Never Say Forever

Later that evening, after everyone had calmed down and got ready for bed, Brianne went searching around for Sam. She checked his computer, every room in the basement, the dining room…everywhere. When she decided to check the kitchen, to her surprise, Kaleah was in there digging around in the fridge for some iced cream.
“Oh…Kaleah.” She exclaimed when she snapped out of the shock. “It’s weird seeing you off of your balcony.”
“Oh…right. Yeah, I got hungry finally. Imagine that.” Kaleah spoke with just a hint of sarcasm as she pushed things aside to get to her bucket. Brie hesitated before speaking again.
“Listen…” She said slowly. “I’m leaving tomorrow and I really don’t want to leave you with a bad taste in your mouth. I’m sorry. I really, truly am sorry. And I hope that, if I ever come visit in the future, I can come visit you and Sam without any bad blood.” 

“As it stands right now, that is definitely not a possibility. Ask me when Sam comes back, ready to move on after his stupid trip to Boston.” Kaleah remarked. Brie nodded slowly, understanding where her anguish was coming from.
“Speaking of Sam…” She said. “Have you seen him?” Kaleah stared at Brianne, unsure if she should tell her, before responding.
“He’s laying out in the hammock out back. He’s been there all night.” Kaleah finally said. “But maybe you should just let him be. He’s been through enough girl drama.” Brie ignorantly walked away, towards the back door that lead to the back yard.  

“Sam?” Brianne called as she approached him. “What are you doing out here? It’s freezing!” She rubbed her bare arms to warm them up.
“I like it out here. It’s peaceful. Good thinking spot.” Sam smiled without humor.
“Sam, come inside. You’ll get sick…”
“It’s the beginning of summer! Relax! If there was snow on the ground, then that would be reason to freak out about this. But not now.” Sam stood up off of the hammock. 

“Can I at least apologize for earlier?” Brie asked as Sam took one step too close to her. She could smell beer off his breath, and noticed the empty cans lying scattered across the grass. He was drunk.  

Sam embraced her into a deep, satisfying hug.
“That’s all the apology I need.” Sam said into her ear. He didn’t let go. In fact, he squeezed her tighter, as if he was longing for it all along. Brie closed her eyes and enjoyed his body so close to hers, taking in the moment in hopes that it would never end. 

“What’s with you?” She asked, once he finally let go.
“I don’t want to fight with you anymore. I may have had a couple beers, but I’m fine! This…is just me wanting to spend our last night together in Sunset Valley in peace.” Sam smiled. Brie liked this idea, and decided to take advantage of it. 

She put her hand on Sam’s cheek, like she did when she would calm him down. He closed his eyes and let her rub her thumb across his face, allowing the tingling sensation to consume him.
“You know, I love it when you do that.” Sam said softly, without opening his eyes. Brie smiled.
“I know you do.” She responded. “When I do this, it’s like a switch goes off in your head and suddenly, you’re at ease.” Sam rested his hand on Brie’s arm and opened his eyes to look into hers. 

“If you want this last night to be spent in peace…” Brie said, letting her hand fall back to her side. “…will you please come sleep in your bed with me tonight? Please?” She put her hands together and begged. “Just this one night!” Sam didn’t even have to hesitate before he agreed and followed her seductive stare back into the house. 

They got into Sam’s bed and instantly cuddled up to each other, hand in hand. It came naturally to them—even though it was 5 years since they were together.
“You know, I wish we’d had more moments like these.” Sam smiled, drunkenly.
“What do you mean? We still can…”
“No I know we can, but it’s not going to happen. I mean…if I had moments like these more often with you and with Kaleah, it would be a lot easier to choose which one I want.”
“We’re not pieces of meat, Sam!” Brie laughed. “You can’t just choose which one you want.”
“I know…well…in this case, I sort of can! This is all new to me! I’ve barely been with any girls before, let alone had 2 fighting over me!” Sam giggled.

