“Okay, Britt. Get a hold of yourself. It’ll be fine. It’s work and you need to be professional.”
I’ve only been at the gym a few hours. There could be a good reason Keller hasn’t come to see me yet. Or returned any of my calls over the weekend. There’s a good possibility I’m blowing this way out of proportion.
I grab my laptop and decide to treat Keller the same as I do every other day. All I can do is wait and see what happens. If nothing else, I’m certainly not a whining, insecure baby who is going to force a guy into a long, drawn-out fight with tears and begging. Even if every cell in my body wants to cling to Keller and beg him not to leave me.
Better to just go with the flow. My stomach flips anxiously and sweat beads up between my shoulder blades.
Go with the flow. Right. Tell that to my frazzled nerves.
Killer
It’s nearly impossible to avoid Britt at the gym, but somehow, I manage. Yeah, I’m an asshole for cutting her off with no explanation, but it’s better this way. Talking leads to emotions and emotions lead to messy, human shit. Shit I can’t deal with.
Besides, Killer doesn’t give a fuck about some girl’s feelings.
“Killer, come to my office.”
I cut a glance at Gabriel and scowl under my hood. I’ve been a dick to him as well as Britt, and I can tell by his stilted voice his patience for me is waning. Tough shit. I’m here to fight and train, that’s it. They can take their touchy-feely crap and fuck right off. I stalk to his office, head down, and flop down into a chair. It’s not until Gabriel speaks to someone else that I realize Britt is in the chair next to mine.
“Britt, have you studied Killer’s most recent tapes?”
“I have.” The sound of her voice sends vibrations to my dick.
No!
Gritting my teeth, I will the thoughts of painting Britt’s face with my cum right on out of my head. I’m strong. If I can deal with the grief of killing my sister, spending six months in jail, and finding my mother dead in the pool, I can deal with working beside one fucking girl without sporting wood.
“Killer, have you discussed the tapes with Britt?”
Jesus. I can tell Gabriel already knows the answer to his question.
“No. Been too busy,” I grunt, still hiding behind my low hood.
“Well, I expect you to do that by the end of today. We only have a week until the fight and you need to make your modifications before then.”
“Fine,” I reply in an icy voice to let him know I’m pissed.
“Fine,” Gabriel responds.
A shuffling sound next to me accompanies Britt’s tiny feet passing by my chair. “I’ll be in my office waiting, Killer.”
Fuck me.
Before I can follow Britt, Gabriel speaks. “I don’t know what you did, but fix it.”
What the—?”
I shove back my hood, making eye contact with Gabriel for the first time since my dad fucked up my world last week. “Don’t start shit you don’t know about, Gabriel,” I snarl.
“I know enough. You hurt Britt after I warned you. Whatever problemas you have in here,” he taps the side of his head, “You get them straight and fix what you broke.”
I stand up, ready to rip Gabriel apart with my bare hands. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.” I step closer, nearly nose to nose with one of the only people to believe in me. “I can’t be fixed. Britt will survive.”
“Hmmmm,” he says, rubbing his fingers on his chin. I pull back, glaring at the man.
“What?”
“Nothing.” Gabriel shrugs and turns away, effectively dismissing me.
I curl my fingers into tight fists and storm out of the room. “Fucking people can’t stay out of my goddamn business,” I mutter to myself. Halfway to the locker room to grab my shit and leave, I remember I have to meet with Britt.
Son of a bitch.
I storm outside to get ahold of myself. I can’t meet with Britt while I’m wound up and pissed off. I had no choice but to toss her aside without any explanation, and I’m okay with her thinking I’m a douchebag, but she definitely doesn’t deserve me acting like a hostile dickhead right to her face.
I pace in front of the door, clenching and unclenching my hands. An engine starts nearby and I look up, my hood shading my eyes from the bright sun. I catch a glimpse of a beat-up silver car peeling out of the lot and my entire body goes rigid.
That little fucker, Max. What is he doing here?
Before I can chase him down, he’s gone.
I growl in frustration. Today just gets better and better. This. This right here is why I don’t get involved. This messy, complicated bullshit. Max, Gabriel, Britt… all it does is make my life more difficult.
Except I was happy for the first time in ten years, because of Britt.
I want to punch the little voice inside my head for reminding me of that fact, but when I barge into Britt’s office and see those big blue eyes staring up at me with a look of longing, I know the voice is right. I was happy. I felt something.