Ruined: Loving An Alpha Male(92)

He jogged off, leaving Maxine standing in front of us.

“Good morning, you guys. Ready for some golf?”

“Oh yeah. We haven’t had a lot of time to get together on the tee, so this should be fun,” AB told her.

“How long have you played?” She looked at Marc.

AB and Marc looked at each other, and I smiled.

She knew what they were thinking, and she said, “I know that you are Marc and that he’s Mason.”

“Seriously, how can you tell?” AB asked.

She shrugged. “I just can. Besides, you two really look slightly different now that he’s let himself go.” She pointed at me, and my smile dropped.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I asked.

“Sorry to keep you guys waiting. I’ll see you later, babe.”

Cory gave Max a quick kiss, and my anger started flaring up again… but it wasn’t because he kissed her.





Chapter 17

Maxine

I lied to myself last night, thinking I could handle this. Seeing Mason again and being this close to him is doing something to me that I hate. It’s been years since his coward ass dumped me. Now after all the tears, self-loathing, and misery, all that seems to be forgotten as my body started to react to just being near him.

When I finally arrived at the hotel, I couldn’t wait to see Kat. I haven’t seen her since she buried her mom, and even before then I missed her terribly. She was the only family I had left—the only one that truly loved me and I her—and we needed each other now more than ever. So I decided I would move back to Dallas. I finally got myself settled in the new apartment. We got together, and Cory was nice enough to drive down here with me.

Well, I’m sure he wouldn’t have said no, considering we were starting to see each other. It’s been a long time since I’ve dated anyone. Mason was the last, and I vowed to never date again. Cory is a very nice guy. When we were growing up, we used to always have fun. He was originally from Arkansas. When I would go with Kat and her mom to her aunt’s house, we used to always hang out with Cory and his friends. When I first moved to Dallas after my grandfather died, Cory and I went out a few times.

I knew he liked me, and I liked him too. I just never thought of him as anything other than a friend. When I came down for Kat’s mom’s funeral, he finally sat me down and told me how he had feelings for me for a very long time and wanted to see where this could go. I told him I came with a lot of baggage, and I couldn’t promise anything. We would have to take this day by day. So far, it’s been cool. We haven’t slept together, but we kiss, and I enjoyed kissing him.

Cory is a good looking guy; he’s tall and slim, but built. He wears his hair cut close to his head—almost like a shadow—and he keeps his facial hair trimmed and low. His complexion is chocolate and smooth, and he has a great smile and an even better personality.

He’s treated me very well so far, and I have to say these last few weeks have been cool. He came to Philly with me and spent a few weeks helping me pack my things and just getting to know me more. We did some karaoke at the bar, and Mimi and the girls loved him. We thought all the ladies that came in would swoon when they heard his smooth vocals, and he didn’t disappoint.

Tiny had finally moved on from Alex’s death. She was starting to have feelings for him and was looking to really get him to only focus on her. She wanted to be his one and only and couldn’t wait until he came back from Miami to make that happen. She was turned off with dating for a while but met a really fantastic guy and is engaged to be married. I promised I would come back to be in her wedding next year, so I’m looking forward to that.

What I’m really looking forward to is starting over. I got a great job at a prominent sports rehabilitation practice in Dallas in the Los Colinas area. I did manage to get a job at DeWitt Rehabilitation in Philly, and I was there for a few years before I decided to relocate. My boss was really good about the decision to move. He even hooked me up with a recommendation and a reference to a friend of his that works with most, if not all, of the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks players. Dr. Robert Lansing has been in business for decades. He only works with certain athletes personally and continues to work with them even after they retire. He took one look at my references and my skills, and he hired me with no problem. I haven’t decided if I would go back to school. DeWitt let me do a lot more than his nurses that work for him. That could be because my extensive knowledge and abilities really spoke for themselves. I’ve been doing this for a very long time. I have the knack to study the person I’m working on to make sure I do everything I can to get them back in shape.