Best Friends Forever

To my fans who have requested another chapter in the story of John and Lisa's failed relationship: I present to you, Best Friends Forever Part 2.

It had been two weeks since that fateful evening together, and John and Lisa had spent that time apart from each other quite a bit. They still shared their apartment with one another; but since that one night, both had become a bit more distant from the other, at least that was until a special event took place.

"Lisa," John called out as he rushed into the apartment. "Lisa, you won't believe it."

He ran through the living room and dining room and into the kitchen where Lisa was standing and talking into the phone. She held out her slender arm with a finger held up, letting John know she needed a moment to finish her call.

"Yeah, that sounds good, Josh," she said into the receiver. "I'll be ready when you..."

A moment of silence and after a quick confused look on her face, her eyes lit up and John was struck by her beauty again. He also felt a twinge of jealousy toward Josh, if he was able to make her smile like that. Pushing his feelings down, John remembered his own conversation on the phone earlier that day.

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"Hey, John," came the familiar voice in his voice mail. "It's Tina. I've been thinking and I would like to try and make things work out. I've made arrangements for two to have a nice dinner together tonight at Emeril's at 8 p.m. Please show up. I have a very special surprise for you if you do."

John noticed her voice gave that little touch that Tina always had when she had a secret and was dying to give it away. With the right prodding, John would have it out of her before they were done with their salads.

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"Okay, Josh," Lisa's voice said, bringing John out of his flashback. "I'll meet you there. What's up, John?" she asked as she hung up the phone and turned to look at him.

John was a taken aback at the flush in her face at the moment and couldn't help but ask instead of giving his good news.

"Is everything okay?"

"That was Josh. He wants me back and is going all out to get me back, too. He wants to take me out to a fancy dinner, and get this; he's sending a limo to pick me up."

The blush in Lisa's face darkened as she felt the heat rising there.

"Well, looks like he really does want you back then, huh?"

"Maybe, but I'm going to make him sweat all during the dinner. So, what am I not going to believe?"

"Tina's asked me out for dinner tonight, too," John said, ignoring the thought in the back of his mind. Lisa was on the phone with Josh and still paid attention to him when he came barging in. "She said that she wants to try and make things work out. I don't know if I should go, though."

Lisa walked over to him and put her arms around John's neck, pulling him down into a hug. Unlike all the times before, where his arms just wrapped around her, John let his hands slide gently around her hips, just as her hands had slid around his shoulders and around his neck.

In each others embrace, both of them could smell the sweat of the day, the grime of the city's pollution, but underneath it all, there was the strong smell of the one they cared for. John's arms tightened as his nose took in a large breath, inhaling the scent of Lisa's shampoo and perfume. Lisa returned the strong embrace, her own nose taking in the smells of the man she knew she really loved and wanted to be with.

It was then that both of them knew what to do during their dinner date. They broke apart and both reluctantly released the other.

"Thanks, I needed that," they said at the same time, right before breaking into giggles at speaking the same thing together.

"Well, I'm going to go get ready for my dinner date," John said, looking down at the floor. He turned and started to walk out of the kitchen while Lisa stood there, watching. She did enjoy looking at his backside when she got the chance.

"John, wait up," she said, rushing out of the kitchen after him. He was just inside the hallway, about to go into his room and lay out his clothes for the night. When he turned to look at Lisa, his desire for his best friend rose up again, seeing her jog quickly toward him, her body moving smoothly as it neared...and then quickly passed him.

"I've got dibs on the hot water," she called out, shutting the bathroom door behind her before John could argue.

"Hey," he shouted at the closed door. "That's not fair." Turning back to his room, he couldn't help but smile at how much fun it was the way they always annoyed each other.

After nearly 45 minutes, John heard the hair dryer finally stop and walked out into the hallway, feeling confident their friendship was back on track. Just as usual, he stepped out with a towel in hand and nothing on but his briefs. As he walked toward the closed door, it seemed like a scene from a erotic movie was before him.

