More Than Forever(38)

Mom rolls her eyes just as Lucy squeals. She sits up and holds her e-reader to her chest. "Cameron, they just had their first kiss!" She sighs dreamily.

"Yeah?"

She nods quickly, her smile mimicking the excitement she feels. And it hits me—how different she is now compared to when we met. I wonder how much I have to do with that... if me being in her life has made that significant of an impact.

"Ohhh," she coos, gripping her e-reader tighter. "I loved my first kiss so much."

I laugh and put my arm around her, bringing her to my side. "Yeah?" I ask, my eyes never leaving hers.

She nods again, and my heart tightens. I used to feel it a lot—that tightening in my chest. It took me a while to work out what it was; love—the kind of love that shouldn't exist for two sixteen year olds. It's almost too much. Too heavy. Too soon. I used to worry about what could be left. What is there to look forward to when you fall in this kind of love when you're so young? And then I worked it out. Forever. I have forever to look forward to.

"These books are wrong, Cam. The way they describe first kisses..." She leans up and kisses me, not caring that Mom and Mark are in the room. "It's not even close to how I felt." Her smile begins to fade and a seriousness takes over. "I love you. You know that, right?"

I look away from her. I have to. "I know, babe," I respond, faking a casualness to my voice. "I love you too."

She throws the e-reader on the coffee table and wraps her arm around my stomach, moving in as close as possible.

"Your book finished with a first kiss?"

"No," she says, "I just don't see the point of reading and living in someone else's world when my reality is so perfect."

***

Mark stands and stretches his arms, singing Johnny Be Good. When he's done belting out the chorus, he announces, "Time for Cam's movie!"

"I thought we were watching Aladdin now?" Lucy says.

Mark laughs. "She doesn't know, does she?" he asks me.

I sigh, knowing what's coming next. "No."

"Know what?" She sits up higher and faces me.

Mom speaks up, her words meant for Lucy. "Your boyfriend's middle name is Aladdin. He hates it."

Lucy lets out a snort before clamping her lips between her teeth. Her face turns red.

I shake my head. "You can laugh," I tell her. "Everyone else does."

So she does.

And even now, when she's laughing so hard at me, the sound of it still makes my world stop.

"Actually," Mark says, waiting for Lucy to quit laughing. "I want to show you something. Just us." He turns his attention to Lucy, who's now wiping tears from her eyes. "I promise to have your boy back soon."

She nods, still trying to compose herself. "Take his magic carpet, it'll be faster."

***

"Are you taking me somewhere to kill me?"

He rests his forearm on the steering wheel and glances over at me. "Yes."

"That's a shame. If you've been with Mom all this time thinking that you can replace me and take my place in her will—you've chosen the wrong girl. You've seen where we live, right? All that's left for me when she's gone is that Persian rug."

"Dammit," he mocks. "All that sex for nothing."

I gag. "That's gross, Mark. Don't bring that shit up again."

His head throws back in laughter just as he pulls into his street. He parks in front of his house and kills the engine.

"What are we doing here?" I ask, confused. I've only been here a handful of times since they started dating. I heard them once, arguing because he wanted us to move in with him. His house was a lot bigger. Not Lucy's house big, but much bigger than our old, tiny townhouse. Mom told him she didn't want me to have the instability. He lived further out of town, so I'd have to catch a bus to school. But it wasn't just that. She also said that she worked hard to build a home for us since Dad left, and she didn't want it to all be for nothing. He understood, but I have a feeling it wasn't the last time he asked her.

"One," Marks says, facing me. "Don't talk shit about your mom. I'm with her because I love the shit out of her. You should know what that feels like. You have Lucy, and to be honest, I'm kind of jealous that you found her so young. I wish I'd found your mom first. I wish I was the one you'd call Da—" he cuts himself off.

I blow out a nervous breath. It's rare we have serious conversations. Squirming in my seat, I wait for him to speak. All the words I wish I could say are stuck in my throat.

"Second," he sighs, then shakes his head. "Never mind. Let me just show you."

He presses the remote for the garage door and steps out of the car.