Chapter Twenty-Three #2
“No!” I say, bending down, picking up the tequila bottle, and pounding it down onto the rubbery surface. Somehow, the bottle smashes, and a shard of glass pokes into the inflatable arena.
“Oh shit!” Alex says as she rushes forward and grabs me—the flap of broken material flutters violently as air gushes out at lightning speed.
“Nate… run,” she says, dragging me out of the arena and onto solid ground.
The inflatable arena wobbles and deflates as I open my eyes wide and look at Alex.
She pulls her lips in tight and tries to hide her amusement.
“Holy shit, Nate, you’re a fucking badass,” she murmurs.
“Fuck! I totally just blew up an inflatable arena, didn’t I?”
She chuckles and nods. “With fucking tequila, no less.”
Augie runs in and stops beside us as I stand up straighter and breathe heavily.
Goddammit! I could be in deep shit.
“Fucking hell,” Augie says, a little out of breath. “What happened?”
Alex shakes her head, looking over to the group of college boys. “Those fuckers were drinking tequila on your inflatables, Augie. It had to be them, those little fucking brats,” she says.
Augie nods and puffs out his chest. “Little bastards. Right, they’ll pay for this. Thanks, Alex. What would I do without you?” He steps off toward the college kids.
She turns to me and takes a deep breath. “Quick, grab your shoes, Boss… we’re yeeting out of here.”
We put them on in a mad rush and race out of there as quickly as possible, laughing all the way out and onto the street.
Immediately, we duck into the car before Augie and his boss can catch up with us.
My security detail slides into the driver’s seat, chuckling to himself after witnessing what went down, but he says nothing as he pulls off from the curb rapidly and heads away from Inflatable Land.
“Holy hell, Alex. You think I’m the badass? I think it’s you,” I say, and she chuckles.
“No, it’s definitely you, Mr. I-Like-To-Hulk-Smash-Inflatables-With-Tequila-Bottles.” She giggles as she says it.
“How do you know Augie, Alex?” I ask.
She smiles. “The shelter I was staying at when Ria found me used to bring the women here as a group for confidence building and group mentoring. We came here once a month, and Augie helped us all come out of our shells. Because he’s such a decent guy, and we all came from terrible relationships with men, he helped us remember that not all men are the devil incarnate.
Augie’s a great guy, not just with kids but in general.
I owe him a lot. I owe a lot of people a lot. ”
I shake my head slightly. I had no idea. Here’s me thinking Augie had a crush on Alex, and it’s actually that he adores her and helped Alex get back on her feet. Just goes to show you how wrong one can read a situation.
“I feel bad for breaking his inflatable now.” Shaking my head at my actions, I wince and exhale. “They’re gonna review the security footage.”
She looks at me, pursing her lips. “Yeah, they will.”
“Do you think they’ll press charges when they realize it was me?”
She shakes her head. “Nah, I’ll calm them down. Plus, we can get your PR girl to smooth shit over, right?”
Running my hand through my hair, I nod. “Yeah, Tillie’s good like that.
I’ll pay for the damages. I’m not a complete dick.
” I run my fingers through my hair. “It was fun, even though it went a little wrecking ball toward the end. I’ll call Tillie when I get back home and fill her in on what happened.
A decent-sized check will help smooth things over, I’m sure. ”
She nods. “What I was saying still stands, Nate. Ria… she’s trying to do the best she can with a crappy situation.”
I let out a bemused laugh. “Yeah, well, I just wish I knew what triggered it. She says it was my jealousy, but I don’t buy it.
I feel like there’s more she’s not telling me.
I just…” I let out a long, drawn-out breath.
“I don’t fucking know. I can’t make her talk to me if she doesn’t want to.
If she doesn’t want me, then what can I do? ”
She wraps her arm around mine and leans into my side. “I know more than you think I do. But I won’t betray her trust, and I won’t betray yours either. Just know that things happen for a reason.”
“Geez, that makes me want to know even more, Alex. You’re not helping as usual.”
She winces. “Sorry, I just want you to know she has a side too. And I’m sure one day, it will all come out. I hate being in the middle, but like I said, I won’t betray either of your trust.”
“But I’m the favorite, right?” I tease with a smirk, and she rolls her eyes.
