Let Me In (The Ink Well Chronicles: Book One)

by Jordan Bates

  Chapter 10

  I stood in the kitchen in shorts and a cut-off sweatshirt that hung off my shoulder, and clung to my hot tea as I looked around. It was still hard to believe that it had only been a month since Adam left me, but looking around it seemed like it had just happened the other day. I hadn’t unpacked any boxes except my books, and some of those were still in boxes in my room. Almost everything was sitting piled high in the living room. Lilly and I had talked about going through it today and tomorrow since we were off, but I hadn’t seen her since I woke up an hour ago. I moved towards the boxes. At least Adam had had the decency to label them, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought it was Natalie’s idea to do this, not his. That thought sent my stomach into a tailspin. I didn’t want her touching my things, but then again, I hadn’t had a choice.

  The front door creaked open, but my focus stayed on the boxes next to me. I sat my tea down on the coffee table as I moved to the first box, opening it to see a china set. I moved the box and then opened up another one, revealing some of our wedding memorabilia.

  “I got doughnuts!” Lilly sounded a little too excited to have gotten food. I turned around to see exactly why. She hadn’t just brought home doughnuts, no. Erica, Max, Greg, and Chase were standing in the kitchen with her. I was frozen in the middle of the living room. I could see the smile form on Erica’s face, because I knew instantly she was in on this, too.

  “Um, hey.” I gave a quick wave to everyone as I shot a death glare towards Lilly and then at Erica. Their smiles grew wider. They knew how much I was freaking out right now.

  “Lilly said you needed help with a bookcase?” I hadn’t planned on building it this week, but as the words rolled off Max’s tongue all I could think was, yes, please stay!

  “Yeah, it’s over there…” I pointed to the corner, but he didn’t move. Max’s eyes were on me. Greg and Chase were digging into the doughnuts, and Erica was starting a fresh pot of coffee.

  “I was thinking while the boys built the case, we could get rid of some of this”—Lilly waved her hand dismissively—“stuff.”

  She had made it clear many times how much she hated that I hadn’t done something about the boxes, and not because it was taking up space, but because it was a constant reminder of Adam and what he had done. I just didn’t know how to get rid of it, but then it came to me.

  “Wait!” The second it hit me, I knew it was right. I grabbed a few boxes, setting them on the dining room table. No one moved from where they were, but watched me like I was a maniac. I went to the front closet to grab the broom and laid it on the table. “Everyone needs to have shoes on.”

  The look on Lilly’s face was priceless as I pointed to her, because I knew she took them off the second she walked in the door, and I made sure to slip on my closest pair of Toms. I jumped onto the table, swinging my legs back and forth. I felt like a child, but I loved it.

  “Now, everyone up!” I motioned to the spaces around me. Max was the first to join.

  “You feeling okay?” He looked at me like I was crazy, but I just patted his leg, not caring about the touch.

  “Perfectly peachy.” And I was, because the idea in my head was the best one I’d had in a long time. “Now, everyone else.”

  Lilly pushed Greg towards the table, and Chase led Erica, his hand disappearing behind her back. I looked around at everyone in the room. This was a view I could get used to; it almost seemed like we were a family, a pretty dysfunctional one, but it worked.

  “So…what’s the plan?” Lilly looked worried. She was to my right on one side of the table, Greg and Erica were on the opposite side, and Chase was to the left of Max. We filled the table perfectly, with the boxes to our backs and a broom in between Max and me.

  “Grab something from a box and throw it on the ground.” The second the words were out of my mouth, everyone spun to look at me. Instead of explaining, I took out a bowl from one of the boxes. It was a pattern that I hadn’t really liked, but Adam had loved it. I let it slip out of my hand and onto the tile floor of Lilly’s apartment. The shattered pieces spread everywhere beneath us.

  I looked up to Max, who shrugged his shoulders and grabbed a serving dish. He put more force into his drop, and I couldn’t help but giggle. This man got me. He looked back to me, and it was like we were the only two people in the room. I heard a crash next to me; Lilly threw two plates on the ground, and I could see the happiness consuming her as much as it was consuming me. I grabbed another plate, tossing it without a care.

