The Main Event (5 page)

  “You laugh, but I was serious. I would have searched each room until I found you. Thank god they had common sense and decided to tell me where you were.” He paused. “When I got to the room they were getting ready to take you to surgery to pin your wrist. You were still pretty out of it.”

  “I don’t remember anything from that evening.”

  He caressed my cheek. “You looked so tiny on that bed and I felt helpless because there wasn’t anything I could do to help.”

  “I’m glad you were there.”

  He pulled me against his chest. “Me too, Jamie. Me too.”

  I feel asleep in his arms – something I knew I would never get tired of.

January 30

  Mesquite finally left, though I could tell he didn’t want to. I was getting around fine and had even managed to put my bra on myself.

  He kissed the back of my neck and said, “Let’s take your bra off one more time just to be sure you can do it again.”

  Laughing, I pulled away from him. “I know what you’re doing, Mesquite, and it ain’t going to happen.”

  He wiggled his eyebrows at me, but I wasn’t in the mood to play.

  “Text me when you get home.”

  He pouted. “I will. And let me know if you hear from Denver. I’m surprised he hasn’t texted you.”

  I was surprised, too, especially since I’d texted him.

  I walked Mesquite to the door and kissed him on the lips. “I’ll see you in a few days.”

  Mesquite would be flying back to see me after the T.V. tapings. I was looking forward having some time to myself.

  “Don’t forget to make an appointment with the physical therapist,” Mesquite said as he stepped onto the porch.

  I shivered. “I will.”

  I wasn’t looking forward to it, but I would. He kissed me one last time and went to the waiting cab. I watched until I couldn’t see the car anymore and then I went inside. The tears were falling before I could stop them and I sat on the floor, leaning against the door.

  Why had I let him leave? I thought about picking up the phone and telling him to come back. He would – I knew he would. But then that would make me weak. And I wasn’t weak! Swallowing the last of my tears, I stood.
I wasn’t weak.

February 1

  Mesquite called to say he couldn’t come to see me this weekend because of work. I hated how much it hurt. Didn’t he know that I needed him?

February 2

  Denver ignored another text message from me. He was taking a page from my book, as I was ignoring Mesquite. I just didn’t want to talk to anyone right now other than Denver. Why was he ignoring me?

February 3

  Mesquite threatened to send my mother over if I didn’t answer my phone. Knowing he wasn’t bluffing, I called him back.

  “Jamie, are you okay?”

  I sighed. “Yes. I’m just tired.”

  That wasn’t a lie, either. I felt mentally and physically exhausted.

  “I’m worried about you.”

  “I’m fine.”

  He was silent for a moment and then said, “I saw Denver before he left for the tour. He said to tell you he’s sorry for everything.”

  Ouch. Why couldn’t he tell me this himself? And now he was gone – no telling when he’d be back.

  Mesquite went on, “I told him he should call you-”

  “It’s fine. I don’t want to force him to talk to me.”

  “But I think it would help-”

  I cut him off again. “When are you coming to Dallas? I start physical therapy in a few weeks and don’t want to be distracted.”

  I was lying. I wanted him there, but I didn’t know how to say it.

  “Jamie, I’m not going to push you. You tell me when you want me to be in Dallas and I’ll be there.”

  I never wanted him to leave in the first place!

  “Or, if you want to come to Florida then that’s even better. You tell me what you want.”

  I was getting angry and I wasn’t sure why.

  “I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you later.”

  I ended the call and turned my phone off just to be safe.
Ugh
. Why were men so irritating? And why was I so angry? Mesquite hadn’t done anything and I was being a bitch.

February 5

  Mesquite must’ve taken the hint because he didn’t text me today. And I didn’t text him. And I hated it.

February 8

  I sent him a text message and he replied right away. But I still didn’t tell him how much I needed him.

  Fuck.

February 13

  “Come on, Jamie. Squeeze ten more times. You’re almost there.”

  My teeth gritted to the point I thought they were going to break and I squeezed the stupid rubber ball in my hand. I’d finally convinced the doctor to take the stupid cast off and now had to go to physical therapy three times per week. Luckily my wrist was healing, though it was still tender, and I could now wear a soft cast.

  “And that’s ten. Good job.”

  I didn’t reply. I’d only say something sour because that’s how I felt all of the time. I knew it was helping, but I hated every minute of it.

I got into my car and checked my voicemail. LaTonya, bless her heart, had left me another message.

  “It’s me again. Just wanted to see how are doing.” There was a pause. “Jamie – you need to talk to Mesquite. He’s hurting.”

  She was the only person who didn’t bring out the bitch inside me, so I called her back.

  “Hey,” she greeted.

  “Hi.”

  “I’m not going to beat around the bush here – you need to talk to him, Jamie. He’s miserable. He said he doesn’t know what to do to help you. He even talked to one of the guys who was in a car wreck to see if they’d felt the same way afterward.”

  Wow. That was sweet of him - and it made me feel like an asshole.

  “I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” I admitted. “He’s done nothing, but I keep taking my anger out on him.”

  “I’m sure part of it is that you haven’t talked to Denver.”

  I sighed. “Yeah, you’re right.”

