by Lyra Parish
I lay back on the couch and closed my eyes. The jerk across the hall blared music that ping-ponged in my head. I forced my eyes open, basically peeling them from my cheeks, and stumbled across the hall with the bottle in my hand. Funny how much had changed in just a week.
This bastard had to know that we were sharing this floor, and he or she couldn’t be blaring music at nine p.m. I had an important job. I had to get decent sleep, or I would be useless. It didn’t matter that I wasn’t going to work tomorrow. The rules needed to be set in place now.
I balled my fist and pounded it against the door.
No answer.
The music seemed to get louder and louder as my head swam with anger and my heart was crushed with hurt.
Pound. Pound. Pound.
Just as I was ready to turn around and call the cops, the door opened. I snapped around and met blue eyes. My mouth dropped open, the bottle of whiskey slipped out of my hand, and I somehow lost my voice. When I found it, I had too many sensations streaming through me—excitement, anger, frustration, adoration, and confusion. I waited for Sneezy, Dopey, and Grumpy to join in on all the feels.
“What? What are you doing here on my floor?”
“I’m your new neighbor, babe. It’s now our floor. And when we move to New York, I’ll make sure to be on the same floor there too,” Parker said. I tried to turn around, but not before he grabbed my arm. Our lips crashed against each other’s, and we exchanged deep, determined, intense kisses. When I pushed away from him, to run away from everything that I was feeling, he pulled me close to his chest. He wanted me to feel it, to accept it. He wanted me to fully lose myself in him, and I almost forgot everything that had happened between us. A part of me wanted to forget it all. And I almost did when he kissed my forehead.
“You’re not going anywhere. I’m not letting you go ever again.”
“You left me, Parker.” I was becoming upset just thinking about it. I’d never wanted anything as much as I wanted him. “You left me,” I repeated myself.
“I have so much to tell you. I’m so sorry. It will never happen again. I can guarantee that.”
“How do I know that’s true?”
He grabbed my hands. “Do you trust me?”
My eyes met his, and I couldn’t lie. The heart wanted what it wanted, and there was nothing I could do about it.
“You’re everything that I want, everything that I need, Rox,” Parker said.
His hands flooded down my back and landed on my waist. I didn’t want this moment to end, but it had to. I thought I’d had lost him forever, and now I was fighting for what? To keep him? Me, the person who’d pushed countless of people away, the woman who didn’t want a relationship ever, was fighting for one. It was sick how love worked.
I was a prisoner locked in his gaze until he dipped his head down, but before his lips met mine, I spoke: “I don’t ever want to feel like that again.”
His lips met mine, and we stood in a place where time didn’t exist. When he pulled away, he whispered on my lips, “You never will,” he said.
I looked up into his deep blue eyes, and he gave me a sweet smile.
“I’ve been thinking of how much I don’t want things to change, even though we are here. You drive me crazy. Every time I close my eyes, I see you. I’ve never loved like this before.”
I tried to pull away once more and get to my condo, but he wrapped his arms around me and held me close.
I blamed love for this. There was too much swirling between us for it to be anything less. Even halfway admitting my feelings made me vulnerable and paved a highway straight to my heart. I hoped he wouldn’t race to get there then shatter it. I didn’t say those three words, and I didn’t have to. The battle of like may have temporarily won, but love still waged a war inside of me. Maybe, just maybe, love would end up winning after all, because it sure as fuck seemed that way.
He opened the door of his condo, grabbed my hand, and led me inside. He glanced down at the necklace then his eyes met mine. I was lost for a brief moment. The slow music blared throughout the living room, so he walked over to the sound system and turned it down. I had never seen inside of this side of the building. It was the same layout as mine, but opposite. I thought his view was better, too. Damn him.
I glanced over at Parker as he stood with his arms crossed, smiling at me.
“I found the old woman and made her an offer she couldn’t refuse.”
“But Parker. I’m moving. That was stupid.”
“I’m moving too, babe. My brother actually bought the place because it was everything he was looking for in the city. He wants a bachelor pad, apparently. A place to, how did he say it? Oh yeah, ‘test drive the cars.’ I’m just borrowing it for the time being.” Parker ran his hand across the bottom of his chin, across his sexy stubble.
I was confused, though his words weren’t lost on me. He was still going to New York with me? Even after he’d left in such a hurry? I sucked in a deep breath as I looked at him. He came straight to me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, and I fell into his embrace.
“I promise I will never do that to you again.” He kissed the top of my head.
“What happened? You left so quickly, I … I didn’t know what to do or say. You closed yourself tight and wouldn’t let me in. I was worried, and then I was pissed.”
“Being with you cut my heart open, Rox, and allowed my emotions to bleed out. I promised myself I would never become that vulnerable again, and when I held you, I knew my heart had moved to my shoulder and I was wearing it on my sleeve. I don’t fuck for the sake of fucking, and what we did was more than that. It changed everything.”
I tried to speak, and he gently placed his finger over my mouth.
“I was engaged a little over a year ago and found out a month before the wedding that my fiancé had been cheating on me with my best friend.” He sucked in a deep breath, then continued, “I refused to speak to her and cut her from my world. She somehow found out that I had moved to Houston. Her number was blocked and I avoided her like the plague because she had destroyed me. I had changed my whole world for her, and she threw it away. That morning in New York, I got an unknown call from an Austin area code. It could have been anyone, so I answered.”
“But it was her,” I whispered. I pushed away from him and searched his face as he spoke because his tone had lowered and his voice was shaking.
“She told me that she was going into labor with my baby. I did some quick math and realized it could be possible. The last time we were together sexually was around ten months. That was the last time I saw her. That was the last time I had sex, and I promised myself I would never fuck for the sake of fucking again.”
