17. Mal

17

MAL

J ax Pub wasn't too far from the stadium. A quick ten-minute drive and I was surrounded by buildings and thrust into crowds that were way out of my comfort level.

Luckily, I was too on edge and too frenzied to care.

I threw open the door of the pub and stormed inside, bypassing the groups of people waiting to be seated.

"Sir, you can't just…" the hostess said, but I was too busy feeling charged up and scouring the tables for Doe.

Fuck, it was busy here.

Curious eyes peered up from their meals, while some of them even recognized me. I was greeted with nods and a few hungry glances from women that I had passed by, but all I could center on was where Doe was.

Did she already leave?

A sinking feeling in my gut had hit me, but as I made my way to the back, I heard laughter. A recognizable laughter that even in a crowded room I could pinpoint who it was. Soft, feminine, it hurt to hear.

So much so that my heart felt like it was being clobbered.

Over and over, until all I could feel was rage.

"Fuck…" I mumbled under my breath, rubbing at the ache I felt on my chest. I thought seeing her the other day was painful. But fuck, it was nothing compared to her laughter that I thought I'd never hear again.

I had always wondered if she lost the ability to find things funny again. To smile. Luckily, she was nothing like me.

And for that, I was grateful.

Though I was still fuming on the inside, part of me felt more relaxed that I had found her. That she was at least happy. But when I went toward the sound of her laughter, I was halted.

Blond hair. Ball cap. Stupid fucking face.

That's when I knew it was him.

Trevor.

And he wasn't alone. He was with Doe, sitting on the same side of the booth, laughing.

Motherfucker.

No longer relaxed, I wanted to explode with rage. I wanted to flip tables, throw plates and glasses, cause a fucking scene. So with heavy, determined steps, I made my way over to them.

"What in the fuck is going on here?" I shouted as I held back my hands from grabbing Trevor and throwing him out of the booth. My eyes must have turned black because once Doe and Trevor found me standing over their intimate meal, they went deathly still.

"Jesus, Mal, you scared the crap out of us." Trevor placed a palm over what I assumed to be his racing heart and scooted in closer to Doe.

As if to put a barrier between her and I.

My jaw went taut.

"What is this?" I motioned my hand toward the two of them, wondering what the hell I had just interrupted and why she looked guilty as hell.

"We're just going over content ideas, Mal…"

Content ideas, my ass.

And why was he sitting on the same side of the booth as her and what the fuck had he said that made her laugh like that?

"Over dinner?" I made sure to focus my attention on Doe now. Let her know exactly how fucking not okay with this I was. Her chin wobbled slightly, but she remained defiant and poised.

"Mal, come on. I just had some ideas I wanted to go over and invited Wren to dinner."

Don't look at his face.

Don't look at his face.

I looked at his face. I waited for a smug smile. For him to put his arm around her. Anything that'd send me over the edge, but nothing ever happened. Instead, I watched as he leaned in close to Doe and whispered something into her ear.

"Get up," I snarled, refusing to watch them together any longer.

Was her goal to kill me? Because she was succeeding.

"What?" they both said at the same time.

"No," Doe snapped. Crossing her arms, she lowered her brows and repeated once more, "No."

"I'm not going to ask you again, Doe, get up," I demanded, my voice lowered and more lethal.

We were now stuck in a silent stare-off, where Trevor might as well not even be here. She was too busy focusing her anger at me to acknowledge the fact he was trying to capture her attention.

Exasperated, Trevor had given up his attempts and switched his aim toward me.

"Mal, it's not what you think."

It's not?

Sure as fuck looked like it to me.

"Don't." I leaned over the table, placing my palms onto the wood until I was at eye level with them both. I wasn't an idiot. I wasn't born yesterday. A man didn't just ask Wren out to be friends.

"If I hear your goddamn voice one more time, I'm going to lose it." I glared at Trevor who cowered back slightly. I let my stare hang over him until my demand sunk in and then finally, I pinned down Doe. "Get up, Wren. Now."

She looked at me like I was crazy. Like I had officially lost my mind and maybe I had, but it was because of her. She made me like this. Her being here made me feel fucking insane.

"I'm so sorry Trevor." She shook her head and reached for something next to her. "Let me at least pay for…"

"No," he stopped her. "No, I got it, don't worry. Thanks for coming out with me tonight."

