Found by You (25 page)

She knew it, too.

Roxie

I didn’t think I heard what he said properly, which was why I asked him to repeat himself. Then, when he
didn’t
repeat himself, it was perfect. He didn’t have to speak out loud. He said what he had to say in our special way, and that meant more to me than anything.

He
meant more to me than anything.

I drew my fingers through his hair, the strands of dirty blond sliding between the spaces of my fingers.

“I love you, too,” I mouthed, understanding this moment for what it was. It was life changing, absolutely amazing.

I think he picked that up, too. He smiled at me with that perfect smile. Touching my hair now, he smoothed it away from my eyes with his large hand.

“Good,” he said, letting out a breath like he worried about my response. He lowered his head to me, and his mouth formed against mine. He teased my lips, tasted, and all the while he whispered, “I love you. I love you, Roxie.”

I think I was saying it back, but my mind felt lifted. Sky-high on a cloud. This guy loved me, and I loved him. It was so crazy. So crazy wonderful. I couldn’t guarantee when we finally stopped telling each other the words, finally stopped kissing. It was like we were attempting to seal the love we had. Lock it up tight and never let it go. I only knew when the clouds opened up outside, letting the sunshine back into the barn, those words was cemented. We weren’t letting go of each other. That just wasn’t happening.

He kissed my belly, gathering the clothes we tossed off beside me. “We should probably go back. My gram will be worried.”

Tipping my head back, I sighed from both his lips and the reluctance of heading back to reality. If he wanted to go, he sure wasn’t acting like it. He kissed his way up my body and stopped over one of my dark, erect nipples. His large tongue drew it in, and he continued to mess with the clothing beside me while he made me moan. He found my bra, shaking it free from the rest of our clothes. When he lifted his head from my chest, he covered my breasts with the cups, a devilish smile on his face.

I shoved his arm for getting me all hot only to put my clothes back on. He had me lean up and took my arms, helping me put my bra on with extreme care, light fingers and a warm touch. No guy had ever done that for me. But Griffin Chandler wasn’t like any other guy. As he helped me dress, I worried for him. I didn’t want him being with me to ruin him, but I couldn’t let him go. We’d establish that now.

“Let me handle Tanya,” he said, as if knowing my thoughts. He buttoned the last button of my shirt, covering my breasts. “I can probably reason with her. You won’t have to worry about it. In fact, d
on’t
worry about it. I’ll take care of it.”

I hated that he wanted to handle this without me. He probably felt he had to after what I almost did to us. Ending us. The guilt weighed upon me heavily. I’d let Tanya get the best of me and hurt Griffin in the process. I had to make this up to him someway. I honestly didn’t think him simply talking to Tanya would help. That night in my apartment with her showed me so many things. The girl played hardball, played dirty. She wouldn’t respond to reason. Even if it was from him. We’d have to go at this from a different angle. Something she would respond to. Something as hardcore as what she was capable of…

I waited for Griffin to dress then stood when he did. He’d gotten everything back on but his shirt at this point. He found it over by the wall we made love on the first time and slipped it on. My hat was next to it. He picked it up and tapped it on the top of my head with a smile.

Searching, I found his baseball cap. He lowered to my height so I could put it on him. After he disposed the condoms we used, he seemed like he was ready to leave, but I grabbed his arm. He looked at me questionably.

I wrestled with my hands. “Do you think I could try to fix this? This thing with Tanya?”

He turned completely, tilting his head. “How?”

I didn’t know exactly yet, but I knew I could come up with something. If I thought hard enough... “I’m asking you to trust me. Let me figure it out. Let me make this up to you. I need to after what I almost did to us.”

He came closer to me. Letting out a breath, he placed his hand on my cheek. “You don’t have anything to prove. I’m sure if I just talk to her—”

“I don’t think that will work, Griffin. I wish it were that simple. You didn’t see her that night. She feels like she lost to me. She was out for blood. Once she finds out I didn’t go through with letting you go…” I shook my head. “There will be no stopping her. She’ll come after you.”

He sighed, placing his hands on his hips. “Well, what are you thinking is better?”

