Everlasting Sin (Everlasting Sin #1)(20)
Author: J.S. Cooper

“I will never forget.” I pulled him towards me and kissed him hard, wrapping my arms and legs around him. I could hear his heart beating next to mine, and I allowed myself to melt into the moment.

***

That night had been the only night we’d ever made love. It had been the last night we’d ever spent with each other. I could still remember it like it was yesterday. I still held it close to me. I had hoped that the next time I saw Hudson we could pretend like nothing had ever happened. We could pretend like everything that had happened was a dream. I’d hoped we could go back to being friends. I knew that I could never hope for us to talk about love again. Not after our betrayal. What we had done was wrong and we had both paid for it. I just hadn’t realized I would be paying for it for the rest of my life.

Chapter 9

Hudson

Present Day

I walked into the gym feeling tense. It had been a couple of days since I had seen Riley and she hadn’t come back, but I wasn’t hopeful that I could avoid her forever. Not now that she was writing an article about the championships. I knew that I was probably going to see her again, but I didn’t want to. Well, that was a lie. I did want to, but I didn’t want to want to.

I pulled out my ringing phone as I walked to the weights. “Hey, what’s up?”

“How’s it going?” Luke sounded eager as he gushed down the phone. “Nick says you’re awesome, which I already knew of course.”

“It’s fine. What do you want?”

“Is that any way to speak to your best friend?”

I sighed. “I’m busy.”

“Well sorry, Mr. Trump.” He paused. “I saw Clara’s mom today at the grocery store.”

“And?”

“She was using food stamps.”

“Oh?”

“She had to put some food back because she didn’t have enough.” He continued. “I felt bad for her, but I only had twenty dollars. Nothing I could do, you know?”

“Yeah.” I bit my lower lip. “I guess she still hasn’t found a job.”

“I guess she planned on Clara always looking after her.”

“Yeah.” I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall. “That was the plan.”

“Anyways, I thought I would let you know.”

“Yeah.”

“Just in case you were thinking of backing out,” he continued. “You know, Clara would—”

“I gotta go, Luke.” I hung up the phone angrily and quickly walked to the locker room.

I slowly opened the door, wishing that I could wake up one day and be out of this nightmare. I paused as I opened the door and heard the other guys talking.

“She has a tight body,” I heard Justin say. “I’d love to bend her over and…”

“I’d take her in the shower.” Channing sounded gruff. “I’d f**k her so hard that she’d be begging me to stop.”

“She’d never f**k you.” Justin laughed. “She’s all over me.”

“She was staring at my c**k yesterday like she wanted to go down on me right then and there.”

“You wish, Channing.” A couple of the guys started laughing. I could feel my heart racing as I listened to the guys.

“No, Riley wishes.” He laughed. “She’s begging for me to take her.”

I felt something in me explode as I heard him say her name. I rushed forward and grabbed hold of his collar, and pushing him into the locker.

“What the f**k are you saying about Riley?” I snarled in his face.

“Nothing that ain’t true.” Channing looked at me with hate in his eyes.

I tightened my grip. “What were you saying?”

“I said she wants to suck on my cock,” he said slowly while licking his lips.

“Shut the f**k up, you prick.” I couldn’t stop myself, and I felt my fist hitting his face.

“Or what, pu**y?”

“Or I will f**k you up.”

I attempted to punch him again, but he blocked my fist and tried to knee me in the crotch. I pushed him back into the lockers again and brought my right hook up to his face again. He was too slow this time and took a blow to his eye. He looked at me angrily, and I felt him push me back. I tripped over the bench, and he took advantage of the fact that I was down to kick me in the ribs. He got two kicks in before I grabbed his leg and pulled him down to join me. I grabbed his face and smashed it into the ground as he kneed me in the crotch.

I didn’t feel any pain as he beat me up. All I could think about was how he’d disrespected Riley. I felt sick to my stomach that he could say such things about her and even sicker thinking about her with another man—especially him. I would kill him before I would let him touch her.

His words played around in my mind and I grew angrier. I started hitting him harder and then I felt his teeth sinking into my arm hard.

“Guys, stop!” Justin stood above us, and I could see the panic in his eyes. “Please stop! Come on, Channing. Leave Batman alone.”

“He started it,” Channing grunted out while attempting to hit me in the face. I turned over and pushed him onto his back before sitting on him and holding him down. “It’s not my fault that Riley wants me to f**k her brains out.”

“Shut up, you ass**le!” I didn’t hesitate before I punched him in the mouth.

“Pussy!” He spat blood out at me and I held his arms down.

“What did you say?” I growled at him. My eyes burned into his, and he looked up at me in hate.

“I said, it’s not my—” He began and I made to hit him again when we were interrupted.

“Stop.” Riley ran into the locker room and stared at me for a few seconds before looking away. “Please stop.”

I watched as one of the other guys followed her into the other room and sighed. I wondered what he had told her. I stared down at Channing and wondered if I could chance hitting him one last time.

“Please, Hudson, stop.” Riley’s voice was soft, and I looked at her.

I wasn’t prepared for the feeling of want and desperation that filled me as I stared at her. I was about to get up when Channing whispered up at me.

“You may have won this one, but I’ll still have her screaming out my name as I f**k her.” He grinned at me as he licked his lips, and I found my fist crashing down into his face again.

“Hudson, no!” she screamed and ran over to me. I could see tears in her eyes. “Please, stop!”