by Hadley Quinn
“Because why?” he smiled. He rubbed a hand over her shoulder and added, “I love having you here. I mean truly love when you’re here. It feels right. When you leave, it sucks. I hate it. And I hate that you’re almost three hours away. I know you commute a lot for different jobs when you need to, but maybe we could just cut out the commutes to each other. And Melanie seems comfortable here, too. She said she loves my house.”
“That and she loves the location. I don’t know if I really want Melanie closer to LA. But are you saying you’d let her live here, too?”
He nodded. “Of course. I don’t think she’d object at all. And consider this…she’ll be further away from Jordan.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Wow, that would be worth it all on its own,” she said without cracking a smile.
“Thanks,” he chuckled, knowing she was messing with him.
With a smile she patted his face. “I definitely wouldn’t move in with you for any other reason except that I love you and want to be with you as much as I can.”
“So…that’s a yes, right? Please tell me that’s a yes, Camryn.”
She paused for a moment, wanting to respond the best way. “My instinct is to say yes, Teague. But that’s because I really want to be with you more. But…I’m not sure if it’s the right thing at this time.”
“Why not? What do you need to consider? What would make it the right time?”
She thought for a second and then slowly shrugged. “Ummm…”
“Camryn,” he said sternly. “Please tell me. What makes you hesitate? You think it’s too soon?”
“We’ve been together for a couple of months, so no, I don’t think it’s too soon.”
“Well I don’t either. I know how I feel about you. I don’t give a shit what’s considered a ‘reasonable’ timeline when it comes to stuff like that. I think it’s different for every couple. And for us, I feel like we fit just right. And you need to be closer to LA, so if you’re really thinking about making that change, I’d rather you move here with me. I’ll be working on two movies this spring and summer, so my time with you is already going to be limited. That makes me sad just thinking about it. I’m not sure I want to go through so much time away from you.”
She smiled at the frown on his face.
“You don’t have to answer me tonight, Cam. Just think about it, okay?”
“What about Jay and Kellie? I mean now you’ve got both of them here, too.”
“We’ve all lived together off and on for the past six years.”
“It doesn’t mean they want two more roommates,” Camryn argued.
“Babe, I’ve already mentioned it to them. Not for their permission, though, since this house is in my name. But they’re both cool with it. They’ll still have their own rooms, Mel will have her own room, and you…you’re stuck in my bed, sweetheart.”
“That’s definitely the best part,” she smiled. “But Teague, like I said, it’s not a matter of if I want to be here with you. It’s that this entire house will change when Melanie has a baby added to the mix. I can’t do that to you guys. And I know my sister needs me. I know she’s almost twenty, but she’s got a lot of growing up to do. Is she my responsibility still? I don’t know. But I keep hoping for the day that she’ll get her shit together so she can have stability in her life. I really don’t know what that will consist of. I’m sorry but…I don’t think it’s a good idea right now.”
His heart fell. He was sure she would say yes. But desperate times call for desperate measures…
“Please, Camryn. Please change your mind. At least try it out and…and if things don’t work out, I swear to God I will help you find something that does. Please, I’m not too proud to grovel. I don’t like having you so far away from me, I just…I worry about you, and I worry about Melanie and…I just want you here with me. Please, Cam. Just try it. I’ll do whatever I can to make you say yes. If you—”
“Okay,” she lightly laughed. “Yes, Teague. Okay.”
He stared at her for a few seconds before he smiled. “Really?”
“Are you giving me a chance to change my mind again?”
“Oh hell no!”
She straddled his waist and held his face in her hands. “Good. But you just agreed to take Fucktard, too.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Camryn stood in the doorway of her former home and looked over the small place they’d lived in for the past ten months. It was hardly meant to be a permanent situation, but she never thought she’d be leaving it to move in with a guy. Teague had invited her to live with him a week ago, so once she gave her notice to the landlord, she was excited to make the change. The neighborhood was less than desirable for two single women, but it was all she could afford at the time. Life seemed to be getting better and better these days, and even though she was looking forward to more work with Sonja, she was most excited to have more time with Teague.
