by Lane Hart
"Sorry," Abby says with a small smile. My tense muscles even relax a little thinkin’ we might escape with only minor tropical depression damage. Well, until she follows up her apology with, "But I didn't think you would mind since I dropped by all those times last week. Oh, and you were definitely free Friday night."
Goddamn it.
"So you're the old friend from Linc's past that he saw last week and, how did he word it, he said you fucked him over in the worst possible way?" Claire quickly puts two and two together, snappin’ at Abby with a feistiness I had no idea she had in her. It’s sexy as fuck, but now we've clearly skipped tropical storm status and jumped right into a full-blown hurricane.
That round may have gone to Claire, but I can tell by the red flush spreadin’ across Abby's face that she's just startin’ to get wound up. Which can't be good for me.
Help! I’m declarin’ this a state of emergency. Lookin’ around the gym for someone to save me from this oncomin’ shit storm, I come up empty. Everyone snickers and glances away, tellin’ me I'm on my own.
"Yes, that would be me," Abby replies sharply. "And you look really familiar." Abby taps her index finger to her lip, and I know it’s just for show. Batten down the hatches, she’s about to blow. "Oh I know!” Abby exclaims. “You're that girl from the porno, right? I didn’t recognize you with clothes on."
Damn. I haven't even talked to Abby about the movie, but everyone else in the world knows so...
"That...was all a misunderstandin’," I say in Claire's defense. Both women break their standoff to glare at me. The message I receive from their blue and brown daggers? Shut the fuck up.
Shit. This is so not good. Neither of them look inclined to back down anytime soon. In fact, I have a feelin’ it's about to get worse with a possible level five devastation. It's like a head-on collision that I can only sit back and watch as a bystander. "Claire, didn't you say you were runnin’ late for work?" I try as a last resort, to put an end to this awkwardness.
"I am," she says through clenched teeth. "But only because you turned a quickie into a, well, what's the opposite, a longie?"
I swipe a palm over my face knowin’ we’ve sustained catastrophic damage after she comes right out and admits we just fucked.
"Quickies have never really been Linc’s thing,” Abby says with a smirk. “Even after three years together, one round was never enough for him-"
"Holy. Fuck. That is definitely enough!" I interrupt, steppin’ in between the two of them. "If we're gonna do this right now, can we at least go talk in my office?"
"Where you just fucked her?" Abby asks with a wrinkled nose.
"Fine! Outside. Now!" I order them, hatin’ myself for lettin’ shit escalate to this point in the middle of the fuckin’ gym because I was bein’ a pussy. They were supposed to exchange polite, awkward greetings and then both go on their way, not go on the attack! Now I have no choice but to be brutally honest.
As soon as we get on the sidewalk, I decide to throw it all out there, tryin’ to expedite the fallout instead of postponin’ it any longer. I turn to Claire first since she's the most important one of the two. My present and hopefully future. Her arms are crossed over her chest as she waits with a raised eyebrow for me to start talkin’.
"Claire, Abby and I dated back in high school. It was a long time ago. Until last week, I hadn't seen her in five years and had no intention of seein’ her again when she dropped by and told me she's movin’ back to town because she has cancer." There. Deep breath. Halfway through.
"We were engaged and I had his baby," Abby adds to my summary, makin’ Claire gasp and me groan in aggravation to the cloudless Carolina blue sky.
"We weren’t officially engaged because she never agreed to marry me." I face Claire and am completely honest with her. "And the baby...Thomas was born a stillbirth at twenty weeks."
Claire's narrowed eyes soften when she glances down at my necklace hiding underneath my shirt and says, "Oh God. I'm so sorry."
That cleared up, I turn to the instigator, my past, pissed at her because she no longer has any claim on me. "Abby, Claire and I just started seein’ each other. It's new and good, and didn't concern you, since you and I are hardly even friends. That's why I didn't bother mentionin’ her to you. I didn't want to hurt your feelings because of what's goin’ on with your health right now. The truth is, we haven't made it official, but I consider Claire my girlfriend if she's still speakin’ to me at the end of this very unpleasant conversation you’ve caused."
