Rebuilding Love: Essentially Yours Series, page 4
“Ugh. Don’t remind me,” he groans. “Hell. I shouldn’t be sitting on your couch. I’m dirty as hell and need to go take a shower.”
“You could go grab some clothes and come back over to shower,” I suggest.
My words aren’t even hesitant. They’re full of unwavering confidence that shouldn’t be there. We aren’t together. There’s no reason for us to spend any amount of time together. I swear I lose all sense of reasoning when Chance is around.
“You sure?” he asks with an eyebrow raised.
“Yes.”
“Alright. I’ll go grab some things real quick,” he says, standing with me in his arms. He sits me back down on the couch by myself. “You’re going to join me, right?”
His words are fain,t and he can barely look me in the eyes.
“If you hurry,” I wink. He laughs, kisses me swiftly on my lips, and then rushes toward the front door.
“Lock the door while I’m gone,” he calls out behind him.
“Oh, my gosh, Chance,” I laugh. “You aren’t going to be gone that long, and besides, I know the guys are hiding somewhere in the hallway.”
“True. True,” he admits with a chuckle. “I’ll be back.”
I use the time he’s gone to use the restroom and freshen up. There are three knocks on the door. The front door opens slowly, and Chance pops his head inside.
“Just me,” he says.
“Come on in, Just Me,” I smirk.
He shakes his head, laughing while walking inside. He shuts and locks the front door. Slung over his shoulder is a black duffle bag.
“Plan on pulling a heist later?” I ask, gesturing at his bag.
“Yep. I plan on stealing your heart later,” he grins.
My heart skips several beats. I know he’s only joking, but if he only knew. My heart is still his. Always will be.
“Bad joke?” he asks softly, walking over to me.
“No. It was funny,” I laugh, downplaying my feelings. “Ready to shower.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
He bends down and picks me up over his shoulder. I playfully swat at him as he carries me toward the bathroom laughing. There’s a lot for him and I to talk about,t but I’ll worry about all that after we shower.
Chapter Nine
CHANCE
In the shower, we took turns washing each other. It was sensual and led to great sex. The water flowing down Ashlynn’s body while I stroked in and out of her made me come hard. I made sure she came before, during, and after sex. By the time we climbed out of the shower, we were both exhausted.
We ordered Chinese food, argued over who would pay, and then ate in silence while we watched T.V. The silence wasn’t awkward though. It was nice just knowing she was there, just like the old days.
Fuck. I really need to talk to her about us, I remind myself. I’ve thought about it long and hard but still can’t gain the strength to talk to her about it. I know what I want; however, I’m scared shitless that she still hasn’t forgiven me.
“If you stare any harder at me, you’re going to burn a hole through me,” she giggles.
“Sorry, Beautiful,” I offer her an apologetic smile.
How long had I been looking at her? The last thing I remembered was watching the Wheel of Fortune. I glance at the TV, and it isn’t even on anymore. I look back at Ashlynn, and she smiles.
“I turned it off to see if you’d notice… and you didn’t,” she laughs.
“Sorry. Been a long day.”
“What’s bothering you?” She turns and faces me. “Anything I can help with?”
“Just keep being your beautiful self.”
She rolls her eyes at my words.
“Guess I’m not going to be very useful,” she mutters.
“Don’t make me bend you over my knee and spank you for talking shit about yourself,” I warn.
“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” she retorts. I try to keep a straight face but fail miserably. “I win,” she grins victoriously.”
“Yeah. Yeah. But don’t think I won’t punish you for talking bad about yourself.”
She stares at me long and hard. She looks like she wants to say something. I wonder what’s weighing down her thoughts.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“Nothing,” she shakes her head. “How do you like your job?”
“It’s alright. Exhausting.”
“How’s it feel to be essential?”
“Essential?” I scoff. “Who the hell is essential?”
She groans and rolls her eyes again.