“She seems like the type of person that will only respond with action. Being aggressive.”

“So what do you plan to do? Kick her ass?” He gave a short laugh. I must have not responded quickly enough because his face fell. He lifted his hands. “Roxie, I was just joking. Yeah, she needs her tail whipped, but I’m not letting you.”

I was the one who laughed now. “I’m not going to kick her ass.”

Though, I had to admit that didn’t sound like such a bad idea.
And
if I got the whole thing on tape, she’d definitely back off…

My eyes flashed and an idea popped into my head. The solution to this problem was so simple I was surprised it took me this long to see it.

Griffin eyed me curiously. “What?”

I grabbed his hand, finally feeling we just might have some hope after all. “She seems to like blackmailing people. I think maybe she needs a taste of her own medicine.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Roxie

The short weekend with Griffin’s family wrapped up way too quickly for my liking. I wasn’t ready to go back to class, or the Midwestern chill, and I wanted to spend more time with the family, who not only made me love my boyfriend even more for the man he turned out to be because of them, but also provided an environment that allowed me to open up to Griffin and share things with him that only brought us closer together.

Griffin’s grandma told me I was only allowed to leave Texas if I promised to come back soon. I had no problem making that promise, and that made Griffin happy. He had a strong bond with his family, one I felt the instant I was around them all. I even got a smile from Griffin’s dad before we left. At least, I thought it was one. His dad was definitely hard to read. The man was more of an absorber, a watcher. He took it all in around him and expressed himself through action. Like at breakfast the morning of Griffin and my flight. Griffin’s dad not only sat next to me, but also helped me use the coffee press pot that was foreign to me. He made sure I had the thing down before he even continued the conversation he was having with a family member next to him, gruffly giving instructions to me behind his blond goatee. I saw that as a sign. A definite good one.

By the time Griffin and I left, I think I understood why Tanya didn’t like his family. They were different from her. Just as I was. Therefore, she found them off-putting. The girl needed a lesson in tolerance and acceptance. I didn’t know if what I planned would give that to her, but I did know she’d be put in her place for threatening Griffin and me.

I told Griffin about what I had in mind, and not only did he think it was a good idea, but he wanted to help. He couldn’t really do much, but he could figure out where she’d be for the next week. Her schedule that is. He told me he’d flat out ask her, and I didn’t know if that was the best approach. It could have gotten her suspicious. To my surprise, she told him right away. When she asked him why (he told me the girl actually asked the question with a flirty grin), he simply said, “You’ll see.”

Her willingness to cooperate had to do with what she believed Griffin and my relationship status was. Griffin and me strategically didn’t make a show of our relationship after coming back, and with Griffin approaching her out of the blue about her schedule, she must have assumed he had plans for the two of them. Needless to say, Griffin and
I
had plans, and when we figured out she had an evening class in a more dormant area of campus, Operation: Give Her a Taste of Her Own Medicine, was set in motion.

*

“Roxie? What are you doing here?” Clare squinted at me standing in the hallway of her dorm.

It was completely dark inside her single room dormitory despite the fact it was early evening. I wasn’t surprised. She’d been sleeping so much, depressed in the dark.

I gripped my laptop bag. “Hey. Can I come in for a minute?”

She let me into her small space. No questions asked. My makeshift bed was still set up on the floor even though I hadn’t stayed at her place in over a week. Not since before I went to Texas with Griffin.

Clare sat on her bed, bringing her arms around her knees. She had darkness under eyes, her short hair strewn, and she was still in her bedclothes. “What’s up? Are you staying tonight?”

Even her voice sounded small. The sight was absolutely killing me. I slipped off my laptop bag, hoping to God for the best. “I want to show you something. A video.”

Her eyes twitched wide. “Of you?”

I couldn’t help the light laugh I made. My videos were actually how we met. Once I explained to her I was very much straight, we’d started the closest friendship I’d ever had with another. Well, until I met Griffin.

I shook my head at her question. After retrieving my laptop, I inched my way backwards on her bed until I was beside her. I propped it open on my lap. “No. Something else. I know it won’t fix things, but I hope it helps.”