My mouth dropped open and my eyes widened. I had no words. What could I say? I couldn’t deal with baby mama drama. I couldn’t. Not to mention, Parker couldn’t move if he had a child in Texas. I would never expect him to do that. Never. And he was the type of person that wouldn’t do that. He would be a good father, a responsible one.
Parker rested his hands on my shoulders and looked over every inch of my face. I wished he would say something to kill the silence that lingered in the room. It was a deafening stillness, and my ears were screaming out as I waited. It was like I was watching our future, my little fairy tale, crumble before my eyes as I stared into his.
“Whoa,” I whispered. It was almost too much to take in.
“I know,” he finally said. “I went to the airport and bought the next flight to Austin. Knowing I was leaving you in New York killed me. Killed me. Seeing the look on your face as I left was too much for me to handle. But you’re different, Rox. You’re strong. I knew you would be okay because, at that moment, I wasn’t.”
“So what happened when you got to Austin?”
“I found out it was all a lie to manipulate me into seeing her.”
Sweet relief rushed over me like a warm summer breeze. I released a deep breath and he smiled.
“I’m
sorry. I’m so sorry. I never questioned it. It was stupid of me. I know better than this. When I showed up at the hospital and saw her standing by the front door with her arms crossed and a smile on her face, I knew it wasn’t true and that she had fucked me with her lies once again. She’d manipulated me, and I’d fallen for the sympathy card. She’s a sociopath.”
“Oh, Parker,” I said as I exhaled. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Bring me to bed?”
I lifted my eyebrows at him and held back a smile. “Are you over her? I can’t be the rebound bitch.”
“I’ve been over her for a while. Trust me on this one, Rox. I don’t need a rebound bitch, hence all the rules. I had to know that the next relationship I dove into was right, and the only woman I want in my life is standing right here. I love you, Roxane VanBuren. Every piece of me loves every piece of your perfection. You don’t have to say it back. I don’t expect you to. I know it’s soon, but like I said before, I’ve never loved like this. I want to give you all of me, and I want to take all of you. I don’t know where this is going. I won’t pretend like I do. But I want to be with you. I need to be with you. You’re my obsession, Roxane VanBuren. The only regret I would have in life is not pursuing this with everything that I am. I’m willing to take a chance that I know I won’t regret. Are you?”
“Yes,” I said desperately, knowing that he wouldn’t have to take anything from me. I wasn’t ready to say those three words, but I’d willingly give all of myself to Parker Williams. Parker didn’t fuck for the sake of fucking, and I didn’t say I love you for the sake of saying it. I was never meant to fall in love, but as I stood there, I felt like I was falling fast, like I had jumped out of a plane.
Pull the fucking cord, Rox, my head screamed out to me.
But I couldn’t, because my heart said no. I wanted to fall.
“Actually, I do have one regret in life,” he continued.
My eyes met his and he smiled.
“That I didn’t meet you sooner.”
As happiness filled me, I fell into his arms.
This felt different.
This felt right.
But I wasn’t sure if I was ready. This all seemed to be moving so fast and that scared the shit out of me.
The reality was we were no longer in New York where we could act as freely as we wanted. Our interactions at work had to remain normal as if nothing had happened between us, even though it had all changed.
Parker Williams had to remain my best-kept secret or there would be hell to pay with my father. What we were doing came with consequences and I had a feeling I would learn them all, one at a time.
This story continues with Single 3, which will be released soon.
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#singleserial
ABOUT LYRA PARISH
Lyra Parish loves to write, glamp, and sing obnoxiously loud at the top of her lungs in the shower. Sweet love stories (along with the dirty ones) make her gush. She’s a firm believer that a person can never have too many cups of coffee, cats, or happily ever afters. When she isn’t busy writing alphas, she can be found sipping various beverages from her non-alcoholic drink buffet, pimp slapping excel spreadsheets, riding her bike, or obsessively pinning hotties on Pinterest.
Lyra lives in Texas with her glassblowing, guitar-playing hubby and black cat named Nibbler.
Visit her at lyraparish.com or email at
[email protected].
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Feel free to chat with her at any time!
OTHER NOVELS BY LYRA:
Weak for Him (weakness #1) – out now
Weak Without Him (weakness #2) – out now
No Longer Weak (weakness #3) – out now
Eluded (stand alone novel) – out now
Single: Vol. 1 – out now
Single: Vol. 2 – out now
Single: Vol. 3 – coming soon
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I always save this part for last and you know why—because it’s always the hardest thing to write!
Will, the hubby: Thanks for allowing me to spend my time lost in this world and for loving me no matter what. You’re an inspiration.
Heather Carver a.k.a. Eagle Eyes: Thank you for always catching the small things. Every book I release you always find something that I’ve written different, stairs creaking or not, people paying for tickets or not, or the wrong name for characters. You’re a class act and I absolutely adore you.
Rachel Brookes: Thanks for going into beast mode. So happy I met you and that I can truly call you my friend. My books wouldn’t be the same without you. #LTOB
Jennifer Sell: Thank you for not sending me all cappies when I don’t meet my deadlines and for always giving me that positive reinforcement. You’re the greatest and I appreciate you so much!
Elizabeth Darkley: Thanks for being the best damn proofer on this planet. Each time you proof my work I learn something new about my writing. You are awesome.
Wanda Kather: Thank you so much for helping me. Your kindness means a lot!
Sasha Willis: Thank you for all of your help with everything and for finding those last minute changes. You rock!!!!
Bloggers and readers: Thank you for supporting me no matter what crazy stories I throw your way. Thank you for being just as excited as me, for sending messages, and for reminding me that you want more Parker.
You make this journey so much more fun.
Thank you!!!!