My jaw ticked.

He was pushing his luck now.

"It was a nice night. Hopefully we can figure out something with the ideas you have."

Wren had shot her eyes toward mine. A heavy scowl lined her face as if she were justifying this little rendezvous. Whether or not this was purely work related, I didn't care. I just knew I didn't like it.

Not one fucking bit.

My palms slid from the table as I gave Trevor room to step out of the booth. He refused to look at me, the brim of his hat hanging low as he took his spot across from her.

Finally, Doe stumbled out, giving Trevor one last glance and a smile that had me tightening my jaw.

I'd give anything to have her stop smiling at him and give them all to me.

Shit.

Stop it.

I take it back.

As I struggled internally on my feelings toward Doe smiling at another man, she took the opportunity to storm past me, leaving me to stand there like an idiot.

An idiot who was protective over a girl he hadn't seen in years.

I chased after her. Hot on her tail, I followed her out the doors until I clasped my hand around her upper arm and stopped her from escaping.

" I can't believe you did that!" she hissed while shrugging out of my hold. She looked more hurt than anything. Embarrassed, even. "What the hell is your problem?"

"What's my problem?" I took a step toward her. "My problem is that you're on a fucking date right now. And with a guy I can't stand."

She rolled her eyes.

"It wasn't a date."

"Sure as shit looked like it to me."

She couldn't deny it either. He was sitting on the same side as her. If that didn't look like a date, I didn't know what did.

"It didn't look like anything, and it's none of your business anyway."

We were almost chest to chest now. Rising and falling, our heavy breaths began to intermingle. Our energies matched. The furious gleam in our eyes mirrored one another.

"It is my business when you're out with someone from the fucking team."

Her eyes narrowed.

"We're just friends."

Friends.

Even that pissed me off.

"No." I angled my head toward her.

"What do you mean, no?" I noticed as her pert little nose that was covered in freckles scrunched, but she never wavered from our nearness.

"I mean, no, you're not friends with him. You're not anything with him."

Wren laughed. Sarcastically, of course.

"Every word that has come out of your mouth the past two days has been no this and no that. I don't know who you think you are or why you suddenly think you have the right to tell me who I can hang out with, but you don't."

Now it was my turn to laugh.

Did she think I would just let her work for the team, make friends with all the guys, and be okay with that?

Fuck no.

She knew better than to think I'd be okay with it all.

"Why are you here, huh? To get back at me for leaving? To fuck with my head?" She scoffed as if she was disgusted by the idea.

If that was truly her goal, it was working.

"That's ridiculous, Mal."

She put distance between us and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Is it, though?" I arched a brow in her direction. "And you know damn well why I have the right to stop whatever the hell was going on tonight."

She looked surprised. Like she was caught off guard.

"Don't." Her eyes went thin. "Don't even go there, Mal."

Oh, but I was.

I had to.

"If you're not going to leave, then you need to understand that nothing gets past me. Everything you do, everything you say, everywhere you go, I'll fucking know about it. You need to film the guys for your content, I'll be there. You're at a game and you have some idiot trying to talk to you, I'll fucking take care of it."

Her eyes widened with the declarations I made.

"As long as you're here, I'll be watching you, Doe."

Her eyes had grown to the size of dinner plates. Two brown pools of uncertainty were now staring at me like I had grown two heads.

I had to let her know that these were the conditions if she was going to stay. If I was going down, I would bring her down with me.

"I don't need you to protect me."

Was I being protective?

I was being selfish. Though I'd never admit it, I didn't want to share her with anyone else. I didn't want anyone close to Hayes's happiness, even if it meant that I'd never get mine.

"And I don't need you here in Seattle, yet here you are."

Her lip wobbled but she refused to back down.

"I don't care what you need. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere," she responded defiantly, and just like last time, she brushed past me with the last word.

I had so much more that I wanted to say, but with the clench of my fists, I held it all in for another time.

Damn woman had me all over the place and I hated it.

I stayed at the restaurant until I knew she had left and gone back home. I supervised her goodbye with Trevor from a distance, and luckily it was nothing more than a wave.

I went back home with a new thought in my head that needed to be addressed immediately.

To tell all the guys that Wren Baker was officially off fucking limits.