  It felt cathartic to be destroying my past life, to be with my new family. I went to delve into another box. Max’s hand grazed mine as I reached into the box, both of us reaching for the glass turtle. Turtles were Adam’s and my thing. I got a figurine everywhere we went, and he always found me some kind of jewelry with them on it. I stared at the green and blue turtle that Max and I both held. We moved it together and let it fall to the ground between us. I looked at the shattered glass, and then back up to Max, disregarding the destruction that was happening around us. He tucked some strands of hair behind my ear, resting his hand against my cheek. I leaned into him slowly.

  “Go out with me.” Even though I knew his words were only meant for me, everyone else in the room decided to jump in as well.

  “What?” Greg and Chase both said their surprised question together, turning towards Max and me.

  “Okay.” My answer wasn’t what I expected to come from my mouth. It wasn’t the answer anyone else expected either.

  “What?” Lilly and Erica mimicked the boys’ question, but Lilly’s came out more as a shriek.

  I paid no mind to them as a smile spread across Max’s face. I knew how that head of his was working. He thought he was getting to me, that I was caving to him, but this would just be a date, that’s it.

  “It’s just a date, Max.” His smile didn’t falter as I had hoped for. No, it got wider.

  “That’s all I need, babe. Just one date.” He winked at me and jumped off the table. He held his hand out to me to help me off. I jumped down with him, my shoes crunching against the glass along the floor. A thought went off in my head.

  “Wait. We aren’t going on a date right now!” I tried to pull my hand away, but Max wouldn’t let me. I could hear Lilly’s giggles from behind me.

  “Not now, silly.” He tried to pull me closer, but I wouldn’t let him. “Go get dressed, and the boys and I will clean this up.”

  He gestured to the mess that was on the ground. Apparently, when Max and I were having a moment, everyone else finished off what was in the boxes. Years of my life lay shattered on the floor.

  “We’ll all go to lunch today.” Max’s statement made me relax a little. I looked around at everyone. They all had a smile on their face, agreeing with Max. “Go get dressed and I’ll call for a car.”

  “I’ll take care of that,” Greg spoke up as Max kissed my forehead and pushed me towards the living room. Lilly and Erica followed suit, us heading towards my bedroom.

  “What was that?!” Lilly tried to whisper the question, but I could bet that the boys could still hear her.

  “What do you mean?” I tried to play dumb.

  “We mean when you so clearly told Max you would go on a date with him.” Erica’s smile almost matched the one that was on my face.

  “It’s just a date.” I tried to justify it, like I had with Max. It wasn’t going to be anything more than that. It needed to be something simple. I couldn’t over complicate things now.

  “Whatever you say, babe.” Lilly disregarded my statement. The girls sat on the bed while I rummaged through my closet, finding a pair of skinny jeans that fit perfectly.

  I wanted to look good, but also cover up as much as I could. The more I was around Max, the more I wanted him to touch me. This barrier wasn’t just going to be for him. It was also for me. I grabbed for a shirt with a Tardis on the front. Lilly frowned at my choice, but I didn’t care. I was going to be me, and if Max didn’t like it,
then he clearly wasn’t the one for me.

  When we headed back into the living room, the kitchen was cleaned spotless and the boys were finishing off the last of the doughnuts. I loved seeing Max laughing and carefree. He threw his head back at something Chase said, his back to us. Greg pointed towards us, and Max turned around. The smile on his face grew wider, and a blush crept across my cheeks.

  “We ready?” Greg checked his phone. “Our ride just got here.”

  “Uber?” I asked Greg as we headed towards the elevator.

  “Nah, someone better.” He gave a wink in my direction. I turned towards Lilly, shrugging my shoulders. I thought back to the day we were at Stone Mountain, when I ran. These boys were always glued to the hip. The only time I had not seen them together was when we saw Max at the restaurant the first weekend I started at The Ink Well. But I remembered that there was someone else with them that day, too. I linked arms with Lilly in the elevator.

