Rune The rest of the week passed in a blur as I buckled down, doing some freelance work while applying to any and every job I was qualified for that I could find, and I spent more time at the community center than I had in a long while, something I actually got to enjoy for once. It wasn’t very often that they were able to pay me for some of the things I did to help out, but every little bit helped. I hated taking money from their already scarce funds. Howbeit, I was grateful for the extra income this week given everything that had happened, and Tom had all but insisted, claiming an anonymous benefactor had been extremely generous with a recent donation. Roman and Isla were spending the night at a friend’s house again this weekend, giving me the time that I needed to get my life back on track, at least that was the goal. I’d luckily been able to pick up a few editing jobs on the side as well, so I had enough to cover the bills for another week. Next week would be a challenge in a
Rune The first thing I did after getting Blizzard calmed down, and ensuring Damien had really left, was change into some dry clothes, twirling my hair up into a messy bun as I reentered the destroyed front room. Fortunately, a thorough inspection of the rest of the house revealed that I was alone, and that it didn’t appear Damien had touched much while he was here unattended. I was dying for a shower, the frigid rain having soaked me through to the bone, but I knew Blizzard would have attempted to leap into the walk-in shower with me due to the thunder still reverberating every now and then. Putting off the mess as long as I could, I found Kiki’s name in my contact list, letting the phone ring through until her voicemail started playing. Of course, she didn’t answer, and I hadn’t seen her car across the street either, telling me she probably hadn’t come home last night. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for her, but it didn’t change the fact that she’d gone back on her word yet agai
Shane Micah’s mood did not improve as the week had worn on, and I knew it had everything to do with how things had gone with Rune on Wednesday. I’d tried talking with him, getting him to understand how his emotions had come into play when they’d had their confrontation, but I was well aware that sometimes my friend needed time to work things out on his own. Nonetheless, his stress only seemed to exacerbate, and it swiftly became clear that Rune had been responsible for a good portion of the content that was put out in the magazine each week. The other editors were falling behind without her critical eye, and I was beginning to understand why Samuel hadn’t minded working around Rune’s schedule as much as he had. Micah was going out of his way to not admit that he’d messed up, wasting his time by interviewing new candidates for a position it was now obvious would be impossible to fill with only one person. I’d tried convincing him to contact her, to apologize for his brash behavior
Shane Once we made it down to the parking lot, Samuel pulled out his phone, scrolling through his contact list until he landed on Rune’s information I presumed. Part of me was jealous when she picked up the phone right away for Sam when she’d been outright ignoring me since I’d dropped her off last week, but I shoved down my insecurities as he got off the phone a minute later. I wasn’t even surprised at this point when Samuel ended up having a spare key to the older vehicle that belonged to Rune, and within five minutes I was following behind him in her car as he led the way to the community center. My head was all over the place during the short drive, the cramped space barely registering in my haze, but the rough state of Rune’s vehicle left me more bothered than anything else. It was pretty clear at this point that she didn’t want anyone going to her house, but, hell, I was thrilled to just be seeing her once more. I couldn’t truly blame her, and I respected her all the more kn
Micah Growling in frustration as I shoved away from my desk, I barely resisted slamming my office door shut behind my dad as he marched out in a huff with Shane shadowing him. I was pissed he’d called me out on my shitty behavior towards Rune, but as much as I didn’t want to admit it, I knew I’d fucked up. Shane had already let me know as much more than once by now, even Sara giving me the cold shoulder when I passed by her desk to reach the elevator, but I’d been too hardheaded for it to sink in until recently. I’d let my personal feelings interfere with how I conducted business, and I had all but goaded Rune into turning in her resignation. Okay, that was a polite way of putting it, but whatever, the point was I needed to fix this. Then again, it was easier to own up to my mistakes when I didn’t have two of the closest people in my life looking down at me like the piece of shit I felt like. I got it; I was a dick, but I wouldn’t stop either until I made it up to the woman who
Rune Originally, I hadn’t been anything but confused and apprehensive about Micah’s sudden appearance at my house, but my fear faded when I realized he wasn’t looking at me any differently than he had before. Furthermore, I was grateful for the apology, but I still wasn’t sure about coming back to Griffin Fashion. Don’t get me wrong, I needed the job, but I didn’t know if I would be able to deal with the history I shared with both Micah and Shane. I didn’t have time to consider my options with him showing up out of the blue, but I’d ultimately agreed to him giving me a ride, knowing I could use the money I would save elsewhere. He’d used the short drive to try to convince me to return as I’d been expecting, and I had to admit, he was wearing me down slowly but surely, even if I didn’t care for his tactics. It would be so much easier for me to take up my old position than wasting any more time searching for something else, already being familiar with the ins and outs of the job, bu
Rune It was like every thought flew from my mind in that instant, my brain turning to mush with the incredible fragrances twining together to annihilate my defenses as both men moved ever closer. My skin prickled with awareness, and I rapidly darted my eyes around the tiny room, looking for something to distract me from the feelings rearing up inside. Micah’s hands landing on my waist had me skittering forward, but there was nowhere for me to go with two warm bodies closing in on me from both sides. I ran smack dab into Shane’s chest, but he didn’t let me escape, his own huge hands snaking around me, drawing me closer to the source of the mint that I was smelling as he repeated, “Please come back Rune.” His voice had turned husky, and I didn’t miss how they had teamed up against me to get their way, even if I couldn’t deny that it was kind of working. My night with Micah was still fresh in my head, but I couldn’t forget how close I’d been to going home with Shane that night inste
Shane I watched Rune walk away for a long few seconds, the curve of her backside too irresistible to stop my eyes from tracking downward as she sauntered off, and I noticed Micah doing exactly the same thing when I’d finally managed to tear my gaze away. Right then and there I knew that there was no way in hell either one of us would ever be able to remain ‘professional’ as she’d demanded in a hurry before she’d fled the room, her arousal irrefutable despite her assertion. The taste of her vanilla ChapStick was still fresh on my lips, and all I could think about was when I would get another chance to repeat what had just happened in this tiny office. Gah! Rolling my shoulders back, I followed the mesmerizing female out of the room, enamored by the way she interacted with her daughter, even if I knew there was a lot more to that story than I was privy to. The little girl’s skin tone was much darker than Rune’s, but not quite as dark as mine, telling me they weren’t related biologic