Page 31 of Entwined IN YOU (IN YOU 2)

“What do you want?” I sit by the water as I wait for my heart to regain a regular heartbeat. “Tips on how to please your woman or some advice on how to make her cook you dinner?”

After splashing my face with lake water, I stand and start to fall as the slimy sand under the water makes me lose my balance. Seconds later, Leif catches me and helps me regain my footing. As I start to cackle at him, we both slip and tumble into the lake, and he falls on top of me. A loud surprised gasp leaves his mouth, reacting to the cold water.

Snickering at his expression and his wet, dirty clothes and shoes, I laugh so hard I nearly pee myself.

“That is not funny, Night!” But he can’t keep a straight face as he notices my own muddy state, my white teeth the only bright part of my appearance. We both guffaw, pointing at each other, as he pulls out his phone.

How his phone survived the mud and water is beyond my knowledge. I grab it from him, and we both take a few cute photos, muddy and wet.

Later, Lucas comes to find us unable to get out of our slippery slope. We look at each other and try to pull him to us, but in vain, as Lucas just releases the stick, letting us realize that game time’s over. What a buzzkill!

Finally, we make it out of the lake, both dirty and cold, and run into the house, dripping mud all over the floors.

“You’ll be late for your date,” I remind Leif after we change into dry clothes and scrub the mud off our bodies. Nonchalantly, he shrugs and remains sitting under the cozy blankets with me on the couch, with cups of hot beverages.

“It’s just my buddy, he won’t mind. It is too early for the date, kitten.” He wiggles his eyebrows and I curl my lip, disgusted.

When Leif goes to change to meet his friend, I start cleaning. Since I do the washing, I put some flowery-scented liquid laundry detergent and snicker amused at my cunning idea.

“I’ll be back for dinner!” he hollers, and I hear the door bang shut as he leaves.

Lucas is trained as a soldier. I’ve never found his bed unmade or clothes scattered around. But Leif’s room always looks like Armageddon exploded in the middle of it. Usually, I’m the one to clean his room, and tidy his stuff, since I have some obsessive nerve with order.

Waiting to see Leif’s reaction when he discovers his scented wardrobe, I go to the kitchen and start to cook for us. I always look for new recipes because I like to try fresh foods on my experimental bunnies.

I gasp. Little Batman’s standing near the island, his hands on his waist, looking irritated. “It took you so long to see me, Mummy! Look, I am a Batman! I saved your cookies from the cookie monsters!” His cute lips are pursed in exasperation, and the eyes hidden underneath the mask look at me accusingly.

Choking, I open my mouth to plead for him to stay. My peanut looks like a small man, ready to save the world. Standing in front of me, he unhappily taps his foot on the floor. I don’t dare to make a sound, just so he would stay a moment longer. My heart squeezes as I realize how much I missed Ethan’s voice. All of a sudden, he ducks and disappears from the kitchen, leaving me frozen in place.

“Are you ok, Cassandra?” Lucas comes closer to me as I slowly lower my cooking gear onto the island and step back.

“Who did you see?” He waits for me to open up as my tears run down my cheeks. I look at him, hesitating. “You don’t need to be afraid to talk about it.” He pats my shoulder reassuringly and takes over mixing the ingredients.

“Ethan. He was here in his Batman suit.” Lucas nods as he listens. “He wanted me to know that he saved treats from the cookie monster. I remember that outfit, we bought it for him just a few weeks before the accident. He was constantly practicing his hero act.”

“Nothing is wrong with missing them, Cassandra. You should never doubt that seeing them is something you should hide from us.” I nod, but my eyes still fill with unshed tears, Lucas comes to hug me.

“Why are you so early for dinner today? I thought you would be working with your dad and Logan at the bank all day.” I try to sidetrack us from the gloomy moods.

“Logan handles all the business much better than me. They don’t really need me.” He shrugs and goes to wash his hands.

“Tell me about the Marines.” I return to the cooking as Lucas stirs the soup ingredients I have on the stove.

“What do you want to know?”

I shrug my shoulder, as I know nothing about it, except what they show in the movies. “Why did you choose the Marines?”

“I feel an enormous sense of fulfillment serving and protecting the country. There, I belong to the cause, safeguarding. Here, I am a spoiled, privileged billionaire, with no place or function.”

“Do you think Logan lives with no purpose?” I stop to look at him curiously, wanting to pick his mind. He gives me an easy grin as he knows I am fishing for an argument.

“He was the best choice to inherit the business and lead the company to the modernization and success. Neither Leif nor I have had the appropriate outlook to become leaders of the financial enterprise. I always looked for the purpose greater than me. Leif looked for the sovereignty and a lifestyle with a lack of restrictions. Logan followed in Dad’s footsteps.”

“Were you close when you were young?”

“No. We always fought at school, as our outlooks clashed, even back then. Made our parents nuts with worry that we were going to end up ruining our lives. After graduation, I realized that I had to join people with the same beliefs.” I guess Lucas succeeded in finding the cause.

“Do you miss them?” I stop cleaning the counters, patiently waiting, as he appears to be lost in his head for the moment.

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