Fighting for a Second Chance (Fighting #1)

by Nikki Ash

  After a while of playing Bella spots the water fountains from earlier and asks if she can go play in them even though she didn’t bring a suit.

  “Um, Bella, we don’t have a change of clothes. You can’t get back in the car wet.”

  Of course she pouts and looks right at Cooper. Little girl is smart. Cooper gives her pout one glance and of course comes up with a solution.

  “Sure, princess. You go play and when you are done we will buy you a towel and a new outfit at a store over here.”

  She takes off like a bat out of hell racing towards the fountains as we sit on the bench watching her.

  “Coop, you can’t just give in to everything she wants. I can’t afford to just buy her a new outfit whenever she wants. I am going to take the job you are offering but I need to save for a place.”

  Cooper’s jaw begins to tick and then his face softens. “I’m glad you are taking the job because I know you want to work but Bella and you aren’t going anywhere. I make more than enough money to support both of you and I have four years of her life to make up for, that I missed out on. You don’t want to work; you don’t have to. You want to stay home and take care of Bella I am more than fine with that. Whatever money you make is yours. I don’t care what you do as long as you both are under the same roof as me. ”

  I want to get angry with him because I don’t appreciate him going all alpha-male on me but I can see it in his eyes. Guilt. He thinks he owes us because he wasn’t there.

  While still watching Bella I say, “Cooper, this whole situation, you not getting to see Bella, wasn’t either of our faults. It was a crappy situation but we are here now and you don’t need to make up for anything. I don’t want you to take care of us. I want us to be equal.”

  He looks over at me and takes me by my hand. “Baby girl, I own several training facilities left to me by my dad. I have endorsements and contracts, and I make decent money fighting. I make more than enough to take care of you, and that’s my job. Your job is to take care of our princess. My dad’s life insurance policy was several hundred thousand and I didn’t even touch it. I put it in a trust account for Bella. She can use it to go to college, get a car, buy a house, whatever she needs or wants to make sure all her dreams in life are within her reach. Please, just let me do this. Let me take care of my girls.” I glance over at him and see the need in his eyes. I can see this means a lot to him.

  I nod my head. “Ok, but don’t spoil her Coop. She needs to learn that getting handed everything isn’t reality. You, of all people know that it takes hard work to accomplish your dreams.”

  “Ok, I will try my best.” For some reason, I think he is full of it.

  We sit and watch Bella for a while and then Cooper gets up and walks over to a woman giving her a big hug. She turns to face me and I see it’s his mom! What a nice surprise.

  He calls Bella over to us and makes introductions.

  “Mom, this is my daughter, Bella Faith. Bella, this is my mom, your grandma.”

  “Oh, Liam! She is absolutely beautiful! And she looks so much like you.”

  Bella looks confused and asks, “Are you my grandma like my mom’s mom? I call her Grammy, and who’s Liam?”

  Ms. Cooper laughs and says, “Liam is your daddy’s name. All his friends call him by his last name, which is Cooper. And yes, I am your daddy’s mom so that makes me your grandma as well. You can call me grandma if you like.”

  “Ok! Cool! Now I have two grandmas! Do I get another grandpa, too? I call mommy’s daddy papa. I can call daddy’s daddy… uhhh… grandpa.”

  Everybody gets quiet and Cooper is at a loss for words as to handle this. I step in and explain the situation to Bella the best I can. Fortunately we haven’t had any deaths in our family so I haven’t had to explain death to her.

  “Angel, remember the fire that happened in our apartment?”

  “Yes, all my toys and clothes and bed went away.”

  I can hear Cooper suck in a loud breath at the same time his mom puts her hand to her heart. They can’t possibly think I would tell my daughter the whole story of that day. I rush out the words before they freak out on me.

  “That’s right. Well, your grandpa was the one who saved you that day.”

  “Wow, that was really nice of him. Can I say thank you? I was really scared and the smoke was choking my throat really badly.”

