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Chapter Two
Max
Obviously it isn’t exactly the way I wanted to deliver the news to Forrest. I’d have liked to have given him a little time to prepare for the news, rather than being slapped in the face with it, but I’d never planned on hiding Alyson from him, either. So when she stepped outside, I made no effort to lie about who she was.
And despite clear efforts to hide the shock on his face, I can see how hard the words hit him, and I feel a stab of guilt. “Nice to meet you, too,” he says, forcing a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes and shaking her hand, “Congratulations to you both.”
“Thank you,” Aly smiles warmly.
Forrest stares at her a little bit, and for a moment, I feel a flash of pride. My fiancée is a gorgeous woman, inside and out, and rather than getting jealous when others appreciate her beauty, I feel a little thrill.
Because I know this beautiful treasure is all mine. And I love to show her off.
“Well, hey, listen, don’t want to be rude or anything, but I drove all night and I think I need to get the truck moved and then go crash for a little bit,” Forrest says, scuttling sideways away from us like a crab towards his U-Haul.
“You still on for dinner?” I asked him.
He hesitates, and I can tell that at least some part of him wants to back out, but slowly he nods. “Yeah. Six, right?”
I smile and nod. “See you at six,” I tell him, then head back over to my truck, the door still hanging open, and reach in to retrieve my cell phone.
“Nice meeting you,” Aly calls after him before trotting along after me.
“Hope you don’t mind that I invited him over for dinner,” I tell her hesitantly as I shut the truck door.
I’m expecting her to be at least a little pissed, either by the surprise intrusion or the fact that it happens to be my high school sweetheart, if not some deadly mix of both, but true to her usual form, my Alyson doesn’t seem even slightly fazed. “I don’t mind, but are you ok?” she asks me worriedly.
“Why don’t we head inside?” I tell her.
She frowns, but follows as I loop my arm around my waist and guide her back into the house. “That sounds like a no,” she says.
“Not exactly,” I reply, guiding her through the doorway before me, then closing our front door behind us.
The moment I know we’re out of sight, I kiss her, hard. She squeaks in surprise, but melts into my touch the same way she always does, parting her soft lips when I drive my tongue between them.
But after letting me ravage her mouth for a few moments, she draws back and looks into my eyes. “What was that all about?” she asks breathlessly.
“I just love you, is all,” I tell her, brushing a stray brown curl that’s escaped her ponytail behind her ear.
“O…k….but I’m still a little worried about you,” she says hesitantly, “You didn’t really answer my question before.”
“I’m fine,” I assure her, “It’s sweet of you to worry, but I wouldn’t have asked if I couldn’t handle it. It’s been six years, and in case you haven’t noticed,” I lift her left hand and gently twist her ring finger back and forth a little to make her engagement ring flash in the light, “I’ve moved on.”
She smiles and rolls her eyes. “I know, I wasn’t worried about that. But still, it really doesn’t bother you at all?”
“No, and shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?” I counter, “I invited my ex-boyfriend to dinner at our house, shouldn’t you be pissed off about that?”
“Why should I? Unless you’re implying that I should have some reason not to trust you or something?” she asks, raising a brow.
I shake my head, “Of course not,” I say firmly.
Yeah, seeing Forrest again had stirred up a whole host of emotions, some of them confusing and painful. But I’d never do anything to hurt Alyson. And she’s the first person to understand complicated emotions like these, she still sometimes grieves over the high school boyfriend who’d died in a car crash the night of their graduation.
And that’s something I understand, too. Just because I ended things with Forrest hadn’t meant I didn’t feel anything for him. But he’d wanted different things from life, bigger and better, and I didn’t want to be the anchor tying him down.
“That’s what I figured,” Alyson says simply, “So why should I be upset? He’s an old friend, you’re catching up. That’s all. All I ask is that you perhaps, uh, kick him out before dessert?” she wiggles her eyebrows suggestively at me and I chuckle.
“Oh, yeah, and what do you have planned for dessert, Princess, a nice big cream-pie?” I ask, leaning down and brushing my lips over her neck.
