Forever Red (11 page)

And Neil wasn’t anything like my dad. Neil loved his family more than anything. He would never do something as dishonorable as deserting his daughter and fiancée when they needed him the most. It pissed me off that she thought she could see similarities between the two of us and the two of them.

“We are really that different.” I nodded in anger. “Neil isn’t my escape, Mom; he’s my support. He isn’t going to knock me up and then abandon me here while he goes off to make his own dreams come true. I’m not going to make the same mistakes you did! What I can’t figure out is if that pisses you off or just makes you jealous.”

“Cecelia!” she gasped, her face turning red.

I stood, carrying my mug into the kitchen. “It’s true! I could have sex with dozens of random men and you don’t give two shits. Instead, you leave me home all the time while you’re off doing your own thing and recapturing your lost youth!” I sneered the last few words at her. “I get a boyfriend, a truly amazing and supportive boyfriend, and you decide you need to be a mom?”

She stood and faced me, hands on her hips. “Apparently, I need to be home more.”

“Whatever.” I couldn’t understand what her problem was, but I really didn’t care. Neil would be here soon to get me for our Sunday study session. I started toward my bedroom, annoyed with her.

“Lucky me, you’re going to be home more, too.”

I stopped and turned. “What in the hell does that mean?” I spat at her.

“It means, for the first time in your life, you’re grounded.”

I gaped at her. “What?” I didn’t even know what that meant.

“Two weeks, young lady. And the next time you decide to talk to me that way, your ass will be here for a month.” She tipped her head toward my room. “Go call him and cancel your plans. Then you can stay in that room until you can talk to me in a normal tone.”

I stomped away, angry and filled with disbelief. I’d never done anything horrible enough for her to consider grounding me before. I’d been unnecessarily disrespectful, and I owed her an apology for that, but it didn’t seem like our argument was bad enough to deserve punishment. Whatever.

I slammed my door, grabbing the phone. I needed Neil. And I needed him right now.

He picked up on the second ring. “Hey, little girl. I was hoping you’d call soon.”

“I’m grounded.”

He’d started to say something, but then my words must have registered and he stumbled over his words. “Come again?”

“My mom and I had a stupid argument and she just grounded me for two weeks.”

“Holy…” He didn’t have to finish he sentence, I knew he was just as surprised as me. “Wow.” He was quiet for a few seconds. “How long?”

“Two freaking weeks!”

He started to laugh.

I was so angry I was on the verge of tears and he was laughing? “How is this funny?” I demanded.

That just made him laugh harder. “Sorry, Red.” He cleared his throat. “It would figure though, wouldn’t it? The season is finally over, and we have time to spend together, and
your
mom grounds
you
.”

“This sucks!”

“It’s only two weeks, babe. It’ll go so fast you won’t even know it.”

God, I hoped he was right.

The next two weeks didn’t fly by. Instead, the days seemed to drag by, even with the weeks’ festivities and Nikki being with us. At times, it felt like some unforeseeable force had made time almost stop.

It was nice to have my entire family together under one roof. Gramps had always made every holiday special, but birthdays were what he had loved most of all. He always said that everyone got to eat Thanksgiving dinner, but only our family got to celebrate my birth. My parents weren’t ready to let that tradition go and made sure I welcomed seventeen with a day filled of laughter and memories.

On Thursday, Nik and I watched the parade with Noah and Natalie before spending the afternoon working together to make a traditional meal. My mother’s family joined us because they’d never been able to make the trip to Alabama. But even with a house full of people, I missed Red.

We only had school the first two days of the week, so I had five full days without her. It was hell. Unlike my parents, her mom let her have one phone call each day, and most of the time, Ms. Merrill didn’t give Lia a time limit. Every night, without fail, I got to hear her voice at least. But it wasn’t good enough.

Nikki distracted me as much as she could. For hours, we would sit in my room, talking about everything and playing around with Gramps’ guitars and tweaking the lyrics I’d been writing. She was as meticulous as my grandfather had been, and it took a lot to impress her, but she seemed happy with our progress.

The ride to the airport went much quicker than any of us wanted it to, and before I knew it, we were waving goodbye as she walked onto the plane. I was torn, half-jealous because she got to go home, half filled with dread because I knew that I would be on my way before I knew it. And I still hadn’t told Red that we were moving back.

The second week lasted even longer without Nik to help me fill my spare time. Carson came over every afternoon, but most of the time was spent it in silence, playing video games. I lived for the few hours Lia and I got to be together at school and that nine-thirty phone call so I could hear her laugh.

It took some convincing, and a lot of support from Nikki, but my parents finally relented and gave me permission to go to the Patriots game without them. It was a big deal because, not only was the stadium a four-hour drive, it was on a Monday night. After my parents said I could go, spend the night so I wasn’t driving home exhausted, and miss two days of school, Carson’s parents relented and said he could join me.