The bathroom door opened and Lisa walked out with her hair dry and beautifully done in soft waves over and behind her shoulders, framing her small face and slender neck. Moisture was still on her shoulders and legs from either the humidity or lotion she sometimes used. Either way, her sudden appearance and looking so beautiful with just a towel wrapped around her body from the armpits down to her upper thighs caused John to stop in his tracks.

She stood there for just a moment, looking at John and his very physically fit body. His body was in great shape after four days a week at the gym. His face was that of an angel in her eyes, considering the many times he had seemed to come to her need for a friend and knight in shinning armor. She felt her mouth, among other body parts, water at the thought of what might be behind those briefs, just waiting to be released.

Deciding to play with him, Lisa reached up with one arm and grabbed high on the door jam and leaned on it. Her other hand reached up and clutched the thick towel in the center of her chest, even though there was no fear of it coming undone and falling if she let it go. She was thankful that the towel was so thick, otherwise John would see that her nipples were hardening at the sight of him. She gave John a sultry look before speaking.

"See something you like, big boy; or are you trying to catch flies with that open mouth of yours?"

John quickly closed his mouth, not even knowing he had it opened. He closed it so quickly that it made an audible sound that both of them heard. Lisa couldn't hold it any longer and started to giggle, and John began to laugh with her. He put his arms in front of himself, the towel hanging off one of them and covering the rising bulge in his briefs.

"Yeah, I see the bathroom," he said, moving toward it, but his mind was more on her. "If you're done in there, I need to hurry up or I'm going to be late."

Lisa moved to the side and waved an arm to offer him the door. As he passed, she swept her other hand behind him, slapping his ass hard, but taking the opportunity leave her hand on the cheek for just an extra second longer. Just friends playing around, she told herself, knowing it was a lie on her part.

"Ow! That hurt," John said, turning around, and rubbing his ass as he did so. He closed the door just as Lisa let loose her retort. "How do you think my hand feels, hard ass." She didn't let on she had caught sight of the large bulge in his briefs before the door closed.

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Twenty minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Lisa, in her nicest and best form fitting evening dress, walked to the door, listening to the electric toothbrush work away at John's teeth behind the bathroom door. Opening it, she greeted the limo driver, holding a bouquet of a dozen roses.

"These are from the gentleman," the driver said, handing them to Lisa. "I can wait as you put them in a vase, if you wish."

Lisa took them and rushed as fast as her heels would let her to the kitchen. Taking out a large vase, she filled it with water and put them inside the water, placing it in the center of the small table before heading back to the door, never looking at the card that was on them.

The driver stepped back and waited for her to close the door and lock it before leading the way to the limousine. She climbed into the back after he opened the door for her and settled in as the car moved toward the restaurant. Along the way, Lisa let her mind think about the words she was going to use when she told Josh what she wanted to tell him.

When the arrived, the driver opened the door for her again and told her that he would be waiting to take her home after the dinner. He then gave her his card for her to call him when she was ready to leave.

She gave the greeter her name and that she was there for a dinner date with Josh. The man smiled and checked his book. He looked up with a strange look of curiosity at first then a bigger smile before asking her to follow him. When they reached the table, Lisa noticed that it was empty but set out of the way in a secluded area and with place settings for just the two of them.

The waiter was quickly at her table and gave her the wine list and said he'd return in a few moments. Before he returned, Lisa's date arrived.

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John heard the front door close and stuck his head out the bathroom.

"Lisa," he called out. When no one answered, he figured she must have already left and decided to leave the door open. After finishing up in the restroom, and cleaning up his mess, he walked back into his room and got dressed in a very nice suit that he remembered Lisa helping him pick out about a year ago.

As he put it on, his mind went over his plans on how he hoped the evening would go and what he wanted to tell Tina. He hoped that everything would go as planned this night, and if it didn't, "Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained," he told his reflection in the mirror as he tied his tie.

