AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Cody came backwith a plastic bucket of ice. Passing it to me, she stood there and waited until I shoved my aching hand into it. Then, with a determined bob of her head, she spun and headed for the shower. There was a little rustling around as she found the right clothes and girly stuff, and then the bathroom door closed behind her.
I smiled. I wasn't really sure why, but just seeing her morning mess made it happen. She was such a girl in some ways, and damned if I didn't like that. Opening my eyes to see her face beside me in bed this morning? It had been a lot nicer than I'd expected. The way she'd looked at me? That had made it even better.
But none of those warm and fuzzy feelings stopped the aches in my body. This weekend, I'd been stepped on, run over, kicked around, and more. Fuck, even my beard felt like it hurt, and my fist was killing me after colliding with Ty last night.
Ty.
I sighed just thinking about that mess, and Tanner heard. As I scooted up in bed to get more comfortable, he was by the dresser, digging through his bag for real clothes. The hint of blonde scruff on his jaw was cute. The heaviness in his eyes wasn't.
"You still ok with this?" he asked.
Yeah, that was a fucking loaded question. "Which this?"
He chuckled once, then began getting dressed. "Um, this-this. Me, you, her."
Was I ok with it? Yes and no. I'd gotten my hopes up for Ty, and now I was trying to rein that shit in. None of that was Tanner's fault, though - and it certainly wasn't Cody's. Still, that didn't make answering any easier, and the last thing I wanted to do was lie to the guy I was starting to like a bit too much.
So I let my eyes close, opening them slowly and leaned back. "I dunno."
"About which part?" he asked, snagging two bottles of water from the fridge and coming over to sit down beside me.
Damn, his eyes were pretty. Hazel, with little flecks of everything. They went with that strawberry-blond hair of his. I also liked that he didn't start ranting or closing down. This guy just asked, letting a bit of his vulnerability hang out there for me to see. If I was honest, he was helping me figure out how to do the same, and fuck if I wasn't trying with all I had.
"I'm pissed at Ty," I told him. "Thatfucker! On the ride over to the arena yesterday, he was being all cool with me, askin' about you, bein' supportive, and shit. Then he goes and fucks it up with Cody? I mean, I told him to watch that shit. Cody spent all weekend tryin' to tell him. I flat-out called him on his dumbass bullshit so many times! He should've just listened!"
"Did Ty say anything helpful before I got there?" Tanner asked. "I mean, they were doing good back in St. Louis."
I shook my head. "I think Ty's just about as fucked up as we are. That boy don't have adamnedclue how to treat a woman. He's been using them for too long. So, it sounds like he was trying to be the guy he thought she'd want, and never once stopped to think that she ain't looking for an easy fuck. She's lookin' for a partner."
"Not a master," Tanner muttered, nodding his head to show he understood. "And Ty probably thinks a 'real man' is the one who makes the decisions, pays the bills, and all that antiquated shit."
"Careful," I teased. "Gets me hard when you use those big words."
That made a smile appear on his lips. "I'll remember that. Too bad my dick doesn't want to work with my head feeling like this."
Which made me chuckle, knowing the feeling. "Ok, yeah. True. There's also a big ol' bottle of pills in my bag and I'll share." He got up to get those, and I kept going, returning to the original problem. "From what Cody said yesterday, Ty was cockblocking her. That's why he got his ass dumped; he'd decided to be her protector, and in his mind, all guys are like him, so they all wanna use the pretty little girl. And he was pushing guys away who wanted her signature and shit. Cody doesn't do well with that."
"And with her chasing sponsors like she is, she's already on edge," he agreed, returning to offer me a pair of pills.
Then he cracked open my bottle of water and held it out. With my right hand in a bucket of ice, going all numb and shit, I had to figure out how to work this backwards. Unlike Cody, I wasn't so good with my weak arm. I tossed the pills into my mouth, took the water, then chugged back a gulp that let me swallow it all.
When I was done, Tanner took the bottle back to put the lid on again. He set that on the table beside me. It was dumb as shit, but I kinda liked that. This man was taking care of me so easily, not making me feel like a pussy or anything, but just making me feel like he saw me.
"Thanks," I said, hoping that was enough. I also didn't really know how to treat a guy like him, so I went right back to Cody. She was in the shower, after all, so now was the best time to get this out. "Our girl feels like she's getting shit on. She said she's worried she's not playing the same game, so I'm scared she's gonna bring up quitting next. I'm workin' on her, though."
"Like you're working on me?" he taunted.
Thrusting out my lower lip, I shook my head slowly, letting my eyes run across his body. "Naw, Tanner, I don't think you need me to fix you."
He just lifted his chin a bit, almost like he was daring me. "Trying to say I'm perfect just like I am?"
"Kinda, yeah." I had to swallow, because that should've come out more playful. "I think I'm kinda hopin' that maybe you'll help me not fuck up my own shit."
He cupped the side of my face and leaned in for a fast and wild kiss. "You got this," he promised.
"No, Tan, I don't," I assured him. "I'm fuckin' makin' it all up."
"And you're taking care of her," he said. "Ever since she showed up in Tulsa, you've put what she wants before what you do, and I have a feeling Cody's never had anyone do that for her."
