Forever Never

by Lucy Score

Brick yanked the door open and found Remi standing there. She tossed her phone over her shoulder and jumped into his arms. “I love you. I’m in love with you. I’ve never not loved you,” she said, raining kisses over his cheeks.

“I didn’t want to say it over the phone. I wanted to say it in person. I love you, Brick William Eugene Callan the Third. I want this to work. I want us to be together here. I

want to live near family and paint in your house and wake up next to you.”

“You’re making my fucking life, Remi,” he groaned. “Take me upstairs,” she demanded.

love you. So much—Holy shit. Is that mine?”

“You bought my painting.”

“You bought my first piece,” she said, still staring at it.

“Stop settling for pieces, Brick. Take all of me.”

“I don’t want you crashing with me. I want you living with me.”

“Baby, I want you with me. Every night, every day. I want to come home and find you covered in paint in the studio or naked in the tub, or crying over John Wayne movies.”

“Okay. Yes.”

“I’ve got a bar full of people waiting for drinks. And you make me drag you out here

to remind you who the fuck you belong to.”

“Don’t what?” His voice was steely. “Don’t be without this. Don’t be without me.”

“What are you saying?” “I’m saying ask me to stay. Ask me to be yours.” “You are mine.” His grip tightened, painful on her hips.

“I know we haven’t really talked about after. But I want to be here. With you.”

“You’re a fucking dream come true.”

“Don’t you have anything to say?” “Yeah. I do. Hold the fuck on to me.”

“Tell me what else is wrong,” he said gruffly.

“Is there something wrong with me that I want to be treated like…like I do when Camille was being hurt at home?”

“What we do together, we agree on.”

“This is different. You’re the one who told me that nothing we do together is wrong.”

“And I believe that. I really do. It’s just it feels muddled in my head right now. Like maybe I shouldn’t want it.

Or it shouldn’t make me feel so…safe? So I don’t ...

“Baby, what we have is different. This isn’t me controlling you with physical forc...

“It is about control, but you don’t want to control me. You like it whe...

“I do,” he agreed. “And you like submitting to me and letting me take that control.

We both get something out of it. It’s a mutual agreement. A mutual satisfaction. Do you know that I would never hurt you in that way?”

“I get off on having the uncontrollable Remington Ford do what I say. But, baby, when we have our clothes on and we’re out in public, if you started playing submissive with me, I’d lose my damn mind. I love your wild side. I love your fearlessness. I love your independence even when it drives me fucking crazy. When you let me take you, when you give yourself to me? There’s nothing more intoxicating in the world than you thinking I’m good enough to surrender to.”

“Now, see, when you say it like that, I feel like an idiot for getting it confused.

“It’s that easy. You do what you do to please me, not hurt me. And pleasing you amps up my pleasure into the stratosphere. We’re like two missing puzzle pieces that finally fit together.” He needed a ring on her finger. Needed that piece of paper binding her to him.

“While we’re on the subject,” she began.

“Have you ever...done this with...anyone else?”

“You’re the only one.”

“I hate thinking about you being with anyone else,” he admitted. “Think how I felt,” she said. “About what?” “When you married Audrey. On your wedding night. On your first anniversary. Just imagine if it had been me and Spence,” she said.

I emptied my savings

and I bought a ticket to Chicago while you were saying your vows.”

“Baby.” “It’s selfish, but I’m glad you saved this for me,” she said. “Only you,” he said fiercely.

“I love you, Remington.”

“I love you, Brick. Now, let’s go downstairs, solve everyone’s problems, and go

back to bed so I can show you with my mouth just how much I love you.”

She’d painted their song before. She’d remembered dancing with him. Had wanted to commemorate that moment. She’d loved him then and now.

“I do. And I know it’s not fair. And I swear I’ll make it up to you.”

“I’ll spend the whole rest of my life loving you so big that you’ll never have reason to doubt it for a second.” “Remington.” “Brick. I love you and I trust you. And I’ve got a whole lifetime planned out for us. I’m not going to do something stupid and jeopardize it. I promise you. I’m just asking you to do what you’ve always done. Protect me.”

This was the fantasy. Coming home to her. Opening his arms to her. Loving her.

And Brick here is trying to work up the nerve to ask for my blessing to marry Remi.”

“It’s about fucking time,” she said.

Gilbert clapped him on the shoulder. “I don’t have much more to add besides I can’t imagine a better man for our girl. You’ve loved her through the bright spots and the dark. You’ve never once not been there for her. Never once not protected her even from herself. A father can’t ask for anything more than that. And I know I’ve had a lot of wine, but I would be honored to call you son.”

“Thank you for loving my wild child exactly as she is.”

Brick Callan was going to ask her to marry him. And she was going to say yes.