Full Contact (Worth the Fight #2) (17 page)

Slade let out a puff of air and his lip curled. “I’ve been called an ass, a goofball, indifferent, and a jerk, but never intense.” He pulled her to him, wrapped his arms around her waist, and laid his chin on her head.

She mumbled into his rock-hard chest, “Yeah, well…to me, you’re intense.”

He remembered what a hard time she’d been through with Dennis, and to him,
intense
meant something negative. Maybe he was being too aggressive. He didn’t want to scare her off. He stepped back and inclined his head a little to look into her eyes. “I don’t mean to be that way, and I don’t mean to make it difficult for you. I guess I just need you to know that I did my best to get you to stay. That you really know I don’t want you to leave. I know you’ve already decided, but I just need you to know that I did everything I could.”

“I kinda thought you were busy with that blonde I saw you with.” She said “blonde” in a mocking voice, her nose wrinkled.

“I just went out with her to try to get my mind on something else. Someone else. It didn’t work. I haven’t seen her since. Hey, how about a little bet? If they win, you’ll go out with me one last time.”

“You’re betting against me?” There was a smile on her face.

“Sorry, lady. The guys are right. You suck.”

“Incredible!” She walked away, saying, “You’re on, Martin.”

“Your turn,
linda,”
Tony said.

Linda
meant “beautiful,” didn’t it? He’d taken Spanish in high school. Son of a bitch, he was going to kick Tony’s suave ass!

She bent over, lined up the cue with the white ball, pushed off…and missed. “Oh, no,” she pouted.
Too cute.

The three newcomers high-fived one another. Cain, Tony, and Travis complained. Slade smiled. So, where would he take her for their date? The movies and dinner? Too clichéd. There was a great seafood restaurant a few miles—

“How about we make it five hundred bucks?”

“Do we look stupid?” Travis replied, taking a swig of his beer.

“Well, you three should be men enough to pick up her slack. Or do you guys suck just as much as she does?”

Tony stepped forward. “Are you calling me a pussy?”

Cocky son of a bitch was going to fall right into these hustlers’ hands, Slade thought. Didn’t they teach reverse psychology in Cuba?

Cain and Travis took a step toward the man, and Slade pulled Jessica back. “Don’t do it. They’re just goading you. No way you guys’ll win,” Slade cautioned his friends. He wanted a date with Jessica, but he didn’t want to see his friends being hustled.

Rob spat on the floor. “Even your friend here thinks you three can’t play pool for shit.”

“Make it a thousand, and you’re on,
comemierda,”
Tony said, arms crossed.

“Um, guys? Maybe y’all are right, I kinda suck,” Jessica said from behind. She put her hand on Tony’s shoulder, which made Slade clench his fists.

“Yeah, guys. Not such a good—”

“Butt the fuck out, Slade,” Tony warned.

Fine,
Slade thought,
it’s his thousand dollars. Stupid asshole.

So it was settled. Cain, Travis, Tony, and the shittiest albeit sexiest pool player he’d ever seen were playing for a thousand bucks against Rob, Phil, and Tim, who were damn good at pool. Too bad his friends were thinking with their egos instead of their brains. It was a pissing contest, and Slade knew there was nothing he could say to talk them out of it. At least he was going to get a date out of it.

Jamie Lynn brought a tray full of shots. The three newcomers toasted to the money they already saw in their pockets and downed the tequila. Rob was next; he lined up the white ball with the solid orange on the far left pocket, aimed, and the ball rolled in. Then, cockily, he went around the table, bent over, and aimed at the green ball but missed.

It was Cain’s turn.

“Can I go, please? I’ll do better this time, I promise,” Jessica pouted. Damn, she was cute. But she was absolutely terrible, and there was no way in hell that Cain would allow—

Cain shrugged. “Sure.”

What the hell? Is he crazy?

The other men laughed. A date with Jessica was looking better and better.

Jessica grabbed the cue, chalked the tip, and bent over the far right corner.