  “He knows you are thankful but he had to go to heaven. Heaven is where people go when they die.”

  Bella pouts out her lip and asks, “ Like Carl in the movie Up? When he takes the balloons and goes into the sky?”

  Leave it to my daughter to compare her grandfather’s death to a Disney Movie but she’s nailed it right on the head.

  “Yes, angel, like Carl. Grandpa went to heaven so we can’t see him or thank him but he knows we are thankful he saved you.”

  “Ok, I’m hungry. Can we eat?”

  I can hear Cooper and his mother release an audible sigh; probably thankful the conversation is over.

  Cooper jumps in and says yes, but first we have to get Bella a dry outfit. In and out of a small children’s clothing store and Bella is all dry and starving.

  We find a spot in the grass and Cooper pulls out a large blanket. We all find a place to sit and he dishes out the food: Subs, cookies, some fruit, and bottles of water for everybody.

  “Ms. Cooper I am so glad you were able to join us today.” I say to make conversation.

  “Oh dear, please call me Lauren. We are family.”

  “Ok.” I feel so blessed that Bella and I have another family member close by. I always miss my parents and brother since they live so far away.

  After we have lunch Bella is rearing to go once again. We spent the rest of the afternoon checking out a cool hedge maze, and then head to a sweet little bakery that looks like one of the playhouses. Cooper let’s Bella pick out a treat and then we walk around some of the shops until Bella is so exhausted she has Cooper carry her in his arms while she sleeps with her head resting on his shoulder.

  I can’t help but snap another photo. It’s just too darn precious not to. His mom sees me snap the picture and gives me a wink agreeing.

  We walk back to the car and say bye to his mom promising to have her over for dinner soon. Cooper puts Bella in her booster seat and she doesn’t even attempt to stir. Precious little thing is knocked out from all that playing.

  We drive home in a comfortable silence and as we are getting out Cooper comes around to my side of the vehicle and blocks me in before I can get out.

  “Thank you, baby girl.”

  I have no idea what I even did. “For what?”

  “For today. It was one of the most amazing days of my life.”

  “Um, Coop. I didn’t do or pay for anything. I was just along for the ride.”

  “No, Liz. You aren’t just along for the ride. You gave me a second chance even though I didn’t deserve it. You gave me that miracle sleeping in the back seat. You helped create priceless memories today. You gave me a family. Thank you.”

  Damn this man. I put my hands to either side of his face and give him a soft kiss on his mouth and then it just comes out… “I love you.”

  Cooper’s entire body stills and I want to back track. I want to take it back before he shuts me out. It’s not that I don’t mean it. I do. I love Cooper. I think I always have. I know realistically people don’t fall in love when they first meet but between the time we shared years ago, watching Bella grow up with his beautiful features, and listening to and watching him these past few days, I can feel it. I love this man.

  Just when I think he is going to leave me hanging he kisses me. It’s not a soft kiss like the one I gave him but it’s not rough either. It’s a beautiful sensual combination of both. His lips move over mine with ease, and his tongue smoothly slips in, and I swear this man is making love to me with his mouth. When he ends the kiss he pulls back and smiles at me with a big cheesy grin.

  “Baby girl, I love you, too
. I love you so damn much.”

  I can’t see myself but I am pretty sure I am mirroring the same cheesy ass grin on my face that he is still sporting on his.

  After Bella’s nap we spend the rest of the afternoon lounging around, playing Uno. Bella beats us every game. We order Chinese for dinner, and then I give Bella a bath while Cooper excuses himself back downstairs.

  After Bella is in bed Cooper tells me to go get into my pajamas and meet him downstairs. When I ask him why he tells me he has a surprise for me.

  I get down to the living room and find tons of candy, popcorn, and drinks spread out over the coffee table.

  “What’s all this?”

  “It’s an adult movie night,” he says as he grabs a DVD from inside the entertainment center, puts it in, and comes to sit down next to me. I grab the throw blanket from the back of the couch and spread it across our laps as I snuggle into his side.

