e of humor and feeling comfortable around her. Jessy wasn’t awed by his championship status. She could relax and fit in with all the guys without being prissy. She hung out with Blake and Sam all the time and he watched her to see if she flirted with them too, but she hadn’t. They treated her like a sister, always watching out for her safety. Maybe he wanted her to be like so many other women so he could have the excuse of keeping things casual with her. He truly didn’t want to hurt her. His desire for any woman never lasted long and he didn’t have a lot of faith that two people could stay together happily for long. Sure they could suffer together for years in their miserable lives, but that wasn’t any way to live. His relationship with Trina had been volatile. She accused him of wanting the groupies and he had caught her flirting with his friends many times. Did he really want to walk into something like that again? Even though he knew Jessy was nothing like Trina, he still felt hesitant about taking that road again.
“Thanks, Royce, for taking me home,” Jessy spoke up, breaking him out of all his heavy thoughts. He wanted to be her friend first until he could sort out his feelings. “I would have been fine driving myself home.”
“No problem, Jessy. It’s nice to get out of the building for a while and see the sun.” She agreed with him.
He drove silently down the busy highway until he reached her house and pulled in her driveway.
The house was large, with two stories and a two-car garage. He wondered if she ever got lonely since Jared spent more time at the gym than he did here. That man did not know the meaning of relaxing.
Royce turned off the ignition. He turned to her, feeling nervous, but he had to clear the air between them. Hopefully things would settle down and they could regain their friendly relationship. “I’m sorry I was such a jerk. You were right. I should never have slept with you until I was sure I could make a commitment to you. I am attracted to you, but at this point in my life I’m not sure I want to settle down. I was gutted when Trina dumped me. When I found out she had been seeing her new boyfriend for weeks behind my back, it hurt. I should not have let you walk into that party and see me with that groupie. You didn’t deserve that, Jessy, and I do regret it.”
“I’ve thought about what you said and I guess you’re right, Royce. Things are so awkward between us now because of one night. We should have talked about where we saw us going before we jumped into bed with each other. I wish you would have told me about Trina and your beliefs in settling down from day one. All we can do now is move forward. I can’t promise to hang out with you like before, maybe in time. I want us to at least be civil with each other.” Her voice was scratchy and all he wanted to do was hug her and take care of her until she was her usual outgoing self. That showed him that he needed her as a friend not a lover. Right? He never wanted to take care of any of his past lovers.
“I hope someday we get past these hurt feelings and can act like friends again,” he told her with honesty. Things would have been so much easier if she was the casual one-night-stand type of girl. “I really like you, Jessy. We get along great and if we tried and things didn’t work out between us I don’t want you to hate me. Hell, Sam and Blake already threatened to kick my ass if I made you cry.”
She looked sad and he felt horrible for putting that look on her face. It was better to be honest and not play games with her. Jared had been right about that. Jessy deserved good things, not a man who didn’t know what he wanted or couldn’t give her a solid commitment.
“Those two are like big brothers to me. I’m sorry things couldn’t have worked between us, but you are right. Life will go on.” She gathered her purse and briefcase in her hands, as if anxious to get away from him. He didn’t blame her. He knew he disappointed her with his answer, but it was for the best. If he disappointed her down the road it would only hurt more. She gave him a remorseful glance before shaking her head sadly. “Thanks for the ride, friend.”
He waited until she went inside and drove away. He wondered why he felt like he lost something important.
Chapter 7
Jessy accompanied Adam again to his next appearance at the Manhattan Beach Pier two days later. There was a summer festival going on and they were setting up a booth with flyers promoting the gym and the fighters. She was actually looking forward to getting out of her office for a bit, and who could complain about working at the beach?
Physically, the rest had done her good. She had slept the day away trying to forget Royce’s hurtful words. She had to be glad he was honest when he could have just strung her along like so many guys would have. She would just have to learn to hide her feelings for him as they worked side by side. Luckily he had been too busy helping Gabe plan a workout routine to notice her sadness. The young teen showed an interest in learning how to fight and Royce loved to help young people enter into a career where they could make money and improve their lives. His friend Chico hadn’t liked the idea of spending his time working out when he could be hanging out with friends. He hadn’t stuck around long.
Jessy needed a boost to her self-confidence. She chose a cute ruffled pink-and-white skirt that showed off her tanned legs and a white fitted tank top. She left her hair long and loose. She noticed a few men giving her smiles and it made her feel good. It was a beautiful day with clear blue skies, and she refused to spend it moping over a man who didn’t return her feelings. It would be hard but she would move on.
The Daniels Camp had set up a booth with flyers promoting the gym and pictures of the fighters. Adam wasn’t the only fighter here doing promotions. A few men from the opposite team had also set up a stand to give out flyers and autographed posters.
“We should have brought one of the guys. Maybe that new guy, Jackson, he is huge.” Adam looked serious but Jessy could hear the amusement in his voice. He kept his cool and Jessy was glad for that. “Look at Jonesy and Slade over there, giving us hard looks as if they could intimidate us.” The two blond fighters were giving them challenging looks but Jessy didn’t let it bother her. It was all part of the game they were competing in.
Jessy crossed her arms across her chest, imitating Adam’s stance. He turned and winked at her, making her lose her “tough” look when she giggled. “They can try but we won’t let them. We don’t need the guys. We got this.”
Adam laughed and put his arm around her shoulder. “That’s right. I’ll meet Jonesy in the ring next month and I’ll be doing all the intimidating.”
Sam showed up half an hour later with lunch in his hands. “Fish and chips anyone?”
Jessy raised her hand quickly with a laugh and Sam handed her a cardboard box from a popular fast-food restaurant. She sat down in the lawn chair they had brought with them and her stomach rumbled with hunger.
“How’s it going?” Sam asked, sitting next to her. He looked her up and down and frowned at her pretty outfit. “Anybody bothering you, Jess? You look hot in that outfit. You should have worn a loose T-shirt and sweatpants.”
Jessy rolled her eyes and ate her fish. She was hungry. Breakfast had consisted of coffee. She was used to Blake and Sam being overprotective where she was concerned. They were the first two fighters her dad recruited and she knew them both well. They had formed an unbreakable friendship.
“Unfortunately, hanging out with you bozos makes men not want to approach me,” she told Sam.
“Good. My job here is done. We failed once on the job already. We should have took Royce aside and told him to stop flirting with you if he wasn’t serious. We were too busy being starstruck, but don’t you worry. Blake had a talk with him.” Sam smiled and she threw a fry at him. She didn’t need defending. She was a grown woman.
“I heard. I’m a big girl, Sam. I should have known some famous ex-champion fighter like him wouldn’t take anything seriously. I take the blame,” she said honestly. What made her think Royce would ever take her seriously? He was a lot older than her and way more experienced. She had a few relationships in the past but nothing that ever lasted for long or had gotten too deep.
Adam put a French fry in his mouth. He was used to the interaction between them. He listened quietly as he finished his food.
“We got a few hard looks from the opposition,” he told Sam when he got up to throw his trash away. “We gave them some of our own hard looks back.”
Sam laughed. “They want to intimidate you before the fight, mess with your head.”
Adam agreed and they started talking shop.