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He's Gone

Author: Ali Parker
last update Last Updated: 2024-05-24 02:12:36

Xander

I jogged downstairs. I had canceled my meetings for the day and was going to hang out with Kade until it was time for him to catch his flight back to Oregon.

I was going to make him breakfast. Something nice and greasy and completely unhealthy. I spoke to Alexa and asked her to turn on the morning news station.

While I was apprised of the events happening in the country and the city, I fried bacon and cooked hash browns. I cheated a bit and opened a jar of gravy and popped open a can of biscuits. The final touch was the scrambled eggs, a little on the wet side, just like Kade liked them.

I had thought he would be down by now. Neither of us was prone to sleeping in. Years of living on a military base and living with a military man stole away the whole sleeping in thing.

I went upstairs and knocked on the door to the room he was sleeping in. “Kade! Wakey, wakey, little brother.”

There was no answer. I opened the door and immediately noticed the bed was neatly made. I didn’t have
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  • Let Me In   Making Plans

    Xander“Hey,” I said, smiling as I took a bite of bacon. “What are you doing?”“At this moment, I am going to a coffee shop.”“Do you have a packed schedule today?”“Nope. I only have a few things. Why?”“Want to play hooky?”She softly giggled. “What do you have in mind?”“I took the day off to hang out with Kade, but he ditched me. I was thinking me and you could do something. I think I’m due for a new lesson in having fun.”“I’m in. Let me go into the office and check on a couple things. Then I can be free, say by ten?”“Awesome.”“What did you have in mind?” she asked. “Theme park? Beach?”“How about the zoo?” I blurted out, surprising even myself.“The zoo?” she questioned, sounding surprised.“Yeah, why not? I don’t think I’ve been there in forever.”“I’m excited. That sounds like a great way to spend the day. I’ll need to go home and change. Do you want me to meet you at your place?”“I can pick you up,” I offered.“I’ll text you my address.”“See you soon.”I ended the call an

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  • Let Me In   Bringing It All Up Again

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  • Let Me In   Rub Me the Right Way

    EvieI wrinkled my nose. “He’s a nice guy and easy on the eyes, but perfect? That’s a stretch.”“Okay, if you keep telling me how good looking my brother is, I’m going to feed you to the lions.”My smile erupted over my face. I liked his little jealous side. I liked that he wanted me all to himself. “Speaking of, let’s go. They should be getting fed about now.”We got up, both of us carrying our sodas in one hand while we held hands. “You really are worthy,” I told him.“My dad doesn’t see it that way. Him and your dad would get along very well.”That stung. “I’m sorry.”“Don’t be. I rub people the wrong way.”“You rub me in all the right ways,” I said.“Be careful,” he warned. “I am still thinking about taking you back into the penguin palace. There were plenty of dark corners.”“I’m thinking that could be a little cold. The chill might cause some performance issues.”He slowly shook his head as his eyes raked over my body. “I could never have any issues when it comes to you. I don’t

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  • Let Me In   Testing the Waters

    XanderI parked my car in the massive parking lot reserved for the hundreds of dock workers. I checked my watch, wincing when I confirmed my suspicions. I was late.For the life of me, getting to where I was supposed to be on time seemed like an impossible feat. I tried and I tried but something always happened.I made my way down to the right dock and immediately spotted Charlie. He had his hands on his hips and was staring out at the massive cargo ship in the harbor. By his stance, I could see he wasn’t happy.He had called and asked me to come down and give him some ideas. Apparently, there was a ship coming in for repairs. Charlie was stumped and needed some fresh eyes on how to take care of the issue.It was my thing. The ship wasn’t one of mine, but I didn’t mind offering some advice to a friend. It wasn’t like I needed the money, so I never charged him a consultation fee. There were a few companies that I did charge because the owners or CEOs were dicks. Probably not the most p

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  • Let Me In   Selfless

    Xander“Just checking. You are an odd duck. I never know what gets you off and what pisses you off.”“I’m not that odd. She said I’m selfless because although I didn’t go into the Marines and go kill bad guys, I am changing the world in my own little way.”“Dude, I’ve been telling you that for years,” he said with disgust.I shrugged. “I guess I wasn’t listening. You aren’t as pretty as she is. When she said it, it meant something.”“It meant something when I said it,” he protested.“You sound like a jealous lover,” I warned him.“You are changing the world. If you can figure out this rudder problem, you will not only change the world but change my life. I’ll have weekends off. I’ll get to work a normal eight-hour day. I might even get to take a real vacation.”“I don’t want to put you out of work,” I teased.He laughed, shaking his head and pointing toward the harbor. “There are a lot of old ships out there. I’ve got enough work to last me three lifetimes.”“This is true.”“It really

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  • Let Me In   Falling for Him

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  • Let Me In   Deep Cuts

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  • Let Me In   Giving Her a Ride

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Latest chapter

  • Let Me In   Epilogue Part 2

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  • Let Me In   Epilogue Part 1

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  • Let Me In   Making Love in the Park

