The Misconception

by Gardner, Darlene

  “Of course that’s why you’re angry.” He dragged a hand over the rough stubble on his chin, reminding him that he hadn’t shaved prior to getting on the airplane, something else he never forgot to do before going out in public. He was more confused than ever. “Isn’t it?”

  “Do you really think I’d dump you because of what you do for a living?”

  Jax screwed up his forehead. “You wouldn’t be afraid of what people would say?”

  “Do you really think I’m that shallow?” she retorted.

  The news was so staggering that Jax couldn’t quite wrap his mind around it. Before joy could course through him that he’d be able to keep both pro wrestling and Marietta, he noticed that she was still fuming. Her ears were in danger of turning into smokestacks.

  “If my being a pro wrestler doesn’t bother you,” he asked, “why are you so angry?”

  “Because you lied to me.” Her lips quivered before straightening into an unforgiving line. She paced from one end of the room and back again. “All these months, you let me believe you were a businessman. Oh, how you must have been laughing at me. So dazzled by your symmetry I couldn’t see through your lies. I bet you were even sleeping with one of those Studettes on the side.”

  “You know I’d never laugh at you or cheat on you,” he refuted. “And I’m sick and tired of hearing about how one side of my face is the same as the other. It’s not my symmetry that’s dazzling you, Marietta. It’s me. You’re in love with me.”

  “Oh, no,” she said forcefully, running her hands through her hair. “Don’t you dare say that to me.”

  “Why not?” he asked, advancing toward her. “It’s true.”

  Marietta tried to glare at him, but she could feel her chin trembling. She would not cry, damn it. She would not cry because she’d been stupid enough to let this man into her life.

  “It is not true. I don’t love you.”

  “If you don’t love me,” he said, his eyes glittering with purpose, “then prove it.”

  Inch by inch, he came closer to her, but the moisture gathering in her eyes prevented her from seeing his features clearly. She could smell him, though, an intoxicating blend of soap, man and rain that did uproarious things to her insides. Even though his clothing was wet, she could feel the heat of him as he drove his fingers through her hair and held her so she couldn’t move.

  “If you don’t love me, tell me you don’t want me to touch you,” he whispered, coming closer until his mouth was a scant inch from hers. “Tell me you don’t want me to kiss you.”

  The heat started somewhere near her heart, pooled between her thighs and spread all the way to her toes. She couldn’t tell him anything, because it seared her voice box shut. With a groan, he captured her lips, kissing her with wild abandon. His tongue thrust hotly into her mouth. His hands left her hair and seemed to be everywhere at once, on her breasts, cupping her bottom, holding her to him.

  She returned the kiss, straining to get nearer, heedless of his wet clothes. She rubbed the aching part of her against his erection, unable to deny, for even a moment, that she didn’t want him.

  Finally, he broke off the kiss. She moaned, trying to pull him back, but he wouldn’t let her. He held her at arm’s length, looking more determined than victorious. “That proves it. That proves you love me.”

  She stared back at him as his words blew away some of the sexual haze that enveloped her. She forced herself to think of his lies.

  “All it proves,” she said slowly, “is that you have all the characteristics that, through time, have attracted woman to man.”

  “Damn it, Marietta,” he bit out, releasing her so abruptly she almost fell. “Are you really so stubborn you can’t admit you’re in love with me?”

  “Love?” She laughed mirthlessly. “Love is for fools stupid enough to give somebody else the power to hurt them with their lies.”

  He peered at her so intently she had to look away. “This isn’t about you and me, is it?”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” she replied, still not looking at him. The sound of the rain pounding furiously on the rooftop echoed inside the chambers of her heart.

  “Sure, you do. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before now. This is about your parents. This is about how your father hurt your mother with his lies.”

  She gritted her teeth as pain sliced through her at the old hurts. She tried sarcasm to deflect it. “So now am I supposed to believe that they give psychology degrees in pro wrestling school?”

  “Don’t be flip, Marietta. You think I’ll hurt you the same way your father hurt your mother. That’s why you accused me of sleeping with a Studette. Because your father cheated on your mother.”

