Page 69 of Unexpected Shot
Maddox
It was insane! One minute they were arguing, then everything went eerily quiet, then Shelby’s jumping on Beau’s back and beating the shit out of him.
Beau
She didn’t beat the shit out of me.
Asher
Not what it looked like on the television, my guy. It looks like you got your ass kicked by Shelby.
My head falls back, hitting the headboard of my hotel bed. The movement doesn’t cause me to spill the glass of whiskey I poured—thank God. I need every drop of the brown liquid to help me figure out what the fuck happened today.
Or forget.
Honestly? Ineed to do both.
Beau
It looked worse on television than it did in real life.
Maddox
Nope. False. I’ve now seen it through both mediums, and I can attest that it was worse in real life. But there is the video I took on my phone if you want to see a third option.
Beau
Delete that. Now.
Theo
Don’t you dare! Send it immediately.
Maddox
I’ll do it in a separate chat. I don’t want Beau punching me like he did Chad.
Asher
Smart. Quite the hook there, Devereaux.
I regret a lot about today’s events. Playing more hungover than I’ve ever played before. Snapping at Shelby multiple times for literally no reason other than my sour mood and how drunk I let us get last night. Opening my mouth and swallowing that bug. Not being able to get my head on straight at any point of the day. But what I don’t regret, and I don’t care if the tour fines me for, is punching Chad.
I did it once. I did it twice. I’d do it again just to see the fucker cry again.
I can’t believe he showed up today. He’s always had gall, but today was a new level. I thought after our run-in last night he’d be wise enough to stay away. Apparently not. And fucking with her clubs? That was the last straw.
Theo
What did Chad do to deserve the punch? Mind you, whatever your answer is, I’m on your side. I’ve never liked him. Definitely not Poker Club material.
Asher
If he ever showed up in the bakery, I’d poison his dough. Guy is a royal asshat.
They aren’t wrong about that. I figured out that Chad wasn’t a good friend pretty early on, but he was just always there, part of the crowd, and my life. It wasn’t until I started hanging out with Theo and Asher, and now Maddox, that I realized some guys—specifically Chad—weren’t the people I needed in my life anymore. A hard but valuable truth to learn at thirty-eight years old.
He’s all about status. Name. Wanting to be on who’s who lists and thinks it’s a badge of honor to smoke cigars in the country club with millionaires and celebrities. The problem is, he could never be that guy on his own, so he had to manufacture a way to make himself part of that circle by being a shitty golf coach and a worse caddy.
