Reckless Retribution (West Warriors Book 1) (31 page)

Regardless of what happened with Jamie, I was going to miss working at the club. Considering how much I was dreading it at the beginning, I had grown to love it and my little ‘fight club family,’ as I affectionately called them. Alongside Taylor, they were the closest things to family I ever had, and I loved them all dearly, despite our little setback. I’d met some wonderful people here, Kal in particular.

In a way, he was so much like a father figure to me, always encouraging me to pursue my dreams. The way he looked after me while I was in the hospital, and just genuinely being there for me if ever I needed him, was above anything I’d ever expected from him. I was going to miss him terribly. Cam, Marc, and Leon had become somewhat like brothers to me, just as Kal once joked. They looked out for me when I needed them, and I would miss our conversations and banter. They had big fights coming up soon, and I was disappointed I wouldn’t ever get to see them.

Kal announced my impending departure from the club during their team meeting, and I sat, horrified, at my desk. I hadn’t expected him to make an official announcement. I would have preferred if he had done that when I wasn’t present. In obvious shock, they stared over at me, except Jamie, who stared straight ahead of him like he wasn’t part of the conversation. I knew he was thinking it was because of him. After the announcement, their meeting continued and I carried on with work, and when they were free to go, Jamie took off out the door while the other three surrounded my desk.

“I get dibs on the next girl.” Marc shoved his palm in the air. Leon hit him in the stomach. I didn’t find it funny. I felt sorry if another girl replaced me. I only hoped she had the strength to stay away from them. It wasn’t worth the heartbreak. “I’m joking. I’ll miss you, Lauren. We’ll still see you, right?” He smiled, showcasing his trademark dimples in his cheeks.

“Yeah,” I lied.

“Same here, I’ll miss you too. You’ll still call us if you need anything, right?” Leon’s face was hopeful, and my heart warmed at his sentiment.

“Of course, thanks, Leon.” I managed a small smile. I desperately wanted to keep in contact with him. Out of all of them, I’d come to realize I could trust him the most. I could tell him anything and know it wouldn’t get back to the others. He came around the desk and gripped me in a big hug before leaving with Marc for their break. Cam lingered and waited for them to leave. I already knew what he was going to say.

He ran a hand through his dark brown hair, and worry troubled his exotic features. "Are you leaving because of Jay?”

I shook my head at him. “No.”

He looked like he didn’t believe me. “You sure?”

“Yes. I’m graduating soon, and I start a new job in August.” My voice was quiet as I swallowed down the sad thought of leaving everything behind.

He studied my face some more, still trying to work out whether I was telling the truth or not. “Well good luck, Lauren. We’ll miss you around here, and I’m sorry for the way things ended. No hard feelings, right?” He gave me a sad, apologetic smile.

It was honest of him, and I knew I had to put our fight behind me too. There was no point carrying it on. “Thanks, Cam. I’m sorry too.” I returned his sad smile and tears stung my eyes. I quickly turned back to my computer before he could see.

“Jay’ll take this hard. He knows he fucked up, Lauren. You mean a lot more to him than he’s let on,” he added, then turned and left the club. My stomach churned at his words. If he liked me that much, why did he go with that girl?

Before my shift ended, Kal’s face lit up as he told me he was arranging a little going away party for me on Saturday night, and my stomach filled with dread. I didn’t feel like having a party. As kind as his gesture was to give me a good sendoff, I was still heartbroken, and trying to put on a smile and be happy was going to be difficult.

I texted Taylor, inviting her because I needed her there. I made her swear not to tell anyone about Texas, and she promised she wouldn’t breathe a word. She asked me a little bit too excitedly about what we were going to wear, and I responded with a cool, “It’s a fight club, not a night club,” hoping she was going to wear something appropriate.

During that last week of work, I decided I didn’t want to part ways with Jamie on bad terms. I wouldn’t ever truly forgive him for what he did, but I’d shared so much with him in the last few months, and he knew more about me than most people, Taylor included. He tried to protect me when I needed it, and I couldn’t just leave and never speak to him again. I needed to gather the strength to talk to him.

****

Saturday night, I walked to the club for what would be my last time, with my best friend by my side, ready to join my fight club family. I chose a simple red sundress and lightly curled my hair, and as promised, Taylor behaved and wore a modest black maxi dress.

