Evie sat at a table, absentmindedly scoring lines across the tabletop with a plastic fork. She was waiting for Bradshaw to get done with whatever he was doing. Her thoughts dwelled on what she had seen in Hunter's locker room previously. It had hurt her to see what he was doing with those two women, but she didn't want him to know that. He didn't seem to care anyway. Seems like he had moved on to other things.
Yeah. Rebound woman. That's what I should change my name to, she thought in disgust as she continued to drag the fork back and forth over the table. The more she thought about what she had seen, the angrier she got, but it was directed at herself instead of him. She should have expected this, but ignored the possibility it would happen. How could she be so stupid? He'd gotten what he wanted from her and he was finished with her. And it hurt. It hurt horribly.
Dammit! Why can't I meet a nice man? Or a real man for that matter? Why do I always end up with the jerks?
Just as that thought was completed, a chair was pulled out and someone sat down next to her. She looked over at he person and rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Gee I just have to think the word "jerk" and you show up."
"Nice to see you too Red," Jericho shot back.
"What do you want?" she asked tersely.
Jericho smirked at her. "C'mon Red, you know what I want," he said as he leaned closer. "Seeing as your boss is busy, why don't you and I go to my hotel room? I can "occupy" you there."
Evie made a face. "Won't your hand get jealous?"
He leaned farther in so that his mouth was next to her ear. "Go on Red; tell me those three words I wanna hear."
"Okay. Go to hell," she retorted as she pulled her head away from his face.
He reached out and grabbed her arm. "I know you want me. Why else would you take the time to insult me so much? I think it's a subconscious cry for some attention."
"Save your breath Jericho. You'll need it to blow up your date," she scoffed.
Jericho's grip tightened on her arm. "S'matter Red? Pissed at Hunter cause he's fucking someone else and not you?"
"S'matter Jericho? Did you accidentally pop your girlfriend? Is that why you're bothering me?"
His face grew red in anger. "I suggest you be a little nicer Red. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry. I get rough when I'm angry." He tightened his grip again as he finished speaking. "Or do you like it rough?"
Evie looked at him. "I suggest you let go of me," she said quietly.
"Or what?" he scoffed. "You're gonna hurt me?"
She simply smiled as she bought the plastic fork down hard on the back of his hand. Jericho yelped in pain and jerked his hand back. He looked at it. Her action hadn't drawn blood, but there were four angry marks where the fork had landed, and it hurt like hell.
"You crazy bitch," he muttered. "Do you have a death wish?"
She looked at him, amusement in her eyes. "Yeah I do. I wish you'd drop dead," she said as she stood up and dropped the fork on the table.
Jericho rubbed the back of his hand. "See, there you go insulting me again. I swear you want me. Why don't you just admit it and save us both a lot of trouble?" He turned a cocky grin on her.
Evie spoke in a slow and deliberate tone as if she were speaking to a child. "I do not want you. I do not want anything from you. Do you understand?"
Jericho stood up. "You know you're lucky there are so many people here. Because if there weren't, you'd be flat on your back, begging for it." He abruptly turned and walked away from her before she could say anything else.
A shudder coursed through her as he walked off. He made her sick. Physically sick. Just the thought of him touching her made her want to throw up. She shook the images out of her head and sat back down.
"Dammit," she muttered to herself. "How the hell do I get myself into these situations?" Her thoughts turned back to Hunter. She continued to figure out how to go about letting Hunter know how it felt to be hurt. The trick was to get him to her room and find her with Bradshaw. Not in any type of compromising position, but to make it seem like something had gone on between them. An idea popped into her head and she took out her note book and started scribbling a note to Hunter.
*****************************
Hunter toweled himself off and dressed. He heard the chatter of the two women as they put their clothes on in the bathroom. A smile crossed his face as he recalled what had happened in the shower, but the smile quickly disappeared as he thought about Evie walking in. He had the feeling that regardless of her reaction, he was going to catch hell when he got back to the hotel. Even though he had told her that things between them weren't serious. So why did he feel guilty?
You know why you feel guilty. And you should feel guilty.
He sighed as he finished dressing and started putting his gear in his bag. Why? The relationship isn't serious. It's not like I asked her to marry me or anything.
No. But you love her. No matter how much you try to ignore it, you love her. Face it, if you found her with someone else like she found you with those two, it would hurt wouldn't it?
Hunter shrugged his shoulders. I don't know. I suppose it might.
You suppose? Liar liar pants on fire, the voice mocked him. It would hurt and you know it.
