Forever Now (Forever - Book 1) (26 page)
Read Forever Now (Forever - Book 1) Online
Authors: Elise Sax
A hundred photos and not one single good one of me. I wanted to delete all of them, but he wouldn’t let me.
“Blech. I don’t know what you see in me,” I said.
“I see everything in you,” he said. “You’re lovely. Beautiful.”
***
And then it was over. A week before I was to leave for Paris, Cruz left for Japan. I rode to the airport with him, Eric, and Dana in Eric’s Mercedes. Cruz had managed to find a buyer for his free car.
“I hated to see it go,” he told me during the ride to the airport. “But ten bucks is ten bucks.”
We sat in the backseat, our hands interlocked and our eyes fixed on each other. I wanted to scream and cry. I wanted to force Eric to turn the car around.
“I can’t,” I said, choking on my tears, as we approached the airport.
His eyes had filled up, too. “You can,” he said.
“No. It’s impossible. Please, Cruz, don’t let this happen.”
“You’re the strongest person I know. And the most beautiful. You’re going to be fine. You’re going to be happy. I swear it.” He wiped my tears away with his thumb. “I can’t wait to read your writing. I can’t wait to hear you speak French.”
We arrived at the departure terminal, and Eric parked at the sidewalk. Cruz said goodbye to Eric and Dana and got out of the car. I followed him. The trunk popped open, and he pulled out his suitcase.
“You are the love of my life, Tess Parker,” he said, looking down at me, our bodies inches apart. “I’ve never met a woman like you before. You make me better. You make me worth something.”
My tears flowed endlessly. “You’re worth everything,” I said. “I don’t deserve you.”
Cruz laughed. “That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard. You’re a riot. Oh, here. I almost forgot.”
He took a box out of his backpack and handed it to me. I opened it. Stationery.
“It’s embossed with your name. See? Gold raised lettering. I want regular letters from you, do you understand? Write to the modeling agency. They’ll get them to me.”
“And you’ll write back?”
“And I’ll write back if you don’t mind misspelled words.”
“I don’t mind,” I said.
“Do you mind if I kiss you here in front of everybody?”
***
It was a kiss to last a year. We melted into each other, desperate to hold on to a part of us, even though we would be so far away. Our tears flowed and mixed together, making the kiss salty and wet.
“Don’t forget any of it,” he said, finally, his voice wracked with emotion.
“I won’t.”
He took his suitcase and walked into the terminal without looking back. We never said goodbye, and maybe that was the way it should have been.
***
It was like holding my breath. That’s how my life was after he was gone.
I passed my last week in San Diego, keeping busy with packing and memorizing the Paris Metro map. I counted down the days, living like the train in the story: “I think I can. I think I can,” moving one foot in front of the other and breathing in and out as best as I could.
I took my final exams and said goodbye to Mrs. Landes. I paid a visit to Dahlia, but they wouldn’t let me see her.
“Let her know I was here,” I asked the nurse. “I’m going to Paris, but I’ll write. Make sure she knows I’ll write.”
And then after the waiting--completely surprising me--the day arrived. It was my turn to go to the airport. Diane, the social worker, drove me all the way to LAX in her Ford and helped me with my suitcase.
“Be precocious!” she called out to me as I walked into the airport. It wasn’t until I passed through security and sat at my gate with Paris CDG written on the sign above the door that I truly understood that I was on my way to Paris.
“My dream came true,” I said to no one, a tingling of excitement bubbling up inside me.
I handed the ticket to the flight attendant and took my seat near the back of the plane. It was my first time on a plane, and I listened carefully to the instructions about the oxygen mask and the nearest exits.
“The first of a lot of firsts,” I mumbled to myself.
After we took off, I opened my backpack and took out my most treasured possession. I laid a sheet of paper on my tray and began to write.
My dearest Cruz,
I’m flying above the clouds. I don’t know what’s ahead of me, but I feel you with me. Your love is my greatest gift. I’ll never forget. I’ll be forever yours.
Don’t miss FOREVER YOURS, the second book in the Forever trilogy.
The Matchmaker Series
Wish Upon A Stud Series
Wicked Ride
Elise Sax worked as a journalist for fifteen years, mostly in Paris, France. She took a detour from journalism and became a private investigator before writing her first novel. She lives in Southern California with her two sons.
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