Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80932 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80932 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
“Bro… you gonna lift or what?” Bishop asks. I startle, focusing on him to find him staring at me over the bar.
“Yeah,” I mumble, getting my grip set. Then I think about the man who is hovering over the bar, there to help me in case I falter, and I remember Bishop is my best friend. It’s fucking moronic not to get his advice, since I’m clearly out of sorts over Regan. Legend had been working out with us, but he doesn’t stay as long as we do, having baby duties and such. The gym is nearly deserted. It’s the perfect opportunity to get this shit off my chest.
I release the bar and roll off the bench, immediately launching into my story as I turn to face Bishop. “So… well, I sort of did a thing.”
Bishop just stares in confusion. “A thing?”
“A big thing.”
“What kind of big thing?”
“I got married,” I blurt out. Bishop’s eyebrows shoot so high they disappear under his hairline.
“You got married?” he asks slowly, as if he’s missing out on the joke.
“To Regan,” I clarify.
“Lance’s sister?”
“Only Regan I know.”
“Jesus Christ.” Bishop sighs, then takes a seat on the bench I’d just vacated. “Start at the beginning. I’m way too lost.”
So I do. Pacing back and forth before him, I recount the shortest engagement ever. I inform him about Regan’s disease, taking the time to explain what that means. His expression goes from exasperated I’d do something so foolish to gravely concerned when I tell him about the Salvistis and how expensive it is. By the end, he’s nodding along with me, agreeing I hadn’t a choice but to marry her to get her on my insurance.
“You did the right thing,” he says encouragingly. “I’m sure Regan is grateful.”
Shaking my head, I grimace. “I sort of did something else.”
“What?” he asks, the approving smile sliding off his face.
“I slept with her,” I admit.
“You stupid motherfucker,” he says slowly, but that’s not unexpected or offensive to me. It’s totally legit.
“See, but here’s the thing,” I continue, getting to the crux of what’s bothering me. “It was fucking amazing, Bishop. I mean… she’s like no woman I’ve ever been with, and I have no clue why. And I can’t figure out if what we did was right or wrong. I can’t stop thinking about it. Obsessing, actually. But she’s sort of moved on, I think. I mean, she acts like we’re just friends and like it wasn’t that big a deal, but trust me when I tell you… I feel like a big fucking girl right now admitting it to you, but it was a big deal.”
“God, you’re fucking screwed, Dax,” Bishop mutters as he stands.
“That’s it? That’s your advice?” I ask incredulously.
“No, my advice is to talk to her about it. Clearly she means something important to you—”
“She did before we fucked,” I growl. “Yes, she’s important and there’s a long-standing love and care there. But I’m talking about sex, Bishop. I’m talking about something different.”
“I think it’s different,” he says with a sage and pointed look, “because there was already love and care there.”
His words hit me with the force of a nuclear explosion, and my entire body rebels at the thought. I’m not ready for that type of “love” in my life. I’m still young and want to be free. I want to have fun and not be committed. That type of love and sex mixed together is a recipe for a relationship that is beyond what I want right now.
I start to tell him that, too, but his phone rings, which is sitting on the floor next to our towels. Legend’s face is on the screen.
Bishop bends, nabs the phone, and answers, “What’s up?”
I stand there, impatiently waiting for him to finish his call with Legend so we can get back to what’s important. Me and my lust for Regan, or whatever it is I have.
But the expression on Bishop’s face turns to horror, his skin going pale. All of my senses fire and my stomach rolls.
My immediate thoughts are of Tacker. Now, my impatience is waiting to hear what the terrible news is.
Bishop doesn’t say anything to enlighten me. He ends the short call with, “I’m on my way to your place now.”
When he disconnects and turns to me, I’m not prepared for his shocking words. “Lida shot Pepper and took Charlie.”
“What?” I bark out, my head actually spinning. Lida is Charlie’s birth mom and has been doing some crazy stalkerish stuff, but I never expected this. “Is Pepper okay?”
“Legend doesn’t know,” he says with a short shake of his head as he hurries to the locker room. I follow while he fills me in on the pitifully short details. “He’s at his house right now with the police, and Pepper’s on her way to the hospital by ambulance.”