Chapter Thirty-Nine #2
“Remember when you were ready to jump my bones and lose your virginity, but I made you wait?”
I groan. “Yes.”
“And we took the time to get to know each other and explore our feelings. Wasn’t making love that first time so much more special because we didn’t rush?”
Shrugging, I answer, “I guess so.”
“You guess so?” He lifts a brow, and I break out into a laugh.
“Yes, of course. It was very special.” I wrap my arms around his shoulders. “But during those two weeks, we were still being intimate with each other, just not all the way intimate.”
“And after the fight when we’re able to forget about JJ and the O’Learys, won’t waiting feel way more special?”
I lower my eyes. The emotions I’ve bottled up inside threaten to release, but I try holding them back.
“Mads?” He tips my chin up toward him. “What is it?”
“Nothing,” I whisper.
“This isn’t nothing,” he says, wiping a tear that slipped out. “Tell me.”
I swallow hard, feeling silly for getting emotional. “What if…” I start, then lick my lips. “What if there is no after the fight because you don’t survive,” I finally choke out. “We abstain from sex and have no last time.”
“Is that what this is? You’re worried something’s gonna happen to me, and we’ll have missed out?” he asks, wrapping a piece of loose hair behind my ear.
“Well of course, I’m worried!” I toss out my arms. “If you die, we wasted every last opportunity to spend together.”
“Maddie…” he says slowly, grabbing my face. “I’m not gonna die.”
“You can’t promise that. I looked up videos on underground fighting, and it’s fucking ugly.”
“Fuck, Mads. Why’d you do that?”
“Because I wanted to know what my boyfriend was getting into. I have a right to know how dangerous this is and need to prepare myself for the worst.”
“You’re right. It is ugly, but that’s why I’m training so hard, baby.”
“That doesn’t guarantee the other guy won’t have just as much training, or hell, more. There’s no way to know how this is gonna turn out and—”
“Maddie, stop,” he demands, cupping my cheeks.
“I promise you, okay? I promise I’m coming back to you in one piece.
My obsession with you is too strong. There’s nothing in this goddamn world that’ll keep me from you.
Got that? We fought way too hard to be with each other.
I’m not letting anything come between us now. ”
Tears hang at the corner of my eyes and slowly fall down my cheeks. I know he can’t promise me that, but I hang onto every single word because it’s all that’ll get me through this until it’s over.
I nod, unable to speak through my emotions, and Liam hugs me to his chest.
“I love you,” he says softly.
“Always?”
His lips tilt up against my skin.
“Always.”
Now that I’m on Christmas vacation, my days are starting to run together, and when I wake up to another morning of Liam already gone, it takes me a minute to realize it’s Friday. One more day until our family Christmas party here with my sisters and their husbands. And of course, Tyler as well.
Too bad there isn’t a fourth Corrigan sister because Tyler could easily blend in with our family. The guys all love him, and he’s good with Lennon’s kids. He’s tall, dark, and handsome. Literally. There is nothing not to like about him.
“Get up, Madilocks!” He pounds loudly on my door. “Soph’s trying to call you. Answer your phone!”
Okay, except for that.
After Liam left for Vegas and Tyler was put on “Maddie duty,” he gave me a nickname after Goldilocks to fuck with me. He thinks it’s the funniest thing in the world since it annoys me. Then Sophie chimed in and said it was perfect since I moved into the house last and took over her bed.
“You’re an asshole, Beanstalk!” I shout, whipping off my covers and marching to the door. “What?”
Tyler steps back and blinks. His eyes glance down once before snapping back to mine. “Uh, Sophie texted me to wake you up because she’s trying to call you.”
“Okay. I’ll call her. Anything else?”
Tyler focuses on the ceiling, shaking his head. “Nope.”
I furrow my brows, wondering why he’s acting so weird. Looking down, I realize I’m only in my sports bra and shorts. “Oh, now you’re shy?” I chuckle. “You walked in on me getting out of the bathtub naked, remember?”
He squeezes his eyes shut. “That was an accident.”
“Mm-hmm,” I tease. “Relax, I’ll get dressed.”
“Good, because Liam is getting really strong, and I don’t want him kicking my ass for seeing you like this.”
“What? Did he say something?” I jab my finger in his ribs so he’ll look at me.
“Jesus.” He yelps, stepping back. “I’m leaving now. Get dressed and call your sister.”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Tell your possessive best friend that I’ll walk around naked if I want.”
“I wouldn’t recommend that.” He peels open one eye and squints. “The last time I made a joke about you, he had me by the throat against the wall. Remember?”
Guilt creeps up at the memory of how worked up Liam got while waiting for Victoria to file divorce papers.
