“Excuses,” he replies simply. “A lot of excuses.”
I cock my head and look at him, not sure if I’m still so impaired that I didn’t hear him right. He looks back at me, his face carefully neutral.
“What did you say?” I ask, giving him the benefit of the doubt.
“I said, I hear a lot of excuses.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” I snap.
“It means that you went down without a fight,” he said. “You quit. Gave up. Resigned. You walked away—”
“Yeah, I get it. But that’s total bullshit. I told you, she threw me out of her place and said she doesn’t want to see me again.”
Adam took a sip of his coffee and set the mug down then leaned forward, pinning me to my seat with his eyes.
“You have always been one of the most determined, never-take-no-for-an-answer, big-balls kind of guy,” Adam says. “You’ve been that way since I’ve known you. You never back down from anything. So… what happened this time?”
“This is different. I can’t beat Fallon into submission,” I say. “I can’t force her to do what I want.”
“No, but you can talk to her. You know, have an actual conversation? You can use your words like a big boy,” he presses.
“I’m about to beat your ass,” I reply. “Seriously, you’re about two seconds from—”
“I mean it as a compliment, dumbass,” Adam snaps. “The entire time I’ve known you, you always go after what you want. Always. And most times, you get it. But this time, you went down without a fight. With barely a whimper.”
“This is different.”
“It’s not though. You care about Fallon. You may love her,” he says. “I’d think you would fight extra hard to make sure she’s yours. Not give up.”
I sit back and absorb Adam’s words. He’s not wrong, I did give up pretty easily. Even in the hungover-as-hell, feeling-like-shit state I’m in right now, I can see that. I didn’t at the time but with a bit of hindsight now, as well as a verbal ass kicking from the prospect, I can see it.
“Damn. When did you start getting so wise?” I ask.
“Start? Bitch, I’ve always been this wise.”
I may not be able to convince Fallon of anything. I may not be able to persuade her to give me another chance. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to walk around feeling like I am right now. Most of it is the hangover, but there’s part of it that stems from me giving up. Adam’s right. I do not give up. Ever. So even though the odds are stacked against me, I’m going to see her anyway. I’m going to have that conversation with her because I refuse to give her up without a fight. She means too much to me to slink away into the night without so much as a word.
I get to my feet and drain the last of my coffee then look at Adam. “Thanks for helping me get my head on straight. I needed that.”
He nodded. “Glad I could help.”
“One more thing,” I say. “You ever talk to me like that again and I’ll bust your ass, prospect.”
“Fair enough,” he says with a laugh. “Oh, one more thing…”
“Yeah?”
“Seriously, take a shower and brush your teeth before you go see her,” he says. “I wasn’t kidding when I said you smelled like shit.”
I give him the finger as I walk out of the clubhouse laughing to myself—and feeling better than I have in days.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Fallon
“Are you all right?”
“No. Not really,” I reply.
