Abel (5th Street #4)

  “No, he said it’s part work and part pleasure,” she said, wiping the corners of her eyes now.

  Part pleasure? Yeah, Abel bet. “But you’ll cancel any plans you had with him, right?”

  She nodded and something tugged at the corner of her lips. He also saw a glint of what might be excitement in her eyes. “Good,” he said before kissing her softly, and then he pushed her down on the seat, thankful for the bench seats that his classic car provided. “You’re mine, Nellie. And now that we’ve confirmed this, because we have, right?” He needed to be clear on this. He wasn’t leaving anything to be misinterpreted. She nodded, chewing on her lower lip with a smile, her eyes still twinkling with unshed tears. It was all his tortured heart needed. He didn’t care how busy his life was. Come hell or high water, he’d make time for Nellie no matter what. With a groan, he dove in, kissing her passionately. “But it’s not official until . . .” He started pulling her shorts down.

  “Abel!” she nudged at his chest, pulling herself up and looking out at the deserted exit in the middle of nowhere. “Are you crazy? We’re right off the exit.”

  “Good point,” he said, sitting up and starting the engine again.

  He pulled off the side and started further down the deserted road. “If we drive out further, I can take you outside against the car, under the desert sky.”

  Her jaw dropped, but he saw the excitement mixed with fear in her eyes. “You can’t be serious.”

  With a wicked smirk, he turned his attention back to the desolate road. “I’ve always wanted to do this. Who better to have my first time out on the open road with than the only girl I’ve ever been in love with.”

  Staring straight ahead, he dared not look her way. It hadn’t exactly slipped, and telling her he was in love with her wasn’t on a whim. The whole time that he’d been tormented this past week, he’d considered showing up at her house and just spilling it. If there was ever anything he’d been certain of, it was this.

  He finally glanced at Nellie, her silence scaring the hell out of him. She was staring at him with her hand over her mouth. Her eyes completely welled again and her brows pinched. “It’s true,” he smiled, “not just in love, Nell, but hopeless, there’s-no-helping-this-guy kind of in love with you.”

  The second he stopped the car, she opened the door and jumped out, startling him. He watched her rush around the front of the car as relief and excitement overwhelmed him. Rushing out just in time, he caught her as she jumped in his arms. “I am so in love with you too, Abel Ayala,” she said, kissed him madly, then stopped and pulled away to look at him. Her expression was torn between a smile and almost breaking down again. “I’ve been so afraid to admit it even to myself, but I am completely and utterly in love with you.”

  A part of him almost hated ruining such an incredibly romantic moment with sex. But an even bigger, throbbing part of him now wanted to fuck the hell out of his girl. He tugged at her shorts as he let her feet touch the ground. “Pull these down.” He spun her around, pinning her against his car, and dove into the side of her neck from behind sucking hard. “Mine,” he whispered forcefully into her ear as he pulled his zipper down. Her sudden gasp but zero resistance only made him more insane with urgency. “Now let’s make this official.”

  ~*~

  Winston Reynolds was obviously a big fan of his own voice. The man could talk non-stop; often times he repeated what he’d just spent extensive time explaining in a different way. But Nellie had to hand it to him. The man knew his stuff. Unlike Andy, he disagreed that any publicity was good publicity.

  “You don’t want to lose the respect of your public,” he insisted. “Sure, getting caught up in any kind of scandal will get your name in all the headlines, but what is that doing to your career? Sometimes—and this is more often than not—less is more.”

  Nellie smiled, nodding. She couldn’t agree more. He wouldn’t even have to try to convince Abel of that. After he’d officially made her his earlier that day, Abel had explained in more depth about Rachel. One thing that she’d noticed about Abel even early on was his inability to fake or hide what he was feeling. So often she’d chalked up what she thought she’d felt from him to be nothing more than lust: the way he kissed her with so much passion even from the very start. The way he looked deep into her eyes and held her so possessively every single time had been so telling of what he’d wholly admitted to her now—that just as she’d been, he’d been drawn to her for months before they ever kissed on the cruise and that ever since then he hadn’t been able to get her off his mind.

