**********
Tate
“You wanna tell me why you look like you just saw a ghost?”
I shook my head and dropped my bag on the floor. “That was Ryker’s aunt?” I asked dumbly.
“That’s what he said. I have to admit, I was damn shocked when she said she was looking for Ryker. I figured she was a mom coming in to sign her kid up for classes.” Kellan leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on the desk.
“She’s not sixty.”
Kellan eyed me up. “I know, dude. I was right here. Why the hell are you so shocked?”
“I guess I’m just surprised.” I didn’t want to tell Kellan about last night until I talked to Hadley about it. She obviously didn’t want anyone to know about us. Otherwise, she would have reacted completely different when she saw me.
“Hey!’ Molly called as she strolled through the front door. “Who was that walking with Ryker?” She set three paper bags on the counter and stepped around the desk to kiss Kellan.
He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into his lap. “That was Ryker’s aunt.”
Molly’s eyes bugged out, and her jaw dropped. “I thought you said she was old. That woman looked far from old.”
“Yeah, Cookie. We were just as shocked as you are. Hell, Tate still can’t believe it.”
I slightly shook my head. “Yeah, I guess we were way off on that one, hmm?” I grabbed one of the bags off the desk and started pulling out food.
“Jesus, Cookie, how much did you bring over?” Kellan asked as I pulled out four sandwiches from one bag, then chips and cookies from the other two bags.
Molly shrugged and reached up to grab a sandwich. “I figured Ryker would still be here, and I decided to take my break with you.” She handed Kellan a sandwich and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I didn’t think you would mind.”
“I get to spend more time with my girl? I don’t mind at all.” He grabbed the sandwich and pulled her to him, burying his face in her hair. She giggled and turned in his lap.
And this is where I got lost. I was happy Kellan had met someone, but I didn’t need to witness to their sappy shit.
I grabbed a sandwich and three cookies. “I’m gonna head home,” I called, picking up my bag.
“You’re not going to stay and eat?” Molly asked, turning to look at me.
“Nah, I got some shit to do at home. I’ll see you Monday, man. Bye, Molly.”
“Later,” Kellan called.
I pushed open the front door, hoping to see Hadley waiting for me, but I knew she high-tailed it out of here as fast as she could.
I beeped open the locks on the Range Rover and tossed my bag in the back. I loved this damn truck, and every time I slid into it, I felt like I had actually done something good with my life. All those years of being under Jim’s thumb led to me being a part owner in a kick ass dojo and driving the car of my dreams.
The engine purred to life, and I pulled my phone out of my pocket. I punched in Hadley’s address and headed towards her house. I hoped to see them walking home, but by the time I drove by her house, I didn’t see either of them. They only lived five minutes from the studio, and I slowly drove by.
It was a small house that couldn’t have been more than two bedrooms. From the outside, it was the shape of a simple square, with a door and a small porch on the front. The windows were all dark with curtains hanging in them, and the lawn was overgrown. It wasn’t anything to write home about.
There didn’t look to be anyone home, although since Hadley’s car had broken down, there weren't many places they could have gone.
It was only quarter after one, and I had more than five hours until I had to pick up Hadley. I had no idea what I was going to do when Ryker answered the door when I knocked later, but hopefully, by that point, Hadley will have talked to him.
If you really looked at it, it wasn’t a big deal that Hadley and I were dating, or doing whatever the hell it was we were doing. It was just a damn small world that she happened to be Ryker’s aunt.
I pulled away from the curb and headed to the other side of town.
I was going to stare at the clock, waiting ‘til I could see Hadley again. I just hoped that she still wanted to see me, too.
**********
Hadley
“Is that really what you want for dinner?”
Ryker nodded and pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Pizza.”
I rolled my eyes and grabbed his phone out of his hand. “Ry, I don’t have to leave for another hour. I have plenty of time to make something.” I had more than an hour. It was a quarterto six, and I wasn’t being picked up until seven…by Tate. I was freaking out inside trying to figure out what I was going to tell Ryker when he came to the door.
