Against All Odds

by E. L. Todd

  My phone buzzed to life. Baby, where are you?

  I forgot to text Slade back. At Mega Shake with my dad.

  You never texted me back.

  I didn’t have a chance.

  Well, I’m on the way.

  I didn’t invite you.

  Too bad.

  A few minutes later, Slade walked inside and sat beside me in the booth. “How was your first day?”

  I shrugged. “It was alright…”

  “What happened?” he asked.

  I told him the story. Just like my dad, he growled. “You want me to slap her around for you?”

  “No.” I rolled my eyes.

  “Because I could,” he said. “I’ll pour coffee on her when she leaves the building.”

  “Don’t be stupid,” I hissed.

  Dad watched our interaction but didn’t say anything.

  “My dad was a pain in the ass, but he was never mean to me,” Slade said.

  “Well, that’s how life goes…” I finished every bite of my food then finished off with my shake.

  “Damn, you were hungry,” Slade noted.

  “I didn’t get lunch,” I said.

  Dad stood up. “I’m going to head home. I’ll see you soon.”

  “Bye, Dad.”

  “Bye, Mike.” Slade fist-pounded him.

  Dad looked at him like he was crazy then walked off.

  “He’ll never treat me the way he used to,” Slade said.

  “Well, you’re my boyfriend. It’s different now. You need to accept that.”

  He turned his gaze on me, and he didn’t look happy.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Who the hell is this Jeremy guy?”

  I raised an eyebrow. “A guy I work with.”

  “And he was just nice to you for no reason?”

  I studied him in confusion. “Don’t tell me you’re jealous.”

  “I just don’t appreciate some creep hitting on my girlfriend the second she starts working there.”

  “You’re ridiculous,” I said with a sigh.

  “No, I’m not. How would you feel?”

  “Slade, he’s gay. There’s nothing to worry about.”

  “He is?” he asked.

  “What kind of straight guy works in fashion?” I asked. “None.”

  That seemed to calm him down. “I guess you’re right.”

  “So calm the hell down.”

  “Sorry.” He put his arm around my shoulders. “I wish I could do something to make up for your bad day.”

  “I wouldn’t mind being fucked.”

  He stilled like he didn’t know how to react.

  “What?” I asked.

  “I just…that was the hottest thing I’ve ever heard you say.”

  “Really?” I asked. “Sounded a little slutty to me.”

  “Exactly,” he said. “And I’ll gladly oblige.”

  “Where?” I asked.

  “I know Cayson isn’t home…”

  I gave him a look he knew too well.

  “Fine,” he said. “The shop?”

  That was the best option. “Okay.”

  He jumped up and clicked his heels together. “Yes!”

  “Why are you so excited?” I asked. “We’ve had sex loads of times.”

  “But this time you begged me,” he said. “So hot.”

  “I didn’t beg,” I snapped.

  “Uh, yeah you did.”

  “No, I didn’t!”

  We argued all the way to the shop and the back room.

  “Fine,” he said. “Do you want me to please you or not?”

  I stared him down and didn’t say anything.

  He sat down in the chair and put his hands behind his head. “I got all day. I’m not doing anything until you ask me to.”

  “Fine.”

  “Fine what?”

  “Okay.”

  “Okay what?” he asked.

  I pointed at the desk.

  He smirked. “No, you have to ask me, to beg me.”

  “Girls like me don’t beg.”

  “They do when it comes to guys like me.”

  “You’re such a cocky asshole.” I smacked his arm.

  “That you can’t get enough of, that you’re madly in love with, that you refuse to share with anyone else.”

  “Whatever, fine. I want you to have sex with me.”

  “I want it in writing.”

  I smacked his arm. “That’s all you’re getting from me.”

  He shrugged. “I’ll take it.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Skye

  Cayson and I hadn’t spoken in weeks. I gave him space because I knew he was pissed off, but I was starting to get anxious. What if I pushed him too far? Maybe he was waiting for me to apologize? I had no idea.

  I headed to his apartment then stood outside his door. I’d never been to his place before, and I had to ask Trinity to pull it out of Slade. She must have done something really dirty to get him to oblige.

  I took a deep breath and knocked. A part of me feared he would see me through the peephole then pretend he wasn’t home. Cayson had never been more livid with me so I wouldn’t be surprised. And I knew he didn’t trust me.

  I stood there for an entire minute before he opened the door.

  Cayson stared at me, his expression hard and lifeless. Happiness didn’t radiate in his features like it used to. Affection used to be in his eyes when he looked at me. And he used to smile every time he saw me. Now all I received was a calloused and cold expression.

