A Beautiful Forever(21)

“Paige –” her mother implores, reaching out for her daughter.

“Don’t,” I say warning her, knowing Paige wouldn’t welcome her mother’s touch. I watch as hurt flits across her mother’s features as she closes her hand in on itself, reluctantly lowering her arm to her side.

“Paige, will you please talk to us,” Daniel pleads. “There’s so much you need to understand.”

Turning in my arms, Paige faces them, levelling her gaze on both of them as what only can be described as hatred, seethes out of her. “Oh, I understand plenty. You two had an affair, destroyed one child’s life and abandoned the lives to two others, and now you’re living your happily ever after together – am I close?” she continues glaring at them as their eyes flit to each other and then drop to the floor. “You know what? Fuck you, f*ck both of you.”

I take this as our cue to leave and guide a very shaky Paige out of the house and back to the car. We drive for a few minutes in silence as Paige’s eyes pour out buckets of tears. I pull over to the side of the road and pull out my phone, Googling the location of the nearest motel.

“What are you doing?” she asks, looking over at me.

“Taking you somewhere so you can calm down,” I say as I set my phone to navigate and pull the car back onto the road. As we drive along, my chest aches with my need to comfort her. I feel like I’ve handled this all wrong, and I don’t want to take her back to a flat full of people while she’s this upset, this is the best I can think to do.





Chapter 16


Paige


“I can’t believe this! After all she did to me! She gets to have her happily ever after! This is bullshit!” I screech, shaking with the rage I feel at seeing my mother again after so many years. “I hate her Elliot, I hate her so much that I can’t even breathe through it!” I start to pace up and down the room as he sits on the edge of the bed watching me as I rant. “She looked for me!? Bullshit she looked for me! It’s been 10 years! You’re telling me she couldn’t have gone through every Paige Larsen in the phone book a thousand times by now!? Who the f*ck does she think she is!? Everything that has happened to me is her fault, she was my mother! She was supposed to care about me!”

I stop pacing and shut my eyes, placing my hands on either side of my head and gripping handfuls of my hair. My mouth opens and a wretched cry unrecognisable as my own comes from deep within me. Two firm strong arms slip around my waist, as Elliot pulls my body against his rock-hard chest. I collapse, literally. My knees give way and my body sags against him, so I’m hanging off him, sobbing wildly against his chest. He holds me steadily while I cry, kissing me in my hair and shushing me.

“It’s okay. I'm here. You're not alone anymore. Everything will be ok,” he repeats like a mantra, slowly calming me down.

Scooping me up, as though I’m a child and weigh next to nothing, he carries me over to the bed and places me gently down, smoothing my hair out of my face. Lying next to me, he curls his body around mine and holds me tightly, protectively. My heart aches so much right now, and I just want it to stop, but I don’t think it ever will.

At some point, I fall asleep in his arms, overcome with the exhaustion but filled with a comfort that only he can give me, no one else makes me feel this way. No one else gives me hope.





Elliot


I lie on the bed holding Paige tightly as she sleeps, all the while replaying the morning over and over in my mind. Mentally kicking myself each time. I feel like I let her down, I should have taken her home when she asked me to the first time. I was supposed to protect her, and now I feel like all I did was put her in a position to get her heart broken.

I run my free hand over my face as I stare up at the ceiling, I’m a little out of my depth here, and I don’t know what to do or say to help her. I’ve been harbouring so much hate towards my own father for using his money to control me for so many years but at least my mother has always been supportive of me, and really my father cares about me too – he just wants things for me that I don’t. I feel selfish and spoilt – I was given everything while Paige had everything torn from her when she was cast out into the world on her own. I dread the thought of what her life must have been like since then, how the hell did she even survive?

When I feel Paige stir, I reach over to smooth her hair away from her face. She wore it out in her natural curl today, and it’s not keen on being tamed. After a few attempts, her face is free, and we’re looking at each other.

Her hand scrunches tightly as she pulls at my shirt, urging me towards her. I slide down the bed a little so our faces are level, touching her face softly, trying so hard to be what she needs right now.

