Be My Forever

Prologue

Two years ago

“I still don’t understand how someone can have so many pairs of shoes,” Theo muttered as he dragged a huge box filled with boots inside the already cluttered living room.

Jasmine sighed dramatically, looking at her boyfriend. “Of course you wouldn’t. You only buy new sneakers once your toes bore holes through the old ones.”

“I’d rather spend my money on other things than hundreds of pairs of shoes.”

“Which is why your feet smell so bad,” I shot back.

Theo turned his head to the side in fake shock, meanwhile Jasmine showed me a thumbs-up.

“Damn, Evy, that’s mean.”

When he turned back to his girlfriend, Jasmine just smiled sweetly. She patted his arm before getting back to organizing the boxes. We still had a month before the school year would start, but it was nicer to move in and have enough time to settle without the added stress of starting another new chapter of our lives. I wiped sweat from my brow as I dragged a few bags full of clothes into what would be my room for the next three or more years. It had been a challenge to build the IKEA furniture with just the three of us, especially with Jasmine and her tendency to be bossy. But let’s be real, if it had just been me and my talent for building, things wouldn’t have been done either.

As I strutted back to the living area, a loud knock made us all jump. Jasmine glanced at me, and I glanced at Theo. He showed me his palms.

“Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t invite anyone.”

“Me neither,” Jasmine added.

“Don’t look at me. You know I don’t talk to anyone except for you guys.” I sighed.

We opened the door as one. In front of us stood a very tall young man who was smiling brightly. His bright blue eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“Hi, I’m Danté. I live across the hall.”

Jasmine pushed us aside to let him in.

“I’m Jasmine, and these are Evy and Theo. But Theo won’t be bothering you too much.”

“Rude, babe.”

Danté shook their hands before taking mine. His grip was firm and confident. And man, was he cute. I had always liked tall guys who had more of a slim build. They marked bonus points if they were blond, and this guy had checked all the boxes.

Sensing his attention linger a bit too long, I took my hand back and squared my shoulders. I wasn’t shy per se, but I didn’t like more attention than what was necessary. Jasmine jumped back in; she knew socializing with strangers wasn’t my strong suit.

“How long have you been living here?”

“Three years. I’ll be starting my master’s year of physiotherapy.”

Theo whistled in amazement. He and Jasmine told Danté what they would be doing: Jasmine had always wanted to be an elementary school teacher, and Theo wanted to study communication. Danté turned to me, silently asking me to say more.

“I want to be a dietician. I know. It sounds rather boring but…”

Most people had made a face when I told them I wanted to go down that road. “Why would you want to spend your life telling fat people to go on a diet?” was a question many had asked, if not with those exact same words. And every time, I had told them to fuck off, if not with those exact same words. Food was more than just a diet or an obligation, and everyone deserved to have a healthy relationship with food. I was readying myself to bite back, but the questions or annoying comments never came.

Our new neighbour shook his head, still the epitome of golden retriever energy inside a human body. “Oh, not at all. It sounds rather complicated. Good luck.”

Said the guy who was about to start his master’s degree. He had one dimple in his right cheek, and two in his left. I found myself smiling back.

“Anyways. I just wanted to welcome you. And if you need any help, don’t hesitate.”

Jasmine thanked him. Danté waved one last time before crossing the hallway. Once both our doors were shut, Jasmine and Theo turned to me.

I rolled my eyes, already aware of what was coming. “Please don’t.”

“He’s cute.”

“And he seems nice,” Theo added.

“He’s totally your type! We all know you can’t resist blond guys.”

She had a point, of course. I shook my head. There was no need to get ahead of myself.

“Chill. We barely met the guy.”

Theo and Jasmine exchanged a look. They had been together for about a year and a half, and were friends before that. They could basically use telepathy. She put a gentle hand on my shoulder.

“Just don’t let this chance ruin itself. I don’t want you to be lonely.”

“I am eighteen! There is plenty of time for me to find someone.”

Because I knew myself. I would fall head over heels, and there would be no turning back. Jasmine gave me an unconvinced glance.

“If you say so.”

***

Theo didn’t stay the night, which I was grateful for. Even though we had been friends for most of our teenage years, it was nice to know that this apartment was for Jasmine and me. And occasionally Theo. I wasn’t bitter about the fact that my best friends were dating. If anything, I had pushed Theo into Jasmine’s arms so they would finally acknowledge their feelings. Literally pushed him. That didn’t change the fact that I didn’t want him around every second of every day. Jasmine wanted us to settle on our own. We would be together for as long as we would be at college. And I was fine with that.

When “Sweet Melody” from Little Mix came on, Jasmine turned up the music, making it blast through our little kitchen. She danced to the song, spilling some of her third Passoa on the counter. She quickly wiped it clean before getting back to dancing. Even the alcohol in her blood couldn’t keep her from being a maniac.

“You know what we need? Some snacks.”