All six men’s eyes went straight to her ass. She looked over her shoulder, winked at Slade, then wiggled her butt side to side. Slade groaned, but all eyes stayed glued to her behind. Up until this point, Jessica had displayed terrible form—she just placed the cue close to the white ball, closed her eyes, probably said a prayer, and poked it. Now, though, she formed a small bridge between her fingers and slid the cue between the knuckles of her index and middle fingers. She eyed her target, which seemed to be the solid yellow ball.

Tim laughed. “You’re stripes, honey.”

Jessica’s face was serious. Focused. She ignored the man and tapped the white ball. First it hit the yellow solid 1-ball, causing it to ricochet left and tap the striped green 14-ball, which slowly moved into the far left pocket, but not before it tapped the red-striped 11-ball, which also went into the left center pocket. She’d made two balls for her team.

“Beginner’s luck, I guess,” she sassed, and sauntered to the other side of the table. Without missing a beat, she bent over the table, and two more stripes landed in separate pockets. No one spoke, but Slade noticed the shit-eating grin on his friends’ faces.

With three stripes still left, she called, “Center left.” She tapped the white ball toward the lone stripe on the left, causing it to hit the two stripes sitting side by side on the table. They broke into two separate pockets, but not before one of them ricocheted off a solid, which in turn hit the black into the center left. Calmly she put the cue down and stepped back.

Cain walked over to the wad of money lying on the table and shoved it into his pocket.

“What the fuck? She just hustled us,” Rob gasped.

“I did not. You just assumed I didn’t know how to play ’cause I have boobs.”

“Actually,
cariño,
I think it was more due to your ass than your tits,” Tony said with a laugh.

Slade couldn’t speak, couldn’t move. He’d assumed the same damn thing as the three assholes. Obviously his friends knew, though, and together all four had hustled the three men out of a thousand dollars. This woman never ceased to amaze him. And now he wasn’t going on a date, and it was his own damn fault.

Rob took a step forward, but Tony was quicker and grabbed the man’s arm.

“I think we’re done here, boys,” Tony said.

“Fucking cun—” Phil began.

Slade moved fast, and before Phil could finish the word he was up against the pool table with Slade pinning his left arm up behind his back.

“You really shouldn’t talk like that about his girlfriend.” Travis laughed and shook his head as he downed a shot of tequila.

“He’s not my boyfriend!” Jessica replied. Slade frowned and tightened his hold, causing Phil to let out a squawk of pain.

“Not the right time, darlin’,” Travis said to Jessica with a smile. She understood and backed away. Slade was angry enough.

Rob was not as smart. “Bitch, next time I’m going to—”

Tony moved quickly toward him, grabbed him around the neck, and pushed him up against the wall.

“Apologize to her, asshole.”

Rob said nothing, and Tony squeezed a little more.

“I really think you should apologize, man,” Travis told him.

Rob’s face was red, and his eyes were bulging. Tony, on the other hand, hadn’t even broken a sweat; in fact, he reached for a shot from the nearby tray with his free hand and downed it.

“S-sorry,” Rob gasped at last.

Tony released Rob, who half collapsed against the wall. But Slade didn’t let go of Phil. With a slight shake of the head Cain went over to Slade and pulled him off Phil.

“I don’t want to see you guys in here again,” Slade told them. Looking completely defeated, the three walked away.

From the other side of the bar, Jett hollered, “And don’t come back, hear?”

When the bar was calm again, Travis spoke first. “Good job, darlin’!” He picked Jessica up into a bear hug. Cain pulled out the cash, counted it, handed Jessica a cut, and then gave the other two some money.

“A woman that can hustle three grown-ass men? I think I’m in love,
linda.”
Tony put his hand over his heart.

Jessica smiled. “That was fun, guys. Well, except for the whole testosterone-fueled armlock, neck-choking thingy. Gotta get back to work. See ya!”

