“We’ll be outside,” Noah said before Abel could respond. Roni was already down the hall. “Outside.” Noah motioned with his head and walked out before Abel.

Abel followed, knowing he was in for one of Noah lectures. Noah just better keep it short because Abel was in no mood for anything lengthy. Noah walked all the way down the porch stairs and onto the sidewalk; obviously, whatever he planned on saying to Abel, he wanted it as far away from Roni’s earshot as possible.

As soon as he stopped walking, he turned to Abel with a purpose but spoke in a lowered voice. “First of all, if you think seeing her with other men is something you’re gonna get used to, let me tell you right now that you’re out of your mind. It’s only gonna get worse each time. And I don’t think I need to tell you that this couldn’t be happening at a worse time. You’re in training for the biggest fight of your life, man. You really wanna blow it by having this shit messing with your head?”

“It’s not.”

Abel didn’t even know why he bothered to try to sound convincing. He knew Noah wasn’t buying anything from him now.

“Are you kidding me? You don’t think I’ve noticed all week how off your training has been?”

“I told you. The closer the fight gets, the heavier the hype and paparazzi are getting.” And again he didn’t know why he bothered. The bored look on Noah face said it all. “It’s what I’ve been trying to adjust to. It threw me for a loop this past week, but I’ll get back in the swing of things.”

“Really?” Noah crossed his arms in front of him. “So if that dude—the one she kissed,” Noah emphasized that last word as if it were necessary to have Abel instantly lit again, “comes back here right now and offers to take her home, maybe even to spend the night, and she sends you packing, you’d be cool with that?”

Swallowing hard, Abel glanced away. The thought of Nellie kissing the guy alone was enough to jumpstart his already wounded heart and had his nostrils flaring. Noah was just being an ass**le now by taking it a step further and suggesting that maybe Nellie was sleeping with the guy. Abel wouldn’t—couldn’t even pretend he’d be cool with that.

To his relief, noise at Noah’s front door got their attention. Roni and Nellie stood by the door, still talking. Nellie held her shoes in her hands and appeared to be reassuring that Roni she was fine.

“Either you come clean and tell her how much this bothers you—try to change things so they’re not as casual as she seems to think they are since she’s obviously still seeing other guys,” Noah warned in a hushed but urgent voice, “or you end this shit now. I don’t care what you say, Ayala. This is already making you crazy, and it’s gonna f**k everything up, not just any kind of delusional friendship you think you might still be able to handle once this is all over but this fight. You could seriously get hurt in that ring if your head’s not all there.” Noah took a step further as Nellie started down the long porch toward the steps. “Are you listening to—?”

“I heard you!” Abel snapped through his own clenched teeth.

The image of Nellie kissing that guy was already making him breathe hard again. Noah made some excellent points, but he had no idea how impossible both his suggestions were. For one, infuriatingly, it was true. Obviously, Nellie was still great with this arrangement since after the night and morning they’d had, she got all dressed up to meet with a guy she was on kissing goodbye terms with—more than just an acquaintance. If he did what Noah said he should, tell her how he felt about this, she may suggest they take a step back and slow things down. He may very well be forced to do the other impossible thing Noah had suggested: end this—stay away from her—something he didn’t think he was capable of doing anymore.

He turned to Noah just as Nellie made her way down the porch steps. “I’ll handle this. Don’t worry.”

~*~

Nellie waited with baited breath as Abel, who didn’t look at all thrilled, walked around the car after letting her in the passenger side. She’d forced herself the entire day to look at the photos of him and Rachel on her phone as often as she got the chance. The guilt she felt for being out with Sam was unreasonable. She and Abel had never agreed to anything exclusive, and those photos of him with his juice bar girl were painful reminders of that.

She hadn’t even realized that Abel was there until Roni mentioned telling Noah that she was giving Nellie a ride. Hearing his voice had been enough to choke her up. The alcohol mixed with all the agonizing she’d done all day over those damn photos had really done a number on her. But hearing him say he’d take her home—that he was spending the night at her place—so matter-of-factly, knowing she’d been out all day with another man, had finally done her in. Claiming to be carsick and needing to throw up so she could run out of Roni’s sight before the tears really started flowing, had been her only choice.

Now she couldn’t be sure, but she sensed that he wasn’t as casually okay with this as she first thought. The memory of how he reacted to Logan in her office came to her. Was he really going to have the nerve to go all caveman on her after his sweet morning greeting with the juice girl?

“That wasn’t Logan,” he said as soon as he got in the car. “Noah thought maybe you were out with the guy from Friday night. I thought you went to the concert with Logan?”

He started up the car but was still staring at her, so she sat up straight, lifting her chin. Not that she owed him any explanations but she wouldn’t make a big deal of it. “I did go to the concert with Logan. He had an emergency and had to leave early. His friend offered to take me home and then asked me if I wanted to have brunch today.” His already outstretched brow went more severe. “Logan and I are just co-workers, nothing more.” Lifting a shoulder, she glanced away from his pressing eyes. “Sam seemed like a nice enough guy, and I had a good time with him Friday, so I figured, why not?”