Give Me Forever Love (Give Me Series Book 3) Read online

  Who fucking knows anything?

  Hell, only a short time ago, I was the king of all of this, thinking I’d never fall.

  Not for a woman.

  Not from the top.

  But I did.

  I fell and I fell hard.

  Now here I am.

  At the bottom, but I’ve been here before.

  “This is it,” I say to Jace as we stand outside of a building that has a big for sale sign on the door.

  What was once an old disco club is nothing but an empty shell begging someone to come and bring it back to life.

  “It has a loft connected to it, so we can live there. Get away from horse shit and back-breaking work.”

  He hits my shoulder. “Man, you know Pops isn’t going to let me come live with you.”

  I smirk over at him. “Well, when you turn eighteen you will, and I’m sure you can come stay with me on the weekends.”

  “Yeah, you’re fucking leaving me.” Eyes like mine look down. Jace is six years younger than my twenty-two. I’m fresh out of college, ready to grab life by the fucking balls.

  “Hey,” I say, turning to him. “I’ll never leave you. I know we’ve had some rough years. I know I’ve messed up, but I promise… This right here,” I look back at the building, “this will be mine, and what’s mine is yours, little brother.”

  “You think Pops will loan you the money?”

  “I hope. I’ve never wanted anything more, Jace. I’ll build this place up, and it’ll be the best fucking thing that’s ever happened to Atlanta.”

  “I know you will,” he says.

  I smile over at him as we stand on the curb staring up at my future. I put my arm around his shoulders.

  Life is about to be badass.

  I rub my five o’clock shadow and sniff. I’m fucking sad. That’s the only way to put it. My heart aches. I stare at the locked doors in front of me. Yellow tape across them, saying do not enter.

  “Boss?” I hear and turn my head. Ben walks from the alleyway, and behind him is Simon. I called them up on my way over to see if they would meet me here.

  “Hey,” I say, pushing off the truck. I shake both of their hands.

  I hear Simon sigh. “So, it’s all over, huh?”

  “Afraid so,” I reply. “We had a good run. You two got out okay? Everything is cleared?”

  “Yeah,” Ben replies. “We’re both good. Thanks for making sure of that.”

  I shake my head. “I’m the reason you were in that situation.”

  “No. We followed you because we wanted to, Bryce,” Ben says.

  I nod and adjust my hat. “Look, I want to thank you both. For everything. I couldn’t have run this place without you. I appreciate all you did to help keep it afloat.”

  “Don’t mention it. You paid us well,” Simon says with a chuckle.

  We all stand silent for a moment before I turn and reach inside the truck, grabbing two envelopes from the bench seat. My eyes dart around, but we’re in front of the truck so hopefully no one is watching us.

  “Here,” I say. “You both deserve a piece of the profits from this place.”

  Ben holds up his hand. “Nah, boss. This was your baby. You stayed here late every night working the books and thinking of ways to help promote it. You built this motherfucker. I’m not taking your money.”

  Simon looks down, looking uncomfortable, clearly thinking the same. Both of these men will kill you with their bare hands and not think anything of it, but they have good hearts.

  “I won’t accept that. This is for a fresh start. I want you to have it, and I’ll be goddamn insulted if you don’t take it.”

  I reach out and grab Ben’s hand, placing the money in it before doing the same to Simon. “Let’s go in so you can clean your offices out. I’ve got to pack up the loft and my office, too.”

  They slide their envelopes into the back of their pants, and I grab some boxes from the truck. We walk toward the doors, and I hand Ben the boxes before I yank off the tape and pull my keys out to unlock it.

  We walk through the velvet red hallway, approaching the all-black sliding doors. They open, and nothing’s on except the security lights. The place is a mess, empty beer bottles and glasses line the bar top. With a heavy heart, we each make our way to the back and start packing up.

