Beautiful PRICK (15 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

It’s now Saturday, and Johnny and I have been going through
our normal end-of-the-day routine. I’m exhausted. The week has been nothing but
training, working, watching matches until all hours of the night, and then
getting up early for work again.

Johnny has been asking me very suspicious, yet unobtrusive
questions regarding where I’ve been and why I’m so tired. I simply shrug him
off, or pretend to sneeze so I can easily change the subject.

“Your protein shake, sir.” I smile as I hold out his shaker
for him.

He takes it from me, but grabs my hand in the process. “Come
to dinner with me.”

“I can’t tonight.” I shake my head, pulling my hand away
from his tightening grip.

“Why?” It’s not a question. It’s a demand.

“I have plans, Johnny. Live with it.” I defend my choices.

He takes two steps forward, backing me up against the wall
of his trailer. I’m not scared of him,
this is
just something we do now. He tries to exert his power over me, and I tell him
to back off.

I always win.

But today, he’s not backing down.

“What is going on with you, Caroline?”

“Is it too much to think that I have a life outside of you?”
I sort of laugh it off.

He fires right back. “Is it too much to think that maybe I
want to spend some time with you when we’re not at work?”

I give it right back to him. “Well you should have thought
about that before deciding that you wanted our relationship to be
professional.”

His face drops, and I can see him come to some sort of
realization. “That’s what this is about? The professional comment? I thought
that was what you wanted.”

“Come off it, Johnny.” I can’t even look at him. I try to
sidestep away from him, but he shoots his arm out to the wall, caging me in.

“That’s all you have to say about this? I make one comment,
and now I can’t hang out with you, but I’m allowed to fuck you?”

I give him a snarky smile and quickly nod. “Yup. That’s
about right.”

His face reddens as his anger heightens, and he slams the
heel of his hand into the wall.

“Why are you getting so worked up?” I remain calm. “It’s
like the best of both worlds. Let’s
not forget:
you’re leaving soon. Then this whole thing will be over for good, so let’s just
be adults about it.”

I expect my comment to push him off the deep end, but I
swear, there’s a point I’m trying to make.

Maybe the point, though, is to myself. I just got out of a
relationship. I can’t just jump into another. So what’s wrong with casual sex? Why
does it need to be this territorial thing? Why, when I’m the one enforcing it,
is it, all of a sudden, not okay for him?

But most of all, why do I so desperately want to drop
everything, run into his arms, and tell him that I’ll be his for as long as
he’ll have me, and if he asks me again, I’ll drop everything and move to New
Zealand?

Blah: sometimes my emotions make me want to throw up.

Luckily, I don’t say any of that. Much to Johnny’s chagrin,
and a little bit to my own, I manage to steal away. As I approach my car, Josh
Mandelbaum calls out, stopping me in my tracks.

“Josh. How are you?”
“I’m good, Caroline. I’m glad I caught you.”

“Oh yeah?” I don’t know what this means, but I’m a bit
nervous. Did he read my work? Does he have notes? Suggestions? Or is he going
to try and find the nicest way possible to tell me I should give up my dream of
being a television writer?

“Listen, I don’t want to hold you up, but I wanted you to
know I read the packet you sent me.”

“Oh right!” I oddly act as though I forgot I sent him anything.
“Give it to me straight, Josh. What did you think?” Oh God, I want this moment
to be over so badly so I can go home and drink an entire bottle of wine.

“Honestly?” He smiles.

“Honestly.” I try my hardest to smile back.

“I really like your style.”
“What?” I say, just a little too quickly. I didn’t expect that to come out of
his mouth.

“Yeah,” he continues, unprompted. “Your structuring could use
some work-not much, just a little-but the dialogue and characters are very
strong.”

“I don’t…” I stupidly stutter. “I don’t know what to say. Thank
you?”

“Here’s the deal.”

Now there’s a deal? What is happening?

