Her Forever
Chapter 14

Sadie

Rebecca has never given me any doubt not to trust her since our friendship began. She’s been honest, forthcoming, and made sure I never got in trouble in this new town. Even though I am going against my better judgement, I’m going to trust her and what her friends say. She knows them better than I do.

True to Marco’s word, the music started playing in the distance and broke the awkward silence between us all. The sun was setting, and I could feel the cool nighttime air chill around us.

I held my arms tight to my chest, trying to keep warmth about me, but with the fleeting sun, it seemed to be useless. Rebecca spoke up and said we should all head back before any of us gets sick. Everyone nodded in agreement, and we all walked back barefooted.

I only had minor scratches and a couple of bruises from hitting rocks in the lake as I ran out of the water, but nothing I couldn’t handle. I kept my head held down as we walked, feeling ashamed from running off like that. In my defense, though, Seth looked crazy scary when he attacked Nathan.

Getting lost in my thoughts, I heard something moving to my left, and that is when I saw something slither towards me. My heartbeat picked up instantly, and I screamed like a little girl.

I jumped to the closest person to my right, thinking it was Rebecca or Marco. I grabbed on to them with such rush and intensity that I couldn’t help but put my arms around their neck and bury my face close to their neck. Immediately my legs jumped up, expecting them to pick me up and carry me.

“SNAKE! OH MY GOSH, THERE IS A SNAKE!” I scrambled into their arms. I’m wiggling my body around like a madwoman trying to get away.

Arms grabbed me and held onto me tightly to make sure I didn’t fall. They quickly jogged a few feet away from where I saw the snake, and they whispered in my ear. “Everything’s OK; I’ve got you.” They cooed with a deep voice. My heart returned to a less frantic pace when I realized I didn’t jump in Marco’s or Rebecca’s arms. Tingles were dancing all over my exposed skin where my bikini was not. I felt so lost in the moment and loved the comfort I was experiencing. I then realized there were tattoos all down this man’s chest.

I’m in Seth’s arms.

Oh. My. Gosh.

I quickly pull my face away and get an impressive look at his sea-blue eyes staring into my hazel ones. Seth didn’t look scary to me at all. He had a few scars; one went through his right eyebrow while a few others were on the side of his head where he kept that part of his hair short.

Handsome couldn’t describe him; he was breath-taking; he could easily be a model and make millions of dollars just with his face, maybe millions more with his body.

Oh, those lips. They were so pouty and soft. I’ve never imagined kissing someone, but I would do anything for him to be my first.

Good gracious, what has come over me? I’m putty in his hands. He could ask me to jump off a bridge, and I would do it just to hold his hand.

He’s been looking at me, and now he has a smirk on his face. No doubt he knows I have been taking in his appearance. My face is as ripe as a tomato in July.

Wiggling, trying to get down, he only holds me tighter.

“Don’t worry, love, I’ll keep you safe,” he says in his husky whisper.

I don’t argue. He may not be scary to me, but he is intimidating. I don’t want to argue, so I continue to have my arms wrapped around his neck while he holds me close.

While laughing, Ethan speaks up and asks, “How big is the snake, Little Fox?”

“HUGE!” I exclaim. “It has to be 6 feet long!” I shook. I absolutely hate anything creepy crawly. Bugs and snakes are top of the list, obviously.

“Well, well, well, look what I have here!” Ethan laughs again. He holds up a black snake that is maybe 2 feet long. “Is this it?” he snickers.

“That might be its sister; I think it was bigger but keep that one away from me too!!” I started squealing. Ethan keeps coming closer, and I start to squirm to get away, but Seth clings to me. “No, no, no!!! Seth, make them stop!!!” My grip around Seth’s neck becomes so tight I’m pretty sure he can’t breathe, but somehow he lets out a rumble or growl within his chest.

Ethan immediately stops and throws the snake into the woods. “Aw, you’re no fun, man. Live a little.”

“Well, at least she doesn’t understand how to measure snakes; it might be in your favor, Seth.” Marco jeers.

Everyone laughs while I look around, not getting that joke.

Rebecca looks at me and pats me on the butt with her hand. “Poor Sadie, let’s go.” With that, we head back to the house. The sun has finally set, and the party is in full swing. There was an open bar, tons of food, and dancing to be had. People were on balconies talking, dancing, making out, and definitely grinding on each other.

Lela, who has been silent for a bit, grabs my hand once Seth puts me down. She motions for me to go upstairs and tells me we are going to go shower and get dressed for the party. As Seth walked up the stairs to the bedrooms, people moved out of the way, and we followed behind.

Once I was all showered and dressed, I walked into the hallway and saw Rebecca waiting for me. She took one look and grabbed my hand and took me into her bedroom. My clothes were being peeled off my body, and Lela pulled a dress out of her suitcase.

It was a cute little number, baby pink spaghetti strap dress that slid down to about mid-thigh on me. I couldn’t imagine where it stopped on her tall, slender body.

“Lela, this is a bit much, don’t you think?”

