Page 63 of Forever Always

Henry grunted in acknowledgement. “You got any questions, ask. Everything’s all locked up, but you can pick what you want and I’ll get it out for you. The place doesn’t open for another hour, so you have the full run of it. There’s one guy who’s working out on the fighting side. We have an arrangement, but he won’t bother you.”

We both thanked him again, and I led Ri into the main area.

“What is this place?” Ri’s voice was filled with wonder as he took it in with wide eyes. I grinned. This was the right choice.

“It’s an all-purpose training arena that’s open to the public. There’s a boxing and MMA gym, a ropes and obstacle course, a knife throwing area, and a gun range, both indoor and outdoor. I think a few more things too. Henry’s been addin’ to it every few years. I can’t keep up.”

Ri was checking out the rock-climbing wall. “You’ve been here before?”

“Nah. Just been hearin’ him brag about it for years now.”

“And we can just do what we want?”

“Yeah. We’ll have to come back when I can move better, but I’m sure we can figure out something for today.”

“I-I don’t know where to start. This is fuckin’ awesome, Becks! Thanks for takin’ me.”

I wrapped my arms around him. “I’m glad I thought of it. Let’s eat first, yeah? And then we can do what we want.”

Ri’s stomach grumbled on cue. He nodded eagerly. “Yeah, let’s do that. I’m fuckin’ hungry.”

Henry had told me we could use the employee break room, so we wandered around till we found it. There was a long folding table set up in the middle of the room with a bunch of chairs around it. Good enough.

I dropped my backpack onto the table and started to pull out the sandwiches, drinks, and snacks, to set it up like a little picnic.

Ri’s eyes were huge as he watched me. “When did you even do all this?”

I rolled my eyes and lowered myself into the chair. I was already getting a little sore, which sucked. I had a feeling I’d be mostly watching today. Next time, though, I’d come with my A game and give Ri a run for his money on every course.

“It’s a couple sandwiches. Nothin’ special.”

Riley threw a chip from the bag he’d just opened at my face. “Fuck off. It’s more than a couple sandwiches. Even with all the fuckin’ drama goin’ on, you still took the time and effort to do somethin’ special for me. You called in favors, switched your work shifts around, made fuckin’ lunch. That is special, Becks. I know none of that comes easy to you, yet you did it for me. It means everything.”

I swallowed and looked away, busying myself with my food. The emotions were all just too close to the surface right now, and I didn’t want to get carried away. A chair scraped and then Ri was standing in between my legs and hugged my neck.

I returned the hug. My nails dug into his hips, but he didn’t care. “I don’t do the emotional shit, yet this week it seems like it’s all I’m doin’.”

He kissed my jaw. “It’s ‘cause you finally feel safe enough to let go.”

I rubbed my cheek against his, and just enjoyed having him close. But eventually, Ri’s stomach growled, which reminded me he hadn’t eaten. I turned him around and got him settled on my lap before reaching across the table and grabbed his sandwich.

“Your injuries—”

“Are fine. Eat, butterfly.”

“Eat, butterfly,” he mocked teasingly. “And you call me bossy.”

I ignored him and just picked up his sandwich and held it up to his lips. Ri sighed heavily but took a bite, making me preen inside. I loved knowing I was takin’ care of him, even if I knew he could do it himself.

“Here.” Ri had opened up another sandwich and held it to me. I rolled my eyes but ate it, both of us feeding each other like idiots, but we also couldn’t stop. It felt good to just be goofy and loving without having to worry about anything.

After lunch, we headed out to the main area. Like I thought, there wasn’t much I could do today, but I didn’t care. Seeing Riley having the time of his life was enough for me. He tried almost every course, from the ropes to the rock wall, and he even threw knives. He really liked that one. I just sat back and watched, amazed by the beautiful man that fuckin’ rocked my world.

How did I not realize what we could have? It was hard to believe I was so blind to the fact that we could be everything to each other. Nothing made more sense than us.

I noticed the other guy Henry said would be there watching us a couple times. The first was when Riley was throwing knives at targets. The guy stood far enough back that I couldn’t get a good look at him, but there was no question he was looking at us. When Ri would look his way, he’d disappear. I wanted to mention it, but I didn’t wanna freak Ri out, so I let it go.

An hour later, I’d completely forgotten about the guy, so wrapped up in Ri’s excitement.

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