Read Online Forever and Almost Always by Amanda Bennett - Free Book Online

in all actuality, I had dated one of the biggest assholes I had ever met in my life and anything compared to how he treated me, was amazing.
    We pulled up between mine and Dax’s house a short while later, and I felt bad leaving Taylor to get home on her own. “Hey guys, can you stay with Taylor for just a second? I need to make a call real quick.”
    They both nodded their heads in agreement as I exited the van. I pulled my cell phone out of my purse and quickly dialed Taylor’s mom.
    “Hello?”
    “Hi Mom, it’s Charlee. Hey do you mind watching Katie overnight for Taylor? She had a run in with her ex, and she’s a bit shaken up. I just don’t feel comfortable having her drive home alone tonight.” I knew it was a long shot, but sometimes Taylor’s mom came through.
    “Yeah, honey. That’s fine. She’s already asleep anyway. Please make sure Taylor comes home first thing in the morning though. Her stepdad needs his van and we have plans.”
    “I promise I’ll make sure she gets home on time. Thanks so much, Mom.”
    “No problem, honey. Talk to you later.”
    I hung up the phone and made my way back to the van where Taylor, Dax and Wilton stood. “Okay, so your mom says you can stay here tonight. Let’s get you inside.”
    A look of shock fell over Taylor’s face, but when I shrugged my shoulders the look disappeared. I gave Taylor a quick hug and whispered something in her ear. She took the keys from my hand and started making her way up my front walkway. Wilton followed suit after Dax gave him a look, and I waved goodnight to him.
    “Dax, look-“
    His hands came up to my shoulders, as he crouched down to look me in the eyes. “Please don’t thank me again. I did what needed to be done. I’m just sorry any of that happened tonight. Not quite the first date I had in mind.”
    “Not quite a first date, at all.” I replied. “You usually have to ask me out before we can consider it a first date.”
    “Oh but I did ask you. How about tomorrow night? I’ll have to borrow my friend Ernie’s truck, but…just say yes.”
    I looked up into those smoldering eyes and found myself nodding in agreement, before I could even process what I was doing. Millions of butterflies suddenly took flight in my tummy and I gently pressed my lips against his, pulling back way too quickly for my liking. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
    “Absolutely.” He replied, and then he was gone.
    I gathered my things from the van and locked it up with the keys Wilton had left on the seat. As I started walking up the walkway to my front door, my phone started ringing. I glanced down at the screen and quickly hit ignore. There was only so much bullshit one girl could go through in one night.
    “Tay?” I shouted.
    “I’m in your room.”
    I made my way through my bedroom door and threw my purse down on my bed next to Taylor. “You doing okay, hun?”
    “Yeah. I’m fine. We both know we’ve both dealt with worse things.”
    “Agreed.”
    “Thanks for calling my mom. Do you care if we just go to sleep?”
    “Not at all. I’m just going to grab some water and turn on the porch light for my mom. Be back in a sec.”
    As I walked into the kitchen, I couldn’t help but look across the way into the open window at Dax’s house. A large part of me was hoping that I would get one last look at him, but I was severely disappointed when his house went dark. I filled up my glass of water and double checked all the locks on the doors, before heading back to my room. Taylor was already laying down, so I slipped on a pair of boxers and crawled into bed.
    “You were trying to get one last look at him, weren’t you?” She laughed.
    “Maybe.” We both broke out in a fit of giggles. There wasn’t anything that I could get past Taylor. She was like the sister I never had, and she knew me just as well.
    ~ ~ ~ ~
    The next morning, I woke up to my mom banging on my bedroom door. “I swear to god Charlee, if there is a guy in there, I