Page 53 of Quake
“We’ve been together barely two weeks,” I snapped. “And you want me to bring her to one of our awkward family dinners?”
“I’ve never seen you interested in a woman for longer than two days,” he stated. “Or have you forgotten that I was by your side the entire length of your career? I saw more than you will ever realize, Caleb.”
He was telling the truth, about him being there and the various women I never settled with, but he’d conveniently left out the bit where he’d dropped me the moment he realized I was done. I was such a disappointment.
Ultimately, he wanted me back in training so he could go on pretending everything was like it used to be. I’d been a puppet—a willing one—but my strings were still being pulled. Having me watched by some creep was his idea of continuing the same control outside of the ring. He had to get it through his thick skull that I was my own man now.
I wasn’t sure he’d ever loved me as a son, but I sure as hell knew he’d loved me as the next boxing middleweight champion of the world. Knowing it stung like a bitch.
“Dad—”
“Stop being so difficult,” he snapped.
“Stop having me followed like a criminal, then we’ll talk,” I shot back. “Seriously, Dad. I’m a grown-ass man, and I can make my own decisions.”
“We only ever wanted the best for you.”
“I know, Dad, but what’s best for me now is figuring things out on my own for a change. I’m the one who was injured, not you. I’m the one who has to deal with the fallout. I have to live it. I can’t go back. I won’t risk becoming paralyzed.”
“We will discuss this on Saturday night?,” he said, his temper wearing thin. ????
“It depends,” I said, my own fuse burning extremely short.
“On?”
“Juliette,” I replied. “She has work commitments this weekend.”
“And she has a commitment to you. Saturday night?, Caleb. Your mother will tell you where.” ????There was a click on the other end, and I pulled my phone away from my ear, glancing at the screen with a scowl. He’d hung up on me.Great.
Followed like a petty thug, my comings and goings reported to my father, Juliette’s presence being recorded. It was slimy. She was not going to react well when she found out someone had been watching her. All the work we’d done to help her come to terms with her past—whatever it was—could come crashing down.
Did my father have any common sense? Talk about a trick question. He had absolutely no idea, and his ignorance would likely trigger her fear again. Asshole.
Talking to that man was like talking to a brick wall. A pointless exercise in futility.
Returning to the weight room, the boys eyed me suspiciously but didn’t bite. Picking up my discarded dumbbells, I resumed my set, seething inwardly. How the hell was I going to get around this?
Even as I attempted to devise a plan, I knew there was no way around it. Dad would hound me until I broke or it would be Mum on the phone crying about how spiteful I was.
For once in my life, I wished I’d had a normal upbringing. One with backyard cricket and summer holidays at the beach, not homeschooling and ringside seats at a Las Vegas casino.
What a dream that was.
* * *
When Juliette camein that night for her usual training, I still wasn’t sure how to broach the subject of dinner.
We hadn’t been together long—barely two weeks, though it honestly felt more than that—and it was far too soon to be meeting the parents. Especially mine. Chaos, disappointment, resentment, bickering…
She bounded across the mats and slipped her palms up my chest, her body meshing with mine. Wrapping her arms around my neck, she pulled me in for one hell of a hello kiss. Her lips were soft and tasted sweet, her tongue demanding attention. I gladly gave her what she wanted, and when she finally pulled away, her cheeks were flushed.
“Hey,” I murmured. “Good to see you.”
Her kiss was a surprise, especially considering how hesitant she was the other week. Meaning, the first time I’d seen her after we finally slept together. Intimacy seemed like a foreign concept to her, but now she seemed comfortable with me. Fuck, it was hot. Especially when hello consisted of full tongue and her perfect breasts jammed against my chest.
“What kind of training do you want to do tonight?” I asked. “The upstairs kind or the downstairs?”
When she tensed, I chuckled. My cheeky words had hit her right where it counted. My favorite place.