  _____________

  Hours later, the offices have been packed up, my truck is loaded down, and a moving crew has come and gone, taking all the big stuff from the loft to a storage shed. Looking around the place before they took everything, I realized I never redecorated since I moved in there.

  The framed band posters, the couch, and dark furniture, this was from the taste of a younger me. I remember moving in here, happy as fuck I was on my own. After so many years of taking care of my brother and always having someone watching over me, I was finally by myself.

  No sad drunk reminding me that love makes you weak. No drug addict reminding me that I wasn’t first choice. No brother making me feel guilty for being a teenager, making my own choices, bad or good.

  No Pops trying to mold me into the best man I can be. No Emily trying to make up for the years I didn’t have a stable mother. No Aunt Lou or Uncle Monnie there trying to talk to me about shit I didn’t want to talk about.

  Alone.

  Just me and I loved it so much.

  I was free.

  I’ve said my goodbyes to Ben and Simon. Wishing them the best in their new lives. It was a bittersweet moment.

  “What now?” I ask Ben.

  He exhales. “Now I think I’ll settle down. Get me a good woman and maybe have a kid or something.” He shrugs. “Who knows?”

  “And you, Simon?” I ask.

  “Ahh, I’ll look for something else to get into. I was born into this kind of life. I don’t know who I am without it.”

  I nod, remembering what Danny told me while I was in jail. “Some of us don’t get to choose the life we live.”

  “What about you, man? What’s your plan now?” Ben asks me.

  My eyes dance around the loft bar area. The poker table, the couch, the bar. I look out the two-way mirror down at the club.

  As disheartened as I am about losing this place, I now know the life I was living wasn’t full. It was incomplete in ways I didn’t understand at the time.

  “Well, now, I guess I’ll go live.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Bryce

  I slide down the wall of the loft, staring at dust left on the floor before looking out the window wall. This is the last time I’ll see this view.

  The sound of music starts, vibrating the floor beneath me.

  “What the hell?” I stand up and quickly walk across the room into the bar loft. I look out at the club, seeing the dance floor lights on and on the floor is a woman dressed in red.

  Heels that she can’t stand cover her feet, and she dances to In This Moment’s “Adrenalize”. It’s the same mix we danced to when I wanted her so fucking bad I could hardly stand it. How did she get this?

  My cock twitches, and I move to the door so I can walk down. My eyes never leave her, though, as the song switches to Rob Zombie’s “Dragula”.

  Holy fuck, this is hot.

  I remember wishing she was naked and everyone would disappear.

  All but one of those things are true right now.

  She’s not naked.

  But there’s not a single person around.

  She sways her hips with her eyes closed. I stop and lean against the wall of the stairs, just like I did when she first stepped in here, in that dress.

  Her eyes open like she knows I’m watching. I’m hard as fuck right now. I bite my lip and push off the wall. She stops dancing, but the music keeps up.

  I hit the bottom, walking over to her quickly, and in one movement her feet leave the floor as I lift her. My lips crash to hers, my hand moving to the back of her head. I grab her hair as our tongues dance to the beat of the twisted hard metal.

  Pl
acing her down on the bar, I swipe at the beer bottles and liquor glasses. They hit the floor, shattering. I leave her lips, climbing on top of the bar. She spins and lies back. I pull my cock out and she leans up and takes me into her mouth.

  Jesus Christ.

  My head falls back.

  My hand goes to her hair. I wrap it around my wrist and hold on. She sucks me as the electric guitar blasts through the club. The lights switch from red and blue, dancing all over the walls. Painting her with their colors.

  I can’t fucking believe this.

  She grabs my ass, taking me all the way, and I swear I’m about to come, but I want to do that somewhere else. I pull back instead, bending my knees. I lie down. “Take off your dress and come here,” I say, grabbing my cock. I think about the possibility of someone walking in. I know the loft door is locked. “Did you lock the doors?”

  She nods after her dress hits the floor. I know no one has a key but Bones and he’s out of town. So, we’re good. I lick my lips as she climbs on top of me, naked just like I wanted.