Walking past the kitchen, John saw the dozen flowers on the table with the small card sticking up in the middle of them. Walking over to the table, John could see the small card had four little cupids with their arrows pointed at the message in the center.

"I hope that tonight will go as planned and we will both be happy with the outcome. Josh"

John felt his jealousy rise again at how much Josh was going through just to win Lisa back. He knew that Lisa wasn't a material woman and didn't think about riches as much as she thought about someone's personality. All of these tokens and expenses will do little more than push her away...or so John hoped.

He put the card back in its place holder and headed for the door. Locking it again, he quickly headed for his car and got on his way to the restaurant for his date with Tina. The whole way, he practiced what he was going to try and tell her and decided that the best thing to do was to lay out all the things he wanted to say on the table before they started eating. Who knows? Maybe they would end their dinner date early and get busy with other things.

As he arrived and gave his name and told the older gentleman at the podium that he was there to meet Tina, the man nodded with a smile, looked at his reservation booklet.

"Ah, here we are, sir," the older gentleman said. "A private table for two with special instructions. I will take you to your table, sir. Please follow me."

John kept running his words through his mind, only taking note when the gentleman stopped at the table that Tina was sitting at; and she did have a big surprise for him. She had died her honey blonde hair to a bright red, just like...

"Lisa?" John asked as Lisa turned her head and looked just as shocked at him in return.

"John," she said, quickly standing. "What are you doing here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," he told her. They had taken steps toward each other, never taking their eyes from the others face. The soft, but very distinct "Ahem" from near the table caused both to break eye contact and look at the gentleman.

"I believe that these letters that are part of the special instructions will hopefully answer your questions," he told them. John walked over and held the seat for Lisa as she sat and took his own seat before they both were handed separate envelopes. They both opened them at the same time and read in silence before looking up at each other with shock, surprise, bewilderment and a touch of joy in their faces, all at once.

"I'll leave you two alone and the waiter will be ready when you are," the gentleman told them and walked away.

"Read yours," John said, setting his down and looking at Lisa.

"Dear Lisa,

"I hope you will not be mad at Josh and I for setting this up. He and I have spoken many times since the last double date we went on. We both agreed that neither of us would know the true happiness that we saw you and John had, no matter how hard we tried.

"The night John called your name out when we were having sex was when I knew I would never truly have his heart. I was angry and very jealous of you for having what I wanted was trying so badly to get. It was at that moment that I knew he would never be mine completely.

"Please accept this dinner and limo ride afterward as mine and Josh's acceptance that you and John belong together; and we both hope that the two of you will be happy together for a very long time.

"Your friend, "Tina."

Tears were welling up in Lisa's eyes as she read the letter and a couple of them rolled down her cheek. She looked up at John and saw that he two was near tears but holding back, showing the strength she loved to see in him.

"What does your say?" she asked, dabbing at her cheeks and eyes before her makeup was ruined.

"Nothing as beautiful as that sounded," John said, with a bit of a chuckle. He picked up his letter and began to read it aloud.

"Dear John,

"I don't have Tina's help with this letter like I had her help with setting up this night for you and Lisa. Let me tell you, buddy. You've got yourself one hell of a beautiful woman that really does love you. Tina and I saw it the first time we four went out on a double date.

"Each one after that, I always watched Lisa closely, keeping my jealousy and anger in check. I could easily see that she loved you, though. The fact you two have been living together for so long and never had sex is the biggest shocker for me; but I trust Lisa to have never lied to me, so I'm going to have to believe it.

"Trust me on this one, John. Don't let this one get away. She's right there in front of you right now, because Tina saw that you two belong together more than I wanted to. Take advantage of this act of kindness as I'm very likely to be pissed if you don't. I hate losing Lisa, but knowing that she'll be happy with you will make it worth while in my book.

"Good luck to you, "Josh"

John looked up and smiled at Lisa, who was holding back her giggles.

