Page 35 of From Us, Forever

Shaking out of it, I pushed him away, firmly this time, and he slumped away, groaning.

“Wait here,” I said, not waiting for his answer as I hurried out to the hallway and rummaged through the bags till I found what I needed.

“Here.” I smiled shyly as I handed him a square black box with a white bow on top.

“What is it?” he asked, his wide eyes meeting mine.

“A present.” I raised to the balls of my feet and planted a quick kiss on his adorable cheek. “For you and I didn’t use your fancy card to buy that.”

A visible swallow worked through his throat as he gently opened it. “Guitar strap?” He pulled out the matte black leather strap from the box, which had faint flames engraved along its length. I thought it would go well with his precious Firebird.

“It isn’t much, but it reminded me of you,” I said, feeling dumb all of a sudden. “It’s hard to buy you a present when you literally have everything.”

His soft eyes met mine. “I love it.” His hand clamped around my wrist and pulled me to him. “I love you.”

I sighed as I hugged him tight.

“This is what I want, Evelyn—you, every day for the rest of my life.”

“Hmm,” I agreed, sighing deeper into his chest.

“Promise me you won’t leave.”

I frowned, tipping my chin upon his chest to meet his gaze. “I’m not going to, but where is this coming from, Jay?”

“I keep thinking it’s going to happen again.” His forehead met mine. “You’re going to leave me again. Only this time, I won’t be able to survive it, Evelyn.”

“And you think I did? The last time? I can’t live without you, Jay.”

“Still, I think one day you’re going to see all the shit I’ve brought into your life wasn’t going to be worth it after all.”

I shook my head, smiling softly. “All the shit in my life wasn’t because of you. Remember Auntie M, my mother? That wasn’t because of you. Even if it all was, it was worth it.You are worth it. The way you love me is how I want to be loved for the rest of my life, Jay. And if you still want to leave, I’m going to go spider monkey on you, so you better watch out, mister.”

“Spider monkey?” Confusion marred his eyes.

“Yeah,” I replied in glee and jumped on him, taking him by surprise, but he immediately got ahold of his equilibrium and held me tight as I wrapped my arms and legs around him.

“If this is spider monkey, I’m not complaining.” He grinned, his hands swept over my ass, tugging me closer to him.

“Are you sure?” I squinted my eyes. “Because once a spider monkey latches, she isn’t letting go.” My voice was laden with playfulness.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Then this spider monkey demands to be pampered with a bath and lots and lots of sex,” I spilled through laughter, knowing how ridiculous I sounded.

But he went with it. “One bath and several rounds of sex for spider monkey coming up right away.” With that, he sprinted us upstairs, and I couldn’t contain the giggles that forced all the air out of my lungs.

CHAPTER 8

“I don’t have a hobby,” I said, flicking through the phone, bored out of my mind. Loran’s House was on spring break, so for the next six weeks, I didn’t have work. I was still getting paid—barely, but money wasn’t really a concern because Jay wouldn’t let me spend a dime.

“Yes, you don’t,” he mumbled, intensely writing something in his notebook as he slid his guitar aside. “But you usually write.”

Jay and I were spread out on his massive terrace over the fake grass that was so soft that it felt like butter against my skin.

I was on my stomach, hunched up on my forearms while he sat opposite me writing a song. “Hmm, I don’t feel like writing. I’ve actually never felt that way before,” I replied, my eyes still on the phone. Well, his phone actually because mine had no battery. It almost always never did, and something about using a celebrity’s phone was exhilarating.

“Well…”

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