FIGHT Part 1 (10 page)

Chapter 22

Eddie

I hear her door slam while I’m waiting for Tatum to pick me up. Whatever it is we are doing in Vegas, he has been very secretive about it, just telling me I shouldn’t need that much of my work stuff to bring along. I can’t help but wonder if this is a surprise wedding, and he and Molly are finally going to jump in head first. The two of them are so fucking hot for each other it’s borderline annoying. I’m happy for him, but seriously.

I hear footsteps start on the stairs and decide I feel like playing a little game before leaving. Opening my door, making certain that he hears me, I walk across the small, dim hallway between our rooms and knock on her door.

“Red?” I call anxiously. The green monster of jealousy is praying that the douchebag on the stairs hears everything. I haven’t heard the door shut yet so I know he’s still here.

She comes to the door, eyes wet with tears, trying to wipe the remaining ones from her face. She sniffles the cutest fucking sniffle I’ve ever heard, and everything in me wants to pound the living daylights out of her “best friend”. When she looks at me, her eyes are still glistening. Even puffy red eyes, swollen from crying, she is the most goddamned beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

“Hey.” I forget about my plan to be as loud as possible, and quietly take her in my arms. “What’s wrong, baby?” Why did I call her that? Instinct, that’s what it is. Instinct, telling me to pull her to me, to soothe her, to make her happy. All because every second I have to watch her fall apart is another second that my heart breaks for her.

“Nothing..it’s stupid.” She sniffles into my shirt and tucks her head into my chest. “Just...stupid.”

I hold onto her, her head still tucked under my chin, and gently walk her back into her apartment and close the door. I’m pretty sure her friend is still on the stairs, and I suddenly don’t want an audience.

“Red, talk to me. I have to go soon, but I’m not leaving if you aren’t okay.” I’m not either. Tatum can find someone else to do his work, if work is even what this trip is for. Fuck, if it isn’t work I’m not sure of anyone else he would want to be there for him on his big day. Shit, she needs to open up soon.

For the longest time she doesn’t talk and I’m starting to get worried that I would have to leave before I find out what was wrong with her. Eventually she calms herself, still holding on to me as we stand just inside her apartment. She pulls her head back, wipes her tears away, and glances up at me.

“Jase loves me,” she whispered. I closed my eyes, taking a nice long breath to cool the sudden jolt of anger and jealousy that was raging through me. I didn’t want a girlfriend, I didn’t want anything long term or lovey-dovey shit. I didn’t.

But now I do.

“Okay,” I responded, trying to sound unaffected by the world shattering words that just came out of her mouth.

“He..uh. Kissed me.” She looks ashamed, sad, and little bit angry too. God I love watching her face, dissecting her emotions. If only I wasn’t fuming from what she just told me, I’d be able to enjoy watching her much more now.

“Okay.” One word answers are all I can do right now.

“I hit him.” She smiles after she says it, and I want to jump for fucking joy. She fucking hit him, that’s my girl! I can’t help but smile and laugh some of the tension off. The thought of her hitting him keeps playing in my mind, and it’s the best fucking thing ever. She hit him! She doesn’t want him, which means there’s a good chance wants me still! The realization hits me that I’m about to break one of my biggest rules with her, but I can’t find enough fucks to give at this point. This girl, this amazing girl, has completely thawed my heart and stolen it all for herself.

“So, are you going to say anything else than ‘okay’ tonight? Because as much as I love the company, I had a Walking Dead marathon I was in the middle of.” She jokes, but I can tell she’s waiting for a response. 

“Come with me, Red,” I say as calmly as I can, even though I am so nervous I think it came out a shout. I don’t know why I did it. Spontaneity had never been my strong suit, but it don’t feel right leaving without her, even if the whole reason for me leaving originally was to get away from her. Amazing how fast things can change.

She looks at me with her scrunched up eyebrows.

“Where are you going?” She asks like she was actually considering it.

She can’t say yes, she has work and shit to take care of and I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. She will have to find someone to water the flowers she has growing in her windowsill, she’ll have to find someone to cover her shifts at the bar. It isn’t something that she can just drop, she has responsibilities here.

That’s the good thing with having this apartment, though. My mail slides through a slot in my door so I don’t have to have anyone collect it while I’m gone. No pets, no plants, ac set to automatic. This place can, and has, set empty for weeks without any negative side effects.

“Vegas.”

The words I just spoke to her haven’t registered yet, I don’t think, because she’s staring at me like I have two dicks or something. Fuck, why am I so nervous? As blank faced as she’s been staring at me, she opens her mouth to speak then stops. Considering something, she tries again, this time words come out.

“You know, what happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas.” She looks at me like I am the crazy one between the two of us.

“What?” I let out a nervous laugh.

“Herpes happens in Vegas.” She says, as straight faced as she could. The shock that she went there makes me bust out in laughter, and I see her trying to keep her poker face while I am completely losing it in front of her.

