“It’s my club, so it’s my business.”
“So, do you tell other guys how often they can fight? Or you’re just singling me out for some fucking unknown reason.”
“No. You’re the only one. Your mom is a friend of mine. She’s a good lady. I know she loves you, so I’m just trying to keep you safe.”
“Why is that, Wren? Is it guilt?”
“Guilt? No, kid. I don’t do guilt. Like I said, your mom is a friend of mine,” he said, keeping his voice even and his eyes never wavered from mine. I’d heard Wren could be an asshole and people in this town feared him, but I’d never seen that side of him.
“Well, she’s not making enough money at The Rusty Pelican to keep up with Gram’s medical bills. I need these fights so I can help her out.” I hated the desperation in my voice, but I knew I needed him if I wanted to make this happen.
“You’re giving the money to your mom?”
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I?” I hissed with irritation. I hated kissing his ass. But until I knew for sure if he’d hurt my mom, I’d keep my thoughts to myself. Ma did not appear frightened by him, but then again, she was a tough lady who never showed fear, so how would I know?
“All right. I want Clyde to run the fighters by me, and I choose the refs for your fights. Fair?”
I searched his gaze, trying to find an ulterior motive. I came up empty.
“Fair. Thank you.”
I backed away and walked toward the door.
“Hey, Jett,” he called out.
“Yeah?” I turned to look at him.
“I’m not the enemy.”
I nodded.
But I didn’t know if that were true or not.
“Why are you being so stubborn? Shaw and Jax agreed to come. You’re being such a baby,” Adelaide huffed as she skimmed a rock across the lake with absolute precision. Damn. I’d taught the girl well.
We weren’t even hiding how much we hung out these days. She’d become part of my daily life at this point. We even found reasons to spend time together on the weekends. I knew her mom wasn’t a fan of mine, and I’d yet to hang out at her house. But we spent a lot of time out at the lake and a lot of time hanging out with our friends, now that the two groups had sort of come together.
“Did you seriously just call me a baby? Listen, I know your mom doesn’t like me, and it’s her party.”
“My mom doesn’t know you, Jett. And it’s not her party, it’s our party. There will be a ton of people there and you don’t even have to see her if you don’t want to. But she’s not a mean person. She’ll be perfectly nice to you, because that’s who she is. She’d never let you know if she didn’t like you, at least not in public.” She laughed.
I didn’t laugh.
Those were the kind of people I avoided.
Fake people who didn’t let you know whether or not they liked you. This town was filled with them.
Yes, Adelaide had shown me a side to Willow Springs that I didn’t even realize I actually liked, and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t had fun the day she took me around to show me her favorite places.
But the Edington home was not somewhere I was dying to visit; however, it had become impossible to stay away from this girl, and I was learning quickly that I didn’t like saying no to her. Hell, I’d never been someone who struggled with doing what I wanted. But when it came to Adelaide, I found myself in a gray area.
All the fucking time.
“Good to know. Fine. I’ll come.” I rolled my eyes, because I knew I was playing with fire letting her get this close.
But I didn’t know how to stop.
“Yay,” she squealed, and I couldn’t help but laugh because she was ridiculous. “So, I finished my essay last night and submitted it.”
I tugged on the rope that held the hammock between two trees to secure it, before she dropped to sit down on it.
“Yeah? How’d it come out? Did you think of a negative experience to write about, or did you sell out and tell them what they wanted to hear?” I asked, picking up a piece of rope that was lying on the ground before sitting down beside her. She always tipped into me because I weighed a lot more than her, and I didn’t mind it one bit.
“Nope. I didn’t sell out. But I probably won’t get in because I was honest.” She shrugged.
“What did you write about?”
“My whole life. How I lived in a bubble up until a few weeks ago, and now I’m just… I don’t know, discovering who I really am? I don’t know how to put it into words.” She looked at me and smiled, and my fucking chest squeezed.
What the fuck was up with that?
I’d never had a best friend who was a girl, but somehow, she’d managed to become that for me.
I looked down at the rope between my fingers. One side was sealed, and the other had started to fray. “You’re kind of like this rope, right? Your whole life you’ve been like this.” I handed her the sealed edge, and she ran her fingers over it. “But eventually all ropes fray if they aren’t lying dormant. You’re just fraying a little later than the rest of us. But it means you’re living.”
She took the rope from my hands and her fingers grazed mine, sending a zip of electricity coursing through me. She held the frayed edge in her hand. “You’re exactly right. And once they start fraying, there’s no stopping them.”
“There’s no stopping you, Ace.”
She nodded and bit down on her bottom lip. I shifted away a bit because I had an overwhelming urge to taste her sweet mouth. To pull her on my lap and feel all her soft curves against me. To tangle my hands in her thick, dark, silky hair.
I pushed to my feet abruptly and she fell over on the hammock.
What the fuck was this girl doing to me?
She burst out in laughter as she pushed herself to sit up. “A little warning next time would be nice. But thanks for the pep talk. Can I keep this?”
“Of course. It’s a scrap of rope.” I rolled my eyes.
“Not to me. It’s so much more. I think I’ll put it in the Magic Willow book as a symbol of what’s to come for me.”
My head tipped back. Her little girl’s club was important to her, and as ridiculous as I thought it was—I was happy she had friends who seemed to genuinely support her.
“Lenny and Violet will be at the party. He thinks you’re his new best friend so I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to see you,” she said, pushing to her feet and smirking at me.