Nothing lasts foREVer

“Leana is my ex… We broke up two days before we left to Portugal!”, Jimmy sighed.

Matt glanced at us over the rear view mirror…
Suddenly I felt insecure about Jimmy’s real feelings… Was he with me to get over her? Did he stay in Portugal for four months to avoid talking to her? Did he love me at all? Or was I just the rebound?

“Oh… I see…”, I said almost inaudibly.

“Cat? What’s on your mind?”, Jimmy held me tighter as if that embrace alone could dissipate my doubts. He rubbed my arm up and down as a way to encourage me to open up.

“Nothing… it’s just that you never mentioned her before, that’s all!”, I shrugged. I didn’t want to let it show how I was feeling about this whole Leana situation.

“Spill it out, babe! I can’t answer you if you don’t ask me what you want to know! Tell me…”, he pleaded.

“Why did you two break up? Why didn’t you talk to me about her?”

“She cheated on me! We were… We are over! I didn’t think it was important…”, he tried to explain but I cut him off.

“I was over with my ex but I still told you about it! I told you what had happened between us, what led to our break up! What else aren’t you telling me about? Do you even love me?”, I couldn’t hold myself anymore and tears streamed down my face without me even realizing it.

“Really? Are you really questioning my feelings for you? Just because I didn’t thought important to tell you about Leana? Come on, baby, you know better than that!”, he said trying to remain calm and wipe the constant tears from my face.

“Do I? I don’t know anything anymore!”, tears kept tracing a path down my cheeks.

“Cat… Baby, please stop crying! I love you… YOU! How can you ever doubt that? I’ve known it from the moment that we’ve met that we belong together, I could never do you wrong, babe! There’s nothing, and I mean it, there’s nothing in this world that I wouldn’t do for you! There were girls in my life before you, Cat! And I thought I loved some of them, but only took me meeting you to know for sure that what I felt at the time I was with them was not real love… I liked them, for sure… I desired them too! But everything I felt when I was with my exes doesn’t even come close to what I feel when I’m with you! What do you want me to do to prove you that you are my one and only? If you’re hurt, my heart aches with yours… If you’re happy, my soul reflects your joy… A simple caress from you makes my heart jolt with joy, my body cry for more consumed with intense desire. You gave meaning to the word love, until I met you I did not know what love is! I love you… Trust me when I say it, because there are no truer words than these three coming out of my mouth: I LOVE YOU!”, he had turned in the seat so he could face me and look me in the eyes as he spoke. His hands never left my face, cupping it gently and wiping the persistent tears that kept rolling down my cheeks with his thumbs.

Matt parked the SUV in front of his house and shut the car off. He turned around in his front seat to look at me.

“If you can’t trust Jimmy right now, trust me! Jimmy really loves you, Cat… You make him happy, you make him complete! He feels just the way you feel about him… I know him, so trust me when I say that you really are his one and only! Now wipe those tears ‘cause you’re about to meet Leana!”, Matt said handing me a tissue.

“Thanks! My eyes…Are they…Red?”, I managed to ask in between sobs.

“Red and swollen!”, Matt responded.

“Thanks a…lot, Matt! You’re…so kind! What…will Leana… think when she…sees me like this? She’ll think we argued!”, I said nervously, managing to control the sobbing.

“Who cares what she thinks?”, Jimmy opened the door, intertwined our hands and dragged me out of the car.

Matt and Val led the way into the house. Jimmy kept me in place, glued to his side. Val didn’t say a word about this whole thing, but she kept sending me sympathetic and apologetic glances alternately. She looked guilty, but I didn’t understand why would she feel guilty.
The front door of the house cracked open and a small girl ran out of the house in our direction. The grin she had when she opened the front door faded away as she saw Jimmy holding me close, but our embrace did not kept her away. She tried to break our hold as she hugged Jimmy’s half and laid her head a little bellow his chest. I was at least ten centimeters taller than she.

“I missed you, Jimbo! I was kinda mad at you for staying in Portugal for four whole months and didn’t even bother to tell me anything! But now that you’re finally home with me I forgive you! Who’s your friend? Is she sick?”, Leana asked as Jimmy pushed her away.

“Cat is my girlfriend, Leana! What are you doing here anyway?”, Jimmy spat rudely.

“Your girlfriend? The guys told me you had stayed in Portugal with some chick but I thought you’d be over it by the time you got back home. Isn’t this your way to get back at me? You can send her home now! I love you, I promise I won’t cheat on you again and I forgive you for cheating on me with the Portuguese slut!”, Leana retorted eyeing me from head to toe disapprovingly.

“I wasn’t trying to get back at you! I don’t care about you anymore, Leana! We are over… We were over when I flew to Portugal… Falling in love wasn’t in my plans, not after what you did to me but it happened… And I’m glad it happened! I would like you to at least respect my girlfriend!”, he said coldly.

“You said we were soul mates! You claimed you loved me… How can all that just fade away?”, Leana spat.