“Is he getting that bad?” I ask.
By the time I see him every day, he’s already spent hours at the gym, then after he cleans up, he’ll go track a fugitive until the evening. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was purposely avoiding me, but I understand he’s trying to juggle a lot at the moment.
Tyler nods. “He’s getting anxious not knowing who he’s fighting yet, and JJ keeps texting him reminders about how important this fight is.”
I groan. God, I hate that ugly ass piece of shit.
“Okay, fine,” I surrender. “Getting dressed now.”
Tyler walks away, and I check my phone, seeing eight text messages from Sophie. She has a full day of rehearsals before she’s off for the holiday and asked me to run to the grocery store for some last-minute items she needs for tomorrow’s feast.
Maddie
I’ll grab everything, stop worrying.
Sophie
Thank you! Love you!
Maddie
Next time, don’t send Beanstalk to wake me up, though!
Sophie
I had no choice, sleepyhead!
I snicker and set my phone down so I can get ready for the day. Once I’m dressed and presentable, I head to my car and crank it, but it doesn’t turn over.
What the fuck?
I try it again and nothing. Well, great.
Grabbing my stuff, I walk back into the house and look for Tyler.
“Hey,” I say when I find him in the kitchen. “My car won’t start for some reason. Any chance I can take your truck to the store to get groceries for Soph?”
He looks at me, concerned. “It won’t start at all?”
I shake my head. “Just makes a weird noise, then dies. I have no idea.” Shrugging, I pout. “I can take an Uber if it’s an issue.”
“No, of course not. But I’m a little worried after what happened to the G-Wagon. You should let me look at it.”
I smirk, crossing my arms. “You know how to work on cars?”
“Don’t look so surprised.” He chuckles, then grabs his keys. “C’mon, I’ll take you so I can buy some tools and oil. When’s the last time it’s had an oil change?”
I follow him to the front door. “Uhh…”
“Oh, Madilocks. I’m about to teach you some life skills today.”
Groaning, I walk out to his truck. “That sounds like zero fun actually.”
An hour later, we’re back at the house with everything on Sophie’s list and everything from the auto aisle. Tyler talks to me about car shit and what could be wrong with it, and honestly, he’d be better off talking to me in a foreign language because I don’t have a clue what any of it means.
As I unload the bags, he changes and returns in old-looking jeans and a ripped T-shirt. “Come out when you’re done. I want you to watch.”
I give him a look that says I’d rather be anywhere else.
“Stop being a baby.”
“I’m not! I don't want to tinker around in an engine.”
Tyler laughs hard. “You don’t tinker in an engine, Mads.”
I roll my eyes. “Whatever…can’t you just fix it, and I’ll give you a big hug in return?”
“Nice try.” He grabs the extra bags of parts he bought. “Meet me out there in five, I mean it.”
I grunt loudly. “Fine. I have to change again because I’m not getting my nice clothes dirty.”
“Don’t really care what you wear as long as it covers your body.”
He’s gone before he can see my scowl, and I grab my phone to text Liam.
Maddie
Is there a reason you’ve put Tyler on dress-code duty? He won’t even look me in the eyes!
Liam
Well, hi. What’s the matter, sweetheart?
Maddie
Don’t be cutesy. You scolded Tyler for looking when I’m not fully dressed. Don’t you think that’s a bit possessive?
Liam
Hell no. I love Tyler like a brother and owe him big time, but he still has a working dick.
Maddie
So does Mason. You’re not threatened by him?
Liam
You never notice how Mason leaves the room when you enter or turns away when you walk in?
Maddie
ARE YOU KIDDING ME???
Liam
Baby, relax. It goes both ways. I don’t look at Sophie, and he doesn’t look at you. It’s bro code.
Maddie
Something is seriously wrong with you.
Liam
I don’t want other guys looking at my girlfriend.
Maddie
Mason is like my brOTHER. Ew!
Liam
Good. Keep it that way.
Maddie
I know you’re really stressed right now, but you can’t be all alpha on me.
Liam
I’d be less stressed if my girlfriend would tell me how much she loves me instead of yelling at me.
Then the jerk sends a smiley face. Damn him.
Inhaling a sharp breath, I let it slide. For now.
Maddie
You’re damn lucky I love you.
Liam
Always?
Damn him again.
Maddie
Always.
After a half hour of sitting outside and watching Tyler do God knows what to my car, I’m bored.
“Can I go inside yet?” I whine.
“Is your car fixed?” he counters.
“No clue, you’re the know-it-all.”
He chuckles as he messes with shit under the car. “Can you at least hand me the pliers?”
