Always and Forever (5 page)

 “I’m fine, just a bit sore.”

“God, now I feel really terrible. How can I make this
better? Do you want me to call anyone for you? Is there anyone who can pick you
up? You really shouldn’t be out this late by yourself.”

“Excuse me, I’m not a child and it’s not even late, you
sound just like my mum.” I say, snapping at him intentionally.

“Well, maybe you should listen to your mum.” He smiles down
at me and I wonder why his eyes light up when he looks at me.

I suddenly notice how tall he is now that I’m on my feet
again. He must be over six foot and compared to my tiny five feet two inches,
that’s pretty big.

 He looks down at me as though he’s nervous and I
avert my gaze from his, wondering why he has a look of amusement on his face.

“You don’t know her.” I mumble quietly, referring to my
mum.

“You’re right, I don’t. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t keep apologising. I was the one sitting in the dark;
you were only walking by.”

“But still…”

“But nothing, I’m fine.” I say harshly.

I don’t know why I’m being such a bitch to him but now that
I’ve started it’s difficult to stop.

“Wait a minute; you didn’t hear me coming because you were
listening to music. Did you drop your iPod?”

I spin around as my eyes scan the area beneath us. I
suddenly spot it lying face down on the roadside, it’s a little more scratched
up than it was before and I bend down to reach it, desperately hoping that it
still works.

“It seems to be ok.” I say thankfully after I check it.

“Are you sure? I’m going to feel guilty about this for
ages. I’m a first class idiot, a fool and anything else you can think of which
matches those descriptions.”

He kneels down besides me and holds his hand out for me to
give him my iPod. I hesitate, wondering if his intention all along has been to
steal from me.

“I told you that it’s working.”

“Well, let me just make sure.” He winks at me
flirtatiously, causing me to bow my head as I try to conceal my
self-consciousness from him.

“Well?” I prompt him after he’s inspected my iPod.

“You’re right; it seems to be working ok.”

“I told you it was.” I add bitterly.

He runs his hand through his hair as though he no longer
knows what to say and I feel a pang of guilt for my rudeness towards him. He
hasn’t done anything wrong and I’ve been treating him really badly. He doesn’t
deserve that.

“Do you mind me asking you what your name is?” He asks me
with hesitation.

“Bethany.” I blurt it out without even thinking and I
mentally chastise myself for being so carless.

“Bethany, I’m Jake.” He extends his hand out towards mine
to shake and I take hold of it with caution. His hand is warm and strong, it
squeezes mine slightly which makes me tremble, I try to disguise it as a sign
of being cold but I don’t know if I was convincing.

“You’re the one who’s dropped all of his shopping, let me
help you.” I say in a friendly manner. My attitude has been appalling since we
first met, I dread to think what his opinion of me must be; I’ve been so
dismissive and cold since he started talking to me.

 I start gathering his belongings from the ground
where they tumbled out of his shopping bags and after a few moments I realise
that he’s just standing there and staring at me. I raise my eyebrows at him
wondering what his problem is and this seems to jerk him into action. He shakes
his head, forcing himself out of his trance and starts to help me collect all
of the groceries that he spilt. We’re about to start putting them back into the
carrier bags when I realise that they’ve both split.

“Shit.” He mutters under his breath, making me smile.

“What will you do now?” I challenge him.  

He freezes, both of his arms are weighed down with
groceries and he obviously has no idea what he will do next. I try to hide my
smirk from him, not wanting to appear unkind.

“I have no idea.” He says disappointedly.

“I kind of feel bad leaving you like this so I’m going to
be a good Samaritan and help you out. I’ll hurry over to the corner shop I’ve
just come from and grab you a couple more carrier bags, ok?”

He looks taken aback by my offer and his eyes widen in
surprise.

“No! You don’t have to do that; I can probably manage by
myself to carry this stuff home.” He actually drops a couple of items straight after
he says he can manage which makes me chuckle. No way can he keep a hold of
everything.

“Yeah, you sure are handling things well over there.” I say
sarcastically, smiling at him mischievously so he knows that I’m only joking.

He grins at me before turning serious again. His eyes
travel all the way down my body and back up again and I fidget from one foot to
the other, feeling uncomfortable. No one’s ever looked at me like that before
and I’m not sure if I like it or not.

“I can’t let you go off on your own to help me out.” He
says politely.

“Just wait here, I’ll be right back.” I quickly turn away
from him and head off into the direction of the shop before he can stop me.

I ask the shop keeper for two more carrier bags and hurry
back to where I left Jake. I hope he’s still waiting for me. After the way I’ve
treated him I really wouldn’t blame him if he bailed on me. That’s why I’m
taken aback when I see him waiting for me when I round the corner. He’s sitting
down on the sidewalk that I was when he collided right into me.

“I can’t believe you did that for me, thank you.” He says
gratefully, standing up to greet me with a huge smile on his face and a twinkle
in his eye.

“Don’t worry about it.” I reply bashfully.

He takes the bags from me and starts to place his groceries
in them. I’d offer to help him but I’d rather stare at him instead. He’s
unaware that my eyes are on him and I can observe everything about him when
he’s not looking at me like he was earlier.

