Forever and Always (6 page)

I scratched his back as he brought me
to climax. “Sean.” I breathed. “I love you.”

Sean released himself into me with his
final thrusts while saying my name. He grabbed my hips and lifted
them from the bed, pushing himself inside of me as far as possible.
It was the hottest thing I had ever seen. “Scarlet,” he whispered
while he filled me. “My Scarlet.” Sean stayed on top of me as he
caught his breath.

“
You are amazing under the
sheets,” I said.

“
It takes two to tango,”
he whispered. “I love making love to you.”

I licked the sweat away from his
chest. “That makes two of us.”

Sean lay beside me for a moment. “I
should go back in the living room before Ryan—finishes.”

I laughed. They could still be heard
through the wall. It sounded like the building was being
demolished. “Sleep with me,” I said. “I miss sleeping with
you.”

“
I do too,” he said. “But
I have to stay out there. I don’t want Ryan to know I’ve been in
your room with you—making love to his sister.”

“
It’s none of his
business.”

“
It’s his
apartment.”

“
That I pay for,” I
retorted.

Sean kissed my head. “I know how
important he is to you. I don’t want to mess this up.”

“
I know.” I sighed. “But
I’m sleeping with you tonight—even if that means I have to sleep on
the couch.”

“
You don’t have to do
that.”

“
I want to,” I said as I
kissed him.

We dressed ourselves and went back
into the living room. The blankets and pillows were on the couch
and we curled up in each other’s arms. The noise from Ryan’s room
abated for a while, but then the racket returned with full
force.

“
I don’t think we are
going to get any sleep tonight.” I sighed.

“
That’s okay,” he said.
“As long as I’m with you, I don’t care.”

Sean held me to his chest while we
snuggled in the dark. We would kiss for a few minutes, but then we
would break apart and start talking. Then, we would go back to
kissing again. Finally, around three in the morning, the noise from
Ryan’s bedroom stopped and we were able to fall asleep. Sean and I
didn’t mind the loud distraction because we had a great time
talking and cuddling, enjoying our moments together before Sean had
to leave the next morning. Eventually, we fell asleep in each
other’s arms until Sean’s alarm went off the next morning and we
were awoken from our slumber.

Sean rose from the couch and turned
off the alarm on his phone. Ryan was already sitting at the kitchen
table, reading the newspaper. I wondered why he was awake so early.
The guy never slept in for any reason. Sean started packing his
stuff into his bag then headed to the shower. I changed into my
street clothes and ate cereal at the table while I waited for
Sean.

Ryan put down the paper and looked at
me. “Is he leaving today?”

I nodded, too depressed to respond
verbally.

“
Why aren’t you going with
him?” he asked.

“
I don’t know,” I said.
“I’m not ready yet.”

He stared at me for a moment. “You
seem happy with him, Scarlet—really happy. I think you should move
back to New York.”

“
You do?” I
asked.

Ryan nodded. “Please don’t stay here
because of me,” he said. “I have a feeling that’s what’s holding
you back.”

I sighed. “I’m not just staying
because of you, Ryan—I want to stay. I’m afraid if I move back to
New York, we’ll lose touch again—and—I just can’t do that to you
again. I love being here with you—even when you make fun of
me.”

Ryan smiled. “I love having you here,
Scarlet. Having you here has been amazing, and I wish you didn’t
have to go, but I know you love him and you should be with him.
What kind of brother would I be if I let you stay with me just so I
could be happy?”

“
You are the best brother
anyone could ask for, Ryan.”

“
I know,” he whispered.
“And you are the best sister.”

“
But everything will be
different,” I said. “I will only see you a few times a year, if
that.”

“
That’s what happens when
you grow up,” he said sadly.

“
Come to New York. You can
live with me and Sean. He won’t mind.”

“
My shop is here,
Scar.”

“
Start a new
one.”

“
It doesn’t work like
that.”

“
I’ll support
you.”

“
Now you are just
castrating me.” He laughed. He reached across the table and grabbed
my hand. “It’s okay, Scarlet—really. I want you to go.”

Sean came back into the living room
and Ryan released my hand. My brother stared at me, waiting for me
to tell Sean that I was moving back to New York, but I couldn’t say
it. I was torn. I didn’t want to leave my brother, but I wanted to
be with Sean.

“
Are you ready?” Sean
asked me.

“
Yes,” I said as I rose
from the chair. Ryan got to his feet and stared at me for a moment
longer then dropped his gaze and turned to Sean.

“
Have a safe flight,” he
said as he shook Sean’s hand.

Sean nodded. “Thanks for letting me
stay here.”

“
You are family, Sean—you
are always welcome.” Ryan sat down at the table and Sean and I left
through the front door. We took a cab to the airport and I walked
with Sean as far as security would let me. The gate to his plane
was across the room and the passengers were boarding, but Sean
stayed with me until the last minute.

My tears fell even though I tried my
best to fight them. Sean hugged me for a long moment before he
walked away.

“
I love you,” he
whispered. “It’s only for a few days.”

“
I’m sorry,” I said as I
wiped away my tears. “I can’t help it. I’m going to miss
you.”

He kissed my lips. “I’ll miss you too,
babe.”

“
I love you so much,” I
whispered.

“
I know,” he said. “We’ll
talk every day. It’s going to be okay.”

The last call sounded over the
intercom, and Sean kissed me one last time. “I have to
go.”

“
I know,” I said. “I love
you.”

“
I love you, Scar.” He
dropped my hand and walked away. I watched him until he vanished
inside the gate then I turned around and went back home, wiping my
tears away until the cab stopped in front of the apartment. I
waited in the lobby until I found my bearings then I went up and
into the living room.