“Kiss me, Elliot,” she whispers, her eyes swimming with more tears she has yet to shed.

I brush my lips lightly on hers and slowly deepen the kiss as she responds fervently. Our tongues slide against each other as we moan softly into each other’s mouths, pulling at each other’s clothes, repositioning ourselves, so she is on top of me, her legs straddling me either side.

She starts to move her hips against me, rubbing herself up and down my already hard shaft. Watching her as she works, I’m lost in the sensations of what she’s doing to me as my fingers ache to feel her skin underneath them. Sliding my hands under her shirt, I massage her breasts, tweaking her nipples gently as they stand erect between my fingers.

“Oh!” erotic whimpers escape her throat as she leans down, kissing me and rocking over me. I feel close to bursting and try desperately to keep myself calm. Removing my hands from underneath her shirt, I thread my fingers through her hair, holding her head steady, as I trail kisses down her delicious neck.

She has a look of pure ecstasy on her face as she rocks her hips against mine. I don’t think I have ever been this turned on fully clothed. Placing her hands on my chest she sits up and continues her movement, gasping and moaning, causing my head to swim and my body to scream with my need for her, until finally she opens her eyes and cries out, her hips stilling to a gentle pulse before she collapses in a heap on my chest. I breathe steadily, amazed by what I just witnessed. The throbbing in my own pants threatening to explode each time her body moves as she’s heaving against me.

“Do you have anything with you?” she whispers breathlessly in my ear.

“In my wallet,” I say, reaching over to the bedside table where I’d placed my phone, wallet and keys when we arrived.

She sits up to undo the top button of my jeans and then pulls at the button fly to pop the rest, releasing my erection. I lift my hips as she works my jeans off my legs and drops them at the end of the bed, removing her own jeans at the same time.

Tearing the foil open I pull out the condom and move to apply it. “No, I want to do it,” she says, climbing on top of me and reaching out to take the circle of rubber from my fingers.

She pinches the bubble and places it on top of my shaft, rolling it down to the base in long languid motions. As she positions herself on top of me, I hold my breath, waiting for her to take me inside.

Looking at me wickedly she uses my tip to tease her opening, flinching slightly as she moves it over her clit and back again before slowly sliding down my length. She does this little grind when she hits our deepest point, and I moan, placing my hands on her hips as she rides me.

She is so tight as she squeezes herself around me, and I’m excruciatingly close to coming but I don’t want this to end. Her face is perfect as she focuses on her movement, grinding against me each time she takes me in.

“Are you sure about this Elliot?” she whispers in between her moans.

Gripping her firmly, I hold her hips still, stopping her movement and getting her full attention. Her eyes focus clearly on mine and a slight look of panic flits across her face.

“Sure about what?” I ask, slightly confused.

Her eyes close and I can see she’s on the verge of getting upset again. “About me… about us…” she barely breathes out.

Reaching up, I take her face in my hands, keeping her face steady so she can’t look away. “Paige, open your eyes.”

For a moment she squeezes them tighter, but I wait, gently stroking her cheek with my thumb, until they slowly flutter open, focusing again on me.

“I want you Paige. From the moment I laid eyes on you, I have wanted you. So yes Paige, I’m sure. I’m f*cking positive.”

Her eyes close again as she sucks in her breath, and I draw her face towards mine, crashing our lips together as we continue or movement, pressing our bodies together until there isn’t even a millimetre’s worth of space between us.

She’s still wearing her shirt, so I pull it up, urging her to take it off. She complies, removing her bra as well, dropping them down the side of the bed before reaching down to lift my shirt.

I crunch up and remove it, dropping it with hers before I lie back and pull her towards me, kissing her passionately. My chest aches from the intensity of my feelings for this woman, I want to possess her, to know everything there is to know about her, to spend every living moment with her. But I know that, emotionally, she’s holding back, keeping herself just outside of my grasp, and I wonder whether she'll ever surrender fully to becoming ‘us’. I deepen my kiss, wanting to hold on so badly, knowing this could all be too fleeting.