Chapter 3
CHAPTER 3
SIMON
A bigail Walker. Fuck .
I rubbed my face as I watched her being pulled away from me by Eden, Hazel, and London.
It was like I’d been thrown back in time, except that back then, there was no way she would have let them take her away. Back then, she had always been coming toward me. Often with those exact three girls nearby, but toward me.
Always toward me.
Totally floored that I had seen her, I struggled to catch my breath, but shit. I saw her. I heard her voice. I raced against her like I did so many times when we were kids.
I blinked hard and slow. It was weird, but I was honestly wondering if I’d hallucinated the whole thing. If I hadn’t drunk enough water today to ensure that I wasn’t dehydrated, I really might’ve believed that it had all just been in my head.
As I’d been running that last race, I’d looked up and I’d almost tripped over my own feet, thinking it was her. I’d spent the rest of the run convincing myself that it was someone else. That there was no way it could be her. I’d thought that she was just in my head because I’d seen her on social media on the flight over here.
The Walkers were often all over social media these days, trending because of some campaign Olivia was spearheading for a massive ranch down in Texas. While their family did their best to stay out of the limelight, I’d caught sight of Abi once or twice since Olivia had taken on the Andersons as a client.
I’d really thought that was why I had been imagining it was her, but then the race had ended and I’d seen Eden, Hazel, and London waiting for her at the finish line. I’d heard Abigail’s voice after she’d caught them all staring at me and I’d immediately known that I hadn’t been wrong.
It really had been her.
Too shocked that she was here, I couldn’t move a muscle to go after them when the girls pulled her away. I wanted to, and I had never been shocked to the extent that I was rooted to the spot, but I sure as hell was right then.
Finally, the boys caught up to me, all cheering and holding out their hands for fist bumps and high fives. I obliged, but I was still staring at the spot where I’d last seen Abi before the crowd had swallowed them up.
“Bro, we just won silver for our tier.” Josh clapped his hands before offering me another high five. “You should be hyped. This is awesome. Why the hell do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”
“Because I did,” I muttered, continuously scanning the crowd for any sign of her, but there was none.
The girls had gotten her out of there. Fast.
They had always been protective. In the past, I’d been inner circle. I’d never been on the outside, but I’d seen them operating like that before. Closing their ranks and protecting their own. The only one missing today had been Olivia.
Despite the fact that the Walker girls differed a few years in age, they had always been thick as thieves. It didn’t surprise me that Eden and Hazel were still with Abi either. They always had been unbelievably tight, those three girls.
Benny frowned at me and moved directly into my line of vision, his brow furrowed and his expression alert. “Who are you looking for, Simon? What the fuck do you mean you just saw a ghost? Don’t joke about that stuff, man.”
Finally blinking hard one last time to get past the shock, I inhaled sharply and turned to look at the boys—the only people on this earth who knew exactly what I had done way back in the day and exactly why I’d done it.
“It’s way worse than a haunted racetrack.” I cleared my throat in the hopes of not sounding so damn breathy. “Abigail Walker was here, guys. I just saw her for the first time since high school. And she beat me.”
My friends went quiet, and David even grew a little bit pale as his eyes widened on mine. “Oh, shit.”
My friends exchanged puzzled, bewildered looks. All of us were still processing when Blake came back onto the stage. He announced the gold, silver, and bronze winner for each tier of the competition, but the guys and I didn’t move a muscle when we were announced.
I was pretty sure my team was now too shocked to celebrate right away. Blake didn’t realize it though, thankfully not skipping a beat when no one went nuts after he announced our team name. In the midst of all the cheering around us, I doubted he could discern who was yelling and who had been petrified by the sight of an ex.
“All the winners are invited to the after-party tonight. You’ll receive texts with the information on the phone numbers provided on your entry forms.”
I should’ve been overjoyed. Their after-party was famous—and at least half the reason why most of the people present here had come—but I was still processing. Besides, I didn’t even need to a text to know where to go for the after-party.
It was always held at The Sky House , one of the fanciest hotels in LA. I knew everything I needed to know about it.
Meanwhile, Blake handed the proceedings over to Ashley. She grinned at the crowd, but I hardly even looked at her. Definitely didn’t really notice her this time.
“Thank you so much for coming out, everyone,” she said enthusiastically. “No matter how strong or how fit you are, remember that you can always be a Fit Gal or Fit Guy. We’ll see you all again next year.”
God, what a cheesy line.
It could absolutely use some work, and I made a note of that for when I got back to New York and started working on my first pitch for them.
Right now though, I was trying to get my head wrapped around the fact that I’d seen my Abi. I couldn’t believe it.
Of course, she wasn’t my girl anymore. She wasn’t my anything, but I didn’t think I’d ever be able to stop thinking about her that way.
The boys and I headed back to our hotel to eat and get ready for the festivities later, but even as my friends slowly broke out of their shocked silences, I didn’t. Abigail Walker. Of all the fitness competitions in all the world, she had to walk into mine. Fuck me sideways.
