Left Together (5 page)

Jake
jumps up, grabbing his jeans. “Here.” He throws something at me. “Put that on,
lie back down, and stay quiet. I’ll get rid of her.” It’s one of his t-shirts.
I pull it over my head and slide back under the blanket. There’s some
shuffling, probably him trying to hide my clothes that are thrown about, and
more banging.

When
the door opens, I squeeze my eyes closed, hoping that will help somehow.

“My
best friend better not be in your fucking bed right now!” she hollers.

“Shh,”
he tells her. “Calm your ass down.”

“It’s
a little hard to calm down when Kacie’s dress is in my bathroom, her keys are
downstairs, and I can’t find her in any other room of this fucking house.”

“Seriously,
Jade. Be quiet before you wake her up,” Jake whispers.

“You
slept with Kacie?” I’m not sure if she doesn’t believe it or she’s just
disappointed.

“No,”
he answers a little too quickly. “Well, yes, she slept in my bed, but it’s only
because you weren’t here when she needed someone.”

“Let
me in,” she demands.

“No,
and I’m not fucking around when I say don’t wake her up. She barely got any
sleep last night and she’s going to have a wicked hangover.”

“Please
tell me she didn’t drink all of that Bourbon I found on the bar.” I guess Jake
left the bottle out. Since when did Jade become a detective?

“All
by herself.”

“What
the fuck happened?”

Jake
gives his sister a quick run-down of last night’s events. Her anger immediately
shifts from him to Evan. When she threatens to go after my ex-boyfriend, Jake
gives her the same speech I gave him. If anyone understands my feelings better
than Jake, it’s Jade. She tells him she’s going to cancel her plans with Kyle
to go to an early movie and lunch, but Jake insists she go since it’ll be
better if I sleep off the hangover. He promises to stay with me and to call her
the second I get up. Knowing it wouldn’t be farfetched for me to sleep an
entire day with how much I drank, Jade unwillingly agrees with him and leaves
after giving him additional instructions.

“That’ll
probably buy you a few hours,” he says from the end of the bed.

“Thanks.”
I go to stand up and the pounding in my head starts.

He
comes around to offer me a hand. “You don’t have to go. You can stay as long as
you want. I can even leave if it will make you feel more comfortable.”

“Don’t
be ridiculous, Jake.”

“You
really don’t hate me?”

“I
don’t hate you,” I promise him. “I am sorry, though.”

Agony
fills his handsome face and, if I’m not mistaken, his eyes look watery. “Please
don’t tell me you regret what happened between us. If you do, just keep it to
yourself. I won’t be able to handle it right now.”

I grab
his arm when he tries to walk away from me. “I swear to you that I don’t regret
it, Jake.” That’s not why guilt is adding to the pain I feel. He looks at me,
waiting for an explanation. “I’m sorry I can’t give you what you want, what you
deserve.”

He
hugs me and lays his cheek on top of my head. “All I ever want is for you to be
happy.”

I pull
back, stretch up on my tiptoes, and lightly kiss his cheek. The tears are too
much for me to contain anymore. “No one deserves to be happy more than you,
Jake.”

Before
he can say anything else, I leave. I leave his room. I leave his house. And,
within an hour, I leave Tampa.

Evan

Why Kacie
picked me to be the guy who gets to curl up next to her is something I’ll never
understand but as long as she wants me here, this is where I’ll be. There’s
just something about watching my girl sleep that makes me feel like the
luckiest bastard in the whole damn universe. Seeing her like this, her guard
completely down, is something most people don’t get to witness. Even when we’re
alone, there’s still a part of her ready to defend herself, should the need
arise. Unfortunately, that’s because of years of being mistreated by people who
she should have been able to trust with her life. If anyone knows how that
feels, it’s me. Since being with Kacie, I no longer have to worry about the
people who blame me every chance they get for the death of my brother. It
wasn’t my fault. I still miss Ethan and I always will, but after weeks of being
around this girl, I found a reason to start looking forward instead of constantly
reliving the past.

Recently,
I’ve noticed Kacie’s starting to get a little tired. Over the last couple
weeks, she’s been back and forth to the school almost every day for meetings
and setting up her classroom, then tries to wait up for me at night. The stress
of having to learn about the business aspect of Shining Stars, combined with
preparing to teach, is piling up. I hope her grandmother knew what she was
doing, leaving her share of the school to Kacie. The girl also has to worry
about learning how to manage a house and pay bills. That’s a lot of
responsibility to take on all at once. Swimming helps keep the stress under
control. When I felt Kacie get out of bed this morning, I pretended to still be
asleep. I could’ve gotten up, but she needed some time alone. Besides, I enjoyed
the view from the balcony. She did tire out sooner than normal, so I went down
to distract her when it looked like she had enough.

