Marius Rabineaux lives with his daughter Sherie in an apartment complex. Across the hall is computer tech Xavier McDay, whose niece, Tonya, is best friends with Sherie. Taciturn, clueless nerds have never been Marius's thing, so no matter how hot he may find ‘Uncle Cranky,’ Marius leaves well enough alone. One evening when Marius picks up Sherie from her playdate with Tonya, Xavier insults his parenting skills. Later, Xavier turns up at Marius’ workplace and, instead of apologizing, further offends him by disparaging his work ethic. Xavier finally gets it and apologizes to Marius, who decides to give his clueless neighbor another chance. He accepts Xavier’s offer inviting him and Sherie to dinner. The evening is a fun affair, and while the girls have dessert in Tonya's room, both men get to know each other better. Then Marius challenges Xavier to a night away from computers by going out to a night club. One thing leads to another, and they wind up back at Xavier’s apartment. As things crank up between them, will they get more than they bargain for ... and perhaps a chance at something more?

Crank Me Up

“I want to say I’m sorry for all the things I said and assumed about you and Sherie. I didn’t mean to be unfeeling, thoughtless, or cruel. I just don’t always get that. People tend to confuse me. Computers make much more sense. But I suppose that’s not an excuse. Will you accept my apology?”


I stared at him for a while. He had a strong face, sharp cheekbones, and kissable lips. If he wasn’t such a cretin, I’d jump Xavier’s ass in a second. I decided to take him at face value and said, “Yes, I accept your apology. Thanks for that. Now I really gotta go to bed or I’ll be late to catch the train and get Sherie to school in the morning. Have a good night.” I felt his stare as I entered my apartment and locked the door behind me.


That weekend, Sherie and I spent time with Gramma Jo at Pancake Heaven. Little miss had a blast outside with the other kids in the play area, even though she had sworn to me up and down that she was just too old for stuff like this. Ha.


Chapter 6