I scrubbed my hands over my face, really just not able to believe that she was here. In Los Angeles. At the same time as we were.
Hell, she wasn’t even just in the same city at the same time. She’d been at the same damn event. Competing in the same damn race. It was impossible. It had to be the universe messing with me, dredging up old pain.
Benny turned to look at me as we strode into the lobby of the hotel, hands in his pockets as if that would make this conversation more casual. “So, you’re sure it was her?”
“I’m sure.” I swiped my tongue across my lips and scoffed. “Shit, man. Of course, I’m sure. This is Abi we’re talking about.”
Soft, classical music played from the speakers in the hotel bar, just loud enough to try and draw us in. We were sweaty as hell, and as much as I needed a drink, I needed a shower more. I stank. Benny didn’t swerve toward the bar either, though we lost Josh and David to a quick beer before they’d make their way upstairs.
“Yeah,” Benny said finally. “What am I thinking? It had to have been Abi for you to have practically lost your ability to speak. Tell me about it, bro. What did she say? What did she look like? Was she wearing a wedding ring?”
My stomach churned at the possibility that she had gotten married to someone else, but despite the fact that she hadn’t been wearing a ring, I couldn’t discount it entirely. “People don’t always wear their rings when they’re working out. She might’ve taken it off for the Games.”
“Okay,” Benny said slowly. “So no ring?”
“No ring.” I dragged my hands through my hair before hitting a button to call the elevator. “She didn’t speak to me at all. Didn’t say anything. She just kind of stared at me with this weird look on her face, and then Hazel, Eden, and London were there and they all turned and walked away.”
He barked out a laugh. “Seriously? They’re all here together? What are the odds of that happening?”
“We’re all here together.”
“Yeah, but you and I work together. I suppose it figures that London would be with her, but it’s pretty cool that she’s still tight with Eden and Hazel too.”
“Awesome,” I breathed, grateful that we were one step closer to our rooms when the elevator doors slid open ahead of us.
We climbed into the car and I jabbed at the buttons to close the doors even though I could see people rushing toward us. I didn’t need more people in here with me right then. Even Benny was too much, and that was saying something. This guy and I had been together through thick and thin.
He glanced at me in the mirrored reflection of the doors. “She looked good, huh?”
“How did you know?” I narrowed my eyes to slits as I glared back at him in that same reflection. “Fucking forget it, man. We might not be together anymore, but?—”
He laughed and threw his hands up in surrender. “I was talking about the effect she had on you , dingleberry. I’d never touch her. I know the bro code. There’s no way I’d ever be able to look at her and not see the way she used to look at you.”
I swallowed past a sudden dry patch in my throat. What was it about the girl that still drove me so crazy even after all these years that I’d suddenly doubted the intentions of my best friend? Just a glimpse of her had me twisted around, jumping at shadows. A low groan escaped me as I dropped my head and gripped my hips, needing to just be alone already.
“Yep. She looked good.” It was all I was going to say about that particular topic.
Benny didn’t need to know that she’d aged like a fine wine, growing up to become the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen—and boy, had she grown up. Her curves had matured into the soft lines of a toned woman rather than the girl she’d been when I’d last seen her.
Her hips were wider, even if her stomach was still completely flat, and the swell of her breasts under her T-shirt had definitely seemed fuller. It made me wonder if she’d ever had kids. A weird stab of possessiveness seared through me at the thought of another man’s baby growing inside her, just like when I’d wondered if she’d gotten married. My heart still thought of her as mine.
Then again, she had always wanted a family. It would’ve made her happy to find a husband and have his babies. As much as the thought of it fucking slayed me.
The elevator doors opened on our floor and I strode toward my room without another word to my friend. My brain could only focus on one thing right then and that was Abi. I was wracking my mind for any sign I might have seen that she was taken.
That she was a wife. A mother.
I couldn’t recall seeing an indent on her ring finger that might’ve suggested she usually wore one, but I also hadn’t been looking for it. All I’d seen were those incredibly bright blue eyes and her light brown hair pulled up into a ponytail high on top of her head.
I’d seen her beautiful, delicate features and that tiny body that had always felt so good against mine. Underneath mine.
It was screwing with my head that I felt like I knew everything about her while in fact I knew nothing at all. Not anymore.
I’m going to find her at the after-party , I decided as I started stripping as soon as my hotel suite door slammed shut behind me. I have to.
I stepped into the shower in my en-suite bathroom and only switched on the water once I was in it, grateful for the ice-cold spray before it gradually started warming up. My head cleared a little with icicles blasting at it. I grinned, formulating a game plan as I squeezed shower gel into my palms and lathered up.
After getting done in the shower, I made sure to dress super nice. Then I put on my favorite cologne and shaped the short beard I’d grown a few years back. Abigail Walker had already run away from me once today, and I’d be damned if I let her do it again tonight.
She’d won gold in their tier, and that made them winners. With a little bit of luck, they’d show up to the party, and when they did, not even London would be able to keep me away.