Chapter 33 Cole
THIRTY-THREE
COLE
The cold shower I force myself to take is desperately needed.
I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything more attractive than Sophie wearing nothing but that damn towel.
It was pure torture not to touch her. And the kiss…
Fuck. It took a lot of self-control for me not to let it turn into something I wouldn’t have wanted to stop.
Because even if Jules would probably love that I don’t push Sophie away anymore, she surely doesn’t have the loss of her virginity at her second kiss in mind.
Goddamn… The fact that I’m even thinking about it shows that I’m the last person who should be getting close to Sophie. But it’s almost impossible for me not to wonder what her skin tastes like, what she feels like, what sounds I might elicit from her when we—
With a suppressed groan, I turn the water even colder.
When I leave the bathroom, Sophie is standing at the pool table, nudging one of the balls.
I pull on my shirt as I walk toward her, relieved that the shower has served its purpose to cool me down. "Wanna play?"
She lifts her eyes and frowns, reminding me again how wrong it would have been to deepen the kiss.
"Pool. It’s a game."
"How do you play it?"
With a now curious look, she follows me as I reach for the two cues in the wall-mounted rack. Then I hand her one and place the other on the table before grabbing the triangle to arrange the balls in it.
"The cue ball goes here," I explain after removing the triangle and placing the white ball. "You play it with the cue to pocket the others."
Walking around the table, I take the cue, then position it to aim. "Half of the balls are fully colored. Those are the solids. The others are called stripes."
"It’s one more solid," Sophie remarks, to which I nod.
"Yes. Because of the black eight. She’s kind of special."
After explaining the rules of pool to her, I make my first shot and then sink another ball before I step away from the table, ignoring the rules so Sophie can make her first move.
"Not too hesitant, but also not too forceful," I instruct her as she looks intently from the tip of the cue to the white ball and, ultimately, to the red ball she aims to strike. "Take your time."
She takes another deep breath before making her shot, but the cue slips slightly to the right, causing it to only lightly touch the white ball, making it roll past the red one without even grazing it.
Sophie curses, whereupon I raise an eyebrow in surprise. "Did you just say shit?" I ask, trying not to let my amusement come through too clearly.
Her eyes widen as she looks at me almost startled, blushing immediately. "I’m sorry."
I make a disapproving click with my tongue. "There’s nothing to be sorry for. Better tell me how it felt."
Grimacing, she turns away and looks at the balls. "Frustrating. I missed."
A quiet laugh escapes me before I walk around the table. "I meant the swearing," I clarify with a smirk, taking the white ball and putting it back where it was. "Try again."
After Sophie pocketed her third ball, a loud knock sounds from the first floor, and she looks at me questioningly.
"You stay here," I instruct her, putting down the cue and heading downstairs.
Not many people would bang on my door like that.
But with Jules in Chicago and me having made the mistake of forfeiting the fight, this could get pretty ugly.
So when I open the steel door, it’s no surprise to see Steve’s slick, calculating grin.
Behind him, two of his steroid-fueled goons stand, scowling, ready to pounce on anyone.
"What do you want?" I ask, not bothering with pleasantries.
"Why so rude, Walker? Am I not allowed to visit a friend?" At his words, he tilts his head and looks at me with a feigned hurt expression.
I resist the urge to slam the door in his face and instead correct his statement. "We’re not friends."
His expression turns cold and emotionless, so I decide not to let him in.
"Why are you here?" I press, watching the other two out of the corner of my eye. I recognize them, so I know that they’re brainless zombies just waiting for Steve to give them the go to pounce on me. Something I’d like to avoid because I want to spare Sophie that sight.
It’s enough that she’s had to see me like this twice.
Steve glances at his hand as if inspecting his fingernails while he answers me. "I think you know exactly why. You cost me a lot of money."
I knew he wasn’t going to let me get away with that. He lost around fifteen grand when I just took off yesterday. The Desert Eagle he undoubtedly took is nowhere near enough to make up for that loss.
