Page 46 of Barbed Wire Fences
“And then I, uh, uh, uh,” Owen says as he jumps onto the bench in the locker room and gyrates his hips up and down into the metal in a ridiculous, over the top humping demonstration.
“That good, Owen, huh?” Lark asks, rolling his eyes at me as soon as he catches my gaze.
“She was tight, as FUCK,” Owen continues while one of his friends slaps him on the back. “After I was done, I left and went to Della’s house and fucked her too. I call it a two for one.”
Owen’s always had a way of talking about the women he hooks up with that’s just… crass. It’s why I breathed a damn sigh of relief when Jael told me she’d broken up with him a few weeks before graduation.
She’s always deserved better than him—hell, better than anyone who’d treat her like some conquest. But it’s never been just about him. It’s been about something I didn’t quite understand until recently.
As I’ve thought about it more, I’ve realized why I’ve always been so protective of her and the guys that she’s been interested in. The truth is, in some messed up way, Jael has always felt like mine. Like she’s always been this thing I’ve been quietly claiming in the small moments that we’ve spent together, even if I didn’t have the guts to say it out loud.
“Who’s the newest conquest this time, Owen?” one of the other guys on our team asks as he tosses his towel into the nearby hamper.
Owen grins wickedly. “I finally got Jael to put out. Took her prized virginity, though I dumped her ass right after. What’sthe point in keeping her around if she’s leaving in a few months anyhow?”
What? That can’t be right. That’s not possible.
My brain freezes and all I see is red. Though I vaguely realize that he’s still talking, I hear none of it. I step toward him, my feet heavy and hear Lark in the background telling me to take a deep breath.
“You did what to Jael?” I snarl, lunging across the bench and pinning him against the nearest locker with one of my strong forearms.
“Get your hands off me, man,” he says, pushing my arms away as he glares back at me. “Why the hell do you care what I do with that little trailer park rat?”
I don’t get the chance to process Owen’s words before my body reacts. My fist connects with his nose, the sickening crack echoing through the locker room as he staggers backward, slamming into the lockers like a rag doll.
For a second, everything goes silent but then Owen finds his footing, but it’s too late. He lunges at me, swinging wildly, but Lark steps in like a fucking wall, grabbing his arms and pinning them behind him effortlessly.
"Go!" Lark shouts, his voice sharp and commanding. I don't hesitate.
I push past them, my hands shaking from the rush of adrenaline, anger still boiling inside me.
My thoughts are scattered, trying to make sense of what just went down and what Jael did to me behind my back.
???
“Anyhow,” Lark’s voice pulls me back to the present. “I’m going to head out and go check out this mess at the courthouse. I’ll see you later, buddy.”
“Yeah, sure,” I mumble but I’m still lost in my head. Lost in the memories.
Lark shuts the door behind him, the hum of the air conditioner in my office cranking up, filling the small office with cool air. But nothing can chill the fire that’s raging inside me. It feels like I’m eighteen again, back in the locker room, listening to Owen run his mouth about Jael like she’s nothing more than some casual fling. In his wordsshe was just a bucket for my cum. A two for one.
I try to breathe, reach for something calm—Spotify meditation music, whatever I can grasp to steady myself and stop me from being dumb. But the anger that’s surging through my veins feels all too familiar. It’s a cold, venomous rage, and I know that the only way through it is to face the asshole who strung Jael along for years and cheated on her relentlessly.
Kicking my chair back, I stand and head for the door, my boots hitting the floor like a drumbeat in my chest.
Don’t do it.The warning echoes in my head, but it’s already too damn late. With Jael, I’ll never be able to stop this core need to protect her, no matter how much she pushes me away or doesn’t want me to do it.
The drive to the construction site where Owen works feels too short. Sure enough, there he is, perched on the back of his work truck, a beer in hand, his helmet still strapped tight to his head like he’s some kind of damn superhero with a nose that I broke when we were kids.
“Hey Owen!” I yell loudly as I hop out of my truck. Owen is a big guy, even bigger now than he was back in high school, but I know I still have inches, muscle and fury on him.
“Oh, hey Rhett,” he says with a completely unsuspecting wave.
“You’re a jackass,” I snarl as I walk up to him faster now.
“Rhett, what’s up, man. Hey - what the hell is your problem?” he asks as he hops off the back of the truck bed.
“Jael is my problem,” I spit out. "Keep her name and whatever you do with her out of your vulgar mouth."