  “Hey,” I leaned in a little closer so only she could hear. “When we were at Stone Mountain, wasn’t there someone else with them?”

  I motioned my head towards the general direction of the boys. We were all crammed into the elevator, so it didn’t surprise me when Greg spoke up.

  “Yeah, Jack.” He threw his name out there like it was no big deal, but I could have sworn I heard Max growl in front of me. “Don’t mind him. Jack just met Max’s sister, and he’s a little upset about it.”

  Max turned his head towards Greg, who was hunched in the corner of the elevator. The scowl on his face was real, and even when I looked at him, it didn’t go away.

  “He should keep his eyes to himself,” Max snarled. We all stepped out into the lobby, and I almost dreaded the summer air outside. Luckily today had a slight breeze to it. A black SUV was pulled up to the curb. The passenger side window rolled down and we were greeted with a wide, knowing smile. “What the fuck is he doing here?”

  Max’s words bellowed throughout the street. I turned around to see Chase holding Max back. I looked closer at the man and realized exactly who he was.

  “Taking you all to lunch, of course. It was Greg’s idea.” Jack’s words were deep. He was the most different form the men here. He was dark and on edge, his eyes almost black. He was styled to perfection, from his jeans and button down shirt, down to his hair being perfectly placed. It was like a cover model and walked right off a book.

  Max stopped his struggle and sent a warning look towards Greg.

  “Just get in the car.” Greg motioned for us to jump in as he held the door open. The back of the car held five more seats, which I wasn’t expecting. I jumped in first, sitting down just in time to see Max push past everyone to be able to sit beside me. I smiled as I looked out the window, waiting for us to leave.

  “Where are we going?” Erica asked from the backseat, where she sat next to Chase.

  “Little Five Points,” Greg answered from the front seat.

  “The Vortex, to be exact,” Jack added. We sat in silence as we drove out of downtown, passing house after house and slowly coming up to greenland areas. It was at least twenty minutes before we hit another downtown area, but this one caught my attention. I perked up when I saw the old vintage buildings. I hadn’t seen this part of town yet, and it captivated me.

  The area seemed busy enough, so we had to pay for parking. When I hopped out of the car, I didn’t know where to start first. There were shops everywhere, and all I wanted to do was go into each of them. I spotted a comic book store, and my heart skipped a beat. This was my kind of place. Everyone else started to move away from the car, but Max kept me grounded where we were. He moved into my space, and backed me up against the car. There was no space between us and I didn’t push him back. “This isn’t a good idea, Max.”

  His arms caged me in and he leaned towards me, nudging my head to the side as he trailed his nose along my jaw and up to my ear. I could feel his hot breath against me, and I shivered. He moved one arm to wrap around my waist, his hand sprawled out against my hip and the other still propped up against the car.

  “But this feels so right.” He planted a kiss against my neck. My breath hitched, which caused my hips to pivot forward against him. It was an involuntary action. “See how you react to me? And that wasn’t even a real kiss.”

  “Max.” The way I said his name was almost like a plea. I tried to push him away, but he only budged a little. He gave enough space to where we were able to look at each other.

  “Friday night.” It took me a second to realize what he meant.

  “I don’t—”

  He cut me off with a finger to my lips. “Don’t back out on me now.” His lips brushed against my neck again, and I shivered. This man was taking one “okay” and running away with it. I knew I had answered too quickly. I wanted this date, but now I seemed too eager to be alone with him, and while that wasn’t a bad thing, it wasn’t a great either. This man could hurt me, that much I knew.

  “Friday.” The answer slipped out of my mouth as easily as it had earlier. I could feel the smirk against my neck, where Max still rested his head. This was happening. I was being held by a man who clearly had feelings for me.