Ryker’s phone rang in my hand, and I turned it over to see it was one of his friends calling. “Tom?”
He snatched the phone from my hand and put it to his ear. “Sup?” he mumbled.
I rolled my eyes and leaned against the counter. After I met Ryker at the karate studio, we walked to the grocery store, three blocks away, and bought as many groceries we could carry. I was ten steps away from losing a finger when we finally got home. It was no fun to walk and carry ten plastic bags that were weighed down with a crap ton of food.
Now, I was trying to make dinner for Ryker, but he was insisting all he wanted to eat was pizza, after I had almost lost a finger to bring home food.
“Haddie?” he called.
I blinked rapidly and nodded. I had zoned out and hadn’t realized he had been calling my name. “What’s up?”
“Is it okay if I go out for pizza with Tom and then go back to his house?”
“What time will you be home?” Not that I was actually going to be here, but I needed to know where he was.
“Can I spend the night at his house?”
I shrugged. Tomorrow was Sunday, and we had no plans to do anything except veg out and watch re-runs of Hawaii 5-O. “I guess that’s okay. I expect you to call me when you get to his house, though.”
Ryker nodded and told his friend he would meet him there in thirty minutes.
Well, I guess that took care of Ryker seeing Tate when he came to pick me up. Now I just needed to figure how to stop freaking out that Tate was going to see where I lived.
“I’m gonna shower and then head out,” Ryker told me. He dropped his phone on the counter and pulled his shirt off over his head. “Do you have five bucks?” He was about to toss his shirt on the floor, and I stared him down.
“Drop it, and you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.” Ryker was always stripping down wherever he damn well felt like it, and I was forever cleaning up after him. I was tempted to buy a laundry basket for each room so he would at least not drop his clothes all over the floor.
He balled it up in his hand. “I would have picked it up later,” he muttered.
“Sure, and hell is freezing over tomorrow.” I opened the fridge and pulled out my glass of water I had put in their earlier. “Put it in the hamper,” I ordered.
He grumbled under his breath as he strutted to the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind him.
“Damn kid,” I mumbled. I was going to train him even if it killed me.
Now I had the next hour freed up to get ready, while trying not to text Tate and tell him I had died and didn’t need a ride.
Ugh, why did he have to be Ryker’s karate instructor guy? I know Ryker called him Master Tate, but when I said that, I felt like a creeper who was ready to let Master Tate have his way with me.
Although, the thought of Tate having his way with me had a certain appeal to it.
“Haddie,” Ryker called. “Can you bring me some clothes and boxers?”
Oh, sweet Jesus. “Maybe that was something you should have thought of before you walked into the bathroom.”
Ryker had his head sticking out of the bathroom with a shit-eating grin on his face. “But then you wouldn’t have anything to do.
I was just thinking of you.”
I swatted at his head as I wandered to his room. “I think I would have survived without having to grab your clothes for you. I know it’s hard to believe, but I did manage before you moved in, turd.”
I grabbed some clothes out of the basket in my room and handed them to him. “Thanks, Aunt Haddie,” he mumbled.
“I’m just thankful I didn’t have time to put them in your drawers yet. Otherwise, I would have had to brave going into your room.”
He rolled his eyes and shut the door. “It’s not that bad in there,” he called.
Sure, and hell was just a sauna. “I’m gonna get ready for work. Make sure you come say goodbye before you leave,” I hollered through the door.
I heard his grunt of annoyance at having to check in with me and knew that was all the response I was going to get.
I dug through the basket in my room looking for a clean skirt to wear and only found the super short one. “Dammit.” I held it up and shook my head. It looked like it had shrunk even more, and I was going to be amazed if it managed to cover both of my cheeks. But I managed to find a shirt that hadn’t shrunk, so at least I was only going to have to worry about covering my ass tonight.
