Shaking my head once, I level both Troy and Gary with a flat expression. “Don’t fuck with my personal life. I will not have any fake relationships and I will not pretend that I don’t have a girlfriend. Tulip isn’t going anywhere, she’s mine and that’s all you need to know.”
“Tulip?” Gary asks. Lifting a brow, I silently dare him to comment on her name. “The media is going to have a field day. No pun intended,” he snorts. “Seriously though, once her name is leaked, they’re going to fucking roast her alive. A country bumpkin named Tulip.”
He’s shaking his head, looking down at the floor and I want nothing more than to punch him square in the goddamn jaw. Clearing my throat, I take a step back.
“I’m not talking about this anymore, let’s get started with the actual goddamn meeting,” I snap.
We spend the next several hours going over my schedule for the next twelve weeks. Not only do I have to do my regular training, but I’m also going to have to do some press shit before the fight. Which means that I’ll have to go back to Vegas earlier than I had hoped.
“Seriously, Louis, think about ditching the girl, just until the fights are over. After that, do whatever you want,” Gary practically begs.
Shaking my head, I snort. “I’m going to do whatever I want no matter what, Gary. Don’t fuck with me.”
They leave and head back to their shared Airbnb, one that I’m paying for. The rest of the team arrives tomorrow and the only person staying in my home with me is the chef and only because I know that he needs complete access to my kitchen at all hours of the day and night.
Cradling my face in my hands, I can’t help but think that I’m about to drag Tulip through a hell that she doesn’t deserve, all because I’m a selfish fuck and I want to keep her for myself, always.
I will fight to protect her too, against anyone who says anything negative about her. Against the world, if I fucking have to.
Chapter Fourteen
TULIP
I wait outside of the grocery store for what feels like an hour. Glancing down at my phone, I frown, realize that it’s really only been ten minutes. A long ten minutes. I decide to scroll through the contacts on my phone in search of Louis’ name.
He’s never been late to pick me up before and I’m kind of surprised that he’s late now. Biting the corner of my lip, I wait as the phone rings. He doesn’t answer. Leaving him a short voicemail, I let him know that I’m waiting outside for him.
Glancing around, I let out a sigh. I wait another fifteen minutes; he doesn’t respond to my voicemail or my three texts. I send one last text to let him know that I’m going to start walking toward my apartment. Luckily, my place is not too far away, just a couple of miles.
Hitching my purse over my shoulder, I head in the direction of my building in hopes that Louis will meet me halfway at least. Biting the corner of my lip, my feet carry me away from the store.
The entire time, all I can think about is the fact that he had his meeting and now he’s unreachable. A sick feeling settles at the pit of my stomach, like maybe it’s already happened, maybe he’s already done with me.
I hear a vehicle pull up next to me and stop. My heart rate speeds up a bit, even though I know that nothing bad ever happens in Gallup, not really. I slowly turn my head to look over my shoulder, expecting to see someone I know.
It’s someone I know all right. But it’s not who I would ever expect. And I don’t recognize the small single cab pickup truck he’s driving either.
“Tulip, what are you doin’ walking down the street? Where’s your car?” he asks.
It’s the first time he’s looked clean in weeks. If you had told me the last time that I saw him, that he would be this man in front of me only days later, I would call you a liar.
Also, he looks healthy, and if I’m not mistaken, possibly even happy. He looks the way he did as a teenager and something shifts inside of me toward him.
“It’s at my apartment. I just…”
“He didn’t come get you?” he asks, speaking of Louis.
I can’t deny that something ugly passes through me at the thought of Louis forgetting me. I shouldn’t be upset. He’s been completely focused on me for days, close to two weeks. He’s spent every waking moment being at my beck and call. His schedule is starting to ramp up for this fight and I shouldn’t be upset at all, this is a good thing. It feels so bad though.
“I think he just got busy,” I lamely excuse. I shouldn’t be talking to him at all, the things that he said to me the last time that I saw him, I should be running away, not walking.
He shakes his head. “Yeah, okay. Let me give you a ride home at least.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” I say, hesitating.
Joey closes the distance between us. “You called him, right?”
“More than once and texted,” I breathe as he stands a little too close, but he thankfully doesn’t touch me.
I’m grateful for that, right now, I need space. I’m not attracted to Joey, I don’t want him back, never will. But we were together from the age of thirteen. He will always be special, before it went bad we had some really good times.
“No funny business, I just want to get you home,” he offers with a lopsided grin.
Nodding, I whisper an okay, then make my way over to the passenger seat of his pickup. Buckling myself into the seat, I wait for him to round the hood and sink down into the driver’s seat himself.
“You seem different,” I whisper as soon as he eases back into the minimal traffic of our small town.
He chuckles as he shifts the truck. “I am. Got a job down at the rock quarry. It’s hard work and I don’t make much, but I’ve been going in every day,” he explains. “Stopped drinking and stopped using. Changing my life around, Tulip.”
“Really? That’s wonderful,” I whisper.
“It’s because of you, Tulip. You kicking me out and meaning it? Refusing to let me back, even when I tried to bully you and scare you into it, really woke me up. I’m in my mid-twenties and I have nothing to show for myself, until yesterday I didn’t even have this used truck. How fucking pathetic is that?”
I want to agree with him and add in a few more pathetic things that he was, but I don’t. Instead, I just give him a small smile and nod. “I’m really happy for you, Joey.”
“Thanks. Like I said, it’s because of you. Maybe one day we can try again, once I’m truly on my feet, but not before.”
“Not before?” I ask, having no intention of getting back with him ever, but I’m curious about what he’s going to say.
He clears his throat as he pulls into my apartment building parking lot. “Yeah, when I have my own place, when my job is steady and I’m working toward moving up. When I’m no longer a fucking burden to anyone.”
“Who is she?” I ask, smiling toward him.
He shakes his head. “Nobody. Just decided not to be the boy that I was anymore.”
He pulls into an empty parking spot and my breath hitches when he reaches out and cups my cheek with his warm palm.