Page 67 of Creed

“Yeah, but they could’ve seen me with Collins.” I look at her and she tenses, her face flushing. I don’t want her to get the wrong idea or think that I didn’t want to be seen with her at all so I add, “I don’t mind being seen with you. You’re my friend and as far as they know, we were just two friends hanging out together at the mall. But having you become the center of the shark tank tabloids that love to spread taboo rumors isn’t what I want for you.”

“Right,” she says as she takes a seat on the stool at the island. “Thank you for looking out for me. Though it’s not so much me I’m worried about. It’d be more worried about what the press would have to say about you two being seen hanging out with someone like me.”

“Someone like you?” I parrot, not understanding.

She shrugs like she doesn’t care, but I can tell that she does, indeed, care. “An exotic dancer in a low-class club.” She says it while staring down at her nails so she doesn’t see the way Creed’s jaw tics at the way she so easily insulted herself.

But that must be the conversation initiation that Creed needs to tell her what he was really up to, because he looks at me and nods once, his expression shifting to something hardened and defiant. I swallow, knowing the high energy and good mood I worked hard to get Collins into and keep today is about to crash. I take a seat next to her and just wait for the war to begin.

Chapter 26

Collins

“Did you find everything you need to travel with us?” Creed asks as I pop the cap on the water and take a long sip. I don’t miss that hard look in his icy gaze that tells me he was up to something and that question he just asked is going to lead to bad news. I don’t think he knows that I’ve noticed his freshly red and raw knuckles, which tells me he’s knocked someone on their ass more recently than three days ago. Like today. I have a feeling I know exactly what this man was up to, and the fact that he would do something like this without even consulting me puts him at the top of my shitlist. Right next to Riley for spending money on me.

But I play along, for now. “Yep, Riley forced me to go to the mall and spoiled me rotten.” I say, batting my eyelashes at Creed. Riley grins like a shameless goon next to me, looking so adorably satisfied with himself. When he makes eye contact with me though, my belly does a flip because the satisfaction I see there isn’t a cocky satisfaction. It looks like gratitude and relief.

“Spoiled her?” Creed asks, narrowing his eyes at his best friend as I turn back to him. He doesn’t look jealous, though. Interesting.

“Yup.” Riley answers, popping the p and smiling a cocksure smile, his espresso eyes practically glittering with utter male satisfaction.

God, his smile is incredible. I love seeing it. He looks like a damn fae prince with his crazy straight, bright white teeth and those fucking canines that are ever-so-slightly elongated.

“Good,” is all Creed says, the corner of his mouth tipping up before pocketing his phone and coming to press his palms on the island countertop across from where Riley and I sit.

Time to test my theory on what he’s been up to. I roll my eyes at him daring to take Riley’s side of ‘spoiling me’, but I dive into conversation, having thought about what I want to say for less than a minute now. “Anyway,” I pin both boys with a glare. “If you were serious about taking me to an aerial ribbon dance studio every once in a while?—”

“I am,” Creed interrupts, but I keep going.

“Then I’m going to need to go by Viper to pick up some of my costumes.” I lean back, crossing my arms over my chest. “Tank may be a greedy, slimy bastard who thinks I owe him an insurmountable debt, but those costumes are all mine, and I’ll be needing them to practice my routines.”

Riley visibly swallows next to me and Creed actually has the nerve to look guilty before wiping it out and replacing it with an artfully placed mask of cool and casual indifference at the mention of me returning to Viper. I don’t know who the hell he’s trying to fool, but maybe he forgot that I’ve known him my entire life, and I can see the rage simmering just behind his mask, clear as day.

“You’re not going back to that shithole.” He blurts, staring me dead in the eyes.

“Why not?” I demand, keeping up the façade that I haven’t figured out what he was up to after the meeting today with his manager. While I’m truthfully relieved that I don’t have to go back to the club, it still pisses me off that Creed thinks he can take it upon himself to handle my problems. I’ve handled myself for fucking years, even before I turned eighteen and started life on my own. He needs to learn that if I’m going to even consider living with him from now on, there are boundaries I will not allow him to cross, and making decisions for me is a hard one.