“Wait! What the hell just happened?” Slade asked aloud to no one in particular.

“I think you’re dateless, brother,” Travis said as he walked away, leaving Slade totally confused. He still had a lot to learn about Jessica.

Slade was working out at the gym with Jack, taking his aggression out on the punching bag.

“Spill it. You’ve been broody for weeks,” Jack said.

“Since when do we do girl talk?”

“Since your sister told me to get on it.”

“And you do everything my sister says?”

“Fuck yeah, I do.”

“Pussy-whipped,” Slade grumbled.

“So, you can tell me what’s going on, or I can tell you all the reasons why I love being pussy-whipped by Chrissy. But I gotta warn you, it has to do with pussy.”

“No. No. Please.” Slade rolled his eyes in disgust. He hit the bag a few more times before he began to talk. “We’d been doing so well. Like, fucking great. I mean, this girl is, well…I…anyway…So, she’s really leaving. I thought it was just a bluff. You know how women say they’re doing something just to make you grovel or feel guilty? But man, she’s really leaving. Just because of one argument. Granted, it was a big-ass motherfucking argument about Frances. Jessica has issues with Francesca and I didn’t handle it right. But, in my defense, her issues with Francesca are ridiculous. Anyway, she got crazy jealous. And just about then, this other chick showed up and started talking about having sex with me.”

“Well, to begin with, every woman has issues with Francesca. Have you seen her? She’s like a walking wet dream.”

Slade punched him on the shoulder. “Bro, aren’t you engaged to my sister?”

“I love your sister. I adore her. I’d never cheat on her. No one compares to her. But shit, man, I’m not blind. For that matter, neither is she—every time fucking Travis comes around, I swear to God, man, Chrissy starts grinning and stuttering. Anyway, like I said, everyone has issues with Francesca. And then, to top it off, you have all these groupies hanging around. No wonder the chick split.”

“I thought you were on my side! And they’re not groupies,” he protested. “They were just fun diversions, but once Jessica came around, it was all over with them. Anyway, I said some things I shouldn’t have, but everyone argues, right? This relationship stuff is all new to me. It’s a fucking pain in my ass. Now she tells me she’s moving back to Charlotte and just wants to be friends. But fuck that. I’m not giving up. My new plan is to play it cool. Let her see what she’s missing. Even though I only have a few days to win her over,” he said a little dejectedly.

“Let me know how that works out for ya,” Jack said with a chuckle.

“Women are fucking crazy. Why can’t she just—”

“Screw your brains out?” Jack finished his sentence.

“I was going to say get over it. But yeah, that seems like a great plan. Shit, man, good sex would make me forgive pretty much anything.”

“Well, I’ll share a secret with you, brother. Women don’t work that way. They’re huge pains in the ass. They want to talk about their feelings. They want you to know what they want before they themselves even know what they want. But if it’s the right woman—you do it. You do it happily because the payoff is well worth it. Fuck, I’m about to inherit a litter of goddamn puppies. I hate puppies, man, but for your sister, I’d probably go to the pound and get all the fucking dogs they have if I thought it’d make her happy.”

“When did you become the relationship Yoda? This conversation is getting weird.”

“Tomorrow I’ll braid your hair and buy you a tampon.”

They both laughed and continued their assault on the punching bag.

“For fuck’s sake, Texas, stop eating.” Jack snatched a biscuit from Travis’s hand. “Chrissy’s going to flip out if she sees you’ve eaten everything before the steaks are ready.” Jack gestured toward the grill.

With a mouth full of biscuits, Travis replied, “But they’re fucking delicious. And I’m so hungry, my belly thinks my throat’s been cut. No need to have a hissy fit.”

Slade chuckled. “You better swallow that and hide the evidence, brother. My sister is going to be seriously pissed.”

“Oh, please!” Travis scoffed. “Your sister loves me. She can’t keep her eyes off me.” Travis’s eyebrows waggled suggestively.

