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CHAPTERFIVE

Forbes slaps his hand on my kitchen island, and palms my breast. I was dressed for work, but he took one look at me, and well, now I’m going to be late. I half-expected him to be gone when I woke up, but when my alarm went off, he rolled over, and had me on my stomach before my eyes were completely open.

“I’m p-pretty sure…ah…Jesus…you’vetornmy…” I squeeze my eyes closed, and hook my arm around Forbes’ neck while he thrusts. “Skirt,” I spit out. The man is insatiable, and how I’m going to explain to my father, and Penny, why I’m late is another story. I mean, I didn’t see my morning turning out this way, but I’m not saying I can’t get used to it. He just needs to hurry up.

“Yes, yes, yes,” I chant. “I’m co—”

Forbes swallows what’s left of my words, and falls over the cliff with me. Chest heaving, he looks up, and gives me crooked smile. “I’ll buy you more skirts,” he exhales. “Do you really have to go into work today?”

“I really do,” I palm his cheek, enjoying the day-old stubble scratching my palm. “But you’ll need to clean me up first because I’m not walking around with your sperm between my legs and in my panties.”

He chuckles, and shakes his head. “I need to get used to that mouth.” Carefully, he extricates himself from between my legs, and walks, butt-ass naked, to my bathroom, and comes back dressed in his jeans, a hot washcloth in his hands. He takes far too much pleasure in sliding that scrap of material between my legs, but frowns when I whimper. “I’m fine,” I reassure him. “It should come as no surprise that someone your size would leave me feeling a little…sensitive.” I roll my eyes when he gives me a smug look. “Forbes, I have to go. I’m already late.” He helps me down from my kitchen island, and follows me to my bedroom so I can change. Again. At this rate, I’m going to have no work clothes left for the remainder of the week. I hardly think Ralph will be happy if I show up in leggings, and an oversized jumper.

“Dinner tonight?” he asks, leaning against my doorjamb. “Or can I just fetch you on Saturday evening for the gala?”

I pause, and glance at him from over my shoulder. “Where are you staying?”

“The Langham on Fifth,” he replies.

“For how long?” I know I’m all sexed-up, and that rational thought will prevail in a moment, but I’m not entirely sure yet how I feel about him being back in the city. And for me, if he was telling the truth last night. I’m just confused, I think.

“As long as it takes, Avril.”

After righting my fresh skirt, and button-up shirt, I slide my heels back on my feet, and walk towards him. “I wasn’t sure you were telling the truth last night,” I admit, without an ounce of shame. “For all I know you could have just been trying to get me in bed, and keep me there.” Resting his hands on my hips, he pulls me towards him. “I did want to get you in bed, but I was also telling you the truth. I came back to New York for you.”

I purse my lips. This has all happened too fast, and I can’t hide, or deny, that I’m unsure and suspicious. Sensing that, Forbes tips my chin up, and says, “Have dinner with me tonight, and let me explain. From the beginning.”

I’m about to answer when there’s a pounding at my door. I frown, wondering who the hell—

“Avril!” My father booms. “Open this goddamn door!”

I’m frozen to the spot, but I manage to whisper, “Does he know you’re in town?”

I chance a look at him, and immediately hate what I see. Guilt. Which also doesn’t—

“I know that bastard is here, Avril!” my father shouts. “If you don’t open this fucking for, I’ll kick it down!”

Something isn’t adding up, but I’m not going to get to the bottom of it if I stick Forbes in the closet, and lie to Ralph. Forbes rushes to put his shirt on from last night, while I open the door, lest Ralph becomes Wreck It Ralph and breaks it open. “What the—” Ralph storms past me as soon as I open the door, and the force makes me hit my head on the wall. Dad yells but my vision swims, and I’m in a heap on the floor before Dad can throw the first punch. “You sonofacunt!” He throws a right-hook, which Forbes dodges quite easily. “Having her at eighteen wasn’t enough, huh?” What? What is he talking about? “You destroyed her, and left me to pick up the pieces, fucker!” Dad throws a left uppercut and hits Forbes square in the jaw. Even I can admit it’s impressive. I didn’t know Dad had it in him. He’s always so contained. Proper.

I rub my head, feeling the goose egg already taking shape, and try to stand. Forbes and Dad are rolling on the floor now, and I manage to shout, “Hey!” It doesn’t help. But I think they stop when I collapse. I’m not sure.

* * *

Someone is flashing a light in my eye, and I wish they’d fucking stop. I swat at it, and groan when I try to turn my head. “No,” I mumble. “Shoogoway.”

“I think she’ll be okay,” a woman says. “But you’ll need to monitor her closely for the next forty-eight hours just to make sure she doesn’t have a concussion.”

I open an eye, spying the nurse who’s taking my vitals. Well that escalated quickly. One minute Dad barged into my apartment, and then he punched me and had sex with Forbes. No. Wait. That’s not, “What the fuck happened?”

Suddenly, I’m the center of attention. Dad’s pushing Forbes out the way in the small emergency area closed off by a curtain, Forbes is doing the same to Dad, and the nurse manages to stop them both with a finger. That’s nifty, I need to learn how to do that. “Give her a minute. You have both been behaving like children, and now everyone here knows your best friend deflowered your daughter when she was eighteen.” Is she saying that to Dad?

“He hasn’t been my best friend since then,” Dad gripes, shooting a glare at Forbes. He’s got blood caked around his nose, and what looks like a tampon shoved up his nostril, and Dad’s fist is wrapped in gauze.

“Mr Bennet, you’ve aired all your daughter’s dirty laundry already,” the nurse hisses. “And Mr Macallan has apologized a thousand times. It doesn’t even look like he tried to hit you back. From what the medic told me, he has every right to press charges for assault.” I like this nurse, she has sass.

“Avril, are you all right sweetheart?” That’s Dad, and he’s visibly torn between being furious with Forbes and concerned for me. Forbes, however, doesn’t say much, but he’s here and that’s actually all I care about. In my befuddled state, I know he cares. If I was just a one-and-done, he would have fled the minute Dad showed up. “You punshed him for me, Daddy. That wasn’t nice, but you went to bat for me?” I know what’s coming out my mouth sounds like drivel, but it makes sense in my head. Dad has always been protective from afar, never one to become violent. He leans over me, and gently touches my forehead, brushing my hair from my face. “Of course I did, sweetheart.” When last did he call me that? Sweetheart. I know he loves me, but he’s always been distant. More so since I turned… “You knew,” I whisper. “You knew.” If I go back in time, and really think about how everything played out, from my eighteenth birthday party to the day Forbes left, the signs are all there. “You were so angry,” I murmur. “And you pushed me away, and stopped talking about Forbes. You couldn’t even look at me, Ralph.” It all comes out as a hushed whisper, and somewhat broken because the realization makes me cry. “I thought you hated me,” I tell him. He spent months after my eighteenth birthday in an angry haze, and I dismissed my initial paranoia about whether he knew the truth. We’d been too careful, I thought. There was no way he could have known. Dad shakes his head, and for the first time in years, I see tears pool at the corner of his eyes. “No, honey, I didn’t hate you. I was angry with myself for not protecting you, and yes, I was angry with you but only because I kept waiting for you to tell me the truth. And then you didn’t, and I had to watch you fall apart over and over again because of what Forbes did.”

It’s my turn to shake my head. “He didn’t do anything, Daddy. It was me. I pursued him first.” His brows furrow, and he looks back at Forbes, who catches my eye. “I’ve loved Forbes since I was sixteen,” I add. “Before I even knew what love really was, I guess, but it was always him.”