I looked in our fridge. The only thing that could be a snack except for raw courgette or bell pepper was a block of cheese.

“Want some Gouda cheese cubes?”

“Sure.”

After going through our three kitchen drawers, I finally found a sharp knife. I’m definitely going to move the knives when she’s not looking .

Jasmine bumped into me. Before I could let go of the tool, it went straight into my finger. I hissed from the sharp pang as I let the knife fall back on the counter.

“Oh my goodness. Evy, are you alright?”

“I think it touched my bone.”

Jasmine grabbed my hand, and blood started gushing out of the wound. Her face became pale at the sight of it.

“I am fine.”

But to be fair, it really hurt. And there was a lot of blood leaking from my hand. Probably too much. There were already white spots dancing before my eyes.

“I am taking you to the ER.”

She grabbed her car keys, and I stopped in front of our door.

“Absolutely not!” I snapped. “You are swaying as much on your feet as I am, and I am the one bleeding out.”

Jasmine bit her lip, fighting against the alcohol in her blood. She looked at her phone, then sighed. “There are no more trams nor busses at this hour.”

Great. I opened my mouth to ask her for a cab, but Jasmine stopped me.

“Evy, grab your wallet and something to stop the bleeding.”

I did as I was told and followed her outside of the apartment. Jasmine pounded on Danté’s door, and I could feel panic rise in my stomach. Oh shit. A few seconds later, his door opened ever so slightly. He wore nothing but a pair of grey jogger pants and a frown. Which was normal. It was past 1 AM now.

“Is everything alright?” he asked.

My eyes landed on his lean stomach, and I quickly looked away. If he noticed my flushing cheeks, he didn’t say anything.

“You told us we could come to you if we needed help. Right?”

“Yeah, sure. But now is maybe not the best time.”

A feminine voice could be heard from the other side of the door. Then a gorgeous blonde woman appeared next to our neighbour. She wrapped her arms around his waist.

“Babe, what’s taking you so long?”

She was wearing the exact same shirt he had been wearing a few hours ago, and lacy black underwear. Her eyes stopped on my Chiantos t-shirt. She raised a mocking brow.

“Cute shirt.”

I coughed from embarrassment. So this was my first night of independence: standing in front of my very handsome neighbour, tipsy and bleeding out, while his girlfriend’s fingers were dragging lower and lower and lower . We hadn’t woken him up – we had interrupted something else entirely. Something that had been going on for a while if I counted the red marks on his neck. I could see the muscles of his stomach move.

I panicked as I almost yelled “I need you to take us to the hospital.”

That seemed to get them both out of their trance. Danté’s eyes shot wide open.

“Why?”

“Because Jasmine’s drunk.”

“And why do you ask us if she’s drunk and you’re not?” Blondie asked.

For a second I debated whether or not I wanted to strangle her with the bloody kitchen towel I had wrapped around my hand. I hadn’t asked them ; I had asked him. Big difference. Instead of committing a murder on the very first day, I showed them the wound. Some more blood leaked out, and the girlfriend made a disgusted face. Danté’s brows knitted together.

“I’m the one bleeding. But Jasmine’s in no state to drive me there.”

As for me, I didn’t have a license, so I was plain useless here.

“Fuck. Let me grab a shirt and I’ll bring you.”

The pretty girl started to sputter complaints, but Danté just asked her to get dressed and leave. When she wanted to kiss him goodbye, he just dodged her altogether. Jasmine winked at me as we followed him. I lost my balance several times before we made it to the car, Danté and Jasmine always staying within reach.

Jasmine climbed in the back. Some part of me wanted to hide in the back with her, though that would’ve been ridiculous. I breathed in and hopped in the car on the seat next to Danté.

Brussels by day was a city buzzing with energy, so much that the peace and quiet and the free-flowing traffic at night were impressive. He drove quietly for a few minutes, but maybe he wasn’t one to like silence.

“So, how did that happen?”

I shrugged. This couldn’t get worse anyway. “I was cutting cheese, and Jasmine was dancing. Then she bumped into me while I was holding the knife.”

I took the towel off to inspect the cut under the night lights. Too much blood was still gushing out of my flesh, and yep, I could definitely see the bone. This was oddly fascinating.

“Keep pressure on that wound,” Danté ordered me, his voice tight.

“Relax. I won’t die because of a cut. I only need stitches.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re not helping yourself by fiddling with that wound.”

“Fine.”

Jasmine was singing along with the radio, still as drunk as a skunk. Everyone knew she couldn’t take alcohol very well. I let my head rest against the window, only to regret it immediately as we drove over a bump in the road. As we arrived at the ER, a nurse urged me to follow her after she saw the bloodied towel.

“You can wait here,” I offered. “It won’t be long.”

Jasmine thanked me and fell down on one of the benches. Needles had always been something that made her uncomfortable. Danté, however, shook his head and followed me.

“I’m pretty sure that if I let you out of my sight, you’ll injure yourself even more.”

