Chronically fucking uncomfortable.
My dick didn’t know what to do with her nearness, and neither did I.
But I couldn’t seem to stay away.
So, if letting her believe I had a college girlfriend helped set some boundaries, so be it.
But I was irritable about the whole situation. About how hanging out with Adelaide me feel. Made me want things I had no business wanting. Yet, I couldn’t seem to stay away from her.
“Yeah. She’ll be here tomorrow.”
She nodded. “That’s cool. Are you guys going to do anything fun?”
I rolled my eyes. “We aren’t like you and Taulson, Ace. We won’t be singing Christmas carols to the neighbors and talking about our fake future. We fuck. That’s about it.”
Where the fuck did that come from?
She raised a brow and studied me before pushing to her feet. “Good luck at your fight, Jett.”
And she stormed to her car without looking back.
Well, that was one way to keep her at arm’s length.
But I regretted being an asshole to her.
She didn’t deserve that.
Hell, Adelaide Edington deserved everything.
Three fucking brutal rounds later, I wiped my face off with a dirty fucking T-shirt and chugged my water. I’d won the fight in the last round, but I was feeling it. The dude had landed some serious hits to my ribs, and I took a good shot to the cheek. It didn’t help that I’d looked up to see Adelaide sitting with Jax, Shaw, and Coco up front. I didn’t know why the fuck she was there. Coco had come to three of my fights over the past few weeks because she and Shaw were inseparable these days. But Adelaide didn’t belong here. And she was a huge fucking distraction. I didn’t have time to worry about her, but I didn’t know how to not worry about her at the same time. Thankfully, my opponent, Joey T, had tapped out in the end.
Gram had been given a new prescription that was supposed to help with her breathing issues, but it wasn’t covered by insurance. The diner was always slow between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and Ma needed help covering all these bills. Clyde handed me a healthy cut of the earnings and I thanked him.
“I got a few fights for you next week if you want in. People are starting to ask about you now that you’ve got ten wins under your belt. But er, we’ve got a little situation,” Clyde said, rubbing the back of his neck in discomfort.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Wren wants me to keep your fights to a minimum.” He shrugged. Shaw’s cousin Clyde was a cool dude, but I knew he wouldn’t go against Wren. Hell, Wren owned the place, so he called the shots.
“What the fuck is his problem?”
“No idea. But he’s always asking who you’re fighting, and to keep the fights to a minimum.”
“I’ll talk to him. Plan on putting me on as many as you can, and I’ll let you know what he says.”
It pissed me off that I’d have to deal with the guy. Wren had always been around, and I used to be a lot friendlier to him. Hell, I actually liked the guy before. Looked up to him, even. That was before I realized that he might be my father. He might be the man that wrecked my mom’s life. And that was unforgivable. But if I had to play nice to get a few fights in order to help Ma, I would do it. A few more months and I’d be free of this godforsaken town.
“You got it, Jett. Great fight tonight. See you next week.”
I turned to walk toward my friends at the end of the hallway. My gaze landed on Adelaide’s fine ass, and it took all I had to pull my eyes away. We hadn’t ended things in the best way when she left the lake today, so I didn’t know how to even act at the moment.
“Hey,” I said, giving Shaw and Jax a hard look. They knew I was pissed they’d brought her here by my chilly greeting.
“Great fight, dude. Ten and O. You’re making a name for yourself,” Shaw said, clapping me on the back.
“Yeah, I’m even starting to learn some of the moves. That takedown was badass.” Coco smiled proudly. Shaw put an arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. Jesus. These two were starting to look like an actual couple.
“Thanks. He was the toughest guy I’ve fought yet.” My gaze locked with Adelaide’s and she looked away. “Hey, Ace.”
“Hi. Good fight.” She refused to meet my gaze and her smile was forced. Clearly, I’d hurt her feelings and I was surprised that I felt like shit about it.
I nodded. “Thanks.”
“So, we were thinking, maybe we’d go sit out at the lake for a while. Maybe start a bonfire so we don’t freeze our balls off. Are you up for it?” Jax asked.
“Sure,” I said, unable to stop staring at Adelaide.
“All right, let’s do it,” Shaw said.
Coco and Adelaide agreed to meet us there, and Shaw and Jax walked beside me.
“Dude, you swear there’s nothing going on with you and Addy?” Jax asked.
“We’re friends. Why?”
“Well, if you’re not into her, I’m thinking of asking her out. She’s fucking hot and she’s sweet too. I know that shithead Taulson is threatening everyone that they aren’t allowed to ask her out, like he fucking owns her. But I don’t answer to him. Just want to make sure you aren’t into her.”
My hands fisted at my side. “No. You can’t ask her out.”
Jax and Shaw both let out a belly laugh and Shaw pulled out a ten-dollar bill and placed it in Jax’s hand. “That was far too easy.”
“Fuck off. What are you talking about? We’re friends. But she’s not going out with your ass. That’s all I’m saying,” I huffed as I walked toward my bike.
“Sure, you are. You just showed your cards, asshole,” Jax said through his laughter.
I flipped him the bird and followed them down to the water. There were spots where everyone liked to hang out, and we parked near the south end of the lake. There was a group of kids down on the beach and two spots with fires burning already. The girls stepped out of their car and we walked beside them down toward the water.
“Jax,” Lydia yelled out and he jogged over to talk to her. She was a cool girl that went to school with us. I still wasn’t sure if he was into Adelaide or just giving me shit, but either way, I didn’t like it. And that made no sense. She wasn’t mine. Not by a long shot. Who was I to act like a possessive shit like Taulson? I wasn’t about that.
But something about Adelaide made me feel protective of her. And I had no idea why.