Page 82 of Broken Butterfly
“Yeah?” he asks, taking my hand. I deftly remove it from his grasp.
“Jay-man! How are ya doin’?” a pot-bellied older man, with a long dark beard and hair pulled back in a ponytail, greets him. “And who is this fine lady?”
“Ray, this is Liz. Liz, this is the man you give your money to when you want to place a bet.”
I don’t like how this guy is looking at me and I instinctively step a little closer to Jayson. “Nice to meet you, Ray.”
“We’ve got some girls fighting tonight if you’re interested.”
“Back off, Ray. She’s not fighting.”
“Pity,” he says, leering at me. “Hey, Staci is here tonight. She’s been asking about you,” he says to Jayson who quickly diverts his gaze from me.
Because I’m dumb and need to learn when to keep my mouth shut, I ask stupidly, “Who’s Staci?”
Ray gives me another slick smile. “Well, catch ya later, J-man. Need to make my rounds.”
“Jayson?” Yeah, something’s up because he’s fidgeting like crazy and won’t look me in the eye.
“She’s a fight groupie. I never had sex with her if that’s what you want to know.”
Oh, thank God. I was about to flip out thinking I needed to get myself and Ryder tested. Jayson and I didn’t use protection the night my memories returned.
“That’s very specific,” I point out because it sounds like he may have done something with Staci even if he didn’t stick his dick into her.
“Liz, I’m not talking about this with you.”
I wipe my concern away as if I was turning the page in my e-reader. “No need. I’m not upset. You can go at it with whomever you want.”
“For fuck’s sake, Liz. You were gone for over a year. What did you expect me to do?” Jayson argues.
“Jayson, I’m not being sarcastic. I want you to be happy, and that includes supporting you moving on and finding someone who will love you as much as you deserve to be loved. You’re my best friend.”
He sighs in disgust. I hear Meredith’s talkative voice behind us and look over my shoulder. The gang is all here. I thankfully and quickly excuse myself as Jayson is approached by some guy who wants to talk to him.
“Elizabeth! Oh my God, girl!” Meredith squeals.
“I know, right?” I agree, looking around at the crowd that keeps getting bigger by the minute. I wrap my arm around Ryder’s waist and snuggle close. Jayson’s comments have me wanting to ask Ryder if he was with anyone while I was in Seattle. Fallon and Trevor’s low, angry voices have me turning my head their way. Fallon notices me watching and says something to Trevor who looks over at me. They both stop talking and slowly make their way over. I’ll make sure to ask Fallon about that later.
“Hey, Trevor.”
“Hey, Elizabeth,” he says back. “What do you think?”
“I think guys who do this are straight-up crazy,” I reply honestly.
“And that’s why women should rule the world. We’re masters at getting shit done without punching anyone. But you have to admit, it’s sexy as hell,” Meredith says, seemingly forgetting her willingness to jump into any fight.
I groan. “You and I need to have a long talk,” I tell her and she smiles.
“What happens now?” she asks.
Trevor looks around and nods to someone. “The guys will size each other up and decide who they want to fight. If their challenge is accepted, they fight.” He makes it sound so simple and easy. I still think it’s stupid.
“I can’t believe you did this shit,” Fallon says to his brother.
“Like you’re the one to talk, little brother.”
“Guys, it’s neither the time nor place,” I reprimand them both. I will get those two together to sit down and talk if it kills me.