“I don’t know why no one considers construction workers essential. Like, how else are we going to get from place to place? I sure as hell am not walking everywhere,” she complains, making me laugh.
“So you think construction workers are important?”
“Of course. They do more than we think,” she nods.
For the first time since getting the job, I feel a sense of pride. I have never heard anyone speak highly of construction workers, not even the guys at work. They just talk macho about how they’re better than the other crews.
“So I’m an essential worker?” I ask, half-ass joking and half-ass serious.
“Yes. Without a doubt,” she replies. “When everything went on lockdown, construction workers were still out there. Why? Because the world relies on them. Whether the world wants to admit it or not.”
“Are you part of the construction workers' fan club or something?” I tease.
She flips me off and laughs.
“Just so you know, I’m president of the club,” she smiles. “You can be vice president or treasure.”
“Are there snacks or anything at the meetings? I mean, what do I get out of being the VP or treasure?”
“Greedy ass,” she laughs.
“Thank you,” I whisper. She cocks her head to the side and stares at me confused. “I’ve been questioning the importance of this job. It seemed pretty shitty. Like I was scraping the bottom of the barrel.”
“Oh,” she replies faintly. “It’s definitely not an easy job, but I wouldn’t ever consider it the bottom of the barrel.”
“You always know the right things to say,” I lean over and kiss her.
“Not always,” she whispers. Her eyes fill with tears.
“Ashlynn, what’s wrong?” I ask, scooting over and pulling her into my arms.
The minute her head rests on my chest, she comes unglued. Tears after tears flow from her eyes. It’s like someone broke a dam, and there’s no stopping it.
“Baby. It’s going to be okay,” I say, attempting to soothe her. She just continues to cry. “Ashlynn, talk to me. What’s wrong? Did I say something wrong?”
“Why couldn’t you choose me, you big jerk?” She hits my arm several times with her fist. Not hard at all. Just enough to get my attention.
My heart breaks. She’s talking about our last conversation before we broke up. The conversation that ended everything. The conversation that I still regret to this very day.
“I’m so sorry, Ashlynn,” I kiss the side of her head, and she sobs uncontrollably. “I swear I wanted to choose you. You were and still are the best thing to happen to me.”
She doesn’t speak, only cries. With each tear she sheds, my heart shatters more and more. I hate hearing her cry. And knowing that I’m responsible for the tears makes it a thousand times worse.
A woman like Ashlynn deserves the world. She’s the sweetest, most caring woman on the planet. There’s no one more deserving of a happily-ever-after than her.
“I’m so sorry for ever hurting you, Ashlynn.” I hold her tightly. “If you tell me to walk out the door and never come back, I’ll do it. Just say the word.”
She quickly sits up and glares at me. Tears are still streaming down her face.
“Would it be that easy for you to just leave me again?” she snaps. “Just walk out of my life with no regrets. Must be nice.”
“Baby, that’s not what I meant,” I reply, wiping her face with my hand.
“Then what is it? Why would you even suggest leaving? Why is it so fucking easy for you!” she screams and bursts into even more tears.
“Ashlynn,” I say, cupping her face with both of my hands. “I never want to leave you again. I’ve been sitting here for the past two hours trying to think of how to get back in your life for good. I don’t want to ever be apart from you. I love you, Ashlynn Prior. Nothing and no one will ever come between my love for you. Do you understand?”
She looks up at me. Her eyes are flled with tears, but at least she stopped crying for the moment.
“I still love you, Ashlynn. And I’ll do whatever it takes to earn you back.” I stroke her cheek with my thumb. “I know it could take a lifetime for me to redeem myself and earn you back, but I’m willing to wait that long if it means I get you at the end of the day.”
“Chance,” she sobs, wrapping her arms around me and hugging me. “I love you too.”
Her words are music to my ears. I knew she didn’t hate me fully since we had sex, but to hear that she still loves me damn near makes me cry. I thought I had lost her for good. Now, fate is opening the door for me once more, and I swear I won’t ruin it. Not this time. Not ever.