  So his annoyed expression when he spoke of the stories about him and Rachel that had gone viral was absolutely genuine. He’d also called himself a fool for waiting so long to come clean, but her constant reminders to him that she was great with their agreement had held him back from doing so. Of course, Nellie felt like an idiot now for having done so and so often, but she also explained why she had. They both agreed to be completely honest about their feelings from here on and that the tabloid stories would have zero effect on their relationship. Their relationship. Even thinking about it now made her smile silly.

  With her meeting finally over and her ears still ringing from all the talking Reynolds had done, she was finally on her way back to her room--their room or suite rather. The MGM had, of course, put Abel in a penthouse suite with a much needed and much appreciated private elevator. There was a private entrance and exit that, judging by the amount of media coverage already at the hotel, Nellie had to admit was more of a necessity than a luxury for someone as private as Abel.

  She’d felt him tense even as they neared Vegas. They’d driven by huge billboards promoting the “fight of the decade” with the images of him and McKinley every few exits. Then they exited the freeway. Even with all the glitter and bright lights of Vegas, the enormous billboard that took up almost the entire side of the MGM Grand hotel, featuring both McKinley and Ayala facing off, outshined everything else on the strip.

  Nellie had to admit that, for a brief moment, even she’d felt rattled. This was the man she was in a relationship with now. The guy was bigger than life at the moment, and his name was already all over every media imaginable. But just as he’d vowed to make time for her, even though she told him not to worry about it because she completely understood, she vowed to not let his fame bring any conflict into their relationship. She saw and felt his loyalty to her. She believed him when he promised her that he’d never hurt her. No matter what she read or heard from here on, she’d promised she wouldn’t give it so much as a second thought until she got the truth straight from him.

  Walking in through the main public entrance of the hotel, she immediately saw the media frenzy already going on. They were everywhere. Reynolds had mentioned that the crew who would be putting up the radio broadcast 5th Street booth overnight should already be there getting ready to set up. She wanted to make sure everything she’d ordered for delivery had arrived. There was another booth being set up not too far from the 5th Street booth. She read the banner going up.

  DETROIT’S HOT 107.5 HAS MCKINLEY FOR THE WIN!

  HIGHLAND PARK GYM – MAKING CHANGES WITH DETROIT’S YOUTH.

  Frowning, she wouldn’t let it get to her. Somehow McKinley’s camp had gotten wind of the 5th Street gym’s promotion and decided to do one of their own. How original to include his hometown gym doing things for their youth as well. She rolled her eyes and continued going through the list on her tablet of the things that should have been delivered that night.

  Loud male voices interrupted her concentration on the inventory, but she looked up only to see some guys in suits and others in work clothes over by the McKinley booth, horsing around. She went back to her list, checking things off as she confirmed they’d arrived.

  The loud voices once again got her attention. This time they didn’t sound as playful. One of the guys sounded heated. Curiously, she looked up as a few of the others setting up the 5th Street booth looked over too. To her absolu
te surprise, she had to look twice to be sure she saw who she thought she was looking at. Sam was one of the guys in suits who she’d glanced at earlier. Earlier, she’d only had a view of his back. Now he stood arguing with the other guy in a suit. A few flashes from cameras around the area went off.

  Nellie looked around. The paparazzi were even more rampant now. While they masqueraded as normal tourists, Nellie could tell who the real tourists were versus the vultures. A few other actual tourists lifted their phones and took photos as well. Could two guys arguing near McKinley’s camp really be that newsworthy? She shook her head and glanced at Sam again. He was now headed toward her.

  “Oh, no,” she whispered under her breath.

  The last thing she needed was for Abel to get wind of the idea that she was hanging around Sam still. She’d get this over as quickly and painlessly as she could. The guy he’d been arguing with followed him, and Sam stopped when he noticed.