If I
didn’t already miss one meeting today, I’d hang around for a bit. Before I
climb out of bed, I carefully brush a few curls off of her face and lightly
place a kiss on her cheek. It seems like every time I look at her, I fall even
more in love. I can’t wait until I’m able to say those words out loud. Something
tells me she’s just not ready to hear them yet, so I’ll wait…but not much
longer. Leaving her sucks so damn much, but it’s even worse when I have to go
before she wakes up. She obviously needs the sleep. Hopefully, this means she
won’t be tired tonight.

My
stuff is in her closet, so I run in and scramble to get ready. If I don’t start
keeping my shit neater, Kacie will make me take it back to my place. The rest
of this house is immaculate, but this one dresser has my clothes all over it.
When I go to pull my boxers out from the pile, I drop all of the clothes on the
floor, along with my wallet, keys, and some other crap. “Fuck!” I blurt out a
little too loudly, then cover my mouth with my hands. Remembering Kacie’s
sleeping in the other room, I silently curse myself for being a dick, as I quickly
throw everything back on the dresser. I’ll have to apologize for the mess later
because there’s no time for me to straighten it up now. Luckily, my work
clothes are already ironed, so I grab them, my wallet, phone, and truck keys
before bolting downstairs. Why does it feel like I’m forgetting something?

Halfway
to the club, I remember to switch my phone on and shoot Kacie a text. She’ll be
upset if she thinks I left without saying goodbye. Right after I hit SEND, my
phone starts ringing. Thankfully, it’s not my uncle…yet.

“Hey,”
Meg says. “Where the hell are you? You haven’t been answering your phone, and
Daddy said you aren’t at work.”

“I got
held up. I’m on my way.”

My
cousin laughs. “You mean you couldn’t keep your hands off Kacie long enough to
get to the staff meeting on time.”

“That,
too.” No point in lying. “Why the hell did he need to have this fucking meeting
today?”

“I’d
be able to tell you if I went, but I have no car. Danny still has mine.” The
other day, I took Meg’s Porsche Boxster to the store, since she was blocking me
in the driveway. It felt like it was running a little rough, so I had my
mechanic check it out. She could have taken it to the dealer, but Danny
Rodriguez is also a good friend of mine and the only person I trust with
anyone’s ride. “Anyway, I was wondering if I could take your car. I have some
errands to run.” I keep my Scirocco at her house, tucked away in the garage. I
wonder if Kacie would let me move it to her house. Then I’d be able to drive it
more often. She never parks her car in the garage, but even if she decided to,
there’d still be plenty of room. Maybe I’ll ask her about it.

“No
way,” I answer. It cost me entirely too much money to have the car shipped over
from Europe to let anyone else drive it. “I’m not far from your house. You can
have my truck and I’ll take the car. Be there in five.”

“You’re
no fun,” she says.

I
disconnect and smile. Any excuse to drive that car is a good one.

By the
time I make it to Skyline, most of the staff who were here for the meeting have
left. They don’t start their shift for a few more hours. Except for a couple of
the main desk girls and the guys cleaning and buffing the floor, it’s empty. I
head right for the office to find my uncle on the phone. I help myself to cold
pizza leftover from the meeting and plop down in the chair in front of the
desk. It’s a lot more relaxing sitting on this side of it.

My
uncle looks at me and smirks, shaking his head. “I gotta go,” he says to
whoever he’s talking to. “My nephew finally decided to show up… Sounds good.”
He hangs up.

“Sorry
I’m late,” I tell him, shoving another bite into my mouth.

“You
better be careful. Kacie’s much younger than you. One of these days, she’s
going to end up working you too hard.” He has to bust my balls as much as he
can now because my aunt isn’t here to shut him up.

“I’ll
take my chances,” I say, getting up for another slice. I sit back down and
notice he’s suddenly serious.

“She
makes you happy.”

It’s
not a question. “She does.”

“You
deserve this, Evan.” I sigh. “I’m serious. You’ve had a rough six years. He’d
want you to move on. He’s probably finally able to rest in peace.”

“Are
you kidding me? He’s probably pissed off he didn’t get the girl this time.”
Growing up, Ethan always ended up with the girl we both liked. I don’t know
what it was, but they always picked him.

My
uncle chuckles. “Something tells me he’s been waiting a while for this.” He
switches gears. “You didn’t miss much. Everyone seems to be onboard with the
uniform change for the fall, but keep your ears open. I don’t want anyone
pissed about it. If they don’t like it, we don’t do it. It’s as simple as that.”
I only vaguely remember a conversation about that, so it’s wise to keep my
mouth shut. “What do you think about giving Keith more nights?”

“Are
you trying to get rid of me?” I ask.

“No.
I’m trying to give you more of a life outside of here. Aunt Grace barely
tolerates the nights I’m here unless I’m covering for you. If you need more
time with Kacie…”

“I
like my life,” I cut him off. “Kacie and I are fine. She needs a break from me
at some point.” I get up to grab a bottle of water from the small refrigerator in
the office.

“Okay.
Let me know if you change your mind.”

Kylie
sticks her head in. “Booze delivery just got here. Want me to check it?”

“Why
the hell is everyone trying to steal my job around here?” I jump up, fully
energized to get some work done.

