Consolation Prize (Forbidden Men Book 9) (30 page)

“Okay then, folks.” He nodded and flipped his notebook closed. “Thank you for your time. I’m going to go check to make sure none of the other officers have any more questions and then we’ll let you be on your way, all right?”

Both Julianna and I blinked at him in surprise. I don’t think either of us expected him to let me go just like that.

A second later, I gushed out a grateful nod. “Yeah, okay. Thanks, man.”

He nodded and turned away. Julianna let out a squeak of excitement before squeezing her arm around mine and kissing my shoulder. “Oh, thank God. I was so sure you were going to get arrested.”

I kissed her temple. “Have a little more faith in me than that, baby doll. I can talk my way out of anything.” Then with a wink, I sent her a salacious once-over. “Or
into
anything.”

J
ULIANNA’S
C
HAPTER
|
26

“I
think I’m done with this pansy-maker,” Colton announced, pulling the ice pack away from his eye. The paramedics had given it to us when they’d first arrived and checked him out. It was beginning to drip with condensation as he held it out away from him.

“I’ll go return it to them,” I offered, taking it from his hand.

“Thanks, baby doll.” He kissed me in gratitude.

Red and blue lights flashed over me as I approached the ambulance where they’d just restrained the drunk who’d fought with Colton enough to successfully get him inside. I could see two paramedics in the vehicle with him as they wrapped his arm with a temporary sling, while a third stood just outside the opened doors, talking to a pair of cops.

One of the officers noticed me and nodded respectfully. “We’ll take him to jail once they get him checked out at the hospital, okay, ma’am?”

I smiled gratefully and turned my attention to the EMT. “He says he doesn’t need this anymore, thanks.”

The guy took back the cold pack and glanced at the two departing officers before returning his attention to me. “They said all this was over a racial thing.”

I nodded and sighed, rubbing a spot on the center of my forehead where a headache was starting. “Yeah. It was.”

He shifted confidentially closer. Since he was the only other black person on the scene, I thought he was going to offer up some words of encouragement. But he said, “You know this wouldn’t have happened if you’d just stayed with your own kind, right?”

My mouth fell open. “Excuse me?”

He would’ve said more—his lips were parting to say more—but he darted a look over my shoulder and immediately shut down. I glanced around to find Colton joining us.

My poor boy was utterly spent of all energy. I was afraid he’d pass out any second as he closed his eyes and leaned into me to rest his forehead on my shoulder. “The cop just released us,” he reported. “I want to go home now.”

He was so drained, he slurred his words. I pulled back, instantly worried. “Are you sure you’re okay? You weren’t this tired a few minutes ago.”

Opening half-lidded eyes, he mumbled, “I’m fine. I just want to go home.”

The asshole paramedic who was still standing there holding Colton’s ice pack had been the one to initially check him. I narrowed my eyes on him now. “Are you sure he doesn’t have a concussion? I mean, you
checked
, right?”

Or maybe he just hadn’t been all that concerned about the white guy who was dating the black girl.

When I gave him a death glare, letting him know he’d better double check my man or he was going to suffer, he sighed and pulled a pen flashlight from his front pocket.

But Colton winced and held up a hand, shaking his head. “I’m fine. Really. Just crashing after the adrenaline rush.”

His gaze turned beseechingly to me, so I nodded.

“Okay, we’ll go,” I said softly. Wrapping my arm around his waist, I sent the paramedic one last defiant glare and then led Colton away.

Once we were away from the hoopla of emergency vehicles with their flashing lights, he sighed and leaned more heavily against me. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to take you out to eat.”

“Oh, stop,” I chided. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You defended me and that kind of makes you my hero right now.”

“I don’t think he broke my nose.” He reached up to dab tenderly at the side of it. “But it hurts like a motherfucker. I’m going to down about half a bottle of painkillers when I get home.”

I looked up at him, worried anew. “Are you sure you don’t have a concussion?”

“I’m fine, baby doll.” He kissed my temple. “Just ready to go home.” Pausing, he sent me an uneasy glance. “Would I be a total dick if I went home now?”

My apartment building had just come into view and I could see where he’d parked his truck from here. My instinctive answer was to clutch him tighter and beg him to stay. I didn’t want him to leave…ever. Plus, I wanted to keep watch over him in case he really did have a concussion.

But I nodded and said, “Go home, baby. Get some sleep.”

He nodded, looking like he might fall asleep before he made it there. “I’ll see you to your door.”

But I resisted. “No. Your truck is right here. You don’t have to walk me all the way back inside and out again.”

“But—”

“Colton.” My voice was stern. “You’re in pain. Go home.”

After a reluctant sigh, he nodded and closed his eyes briefly. “I’ll text when I get home to make sure you made it safely inside.”

I smiled and rolled my eyes, but said, “Okay, thank you,” because I wanted to make sure
he
made it home all right, too.

We paused at his driver’s side door and he hugged me, resting his cheek on the top of my head. “I know this probably won’t make you feel any better, but I don’t think everyone is like that drunk douche or those gossipy bitches at the restaurant. Most people weren’t bothered at all by us being together.”

I sighed and stroked his arm. “I know,” I answered, but yeah, it didn’t really make me feel any better. Not tonight anyway.

“I think putting up with a couple assholes is worth it, though,” he said quietly enough that I could barely hear him. “Because this
is
going somewhere,” he added before pulling away and opening his door.

I lifted my head and gaped at him as he climbed into his truck and started the engine. He finally glanced at me through the window and blew me a kiss. Then he backed out of his parking spot and drove off.

Still in a daze over his admission, I walked blindly to my apartment. After I unlocked my door and went inside, I touched my lips as if he’d physically kissed me goodbye with those words and I could still feel the impact of them on my mouth.

It was more than just sex for him too.

