Forever Yours

Chapter Three: Luna

The rest of the night was pretty uneventful, and I enjoyed that fact very much.

The only thing that happened was every time I went to the back to get something, memories of what happened between Aiden and I resurfaced, making me all hot and bothered to the point I had to go into the walk-in to cool down.

But that didn’t even help the memories that exploded out of the little black box I kept under lock and key of Aiden. I went back to the room and leaned on the table where everything happened. Closing my eyes, I could feel it, picture it, taste it. A part of me couldn’t wait to see him again, but at the same time, I didn’t want to.

Lies.

I wanted to, but I needed to keep my distance.

I just hope I'm strong enough to stay away and I hope my planned worked.

So the memories that plague me are what I live for and, right now, it was all I could think about…

The drink was drenching his shirt that was spilled on him by the crazy girl who wanted Felix. I gasped, looking at him, not because he was covered, but because his shirt stuck to his body, showing all his muscles underneath, muscles I had only dreamed about. I couldn’t look him in the eyes. I was ashamed at my ogling, but I honestly couldn’t help it.

I’ve had a thing for him for months, there was no denying that to myself.

Shaking my head, I ran around and grabbed him to pull him into the back, “Come on, let’s get you dry.” I mumbled, holding his hand in mine, “I think I have a spare shirt in the back.”

He took a second and linked his fingers with mine as a small smile crept onto his face. I opened the door and pulled him through. I unlinked our hands, instantly feeling the coldness from the lack of heat as I went around and grabbed some of the towels,

“You might need to take off your shirt. I have an extra work shirt back here I think. It’s not ideal but it’s something.” I mumbled as I started to go through the stack of shirts.

“Luna…” he muttered, his voice husky, deep. It sent shivers down my spine.

I kept looking through the stack of shirts while I held a towel, “What size do you wear? Large? No. Not with your muscles…maybe an extra-large? I don’t know, but damn, we have too many girls working here. These are all small and medium.”

“Luna…” he said again, this time with more of an impatient groan, “Turn around.”

“Hold on. I’m sure I have something…” I muttered, trying to avoid looking at him. He does things to me that no one ever had before. I want things I never wanted. And it’s scaring the s**t out of me.

“Luna. Stop and turn around, damn-it.” He was more demanding this time, which made me a bit more aggravated. To be honest, it startled me a bit, but I quickly regained myself.

“What? I’m just trying to…” I snapped as I turned to look at him.

But I froze.

There he stood, topless. His muscles shined a bit from the drink that was thrown at him. His muscles were right there, ripped, hard, defined, making me want to take my fingers and trail each and every one of them. I wanted to lick him up and down. I wanted to do so many things to him, things I have only dreamed about.

I felt like I couldn’t breathe. He was gorgeous. Immaculate. Everything wet dreams were made of. He was better than those. The tattoo on his rib cage screamed to be traced. The other tattoo on his chest begged for my lips to kiss it. Heat pooled in my panties. My n*****s suddenly got more erect and sensitive than ever.

No doubt, he was perfect, and he was standing there, with me, alone.

My eyes slowly went to his eyes, seeing that they darkened to a midnight blue. His scruff made me imagine what it would feel like on my skin. His breathing was a bit more erratic where you could see his chest heave as his nostrils flared just a bit with every breath. I stood, frozen. I couldn’t move. My knees felt weak.

He took a step forward, stalking me, as I took a shaky step back, only to hit a table behind me. My hands dropped the towel as I gripped the table, keeping myself steady. Without a word, he grabbed my hips and made me sit, spreading my legs, so he could stand between them, opening them up. His hands stayed on my hips, gripping as he brought his face closer to my ear and whispered, “What the f**k are you doing to me?”

“Um…” I whispered. It was the only thing I could say without making a fool out of myself.

“I never before wanted someone as much as I want you. I have never been driven crazy to this point before. I never needed to be close to someone, to be in their presence. I never felt the need to watch, observe, or protect anyone like this before. I never craved someone like this before. I never lose control, but with you, I’m slipping each and every damn time.” He whispered in my ear as he placed soft kisses under my earlobe and down my neck.

My hands held onto his hard biceps as he trailed those soft, succulent lips down my skin, his hands gripped me tighter, and he pressed closer to me, feeling his hard d**k rub up against my soaked p***y, making me groan.

“I fuckin’ need you. Any bit of you I can get before I leave.”