Jack reached over with the hand not occupied with a spatula and slapped the back of Travis’s head.

“Jesus Christ!” Travis said, rubbing the sore spot.

“I’m going to kick your ass if you keep talking about my wife that way.”

“She’s not your wife yet,” Travis said with a smirk.

Just then Chrissy walked out to the yard with a big bowl covered in tinfoil. She smiled, pecked Slade and Travis on the cheek, then planted an uncomfortably-t
oo-long-for-a brother’s-eyes kiss on Jack. When Jack reached for Chrissy’s waist and pulled her to him, the bowl in her hand teetered.

“Baby, if that’s food, you better hold on to it tight,” Travis laughed.

“Stop fucking calling her ‘baby,’ ” Jack growled.

Chrissy, flushed and frazzled, stepped back and composed herself. “What was that for?” she asked Jack.

“Does there have to be a reason to want to kiss you?”

Chrissy giggled and headed over to the nearby patio table to put down the bowl.

“Man, you practically peed on her,” Travis said. He followed Chrissy to the table and told her, “Baby, he’s just worried you’ll run away with me.” He kissed her playfully on the cheek before taking the tinfoil off the bowl.

“Seriously, Trav, Jack’s going to kick your ass,” Slade said.

“Holy shit! More biscuits.” Travis picked one up, inhaled deeply, and then took a huge bite. With a mouthful of food, he said, “Forget that dickhead, baby. Marry me?”

“How is it you don’t get fat?” Chrissy asked, laughing.

Travis shrugged and popped the rest of the biscuit in his mouth. “Genetic, I guess. Jamie Lynn eats as much as I do.”

“Bullshit. It’s ’cause he’s always working out,” Slade replied. “I can’t seem to kick him out of the gym. He’s always just there.”

“You know you love me.” Travis smiled at Slade, who just shook his head.

From inside the house came the sound of a doorbell, and Chrissy went to open the door.

“Speaking of love…” Jack looked over at Slade. “I think that’s Jessica right now.”

Slade didn’t answer.

“Brother, I’ve known you a long time. A long fucking time,” Travis said, shoving another biscuit into his mouth. “If you don’t claim that chick soon, someone else will. She’s hot and seriously cool.”

Slade didn’t need anyone telling him this, but what could he do? She refused to get back together with him.

“Slade, go bring me a big plate from inside before these steaks burn,” Jack said.

Slade opened the sliding glass door and walked inside, looking for Chrissy. “Yo, sis. Jack needs something to put the steaks on.”

“There’s a platter in the kitchen,” Chrissy yelled.

Slade walked toward the kitchen, but when he turned the corner, he crashed right into Jessica.

“Shit. Sorry, Jess.” They stared at each other for several long moments. It felt as if the silence went on and on. Slade noticed how sad Jessica looked—as sad as he felt.

Chrissy came downstairs and saw the two of them standing face-to-face. “Um…guess I’ll go get that thing for Jack,” Chrissy stammered, and made a beeline for the kitchen.

Eventually Slade cleared his throat and took a step back. “So, the text Chrissy sent said that there’s some big news. What do you think it is?”

“Seriously?” Jessica laughed. “Obviously, she’s pregnant.”

“What. The. Fuck?” Slade looked over his shoulder to see Jack laughing by the grill. “That son of a motherfucker! He knocked my sister up! I’ll kill him. He shoulda married her first.” Slade grabbed Jessica’s hand again and dragged her through the house toward the patio.

“Slade, stop it. You’re overreacting. They’re about to get married. They’re living together! You’re acting irrational. This isn’t the nineteen hundreds, for crying out loud.” She panted as she struggled to keep up.

Slade opened the sliding door belligerently, stepped out, pulling Jessica with him, and slammed the door shut, causing the glass to shake. He released Jessica’s hand and took three long strides toward the grill. “What the fuck, Daniels?”

Jack, who had been smiling and saying something to Travis, suddenly stopped, obviously confused by the anger on Slade’s face.