But I don’t say anything. I simply let him go on with the
deal.

“The network commissioned me to work on a pilot. Since it’s
mine, I get a big say when it comes to the team. I’d like to sit down with you.
Maybe let you pitch some of your ideas to me.”

I’m stunned. Shocked. I… I… can’t think straight.

And of course, I want to run straight to Johnny to tell him.

“Josh,” I hold out my hand to shake his. “Thank you so much
for this opportunity.”

We hash out the details of a little coffee and pitch
meeting, and then I’m off. It’s dark by the time I get home, and I have about
an hour before I want to head to the rickety, flickering light bulb above the
thick metal doorway to the maze of basement hallways that ultimately lead to
the most exciting underground experience I have ever encountered.

But my mind is going in a thousand directions. Should I
really go to the match? I have to come up with pitches for this meeting, and
I’m too excited to move.

But I’m also too excited to sit still.

Not only that, but I know Juan is fighting tonight. I have
been replaying this fantasy in my head that his opponent won’t show up and
they’ll have to pick someone out of the crowd to fight him, so I valiantly
volunteer. He laughs, remembering who I am and how easy it was to conquer me,
but I quickly wipe that smile off his face with a roundhouse kick directly
across his cheek.

It’s silly, I know, but it’s a fantasy.

I flip on the television, hoping to allow my mind to be
blank for a little while, as I decide what to do, but not five minutes into my
ever-thrilling crime show, there’s a knock on my door.

A rush fills me as I think it very well could be Johnny, now
I have so much to tell him with regards to my meeting with Josh, but then I
combat that rush with a bout of annoyance that he has followed me home without
an invitation. I throw open the door, preparing to scold him, but I am stopped
short, as the person in front of me is only slightly Johnny.

And by that, I mean that it’s his sister, Jules.

“Jules… what are you doing here?” I try to hide my complete
shock.

“Mind if I crash with you?” She pushes past me.

“Umm, no?” I’m so very confused.

“Good.” She plops down on the couch. “Oooh,
Criminal
Minds.
I love this show.”

I slowly close the door behind me and approach her. “So,
Jules, not that I’m not delighted that you’re here…” I start, but have no idea
how to finish. I met the girl once. What the hell is she doing at my apartment?

“Do you have popcorn? Or chips and guac? I’m famished.” She
steals away into the kitchen.

So I follow her. That’s what you do, right?

“There’s hummus in the fridge and pretzels in the cabinet to
your right.” I lead her toward something edible.

“Hummus! Yes!” She’s very excited. Then
she stops and stares at me. “You’re probably
wondering what I’m doing here.”

Did she not hear me ask her exactly that? “A little bit.” I
awkwardly smile, trying to make it seem like I’m not at all nervous, which I
am, for some reason.

“Well, see…” She walks right past me, back into the living
room, and takes a seat on the couch. “My brother left me this really cryptic
message, so I thought, ‘eh, I have the day off tomorrow, maybe I’ll go see
what’s up with him’.” She shoves a pretzel in her mouth. “Then
I drove all the way into the city, knocked on his
door, and he told me I couldn’t stay with him because he had a girl over.”

I feel a twinge of jealousy. Okay, it’s way more than a
twinge. I freaking hate that he has a girl over. That’s not at all okay. And
yet, I could have been that girl, but I told him that I had plans.

Stupid move, Caroline. Stupid.

“So anyway,” she continues after swallowing her hummus-dipped
pretzel. “I figured that you might be up for a slumber party.”

I have no idea what is happening. It’s all really, really
strange-like out of a weird fan fiction story. Julia Braylock goes to visit her
brother (who happens to not only be a movie star, but also the man I’m
currently sleeping with), but he tells her that she can’t stay over, so she
chooses to bunk with me, someone she only met once, and only for about five
minutes.

Okay, no, I’m not that stupid.

“What does he have on you?” I dip a pretzel into the hummus.

