Forever Yours (6 page)

“Be ready for me. I’ll be there in a few,” he said before getting in Alex’s truck.

“My mom’s gone for most the night,” she said. “She had a date and told me not to wait up. I can make us dinner and we can hang out here if you want.”

“Even better.” Angel grinned, getting in the truck. “I’ll see you in a few. I love you, baby.”

“I love you too.”

Angel sat back, letting out a relieved breath. He didn’t even realize he was smiling so big until his smartass brother started in on him.

Chuckling, Alex shook his head as he pulled out of the parking spot. “Really? That’s all it took to tame the raging bull that smashed heads all through practice?”

Smirking, Angel glanced out the window. “She wasn’t with him all day. She was dealing with something else.”

“Yeah, well, I still wouldn’t let my guard down when it comes to this
friend
of hers,” Alex said as they waited at a stop. “Don’t you ever watch Friendzone? Every one of them longtime
friends
turned out to be secretly in love with the other and had been for years. Sarah’s a sweetheart, man,
and
she’s the worst kind of hot a girl can be.”

Angel turned to face his brother with a scowl. Alex had flirted with Sarah from day one. He loved riling Angel up, and Angel knew that’s all it was, but this was the first time he’d referred to her as hot. Not just that, he wasn’t being playful. He was serious, and Angel didn’t quite know how to respond to that, but he
was
curious about one thing.

“What do you mean ‘the worst kind’?”

“I mean she’s hot but doesn’t even know it.” He pulled out onto the street from the stadium parking lot. “In all the years this guy’s been around her—known her for what she’s really like—you really think he’s never had feelings for her that ran deeper than just friends?”

Leave it to Alex to burst Angel’s relieved bubble. “He’s gone now,” Angel said, clenching his jaw as he turned away from Alex and out his window. “And after the summer, he’ll be even further when he goes back to school in New York. It’s why she hadn’t seen him since we graduated from high school.”

“Good,” Alex said, tapping the steering wheel. “That’s where he needs to be: far,
far
away from your girl.”

Angel thought about that statement and everything else Alex had just said. He remembered Sarah’s devotion to the guy when she’d first moved out here and how close she’d been to leaving Angel to get back to him. Gripping his phone, he reminded himself
he’d
been Sarah’s first everything, not Sydney. They’d been together for almost three years now, and they often talked about their future: getting married after they graduated from college, opening their own restaurant, and having babies. He’d long ago accepted that Sarah and Sydney were proof that guys and girls could in fact be just friends. He couldn’t let one visit from this guy after two years and Alex’s caveman mentality derail all that and have him acting like an insecure overbearing boyfriend. Still, he’d never admit it out loud, but the start of a new school year couldn’t come fast enough now. He only hoped Sydney wouldn’t be making too many more trips out here before then like he’d mentioned he might.

~*~

Sarah

Angel’s hello kiss, the moment Sarah opened the door and let him in, left her breathless. “Well, hello to you too,” she said with a smile as he pecked her again then squeezed her tightly.

“I missed you today,” he whispered against her ear then kissed the side of her face, still holding her tight.

“I missed you too,” she said, pulling away and looking into his eyes curiously.

She’d seen that enamored look in them before many times, but this seemed different. She wondered if it had anything to do with Sydney, and it immediately worried her. Aside from the details about her dad, there were other things she’d be telling him tonight that she was certain he wouldn’t be thrilled about. In fact, because there was no way he’d know about all the other issues Sydney and Carina had dealt with throughout their relationship, the moment she told him the ultimatum was ultimately the last straw, she knew that Angel wouldn’t see it that way.

The second Sydney uttered the words “I chose you,” Sarah knew it. Angel would think it was all about her, and his theory about there being no such thing as a guy-and-girl platonic relationship would be up for debate again. That was something they hadn’t discussed in years. Seeing how he was acting now, she questioned whether or not she should tell him that part at all.

Enjoying his long lustful kisses, she decided she’d worry about that later. She had so many other things to talk to him about before that. Like how she’d already started putting together her email to her dad but kept deleting it and starting over.

After ending up on the sofa for a while and thinking she might have to tell him to lock the extra latches on the front door in case her mom happened to get home early, he finally pulled away and smiled. She could tell it was a struggle for him to restrain himself, but he did. “I know you’re anxious to tell me about your dad, and I wanna hear it, so I’ll behave.” He dove into her neck one last time. “For now.”

She giggled, squirming as he licked her neck. The truth was she
was
anxious to tell him about it. He finally un-wrapped his body from hers and sat up. “The rice should almost be done,” she said, standing up.

Seeing him pat his crotch down as he stood made her grin. “Good ’cause I worked up a big appetite at practice.”

“I just fried up some chicken breasts I dipped in Italian seasoned bread crumbs,” she said, walking toward the kitchen.

Angel sat down on a stool at the counter. Sarah put their plates together and filled him in on everything her mom had told her about her dad. He was noticeably quiet throughout, and she had a feeling she knew why.

“And your mom doesn’t wanna be there when you meet him?”

She shook her head, stabbing her last piece of chicken with her fork. “She doesn’t even want to see him again. But I won’t go alone. You can come with me or Sydney—”

“I’ll go with you,” he said quickly. “But that’s not my point. So far, no one knows for sure if this guy is really your dad. I know it’s been a long time, but you’d think if he’s been looking for you for years he’d at least have the year you were born right or have some kind of documentation with your full name on it.
Something
. Your mom would be the only one who would know for sure if this guy is the real deal or not.”

“I could take a picture of him,” Sarah offered. “Then I could show it to my mom, and she could say yea or nay.”