Lookin’ back and forth between the two, both have lowered their eyes, seemin’ to finally surrender the fight now that everythin’ has been aired. "Abby, you should probably go. And, Claire, please let me walk you to your car so you can get to work."
Both nod, and when Abby goes off in the direction of her car, Claire and I walk up to her white Honda. She opens the driver door, ready to bolt, but I reach for her hand and bring it up to my lips to kiss her knuckles in apology. "I'm so damn sorry about that shit, Claire. She was way out of line. Are you okay?" I ask. "Are we okay?"
"That was...a lot to try and digest in just a few minutes," she replies, which in other words, means no, we're not fuckin’ okay. "You should've told me."
"I know. I'm sorry. There's just been so much goin’ on, and the fact is, yeah, she is a big part of my past and always will be. I can't do anythin’ to change that, but you're the only one I want in my future."
"I gotta go," she says, so I reluctantly let her hand go.
"Be careful and don't speed. It's not worth it," I tell her, instead of what I want to say which is I’d gladly pay her to stay with me.
By the time I walk back into the gym, Abby's car is gone from the parkin’ lot, too. Thank God.
"Zelda, that...was an awesome catfight," Jude says from behind the counter with his usual up-to-no-good grin stretched across his face. "I told the little feisty one that you were...busy, but she insisted she would wait you out."
"Dude, what the fuck?" I ask him, redirectin’ the conversation away from the shit storm I just barely escaped from. "Do you ever actually train here, or are you plannin’ to hang up your gloves to become a receptionist?"
"Look, fucker, since your ass never helps answer the phone or door, somebody has to do it," he replies.
"We need to hire someone. Why haven't we done that?" I ask as I lean my elbows on the desk, puttin’ my back to all the pryin’ eyes I know are still on me after witnessin’ that whole debacle.
"Um, well, I've lived here for what, two months now?” Jude says when he plops his ass back down on the stool behind the desk. “So I don't know of any receptionists right off, and I haven't had time to post an ad since I've been moving across a few states, covering the front and trying to fucking train every once in a while."
"Maybe we can get Sadie to do the whole ad and interview thing to find someone. Will you ask her?"
"Shit, she's so freaking stressed with her classes, I can't put that on her, too."
"I'll do it," Senn says when he walks up beside me, apparently eavesdroppin’ on our conversation.
"You want to find us a new receptionist?" I ask him in disbelief.
"Yeah. Why not?" He replies with a shrug. "Here goes the help wanted ad: Must be friendly, outgoing, and…flexible with excellent oral skills. Experience multi-tasking in a fast-paced environment preferred. Will be working the front on a routine basis, but occasionally may need to...get a little dirty in the back. Please provide at least three references."
"I thought you were fuckin’ serious," I grumble.
"I am being serious," he says, which is contradicted by his smile. "Come on. Let me take care of it. I bet Mace will help me out. That kid is fucking hilarious and a helluva wingman. We went out to some clubs Friday night, and no shit, he went home with not one but two gorgeous chicks! Oh, and he said we should get a couple of ring girls in bikinis to help out around here. Great fucking idea, right?"
Sounds like Mace and Senn are gettin’ alo
ng just fine, which I'm glad to hear. I do hope they’ll at least spend a little more time trainin’ than tryin’ to sleep with every woman in a hundred mile radius. And Senn wonders why I want to keep him away from my sister.
I look at Jude to see what he thinks about leavin’ the search for help up to those two jackasses. "Fuck it," Jude says. "Let them do it. Beats me havin’ to spend my days up here when I need to be spending all my time training to beat the World Champion."
"Uh, you already have beat the World Champion," I say in confusion, since he just took my belt.
"Yeah, the welterweight one, but not the middleweight. Yet."
"Oh fuck!" Senn says at the same time I realize what he's sayin’.
"You're challengin’ Jax's title?" I ask him in surprise.
Jude nods. "Jax says he’s in if we can get the IFC to agree to let us fight for it."
