by L. J. Fine
“I guess you have me there,” Chloe said with a fond sigh. “I love you anyway. Even if it does take you a thousand years to pick out a pair of shoes.”
Emma glanced down at her black pumps with a smirk. “You’re just pissed because my shoes are cuter than yours.”
“Only in your dreams,” Chloe sing-songed, tossing a wink over her shoulder as she exited the room with Emma close behind.
As Chloe navigated her car closer to their destination, Emma scrolled through her phone, hoping for a nonchalant appearance.
“So do strangers typically accost you in public to give you dating advice around here?” she asked in an offhand way she didn’t feel. Gina’s words still had her a little ruffled.
Chloe slid her a sideways glance. “First of all, in this town no one is a stranger. Unless you are the stranger. Second of all, I’m guessing this random question pertains to something that happened to you today?”
“Ah, you caught me.” Emma smiled playfully. “Some girl named Gina approached me at the lake today, for all intents and purposes to warn me away from Ben.”
A disgusted snort left Chloe as she made a right turn. “Oh, I’m sure she did. What reasons did she give you?”
“She said Ben was dangerous and that he mistreated women. Basically that he was unworthy of me. I have my suspicions, but care to shed some light as to what might have motivated her?”
Bitterness contorted Chloe’s pretty feature as he knuckle turned white on the steering wheel. “Jealousy. Pure and simple. She and Ben had a thing a few months ago. Nothing more than a casual few nights but Gina wanted more. Ben didn’t. She’s been lurking around him ever since. Obviously, she’s not too happy that you hooked up with ‘her man’.”
“Yeah, that part I get. Why add in the threat of Ben being a dangerous man, though? Why not just tell me he’s a player, or outright stake her claim?”
“She’s just perpetuating a rumor. I guess I should warn you before we get inside the gym with all the Serano groupies. I didn’t tell you before because it’s such bullshit but I should have known you’d get some blowback if you two hooked up.” Chloe ran her fingers through her long blonde hair before propping her elbow up against the car window. “Ben has a bit of a reputation. Some of it he’s earned, but most of it he hasn’t. People in small towns love their gossip. They like to take any small grain of truth and blow it entirely out of proportion like some colossal game of telephone. A lot of those assholes don’t care who they hurt in the process.”
Chloe pulled into a parking spot outside of the gym and turned the car off. Unbuckling her seatbelt, she turned to face Emma. “You’re probably going to hear some people talking shit on Ben tonight. Especially the airheaded amazons that frequent the fights. But you have to remember that most of what you hear isn’t true. A lot of those women know about you and Ben and are going to lash out in jealousy. Pay them no attention.”
That had to have been the least amount of information Chloe had every given when it came to telling a story or offering an explanation, warning Emma without getting into the meat of what the warning was for. That alone told Emma that whatever had happened in Ben’s past was serious enough that Chloe wouldn’t overstep her bounds. Though Chloe was spritely and free spirited, Emma had always trusted her judgement, so she decided to square her shoulders and let whatever comments came her way tonight roll off her back.
It looked like any other gym when they walked into the building. Rows of machines took up the majority of the floor with a section at the other end of the room blocked off for free weights. All seemed innocuous looking and legit until Chloe led her to a narrow stairwell and down two floors.
The first flight had already begun by the time they reached the bottom of the stairs. People packed the room, chattering and drinking from red plastic cups. Some stood, some sat in the metal folding chairs lining the walls. All eyes were on the action up in the giant rink taking up residence in the center of the room.
The fighters were stripped to the waist and wore gloves but no mouth guards. It seemed that the rules of the fight weren’t exactly strict, other than the standard no hitting below the belt. She watched in fascination as these two musclebound, grown men went at each other. The testosterone levels in the room were astronomical and it attracted no shortage of female attention.
Tearing her gaze away from the fighting, Emma looked around the room to find various groups of the scantily clad women Chloe had dubbed “the amazons”. Some of these women seriously have no shame, she thought with a shake of her head before turning back to the fight.