  She had no underwear on.

  She sinks down, and I hold on to her waist as she rides me. The music switches to some electric beat as she presses her hand into my stomach, moving her hips. I lean my head back, my eyes close, and I relish in the feel of her, helping her move. I open my eyes, biting down on my lip as her head falls back, exposing her neck.

  Her mouth falls open, and her eyes close tight. She comes and I lift my hips, driving up until I follow, spilling inside of her. She falls down on top of me, both of our hearts racing, loving being so close. I run my hand down her back.

  “Where did you get this mix?” I ask into her ear. She leans up, holding her finger up for me to hold on. She climbs off the bar and reaches for her dress. She slides it over her head and kicks her heels off before walking over to the music and killing it so we can hear.

  “The night we danced, and you didn’t fucking kiss me.” She eyeballs me. “After we left, I called back up here and asked the bartender if he would get me a copy of it. And since you so bluntly told him to treat me like I was you, he made sure to do it.” She smiles. I fix myself and jump off the bar.

  “You just made my dreams come true,” I say.

  She grins. “You don’t think I wanted that, too? I was dying that night. I can’t believe you didn’t kiss me.”

  “I can’t believe I didn’t either.” I shake my head.

  She looks around, the lights still spinning above us. She holds out her hand. “You ready?”

  I reach down and pick up her shoes, looking at her outreached hand. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to say that I was ready to leave this. The life I had was exactly what I wanted, but that’s because I didn’t know what I was missing. Not until Kathrine.

  I put my hand in hers. “I’m ready.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Kathrine

  It’s the day before our trip. I work through the morning at Mugs & Books, paying some bills and placing some orders. Becca is minding the front of the store, and Claire is preparing fresh pastries in the kitchen. Once I’ve finished my duties and settled the books, I leave my office to make my girl and me a coffee before walking into the kitchen.

  “Hey,” I say, handing her a decaf cup of deliciousness.

  “Hey back,” she says, her hands covered in flour.

  “What’s on the menu today?”

  “I thought I’d make some fried Oreos.”

  “Oh my God. You’re going to make everyone fat.”

  She laughs. “We’ll sell out of these bad boys so fast.”

  She takes a sip of the coffee and then places the cup on the counter before scratching the top of her nose.

  “Uh-oh. You’ve got a little bit of flour right there,” I say, pointing to her nose.

  “Where?” she asks. “Here?”

  “No. Here.” I tap the side of my nose, making her put flour on another spot.

  She catches on. “Kat,” she says, rolling her eyes. “Get it off.”

  I laugh and walk over with a towel, but just as I go to clean off her nose, she dips her hand into the bowl of flour and rubs it on my face. My mouth falls open. “You did not just do that.”

  “Oh, but I did.” She grins.

  I nod, like okay. Game on. Looking around, I see a bowl of whipped cream. I snatch it up and dip my hand in. “Kat,” she says in warning, backing up.

  “Where are you going?” I ask, slightly tilting my head.

  “Do not do that,” she says right when I sling my hand, hitting her above her eye. Whipped cream gets in her hair and drops down to her lashes.

  I laugh out loud because, holy shit, she looks hilarious. She starts giggling, blinking to keep it from getting in her eye, but not without picking up the bowl of flour.

  “No!” I say.

  She quickly dumps it on me, and I grab the bottle of cream squirting it all over her. We’re a laughing work of mess. Flour is everywhere, and somewhere along the way, she grabbed leftover icing from the cinnamon buns she made yesterday, spreading it all over my arms. We giggle until our stomachs burn and our eyes leak tears of pure happiness. Clouds of flour float in the air, and cream and icing taste like having fun with my best friend.

  The doors swing open and Austin comes through.

  “What in the actual fuck?” he says, looking at us. We both stop in our tracks, glancing at him before looking back at each other and bursting out laughing.