  “Hi…”

  He stood in the entryway with the door halfway open. He didn’t invite me in or let me see into his apartment. “Hey.” His voice was just as dead as the rest of him. He wore basketball shorts and a black t-shirt. The outlined of his body was defined, and I missed feeling his arm muscles under my fingertips.

  I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, feeling fidgety. “Hi…”

  “You said that already.” His voice was cold.

  This was a version of Cayson I wasn’t used to. With him, I was always the recipient of nothing but praise and admiration. It was in that moment that I realized I hadn’t really appreciated all his love until it was gone. “I was hoping we could talk.”

  “About what?” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t know about you, but I certainly have nothing to say.”

  My breathing increased and I felt the distant burn of tears. I blinked and tried to hide them. “I wanted to apologize for…the way I acted. My invitation didn’t mean I wanted something meaningless—”

  “No strings attached,” he said. “Those are your words not mine. And you even said it was meaningless.”

  I did say that… “I just thought if we were together, you would—”

  “Just forgive you for everything and we would be back to normal?” he asked incredulously. “That a year of suffering would just be in the past? That you’re so damn good in bed that a night of fucking would wipe my memory?” His voice dripped with venom. He was so cold it froze me. “I told you I could only be with you on my terms. I need time. I need patience. Those were the terms.”

  “I know—”

  “Then you obviously didn’t care! Do you enjoy hurting me?”

  “Of course not!” I was hurt he would even accuse me of that.

  “I can’t tell.” His eyes were wide and threatening.

  I fidgeted with my hair again, feeling defeated. “I wanted to apologize. That’s what I came here to do. And…I did.”

  “Are you sure it wasn’t to seduce me?” he said sarcastically.

  The sassy girl inside me wanted to rise up and tell him off. I wanted to scream and tell him to stop being a dick. I wanted to tell him to just get over it. But I knew that would get me nowhere. Actually, it would only push him further away. “For what it’s worth, I’m totally miserable and I hate myself from what I’ve done to you. I will always feel that way. You can keep treating me like shit but it won’t make a
difference. It’s impossible to make me feel worse than I already do.”

  For a brief moment, sadness came into his eyes. It was so distant it was hard to see. But it was there, like a faint like about to burn out. “I’m not trying to hurt you on purpose…”

  “I know.” My throat was dry.

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “I thought…this would be easier. I thought I would be able to forgive you in a short amount of time. I thought…I’d get over it. But…I’m realizing how difficult it is.”

  I stared at the ground.

  “I don’t want it to be like this,” he whispered. “There are moments when I’m with you and I just want to hold you and let everything go. My heart swells in longing, and I just want to kiss you. But then everything comes rushing back, the lies and the pain…”

  “I understand.”

  “The truth is, I don’t know when I’m going to be ready…or if.” He swallowed the lump in his throat.

  I felt my heart puncture and bleed. I knew working it out would be difficult, but he never mentioned the possibility that we might not get back together. Now I was terrified, absolutely frightened.

  “You put me through a lot, Skye. I’m having to leave one reality and fall into another. I’m struggling to understand how someone I loved so much, who claimed they loved me in the same way, could possibly let me go through that…”

  “I—”

  “I know you did it for me. I get that. But…after I was sealed in the program you could have told me then moved with me so I wouldn’t have any other choice but to keep going. Or you could have told me the truth and attempted a long distance relationship. Honestly, any other option would have been preferable. The fact you could let us end like that…makes me question everything.”

  “Don’t,” I said with emotion in my voice. “It doesn’t mean I don’t love you as much as you thought. I love you more. You weren’t the only one who suffered.”

  He stared at the ground for a moment before he looked back up at me. “What would you do, Skye? If the situation was reversed.”

  “Take you back,” I said without hesitation. “It wouldn’t be rainbows, ponies, and flowers, but I would still work it out with you.”

  He studied my face, his eyes lingering on mine. “I know you better than anyone, Skye. I know it wouldn’t have worked out like that…”

  “It doesn’t matter,” I said. “Maybe it would have taken me awhile, but I know it would happen one way or another…because we’re meant for each other.”

  He looked up at the ceiling before he returned his eyes to me. “While I was in California, I promised myself I would never be in another relationship…because I can’t go through that again. I can’t, Skye.”

  “You won’t,” I said firmly. “I’ll never hurt you again.”

  “And…all the joy we shared wasn’t worth it.”

  My tears were starting to form. “I promise I won’t hurt you again. Move in with me. Marry me. I’ll marry you right now if you’ll give me another chance.”

  He closed his eyes and shook his head. “That’s not how I want it to happen…”

  “Then let’s make it happen however you want it to be happen…please.” The warm drops dripped down my face.

  He wouldn’t look at me. “I’m sorry…I am.”

  “So…is this it?” I whispered.