“Okay, that should do it, I guess,” Teague said as he stood in the doorway with her. The truck was full and there didn’t seem to be anything else to pack.
“Uh, Teague…?” Jay said, pointing to the corner of the room.
Teague’s attention settled on the last thing in the room that hadn’t been loaded and he rolled his eyes. “Shit, were we really about to leave the damn bird?”
All four of them laughed and Camryn said, “I think subconsciously we all wanted to. Maybe he should’ve gone with the first truckload to charity.”
“Hey, you guys are rude!” Melanie pointed at them. “Poor Geraldo.”
Jay’s jaw dropped. “Geraldo? Are you joking?” he snorted. He stepped over to the bird that had been watching them from the corner the entire time but hadn’t made a peep. “I think I’d prefer to be called Fucktard, too,” Jay told the bird.
“Shut up!” Melanie squealed with a laugh. “Camryn, I’m gonna kill you for naming him that!”
“Well I can’t wait for Bart to arrive,” she answered, rubbing her hands together.
“I’m not naming my baby Bart either, so you’d better get over it.”
Once the bird was loaded and they were at the truck to head out, Camryn noticed that Don popped his head out of his garage again to check on their progress. This time he sauntered over, eyeing Teague and Jay warily, but he looked at Camryn and asked, “So…you girls are moving out, huh?”
“Yes, Don,” Camryn answered tolerantly. “You no longer have to deal with us anymore.”
He smirked at her response but shrugged. “Nah, just losing my neighborhood eye candy.”
“Watch it, asshole,” Teague warned as he checked to make sure the tailgate was firmly shut.
“Hey, I’m just saying,” Don said, holding up his hands. “Just stating a fact.” He nodded toward the truck and said, “Geraldo working out for ya?”
Camryn shrugged. “He’s alright.”
“He, uh, chat some good conversations with ya?” he smiled.
“Hardly. He says some unusual things, though.”
Don’s eyes shifted from her to Teague. “Like what?”
“He tells us the names of all your customers,” Teague replied dryly.
Camryn refrained from laughing because that’s exactly where she was headed with her comment.
Don glared at him but shook it off. “Whatever. Well, have a nice life and all that,” he said over his shoulder as he turned away.
Camryn moved for the truck so they could leave, but remembered one more thing. “Oh. Hey, Don?”
He turned around as he crossed his yard. “Yeah?”
“Why the hell would you teach a bird to say ‘hey fatty’?”
Don scrunched up his face with confusion. “Huh? I never taught him to say that.”
“No? Because he says it all the time.”
He slowly shrugged. “Sorry, wasn’t m— Hey, you mean he says ‘hey Patty’?”
Camryn raised her eyebrows. “What?”
Don laughed, and it was the first time the girls had ever heard that sound
come out of him. “My ex is named Patty,” he informed them. “I taught him to say ‘hey Patty’ for her. I hate the bitch, that’s why I got rid of the bird. Couldn’t stand hearing him say her damn name all the time.”
Camryn could only stare at him for a second, and when she glanced back at Melanie, they busted up laughing. “Good lord, I’ve been running an extra two miles a week ever since we got him,” Camryn joked.
Don had another good chuckle and shook his head. “Hey, sorry about that. But that is kinda funny.”
Camryn smiled good-naturedly and nodded. “Yeah, it is. Okay Don, try not to be a prick to your new neighbors, whoever they are.”
He smirked at her without a response, but couldn’t help checking out her ass when she turned around. Teague caught him in the act and gave him a look that caused Don to make a quick exit.
***
“Sometimes I feel like he’s too good to be true. He’s just… God, I can’t believe I’m saying this to my uncle but… He’s the total package. He’s sexy as hell. His voice is… I can’t even describe it. And when he kisses me…”
Camryn paused for a moment, testing her own reaction. Kissing Teague had finalized it all. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t kiss a man unless she was in love with him, and if it hadn’t been for those butterflies she always felt when she was around him, she probably would have talked herself out of her interest. Her physical attraction to him had bagged her instantly, but the other things about him eventually won her heart.