“What crawled up your ass?” Jack said.

“Tell me.”

“Tell you what?” Jack put the plate down and crossed his arms over his chest, staring at Slade, who was standing much like he was. It looked like a scene from a western, with two humongous men ready to duel; the only things missing were the guns and the background music. Chrissy stepped closer to the men, flanking Jack while Travis crept up next to Slade.

“Oh, come on,” Slade said. When Jack didn’t reply, he jutted his chin out. “Pregnancy?”

“Oh, that.” Chrissy let out a breath.

Travis, Slade, and Jessica all looked at Chrissy in confusion.

“Yeah, that!” Slade snarled. “How could you not tell me?”

“Because I know you hate him and I didn’t want you to get pissed off. I don’t even understand why you’re acting so surprised. You were there when I found out. So I guess asking you to keep one is out of the question?”

“What?” Jessica yelped.

“That makes as much sense as tits on a bull,” Travis said.

Just then someone else knocked on the door, and Travis stood up to get it.

Slade remained standing. His mouth opened and then closed again, but no words came out. He felt Jessica come close to him and squeeze his hand.

“Sweetie, um,” she said to Chrissy, “you said ‘one of them.’ Is there more than one?”

“I think so. I’ve never had any before. But isn’t that the way it happens? At least two, I would think. I mean, he’s tiny.” Chrissy put her hands out a very short distance apart. “So I can’t imagine a lot of swimmers shooting out of there.”

“Oh my God, Chrissy!” Jessica put her hand over her mouth, her face flushed. She couldn’t seem to make eye contact with Jack. “I can’t believe you just said that.”

Chrissy shrugged and took a sip of her beer. “It’s the truth.”

Finally Slade managed to speak. “I don’t hate him. I mean, I didn’t hate him. I’m not sure anymore.”

“You don’t hate him?” Chrissy asked. “I thought you did. You always kick him and yell at him.”

Just then Travis came back out on the patio with Cain in tow, in time to hear what Chrissy said. “Slade? You’ve been kicking Jack and yelling at him?” he asked, puzzled.

Jack and Chrissy’s heads whipped around to Travis.

“Wait, what the hell do you all think we’re talking about?” asked Jack.

“That Chrissy’s pregnant,” Jessica said.

“Oh my God, babe! You’re pregnant?” Jack asked, dropping the plate of hot dogs.

“No!” She looked at Jack and then turned to the four other spectators. “No! I was talking about Drogo. Our
dog
. He got the neighbor’s dog pregnant.” Chrissy turned to Slade. “Slay, you were there! You saw me arguing with Mrs. Weatherby. Why would you think I was pregnant? And even if I was pregnant, why the hell are you so mad?”

When his heart began to beat at a regular pace again, Slade looked down at a very embarrassed, albeit very beautiful, Jessica. She tucked her face into his chest and mumbled, “Oops.”

His lips twitched. She was just too adorable.

At that moment, his play-it-cool-an
d-give-her-space strategy went completely out the window. Operation Relentlessly Win Her Back was back on. Even if he only had a few measly days, he was still going to try to keep her there with him.

“Sorry. I was misinformed,” Slade said with a shrug. “And by the way, you need to get married before you knock her up. That’s what Mom and Dad woulda wanted.”

“I don’t know if I’m insulted or touched,” Chrissy said.

“Y’all are crazy.” Travis walked toward the steaks. “And all this confusion just made me hungrier. Feed me, woman, or I’ll pass out right here on your patio. Or maybe I’ll just eat those hot dogs right off the ground.”

“But you just ate like ten biscuits,” Chrissy said, looking down at the bowl. “Holy shit, Trav, how can you possibly be hungry?”

He shrugged. “I’m starvin’.”

“Okay, guys, dig in. Grab a steak. See if you can wrestle a biscuit out of Texas’s grip, and there are baked potatoes and corn on the cob over there,” she added, pointing to the table.