Forever and Always ✔️

Chapter twenty five - Penelope.

I stared blankly at the face I left back in Texas, I stared blankly at him as I remembered the past and how he left me. Forgetting about Zack and the wonderful kiss we shared, my mind was lost for words.

"It's been a while," he said over the loud music and the cheering of people from the rodeo, "you look stunning."

My mouth hung open slightly, wanting words to escape it but they just wouldn't. I could feel Maddie and Austin staring at me from behind and Zack looking from Sean to me. "What are you doing here?" I finally asked, feeling the memories jump right up from the water.

Sean moved closer to me, his hands in his pockets. He still had that beautiful smile, those ocean blue eyes and his blond smooth hair that never changed. "I came here to see you."

Yeah, I got that part. "Why? We broke up ages ago." I pointed out, making Zack snap his head towards me but, I didn't make eye contact with him.

"I know that, but I needed to see you." Maddie cleared her throat and I could hear her and Austin walk away, I was glad she did that. Every time Sean and I had a fight, Maddie would just leave and I wouldn't have known that she left until I called her name.

"And who is this?" Sean looked at Zack and then back at me again. "Your new boyfriend? Gee, you move on fast."

"He's not," I stated quickly, "he's just a friend."

Sean chuckled. "He didn't look like a friend the way he was down your throat like that."

I rolled my eyes and left to go outside knowing that Sean will happily follow and I was hoping Zack would stay put. I stopped in my tracks, feeling the breeze as I stood in the middle of the parking lot. "Sean, why are you really here?"

I heard the gravel underneath his feet as he stood directly behind me. I turned around to face him and waited for an answer. "I told you why, I had to see you."

I sighed. "But we're not together anymore, you broke it off because I was damaged. Ring any bells?"

He looked into my eyes like the first moment I met him and I couldn't control myself around him. "I regret every moment of that night, Penelope. I shouldn't have let you go, you were going through a tough time."

I wanted to punch the guy for hurting me so much. He left me, alone and heartbroken while I grieved for my dead mother and he couldn't give a damn. "I'm over you, Sean. I've had months to move on and I have so just go home." I said bitterly, not caring anymore.

"I'm not coming all this way to Miami just to go home," he said, the stubbornness in his voice, "I ain't leaving until you give me a second chance."

"You can't just walk back into my life and expect me to give you another chance," I yelled, "it's too late for that."

He ran his hand through his hair, he did that every time to get my attention. It made my heart flutter, my face blush and my mind go crazy with thoughts and he knew that. "It's never too late. Penelope. I will get you back."

I wanted to scream at him for bringing my past back into the present where it didn't belong. I didn't know what else to do so I pushed past him and walked back inside with a blank expression on my face. "Good luck with that."

*

Walking back inside, Zack was by the bar with Grayson and I could tell that he was getting a lecture about our kiss. I knew Grayson didn't like me.

As soon as I walked back inside, Sean followed me. Zack saw me and then saw Sean. Oh great. My mind was worried about Zack and the way I left things. He walked up to me as I walked closer to him, he didn't put on a smile nor an angry expression. "We need to talk."

Zack nodded in agreement and took my hand. We walked out of the back door and stood by a fence that went back into town. "Who was that?"

I sighed, annoyed that our kiss ended the way it did by Sean interrupting. "He's my ex. We dated back in Texas but that was a long time ago."

He nodded and I heard a small sigh of relief but, I had my doubts that Sean would ruin everything for me. Zack, my therapy, my drinking. "So, why is he here?"

I snapped out of my thoughts and turned to Zack. I shrug. "I honestly don't know."

"Why did you break up?" Zack asked suddenly, catching me off guard.

Should I tell him the second part of my past? "Oh, he dumped me because I was grieving for my mom."

"What? Are you being serious?" I smiled that Zack actually cared, "what a jerk." Zack muttered. "Is that all?"

I nodded. "Yeah but I had no idea that he was coming and I'm guessing Maddie had something to do with it."

He turned to me and smiled. "We'll figure it out," he paused, "there's also another thing I would like to discuss with you."

I knew where this was going so I just played along. "Oh really? Hm, I wonder what that could be." He didn't hesitate this time, he placed a soft and gentle kiss onto my lips making my heart flutter. I loved kissing this guy! The first kiss we shared was unbelievable and I wanted to do it again and to never stop. We pulled away and then something clicked. "What about Cecelia?"

He pulled me even closer, my heart skipping a beat as our bodies touched. "We're over, she wasn't the one for me. But, I think you are."

I smiled at his words as I hadn't heard that in a very long time. I kissed him again with a huge smile on my heart, never wanting it to end. "Wanna get out of here?"

He nodded. "Let's go someplace more private."

*

Underneath the stars, I forgot about the worries in life and with Zack, it made me forget everything.

"So, how did you know?" I asked, lying on his chest as we watched the waves crash. I left Maddie with my car so she could drive herself and Austin home.

"Know what?" He asked in a whisper while stroking my hair. At this point, I didn't care if my clothes got sandy or my feet got cold from the water. My main concern was sitting right next to me, smiling down on me.

"Knowing that I was the one for you," I said, waiting for the answer excitedly.

"It was the moment I first saw you on the beach, that's when I had a feeling that you would have a huge impact on my life." He smiled, looking back up at the ocean.

"I could feel it too," I said, smiling at how Miami wasn't as bad as I thought. I guess I didn't want to admit that I felt it too, I was too worried about not letting anybody get to close to me.

"Anyway, what happened with that Sean guy? I know you told me why you broke up but he seemed a little off to me, did something else happen between you?" He asked casually like it was no big deal. I was silent for a moment, trying to find the words but all I do is sigh. "What's wrong? Did I say something to upset you?" He asked again, my mind was jumbled with all of these unanswered questions.

I sat up, crossed my legs and sighed again. How could I tell him? He would think I was crazy and he might not want anything to do with me. After a while of saying nothing, Zack broke it with a different suggestion. "How about this. We do it the old fashioned way and write letters to each other to say how we really feel and to talk about anything we want to."

I looked at him confused. "What do you mean?"

He cleared his throat. "Well, I've never been really good with words and we seem to have that in common. I thought it would be something that only we could share. But forget it, it's a stupid idea anyway."

"No, it's not," I touched his hand gently, "I like it. We should do it."

He smiled. "Great, I'll write one first."

This was very different than what I expected from Zack and I liked the idea of writing letters, it'll bring out things I would never say in person.

"You'll write me a letter first?" I beamed, feeling excited for what was to come.

He smiled with me and squeezes my hand. "Yeah, it'll be our thing."

I was defiantly falling for Zack Adams now.