“Because you won’t listen. Florrie, you’re so fucking stubborn. There’s no way that you’ll listen to me.”
“And that makes it okay for you to do whatever the hell you want?”
“I’m not saying it’s right. I’m saying…fuck, I don’t know. I’m asking you to think about just Reid here.”
I scoffed, shaking my head at him. I couldn’t believe he was being so pigheaded. He couldn’t even see that he was tearing us apart. First with making decisions for both of us, and second, with lying to me for all these years, but demanding one hundred percent honesty with me. We were falling apart, and I didn’t know how to save us from that.
“I can’t do this anymore with you. I need some time to think about all this.”
“You’re walking away?” he asked incredulously.
“No,” I snapped, even though I wanted to tell him that was exactly what I was doing. “I’m not walking away. I’m choosing to take a step back before I do something that will hurt both of us. Just give me some time.”
“How much time?”
“I don’t know, Alec. Enough time that I won’t see betrayal every time I look at you.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEENAlec
I watched as Florrie worked with Reid in the training center. She was fucking pissed at me, and I knew she had a point, but I wasn’t at all sorry for what I had done. As I watched Reid in the ring, I was so fucking proud of him. But this was my life. I chose this for myself. I didn’t want Reid to be in that ring for any reason other than he wanted to be. And what was still to be determined was whether or not Reid would get along with his new family.
An ache formed in my chest when I thought of Reid being taken away by the Fullers. I didn’t want Reid to go. I loved having him around, and he filled my life with something that I didn’t even realize I was missing, but now wasn’t the time to be selfish. Not if this was what was best for him.
“Hey, man. I heard about what happened in court.”
“Yeah? What did you hear?”
“That the Fullers get visitation. That sucks, man.”
Tell me about it. He didn’t know the half of it though. I continued to watch Florrie training with Reid and wished that somehow everything could be different. It was like our lives had taken on this whole new spin that we weren’t sure how to navigate. And the longer we spun, the less I felt like it was likely we would survive.
Florrie spotted me across the gym and glared at me. I heard Craig’s intake of breath and then felt his hand grip my shoulder.
“Wow. What the fuck did you do?”
“I pissed her off.”
“Well, obviously. Anyone with even one eye can see that. Hell, I wouldn’t even need an eye. I could just be standing here and I could feel her glare. Whatever you did, you fucked up big time.”
“Thanks for filling me in on that,” I said sarcastically.
“Well, you’re not going to get on her good side by standing here watching her.”
I snorted. “I’m not sure she has a good side right now.”
“Well, we all knew that was true. You’re the asshole that went and fell in love with her.”
I sighed as I watched Florrie move. God, I loved her. I just couldn’t see how we were going to get past all this shit that was piling up.
“Come on. You can help me run some errands and we’ll get your mind off all this crap for a while.”
I didn’t want to, but he was right, I couldn’t just stand here and stare at her all day. I followed Craig out to his truck and got in the passenger side, staring out the window in thought as we drove into town. It wasn’t until he parked that I realized where we were.
“What are we doing here?” I asked, staring at the mall up ahead of me.
“I’m picking up some shit for Reese. She’s having cravings, so I’m running in to get some stuff for her.”
“I’ll wait here.”
“Why? Afraid to go inside a mall?”
I glanced over him, raising my eyebrows. “You think I’m scared to go in there?”
“Well, I’m not sure why else you wouldn’t go in there.”
“Really? You don’t know why I wouldn’t want to go in a mall with another dude?”
He grinned at me, his smile so wide that it looked like it would split his face in two. “Scared we’ll be labeled as gay?”
“I’m not scared of anything. I just don’t think that a guy has any reason to go into a mall alone, let alone with another guy. It’s just wrong.”
“Chicken,” he taunted.
“I’m not chicken.”
“Bkaww!” he crowed.
“Shut the fuck up.”
“Seriously, it’s pathetic, man. You’re wearing tactical gear. You look like a man’s man. What do you care if someone thinks we’re gay? It’s not like I’m going to hold your hand. You can even walk on the other side of the mall if it makes you feel better.”
Well, now he was just making me sound like a pussy. “Fine, but I want Great Steak and Potato when we’re done shopping.”
“Fine,” he grinned.
I got out and shoved my hands in my pockets as we headed toward the front entrance. I started to break out in a sweat as Craig pushed the doors open. I could do this. I was a man, and there was nothing wrong with going into a mall.
“So, what do you need to get anyway?”
“Some lotion that she likes.”
I stopped and slapped a hand against his arm. “You said she was craving something.”
“Yeah, she really wants this lotion because of the way it smells.”
“That’s not a fucking craving.”
“Same difference,” he shrugged. “All I know is that she really wants it and if I don’t give it to her, she’s gonna be a pain in the