"You had a real winner there," John said, setting the letter down.

"I think we both did," Lisa said, smiling brightly, lighting up the entire room in John's opinion.

"Do you want to get back together with him?" John asked, not hiding the fact that he was hoping she'd say no. As always, Lisa played with him by remaining silent for just a moment before speaking.

"On the way here," she started, "I had planned exactly what I wanted to say to Josh before the evening went too far. I was going to say, 'Josh, I hope you will understand; but after this past two weeks of not being with you, I did a lot of soul searching. I have found that I am in love with another man and it is the man you believed me to be in love with before. I love John," Lisa said, her smile becoming larger, if that were possible, "and I want to try and have a relationship with him, even if I have to wait and see if he will be getting back together with Tina or not."

As she spoke, Lisa saw John's fear leave his face and brighten with a smile she had come to love so much and hoped to put on his face for the rest of his life.

"I was going to say just about the same thing to Tina," John finally spoke. "I wasn't going to let the dinner even start before I told her that I had figured out that I really was in love with you; and that I couldn't see myself with anyone else but you. Even if that meant that I had to wait until we were both old and grey, I was going to wait for you, Lisa."

"Stop it," she said, grabbing up her napkin again. "You're going to make me ruin my make up." After she wiped away her tears, she looked at John, not sure where to go next in their now accepted love for each other. "What do we do now?" she asked him.

"Let's eat," he told her, quickly raising his hand and getting the waiter's attention. As the waiter arrived, Lisa gave John's shin a soft kick with her bare foot.

"You sure know how to spoil the moment," she said with a pout on her face. "But you're right, I'm famished. Let's eat," she said, returning to the beautiful smile that John hoped she would only reserve for him from this day on. After a full meal, with a shared dessert, John called over the waiter to get the check.

"There is no check, sir," the waiter told them. "You're bill's already been paid in advance, along with the tip. If you wish, we can call the limousine to come back and pick you up?"

John raised an eyebrow and looked back at Lisa.

"Let's just go home," she said, with a devious smile on her lips. She turned back to waiter and gave him the card the driver had given her. "Please tell him that he's got the night off. My..." she looked back at John and reached over to hold his hand "...boyfriend and I are going home for a very romantic evening."

The waiter took the card, nodded at Lisa and gave John a quick wink as he turned and left the table. The new couple stood together and embraced as lovers, kissing passionately for the first time in their lives. Thoughts crossed both their minds of all the possibilities that lay before them.

The broke apart and took each others hand as they headed for the door. The first man that greeted them both nodded as they walked out the door, where they found John's car waiting for them. The valet held the door open for Lisa and waited until she was fully seated before closing it. John happily tipped the young man a 20 dollar bill as he took his keys and walked around to the driver side.

"I love you, Lisa," John told her after climbing in and closing the door.

"I love you too, John," she responded, smiling at him as he pulled out into traffic.

At the first red light, they both looked at each other and leaned in for a kiss. Before their lips could connect, the front end of a car connected with John's back bumper at 60 miles-per-hour. The couple was thrown back in their seats as the car was shoved into the middle of the intersection.

As the car came to a stop, they both looked at each other and took hands, clasping hard and smiling at one another, happy that the other wasn't seriously injured. Just as quickly, their faces became a look of shock, fear and dread as they were both lit up by bright blinding lights from both sides.

The garbage truck was unable to stop and only slowed down to 40 before hitting the passenger side of the car. In just one second of the impact, a Hummer slammed into the driver's side at 50 miles-per-hour, crushing the car between the two vehicles. Both driver and passenger were crushed against each other, their heads lying on the others shoulder, as if in a lover's embrace, trapped and not showing any sign of life.

Onlookers, now standing around the mangled metal of the car crushed between the two large vehicles could barely see the couple inside. Their heads lay on each others shoulders, like lovers embracing one another, while their chest barely moved in the tight confines of the wreckage.

To be continued...?