  After skipping through the commercials the title screen comes on and I squeal in excitement like my daughter. “You remembered?” I slap him in chest and he laughs.

  “Love and Basketball is my favorite movie!”

  “I know! I remember everything you tell me, Liz. You and that girl upstairs are my world. You mean everything to me.” Swoon!

  “We might be now but I wasn’t five years ago. I told you this was my favorite back when it was just a one night stand.”

  He looks angry at what I just said and says, “First of all, it wasn’t a one night stand. It was a thirty-hour stand.”

  He is so damn adorable!

  “Second of all, I knew you were my world back then. I was just too stupid to do anything about it. I have never even spent the night with another woman. You were the first and you will be the last. Got it?”

  “Yeah, I got it,” I say as he presses play on the movie. He may not know it yet but he is quickly becoming my entire world as well.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Cooper

  I am at the gym training with Kaden but instead of training it’s more like I am getting the shit kicked out of me. I can’t focus and it’s not my fault.

  “Coop! Put your fucking hands up. How are you supposed to beat this guy if you can’t even remember how to block a simple punch?” I hate to admit it but Kaden is right; I am off my game and I blame the sexy woman who is invading my every thought. My mind goes back to that first Sunday we spent together as a family when we got home from the Town Square, after we both said I love you.

  After Bella went to sleep we watched Love and Basketball while cuddling on the couch and when it was over I had to make a few calls for the gym so Liz went to take a shower and then read one of her trashy novels on her iPad that she loves so much.

  Once I was done with my calls, I went into the room to shower as well. When I walked in, I found Liz lying on the bed in a black silk negligee looking sexy as fuck. Her legs were spread wide open and I could see her bare pussy peeking out through the silk crotch-less panties.

  I walked over to the bed and crawled across it until I was nose to nose with my woman, with a hand on either side of her head kneeling in between her sexy thighs. Leaning down on my forearms I began to kiss her neck as I trailed my lips down her collarbone stopping at each breast. I sucked on each nipple through the silk material leaving wet spots where my tongue was. She arched her back up begging for me.

  I moved down to her stomach and lifted up the silk top with only my teeth. Liz froze and tried to move my mouth away but I wasn’t having it. I knocked her hand away with my head and continued on. I could feel her tense as her stomach became exposed. “Relax, baby.”

  That’s when I saw what she was trying to hide; stretch marks. They were leftover from her pregnancy with Bella and for some crazy reason she was ashamed for me to see them. Shaking my head I thought to myself this beautiful woman has nothing to be ashamed of. She has a banging body and a few stretch marks aren’t going to turn me off. Plus these aren’t just stretch marks; these are proof that this beautiful woman carried our baby in her belly for nine months keeping her safe. She should get a fucking medal for that. I knew if I said that to her she would just shoo me off so instead I showed her what exactly her stretch marks did to me.

  As I trailed my tongue down her stomach, I stopped at the first stretch mark and gave it a soft kiss, which caused her to tense up. I moved to the next stretch mark and once again gave it a kiss. This time she didn’t tense. I continued kissing every stretch mark until I had kissed them all. From there I moved down lower stopping at the scar from when they had to take our baby out of her. I started on the left side and trailed kisses from one side to the other and I could feel her body starting to get turned on. She was squirming a bit trying to close her legs to seek relief.

  I knew from her reaction that it was time to take care of my girl. I moved my mouth lower and placed a wet kiss on the top of her mound. She jerked her hips upwards in response and I chuckled at her impatience as I took one finger and pushed it inside of her.

  “Fuck Liz, you are soaked.”

  “I know. Please. I need you inside me. Now”

  “I will baby, but first I want to make you come with my fingers.”

  I pushed my fingers back inside of her and pumped them in and out, and with my other hand I massaged her clit with my thumb. She continued to squirm all over until finally her body began to shake and I knew she was about to orgasm. I moved my thumb off her clit and latched onto it with my teeth and tongue and sucked hard. She completely lost it calling out my name as she came all over my mouth and fingers.