The nurse came back with the equipment for the stitches, followed by a young doctor. The doctor made a face as he looked at my hand.

“How did you manage a cut that deep?”

“I tried to cut cheese.”

My cheeks reddened at the look he gave me, which was fair, I guess. This whole night was just getting ridiculous. Danté laughed quietly, and I hit him with my foot.

“Stop laughing. This is embarrassing enough.”

“Sorry. Want me to hold your hand? You’re not going to puke once you see the needle, right?”

I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t help but smile back.

“Are you ?”

“I might.”

“You can still wait outside,” I told him.

But he stayed right where he stood. He was even looking over the shoulder of the doctor to watch everything. The doctor numbed my hand before stitching it. Two stitches. Two stitches for a midnight snack. If I’d had any chance at looking good in front of Danté, it had been shattered in less than a few hours.

When we walked out of the ER, Jasmine gave us both a coffee. In other circumstances, I would have refused; coffee tends to keep me awake if I drink it too late. Now I accepted the hot drink without any complaint. Once the adrenaline subsided, I’d be too tired to even care about the caffeine anyway. Dua Lipa danced the night away on the radio, and I bopped my head to the beat.

“Didn’t think I would end up in the hospital on the very first night just because Jasmine got wasted. But thank you for helping me out.”

“I am not wasted!” Jasmine sputtered. “Just too dizzy to drive.”

A small smile played on his lips, but he made no comment. Jasmine was right. He was completely my type. I cleared my throat.

“Anyway. I’ll try not to annoy you during your sexy time anymore. Your girlfriend is very pretty.”

A surprised laugh bubbled out of him. Oh yeah. I was an introvert, so that was probably what misled most people. In fact, I had no real filter once I started talking. Luckily for me, Danté didn’t take it seriously.

“Not my girlfriend.”

Whoops. Not only had I interrupted an intimate moment, but one he had with a one-night stand. What a wild night. I opened my mouth to apologize when he pointed a finger at me. Part of me wanted to bite it, but that would’ve been weird, even for me.

“Admit it, you did it on purpose,” he said in a fake offended voice.

“Oh yes, I wanted that bitch out of my way. And what better way to do that than guilt-tripping you with my blood?”

Danté shook his head, making his hair messier than it already was. It wasn’t fair how he looked so fine with sweatpants and an old hoodie, while I looked like a goblin coming back from battle. Especially with the shirt I was wearing, now splattered with blood. Not that it mattered anymore. I would forever be the girl who cut her hand instead of the block of cheese.

“Here I thought your intentions were pure. But you were trying to get in my pants the whole time.”

I gulped but played it cool. I pretended to look if my glasses were dirty before putting them back on. I only wore them when I had to look at a distance.

“A girl can dream,” I told him in what I hoped was a sultry voice.

Jasmine let out a strange laugh from the backseat, and my cheeks burned even harder than they already did. It seemed to also sober Danté up. His expression got serious.

“Promise me you won’t do that again any time soon.”

I put a hand on my heart, ready to take the pledge. “I’ll try not to chase your sex friends away next time, I promise.”

“I meant you hurting yourself.”

“He is absolutely right,” Jasmine chimed in, and I shot her a dirty look.

“You hurt me like this again and I’ll stab you.”

She flashed me her toothy smile. “Noted.”

“Just so you know,” Danté added, “I might have told you I would help if you needed anything, but I won’t help you hide bodies.”

I put on my most charming smile, not sure if it would work. “And if I ask very nicely?”

For a second, it looked as if he didn’t know how to respond. Danté let out a breath, drumming his fingers on the wheel. “It’s still a no.”

Jasmine coughed. A second later, the screen of my phone lit up.

Jasminnie: Since when r u such a shameless flirt?!

Me: I’m not flirting!

Me: Wait, I am?

Jasminnie: U SO ARE! Go get him, tigerrrr :D He likes it

I glanced at my best friend, and she nodded her approval. Before I could come up with something new, Danté parked his car in front of our building. So that was it. Once we stood in front of our doors, Jasmine slipped inside, pretending that she needed to throw up because of the alcohol. Then it was only us. Now that we were both standing under a bright light, I didn’t know what to do. The booze that had given me courage until now had fled my system.

“Uhm, thanks for the ride. It means a lot.”

“Anytime.” As soon as he realized what he said, his eyes widened. Danté showed me the palms of his hands. “I mean, please let’s not do this again. But you’re welcome.”

“Then I’ll see you another time?”

“Yep.”

Why was this suddenly so awkward?

As I opened my door, he shot back, “Nice shirt, by the way.”

It was hard to believe that he wasn’t mocking me. Yet there was no judgement on his face.

“Thanks. Good night.”

“Good night.”

He gave me a little smile before heading inside his apartment. I closed my door as quietly as possible and let myself slide to the floor, grinning like an idiot. This night might have started as a disaster, but maybe things would go just fine.