Did he fuck me up?
Well of course he did.
In hindsight I can see how much I changed in that moment, how the way I looked at the world changed.
He stole something from me, and I’ve been trying to get it back ever since. There have been some glimpses, of course.
Like when I got my first job out of college and became Caden’s agent, or well, the employee of his agent.
When I managed to push my way back into Caden’s life a decade ago.
When I opened J&Co.
I just want to finally get over that fucking night.
I want to forget everything Soren said to me.
I want to find my old self again.
Is confronting him with my “perfect” life going to do that?
Well, there’s no way to know for sure.
But . . .
Cam:
Are you going?
Shifting my thoughts is best right now, I think, and supporting Caden is more important. This is bound to be hard on him.
Caden:
I don’t know.
Cam:
Just think of it this way.
If you go, you can witness AJ and me pretending to be in love.
Caden:
Now that is tempting.
I smile down at my phone.
We’re just bullshitting of course, but the thought that we might both find some peace after this reunion is definitely something to smile about.
And if we can catch up with Barker, Bailey, and Rivers, then that would be pretty cool too.
2
AJ QUICK
South Los Angelesisn’t the most luxurious of places, and it’s definitely one of the parts of the city that make me feel much more like an outsider, but the second I step into Nelson Jones Gym I feel like I’m back home.
Not because of the layout or the building exactly, Lincoln Nebraska sure as hell doesn’t smell like exhaust andheatin December, but the atmosphere of hard work and grit is all over this place, and that’s what my home is at its core.
