Always Remember (Memories) (24 page)

His lips twitch a little. “You floated right to the rocks and climbed into them to hide. We all went crazy looking for you, until he realised what you
’d done. Yeah. I remember.”

“And
I haven’t stepped foot on a surfboard since that day.” I smile proudly. “And I don’t intend to!”

“I
’ll get you on a surfboard one day,” he promises. “Even if it means you’re strapped down, you’ll get on another surfboard.”

“Um, no,” I deadpan. “Never. Ever.
Ever
gonna happen, boyo.”

“We
’ll see.”

“
Mmm. Like I’ll see you get up off your ass, get dressed, and go and see your girl?”

“Jen,” he says.

“Alec,” I mimic. “Why does everyone say my name that way? Sam did the exact same thing before I came here. Pish!” I shake my head. “This is what’s gonna happen. You, Mr. Johnson, are gonna be the man you are and get dressed. Then, you’re gonna go see your girl and let her hold you for as long as you need to be held. Know why? Because it’s okay to do that.”

“Will you agree to go on a surfboard if I do that?” he looks up.

“Is that what it’s gonna take?” I ask, sighing. He nods, a small spark of Alec returning to his eyes.

I clench my jaw and narrow my eyes at him. “Damn chip off the old block you are, Johnson. Yes. I will get on a
fricking surf board.”

“Promise?” He raises his eyebrows. “And no crossed fingers!”

“Shit.” I uncross my fingers and hold up my hands. “I promise I will get on a surfboard.”

“Then I suppose I
’ll get up.” He pushes himself off the sofa and disappears into his room. I hum to myself as I wait, thinking that was easier than I expected.

See. A little bit of Jen-
tude is all you need sometimes.

~

I follow Alec back to Lexy and Sam’s and stop him before we go back inside.

“Hey… You can be sad,
y’know?” I touch his arm. “Just let us be there with you. Especially Lexy. It’s breaking her heart that yours is breaking. Just let her be there and sooth it a little. You didn’t last year, and look at the trouble it caused.”

“I know. I nearly pushed her away for good.” He rakes a hand through his hair and sighs deeply. “You
’re right, Jen. I need her.”

“No need to sound so surprised.” I push the front door open and we walk through the house. “I
’m always right, but no-one ever listens to me, and every single time you’re surprised that I was right. You know, you should really do yourselves a favour and start listening to me. I don’t talk crap all the time.”

“Just most of the time?” Sam teases. I point at him.

“Watch it, mister. There’s still time for your precious car to bang into a tree, or a fence, or slide along this key as I walk past it.”

He sobers. “I dare you to try it.”

Alec walks past us and crouches in front of Lexy, pulling her into his arms before she can say anything. She wraps her arms around him and buries her face into his neck. Seriously – I love how much they love each other.

I look back at Sam, thinking the way I feel is pretty damn close to their love. “I dare you to stop me.” I grin and hold up his key, darting into the house.

“Scratch my car and you’re dead, Jennifer!” he yells.

I hear the scrape of the chair as he gets up, and I giggle, opening and closing the front door before hiding behind the living room door. I put my hand over my mouth so my laughter doesn
’t give me away as he steps into the hall and opens the door. It closes again, and I bite my lip, shaking slightly. I wait as he attempts to find me.

The door opens. “Where are you, you pain in the ass?” he calls.

I snort into my hand. I’ll give him a pain in the ass. I glance around the door. His back is to me, and I run out. I jump and land on his back, hooking my legs around his waist. He jumps, gripping my thighs, and I laugh loudly against his shoulder.

“Surprise!” I giggle.

“Certainly keep me on my toes,” he mutters.

I loosen my grip on him and lean back slightly, smacking my hand against his ass.

“What the hell was that for?”

“That was for calling me a pain in the ass. I thought I
’d be a literal one.” I grin.

Sam carries me into the living room and dumps me on the sofa, sitting in front of me and leaning back. I wriggle a little.

“Get off, fatso.” I wriggle again.

“Why? You
’re comfy.” He grins, running his fingers up the inside of my thighs.

“I
’m pretty sure I’m much comfier if I’m under you, not behind you, since the only one with the tools to do anything from behind in this relationship is you,” I say dryly.

Sam leans his head back to rest on my shoulder. “Is that a promise?”

“Yes.”

“Well, then.” He lets me go and flips round so I
’m under him.

“I promise that my statement was correct in telling you that you
’re the only person with the tools to do anything from behind.” I half-smirk. “I never promised you could
do
anything with those tools.”

He shakes his head, lowering his face to mine, and sucks gently on my bottom lip. Each tug he makes tugs on the muscles in my lower stomach, making them tighten. H
e runs his tongue over my lips and his fingers ghost down my side, barely making contact with me, but I feel it all over. I hold the back of his neck and respond to him, kissing him hard.

“Samuel, you have a bedroom for that,”
Si admonishes as the front door opens.

“Just trying to prove a point,” Sam replies, pulling back and looking into my eyes. His brown eyes are dancing.

“Yep, and you failed.” I smirk.

“Do I need to prove it again?”

“In private.” Si walks past and slaps the back of his head.

“Shit, Dad!” Sam rubs the back of his head.

Si grins, winks at me, and disappears into the kitchen.

“Yeah, Sam, prove it in private,” I taunt him, grinning.

“Don’t make me, Jennifer, because I will,” he says in a low voice.

I put my hand on his jaw and run my thumb across his lips, tracing their outline softly. “You don
’t need to prove a point,” I mutter.

“I don
’t?”