“And when I was with you I believed all that! I thought I loved you, I thought you were my soul mate… But I was dead wrong! If you truly were my soul mate you wouldn’t have cheated on me! Meeting Cat was all it took for me to realize that… These past four months with her made me happier that I had ever been in my life… She’s all I need, she’s all I want, she’s all I desire!”, He tightened his hold on me to reinforce his words.

“You’re lying! You love me not her! You’re just trying to get over what I’ve done to you…”. She tried.

“No, I’m not! We are over, Leana… Just deal with it!”, Jimmy cut her off.

“This is your fault! This is your damn fault, bitch!”, she tried to slap me but Val stopped her.

“It’s better if you leave now, Lea!”, Val pushed her away from me.

“Why are you doing this, Val? Why are you taking her side? That bitch stole Jimbo from me.”, Leana replied through gritted teeth.

“You had lost him before she even met him, Lea! You screwed up! She’s the best that ever happened to him… I love her, Lea! You were corrosive, she is kind and affectionate… She makes him happy…”, Val explained and kept dragging her to her car.

Leana tried to fight Val off, but Matt intervened. They managed to convince her to leave after ten or fifteen minutes. Jimmy stood with me, leading me inside the house. Matt and Val joined us after they got rid of Leana.

“I’m so sorry, Cat!”, Val said as she stepped inside the house.

“Why? What are you talking about, Val?”, I questioned.

“It was me who told Leana that Jimmy was coming back… I didn’t mean to, but I let it slip. I’m sorry!”, she explained. That explained the glances she was sending me.

“It’s okay, hun… I’m not mad at you!”, I calmed her.

“And me? Are you still mad at me?”, Jimmy asked me.

“I’m not mad… I’m hurt.”, Jimmy’s face saddened at my words.

“We better get going… Is my car here?”, Jimmy asked Matt.

“Yeah… In the garage! Are you guys staying at Brian’s?”

“Yeah… Hey, Matt! Can Patricia and Rick crash here?”

“Sure, man! No problem…”, Matt said. “Look! They’re here… What took them so long?”, Matt said looking over the window at the two SUV parked outside.

“They probably stopped by some Starbucks! My mom was dying to try one…”, I giggled. “Glad it took them a little while to get here! At least my mom didn’t have to witness what just happened and all my crying.”

I opened the door and Johnny glued his finger to the doorbell and kept ringing it incessantly until I pushed his arm away! “You’re such a kid!”, I told him.

“I know you love me, Cat! So what happened while we were gone? Cat beat the shit out of Leana?”, Johnny grinned widely.

“There were no fights! But Cat’s mad at Jimmy though…”, Matt stated.

“What? Why are you mad at my boy?”, Johnny raised his eyebrows at me.

“I’m not mad at Jimmy! I’m just hurt that he didn’t tell me about Leana, that’s all! Do you guys really have to share everything? God…”, I explained.

“There is nothing we won’t tell each other! Deal with it, Cathy! I even know your panties’ color…”, Johnny laughed when he catch the worried look I was giving Jimmy.

“He’s messing with you, babe!”, Jimmy rubbed my lower back and kissed me in the cheek. “Hey, Patricia! Did you like Starbucks?”, Jimmy asked as my mom stepped in the house.

“I loved it! I think someone is gonna have to take me there every single morning…”, she smiled widely like a kid.

“I’ll take you there, Patricia! You and Rick will be staying with me and Val…”, Rick winked at Jimmy as Matt informed they would be staying with he and Val.

“I don’t want to be a burden to you and Val, Matt… Maybe someone else could have me… Patricia is staying here, I really wouldn’t like to bother you!”, Rick said.

“It’s no bother! Really, Rick… We would love to have you with us…”, Val said, oblivious to Rick’s intentions.

“Johnny, would you mind if I crashed with you for a couple days?”, Rick asked with a slight smirk on his lips.

“Not at all, man! You can crash at my place, no problem…”, Johnny replied.

Rick gave Johnny a side hug and whispered, “Jimmy told me about you… I know about your homosexuality! We’re gonna have soo much fun together… You don’t have to worry, I’ll keep it a secret until you feel ready to come out in the open!”

“What the fuck, dude? Look… I don’t mean to disrespect you or anything… I know that you’re gay and I respect that, but I’m not! I don’t care what that fucker told you, but I’m totally straight… I’m all about women!”, Johnny said aloud. Everyone but me and Jimmy were in total shock at what they were witnessing.

“I think Jimmy’s right! You’re in denial… I get it, man! I’ve been through that road too… I used to date chicks, and I enjoyed myself fucking them… But I always knew I was more attracted to boys, I just didn’t want to admit it…”, Rick kept teasing.

“Dude, I’m telling you… I. AM. Not. Gay! Believe whatever you want! But you and me…that’s not going to happen…”, Johnny explained trying his hardest to remain calm.

“Gotcha!”, Rick yelled earning a death glare from Johnny. “Sorry, man! I know you’re not gay… I was just messing with you! But you were cool… You tried your best to not hurt my feelings! That was nice… Are you sure you’re not gay?”, Rick apologized.

