Chapter 4

Wyatt

***

 

“What were you fools talking about?” The girls had gone in and closed the door while the four of us got comfortable against the wall. When you think about it this was the strangest fucking end to the night. I guess that’s life. Always expect the unexpected.

“You. We were debating whether or not we’re gonna have to help you two get your shit straight, or if we should just let you muddle through on your own.” Chad stretched his legs out and rested back against the wall with his head back.

They let me in on some of what they’d been talking about with her girls, and I was pleased to note that both camps seemed happy for us and whatever this was. My brother liked her, I knew because he wasn’t giving me shit about spending the night in a strange hallway instead of at home in his comfortable bed.

“So Champ looks like you’ve met your match, I don’t remember ever seeing you this gone over a woman, not even that thing in high school.” Cole always hated my high school flame, thought she was stuck up and not worth my time.

The door opened before I could answer and she was standing there with blankets and pillows in her hands. Her hair was wet and she had her tiny frame wrapped in a robe that did nothing to hide her curves. “Damn.” I bit my lip and got to my feet. I stood where I was instead of reaching for her the way I wanted to. Not yet.

“This is silly, the girls think you should at least come in and sleep on the couch or something so…” Before she could finish her statement the others were on their feet and heading past her. I took the stuff from her arms and followed her inside before closing and locking the door behind us.

All the women were in some form of nightwear, but I only had eyes for her. With her face bare of makeup, hair wet from her shower and no heels to add to her height, she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. The need to hold her was even stronger now if that was possible.

“You’re in deep trouble babygirl come ‘ere.” I just wanted to feel her one more time before we said goodnight. I ignored the looks from the others as I hugged her before whispering goodnight. Wishing with every fiber of my being that I could tuck her in. “I’ll see you in the morning baby, sweet dreams.”

***

Traci

***

I laid awake in bed for most of the night after I’d silenced my friends and sent them to the guest bedroom where they were staying. Cris had fallen asleep next to me after lecturing me in hushed tones about not blowing this once in a lifetime chance as she puts it.

They all seemed so sure, even his brother and friends, if what the girls had whispered to me about their conversation was true. He too seemed to have made up his mind so I guess I was the only hold out. But I was also the one who stood to lose the most if things didn’t work out.

My mind of course went to Carl. I think somewhere in my subconscious, I’d known what he was after his first reaction to my gentle let down. I’ve seen enough of those TV true crime shows to know what’s out there, but never thought it would ever happen to me. I’m just not the type to instill that in anyone.

I do all the right things, always have. When mom got sick when I was a little girl, dad and I worked together to nurse her back to health. I didn’t flake out in class the way a lot of my friends did when I reached high school, didn’t do the whole sneaking out at night thing like so many others had. Instead I’d focused really hard on my studies because I knew how hard things were on dad since my family had gone into debt to pay off mom’s medical bills, and I wanted that scholarship to help ease the burden.

We weren’t poor by any means, but all the same I knew that it would make things a lot less stressful on my already taxed parents; and so while everyone else was out doing their thing, being teenagers, I was at home in my room hitting the books.

There hadn’t been any time for dating and teenage hijinks, and I would admit to being just a tad bit sheltered by an overprotective father who’d seen too much pain and suffering with his wife to let his only child out of his sight.

Maybe that’s why even with all those TV shows I was still too green to see the signs when they were in my face. But what about this, what about the way my body seemed to recognize its mate? Was that real, or was it just nothing more than a very strong attraction to a very handsome man?

I turned on my side as my mind raced with my inner thoughts and my stomach hurt. I kept seeing that amazing face and feeling his arms as they went around me. He felt…safe. Like I could trust him to watch out for me. His words were the kind every girl dreams of, and the way he looks at me after just one night, makes me ache in secret places.

I tried to imagine letting go and giving in, what would that be like? Would he keep all those promises his eyes made when they looked into mine? Or would he turn into something else once he got what he wanted? The girls had asked me what I felt and I’d been too afraid to say, but had I-I would’ve told them about the wild racing of my pulse, the tingling in my most secret places and most of all I would’ve told them of the way my heart longed, for the first time in my life.

With one last sigh, I closed my eyes and gave in to sleep, feeling safe knowing he was out there.

***

Wyatt

***

“So what am I dealing with here Jace?” We were spread out across her living room floor for the night and the girls had finally turned in. What kinda danger is he?”

“Well what did she tell you about the situation?”

“Only that they went out once on what she thought was a study date between friends and when he tried to turn it into something more afterward she turned him down and that’s when he got ugly.”

“Ugly how, did he hit her?”

“No, he better not have, she didn’t say that.” I looked in the direction of the bedroom with that new thought planted in my head. The thought of that even happening made me want to commit murder.

“Easy champ, how did she say he got ugly?”

“Well, she says he started with a few phone calls, then escalated to showing up unexpected like he did tonight I guess, and making an ass of himself. He pushed her around a little once, I guess that was ugly enough come to think of it. It scared her but not enough to call the cops.”

“Well, until I look into this hump we won’t know for sure, but he has all the classic signs. It could be that after a little talking to he might move on, but in some cases, and I don’t mean to scare you so don’t go crazy on me, but sometimes it can get really bad before it gets better.”

“I thought so, I gotta do something.” I wanted all the information now but there was no way to do that until tomorrow.

“Bro you just met her, are you sure you want the hassle?” Sometimes if Chad wasn’t my brother and if ma wouldn’t go upside my head, I’d pound him into dust. “Weren’t you the one telling me not too long ago that she seemed like a keeper, that I should go for it?”

The jackass grinned at me and flipped on the TV. “Just checking bro, these things take commitment. All I’m saying is if you’re not planning to stick around with this one it might be better for her if you cut your losses now.” I was this close to killing my mother’s son and realized that my reaction only solidified what I’d been telling myself all evening. I was all in, all the way gone. What a fucking con, how the fuck does that work?

I laid back against the couch and closed my eyes, reliving the evening from the first second I saw her. With the dim drone of the TV in the background and the rustling sounds of the guys settling down for the night, I was finally able to concentrate without interruption.

Chad was right. I needed to be sure that this was going to be more than a wild fling. Everything in me said yes, I had no doubts whatsoever about that. The only thing now was how to go forward. She was the type to take things slow, I can tell. Me, not so much, she’d be lucky if I gave her a week before we fuck.

I know me, and I know that the way she makes me feel, the way my dick reacts to her, no way am I gonna last long. But because she was vulnerable right now, she might require more care. My challenge is working around that without making her feel rushed or uncomfortable.

Was I ready for that? A few hours ago, I would’ve said no, my mind wouldn’t even have gone there. But after seeing her, holding her, tasting her, I knew that as unreal as it may seem, I was more than willing to do whatever it takes. Already I could see her there with me for all my triumphs, failures- life. I could see her as part of me the way I never have anyone else before.

The true test for me was when I imagined her with someone else. I’ve never felt such killing rage, not even in the ring. That was more than enough for me to know. The fact that there was no doubt in my mind pretty much sealed it.

I can’t wait to get her home with me tomorrow, to see her and ma and how the two women reacted to each other. I knew that ma would love her, even though she’d had nothing but contempt for the women I’d been seen with in the last few years since I became famous. Somehow I knew that she’d fall for her as hard as I had. I fell asleep with a strange new feeling in my chest and a lightness that had been missing for way too long.