The Main Event (2 page)

  “Damn black ice,” Mesquite muttered.

  Black ice was a serious hazard when driving on snowplowed streets. We finally made it to the bakery and went inside. My mouth watered as the scent of fresh bread surrounded me. This is what heaven would smell like – I was positive.

  We found a seat by the large fireplace. It was a perfect place to be on a cold, snowy day.

  Mesquite said, “I wonder how Denver is feeling this morning. He was dead to the world when I went to the gym and when I came back to the room he was gone.”

  So that’s why Denver hadn’t seen him.

  I replied, “He actually came by my room.”

  Mesquite’s eyebrow lifted and I shifted in my seat. This was so awkward.

  “He didn’t remember much from last night and he was hung over. I… I told him we were having brunch.”

  “What did he say to that?”

  “He wasn’t very happy about it.”

  Mesquite was saved from answering as the server came up to take our orders. The moment she recognized Mesquite was comical. She literally did a double take and then offered us a free meal if she could take a picture with him. She recommended eggs and bacon to go along with our croissants, which we took her up on, as well as the photo. Mesquite threw his arm around the woman’s shoulder, pulling her close, and I took the picture on her phone. She practically floated away from us.

  “Now that right there is what I missed,” he said with a grin that melted my heart.

  I smiled back at him. “You made her day.”

  She came back a few moments later with our plates as well as some samples of her homemade bread. Mesquite asked her to join us, since we were likely going to be her only customers for a while. She excitedly accepted and regaled us with stories of her father, who’d come from France as a child. I laughed until I cried.

  Mesquite threw his head back laughing, too. It suddenly hit me how much I’d missed him. My time with Denver had been wonderful, but I’d never loved him like I’d loved Mesquite. He caught my gaze and winked.

  “We should probably head to the arena. It looks like it might snow again.”

  He paid for our meal, even though the woman protested. I noticed he left a hefty tip, too. Outside, I hugged his arm as we walked.

  “Mesquite, I’ve missed this.”

  He leaned down and kissed me. “Me, too.”

  I knew I needed to talk to Denver soon. Even if it didn’t work out with Mesquite, I didn’t want Denver to wait for me.

January 17

  The show ended up being postponed due to bad weather, but was rescheduled for tonight. Mesquite and I spent last night sitting on the floor of my hotel room talking and cuddling. At one point I thought he was going to make a move – which I would have been okay with – but he hadn’t. Instead he made a pallet on the floor.

  When I woke up he was already gone, but left a note on the table telling me he would see me later. It was weird – we were falling into our old patterns like nothing had changed. When he texted me a bit later I couldn’t help but grin.

  I saw I had a text from LaTonya, so I called her.

  “Were you able to make it to Kentucky before the snow hit?”

  I replied, “Yeah, I made it. The show got postponed last night, but they’re going to try tonight.”

  I heard Richmond in the background and asked, “How is he feeling?”

  “He’s doing much better. The doctor thinks he’ll be able to return sooner than anticipated. Are you going to the pay-per-view next week?”

  “I was thinking about it. My boss is letting me do work from my computer due to weather delays across the country. In fact I might just go with Mesquite…”

  I let my words trail off, wanting to see what my friend would say. She’d been my sounding board during the ups and downs and her opinion mattered.

  “Honey, that’s great!”

  “You really think so?”

  “Of course I do. How’s Denver taking it?”

  She’d dated Denver before getting with Richmond, so it made sense that she would want to know how he was.

  I bit my lip before replying. “He got drunk after the show two days ago. Yesterday he came by to talk, but left before we could really hash things out. I – I don’t think he’s going to like what I’ve decided.”

  It felt good to say those words to someone. He wasn’t going to like what I’d decided. My only hope was that we could still be friends.

  “Well, the international press tour might be a blessing then,” she answered.

  Denver, who was the champion, was set to lose the belt to Mesquite at the pay-per-view next week. Afterward the company was sending him to Europe to do some promoting. He’d told me it was also so the fans would forget him being an amazing champion, which could be true.

  I’d honestly forgotten that he was going to be leaving for a while. Maybe LaTonya was right. Maybe this would be a blessing for both of us. He could heal without feeling like I was rubbing Mesquite in his face. And Mesquite and I could see where things were going without hurting Denver.

  I said, “You’re right. I just hope I’m making the right choice.”

  “What does your gut tell you?”

  I thought about the past few days that I’d spent with Mesquite and smiled.

  “It’s like we were never apart, LaTonya. It just feels so…
right
.”

  “I think that’s your answer then.” Richmond called her name and she said, “Well, I’m going to get off here. I’ll see you next week at the pay-per-view and I’ll show you the ring I got last night.”

  She said the words so casually that I almost didn’t catch them.

  “Oh my god! A ring? That’s wonderful news, LaTonya! Congratulations!”

  She chuckled, “Thank you. It’s huge and melts my heart every time I look at it.”

  “So I guess you worked everything out then?”

  She replied, “Yeah, I think we have. And I’m so damn happy.”

  “Good. I’m happy for you.”

  “Well, now that you have Mesquite back I hope you’ll be as happy as we are.” Richmond said something again in the background and she said to me, “Girl, I’ve got to go. See you next week.”

  I ended the call thinking about what she’d said. I did have my answer. I wanted fucking Mesquite.

January 18

  “So we’ll meet at the airport on Friday, right?” Mesquite asked for the thousandth time.

  Laughing, I pulled him down for a kiss. “Yes.”

