Planning on Forever (17 page)

Life
without Nolan isn’t something I can even imagine. My life is so much better
with him in it.

We
pull in front of what looks like a mansion. I never even knew this house
existed.

“Whose
house is this, Nicole?”

“His
name is Bryce. His dad owns the marina.”

“I
think I'm gonna have to meet this Bryce kid,” Amanda says, winking.

“You
guys would probably make a good couple, he is just as crazy as you are,” Nicole
says laughing.

Walking
up the driveway, I can’t believe the crowd. There is a bunch of people outside
playing beer pong on the lawn, and even more hanging out on the front porch.
Once we walk through the front door, the crowd of people grows even thicker. I
don’t even think their school is this big? We bump into a few of Nicole’s
friends on our way to the make shift bar. She introduces us, but keeps walking.
The center island in the kitchen, that is acting as a bar, has a large punch
bowl of some kind of red drink and then there are a row of coolers lined up in
front of it filled with beer. I’ve heard stories about drinking the punch; how
someone usually spikes it with some kind of drug to get girls loose and
willing.

Bottom
line–don’t drink the punch.

“Don’t
worry, Bryce always has wine coolers in the fridge,” Nicole says, knowing the
cardinal rule for the punch, and that I don’t like beer. “I’ll get you a
couple.”

Once
we are satisfied with our drink choices, we head out the back door and onto a
deck, where we find a group of people playing a card game. Nicole seems to know
most of them, and they ask us if we want to play. Nicole introduces Amanda and
I to everyone, as we sit in the vacant chairs.

“Do
you know how to play Asshole?” Nicole whispers in my ear.

“Um,
no.” I actually have never heard of it.

“We
can explain it to you,” a friendly girl sitting next me to says. “It’s super
easy to learn, but be careful. You can get super drunk, super fast.”

Surprisingly
the game
is
really easy to learn, the girl wasn’t kidding; you
can
get
very drunk, very fast. At some point, I’ve switched from wine coolers to beer,
and I’m noticing that my words aren’t coming out exactly how I’d like them to.

I
think it’s safe to say that I’m drunk.

“Okay,
I’ve had enough of this. I wanna dance!” Amanda announces, standing up from her
chair.

“You
just wanna find Bryce,” Nicole points out.

“Hell
yeah, I do! But I also wanna dance.”

Standing
up, there is no questioning my drunken state. I have to hold on to the chair
for a second before moving because my head is definitely spinning a little, and
my legs feel like jello.

Apparently
I’m a funny drunk because Nicole and Amanda are laughing at my attempts to
gather myself.

“You
okay, light weight?” Nicole jokes, holding my arm for extra support.

“Oh,
shut it. I’m not
that
drunk. I just got a little light headed is all.”

“Keep
tellin’ yourself that,” she says, escorting me in the house.

By
the time we get inside where the music is blaring, and the people are dancing,
I’ve regained full control over my body.

“Ugh,
there’s too many people here to dance. This is annoying,” Amanda pouts. There
really
isn’t
any room to dance; it’s more like bumping into each other,
rather than dancing.

“So
let’s go downtown!” I say, a light bulb going off in my head. We can go to
Nolan's sister’s club. Amanda can get her fix of dancing, and I can see Nolan.
Win, win situation.

“I'm
down if you are,” Nicole says, facing Amanda.

“Let's
go, chicas!” Amanda shouts, jumping up and down.

Since
Nicole seems the most sober, she calls for a taxi. By the time we make it
through the mob of people and out the front door, it is already waiting
outside. Once we hand him the directions, we head downtown
.

– COLLIN –

Summer
and I have made it our regular thing to hanging out during the day. We do a lot
of fishing, and yesterday, we actually took my dad’s boat out on the lake with
the guys. We also finally found something that Summer can’t do. Water ski.
Although I find it adorable how frustrated she gets, not being able to get up
on the skis, we decide to switch to tubing so she can have a little more fun.

I
can’t explain how amazing it is to be able to enjoy hanging out with a
beautiful girl and the guys at the same time. Summer fits perfectly into our
trio.

So
far, my relationship with Summer has been more of a flirtatious friendship. We
have yet to even kiss. Well, I’ve kissed her cheek and forehead, but nothing as
serious as the lips. It’s just nice to have someone to be able to really talk
to.

And
have I mentioned she’s hot, too?

But
in all seriousness, she has become a close friend of mine. We’ve discuss the
whole Alexa situation. Instead of being judgmental about it, she actually
understands how hard it can be to get over your first love.