"Occupational hazard," I say flatly because the last thing I intend to do is give him a single cent. If you gamble money, you have to expect to lose it. It’s as simple as that.
"I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that," Steve grudgingly replies. "Tomorrow night is the next fight. Win it, and I’ll forget about your little slipup yesterday."
A mirthless laugh escapes me. "Fuck you. I don’t do three fights in six days." I return his gaze without blinking. He may be the brains of this whole fight club scene, but I don’t care. I’m not some damn wind-up monkey he can set in motion and throw into the ring whenever he feels like it.
"What’s wrong with you?" He shakes his head and looks at me as if seeing me for the first time. "Since when do you care how many fights you do?"
Jaw tightened, I return his gaze emotionlessly. "Fuck off, Steve."
"Is it that chick?" he asks, assessing me. "Ever since she showed up, you haven’t been yourself."
My hands clench into fists while I force the words out through gritted teeth. "You have no idea who I am."
Steve tilts his head. "Oh, but the slut you’ve hooked up with knows?"
His voice becomes more and more threatening, but I force myself to stay calm even though his words are making me furious.
"She’s here, isn’t she? Maybe I should go upstairs and ask her. What do you think?"
This fucker knows exactly what he’s doing, and he’s doing it on purpose. He might be an asshole, but he’s cunning, and that makes him a dangerous asshole.
"Leave her out of this," I warn him, realizing at the same moment how stupid that was and that any more words will only make things worse. But I don’t care. The fact that Steve even thinks about Sophie causes the blood in my veins to boil and makes me want to break every bone in his damn body.
"Why? Don’t tell me that… Aw. That’s heartwarming. Does she mean something to you? Has the great Cole Walker suddenly turned into a fucking pussy?" He places a hand over his chest like a third-rate actor, then tilts his head and furrows his brows.
"Shut your filthy mouth," I growl because, despite everything, the bastard manages to push just the right buttons on me.
Before either of us can say anything more, Steve’s gaze suddenly slides over my shoulder and becomes even more calculating when Sophie’s voice reaches my ears.
"Is everything okay?"
With tense muscles, I turn my head slightly but don’t avert my gaze from Steve. "Go back upstairs," I say sternly, at the same time knowing full well that she won’t.
"Now, now," Steve cuts in before flashing me a devilish grin. "She can come down and have a chat with us. How about you finally introduce her? You seem to be having fun with her, after all. Would be a shame if you kept her all to yourself."
"If you don’t back off right now—"
"Then what, Walker?" he cuts me off harshly. "Aren’t we allowed to have a little fun, too? Looking at her up close, I can see why you—"
That’s it. Every single fuse in my brain blows at once, and I swing, slamming my fist into his jaw. He should’ve known better than to provoke his best fighter.
Sophie gasps as the two Neanderthals move to lunge at me, but Steve stops them with a raised hand before rubbing it over the spot where I hit him. A few endless seconds pass in which he moves his jaw back and forth with his eyes closed before looking at me again.
"It’s okay. If Cole wants to make his point clear that way, let him." Steve spits a mouthful of blood onto the ground beside him, takes a step toward me, and fixes me with a hate-filled stare. "I’m only going to ask you this once: her or me?"
My jaw clenches so hard it hurts, my whole body trembling with rage. This isn’t a joke anymore. I know my answer will decide whether I ever get to fight again. And whether I turn Steve into an enemy.
"You have to make a decision, Walker. Now."
Even though I never once considered this moment might come, I don’t have to think about my answer.
I don’t know how I got to this point, but ever since Sophie showed up, something inside me has been rebelling.
I’m not fucking reformed, but I realize I can’t have both.
I can’t try to live again—to have a shot at a normal future—and at the same time beat the living shit out of others.
Besides, Jules is right. I have to stop feeling sorry for myself.
"Her."
Steve studies me intently before looking me up and down as if I’m nothing more than a pesky insect. "Her. Well… Then that’s settled."
Although I can tell this isn’t the end for him, I reach for the steel door. "Good. Now get the hell out of here. I never want to see you again."