Kace’s jaw worked back and forth, as he refrained from challenging me. I knew he wanted to know what was going on with Goldie, but I wasn’t about to bring it up in front of Lyla; it wasn’t her concern.

“What’s this all about?” Lyla asked, as she crossed her legs and popped a piece of gum in her mouth. Her lips smacked together, as if she was in some kind of fifties movie, ready to strike a deal.

“Lyla, I wanted to talk to you about your future here.”

“There is no future,” she interrupted. “I spoke with Marv; I will be heading back to Kitten’s Castle starting in a week. “

“Lyla, I’m going to be honest with you.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

Her confidence was slightly annoying to me. From the way she carried herself, I knew this conversation wasn’t going to make much of a difference.

“You have no future at Kitten’s Castle. You need to think about what your next step is going to be. You need to take advantage of the education I’m offering and make something of yourself.”

“I don’t need it,” she said, while crossing her arms.

“The fuck you don’t,” Kace mumbled to the side.

“Excuse me?”

The tension that was bubbling between Kace and Lyla just boiled over as Lyla turned in her chair and stared Kace down. His body language read, don’t fuck with me, but Lyla could care less. The woman was fearless, just like my Little One.

“Don’t be fucking stupid, Lyla.”

“Oh, the big man has an opinion,” Lyla said, while mocking Kace’s stance. “Frankly, Kace, why the hell would I take advice from you? If anyone needs to get their life together, it’s you. You walk around here, stomping around like some stupid petulant giant, making every room you walk in quickly ice over from the black that is shooting from your heart. You think I need help, turn that fucking finger around, because if anyone needs help, it’s you.”

“You know nothing about me.”

“You’re right,” Lyla agreed. “And that’s because you’re so shut off that you don’t let anyone in. All you care about is working out and having sex with Pepper.”

Kace’s hand ran over his face at Lyla’s statement. So, Kace and Pepper were still fucking? Interesting.

“Seems like you’re jealous,” Kace said, once he’d most likely counted to ten, since he looked like he was about to explode.

“There is no way in hell I would be jealous over you. Yeah, you’re a good fuck, I’ll give you that, but that’s all you are. You’re a hollow shell of a man, Kace. There is nothing to you other than muscles. There is no substance; why would I be jealous…?”

“Enough!” I said, while slamming my hand on my desk. I stood up and looked down at Lyla. I pointed to the door and said, “You may leave. Pack your things and leave. I refuse to have you talk about my friend in such a negative way. You may be Goldie’s friend, but Kace is mine, and I will not tolerate you bashing him. You have no clue what he’s been through…”

“Jett,” Kace warned, barely looking at me. “I don’t need you fighting my fights.”

“That’s fine,” Lyla said, as she stood up and started unbuttoning her dress shirt. She took it off and tossed it at Kace, along with her heels. “Here’s my uniform, I don’t need this place. Good luck with everything.”

“Lyla, don’t do this,” Kace said, while looking down at the ground, not able to even make eye contact with her.

She stood there, in a bra and thong, and grabbed Kace by the face so he had to look at her. The heat that came from his eyes when he looked her up and down was unmistakable; Kace wanted her. Anyone could see it.

“Don’t tell me what to do. You’re not my protector; you’re nothing to me. You made that quite clear.”

“You’re the one who made it clear,” Kace shot back.

To say I was confused was an understatement. I knew Kace was having problems with Lyla, but not such emotional problems…issues that clearly were cutting deep between them.

“I made it clear? The minute you shut me out was the minute you told me you want nothing to do with me. I offered to be there for you, Kace. I offered to talk, but you don’t want to. How am I supposed to stick around after that?”

“It’s not that easy,” Kace gritted out.

“How convenient for you,” Lyla responded, while placing her hands on her hips.

Kace shot out of his chair, dropping Lyla’s shirt and shoes, and said, “You think this is convenient? Living with this guilt, with this black cloud hovering over my fucking head every God damn day? It’s not.”

“What guilt? You see, I have no clue what you’re talking about. How am I supposed to have any kind of relationship with you if you won’t talk to me? I should have known this was going to be a bad idea. I told myself time and time again this was a bad idea, but Goldie needed my help.” Lyla shook her head and stepped away from Kace before looking at me. “Jett, I’m sorry for insulting your friend. Thank you for taking care of my girl, for making her feel special, and I appreciate the opportunity you’ve given me.”

She started to walk away when I called after her, “Lyla, wait. Please, don’t leave. I apologize for my outburst. I still want to talk about open opportunities for you. I would like to help, if you will let me.”

Lyla turned around and gripped the molding of the door frame. “Jett, I appreciate your offer, but like I said, I can handle myself. I’ve been handling my own life ever since I can remember. I will be fine. Take care of Goldie for me; she deserves your kind heart.”

She started to walk away, and I watched Kace battle with himself as to what he should do. His mouth opened for a second, but nothing came out. Instead of chasing after her, he sat back down in his chair and rested his elbows on his thighs as his hands pulled on his hair.

I watched, as the man I’ve known since I was young, the one person who knows my demons and has stuck by my side, wrestled with his own demons, his own thoughts and concerns.

After giving him a little bit of time, I asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Does it look like I want to talk about it?” Kace answered back.

“Do you ever want to talk about it?”

“Is this one of those conversation where we only ask each other questions?”

“I don’t know, is it?”

Shaking his head, a small smirk peeked through his lips, but was briefly wiped away when he sat back in his chair.

“She wants to talk, she wants to know what happened to me, and I don’t want to tell her.”

“Why not?” I asked, wondering if the man in front of me would ever move forward and forget about his past, if he would ever forgive himself for what he did.

“Why not? Jett, I don’t want anyone knowing what happened. If I told her, she would judge me, she would treat me differently, and she wouldn’t look at me the way she looks at me now.”

“You don’t know that. It seems like you both have rough pasts. It might be good for both of you.”

Shaking his head at me, Kace laughed. “You fail to realize something, Jett, I will never get the chance to be happy again; I don’t deserve it.”

“Kace, what happened was so long ago…”

“Yes, but do you think that little girl will ever forget losing her dad?” Kace shot back, now leaning forward and threatening to get in my face. “I took away a father…”

“It wasn’t your fault,” I said sharply. “He provoked you, he got in your face, and he started the fight; you warned him…”

“I should have backed away, Jett. I knew better; I should have backed away.”

Once again, we were at a standstill.

I hated seeing my best friend like this, distraught, hurting, and angry. I remember when he was on top of his game, when he was winning match after match, when he was one of the best boxers in the country. He was happy, he was satisfied with himself, and he had a spark of life inside of him.

Now, all I saw was a black soul, floating around, just living a day to day life…never looking toward the future.