Planning on Forever (2 page)

Pulling
away from me Collin smiles. “We'll finish this tomorrow.”

As
he jumps into his car with his friends, I sigh softly to myself. How that boy
can leave me weak in the knees with just one kiss, I will never know.

Finding
myself alone on a Friday afternoon, I decide to stop by my best friend’s house.
Amanda and I have been best friends for years, and unlike my more reserved
attitude, Amanda is crazy and definitely lives life to the fullest.

“Hey
hot stuff, no Collin today?” Amanda greets me, standing at her front door.

“Nope,
he's with the guys doing who knows what.” I hate that I sound so pathetic.
When
did I turn into this love struck idiot?

“Well,
go grab one of my bikinis and get your hot ass by the pool. We can have some
cocktails.” I look at her skeptically.

“Oh
relax, Miss Goody Goody. They don't have any alcohol in them. I just wanna try
out my mom's new smoothie machine.” I laugh because I know if she had it her
way, they wouldn’t be virgin cocktails. Must mean her parents will be home
later; they’re involved with a million different committees and are out at
fundraisers and dinners almost every night of the week
.

– COLLIN –

Driving
away from school for the last time, I put the top down on my new Mustang, a
graduation present from my parents. I am ready for the next chapter. We decide
to take advantage of the beautiful day and kick off the summer with a barbeque
at Travis's. Travis lives with his mom in a small, three bedroom ranch, a
little outside of town. Working two jobs, she’s rarely ever home, making his
house the perfect place to hang out at. He also has an older brother, Troy. Even
though Troy is three years older than him, they could pass for twins, giving
Travis access to the perfect fake id.

“Alright
dudes, time to make a beer run. What are you ladies drinking today?” Travis
jokes, collecting money from everyone.

“Only
the good stuff, buddy. Go big or go home. We need to get our livers ready for
college!” Matt shouts.

As
the rest of the football team starts to pile into the backyard, I start the
grill and throw on a bunch of burgers and hotdogs. Feeding a football team is
quite the production. We call it a barbeque, but to anyone else it would be
considered a feast.

“You
ready for this buddy? The next chapter?” Matt asks, joining me by the grill.

“Yeah,
man. I am more than ready.”

“So,
what's up with you and Alexa? You guys plan on staying together when we leave?”

That
has always been the plan. Well, it has always been the unspoken plan. But how
am I supposed to juggle college life and a serious girlfriend? I’m going to be
crazy busy with school and football...How will Alexa fit into that? With Friday
night games and Saturday morning game review, coming home will be impossible,
but I can’t expect her to come out every weekend, either. Is this really what I
want? Will I look back one day and realize I missed out on the best years of my
life because I was tied down to one girl?

“That's
the plan, I guess…” I reply, not very confidently.

“Well,
you have all summer to figure that out. She is a pretty awesome girl, but you
only live once; you have to enjoy it while you can.” Matt picks up three
hamburgers and two hotdog rolls. “How’re those burgers coming, buddy? I didn’t
get this big just
looking
at food.”

“Pull
up your skirts, ladies. The party has arrived!” Travis walks in the back yard
carrying three cases of beer, with four girls in bikinis trailing closely
behind; these girls did not leave much to the imagination with their wardrobe
selection. Travis really knows how to pick them; one girl is carrying two
bottles of some kind of liquor and another is carrying three two liters of
cola. Tonight is definitely going to be interesting.

–
ALEXA –

“This
is my summer right here. Drinks, Cosmo girl, sun, and pool. Maybe I'll throw a
hot little summer fling in there somewhere, too,” Amanda giggles, lying next to
the pool.

“Yeah,
I could get use to this.”

“Well,
you know where to find me. We should hit up that new downtown club at some
point. You only have to be eighteen to get in, and I hear there are some
smoking hot college guys that go there,” Amanda says with a wink.

Giving
her a skeptical look, I laugh. “Um, yeah...no thanks. That's all you.”