“And that’s just the beginning,” she added. “He’s really sweet and thoughtful, easy going, patient, forgiving, makes me laugh all the time and…”
Camryn finally looked at Tim only to find he was grinning pretty big.
“I know, it’s pathetic, right?” she chuckled. She hit the bag a few more times as he held it for her and then she stopped. “Was I this way with Zach?” she asked for some reason. It just came out without her actually thinking about it, but she waited for an answer anyways.
“Not really,” he replied. “I mean you adored the hell out of him, that was obvious, but you never really talked to me about stuff like that. The only conversations you and I had about boys was me grilling you about the rules and questioning you about how you were treated. And, well, you know… Other stuff.”
Camryn laughed out loud. “Yeah, that is still a sex talk I will never forget.”
“Hey, it was so good you used it on Melanie, too.”
“Only she was horrified because she knew I really would do harm to a guy’s junk.”
Tim laughed. “Well what has changed?” he winked at her.
“Not much,” she grunted, hitting the bag again. Tim worked with her for another ten minutes before she checked the clock. “I should probably clean up.”
“Why, so you don’t look disgusting when your man drops by?”
“Something like that,” she smiled. She left for the locker rooms to shower up and change her clothes. Her boyfriend really was coming to her uncle’s gym to meet him. It’d been a couple weeks since she moved in with Teague and things were going really well. She was more comfortable with life than she’d ever been, she and Teague both had work that kept them employed, and Melanie seemed to be happy as well.
Now Camryn was back in Fresno for a friend’s wedding. It was just going to be a small ceremony and a simple party afterwards, but she and Melanie were staying with Tim for a couple days and she was already missing her man.
Camryn was sitting in the office when Teague stepped through the doors. She couldn’t help the huge smile that spread across her face, especially when Teague did a quick sweep across the gym looking for her, and then returned her smile when he saw her through the office windows.
“Hey, handsome,” she said, stepping out the door. She slid her arms around his waist and squeezed him tight.
Teague pressed his mouth to hers and kissed her firmly, even though there were a dozen people watching them. Then Tim approached first and said, “I’m hoping you’re Teague and not just another random guy she’s kissing today.”
Teague smiled at the tease and shook his outstretched hand. “Yeah, I’m Teague.”
“I’m Tim. Nice to meet you. From the things I’ve heard about you, I was beginning to wonder if you’re real. This girl is in la-la land,” he chuckled, nudging Camryn. He thought he’d embarrass her but she only shrugged.
“Yeah, pretty much,” she agreed.
“Okay, Camryn,” a deep voice called from behind her. She didn’t even have to turn around to see who it was, but she did anyways and smiled, ready for whatever James had to dish out. “This is the guy I gotta fight for you?” he asked, his dark eyes looking Teague up and down as he joined their group.
Camryn noticed that Teague assessed James the same way. They were about the same height and build, and because James was in just a pair of sparring shorts, the physical appraisal was an easy one. But you could never judge a guy’s fighting ability just by looking at his build.
“Back off, James,” Camryn warned tolerantly.
“Hey, I’m just messin’,” he laughed, holding up his hands. He looked at Teague again and said, “But seriously, want me to teach you a few things so you can protect my girl if you need to? She gets herself in a lot of trouble.”
“Quit being an ass,” Camryn told him, but at the same time, she could feel Teague’s hand tighten against her hip.
“Sure, maybe I’ll let you ‘teach’ me a few things,” Teague replied with casual sarcasm. “My formal training has been minimal.”
James looked both surprised and impressed. “Ah, a scrapper, huh? Cool, cool,” he nodded eagerly. “Let’s hit the cage,” he motioned.
