by Alley Ciz
Using the space between her thumb and forefinger she pushed at the top of his elbow joint.
“Now this move isn’t made for standing but my brother wanted to make sure I knew how to defend myself properly from assholes like you… so he showed me how to put the right amount of pressure on the joint to do it while standing. So you see…” She pushed harder on the joint. “All it takes is a little more pressure and snap,”— she made a popping sound with the p— “goes your elbow.”
She could see his jaw clench as he bit back his retort, her threat finally clicking inside his alcohol-addled brain. A smile pulled the corner of her mouth up.
“So, you see you have two choices… Door number one, you apologize to both me and my friend, or door number two, you keep being an asshat and I push until I hear that satisfying snap.”
She gave another push for emphasis.
“What’s it gonna be?”
It didn’t take long for the guy to make what was probably his first good decision in a good long while.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” His words came out so fast they were tripping over themselves to get out.
Once his arm was released from her grip some of his bravado came back. She prepared to defend herself against his next move. She knew the type, if a guy had no qualms about sexually harassing a woman, they usually fell on the wrong side of the moral line when it came to putting their hands on them in other ways either.
Before things had the chance to escalate, a deep voice cut through the tension.
“Is everything alright over here?”
She looked toward the sound of the voice. And looked up, and up, and up to see the face of the curious stranger. Being five-ten, she wasn’t used to having to look up very far for most guys, but this guy managed to tower over her.
His voice was sexy enough, and it looked like the rest of him was equally delicious given the way his black t-shirt clung to his muscular torso and strained against his bulging biceps. Her gaze continued its path up his body to his face, passed a strong jaw clenched in anger and full lips she wouldn’t mind feeling pressed against hers.
Damn he’s tall. She thought as her neck canted back on an angle she generally didn’t experience.
As if the rest of the package wasn’t distracting enough, than there were his eyes, a magnificent electric blue, one would normally only see on a crayon, framed by thick dark lashes. They were made all the more striking against his dark olive complexion.
When she was finished taking in his ridiculously attractive appearance she realized there was something familiar about him. Very familiar.
Oh shit! He’s Gage James.
Her mind screamed at her as it made the connection. Any person with even the most basic knowledge of mixed martial arts would recognize Gage James, and as the staff physical therapist at a professional MMA gym, she certainly was anything but basic. But that wasn’t the reason she recognized him.
No, the honor went to the fact that Gage James was her celebrity crush. Some of her closest friends were the biggest names in the NHL, but no, true to her upbringing her celebrity crush was of course a fighter— even if she had a personal motto not to date one.
“Oh shit! You’re Gage James.” Clearly her brain/mouth filter thing was not working and she felt her cheeks heat in embarrassment from her outburst. She felt a little better when she saw his eyes crinkle in amusement and a smile start to play at his lips. Those same lips she had imagined what they would feel like on her body, more times than she could count through the years.
Don’t judge. He’s hella hot.
“Yes I am. And you are?”
“Raquel.” Crap! Why the hell did I say my legal name? Get your shit together Rock. She cleared her throat to get rid of the squeak she heard. “But my friends call me Rocky.” There much better. See? You do remember how to flirt.
“It’s very nice to meet you Rocky.”
Oh, he called me Rocky. That had to be a good thing. Right? She also liked the way her name sounded rolling off his tongue.
“You’ve got some moves.”
Oh my god. Is he flirting with me?
She swallowed, her cheeks heating as she realized this professional fighter witnessed her using a submission move in public. Sure her brother taught her well, but this was Gage-Freaking-James we were talking about. The man had won five of his fights with the move alone.
“Umm… thanks.”
Who the hell is timid person? Where the hell are your balls Rock.
It was never good when she started talking to herself in the third person.
A quick glance to Becky revealed she was thinking along the same lines.
“So Rocky, where does a girl learn to—” The rest of his sentence was cut off when Cindy, their usual cocktail waitress cut in.
“Hey Rocky, Jimmy wanted me to let you know that your tab for tonight is taken care of,” she informed the girls.
“Why would he do that?” Her brow furrowed in confusion.
“He said he should have had the guys keep a closer eye on them and it’s his fault things escalated.” Cindy explained as two bouncers escorted the drunks away.
“No. Absolutely not.” She shook her head for emphasis. “Where is he?”