  “He’s coming home in a few days. I told him if he doesn’t see you then I’m going to kick his ass.”

  I laughed. “You’re a true friend.”

  “I mean it, Jamie. He’s being a coward by not talking to you. I think it will help you heal.”

  We chatted for a few more minutes before getting off the phone. She was right – for whatever reason I needed to talk to Denver.

February 14

  Mesquite sent me a three-dozen roses as well as giant stuffed animal for Valentine’s Day. I called him, but he must have been busy so I left him a message.

  “Thank you, Angel Eyes. I promise I’m getting better and will be back to normal soon.”

  I prayed it was true.

February 15

  Denver called me today to ask if he could see me tomorrow. I told him yes. God, why am I so nervous?

February 16

  When Denver knocked on the door I almost didn’t answer. I could see him through the peephole and froze. Finally, I unlocked it and opened the door. He looked so sad staring back at me. Without thinking I threw my arms around his neck.

  “It wasn’t your fault.”

  He hugged me back and said, “It was.”

  I replied, “No, it wasn’t.”

  I pulled him inside and closed the door. We went to the living room and sat on the couch.

  “Denver, there was no way you could have known she was going to follow us.”

  “You said it yourself – I made it easy for her to find us by putting our location on the net.” 

  “I was only joking when I said that. I didn’t think any one would really try to find us!”

  He ran his fingers through his hair. “She kept asking to see me at the police station so I thought ‘why the hell not’ and went to see what she had to say. Do you want to know why she did it?”

 
Did I?
I nodded.

  “She said she ran into the car because you had it too good – you’d been with Mesquite and then with me and that was too much. She wanted to hurt you because of
me
.”

  I shook my head. “That’s what she’s saying, Denver, but that doesn’t make it true. She’s insane and obsessed with you. She only saw me as a threat.”

  And she probably would have still run into his car. If it hadn’t been me it would have been something else that set her off.

  He sighed. “The thing that kills me is that I couldn’t protect you. I said all those things to you about wondering if you’d chosen the right person and then I couldn’t even get you back to the fucking hotel.”

  Emotion made his accent thick and I reached out to touch his hand.

  “Look at me. I don’t blame you, Denver. If that woman had been in love with Mesquite then the same thing would have happened with him. It wasn’t your fault.”

  He didn’t believe me, but in time he would. I’d just have to remind him that he’d done everything he could have to protect me.

  It was my turn to confess, though.

  “It really hurt that you left the hospital before I was awake.”

  He looked guilty and I hated that I made him feel that way.

  “I know why you didn’t want to be there, but it still hurt. You’re one of my best friends and I wanted you to be there. I guess I was scared that you meant it when you said we couldn’t be friends.”

  He shook his head. “I was an arse for saying that to you. You’re one of my best friends, too, and I shouldn’t have stayed away. Can you forgive me?”

  “Only if you can forgive yourself.”

  “You drive a hard deal,” he said as he threw his arm around my shoulder.

  “I know.”

  “I’ll do it, but you have to do something for me.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Go see Mesquite. He needs his head in the game with two big pay-per-views coming up and you’re the only thing he can think about. Give the guy a break.”

  I laughed, but he was right. It was time to let Mesquite know how I felt.

  “Deal.”

  “That’s my girl. And maybe I’ll even get to witness the main event.”

  “Main event?”

  “Yeah, the main event of your relationship with Mesquite.”

  I laughed. I’d never thought of it in that way. It’d be fitting.

  I replied, “Stranger things have happened.”

  I began to form a plan in my mind. It was time to go get my man.

February 28

  With a lot of maneuvering I was able to avoid Mesquite in person until I was ready to put my plan in action. I talked to him every day on the phone, though, so he knew I was okay.

  “I love you,” he said.

  I laughed. “I love you, too. Now hang up so I can go to bed.”

  What he didn’t know was I had to get up early in the morning so I could catch my flight to Little Rock, where he was.

  “I’ll hang up when you do.”

  He made me so damn happy.

  I said, “I’m hanging up now. Good night.”

  I ended the call with a smile. Tomorrow was going to be epic.

March 1

  The plane ride to Little Rock was a short one and I was glad that spring was in the air. LaTonya was waiting for me at the airport. And her engagement ring was huge, just as she’d said. After I gushed over it, we got down to business.

  “You are my hero,” she said when I told her my plan.

  “I just hope it works out.”

  She grinned. “It will.”

  I stayed in her room until it was time to go to the arena. She’d secured us front row seats. The arena was packed following the hype of the last pay-per-view. I couldn’t believe it’d been almost a year since I’d met Mesquite. 

  I was surprised when Denver’s music hit and the crowd cheered. He stood on the ramp and talked about how he was going to be the next big thing, which the fans loved.

  LaTonya said, “I had no idea he was back. Wonder how long he’ll be around?”

 
I shrugged and watched the next match. It was insane how nervous I was to see Mesquite. It felt like the first time I’d been to a show. When his music cued I jumped to my feet. He worked the stage and then came running to the ring. The bell rang as Mesquite slid into the squared circle.

  My eyes raked his body up and down. Our time apart had been good to him. He could still break any woman’s heart with one earth-shattering smile. And I still loved how he affected me.