  “Back off!” he barked at the guy who resembled him very closely. “I’m done talking to you. I already said no.”

  The other guy grabbed his arm roughly. “This is for Nate, man. Don’t forget whose side you’re on.”

  Sam jerked his arm away from the guy and kept walking. In all the times she’d been around Sam, his demeanor had always been upbeat and bright-eyed. She’d never seen the stony-faced Sam who approached her now.

  “Hey, babe, we need to talk.”

  His hand was in hers the second he reached her, and he kept walking. She tried tugging her hand back and protesting, but he held it tight. “I . . . I can’t right now. I’m working.”

  “This won’t take long.”

  “Don’t do this, Sam.” The other guy was still yelling out. “It’d never work out anyway. You have to know that!”

  Considering the scene that he and the other guy were already making that had cameras still flashing, she decided to not do what she really wanted to do and wrestle her hand free in front of the curious crowd. “Where are we going? I can’t leave,” she asked urgently in a lowered voice so as not to give the nosey people stopping to look at them a more animated show.

  They walked toward a door that read “staff only,” and he pushed it open. He turned around to face her as soon as the door closed behind them. “Look, I don’t have a lot of time. I just need you to know that my feelings for you are real, okay? They may not have been in the beginning, but they are now.”

  She shook her head. “Sam, I can’t—”

  “Listen to me,” he continued, sounding a bit more anxious with every word. “No matter what you hear, no matter what anyone says,” he tapped his heart, “what’s in here is real. I mean it.”

  Searching his eyes, she took in what he was saying. What anyone says? She shook her head. “Sam—”

  “I’ll make it up to you—”

  “Sam—”

  “If I’d known that I’d feel like this in the beginning—”

  “Sam!” she had to stop him before he spilled his guts. Having no idea what he was talking about exactly, Nellie was sure of one thing. He was telling her that he had feelings for her, and the anxiousness in his words was escalating with every word. She had to end this now. “I’m with someone now. I’m sorry.” She shook her head. “I wasn’t when I went out with you.” Feeling stupid, she shook her head even harder now. “I mean I was, but I wasn’t.” She shrugged, giving up trying to make sense. “It’s hard to explain, but the bottom line is that we’re exclusive now and I can’t go out with you anymore.”

  Instantly, his anxious eyes went stony again. “You and Ayala?”

  That stunned her. “How did you—”

  The door swung open, and the guy he’d been arguing with walked in. “Nate’s waiting outside. The crowd’s gathering fast, man. We gotta go.”

  The guy’s eyes were as blue and as light as Sam’s. He glanced at Nellie once then looked back at Sam anxiously.

  “You’re really with him?” Sam asked, ignoring the guy.

  “Dude, what did you think?”

  The other guy’s overly annoyed tone got her attention. Nellie glanced back at him, confused. How did either of them know? Her phone beeping in her small swing pack purse distracted her for just a moment.

  “Let’s go!” The guy said even louder to Sam, who finally came unglued from the spot he stood.

  “Stay here for a while.” He squeezed her arm as he walked past her. “Trust me. The photographers are relentless.” He stopped before walking out, his blue eyes almost clear now. “Just remember what I told you.” He tapped his chest again. “I mean it.”

  They both walked out to what sounded like a mob now, and Nellie’s heart thudded. What in the world? Her phone beeped again, and she pulled it out of her purse. She had two texts. There was one from Logan, which immediately annoyed her, so she ignored it. Did he not get the hint? She wasn’t calling him back ever, especially not now. The other one was from Abel. It amazed her how just seeing his name made her smile despite the confusing and somewhat disturbing confrontation she’d just had with Sam.

  You almost back? I’m done with my meeting and am back at the room. I need to hit the hay early, and I want you with me when I do. Don’t worry. The guys made me promise I’d get SOME sleep. =)

  Instantly, any thoughts of Sam and certainly Logan were gone, and Nellie smiled giddily. Just as she began to text back, a young girl’s voice startled her.