“Show me.” I whispered, making his eyes snap at mine. I bit my lip, needing him, needing anything he was willing to give me. I know I’m going to get hurt at the end of tonight. He leaves tomorrow. But I’m willing to go through that pain just for this moment. Because no matter what happens, I can’t stop it. I won’t.

We’ve been playing this game for far too long, and it was time we did something about it. In the background beyond the door, we heard the countdown to midnight.

5…4…3…2…1…

And he slammed those lips on mine, and it was like all the s****l frustration we both held for each other was unleashed like a broken dam, flooding everything in its path. He teased my lips until I was forced to open them so he could plunge his tongue into my mouth so they could play twister. He tasted heavenly, sweet, a mixture of whiskey, beer and honey, like everything I ever wanted, needed.

My hands trailed down his chest to his abs, feeling every ripple, every dip of his muscles as they tensed under my touch, until I reached his jeans. My fingers hooked into the belt loops as I pulled both of us together and wrapped my legs around his waist, not wanting to let go. He groaned as I shifted my hips, grinding into him. He met every movement I made. His hands trailed to the hem of my shirt, his fingertips tickling my skin before ripping it off and throwing it on the floor, instantly cupping my aching breasts in his hands as his mouth and teeth teased my n*****s through my lace bra, making me throw my head back with a load, throaty moan…

I shook my head, trying to forget the feeling of his hands on my body as I went to clock out at the end of the night after spending the last fifteen minutes daydreaming of what we had done. Packing up my things, I said bye to the staff as I walked to my car and made my way to the apartment that was supposed to be mine, an apartment no one knows that I have because I never invited them over.

I can’t.

Not only is it embarrassing, but I also don’t even know what I’m walking into at times.

I could walk into an empty apartment that was clean like I left it. There were days when I would come home, and it would be beyond trashed, food and dishes everywhere, cans and bottles littering every room and every surface, and let’s not talk about the things I didn’t want to touch.

And other times I would come home to what I did tonight.

With timid footsteps, I went up the four flights of stairs and heard the noises coming from behind the door. The music pulsated in my ears as I closed my eyes and willed the tears not to fall, but I couldn’t stop them. You could smell the smoke coming from the c***k of the door and the giggling of girls and the grunts from the guys.

Why can’t they just leave and go somewhere else?

What did I ever do to deserve this? And this isn’t the first time, and it won’t be the last.

No matter where I hide or move, they always find me.

And let out a heavy sigh, I turned right around and headed back to my car, not surprised by what I came back to. I was hoping they weren’t here but, of course, my luck would say otherwise.

“Not again…” I muttered, and as I walked down the hall. When I finally got to my car, I pulled up my banking app to see how much I had until payday, hoping I could splurge on a motel or something to stay in tonight. I had to fight the tears as I saw the balance.

They're going to kill me one day. I don’t know how much longer I can live like this.

There was only one thing I could do that didn't fully embarrass myself, and I had no other choice because the lack of housing at the moment as well as the lack of funds drove me to the same place I’ve been to more times than I could count. I drove twenty minutes to a public park right outside town.

It was a quiet park I discovered right by a beautiful lake. No one really came here at night so I was always safe, and it was away from everyone where they wouldn’t see me in the car because if they did, they would murder me for not going to them.

I know I promised Sawyer and Ava and I know they would help me, but my pride got the best of me. Besides, I have a small stash of food, clothes and necessities in my truck, so I know for sure I would be okay.

The soft blanket, the last thing I had from my grandmother, sat on the back seat. I pulled that forward and kicked off my shoes, cracked the window of my car for some fresh air before locking the door. I reached behind my seat and pulled out a small pillow before I tilted the seat back just a bit to get a little more comfortable.

Once I was tucked in, I let out a soft sigh and looked out into the darkness. The moon reflected off the lake where you could see the soft ripples of the waves from the wind. I know I have to make a change. I have to do something and tomorrow, after I get out of work, I can try to make things better.

I just hope it works in my favor.

And if it doesn’t, I at least get to see the kids for a few hours while I work the after-school program since school just ended.

“Tomorrow…tomorrow will be better…” I said to myself as I curled up in the front seat of my car, trying to get a couple of hours of rest before I started the day tomorrow.

*Knock…knock…knock…*

I sat up, startled by the sudden knocking on the roof of my car. I looked around and saw a police officer standing at my driver's side door and I froze. I couldn’t move.