Brie pulled away from Sam to stare him seductively in the eyes.
“What are you doing?” Sam asked, confused.
“Since we’re in this moment…” Brie started. “…we should make the best out of it.”
“How so?” Sam gasped. “I’m not sleeping with you! No way, Brianne! Not even if I was sober!”
“No…I don’t mean that.” Brie lowered her eyebrows.
“Then what did you mean?”
“Kiss me.”
“No.”
“Sam…”
“What?”
“Kiss me.”

Sam couldn’t disobey any longer. He quickly, and as passionately as ever, leaned in to kiss her hard on her lips. They locked fingers and kept kissing, their lips moving together as one.

“Okay, all done!” Sam stopped and pulled Brie off of him. Brie grew frustrated, barely able to open her eyes.
”Wha…Sam!” She hollered. “What are you doing? This is perfect!”
“No, it’s bad, Brie! Really bad!” He looked down at the bulge in his pants. Brianne followed his line of sight and her eyes widened when she noticed it. She found it hard to swallow.
“Th…that’s okay.” She was able to squeeze out. “It’s not bad at all!” She tried to kiss him again, but he pushed her away.
“Brie, I told you that I didn’t want to sleep with you! Now…that’s all I want to do and I know that when it’s all said and done, I will regret it.”
“Regret it?”
“It would only complicate things.” 

Sam sat up.
“It’s not like I don’t want to. Trust me on that one…I mean, it’s taking every muscle and every bone in my body to say no to you right now.” Sam swung his legs over the side of the bed.
"Yeah...you saying no to me is not something I'm used to..." Brie remarked as she sat up too.
"Me saying no to you is something I'm not used to..." Sam laughed without humor. He waited until the bulge in his pants reduced it's size and stood up off the bed.
“Where are you going? Please don’t leave!” Brie pleaded. 

“This was a bad idea…I knew it would be!” Sam walked to the bedroom door.
“Where are you going?” Brie asked again, frustrated.
“To sleep on the couch. We have an early start tomorrow morning.” Sam reluctantly exited the bedroom, leaving Brianne behind. 

The next morning was really hard for Sam. Aside from his massive hangover, he had to say goodbye to Kaleah, who wasn’t taking his departure very well at all.
“Kaleah…it will be okay!” He tried to comfort her. “It’s not like I’m not coming back…”
“I know…it’s just that…I have a bad feeling about this. I have a feeling that you won’t come back as mine.” She peered over at Brianne, who was waiting with the suitcases at the front door, impatiently tapping her foot and fiddling with her nails. 

“I don’t want you to go!” Kaleah instantly burst into tears and snuggled her face into Sam’s chest. Sam, resisting breaking down himself, held her tightly and didn’t want to let go.
“I don’t want to go either…but I have to. It’s the right thing for me…for us, if that’s where this will lead to.” Sam kissed the top of her head. 

“Aw…so sad!” Brie mocked. “Let’s go, Sam! I want to be at the hotel before sundown! They have a spa there, and I wouldn’t mind getting a manicure!”  

“Please don’t go…” Kaleah pleaded as Sam pulled away.
“I have to.” He responded.
“I hate this…”
“So do I…”
"Personally, I’m loving this! Road trips are awesome!” Brianne interrupted.
“Shut up Brie!” Kaleah hollered.  

Sam walked towards the front door as Brie finally left to wait in the truck. He paused right before exiting.
“Call me when you get there?” Kaleah asked gently. “I know that won’t be for a few days…”
“I’ll text you tonight. I promise.” Sam turned and gave her a crooked smile as he allowed a single tear to roll down his cheek before slowly leaving. Kaleah quickly rushed to the window to watch them drive away. 

She wiped the tears that started pouring out of her eyes as she watched Sam’s big red truck quickly speed away. The gut-wrenching feeling came back, and she suddenly felt sick. The pain in her heart came back, and she clenched her chest. She knew that the only way she would get through this was to keep herself distracted. Her first thought was to cook herself breakfast, and instantly headed towards the fridge.  

