arms are yanked up and out to each side of me by Trey and my dad while L jumps on me wrapping her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck. I only have on my sweats, so the cottage cheese on her shirt rubs off on my chest and abs. They plotted against me and helped her cute little ass.

That isn’t the worst part. Lana grabs the back of my head and slides her covered face up and down mine. Spreading the cottage cheese on my cheeks, my neck, my nose, my forehead, all of it. I won’t lie, I don’t struggle to get loose because having her wrapped around me like a monkey and her face all over mine isn’t the worst thing to happen to me. In fact, it’s the best thing to date.

“You little shit!”

“You love me.”

“Yeah, I do.”

I’m jolted awake by a high-pitched scream bellowing from upstairs. My perfect dream state completely forgotten. Jumping off the couch, I dash up the stairs, taking two at a time.

“Lana! Baby!” Opening the door in a panic I see her sitting in the corner of the room shaking, holding her thighs tight against her chest while she rocks back and forth. I know what happened, she had another nightmare. She has nightmares about Joel quite frequently—especially after we fight, which in turn makes me feel like a complete fucking dick.