AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But I’m not willing to give him the chance to try to sweet talk me. Instead, I leave him standing on the sidewalk, tears blurring my vision. This is so fucked up! I should have known better. Why on earth did I think it was a good idea to let myself fall for this arrogant jerk?
eighteen
Grayson
“Ty, this is the fifth message I’ve left you. Come on, pick up the phone. I just want to talk to you, alright?”
I sigh, putting my phone down for what feels like the hundredth time today.
“Still not picking up?”
I glance up at Tate, who’s sitting on the sofa, an open magazine resting on his lap. He’s flipping through its pages with the usual disinterest he shows toward gossip columns, but he’s still turning pages. It’s a prop of sorts, I think, to make himself appear busy while letting me have what he’s called my ‘little breakdown.’
“Stop it, alright? I don’t want to hear you saying you told me so again.”
“Then I won’t, but what I will say is that you should know when to cut your losses. That girl isn’t coming back, and it would be stupid to try and enforce our contract. Let’s just let her go and move on; she has already fulfilled her purpose. Would it have been nice if she had been in the audience tomorrow night? Sure, great photo op, but it’s not a big deal either.”
“It’s a big fucking deal to me, alright?”
He glances up from the magazine, and I throw my hands in the air at his skeptical look.
“You’ll forget all about her soon enough. Just give it time.”
“What if I don’t want to?”
“Don’t want to do what?”
“Tate, fucking stop it with the attitude. I’m paying you to fix my fucked up mistakes, alright? So don’t hold them against me; you’d be out of a job if I didn’t mess up. This isn’t about my image. I need to get her to talk to me.”
He sighs, finally closing the damn magazine.
"Fine, you want me to level with you? Pushing her isn't going to help. Give her some space—let her cool off. You were a jerk, but that's not news. If she's into you, she'll listen to your apology in time."
"I already apologized."
"Well, the way you tell it, apologizing now means refusing to take responsibility for fucking up and then accusing her of being a cheating slut all over again. And don't be punching me because I said slut, because I'm not calling her that. From the context, that's what you called her."
"I didn't fucking call her that."
"Not outwardly, perhaps, but isn't that what you meant?”
I recoil at this, the accusation hitting a nerve. Shame washes over me, leaving a bitter aftertaste in my mouth.
“That’s not what I was trying to say. I just lost it, alright? Seeing those pictures, I didn’t know what to think. I’ve never done this before; it’s uncharted fucking territory for me.”
“We all get there eventually, big fella. It surprises me that it took you as long as it did. Now, you need to decide whether or not you’re willing to trust her or any other woman. If you don’t, then try and move on—it’s never going to get better.”
“You give some shit-ass advice. Has anyone ever told you that?”
“Hey, I’m not a shrink, and I don’t play one on TV either. If you want advice on how to spin a bad angle, then I’m your man; if not, you’re out of luck. Now, are you going to train before your big fight or what? I don’t want that asshole Adam to get a single positive headline after the match tomorrow.”
“She’s not in the audience, is she?”
“Do you really want me to go check again?” Mike asks, somewhere between exasperated and concerned.
“If you don’t mind, yeah.”
He sighs but doesn’t argue. I continue wrapping my hands, feeling like a goddamn fool. Why do I even want Tyley here? She hasn’t responded to any of my messages or my calls since she kicked me out of her car, and if she doesn’t want me, then why the hell should I bother with her?
