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“No, I’m not happy to hear that,” I say. “What is he threatening you with?”
“Why do you care?” she snaps, casting a cautious look around after raising her voice a little too much. The dojo is filling up with other people, but no one seems to pay attention to us.
I offer a sympathetic look, knowing that the storm inside Madison is a pain she can’t run away from. It’s a conflict that runs deeper than our tangled emotions. And I’ve become a part of her world, and the ripple effects are more complicated than I could have foreseen.
“I do care, because I care about y—”
“Alright guys, sorry for being late!” Raymond marches into the room, clapping his hands to attract our attention. “Let’s get started.”
Madison has already turned away from me when I try to catch her eyes one last time before class starts. I have no other choice than to wait until class is over if I want to continue this conversation.
I line up among the other practitioners, staying close to Madison during the warm up. She meets me with a wary look when I follow her, but doesn't say a word when I place myself right next to her. We follow Raymond's instructions for our warm up session, both getting our muscles and mind ready for the class.
When it's time to pair up for the first rolling session I'm faced with Madison's back as she has already turned her attention to a different guy. It stings to see her walk away like that, but there's nothing I can do about it, not here and not now.
I look for her every time we're asked to pair up with a new opponent, but Madison is moving farther and farther away from me each time, it appears. When the class finally ends, she's the first one to run out the door, and I have to hurry to catch up with her.
But she disappears inside the ladies’ changing room before I can talk to her, forcing me to wait for her outside in the parking lot. To make sure I didn’t miss her I just grabbed my stuff from the locker, skipping the shower and not changing out of my Gi.
It looks like I was right to hurry because she’s still in her gi as well when she steps out just moments after me. She rolls her eyes when she sees me and pauses. She needs a moment to catch herself, before she continues on.
“I can’t do this right now, Chase,” she tells me as she walks right past me. “Please, just leave me alone.”
“No,” I insist, meeting her fast pace, as I walk next to her. “I need to talk to you ab—”
“I know what you want!” she barks at me, her voice raised to new levels. “You have made that pretty clear. And I was an idiot to think that this whole Hawaii thing meant anything or… whatever.”
She waves me off, and my pulse speeds when I realize that we’re only a few yards away from her Bugatti, as she unlocks the car, while accelerating her pace.
“But it did, Madison! I really… I am…”
Fuck, why is this so hard to say? Why does it feel like I’m undressing right here in the middle of the parking lot when I try to express my feelings in front of her?
She opens the door to her car and throws her bag on the passenger seat, before she takes her seat behind the wheel. I hold the car door to stop her from closing it, but when I see the fear in her eyes as she looks up to me, I realize how frightening this might appear. We both pause, our eyes locked, while I still can’t get myself to say the things I need to say to her. She wants to hear it, I can see it in her eyes.
It’s a sad truth that I’ve been trying to play her, but a truth that’s no longer valid—and I need her to know that. I need her to know that my feelings for her are genuine. But it’s like something is pressing against my chest every time I try to utter those words.
Slowly, I let go of the car door, defeat washing over me as she pulls it closed just a split second later. She’s still looking at me, when she starts her engine, and the moment her Bugatti starts moving, I know that I can’t let her go. I can’t let her leave like this.
I turn around and start running to my Mercedes.
Chapter 35
Madison
The click of my car door reverberates through the underground parking area as I lock the car and turn around to make my way to the elevator. My heart quickens, when I realize that another car has entered right behind me, a dark Mercedes that just rolled into another parking space near mine. There are a few offices and stores on the lower levels of my apartment building which means that underground parking is not only accessible to the residents of this building.
It always gives me the creeps when I notice another car driving in right behind me because I can never be sure if the person behind the wheel can be trusted. My senses are on high alert as I side-eye the other car while hurrying toward the elevator.
And then I stop mid-pace, when the door opens and the driver reveals himself.
“You followed me home?!” I exclaim, my voice edged with irritation. “This stalking behavior won’t get you anywhere, Chase. How can you be so fucking stubborn?”
I stride over, my frustration bubbling to the surface, while he approaches me with a look on his face that I’ve never seen before. He looks uncertain, a little helpless and… rattled?
“I wouldn’t say that,” he retorts, composing himself. “A lot of surprising things happened because of my stubbornness, wouldn’t you agree?”
I glare at him, unsure what to make of his behavior. For a moment, silence hangs heavy in the air, the tension between us palpable. Then, in a rush of words, he finally speaks.
