Page 43 of Rivals

“That’s so good. I’m glad to hear it,” he says. “What about things with Sutton?”

My sigh is heavy because this is the subject that I don’t want to talk about. I don’t have an answer for him, so I shrug. “I honestly don’t know. I did as you suggested. I told her she was it for me but she’s still with her ex-boyfriend. For now, that’s all I can do.”

“What about the plan, Rathe? I mean, you’re doing it for her so I’m sure that would change her decision.”

“It might and it might not. I don’t know anymore. Sutton needs to come to her own decision. I’m hoping she’ll do it before she finds out what I’ve been working on this season. I don’t want to sway her decision based on my plan. I want her to want to be with me on her own.” I explain. Dr. Panko is the one that made me truly realize just how much I’ve come to care for Sutton. I had let her into my world on a different level from any other girl I’d been with. Sutton was a siren’s call that I had to answer.

The doctor nods his head. “I hear what you’re saying, Rathe, but I still suggest you tell her.”

I chuckle. “I think I’ll pass on that suggestion for now. The last one didn’t work out so well.”

“But it did…”

My eyebrows pull together in confusion. “Well, Sutton and I are still avoiding each other so I’m not sure how that worked out.”

“Rathe, from my point of view, it was less about getting the two of you together and more about you releasing the anxiety you had attached with the feelings you had developed for her. Once you voiced what you were feeling, the anxiety over them lightened or disappeared. That was my goal.” Dr. Panko looks over at me and with a smirk on his face.

I scoff. “Well, I’ll be damned. I didn’t see that one coming but you’re not wrong now that I think about it.”

“I know. It’s my job and that’s our time. You’re doing great. Just keep up the good work,” he says, as he stands and leads me to the office door, with a pat on my back.

“See you next time,” I tell him. As I leave out of his building, I pull my baseball cap down low and slip on my sunglasses. I’m trying to blend in with the rest of the people on the sidewalk because the last thing I need is the press to catch wind of my anxiety. They’d have a field day with that. It’d blow up quicker than the next sex scandal. I make a mental note to grab Ryann’s birthday gift while I’m out in town today. As I’m walking down the sidewalk towards the little boutiques that she loves so much, I pass a handful of little restaurants. Most have outside eating areas because the weather is often pretty enough to eat outside under canopy.

I pass the bistro that Maxton and Ryann have been raving about when I hear a familiar voice. “Ally, baby, come on. You know why I’m doing this.”

“You promised it’d only be a week and it’s been like two months now,” the girl whines.

Jakob huffs. I quickly pass them and take a seat behind them, making sure to keep my head down. “Look, you know I need the damn money if not I’m going to start losing fingers so get off my case.”

“She’s your ex-girlfriend.”

“Yeah, I’m aware. She’s a bitch, but she’s also a means to an end. Once I get the money, I’ll be done and we can go back to just being the two of us,” Jakob tells the girl.

My blood boils as I hear him talk about Sutton and using her. I knew he was a piece of shit, but I had no idea it was this bad. I mean it’s one thing to play games with her it’s another to use her. I can’t just stand around and let it happen. I order a glass of tea and wait for the right moment. I listen to Jakob make empty promises and say a lot of obscene things to the girl sitting across from him. It makes me sick to have to listen to him. Finally, he gets up to go to the restroom. After a few minutes I make my way to the back of the bistro where the restrooms are located. They are single restrooms so I’m waiting outside the door marked ‘Mens’. Jakob opens the door and the smile on his face falls when he sees mine.

I grab him by his shirt and force him back inside the bathroom, slamming the door closed with my foot. Without looking, I reach around and lock it before continuing to the wall. Jakob’s back slams against it. “You know I knew I didn’t like or trust you. I knew you were a no-good son of a bitch, but I had no idea you would actually stoop so low. I thought I was just jealous because you had Sutton, but it turns out I was right. You’re using her.”

His eyes widen before his mask falls back into place. “Look man, I don’t know what you think you heard but you’ve clearly got your wires crossed. I’m not using anyone.”

“Oh really? It’s not just about getting money out of Sutton to keep your fingers?” I ask.

Jakob laughs. “As if anyone would believe you.”

I cock my head to the side and smile. “Something tells me they would. Maybe, I should just tell Sutton about Ally.”

“Ally’s my cousin,” Jakob spits out.

I laugh before I yank him back and slam his back against the wall again. “I just sat there and listened to the multiple dirty things you want to do with her. I even listened to her refer to it as sexy sex time, so I highly doubt she’s your cousin.”

Silence hangs between us. “Sutton and I have history. You screwed up when you showed up with another chick on your arm. I have Sutton. I can always have Sutton, however and whenever I want. Our history tops whatever fling you had with her. She’s a hot piece though, isn’t she?”

My anger gets the best of me and before I even think about it, I punch his jaw and let him slide to the floor. “Don’t ever talk about her like that again.” I begin to pace back and forth while his sick laughter fills the small bathroom.

“It’s a shame really. You seem to actually care for her,” he says, as he wipes the blood from his lip. He gets to his feet and pushes past me.

I pinch the bridge of my nose as I hear the door unlock. The next words out of my mouth are the last thing I expected to say, but they’re the only way to save Sutton. “How much?”

Forty-Six

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