  “What if it is?” There was no use denying it, so Marietta took the offensive. “In my experience, males have quite a bit of trouble with monogamy.”

  “What about coyotes?”

  “Coyotes?”

  “Yeah, the ones you talked about on Morning Glory, Live. They’re monogamous. You said they bonded for life.”

  “You’re not a coyote, Jax,” she said tiredly. “You’re a liar. How do I know you’re not lying when you say you love me? When you say you’ll be faithful to me?”

  “If you looked inside your heart, you’d know,” he said quietly. “I’m not your father, and you’re not your mother. The only thing I ever lied to you about was being a pro wrestler, and I did that because I didn’t want to hurt our chances of making a life together.”

  “We’re not going to have a life together, Jax.”

  He shook his head. “You’re pregnant with my child. You can’t expect me to walk away from that. You can’t expect me to walk away from you.”

  She blinked rapidly so the tears gathering in her eyes wouldn’t fall. “I’ll sign legal papers giving you visitation rights, but only on the condition that I don’t have to have anything else to do with you.”

  “You can’t mean that.” His voice broke, but she didn’t let it sway her from what she had to do to protect herself. She angrily brushed away the tears that had seeped out of her eyes.

  “Oh, but I do, Jax. This thing between us was all a big mistake. A misconception. It never should have started. Now I’m going to do what I should have a long time ago and end it.”

  Before he could reply, she turned and walked out of the room and up the stairs to her bedroom. A long while later, she thought she heard the front door open and close, but she couldn’t be sure because her ears were filled with the stormy sounds of her own weeping.

  Chapter 24

  “The way I see it,” Jax said as he leaned back in the soft leather office chair in a deliberate show of nonchalance, “you don’t have any choice but to agree to my demands.”

  He surreptitiously gauged his effect on Lance Strong, the president of the Ultimate Wrestling Association. At well over six feet and two hundred pounds, Lance was nearly as large as the wrestlers he employed. The story went that he’d gotten the UWA where it was today, because he bullied people into doing what he wanted. Bank presidents, television executives and wrestling managers had all trembled in his presence. Jax was determined not to.

  “Are you giving me an ultimatum, Mr. Jackson?” Lance regarded Jax with narrowed eyes as steely as his voice. Off to one side of him, Star Bright, who’d futilely argued against this meeting, desperately tried to attract Jax’s attention. His white hair seemed to be standing more on end than usual. Anger Lance Strong, he’d said, and your wrestling career is as good as over.

  “Yes, Mr. Strong, I am.” Jax crossed his ankles, consciously taking his time elaborating on his answer. “Having Smashing Headhunter unmask me on national television without my previous knowledge or permission was a dirty trick.”

  “But great theater,” Star Bright cut in. “Really great theater. The Secret Stud’s archenemy, responsible for turning his ancestors into pinheads, striking again with villainous intent.”

  Lance Strong crossed his arms over his chest, ignor
ing Star and focusing on Jax, who continued to talk. “As you know, my contract runs out in another month. If you don’t agree to my demands, I’ll defect to the WCW or WWF.”

  “He doesn’t mean that quite the way it sounds.” Star sounded nervous. “Defect really wasn’t the word Jax wanted. He meant something more along the lines of ‘think really long and hard about leaving.’ Did I emphasize ‘long?’”

  Again, Lance Strong ignored Star. The visible portion between his upper and lower eyelids got tinier. He tapped a big hand on the wide mahogany desk between them. “You haven’t convinced me why I should agree.”

  The UWA president was so intense that Jax thought about telling a joke to lighten him up. He knew a good one about a boat carrying a shipment of yo-yos springing a leak and sinking forty times, but decided now wasn’t a good time. Especially since Lance Strong’s answer wasn’t only integral to his career, but also his love life.

  “I’m a crowd favorite and a proven asset to your organization. “Jax concentrated on facts. “I’ve brought you fans and profit.”