“I’ll prove my worth to you, Ashylnn. I won’t mess up ever again. You have my word.”
“You better not, or I’m going to kick your ass,” she sniffles, making me laugh.
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Epilogue
ASHLYNN
Six Months Later…
Things moved at the speed of light. I know to others, it probably seemed a little crazy for Chance and me to get back together so soon. Especially after how badly he had hurt me. Part of me understands why they would think that way; however, the part of me who knows Chance, knows that he never intended to hurt me. He was just trying to prove his worth to the one person whose attention he’s been trying to gain his entire life.
Now Chance and I are back together things couldn’t be better. He moved into my apartment because he said he had less stuff. We go to wake up in each other’s arms, kiss each other goodbye as we head off to work, have dinner together, shower together, and fall asleep in each other’s arms. When we both have the day off, we spend time going places and seeing our family.
His dad had a long talk with Chance and me. He even apologized for not being a better father to Chance and letting Chance take the fall. He tried to buy off the prosecutor, but the best he could do was pay off the judge to give Chance a very low sentence. He said he couldn’t sleep knowing his son was in jail, so he went extreme to ensure Chance would be okay. He got a few of his guys into the same prison as Chance and paid the guards and a few of the inmates to protect him.
Mr. DeLuca earned my respect in a sense by doing all of that. I loved how extreme he went to protect Chance—the man I loved.
“What has you distracted now?” Chance sighs dramatically. “Am I not good enough?”
“Quit being a baby,” I tease.
“Speaking of which…” He rubs my stomach. “Do you think it’s a boy or a girl?”
“I thought you didn’t want to know?”
“I don’t. Well, I didn’t. I mean, as long as the baby is healthy, that’s all I care about,” he says, scooting down in the bed and laying his head on my stomach. I smile and play with his hair. “I hope it’s a girl, and she’s pretty like you. God forbid it’s a boy. He’s going to be a hellion.”
“Chance!” I laugh. He looks up at me and grins.
“What? I was a badass growing up.”
“You still are,” I remind him.
“I’ve settled down a lot ever since we got back together,” he replies, holding up his hand with his ring on it.
In my mind, we aren’t officially married yet. I wanted to wait until after the baby was born. Chance insisted on marrying before the baby was born—that way, the baby wouldn’t be born out of wedlock. I caved, and we had a small ceremony with our friends and family there. Chance has promised me an extravagant wedding once the baby is here, and I can fit into the wedding dress of my dreams. My words, not his.
“Regret any of it?” I ask.
He moves back up in the bed and lays his head on the pillow. He strokes my cheek and smiles.
“Not even a second of it. I have a beautiful wife, who I get to wake up next to every morning. And, I have a healthy baby on the way. What’s to regret?” he smiles.
“Just thought maybe you wished you’d done things differently.”
“Of course, there are things I wish I had done differently, but life gave me a second chance to rebuild our love, so I’m not going to waste that chance.”
“Ha. That’s funny,” I giggle. He raises an eyebrow and looks unamused. “Not the sweet words. I was just thinking about how you are in construction, and you mentioned rebuilding our love. Irony.”
“Only you would compare the two,” he chuckles. “And, so what if we are rebuilding love?”
“Rebuilt love,” I correct. He gives me a funny look. “Past tense since the love is already here.”
“Fine. My dear sweet wife.” He kisses me softly. “Neverending rebuilt love.”
THE END
Dear Reader,
I want to take the time and thank you for reading Rebuilding Love. This is one of my shorter reads, but I hope you enjoyed it. I write under the following pen names and would love for you to read some of my other books:
S.E. Isaac (Variety of Romance)
Roxy Ray (PNR)
Lucy Tipton (Horror)
Kate Linn (Sci-Fi Fantasy)
Claudia Stevens (Erotic Romance)
Happy Reading & XoXo,
S.E. Isaac
S.E. Isaac, Rebuilding Love: Essentially Yours Series
Thank you for reading books on ReadFrom.Net
Share this book with friends
“You could go grab some clothes and come back over to shower,” I suggest.