    EvieI was being terribly irresponsible. I was not the girl who got naked in the park and had sex. Unfortunately, when I was with Xander, all bets were off.And he loved me. The words echoed through my mind over and over. He loved me. I would follow him into the fires of hell knowing he loved me. I didn’t realize just how badly I needed to hear those words from him.He loved me. I loved him. I didn’t know what that meant for the two of us, but damn if I was going to pass up the chance to find out. The way he was kissing me was different. Maybe it was mind over matter, but I could practically taste the love on his tongue. It was in the way he touched me. The gentleness of his hand on my cheek, holding me steady while his tongue plundered inside my mouth.“Over here,” he said as he broke his mouth away from mine.I felt a little dazed. His kiss made me feel drunk on lust. Again, I was ready to follow him anywhere if it meant I got more kisses like that. He took my hand and led me away f

  • Let Me In   I Love You

    Xander“Xander, I want to believe you, but I’m hesitant.”“I know. I expect that. It isn’t just the memories of Kade that brought me back. You. Memories of being with you. Thinking about this place and our time together. Those are all really good memories. I want more memories like that.”“You are saying all the right things,” she said with a smile. “You know I can’t resist you.”“I’m counting on it.”“I’m glad you are back,” she said.“Me too. Does this mean you will entertain the idea of having a relationship with me?”“I could be convinced,” she said.“I am going to work very hard to convince you,” I vowed.She sipped her wine. “How are you doing? Like really doing?”“I’m doing a lot better thanks to you.”“Thanks to me?”“You are a sneaky little lady,” I told her.She raised her eyebrows. “Me? Sneaky?”“I got a call yesterday.”“Congratulations.”“Oh, you’re cheeky too.” I laughed. I opened the picnic basket and pulled out the small cheese tray and peeled back the plastic. “You ho

  • Let Me In   Forgive Me

    XanderI was so close to losing her. I sensed it in her voice. I wasn’t expecting her to jump at the chance to see me, but I wasn’t expecting such resistance either.The sense of urgency I felt was making me anxious. I couldn’t imagine my life without her. It had taken me way too long to realize how I felt about her. Anytime I thought about my life in a month or a year or in ten years, she was there. I wasn’t sure how it happened, but I knew she was a person I wanted in my life. It wasn’t even a want. It was a need. I needed the woman like I needed air.I was prepared to chase her down if I had to. I would do whatever it took to make her hear me out. I knew there was still a chance she would kick me to the curb. I wouldn’t blame her if she did. I had fucked up. A lot. I would spend the next year trying to convince her to give me a chance. I couldn’t explain when things clicked but they had.It was like the light went on. I hated that I was so ignorant for so damn long. I hated to thin

  • Let Me In   Our Spot

    Evie“I don’t know,” I answered. “I didn’t take the call. I was in a meeting. And it wasn’t the kind of meeting that allowed me to answer my phone.”“Did he leave a voicemail?”“Nope.”“I hate that,” she groaned.“Me too. If it was important, he could leave a message. The guy has fallen off the face of the earth again. He hasn’t called or texted and now he blows up my phone? I’m not interested.”“Liar,” she shot back.“Okay, I am interested but I don’t want to make it too easy.”“You know you’re never going to be able to think of anything else if you don’t call him back and find out what he wants.”“Won’t that make me sound like I’m desperate for his attention?” I asked.“No. The man called you. Calling him back is just polite.”Truly, I was looking for her approval. She had given it to me and now I was anxious to call him and find out. “I’m going to do it.”“Let me know,” she said and hung up.I held the phone in my hand, tapping it against my forehead. I needed to mentally brace mys

  • Let Me In   What Does He Want?

    EvieI pulled up the images from a sweet-sixteen party I had planned about six months ago before I turned my laptop for the new client to see.“Oh wow, that is stunning!” the mother exclaimed.“I don’t want pink,” the spoiled princess pouted.I smiled, remaining calm. “You don’t have to have pink. You can choose any color you want.”“No,” the mother quickly interjected. “We are not having black.”The girl scowled. “I wasn’t going to say black.”I kept my smile in place. The affluent family had reached out to me last week. Initially, I didn’t want to do it. I was in no mood to deal with a spoiled teenager.“What colors were you thinking about?” I asked.“Purple,” she answered. “I want several shades of purple.”“Oh, that’s very regal,” her mother said with a relieved smile. “I like it.”“I was at a party you planned for my friend like a year ago,” the young girl said. “She said you were really good. My party has to be better than her party.”Ah, teenage envy. “We will do our best.”“We

  • Let Me In   Go Fix It

    Xander“No, I don’t suppose it was. You did it for yourself. You made something of yourself. I’ve kept my head in the sand, trying to ignore what you’ve been doing. I did a little research. You have changed the world, just like you said you were going to. You really did something remarkable. Your mother used to show me newspaper clippings with your name. I know I didn’t say it, but I’m proud of you. I’ve always been proud of you.”I put the bottle of beer down. I could not continue to drink it if he was going to send me into coughing fits every time he dropped one of his little bombshells. “You are?”“I am. I should have told you before. You are my son. I’ve said some pretty shitty things. I don’t know how to make them go away but I was hoping we could try and start over.”I felt like I was being pranked. Maybe I was dreaming. In thirty-two years, my father had never believed I was worthy of his last name. “You want to start over? I’m sorry, Dad. This is all coming out of left field.

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