Keep an eye on her tonight.
Mia
Oh Ford, you’ve got it bad.
Just fucking keep an eye. Please.
I shove my phone back in my pocket and head inside to get ready to pass out. As I walk through my quiet, empty house, the comment Abby made the other night about me getting a dog honestly doesn’t sound all that bad, except for the fact that I’d have away games to think about. Am I going to have someone come over whenever I’m gone for a couple of days at a time? I shake my head, this isn’t a scenario that needs thinking about or solving right now. I pull back the comforter and grab my phone to throw it on the charger, but not before seeing there’s a text from Mia from a few minutes ago.
Mia
She can hold her own. I’ve already witnessed her handle a few wandering hands, she’s good.
That one text is all it takes for me to see red. I’ll be damned if another man has his hands on her. Who the fuck is touching my girl without her consent?
Where are you?
Mia
She’s fine, Ford.
Where, Mia?
She sends me a pin of her location and I’ve never gotten dressed so fucking fast in my life. Do my shoes match? Fuck if I know. All that matters right now is getting to Abby and bringing her home with me.
I don’t bother finding a parking spot or an open parking garage, I pull right up to Louie’s like I fucking own the place. It’s easy to spot Abby as soon as I walk in. Like a magnet, I find her and I’m pulled to her. She looks absolutely gorgeous with her long hair up in a high ponytail, a pair of my favorite skinny jeans she wears so well and a white tank top that looks so damn good on her tanned skin. She’s easily the most beautiful girl in this room, hell she’s the most beautiful girl in any room. Her sparkling green eyes find mine as I’m standing in front of the bar glaring at the man to her left. He’s standing too close, talking too much and touching too often. She says something to him before she walks in my direction. I turn and open the door to lead us both out front where it’s easier to hear one another.
“And what are you doing here, Anderson?” She smiles at me, but doesn’t reach out to touch me or anything.
Because we’re in public and we can’t show affection in public because she’s not my damn girlfriend.
She doesn’t seem angry that I showed up, she almost looks happy that I’m here, but I’m in no happy mood at the moment. Just before I’m about to speak, her co-worker,Tweedle-Fucking-Dee,comes rolling out of the door and almost bumps right into Abby as she stands against the wall. I quickly place my large body in front of his, blocking her entirely,
“Time to go home, you’ve had enough.” I try to keep my composure, while also hoping my tall frame is intimidating enough for him to get the hint.
“Abby, my bad! Oh shit, you’re Ford Anderson!” He laughs and tries to shake my hand, something I’m in no mood for so I let him leave his arm extended and turn around to Abby.
“We’re leaving,” I say, harsher than I intended towards her. The guy looks at me and then back at Abby, but I barely give her a moment to react before I’m pressing the start button on my keys to get the truck running.
“Ford,” she says calmly, grabbing my forearm with her delicate fingers.
“Get in the truck, Abby.” I can’t mask my frustration. I can’t mask any of it anymore, my feelings for her, my anger that another man was close to her, touching her, even if she didn’t reciprocate any of it. I feel blinded by my need to just get her in the truck and to my house.
“Dick,” the guy mutters under his breath as he opens the door to walk back inside, leaving Abby and me alone once again. Abby doesn’t say anything, but between me holding the passenger door open and staring her down, I think she gets the hint that I’m not taking no for an answer.
“I’m texting Mia goodnight,” she huffs as she gets in the truck and pulls the door to slam it shut. That was done with a lot more force than normal, so the chance that she’s annoyed with me now is pretty high, but it’s alright. We’re going back to my house where I plan on telling her everything I’ve been feeling for the past… well, since day one.
I never would have expected tonight to go the way it has. Ben and the rest of the group were a lot of fun at first, but ultimately became a little more unruly then I’m comfortable with. Seeing Ford standing in the doorway of Louie’s, I knew he had come because Mia probably texted him, or he texted her asking where I was. Although it was unexpected seeing Ford tonight, I wasn’t complaining,at first.
His tall frame was hard to miss standing in the doorway. My eyes and body were instantly pulled towards him as he stood there, glaring in my direction. In his signature black t-shirt and dark denim jeans, I could feel my body reacting to his presence almost immediately. It wasn’t until we were outside and he acted like a possessive animal that I understood exactly why he showed up.
Sitting in his passenger seat, I don’t say anything as we drive through the streets of downtown. The stop lights and city lights shine brightly through the windshield and I can hear the faint sound of music as we pass some of the bars and clubs on the street. Part of me wants to ask him to just drop me off at home, but I decide against it. If nothing else, I want to address whatever that was back there and we can’t do it when Chase is around. Once we get to his house, I don’t bother waiting for him to open my door like normal, I let myself out and head right into the house, taking off my white converse shoes and pulling my hair out of the tight ponytail that’s been giving me a headache all night. I run my hands through my hair and scratch my scalp a bit, probably one of the best feelings when you let your hair out of a ponytail that’s been killing you for hours.
Ford puts his keys down in the dish next to the door and I take a seat at the kitchen island after grabbing a water bottle from his fridge. He hasn’t tried to say anything either, and I’m sure he senses my annoyance. I’m not even mad he showed up, I’m just embarrassed at how he acted. Those are my co-workers and I have no clue how I’ll explain that come Monday.
“So, what was all that about Ford?” I’m gripping the water bottle in front of me because I don’t like confrontation and it feels like I need something to brace myself.
If this arrangement we have going isn’t working for him, I want him to tell me. Sure, it’ll suck, but I’d rather know now.
