Say It's Forever
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Brittany Carter
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595K
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43
Josie returns to the small Arkansas town she once fled, pulled back by a father running out of time and memories she never truly buried. She hopes for closure, not chaos, but home still breathes in secrets and sideways glances. Old whispers linger in the woods, hidden truths linger in locked pages, and every road leads back to the boy she tried to forget. Boone is still there, all heat and history, stirring feelings that never learned how to fade. As past and present tangle tighter, Josie realizes some hometown stories refuse to stay buried. Can love survive when the truth changes everything?
1: Chapter 1
JOSIE
SOME TIME AGO
A humid gust of wind slapped my tear-streaked face, stinging my eyes. I squinted against the beaming sun and stalked through the wooded area behind my house.
I kept going, even after the screams of my parents faded, trying to get away from the madness I called home. Too soon, I reached the end of our property and the beginning of the Crossesâ.
I knew I wasnât supposed to cross the property line. My dad hammered it into my head like some Bigfoot or deadly disease was waiting for me the second I stepped onto Cross land.
But I knew nothing would happen because I had crossed over several timesâonly woods, birds, and silence.
When I couldnât walk anymore, I lay on the ground, not caring about the sticks and dirt that clung to my body. Iâm not sure how long I lay on the forest floor, wishing the sky would take me prisoner, but I finally drifted to sleep.
My lower backache woke me, and I instantly got to my feet. The sun was lower than before, but through the haziness of sleep, I felt something else out there.
Pressing the palms of my hands to my eyes, I rubbed until the world cleared. Thatâs when I saw something in the tree several yards away.
I trudged closer, trying to get the sticks out of my hair. Someoneâs leg swung from what looked like a makeshift treehouse. It was small and looked like a kid had built it.
Standing awkwardly and looking up for a moment, I cleared my throat.
A guy popped his head up and leaned forward to gaze down at me. It took my groggy mind a moment to realize it wasnât just any guy. It was Boone Cross.
Oh no.
Heâd left the summer before, after he was suspended for fighting, to move in with his mom. Every female specimen in our school cried for weeksâor was that just me?âwhen he moved away.
His family owned this land. I wondered if he would get mad or tell my dad I was there.
He blinked a few times, a sexy-as-hell bedroom look on his face, but when he focused on me, he straightened. A look of fear crossed his face. What was he scared of? Me?
âItâs rude to interrupt someone while theyâre sleepinâ,â he said, his Southern drawl heavy. His blond hair was cut short, giving everyone the extreme pleasure of seeing his too-blue eyes. âHello? You there?â
I narrowed my eyes. âWell, maybe you shouldnât be sleepinâ in the middle of the woods.â
âThis is my treehouse, and youâre on my property, sweetheart.â He gestured toward the sign on the tree behind my headâPrivate Property.
âIâm sorry. Iââ
âYou shouldnât be here,â he said, a confused look on his face. âYou really shouldnât be here.â
Iâd never said more than two words to Boone. Not that I hadnât tried. Every time I neared him at school, he ran in the other direction.
I was beginning to think I repulsed him.
âWhy?â I blurted out. âYou canât stand to be around me?â
I shouldnât have been so mad, but I couldnât help it. He hadnât given two cents about me during school; I donât know why I thought itâd be different this time.
Boone shook his head and closed his eyes. âYouâve never been more wrong, Josie.â
Iâd never heard my name sound so perfect. âThen what is it?â
âYouâre just not supposed to be here,â he said, his eyes still cast downward. I wanted to ask him why he kept saying it.
I knew he wouldnât repeat it when he shook his head and smiled at the ground. Something in his face told me he didnât care that I wasnât supposed to be there anymore.
âYou want me to leave?â I finally asked into the silence.
Boone looked up at me, and his eyes smiled for him. âYouâre adorable,â he whispered, taking me in with his eyes.
My face felt like fire. âIâm not adorable. Adorable is what you call your baby sister.â
Boone swung both legs down before dropping to the ground. For someone so tall, he was oddly graceful.
Oh, golly. He was walking toward me. Heâd grown a few inches. What was he? Six-two?
His gray T-shirt was wrinkled but fit tight around his biceps, showing me he hadnât lost any of that muscle we all swooned over. âSomeone doesnât want to be my baby sister, huh? Do you have ill intentions toward me, Josie Sawyer?â
âNo,â I said. âI just donât want to be called adorable. Iâm not adorable.â
His blue eyes twinkled when he smiled. âWhy donât you come up to my treehouse with me?â Where had this come from? Hadnât he just told me I shouldnât be here? I was right. I guess he didnât care anymore?
I crossed my arms over my chest, hoping he wouldnât notice how my arms shook. Iâd never talked to him for this long, and I suddenly felt underdressed. The tank top didnât leave much to the imagination, and the cheer shorts didnât help.
âI donât want to come up to your treehouse.â
âLiar,â he said.
âDidnât you just tell me to leave? That I wasnât welcome on Cross property?â
Those too-blue eyes locked with mine. âI said you shouldnât be here, not that I didnât want you to be.â
My breath caught. Everything I was about to say drifted off into the air. The irrational part of me wanted to believe that and stay, while the other part wanted to run for the hills. âIâm leavinâ.â
Boone reached forward, wrapped his arm around my legs, and threw me over his shoulder. I swatted at his back. âLet me go! Right now!â
Boone stopped as if pondering the idea but then shook his head. âNah, I donât think I will.â He clung to my thighs, his large fingers digging into my skin as he hauled both of us up the small makeshift ladder and onto the platform.