As the evening progressed, they met up with Mina and slowly worked their way closer to the ring until they stood ringside for the main fight. It impressed Emma the way Chloe and Mina worked the crowd to wiggle their way up front. Probably didn’t hurt that the main fight was Mina’s man and everyone in the room knew it.
Emma had to admit, as Tyler took the ring and the main fight began, that he was a force to be reckoned with. Men were all about the challenge, she recognized that, but there wasn’t enough money in the world to have Emma going even half a round with him. The guy was a beast and victory was imminent, which was more than likely why Mina could watch the fight at all without tearing her hair out or biting her lip off in anxiety.
Apparently, she wasn’t the only one contemplating Tyler’s ferociousness. A group of amazons had floated up behind them to watch the fight and every once in a while, despite the noise in the room, Emma caught a piece of their conversation.
“All that focus Tyler has. I bet he’s even more intense in bed,” one of them said, giggling at her own naughty comment.
At least one of them, it seemed, had some decency because she snapped at her friend, “Will you shut up? His woman is right in front of us.”
“Calm down, I know I can’t have him, but it’s fun to fantasize.”
“What about one of his brothers?” The third one piped up. “The twins are hot as hell and neither of them are taken.”
Emma felt her ears twitch and suddenly the conversation going on behind her captured more of her attention than the brutal beat down taking place in front of her. Technically they were right. Ben wasn’t taken. He didn’t belong to her. That didn’t stop her desire to turn around and stake her claim, let them all know that he was off limits. Even if he really wasn’t.
“Oh yeah, they’re both delicious, aren’t they?” The first one said. “But of the two of them, I’d take Adam. Ben’s more trouble than he’s worth.”
“I know, right? He’d only be good for a quick lay, anyway, because you know he’s probably going to end up dead or in prison.”
Emma’s blood pressure began to rise while her body shook with anger. What the hell did these women know? Had they ever actually spoken to Ben? True, she didn’t know him that well, but she saw how hard he worked at so many things. For fuck’s sake, the man had at least three jobs that she knew of. He didn’t have time to get into trouble. And the way he had been with her? No, he definitely wasn’t Mr. Perfect but he was a good man with a good heart. She knew that bone deep.
Before she could turn around and start a fight, she felt Chloe take hold of her wrist. She slid a glance to her friend and found her shaking her head. Emma nodded and took a deep breath, remembering what Chloe had said in the car. These women didn’t really know Ben. They only knew what they had heard about him. Really, it was their loss for believing what other people said without taking the time to find out for themselves.
Deciding on the healthier choice to focus on the fight, she blocked out the women behind her and made her best attempt to forget that they even stood there.
That plan had been successful until after the fight when a different amazon approached her as she navigated the crowd with Chloe to find Brian. This time, the woman didn’t even bother to introduce herself; she just came right out with it.
“I heard you’ve been fucking Ben Serano. Let me give you some advice, stay away from him. You don’t kno
w how to handle someone like him. He won’t give you anything but his dick and a criminal record for being his little bitch.” Her words came out slurred and shrill above the noise of the crowd. Apparently this skank couldn’t handle her liquor and didn’t give a shit about volume control.
At the moment, neither did Emma. She spun on the woman, completely uncaring that the brunette had at least four inches on her. It was only added height from her hooker heels, anyway.
“Why is it that you people feel like you’re entitled to force yourself and your opinions into my business? You don’t know me. And from the sound of things, you don’t know Ben all that well, either.” Cocking her head, she narrowed her eyes. “What happened, honey? Did you throw yourself at him and he turned you down?”
Here she paused in case the amazon had something to say. But when the woman just gaped at her, she continued.
“That’s what I thought. Just because he doesn’t want you, or got bored with you, or whatever, it doesn’t give you the right to give me advice or talk shit on him to a complete stranger. ‘Cause, let me tell you a little secret. With this shit right here?” she shook her head. “You’re not gonna endear yourself to him, babe. I suggest you quit wasting everyone’s time and go find a man who actually wants you.”
