Chapter 11
“Speaking of pathetic,” Nash says before taking a quick swig from the bottle in his hands. He points a finger at his older brother and swallows down what has to be warm beer for how long he’s been nursing that thing. “Did you see the way Jaxon was eyeing our sister yesterday?”
Glad to know I wasn’t the only one who noticed.
“I couldn’t be bothered to notice,” Crew says with a dramatic roll of his eyes.
If the height of the moon is any indication of the time, it has to be close to midnight.
Brody and I decided to stay outside with the older Williams brothers a little longer after everyone else called it a night around ten.
Normally, if I had the chance to catch a few extra hours of sleep at night, I’d do the same, but getting to know Crew and Nash has been one of my highlights of this trip.
Growing up with my little sister as my only companion at home made me long for the connection that comes with having a brother, someone who understands the trials and tribulations of navigating the teenage boy world.
And let’s be honest, Ari probably felt the same way.
I had friends in school, but I never felt that connection with anyone until I met Brody in developmental at EWE.
We didn’t have NextGen back then. It was just a handful of guys in a dingy gym with a single ring and two trainers.
A lot has changed over the years, and the introduction of NextGen was the love child of Noah Callahan and Theo Rafferty.
They were tired of new guys coming in and falling flat because they didn’t have anyone teaching them the ropes—literally.
Noah and Theo wanted to give new kids a place to go where they could learn what it meant to be an EWE wrestler—indie or not.
They could work not only on their wrestling skills, but also on promos and character development.
Brody and I became best friends almost instantly and have been inseparable ever since. Always looking out for each other, always there for each other, always cheering one another on in our careers. There has never been any jealousy or ill feelings when someone seemed to get ahead.
That’s how it feels to watch the Williamses, and they made us feel like part of the family from the second we set foot on the property. But the thing I liked most about the family is the way each of the brothers looks out for their sister. God save anyone who tries to mess with her.
I guess I forgot people like this exist, because I haven’t met many in the last six years.
Backstage is a competitive place. People are constantly vying for a morsel of acknowledgement or TV time, and it’s always been that way.
If you’re not willing to step on a few throats, you won’t make it in the business.
You can’t worry about the chances someone else isn’t willing to take.
Nash swallows another sip of warm beer and shrugs. “All I’m saying is Jaxon always finds a way to weasel his way back into Sav’s life.”
Brody and I share a look, knowing that he’s already tried to do just that.
“That was in high school, Nash. Besides, Savannah isn’t dumb enough to fall for his shit again.”
I try to hide a chuckle behind my beer, but it’s not subtle enough, earning a glance from Crew, but before he can ask, Nash spills the beans on her morning activities earlier today. “She went on a date with him this morning!”
Crew’s head whips back to his brother. “What are you talking about?”
“I heard Mamá telling Pa about it,” Nash says, lifting his hands in a shrug. “Something about SJ was gone and back by the time everyone got up, told Mamá she went to breakfast with Jaxon.”
The oldest Williams scrubs a hand down his face. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
I think back to this morning, when I walked into the kitchen after a run to find Laine gathering ingredients to prepare another large breakfast, with coffee already brewing.
The sight made my heart ache as it had for the past three mornings.
The Williams family was what I had hoped my family could be, but my parents were the epitome of people who stayed together for the kids.
They finally divorced when my sister Ari turned eighteen, and they didn’t see each other again until she graduated from college.
And try as she might, my mother is the opposite of Laine Williams in every sense of the word.
“Good morning, Brooks!” Laine beamed over her shoulder from her place at the stove. “Saw you out there runnin’. I figured you’d still be in bed after last night.”
Last night was the New Year’s Eve festival in town, and the exact reason I needed that run.
I had to work through the events of the night—more specifically, the event that transpired moments before the clock struck midnight.
Savannah and I were supposed to be friends…
Hell, maybe even acquaintances, and people who were acquaintances did not kiss.
As the clock counted down, I couldn’t get the idea of kissing her out of my head, and with only two minutes left until midnight, my feet moved on their own through the crowd to find her.
“What if they see?” she asked with only seconds remaining, but the question didn’t faze me.
