Page 108 of Fool for You
“Hold on. You’re mad I wasn’t there after your ride? I had to make sure everything was set and cleaned up. You knew I’d com—”
“I passed talking to reporters. I ran past fans,” I cut him off, my voice getting harder with each word. “And!” I finally screamed. “I think I told my mom I’d call her later. All to get to you, and what do I hear? What do I see?”
His eyes darkened, his brows pinched. “I’m not sure. Care to enlighten me, Quinn?” His voice rose, his own confusion turning into anger behind his eyes. “Because once I closed down with Archie, I had a one-track mind to get to you.”
“Oh, bull shit. Iheardyou, Wyatt.” Narrowing my eyes, I took a deep breath, trying my hardest to calm the storm that was brewing in me. It didn’t work. “‘Helping her helped me.’ ‘If I wasn’t here with her, who would you have called?’ ‘I’m kinda hard to forget.’” I glowered at him, my jaw beginning to shake. “I heard every word. I saw you with Kelly.”
“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath, dropping his chin as he removed his hat to run his hand through his hair.
“Yeah. Fuck. So again, how long were you going to play me for? How long were you going to let this go?”
“I wasn’t playing you. Damn, Quinn; I love you.” His eyes softened as he took a step closer. “You know I do. Kelly was coming on tome.”
I flinched and took a step back. “I don’t believe you. I saw you! I know all the moves you pulled on her!” I screamed, flinging my arm up, gesturing to where he stood with Kelly. “Everything I heard back there, everything I saw, only proved that what I used to think about you was right. I’m just a pawn to you, aren’t I? This was all for your own gain. I bet…” my voice began to shake harder, “the only reason why you were so kind to check the schedule for Miss Rodeo Montana wasn’t to make sure I was ok, but to make sure you wouldn’t get caught. I never pegged you for a cheater—”
“I’m not! Please, listen to what you’re saying. I checked her schedule so your mother wouldn’t bring you down.”
“Save it,” I blared. “You’ve been caught. Wyatt. Hate to tell you, but you’ve been caught.”
“Fuck, Quinn. You’re taking this all out of context. If you’d just listen to me, I was going to tell you everythi—”
“When? Once you get your shot to announce at the NFR? Lord knows I would have been able to help you get there. Or sooner? Put me out of my misery and dump me sooner. How long were you going to string me along?”
“You keep asking that, but you don’t believe my answer?” He was yelling now, his voice close to echoing off the stadium walls.
“Like I said, I heard and saw everything—”
“So, you saw me turn Kelly down? You saw me tell her I was in love with you? You heard me say I was seriously considering asking you to marry me when I saw you? You saw and heard all that then, right?!” he shouted, his arms flying out to his sides, anger radiating off of him.
And I…laughed.
“Marry you!? Wyatt, we’ve been dating—no, I can’t call it that—we’ve been sleeping together—” I paused, another thing sliding into my memory. “Not eventhatfor only four months! I can’t say dating because we haven’t been on an actual date yet. I can’t say sleeping together because you barely gave in to my advances a month ago!” Another puzzle piece snapped into place. “That’s why you wouldn’t sleep with me, isn’t it? Not because you didn’t want torushit, not because you didn’t want to show me I was more, but because you knew you I was never going to stick. You didn’t want to get too serious and really screw me over. At least you had that decency untilIpractically seduced you. God dammit, this is so messed up. I’m such an idiot.” I covered my forehead with my hands, my boots coming into focus.
I heard his shaky breaths, each one shorter than the last. Then, the tips of his boots came into my view. The warmth of his hands covered my wrists, and he pulled them away from my face. I looked up, meeting his gaze. His eyes were calm, his breath finally steady as he studied me for longer than he had a right to.
Another tactic.
I bit the inside of my lip, tasting blood.
“Listen to what you’re saying. If you please, just stop overreacting and let me explain everything—”
“No,” I snapped at him, yanking my wrists from his grasp, the stupid comment filtering through my senses. “You don’t need to explain anything. You won, Wyatt Hartwell. You played me, and you played me well. I’m done. With you. With this. All of it. Fuck. You.”
He huffed, and his glare darkened, the calm that was there mere seconds ago gone. “Do you wanna know why I punched Archie in the first place? Why I lost my reputation—why no one, for almost an entire year, would hire me?”
Taking five steps away from him, I crossed my arms, my heartbeat vibrating in my chest.
He took two steps closer. “Last October, he was talking shit about you”—he pointed at me—“to other riders and announcers. Saying how ‘that Compton girl’ couldn’t have gone as far as she did with the type of injury she had. That you were using your dad’s name to gain access. That you must be sleeping with the judges in order to get shorter times. That you were a piece of meat for anyone to take, and he’d gladly welcome the fun and make sure you got a good score—just as long as you’d sleep with him, too.” His eyes were heavy and solid on me. His jaw clenched. “Do you really think I’d do to you what he was accusing you of? What I defended you for?”
I puffed a breath of air through my lips, my shoulders slumping.
My vision turned red, and suddenly, every single word he said only fueled his lie.
My voice shook. “You have no idea how much I want to believe you.”
“Then believe me. Why would I do that? Why would I chase you and want you only to dothisto you? You know me, Quinn. Come on.” His tone faltered, a hint of sincerity filling each void.
But even still…
