Page 48 of The Player

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My smile hasn’t left my face since last night. Not giving a shit about what others think is freeing.

As I make breakfast with Julie for Lennox, I’m excited for this day. It’s been a long time since I’ve been excited about anything.

“Hey, Mom.” Lennox comes into the kitchen and hugs her, then looks at me, lunges, and I catch him.

“Can you come to show and tell tomorrow?” Julie laughs and shakes her head no. But I’m not having it. My grin is from ear to ear, and I feel like I’ve won a goddamn championship.

“You bet. But there’s something that your mom and I need to discuss with you.”

“Awesome!” He pumps a fist into the air as I let him down from our hug. “What do you…”

Julie sets down the food and clears her throat. “After school, we will go for ice cream and we can talk about it together then, alright?”

Lennox shrugs, and I look at Julie, wondering if she’s nervous. Hell, I would be too. How do we tell Lennox I’m his father?

Twenty minutes later, Kaylee picks up Lennox for school, and Julie drives me to therapy.

“You think you can follow instructions today, A-bear?” Fuck, I love when she teases me.

“I’ll try,” I grunt and act put out. I’m looking forward to her way of distracting me again.

“You better,” she says as she pulls into the medical plaza.

As I come out in my shorts and look around for Julie, I notice Bryson is in the hydro machine getting ready for a massage once Kaylee comes in.

“Hey, where’s Julie?”

Bryson laughs. “Dude you have it so bad. She’s in the office with one of the other therapists.”

“Is that normal?” It seems odd to me that she wasn’t in her office talking to anyone yesterday.

Am I being paranoid? Taking a deep breath, I look over at Bryson, and the look on his face says it all. I’m being stupid.

Still, something doesn’t set well with me and I walk toward her office. As I get to the door, I hear the conversation.

“Are you fucking the jock?”

What the hell? I try the door and slam it open. “Who the hell do you think you are?” My girl demands, and I have the urge to grin. I don’t. No, this is fucking serious. Looking at the guy who is standing in front of Julie, I growl.

Julie’s eyes are slits and her hands are fisted by her side. She looks up and a blush creeps on her cheeks.

“What’s going on here?” I ask, trying to keep my demeanor calm.

The prick turns toward me and crosses his arms over his chest. “Just wondering why my girlfriend is messing around with you.”

Before I can say a word, Julie laughs. “I am not your girlfriend. I’ve never even agreed to go on a date with you. Josh, you are insane. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get started with the day.”

Josh grabs her and I lose it. There’s no hesitation in me as I grab him by the throat and slam him into the wall. “You touch her again and you are dead.”

As his eyes close and he gasps for air, I squeeze harder. How dare he touch my woman.

“Aaron, let go,” Julie says as she rubs a hand over my back. “It’s just a misunderstanding, and it won’t happen again.”

Goddamn right, it won’t. Looks like I got something to do tonight.

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