Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
Lily
It’s Saturday and I’ve spent all day writing.
The last book I did for Carter was about a military man who loses his leg while deployed and falls in love with his doctor.
It was what they call ‘slow burn.’ It took half the book for them to stop fighting their feelings for each other.
Then they had to get past the doctor-patient aspect.
But because it’s a romance book, that’s always easy to look past. And in the end, love wins.
That’s my favorite part about writing romance.
Love always gets the couples through whatever life throws at them.
I hope that one day I find the kind of love I write about.
“Why are you still in your jammies?” I hear a voice behind me ask.
I scream as I fall off my chair. I flip onto my back and look up. One of my best friends, Paisley, is standing over me. Laughing.
“How the hell did you get in here? And what are you, some kind of fucking ninja?”
She holds up a key. “Um. I have a key, duh. And yes. I’m a ninja in training.”
“I gave you the key for emergencies.” I squint at her.
“Obviously this is an emergency. You’re still in your jammies. We’re supposed to pick up Cora in an hour.”
“Why are you sneaking into my house now? I have a whole hour to get ready.”
I can see her trying to think up an excuse and it makes me laugh.
“I tried to call you.” She laughs.
“I was writing, this book is a lot of fun.”
Not many people know who I write for. But Paisley and Cora are my best friends and we share everything.
They keep telling me that I should just write my own books.
But I don’t know if I could take it if I got bad reviews.
I know I can read the reviews that come in for the authors I write for.
But it feels different than if I were to put my name on it. Maybe one day.
“Have you decided to finally write your own book? You know it would be the best. I’ve seen the reviews the authors are getting from your writing.”
“Naw. I like how things are. I don’t have to worry about anything except writing. The authors have to do the marketing and all the other stuff. And they have to worry about reviews and dealing with so many other things. I don’t think I’m ready for that.”
“Shit. If that’s what you’re worried about, Cora and I can do that stuff for you. I mean, you do remember what Cora does for a living, right?” she asks as she makes faces at me.
Cora is the marketing director for a big company here in Texas.
She mostly works remotely from home, but she’s really good at her job.
Paisley is a high school English teacher, she goes over the books before I send them off to the authors.
They pay for their own editor, but I refuse to send them a book that’s full of errors.
“I’m okay with how things are right now. Maybe one day I’ll feel different, but that day is definitely not today.”
Paisley sighs at me. “You’re so stubborn.”
“No I’m not,” I say as I stick my tongue out and start to get ready.
Tonight we’re going out to celebrate Cora’s twenty-fifth birthday.
We’ve planned a dinner, and then we’re going to a bar to have a few drinks.
It’s been our tradition since we met in college.
They’ve been with me through being happy with Carson, to getting past my sadness over losing him and everything in between. They’re forever part of my family.
“What did you end up getting Cora?” Paisley asks.
“I got her tickets to see Twisted Bonds. The closest show is next month, in Chicago. They’re actually doing two shows, so I got her VIP tickets for both venues—I think she’s going to love it. She’s been talking about them for months. What did you get her?”
Paisley starts laughing. “I was going to get her tickets to Twisted Bonds too. But I ended up getting her a gift certificate for a five-night hotel stay. At a hotel of her choice.”
Ever since we met, the three of us have been in sync in a way I’ve never been with any other friends before. It’s like we just know what the others need. And it’s a really nice feeling to know I have them. They’ll always have my back, like I have theirs.
“Cora’s going to love it, she’ll have the tickets and she can stay at a hotel for the shows. Maybe we should go too. I mean, she won’t want to go alone.” She smiles at me.
“I agree. That’s why I got us tickets too.” I laugh.
“Woooo! Now let’s go celebrate our bestie.”
“Just let me send this part of the book to Carter and I’ll grab a shower. What do you think of the book?”
“I like it, it’s different than the other books. A little darker than your usual writing. Has Carter given you any feedback?”
“He texted to say he liked it. I should be done with it by Monday. I’ll get it to you and then to him. Another one down!”
“This is book number ten! What do you want to do to celebrate?”
“Why would we celebrate? It’s not my book.”
“It sure as hell is your book. It may not be your name on it and you may not be able to claim it. But it sure as fuck is yours.”
I laugh at Paisley. “You’re crazy.”
“Thank you. Now let’s get going.”
Tristan
We drove the last sixteen hours taking turns at the wheel.
I’m pretty sure at the beginning, we were stopping every couple hours to get something to eat.
Apollo kept saying he was hungry. Finally, after the third stop, Eros told him he needed to suck it up and starve for the next few hours.
It was a very loud car ride and then he switched to saying he needed to pee or poop.
But we finally made it to Valor Springs and checked into the hotel.
Tomorrow, we’ll head to the cemetery where my parents are.
They’re in a niche together and Lorenzo said that he’ll make sure they have a nice one back in Lake Renegade too.
“You doing okay?” Armando asks.
“It’s weird being back here. Everything I see reminds me of my parents. And then I start to feel bad that I haven’t come back to see them. I’ve been gone for four years and if I’m being honest, I don’t think I really ever wanted to come back.”
“I can understand that. But you know that they’re proud of who you’ve become.”
“I really hope so. When I lost them, I thought I was done. But then my coach and his wife stepped in and helped me finish school and follow my dream of becoming a Marine.”
“And that led you to Lake Renegade. Our family wasn’t always part of the Lake Renegade family. We’re originally from the Southside. But things happened and Elio and Enea sat down to talk. Now we’re all one big family.”
I love how Lake Renegade has become home for different families. I can’t wait to get back and start my new job.