Stepping through the club doors, I was embarrassed when everybody whooped and cheered. It was full of people. Regular members of the club, the West Warriors team, and other people I had never seen in my life. I hated fuss; I wasn’t used to it. I smiled bashfully and clung to Taylor’s arm as she chuckled at my reaction. Looking around, they had decorated the club with colorful balloons and banners. Even the equipment was well hidden with sheets draped over them.

Music blared out of the speakers, and I had to laugh at the fact they had transformed the cage into a dance floor, complete with disco lights turning the black floor into fluorescent flashes of color. Another laugh escaped at the big sign that politely asked for no heels. I could imagine Kal having kittens if it got damaged. There was an impressive buffet of food on a long table, and the one thing I couldn’t believe that was there: beer. Kal had a strict no alcohol policy most of the time, but tonight, it looked like he was letting them enjoy the festivities.

I was nervous Jamie wasn’t going to be here, but he was the first person I saw when I walked into the room. He always was. He was already sipping on a beer, talking with Cam. He looked like he’d made an effort with his appearance, dressed in a midnight blue button down shirt folded at the elbows, and snug-fitting dark blue jeans, which he teamed with a pair of tan loafers. He looked gorgeous, and a stab of longing hit me. We made brief eye contact, and I could feel him watching me as I made my way over to Kal.

“Here she is.” Kal grabbed my full attention. He had a beaming smile on his face as he put an arm around me and hugged me in that fatherly way he did. Standing beside him was a lady whom I presumed was his wife.

“Hi, Kal.” I put an arm around his waist, leaning in to give him a hug. He too had made an effort, in dress clothes, and I noticed a hint of cologne, which scented his olive skin.

“Lauren, meet Lucille, my wife.” He gestured in her direction.

He’d started to open up more about his family, so it was nice to finally meet his wife. I turned to her, and she smiled warmly at me. Like Kal, she looked of Italian descent. Her big brown eyes were framed with insanely long eyelashes that were curled to perfection. Her cheekbones were set high and her plump lips were painted red. Lucille’s dark hair was scooped up into a chignon, and her curvy figure was showcased in a navy wrap dress. She was beautiful, and I swore she could have been Taylor’s older sister.

“Kal speaks very fondly of you. He’s really going to miss you,” she said, directing a smile to Kal. I blushed a little, hoping he hadn’t told her
too
much about me.

We spoke for a little while about school and graduation, and I took the opportunity to ask about their children. They seemed to have the perfect life together, and I only hoped I could have all that one day too.

After a while, I felt Taylor discreetly tug my arm, and feeling guilty I never involved her in our conversation, I politely excused myself from Lucille. “Let’s get a drink,” she said, pulling me toward the beer. We grabbed some bottles from the ice buckets, and as we opened them, Marc came walking over to us, smiling. On my guard, I wondered what he had to smile about.

As he came closer, I noticed his eyes were fixed on Taylor, and I was surprised when he beckoned her over, and she eagerly left my side to go to him. Frowning curiously at them, I wondered what it was they had to talk privately about. I had no other option than to go and join Cam and Jamie. I still found it hard looking at Jamie, because of the pain he was putting me through. I still hadn’t talked to him since that night, but I just wanted to be civil tonight, for Kal’s sake. When I reached where they stood, Jamie gave me his best platonic smile, and I knew he was hiding his feelings, whatever they were. Painfully, I managed a brief smile back, but I couldn’t ignore the longing I felt for him. Pushing my feelings aside, I turned to Cam. “Thanks for being here. You didn’t have to.” I waved my hand at all the fuss they’d made.

“We had to send you off in style.” Cam winked. I laughed; it was the first party anyone had ever thrown for me. “I’m gonna go see Kal. I’ll catch you later.” He looked between Jamie and me then walked off, leaving us alone. Jamie smiled at me again, and I hated that his expression was empty. I missed the gorgeous grin that made his eyes light up when he looked at me. Turning his head away, he gazed outside for a few seconds and took a drink of his beer, and then he turned back to me. “Do you want a drink?” he asked softly.

