Forever Us (Always and Forever 4)

“My ass isn’t cute, Lana Lynn. That shit is sexy, fucking juicy.” He winks. Rolling my eyes, I bite the side of his hand that I joined with mine again.

Just like that, our little man starts crying in the back seat, waking up from his nap, and I reach back to calm him. Never could I have imagined a life so peaceful.

“Seriously? You are such a sourpuss. You ruin everything, you big toad!” I hear Shayla scolding Kingston outside the bedroom door.

I chuckle, clasping Princeton’s onesie back up after his diaper change. “Here comes Thing One and Thing Two, monkey.”

“Name-call me all you want, sis. I ain’t letting you have her for the night. Take option one or two.” Kingston enters the room, with Shayla hot on his heels, barely visible behind his bulky beast like frame.

“Ugh, you are such a jerk. Trey let me and Lana have the night before.”

“Cause your husband is sane.”

“Ah-ha! So you admit it! You are insane.”

He picks up his suitcase as Shayla pokes his back, placing her hands on her hips. Both of them are too lost in their world to even acknowledge me. I watch them, amused. Shayla looks proud.

“Fuck yeah, I am. I’ve been admitting this for years. You guys just didn’t want to listen. So...” He drops his suitcase on the bed and turns on Shayla, mirroring her pose, hands on hips and eyes pointed narrowly at her, challenging her. “Will it be the four of us and a movie, or just Lana and me holed up in the room?”

I snort, shaking my head.

“All right, fine. Movie night. But once you are finished trapping her in a secluded cabin and taking advantage of my poor best friend, I get a girls day with her. Promise?” She pokes his chest, and he shrugs.

“Maybe.”

“Ugh! Kingston, you’re pissing me off!”

I know he’s pulling her chain, and you would think after twenty-four years of being his sister, she would be able to blow it off.

“All right! Knock it off, Kingston. Stop being a shit, and Shay, we will have all the girl time in the world.” I kiss Prince’s cheek and pass him to Kings.

“Fine, but we’re watching the most chick flick movie alive.”

“Perfect, chick flicks make her all touchy-feely and shit. I’ll be her big teddy bear tonight.”

“Gross. Let’s go.” Leaving us in the room for a moment, she heads down to the living room of Pops and Kathy’s place. God rest his beautiful soul.

“Can you stop pulling her chain? She’s missed me. This past year, she’s been without me. I have been neglecting her and work and our friendship. She just got me back, like you did, but you need to share sometimes.”

Massaging our son’s feet, he looks back and forth between us two. “You’re asking me to let you have tonight, aren’t you?” he questions.

As much as I want to spend time with Kings, he gets me alone in a cabin on our honeymoon for three days. I want and need to give this to her and me. “Yes. I am.”

Rolling his eyes, he puffs his chest up, followed by a heavy release through his nose. “What do I get out of it?”

“Oh, Daddy, just you wait and see what I have packed in that little black suitcase for the weekend. You won’t be able to pick that jaw up off the floor without my help.”

“Challenge accepted, because you won’t be able to keep those little legs closed when I get you in that cabin.”

It’s my jaw that drops, and my plan to saunter away and leave him speechless backfires as I watch him walk away, leaving me breathless.

My core clenches with instant arousal, and my knees nearly buckle. Holy hell, that man is fire and ice all at once.

I pull myself together and spend the night with Shayla, girl talking and cuddling. It’s almost childish, the carefree way about it all; we are two young girls again. We aren’t talking about the nights where Joel hit me. I am not crying on her shoulder, but instead, we’re two best friends celebrating the first real and only love I’ve ever had.

I don’t think I’ve ever dressed up this snazzy before. A three-piece suit, with a rose gold tie matching Lana’s ring. I fix the lapels on my form-fitting jacket, looking myself over in the mirror. I check out my fresh crew cut; my buzzed sides and slicked back mane looks styled to perfection, because it is. I’ve put great detail into every part of my appearance today in order to distract my-fucking-self. There’s a twitch in my palm, a nervous shake that never leaves, as my entire life is about to change—in a way that I’ve fought to have for years. So why the nerves? Because this is un-fucking-real.

“It’s the big day. You finally fucking roped her in. You tamed the untamable, bro.” Trey enters the guest bedroom I dubbed as mine.