Page 131 of The Single Dads Club
Chapter 9
Cade
As badly as I wanted Alexa, she deserved better, especially for her first time. It wasn’t right for her to just look for someone to get it over and done with. She wasn’t that kind of girl. She deserved roses, candles, that kind of shit. And I was not that kind of guy.
I’d ushered her out of my house as quickly as I could without seeming like an asshole, my dick screamed in protest with every step I took. I wanted her like crazy. Just the thought of burying myself in her tight, wet heat was enough to drive me insane. Yes, I’d made the right decision sending her home. But dammit if I hadn’t hid inside like a fucking pussy while she walked out to her car alone. I’d turned on the porch light and watched her from the window until she was safely inside her car and pulling away. I didn’t trust myself to be near her just then.
It was for the best. At least that was what I told myself as I climbed into bed with a raging hard-onthat refused to go away.
The following morning I met Ian at the gym once I got Lily off to school. All she talked about over breakfast was ‘Lexa this and Lexa that.’ Drove me up a fucking wall. I had a hard enough time keeping the woman out of my own thoughts, but with Lily now firmly planted on Team Alexa, it was damnnear impossible.
I’d hoped lifting weights with Ian would clear my head, but so far it had proven difficult.
“What’s got your panties in a twist?” Ian mocked me from a nearby weight bench. “You’re lifting like a pansy ass today.”
I sent him adon’t fuck with mescowl and added another set of forty-fives to my bench press. I was struggling under the weight by the fourth rep. Damn.
Ian pulled the bar up and helped me re-rack it. “Seriously, man. Talk to me.”
“This isn’t Oprah, bro. Mind your own damn business.”
He chuckled and shook his head, leaving me alone on my bench. When I met up with him in the steam room later, he kept true to the sentiment. He hadn’t asked me any further questions about my shitty mood, and instead we talked strategy of his upcoming fight.
Ian was an up-and-coming mixed-martial-arts fighter. He was much better than me, and I was man enough to admit it. I also wasn’t afraid to spar with him in the ring, even though he was lightning quick and his kicks ripped the air from your lungs. But my left hooks were nothing to fuck with, and I occasionally caught him off guard. More often than not, though, he didn’t miss a blow—and my ribs had the bruises to prove it.
But damn, hehadto be good. He had a handful of local businesses sponsoring him, and had parents that had paid for every lesson imaginable growing up. He was born to do this. Me, on the other hand, I learned on the fly and won fights out of sheer determination.
Ian wiped the sweat from his eyes with a hand towel. “So what about you? Are you planning on fighting again anytime soon?”
The money was pretty good—if you won. “I don’t know man,you try working construction with cracked ribs and a broken finger.” Not to mention trying to explain to a six-year-old why you were black-and-blue and watching her eyes well up with tears when you explained it was from a fight. It wasn’t something I ever wanted to do again. She wanted to know who I fought with and why he was mad at me. I didn’t like upsetting her like that. But it wasn’t like I could say to my opponent, hey man, no face shots, my little sister gets upset. There was no way around the bumps and bruises—and even if I won, I’d still usually be sporting a black eye for weeks.
One way or another, I needed to get my shit together and find a well-paying job that didn’t require me to fight in a ring, or get naked on camera.
Easier said than done though.
* * *
By the time I got home from the gym, Lily was due home from school. I had just enough time to make the phone call I’d been thinking about all day before I chickened out. I couldn’t get Alexa and the way she’d left the night before out of my head. She’d done nothing but help with Lily and I’d practically mauled her on my couch, told her I wanted to fuck her, and then sent her packing without even walking her to her car. Classy, I know. A real romantic here.
I dialed the number to the hospital and asked to be connected to Alexa in nursing. I didn’t know her last name, but thankfully, a few minutes later, they tracked her down for me.
“Cade? Is everything okay…?”
Her voice was frantic.Shit. She’d probably assumed this call was about Lily. “Everything’s fine. I didn’t mean to make you worry. Listen, I’ll keep this quick because I know you’re at work, but I needed to call and tell you I’m sorry if things got weird last night. That was totally my fault.”
She hesitated for a minute. “That’s okay. I had a lot of fun with Lily and—” she stopped short.
“Me too. Listen, can I return the favor? I’d like to make you dinner. Or at least buy you dinner, since you probably don’t want me cooking.”
Soft feminine laughter filled the silence between us. God, I liked that sound way too much. “Okay,” she murmured a few seconds later. “I’d like that.”
“Are you free tomorrow night?”
“Yes. What time should I come over?”
I liked that she volunteered to come over, knowing it would be easiest for me and Lily if she came to my house again. Other girls I’d tried to date usually pitched a fit that I couldn’t go out much. “Six okay?”
“Yep. It’s a date. I mean, I’ll see you then.”