“Yeah, thanks,” I croaked, trying to suppress the overwhelming feeling in my chest to break down and cry. I quickly finished my beer while he fetched me another one. He returned and handed one out for me, and I took it, thanking him. He leaned back against the wall behind him, staring straight ahead, biting at his bottom lip. The tension between us was clear.

I thought he might have taken this time while we were alone to apologize. But he didn’t. He’d tried previously, and I’d ignored his attempts, so he probably didn’t think it was worth it again. Part of me wanted to ask him why he did what he did, but I figured we both knew tonight wasn’t the time nor the place. We stood there in silence, and it felt sad. I didn’t have it in me to move away from him, and he didn’t attempt to move either. I quietly drank my beer as I silently grieved our relationship and the person that I’d fallen in love with.

Suddenly, Taylor was upon us and grabbed me by the elbow. “Let’s go grab some food.” She cast a glance to Jamie, and he looked away from her, catching Cam’s eye, who then began walking back over to him. We left them and headed to the buffet, filling our plates with the lovely food Kal had provided, and sat down on two of the folding chairs. I mindlessly picked at my food, not really in the mood to eat, unlike Taylor, who stuffed pasta into her mouth.

Swallowing her mouthful, she turned to look at me. “What were you talking to Jamie about?” she asked, as she wiped remnants of pasta sauce from the corner of her lips.

I frowned at her wanting to know that. Why would she care? She didn’t even like him. “Nothing.” I shook my head and shrugged. It wasn’t an altogether lie. Her frown deepened. “What?” I asked, irritated at her probing.

“What happened with him?” She pinned me with a weighted stare.

My heart stopped and I stared at her in disbelief. “Nothing. What are you talking about?” I stumbled over my words.

“Tell me. Don’t lie!” she demanded. A mixture of hurt and betrayal crossed her face, and I knew she knew about us, only I didn’t know how. Jamie certainly wouldn’t have said anything to her; their hate for each other was mutual. Swallowing the massive lump lodged in my throat, I looked away from her while I tried to find the words. I happened to land upon
Marc, who was watching our conversation intently, and I knew it was him. My blood boiled. How dare he! Did he know the full story between Jamie and me now, and just decided he would inform my best friend behind my back? I couldn’t believe I was being outed at my own party.

“Before I say anything, who told you?” I glared at her, and she looked down at the floor, but I wasn’t letting this go. “Who?” I snapped.

She clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes at me. “Oh, come on, spill. I want to know. You’ve had a fight with him. Why?” She tried to turn the conversation around on me.

“Who told you?” my voice rose. Thankfully, the music was quite loud and drowned me out.

She held her hands up defenselessly in front of her. “Don’t yell.” Taking a deep breath, a loud sigh escaped from her. “It was Marc,” she admitted quietly.

I clenched my teeth and glared at her again. “What gave him the right—”

She cut me off, “That doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re having boy problems, and you haven’t said a word.”

I cooled down a fraction when I saw the hurt look that was still on her face because I’d kept it from her, but I wasn’t ready to talk about him yet. I still found it too painful. I needed some space. “I’m going to get some air.” I set my plate down on the floor, stood from my chair, and walked toward the door. She called out after me, but I just needed to be alone for a few minutes.

I sat down on the wall at the side of the club, away from the windows, where nobody could see me. Taking deep breaths in and out, I tried to calm myself down and keep in control of my emotions, which were threatening to explode from my eyes. It felt like everything was just crashing around me.

Hearing footsteps, I looked toward the corner of the building and Taylor appeared. She took a seat beside me. “Does he mean that much to you?”

I turned to look at her, and as I nodded, tears ran down my cheeks. “Yeah,” I said quietly. She rarely saw me cry—nobody did. Jamie had opened up emotions in me that I’d buried years ago when I decided the best way to get through life was to be numb to everything.

“What happened?” she asked softly, folding her arms.

I closed my eyes at the memory. “He decided he’d had enough of me, so he took a girl home from the bar in front of me and slept with her.” I sighed. Saying those words out loud hurt, and the pain I felt was raw. I still didn’t understand why he did it. I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand, and she put a tender arm around me. I leaned into her; I needed the comfort and for her to tell me it would be okay and I’d get over it.