I open the door for him, the sound of the elevator door opening echoing in the hall, and Ryder swiftly walks away, saying nothing more.
I shut the door, but not before I hear Andrew say, “Where the fuck you been, dude? Been calling you.”
R Y D E R
* * *
I internally groan as I realize how close of a call that shit was. My brain is all over the place—from horny as fucking hell, to disappointed, to missing just how easy it feels with her—and I can’t come up with a good lie.
“Was trying to fucking score tonight, but you’re cock blocking me, man,” I grunt. “What’d you want?”
Andrew raises a brow, the door to the elevator shutting without us on it. “Julie is on this level.”
I frown. “So? Maybe she’ll get lucky, too. Plenty of dudes around here.”
An image pops into my head of her taking another guy into her room in some elaborate scheme to make it seem like we really aren’t thinking about fucking, and holy shit, does that piss me off. I’m too competitive to entertain those ploys. Even thesuggestionriles me up, eager to deck this imaginary prick.
Focus, dumbass, and not on Julie. I remember her mentioning I was supposed to be on the third floor and completely blank on how to build off of what I just said. I can’t think right now. And I honestly don’t give a shit about Andrew’s opinion… but I know Julie will.
Andrew raises an unconvinced brow, but drops it. “I saw yourcomplication,”Andrew clarifies, moving on.
“The fuck does that mean?” I ask, frustrated that he’s being even the slightest bit cryptic. My brain is only thinking about how warm and wet Julie’s pussy was.
I scratch my nose, forgetting her scent is all over my fingers. I have to quickly look around after hotly dropping my hand. My dick is gonna be what gives me away if it gets any harder.
“Heather. You were right. She’s come to Barclay, but shit, I didn’t think she’d come to stayhere.”
A frigid wave of a past that I’d rather leave in the unmentionable skeleton’s closet washes over me. Slowly inhaling, I sigh with a purpose, trying to figure out why the fuck all this drama has to happen in the span of one hour.
Especially two days before the first round of fighting.
I click my tongue, staring at a vase to concentrate. “Fine. I’ll figure that out.”
Andrew says, “Just get back to the room and take a cold shower or something. You can get laid after the fight. And if you encounter Heather, just call me if you want an out. We don’t need that drama right now.”
I hardly blink, still staring at the vase. “Where’d you see her?”
“In the lobby looking around like she wanted something.” He calls the elevator.
I clench my jaw, hating the way Heather swirls uncomfortable memories in my chest, especially when I felt something so good just now. “She’ll be looking for me. She texted me a week ago to wish me luck. Didn’t know she planned on being here until this morning. Means she plans on crossing me at some point.”
“What the hell happened between you two?” Andrew asks, furrowing his dark brows. “She’s the one related to your stint in jail?”
“Yeah,” I reply, hardly any emotion in my voice.
I didn’t spend a month behind bars because of anything she caused—but she didn’t fucking help—and even the judge expunged my record once they understood the situation.
But I wasn’t surprised I had to spend any time at all sitting in a fucking cell. I grew up in rotating homes and saw just how broken these systems are.
“I won’t ask what happened, man. As long as the record was cleared, I trust you. The system screws over all kinds of people.”
A heavy stone weighs in the pit of my stomach, dreading telling Julie that myex-sports therapistandex-girlfriendis here and that I haven’t seen her since I got out ofjail.
Shouldn’t be a big deal, right? Or will it? Should I warn Julie? Or is that too much? We haven’t even fucked yet, let alone committed to anything. It’s not like Heather is any competition, anyway.
No, I don’t want to stress Jules out. She already has enough of that in her life. I can deal with this Heather shit on the side and, hopefully, bury it for good this time. I know I’ve just made this a lot messier by engaging with Julie, but I couldn’t stop myself. We’re both adults who can compartmentalize. She’s proven that every time she steps into the massage room.
Life is short, and I really fucking like interacting with her.