My words aren’t even hesitant. They’re full of unwavering confidence that shouldn’t be there. We aren’t together. There’s no reason for us to spend any amount of time together. I swear I lose all sense of reasoning when Chance is around.
“You sure?” he asks with an eyebrow raised.
“Yes.”
“Alright. I’ll go grab some things real quick,” he says, standing with me in his arms. He sits me back down on the couch by myself. “You’re going to join me, right?”
His words are fain,t and he can barely look me in the eyes.
“If you hurry,” I wink. He laughs, kisses me swiftly on my lips, and then rushes toward the front door.
“Lock the door while I’m gone,” he calls out behind him.
“Oh, my gosh, Chance,” I laugh. “You aren’t going to be gone that long, and besides, I know the guys are hiding somewhere in the hallway.”
“True. True,” he admits with a chuckle. “I’ll be back.”
I use the time he’s gone to use the restroom and freshen up. There are three knocks on the door. The front door opens slowly, and Chance pops his head inside.
“Just me,” he says.
“Come on in, Just Me,” I smirk.
He shakes his head, laughing while walking inside. He shuts and locks the front door. Slung over his shoulder is a black duffle bag.
“Plan on pulling a heist later?” I ask, gesturing at his bag.
“Yep. I plan on stealing your heart later,” he grins.
My heart skips several beats. I know he’s only joking, but if he only knew. My heart is still his. Always will be.
“Bad joke?” he asks softly, walking over to me.
“No. It was funny,” I laugh, downplaying my feelings. “Ready to shower.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
He bends down and picks me up over his shoulder. I playfully swat at him as he carries me toward the bathroom laughing. There’s a lot for him and I to talk about,t but I’ll worry about all that after we shower.
Chapter Nine
CHANCE
In the shower, we took turns washing each other. It was sensual and led to great sex. The water flowing down Ashlynn’s body while I stroked in and out of her made me come hard. I made sure she came before, during, and after sex. By the time we climbed out of the shower, we were both exhausted.
We ordered Chinese food, argued over who would pay, and then ate in silence while we watched T.V. The silence wasn’t awkward though. It was nice just knowing she was there, just like the old days.
Fuck. I really need to talk to her about us, I remind myself. I’ve thought about it long and hard but still can’t gain the strength to talk to her about it. I know what I want; however, I’m scared shitless that she still hasn’t forgiven me.
“If you stare any harder at me, you’re going to burn a hole through me,” she giggles.
“Sorry, Beautiful,” I offer her an apologetic smile.
How long had I been looking at her? The last thing I remembered was watching the Wheel of Fortune. I glance at the TV, and it isn’t even on anymore. I look back at Ashlynn, and she smiles.
“I turned it off to see if you’d notice… and you didn’t,” she laughs.
“Sorry. Been a long day.”
“What’s bothering you?” She turns and faces me. “Anything I can help with?”
“Just keep being your beautiful self.”
She rolls her eyes at my words.
“Guess I’m not going to be very useful,” she mutters.
“Don’t make me bend you over my knee and spank you for talking shit about yourself,” I warn.
“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” she retorts. I try to keep a straight face but fail miserably. “I win,” she grins victoriously.”
“Yeah. Yeah. But don’t think I won’t punish you for talking bad about yourself.”
She stares at me long and hard. She looks like she wants to say something. I wonder what’s weighing down her thoughts.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“Nothing,” she shakes her head. “How do you like your job?”
“It’s alright. Exhausting.”
“How’s it feel to be essential?”
“Essential?” I scoff. “Who the hell is essential?”
She groans and rolls her eyes again.
“I don’t know why no one considers construction workers essential. Like, how else are we going to get from place to place? I sure as hell am not walking everywhere,” she complains, making me laugh.