“Ma’am.” He said as he bent down so I could see him. He was slightly older and had a friendly smile. I’ve seen him before come down to the bar with some of the guys after a shift, “I know you…”

“Hey.” I sighed out as I retied my hair.

“You know you can’t be here and sleep, right?” He raised a brow at me, "You okay?"

“I’m sorry. My um…brother and his friends were at my place and had this party and I just needed some sleep and I couldn’t with him and his friends there.” It wasn’t that far from the truth, so I didn’t feel so bad.

“Okay. I’ll let you off this time with a warnin’, but if I see you again here like this overnight, we will be having a very different conversation.” he let out a small sigh, "Luna, I do hope you're okay. If you're not, you can always come down to the station and we can take care of your brother and friends since it's your place."

“Thank you. I appreciate the offer, and I'll keep that in mind. Regarding this, it won’t happen again.” I smiled at him.

“Good talkin’ to ya. See you Saturday night.” He winked as he tapped the roof of my car before he walked back to his cruiser that was parked behind me.

I let out a sigh of relief and of frustration at the same time. This has never happened before. I know for sure if he said I couldn’t be here, he would come by and check.

This just made me more determined to get things in order.

I kicked open the door of my car and headed to the trunk to pull out some clothes to change into, grabbed my toothbrush and toothpaste as well as other bathroom necessities and headed for the public bathroom at the park to get ready for the day.

“Miss. Avery,” Miles panted out as he ran to me, “Can I talk to you please?”

“Of course and you know you can call me Luna, right?” I chuckled a bit, “Miss. Avery is for when school is in session, and it’s summer, so no need to be so formal.”

“Okay Luna.” He smiled at me, “Can we go sit down?”

With a nod, we walked next to each other to the bench that was outside on the playground. There were a bunch of children running around having the time of their lives. This is one of the things I love about this school district. Even though school is not in session, they still have a program for the kids during the summer when needed, and they pay the same as they do when school is in session.

Ivy was running around with Lucas and Ellie playing tag. Ivy and Lucas were in the same pre-school class and Summer asked if she could drop off Ellie with them so they had some time to play together while they worked. I couldn’t say no.

I love their kids like they were my own and I would do anything and everything I could to protect them.

“What did you want to talk about?” I asked Miles as we sat down.

“Well, I know how sad we were when Uncle Finn canceled the whole chorus thing next week for the arena. It sucked big time.”

“I did, but sometimes, things don’t work out the way we want them to, so we just need to see the positive side to it.”

“What could be so positive about it?”

“Well, some of the kids were not able to make it because of vacations with their families, so this way, they are not missing out on something like this. Also, this gives you and some of the other kids who are playing next week a chance to concentrate on the opening day. I know, sometimes, doing too much at once causes more stress and can be overwhelming.”

“I guess.” He shrugged, “I just really wanted to send it to my dad. I’ve been telling him about you helping me, and he said he couldn’t wait to hear me sing. He thinks I’ll sound like him.” He grinned at me.

Aiden is an amazing singer, one of the best I have ever heard. I swear, if he wanted to pursue a career in the music industry, he could. The slight twang he has with his deep timber and the way he smooths out the notes and lyrics can make your heart melt. I know I did when I heard him since, ‘God, your mama and me’ with Sawyer that one time at the fire.

I might have been imagining things, but I swear he was looking right at me through the flames as he sang that song.

But it was probably my imagination.

“Well, I am teaching chorus again this school year so we can always record more for him and send it to him.”

“That would be super cool!” he smiled, “Can you also send him something else for me? I would ask my aunts and uncles, but they have the kids, and it’s hard for them sometimes, and I feel bad asking when they already have a lot going on.”

“Anything Miles. I am more than happy to help you with anything you need.”

“Cool. Can you record me at my game next week and try to get a video of me scoring my first goal of the season and send it to my dad? I also want to mail him the puck if coach gives it to me and write my name on it.”

Crap.

How was I supposed to tell him that even though I told Sawyer and Ava I would go, I had no intention of actually going, because that would mean spending time with everyone and getting closer when that's the last thing I needed to happen.

How can I look this ten-year-old in the eye and tell him even though I said I would help with anything; anything didn’t include this.

Because something inside of me was screaming at me saying this was a bad idea.

Well, it was time to break Miles’ heart and tell him I couldn’t help him with this.

“Sure. I am more than happy to help.” Damn it.

So much for not going…I guess I am now…