“Give me all the facts.Tell me what exactly happened,” he said, and that's exactly what I did.
Benji didn’t say anything.
He just kept defending, blocking every punch I threw until the last of my anger burned itself out.When I finally stopped, my arms dropped slightly and I growled, walking away from him.
My chest was heaving now.
“I'm the one who's been there for her.Me.Not him.I'm the one who's been treating her the way she truly deserves.I'm the one who…”
I pinched off one of the gloves as I leaned back against the ropes, dragging a hand across my face.
“Fuck.”
Across the ring, Benji leaned back against the opposite ropes, breathing steadily.He watched me for a moment, then he said calmly,
“She wasn’t choosing Chase, by the way.”
I looked up sharply.“What?”
He lifted both hands in a small gesture.
“I’m just saying.She probably just didn’t want to attract attention to herself,” he said.“Or the situation.”
I glared at him.“So, what?Now I'm the bad guy for defending her?”
“I didn't say that.All I'm saying is she doesn't seem like the fight-for-my-honor type.It doesn't take a genius to figure out that she doesn't enjoy being the center of attention.”
I ran my tongue slowly across my teeth.
“And you,” he added, pointing casually at me, “served it up on a silver platter tonight.Let me guess, this fight happened… in front of her family and friends?”
My jaw tightened again.“Hotel lobby.”
“Uh-huh.And are we counting lucky stars that you weren't arrested?”
“Maddox was there.Turns out he owns the Carrion.”
“Dammit, he moves fast.I was looking to buy that hotel.”Benji pushed off the ropes and stretched his arms behind his head.“Look, you weren't wrong for coming to her defense,” he continued.“She probably realized that, too.”
I frowned and he simply shrugged.
“And my guess is she'll probably feel bad in the morning for arguing with you.”
Silence settled over the ring again.My breathing slowly started to even out, but the knot in my chest hadn’t gone anywhere.If there was one thing I'd learned about my trouble, it was that she was set in her ways.
Benji ducked under the ropes and hopped down from the ring, walking to the vending machines.I followed him, my legs heavy as the adrenaline finally started draining out of my system.
My ribs ached.My knuckles throbbed.
But my head felt… quieter.
He punched a few buttons and the machine rattled before two bottles of water dropped down.I caught the one he tossed at me and twisted the cap off before chugging half the bottle in one go, the cold water burning down my throat.Then I let myself fall backward onto the gym floor, stretching out across the mat with a groan.
“Why can't I get her out of my head?”I mumbled, more for my benefit than his.
Benji leaned against the machine for a second before walking over and standing above me, hands resting on his hips.
“Why do you care so much anyway?”
