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"We needed a judge." My words were bitter, but I wasn't trying to be a jerk. I just couldn't help it. The whole week without her was spent thinking about her, and having her so close made my desperation peak at an all-time high. Lashing out was the only way I knew how to deal with my emotions. Emotions I'd spent a lifetime avoiding.
"I've already seen both of your dicks," she hissed, spitting her annoyance back in my face. "I don't have to look again to know who would win."
How come she sent fire into my veins when she fought back with me? I longed for her disparagement. It fueled me, making me want to prove her wrong. Pressing my lips to hers, I intended to show her how useless it was to fight against whatever had already happened. And she didn't try to resist.
Dropping her bag and keys to the asphalt, she wrapped her arms around my neck and tried climbing up my body. Her skirt was too tight, and her legs too little, but I helped her by picking her up and cradling her in my arms.
"He may see us," she breathed, then pressed her lips back to mine.
"I don't give a fuck."
"Don't make my job harder."
Pulling back, I kept my forehead to hers and tried to catch my breath while I made sense of what she had just said. "How will I make it harder?"
"I had to pull a lot of bullshit to get inside that stadium, Tripp. All so I could be the one that mitigated and handled anything Hunter tried doing. I'm supposed to be working on a kids camp campaign. But I'm here, and I'm keeping my eye on things."
"That's why you've been sitting in the hot seats every day?"
"Of course. I told you I'd fix it, Tripp."
"Fuck, Coconut," I set her down on her feet and held onto her neck, wishing I could devour her right there. "You didn't have to do that. I'm not worried about Hunter. If the Inferno lets me go, then fuck them. I'm good, and will play for some team, somewhere."
"But I'm in Miami," she spit out, then closed her lips quickly like she had wished she could take those words back.
"That's very selfish of you," I smiled.
"I know we aren't a thing, Tripp. Don't freak out. I just meant that—"
I cut her off with another kiss, not wanting to hear what she meant when the image I had in my head was so perfect. If she wanted me to be in Miami, then I wanted to be there, too. She made Miami feel like home, and I needed to work just as hard as she was to keep me there with her.
"Get in the car, baby. Crank it up and head straight to my place."
"I have to go to the office."
"No, you don't," I practically growled. "I have something to add to your Tripp Maddux file. Your boss will understand."
Her heart was beating so fast, I could feel her pulse where I was still holding onto her neck. Taking my thumb over her throat, I tried to ease her thoughts and assure her it was all okay. I only needed to get her alone so she could be herself and stop worrying.
"Okay," she finally nodded after thinking about what I had said. "I'll meet you there."
"Good girl," I kissed her again before letting her go. Taking a few steps backward, I picked her things up and put them in the backseat of her car. Then I turned around and hoped she really did show up. We had a lot to talk about. As long as we were anywhere Hunter was lurking, I knew she would be in a twisted mess.
And helping her unwind was a craft I had recently mastered.
ChapterTwenty-Eight
Tatum
"I'll be at the stadium the rest of the day," I told Sophia over the phone as I sat in my car in the parking garage of Tripp's apartment. My first idea was to call on the way, but I knew she would be able to tell I was driving and not where I said I would be.
"Did you leak that picture yet?"
"Not yet," I sighed. "Let me get the kids camp going before shit hits the fan."
"A kids camp is not the kind of marketing this company wants to do."
"Well that was what Tina was working on, wasn't it?"
