Page 52 of Rush
“Then maybe you shouldfinallylet that bitch go.”
Rage rose hot and hard, and I fisted my hands into the front of Cole’s T-shirt. I knew he was right, or maybe I was just delusional, but his blatant disrespect had me seeing red.
“Take that back,” I said with a growl.
“No.”
We stared each other down, my chest heaving and Cole’s gaze burning into mine, both of us as pigheaded as the other.
“The fuck,” Ash exclaimed, shoving an arm between us. “I told you to take a week off to recharge, not get an anger problem.”
Taking a step back from my best mate, I snorted. The problem with Cole’s and my friendship was that he knew all my buttons and loved pressing them…all at the same time. It wasn’t the first time we’d come to blows, and it wouldn’t be the last. I’d lost count of the bloody noses and black eyes.
“Leave off Jade,” I said to Cole, jabbing a finger at him. “You don’t know shit about her.”
“What I do know is that she took you for a ride,again, and here you are defending her…again.” He shook his head. “It’s pathetic, mate.”
“Do I have to put you two in the cage?” Ash asked, glancing between us. “Is it time for another session of toddler time out?”
“It never went away,” I said, my chest heaving. “So shut your fucking mouth before I shut it again.”
Ash rolled his eyes and turned to Cole. “Back off, okay? Go work on the bag at the back.” Focusing on me, he said, “And you had better start talking.”
Watching Cole retreat across the gym, I shook my head. “There’s nothing to say.”
“There’s plenty.”
Focusing on my coach, I scowled. “I knew she would break me, but I just couldn’t help myself.”
His expression softened, and he grasped my shoulder. “You fell for her?”
“Fell?” I repeated.
“Fell, as in love. Cole told me about your history with Jade after you left last week.” When I snorted, he added, “Don’t be so hard on him. He’s a crass bastard, and he gives a shit about you, but I don’t think he really knows what it’s like to want someone.”
What it was like to want someone? I was sure he could tell me all about it considering the things he’d been through with his wife Ren, but his story was different to mine. Ren never used him to get over the biggest moron on the planet. She never used him as a stepping stone to something better. She never used him to bide her time.
It was no secret I wanted what they had, and Jade…she’d been the first girl I’d ever thought about as more. I knew what it was, and it wasn’t love.
“No,” I said, turning away. “I was in love with the idea of her. Nothing more.”
If I kept saying it like that, then maybe one day, I would believe it, too.
The next day, I apologized to Cole, and things went back to the status quo like nothing had ever happened.
I dove straight back into training with the renewed hope that in a few weeks’ time, after some new fighters qualified for the AUFC, I would have my first pro fight lined up. I had to focus all my energy on that because the alternative was drowning my sorrows over a woman who’d never felt a single thing for me.
I’d just set up a weight machine when a woman brushed past me. Glancing up, I had to do a double take. The blonde hair was still the same, though she’d grown into her body and her tits seemed perkier. Fake, most likely.
“Ryan? Ryan Harper?” Her mouth fell open.
“Margaret Anastas.” I narrowed my eyes. Great, it was like my poor teenage decision-making skills were coming back to teach me a lesson like the ghosts of Christmas past or some shit.
“I thought I recognized you.” Her gaze roamed over my body, and her eyebrows rose appreciatively. “You’ve…changed.”
“It’s called growing up,” I retorted.
“Still mouthy, too,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. The movement caused her tits to push forward, and I couldn’t help it when my gaze dropped.
