“What’s her name?” She demanded making him frown. “I wanna know.”
“Shelley. She’s an intern at the Chicago Sun-Times. She co-interviewed me earlier last year and we went out a few times. Anytime there’s a press conference in Chicago she’s there so that’s why and how I run into her sometimes but it’s over now.” His face leaned into Bianca’s and he brushed his lips gently against hers. As unsure of this as she still felt, she wanted so badly to believe him. “I love you,” he whispered against her mouth. “Please tell me you believe me when I say I won’t ever hurt you.”
“I want to.” Bianca willed the relief to slowly trickle back into her suspicious heart.
He brought his hands up off the car and held her face in them. “You can. I swear to you.” He kissed her again but unlike she had in the past, or maybe just like she had in the past, only she’d been so deep in denial she didn’t feel the sincerity. She heard it in his voice loud and clear but something deep in her gut told her otherwise. No one could be this good at lying, could they?
Finally allowing herself to breathe easy she kissed him back, waiting for that sudden liberation from her fears. The exhilaration she’d felt so often in the past when her doubts were wiped away by his words—his touch. Only this time it never came.
She gasped as his big arms picked her up by the waist and off her feet. Soft hopeful laughter escaped her as he cradled her in his arms and he carried her up the stairs toward the front door of the cabin.
Although she felt somewhat content and wanted to believe that he’d done nothing with Shelley, Bianca had to wonder if this would ever end. If she’d ever trust him completely. She hated to think this would forever be a part of their relationship and she hated how fast and easy it was for her to believe he could do something like that to her. The knot in the pit of her stomach was now gone but it was replaced with something else. Something that overshadowed what should’ve been an enormous relief. Instead, it was disconcerting and confusing.
*
As they turned into the back entrance driveway of the club Bianca was relieved to see the entourage of paparazzi that had followed them the whole way there was not allowed in the back way. She let out a slow sigh of relief and Felix squeezed her hand. “You okay?”
She smiled and nodded, glad now that poor Gio, even in all the obvious pain he was in had still come along anyway. He seemed just as unnerved about the paparazzi as she was only for some reason he looked more irritated than nervous about them. But clearly it was new to him too. Felix and Andy, who also accompanied them in the limo tonight, were completely unfazed by the attention.
“It’s a private party so the entire club is open only to invited guests. They,” Felix gestured back to the paparazzi vans left behind. “are not invited.”
Of course, there were reporters present but since they were invited, Felix said they’d be on their best behavior unless they never wanted to be invited back to one of these events.
Bianca had been to this particular club once before with Toni. But she didn’t realize it had a VIP section. Then it dawned on her this area had been open to everyone the night she’d been there. They actually created a VIP section just for Felix and his guests by closing off one of the corners of the bar area. They’d only been sitting enjoying their first round of drinks for a few minutes when one of Felix’s bodyguards standing by the entrance of the VIP section called him over.
“I’ll be right back,” he whispered in Bianca’s ear before kissing her softly and then stood.
She watched as he walked over to his large bodyguard. As his bodyguard moved out of the way she saw who was standing there waiting for Felix: a tall brunette in a very tight little black dress.
Bianca was immediately on alert. She’d heard about the groupies, even from Felix, though she didn’t think his bodyguards would be stupid enough to call him over to meet with any while he was having drinks with his girlfriend.
She noticed Gio was watching Felix closely as well and if she wasn’t mistaken he seemed just as irritated by seeing the girl with Felix as she was. She glanced back at Felix when she saw Gio’s irritated expression give way to a sudden smirk.
Felix was on his way back to their table with the girl. Bianca sat up a little straighter unsure of how exactly to react to this. “Evelyn, I’d like you to meet my beautiful girlfriend Bianca.”
“Nice to meet you, Bianca.” Evelyn reached out her hand and they shook. She was tall and gorgeous with dark straight hair. Bianca found solace in that not only had Felix introduced Evelyn to her first but he’d made it clear she was his girlfriend. “Evelyn is a friend of my promoter.” Bianca forced a polite smile not sure what that meant.