Then, before the amazon could respond, Emma turned and walked away. The adrenaline vibrating through her body made it difficult to concentrate on where exactly she was storming off to but she needed to get away. So really, she shouldn’t have been so surprised when her forward momentum got stopped dead by a hard body blocking her path.
She teetered off balance and would have fallen on her ass if strong hands hadn’t snapped out to grab her arms and steady her. Looking up, she found Ben as her obstacle and rescuer. Probably the last person on the planet it should have been.
Rather than spilling out her usual polite apology for running him over, or at least bouncing right off him, she said the first thing that came to mind. What she had been thinking as she ended her rant on the amazon.
“Just how many women in this town have you slept with?” she spat once she found her balance and jerked away from him.
This was none of her business, she knew that. The parameters of their acquaintance didn’t allow for such details to be shared. But his reaction to her thoughtless question spun her out and infuriated her all at once.
He grinned at her. An actual, honest to God, grin.
If she wouldn’t have been so pissed off, she might have swooned.
“Why? You jealous, Sugar?”
That question didn’t even deserve a response. Instead, she cocked her hip, quirked her eyebrow and folded her arms across her chest. Then waited.
Letting out a heavy sigh, he clenched his jaw as his mouth formed a grim line. “Not as many as you’d think,” he said, eyes drifting back to where the amazon had been standing moments before.
“Ooooooh, guuuurl.” Chloe was suddenly beside her, throwing an arm over her shoulders with Brian right behind her. “You told that bitch what time it was.”
Just like that, Emma became acutely aware of the fact that she had just told someone off in a crowd full of people. Now all that adrenaline turned inward and she felt somewhat ashamed. Not for her words, she had meant every one of them, but that a good many people had obviously heard them.
Well, bright side. Maybe now all these women would her and her involvement when Ben – whatever that was – alone.
Forcing her gaze away from Ben, she looked at Chloe. “I just wish these women would mind their own business.”
Brian laughed. “I don’t think that’s going to be a problem from now on.”
Emma felt her face heat as Chloe clapped her hands and rubbed them together. “C’mon, we’re all going out to celebrate Tyler’s win.”
“Even though Tyler always wins,” Brian interjected.
Chloe shot him a sly smile. “All the more reason for us to keep going out to celebrate. It’s a tradition now. Gotta keep up the winning streak.”
As Chloe and Brian spoke, Emma could feel the heated weight of Ben’s gaze trained on her. Her eyes flashed to him and stayed there. Her friends faded into the background. The sounds of the noisy crowd chattering and moving around ceased to penetrate her awareness. Her whole world narrowed down to the gorgeous amber eyes holding her own.
Right then, she didn’t want to be anywhere but alone with him. But given the finality in the tone of their last meeting, and the way their conversation had been going before Chloe had interrupted, that didn’t see likely. Despite the odd warmth in his eyes as he looked at her now.
It had been a long, confusing day and she knew if she went out with them tonight it would only get worse. That knowledge prompted her to interrupt Chloe’s banter with Brian. “You know what? I think I’m just gonna head back to my room tonight, Chloe.”
A frown drew a line down the center of Chloe’s pretty face. “Are you sure? You okay?”
“Yeah.” Emma nodded with what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “It’s been a long day and I’m tired. But tell Tyler congrats for me, okay?”
“You suck, but all right,” Chloe said, giving her a playful nudge with her shoulder. “I’ll drop you off on our way.”
“Don’t worry about it, Chloe. I’ll take her.” Ben’s low, gravel-coated voice startled her. That was the last thing she had expected to hear and apparently she wasn’t the only one.
Chloe quickly masked her surprise with a displeased pout. “What, you’re not coming out now?”
Ben’s eyes never left Emma as he spoke to Chloe. “Nah. I’m not feeling it, either.”