I shake my head. “You
’ve done plenty of proving.” My lips pull into a small smile. “No more proving. Just being, okay?”

He runs his nose along mine. “What about Heidi?”

“What about her? Sooner or later she’s gotta get it, right?”

“
Gotta get what?” His eyes twinkle reminiscent of the way Vi’s would when she was teasing you, and I know he’s got his playful streak from her.

I grab his collar and pu
ll his face right against mine so we’re eye to eye, nose to nose. “That you’re mine,” I growl lightly.

“Damn,” he mutters, sliding his arms around my back. “You
’re hot when you get all possessive, did you know that?”

I smirk. “I
’m pretty sure we’ve had this conversation once before, yes, Samuel.”

“Do you remember how that ended?”

“No. Wanna remind me?”

“Later, at your flat, please,” Si calls in.

I laugh. “Yes, boss.”

I hover around the back of the store, watching the clock for when I can get out of here, climb into Lexy’s car, go home, and chill in front of the television. I aimlessly sort through clothes, putting them back in style and size order on autopilot.

“Guess what?”

I jump, Saph’s voice in my ear scaring the living crap out of me. “Holy freaking hell, Saph!” I gasp. “Was that necessary? Really? Give a girl some warning!”

She grins, flicking her red hair over her shoulder. “Where would the fun in that be?”

I glare at her. “Where indeed?”

“When do you finish?”

A quick glance around tells me I’m alone in the kids section, so I pull my phone from my bra and check the time. “Five minutes,” I tell her, tucking my phone back away. “Why?”

Her grin widens, her eyes crinkling in the corners. “Meet me and Lexy outside. I have news.” She winks and turns away, scooting between the aisles of clothing.

“Oh, come on!” I yell after her, throwing my hands in the air. “You can’t just leave me hanging like that! I’m not a fur coat in your wardrobe!”

Saph
disappears around the corner, her laughter ringing out, and I move some clothes in annoyance. Damn that red headed bimbo.

The next few minutes drag more than a chain smoker, and I
’m getting restless. What news could she have that she can’t tell me right here?

I check my phone again. Five p.m. Time to leave.

My mind is mulling over what Saph could possibly have to tell me as I grab my bag and head down the staff stairs to the back of the store where they’ll be waiting. Maybe she’s finally given Mitch some lover-lovin’? That’s definitely something I wanna hear about.

Oh my god.

“You better not be bloody pregnant!” I cry, pulling the car door open. “I swear to god, Sapphire, if you’re pregnant…”

Lexy shrieks out a laugh, pulling away, and
Saph turns in her seat. Her mouth is wide open.

“I
’m not pregnant!” she cries, her voice an octave higher than usual. “Oh my god! How can you think that?”

“You know,” I muse, glancing at her still open mouth. “…I have no
idea with the size of your gob.”

She reaches behind her seat and slaps my thigh. I grin, and Lexy laughs.

“This is why you and Sam are perfect for each other,” Saph mutters, sitting back round. “Both of your minds are in the gutter.”

“If his sister wasn
’t in the car, I’d tell you exactly how far in the gutter my mind is where Samuel is concerned.”

“Yep, let
’s
not
go there,” Lexy begs. “I have no desire to know anything about their sex life.”

I giggle to myself, and
she pulls up outside Saph’s favourite wine bar. “If this involves wine, it’s serious,” I muse, climbing from the car.

Saph
smiles conspiratorially at me, her eyes twinkling. I glance at Lexy and she shrugs.

“Don
’t ask me,” she says. “I have no idea what she wants. For once, she’s kept quiet.”

“I
’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” Saph murmurs as we take a seat at the bar. “Order drinks. You’ll need them.”

“This sounds
bad
.” I sigh to myself, turning to the guy behind the bar and ordering a glass.

“Not for you it
’s not.”

“Then why do I need a drink?”

“To celebrate.” Saph grins.

Lexy frowns. “Wait, what are we celebrating? You
’re not pregnant. You clearly haven’t let Mitch into your knickers yet-”

Saph
coughs. “What is it with you guys and me and Mitch? Not gonna happen. He’s-”

“Not your type,
yada yada yada.” I open and close my hand in a talking motion. “I’m not going to listen to how Ms. Middle Class isn’t going for Mr. Working Class, so you might as well tell me why, exactly, you’ve hauled my hot ass down here in my damn work uniform.” I take a drink.

“Heidi
’s leaving London.”

I spit my drink over the bar. “What?”

Lexy covers her mouth with her hand, and I shrug.

“Sorry,” I say. “I
’m not sorry. She could have let me swallow!”

“Oh the responses to that sentence,”
Saph muses. “But yes, you heard me right. Heidi is leaving London.”

“Why is she leaving?” Lexy asks. “I didn
’t think she was done with my brother.”

My face hardens.

“She doesn’t have much of a choice,” Saph twists the stem of her glass between her fingers. “She lost her job four weeks ago, and Daddy won’t bail her out anymore. He gave her a month to at least find a part time job and he said he’d help until she got something more permanent, but she didn’t. She assumed he’d help anyway, so she partied all her money away. She has to go back home to Kent.”

Well, shit.

I sit back on my chair. “How do you know all this?”

“You know in Harry Potter that Rita
Skeeter gal? The one who turns into a bug?”

Lexy and I nod our heads.

“I’m like her, just less buggish.” Saph shrugs. “I have eyes everywhere, and I’ve been keeping an extra one on her.” She grins slyly. “One of them happened to be male and in her flat when she got the call from her Daddy.”