It also bothered her that Evelyn had obviously met Andy before. Who the hell was she really? And why was she here now? Then her thoughts were muddled when he introduced Evelyn to Gio. “Evelyn, this is my good friend and now one of my trainers, Gio.”
Gio stood up, a quick wince escaping him, no doubt a reaction to his still sore limbs. Bianca caught the widening of Evelyn’s eyes as she got her first look at Gio up close. The guy was so good looking already and tonight he looked, in a word—delicious. Felix had told them it was semi-formal attire so he’d lent Gio one of his many suits. Felix was ruggedly handsome in his own suit but seeing Gio all done up was something else. The man was perfection on a stick already. Though he’d refused to wear the entire three piece suit he did wear charcoal grey slacks, a long-sleeved white dress shirt and black velvet vest. Since Gio’s chest and back were a little bigger than Felix’s the vest hugged him showing off the glorious hard pecs she’d been privy to last night in the hot tub.
Things were starting to make sense now and if this was what it looked like, Evelyn was who Felix had mentioned hooking Gio up with last night. Great. She’d been glad when Felix told her Gio would be there tonight. Not that there was anything wrong with Ray and Ignacio who were there now also but she knew what had happened the other times she’d gone out with Felix. Inevitably, there’d be moments when Felix would be pulled away for pictures with fans or autographing.
Felix usually asked Ray and Ignacio to keep her company while he was busy but neither of them were much for talking. Any conversations with them were short and polite and in no way playful or engaging. With Gio here tonight she’d looked forward to at least some entertaining conversation.
She watched as Evelyn spoke with Gio, for some reason hating the incredibly fake way she laughed. The girl was gorgeous and yes, while Bianca could understand why a girl even as beautiful as her could be taken in by Gio, she really didn’t have to try so hard. Judging by the smile on his face, he liked what he saw.
“How we doing?” Felix asked as he sat down next to her and slipped his hand in hers.
Bianca glanced at him and then back at Gio and Evelyn. “Is she for hire?”
Felix laughed glancing back at Evelyn. “No, babe. She works for my promoter. She’s one of the models that walks around the ring in between rounds holding up the card that tells everyone what round is coming up.”
Oh yeah, she could picture this girl walking around in stilettos and a barely there bikini holding up a card high above her head while the ogling spectators whistled and catcalled. That made her profession much more respectable than what Bianca was originally thinking.
“She just signed with Budweiser,” Felix explained. “That’s why she’s up here. She’s one of the more famous ring card girls in the business and she’s super smart about getting her name out there so Budweiser snatched her right up and she’s here to sign autographs and take pictures with the audience at the snowboarding events. Of course, she’ll be doing it all wearing the Budweiser logo. She wasn’t working tonight so I figured since she’s single she might enjoy keeping Gio company.”
Trying not to have another jealous outburst, it slipped out anyway, “You seem to know a lot about her.”
Felix smiled, kissing her on the nose. “I just told you she’s one of the more famou
s ring card girls out there. So yeah, she’s worked a few of my fights, too. I’m telling you she’s real good about getting her name out there. Of course she made herself known to everyone in my camp as soon as my name started making its way up the ranks. But not like you’re insinuating.” He glanced back at Gio then smiled at Bianca again. “I’d never ask a girl I once dated to keep a friend of mine company. That would be kind of rude, don’t you think? Not to mention insulting.”
Bianca sighed softly, already feeling better. “Yes, it would. So what did you tell Evelyn?”
“I didn’t. I knew Gio would be coming up for weeks so when my promoter mentioned she’d be up here for the championships, and that I might run into her I asked him to ask her if she’d be interested in hanging out with Gio.” He smirked. “My promoter has met Gio before. Even he knows just by looking at the guy no girl would be against spending time with him. Though it’d be only temporary, because let’s face it, Gio’s never been the committing type. But I doubt any girl is immune to his looks, even her.” He stopped and peered at her playfully for a second. “Any girl that is, except you, right?”