When she opened it, there was nothing except for iced cream, eggs, and juice. ‘That’s not enough for a good breakfast.’ She thought to herself. ‘Man, I’m going to need groceries.’ Kaleah closed the fridge and headed towards Sam’s computer to check her bank account. 

She only had to guess three times at the password to Sam’s computer. It was ‘Dad’. Kaleah scrambled around for the internet and was finally able to log onto her bank’s website to check her balance. ‘Oh my gosh…’ She thought as she read the numbers. ‘$23.48 will not get me very far…’ She shut the computer off and thought of different ways she could earn some money. She hadn’t heard back from City Hall, so she still was unemployed. She considered painting, but decided that it would take too long. She considered delivering newspapers, but decided that she was too skilled for something that lame.  

‘This is going to be awful.’ She thought as she stood up to head into the other room. As she entered, she noticed her guitar still sitting in the living room from the night a couple weeks ago when her and Sam jammed together. She had forgotten all about her guitar, sitting so out of place in the small room. ‘I could always try my luck playing my guitar at the park for money…’ She considered as she stared at it. She hesitated, but eventually decided that she would give it a try. She thought it would make a great distraction and possibly give her enough money to go on a proper grocery shopping. She picked up her guitar and grabbed her keys from the coffee table before heading out to her car. 

She got way more into playing her guitar than she thought she would. She played all day for various audiences. A lady and her three kids stood and watched her play three whole songs. At one point, the senior’s home came to watch and sat around the fountain to enjoy her music. She was making tons of tips, and actually found herself enjoying it. 

There was one audience member in particular that Kaleah couldn’t keep out of her mind. He was a tall, well built, black man with dread-locked hair and beautiful skin. He had appeared numerous times throughout the day and just stood and listened for hours at a time. He never spoke to anybody—not even Kaleah when she took a break or two. He just watched…and kept on reappearing. 

When she was finished her set for the day, and was ready to go home, he was there. She headed up the stairs, unaware that he was following her at first.
“Excuse me, Miss?” The man called after her.  

She stopped to listen to what he had to say, suddenly intrigued by this man’s obvious interest in Kaleah’s music.
“My name is Tyrell…Tyrell Evans.” He paused for a moment as the name sunk in. “You were absolutely amazing today! That one song…Pictures by Sheryl Crow and Sting was my absolute favourite!” Kaleah winced at the songs title. She considered that song her and Sam’s song. It was the song that they first jammed together to.  

Kaleah studied the man’s face before responding. He was beautiful. Kaleah was never more attracted to a man of color before and found herself especially interested in this one. He was different—his persona, his looks.
“Um…Ma’me?” He asked when he noticed her long silence. 

Kaleah instantly snapped out of her daze when the man spoke.
“Oh, sorry!” She smiled, embarrassed. “Um…thank you…thanks a lot! I’m glad you liked my set…”
“I think you have a unique style!” He interrupted. “Do you only play for tips or are you apart of a band?” His interest in her was comforting to Kaleah. She smiled.
“Today’s my first day ever playing for an audience outside of my own home.”
“Wow! Amazing!” Tyrell mirrored her smile. The conversation was abruptly interrupted when Kaleah’s stomach growled like crazy. She had gotten so into her music that she totally forgot how hungry she was.
“Well, I better go feed that complaining belly of mine.” She joked. Tyrell laughed. “It was nice meeting you.” She turned to walk away.

“Um…wait. Miss?!” Tyrell called after her. She slowed down, but did not stop. “Can I get your name?” Kaleah smiled.
"Maybe one day..." She tried to continue to walk away, but Tyrell wasn't done.
"Will I get to see you again?" He asked, aware of how desperate he may of sounded. "Playing your guitar, I mean..." He lied.
“We'll see...” She said as she continued to walk off, feeling smug. ‘Maybe this is just the kind of thing that I need to distract me.’ She thought as she felt Tyrell stare at her as she kept on walking.