Paxton's Promise (Gloves Off #3)(3)

Opening the door wider, I beckoned him inside. “Come on in.”

He stepped through the threshold and took off his hat before running a hand through his chestnut brown hair. “Thanks,” he said, setting his hat down beside my phone.

I started to walk into the living room, but then I noticed he wasn’t following me. It was clear something was wrong. Turning to him, I confronted the silence. “What’s up?”

He averted his gaze, licked his lips, and pressed them together.

Something was definitely not right, he wouldn’t even look at me. “Bradley, what’s going on?” In my heart, I already knew. I could feel it inside, with the way he looked at me when he walked through the door.

“I’m done, Gabby,” he blurted out. “I’ve tried to do the whole friends with benefits thing, but it’s not working.” He’d reached his breaking point. But there was nothing I could do about it.

Hanging my head, I nodded. “You’re right, it’s not. So what exactly are you saying?”

“I think you know. I’ve tried to be patient in hopes you would really come back to me, but I was a fool to think you would. This is me bowing out and moving on. I can’t play second best anymore.”

My eyes burned as he spoke the truth. I had no choice but to agree with him. “I never wanted you to feel that way,” I murmured, lifting my head.

Sighing, he moved closer and pulled me into his arms. “I know you didn’t. Making you choose between me and your friends wasn’t fair. Ever since that moment, I could feel the tension increasing between us. Things won’t ever be the same and you know it.”

“I know,” I whispered, holding him tight. Burying my face in his chest, I breathed him in one last time. I knew after today I probably wouldn’t see him again. In the end, breaking up would make my life easier, but knowing that still didn’t help.

My heart ached for him, for the friendship I was losing. Bradley had been a part of my life for years. We were friends long before we became lovers, and there was something different between us than with any other guy I’d known. He’d always been there to pick me up when I was down.

“So what did you want to talk to me about? You said in your text you had something to tell me.”

Now that we were breaking up, there was no sense to tell him about my arrangement with Paxton. It was probably best he didn’t know. “It’s nothing really,” I answered, stepping back. “My brother called and told me to take a few weeks off. I was just a little excited about it.”

Bradley gazed down at me and brushed a strand of my hair away from my cheek. “So the time I have to leave California is the time you have off. Talk about irony.”

He was leaving? “Where are you going?”

His whole demeanor changed and his lips curved into a small smile. “I wanted to tell you this before, but you’ve been kind of busy. I’m headed to New York. Apparently, they’re interested in me.”

“Bradley, that’s amazing,” I squealed. “Will you be playing with Colin?”

Reaching for his hat, he nodded and put it on. “You’re damn right. We’re gonna tear it up in the major leagues. I just don’t know how I’m going to get used to New York. It’s not exactly the place I thought I’d call home.”

“You’ll get used to it,” I told him lamely, knowing I couldn’t give him the comfort he needed. It wasn’t my job anymore.

We stared at each other for I don’t know how long. All of our shared memories flooded my mind and made my chest ache. Tears came to my eyes, not from sorrow, but the heaviness of it all. This was a chapter of my life coming to an end.

Opening the door, he stepped out but I wasn’t ready to let him go just yet, so I walked out with him. Side by side, we strolled down the stairs, my throat constricting tighter with each step. “You’ll do fine,” I assured him, choking out the words. “I’m so proud of you and how much you’ve accomplished.”

By the time we got down to his truck it took all I had not to let my tears fall. He unlocked his door and was about to open it before he scooped me up into his arms and squeezed. “Goddammit, I didn’t realize how hard this was going to be. As much as I’ve spent the last couple of months pissed off, I’m going to miss the hell out of you.”

I chuckled as my tears finally fell. “Same here. Especially our fights. You sure knew how to push my buttons.”

“It’s just part of my charm, babe. Maybe I’ll give you a call sometime and we can fight.”

After he let me go, I lifted up on my tiptoes and placed a chaste kiss on his lips and brushed my hands through his hair. It was the last time we’d ever share an embrace. “I look forward to it. Just don’t forget me when you’re all big and bad in New York.”

“What about you? I bet next season you’ll have a title. You’ll be the one forgetting me.”

“That’s never going to happen,” I said, taking a step back.

Opening his truck door, he got in and smiled down at me. “I’ll talk to you soon, Gabby. Don’t get into any trouble.”

With a sly smile, I winked up at him. “Can’t promise you that. Be careful in New York.”

Even though I was smiling and I was glad it ended on good terms, I could feel the hole in my heart growing. His truck roared to life and he glanced down at me, mouthing the word ‘goodbye’ before driving out of the parking lot. As soon as his truck disappeared, I turned on my heel and headed for the stairs in a fog, keeping my gaze on the ground as I walked.