He rolls his lips together while rubbing his hand back and forth across the stubble that’s grown there over the last few days, no doubt trying to formulate the perfect excuse.

Fuck, he should not look this good all the damn time.

A smidge of hurt flips through my stomach because as much as I pine after him, he’s drawn the line between us again. I’ve loved this man for practically my entire life, but if that’s a boundary that he’s set, I’ll hate it, but I respect it. I’m not a pushy person. I know what I want, but I also know when to fade into the background if that’s what it takes for someone else’s happiness to bloom. I’d do that over and over for Creed. It’ll break me, but his happiness is all I’ve ever wanted. Even if it’s not with me.

I expect him to give me a no-bullshit, snarky response, but he surprises me when he moves around the island and takes the last seat on the other side of me at the island, and places his large, tattooed hand over my shoulder and rubs down the side of my arm, goosebumps rising in the wake of his warm touch. His ice blue eyes soften and his voice is low and gritty when he finally speaks, “Because I went there today. I went there with the intention of quitting that job for you. I won’t ever apologize for it either. I’m not going to act altruistic and say it was all a selfless act. I wanted to look at him with a smug fucking grin on his face, and to see the look in that fucking twat’s eyes when I told him that you wouldn’t be returning, ever, and that there was no fucking debt you owed to him. Yes, I know it’s an asshole move to even do such a thing without even asking for your permission, but I know what I fucking saw that night. The way you began shaking before mentally checking out when that motherfucker started spewing those words to and about you.”

I open my mouth to tell him to shut his before he says too much that I’m not ready to divulge, but he squeezes my arm once, not hard, but firm and reassuring. “Only when you’re ready. If you're ever ready. I’ll listen.” He says so softly I’m not even sure that Riley hears him on my other side.

“Okay,” I whisper back, my anger and frustration quickly evaporating.

“Anyway, Bear and I were fucking reveling in him going purple in the face with rage until he thought he’d get the upper hand and start running his mouth about you again. I didn’t even hear what he said before I fucking laid into him again, giving his broken nose a matching set of black eyes.”

“You did not,” I laugh once.

“Apparently he has zero tolerance for pain because two hits and his ass dropped like a sack of shit, again. Jett busted into the room, again, and I shit you not when I say he just rolled his eyes at me.” He says, and I’m full-on laughing now, causing Riley to laugh along with me and Creed’s lips pull at the corners as he fights the urge to laugh, too. The whole situation is a fucking mess because Creed and Bear could get into trouble for assault, but the thought of Tank, the asshole with a tough name, being a pussy in a fight is just hysterical. Once I’ve calmed down a little he continues. “After we filled Jett in on what we were there for, he nodded and introduced us to a coworker of yours named, I don’t know, Cozy or some shit?”

“Coco.” I correct. Coco is one of my favorite human beings in the world. She taught me so much and though we never hung out much after work, she became someone I could rely on and we watched over each other the best we could on the nights that Jett wasn’t assigned to our private VIP rooms. She’s also crazy fucking beautiful. Easily one of the prettiest women I’ve ever seen. An entire head taller than me, beautiful bronzed skin, long silky black hair, and nearly amber colored eyes. So, basically the opposite of me in every way. My stomach turns as I wonder what Creed thought of her when he saw her last night.

“Right, well I was eager to get the fuck out of there, so I couldn’t even tell you what she looked like, let alone how to properly pronounce her name,” he says, waving a hand as if he hadn’t even deigned to pay her any attention. I know it shouldn’t, but it fills me with satisfaction at his dismissal of Coco. “Pretty sure Bear’s in love now, though. He talked about her all the way home. It’s the most animated I’ve seen him in years.” He says with a chuckle but continues like that revelation is no big deal. “Anyway, she helped us gather all of your stuff. Costumes, wigs, face paints, and the fucking sparkliest and tallest high heels and boots I’ve ever seen.”

---