“What the fuck is wrong with you, David?” Jerica asks. “Every day, you’re drifting further and further away. I don’t know what happened between you and Amelia, but it only made you worse. I love you, brother, but I don’t recognize you anymore. I’m healing. I’m getting better. I’m finding happiness.” She smiles gently at the man behind her brother, then returns her attention to David. “I want that for you, too. Until you can acknowledge the wrongness in you, you’re never going to find it. Someone told me very recently that our only enemy is the person we see in the mirror, and she’s right. Tell me, David. Can you look at yourself in the mirror? Do you like what you see?”
“This is all very entertaining, but it’s not my problem anymore. I have a date waiting,” I cut in.
I tangle my fingers with Alek’s and guide us around them.
Tonight, I have to lose the game so we can both walk away winners.
A Spicy Nerf Gun War
Alek
Itipmyheadback against the seat rest, eyes closed, letting the simple fact of being in Hayvin’s driveway scrub away the garbage fire of a day I just survived. When I first joined Cesare Baladucci’s company, I never expected to get such a rush from rebuilding a business from the ground up. The hostile takeover part? Not my favorite. But taking a company teetering on the edge and turning it into something worth a damn? That, I fucking lived for. David’s father was a real bastard. He didn’t care how many lives he upended when he swooped in and did whatever he pleased. The people beneath him were invisible to him, but not to me. I wanted to be the one who gave a damn when everything was falling apart.
Just a few months into my new job after leaving Cesare’s firm, it hit me. I was bone-deep tired of making someone else rich. I’d stacked up enough cash over the years for Hayvin and me to coast forever, but neither of us is built for that kind of emptycomfort. I needed something more, something that actually mattered.
Last month, over dinner, I confessed to Hayvin how hollow I felt at the firm. The fire was gone. The fight had fizzled out. She let the silence stretch, then asked why I didn’t just go out on my own. Why not find a business that actually needed saving? The idea sent a jolt of fear through me at the thought of having so many people counting on me. Before Hayvin, I only had to worry about myself, and even with her, I’d managed to screw things up. If I could break something as precious as us, what made me think I wouldn’t wreck a whole company full of people?
She let me have my space to work through whatever she could see fighting for life behind my eyes. Just sat quietly next to me with her head on my shoulder as we stared out at the lake.
After a while, she turned to face me and cupped my face in her hand. “You’re more than your past, Alek. Stop letting it have such a hold on you that you keep losing things that are important,” she said.
Her words struck a chord with me because it was something my therapist had been telling me as well.
So I pressed a grateful kiss to her lips and admitted she was right. That night, we mapped out my escape plan together. When I handed in my notice, my boss—thankfully not a Cesare-level asshole—just wished me luck and told me to call if I ever needed anything.
I was grateful.
It didn’t take long to find a company desperate for what I could do. Today was the final round of negotiations between me, the old owner, and a pack of lawyers. After a marathon day of signatures, asset lists, and endless legalese, I was completely wrung out.
Hayvin must have sensed it when she called earlier, because she didn’t ask. She demanded I show up at her place for a date.
No way in hell did I even consider taking a rain check because coming home to her after a hard workday has always been my favorite part. It’s something I’ve missed tremendously since I lost her.
I scrub my hands over my face harshly and yank my tie off, tossing it into the passenger seat of my truck before climbing out.
Her grass is getting wild, and the bushes are overdue for a trim, so I file that away for the weekend. Yesterday, I spotted her bathroom sink leaking, too, another fix to add to my growing list as I head for the porch.
I stop in front of the door and pull down the note sticking to it.
Hello, handsome.
Propped against the door, you’ll find a Nerf gun loaded with bullets. I left you some extra in case you’re not a good shot. This is the only warning you get. Catch me if you can.
My gaze lands on the oversized Nerf gun propped against the house, and a slow, wicked smile spreads across my face.
She wants to play, does she?
I unbutton my shirt, untuck it, and roll up my sleeves. Then I kick off my shoes and peel off my socks, stacking them neatly by the door.
She’s got home-field advantage, and I’ll take any edge I can get. Even if it means using every inch of my body as a weapon in this game.
We haven’t crossed that final line into sex yet. Neither of us was truly ready before. But lately, our kisses have turned hotter, our touches more urgent, the tension between us winding tighter every day.
It’s coming soon. I can feel it. I’m so fucking ready, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared out of my mind too.
I grab the extra bullets Hayvin left me and shove them into all the pockets I have before picking up the gun.
The front door groans as I push it open, and I mutter a curse. Should’ve fixed that squeak when I noticed it. So much for the element of surprise. Nerf gun raised, I slip inside, eyes darting, hunting for my mischievous woman.