“That’s your fucking answer, Red?! Are you serious?!” Why this is so funny to me I have no clue, but when she cracks and her grin slips through everything in me calms and appreciates the beauty in the small things. Her grin, the way her hair does whatever the hell lit wants to and she doesn’t care. Hell even the way she picks at the bottom of her shirt when she’s thinking is fucking amazing. Everything about this girl is screaming at me to run, but I can’t now if I tried. Rules have been broken and I don’t care anymore.

“No. I just had to tell you, in case you decided to bring any home with you.” She smiles again and I am insanely nervous that meant she was going to say no to my offer.

“Right, so...an answer? The car will be here soon to get me...or us?” Why am I so nervous? I should have never even invited her, but I couldn’t stand the thought of being without her. Shit, something is terribly wrong with this but I can’t stop it if I wanted to. Which I don’t.

She looks at me for a moment, biting her lip and playing with the hem of her shirt more. Without speaking, she walks over to where her phone is plugged in and types out a few texts.

“Just let me grab a bag.” She smiles at me and runs to her room, throwing things in a bag, as I stand alone in the front of her apartment, completely stunned. Completely excited. And insanely scared for what this meant.

I grab my phone from my pocket, texting Tatum that I would have a partner for the trip. I never thought that having someone come along with me could be an issue, even though most of the stuff we do can, and has, put us in pretty dangerous situations.

ME: Dude, bringing someone. Cool for this job?

SAVAGE: No biggie. Car’s waiting btw.

A man of very little words, but that’s all I need to know. Whatever we would be doing in Vegas isn’t going to be dangerous, awesome. I wait incredibly impatiently as she throws some clothes in a bag and gets ready to leave. I hope she doesn’t get in trouble with the bar, but from the vibe I got the other night she pretty much runs ship there.

After what seems like hours of waiting, even though it was only about ten minutes, we are out her door and into my apartment to grab my things before heading down to the car. He sent a fucking limo, typical Savage style, overspending on every little detail.

I chuckle to myself as Red’s eyes grow wide and she turns to smile at me.

“Thank you,” she whispers before kissing me and ducking into the limo. Her shorts rode up her legs as she climbed in, giving me a much better view of more of her ink. Images swirled around her firm thighs, colors twisted together and snuck under the black fabric of her shorts, making me want to explore every single inch of her. Already having to adjust myself before I even get in the limo, I pull my thoughts from the only place they want to be. Christ this is going to be a long flight.

Chapter 23

Gwynn

I’ve never been too impulsive of a person, always weighing out big decisions in life. This one seems to be something that I should have weighed out more, but I don’t care. The minute he asked I knew I wanted to go, I just needed coverage for my shifts at the bar, but that wasn’t a problem since there were always workers wanting more hours. Mac was pissed that I was going to miss a fight but I didn’t care. I’m not even sure if I wanted to do it anymore actually. I had received so many angry texts from him since I send him the first text telling him I couldn’t do it I had to turn my phone off halfway to the airport.

This is the longest I’ve ever spent with Eddie since we met. It was a weird thought, since I feel like we have known each other forever. Like we are two souls tied together. I know it sounds fucking insane, but it’s the truth. I get him. I have seen the scars, I understand he’s got issues...but so do I. I’m not pushing, though, and neither is he. For now, we are good just being together.

He’s holding my hand, absentmindedly rubbing his thumb across my hand and I smile at the connection. His hands are so big, so strong, that mine look small and weak in comparison. He must have noticed me staring at out joined hands, because he pulls away quickly, apologizing for the gesture. All good things come to an end, I guess.

After boarding the private plane that is waiting for us, we are being instructed on how to buckle up and what to do in an emergency, and I’m trying my hardest to concentrate, but the thought of him being so close to me is making my mind wander to places it shouldn’t be right now. I sit in one of the massive reclining seats and look at the buckles. How to go about doing these without him realizing I’ve never been on a plane before?

I grab them, but they aren’t like car buckles, too much metal and too little places to put it. I try and put them together, but fail hopelessly. He laughs at me, a kind laugh, and reaches over to help. Oh God those muscles, my eyes zone in on another tattoo on his arm. One I haven’t seen yet since it’s twisted in with the others. There are letters, but I can’t tell what they spell. A woman’s name possibly? Jealousy runs through me as he takes his time buckling me in, making sure I’m nice and tight.

“It was my mom,” he whispers, looking back at the seat in front of him buckling his seatbelt. Obviously my scrutinizing staring at it didn’t get past him.

“I’m sorry...I just- It’s nice looking.” Nice looking, Gwynn, seriously? I would have nut punched someone had they said something so stupid about my tats. All of my tattoos mean something insanely special to me, and ‘nice looking’ is just a comment that people who hated tattoos normally throw out there. Instead of judging my obviously stupid comment, he shakes his head and chuckles.

“So, how does a girl make it to your age without ever being on a plane?” he asks, his hand capturing mine on my lap, helping calm any nerves that had started building.

“That obvious, huh?” I smile at him. I’m not that nervous, but I haven’t had a clue what’s going on since we entered the airport.

