Page 5 of Our Forever Starts Tonight

“Man,” I said, pulling back. “It’s been…”

“Like eight years,” Tristan responded. “Since my dad got remarried.”

Tristan lived up the block from me in our old neighborhood. On top of the fact that he justlookedlike a kid that would be easy to push around, he got the wrong kind of attention when his mom made local news for going on a drug bender and attempting to kidnap him and his older brother. A lot of kids in our neighborhood and school punked him for it, until I finally got sick of it and stood up for him. We were really good friends from then until he moved away when we were around 10.

“Eight years.” I shook my head. “I can’t believe it. I had no idea you went to this school. Honestly, when my mom told me you guys were moving away, I think I just assumed it was out of state.”

“It felt like that. Being dragged away from you when you were like myonlyfriend was terrible. I…” His eyes widened like he was staring at an angel. “Can I hug you again?”

“Yeah,” I said. Damn it. I was going to have to tell my mom that this move worked out. “So… wow. Time has been good to you.”

“I was just about to say the same,” he responded, his eyes painting me up and down and bringing goosebumps to my skin. “You look incredible.”

For anyone who’d ever told me that before in an attempt to boost my confidence, it actually sounded true coming out of Tristan. “Thanks. You must have discovered a gym somewhere along the way.”

“Yeah, turns out if you don’t build muscle to match the height, strong winds blow you over,” Tristan responded and then cracked out into laughter and I couldn’t help but join. “Uh, where’s your first class? Can I walk you?”

“Yes,” I responded, hating how breathless I sounded. I’d had a few crushes in my day, and in an attempt to prove that my weight had nothing to do with my ability to get guys, I’d lost my virginity back during my junior year and was maybe a little too vocal about it. The guy didn’t like that. Tristan on the other hand… Why was my heart beating so fast? Why couldn’t I stop smiling? “I have World History with Mrs. Hammerskill.”

His jaw dropped. “Me too!”

This was it. This was the way god was repaying me for years of pain. “Amazing.”

“Let’s go,” he said, and started off for the stairs and I was all too happy to follow him. “How are your parents doing? Ever get that little sister you wanted?”

“Only a four-legged one,” I replied, pulling my phone up to show Tristan my lock screen. “Hazelnut.”

“Oh she’s so cute,” he said. “And your parents?”

“Um…” My heart hurt a little bit. “My mom’s good. She took a promotion at a different office so we could move here, so she’s a little busy and stressed, but good otherwise. My dad, um… he died. They were split up most of our friendship actually, and then called it quits officially right after you left, so not a great year for me. I guess my dad got a little too into liquor after that and ended up homeless. He was sleeping out in a tent in the dead of winter, got hypothermia and… yeah.”

“I’m so sorry, Aria,” Tristan said, and he seemed legitimately saddened by the information. “You guys were so close. I’m really sorry.”

“It’s okay. I work at this homeless shelter now, so I actuallyfeellike I’m doing something to combat that. It’s good,” I replied.

“Wow. That shouldn’t surprise me. Something so ambitious for you.”

“Do you have a job?” I asked.

He seemed a little embarrassed. “No. Between sports and school I just don’t really have time.”

“Sports?” I said with a perk to my voice. “You could barely throw a ball when we knew each other.”

“Yeah, well… I kind of threw myself into bulking up after I moved. I didn’t have you to stick up for me anymore, so I figured I had better work on myself. Kind of got into sports as a way to work out, and now I play football in the fall and baseball in the spring. I’m captain of both teams.”

“Sportscaptain?” I shook my head. “You’ve come a long way.”

“Yeah.” Tristan was looking at me with a warm, romantic expression that gave me butterflies in my stomach. “So have you.”

We walked into the classroom, and my marvel over the school’s modern environment continued. All the desks had clear, plastic covers, protecting the built-in screens that were mounted in the tops. The seats were a little more plush than the seats I was used to, and each station had an attached side-basket for any materials and even a charger for an electronic device. Not only were kids on their phones, but even the teacher had her phone out and seemed to be exchanging some sort of information with every student that walked in.

“Oh!” the teacher said as we entered. “Tristan, don’t tell me I have to deal with you here too?”

“Hey, Mrs. H,” Tristan responded. “Finally, I get to take one of your classes. You can yell at me hereandon the field.” He looked at me. “Mrs. Hammerskill is the football coach here.”

My eyes widened. “That’s amazing. Theheadcoach?”

Mrs. Hammerskill flexed an arm and winked at me. “Theheadcoach.” She had dark red hair pulled back into a ponytail and a full face of makeup, plus she was wearing a bright yellow sundress. In terms of images I’d been indoctrinated with since birth, she didnotlook like a football coach, which made it that much more awesome. “And who might you be?” She stuck out a hand to shake.

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