Forged Forever (Summer Easton #4)

Chapter 1

“Happy New Year, darling,” Dad says as he walks into my room, dressed in a black suit and tie. “I’m off to work.”

I stand up from my messy bed of papers and my laptop to give him a hug.

“Happy New Year, Dad.” He wraps me tightly in his arms and squeezes.

Dad, Troy, and most of Finn are working at a lavish party in Charleston tonight with lots of rich people and celebrities.

Dad offered for me and the guys to join, but we decided to go to Jake’s condo for the night.

With a kiss on my head, he steps back and smiles down at me. “Be good,” he waves and leaves.

I get back on my bed to continue working on my college applications.

The generic applications are already done.

I did them right after Christmas, but not the essays.

I was hoping I could write just one and use it for both colleges, but no luck.

The topics were unique for each, so I decided on a series of short answers for USC and an essay for Charleston.

The sun changes the light in my room through the sheer curtains covering the patio doors as the afternoon blurs past while I type and re-type my essay, switching between it and the short answers. The doorbell ringing breaks my focus, and I walk out to see who’s there.

Opening the door, I find Alex bundled up with a black hat, matching gloves, and a thick dark green wool coat, an insulated tote in his hands. “I brought dinner,” he smiles.

Stepping back, I wave him inside. “You didn’t need to bring food, but thank you, Alex.” I follow him into the kitchen to see what he has. The smell of garlic wafts through the air as he unzips the tote. “It smells incredible.”

“E cooked an Italian feast,” Alex tells me.

He gently drapes his coat on a dining room chair along with his hat and gloves as I grab drinks, napkins, and utensils.

I notice Alex is wearing a fitted dark green button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and black dress pants as we settle at the island.

He looks handsome. E made a garden salad, homemade garlic cheese bread, and an alfredo pasta dish with vegetables.

Alex slides a bowl of salad with bread towards me to start.

My first bite of the garlicky, cheesy loaf has me moaning.

“So good,” I mumble with my hand covering my mouth.

Alex chuckles with a smile. “How are the applications coming along?”

Swallowing a bite of salad, I turn my body towards him a little. “Okay, I guess. The short answer questions are easier and intriguing. The essay is harder.”

“You chose a difficult topic, but I am sure it will be interesting,” Alex answers.

I’m writing about overcoming the accident since it’s the most difficult thing I’ve ever gone through.

Getting my point across without going into too much detail had been a balancing act.

I'm not willing to damage myself emotionally just to write an essay, but time really helps heal all wounds. It’s hard to write about, but not as impossible as I was expecting it to be.

With my dad, family, friends, and lovers, I’m so much stronger than I was in the past.

As I start eating the pasta, a few unintentional moans slip out of me at the luscious, creamy sauce and parmesan. Alex’s lips lift in a small smile as each noise filters out, but he doesn’t comment. “What is E up to today besides feeding us?”

“Seb is visiting.”

“Ah.” They’re taking advantage of the alone time while they can.

Since we’re all staying with Alex tonight, this will be their only time to connect without others around.

I’m sure they're both enjoying the physical closeness they missed out on these past few months. I'm so glad things worked out for them.

When we finish the scrumptious meal, Alex helps me clean up and then offers to read through my essay and short answers. Happy to have a second opinion, I quickly jog down the hall to my room and scoop up my notes and laptop from my bed, and we spread out in the living room.

With his help, I complete both the essay and short answers, submitting my applications online.

The need to wait and keep working on them is strong, but I know myself; I could work on them for weeks.

Alex says they’re great, and I trust him, so away they went.

Trepidation and excitement go through me as I mentally check off another thing on my to-do list. “Thank you for your help. Now I can check off another item on my list,” I smile at Alex.

“You are welcome,” he nods as he relaxes back on the couch, crossing one leg over his ankle. “Have you received your SAT scores yet?”

“Not sure.” I bring up my email to check and find my test results waiting for me.

Honestly, I almost forgot about them. I took the test a few days ago, and since there weren’t many people doing so over the holidays, they told me it would be a fast turnaround.

Taking a shaky deep breath, I click the email. “I got a 1500.”

“That is incredible, Summer. Good enough for almost any college,” Alex smiles. “You should be proud.”

