Chapter 22
CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO
Brooks
“How many T-shirts do you have?” Audrey shouts from the bedroom. “What are some of these?” She pokes her head around the corner and holds up a Sugar Creek Scrapers shirt. “What is this?”
Steam from my shower billows out of the bathroom around me. “That’s a shirt from an alumni softball game a few years ago. I work out in it sometimes.” The hardwood is cold on my feet. “What are you doing going through my stuff, anyway? I believe I asked you to find me a pair of shorts.”
She shrugs helplessly. “It’s like a treasure trove in here. You have more T-shirts in this bag than I own.”
“I packed in a hurry.”
“Every shirt you own?”
I make a face at her, swiping a pair of shorts off the top of the pile. “That’s a very small piece of my T-shirt collection, thank you very much. I have every T-shirt I’ve ever owned.”
Her jaw drops. “You’re kidding.”
“Afraid not.” I unwrap my towel and toss it onto the bed. “Well, I probably don’t have anything before sixth grade except for whatever Mom kept. But I’ve held on to most of my things since then.”
Audrey stands, looking absolutely delicious in one of my Alfie’s shirts. It hangs from her shoulders and stops mid-thigh. It gives just enough hints about what’s beneath the fabric to drive a man, namely me, wild.
“I don’t think I have an item of clothing from when I was younger, except maybe what I came home from the hospital wearing,” she says. “Mom’s not the keeper type, if you get my drift.”
I kiss her on the forehead as I pass her to pick up my phone off the bed. “My manager, Isaac, called while we were at dinner and shopping last night, and I forgot to return his call today. He shot me a text before I got in the shower. I need to check in with him, if you don’t mind.”
“No, I don’t mind,” she says, stretching her arms over her head. The hem of my shirt rises so high it nearly bares her pussy. And I nearly miss calling Isaac back. “I need to call my friends, anyway. Gianna has demanded details.”
“Of?” I ask coyly.
“The size of your dick, mostly.”
“I hope you give me a good report.”
She taps her lip as if she’s thinking. “If it gets foggy, you might have to give me a refresher later.”
I plant a loud kiss against her lips, grab my phone, and head into the kitchen.
We spent the day lying around the house and watching movies.
I woke up early this morning, keenly aware that we leave here tomorrow.
I get one more day with her before this slice of paradise is over.
She seemed more than happy to curl up with me, almost like she shared my sentiments.
Maybe that’s true, and maybe it’s not. I didn’t ask.
The sun is in the perfect position just above the trees. Everything is bathed in a warm, peachy glow. I stand at the glass doors and gaze across the lake, wondering what it’s like to be here when the weather is warmer, and you can swim and take a boat out onto the water.
I see those things in my head. Resting on the hammock with Audrey, watching her jump into the water from the rope swing, and her sitting on my lap as I guide a boat through the waves. But it hits me as quickly as the ideas formed—those things won’t happen. I can come back, but she won’t be with me.
Fuck.
I shove all of that out of my mind and switch into work mode. Isaac’s name is at the top of my call log, so I press his name and wait for him to answer.
My stomach tightens, and I realize that I haven’t felt this way since we got here. Frustrated. Angry. Stressed the fuck out.
“Hey,” Isaac says. “Thanks for calling me back.”
“Sorry it took so long.”
“Yeah, no problem. So, there have been some developments, and I need you back in Vegas on Saturday.”
I swallow over a lump in my throat. “Developments? Pertaining to what, exactly?”
“You were right, and Drew Van is filling Duckworth’s seat on the commission. They made a formal announcement this afternoon.”
“Fuck.” I growl, catching myself before I get too loud. “Now what?”
“Nick is flying here on Friday to go over a few things he found pertaining to Drew. You really picked a great enemy, Brooks. That man is a menace to society.”
I step out onto the balcony and close the door behind me. “What do you mean?”
“Drew was behind the bribe that was sent to you before the Hicks fight. Nick’s trying to get his ducks in a row. We haven’t been able to tie him to the PEDs violation, but that could’ve been a coincidence.”
Holy shit.
My head spins with the realization that my suspicions weren’t conspiracy theories. I wasn’t jumping to conclusions. He was behind my attempted downfall.
“Wow. Okay,” I say, glancing over my shoulder to ensure Audrey doesn’t hear any of this. “What about my shoulder? Was he behind that, too?”
“Don’t know yet. I mean, at this point, I’d venture to say yes. But I can’t prove it and, if we can’t prove it, we can’t use it.”