“Once again, thank you.” He turns towards me with both of
hands in his pockets. He’s repacked all of his shopping and placed it on the
floor beside him, I feel like he’s about to say something else and I suppress
the urge to flee, willing myself to behave maturely.

“It’s not a problem. I’m glad I could help.”

“So…” He takes a step closer towards me; his eyes are fixed
on the pavement as though he’s self-conscious all of a sudden.

“Well, I better get back home; it was nice to meet you.” I
exhale nervously and pick up the pint of milk that fortunately survived our
collision and start to walk away.

“Wait!” He calls after me, jogging over towards me.

“What?” I drag my fingers through my hair, wondering what
on earth I must look like to this Godlike human being.

“Can I at least walk you home? I really don’t feel
comfortable letting you walk home by yourself, its dark and it really is
getting late now.”

“No, don’t be silly. My house really isn’t that far.” I
turn to walk away again but his fingers circle my wrist, gently pulling me back
towards him.

“At least tell me why you were crying.” He speaks softly;
his voice is laced with concern and sensitivity.

“What business of that is yours? And why would you even
think that I was crying?” I accuse him defensively. I had no idea that he’d
noticed and the fact that he pretended to be oblivious infuriates me for some
reason. It’s as though my weakness has already been exposed to him.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry; it’s just… I guess I just
want to know that you’re ok.”

“I’m fine!” I yell, startling us both.

“But I know you were crying.” He persists gently.

“So what if I was? What has that got to do with
you?
”
I yell, moving closer towards him.

“Nothing. It has absolutely nothing to do with me but I
want to know.” He responds calmly, stroking his thumb against the sensitive
skin on my wrist.

“Look, I’m sorry I’m being such a bitch. I’m not normally
like this.” I apologise.

“Don’t say you’re sorry. You don’t have to apologise for
anything.”  

I stare at him for a few seconds longer, wondering who this
boy is and where he came from. I feel incredibly shy and awkward around him
which makes me revert back to being impolite and rude. I really don’t know what
he’s still doing here to be honest; why the hell does this guy want to prolong
any encounter with me?

“I guess I’m just not used to this.” I mumble feebly.

“This?”  He asks, clearing his throat optimistically.

“You know, being alone with a stranger in the dark.”

“I’m not going to hurt you.” He adds hastily.

“I know that.” I tell him, meaning every word.

He raises his eyebrows as if he’s surprised by my
admittance.

“Anyway, what were you doing out here by yourself? It
really isn’t safe for a girl like you.”

“A girl like me?” I ask him angrily.

“No, wait, don’t take offence. I meant that as a
compliment. You’re beautiful and that’s why you shouldn’t be out here on your
own.”

I gape at him in astonishment. Did he really just call me
beautiful?

“I can take care of myself.” I mumble feebly.

He chuckles, reaching a hand out and tucking a stray strand
of hair behind my ear. The feel of his skin against mine causes me to bite down
on my bottom lip as I try to suppress a moan. His merest touch was like ecstasy
to me.

“Seriously, I meant what I said. I can walk you home, the
offer still stands and I’d feel better knowing that you made it home alright.”

 If only it were possible for me to say yes. I’d like
nothing more than to have him walk me home but I know that it can’t happen. I
can’t even bring myself to think about the consequences of my father returning
home early and catching me with Jake.

“You don’t have to, I’ll be fine.”

“Bethany, it’s dangerous for you to be out here by yourself
and I’ll at least get a few more minutes to talk to you if you let me walk you home.”

I switch on my iPod and glance at the time, it’s still
early and I’m certain that if I pas up this chance to spend more time with Jake
then I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.

“Ok, I give in. You can walk me home.” I finally acquiesce.

He beams at me, obviously delighted by my decision.

We walk for a couple of minutes in silence and I start to
wonder how I’m going to convince Jake to leave me a couple of minutes early so
I can walk the remainder of the way myself. He can’t be seen anywhere near my
house. I’m contemplating what excuse I can give him when Jake breaks the
silence.

“So… this is really embarrassing and I’m sorry if it makes
you feel awkward or uncomfortable but I really need to know if you have a
boyfriend.” He keeps his gaze on the ground, refusing to look at me as I openly
stare at him.

“That’s kind of random.”

“I know. I’m sorry but like I said, I need to know.”

“Why?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“Not to me.”

He stops walking and turns to face me, placing his hands on
both of my shoulders.

“God, Bethany, you’re not making this easy on me, are you?”
He stares down at me with a grimace of unease on his perfectly sculptured face.

“Why do you need to know if I have a boyfriend, Jake?”

“It’s probably better if I don’t know. I’m already fighting
the urge I have to demand that you tell me where I can find him so I can beat
the shit out of him for finding you first.”

I burst out laughing, taking him by surprise.

“Wow, that’s a good line.” I joke.

“I mean it, Bethany. That’s what scares me.” He gazes down
at me, a solemn expression etched on his face. I see the sincerity in his eyes
and I know he’s being serious. A ripple of excitement surges through me which I
instantly reprimand myself for. I shouldn’t be feeling excited over his
possessiveness. What’s wrong with me?