  Austin shakes his head before leaving us. “Aw, come back, baby,” Claire says in between fits of giggles. “Austin!” she calls out. I sink to the floor, holding my stomach because I can’t take it anymore. She flops down beside me, and we both exhale dramatically, trying to catch our breaths.

  “Jesus,” she says, looking around the kitchen.

  “Yeah, you’ve got a mess to clean up.” I grin over at her; she playfully slaps my arm.

  “So, you’ll be gone a week?” she asks.

  “Yeah. I caught up on some office work, so everything’s good until I get back.”

  She reaches down and scrapes a glob of whipped cream from her shirt before sticking it into her mouth. “Has he told you where you’re going?”

  “Nope,” I reply. “Says it’s a surprise.”

  She gives a close-lipped smile, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. She’s worried, like always.

  I reach over and grab her hand. “Dude, I’m going to be okay. Stop worrying about things we can’t control. Bryce loves me. You know that yourself.”

  “I know, I just have this bad feeling. I don’t know why.”

  “Well, stop having these bad feelings.”

  She exhales. “Okay.” She leans her head on my shoulder and I reach over and rub her stomach.

  “How’s the little bean?”

  “Growing.” I see her smile. “I’m so happy, Kat. I’m so unbelievably happy.”

  “You should be. You have me as your best friend, after all.”

  Her smile widens, but I know she rolls her eyes. “Yes. How lucky I am.”

  “Ditto,” I reply. Truth is I’m the one who’s lucky to have her. She’s the constant in my crazy life. She’s always there, and I hope it never changes.

  After babies and boyfriends and whatever else life throws at us, I hope this is the one thing that stays the same.

  Our friendship.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Kathrine

  I stand in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. My hair is pulled back; my makeup is nonexistent. I wear black Adidas running pants with black and white Adidas shoes.

  With one hand in my pocket around a crumbled-up piece of paper, I watch the sun grace us with its presence, its orange-yellow light slipping between the high-rise buildings, gleaming off of fresh washed glass. A lonely tear rolls down my cheek, dripping from my chin to the black shirt I’m wearing. My face is tear-stained and I’m all but cried out.

  The one thing I realize is you can run for a long time, but sooner or later,
you’ll tire and everything you were running from will catch up.

  I shouldn’t have opened this letter today. It’s the day we’re leaving for our trip, but I found it last night unpacking some of the boxes I still hadn’t unpacked from moving in here.

  I put it aside, but I woke up to use the bathroom, and like regret, it chiseled into my mind and wouldn’t cease. So, I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and grabbed the letter before quietly slipping from the bedroom, leaving my guy sleeping facedown surrounded by pillows.

  I made coffee, and as it brewed, I took a seat at the island and slid my finger across the seam of the envelope. With slightly shaking fingers and my heart bracing itself for pain, I unfolded it and read the words Bethany wrote just for me.

  Kathrine,

  Words don’t come easy as I write this. In fact, I’ve written that one sentence and left this letter sitting on the kitchen table for days. I realize, you want nothing to do with me. I realize I deserve that.

  When I think back on those years in that house, a heavy dose of regret lowers me to my knees until I’m nothing but balled fists and tears of shame. I left you there with a man I knew was bad. I have no excuse, I’m not even going to say I’m sorry, because that word just doesn’t suffice.

  I was sick for days after you told me the things he did to you, Mentally and physically.

  I still am.

  The truth is, I’d give up forever to change the way things were for you. I’d give up my own life to go back and do things differently.

  I was poor. I was messed up. I couldn’t take a child along with me. I bounced around for a long time before I finally got my shit together. And then I didn’t know how to come back and get you.

  I guess I could have just come back.

  I should have just come back.

  Life has not been kind to me. I’m eaten up with grief. And right now, the pills I’ve consumed are dissolving, ready to end it all.

  I guess I’m writing you this because I want you to know who I am before I breathe my last breath.

  I’ve missed you every day.

  I was happy one time. I was.