Love You Always

“You’re dating Sean King!” my mom shouts into the phone.

“His last name is King?” I cringe. I cannot believe I just said that. Neily shakes with silent laughter. I glare at her.

“You’re making out with men in clubs and you don’t even know their last names. It’s about time you and Neily got out there and had some fun. Bree and I were sure we were going to die without grandbabies. You look beautiful as always and your shirt is super cute.”

“Don’t talk about death.” I hate when she does that. “Wait. How do you know who Sean is?”

“He’s one of the city’s most eligible bachelors. Everyone knows who he is. His brother went off the market a few months ago.” My mom and Bree have always been into gossip. It is real-life reality television for them. “His brother is Ethan King.”

“I still have no idea who that is, Mom.”

“Are you living in a cave over there? He’s one of the richest men in the world. Pretty sure his younger brother Sean is climbing up that ladder right behind him.” I shake my head no. That can’t be right.

“No, they must have Sean mixed up with someone else. My Sean works at the club. I think he’s the manager or something.” That is my best guess based on what I’ve learned about him so far. We didn't do a ton of talking but like Sean implied, we have all the time in the world to get to know each other.

“Ohhhh. Your Sean,” my mom teases. I walked right into that one. “Well, your Sean owns multiple high falutin’ clubs. Managers don’t usually drive Bugattis.” I should be scared that my mom knows so much about him but I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. It’s clear where I developed my stalking skills.

“He owns it?” Neily mouths, as shocked as I am. My mom's voice is loud enough for her to hear the entire conversation. Plus, Neily has always had creepy good hearing to begin with.

“Mom, I’m working. Can I call you back?” I don’t really let her respond before firing off that I love her and hang up. “Are you Googling him?”

“Oh right.” Neily hops up and heads over to the computer to pull up Sean King. I do the same on my phone. We both read over what we can find. Yeah, no wonder his place was so nice. He is more than rich. The man is downright wealthy. “There are so many pictures of him.” I nod in agreement. I’m already scanning through them. “Is that Bella Clark?”

“I think so.” My stomach turns. There are a lot of pictures of him with other women. Famous ones. Supermodels, actresses, and everything in between. You name it and Google has a pic of him with it.

“Oh shit. Is that Cindy Milono? How many supermodels has he dated?” I put my phone down, not wanting to know.

“He’s not only one of the most eligible bachelors, he’s a playboy.” Neily plucks the words right out of my head.

“Heartbreak. That’s what he is.”

“I’m sorry, Aly bug.” She walks over, putting her arm around me. “At least you found out before he could break your heart.” I look down at the floor. “Ah shit. Are we already there?”

“It hurts.” I shrug one shoulder. “I thought this might be something.” I thought that I’d found my forever. But it turns out, it was only me being naïve. Yet, somewhere deep within me that doesn’t feel right.

“Maybe it is. You said how sweet he was. If he was only looking for sex he would have taken what he wanted last night. Then he would have been on to the next.”

“Just because he’s a playboy doesn't mean he’s a dick. I get why he didn't sleep with me last night. I was a little tipsy. He might be banking on tonight when I’ve got a clear head. Then he can break my heart tomorrow.” The thought of him only being in this for a one-night stand doesn’t sit well with me. Why make me declare that I was his? He was so insistent on me saying those words that it’s hard to believe he’d go through all this trouble to sleep with me.

“Fair point.”

“What should I do? I really don’t want to cancel.”

“I think you should do whatever you want.”

“I said no more rich guys. Remember?” I dated one a year ago. He turned out to be the biggest dick. It took me a little to catch on. He thought he could have anything he wanted. That meant me and other women, too. Though I wasn’t allowed to date anyone else. I got out of that one quick.

“I still hate that dick, Richard, but I just thought you meant no guys named Rich. I didn't know you couldn't date rich dudes.” She tries to tease me to lighten the mood.