  “The Secret Stud has brought me fans and profit. I have no doubt The Stud would continue to do the same. I don’t have the same confidence about this new endeavor you’re proposing.” The UWA president sounded as full of bluster as the Wizard of Oz telling Dorothy to shoo because he couldn’t help her get back to Kansas. Jax reminded himself Dorothy’s crew had persuaded the wizard, who wasn’t nearly as frightening as he sounded, to their way of thinking.

  “Then you’ll have to take a chance, won’t you?” Jax fixed his eyes on Lance Strong in an unblinking stare. “Because I’m not budging from what I want.”

  “When he says he’s not budging, he doesn’t mean he’s not budging,” Star said. “The last thing Jax intends to do is offend—”

  “Shut up,” Jax and Lance Strong spoke to the manager in unison, their eyes still locked. Jax thought he saw a glimmer of respect cross the other man’s face.

  “I mean what I say, Mr. Strong. Either give me the go-ahead to change my act or I’m cutting ties with the UWA at the end of the month,” Jax said, shutting out Star’s low, dismayed moan.

  Jax admired the way the UWA president kept his emotions from showing. He’d be a good poker player and probably a better friend. Jax understood why others commonly backed down in the face of what Lance Strong wanted.

  But Jax wouldn’t back down, because too much was at stake. Thanks to Marietta, he was through worrying about what others thought of him. As he’d explained to his mother and brothers when he broke the news that he was a pro wrestler, what he thought of himself was far more important.

  His mother had been disappointed he hadn’t confided in her, but she’d understood his reasons. Go-with-the-flow Billy pronounced it not a big deal. Drew made a couple of cracks about spandex and testosterone, but confessed his love of money outweighed his aversion to pro wrestling.

  But profit wasn’t the main reason Jax was a pro wrestler. When he was in the center of the ring with the crowd cheering, he got a rush second only to the one he experienced in Marietta’s arms. If Jax got his way, he wouldn’t have to give up either Marietta or wrestling.

  It was past time he fought for what he wanted.

  “Well?” he asked Lance Strong, feigning a relaxed attitude as though everything wasn’t riding on the answer. “What’s it going to be?”

  MARIETTA PLACED THE last of the dinner plates into the dishwasher and closed it with a soft bang. Tracy, a smile curving her lips, ran a damp sponge over the Formica counter as she hummed to herself. With her dyed blonde hair, silver, midriff-baring shirt and matching mini-skirt, she looked like the perfect choice to star in a production of “Lady Gaga Goes Alien.” Instead, she was acting like a contented housewife.

  The little house her sister once again shared with Ryan was downright homespun, from the country kitchen with its walls covered in flowers-in-the-meadow paper to the plaid furniture in the family room. All that was missing were the two-point-five children who’d dash into the kitchen to ask for home-baked cookies. Marietta didn’t doubt they’d come in time. When they did, Dad would be just as likely to get the cookies out of the jar as Mom.

  That wouldn’t be a possibility in Marietta’s home. Jax, the father of her child, wouldn’t be living with them. The thought gave Marietta a pang in the region of her heart. She ignored it the same way she’d ignored the pain at turning Jax out of her life. She’d done the right thing. Even if it hurt so damn much she could barely get through the days.

  “Thanks again for having me over to dinner,” Marietta said, trying to shove Jax out of her mind. “Everything was delicious.”

  “Ryan makes the best chicken lasagna,” Tracy stated. “Did I mention the pesto sauce is from a recipe he dreamed up all by himself?”

  “Three times,” Marietta answered.

  “Usually, he does the dinner dishes, but I told him we didn’t mind cleaning up since he did the cooking. Especially since he cleared the table. And made the pesto sauce. Did I mention he made the pesto sauce?”

  “Tracy.” Marietta laid a hand on her sister’s arm. “You can stop trying to convince me that going back to Ryan was the right thing to do. I have eyes. I can see how happy the two of you are, and I’m happy for you.”

  “Really?” Tracy’s expression lightened. “Do you mean that, Mari?”

  “Of course I mean it,” Marietta answered, no longer surprised that it was true. She’d harbored such resentment toward Ryan for so long that it had been hard to admit she was wrong about him. Once she had, the feeling was liberating. Her resentment had fled like a stir-crazy bird let loose from a cage. “I’m willing to concede you and Ryan are the rare couple who can buck overwhelming biological odds and not only stay together but remain faithful to one another.”