“So you think construction workers are important?”
“Of course. They do more than we think,” she nods.
For the first time since getting the job, I feel a sense of pride. I have never heard anyone speak highly of construction workers, not even the guys at work. They just talk macho about how they’re better than the other crews.
“So I’m an essential worker?” I ask, half-ass joking and half-ass serious.
“Yes. Without a doubt,” she replies. “When everything went on lockdown, construction workers were still out there. Why? Because the world relies on them. Whether the world wants to admit it or not.”
“Are you part of the construction workers' fan club or something?” I tease.
She flips me off and laughs.
“Just so you know, I’m president of the club,” she smiles. “You can be vice president or treasure.”
“Are there snacks or anything at the meetings? I mean, what do I get out of being the VP or treasure?”
“Greedy ass,” she laughs.
“Thank you,” I whisper. She cocks her head to the side and stares at me confused. “I’ve been questioning the importance of this job. It seemed pretty shitty. Like I was scraping the bottom of the barrel.”
“Oh,” she replies faintly. “It’s definitely not an easy job, but I wouldn’t ever consider it the bottom of the barrel.”
“You always know the right things to say,” I lean over and kiss her.
“Not always,” she whispers. Her eyes fill with tears.
“Ashlynn, what’s wrong?” I ask, scooting over and pulling her into my arms.
The minute her head rests on my chest, she comes unglued. Tears after tears flow from her eyes. It’s like someone broke a dam, and there’s no stopping it.
“Baby. It’s going to be okay,” I say, attempting to soothe her. She just continues to cry. “Ashlynn, talk to me. What’s wrong? Did I say something wrong?”
“Why couldn’t you choose me, you big jerk?” She hits my arm several times with her fist. Not hard at all. Just enough to get my attention.
My heart breaks. She’s talking about our last conversation before we broke up. The conversation that ended everything. The conversation that I still regret to this very day.
“I’m so sorry, Ashlynn,” I kiss the side of her head, and she sobs uncontrollably. “I swear I wanted to choose you. You were and still are the best thing to happen to me.”
She doesn’t speak, only cries. With each tear she sheds, my heart shatters more and more. I hate hearing her cry. And knowing that I’m responsible for the tears makes it a thousand times worse.
A woman like Ashlynn deserves the world. She’s the sweetest, most caring woman on the planet. There’s no one more deserving of a happily-ever-after than her.
“I’m so sorry for ever hurting you, Ashlynn.” I hold her tightly. “If you tell me to walk out the door and never come back, I’ll do it. Just say the word.”
She quickly sits up and glares at me. Tears are still streaming down her face.
“Would it be that easy for you to just leave me again?” she snaps. “Just walk out of my life with no regrets. Must be nice.”
“Baby, that’s not what I meant,” I reply, wiping her face with my hand.
“Then what is it? Why would you even suggest leaving? Why is it so fucking easy for you!” she screams and bursts into even more tears.
“Ashlynn,” I say, cupping her face with both of my hands. “I never want to leave you again. I’ve been sitting here for the past two hours trying to think of how to get back in your life for good. I don’t want to ever be apart from you. I love you, Ashlynn Prior. Nothing and no one will ever come between my love for you. Do you understand?”
She looks up at me. Her eyes are flled with tears, but at least she stopped crying for the moment.
“I still love you, Ashlynn. And I’ll do whatever it takes to earn you back.” I stroke her cheek with my thumb. “I know it could take a lifetime for me to redeem myself and earn you back, but I’m willing to wait that long if it means I get you at the end of the day.”
“Chance,” she sobs, wrapping her arms around me and hugging me. “I love you too.”
Her words are music to my ears. I knew she didn’t hate me fully since we had sex, but to hear that she still loves me damn near makes me cry. I thought I had lost her for good. Now, fate is opening the door for me once more, and I swear I won’t ruin it. Not this time. Not ever.