“Just-..” he trails off as his eyes meet mine. He leans in for a kiss, not waiting for me, but taking my mouth with everything he has. His lips part mine, his hand comes to rest on my leg, moving slowly towards the button of my pants. I smile into the kiss, attempting to push his hand away before the stewardess walked in on us. He slows his movement, but doesn’t pull back. We stay like that, mouths locked, hands exploring every part we possibly can while buckled into these damn seats. When the captain’s voice broke over the speaker to announce takeoff, I pull away and he curses.

“Christ, don’t think you are getting out of this, Red.” Jesus I love that nickname.

“I don’t plan on it, Tex.” I grin and start leisurely flicking through the magazine that is in the seat pocket. He groans and adjusted himself before the flight attendant comes over to see if we need anything.

“Water for me, thanks.” I answer.

“Manhattan” he growls at her.

“Something wrong?” I ask innocently. I know what is wrong with him, because it is the exact same thing wrong with me right now. I can’t wait until we are alone, I can’t wait for him to have me again. I felt the tension between us the entire car ride here, and now that we will be spending all of this time together I can’t help but let my mind wander to all of the different ways we can enjoy one another’s bodies.

“Only the fact that all I want to do right now is slam into you until you scream my name, but I can’t seem to do that without someone interrupting us.”

“Aww...pouting are we?” I mock him as I slide my hand up and down his arm, feeling him tense underneath my touch. I feel the same exact way. He groans and lays his head back on the seat until his drink was delivered.

“Cheers,” he says, holding up his drink. I tap his glass with my water bottle and laugh.

“So you really don’t drink?” He asks after taking, and enjoying, a sip of the golden liquid.

“Nope,” I answer, suddenly not feeling like talking.

“Why not?” I know he’s just trying to make small talk, but this is one of those subjects I don’t want to talk about. Ever.

“Just don’t. That going to be a problem?” I snip at him, immediately feeling sorry for it. He raises his eyebrows, then pulls them together.

“Nope. Not at all,” he answers, looking at me like I’m a puzzle to be solved.

As soon as the seatbelt light turns off, he unbuckles and almost trips he’s moving so fast to the stewardess station. I laugh, watching him with adoration. How I fell so fast for this guy I didn’t know. I had always been the cautious one in life, the one not to get too wrapped up in boyfriends, in adventure. I stayed near home when I went to college, I always went home for dinner when I could. Never skipping out on work or school, I stayed pretty straight and narrow. When things changed, when my dad died, everything I used to believe in was shattered. My mom moved on to another guy and my brother wasn’t around much. I still find myself overthinking things, but this trip sounded too good to pass up. Vegas for free with a hot ass guy? Hell yes!

Speaking of hot ass guys, Eddie turns towards me from the stewardess curtain and smiles brilliantly as he slides the curtain shut and moves towards me like a tiger moves towards its prey. I know what’s coming, my entire body is alive with just one look from him. When he makes it to me, he leans down and unbuckles my seatbelt without a word. Taking my hands he leads me to the back of a plane to a small white door. I have no clue what is on the other side of the door, though I pray it’s a bed. He leans in to my neck, whispering into my ear.

“Go in, Red,” he urges me, letting me take the lead. I don’t want to take the lead, I want him to do just like he did the first time he kissed me. I hesitate and he notices it.

“You teased me earlier, Red. You realize how hard that left me?” I gasp as he takes my hand and rubbs it along the hardness in his pants.

“That’s the effect you have on me. Every damn time I think of you. Now open the door, go inside, and take every piece off....everything,” he whispers and my entire body gets chills.

“Where will you be?” I pant as he gently sucks his way down my neck and around my collarbone.

“Don’t worry about me, just strip and lie down on the bed. Wait for me, but don’t fucking fall asleep.” Right, like I could fall asleep now.

I let out a laugh at the absurdity of it all. He just wants me laying naked on the bed? What the hell is that all about, I want him in there with me!

“That sounds insane, Eddie. Come in with me.” I grind my hips against him, shoving my hands down his front. Before I can get to where I want, his hands go around my wrists, holding them from going any further.

“Do it, Red. Trust me.” His voice low, his eyes hooded like he’s about to combust, but he is holding back for some reason. We stand like that for a minute before he releases my hand. For some unknown reason, I want to do as he said. It makes me hot just hearing the demand come out of him. My hand goes to the door handle and I look up at him once more. I can’t tell if he looks scared or nervous, but the look he gives me shakes me to the core. What is this that we are doing? Any why do I feel like it is way more than a quick fuck and a good time in Vegas?

Opening the door to the room beyond was like I was starting a new life, right here on this plane. I do as he asked, taking everything off, and try to figure out the sexiest way I can lay on the bed. If I’m doing this, I am all in. Laying on the bed, so soft and comfortable, the plane movements swaying me, the blankets on the bed so plush. SO much better than my shit bed at home. I lay there, waiting for him, wondering when he was coming in and what was taking him so long.