He zipped up his bag with force. Look, when I want your opinion I'll ask for it. Otherwise, shut up!
The voice only laughed softly as it receded. Hunter dropped his bag on a chair and walked into the bathroom to check on the two women. "You ladies ready to go?" he asked as he came around the doorframe.
They were both dressed, but touching up their make up. "Almost," answered one. She turned to face him. "You sure you don't want us to come back to the hotel with you?"
He smiled. "I'm sure. You've both done enough tonight."
The woman smiled slyly. "We could do more."
Hunter shook his head. "Thanks, but I have to leave early in the morning. That doesn't give me a lot of time to really enjoy your company."
They both grinned in response and the one turned back to the mirror to finish her makeup.
"Let me know when you're ready," Hunter said as he left the bathroom.
Within minutes, the women had come out. He accompanied them to the parking lot where he left them. They had told him they would take a cab back.
Hunter ducked into the limo that had been waiting for him. He dropped his bag on the floor and leaned back into the seat. The ride to the hotel was short and in no time, he was unlocking the door to his room. The bag fell to the floor as he switched the light on. Glancing around, he noticed that Evie's things were missing. He was a bit taken aback. He was sure that she'd be waiting for him. As he looked around again, his eyes fell on a piece of paper taped to the television screen. He walked over and peeled it off. As he read it, his eyes narrowed. So she checked into another room. Okay, that's understandable.
What wasn't understandable was the tone of her note. It was as if she hadn't cared about what she had witnessed at the arena. In fact, it was as if she were being nonchalant about the whole thing. Like it was a normal everyday occurrence.
"We'll see how normal things are tomorrow morning," he snorted. Deep down, he had an uneasy feeling about what he might find tomorrow morning.
*********************
Bradshaw glanced over at Evie. She had been quiet since they left the arena. He had found her in catering, writing something on a piece of paper. When he asked her what she was doing, she explained things to him. He agreed that would be reason enough to get Hunter to her room. After that, she had fallen silent.
They were in her room at the hotel. She had changed into a nightshirt and boxers and he was in a t-shirt and track pants, watching television while she worked on her computer. Occasionally, he'd sneak a glance at her legs. She did have a nice pair. True to his word, he had behaved himself so far, but felt that looking didn't hurt anything. All though he reckoned he may have bitten off more than he could chew by agreeing to share a room with her tonight. It had been a while since he'd been with a woman and she was attractive enough. Staring at her legs didn't help much either. He shook his head. She'd never go for him anyway. She was still hung up on Hunter.
Hunter. Now how could he do that to someone like her? Hell, I wouldn't throw her out of my bed so fast. Bradshaw couldn't understand it. Here Hunter had a pretty woman like Evie and he went pulled that stunt in the shower. What on earth was wrong with that man? Stupid. That's what it is. He's a jackass.
Bradshaw really liked Evie. For him she was more than a friend, but he knew that nothing would ever come of it. If the only thing he could do was be there for her, then that was the only thing he could do. At least with him, there wouldn't be all the drama that seemed attached to her relationship with Hunter. Better to be her friend than have nothing at all, he thought.
A clicking noise made him look up. Evie had swiped the remote when he was off in thought and was changing the channels. "Hey," he protested.
She gave him an innocent look. "What?"
"I was watchin' that," he responded as he gestured towards the television.
Evie chuckled. "No you weren't. You were off somewhere." She continued to go through the channels and then shut the television off. "There's nothing on anyway."
He looked at her. "So let's do something else instead."
Evie raised an eyebrow. "And just what did you have in mind?" Bradshaw winked at her meaningfully and she laughed. "You promised to behave yourself mister."
He sighed as he got off the bed. "Yeah yeah, I know. So since we can't do that, how 'bout we play some cards?"
"No strip poker though," she teased.
"Oh take the fun out of it why dontcha?" he protested as he took a pack of playing cards and plastic chips out of his bag. "C'mon, we'll play a regular game then." He sat down at the table and took the cards out of their package.
Evie smiled as she sat down opposite him. "No cheating now."
He feigned shock. "I don't cheat darlin'." He shuffled the cards and looked at her. "I never cheat," he said pointedly.
Evie got the hint. "I don't want to talk about it right now," she responded.
He said nothing as he dealt the cards. Talking could wait. Truth be told, he really didn't want to talk about Hunter either. The man pissed him off. He swiftly dismissed Hunter from his mind and turned his attention to his cards.
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A/N: Sorry it's short, but it's just a filler chapter to replace the notes I had up. Please look for an actual update sometime after the holidays! Hope you enjoy yours and thanks for all the support!