Page 3 of Chance
Giggling, I ran with her into the parking lot.Our one-bedroom apartment was on the ground floor, our matching Jeeps parked side by side only a few yards away.With the streetlight glowing down on us, we splashed in the puddles already forming.
Hair dripping, we danced around, our laughter lifting into the late-night sky.
Moments of pure happiness were something I cherished.We’d had so few that we couldn’t squander them now that we were finally together.Not when we had fought so hard for this.I wasn’t going to waste a single second of time being sad for what should have been.
I couldn’t let the darkness win.
Tipping my head back to the pouring sky, I let my tears fall, baptizing our fresh start.I’d pushed everything down so deep when I’d lost Evy.I’d hidden my pain for so long that it had almost consumed me.
How Evy had survived not just losing our mother, the only parent she’d ever known, but me as well, I still didn’t know.I couldn’t understand it.
Not when I’d been so utterly destroyed.
Death had once seemed like the only answer to escaping the overwhelming loneliness.
Now, I desperately wanted to live.
“Evie.”Her voice pulled me back from the mangled thoughts, the memories of being locked behind door after door.Memories of that night…
My twin’s voice coaxed me from the ledge where the darkness was waiting, always ready to suck me back in.
Don’t go there, Evie.Don’t think about what nearly happened.Almost doesn’t count.Your heart is still beating.You’re still here and getting better now.Every day with Evy heals all your broken pieces.
Blinking through the blur of tears and rain, I saw my sister’s beautiful smile.“We made it,” she reminded me, her eyes unwavering, never judging.
I gulped in a deep breath, nodding, returning her smile.“We made it.”
Chance
Guzzlingcoffee from my travel thermos, I stepped out of my apartment, letting the door slam behind me and not giving a single fuck if it woke any of my tenants.It was bullshit-early, the sun barely peeking through the clouds after the storm of the night before.It was still sprinkling lightly, which was annoying as hell.I’d rather it poured from the heavens than be aggravated by that constant mist.
Over the past few weeks, all I’d done was work and sleep.From one project to the next, spreading myself thin.Being the head electrician for Barker & Reid Construction was something I’d worked my ass off for, but my ass was also fucking tired.
Stomping down the stairs, I kept my focus on my truck in the parking lot, wishing I could take my motorcycle instead.I needed to feel the wind in my face, the sensation of flying coursing through my veins.Being cooped up in the cab of my work vehicle day after day, or stuck inside whatever building I was wiring, was suffocating.
Before I reached the bottom step, a breeze brushed across my skin, and I couldn’t contain the longing sigh that left me.It had stormed hard last night, but it had eased up around dawn.Whether it continued to rain or not, I still had work, unlike my cousin Reid, who could take the day off since the weather would halt many of his projects.
Lucky bastard.
Movement at the bottom of the steps pulled my attention to a small form bundled under a blanket.Slowing my steps, I watched as it turned, the fuzzy material falling from a girl’s head as she lifted a mug to her lips.All the air rushed from my lungs as I took her in.That Aphrodite face, the slender body wrapped in a pink blanket, all that gorgeous blond hair that made her look like a goddamn Disney princess sitting there on that bottom step.
I had no idea who she was, but it was that time of year when Trinity University was starting back for the fall term.We didn’t lease our apartments to many college kids, definitely not any freshmen.That rule was unbreakable, one I’d been firmly on board with when Elias and Reid had suggested it.That was a bad business move of epic proportions.I’d been a young and dumb eighteen-year-old once upon a time.
But at first glance, this girl didn’t look like a teenager.Young, yes, but not that young.
I hoped.
Sammy could joke all she wanted about my only requirement being barely legal, but I didn’t go for jailbait.Why the fuck would I do something stupid like that when I could easily get any pussy I wanted and not risk a felony?
A pleased hum drifted to my ears, and I suddenly felt kicked in the gut.
Pale blond hair, like freaking silver moonbeams, fell down her back, a smile teasing at her lips as she savored that taste on her tongue.The breeze picked up for a moment, that mist still in the air, but not so annoying now as a mouthwatering scent floated to my nose.It was sweet with a hint of floral, making me think of peaches and honey mixing together.
Hunger gnawed at me, my tongue sliding across my bottom lip in hopes of tasting that scent that was so fucking intoxicating.Hypnotized by the sight of her smile, the scent that was filling my senses, enticing me closer, I didn’t even remember descending the rest of the stairs to get to her.
She swiveled her head toward me at some point, her smile never once dimming as she scooted aside to make room for me to pass.“Oh, good morning,” she greeted in a voice that was the sweetest sound I’d ever heard.
Unable to tear my gaze from her, I dropped my ass onto the step above hers.My knees felt unstable, weak, while my heart was beating triple time in my chest.It was her eyes—they were mesmerizing.Having her attention focused on me went straight to my head.I pressed my fist to the center of my chest, not sure if I wanted the pressure there to ease up or hurt more.