“Nope! You are going to look so hot for Seth; he won’t be able to keep his hands off of you!”

My breath hitched, my lungs felt like they were on fire. Pretty sure I forgot to breathe, Rebecca comes over to me and puts her hands on my shoulders. “Sadie, he does like you. Don’t be so nervous, be yourself. I’m sure he wants to make up for last week and dance with you, too.”

I let out a breath that I wasn’t aware of holding. I’ve danced with the girls and Nathan, but it was different, it was friendly. I actually have feelings for Seth, and I don’t even know him. It must be the attraction I have for him; I don’t want to mess up.

Lela saw the worry on my face and cupped my face. “Honey, what’s wrong? Are you nervous?”

“I think that is only the tip of the iceberg,” I said with a sigh. A guy likes Seth with a girl like me. Ha. Stuff like this doesn’t happen. I’m sure he has been with tons of beautiful, supermodel-worthy girls like all the other women in this town. Flawless. I was definitely flawed. I’ve got skinned-up knees, freckles on my face, and I’m ridiculously short and clumsy.

“He likes you, Sadie. Trust us,” Rebecca cooed while pulling my hair back.

“He doesn’t like anyone as he likes you, Sadie. Trust me,” Rebecca said confidently.

“D-do you think he would, k-k**s m-me?” I nervously bit my l*p while looking at my outfit in the mirror.

“Oh, most definitely. In fact, he might try to get in your pants!” Lela squealed. Rebecca punched Lela in the shoulder hard, and I stood frozen as my eyes glazed over in the mirror.

“Not helping you, w***e!” Rebecca hissed. “Sadie, are you alright? Seth would never do anything like that to you. He’s a perfect gentleman. He is so kind to the people he cares about.”

Several things are plaguing me right now. One, why does he care about me? I’ve only spoken to him for maybe a few minutes and two. I’ve never kissed a guy, and now I’m freaking out that he would take my v-card all in one night. I’m guessing most guys are like that?

“I-I have n-never even k-kissed a guy. This might be too much. I think I’m sick now.” I went lay on the bed. “Yep, I’m sick! Wow, what a fever coming on.” Covering myself with a pillow on my face, I pretended to snore so they would go away.

Did it work?

Nope, they are still there.

“You haven’t even kissed anyone? What the heck? You are so precious; I want to take you home and dress you up like a doll.” Lela cooed.

“Listen, he will never do anything to make you feel uncomfortable. If he does, let me know, and I’ll staple his d**k to his forehead.” Rebecca was scaring me; how violent. “Let’s get some food in you and maybe a few shots; come on.”

We all head downstairs, and between the lights and the music, I almost forgot about Seth. Almost.

I took two quick shots of tequila and ate two bites of a small sub sandwich, and my nerves got the better of me. I was already feeling tipsy just from two shots.

“Lightweight.” Rebecca scoffed.

The beat of the music was fast and hard; no wonder the lake house was so large, it was meant to hold large gatherings. Lela left us quickly once she found a dance partner, and Rebecca was chatting up with someone she knew from home.

That’s when I saw Seth, and the guys come down the stairs. Nathan was also with them, but he didn’t look too happy. He didn’t have a bruise on his eye and did not look in pain, but once he saw me, he didn’t smile like he usually does.

I turn around and take one more shot to ease my nerves when I hear the music die down to play a slow song. Come Away with Me by Norah Jones plays. My back was to the dance floor, but I felt tingles on my back and only became stronger when I felt his hand on my arm.

Seth gently turns me around and slides his hand down my arm where it meets my hand. He’s wearing a black button-down shirt with black jeans. His hair is slicked back, and his sea-blue eyes are staring into me. I’m sure my eyes are as big as saucers glancing over his firmly built body. His jeans were tight around his upper legs. To think how big those muscles are giving me a shiver up my spine.

Lord have mercy.

“I think I owe you an apology; I’m sorry for the things I had said to you at the club last week. I wasn’t in my right state of mind.” He slowly looks down and plays with my hand in his. “I hope you can find it in my heart to believe me.” His breath was husky, rough, and made me feel things in places I knew nothing about.

Being the naïve girl, I am, “I forgive you.” He smiles and puts his free hand near my face. Sparks fly across my cheeks, and I couldn’t help but lean into his touch. I hope this was what my aunt was talking about.

“With that, I think I owe you a dance.” He gently pulls me onto the dance floor. The crowd automatically parts for us as he leads me to the middle of the floor.

His towering height only makes me feel smaller, but my height doesn’t bother me for once. Seth leads my hands to go around his neck, which I can’t go all the way around because I’m a shorty.

Seth’s large hands encompass my waist. He could squash me like an ant if he wanted. Gently, he sways, and my eyes automatically find his. We say nothing and dance through the complete song and the one after that.

I’ve never felt so comfortable with silence like this. We tried to read each other just by looking at each other’s facial features. Memorizing every line and contour our faces. I lost count of how many times my face would blush and look away, only to find he was still staring when I looked back.

Once the second slow song was over, he intertwined our fingers together like a perfect stitch and led me to the balcony.