Running From Forever (27 page)

But, along with everything else in my life,
Kayla changed that too; my outlook. Standing there, I envisioned
her hands in mine, looking at me with such promise and adoration. I
wanted it. I wanted the sheet of paper, the legal binding, and
everything else that came with it. It was in that moment, with my
heart beating erratically in my chest, that I realized how much I
wanted Kayla as my wife. I wanted the forever that everyone dreamed
of having.

With clarity consuming me and adrenaline
filling my veins, I took advantage of Kayla being monopolized with
wedding photos to slip out during cocktail hour, calling for a car
to pick me up outside the hotel. Having no knowledge of the stores
in the area, I told the driver to take me to the most highly
regarded jeweler in town. With a knowing smirk, he nodded, then
proceeded in the direction we had brunch at that morning.

It only took one glance at a ring hidden behind
others and I’d found it:
the ring
. A princess-cut solitaire
diamond in an almost antique setting. It stood out perfectly, just
a little different and perfect for my girl. My heart squeezed when
I pictured it on her finger. I quickly had it sized and placed back
in the velvet box, returning to the hotel within the hour, my
outing undetected.

“May I have this dance?” I asked, taking
Kayla’s hand in mine as a slow song filled the outdoor reception
area.

“It would be my great pleasure.” She smiled,
mocking my proper demeanor.

I shook my head and grinned, kissing her temple
before placing my hand on her lower back, escorting her to the
dance floor. Her left arm draped my neck while she held my left
hand with her right. I guided her around the dance floor, floating
in between other couples as I loved to do. She was becoming
familiar with the steps, causing heads to turn at every event we
attended. It was a time I loved to share with her; a time where it
was just us in our own tiny bubble.

“How beautiful is it here?” she asked, looking
up at me with happiness beaming from her face.

“Stunning,” I agreed, absorbing her flawless
features.

She slipped her bottom lip in between her teeth,
gently biting down, looking lost in thought.

“What is it; what are you thinking?” I asked,
needing to know what suddenly slipped inside her mind.

Like I interrupted her thought process, her eyes
snapped back to mine, a smile appearing where her straight
expression just lay. “Oh, nothing.” She played it off, but I knew
her mind was somewhere else and I had to know just where it
went.

“Tell me, love. What were you thinking?” I
asked, still waltzing effortlessly among those around us.

“Do you want to get married? Like, do you see
this,” her head quickly glanced around the area, “for us?”

I snickered, unable to hide my smile as I came
to a stop, taking her hand in mine. “Come,” I said to her and I
guided us away from the reception and down the sandy sidewalk that
led to the beach. “I need to show you something.”

She didn’t offer any resistance as she followed
beside me, keeping silent for the few minute walk we made along the
water. With the music and chatter from the wedding now diluted by
the crashing of waves, I stopped with the moonlit water and ocean
as our background, kneeling down before her. Her eyes grew wide
with shock as I held her hand and began my confession, my
declaration of love, and my desire for her hand in marriage.

“I wasn’t one for romance,” I started, nervous
excitement bubbling inside of me.
This is it.
“I wasn’t one
for happy endings or fighting for what I believed in. I wasn’t a
believer in love, in fate, or spending the remainder of my days
with only one person. Until I met you. You changed me, Kayla
Reynolds. You changed everything about me…you made me a believer; a
believer in love, in destiny, in spending
all
my days with
one person. I don’t want to miss a moment without you, not one
breath. I want you every day, every hour, for the rest of our
lives. I want to marry you. I want to be able to call you my wife.
I want you in my life forever.” I pulled the ring from the inside
pocket of my jacket. “Will you do me the honor of becoming my
wife?”

With tears streaming down her face and her free
hand covering her mouth, she nodded her head yes, unable to find
the words to speak just yet. I slid the ring effortlessly on her
finger before standing and picking her up in my arms, her feet
dangling off the ground. Her hands found my face, holding it
passionately and kissing me over and over again, whispering ‘Yes’
in between each one.

“I love you so much, baby,” I said as I set her
feet back on the ground. “I can’t wait to start our lives
together.”

She wrapped her arms around my neck, smiling up
at me with the smile I could never forget on her tear-streaked
face. “I love you, too. So, so much.”

What happened to Merrick? Let’s rewind.