Releasing a breath, I get up and look in his tool kit. “What’s that?”
He chuckles again.
“Stop laughing at me! If I told you to get me a leotard, would you know what that is?” I fire back, digging around.
“Red handle with two grippers at the top,” he explains.
Yeah, that narrows it down. I grab two items that kind of sound like that. “Any of these?” I ask, lowering my body to where he is.
“Come closer,” he says. I inch farther. “A little more.” I go on my back and wiggle toward him.
“You’re an ass. I know what you’re doing,” I say with a smile. “Now I’m dirty.”
“Welcome to workin’ on your car,” he taunts, grabbing one of the tools out of my hand.
I watch as he messes with shit, and I’m intrigued. “How’d you learn about cars?”
“My grandfather,” he says.
“The one married to the grandmother who taught you how to cook?”
“Yep. Mimi and Pops. They practically raised me and taught me everything my mother didn’t.”
“And your dad?”
He shrugs. “Left when my sister was a baby.”
“Are you and Everleigh close?” I ask, remembering his sister’s name from when he first told me.
Tyler shrugs again. “Kinda. We text, but I haven’t been home in years.”
“So you haven’t seen your sister in a while?”
“She’s come to Vegas a couple of times, but no, I don’t see her as much as I’d like.”
“You don’t visit your grandparents?”
After he stays silent for a minute, I know he’s not going to answer that question, so I ask him another one. “Any ex-girlfriends back home?”
“Nope.”
“None? Wait. Ex-boyfriends?”
He rolls his eyes.
“What? I wouldn’t judge. I don’t care if you’re gay, straight, upside down, or triangle. I’m just asking.”
He snorts. “What the fuck is triangle?”
“I was just making a point.”
“I didn’t date in high school,” he says. “Graduated and enlisted right away.”
“So you were in the military!” I snap my fingers. He made a comment about boot camp in Montana, so I had a hunch he had been.
“Only for four years.”
“Why?”
“Decided on a different path,” is all he tells me. Trying to pry information out of Tyler is harder than when I was trying to crack Liam all those years.
“Why didn’t you date in high school? I imagine you were popular. Probably the quarterback. Amiright?” I smirk and wait for any kind of expression from him.
Instead, he slides out from under the car, so I follow him, and he starts fidgeting under the hood. He wipes his hand on the rag, and I study his hard expression.
“There was a girl, wasn’t there? I can tell.”
“You’ve lost your mind.”
“Hardly. I’m very good at reading this kind of shit. Ask Lennon. I knew she and Hunter were in love before she did.”
He snorts. “How’s that possible?”
“I’ll tell you when you tell me a secret.”
“I’m not that desperate to know. Plus, I’ll just ask her myself.”
I scoff. “That’s cheating.”
Tyler takes out a long metal stick, wipes it across the rag, then puts it back in its place. “Why do you want to know so badly? I’m not one of your girlfriends who wants to gossip about crushes and periods.”
“Well, you did buy me tampons already, so we’re halfway there.” I shoot him a shit-eating smirk.
He groans, shaking his head. “If I tell you, will you leave me the hell alone about it?”
“Yes, promise!” I say overeagerly.
He sighs. “She wasn’t my girlfriend, but her name is Gemma. She’s my sister’s best friend.”
“Oh my God!” I squeal, my eyes widening in excitement.
“Shut it.”
I hold back my laughter, but then fail and release it. “What else? Tell me more.”
“Nope, that’s all you get.”
Sticking out my lower lip, I give him my best pouty face. “That shit might work on Liam, but it doesn’t faze me.”
I roll my eyes, crossing my arms. “Rude.”
Chuckling, he pushes off the car, then shuts the hood. “You need a new battery. I’ll run and grab one.”
“What, that’s it? How do you know?”
“Because I checked it when you were unloading groceries, but you also needed your filters replaced and an oil change.”
“Well, that’s good, right? That means no one messed with it?”
“Nope, just normal age and slacking on car maintenance.”
Whew.
Tyler packs up all his tools and supplies. “So…what’s Gemma look like?”
“I haven’t seen her in years.”
“Not even on social media?”
He shakes his head.
“You weren’t curious?”
“Curiosity killed the cat, Maddie.”
“Oh come on! Is she single? Have any kids? Does she still live in Lawton Ridge?”
“No idea…on all three.”
“Wow…you’re weird.”
He shrugs. “Guess so.”
Tyler opened up a little more today and gave me some personal details of his life, but I’m determined to crack him in half before he goes back home. I don’t know who hurt him or why he’s so private, but I have a feeling there’s a story behind it. And I want to hear it.