“Matt’s my favorite,” she quips. I groan and fake puke while she snickers. “So what do you wanna do now?”
I shrug. “Go back to Robert and his mullet and have a work pizza night?”
She nods with a big smile and pulls me toward her, chuckling.
ZARIA
A gentle knocking at my door startles me.
It’s late, and I’m not expecting anyone, although I know security will only let close friends and family through, so it can’t be anything dangerous.
Wrapping my robe around my upset stomach, I stand, feeling sweaty and pasty, and walk to the front door.
I’m still nauseous and know that the sickness isn’t passing, but I guess it’s not going to in my condition.
Taking a deep breath, the cool marble on the soles of my feet feels like heaven as I grab the door handle and slowly open it.
My eyes open wide when I see Alex standing on my doorstep.
“Alex… hey.”
“Hey, Ria… sorry. I know it’s late. I would’ve called, but my phone died, and I wanted to give you a progress report on Nate. He’s had a tough day, and I told him what you wanted him to know.”
An ache fills my heart, knowing that Alex has told Nate I’m moving on without him.
I’m not. Not at all.
He’s all I think about.
Every. Single. Day.
But I can’t bring myself to tell him about my condition.
It’s overwhelming, terrifying. I have no idea how he’ll react.
Our relationship is still so new, and dropping this weight on him now feels unfair.
It’s just too soon. This whole situation—it’s not right.
He deserves the chance to live fully, to be free and happy without being burdened by what’s happening to me.
It’s better to let him go, to let him move on with his life, unshadowed by my struggle.
“Is he okay?” I ask, stepping aside so she can come in. She smells of alcohol, and I wonder if it means they’ve been drinking.
Alex moves inside, and I close the door behind her.
She looks me up and down with a frown. “Not really. He’s trying to be brave, but he’s mopey and misses you like crazy.
I tried to get him out of the gallery for a bit tonight by taking him to Inflatable Land, and he broke a tequila bottle on the arena and cut the inflatable, effectively destroying it.
The cops showed up at the gallery about an hour after we left—”
“What? Oh my God…” My hand flies to my mouth, and my eyes bulge practically out of their sockets. “Is he in serious trouble?”
Alex grabs my arms as I sway slightly before she leads me back down to the couch. “No, Tillie came down. He had to pay for the damages and a fine, but it’s all good, and he’s not allowed to go back for six months,” she says as she sits me down on the white plush sofa.
Taking a deep breath, I swallow hard. “Why did he break the bottle?”
Alex slumps her body. “Because I told him about you—”
“Why I’m sick?” I rush out, tensing up.
“God, no, I wouldn’t do that to you. Just what you told me to say. That you’re moving on, and he needs to let you go.”
Sinking further into the plushness of my sofa, I clench my eyes shut, trying to fight back the tears threatening to fall. “So he didn’t take it well then.”
She rubs my knee. “No… you’re all he paints about, Ria. All he thinks about. Pretty much all he talks about.” Clenching my eyes tighter, a fat tear falls from my eye. “Look, I don’t want to tread on any toes here, but… are you sure shutting him out is the right move?”
“Yes.” I glare at her. “He’s still young, I don’t want to weigh him down with this. He deserves to live his life, to be free, to be the rock star he’s meant to be…” I sigh. “Not stuck in something he never signed up for. I won’t be the reason he puts his life on hold.”
I exhale, my chest tightening. “I’m ready to settle down, to start a family I never thought I was going to get…
not at my age anyway. I’d almost given up on that dream.
But Nate? He’s still riding the high, still living the rockstar fantasy.
Recoil is making it big right now, and I won’t be the one to take that from him. ”
I swallow hard, my mind flashing back to Kade.
I’d already accepted that family life might never happen for me—especially after what he put me through.
And after that, I threw myself into my career, my brand, my fame, never focusing on relationships.
So the older I got, the further and further the prospect of having children got from my mind.
Because it seemed like an impossibility.
My hand instinctively moves to my stomach as I exhale. Being pregnant with a rock star’s baby has unearthed every insecurity I’ve tried to bury.
I know I’m doing the right thing by keeping it from Nate.
At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.
“He wouldn’t be putting it on hold. He’d be looking after you. Putting you first, Ria. I know him well enough to know he would want to look after you, help you through these next few months while you’re—”