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It Was That Bad

Author: Ali Parker
last update Last Updated: 2024-10-29 19:42:56

Raina

I wished I could rewind time back to that exact moment before he asked me out again and tell myself that this was what I wanted. Yes, I knew it would be hard, and yes, I knew that my life was crazy hectic most of the time, but maybe that was just how it was meant to be.

I couldn’t keep putting off the thought of being with someone with excuses about how busy my life was. Maybe I just needed to accept that a good guy had come into my life and that the universe was telling me loudly that I should drop the pretense and go after him.

“Something on your mind, hun?” Jackie asked as I helped her set the board up outside.

I shook my head. I didn’t want to talk to her about all of this. Even though I knew it was kind of pathetic, I didn’t like the notion of her finding out that I wasn’t well put together in my personal life. I knew it was silly, but I liked the thought of everyone around me thinking that I actually had my shit together, even when it wasn’t true. Even when it was so blind
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    HarryAs I sat there in the park, looking out at all the dogs scuttling around in front of us, I knew what she was going to say before the words had so much formed on her lips.“Harry,” Winnie asked, and I looked over at her with my eyebrows raised. It was a Saturday, the kind of warm, bright day that felt like it could go on forever, and she had asked to take a walk in the local park. And not just because there were a bunch of dogs running around there.Of course not.“Yes?” I asked.“Can we get a dog?”“Now, I don’t know if you forgot about it already, but I’m pretty sure I already answered this question,” I reminded her.She grinned and clasped her hands together beneath her chin in a playful pleading motion. “Please, please, please?” she begged. “You didn’t even think about it. It would be so nice to come down here with a dog on the weekends.”“And the rest of the week, I guess I’d be the one taking care of it?” I asked.“You’d get to take care of it,” she replied. I had to laugh.

  • Accidentally All of Me   Pushover

    HarryWe arrived at his vast estate. The gates slid open, and I drove up toward the house. It was tacky, really, but the enormous mansion that he’d had built for himself seemed to suit him down to the ground. I could never have imagined myself living in a place like that, but maybe I was just being a snob. Perhaps there was a lot to be said for just kicking back and letting yourself indulge in all your worst, craziest whims as you got older. He certainly seemed to be happy, after all.He was waiting by the door for us when we pulled to a halt outside the house, and he instantly crouched down and held his arms out to Winnie as soon as he saw her approaching.“Hey, Winnie!” he called to her, and she practically leaped into his arms and gave him a huge hug. I was surprised that she didn’t break him. He was starting to look really frail these days, and I just hoped to God that he was going to be with us a little longer yet. He had his bad days, days when he knew that he couldn’t handle se

  • Accidentally All of Me   Harry Calling

    RainaUgh.Days like this made me second-guess exactly why I had been so excited to take this on as a career. After all, I was elbow deep in a pile of dog crap that looked as though it could have sunk a small boat if it had all been dumped in at once.But this was how I had to test for worms, and that was just the way it had to be. I had to grit my teeth and remind myself that I loved my job, and nothing was going to change that. Not even a big pile of dog shit.“Raina?”My attention was drawn by Hannah’s voice coming around the door, and I glanced over to see her standing there with the phone in her hand.“Call for you,” she told me, and she waggled her eyebrows pointedly in my direction.I furrowed my brow. I hadn’t been expecting a call. “Hand it over,” I told her, snapping off the gloves and quickly stepping out of the room before the perfume of dog shit got stuck to my clothes for good. “Hello?”“Hello, Raina?” A familiar voice came down the line.I practically jolted on the spot

  • Accidentally All of Me   Catch You Later

    RainaHow was it that even down the phone, he could get me all flustered and overheated? I needed to get myself together. I needed to—I wasn’t sure, but I needed to do something. Maybe get off the phone and stop sounding like such a blundering idiot?“I guess you will,” he replied. How could he sound so cool? He was talking like he had the world in the palm of his hand, and me right there with it.“Catch you later,” I replied, and I practically cringed when I heard how breathy and overly interested my voice sounded. Oh my goodness. Was that really what I was like when I was around him? I had hoped that I might be able to keep myself together just a little better than that, but it seemed like I had lost the ability.We made sure to exchange numbers and said our goodbyes, and I hung up the phone and stared at it for a long moment. All my thoughts about work and worms and dogshit had vanished right out of my head. I was going to see him again. I was going to see him again. It was like I

  • Accidentally All of Me   Give Me Shelter

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  • Accidentally All of Me   Love at First Sight