I piled my hair on top of my head and sat down in front of the mirror on top of my vanity. My skin was pale and splotchy, and I cringed thinking about Tate seeing me like this. Why, oh why, did I have to see him this morning?
All the kung-fu moves he did last weekend made sense now. Hell, his rock hard abs and sick body made sense too. I knew how much Ryker worked out and could only imagine how much Tate did.
My makeup was laid out on the top of the vanity, and I grabbed the concealer. Lord knew I was going to need it. After I had the base layer of my face on, I moved on to make my eyes less baggy and more like ones of a thirty-year-old. Only four hours of sleep a night tended to wreak havoc on one’s face.
Once I had the bags hidden, I finished putting on my mask. Dark eyeliner and smoky eyeshadow completed the look, and I barely recognized myself.
“Might have gotten a little heavy-handed, Hadley,” I mumbled to myself. I spritzed perfume on my wrists and neck and tucked all of my makeup into the drawer.
“I’m leaving,” Ryker yelled.
I rolled my eyes and padded to the door. “You think you can come say that to my face, instead of running by my door?”
Ryker ran his eyes over me. “Are you working tonight?”
“Yeah, why?”
He shrugged and wrapped me up in a quick hug. “I don’t know. You just look different.”
“Um, is that a bad or good thing?”
“I think good,” he laughed. “You just look like you care.”
I scrunched up my nose. “Like I care? I don’t even know what that means.” What in the hell was he talking about? I cared about what I looked like. Normally. Okay, not all of the time, but I did try to look like I cared when I went to work.
“You look nice, okay? Like you’re going on a date and not to the titty club.”
I smacked Ryker on the arm. “I told you not to say that. Hearing you say titty is something I can live without.”
Ryker smirked. “I’m gonna go.” He turned to walk down the short hallway and looked over his shoulder at me. “Have a good night at the titty club!” He darted out the door, and I mentally cringed. Damn that kid.
The door slammed behind him, and I slumped against the door. I sighed, thankful Ryker was gone, and I didn’t have to deal him seeing Tate. “One crisis averted.”
I quickly got dressed, pulling on the too short skirt, and pulled my shirt on. I studied myself in the mirror and didn’t see what Ryker had been talking about. I look like a waitress who worked at a strip club. A tad trashy, men loved that, and the rest like the girl next door. Men loved that even more.
It was a quarter to seven by the time I ambled into the kitchen to make a quick sandwich. I barely got started when there was a light knock on the front door.
“Who the hell is that?” I mumbled, walking through the living room. I picked up a stray shirt Ryker had left on the floor and tucked it under my arm. “I’m gonna kill him.” I pulled open the door, and every drop of air was sucked from my lungs.
“I hope you’re not talking about me.” Tate stood there in all of his glory, looking like a model who stepped right out of a magazine. It should be a crime to look that good.
I shook my head dumbly and racked my brain trying to think of something to say. “Ryker.” Yup, that’s the brilliance that came out of my mouth.
He quirked his eyebrow and looked around me. “You worried about him seeing me?”
I shook my head no and stepped back to let him through the door. “He’s not home. He went out for pizza and is staying at a friend’s house,” I explained. I closed the door behind him and leaned against it.
Tate was massive in my tiny living room, and it felt like I couldn’t move without touching him. His hands were in his pockets as he did a slow circle, taking everything in. From the middle of the living room, he could see into the kitchen and down the hallway which lead to the bathroom and bedrooms.
“It’s not much,” I mumbled. When I had lived here alone, it was more than enough room. Now, with Ryker being here, it always felt like we were stepping on top of each other.
Tate turned to face me and smiled. “I grew up in a house just like this.”
I was surprised by that fact. From the way Tate dressed and acted, I figured he had come from a rather privileged life. “Cool.” Gah, lame, Hadley. “Well, I’ll just grab my shoes, and then we can head to the club.”
