Page 37 of Forged Forever

A torrent of tears spill over as I throw myself at Jake, a river’s worth of moisture leaving my body. I can’t believe it. I get to keep Jake and my guys. There was a steadily growing fear clawing at my mind, telling me I’d need to choose. I ignored it, but it was present, watching and waiting for me to let my guard down.

Leaning back, I pepper his face with kisses as he laughs. “Tell me this is real again,” I beg.

Jake pinches my side hard. “Oww! Dammit Jake. That hurt.”

“See? Real.” His smirk turns serious. “I don’t think I’ve said the words out loud, but thank you for being you. For loving me and staying with me. I’d never have this second chance at life if it weren’t for you. Love you, Sum.”

The tears start again. “I love you so much, handsome.” I place a soft kiss on his lips before wrapping around him again.

We sit in the fresh, warm air as I tell him about Seb, E, and Nick, and how we came together, including the breakup with E. I spend a little extra time talking about Nick since he and Jake haven’t met yet. “What about Alex and Bay?”

I explain about Reesa first, then the conversation between me and Bay during our camping trip. He’s surprised I’m not dating them, I think. “So, three out of five then. I can handle that.” Smiling to myself, I continue to talk as Jake asks questions about the guys. To talk so freely about this is refreshing, and he doesn’t seem uncomfortable at all. Jake really must have spent a lot of time thinking about this. Another small miracle.

When Ray returns, I take my leave, driving to Alex and E’s place. Mrs. Grant lets me in as I jog up the stairs to the apartment. Opening the door, I enter to find Seb, E, and Alex on the couch watching tv.

As Seb jumps up for his hug, the tears start yet again. Burrowing into his chest, I hold him tight as I dampen his shirt. “Sunshine?” Seb pulls back to look at me. He sees the tears and wraps me back in his arms. “Hey, hey there. Whatever it is, we’ll fix it, Sunshine. Please don’t cry.” He sways us back and forth as I catch E and Alex approaching.

Once I compose myself, I loosen my hold on him to wipe my face. “What happened?” Alex asks. “Are you injured?”

“No, nothing like that.” Blowing out a large breath, I try to loosen my muscles. “Jake asked me how many boyfriends I had today, completely out of the blue.”

“Oh, shit.” Seb pulls me close again and begins rocking.

“It was actually amazing. Jake figured it out months ago and spent that time processing his feelings. He’s okay with it. He still wants to be my boyfriend and is good with you three.”

Seb stills. “Really? You’re not shitting me?”

“No. I couldn’t believe it either. But we talked for over an hour. It’s true.”

Seb picks me up under my butt and spins me. “Hell yeah!” I giggle as he twirls us across the room, half spinning and half jumping.

When he finally sets me down, E picks me up, burying his face in my neck. “I’m so happy,” he whispers.

“Me too, E.” We smile at each other as he puts me back on the ground.

“Congratulations. I am happy for all of you,” Alex adds. When I catch his eye, he opens his arms for his own hug. Why not?

We settle onto the couch after I drop my bag in my room. E makes us popcorn while I text with Dad. We don’t stay up late with school tomorrow. Seb and E squeeze me between them in bed, and I sleep so peacefully.

Chapter 24

In the blink of an eye, it’s Easter weekend. Sue is flying down again this year, and I can’t wait to see her and for her to meet Jake. Easter dinner will be at our house, just like last year, with Troy, Gabby, and Seb. Ray, Will, and Jake are also joining us, and there’s no diving or track this weekend.

Seb joins us as we pick Sue up mid-morning on Good Friday from the airport. When I see her walk through the arrivals door, I jog over for a hug. “I missed you.”

“Oh, sweetheart, I missed you as well.” She steps back, holding my arms. “You look radiant.”

“Life is good,” I smile. Dad and Seb get hugs as Dad takes her bag. “Brace yourself,” I tell her as we near the doors. “We’re due for a thunderstorm soon.”

Sue nods, but still needs a moment to catch her breath when we step outside. Seb chats away with her as Dad drives us home. As Sue gets settled, Seb helps me make lunch.

The thunderstorm rumbles over as we sit down to eat, and the sky darkens from a misty grey to an ominous charcoal. The lights flicker after lightning illuminates the house, and we lose power. I jump a little as the thunder rolls closer and shakes the house, and Seb squeezes my arm in support. “Damn,” I mutter.

Since it’s daytime, we have enough light to continue our meal. Sue fills us in on the gossip in between the symphony of the storm, and dad calls to report the outage after we finish eating. “I have a small generator to run the fridge and freezer if the power stays out too long,” Dad tells us.

With nothing to do, we get comfortable on the couch. The sky is lightening up as the storm moves toward the ocean. I give Sue more details about Jake and show her pictures of him. We had planned on baking today, so when Dad tells us the power won’t be back until late tonight, Seb texts E and we have an invitation to his place. They also lost power but have a whole home backup system.

Since the rain has slowed to a trickle, Seb and Dad run out to the garage to get the generator. Once that’s running, we get into my Jeep and drive to visit Alex, Steven, and E.