Ryan stared at me for a moment with
pity in his eyes. I knew he wanted to say something, but he held it
back, saving it for a time when I wasn’t so emotional. I
disappeared into my room and didn’t come out for the rest of the
day.

5

The next morning, I went to the tattoo
parlor with Ryan and got his appointments ready for the day. While
he was with the customers, I went down to the bank and dropped off
the money that Ryan had made the day before. If he was robbed
again, the criminals wouldn’t have much to take. The money wasn’t a
lot, but it was enough to cover his rent on the property and the
extra bills he had at the place. Business wasn’t as good as it was
before the last break in, despite the website that we made, but I
knew it would pick up eventually.

The money I was making from editing
was covering the rent, utilities, our phone bills, and our food,
but I still didn’t have enough money to make a single payment
towards my loan. Ryan nagged me about it, saying we could borrow
money from someone else to make a payment, but I rejected the idea.
I would rather steal money from the government than a
friend.

“
I need to go to work,” I
said as I cleaned up the counters and locked the safe in the
back.

“
Do you mean that you are
going home?” he asked while he cleaned his equipment.

“
No,” I said. “My office
is at Mega-Shake.”

Ryan laughed. “You are going to get
fat,” he said. “Good thing you play ball with me and
Cortland.”

“
Well, I’ll see you
later,” I said as I walked out of the shop. I took a cab across
town and sat in my usual booth by the window. A manuscript had come
in the day before and I started to work on it, needing to get paid
as soon as possible. My editing service was becoming reputed as a
prestigious company, thanks to Christine Dirkson, and I was getting
more clients because of it. Now that I was getting quicker at
reading the manuscripts, I planned to make a payment on my loans
soon. Hopefully, they would allow an extension until then. Ryan
wasn’t making any money and I was our sole supporter. That was
another reason why I couldn’t leave him. What would he
do?

My phone rang and I grabbed it
immediately, hoping Sean was calling me, but my face fell when I
saw Cortland’s name. I took the call.

“
Hey,” I said
sadly.

“
You sound
depressed.”

“
I thought you were
Sean.”

Cortland laughed. “Thanks,” he said.
“What are you doing?”

“
I’m working at
Mega-Shake.”

“
I’m right down the
street,” he said. “I’ll just swing by.”

“
Okay,” I said before I
hung up.

Cortland walked in the door a few
moments later wearing his gym clothes. “Hey,” he said. “I was down
at the courts with some friends.”

I sniffed the air. “I can
tell.”

“
Your brother was
right—you are a brat.”

I smiled at him. “How are
you?”

“
Good,” he said. “I’m
taking Monnique out later.”

“
Are you official
yet?”

“
No.” He sighed. “I don’t
want to scare her off by acting too needy. I’m waiting until she
gives me some indication that she wants to be in a relationship. I
really don’t want to mess this up.”

“
So you haven’t slept with
her either?”

“
No,” he said. “Like I
said, I don’t want to fuck it up, even though I would love to sleep
with her. She seems like she would be a heathen in bed.”

I stared at him for a moment,
uncomfortable by his obvious sexual energy.

“
Sorry.” He smiled. “I
haven’t gotten laid since I was with you.”

“
That’s understandable,” I
said.

“
Are you doing okay?” he
asked.

“
Yeah.” I sighed. “I miss
him, but it isn’t so bad.”

“
Are you moving there or
what?”

I closed my computer. Obviously, I
wasn’t going to get any work done. “I don’t know, Cortland. I don’t
know.”

Cortland stared at me for a moment. He
reached out and ran his fingers over the top of my hand. “I didn’t
mean to upset you,” he said gently.

“
It’s not you, Cortland.
I’m sorry that I snapped. I just don’t know what to do. The idea of
leaving you and Ryan makes me want to cry. I can’t stand not seeing
you guys every day.”

“
Don’t you feel that way
about Sean?” he asked.

“
Of course I do,” I said.
“I miss him so much.”

“
I hate to be blunt about
it, but you have to choose one. You can’t have both,
Scarlet.”

“
I can’t leave Ryan,” I
said. “It hurt him so much last time, and I can’t do that again. We
are close—closer than we have ever been, and I don’t want to ruin
that. He is the only family I have left.”

Cortland sighed. “Ryan will understand
if you want to leave. I know him, Scar. He would rather see you
happy than let you be miserable.”

“
I’m not miserable,” I
whispered. “I just want to go as much as I want to
stay.”

“
That’s some hard
luck.”

“
And Ryan needs me,” I
said. “I can’t just abandon him right now. His shop is barely
breaking even. He hasn’t even paid off the old equipment that was
stolen.”

“
He can live with me,”
Cortland said. “You wouldn’t be abandoning him.”

“
He would never accept
that, Cortland. You know that. He only accepts my help because we
are family.”

“
I don’t know what to
say,” Cortland said. “Maybe you could stay until his shop starts to
make money again. That gives him enough time to accept the fact
that you are leaving, and it also gives him some cushion
financially. That sounds fair.”

“
But even then I don’t
want to go.”

Cortland sighed. “I don’t know what to
tell you, Scar. The only way you get what you want is if Sean moves
here, but you already said he wouldn’t.”

“
I can’t ask him to do
that,” I said. “It would be hard for him to find work here, and
he’s been at his firm for years. Besides, he loves
Manhattan.”

“
I have a feeling he loves
you more.”

I shook my head. “I can’t ask him to
do that.”