AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A timer went off in the kitchen, pulling me from pouring my heart out on the pages. I closed it and took a few deep breaths for good measure. I was in control again, and I was going to keep it that way.
There was a heavy silence in the air as I went back out, pretending I was unaffected as I finished making the pan of cinnamon rolls and putting them in the oven.
The guys moved around me as they grabbed drinks and helped clean up in the wake of my baking.
I stared at the oven, waiting, when a mug of coffee was pushed my way. The color looked perfect, just the way I liked it.
I glanced up at Lake, surprised.
“It’s not the first coffee I’ve made you, and it’s not going to be the last,” Lake promised me. “You’re not alone.”
He pressed a kiss to my forehead before stepping away completely. He kept repeating those words to me, but I knew it would be a long time until they sank in.
When the cinnamon rolls were done, I pulled them out of the oven and poured the icing I made over the top before heading to the table.
Drew was moving already, putting a hand towel down for me to set the hot pan on top of, while Lake and Riven grabbed plates.
Still, no one broke the silence, except for groans of appreciation as they bit into the warm, gooey rolls.
Even I had to admit that the comfort food was exactly what I needed. I closed my eyes and breathed in as the sweetness burst across my tongue.
Until Lake broke the moment.
“I think it’s time to pull up that website.”
ChapterNine
Shaye
Everett’s face filled the laptop screen. He was as gorgeous as ever, even with the dark circles lining his eyes and the hollowness of his cheeks.
I drank in every detail of his face, from the slight stubble on his chin to the way his nose was crooked just the slightest.
My fingers traced over the indentation of his teeth on my wrist. It wasn’t from anxiety this time, but nostalgia.
The thing that stood out the most to me was the gleam of excitement in his eyes. I remembered that look well. He had it every time he planned something exciting for us to do or wanted to show me something new with his game.
It was like the look he got when he was passionate about something.
Then he started to speak and it was like I was yanked back in time. His rich, deep tone washed over me and my soul absorbed every nuance of his words, drinking it in like it could fill the emptiness inside of me.
“Look, there’s no easy way to say this. By the time you guys watch this, I’ll be gone, and I’m so fucking sorry about that. I know you both well enough to know that you’ll both fall apart, probably separately because you’re both stubborn as hell.”
Everett rolled his eyes, and Lake and I shared a smile through our tears. He knew us a bit too well, apparently.
“That is one of the things that weighs heaviest on my conscience—the fact that I’m afraid that you guys are going to spiral out of touch, lose yourselves and each other.”
His eyes pierced me right through the screen. I couldn’t look away or blink as it felt like his attention was fully on me.
“Shaye, we were so consumed with each other. We texted every morning, talked every night, spent every moment we could together. I know if I was in your shoes I would…”
He trailed off and glanced off camera, gathering himself with a long breath.
“So, I did the only thing I could. I turned to video games. Call me a dork all you want, but this is the game I’ve been spending years working on. In fact, I got in touch with a development team, a group of friends that I’ve worked with over the years. Shaye, I’m sure you remember Landon. He agreed to help bring this game to life for me. I’ve sent everything into them, and knowing you two and your procrastination, by the time you actually read the letters and click on this link, it’s going to be an insane amount of time. That only means that they’ll be further along in development.”
“Holy shit,” I breathed out. He had been working on that game since we were in high school. It started as an idea then bloomed into him searching out a group of other kids interested in indie gaming. I never suspected he’d taken it this far.
“Landon promised not to release the game or contact you until you reached out first. It’s sitting on hold for them, but this is a project of passion more than anything… a favor that they owed me. There will be logistics that Landon will talk to you about, but essentially, once you guys have played, a few things will be tweaked according to your feedback. Then he and his team will launch it out into the world, and you’ll get 50% of the proceeds for the lifetime of the game. A way for me to take care of you both.”