Lia’s mom wasn’t so easily swayed. Maybe because Red had never cared about football before or maybe because she was asking to go away with two teenage boys, but for the entire two weeks of her being grounded, we didn’t get an answer one way or the other. Finally, on her very last day, she called me to say she could go.

The game didn’t start until that evening, but we skipped school anyway. I picked Mike up at his house at nine and then we grabbed Red. We checked into the hotel my mom had booked us and headed to the stadium a little early to tailgate with the rest of the fans.

The seats were in the nosebleed section – at the very tiptop of the stadium – and every time the wind blew, it sent an ice-cold wind through our section, but being there was all that mattered. We huddled together to stay warm, knowing how lucky we were to have an up close view of a game that others only got to experience from their couch.

The excited energy of the fans around us was contagious, and we spent the entire first half screaming and shouting, rooting for the home team. The Pats were ahead at half time, and everyone around us was in a great mood, laughing and singing along to the music. Lia leaned further into me, kissing my neck.

“Having fun?”

“Fun? This is fucking amazing!” I hugged her tighter. “Are you?”

She nodded, pulling back to look at my face. “I realized something a few minutes ago.”

“That you are the best girlfriend in the world?”

“I knew that already.” She smirked and shoved at my shoulder. “No. I’m gonna see you play here one day.”

Surprised, I met her eyes. I’d never thought about playing pro ball. Hell, I’d barely thought about trying out for college ball. I was good, but I wasn’t that good. “You think so, huh?”

“I know so. I’ll be able to tell my husband and kids that I knew you back when. We’ll cheer for you, even if you don’t play for New England.”

The way she said it, as if the future was already written and that she’d be married to someone else one day, made my guts twist. I didn’t want to think of her looking at anyone else with interest, let alone belonging to someone else or having children with someone else. I didn’t know much, but I sure as shit knew she was mine. I didn’t share, not even with imaginary future husbands. I’d murder any guy that tried to take her with my bare hands.

“Nope.”

She nodded, not understanding. “You’re better than half these players already. Add a few years and you’ll be unstoppable.”

I shook my head. “If I’m here, playing this field, you’ll be sitting up there.” I pointed across the stadium at one of the private boxes. “With the other wives.”

We’d never talked about marriage, other than the one time she’d told me she hated the idea of it. Some new-age bullshit about how humans weren’t monogamous beings and that the very idea of staying loyal to one person for the rest of your life was archaic. I had disagreed wholeheartedly, but let it go because I didn’t want to argue. She’d brought it up this time, though.

Arching an eyebrow, she looked over the field. “Is that so?”

“It is.” I leaned in close. “Your sexy ass is going to be cheering my every play, and I’ll be down there”—I tipped my chin toward the field—“knowing that it doesn’t matter if we win the game or not ‘cause I’ll get to take you home and celebrate either way.”

She giggled, turning back toward me as she rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that is so not what I see at all!”

I leaned in close, making sure she could hear me over the crowd. “If anyone is going to tame you and put a ring on that finger of yours, Red, it’s gonna be me.”

Her mouth fell open slightly as if she didn’t know what to say. Then her eyes flashed and narrowed in a way that told me I was about to hear an earful, so I grabbed her and kissed her hard.

Mike laughed behind me and yelled, “Get a room, you two. Jeez!” But the stadium was so loud I wasn’t sure Lia heard him.

After a few minutes, I pulled away, instantly cold at the loss of contact and wanting nothing more than to abandon my friend and drag my girl back to the hotel. “I love you.” The words slipped out, no thought attached to them, but I meant them just the same.

Her eyes grew wide for a minute as they searched mine, as if trying to decide if I was actually sincere, and she looked so innocent and young that all I wanted to do was protect her for the rest of my life. Screams erupted all around us as half time ended and the teams ran back onto the field, but my heart was beating so loudly I was sure she could hear it over everything else. Lia held my gaze for an eternity before she spoke. “I love you, too, Neil.”

The game was phenomenal. The Kansas City Chiefs fought hard to come back in the second half, pulling out two touchdowns and almost stealing the win. In the end, the Patriots pulled it off and the stadium erupted in chaos.

I’d lost all interest. Not that I wasn’t happy to be there, or excited for the big win – because I was. But I was in love with the craziest, most unpredictable, and sexiest girl I’d ever met. The fucking insane part was that she loved me back. The world could stop spinning and fall from the sky right now and I wouldn’t give two shits because I’d die holding her in my arms, knowing I had everything I ever wanted.