“I’ll prove my worth to you, Ashylnn. I won’t mess up ever again. You have my word.”
“You better not, or I’m going to kick your ass,” she sniffles, making me laugh.
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Epilogue
ASHLYNN
Six Months Later…
Things moved at the speed of light. I know to others, it probably seemed a little crazy for Chance and me to get back together so soon. Especially after how badly he had hurt me. Part of me understands why they would think that way; however, the part of me who knows Chance, knows that he never intended to hurt me. He was just trying to prove his worth to the one person whose attention he’s been trying to gain his entire life.
Now Chance and I are back together things couldn’t be better. He moved into my apartment because he said he had less stuff. We go to wake up in each other’s arms, kiss each other goodbye as we head off to work, have dinner together, shower together, and fall asleep in each other’s arms. When we both have the day off, we spend time going places and seeing our family.
His dad had a long talk with Chance and me. He even apologized for not being a better father to Chance and letting Chance take the fall. He tried to buy off the prosecutor, but the best he could do was pay off the judge to give Chance a very low sentence. He said he couldn’t sleep knowing his son was in jail, so he went extreme to ensure Chance would be okay. He got a few of his guys into the same prison as Chance and paid the guards and a few of the inmates to protect him.
Mr. DeLuca earned my respect in a sense by doing all of that. I loved how extreme he went to protect Chance—the man I loved.
“What has you distracted now?” Chance sighs dramatically. “Am I not good enough?”
“Quit being a baby,” I tease.
“Speaking of which…” He rubs my stomach. “Do you think it’s a boy or a girl?”
“I thought you didn’t want to know?”
“I don’t. Well, I didn’t. I mean, as long as the baby is healthy, that’s all I care about,” he says, scooting down in the bed and laying his head on my stomach. I smile and play with his hair. “I hope it’s a girl, and she’s pretty like you. God forbid it’s a boy. He’s going to be a hellion.”
“Chance!” I laugh. He looks up at me and grins.
“What? I was a badass growing up.”
“You still are,” I remind him.
“I’ve settled down a lot ever since we got back together,” he replies, holding up his hand with his ring on it.
In my mind, we aren’t officially married yet. I wanted to wait until after the baby was born. Chance insisted on marrying before the baby was born—that way, the baby wouldn’t be born out of wedlock. I caved, and we had a small ceremony with our friends and family there. Chance has promised me an extravagant wedding once the baby is here, and I can fit into the wedding dress of my dreams. My words, not his.
“Regret any of it?” I ask.
He moves back up in the bed and lays his head on the pillow. He strokes my cheek and smiles.
“Not even a second of it. I have a beautiful wife, who I get to wake up next to every morning. And, I have a healthy baby on the way. What’s to regret?” he smiles.
“Just thought maybe you wished you’d done things differently.”
“Of course, there are things I wish I had done differently, but life gave me a second chance to rebuild our love, so I’m not going to waste that chance.”
“Ha. That’s funny,” I giggle. He raises an eyebrow and looks unamused. “Not the sweet words. I was just thinking about how you are in construction, and you mentioned rebuilding our love. Irony.”
“Only you would compare the two,” he chuckles. “And, so what if we are rebuilding love?”
“Rebuilt love,” I correct. He gives me a funny look. “Past tense since the love is already here.”
“Fine. My dear sweet wife.” He kisses me softly. “Neverending rebuilt love.”
THE END
Dear Reader,
I want to take the time and thank you for reading Rebuilding Love. This is one of my shorter reads, but I hope you enjoyed it. I write under the following pen names and would love for you to read some of my other books:
S.E. Isaac (Variety of Romance)
Roxy Ray (PNR)
Lucy Tipton (Horror)
Kate Linn (Sci-Fi Fantasy)
Claudia Stevens (Erotic Romance)
Happy Reading & XoXo,
S.E. Isaac
S.E. Isaac, Rebuilding Love: Essentially Yours Series
