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Their Loss
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Let Me In Minute Man
XanderEvie burst into laughter. “I might have to ask him to find other ways to get back at you. I like all of your body parts right where they are, as they are.”I grinned. “Me too.”“Is he helping you?”“Yes, for the most part. The guy is a genius when it comes to the mechanical side of things. He could put together a boat with his eyes closed. He knows what will work and what won’t. He’s my sounding board. My ideas can be a little wild at times.”“I’m glad you have a friend like that.”“He’s demanding a percentage of the profits,” I told her.“Are you going to concede to his demands?”“Of course. I really couldn’t have done it without him. I’m not going to tell him that. Not yet. I still have a long ways to go before I can get this on an actual ship and in the water.”“How long did it take you to get your first design sold?” she asked.I blew out a breath. “Years. Probably about five years. Even after I got the design sold, it took another two years before it hit the water. None of
Let Me In Pressure
EvieNelle was scowling at something behind me. I turned around to see what had her encouraging premature wrinkling. “Will you stop?” I scolded.“I can’t help it,” she muttered.“Yes, you can. This is why I didn’t want to come here. You are going to be picking apart that poor bartender all night. Give him a break.”“He sucks,” she said. “No wonder he doesn’t make any tips. I wouldn’t tip him a penny.”I sighed, sipping on the drink that really wasn’t all that good, but I was not about to tell her that. “If it wasn’t for him, you would never have a day off. He is a necessary evil.”“Evil maybe, but I’m not sure how necessary it is.”“Pay attention to me,” I demanded.She finally looked at me. “You are a needy date.”I laughed. “You have no idea just how needy I am.”“Gross.”I shrugged. “It’s true.”“I guess that means you guys still haven’t managed to find some alone time this week?”I groaned. “No. He had to go out of town to talk to someone about something that had something to do w
Let Me In The Future
Evie“For a first date, yes. I don’t want him to meet me and see me stuffing my face,” Nelle said.“Oh, that’s a good point,” I said.“But I do want to meet him. You’ve got me excited to meet the little brother of your perfect man.”“He’s a good guy. I like him and I know you will.”We sipped our drinks, our eyes drifting around the bar as it began to fill up. It was still early, but I considered myself an old lady. I couldn’t stay out until the wee hours of the morning. I had to work tomorrow. I did not want to show up with a hangover. After learning a hangover was just really not worth it and completely preventable, I had made a conscious decision to avoid them like the plague.“Do you think Xander is the guy that will father your future children?”I nearly choked on my drink. “What? What are you talking about? Why would you ask me that?”She shrugged. “I don’t know. I was just thinking about our future.”“Our future, like me and you?”“Yes. Me and you. You are pretty wrapped up in
Let Me In Interruptions
XanderI was tinkering on my boat when my phone rang. I glanced over, ready to let it go to voicemail until I saw Evie’s number. I quickly wiped my hand on my pants before grabbing the phone.“Hello,” I said, unable to stop the smile from spreading over my face.“What are you doing?” she asked.“I’m working on my boat.”She laughed. “Of course, you are. Your actual boat or the little boat you are using as a prototype?”“My actual boat. What are you doing?”“Well, my client canceled at the last minute. Turns out I have nothing to do on a Friday night. I was wondering if you were free.”“I’m always free for you,” I told her.“I like that.”“Come out to the boat,” I said.“Are you sure? If you’ve got big plans to tear apart a perfectly good boat, I don’t want to get in your way.”“Woman, I’m free. You’re free. Get your ass out here or I will hunt you down. You cannot put this man off another day.”Her sweet laughter came through the phone. She thought I was joking. I wasn’t. I was so fuc
Let Me In Horrible News
Xander“I’ll go ahead and get started,” she said with a coy smile as she pulled her shirt from her pants, yanking it over her head.I looked down at my phone and saw a number I didn’t immediately recognize. Then it hit me. It was an Oregon number. “Hello?”My dad cleared his throat. “Xander.”I thought about hanging up immediately. If I didn’t answer, then he couldn’t tell me.“Dad,” I said. Everything fell into slow motion.Evie standing topless in front of me faded from my view. I saw nothing. I felt nothing. “Xander, it’s Kade.”I gulped down the lump in my throat and turned away from Evie. I continued my walk down the stairs and moved to the edge of the room, trying to put some distance between me and her. I needed space. I couldn’t breathe.“What?” I asked, my throat feeling raw.There was only one reason my father would call me. He knew it, and I knew it, but I wanted him to say the words. I needed to hear the words, or I wouldn’t believe it.“There was an accident,” he said, ad
Let Me In I Don't Need You
EvieMy heart was shattering into a thousand pieces. The look on his face told me everything I needed to know. I had heard his side of the conversation. I had seen his shoulders slump before he threw them back. He was trying to pull himself together.“Xander,” I whispered.He had a blank stare on his face. “I, um, he—”I felt a tear stream down my face. “Kade?”He slowly nodded. “Yes.”I didn’t want to make the wrong assumption, but I was pretty sure I knew what had happened. I wanted to believe I was wrong. I could be wrong. Please, let me be wrong. “Is he, uh, is he—”“Yes.”I gasped. Hearing the confirmation made it all real. “I’m sorry,” I breathed before stepping closer.“It’s fine.”“Xander, it isn’t fine,” I told him. I put my hand on his arm. He flinched and pulled away. “What can I do?”“Nothing.”I could see him shutting down, pulling away. He was crawling into his corner to lick his wounds. “Can I get you a drink?” I offered.I had no idea how to help him. I was grasping at
Let Me In Empathy
Evie“Death is rarely fair,” she said. “How is Xander taking it? Did he call you?”“I was with him. I don’t know how he is taking it. I would say not well. He wanted to be alone. He just totally shut down. I don’t think he wanted to look at me, let alone talk to me. I didn’t want to go, but he made it pretty clear he didn’t want me there. I didn’t want to make it worse.”“I’m sorry,” she said and gave me a big hug. “I’m sure he wants you with him but he’s in for a bumpy ride. He’s probably just trying to figure out what to think and how to feel. That had to have been a huge blow.”“It was horrible. The look on his face. It was like he knew before his father even told him.”“Maybe he had one of those connections with his brother,” she suggested.I dabbed at my eyes. The worst of the sobbing was over. “I don’t know. I think it was probably hearing his dad’s voice. They don’t talk. When you get a call like that, I think part of you senses what is coming. I can’t say from experience, but
Let Me In Alone
XanderI had yet to sleep. I was afraid to sleep. Every time I stopped moving, I thought about Kade. I had spent some time on the boat and came home sometime around two. Then it was on the treadmill and then for a swim. I didn’t want to stop. Stopping meant thinking. The rational side of me knew I had to think at some point.My legs felt heavy, a sign my adrenaline was wearing off. Any moment, the crash was going to hit. I had gone through something similar when I lost my mom. Her death was expected. I was prepared for it. It sucked and it hurt but it wasn’t nearly as bad as what I knew waited for me. Kade’s death was going to hit hard. It already did, but instead of letting myself feel that pain, I pushed it away.I could feel it creeping in now. I climbed the stairs, one heavy footstep at a time, as I made my way to the room he had used when he stayed with me. I walked to the dresser where the picture he had left me was still resting.I picked up the picture, staring at the image of
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