Bianca nudged him playfully and laughed a little too loud. Overcompensating much? Visions of her dream made her voice a little shaky, “Of course, silly.” As if her ridiculous cackle hadn’t been enough. She leaned in and kissed him deeply. “I love you,” she added as she pulled away. Could her guilty conscience be any more obvious?
She glanced behind Felix in Gio’s direction and to her surprise, he was watching her. Evelyn was obviously very into whatever it is she was telling him but he was paying her no attention. His almost hard stare locked onto her for a moment before turning back to Evelyn.
For one very brief moment, it felt almost as if Gio had read Bianca’s thoughts—knew about her dream. But she knew that was impossible. Andy came over and asked Felix if he had a moment for some photos with a few fans. Felix’s jaw tightened, clearly annoyed by the interruption. “Go ahead.” Bianca squeezed his arm in hopes of assuring him she’d be fine. “I have to go to the ladies’ room anyway.”
Felix and Andy walked her halfway to the ladies’ room before she told them she could go the rest of the way on her own.
Even after she was all done refreshing her makeup she stood in front of the mirror, her reflection staring back at her. This was not at all how she expected this would be. Would she ever get used to this lifestyle? Most girls would probably jump at the chance to be dating a famous boxer. To be given the star treatment everywhere they went—arrive at parties and clubs in limos—and be seated in VIP sections of clubs. Like everything in life, things are always nicer looking in from the outside. But once inside it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
Felix continued to prove that her first impression of him since getting reacquainted with him was spot on. He was still the hometown boy she’d known in high school. Fame hadn’t changed him. It had just changed his lifestyle. It wasn’t fair for her to continue to distrust him. He had no control over what the media broadcasted about him. She had to stop being so suspicions.
Glad now that she’d bitten her tongue when Felix mentioned his promoter had called to tell him Evelyn would be up here, Bianca still wondered about that. Why would he call him just to tell him that? Did his promoter have reason to think Felix would care? She already disliked Andy for the same reason. Way back before they’d become exclusive, Felix had mentioned his publicist encouraging him to go out and be seen and photographed with as many different girls as possible. Said it was good for his badass image. It’d been his idea to have dinner with the Olympic ice skater Felix had been rumored to be dating. He knew what the tabloids would do with the photos—photos that had nearly broken them up.
Bianca had to start giving Felix the benefit of the doubt. He was obviously giving it to her. He’d just admitted to her that he knew the effect Gio had on women. Knew most women would easily fall for him and yet he hadn’t had a problem with her spending the entire day with him. He hadn’t even flinched when she told him she’d joined Gio in the hot tub. Of course the hot tub in the game room was party size—big enough for a group of people. Not small and intimate like the one in the bedroom.
Suddenly what was happening too often lately was happening again. All thoughts of Felix were drowned out by thoughts of Gio. She was now visualizing that dream—wondering if Gio would end up with Evelyn tonight and unbelievably feeling a little jealous about it.
Bianca spun around and headed out the door. This had to stop. She was being ridiculous and it was embarrassing even to herself. Her stupid feelings were all over the place and she had to get it together. Her face actually flushed at the thought of anyone ever knowing about the absurdity going on in her head.
CHAPTER 11
It’d been over a fucking hour and Felix had still not gone back to sit with Bianca. He’d walked over once, kissed her and asked her something, she’d shaken her head no and then he was quickly whisked away by his damn publicist. Why the hell had he brought her if this is what he was going to do to her?
Gio hated to see her sitting there alone and obviously bored but Evelyn had clung on to him and she wasn’t going anywhere. Gio had seen the way Bianca had looked at Evelyn. He got the feeling she was offended by her. So bringing Evelyn over with him to keep Bianca company was out of the question. How stupid was Felix to show Bianca how easy it was for him to whip up female companionship just like that?