“No, let’s not,” Camryn said firmly, holding on to Teague’s arm. “I thought the three of us were going to dinner?” She even looked at Tim for backup, but knowing her uncle had the blood of a fighter, he seemed too curious to let it go.
“I’ll monitor if you fellas want to tangle a bit,” Tim shrugged.
“You’re not helping,” Camryn told him.
He gave her a firm look. “This is my gym, sweetie. I don’t let shit happen here.”
She bit back a nasty retort. What was happening was shit, but Tim only liked to consider it to be “friendly competition.” She turned to Teague and said, “James is an MMA fighter, hon. That’s what he’s challenging you to.”
Teague smiled and kissed the side of her face. “I know, babe. I can tell.” And with that, he made a trip to his truck for a pair of shorts, and then he was in an octagon with James “The Terminator” Tremont.
Camryn had never felt so uncomfortable watching a match in her uncle’s gym, which was strange. She’d grown up here watching all these fighters take each other on—whether it was boxing or MMA—and it had been fine. But she didn’t like this particular matchup.
“You gotta let the boys have fun,” Tim told her, noticing how upset she was. “I won’t let anything happen to him.”
“James or Teague?” she asked, knowing he was talking about Teague.
She knew how good James was—he’d been training in MMA for ten years and Camryn wasn’t sure how much of an advantage he held because of it—but she also knew her man. Because of his job, Teague had been involved in all kinds of physical training, from boxing and martial arts to any other kind of aggressive sport. He definitely wasn’t a sissy, not when your career consisted of constantly risking the comfort of your own body. But it was egos that she was worried about. Their pride could very well be what determines the “fun” of the match.
The beginning of the match was pretty harmless. The two guys circled each other and felt the other out. There were a few movements to test reactions, and a little bit of light contact. But Camryn could tell the second the mood shifted when James’s contact to Teague’s ribs was a little rough, and there were audible reactions from the spectators that had now gathered around the cage.
“Oh good lord,” Camryn murmured.
S
he was watching Teague carefully, and besides a tiny little smile at the corner of his mouth, he hadn’t reacted to James’s challenge. After a few more circles around each other, Teague set up a couple of moves that James blocked easily, but even Camryn could see what was coming next. He clocked James right in the face. Hard. It stunned him for a second, but playtime was now over.
James came at him twice as hard, but his actions only brought him to the floor when Teague let himself get hit once just so he could get an arm behind his opponent to take him down. James went down swinging, but Teague had him wrapped up good with his arm to the back of his neck. Normally a guy would be wailing on an opponent in this position, but Teague clearly wasn’t out to hurt James. He was in full out wrestling mode right now and had James locked up good.
Teague actually let him go, and they both got to their feet.
James smiled and said, “A wrestler, huh? Well that can only get you so far, pretty boy. You don’t have to be afraid to hit me, you know.”
“I’m not,” Teague replied coolly.
“I think you are,” James chuckled. “You’re afraid if you pound on me, I’ll pound on you even harder.”
“That’s the name of the game, isn’t it?” Teague smiled.
James laughed again, but Camryn knew him well. Teague had just royally pissed him off and this was no friendly fight anymore.
“It’s gonna go downhill from here,” Camryn said when Tim was right in front of her. He was on the mat with the guys to officiate, but it didn’t ease her worries. She was sure Tim heard her but he didn’t respond. How long he was going to let them “play” might be answered pretty soon.
Sure enough, James came at Teague aggressively, with a series of punches and kicks that were mostly blocked, but not all of them. Teague responded with the same, and then the two men were going at it like a couple of rabid dogs. If there were people in the gym that hadn’t been watching the fight from the start, they surely were now.
Camryn thought Tim would have called the match a few times already, or at least broke up a few lockups. And even now, Teague had James in submission, and by the way he had his arm, it didn’t look like it was feeling too good. He tightened his hold and James reacted, especially when Teague quietly said something in his ear. Whatever it was, James refused, and then Teague looked hesitant after that. But Tim was about to call him off, so Teague suddenly let go and hopped up into a standing position.