I jerked away from him and glanced around. The treehouse was only a large platform with a short wooden guardrail surrounding it. âWhat the hell?â I yelled. âYou donât just force someone!â
He rolled his eyes, slid out of his shoes, and leaned back to look at me. âYou canât force the willing. You wanted me to. I could see it in your eyes.â
âReally? I think you need to go to the eye doctor.â
âWhatever helps you sleep at night.â
We sat silently for several minutes while I tried to avoid his gaze. I felt it on meâeverywhere. But I was too chickenshit to look at him.
âSo,â I said shakily, âyou moving back?â
There was a long pause. âYes.â
My eyes lifted upward to see a smug smile on his face. âYou missed me?â he asked.
Heat burned my cheeks. He was on the other side of the treehouse but felt much closer. âJust asking. What were you doinâ out here?â
âIâm guessing the same thing as you,â he said.
I snorted. âDoubt it. You tryinâ to get away from World War Three?â
Boone didnât answer, but he watched me closely. Why had I even said that? He didnât care about my personal life, and I didnât want everyone to know.
âDo you remember the first time we met?â he asked out of nowhere.
I glanced over at him, bringing my knees up to my chest. His lips lifted in a small smile.
We had never officially met. Iâd known him since elementary school, but weâd never really hung around the same people.
I shook my head. âI donât think so.â
âIt was here.â He gestured toward the treehouse. âI was ten, so you would have been eight. You were playing hide-and-seek by yourself.â
He laughed, and I felt it in my stomach. It was low, raw, and poured over my skin like silk.
âI was not.â
âYou were too,â he said, sitting up. âI asked you if you wanted to play in my treehouse with me. And you said you didnât need a boy to play with.â
I fought back a smile. âI donât remember that.â
Boone dragged himself closer to me, resting his hand about three inches from mine. âThatâs not the best part.â
His scent attacked my every rational thought. It was woodsy and male. Something hard to duplicate. So warm.
âOh yeah? Whatâs the best part?â I asked.
âI tried to kiss you, and you hit me in the nose.â
What? Something tickled the back of my mind, and I vaguely remembered something.
âRemember?â he whispered, his voice closer this time.
âSort of.â I laughed. âThatâs what you get, perv.â
Boone sat beside me now, his shoulder shaking as he laughed. It felt oddly normal.
âDo you think you would hit me now?â he asked, his voice dropping an octave.
Did he ask that? Oh, God.
Something heavy lit a fire low in my belly. There had been months when I dreamed about his lips, about him kissing me like there was no tomorrow.
I turned my gaze to his. âYes,â I lied.
I knew he knew it was a lie. I wanted him to kiss me more than I wanted my parents to stop fightingâmore than I had ever wanted anything.
âLiar,â he whispered.
My breath was ragged. He wasnât making any sudden moves, and my fingers yearned to touch that faceâthose lips. âIâm not.â
He grinned. I liked that about him. He knew what I wanted, no matter how hard I tried to hide it. It was like he knew more about me than Iâd ever realized.
Heâd made his way in front of me. His eyes showed hesitation and fear, but I had no idea why.
It was the look a child gets when heâs about to do something he isnât supposed to. I didnât understand why he wasnât supposed to.
âWhat if this time I let you make the move? Nothing happens if you donât go for it.â
Now that was a stupid idea. My shyness and the fear of messing things up would not get him a kiss. âI donât thinkââ
Sliding backward until his back hit the tree, he grabbed my hands and guided me on top of him. My fingers clenched at the hardness of his chest. His shirt was on, but I could see the smoothness from the low V-neck.
âUse me, Raven.â
Raven? The force of my heart jackhammering in my chest drowned out everything else. I was straddling Boone Cross in a treehouse in the middle of the woods, and he was waiting for me to make a move.
âTake your time,â he whispered.
Everything Iâd felt for other guys before that moment was history. There wasnât anyone but him. The feeling of his hardness beneath me. The way his hands kept still on my waist, never dipping too low or lifting too high. Just a heavy presence that warmed and calmed me.
It was so different from what I was used to, yet everything Iâd always hoped for.
âI hardly know you,â I whispered.
Boone shut his eyes, but a lazy grin spread across his face. âYou feel it, though, right? The connection?â
I did, but I didnât answer. Instead, I ran my hand up his chest to his cheek, where the scruff brushed my fingers. His eyes lifted, the bright blue orbs daring me to look away.
I couldnât, because Iâd never seen anything so damn beautiful.
Boone turned his cheek to kiss my palm, keeping his eyes on me. Warmth enveloped me, and a pathetic moan escaped my lips.
His chest vibrated beneath my palms. âYouâd better bend down here and kiss me before I break all of my rules and do it myself.â
All of his rules? Did he have rules about all girls or just me?
I didnât get a chance to ask.
His fingers snaked behind my neck, dragging me down to meet his waiting lips. The rush of adrenaline suffocated me. There wasnât anything better than this.
âYou taste so good,â he mumbled against me, swiping his tongue along my lower lip for entrance. I opened my mouth wider, welcoming the experienced pace of his tongue.
Everything was warm, hard, addicting. The way his fingers pressed against my neck and sides. The way he pushed upward against my rocking hips in the most foreign but unforgettable rhythm ever created.
His deep groans masked my soft moans, and I was liquid in his hands. Iâd never been kissed like that, and by someone Iâd fawned over for years.
When I finally pulled away, he rested his forehead against mine and laced his fingers around my neck. âYouâre my little slice of Heaven, Raven.â
I was too exhausted from wanting to ask why he called me Raven and was too shaky to move. I lay there in his arms all night long.