“Oh,
come on. Just because you have a boyfriend, doesn't mean you can’t have a
little fun. Live a little for once.”

Hanging
out in a club with a bunch of sweaty people grinding on each other, practically
having sex on the dance floor, is not exactly top on my list. Besides, I’m
pretty sure Collin wouldn’t be too thrilled about it either. Something tells me
I would not get the stamp of approval on this one. “We'll see,” I reply just to
get her to shut up.

“So,
what's up with you and lover boy? You guys plan out what you are going to do
when he leaves?”

“We
haven't really talked about it but we'll stay together, obviously.”

“When
I go off to college, there is no way I’m going tied down to some guy. Good for
you two, but no way!” Amanda makes it sound like staying together is an awful
thing to do but I know it’s the best decision for Collin and I.

The
only decision.

We
spend the next two hours basking in the sun, drinking girly drinks, and
learning the top ten ways of pleasuring your man this summer, compliments of
Cosmo. I decide that I should probably get ready to go so I can meet up with my
parents for dinner. Knowing that Amanda has a zillion bikinis, I don’t bother
returning the one I’m wearing. Instead, I just throw what I wore to school back
on over it.

“Hey,
don’t worry about the whole Collin thing. You guys are disgustingly perfect for
each other,” Amanda sweetly says.

“Thanks.
I’ll talk to ya later,” I reply, before making my way to the front of the
house.

Driving
into the parking lot of the restaurant, I notice my parents standing by the
entrance waiting for me. Well, waiting for us, but Collin had other plans
tonight.

“You
told him he could go, Alexa, stop being so pathetic.”

“Hi,
honey. How was your last day of school?” my mom asks, greeting me outside of
our favorite mom and pop restaurant.

“It
was good, no different than any other day, I guess.”

“Where's
Collin, I thought he was coming out with us tonight? I brought his scrapbook
I’ve been working on,” my father asks, disappointed to see me alone.

Collin
is the son my father never had. He has followed Collin's high school football
career ever since we started dating. He’s never missed a game and has collected
all of his newspaper clippings. To say that my father likes Collin is an
understatement.

“He’s
with all the guys
celebrating
. I think I would’ve been labeled the
world’s worst girlfriend if I had made a fuss over it,” I tell him, not being
able to help the annoyance in my voice.

I
wonder what they’re doing? I never care when it's just Collin and Matt hanging
out, but when I know Travis is with them...well, you never know what can
happen. Not that I’m worried about Collin being unfaithful. He’s never given me
any reason to not trust him; I just don’t trust Travis.

“Well,
it
is
pretty exciting to be done with high school. Tell him we
understand, and that we’ll meet up with him another night. We should plan a
little summer trip before he leaves for school. Why don't you look at your work
schedule and figure out a weekend that works,” my mom adds, before we make our
way into the restaurant.

– COLLIN –

After
six beers and three rum and cokes, I’m feeling pretty good. Thinking back, I
can’t remember the last time I’ve drank this much or had this much fun. Travis
set up a beer pong table and I’ve been partnered up with one of the girls that
Travis picked up at the liquor store. Her name is Nicole. She has jet black
hair barely touching her shoulders, the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen, and tan
legs that go on forever. To say she is good looking is an understatement; she
gives sexy its own definition. Thankfully, she’s good at beer pong too, because
I’m starting to feel the effects of the sun and alcohol and I don’t think I can
stomach one more shot of beer.

Before
hurling everything I’ve consumed this afternoon, I decide after our fourth
consecutive win, to excuse myself to get a glass of water. Putting an arm
around Nicole's waist, I whisper in her ear, “I'll be right back, don't go
anywhere,” before disappearing into the house. Stumbling through the back door,
I catch myself from falling on the counter. I down two glasses of water and
stand there for a minute, trying to compose myself. Realizing it is getting
late, I decide to text Alexa so she doesn't get worried. Although we usually
call each other before going to bed every night, I don't think that would be
such a great idea given the state that I’m in right now. Deciding to text her
instead, I grab my phone from my pocket.