"Holy shit," I say offerin’ him a fist bump. "Good luck. Jax better watch out because I think you can take him."
"Thanks," Jude replies. "I appreciate that. I know I'll never be able to knock him out, but I think I can make him submit. Worked on you."
"Yeah, it did," I agree, flexin’ my arm that's almost as good as new. “Does that mean my belt will be back up for grabs again?”
“I guess so,” Jude says with a smile. "So, back to the catfight. That shit was hot, right?" he asks Senn, who expresses his agreement. "Fuck yeah it was."
"Maybe we should see how Sadie feels about your thoughts on this, 'hot catfight.'" Like I hoped, that sobered Jude right up and wiped the smile off his cocky face.
"Dirty motherfucker," he mutters before flippin’ me off, but thankfully walkin’ away.
Now I just hope Claire is gonna let it go that easily.
Chapter Fourteen
Claire
Sitting in my running car at the exit of the restaurant's parking lot, I try to decide whether to go left or right. Home or to Linc's. Spend the night alone, sulking, or spend it in the arms of a gorgeous, sweet man who will no doubt rock my world, several times. That reminds me of the comment his ex made earlier about him needing it more than once. Hussy.
I'm still pissed that he didn't tell me about her, or the whole truth about her being an ex-girlfriend who came back into his life suddenly. Not just an ex-girlfriend. Those two have a long history, almost engaged and lost a baby together, which had to be devastating. But whatever was between them obviously came to an end five years ago, since they hadn't seen each other until last week.
I turn right, deciding that I definitely want to see Linc and give him the benefit of the doubt. It’s not even a choice really, just a given. His porch light is on when I pull up half an hour later, so either he was expecting me or hoping I would show, since I haven't talked to him since I left him standing in the gym parking lot earlier today. Like usual, he steps out on the porch at the sound of my car crunching gravel, wearing nothing but a pair of black nylon shorts. I'm starting to think the man could do anything in the world to me and I would forgive him on sight. He's just so...good. It’s almost as if all his kindness and sweetness radiates from the top of his golden hair like a halo. And yeah, he might make mistakes, or a few imperfect decisions, but I don't think he'd ever do anything maliciously.
"Hey," he says when I step on the porch. "I wasn't sure if you would show or not, but I'm really glad you did."
"Me, too," I reply stepping into his waiting arms for a hug. The peaceful silence only lasts a moment because I need answers for what’s been weighing on my mind all day. “Have you been seeing her?” I ask him, straight to the point while staying pressed against him.
His breath blows my hair before he answers. “We spent some time together last week, went to a football game at our old high school, and she came here and we talked on my porch. I’ve texted and called her, but only as friends, askin’ about her chemo.”
“So you haven’t…”
“I haven’t done anything more than hug her. She initiated that and was cryin’. I didn’t pull away because I felt bad knowin’ she’s scared and all, facin’ cancer.”
“You wanted to marry her?” I ask him.
“Yeah, but we were young. She said no because she was just startin’ college,” he tells me, rubbing his hands up and down my back. “Then she got pregnant and had the miscarriage. That was the end of us, too. I thought she cheated on me but maybe I overreacted.”
“Do you still…do you still love her?” I ask softly, and hold my breath as I wait for his response.
“I loved her then,” he answers. “A lot. But now, if I still love her or care about her, it’s only as a friend. I don’t want to lose her to cancer now that she’s back in my life, but I don’t want to be with her either.”
“You sure?”
“Absolutely,” he says placing a kiss on the top of my head. “You don’t have anything to worry about, baby, so what do you say we go soak away the stressful day in the hot tub?" he asks.
"Sounds great," I agree, trusting that he’s been nothing but honest with me. "But I didn't bring a swimsuit."
"That's a good thing," he says, pulling back with a grin. Taking my hand in his, he leads me off the porch and around to the back of the house. "There's a strict skinny dippin’ only policy around here."
I laugh. "Of course there is."
When we get to the huge, circular spa, Linc lifts the lid off of it, setting it on the deck and reaches in to turn it on. The tub roars to life, creating white, foamy bubbles. Multicolored lights illuminate it from the bottom.