The slow song he was dancing to with Evelyn picked up a little and Evelyn swayed her hips against him. He knew how this night could end if he wanted it to but his body was in no way ready for that. Just swaying to the music now made every part of his body ache. He could only imagine how painful it would be to engage in anything more strenuous. And what he’d do to a girl like Evelyn would be all kinds of strenuous. She said she’d be up here for the duration of the events going on and that would be at least a week so he had no doubt he’d nail her eventually. Just not tonight.
His thoughts went back to Bianca and he glanced over and saw she was on her feet now. She walked over to the bar for another drink. He glanced around looking for Felix again and he wasn’t anywhere to be seen anymore. God, that pissed him off.
“Something wrong?” Evelyn asked, breaking him from his thoughts and he turned his attention to her big, pretty, hazel eyes. “You seem distracted.”
He smiled at her feeling badly that the entire time she’d been talking to him tonight he’d hardly focused on anything she’d said. Earlier because he could hardly think straight watching Bianca with Felix and now for just the opposite reason. He was pissed as shit that she was being neglected. “Nah, I’m just a little tired and sore. Yesterday was my first time snowboarding and I think I overdid it. ”
Evelyn laughed, then covered her mouth. “I don’t mean to laugh at you but I did the same thing my first time. When I tried to warn my then boyfriend about going overboard he didn’t listen either; only he actually broke his ankle that day.” She gave him a coy look. “The asshole cheated on me so the memory of him being in so much pain and actually breaking bones always brings a smile to my face.”
Gio laughed. “Nice. You have an evil side.” He lifted his eyebrow. “I’ll have to remember that.”
She lowered her eyes to his lips and smiled pushing her body up against him even closer than they already were. “There’s a lot to me I’m sure you’d find very interesting.” She leaned in and whispered in his ear. “I like being dangerous.”
Gio smiled, feeling a little turned on by her declaration. “You do, uh?” he whispered back. “Dangerous like how?”
This could mean anything. He knew girls that were into all kinds of kinky shit. She giggled and nibbled his ear sending a shiver down his spine before answering his question. “I like doing it in public.”
Gio tried not to react. He’d be willing to try just about anything at least once but two things he didn’t do was anything that involved another guy in the equation and he didn’t do audiences. Unle
ss of course the audience consisted of other girls waiting for their turn but he had a feeling that’s not what she meant. “You wanna elaborate on that?”
She pulled away from his ear and smiled wickedly. “Like on the sink in the men’s restroom.”
Before Gio could respond her lips were on his and her tongue thrust into his mouth. He was instantly aroused and the thought of taking her on the sink in the men’s restroom consumed him. Maybe his aching body could take a little pain after all. She finally came up for her air licking her wet lips before digging her teeth into her bottom lip.
Glass hitting and shattering on the floor broke his thoughts and not a moment too soon because after realizing it was just a waitress who’d dropped a glass and not a fight breaking out he remembered Bianca. One glance at her table and he was immediately panicked. She was gone. He stopped dancing and looked around from one side of the place to the other as fast as he could. “What’s wrong?”
“I just…” At that very moment he caught a glimpse the back of Bianca’s head walking toward the back exit—alone.
“I gotta go.”
With that, he left Evelyn standing in the middle of the dance floor. He felt bad about it, he really did, but he had to get to Bianca. Something told him she was upset and just the thought of seeing her upset did things to him that had him fisting his hands. He was definitely finishing up that talk he and Felix didn’t get to finish that morning. No girl deserved to be treated this way but especially not sweet Bianca.
He bumped a few people in the crowd in his haste to get to her. Any thought of his aching muscles was long gone. Pushing the door open, he lunged out into the freezing air in time to see the car pull up in front of Bianca.
“Bianca!” She turned with a startled expression but she didn’t appear to be upset. “Where you going?”
Gio (5th Street) Page 11