I didn’t care if anyone saw us. I didn’t care if someone took a photo and posted it on the internet or sold it to a gossip magazine.
Let them. None of it mattered, because in that moment, I only cared about the woman in my arms.
The kiss ignited a spark in my brain, and it screamed at me to hold on to her and never let go.
My run only jumbled my thoughts more. Every scenario I came up with ended with telling Savannah I don’t want to be just friends…
I want her. We only spent one night together, one fleeting moment, but I still thought about it often.
Still thought about the girl from Crimson Valley with the bright eyes and beautiful smile.
There was something behind that smile calling out to me, and it made me want to know her.
It felt like the universe was giving me the chance to do just that, except there was the issue of her rule: No dating wrestlers.
Then there was the issue of her date with Jaxon this morning—okay, so maybe that wasn’t the word she used, but let’s call it what it is—and instead of doing what a good friend would do, I had gone and blurred the lines… again.
Why was this happening? I’d never experienced anything like this before, never felt this…I couldn’t get her out of my fucking head. It was driving me insane.
“You see Savannah out there?” Laine asked, handing me a cup of coffee. “She wasn’t in bed, and she wasn’t in the barn with Crew and Wes, either.”
“No, ma’am. Can’t say I did.”
Her mother hummed in response, tapping the rim of her coffee mug. With a small shake of her head, she cleared her throat. “Well, I have to go round up some more eggs. Breakfast will be done shortly.”
Not a second later, the door swung open to reveal Savannah dressed in blue jeans and a basic white T-shirt hidden underneath a black jacket. Her eyes met mine almost instantly before her mother bombarded her. “Buenos días, Mamá.”
“Where were you this early?” Laine drew out the question.
“Oh, I…I met a friend in town,” Savannah said, pouring a cup of coffee.
“?Un amigo?” Laine asked and glanced at me briefly. “?Quién?”
“Jax.” The name came out barely audible over the rim of Savannah’s mug, but it sent her mother into a tizzy. Her eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of their sockets.
“Savannah Josefine! How could you—”
“Mamá, please.”
Laine dropped her voice into a harsh whisper.
“You have guests here, and you went out with Jaxon?” Savannah stood with her back to me, but I could see the tension mounting in her shoulders as her mother continued to chastise her.
While they were both preoccupied, I made a break for the door.
“Why would you want to see that boy, huh? He’s nothing but a troublemaker, and you know it. ”
“I ran into him in town the other day, and he invited me to catch up. That’s it.”
“Ay, Savannah!” From the door, I saw Laine throw her hands up in the air before she walked away. She shoved her arms into her jacket sleeves, muttering to herself in Spanish the whole way out the door.
Brody’s voice brings me back to the fire pit with the brothers. “What’s the deal with this kid? Jaxon, is it?” Brody asks, and I glare at him. “What? You act like you don’t want to know.”
“It’s none of our business,” I hiss.
Crew scoffs and glances my way. “Oh, please, Brooks. You’re dying to know. Don’t think I haven’t seen the way you look at our sister.”
Brody tries to cover his laugh with a cough.
“I could tell from the second you saw each other the other day.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Nothing is going on.” The words flow off my tongue with a small bite to them.
Maybe it’s because of that small bit of jealousy I feel knowing she went on a date with her ex-boyfriend while we’re here…
while I’m here. Or maybe it’s because the words are the truth.
Nothing is going on. We’re not dating. We’re barely even friends.
However, I’m not sure it’s the right time to tell them I have seen the most intimate parts of their sister…
“It’s not like it’s not reciprocal,” Nash says.
“Your sister doesn’t date wrestlers,” Brody answers before I can.
They share a laugh over the fire, but the joke seems lost on me and Brody. “Jaxon was a football player and a wrestler in high school,” Nash says, still laughing to himself. “He was—”
“Jaxon Gallagher was a cocky son of a bitch who thought he was God’s gift to mankind,” Crew interrupts.
“That doesn’t mean he wasn’t good,” Nash argues. “He got a full ride to UT.”
“Yeah, and as soon as he got up there with the big boys, what happened?” Crew asks, but Nash only clears his throat in response. “Exactly.”
“What happened?” Brody asks for both of us.