The Complete Memories Series (52 page)

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.”

“Ew,” Lexy mutters. “I
’m no prude, but ew.”

“I
’m with you on that.” I point to her. “So that’s it? She’s just leaving?”

“Tomorrow,”
Saph clarifies. She sinks the rest of her wine and eyes us, settling on me. “So I’d finish your drinks and get your asses to Sam. She ain’t done with your guy, Jen.”

~

“Why are we doing this outside instead of in the basement?” I groan, chills starting on my bare arms.

“You
’d be a shit surfer,” Alec mutters, not for the first time.

“Yeah, I
’m more of a sun guy. I’m a city guy, remember?”

“A city guy who regularly gets his ass handed to him by a small town girl.” He grins.

“Fuck off.” I laugh, standing up and wiping my face. The back doors open and I look up.

Jen comes flying through the door, runs across the garden, and launches herself at me. I stagger slightly, holding her ass in my hands as she jumps up, wrapping her legs around my waist. She grabs the back of my head and presses her lips against mine.

It’s a desperate kiss, one I’ve felt before. It’s the same kiss she’s given me each time since last weekend – but this one is tinged with determination.

Her tongue slides against mine, her fingers tightening in my hair, and I dig my fingers into her skin. Her legs grip me tighter, her body pushes against mine, and I almost forget we have an audience.

“Well, that’s the best hello I’ve had in a long fucking time,” I mutter, staring at her still closed eyes. They snap open, and I’m suddenly swimming in the blue of them.

“She can kiss my ass. She might be leaving, but she
’s not fucking having you. I don’t care. The day she gets you is the day she climbs over my dead body to get to you. You’re
my
guy, and I don’t give up anything that’s mine.” Her eyes are full of steely resolve, as hard as ice. But… Heidi’s leaving?

“Heidi
’s leaving?” I repeat out loud.

“That
’s what Saph said,” Lexy says from behind Jen. “And she thinks she’s not done with you, thinks she’ll show up here or something in a last ditch attempt to get to you go back to Kent with her. It brought out Jen’s tiger.”

“I happen to like that tiger,” I mutter, feeling her thigh muscles clench. I lower us carefully to the ground, letting her sit in my lap, and wrap my arms around her back. I hold her tight to me, proving to her that the feeling is mutual. “I
’m not going anywhere, babe. You know that. Me and you, remember?”

“I know,” she says in a quieter voice. “But she
’s kept up this game because I’ve let her. I should have grabbed her bleach blonde extensions and flipped her over my shoulder onto her surgically enhanced chest the first time she tried it.” Her eyes flick away and back to me. “I’m not even letting her try, Sam. I don’t care anymore. I’m looking at everything I care about.”

I touch my lips to hers. “I love you,” I whisper. “And your tiger.”

She smiles against my mouth. “I love you, too, and so does my tiger.”

I smile, running my hands down her back.

“They make me feel slightly sick,” Lexy says deliberately loudly.

“Then I hope you never have to see you and Alec. I
’ve ruined perfectly good toilet bowls over you two in the past.” Jen laughs, spinning so she’s sitting next to me.

Lexy pokes her tongue out and Jen does the same. I watch as Jen flicks her tongue across her bottom lip. I glance up and she
’s looking at me from the side of her eye. Her lips creep up on one side.

“Stop teasing him, Jen. It
’s not nice.” Lexy grins, glances at Alec, and bites her lip. His eyes double-take before the smile drops from his mouth. She slowly releases her lip, and Alec shakes his head. I look at him sympathetically. He shrugs.

“Fuckin
’ girls,” he complains, dropping back to the grass himself.

“Do you think Heidi will come here?” I direct the question to Lexy.

She shrugs one shoulder. “I don’t know. Saph thought she might. I don’t know what she’d come here for, though. She hasn’t spoken to you in a week.”

“Does she know that her little plan didn
’t work?”

“No idea. Saph didn
’t mention it, and neither of us thought to ask. Funnily enough, we were preoccupied with the news of her leaving.”

“Why is she leaving?” Alec asks.

“She lost her job, thought she could live off Daddy, and he refused. She has to move back in with him and her mum,” Jen explains.

“And Saph knows this how?”

“One of Saph’s guy friends was pretending to seduce her and he was at Heidi’s when she spoke to her Dad.” Lexy pauses. “She’s kind of… influential.”

“She paid this guy?” Alec
’s eyebrows raise.

I shake my head. “Saph wouldn
’t have paid anyone. She’s… Shit. Well, she’s a bit of a tease. She’ll promise him something and not deliver, but she always gets what she wants. If you’re male, you’re capable of being wrapped around her little finger.”

“The only person resistant to her charms is sitting right in front of us,” Lexy says dryly.

I smirk, resting my head against Jen’s. “I’m only into blondes.”

“You
’re only into one blonde,” she says.

“I
’m only into one blonde,” I correct myself. I feel her nod her head.

“Sam?” Mum shouts from the back door.

“Mm?” I look up.

“Heidi
’s at the door asking for you.”