My
uncle laughs. “Don’t disappear.” He picks up the phone and starts pushing
buttons. “I need you for the next meeting.”

Since
we were closed for the holiday yesterday, I have enough shit to keep me busy
all afternoon and into the evening when everyone starts rolling in, and long
after my uncle ducks out. The guy covering me comes in a little late, so I call
Kacie and ask her to meet me at my condo to save some time. That’s not the way
I wanted our date to start, but I don’t have a choice. If we miss the
reservation, I’ll really be pissed. I don’t like running out until Keith is set
up for the night. He’s done this plenty of times, but I’ll be able to relax if
I know things are running smoothly when I walk out.

I’m
straightening up the desk, getting ready to leave, when Kylie calls from the
front. “Evan, I have someone here to see you.”

“I’m
on my way out. Let Keith handle whatever it is,” I tell her.

“I
know. I’m sorry, but he’s asking for you specifically. He says to tell you his
name is Dr. Sam Foster.” I’ve never met the prick but, unfortunately, I know
who he is. What I don’t know is what the fuck he wants with me.

I run
my hand through my hair. “He’s standing there glaring at you, isn’t he?”

“Yes,”
she confirms with such professionalism, she deserves a raise.

I
sigh. “Could you please walk him back to the office? The second you leave here,
get Joe. I want to make sure this son of a bitch gets out of the building
without touching a damn thing.”

“No
problem. I’ll be right there.” Kylie hangs up.

My ass
falls into the chair. I stare at my phone, debating whether or not to text
Kacie to tell her that her father is about to walk in my office. If I do, it
will ruin our night. She doesn’t tolerate anything this man does very well, so
I decide against it. There’s no way in hell I’m going to do that to her. We can
talk about it tomorrow. Or the next day.

Kylie
knocks on the door before opening it. “Here you go, sir,” she says to him.
After she gives a polite smile, he walks past her and Kylie closes the door
behind him. I’m not sure what I expected him to look like, but this isn’t it.
Dr. Foster is taller than Kacie, but shorter than Noah. His hair is gray and
thin, I’m sure from years of living with his wife. He’s wearing black dress
pants and a white shirt with a plain tie. Just the kind of thing a doctor would
wear, minus the lab coat. I wonder if he came right from work, or if dress
clothes are all the man owns.

“How
can I help you?” I ask, keeping my attention mostly to the top of the desk in
front of me.

“I’m…,”
he starts.

“I
know who you are,” I say shortly. “I’m a little busy at the moment. What’s so
important you had to interrupt me?”

He sits
down in the chair, even though I didn’t offer it to him. “I’ll be sure to keep
this brief.” He leans back and crosses his leg over his knee. “It was brought
to my attention that, for the last few weeks, you have been playing house with
my daughter over at my dead mother’s residence.”

The
cold tone he uses when referring to the woman Kacie idolized pisses me off.
Maybe that was his intention. I stop shuffling papers and lean forward, resting
my forearms on the edge of the desk. “Someone misinformed you. I don’t
play
anything with anyone.”

“I don’t
particularly care what you’re calling it. I want it to stop. Now.”

“Get
out.”

He
only smiles. “She deserves better than you.”

I hold
back the comment I want to say about her also deserving better parents. “I know
that better than anyone.”

“Here’s
the thing, Evan… It’s okay if I call you Evan, right?” He doesn’t wait for an
answer, but I doubt he was looking for one. “For whatever reason, my wife has
decided who she wants Kacie to be with, and since my daughter obviously isn’t intelligent
enough to make up her own mind, we have to do it for her.” Is this motherfucker
really sitting here talking about my girl this way? “I mean, come on,” he
laughs. “What the hell could a washed-up escort from New York City possibly
offer a member of the Foster family?” I’ve never told anyone in Florida how
Ethan and I paid the majority of our bills. How the hell did he know that? He
stands up and walks behind the chair, looking around the office. “After hearing
about your previous employment, I was wondering how you went from that to a
place like this. Your name is only listed as manager. Then I dug a little
deeper and found out it’s actually your uncle who owns it. How convenient for
you. Out of the slums of the Big Apple to one of Tampa’s most popular
nightclubs.”

This
is no time to lose my temper. I refuse to let him think he can control me the
way he tries to control everyone else. “If you’re done, I’m sure you remember
the way out. I have a job to do.”

“It
would be a real shame for something to happen to your uncle’s club that you
could have easily prevented. That would be real shitty of you after all he’s
done to help you.”

“Are
you threatening me?” I glare at him.

“I’m
merely stating a fact. Just know that I have all different kinds of friends,
Mr. Pierce. Friends who have helped me out before and who would be willing to
help me out again. I suggest, if you want to keep this place in business, you
get the hell out of my daughter’s life. Tonight.” He walks over to the door.
“Oh, one more thing. My attorney finally found a way to take the house right
out from under Kacie. I’m sure that’s something else for which you wouldn’t
want to be held responsible.”