"Very nice," I say, definitely impressed.
Standing in front of me again, Linc reaches for the top button of my white dress shirt and slowly undoes each one until the fabric slides down my arms, quickly followed by my bra. From there, he undoes the button and zipper on my black uniform pants. I toe off my shoes and kick them out of the way so he can finish getting me undressed.
The cool September air whips around me, making me shiver for a second before Linc picks me up and sits me down into the steaming water. "Oh, wow," I close my eyes and sigh as the warmth instantly relaxes all the tight, tense muscles in my body. When I'm able to open them again, Linc's submerging his six feet of perfect, chiseled nakedness down into the water across from me. "I could really get used to this. Every. Single. Night."
"I could too," he replies, and I know by the warmth in his expression that he means me being here, since he does have this wonderful machine every day.
"Now you may never get rid of me," I tease.
"Good. We’ll never leave the hot tub."
"Deal." Since he doesn't make a move toward me, I go to him. Straddling his lap, I wrap my arms around his neck at the same time his hands on my back pull me flush against his chest. His hard cock is very noticeable between my legs, and while I want to be intimate with him, I don’t grind on him, and he doesn’t press me down. Both of us are just content to be in each other’s arms for now.
"You're it for me, Claire," he says into my hair, breaking the silence. "For three years I thought Abby was the one, but it was never this...right, or this easy. That's why she didn’t want to marry me, because she knew. We were just young and stupid. Maybe I still am, because you and I have only known each other a few days and I'm already fallin' head over heels for you. I think I have been since the second you stepped into that room."
His words instantly make me think about that first time I saw him, sitting on that couch in the strip club. He looked at me, standing there practically naked, not lewdly, but like heaven sent me specifically to him from above. I have a feeling that was the exact same expression probably reflected on my face. There I was, a nervous wreck, shaking in fear because of the embarrassing, demeaning thing I was about to do - dance slutty and naked in front of a complete stranger. And then I saw Linc. All those nerves vanished in the blink of an eye. Not just because he was gorgeous, but because he didn't look at me or treat me like I was some random woman or exotic porn star. No, he treated me like I was his. I f
elt more cherished and cared for sitting vulnerable and naked on his lap than I ever had in my life.
"Claire?" Linc asks, and I have no idea how long I've been lost inside my thoughts. He places a soft kiss on neck. "Can you give me some sort of response, baby?"
"Yes."
"Yes?" he repeats. "Yes, you can give a response or yes is your response?"
"Yes," I say again. "I could marry you tonight, Linc Abrams, and I know without a doubt, that I would never have a single second of regret."
"Really?" he asks, and I can hear the smile in his voice before he pushes back to look at me and I see it on his face.
"Yes," I say again meeting his beautiful navy blue eyes. "You're right, I think you are the easiest decision of my life. No maybes, ifs, ands, or buts, just Yes with a capital Y."
"Exactly." He laughs before brushing his lips over mine, then exhales a deep breath. "I was afraid you'd go runnin’ for that restraining order."
"Definitely not running," I assure him. "Just so we're clear, there are no other exes who could pop back up in your life, right?"
"No. I swear. And don't take this the wrong way, but I'm glad Abby came back last week. She helped me realize that what she and I were missin’ all along, you and I aren't. There was never any…I don't know, cohesion with us. We were tryin’ to go in different directions at every turn. Instead of endin’ things, one of us would give up or give in, and force it to work out," he says then pauses, liftin’ the charm of his necklace, a light blue heart, angel wings and a tear drop with “Thomas” and a date inscribed. "Like the baby."
"You wanted a family and she didn't?" I ask, assuming that’s what happened since he said she didn't want to marry him. Idiot woman. But I guess I should thank her for not snatching him up when she had the chance.
"Yep. I didn't know that was somethin’ I even wanted until the day she told me she was pregnant. And even at nineteen I knew I was ready for the responsibility and the commitment. She wasn't. Her plans didn't include settlin’ down or givin’ up her independence to have a family, especially not with me."