Cindy pointed toward the bar in the front room. “Behind the bar like usual.”
She followed the direction for Cindy’s finger and narrowed her eyes when she spotted Jimmy where Cindy said she would find him. She leaned in to give the waitress a quick hug goodbye. “Don’t worry about it Cin, I’ll clear this up with Jimmy. Thanks for everything tonight. We’ll see you next week.”
With a nod of her head to Becky, she gestured for them to make their way to the bar. With regret coursing through her over not being able to talk to Gage longer, she turned to look up at him again.
“You have no idea how awesome it was for me to meet you.” She tried really hard not to gush. “But we have to go deal with this drama. But seriously so awesome,” her words strung together in a rush.
She felt a sense of disappointment over not being able to spend more time with her crush, but in the end, she knew it was probably for the best she avoid temptation. The last thing she needed was to do something she couldn’t take back with the only fighter able to make her break her own rule.
Using what had transpired as an excuse, she beat a hasty retreat.
Acknowledgments
I can’t even being to express how thankful I am for each and every person who helped my this dream of mine a reality. Now I know how actors feel trying to give their Oscar speeches, hopefully I don’t miss anyone. If I need I’m sorry and I still love you, just you know, mommy brain.
I’ll start with the Hubs who has to deal with my lack of sleep, putting off laundry *because… laundry* and helping to hold the fort down with our three crazy mini royals. You truly are my best friend. Also, I’m sure he would want me to make sure I say thanks for all the hero inspiration, but it is true. Keep that wink game strong.
For my parents for supporting me and helping make it possible to follow my dream.
Like I said before for Maria and Renee for letting me badger them with endless questions while I tried to learn and navigate my way through this self-pub thing.
For my cousins Megan and Melanie for sticking with me and pushing me to write more, even when it was months or years before they got new words from me. Jake and Jordan’s story never would have been told without you both.
To my Beta Bitches, my OG Coven: Gemma, Jenny, Megan, Caitie, Sarah, Nova, Andi, and Dana. Our group chat gives me life.
To Jenny (again) my PA, without her I wouldn’t be organized enough for any of my releases to happen.
For LJ Shen for *unknowingly* being the catalyst to me finding most of my Beta Bitches and my PA thanks to a group chat formed from her reader group. Bow down to the Queen.
For Ben my editor for helping me learn how to be a better writer and helping me come up with some of my favorite changes to Power Play’
s story.
To Gemma (again) for going from my proofreader to fangirl and being so invested in my characters stories to threaten my life *lovingly of course*
To Dawn for giving Power Play it’s final spit shine.
To my real life squad for giving me the memories and constant source of inspiration needed to to throw a fictional twist on.
To Michelle and my street team for being the best pimps ever.
To every blogger and bookstagrammer that took a chance on a new author and read my words and wrote about them. Without you only like 10 people would know about Power Play or me.
Thank you to all the authors in the indie community for your support and answering ALL of the questions I had and will continue to have. Without you all this wouldn’t have happened.
To my fellow Romance Junkies in my Coven, for coming on this journey with me before even reading a word I wrote, you are the real MVPs.
And, of course, to you my fabulous reader, for picking up my book and giving me a chance. Without you I wouldn’t be able to live my dream of bringing to life the stories the voices in my head tell me.
Lots of Love,
Alley
Also by Alley Ciz
BTU Alumni Series
Power Play
Tap Out- Coming September 9th
Sweet Victory- Coming November 11th
About the Author
Alley Ciz is an indie author of Contemporary/New Adult, Rom-Com, Sports Romances.
She's a stay at home mom to 3 amazing and crazy mini royals, a 95lb lab, and let's face it on some days her hubby is her 4th kid... But to be fair she totally loves him a a lot.
When she's not corralling her crazy mini royals she can be found writing the stories the voices in her head tell her. Caffeine is a staple in her daily diet since she does most of her writing late at night when the rest of her house is asleep, usually with her trusty dog Buke (short for Beukeboom reluctantly named after a NY Ranger even though she's a NJ Devils fan all the way. Is it any surprise she writes sports romances?
Pizza and mac-n-cheese are major food groups and she is a proud Potterhead and superhero buff.
She is a complete romance junkie and can always be found reading or listening to a book.
