Page 1 of Needing Forever

Chapter One

Shaye Chanler

We have been busier than normal today and I am almost out of flowers. I own Shaye’s Daisies, the only flower shop in our little town right outside of Charlottesville, North Carolina. Ten minutes before closing, an older man, whom I know well, walks into the store with a smile on his face. I can’t even be mad at him. Everybody knows everybody around here.

“Welcome to Shaye’s, Mr. Hartford. How can I help you today?” I ask him.

“Well, it's a special day for my Lilly and I. It’s our fiftieth anniversary and I want to surprise her with her favorite flowers. Do you have any pink daisies?” My heart melts.

“You're in luck! I just got a shipment of them today. How many would you like?”

“Fifty of them please,” he says grinning. “One for every year that she has been in my life.”

“She is a lucky lady,” I tell him while getting his order ready.

“No, my dear girl. I am the lucky one, she is my world. Lord knows I have no idea how that woman has put up with me for all these years.” I laugh and hand him his flowers.

“Alright, here you go. That will be ninety-six dollars, including tax.”

“Small price to pay to see her smile,” he says, handing me his credit card. I run it and give him his receipt.

“Aren’t you sweet. Have a nice evening,” I say. I am so friggin’ glad tomorrow is Friday. I’m not open weekends, because nothing is in Plain Springs, North Carolina is open on the weekends. Weekends are spent in Charlottesville, which is only twenty minutes away.

“You too, dear. Tell your grandparents I said hello,” he says before leaving.

“Of course,” I respond then I lock the door behind him and flip the sign to closed. I have had enough of today.

I want someone to love me like that. I need someone who wants to promise me forever. After the Chinese I ordered gets here, I make my way upstairs to my apartment. I plug my phone in and grab one of my favorite beers.

I take a sip of my drink and look at the website I found while searching for dating sites. Let's Try Love is the third site on the Google page. After reading reviews on their page for an hour, I finish three more beers while reading all of them. Now I have a buzz going and my inhibitions are gone.

“I don't want to see your nasty ass cock. I need forever, not a cock fest.” I snicker and hit enter. I have been trying to find “the one” but instead I have been getting dick pics left and right with guys asking if I liked what I saw.No, you no tiny-dicked motherfucker, I did not.

What I don’t understand is how some of the guys that send them are proud of their tiny weenies. I put my computer away, pick up my beer bottles and go grab another beer then make my way into my living room and put in the next disk of NCIS: LA in my Blu-ray player. Fuck me, Marty Deeks is sex on a stick.

I grab my phone off the charger and plop down on the couch. I quickly set my alarm so I’m not late to work in the morning then download the Let's Try Love app.

“Okay let's see if I can find Mr. Forever,” I say to Snooky, my pit boxer mix. He sighs and puts his head on my lap. “Yeah, I hope we find him too.” Four beers in and I am three sheets to the wind. My alarm goes off right, next to my damn ear and I scream, falling off the couch. I land on my side and groan. “Fuck me, that hurt like a bitch.”

What the fuck happened last night? I sit up and the room spins.Don't hurl, don’t hurl. I tell myself over and over as I stand up. Snooky is sprawled out on my bed, snoring. Once in the bathroom, I do my business, then get in the shower trying to wash away my hangover.

After a few minutes, I get out to get ready for the day. Then I take Snooky out for what I hope will be a quick walk, but of course, he takes his sweet ass time. He pays no mind to the thousands of tiny knives stabbing into my temple. I push my sunglasses further up my nose.

I really should pace myself. I am not much of a drinker and I have no idea why I drank so much last night but I am so regretting that right now.

“Snooky hurry up, mommy has to go to work.” He stops barking and wags his tail. He loves coming into the shop with me. He might weigh seventy pounds but he is the biggest softy you could ever meet. He loves people and all of the attention they give him.

We make our way back to the shop where I grab him some water then I go in search of my phone. I hear it ping letting me know I have a message. Good thing it pinged, otherwise I would have never looked under the couch for it. I grab some coffee and unlock my phone. The page opens up to an open message tab.

Promisingalways32: This might sound crazy but I think its fate that you signed up tonight.”

Promisingalways32: I was about to deactivate my account when I came across yours.

Needingforever22: and my profile made you change your mind?

Promisingalways32: oh yes believe it or not women do the same thing.

Needingforever22: Same thing?

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