Oh my God, it was more than just sex for him too!

Even after the crappiness we’d experienced tonight, I wanted to laugh and dance and share my news with the world. Colton liked me for more than just sex.

Muffled voices came from the kitchen, so I started that way without thought. I wanted to celebrate with my besties.

Tyla was asking, “Where’s JuJu?” when I reached the opening.

“Probably with Colton again,” Sasha answered, just as Theo snorted.

“Are you fucking kidding me? She’s still seeing that white douchebag?”

I had opened my mouth to call a greeting, but closed it at his question, not wanting to deal with any more of that tonight. The two couples were gathered around the counter where three boxes of pizza from the corner store lay spread open as they hovered and ate.

Feeling extra and unneeded and not wanting to listen to Theo make any more cracks about Colton, I began to back away.

But Theo snorted. “Guess this proves white guys are resistant to the cold.”

I paused, frowning. Huh?

“Why’s that?” Chad asked, his mouth full of pepperoni and cheese.

Theo shrugged. “I mean, he’s
gotta
be. That or he’s fine with freezing his nuts off every time he sticks his dick in her ice cold, igloo pussy.”

As a part of me shut down to avoid feeling any kind of pain, Tyla gasped and walloped him on the arm. “Theodore Jamal Richmond!
What the fucking hell
?”

“Well, it’s true!” Theo cried, ducking and lifting his arm when Tyla went for his face next.

“That is not true at all.”

“Oh, shit.” Chad had finally noticed me in the doorway, his next bite of pizza frozen halfway to his mouth.

Sasha glanced over and gasped, slapping her hands over her mouth.

When Tyla saw me, she immediately began to shake her head. “No.” She stepped toward me. “JuJu—”

But I retreated a foot, and she slowed to a stop.

“I was just letting you guys know I was home,” I said quietly. When I swung my gaze toward Theo, he actually had the decency to look contrite. “And I’d appreciate it if you would stop calling him that white douchebag. His name is Colton.”

Then I turned away and walked stiffly to my room. When I reached it, I closed the door without any fuss and moved immediately to my closet to pull out a suitcase. I had no idea where I was going as I filled it. I just didn’t want to be here.

Outside Sasha and Ty, I wasn’t really friends with anyone else in town, not friendly enough to ask to stay with them, anyway. And bothering Colton was out of the question. His family didn’t know about us for a completely different reason. Besides, he was miserable and in pain right now. He needed a break.

Maybe Pick could help me out. I’d heard of some pretty awesome things he’d done for a couple of my coworkers, even though bothering my boss when he was probably at home with his family right now seemed all kinds of wrong.

I’d just stuffed a handful of underwear, all plain cotton but with vibrant colors, into the suitcase when a soft knock came at my door.

Tyla pushed it open, hesitantly peeking inside. Sasha crept in right behind her.

“He’s gone,” Ty told me, her eyes full of apology. “I kicked him out.”

“Chad left too,” Sasha reported.

I sighed and dropped my armful of socks onto my mattress. “You guys, you didn’t have to do that.
I
can go.”

“What? You’re not going anywhere,” Sasha stated firmly. “This is your home. And why is there blood smeared on your shirt?”

I glanced down and blinked at the rusty smear covering my right breast. Colton had broken open his knuckles and scraped his arm in the fight. That must’ve been where this had come from.

I didn’t know why, but seeing his blood on me broke me. I sat down on top of the sock pile, buried my face in my hands and proceeded to cry.

“Oh, honey.” Sasha sat next to me, and Tyla took my other side. Their arms wrapped around me and held me close as they rocked me back and forth.

“What did that bastard do to you?” Tyla demanded.

I shook my head and wiped at my tears. “No. Colton didn’t do anything wrong. He’s perfect. He’s so fucking amazing; he’s the best man I’ve ever known. And I’m just so scared because it wasn’t supposed to be like this. It was supposed to be fun and done, get it out of our system and never talk to each other again. But he was just so amazing. And then he brought me candy when I was on my period and told me his secrets and listened to mine and got into a fight with some jackass who tried to grab my breasts, and I just…I don’t know. I’ve never felt anything this big for a guy before, except I’m not supposed to. He didn’t want his brother to know, I didn’t want my dad to find out. But then he made it sound like he wanted more tonight, and I want more too. I kind of want
everyone
to know he’s mine, and if they have a problem with it, they can just go fuck themselves.”

I exhaled a big long breath after unloading all that, my chest heaving and eyes still sprouting tears. I was pretty much a disaster, and both my roommates were staring at me as if I’d lost my mind, which I think I had.

Finally, Sasha lifted her eyebrows and blew out a breath. “Okay, maybe you should start from the beginning. Whose blood is on you?”

My shoulders fell. “I think I need to start a lot further back than that.”

“That’s fine.” Tyla nodded encouragingly. “How far back are we talking?”

“About a year,” I confessed. “Pretty much a week or two after I started working at the bar. Brandt was my trainer, and I thought he was cool.” I shrugged. “He
is
cool. The guy has every quality a girl would want in a man, so I thought, why not. He fit the mold I had set in my brain for the perfect guy. But the very night I was going to ask him out, his
brother
stopped by.”

“And it was like destiny,” Sasha tried to fill in for me, as she pressed her hands to her chest dramatically.

I blinked at her before saying, “No. He annoyed the hell out of me. He was loud and obnoxious and so arrogantly inappropriate, I pretty much wanted to smack him. But then he left, and I found myself sending glances toward the door as if I was looking for him to return or something. It was freaky, so freaky that I went ahead and asked Brandt out because, I don’t know...nothing was freaky or scarily intense with Brandt. But then that bombed, and I have to say, I wasn’t really that disappointed. I was just sad, sad because
he’d
finally settled with his soul mate, and
you’d
started seeing Theo.”