“Of course, you can do it. If this is something you want, I promise I’ll help you do it.”
She nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.” She yanked her sweater and tank over her head and unbuttoned her jeans. I’d never seen Adelaide beneath her clothing. Sure, I’d felt her. Felt every inch of her. But seeing her… Jesus. She was fucking perfect.
“Turn the fuck around,” I snarled at Jax, and he bellowed out in laughter.
It was just known that you didn’t stare or gawk when people stripped down to take the plunge. I’d always looked away when the girls walked to the edge. But Adelaide was different. I couldn’t look away if I tried. And I sure as fuck didn’t want Jax staring at her. Adelaide didn’t seem to notice. Her mind was on jumping and nervous energy radiated from her hot little body.
The sun shined down on her, and her tan skin glistened. She wore light pink panties and a matching sports bra. Her nipples poked against the fabric, as it was cold as hell. My dick had no shame. He was standing on end at the sight of her.
I dropped my jeans and yanked my shirt over my head, chucking it at my best friend as he smirked.
Asshole.
“Let’s do this.” I held her hand in mine as we walked to the edge. “Do you trust me?”
“Completely.”
“I won’t let anything happen to you. We’re going to count to three, and jump. If I lose your hand in the air, I promised I’ll find you in the water, okay?”
She nodded “One. Two. Three…”
We flew down, and I gripped her hand in mine. Never losing contact. Everything went silent around me, as I focused all my energy on her. My feet hit the water first, and we went under. It was shockingly cold, but I’d expected that. My hands found her hips beneath the water and I pushed her up toward the surface.
“Oh my god,” she shouted. “I did it.”
Everyone screamed and cheered from a few feet away, and I swore I heard Coco yell out something about bitches taking over the world. I laughed.
“You did it, Ace.”
“We did it. Thank you,” she said, through her gasps. Her breaths came hard and fast, and I pulled her toward the shore where I could at least stand. I settled my feet on the ground and pulled her against me. Her legs came around my waist and I held her close.
“I’ll always catch you,” I said. And I fucking meant it.
“I know you will. And I’ll always catch you.”
Her fingers traced my tattoo, and she studied it as if she were trying to figure out the meaning.
“What are these dates?” she asked.
“My mom and Gram’s birthdays in Roman numerals.”
“Just a boy and his numbers,” she said, smiling up at me and pushing the hair out of her face.
I laughed because I couldn’t fucking help it. Her friends swam over and congratulated her. I looked out at the beach and Jax had a fire going, and he’d brought the blankets we’d always kept in Shaw’s truck over as well.
I looked at my girl. Eyes dancing with excitement. Pops of amber and gold sparkling in the bit of light from above. I made a mental note to memorize every curve of her face. Her perfect nose and pouty lips. She was fucking beautiful.
And I don’t know how it happened. But she was mine.
And nothing had ever felt more right.
After I dropped Adelaide off at home, my phone buzzed. It was a text from Wren telling me he needed to talk to me before my fight tonight. Fuck me. It was like the universe was trying to force me to have this conversation. I didn’t respond. Instead, I drove to the mechanic shop where I knew he’d be. Because when I finally asked him the question that I’d been avoiding asking for months, I needed to look him in the eye and see if he was telling me the truth.
I parked my bike and walked in. My clothes had finally dried, but I could still feel Adelaide’s soft skin on my fingers. Still feel all her sweetness around me.
“Wren here?” I asked Joey Pucci who worked for Wren. I’d known the dude most of my life and he hung out at the fights.
“Hey Jett. I heard you’re fighting Donny West from Summerhaven tonight.” The guy was a big deal one town over, and I’d agreed to fight him.
“Yep. We’ll see how that goes.” I shrugged, because I was fighting tougher opponents lately, and I didn’t have a clue if I was getting in over my head.
“You’ll get him. I have zero doubts. Wren’s in back.”
I nodded. “Thanks. See you tonight.”
I knocked on his office door, and I saw Wren sitting there through the glass window. He waved me inside and motioned for me to take the seat across from his desk as he finished up a phone call. When he set his phone down, his gaze narrowed as he studied me. “Didn’t expect you to come here. Just meant for you to call me.”
“Well, I’m here.” I looked anywhere but at him, as I tried to decide how to do this. How I’d ask him if he was my father. Which was basically asking him if he’d raped my mother. And how I’d deal with it if he was. How would I let the man walk out of here?
“All right. Well, I wanted to discuss the fight tonight and some things that I’m hearing.”
“Which is?” I crossed my arms over my chest and studied his features. We looked nothing alike. He had light hair and blue eyes. But I’d always resembled my mother, so that didn’t mean anything.
“Well, Jett, you’re winning a lot of fights and not everyone is happy about it. There’s a group of guys that bet a lot of money on their fighters, and you’ve thrown a bit of a wrench in that.”
“Tough shit. Then they need to find better fighters,” I said, leaning forward to rest my elbows on my knees.
He bellowed out in laughter. “Just be aware. There are guys that don’t want you there. This Donny you’re fighting tonight works for a bad dude. Get in and get out. Don’t stick around after, especially if you beat him. And don’t have your girl there. Not with this guy.”
I nodded. “All right. I can do that.”
“I’ve got a few of my guys watching out for you, so it should be fine. Just wanted to give you a heads-up.”
I wanted to thank him, but I couldn’t be nice to him. Not until I knew the truth.
“I need to ask you something.” I looked up and met his gaze. He didn’t look away.
“Go ahead.”
“Fuck,” I mumbled. “This is awkward as hell, but I need to know.” I thought about Adelaide, and we’d both agreed to get this shit off our chests. She’d jumped off a fucking cliff because she trusted me. This shit was holding me back. I needed to know.