I nodded, sucking in my bottom lip so Cade wouldn’t see it tremble.
“It’s late. You should probably get going.” He stood and adjusted his erection. “Come back and see Lily anytime.”
He ushered me to the door and out of the house, and if I didn’t know better I would have thought he was trying desperately to get rid of me.
I drove home, exhausted, but most of all confused. But when I pushed the thoughts of Cade aside and remember Lily’s little face smiling up at mine, or her determination to excel at each exercise I showed her, it tugged at my heart and I held onto those memories, wondering if I’d see either of them again.
Chapter 9
Cade
As badly as I wanted Alexa, she deserved better, especially for her first time. It wasn’t right for her to just look for someone to get it over with. She wasn’t that kind of girl. She deserved roses, candles, that kind of shit. And I was not that kind of guy.
I’d ushered her out of my house as quickly as I could without seeming like an ass**le, my dick screaming in protest all the while. I wanted her like crazy. Just the thought of burying myself in her tight, wet heat was enough to drive me insane. Yes, I’d made the right decision sending her home. But dammit if I hadn’t hid inside like some f**king pu**y while she walked out to her car alone. I’d turned on the porch light and watched her from the window until she was safely inside her car and pulling away. I didn’t trust myself to be near her just then.
It was for the best. At least that was what I told myself as I climbed into bed with a raging hard-on that refused to go away.
The following morning I met Ian at the gym once I got Lily off to school. All she talked about over breakfast was ‘Lexa this and Lexa that.’ Drove me up a f**king wall. I had a hard enough time keeping the woman out of my own thoughts, but with Lily now firmly planted on Team Alexa, it was near impossible.
I’d hoped lifting weights with Ian would clear my head, but so far it had proven difficult.
“What’s got your panties in a twist?” Ian mocked me from a nearby weight bench. “You’re lifting like a pansy ass today.”
I sent him a don’t f**k with me scowl and added another set of forty-fives to my bench press. I was struggling under the weight by the fourth rep. Damn.
Ian pulled the bar up and helped me re-rack it. “Seriously, man. Talk to me.”
“This isn’t Oprah, bro. Mind your own damn business.”
He chuckled and shook his head, leaving me alone on my bench. When I met up with him in the steam room, he kept true to the sentiment. He hadn’t asked me any further questions about my shitty mood, and instead we talked strategy of his upcoming fight.
Ian was an up-and-coming mixed-martial-arts fighter. He was much better than me, and I was man enough to admit it. I also wasn’t afraid to spar with him in the ring, even though he was lightning quick and his kicks ripped the air from your lungs. But my left hooks were nothing to f**k with, and I occasionally caught him off guard. More often than not, though, he didn’t miss a blow—and my ribs had the bruises to prove it. Damn, he had to be good. He had a handful of local businesses sponsoring him, and had parents that had paid for every lesson imaginable growing up. He was born to do this. Me, on the other hand, I learned on the fly and won fights out of sheer determination.
Ian wiped the sweat from his eyes with a hand towel. “So what about you? Are you planning on fighting again anytime soon?”
The money was pretty good—if you won. “I don’t know man, you try working construction with cracked ribs and a broken finger.” Not to mention trying to explain to a six-year-old why you were black-and-blue and watching her eyes well up with tears when you explained it was from a fight. It wasn’t something I ever wanted to do again. She wanted to know who I fought with and why he was mad at me. I didn’t like upsetting her like that. But it wasn’t like I could say to my opponent, hey man, no face shots, my little sister gets upset. There was no way around the bumps and bruises—and even if I won, I’d still usually be sporting the distinctive look of a black eye for weeks.
One way or another, I needed to get my shit together and find a well-paying job that didn’t require me to fight in a ring, or get naked on camera.
*****
By the time I got home from the gym, Lily was due home from school. I had just enough time to make the phone call before I chickened out. I couldn’t get Alexa and the way she’d left the night before off my mind. She’d done nothing but help out with Lily and I’d practically mauled her on my couch, told her I wanted to f**k her, and then sent her packing. I dialed the number to the hospital and asked to be connected to Alexa in nursing. I realized I didn’t know her last name, but thankfully, a few minutes later, they tracked her down for me.
“Cade? Is everything okay…?”
Her voice was frantic. Shit. She’d probably assumed this call was about Lily. “Everything’s fine. Listen, I’ll keep this quick because you’re at work, but I needed to call and tell you I’m sorry if things got weird last night. That was my fault.”
She hesitated for a minute. “That’s okay. I had a lot of fun with Lily and—” she stopped short.
“Me too. Listen, can I return the favor? I’d like to make you dinner. Or at least buy you dinner, since you probably don’t want me cooking.”
Soft feminine laughter filled the silence between us. “Okay.”
“Are you free tomorrow night?”