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    RainaIt was clear from the way Frankie was gazing at him that she was thoroughly enjoying his presence there, especially since it wasn’t like we got a lot of hot guys hanging out around these parts. I felt a little swell of protectiveness. He was mine, wasn’t he? At least, that was what I thought. Even though I had turned him down for that second date, even though I was only seeing him again because he wanted a dog...“Frankie, could you get all the adoption papers we need ready?” I asked, and she nodded, not taking her eyes off Harry for a single moment. It was like cartoon hearts were pumping in her eyes. She couldn’t have made it much more obvious if she tried. But then, I supposed I could hardly claim that I was the best at playing it super cool.Frankie shuffled the papers together and then handed them off to Harry. She eyed him as he filled out the forms in front of him, and when she saw him write his name down, it looked like her eyes were going to bug right out of her head.“

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  • Accidentally All of Me   Celebrating in Bed

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  • Accidentally All of Me   More Shocking News

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  • Accidentally All of Me   A Gift

    HarryI reached under the table and patted Tink where he was asleep at my feet. He might not have known it, but he was the reason that all of this weekend had been such a huge success.Without him, I would never have come across the shelter, and without that, I wouldn’t have been able to put together the awesome event that we had thrown the day before. It had been hectic as hell, but totally worth it, and I was proud to say that we had helped find homes for more than seventy animals over the course of the day.By the time it was over, Winnie was dead asleep in the back of the car with Tink, and George had to be dragged away from Nico, who he just couldn’t get enough of. But the day had been a wild success, and I knew that it wouldn’t be the only one that we had with the shelter.But for now, I was back at work, and I had to focus on catching up on everything that I had missed the last few weeks. Fuck, it had been so busy, I had hardly had time to remember that I so much as had a job.

  • Accidentally All of Me   Happy Tears

    Raina“Thank you for getting all of this set up,” I told Harry. “You have no idea how much this is going to help get people to start taking notice of the shelter.”“Well, it’s what you deserve,” he replied. “You’ve worked so hard here for so long. I wanted to do what I could to make it easier on you.”I kissed him again. “You know, you’re way sweeter than you have any right to be,” I murmured.He grinned. “Is that an insult or a compliment? I can’t tell.”“You decide,” I replied, and it was right then that I saw Rita and her son coming through the door. She had promised to put in an appearance, and she beamed as soon as she saw me.“Oh, how’s my favorite baby?” I greeted him with a coo, and I came over to hold him in my arms for just a moment.Rita handed him over to me at once, apparently glad to have a chance to put him down, if only for a moment. “Oh my goodness, I think I’m in a lot of danger being here,” she remarked as Marjorie emerged from the back room with a couple of lively

  • Accidentally All of Me   Clear the Shelter

    Raina“All right, do you have all the forms ready?” I asked Marjorie as the two of us practically sprinted around the shelter, trying to get everything ready for the adopt-a-thon that was meant to be happening today.She nodded. “I think so,” she replied, but she was clearly nervous.I put my hand on her shoulder. “Hey,” I soothed her. “Everything’s going to be fine. Everyone who’s coming today has already been vetted, you remember? So anyone who goes home with a pet, they’re going to be a good home for them.”“I know that,” Marjorie said. “I’m just... I don’t know if I’m ready to say goodbye to all these little guys after all this time.”“Don’t get all misty on me now,” I warned her. “We have to make space for other animals, remember? I want to make sure that we get as many of these guys off to new homes as we can. Think how good it’ll be to have the space so that you don’t have to worry about turning down anyone who needs a home, right?”“Right,” she agreed, and she nodded and tappe

  • Accidentally All of Me   Sharing the Great News

    Harry“I had my lawyer draw up these agreements,” she explained.Michael lifted his head from the papers that he had been going over. He nodded, looking satisfied with what he had seen.“Everything seems like it’s in order to me,” he remarked. “Harry, if you want to take a little more time to go over these and think about the decision, we can hang on to them for you—”“No, I’m ready,” I replied. I was dead certain. Nothing was going to change my mind. Nothing at all. I was happier than I’d been in such a long time. We had the house, I had Raina, and now, it looked like I was going to have my precious, perfect son on top of all of it. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. Not one little thing.“Thank you for this, Allison,” I said. “Thank you for trusting me with him.”“Thank you for letting us into your life after all this time,” she replied. “I know it’s more than I deserve. I know you’re being kinder than you should ever be with me—”“You never have to think like that,” I told he

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