“All right, you guys are losers.” Chloe acted upset, but Emma knew that this outcome secretly thrilled her. Although she didn’t know why. It wasn’t like they were sneaking off to be alone together.
But as she walked out of the building with Ben toward his truck, she had a moment to wonder what they actually were doing.
Palpable silence filled the space between them on the way to her motel. If one of them didn’t break it soon, Emma would start babbling. She didn’t know what to say to him exactly so everything in her head might come tumbling out of her mouth if she didn’t pick the right thing. She was on the verge of giving herself a tension headache trying to come up with a topic of conversation that he would respond to with more than a monosyllabic answer, when he spoke.
“So you’re not gonna ask me what that girl was talking about back there?” He slanted her a look out of the corner of his eye that she couldn’t quite read. Could it be apprehension that her opinion of him had changed? Or did he know she had questions and wanted to get the inquisition over with?
In all honesty, she hadn’t planned to ask him about it and told him so. “What went on between the two of you, past or present, is none of my business. I just get annoyed when other people don’t extend to me the same courtesy.”
He tilted his head to look at her as the hit a red light, expression still unreadable. “Sounds like she wasn’t the only one to invade your privacy today.”
Emma gave him a tight smile. “No, she wasn’t. But I don’t give much credence to rumors and gossip. People make up stories about other people for all kinds of reasons that, a lot of the time, have little to do with the truth. I prefer to base my opinions on my own personal experience.”
“That’s a rare quality you possess, Sugar.” He looked away. Then, on a sigh, he ran his fingers through his hair and said, “Just for shits and giggles, though, lemme guess what they said to you. I’m a rough player who’ll chew up your little heart and spit it back out. Then I’ll run off to get high and play with my gun collection right before I knock over a couple of 7-Elevens.”
The way he said it, with such wry sarcasm, had her laughing. “Yeah, that about sums it up. Only you’ve given me way more details, just now, about your unsavory character. Those women today gave me a more high-level warning.”
“And what was that?”
“That you’re dangero
us and I’d save myself a lot of trouble and heartache if I left you alone.” Gossip and joking aside, she had to wonder what events had taken place to give Ben such a reputation. It was more than just the jealousy of those women. She could see that they believed he was a genuine bad boy, and not just in the fun, sexy way.
“Do you believe that? That I’m dangerous?” He leveled his gaze on her. This looked filled with a contradicting mixture of resignation and hope. As though he guessed her answer but was bracing himself in case he turned out to be wrong.
“If you’re asking me if I think that you’ll hurt me then then answer is, no, I don’t.” She took a deep breath and then plowed on with the next bit. “But you’ve obviously got a past, Ben. And I completely respect your privacy and understand that you don’t want to share it with someone you barely know. That’s why I’m not asking.”
That thick silence returned once the last words left her mouth. It lasted the rest of the way to her motel and resonated even after he cut the truck’s engine. She didn’t know why she sat there with him in the quiet stillness. Eventually, though, it sunk in that their conversation had ended and she should be thanking him and exiting the truck. She got as far as unbuckling her seatbelt, when his voice reached her ears.
“When I was ten years old, my mom walked out on us,” he said softly. Almost too softly for her to hear, but when she did, her breath caught. She completely froze in position with the seatbelt halfway off, just in case any sudden movement might deter him from continuing.
“There was no goodbye, no note, not really even a warning that she was about to split. One morning she was there like normal and when we got home from school, she was gone.” As he spoke he didn’t look at her. Instead, he stared at his hands, picking at the skin around his fingernails.
“I didn’t –“ He cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. “I didn’t handle that so well.” He gave a humorless laugh. “Actually, none of us really did well with it. I was the most self-destructive, though. It’s probably a pretty typical story. I kind of ghosted on my dad and brothers. Fell into the wrong crowd, started getting high and drinking. Got arrested a couple times as a teenager for stupid shit, like destruction of property.” He looked at her then. “So if you’re curious as to how I got my reputation, that’s it.”