  When she came down from the orgasm I crawled back up her body and kissed her on her mouth.

  “Can you taste me on you, baby? You taste so fucking good.”

  She whimpered and attempted to reach for my cock.

  I took both of her hands in mine and lifted them up over her head holding them there. My cock was hard as steel and she was wet as fuck. I slid my cock right into her warm, wet pussy and almost came right then and there. We’ve had sex a few times; in the shower and bed at the hotel in Miami, and again at Kaden’s house the night we reconnected. But tonight was different because we didn’t just have sex. Tonight we made love. Slowly, never breaking our kiss, Liz and I made love until we both found our release.

  And every night since then I have been inside my woman making sweet, sweet love to her confirming over and over again that there will never be another woman for me; Liz is it.

  “Cooper! Earth to Cooper! You gonna focus or do you want to just call Griffin and let him know he can keep the title because you forfeit?”

  “Yeah, sorry. Give me a few minutes. I am just going to go check on Liz before she heads out to get Bella.”

  “C’mon man! We all know that’s code for you going to get a quickie in the office on the damn desk!”

  Ok, so maybe I have been inside of her during the day as well. Hey, like I said, I blame my sexy-as-sin woman. This is not my fault. I repeat this is NOT my fault. Her sexual appetite is insane! She is clearly trying to make up for lost time and I am just trying to be the dutiful boyfriend and make sure she is satisfied. Hmm… speaking of the word boyfriend… that name sounds so insignificant compared to what we are. She is the mother of my child, the love of my life. I wonder what she would say if I proposed. I could become her fiancé and eventually her husband. Fuck! What the hell am I thinking? It’s only been a few weeks. She would probably freak the hell out.

  I hear Kaden calling my name but choose to ignore him as I make my way out of the ring and head to check on Liz in the office. We originally agreed we would keep our personal life separate from our professional while at the gym but so far I have yet to keep to that agreement and it won’t be happening today either.

  “Knock, knock,” I say as I walk in to what was once my dad’s office. The feeling I get when I enter now is warmth compared to the coolness I used to feel. Liz hasn’t changed much in the office except adding a few pictures on the walls and a couple on the desk. She even
blew up a few from our family day at the park. The truth is she could have made no changes and the vibe would still be completely different because wherever Liz is she emits a warm feeling into those around her. You can’t help but gravitate towards her; she is just good. Even guys who come in to pay their monthly dues can’t help but hang around her. I swear I am going to have to kick some ass soon to remind them whose woman she is.

  I frown when I see, sitting at the desk with Liz, is Hayley and Kayla, and they all appear to be having lunch together. Liz looks up at me and gives me a knowing smirk while I pout back at her like a child. So much for getting into her warm, sweet pussy today. Looks like I will have to wait until tonight.

  She mouths I’m sorry as the other girls turn to say hi. “Hello, ladies. How is everyone doing today?”

  All of them answer various responses of good. Then Kayla adds, “I was just telling Liz how Hayley and I are traveling with you and the other guys to Boulder at the end of October since you and Caleb will be doing training while shooting promo photos for the fight in February, and Bentley is fighting at UFC Fight Night. I told her she should join us but she isn’t having it. Tell her she should join us.”

  Oh, hell! I haven’t discussed this trip with Liz yet. I will be gone for four days at the end of October doing some press shit for the title fight that’s taking place in February, and I need to be there to support Bentley at his fight. Ever since I took over at the gym he’s been working hard to get ready for this fight.

  “Kayla, I can’t just up and leave. Bella is in school and she needs stability, plus it’s going to be around Halloween and she will die if she can’t wear her Elsa costume and go trick-or-treating in the same neighborhood we take her to every year.”

  Kayla pouts when she hears this. “Oh, no! I forgot about Halloween. I have never missed a single one of Bella’s Halloweens. This sucks.”

  Damn it, it does suck. My first holiday with my daughter and I won’t even be here with her.