She eyed my screen curiously as I booted the computer up. I had the appropriate file saved on my desktop so I got the video going quickly.

“Now, don’t be scared. I swear to God they didn’t hurt her,” I said before clicking start.

Despite my warning, the initial scream startled Clare at my side. That really was all there was. Screaming. It was faint, in the distance of the image on my screen. The scene in front of us was dark with a single sidewalk only lit by a lamplight. The screaming got closer, louder, and Clare turned to me eyes wide.

“Who is that?” she asked, turning to the screen still active with only sound not movement. “What is this?”

I rubbed my arm nervously. “Well, the screaming is Tanya. Griffin’s ex.”

Her brow jumped. “His ex? Why? What’s going on? Why is she screaming?”

I bit my lip. “Because our friends, the Vixens, are chasing her down the sidewalk.”

Clare looked mortified at this point, so I felt the need to pause the footage and explain before her imagination ran wild. Telling her still wasn’t any easier, though. What happened at the bake sale was because of Griffin and my relationship. That would always sit heavy on my heart. I knew the two of us did nothing wrong, but it still happened because of us.

I turned her way. “It was Tanya who played that footage of you and Destiny at the union.”

The information drained Clare’s face of color. She swept her hand across her forehead. “Why? What did I do to her? Why would she—”

I placed my hand on her shoulder, rubbing. “It had nothing to do with you. She did it to get to me. She attempted to blackmail me. Get me to break up with Griffin.”

Her head shot my way, her cheeks shooting up in color. “Well, you didn’t give into her, did you?”

Clare’s pure heart put her in her own league. It was so wide, so open. Just like that she forgot about herself. She was more concerned about me even though she’d been dragged into this situation unfairly.

I wrapped my arms around her. “Griffin made me fight. He’s so worth it, Clare. I had to for him. He wouldn’t let me give up.”

Her small arms went around me, binding at the knuckles. “Good. I knew there was something about you guys.” She pulled back and put her hands on my cheeks. She had the first smile I’d seen on her in a while. “Don’t ruin it.”

I had no plans to. I refused to let anything break me anymore and fixing this for Clare was one of those steps I needed to take in order to retrieve my own power back, to strip away the negative and overcome all obstacles I let define me in the past. Tanya was one of those obstacles, and I was no longer going to let any more negativity into my life.

“I won’t,” I told her. “And I don’t think his ex will be bothering us anymore either. I had our girls…” I tilted my head from side to side, smiling. “
Talk
to her, get her to come around, and I’m pretty sure they got her to see the light.”

She dropped her hands from my face then curled up on my side, staring at the screen with eyes that were finally getting back some of that brightness she used to have.

“Let’s see this,” she said.

The honor was all mine. The faint screaming started again when I clicked the mouse. Clare watched the empty sidewalk before she asked, “Who recorded this?”

Rather meekly, I raised my hand. Although, if I was being honest, I was quite proud. “I was in a bush. The girls wouldn’t let me help. They said they’d handle it. We still needed a camera person though, so I stepped in.”

Clare’s eyebrows narrowed. “Why?”

“So she can’t say it never happened.” I winked.

Suddenly activity appeared on the screen. A blonde in heeled boots and a skirt, Tanya, ran across my monitor. She went out of the shot, but backed up into it slowly. She spun around, seemingly for no reason, but then she was surrounded. A pack of girls wearing roller skates, fishnets, and tiny shorts rolled around her. They also had on one other accessory.

Hockey masks.

Clare popped her hand to her mouth. “Oh my God. What are they going to do?”

I patted the air. “Just watch. Like I said, they don’t hurt her. The masks are just to conceal their identities. We couldn’t risk her turning them in. She’d use anything on them against them if she had it.”

Clare’s jaw dropped. “What about that?”

She was referring to the clear leader of this group, the one with full, voluminous curls I was always quite jealous of. Shelia rolled forward on her brightly colored skates. She palmed a wooden baseball bat looking like a force to be reckoned with.