Renley
Walking into Shannon’s apartment, he was greeted by his best friend crooking a brow at him. “You’re in a good mood.”
“I am.”
“So, work is going well then?”
“Yep, just waiting for my first paycheck.”
“Are you still going to look at apartments tomorrow?”
Renley nodded, dropping his bag by the door. “Ready to get rid of me, huh?”
“Fucking leech.”
Although he knew his friend was teasing, the comment still stung. He offered to cook dinner and as they sat on the couch watching sports, his mind was entirely elsewhere. Eveline had him wrapped around her little finger. He was already trying to drum up any excuse to see her again.
He knew he could ask her out, and that she’d appreciate something as simple as coffee, but his pride made that rather complicated. He didn’t want to start dating until he was semi-stable.
After his shift the next day, he rushed home to shower and change before apartment hunting.
With his check coming this week and the money from his night with Eveline he would be able to lay down a deposit.
He wasn’t going to jump on the first place he saw, but he knew he needed to start getting his life together—and it started with getting off Shannon’s couch.
He didn’t need anything big—a studio or one bedroom was fine with him. He also caught himself looking for accessible apartments, just in case a certain person wanted to visit him.
Most of his evenings were spent looking for a place. It wasn’t an easy task, but he was determined and didn’t care too much about location as long as he had something to call his own again. When he was asked to work overtime that weekend, the dollar signs of overtime had him graciously accepting.
They worked all Saturday morning and when he heard Eveline’s gorgeous laugh seeping through the noise, he perked right up in spite of the exhaustion.
Miguel nudged him to follow and found Eveline setting bags from Chick-Fil-A on the unfinished kitchen counter. “The perks of working on weekends,” Miguel cheered, digging through the bags shamelessly.
“I believe your sandwich is in that one,” she said, handing the nosy man the right bag, and another to Renley. “I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I just got you a normal sandwich and fries.”
“Perfect, thank you.” He pulled up a stool and happily dug into his lunch.
“So, boss lady—how are the kittens?” Miguel garbled through a mouthful of food.
She let out a laugh and shook her head. “They’re fine, thanks for asking. How are your nieces?”
“Monsters as always.”
“Their birthday is coming up, isn’t it?”
“We’re celebrating tomorrow actually. Wanna join for some good food?”
“Your sister does make fantastic cakes, doesn’t she? Is it the same place as last year?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She pinned the man with a glare. “You know better than to call me that.”
Miguel only laughed and shrugged it off, turning his attention to Renley. “Care to join?”
He nodded and once the bite in his mouth was gone, he asked, “How old are your nieces?”
“Why? So, you can buy them a gift? They’re spoiled enough. Just bring yourself.”
“That’s rude,” he countered.
“Fine, their mother loves Barefoot wine–doesn’t matter what kind.”
Eveline leaned closer and whispered, “They’re turning nine.”
“Watch yourself there, boss!”
“Why?” Eveline teased. “What are you going to do?”
Miguel cursed something in Spanish that Renley didn’t understand, but it made the others laugh. With a reminder not to work too long, Eveline helped them clean up and she was out the door.
The next day, he followed his GPS to the Bear Creek Park on Clay Road.
The party was at one of the pavilions and with the warm weather it was perfect for the kids to run around and the adults to grill out.
As he approached, Miguel greeted him, introducing his sister and pointing out his nieces on the playground.
Selene was elated with the bottle of wine, showing that Eveline had brought her one too.
He added the beer he’d brought to one of the coolers, then joined Eveline and Lukas—the only others he recognised.
“No gifts for the twins?” Eveline asked as he sat down.
“Didn’t want to get on Miguel’s bad side.”
“Wise choice,” Lukas agreed, greeting him with a handshake.
Eveline indicated the soda in his hands. “No drinking today for you, huh?”
God, Renley’s head hurt just thinking about it. “No, ma’am.” Then, remembering how Miguel had been scolded he added, “Sorry.”
“Well, you got the curve there, so I’ll forgive you.”
“Very gracious, thank you.”
Eveline flicked her hair back rather dramatically, “That’s me.”
Lukas choked on his water trying not to laugh. “What is in that drink of yours?”
“Oh, you know, just the usual cocktail of antidepressants and painkillers.”
“If you weren’t my boss, I’d ask you if you got laid last night.”
“But I am your boss,” she reminded him, though she didn’t seem upset by the comment.
When the call for food was made, Lukas vanished in a flash. When Eveline didn’t move, Renley asked, “You don’t want anything?”
“I’ll wait until everyone else has their plates. The dads might starve if they don’t get theirs filled first.”
He chuckled and got to his feet. “Do you want another drink at least?”
“That’d be great.” A moment later he sat the soda in front of her. “Thank you. So what do you do for fun, Renley?”
He crooked a brow, barely resisting blurting out an inappropriate answer. “Been going to the gym a lot lately.”
“I see, one of those sports fanatics.”
“Basically. I used to play a lot of sports so I’m trying to get back into old habits.”
“Is that all you used to do?”
“Yeah, hang around with friends but that didn’t pay out well, so sports it is. You? Anything besides your fur babies?”
“I like to knit for preemies, like tiny hats and shoes. The NICU loves them. I make gowns for stillborns as well.”
“You could at least try to be less perfect,” Renley teased.
Eveline flushed, gazing down at her lap. “And you need to stop making me blush.”
“Why? I think it’s adorable.” And—apparently deciding today was the day to test boundaries—he added, “Hot, even.”
She worried that bottom lip, and he had to squeeze his soda can with the effort of not tugging it free. “You know, if you keep this up and don’t ask me out, I’ll be rather disappointed.”
“Is that so?” His whole body tingled, their surroundings blurring until all he could see was her . “I was looking at apartments all week.”
At first, she looked confused, then he saw the recognition in her eyes—he was saying that he was getting his shit together. “Find anything good?”
“A few, just waiting to hear back.”
She simply looked at him, hesitating on her next question. “I would like to ask you something, but you don’t have to answer.”
“Okay.”
“Why did you go to jail?”
He answered truthfully, knowing that he’d have to tell her sooner or later. “Got into a bar fight. Once it was over, I decided I wasn’t finished and chased after him to hit him with a glass bottle.”
Her lips formed an “O.” What he would have given to hear her thoughts in that moment. “I didn’t think you would answer that.”
“Why? Because you’re my boss?”
“Kind of.”
“I think honesty is best when it comes to the shit I did. Everyone fucks up at some point. Standing up for those mistakes lets us grow and mature.” Then he placed his elbows on the table, resting his chin in his hands. “Did you go through a bad girl phase?”
“I used to tell my dad I was at a girlfriend’s house, but spent the night with my boyfriend.”
“Naughty.” The teasing had that beautiful flush crawling up her cheeks again. “Can I ask you something in return?”
“Of course.”
“Did you grow up needing a wheelchair?”
“No. Seven years ago, I fell off a ladder. I kind of got lucky, got a low spinal injury so it’s basically only my legs.”
“How long did it take for you to think like that?”
She rolled her drink in between her palms. “A year or so. I was a really active person. Not sporty like you, but I was always on the move. Being tied to my bed, and then a chair made me feel so… claustrophobic. Then I realised it could be so much worse, and I got lucky to have a sacral injury.” She lifted her eyes to his, a genuine smile warming the sadness in her eyes.
“I was able to get some sensation back and that was a huge thing for me.”
He returned the smile, remembering how she’d shown him to add more pressure to his touch.
Her gaze slid over to the grill as she unlocked her chair. “I think it’s safe now.”