Jen scrambles up and storms across the garden, followed by Lexy, before me and Alec even think about moving. We stare at each other for a second.

“Shit,” Alec mutters.

“Fuck shit asshole is more like it,” I respond, jogging across the garden and into the house. We pass through the kitchen and into the hallway.

“No.” Jen shakes her head. “I don’t care if you’re here to see Sam, you can go and fuck yourself with a teaspoon for all I care. You’re not welcome anywhere on this property.”

“It
’s not your house,” Heidi argues.

“No, but its mine,” Lexy interjects. “You have five seconds to explain why you
’re standing on my doorstep before I let Jen remove you.”

Judging by her clenched fists, Jen would love to remove Heidi.

From more than this house.

“I want to see Bing.”

“Sam,” I correct her, leaning against the railing. “My name is Sam. Don’t forget that, Heidi.”

“Noble. You dropped your nickname.” Her voice is sweet despite the sneer on her face. “I was just bringing you a few things from our time-”

“Really? You have used condoms?” Jen puts a hand on her hip. “There’s a bin at the end of the drive. In fact, while you’re dropping them in there, just climb in yourself. That’s where trash belongs, after all.”

Heidi sighs raggedly. “Perhaps you should see them, Jen. There
’s a few dated pictures here.”

“Go on then, I
’ll humour you,” Jen says dryly.

Heidi delves inside her bag and pulls out a few pictures, handing them to Jen. Jen snatches them and flicks through them. She reorganises them neatly, puts her hands at the top, and tears straight through the stack. Lexy and Heidi watch with their mouths open, and me and Alec both have to hold in our laughter. Lexy
’s mouth closes and twitches into a grin.

“I guess that
’s what Jen thinks of that,” Lexy states.

Jen rips through the pictures again. “Unless I
’m mistaken, five seconds was up a while ago.” She slaps Heidi in the chest with the ripped images. “Nice try. Don’t try art on an art student, sweetheart, because any art student worth their shit can see those dates have been photoshopped on. Your bitch really does know no limits. Like I said, nice try. Your last ditch attempt at getting him back failed, just like every attempt before now.”

Heidi
’s face contorts in anger, her mouth twisting to the side and her eyes narrowing.

“Let me give you some advice.” Jen steps in front of Lexy, her back to us, and I guess she
’s looking Heidi right in the eye. “It’s only two words, and simple enough for an airhead like yourself to understand.”

“I bet I know what those words are,” Alec whispers, nudging my arm.
I smirk, nodding.

“Ready for my expert advice?” Jen asks. “Fuck. Off.”

“Before she makes you,” Lexy mutters. “I’m not gonna stop her.”

“Neither am I,” I mumble to Alec. He shakes his head.

“Or me, mate.”

“Do I need to repeat that?” Jen
’s voice rises a little.

Heidi steps to the side of her, her eyes meeting mine. “Bi – Sam?”

“You heard what my girl said, Heidi.” I hold her gaze. “It was a nice try, but you failed. I’m not going anywhere with you. Ever.”

She shoves her hand in her pocket and makes to move. Jen
’s arm shoots out, her hand clamping around Heidi’s arm.

“Don
’t even think about it,” she hisses. “Or I’ll key your damn face.”

“Be doing her a favour,” Alec says. Lexy shoots him a look over her shoulder, amusement in her eyes. “I
’m just sayin’, Princess. That’s all.”

“You
’d be right,” I whisper under my breath, my eyes focused on the door. Mum taps my shoulder.

“Do I need to get her removed?” she asks quietly.

I shake my head. “I think Jen will do that for us.”

Jen releases Heidi
’s arm, and she turns, storming down the driveway to her car. She gets in, slamming the door behind her. I push off from the banister and stand behind Jen, slipping an arm around her front.

“Okay, babe?” I kiss the side of her head.

“No. I’m actually kinda pissed. I was hoping I could bitch slap her.” She turns in my arm, looking up at me innocently.

I let my lips move into a smile, pulling my other hand up to cup her cheek. I search her beautiful blue eyes. “We
’ll have to work some frustration out later,” I whisper to her. “Because I’m kinda turned on right now.”

She smiles, her eyes twinkling. “My tiger turns you on, huh?”

“Mhmm,” I purr. She grabs the collar of my shirt and pulls my face to hers, kissing me hard. I slide my hand around the side of her head, sinking my fingers into her hair, and hold her face against me. She rests her head against my chest, and I rest my chin on the top of her head.

Mum
’s soft brown eyes meet mine, and her face slowly breaks into a smile. She raises an eyebrow, and I know what she’s asking. I raise both my eyebrows in response, giving her a helpless look.

She nods once softly, winking, and she looks exactly like Gram as she does it. I swallow and smile at her before she disappears up the stairs.

I drop my head and hold Jen even tighter to me.

She said to stop proving to her that it
’s her. Right here, right now, with her in my arms, I vow to never stop proving to her. I’ll spend the rest of my life proving to her how beautiful she is, how much I want her, how much I love her.

I will never stop proving it to her.