Page 62 of The Spare
“You know.” Xander stopped in the doorway and pulled me into a final hug before heading out. “Nothing changes you and me. You don’t need to worry about that.”
I nodded. “When you come back to visit, take me dancing?” I laid my cheek on his chest. I couldn’t look him in the eye, my emotions would spill over. He was a constant force in my life, something I couldn’t and wouldn’t lose.
“Duh.” He assured. “One foot in front of the other.”
CHAPTER31
Marcus
Iturned my phone over in my hand again and again.
She needs time.
The mix of alcohol and lust that hung over yesterday escalated tempers.
Last night was an overt reminder of what was at stake—being away for so long dulled some of the memories of Xander and Sloan. She relied on his friendship for so much more than I ever realized. He was one of the few people in her life that saw her as she was and demanded nothing more. I couldn’t be the reason she lost even a part of that.
Then, there was Henry. Spending an evening out with him reminded me of why I avoided my feelings for her in the first place. Henry was my closest friend, practically a brother to me. We’d spent the better part of ten years keeping guys like us from dating her. Lying to him about the board was one thing; sleeping with his little sister was another. Forgiveness for the former would take time, but throwing an affair with Sloan on that was suicide.
It would, at best, irreparably change the relationship between the four of us. The one Sloan tried so hard to maintain over the years.
Fuck.
How, in the span of a few months, had I forgottenallof that?
I was roused from my thoughts by a loud banging on the door. “Marcus!”
Fuck.
Xander’s eyes narrowed when I opened the door. “We need to talk.” He pushed past me through the doorway, making sure to clip my shoulder on his way in.
He paced like a caged animal in the living room.
I shut the front door and followed him. “Why is Sloan upset?” he asked. Direct. No banter, no double entendre, nothing. “And why did she use ‘Istanbul’ this morning?” he whispered to himself.
His line of questioning continued. “Why do you look like absolute shit?”
Asking what Sloan had told him was a terrible idea, so I stood there at a loss for words.
“Xander.” I ran a hand down my jaw and let out a deep exhale. How did I even start explaining it to him?
“What happened?” He demanded. The silence made it clear.
Then, the continued silence became an insufficient answer. His tongue clicked.
“I have seen a lot of shitty people try to hurt her, and I picked up the pieces when some of them managed to do it.” Xander’s voice grew louder. The anger radiated off him as he took a few determined strides to stand toe to toe with me. “You were the one whowasn’tsupposed to fuck it up.”
“What?”
“Come on, Marcus,” he said in a sardonic drawl and rolled his eyes. His shoulders relaxed for a moment, and he took a seat in the armchair across from me. “You two, last night?” He continued with a soft chuckle. “Yeah, I caught on. I caught on at the gala, too. And I saw her this morning.”
“Is she okay?” I sat down. Guilt had singed my chest all night. She never looked at me like she had yesterday.
“Yeah, she’s doing great. That’s why I’m here screaming at you.” He rolled his eyes, again. “Tell me what happened.”
I told him everything from the start.
Xander sat silently for a few moments deep in thought. “Look, I understand your reasoning. But think about how that sounded to Sloan.”
