I sighed, feeling a stab of pain tear through my chest. “You really are killing yourself. I promise you that it's not always gonna be like this. Somehow, I'm gonna get you out of this cycle. You've spent too long now working yourself to the bone just to scrape by. I don't know how yet, but somehow I'm going to get you out of this situation,” I whispered and leaned down, pulling a blanket up over her sleeping form before gently placing a kiss on her forehead.
I tiptoed away, so as not to wake her from a nap she no doubt needed after a 12-hour shift, and headed into the kitchen to quietly prepare dinner.
Life was going to change for us. It had to. I had to make sure of that.
Chapter Two
Wade
I sipped slowly on my beer, relishing every mouthful of the crisp, amber liquid. In the background, over the buzz of conversation and laughter in the bar, the Beach Boys’ “Kokomo” was playing. I let out a soft chuckle as the chorus echoed through the bar. It was appropriate, wasn't it? A perfect tune for my first night back in Florida.
My miserable, lonely, first night back in Florida.
I'd moved across the entire country to get away from the mess my life had become in Los Angeles. And boy, what a mess it was.
It almost seemed like some strange dream I was only beginning to wake up from. How had all of that stuff happened? How had I gone from winning Olympic gold and having a promising career ahead of me – hell, my whole life ahead of me – to becoming involved in…well, a shame spiral of bad decisions and worse relationships.
It had almost destroyed me.
Almost.
But I'd realized what was happening in time to save myself. Call it an epiphany, if you would. And, it had taken ending my relationship with Georgia Jackson for it to happen.
I'd lost myself, I'd lost everything about myself that was truly me. All for the sake of her — a woman every man on the planet would likely give his left nut to be with for just one night. But fantasizing about a Hollywood A-list actress and actually dating one were two different things entirely, and I’d found that out the hard way. Life was not all glitz and glamour, and those people were, believe it or not, just normal people like everyone else beneath all of the hype.
They had their flaws, too, as much as we can't or don't want to believe it. I mean, hell, for the longest time, I didn't want to believe it, either. And that forced ignorance on my part had not only blinded me to the type of person Georgia really was, but it had also almost killed me.
“Would you like another beer, sir?” a gentle, female voice asked from behind me.
I turned around and saw the young waitress who had brought me a beer earlier waiting with an expectant look on her face.
“Yeah, I’ll take another Bud Light, please.”
She smiled, nodded, and hurried off behind the bar to grab another bottle.
I smiled, too. I could only assume the tabloids and press weren't as active, or at least as widely read, over on the East Coast as they were on the West. So far, nobody in Tallahassee had recognized me. If they had, they hadn't said anything to my face, at least.
I was counting that as a win. I had no desire to talk about all the rumors, all the gossip, and all the controversy and allegations surrounding this and that.
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That was my old life, the trap I'd been pulled into, and it was a trap I'd managed to escape.
Well, I hope I had escaped it. I mean, hell, I packed up everything – my whole damn life to be precise – and left to come here with the hope of starting fresh and living a normal life dedicated to my passion: volleyball.
It was weird being back in Tallahassee. I hadn't been back since graduation. I'd left immediately and gone straight to the West Coast to play professionally. Most of my friends from my college days had moved elsewhere as well except one: John Robinson. He was why I was even at the bar; I was waiting for him, and he was supposed to have arrived half an hour ago.
I chuckled when I thought about that; he hadn't changed much in that regard. As the waitress arrived with my second beer, I saw John hurry through the door, looking flustered.
“Sorry to send you running again, but can you bring me another beer for my friend there?” I asked before she left.
“Sure thing,” she replied with a smile.
I watched John make his way toward me. He'd put on a bit of weight since our college days, but was still looking fairly youthful for a 32-year-old. He saw me almost instantly, and a big grin appeared on his face as he rushed over. I stood to greet him and we gave each other a big hug and then chuckled as we sat down together.
“Jesus H. Christ!” he exclaimed. “You look fantastic, Wade. Just great, man! You been working out?”
“Working out like crazy, man. I don't think I've missed a day at the gym over the last six months. It's one of the only things that's kept me sane.”