22. Bishop #2
“Bishop!” Lennox called, and for a split second, relief flooded my system. But then it dried up like the fucking desert as she said, “Open this fucking door, you coward!”
What was she doing out here in the middle of a thunderstorm? I hurried out of my seat, reaching my door in five steps before ripping it open.
Lennox stood in the pouring rain, looking like she’d just fallen in the ocean and drug herself back up to land. The small awning was hardly offering protection from the storm, but she didn’t care. Her eyes narrowed to thin slits, but the startling icy blue color was glowing with undiluted fury.
She pushed past me, tracking in mud and soaking my floor with the water dripping from her clothes. And then she stood in the middle of my living room, arms crossed and not giving a fuck.
I checked outside, seeing her truck still running, and a bright ass light bar across the top was focused on the door. “Uh, your truck is?—”
“I don’t give a shit about the truck, you stupid prick!” she yelled.
“Alright,” I said, slowly closing the door.
I’d learned early on that pushing Lennox’s buttons was all fun and games until she reached the point of no return.
Once that happened… It was be st to mind your balls because she would absolutely try busting them.
“Mind telling me what you do give a shit about then?”
She let out a frustrated growl before storming over and jabbing her finger in the middle of my chest. “You! I give a shit about you. Maybe that makes me the fucking fool in this scenario, but here we are. Here I am, making the big gesture, laying it all out on the line for your old ass.”
“Woah, woah,” I said, placing my hands on her shoulder. She promptly shrugged them off, and I held them up in a promise not to touch her if that wasn’t what she wanted. “Slow down, killer?—”
“Don’t call me that,” she hissed.
“Alright, Lennox… What’s going on here? I don’t understand what’s happening.”
Lennox snorted. “Of course you don’t. You’re completely oblivious to everything and everyone around you—living in your own world.”
I rolled my shoulders, trying to ease some of the tension tightening my muscles. I didn’t know if I’d ever seen her this mad before, and I’d held her back from getting into a shit ton of fights over the years. Whatever this was—whatever I’d done—it surpassed anything I’d experienced.
For all her teasing, Lennox wasn’t ever inherently rude or insulting to others. She could be passive-aggressive as hell sometimes, but I felt so out of my depth with this wave of anger.
“Lennox—”
“Why did you leave this morning?” she asked, jutting her chin out in a show of strength.
One that might have worked if I didn’t know her so damn well.
It wobbled slightly, and she was clenching her jaw so hard I thought it might pop.
When I didn’t answer her quickly enough, she repeated her question, accenting each word with a sharp jab. “Why. Did. You. Leave? ”
I rubbed at my chest. “I—I had work. I just?—”
But she wouldn’t hear any of my excuses or even think about entertaining them as she said, “You could’ve woken me up.
You could’ve said goodbye, but you didn’t.
You just got dressed and slipped out without a word.
I mean, my God, at least when Josie left Lincoln in Tennessee, she left a note that said she was sorry, but I didn’t even get that.
” Her words were coming fast, and she paused to catch her breath before beginning again.
She clutched the back of her neck. “I knew this was gonna happen, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but I fucking am.
Silly me. I thought that maybe, just maybe, last night would’ve meant something to you, but?—”
“It meant everything!” I bellowed, unable to stop myself. I ran my fingers through my hair as she blinked in confusion. “Jesus Christ, Lennox. I know you think I’m a callous dick, but do you honestly think I’m so cruel that I’d be so devil-may-care with your body? With your heart and mine?”
“Then why did you leave? Why didn’t you text me?” Lennox tried holding her voice steady, but it broke on the last question. “Why didn’t you say anything at all?”
I blew out a breath and hung my head . Bishop, you’re such a fucking idiot.
“When I woke up this morning, there were people in the barn. Neither of us had set an alarm, and I heard the hands questioning where I was. I panicked. You got me there, but it wasn’t just for me.
It was for you. For us. I didn’t know what people would say if I came traipsing down the stairs from your loft, and I sure as hell wasn’t about to out us without talking to you first.”
“Is there an us? Because you’ve been the one to backtrack every time we’ve tried sorting this out.”
“I don’t know, Lennox! That’s the point. We deserved a chance to sort that out ourselves.”
“But you left!” Lennox stepped forward, cheeks flushed and eyes glowing.
“Do you know how cheap I felt waking up this morning, excruciatingly sore, overly exhausted, and yet ridiculously happy? Until, of course, I realized that you’d snuck out like I was nothing but a cheap fuck,” she shot back, running her hands through her hair.
“God, I am so stupid. I can’t believe I actually thought you’d gotten over your bullshit. I don’t know what I’m doing here.”
I’d had enough talking. Enough fucking games. I surged forward, bracketing her face with my hands and pulling her closer. Her eyes widened in surprise, but beneath all the bullshit, I saw a spark of hope ignite.
“You are anything but a cheap fuck, Lennox,” I whispered harshly before crashing my lips to hers. She pushed against my chest only for a second before her arms wound around my neck.
Last night was gentle and reassuring, but this was something else entirely. It reminded me of the first night we’d kissed after the bar, how desperate and eager we were for one another. But where there’d once been confusion, I only felt clarity.
And that clarity was Lennox Hayes.