  “Oh, Mari.” Tracy leaned back against the counter, dismay evident beneath the sparkling silver shadow she’d slathered on her eyelids. “Do you still think so poorly of men? Even after Jax?”

  “Jax lied to me about what he did for a living. It only follows that he’d lie to me about who he’s sleeping with behind my back.”

  “Jax wouldn’t cheat on you! He only lied about being a pro wrestler because he loves you and was afraid of losing you!”

  Marietta cut off her sister’s impassioned defense with a slashing gesture. “I don’t want to talk about Jax, Tracy. And you, of all people, should know enough not to lecture me on fidelity. You saw what our father did to our mother.”

  “Yes, I saw,” Tracy said. “But if I’d paid closer attention, I would have realized Ryan isn’t anything like Dad. And you know what, Mari? Jax isn’t, either.”

  “You don’t know that,” Marietta refuted. Tracy was indulging in wishful thinking, a practice Marietta refused to permit herself. She’d admitted she was wrong about Ryan, but Ryan was a fluke that went against nature’s grain. Wishing that Jax was another exception to the rule didn’t make him so.

  “Hey, it’s nearly nine o’clock.” Ryan entered the kitchen, looking casually rumpled in worn jeans and an old Washington Redskins T-shirt. “I was—”

  He stopped speaking abruptly, and his dark gaze ping-ponged from one sister to the other. His brow furrowed. “Am I interrupting something?”

  “No,” Marietta said firmly. “In fact, I was just about to leave.”

  “Leave?” Ryan’s cry was plaintive. And puzzling. “But you can’t leave.”

  “Why not?”

  “Uh, because it’s early.” He crossed the room to his wife and slung an arm over her shoulder. He appeared anxious, which was not a trait Marietta usually associated with him. “Isn’t it early, Trace?”

  “It is.” Tracy gave a nod so vehement the inside of Marietta’s head hurt in sympathy. “It’s early.”

  “You’re forgetting I’m six months pregnant. I need my rest,” Marietta said, heading toward the door.

  Quicker than she could have imagined, Ryan dropped his arm from Tracy’s shoulder and moved in
a semi-circular pattern until he was between Marietta and the door. He extended his arm, palm up, the way she’d seen the Supremes do on old variety-show clips when they sang, “Stop! In the name of love.”

  “Watching television is a good way to rest,” he said.

  “That may be so,” Marietta said, “but I seldom watch television.”

  “Oh, but you should.” Tracy was instantly at Ryan’s side, forming a double-wide blockade. “You can rest your brain while watching television. It’s a very undemanding activity.”

  “Yes, it is,” Ryan said, “and we’d really like it if you rested your brain with us.”

  “Yes,” Tracy said. “Yes, we would.”

  Her sister and brother-in-law started nodding like those silly little dolls some people kept on their car dashboards. Marietta didn’t know if she could stand to spend a minute more in their company. Although she was thrilled for them, their happiness made losing Jax seem all the more tragic. A stubborn part of Marietta’s subconscious still believed she and Jax could have been that happy, even though logically she knew that wasn’t true.

  “I really don’t think—”

  “Please,” Tracy interrupted. “Please stay, Mari. I don’t get to see as much of you as I did when we were living together.”

  Marietta sighed in defeat. Put that way, she couldn’t refuse. “I suppose I could stay a little while longer.”

  “Wonderful.” Ryan wasted no time in ushering them into the family room. Marietta’s pregnancy wasn’t so far advanced that she had difficulty maneuvering, but Ryan helped her into his favorite recliner. She snuggled into it, enjoying the pampering. Now that Jax was out of her life, she had precious little of that. She mentally slapped herself. She had to stop thinking about him.

  “I have to admit, this is quite restful,” Marietta said to take her mind off Jax.

  “See, we told you.” Tracy sounded nervous as she settled onto the sofa next to her husband. Marietta wondered why. Ryan picked up the remote control, switched on a television station and the answer became immediately apparent.