It was just after three in the afternoon when
Kayla came strolling into the bar. Her hair was up, sunglasses
covered her eyes, and she was wearing a smile so big that you
couldn’t help but smile back at her.

“What’s cookin’, good-lookin’?” I joked as she
pushed her glasses back up into her hair and took a seat on one of
the empty bar stools.

“Oh ya know, just living the high life,” she
answered.

“You say it like it’s not true.”

She laughed. “Yeah, I do, don’t I?” she kidded,
leaning over the top of the bar and pulling up a glass, then taking
the soda gun filling it up with cola.

I swatted at her arm with the wet rag in my
hand. “What do you think this is, a free for all?” I scolded, but
all I got was a sassy eye roll in return, knowing that I wasn’t
serious.

“So anyway…” she said, carrying a smirk on her
face. “It totally sucks donkey balls that I don’t get to see you
race this weekend.”

Scrunching my eyebrows together, I looked at her
like she was crazy. “Are you effing kidding me? You’re going to be
on a tropical island this weekend! Pretty sure there’s no donkey
ball sucking about that.”

“Yeah, but it’s your biggest race of the
year!”

“It’s being televised—you’ll be able to watch it
from your swanky hotel room.”

Again with the eye roll. “First of all, it’s not
a hotel room, it’s a suite, and second, you
know
watching it
on TV isn’t like being there.”

“Oh, pardon me with the hotel room. How dare I
group you with the commoners,” I poked fun at her in my best hoity
toity voice, although I knew she didn’t say it to be smug. Kayla
could honestly take it or leave it. Sure, she doesn’t mind living
among the wealthy, but she had no problem hanging with us middle
class folks, too. It wasn’t long ago that she was one, too.

She smirked. “You’re an ass!”

I laughed at her attempt at being mad. “But
yeah, I actually wish you were going, to be honest. One of the big
sponsor’s daughter’s is racing, and she’s apparently setting up
shop right next to my trailer. I can’t wait to see how fucking
bratty and annoying she is,” I explained in a less than enthused
tone.

I hadn’t met the chick, but I’d seen some
pictures. Hot, but a spoiled fucking brat. No one had ever seen her
race, nor had ever known she existed. My guess is she sparked an
interest one day, rode around the track a few times, and since
Daddy’s company was the largest sponsor in the motocross
tournament, she whined herself into the race. Hot or not, I
couldn’t effing stand girls like that.

Kayla looked at me, confused. “Ken has a
daughter?”

“Right? No one had fucking heard of her before
last week and now she’s racing in the biggest fucking race of the
year!”

“Ugh. Annoying.”

“Yeah so, how’s the Caribbean vacation looking
now?” I kidded, now thoroughly annoyed again thinking about it.

“You can still come!” she hinted, wiggling her
eyebrows.

I chuckled. “I fucking wish.”

It was only a little after nine in the
morning when I arrived at the track. I couldn’t sleep worth shit
the night before, so instead of dragging ass around my apartment, I
headed out early, thinking maybe I’d get some practice runs in
before everyone had to be off the track. At a little past eleven,
the big black, white, and pink trailer belonging to Ken’s daughter
pulled in. The thing looked brand new and was bigger than most
people’s homes. Already the rage was building inside. Must be nice
to be just handed the best of the best for a spur of the moment
hobby.

She hopped out of the backseat of the black,
tinted window Denali. I couldn’t really see her face, but her hair
was dark, almost black, and pin straight, hanging down to the
middle of her back. She was only in a tank top and tiny little
shorts, so I could see she had a rocking body. But that was beside
the point—she didn’t belong on a race track with top qualifying
racers—you had to work for that shit!

Annoyed, I escaped to the inside of my trailer,
where Micah and the other guys were doing some last minute tune ups
to my bike. I tried to forget about the chick next door but kept
being reminded of her presence by her damn high-pitched voice.

“Can anyone else hear that?” I asked, anger
showing through my tone.

They looked at me like I had ten heads.

“That girl’s fucking voice,” I added for further
clarification.

They shrugged their shoulders. “It’s a chick’s
voice,” Micah said like it was no big deal.

“No, that chick could get every dog’s attention
in a ten mile radius with her voice that fucking high.”

Micah smiled. “Whatever, dude.”