It's Never Enough: Book 1 in the Never Series (12 page)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

All week long, Devin had been hinting at the upcoming weekend. Saying little things like “You just wait,” and “You’re not even ready for it,” and “If you only knew what you were in for.”

We hung out a few different days during the week, getting coffee, going to the book store, and he’d just randomly stop and grin at me with this I’ve-got-a-secret face. When asked what he was thinking about, he’d wink at me and add a little comment like, “Your face. I just can’t wait to see your face.” It was maddening.

Finally, it was the day of our big date. I’d texted him and asked how I should dress. He said comfortably. So I went with dark wash skinny jeans, leopard-print flats, and a purple fitted t-shirt. I tossed my hair up into a high ponytail, leaving some long, brown, wavy tendrils out to frame my face. For my makeup, I went neutral with glowing skin and warm-toned eye shadow. I dabbed on some cherry-colored gloss that made my lips look plump and juicy. Perfect for enticing Devin into a kiss. Not that he needed much enticing.

“Why are you so hot?” he said when I opened the door. A moment later, his mouth was on mine; warm and soft. He had the softest lips I’d ever kissed.

“Just doing my job,” I said before biting his bottom lip.

He moaned and pulled himself back from me. “No. You and your wily ways will not entice me now. I have plans for you, my pretty.”

I cocked a curious smile at him as I grabbed my purse and followed him out the doorway.

We drove into the night. Devin sat with a perpetual smile on his face, just like the proverbial cat that ate the canary. To distract myself, I looked around the inside of his car. It was neat. Much neater than mine. A stack of library books sat in the back seat. He had books on Apollo 11, the American Revolution, and John F. Kennedy.

“I know your secret,” I said in a singsong voice.

Devin’s head whipped towards me as he pulled up to a stop. “There’s no way you found out.”

“You, my friend, are into history.” I pointed towards the books in the backseat.

Devin let out a sigh. “Ah, you found me out.” He began driving again. “Yeah, I’m a bit of a history buff. Just something to pass the time, I guess. Better than video games right?”

“Much better.”

“Kyle hates the fact that when I have the TV on, it’s usually on The History Channel. But hey, maybe some of it will sink in for him. Give him a leg up in school or something.”

God, he was cute. Hot, smart, caring, buff, sensitive. I wanted to rip his clothes off and taste every inch of him. We turned onto the highway. Interesting.

After driving a good fifteen minutes, Devin leaned over and opened up the glove box pulling out something small and black that looked like cloth. “So I’m going to need you to put this on,” he said handing it to me.

Once in my hands I realized it was an eye mask. “You keep a blindfold in your glove box?”
Sure, that’s not creepy at all.

“Only for special occasions.” He winked at me. “Just put it on.”

My anxiety didn’t do well with my eyes being shut off from the light. “Does this mean we’re close?”

“Very. Now get to it.” He nudged the eye mask in my hand.

Reluctantly, I placed the fabric over my eyes and watched the world go black.

As if sensing my primal fear, Devin grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “I’m right here.” His voice was soft like cotton balls, and somehow I felt better, safer.

***

Devin announced our arrival but insisted I keep the mask on just a little bit longer. I heard him cut the engine, get out of his side of the car, and open my car door. He took my hand and guided me up and out. I could hear lots of people chattering around us, and I wondered how strange or dangerous we must’ve looked to them. Devin promised me again that I was safe as he walked me forward. I heard him knock four times against a door that sounded like it was made of metal.

“Hey,” a man’s voice said.

“Don’t ruin it,” Devin immediately said to him.

The man laughed a loud cackle. “Follow me.”

“I’ve got you,” Devin whispered in my ear.

I knew I was safe. I knew I was. But the combination of adrenaline and anxiety was making it almost impossible to choke back the bile that was forming in the back of my throat.
Just breathe. Breathe.

I’d lost track of how many footsteps we’d taken along with any sense of direction. Finally, we stopped. There was a low rumble of voices around me. People suppressing giggles and others making the shush sound.

“Okay,” Devin said as he gently removed the blindfold from my face.

It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the light, and then I had to blink a thousand times to be sure I was actually seeing what I was seeing. “You’re…you’re Amy Parkson,” I said as I stared mouth gaped open at Amy Parkson standing five feet away from me with her signature acoustic guitar in hand.

“Yes, I am,” she said as she moved forward with an outstretched hand. Her long, wavy auburn hair flowed around her like a cape.

“I’m shaking Amy Parkson’s hand,” I mumbled feeling like my tongue was numb and my teeth were falling out into my mouth. My hand felt like it was going to fall off. I turned to Devin. “How did you…? When did you…? How did you…?” Complete sentences escaped me.

Devin and Amy smiled at each other. “Amy’s my cousin,” he said, and my mouth hit the floor.

“You’re kidding.”

“Second cousins, but yup, we’re family. And anytime family requests to come see me play, even if it is last minute, I was raised that you always come through for family.” She moved to Devin and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

Amy turned and looked at me with her ice blue eyes. “I’ve gotta get out there. I hope you enjoy the show. I have a meet and greet thing with some fans afterwards, but maybe we can all get together for a coffee or something sometime.”

I nodded absentmindedly as I shook her hand one more time and watched her walk away with her guitar. We were left alone inside the large open room. Amy’s band members and security guards had all left. My body was still in shock as waves of electricity bounced off of my pores.

Devin moved next to me and interlaced his fingers with mine. “So we should probably grab our seats. Front row center, just so you know.”

