Forever After All

“Yes.” I nod. “And we live happily forever after all. We can go play hide and seek now.” I stand, something Rip can’t do. He’s too tall.

“Finally. I’ll go first in case you need help getting down.”

“I can do it on my own.”

“But I’m older. It’s my job to do it.” With no further arguing, he climbs down the ladder and calls for me to come down.

I’m angry that he thinks I need his help, and I miss the final step of the rope and begin to fall. Rip reaches out and catches me. “I’ve got you, Kenna,” he says quietly. He helps me stand, his eyes watching me. Once he’s satisfied, he tags my arms and screams, “McKenna’s it!”

We spend the rest of the day playing tag. It’s not until I’m at home later when I realize I kissed a boy.

Chapter 1

Rip

The flames of the fire dance, lighting up the dark sky. It’s the perfect night for a bonfire. Over the blaze, I watch as McKenna brings the bottle of Boone’s Farm to her lips. I can’t help but feel nostalgic. We’ve spent many summer nights out in this field. When McKenna left for college, it just didn’t feel the same. Not to me, and not to my little sister, Laramie, her best friend. We just sort of stopped having bonfires. However, tonight is a special occasion. McKenna graduated from law school two weeks ago.

She’s wicked smart, having graduated high school with an associate’s degree. She left for Harvard to finish her undergrad and attend law school. Her trips home were few and far between, and we all missed her.

I missed her.

“You know,” Laramie says, “you’d think now that we’re legal drinking age, we’d move onto something better than Boone’s Farm,” she says, holding the half-empty bottle in the air.

“Speak for yourself. I’m an in-debt college graduate,” McKenna tells her. “Besides, there’s nothing wrong in indulging in a little Boone’s.” As if she needs to prove her point, her bottle is back to her lips as she takes a healthy drink. Laramie cheers her on, making us all laugh.

“Right.” My sister laughs. “Miss Attorney at Law.” She smiles at McKenna.

“Not yet. I still have to pass the bar exam.”

“Please,” Laramie chides. “You’ve got this.”

“It’s damn good to have you home,” my best friend, Corbin, says, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. McKenna gives him a blinding smile as she returns his embrace.

My eyes never leave the two of them as they dance around, acting a fool. “What’s up with you?” Colby, Corbin’s younger brother, asks, plopping down on the back of the tailgate beside me.

“Nothing.”

“You look like you could murder my brother.”

I have to force myself to turn and look at him. “Maybe you should slow down on those.” I nod to the bottle of beer in his hand.

“Yeah, okay,” he says, laughing off my comment.

“What are you two fuddy-duddies doing over there?” my sister calls out.

“Your girl is lit,” I tell Colby.

“I know.” I can hear the smile in his voice. My sister and Colby have been dating and still going strong since Laramie’s senior year of high school.

“Is she going home with you?” I ask him. I know the answer. Even though Laramie technically still lives at home, she’s never there. She’s always staying over at Colby’s.

“Nah, we’re staying at your place tonight.”

“Really?” I laugh.

“Yep. Her idea.” He points to my sister.

“When are you going to make an honest woman out of her?”

“Soon.” He’s evasive, but that’s Colby. The only thing he’s ever transparent about is how he feels about my baby sister. What he doesn’t know is that I know he’s already talked to Mom and Dad. I know he plans to ask her to marry him, and if I know Colby, his “soon” is just that. Soon.

“Come on.” Laramie appears in front of us. She grabs onto Colby’s hand and tugs. He lets her, like the pussy he is for her, and follows her to the other side of the fire.

I watch as he pulls her into his arms, and they begin to slow dance. The smile on my sister’s face as she stares up at him is the same smile she had when she was eighteen. My eyes stray to McKenna and Corbin, but it’s just Corbin in the light of the flames. I scan the surroundings, and that’s when I see her headed my way.

“Rip, will you go with me?” she asks.

I don’t need her to clarify. I know what she needs. She and Laramie both used to come to me for this very same reason, that is until Colby appeared in the picture. I don’t hesitate to jump off the tailgate and link my fingers with hers. Fuck, I’ve missed her. Stopping at the back of my truck, I grab the roll of toilet paper and the small paper bag for trash that we can toss into the fire.