  “Ma’am?” With a flinch, she looked up. The girl in a hotel clerk’s uniform already wore a regretful and nervous smile. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just thought you might want to come out this other way. There are a lot of people standing just outside that door now.”

  Nellie glanced back at the door, still confused why that might be. Obviously, even with all the billboards and the enormous one that covered the entire side of their hotel, she’d underestimated the prying of the media to get any story related to the fight. If they were hounding nobodies from both camps, they must be really desperate. She wasn’t such a nobody in Abel’s life now, but there was no way the media could know that yet. They’d been very discreet when they arrived, taking the VIP entrance through the back and the private elevator to his suite.

  Grateful anyway that she could skip whatever was going on outside, she nodded and followed the young girl. Nellie had also missed a call from Roni earlier. She seriously doubted that Abel had told anyone the revelations they’d made on their way to Vegas and that they were now officially an exclusive couple.

  God, just thinking about it made her breathe so much easier.

  Still, she was going to have to make that call and tell Roni. For some reason, it made her nervous. It was probably because she’d have to admit that Roni had been right all along and that she’d been that close to calling everything off, even an impossible friendship. There was no way she could’ve dealt with holidays at Roni’s with Abel and a date. She was just enormously relieved that Abel felt the same way.

  Chapter 16

  “I’m just saying that Nellie staying in your room during this fight is not such a good idea. Not only is she gonna be a huge distraction . . .” Andy continued as Abel shook his head in disagreement. He’d let him talk for now, but this wasn’t something that was up for debate. Andy was just lucky that Abel was in such a great mood or he might’ve already bitten his head off. “A distraction is the last thing you need right now. Your mind needs to be one-hundred percent on the fight right now. Nothing else. But also you have to think about this: if the media gets a hint of this, it’ll be all over, good and bad.” He emphasized that last word. “They’ll scrutinize everything about her, right down to how much older she is than you—”

  “I don’t give a shit what they say, Andy,” Abel suddenly snapped.

  Hearing Andy chuckle only made him angrier. “Really? You’re not making a very good argument for yourself here, Aweless Ayala.”

  “If they say anything that upsets her, I want names.” Abel said through his teeth. “That’ll
be your job. You get me their names, and they go on my shit list: a list of reporters who I will never give an exclusive to. She’s staying with me this whole weekend and any other fights I have. I’m done discussing this.”

  Wisely, Andy didn’t argue much more, giving in with a heavy sigh. “Okay, I’ll see you then tomorrow.”

  Minutes after that call, he got another from Felix. He’d just finished reading Nellie’s text letting him know she was on her way up, so he was in a much better mood when he took this call. “Hey, you here already?”

  “No, but I’m there first thing tomorrow. I may not get to hang with you too much until after the fight,” Felix sounded upbeat. “I’ll be working. I’m covering your fight, man, on HBO.” Abel could hear the smile in Felix’s voice. “So how you feeling?”

  “Good, I didn’t do any training today, but this past week was brutal, so both Gio and Noah agreed a day off would be good.”

  “Was the airport crazy?”

  “I wouldn’t know. I drove.”

  “You drove? Why?”

  “Because of just that.” Abel explained. “I’m not trying to walk through no crazy-ass mob at the airport. I drove here with Nellie, and we came up the back way through the private entrance.”

  Felix was quiet for a moment, and then Abel heard what sounded like a soft chuckle. “You and Nellie? Noah mentioned that last time I was out there. But it’s just a fun thing and business, right? That’s what Noah said anyway.”

  Annoyed that Noah was telling anyone his business, Abel frowned, sitting down in the big lounger in the front room of his suite. But he wasn’t keeping this a secret from anyone. “Yeah, she’s here with me, but, no, it’s not just business or a fun thing anymore. It’s official. I’m sure you’ll be hearing more about it after this weekend.”