“Wait,” Tate called as I tried to step around him. He grabbed my arm and pulled me to him. “We need to talk, sweetheart.”
My eyes darted to the floor. “About?”
“The fact that when you saw me at the studio, you acted like you didn’t know me.”
I swallowed hard. “I was surprised,” I mumbled.
His hand cradled my face, and he tilted my head up. “I think it was a shock to us both.” His eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled down at me.
“You’re my nephew’s teacher,” I mumbled.
His thumb stroked my cheek. “I’m more like his employer.” He smirked.
“Is that supposed to make it any better?”
“Hadley, I’m not sure why you’re so bent out of shape about this.”
I stepped away from him and managed to skirt around him. “Because he has been through enough these past six months. He doesn’t need to deal with you and me.”
He shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I think you’re making this a bigger deal than it actually is.”
“No, I’m not,” I insisted. “He loves karate, Tate.”
“And so do I.”
I held up my hand. “Please, just let me talk.”
He nodded.
“He loves karate. It’s the only steady and consistent thing he has in his life. His mom died six months ago, and his whole life was tossed up in the air, left to land all willy nilly living with his aunt and having to make a life in a new place.”
“I don’t see what that has to do with you and me? I mean, I know it has to do with you, I mean you and me together.”
Thank god Tate corrected himself, because I was two seconds away from blowing up. “So you and I date, or whatever the hell we’re doing, right?”
Tate nodded.
“What happens when you and I break up, and then you have to see Ryker all the time?”
Tate ran his fingers through his hair. “Damn, you already got us broken up in your head.”
I glanced at the clock. “Shit, we need to go. I’m going to be late.” I dashed into the bedroom, slipped on my heels, foregoing grabbing my flip flops, and grabbed my purse. “Are you coming?” I asked, walking back into the living room.
Tate was looking at the picture of Jeri and me that I had hanging over the couch. “You look identical,” he remarked.
&nb
sp; I hitched my purse over my shoulder. “Everyone always thought we were twins. She was only a year older than me.”
“And that made her?” Tate asked, fishing for my age.
I rolled my eyes and opened the door. “She was thirty-six when she passed away.” I motioned out the door for him to get a move on. “Go.”
“Calm down, sweetheart,” Tate chided as he strode out the door. “We have plenty of time to get there.”
I pulled the door shut behind me and locked it. “Not when my shift starts at seven fifteen.”
Tate stood at the bottom of the steps with his jaw dropped. “Hadley, you told me to be here at seven.”
“I know.”
“Sweetheart, it takes twenty minutes to get to the club, and it’s after seven.”
I shrugged and looked down at him. “Then, I hope you have a fast car.” I looked where I normally parked my car and saw Tate’s shiny SUV sitting there. “I’m sure that goes fast enough.”
“It’s not a jet plane,” Tate mumbled.
He grabbed my hand and helped me down the steps. I was already starting the night out shaky on my heels. I was going to have to beg Vanessa to let me bartend so I would at least have the bar to hold onto. “Thank you,” I mumbled when my feet touched the gravel driveway.
“I’m not letting go of you yet, Hadley. I’ve seen how you stand on those shoes. It’s a miracle you’re able to walk in them.” He guided me over to the truck and opened the door. “I would like to know how tall you are without them on, though.”
I rolled my eyes and slid into the truck. “You saw me this morning. I didn’t have them on.”
“Didn’t you? I wouldn’t know since you left like your ass was on fire.”
I grabbed the door and tried to shut it in Tate’s face, but he had a firm grip on it. “We need to go, Tate.”
“You’re already late, sweetheart. What're five more minutes?” He leaned into the truck, his arm sliding around my waist. “You know all I could think about last night was you?”
My mouth went dry at his words, and I dumbly shook my head. I knew that he was all I thought about last night, but I had no idea he had the same problem. “We can’t do this, Tate.”
Love on the Mat (Powerhouse M.A.) Page 8
