Blow (TKO 3)

I unzip my jeans as I stand in front of the urinal. Damn, instant relief just washes over me. I adjust myself as I zip my jeans back up, then wash my hands. I stare into the mirror and just look at myself. I’m having a good time, right? I’m here to mask the pain I’m feeling but I’m having a good time. I’m able to convince myself. I walk back out of the restroom and a girl in a short skirt walks by me. I don’t even recognize her for a moment, not until she speaks.

“Hey, Ruston, what are you doing here?” She slurs a little.

My eyes finally meet hers and I groan. “Hey, Jess, same thing you’re doing here. Having a drink.”

“Hmm, I bet you are. Want to hang out?” She leans in, purring against my ear. I almost have to laugh at the fact that she’s flirting relentlessly with me, and my dick doesn’t even twitch. How she and Tamilyn can even stand in the same vicinity sometimes blows my mind. Although I haven’t heard Tamilyn say anything about her.

“No, I’m here with a few friends. I’ll catch you later.” I hurry and walk off.

“Your loss!” she yells back. What she doesn’t understand is that it’s not my loss. All we’ve ever shared is a kiss and there will never be anything else. Ever.

Chapter 17

Tamilyn

After three glasses of wine, I’m already feeling a little mushy. It’s probably good that Austin is here and not Ruston, or I wouldn’t be able to keep my damn hands off him and then we’d make yet another mistake.

Austin grabs the bottle of wine from my hand before I can pour another glass. “Hey, you may want to slow down there. This stuff will knock you on your ass.” He laughs a little as he places the cork back inside.

“That’s the point.” I grin as I down the last little bit sitting in the bottom of my glass.

“Didn’t you say you were going to show me those pictures from the fight?”

“Hell yeah.” I had almost forgotten. “I have some prints you can have to bring to the gym with you.” The envelope with the pictures sits on the coffee table in the living room. I hurry and grab them, ready to show off my good work. I’m very proud of these. The action shots made some pretty epic prints.

I thrust the envelope in his direction and he pulls the set out. His eyes widen to match the grin on his face as he goes through the prints. “Holy shit, these are fucking awesome, Tamilyn. Lance and Howard are going to love these.”

“I hope so. I’ve never done pictures like that before so I was thrilled with how they turned out.”

He continues to grin as he flips through the last one. He slides them back in the envelope and sets it on the kitchen table. “I can’t wait to show these to them.”

I grin. I’m proud of my work, and seeing how excited Austin is to see them makes me happier. That’s part of what makes my job worthwhile, seeing the reactions on people’s faces when they see the magic I captured through the lens.

“Are you hungry? I was going to say we could go get something, but how about we order a pizza and just hang out?” he asks, changing the subject.

I look at him and wonder what the hell is wrong with me. He’s being genuine. He’s stopping me from becoming a complete drunk too early in the evening and he wants to get us food. Here I am thinking constantly about his cousin.

“I do love pizza, but

there’s this sandwich place not far from here that delivers, so that’s good too. I have a menu in this drawer over here.” I brush past him to get to the drawer and confusion attempts to wash over me.

Did I just feel a spark when we touched? It’s probably the wine, Tamilyn.

I think Austin felt it too, though, because he just stops. I have no clue what he was getting ready to say but it must not have been too important. I pull the drawer open and see what I’m looking for sitting on top. I grab the piece of paper and hand it to him. His hand brushes against mine as he grabs the menu.

Good thing I didn’t pour that next glass of wine, or I may have just jumped his bones and we wouldn’t be ordering dinner. My God, did I just think that? I could slap my hand across my mouth right now. Drunk Tamilyn is not my friend. I’m more honest with myself right now, and in this moment I realize I couldn’t pick between Ruston and Austin if I tried. I like both of them. What a fucking mess.

Austin doesn’t realize that I’m standing off to the side practically carrying a conversation with myself, thank God. He’s intently staring at the menu and his head pops up. “This looks really good. What do you normally get?”

“I, uh, I normally get the club wrap. It’s one of the healthier things on their menu, but it’s really good.”

He gapes, and he almost laughs but he doesn’t. “Tamilyn, I’m buying dinner. I know girls like to eat healthy and all that shit, but you’re gorgeous. You have a rocking body. Eat a real sandwich. Come on, live a little.”

My face flushes. His brutal honesty has me squirming in my skin but it feels good. “Okay, um, just get me whatever you’re getting then.”

“That’s my girl.” He grins as he points at the Philly cheesesteak. I can handle that. I nod as he grabs his phone and calls the order in.

He turns his back to order and then places the menu back in the drawer. I notice the muscles in his back as he makes all these little movements and my legs move on their own closer to him. So close that when he turns around, our chests bump. “Oh, I’m sorry,” I mutter.