“What?” She sits back and looks at me as if she’s puzzled,
but I’m not falling for it.

“Your brother. First, he has you help me out when I got
mugged, now he’s having you pretend to want to have a slumber party with me so
he can keep tabs on me because I told him I had plans tonight. He obviously has
something on you.”

Jules slaps her thighs as she laughs. “I told him you
wouldn’t go for it. I don’t know what type of girls he’s used to hanging out
with, but apparently, they’re not too bright.”

“Apparently.” I agree as I join in on the laughter. “He
wants you to come back with a report as to why I wasn’t able to hang out with
him tonight?”

She shrugs, knowing that it’s not worth the fight. “Pretty
much.” Jules’s eyes soften as she briefly looks away. “And he doesn’t have
anything on me, but I do have my reasons.”

Johnny did mention how protective she’s become of him since
their mother passed, I just didn’t realize to what extent. I so desperately
want to ask her if Johnny actually has a girl over, or if that was just another
part of the story-maybe she was also meant to gage my jealousy-but I have no
right. It was my decision to enforce the casual sex rule. I can’t have it both
ways. So instead, I stand and grab my bag.

If Johnny wants to know what’s been keeping me up at night,
then I might as well show his sister first hand.

“Coming?” I raise my eyebrows at her.

“Where?” She sits up straight, obviously intrigued.

“You’ll see.” I smile before turning to walk out of the
door.

I park the car and tell her to follow me as we walk through
the dimly lit parking lot toward the swinging, caged light. The bouncer knows
me by name now, and even gives me a half hug before I drag Jules through the
door.

“Caroline? I have to admit: I’m a little nervous.” Her voice
is shaking.

“It’s not much farther.” I whisper as we approach the
doorway that leads to the match.

I push through the doors and warmly sigh as I look upon my
mecca. The first fight is just about to start and everyone’s focus is on the
center. I shove our way through the crowd,
wanting
to get the front row, center view. Jules follows on my heels, but I can tell
she’s still very confused.

“Is this some sort of underground fight?” She whispers as we
finally land in our optimal spot.

“Yup. Your brother brought me here.” I yell over the crowd.

“Right, I could see that happening, but then what?” She gets
very close to me as she glares at the surrounding swarm of fans. “You haven’t
been coming here alone, have you?”

“Why not?” I shrug.

A fight breaks out next to us. I am half listening, so I
know it has something to do with one party blocking another party, but I’m
pretty used to that by now.

Jules is not.

She lets out a yelp as the fight veers toward our general
direction, but I promise her it’s normal, and as soon as the sanctioned fight
begins, they’ll stop rough housing.

“This is normal?” She’s not handling the entire scene very
well. “These are the people you choose to hang out with at night?”

I turn to her; about to go off on a tangent about how she
doesn’t know me and has no right to judge, but at this point, it all seems
moot. What does it matter what Julia Braylock thinks of me? I’m not doing this
for anyone else’s benefit, but mine.

The first two matches come and go, and I start to feel my
body tremble as I anticipate seeing Juan. I look around, half hoping that his
opponent hasn’t shown up and that they’re searching the audience for a
replacement. I ready myself for the announcement, judging how long it would
take me to shoot my arm in the air.

“Are you okay? You just got very jittery.” Julia places her
hand on my shoulder and I jump back in response.

“Uh, yah, it’s just…” I stop, not really knowing how to
explain myself.

“Listen, Caroline.” She interrupts me, to which I’m very
grateful. “I don’t think Johnny would be happy if he found out you were here by
yourself.”

“I’m not here by myself.” I coyly smile. “I’m here with
you.”

She gives me a look,probably the same one I would’ve given
someone who had just said what I had said.

So I recant. “I’m sure he wouldn’t be happy, which is why I
haven’t told him.”

“Right, but…” She interjects, but I keep going.

“I also haven’t told him because he has no right to know. I
work for him. That’s all.”