  “And why aren’t you coming home with me?”

  This part made me frown. “I need to make sure my mom is okay. She said she was feeling ‘off’ and I know how she can be. If you happen to finish early you could always meet me.”

  He rubbed my back and said, “You better believe I will if I can. Don’t forget to talk to your boss.”

  We’d talked late into the night about what our plan was. We wanted to take things slow, but we both also knew that we needed to be close. And even though Tampa wasn’t far from Dallas via a plane ride it was ultimately too much distance. I was going to talk to my boss about working exclusively from Florida.

  I really didn’t see it being a problem, but I wouldn’t know for sure until I talked to him.

  “I’ll let you know what he says.”

  Mesquite caught my lips in a kiss and I let myself get lost in the sweet promise. Things would be different this time. We both wanted the same thing. We were communicating better. We –

  “I hate to interrupt, but you’re holding up the line.”

  My head whipped around and I found Denver standing a few feet behind us in the TSA line. His eyes had bags under them and he looked like shit. Oh my god, I was such an asshole. I wasn’t sure how much he heard, but judging by the look on his face he’d probably heard it all – and seen us making out like teenagers.

  “Denver-”

  “Ma’am, please keep the line moving,” a TSA worked said to me.

  Now wasn’t the time to try to talk to Denver. Mesquite and I were silent as we went through the screening. One of the workers asked to take a picture with Mesquite, who agreed. While I waited for him to finish I also looked to see where Denver was. His head was down, obviously avoiding me.

  When he finished going through the security check he went the opposite way, never making eye contact with me.

  Mesquite came up behind me and said, “I feel bad for the dude.”

  I nodded, not knowing what else to say. It wasn’t even really Mesquite’s fault that Denver was in pain. It was mine and that was something I would have to come to terms with.

January 20

  My mom had done nothing but bitch at me ever since leaving the doctor’s office.

  “I told you I was fine. You just don’t listen to me, though.”

  “Mom – for the last time – I was worried about you. With our family history it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

  Jesus. She’d try the patience of a saint.

  She said, “Well, the next time I’m feeling strange I’ll remember not to mention it to you.”

  “That’s the spirit,” I muttered.

  I pulled up in her driveway behind my aunt’s car.
Oh god
. I wasn’t ready for this.

  “Mom, I’m just going to drop you off. I need to swing by the office.”

  “Jamie, you can’t avoid your aunt forever.”

  Maybe not forever, but I would do it for as long as I could. I still wasn’t over the fight we’d had at Thanksgiving. It might be petty of me, but I didn’t care.

  “You’re right, Mom. I’ll say hello the next time I see her.”

  My mom rolled her eyes as she got out of the car. I waited until she was inside before I backed out of the driveway and drove across town to my office. I wasn’t lying – I did have a meeting with my boss. When I arrived I remembered just how glad I was that I didn’t have to be in the office all the time.

  My boss waited for me in the boardroom with a smile on his face. “Jamie, what a pleasure to see you. Your last report was enlightening, and we expect nothing less from you.”

  I smiled. “Thank you, sir.  I was worried it wasn’t going to send because of the bad weather.”

  The Wi-Fi in the hotel had been shit, probably due to the storm.

  “Ah, yes. That’s one of the disadvantages to working remotely. But you’ve seemed to make it work for you.”

  He was giving me the perfect lead in.

  “That’s why I wanted to talk to you, sir.”

  “Oh?”

  “I have an opportunity to move to Florida, but I don’t want to leave the company. Of course, I also want to do what’s best for everyone.”

  He nodded. “I see. I see. We would hate to lose you, too.”

  I went on, “Ideally, I would love to continue working as I have been. I just wouldn’t be able to check in here every few weeks as I’ve been doing.”

  He looked relieved as he said, “Oh good. I think we can make that work. Honestly, I was worried you were going to put your notice in and that would be awful for the company. You’ve gone above and beyond, and training someone to replace you would be a nightmare.”

  I grinned. “Thank you, sir.”

  We squared off the minor details before I left. I’d be required to come to the office every eight weeks. Other than that, I could continue to work remotely as long as my numbers didn’t dip.

  As I left the office I felt lighter than I had in months. While there was no way to know how things would end up with Mesquite, I was glad that I didn’t have to look for a new job. I got into my car and picked up my phone to call him. I couldn’t want to tell him the good news.  

January 21

  Denver called as I was packing. I hate to admit this – I almost didn’t answer. I wasn’t ready to have this conversation.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey…”

  “Hey…” I greeted back.

  “Are you flying in for the pay-per-view?”

  I sat on the edge of my bed and replied, “Yes. I get in tomorrow. I’m… I’m meeting Mesquite at the airport and then traveling with him this weekend.”

  There was a pause and then Denver said, “We need to talk, Jamie. I know you’ve already made your choice, but there are things that I still need to say to you. If I’m going down, then I want to know I did everything I could.”

  “Denver-”

  “All I’m asking for is coffee, Jamie. Nothing else. I promise.”

  He deserved that much after everything we’d been through.

  “Okay. Let’s plan on meeting Saturday.”

  That would give me time to talk to Mesquite so he knew what was going on, too.

  “Thank you,” he answered, relief filling his voice.

  “I’ll see you then.” I said before ending the call.

January 22

  Mesquite met me at baggage claim. Our planes had landed almost back to back, so he already had his bag when I walked up to him. I threw my arms around his neck, pulling him close.