I rub my forehead, trying to do mental gymnastics to sort all of this.
This will kill Audrey. Even though she’s frustrated with her brother, I don’t think she knows he’s capable of so much wickedness.
And, if this is true, it’ll cause a huge media storm, at least in the fighting community. It’ll get ugly, fast.
But what will this do to me?
“We’re getting everything together, like I said,” Isaac says.
“Can you be back here on Saturday? We don’t know for sure, but I have a friend who has a golf buddy on the commission, and he says they’re shoving your case to the front of their agenda.
” He pauses. “They could decide as early as Monday.”
“You’re kidding? You know it’s Van. He’s pissed at me.” For knowing his sister. He’d be a lot more than that if he knew I’d had every inch of her on my tongue for the last few days. “He’s going to try to push the hearing and get me permanently suspended. I know it.”
“We’re going to try our best not to let that happen. I’ll have Brenda send you a ticket back. Any time work best for you?”
“Nope. I’ll watch for the email confirmation.”
“Great. Talk to you Friday.”
“See ya.”
I end the call, letting my hand hang with the phone.
What the fuck do I do now? The bastard ruined my career … and smugly thinks he can get away with it.
Audrey
“I don’t know what we’re doing now,” I say, answering Gianna’s question while I sit on the bedroom floor and fold up my clothes and put them back in my bag.
I did a quick load of laundry this morning, so I won’t have so much to do before I leave town for the weekend.
“We’re heading back to Sugar Creek tomorrow, and then I’ll fly to Boston on Saturday morning. So, I guess …” It’s over.
Hearing the words echo in my brain makes me bristle in discomfort.
I’ve shared three straight days with Brooks Dempsey, and every day I’ve found myself growing closer to him. He’s not just nice to look at. He’s funny, sharp, and intelligent. He makes me feel deliriously good about myself. We can order cheap pizza or go to a nice restaurant, and it’s all the same.
Everywhere is better with him around. But soon? He’ll be gone, and life will continue as it did before I met him. Somehow. I guess.
“Don’t panic,” Gianna says. “This is still new. You might just need some time to work out the kinks.”
“I’m not panicking.”
“Okay, well, don’t work yourself up over it either. It’s whatever you want to call it.”
“How’s Drake?” I ask, needing a break from my life. “How’s Big Ed?”
She sighs happily. “Good. Both of them. Big Ed has been really stable for the last couple of days. They’re trying a new medication, and it seems to be working to minimize some of the symptoms. And Drake asked his mom and sisters about them moving in with us, but one of Drake’s sisters is going to move in with their parents and help care for Ed.
It just worked better that way. It’s what they all wanted. ”
“Nice.”
My breath hitches as I feel Brooks enter the room. I don’t need to check whether I’m right, because every cell in my body can’t be wrong.
“I’ll call you later,” I say. “I need to finish packing up and … a few other things.”
“Sure. Try reverse cowgirl. Ten out of ten stars from me. You’re in control, can take him as deep as you want, and tons of opportunities for clit stimulation. You’ll love it.”
I laugh … but I don’t blush. And that’s progress. “I might suggest that tonight.”
“That’s my girl. Love you, Auddie.”
“I love you, Gianna. Bye.”
“Bye.” I end the call and then toss my phone on the floor. Without turning around, I grin. “Hi, Brooks.”
“How did you know I was here?”
“It turns out that I have a built-in Brooks tracker. I can sense your proximity.”
He hums, coming closer. “Here.” He drops a red lace bodysuit we bought last night into my lap. “Put this on. And didn’t you say you brought your red lipstick?”
Oh. I blow out a shaky breath. “Yes.”
“Wear that, too. Then come into the living room.”
I turn my head to the side so I can see him out of the corner of my eye. He holds my gaze—dark and broody—before he disappears around the corner.
My hands tremble as I hold his purchase and get to my feet, heading to the bathroom.
It takes a couple of minutes to get into it and adjust the material to fit my breasts so that they’re supported enough but allowed to hang as he likes them.
I turn around to see my backside. I get an eyeful because the only thing that’s covered is the sides of my cheeks and a G-string.
Still, it is beautiful. And I do feel sexy. And as I paint my lips with the lipstick that matches the fabric perfectly, I feel like I’m walking on air.
I brush out my hair, then pull it away from my face and secure it with a long pink ribbon. A quick coating of mascara never hurts, so I add some of that, too.
Now that’s all finished, there’s nothing to occupy my brain except what I’m about to do.