“Thanks Alex. I guess considering the little prep I had and the struggles of the last few years, it’s pretty darn good.”

“It is. You are well above average, Summer. I would guess you are in the 85th percentile.”

“Okay, that makes me feel better,” I smile at him. “I think I always had a higher score in the back of my mind, but all things considered…” I shrug.

“You will gain entrance to both your choices with that score, I am sure,” Alex responds, leaning over to pat my knee briefly.

Checking the time, I see it’s almost 8pm, so I tell Alex to hang out while I get ready for our night. Since this is the first New Year since Jake woke up, I want to look extra nice for him and Seb.

After a quick shower and shave, I slip into a pair of stretchy dark denim-colored skinny jeans and a dark blue silk wrap top.

With a low-cut bra on, I think it looks sexy but not too revealing.

I pull the front of my hair back with a gold clip and add dangling gold earrings.

Gabby helped me pick out some makeup for tonight, so I follow the video she sent me to apply it.

It’s nothing fancy like she could accomplish, but it makes my eyes pop, and the soft red lip balm looks great.

Smiling at my reflection, I step into a pair of low-heeled boots to complete my look. I throw my keys and wallet into my duffel bag and leave my room to show Alex.

He stands when he sees me, his eyes slowly taking me in, starting at my hair and travelling to my toes.

I involuntarily squirm at his perusal. Alex doesn’t look at me like he is right now, and I’m unsure what to do.

Alex has been doing a lot of things differently since he ended his engagement with Reesa.

It’s nothing too obvious, and never disrespectful, but I notice.

The brighter smiles, the winks, the roses, and coming over alone like he did today.

“You are beautiful, Summer.” His voice comes out normally, despite my skin resembling a watermelon right now.

“Thank you, Alex. Ready to go?”

He nods with his usual smile and walks over to the dining table to don his winter coat before moving towards the front door. Blowing out a breath at my weird feelings, I turn off the lights, grab my jacket, and join him, locking the front door behind me.

Alex has classical music playing softly in the background as he drives.

Looking out the passenger window, I’m still not used to the brown landscapes surrounding me.

Skeleton trees, dead grasses, and the odd pop of green from the pine trees pass us.

Christmas this year was a strange experience whenever I saw the outside world.

I’ve never not had snow during the holidays.

In the odd year, there wasn’t much white on the ground in Virginia; snowy mountains surrounded us with frosty, nose biting cold.

I loved the Thanksgiving and Christmas we had here, surrounded by people I cared about, but there was definitely something missing.

It didn’t feel like the holidays, but I was able to forget if I didn’t see the landscape.

Hopefully, I’ll get used to it as time goes by.

When Alex parks, I see Bay’s car beside us.

Hopping out, Alex opens an umbrella to protect us from the chilly drizzle that's started, and we walk side by side into the building and up the elevator.

Unlocking the door, I holler a hello as we enter.

Ray pokes his head out of the kitchen with a smile. “Hello Summer, Alex. Come on in.”

“Happy New Year, Ray,” I smile. Walking towards Jake’s room, I find Bay playing a video game while Jake naps in his bed.

Bay is dressed in a light blue dress shirt that makes his blue-green eyes pop, and jeans.

Waving, I take a seat on the edge of Jake’s bed and run my fingers through his thick brown hair.

He needs a haircut, but I admit I love his longer style.

His hair curls around his ears and at the nape of his neck, making him somehow more handsome.

Jake mumbles something, turning his head towards me, before his sapphire eyes blink open and he sees me. A big smile breaks across his face. “Hi handsome.”

“Hi Sum.” His eyes take in my outfit and face. “You look gorgeous.”

“Thanks. How long have you been asleep?”

“A few hours, I think?” He looks at his nurse, Janus, who nods from her corner chair as she knits what looks like a scarf.

A knock at the front door sounds, which I assume is Seb and E, so Janus and I help Jake sit up straighter for company.

I turn on the New York tv special as Seb and E join us.

After hugs from both, the guys stand by their pictures to make sure Jake recalls who they are.

Seb hands out shiny hats, light-up necklaces, and blowers from a bag he’s carrying, and Ray brings in extra chairs, so we all have a place to sit.