We
discuss her family; I find out that her mother died when she was young, and her
dad was diagnosed with cancer last year. He’s in an inpatient facility
undergoing treatment. There is no denying how much she cares for her father.
Before he was admitted into the treatment center, she was his primary
caregiver. However, it was becoming a bit overwhelming with her work and school
schedule so her father insisted that he be admitted to give her some relief.
Although she didn’t agree with the decision at the time, she fulfilled her
father’s wishes by doing so. She visits him daily. She asks me if I’ll go with
her tomorrow to meet him and I agree with no hesitation. I’d love to shake the
hand of the man that raised this unbelievable girl.

Tonight,
the guys and I plan to hang out at the bar. Being that it’s a Saturday, Summer
has to work, and I’m sure it will be busy. Although I don’t technically work at
the bar, I’ve made it a regular thing of coming in the nights that Summer works
and help with bussing and cleaning tables. I get to spend some extra time with
Summer, and by helping her keep the bar clean, she gets out earlier at night.

Upon
our arrival, we notice that not only is there no one working the door, but
there are no bouncers to be seen. From the looks of it, Summer is the only
person working. Once I make my way to the bar, I can see that Summer is
overwhelmed with stress; she looks like she’s going to burst out in tears at
any second. She practically sprints to the end of the bar when she spots me.

“Babe,
what's wrong? Where is everyone?” I ask, reaching for her hand.

“Oh
my god, Collin. It’s already been the night from hell! Troy called in cause
he's really sick and my other bouncer just cut his finger opening something,
and is probably going to need stitches, so he left for urgent care. So, I’m by
myself, and it’s busy as all hell! I’m freaking out!” She answers so fast that
I can barely keep up.

“Okay,
just take a deep breath. Matt can work the door, and Travis and I can help you
in here. You just take care of the bar. It’s not a big deal,” I assure her.

“Really?
You’re the best! You just made my night. I could kiss you right now, I’m so
happy!”

“Well,
I wouldn’t complain if you did.” There’s no way I could let that one go. She
left the door wide open with that one.

“Ha!
Let’s see how your first night as a bouncer goes, and then I’ll consider my
offer,” she says, tossing me three shirts with the word “Security” written
across the front.

After
giving Summer a wink, I walk away to find the guys and inform them of our
change of plans. Being the great guys they are, and not to mention how much
they love Summer, they were completely fine with helping her out tonight.

Matt
takes a stool out to the front and mans the doors as Travis and I walk around
the inside making sure all is well. Travis seems to like using his authority to
his advantage with the girls, and after a little while, it appears I’m doing
more patrolling and Travis is doing more mingling. I check in on Summer, just
to make sure that she doesn’t need any help behind the bar. After responding
with “Great” every time, she pecks my cheek in appreciation. With that said,
I’ve been making my check-ins a little more frequent. How can I resist her
perfect, little lips on my cheek each time? I can’t, is the answer.

There’s
no denying that I’m beginning to see Summer as more than a friend. She makes my
heart beat a little quicker whenever I’m around her, and I notice that Alexa
barely crosses my mind anymore. Am I finally over Alexa, and falling for
Summer? I don’t know, but I’m sure as hell having a good time finding out.

– ALEXA –

Pulling
up to the club, we notice the parking lot is packed with cars, and the line to
get in wraps around the building. Luckily, one of Nolan’s cousin’s husbands,
that I met at game night, is the bouncer. I hope he recognizes me so we can
skip the line.

We
have the taxi driver drop us off at the back of the building, to avoid having
to drive through the swarm of people. After paying, we make our way up to the
club. However, when we get close, I stop dead in my tracks.

I
blink to make sure what I am seeing is really happening.

Nolan
is walking out the back door of his apartment with his arm wrapped around a
woman's neck, her arms wrapped snug around his waist. My jaws drops seeing them
laughing together. I can hear him tell her, “I’m so happy you came to see me.
It’s so nice to see you.” Then he kisses her temple and opens his passenger
door for her.

My
eyes filling with tears, I instantly fall to the ground; I feel dead inside.
How could he do this to me? I thought we had something special? No, we haven’t
discussed us being exclusive, but hello, I think it’s pretty obvious.

Well,
so I thought.

“Oh
shit, honey. I’m so sorry. Let’s get outta here,” Nicole says, helping me up
off the ground.

“Whatta
prick! You’re better off without that asshole, Lex. I agree, let’s go,” Amanda
adds, taking my arm.

I
can’t believe this is happening to me, again. What am I doing wrong? Why do
guys keep cheating on me? Not wanting to go home yet, and definitely not
wanting to go inside the club and see his sister, we decide to walk down the
street to find a new place.