Beautiful Oblivion (The Maddox Brothers, #1)(75)

I looked up at him, unsure of what he meant.

“I’m never going to let them intimidate you again.”

I pressed my cheek against his chest again. “It’s all they know, Trent. I can’t really blame them.”

“Why not? They blame you for everything. And they’re not robots. They’re adults, and they can make different choices. They choose to stick with what they know.”

“Kind of like you and your brothers?” I didn’t look up, and Trenton didn’t respond right away.

Finally he took a breath. “We don’t react to things because it’s all we know. It’s just the opposite. We have no f*cking clue what we’re doing.”

“But you try,” I said, nuzzling up against him. “You try to be good people. You work toward doing better, being better, more patient, and more understanding. But just because you can beat someone’s ass . . . doesn’t mean you should.”

Trenton chuckled. “Yeah it does.” I tried—and not very hard—to push him away. He held me tighter.

“I’m going to make you beef tips and rice tonight,” I said.

Trenton made a face. “I love your cooking, baby doll, but I can’t keep eating dinner at three AM.”

I laughed. “Fine, I’ll have it waiting for you. There’s a spare key under the rock that sits in front of the pillar by my door. I’ll leave it there.”

“Can I take a rain check? I promised Olive I’d take her to Chicken Joe’s.”

I smiled, but I wasn’t happy about missing out on Olive time.

“Wait. Did you just tell me where the spare key was?”

“Yeah?”

“So can I use it anytime?”

I shrugged. “Yeah.”

A small smile tugged on one corner of Trenton’s mouth, and then it spread across his face. “I’m going to bet on Travis’s next fight. Try to get the money back I lost to Abby, and then some. I’m going to start looking for a place next week. I want you to come with me.”

“Okay,” I said, not sure why he had such a serious look on his face. I already knew he was working toward getting his own place.

Trenton’s smile was beaming. “It’s his end-of-the-year fight. Big money. They’ll probably get some has-been MMA fighter like they got last year.”

“Who’d they get last year?”

“Kelly Heaton. He lost the championship four years ago. Travis beat the piss out of ’em.” Trenton was clearly enjoying the memory. “I made fifteen hundred. If I can make at least that this year, we’ll be set.”

“You’ll be set. I have a place.”

“Yeah, well, maybe one of these days you’ll decide to stay the night and you’ll never go home.”

“Don’t count on it. I love having my space.”

“You can have your space. You can have whatever you want.”

I rose up on the balls of my feet, wrapped my arms around his neck, and kissed Trenton’s soft lips. “I already have what I want.”

He squeezed me tighter. “Come on. You know you want to.”

“No, thank you. Not anytime soon.”

Trenton’s face fell for just a second, and then he winked and grabbed my keys. “I’m going to start the Jeep. Be right back.”

He slipped on his coat and jogged outside.

Hazel came to the front and shook her head. “Trenton loves you, kaibigan. Like, the deep, forever kind. I’ve never seen him like this, doing this shit for girls.” She was nearly cooing every word.

I turned to her. “What did you just call me?”

She smiled. “I called you ‘friend,’ bitch. In Tagalog. You have a problem with that?”

I laughed and pushed her, barely hard enough to budge her tiny frame. “No. I have a problem with the fact that I’m almost out of cigarettes, and I don’t want to spend the money for another pack.”

“Then f*cking quit. It’s gross, anyway.”

“You don’t smoke?” I asked. Everyone else at the shop did, so I just assumed she would, too.

Hazel made a face. “No. And I would never date you, based on that alone. It’s disgusting. No one likes tonguing an ashtray.”

I popped a cigarette in my mouth. Trenton ran in, shivering. “Heat’s on high, baby!” He pulled the cigarette out of my mouth and kissed me, leaning me back a bit.

When he released me, I turned to Hazel. “Someone does.”

Hazel stuck her tongue out at me. “Come in early tomorrow. I’m going to start your gauges.”

“No. You’re not.”

“Yes, I am,” she lilted, walking to her room.

“You want me to drive you to the Red? I don’t want your shit head brothers showing up at your apartment. And it’s nasty out.”

“Brazil’s there, and I can handle a little snow.” There was a foot of dirty, melting mess on the ground, and the wind was brutal, but it was better than ice, and our little town was good about keeping most of the roads clear.

Trenton’s cheeks and nose were bright red, and he was still shivering. “Brazil can’t handle your brothers,” he said, frowning.

I giggled, and grabbed my heavy black coat and purse. “Thank you for starting the Jeep. Stay in here where it’s warm.”