Page 5 of Forever After Never

“Right –ALLthe food,” she shouts back, chuckling.

Surrounded by takeout boxes and the credits rolling on the action movie we watched, Alice is fast asleep on the couch, snoring – although she will tell you that she doesn’t snore.

I go to gather up the half-empty containers and take them into the kitchen to box them up for leftovers. Tipping egg rolls and noodles into plastic pots, I clip the lids in place and open the fridge door. I sigh, looking at the sorry state of my fridge, eyeballing the boxes from last week’s takeout. I remind myself that I always intend for leftovers not to go to waste, but there is no doubt that they will end up in the trash over the next couple of days.

I hate to sleep in a messy home, so I always try to tidy up before heading to bed. Jed doesn’t even move from being tucked behind Alice’s legs on the couch. I swear that this dog prefers her to me.

I am standing by the sink, washing the knives and forks, and without even realizing it, my mind goes back to that asshole, Sawyer.

That dark-haired, rude, tattooed, arrogant, way over six foot, bearded, hot-as-fuck asshole. Heat floods my cheeks.

“I wish you would. Nice to meet you, Sugar.”

If I didn’t want to punch him square in the face, I think I’d want to sit on it instead. What is wrong with me? I won’t see himagain, so surely it is okay to fantasise - even a little bit about the man that almost hit me with his car.

Tiredness consumes me as I drape a blanket over Alice and pull it up around her shoulders. I drag myself up the stairs, close the curtains on my windows, and climb into bed.

Chapter 6

Sawyer

I’m not proud of it, but I followed her home. This feisty brunette fired me up.

I am huge, I should have intimidated her, but no, she called me a dickhead and tried to hit me. Instead of it pissing me off, it made my cock twitch.

She’s got something about her, that’s for sure, and my interest has piqued.

I made sure she was far enough away before I got back in my car and followed her home.

What the fuck is wrong with me? I am not stalking her.

Says the man sitting in his car opposite her house for hours.

I tell myself that all I want is to make sure she got home okay, but I know deep down that I don’t believe that. Only because I made sure she got homethree hours ago.

My eyes snap up to the far-right window of the house. There she is, closing the curtains. My dick strains against my pants at the momentary sight of her body wrapped in that tight top.

Okay, maybe I am stalking her—a little.

Fuck. This is bad.

I turn my car engine on, it rumbles to life, and I drive away.

Chapter 7

Autumn

It’s five a.m. on a Tuesday morning and my dog walk is taking far longer than is usually does. When you start work at six, and you have a dog, this is a standard time to leave the house. It isn’t light yet, but it isn’t completely dark either. Luckily for me - having big dog privilege, means that I don’t worry about being a lone female walking in a park when most people are still in bed.

“Jed!” I call from across the park. “Come here, boy.” Tapping my thigh, I try to get my dog’s attention. He is very distracted today. Annoyingly, he always waits until I’m running late to take his sweet ass time doing anything. With absolutely no care in the world, he heads back to me, bumbling across the grass, making sure to pee on every bush, and blade of grass in a five-meter radius.

“No. Don’t leave your ball. Go back and get it. Ughhh. Jed. Hurry up.” I see a figure in the distance, jogging on the path on the outskirts of the park. Jeez. Who willingly wakes up to go for a run at five in the morning? Psychopath.

Sensing my frustration with him, Jed’s ears prick up and he bolts off towards the path, as a big ‘fuck you’ to me, and decides to go and join the jogger on his fitness journey.

“What the fuck Jed?” I say out loud, picking up speed as I aim to catch up with my dog, worrying that he may startle the jogger. Breaking out into a jog myself, I get closer to him and realise that the person jogging is a man, so I shout over. “Hey. I’m so sorry. My dog wants to join you on your run.”

“That’s no problem, Sugar.” The voice calls back. I see him shrug, but he makes no attempt to stop.

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