*************************

*New Year’s Eve*

Jimmy insisted I met New York before I left the States so we would be celebrating the New Year of 2003 amongst thousands of people at Times Square, New York.
My mom and Rick were thrilled about it. Val and Michelle made me dress up to the occasion. They kidnapped me during the morning to take me shopping at the Times Square Mall, from where we would not leave until they found the perfect outfit to me. The winner was a short and tight long sleeved black dress with a sharp V-neck and a back's cleavage that exposed most of my skin, combined with the perfect Louboutin’s pumped-open in red and a tiny matching red clutch.

“I’m not wearing this! My feet will kill me if I wear these shoes, I won’t be able to walk! Look at the height of these things… How can someone walk in these?”, I said contemplating my refection in the mirror when we were getting ready to go out grab some dinner. “And this dress! It’s so fucking tight I can barely move! Besides I’ll freeze…”

“There is no way in hell you will dress anything else rather than that. If your feet hurt, Jimmy will carry you! All the trouble I had straightening that devilish curled hair… There’s no way you’re messing that up!”, Michelle said.

“I wouldn’t mess your work, Chelle! I was just thinking about change clothes… Jimmy will drop me more likely! He’ll be drunk as fuck… he’ll be in no conditions to carry me!”, I chuckled.

“NO! You heard Chelle… You ain’t gonna change a thing… Now, stay still and let me do your make up!”, Val intervened.

“Eyeliner, mascara and that’s it! No lipstick and no eye shadows!”, I insisted.

“Can I at least apply some foundation? Not that you need it… Why do you have such perfect skin? God! I hate you…”, Val stated playfully.

“If I don’t need it don’t apply anything!”

“Are you sure you are a girl?”, Michelle teased.

“You can ask Jimmy that!”, I poked my tongue at her and she laughed.

Val finished my make up in a blink of an eye and then we headed downstairs. The guys and my mom were expecting us by the hotel bar. Jimmy had the black coat I had asked him hanging on the back of his chair. He had some kind of sixth sense, ‘cause the exact moment I stepped foot on the hotel bar he turned in his chair and his gaze fell immediately on me. I smiled widely at him, but he kept staring at me and looking around as if he was searching for something.

“Put on your coat, baby! I really don’t want to start smashing some faces on New Year’s eve!”, He said trying to cover me with the jacket that was hanging at the back of his chair seconds before.

Val slapped him. “ You could at least tell her how good she looks…”

“She looks too good… I’ll have to stay reasonably sober or otherwise those fuckers will try to hit on her all night!”, he said through gritted teeth glaring at the men staring at me.

I folded my arms across my chest and hissed. Michelle noticed my pissed off look and figured out the reason. “She’s the one you should pay attention to, you idiot! Who cares if they look at her? Who cares if they all want to fuck her? You’re the only one that has that privilege…”, Michelle spat while she leaned against Brian’s chest.

“Chelle is right, ‘bro! If Matt and I worried about that stuff, everywhere we went we would get ourselves in a fight! They’re with us, not them…”, Brian took Michelle’s side.

“I’m sorry, babe! You look stunning, gorgeous, hot! I just let myself get carried away by jealousy…”, he pulled me in close by the waist and kissed my neck. “That dress, that perfume… you’re driving me crazy! Can we lock ourselves in the bedroom? I can’t wait to get you off of that dress!”, he whispered and nibbled my earlobe, making me shiver with pleasure.

“Not now, babe! Later tonight… I’m all yours… always am!”, I pulled him closer by the back of his neck and finally kissed him. “I’ve missed you… I haven’t seen you since earlier this morning!”, I murmured against his lips and he captured mine in response.

“I’ve missed you too… I love you, Cat!”, he broke the kiss when someone cleared his throat and pressed his forehead against mine.

“Enough already, lovebirds!”, Rick said.

“Yeah! I could eat something… Shall we go and grab some dinner or what?”, Andrew, Rick’s new boyfriend agreed.

Jimmy helped me dress my coat and Val furrowed her eyebrows in disapproval. “What?”, I asked her.

“You’re hiding the awesomeness of the dress with that coat over it!”, she replied.

“It’s cold outside! I won’t freeze just because you think I’m ruining the outfit!”, everyone laughed.

Half an hour later we were sitting at a fancy restaurant waiting for our food to be delivered by the waiter. I excused myself and walked to the bathroom, Jimmy following every step with his aware gaze. Someone grabbed my wrist forcing me to stop. The man, in his late thirties stand up from his chair to greet me.

“I’m sorry… I’ve been watching you! It’s just that you have the most beautiful lips… I could use those lips… You could make good money with them… I could use all of you, really!”, I looked at him alarmed.

Jimmy reached us in time to hear some of the things that man was saying to me. “What the fuck, man? Don’t you touch my girlfriend! If you even try to lay hand on…”, Jimmy threaten but the man cut him off.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t explain myself… I’m a professional photographer! My name is Jeffrey Dean Winchester… Here is my card! Give me a call… You are absolutely stunning, you could make pretty good money modeling.”, he said handing me his card which Jimmy ripped it out of my hands. “I’m sorry, young man! I didn’t mean it the way you think I did…”