Angel frowned before putting another forkful of chicken and rice in his mouth but said nothing. She knew he’d never been a big fan of her mom. Over the years, she’d filled him in on the details of her childhood. Sometimes she regretted telling him certain things such as all the times her mom had left her alone overnight because she was on dates. She’d meant to explain why growing up in Flagstaff she’d spent so many nights over Sydney’s. While it did explain why she’d been so close to Sydney and his family, it didn’t go over well for her mom. She saw the look of disapproval he attempted to hide when she told him about her mom’s rebellious years and how, even after knowing the kind of man her dad was, she agreed to move in with him.

“I don’t wanna force her, Angel,” Sarah said, walking her plate over to the sink and rinsing it. “She didn’t say she wouldn’t do it; she just said she’d rather not. I can only imagine how uncomfortable that would be for her.”

“This isn’t about her, sweetheart,” Angel said, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “Your safety is at risk here. Even if he
is
your dad, who knows what you might be getting yourself into with this guy? Like your mom said, he was a dangerous man then and probably still is. He’s done hard time. I know you’re curious about meeting him, but maybe you should slow down and think it through first. Sleep on it for a few days. Give it a few weeks even.”

Sarah glanced up from the dish she was rinsing then back down at the plate. She’d hoped Angel would be a little more excited for her, but she understood his concern. Sydney had warned her about proceeding with caution too, but he was still excited when she called him earlier and explained everything her mother had said.

“Sydney said he
looks
like a decent guy.”

There was no hiding the irritation that washed over Angel’s face as he stood up with his empty plate in hand and walked around the counter.

“I know. I know,” she said, suddenly feeling stupid about even saying it. “Looking decent doesn’t mean anything, and you’d think I would know this better than anyone, right?”

Angel set his plate down in the sink and wrapped his arms around her from behind, kissing her on the cheek. “I wasn’t even thinking about that, babe. All I’m saying is, from what you know about this guy, at least at one point in his life he was very bad news. I don’t want you taking any chances.”

“I won’t,” she whispered, spinning around to face him. He pinned her against the sink, looking into her eyes. She smiled, softly pecking him. “But it’s not even about meeting him so much. Of course I’m curious, but I’m more curious about meeting my brother.”

“
If
he’s even your brother,” Angel reminded her but kissed her the second she felt her smile level. “Baby, I know this has gotta be exciting for you, and I wanna be excited for you too, but I’d hate for you to get your hopes up and this turn out to be a letdown. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

She nodded, knowing he was right and felt suddenly embarrassed to look him in the eyes because she knew how stupid he must be thinking she was. How could she let herself get so caught up in this so quickly? There were still so many unanswered questions. She knew all this. It was the first thing she’d thought. This could very well be one big lie, but a part of her was hopeful that it wasn’t.

“Hey,” he said, lifting her chin so she was forced to look into his eyes again. “It’s okay to be curious. I am too.”

She took a deep breath and shrugged. “Maybe I could do what Sydney suggested. Feel him out via email for a little bit before I decide if I wanna meet him. I could ask him to send me photos. That way my mom can confirm whether or not it’s really him, and Sydney can confirm if it’s the guy who showed up at his place. At least then we’d know it’s actually him. It still wouldn’t mean we can trust him, but at least we could rule out if he’s an imposter.”

“Now you’re talking.” Angel smiled, kissing her, then took her by the hand around the counter and toward the sofa. Without turning around, he asked. “So how late were you up with Syd last night?”

It was casual, but Sarah knew him too well. It was probably something he’d had every intention of asking her from the moment she’d mentioned she was up late.

He sat down, and she plopped down next to him, flipping the television on. “I’m not sure. One maybe? I just know it was late, and then this morning we were up early, and after that conversation with my mom, I was done. The nap felt real good.”

Angel peered at her. “Anything new with Syd?”

“Actually,” she said, knowing this was going to change the mood, so she chose her words carefully. “He and Carina had been having problems for some time now, and they finally broke up.”

Over the years, Angel had gotten pretty good at hiding his displeasure when it had to do with Sydney even when she told him things she knew he wouldn’t exactly be thrilled about. But being with him for this long, Sarah was also good at picking up on the telltale signs that something had hit a nerve, like last semester when she’d switched her classes around a few weeks into the semester. By the time she was settled in her new Marketing Principles class, the only person left to partner up for the project they’d already started was Dae, the guy Angel couldn’t stand on her track team. Dae had asked her out more than once, knowing she was in a relationship with Angel.

When she had to break the news to him about who she’d be spending time working on their project, he’d played it off as if he were okay with it like he was now. But Sarah could see it in his eyes just by the way he looked at her. He’d been anything but okay with it.

“Did they? How long ago was this?”

“Few weeks ago,” Sarah said. “It’s why he decided to come home for the rest of the summer.” Seeing his reaction to that almost made her want to keep what else he decided to do to herself, but she knew it was just a matter of time before she had to tell him, so she figured she may as well do it now. “He’s transferring to East Side U. too.”

That launched the brows. “He is? When?”

“This year. He put in all his paperwork before he came home, and, of course, he’s already been accepted.” She leaned into him, feeling how tense he’d suddenly gotten. She rubbed his arm. “Remember way back I told you U.C.L.A. had always been where he’d talked about going when we were in high school? ESU was the other big one he’d always wanted to go to. Now he’s decided to finish school there.”

She wouldn’t mention that the only reason he changed his mind back then was because Carina had gotten a scholarship to Columbia and that now that they’d broken up he was transferring to a school just two hours away from Sarah. Regardless of how bad it sounded or looked, Sarah knew it had nothing to do with wanting to be near her. He just wanted to be closer to
home,
and he said staying at Columbia, where he’d see Carina every day, would be awkward. There were other academic reasons for it that made sense. He also said he was over the cold weather and being in Southern California would be a welcome change—the change he’d need to get over Carina.