Page 125 of Forever Yours

We had three Adirondack chairs on the balcony, and I offered her the one that was directly under a fan.

“The condo is really nice. Homey.”

“It can get messy and loud at times with three guys.”

I opened the pink dessert box she brought. Inside was a small Bundt cake. Using one of the forks I grabbed from the kitchen, I dug in.

“Wow. This is really good. Here,” I offered, holding a piece of cake out for her to taste.

She quirked a blonde brow. I almost dropped the fork when she grabbed my wrist and directed my hand toward her mouth.

“Mmm. You’re right. It’s really, really good. Where’s my fork?”

I handed it over, and we ate in silence until half of the cake was gone.

“I think that’s enough,” she groaned. “I’m stuffed.”

Liz settled back in the chair and kicked her feet up on the railing. I was happy that she felt comfortable enough around me to be able to relax.

“I’ll be right back,” I told her, sliding the patio door back and going inside.

Last night, I had printed a couple of photos for her to have. One of our prom photos together in front of the Eiffel Tower, and a group photo of all of us posing along the fake New York skyline cutout. I didn’t know why I printed them out. I could’ve easily texted the pictures to her.

When I returned, I found Liz with her eyes closed and head tipped back against the chair. I couldn’t help but stare and watch. Seeing her again was overwhelming. There were too many emotions to quantify.

She must have heard me come back out because one eye cracked open.

Feeling like an idiot, I thrust the pictures at her. “I thought you might like these.”

She sat up and took them from me.

“I’ve always loved that picture of us at prom.” I tapped a finger on it, then flipped to the group picture of the four of us at the cardboard display of the New York skyline. “Liz and her three prom dates.”

She lightly chuckled. “Three fucking prom dates. What a hussy.”

I could count on one hand the times I'd heard Liz cuss. The changes in our girl might have been subtle, but they were there.

Her green eyes lifted to mine. “I feel it, you know. That pull.”

Swallowing thickly, I replied, “This past year has been hell without you.”

She placed the photos down on the patio table and stood up to face me. Her verdant gaze scanned my face, down my chest, past my hips until it got to my bare feet before slowly coming back up. She stepped closer, and my pulse skyrocketed.

“Julien, I have an odd request. I need to kiss you, and you need to let me.”

“What?” I rasped, all coherent thought pulled right out of my head, along with my sanity. My throat suddenly felt like it was stuffed with cotton when I croaked out, “Liz, I’m with Elijah.”

She focused on my mouth.

“I know you are. I know it’s an odd request. But I feel safe with you, Julien. I need to see what this pull is. I need to understand it. Does that make sense? I need to start making sense of all this confusion. I feel like I’m losing my mind. I don’t know what’s real and what’s not anymore. I just need to know.”

Her pained voice was a breath of a whisper, and it broke my heart. I didn’t protect her. I didn’t stop her from leaving that night. She was in pain because I wasn’t there for her when she needed me. Because of my failure. I would do anything to make up for it.

“Okay.” I closed my eyes.

She pushed up on tiptoe. I waited a beat and when nothing happened, I opened my eyes. She was right in front of me, mere millimeters separating us.

And then—

Liz kissed me.

As instant guilt consumed me and sliced me open with a thousand deep cuts, all I could think was: Did I just cheat on my boyfriend?

“Love worth having was love you fought for. Bled for. Hurt for.”

Liz has returned, and Julien and Elijah’s love story is about to get complicated. Are you ready for the end?Forever Mineis the conclusion to the Forever M/M Series. Coming soon.

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