Christ, I’d turned into a fucking sappy, emotional pussy. She’d done that to me. Next, I’d be crying over Lifetime movies with Nikki and shaving off my chest hairs. The thought made me wonder if Lia would prefer me to shave my chest, ‘cause I totally would shave it if she liked me better smooth. I shook my head at my train of thought. Ugh. Pussy-whipped asshole.

It took almost three hours to get out of the stadium and back to the hotel. I was glad that we’d checked in before because the dude working the graveyard shift didn’t look like he’d accept my fake I.D. and I was too exhausted to deal with any bullshit. But he only looked up curiously, probably more intrigued by the idea of two guys and a girl laughing their way through the corridor than anything.

I didn’t like the way his eyes lingered a little too long on Lia, and I glared over at him. He didn’t notice me, though; he was too interested in the fact that one of her hands was linked with mine while the other was in the crook of Carson’s elbow. The two of them didn’t notice our admirer, too busy chanting, “We’re off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz!” and skipping to the elevator.

“I hate that movie!” Lia groaned, falling onto the bed closest to the door and flopping onto her back. “Flying monkeys are the things nightmares are made of.”

“Please,” Mike chuckled, sitting down next to her and leaning back, way to close for my comfort, “they can’t even begin to compare to
It
.”

Lia’s entire body shook. “I hate you and your love of Stephen King. You know that, right?” She turned toward him, prodding him in the ribs. “I’ll never be able to go to a circus again!”

He grabbed her finger, pulling it to his chest so she couldn’t poke him again and laughed. “Dude, I had no idea it was going to be a killer clown! I overheard people talking about it. But you knew that
Leprechaun
was nothing like
Darby O’Gill and the Little People
, yet you told me it was and made me watch it anyway!”

Lia was suddenly all giggles and tried to roll away from him, but Mike wouldn’t let her go. Watching them, I felt like the outsider. When he turned onto his side, hands raised as if he was going to tickle her, I cleared my throat. Loudly.

Lia’s head snapped up, eyes meeting mine, and the laughter died on her lips. Yanking her hand away from our friend, she pushed herself off the bed and grabbed her bag before heading toward the bathroom. “I’m just going to take a quick shower before bed.” She pointed at the door and twisted her lips as if she was waiting for something. “Don’t fight about who gets to share my bed.” Then she gave me a killer smile and slid through the door.

I kicked off my boots and sat on the second bed. Mike had moved up and was lying with one arm propped behind his head, staring at me. He tapped his fingers on his stomach twice as the sound of the shower starting filled the room, and then shook his head. “Don’t be a dick, man.”

“What?” I asked, voice tense, not sure what had crawled up his ass.

“Dude.” He shook he head again, sitting up. “You haven’t been alone with your girlfriend in weeks. She’s in there”—he pointed at the bathroom—“naked, in the shower. What the fuck are you doing out here?”

I didn’t have an answer because I hadn’t thought about it. I glared at the door, half tempted to break it down.

“She never locks the door when she’s in the shower,” Mike stated, answering my thoughts in a shrug. “She leaves it open in case someone has to pee.”

I was across the room and trying the handle before he’d even finished the sentence. It was open. Mike’s laughter barely registered as I pushed open the door and stepped into the steam-filled space. Lia was humming “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” off key, oblivious to the fact that she wasn’t alone.

I stripped in record time, praying she wouldn’t finish washing before I could join her. I didn’t want to scare her, so I spoke her name softly as I moved the curtain and stepped into the warm spray. She was facing away from me but didn’t flinch as I slipped my arms around her middle and pulled her into me.

She gasped, either from the contrast of my cold arms on her warm body or because she could feel my need for her pressing hard into her back. Lifting her arms over us, she slid her hands into my hair and pulled my head down as she backed into me further. Looking down over her shoulder, I had my first full view of her body in the light; my fingers ached to touch every inch of her.

“What if I’d been masturbating?”

I smiled into her neck. “Then I would have helped.” My hands left the soft flesh of her stomach, one moving up to her breasts, the other moving down, fingers tangling in wet curls. She groaned and ground her ass against me as I rolled a nipple between my fingers.

I had never needed anything more than I needed to be in her at that moment.

I moved my hands back to her hips and twisted her around to face me. Her feet slipped and she grabbed at my shoulders to steady herself. I grabbed one of her thighs, attempting to pull it up onto my hip. I’d never been in the shower with a woman before, but I’d seen this same thing played out in plenty of porn scenes. However, unlike the women I’d seen on screen, Lia lost her balance and started to tumble backward.

She started to laugh, one of her obnoxious, giggle-until-you-cry laughs. I kissed her, trying to keep her from ruining the mood, and instantly her hands were in my hair, pulling me further in to her. Lia was short – a good foot shorter than me – and our height difference was just too much to make anything work this way. I grabbed her other thigh and lifted her, pushing her back against the wall, fitting her center against mine.