  He nodded his head and closed his eyes.

  My body suddenly felt numb. Every breath I took hurt more than the last. I felt dizzy and winded. Time seemed to slow down. Nothing made sense. Every emotion was heightened and strong. I felt crippled and broken. My mind thudded in pain. My heart felt weak.

  I couldn’t believe this was real. When he moved back to New York, I assumed we would work it out somehow. I didn’t expect it to happen overnight, but I didn’t expect him to give up altogether. It was a blow I couldn’t handle, a pain that couldn’t be cured.

  When I looked at him, tears welled in his eyes and they were on the verge of falling. His emotion matched mine. Both devastated, we stared at each other, unsure what else to do.

  Check out MONDAY, the free book found at the end of this story!

  I don’t believe in destiny.

  In fate.

  Or in soul mates.

  But I believe in Hawke.

  My life has never been whole since my parents left forever. I have my brother, someone I can barely tolerate most of the time, and I have my best friend, Marie.

  And I have myself.

  But when Hawke walks into my life, there’s an immediate connection. Our eyes lock and an unspoken conversation is exchanged. For the first time in my life, I actually feel something.

  But he doesn’t.

  He keeps me at arm’s length and pretends there’s nothing between us when there clearly is. I’m not the kind of girl to wait around for any guy, so I don’t.

  But that doesn’t mean he isn’t in the back of my mind.

  Our paths cross again in a way neither one of us expect and it changes everything. Was it destiny that made it happen? Was it fate?

  Or was it something else?

  My Heart Skips a Beat

  Book Ten of The Forever and Ever Series

  AVAILABLE NOW

  Click To Purchase On Amazon

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for reading Against All Odds. I hope you enjoyed reading Skye and Cayson’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you could leave a short review on Amazon.com, iTunes, or BarnesandNoble.com, it would help me so much! Those reviews are the best kind of support you can give an author. Thank you!

  Wishing you love,

  E. L. Todd

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  Another Day At The Office

  Francesca

  On my first day working at The Grind, a coffee shop in Myrtle Beach, the constant sound of the running blender gave me a headache. Just when it would stop spinning for a damn second, it started up again. Taking orders from customers was a hassle because I couldn’t hear a word they said. And just when I raised my voice so they could understand me, the blender shut off and I looked like a screaming lunatic.

  But now that blender reminded me of home.

  I’d been working at The Grind for nearly three years. It was a great college gig. It was flexible with my class schedule, and when I wanted to blow off work for a party, it was easy to change shifts with another worker.

  It wasn’t my dream job, but it was okay for now.

  The shop was dead that afternoon, so I opened my jar of homemade batter and beat it with a spoon until it was fluffy again. Then I poured it into a pan and shoved it into the oven.

  “What are you baking now?” Marie, my roommate and best friend, grabbed her apron and tied it a
round her waist. She reeked of smoke, so I knew she lit one up in the back alley. I tried getting her to quit a few times, but that just made her addiction worse.

  “Apple cherry muffins.”

  “Hmm…sounds good.”

  I was notorious for my love of baking. We had an oven at our house, but it wasn’t as nice as the one at The Grind. I took advantage of it whenever I could. “They’re not super sweet so at least they won’t give you diabetes.”

  Marie popped a few breath mints into her mouth to cover up the stench of smoke. “I’m not worried about diabetes.”

  “Just lung cancer?” It was a mean jab but I didn’t care.

  Marie rolled her eyes. “I smoke twice a day…sometimes only once.”

  “If it’s so seldom, why do it at all?” I put my hand on my hip and narrowed my eyes on her face. I wasn’t a judgmental person, but I wanted my best friend to be around as long as possible.

  “Shut up and keep baking.” She walked around me and headed to the front of the café.

  I rolled my eyes even though no one was around to witness it. Then I set the timer on the oven.

  ***

  “Damn, these are good.” Marie picked at the muffin right at the counter. A few customers were sitting at tables in the lobby, but no one was in line. Fortunately, our manager was pretty lenient with all the crazy things we did. One time, a customer complained that Marie was on her phone, but our manager didn’t seem to care.

  “Thanks.”

  “Are they made with real apples and cherries?” She spoke with her mouth full.

  “Yep. Natural is the only way to go.” I tried not to eat everything I made otherwise I really would get diabetes.

  “We could probably sell these for two bucks a pop.” She finished the muffin then sucked the crumbs off her fingers.

  “Two bucks?” I asked. “Maybe ninety nine cents.”

  “Are you kidding me?” she asked. “Our chocolate croissant is $3.50.”

  “Still sounds like a rip off to me.” I noticed the crumbs around her mouth but I didn’t say anything because I knew she would get there eventually. Right now, she was focused on her fingers.