I moved my body in front of his and grabbed him by the back of the neck, pulling his face down to meet mine. My lips pressed hard against his. My tongue found its way into his mouth and we swirled and danced around each other’s wet mouths. My breasts were pressed against him and my chest rubbed against his making my already erect nipples even harder. His breath quickened, and I felt his hand massage all over my back and my ass. He pulled my legs up and wrapped them around him, keeping his hand on my behind. As we kissed, he pushed my lower body against his, and I felt him grow even more. Soft, delightful moans escaped me as his mouth found the flesh of my neck.

We were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. “Show’s about to start,” a male voice said from behind us.

Devin and I broke apart, and I slid down his body. I turned to see a security guard smiling at us. “Great, thanks,” Devin said. We shared a stifled laugh as we followed the guard to our seats.

I’d never sat in the front row of a concert before. The energy in the theater was palatable. The intimate setting of two hundred of Amy Parkson’s devoted fans was something I’d never forget. “So if it didn’t translate back there, I’m very thankful for this,” I whispered in Devin’s ear just before flicking his lobe with my tongue.

“Oh, I got that,” he said while covering his crotch with his hands. He looked me deep in the eyes and said, “I’m happy you’re happy.” His lips rested softly on mine, and he held his mouth there for a deep, penetrating moment.

My heart wanted to fly out of my chest and explode in a spectacle of love sparkles that would sprinkle all over Devin. The lights went out, and the soft strum of a guitar—her guitar—cut through the air, and the crowd began to cheer as Amy Parkson started her show. Everything was magical; the lighting, the acoustics, the musicians, and Amy herself with her voice in perfect angelic form. When she began to sing
Forever
, my heart had to fight to stop itself from breaking.

***

It was the day before the funeral, and Haley’s mom had asked me to come over. At her request, I’d been working on putting together a compilation DVD of Haley’s life. It had been beyond painful to look through all the photos her mom had given me along with all the photos of the two of us that I had on my computer. I understood why she couldn’t do it, but it still killed me to put it together. Just staring at her bright gray eyes caused my heart to break little by little. I was unable to put any photos up from the past four months or so. I had a few of her, and I could see how the disease had affected her. Her eyes were sunken in, her cheeks protruded, and her color was off. So I did what I had to do. I put together the best selection of pictures from her short, short life. When I’d added them all, it was time to pick a music track to play in the background. There was only one song that would be fitting enough. Forever by Amy Parkson. I added the track to the background of the slide show, and then I sat cross-legged on my bed and held onto my favorite teddy bear with the laptop in front of me, and I pressed play.

The swell of guitar music filled the air as a photo of a little two-year-old Haley in pigtails with frosting on her nose filled the computer screen. Amy’s angelic voice began to sing as the slideshow progressed to a photo of Haley age four dressed as an angel. Moments caught on film documenting this young girl’s life flickered in bright pixels as Amy sang,

When I remember you it’ll be forever

‘Cause now or never you’re still the same

And if you doubt I’ll love you never

You know forever won’t be the same

Fat tears streamed down my cheeks as I looked at the photo of Haley and me standing near her swimming pool at her tenth birthday party. We both thought we were hot stuff in our matching polka-dotted bikinis. The photo showed us arm in arm with bright beaming smiles. We thought the world was ours for the taking. The tears continued with the next photo of us giving each other facials at a spa party I had for my eleventh birthday. Haley playing soccer. Haley in dance class. Haley on her swings. Haley accepting her high honors certificate. Haley and her mom. Haley and me at our junior prom. Haley. Haley. Haley. Gone. Gone. Gone. And Amy Parks sang,

When I remember you it’ll be forever

‘Cause now or never you’re still the same

And if you doubt I’ll love your never

You know forever won’t be the same

The slideshow was shown on a loop at her wake. It was set up in a small room across from where the casket was. Just before I left the wake, I peeked into the room. The movie had somehow gotten frozen—probably a problem with the DVD player or something—but it was frozen on a photo of Haley and me. It was taken the day before we started our senior year. We were at the beach standing near the ice cream stand. As an end of summer promotion, they were selling extreme sundaes for one dollar. We each got one and asked some older ladies who were nearby to take our picture eating them. In the photo, we were feeding each other obnoxiously large scoops. Haley smiled through the ice cream I was trying to jam into her mouth, and I was laughing. It was a great shot. I remembered how normal we were then. How normal food was then. I must’ve stood there staring at the photo for a few minutes before the DVD kicked over and moved onto the next photo. It was like it was stuck there on purpose. Like I was meant to remember that photo. Like Haley was trying to tell me to remember her that way, forever.

***

After the show, I felt like I was floating on air. Watching Amy live had been more than I’d ever dreamed of. Every note was perfection, and every moment had been burned into my heart and mind forever.

“Have I already said thank you?” I touched Devin’s sculpted bicep as he drove.

He smiled. “About twenty times.” He glanced towards me. “And you’re welcome.”

Relaxation crossed over my whole body, and I wanted to bask in that feeling forever. I’d assumed we were headed back to my apartment, but I could tell from the exit Devin took off the highway that that wasn’t the case. “Is there more to this adventure?” I asked.

“Just a five minute drive to a little piece of paradise.” He winked at me, and my body trembled with excitement.

True to his word, five minutes later Devin was pulling into a small parking lot. He got out of the driver’s side quickly and met me by my door just as I was opening it. Like a footman, he held out his hand for me to take. There was no way to tell where I was as the only light around us was that from the moon. I let Devin guide me down along a small path that opened up to a large patch of beach that was completely bathed in moonlight.

“What are the odds Amy would be playing a show on the same night of a full moon?” he said as we walked onto the squishy sand.