“I know.”
“Maybe if I call him, talk to him…”
“Please don’t,” I practically beg.
I hear her hiccup and I know that she’s crying. I hate that for her, but going back to that douche won’t do any goddamn good. He’s an older version of Joey, a user and a verbal abuser. Hell, he could be physical, I wouldn’t know because my mother typically hides everything from me.
I hear the front door open and I know that it’s Tulip walking through. I want to end the call with my mother, but my guilt won’t let me. She needs me right now. I hear Tulip’s footsteps through the house and then they get louder as she walks into the kitchen.
“I just love him. You wouldn’t understand. The only thing you’ve ever loved is boxing,” she snaps.
Anger.
It’s part of the grieving process and I know that she’s grieving for that relationship, even if it was a bad one. I did the same when mine ended after so many years with Meghan. I was angry at the world and boxing help me get rid of that, but I still held on to a piece of it for much longer than I should have.
Tulip makes her way toward me, and I smile as she slides up to my side. Dropping my fork, I lift my arm and wrap it around her waist, tugging her closer to my side. I feel her lips touch my temple as her arms slide around my shoulders.
“That’s just not true, Mama. I hope that you find what you need, but he just ain’t it.”
She’s quiet for a moment and then I hear her sigh heavily. “When will you be back in town?”
“About ten weeks from now.”
I wait for her to say something, anything, and eventually she does. What she says surprises me. Almost to the point of being at a loss for words.
“You want to move here?” I repeat.
She clears her throat. “I need a change and you seem to spend quite a bit of time out that way. Plus, that girl you’re seein’ lives there which means you’ll be spending even more time there. I got nothing keeping me here at all now.”
I can sense Tulip’s eyes on me, but I don’t look over at her. “I can move you after the fight,” I offer.
“Perfect,” she snaps.
I don’t know if she’ll mean this when she’s sober, if she’ll still want to move in the morning light, so I make a mental note to talk to her in a couple of days, once she’s sobered up and after she’s let the newness of her recently ended relationship truly sink in. We tell one another goodbye and I end the call, placing my phone on the counter, still in shock.
“Was that your mother?” Tulip asks.
Shifting my gaze to her, I nod once. “Yeah, she said she wanted to move out here,” I numbly explain.
Tulip nods, lifting her hand to cup my cheek. My eyes automatically close when her thumb runs along my bottom lip. I hear her breathing, feel that breath fan over my face and I can’t stop my cock from coming to life at the mere touch of her hand against my skin.
“That’s wonderful,” she rasps.
I push the plate of food to the side before I turn toward her, wrapping my hands around her waist and lifting her up before dropping her ass to the counter. My eyes lift to hers as I tighten my grasp around her.
“It could be wonderful, it could be a fucking mess too.” I shrug.
Tulip tilts her head to the side, her eyes searching my own. “I thought you were close?”
Nodding, I slide one of my hands up her side, cupping her breast before I shift it to wrap loosely around the side of her neck, my eyes never leaving hers. “We are, well we were,” I say. “We don’t always see eye to eye though and she’s been in a place of limbo since my father died.”
Sadness fills Tulip’s eyes. “I’m sorry to hear that, maybe a move to a new place is just what she needs,” she says softly.
Shrugging a shoulder, I’m not sure if that’s the case, assholes and users are everywhere and my mother seems to attract all of them. I don’t go into detail with Tulip, eventually she’ll learn everything on her own. For now, I want to forget the rest of the world and fall into her body.
“Louis,” she breathes as soon as I lean forward and touch my mouth to the center of her throat.
“Don’t,” I grunt, moving my mouth against her skin.
I feel her hand wrap around the back of my neck and gently squeeze. “You made a vow and this isn’t what you need.”
Chuckling, I lift my head and tip back to look into those blue eyes that I constantly dream about. “This is exactly what I need, Tullie. My mind was on you all fucking day long. All I could think about was your smell, the way you feel, and the sounds you make when you come. You know what?”
She blinks, her eyes widening at my words. “I trained harder, faster, more precise than I have in years. So, yeah baby, you’re exactly what I need.”
Neither one of us says a word and with other people milling around my house, I eat her out, then fuck her against the countertop of my kitchen island. It’s the quietest we’ve ever been and it’s a moment that I will never fucking forget.
Chapter Eighteen
TULIP
After dragging my ass to Headlights, I dance mediocrely before I go back home. I didn’t want to go into the club, didn’t want to leave Louis’ side after our perfect moment together in the kitchen.
Not only did it feel physically fantastic, I learned a little more about his personal life. Every time he opens up to me a little bit it feels like some kind of victorious mountain climb. Though, I’m not sure why, because I haven’t opened up to him much more than he has with me.
Physically, we’re perfection, at least it feels that way for me. The personal stuff, the deep and sometimes dark past that I know we both have, it’s coming slowly with time and as much as I want to push him for everything, immediately, I know that he keeps a lot close to his chest.
Sinking down into my driver’s seat, I lock my door and shove my key in the ignition before turning it over and starting the car. As I’ve done every time that I have sat down in my car, I slowly shift my gaze over to the passenger seat to see if there’s another note.
My heart leaps, it pounds almost out of my chest when I see that there is one. Reaching for the paper, I pinch my eyes closed as I bring it in front of me. Slowly opening it, I bite my bottom lip as I open my eyes.
YOU HAVEN’T LEARNED. YOUR TIME IS COMING. SO SOON. IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE.
I actually blink right after reading, then look in my back seat and pray the entire time that whoever this creep is he isn’t hiding back there. I let out a breath when I don’t see anything. But that feeling of relief doesn’t last long.
There’s a knock on my window and I let out a scream as I turn my head to see none other than Mark peering into my car.
Rolling down my window only two inches, I look at him, waiting to see what he’s going to say while at the same time, shifting my car into reverse in case I need to get the hell out of here as quickly as possible.
“You okay?” he asks.
Blinking, I wonder if this is some kind of mind game that he’s playing with me. Is he trying to ease my fears by pretending to be a nice guy, when he’s really the one that’s been leaving me these notes?