  “Are you two coming or not?” I heard Greg yell to us from the other side of the car. Max grabbed for my hand, leading me towards where everyone was waiting for us. I looked down at where our fingers were interlocked. I could get used to this. I could get used to the sight of Max wrapped around me. I looked up at him to see him looking at where we were interlocked as well, and I smiled. This man was definitely someone I had never expected to come into my life, but damn, did it feel good to have him. So much for not wanting to complicate things...

  Chapter 11

  Friday couldn’t get to here as fast as it did, even with seeing Max every single day during the week. We finished our proposal, but it was hard to concentrate sometimes with him sending me secret notes and shooting smiles across the table. I was surprised that Chase hadn’t left the room on multiple occasions. But even though Max had tried to make it as lighthearted as possible during the week, I was still nervous about tonight.

  Lilly lay with me on the couch, patiently waiting for Max to text me. He was going to let me know when to start getting ready and what to wear. I was nervous because he had clearly been planning this out, and I just didn’t know how to take that. Adam had never put this much thought into a date, not even for our anniversaries. I was always the one planning, but it felt nice to be taken care of for once.

  Lilly’s phone buzzed, and she shot up.

  “Go get dressed now.” It wasn’t a sweet demand either. The look on her face sent me running to my room. She screamed after me. “Something with floral!”

  I rummaged through my closet but found nothing. Floral was not my thing. Girly was not my thing. I was pulling out a pair of pants when a knock came from the front door.

  “It’s Max.” I heard Max’s voice from my room. I didn’t want to answer it, so I made sure to close my bedroom door. Lilly had just told me to get dressed, and now he was here. Was he here to time me, see how long it took to get ready?

  I heard Lilly answer and let Max in, but I could barely hear their conversation over the sporadic heartbeat in my ears. They talked a little more before I heard a soft knock on my door.

  “It’s just me, Alexa. Open up.” I opened the door to Lilly, who was blocking my view out into the living room. She handed me a note. I was sure I had a crazed look on my face by the way she laughed at me.

  “Just so you know.” Lilly leaned in closer to me. The whisper of her words made it so only I could hear. “I’m pretty sure this is going to be your fairy-tale date.”

  I brought the note to my heart and shut the door quickly. I leaned against it so no one else could come in.

  My heart skipped a beat when I opened the note:

  Wear whatever makes you feel comfortable.

  Lilly was right. I had never been told to wear what makes me feel comfortable on a date, but
it was like Max knew I would stress about this. It was like he knew me. I held the note against my chest, right above my heart, where it belonged. This man scared me, but in the best way possible. I went to my closet and pulled out a few dresses, forgetting the pants idea. I tossed a few onto the bed but couldn’t decide on one that was me.

  When I looked back at the clock, I realized that half an hour had already passed and I wasn’t dressed yet. I was getting impatient with myself. I went to the door when I heard Lilly calling my name.

  “What?” I whispered so I didn’t have to open up. I didn’t want Max to see how disheveled I was. He may have said to wear whatever I wanted to, but that didn’t mean there weren’t expectations among men. I needed to look a certain way, dress a certain way, act a certain way.

  “Let me in to help.” She knew me too well. I opened up the door ever so slightly to just see Lilly, but Max was standing in the middle of the living room and I got a full view. He was in jeans with a dress shirt tucked in and the sleeves rolled up. He looked perfect.

  “Ugh, how am I supposed to dress next to that?!” I slammed the door closed in Lilly’s face and headed towards the bathroom. My bedroom door didn’t lock, but the bathroom one did. I heard the door to my room open soon after I leaned up against the bathroom door.

  “Open up, Alexa.” Max’s voice made me shiver. His voice was soft, not like I was expecting. “Let me in.”

  “I don’t think I can do this, Max.” I just didn’t know how a man like him could choose a girl like me. I was nothing compared to him. Girls would flock to him, and the only man to ever come after me, I married. I just didn’t know how to do this. “Just go home.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.” Vibrations went through my back as his fist pounded against the door. I stood there in silence. This whole thing was going wrong, and the more I thought about not just the outfit, but everything, the more anxious I got. I hadn’t gone on a first date in six years. What were you supposed to do nowadays? “What’s wrong, Alexa?”