His hands clench into fists, but for some reason, I feel like I can push this guy to the absolute limit and he’d never touch me. It’s something in his dark eyes. He’s safe. I don’t know why or how, but I trust him to keep his cool. “You’re infuriating,” he seethes.
“And you’re an asshole.”
I see his jaw clench which only manages to sharpen his jawline even more. “Do you think you’re the first woman to call me that?” he scoffs.
“Oh, I don’t doubt that, but I’m so glad we’ve got that cleared up. Now, kindly take yourself and your bad attitude, and don’t let the door smack you on the ass on your way out.”
He huffs and leans against the doorframe as though he’s a permanent fixture of the house. “I’m not going anywhere until you turn that shit down.”
“And you think I’m infuriating?” I scoff.
“You are,” he confirms with a smirk that blows me away. I mean, this man. Wow. If he wasn’t such an irritating prick, I’d be bent over at the waist begging for him to take me.
“Say please.”
“No way in hell,” he scoffs, crossing his leg over the other, making his point about not leaving. Hell, the dickhead looks as though he’ll stand there all day until I give in.
I take a page out of his book and make a show of getting myself comfortable. I lean back against the window frame, cross my arms over my chest with my sledgehammer down by my side, and bat my eyelashes at him. “Well, looks like we have a little situation here,” I say, trying to sound casually bored with what’s going on.
He narrows his eyes again as though he’s trying to figure me out. “How long do you plan on being here?” he questions.
“Until the job is done.”
He lets out a frustrated breath, but a knock steals both of our attention. He leans back out of the doorway so he can look up the hallway to whoever stands at the door. He doesn’t dare move and I cringe, doubting that he’ll move out of my way.
I walk closer to the stranger and do my best to step around him without actually touching him. I look up the hallway and see a man waiting by the open door. “Oh, look at that,” I smile. “A man who knows a little something about common courtesy. You should go and introduce yourself. You could learn a lot from him.”
I walk down to the new man. “How can I help you?” I ask.
“I’m delivering a dumpster,” he tells me. “Where would you like it?”
My morning finally starts looking up. “Excellent,” I grin. “Just put it anywhere you can find a space,” I tell him.
He nods his head and disappears.
While I’m standing by the door, I look back at the stranger in my bedroom. I make an exaggerated sweep of my hand, gesturing for him to leave. “Any day now,” I tell him. “I’ll even hold the door for you.”
He lets out his hundredth huff for the morning and finally gives in. He walks up the hallway but stops by the kitchen counter where my speakers are sitting. In one quick twist of his wrist, he yanks the power cord out of the outlet and straight out the back of the speakers.
I watch in disbelief as he wraps the cord in a tight little circle before slipping it into his pocket with a smirk. “Have a great day,” he tells me with a grin before stepping through the door and smacking me in the face with his heavenly scent.
Holy shit.
Did that just happen?
“You’re an asshole,” I yell after him.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” he throws over his shoulder before disappearing to the dazzling house directly beside mine.
If I was as forward as he was, I’d storm right in there and steal my power cord back. Hell, I’d probably even take something of his, but I know a little something about respecting another being’s privacy.
I huff and even stomp my foot a little. That man had the nerve to call me infuriating. He’s the infuriating one. He’s the one who came into my home and lost his shit. How dare he?
I want to scream, but I resist, knowing he’ll hear it.
I’ll work out a plan to get the power cord back, but for now, I need to calm down and get going on this demolition. I have a lot to do before I get my trusty carpenter to come and help me. After the past four years, I’ve learned a lot about renovating homes, so there’s quite a lot I’m confident in doing. With that said, there’s a lot of shit I can’t possibly do by myself.
I grab my phone off the kitchen counter and head back into the bedroom. I flick the music on through my phone. It’s not the same, but it will have to do for now.
The dumpster man calls from the front door that he’s done and I head out to sign the paperwork. He tells me he’ll be back in a few days and I thank him before sending him on his way.
With the dumpster in the front yard, I can finally concentrate on turning this shithole into a home.
Chapter 2
Luke
That woman is easily the most irritating person on the planet.
I was pissed off the second I found out that the house next door had sold. Nobody in their right mind would buy that hunk of shit, so I knew it had to be a flipper. What I wasn’t expecting was that infuriating woman.
I mean, who plays music that loud at seven in the morning with all the doors and windows wide open? I swear, the second she turned it on, I practically flew out of my bed with the noise. Hell, maybe it wasn’t the actual song, maybe it was the screeching she called singing that went along with it.
I had no other choice but to go over there and put myself and all the neighbors out of their misery. I mean, it was the right thing to do, and now I’m stuck with her until she finishes fixing it up and moves her ass out. It’s going to be nothing but noise for who the hell knows how long. I mean, if she’s doing it all by herself, she could be there for years. Let’s just hope she has the sense to hire someone to do it for her.
Don’t get me wrong, she’s not a bad sight to look at. I walked over there, saw the beast of a truck and assumed it was a dude. When I saw her in that room with a fucking sledgehammer, my dick practically leaped out of my pants. She was fucking radiant and looked like some kind of warrior as she swung the sledgehammer. If she didn’t have that attitude on her, I would have fucked her right then and there, but I’m not looking to screw a woman who knows where to find me afterward. That shit causes way too much trouble.
I wasn’t planning on waking up for another few hours. I had a late night losing myself in some chick’s body. She was hot and I got what I needed from her. What I hated was the begging for me not to leave. I’d only just met the chick so I don’t know why she was already so clingy, but I got my ass out of there. There’s nothing worse than a clingy fuck. It’s get in, get the job done, and leave.
I’m not looking for a woman to spend my life with. I’m looking for a good time. I’ve just been through hell and back and all I need is to relax. I can worry about that serious shit in a few years. I know one day I want it, but not yet. I’m not some notorious playboy. I get my fair share, but I’m not all about flaunting it like my best friend, Jace does. Well, at least he did. He’s all caught up with this chick that he refuses to actually date, so he keeps his conquests on the down low now as to not hurt her feelings.
Commendable, but ridiculous. What he really needs is to admit that he’s in love with her and date the woman. It would be a lot easier for everyone that way. But, until he’s ready, it’s going to be the same old shit.
At least for now, it gives me someone to go out with and get stupid with, which is exactly what I’ve been needing to forget about the last few months.
I was stationed in Iraq for six months and was nearly due to come home when we were given bad intel and I ended up in the hands of the enemy. It was easily the worst three weeks of my life. On my previous tour, I was in an explosion caused by a roadside bomb and I’d take that pain a hundred times over the torture those bastards put me through in Iraq.
I guess the only good thing about the spitfire next door is that she woke me up f
rom yet another bad dream. I haven’t been sleeping much as every night my mind can’t help but replay the memories for those few weeks.
It’s like living the nightmare over and over again. I have no escape from it.
I try to forget about my shit morning. I could try and go back to sleep but that’s not going to happen. I may as well head down to Rebels Advocate and get a work out in before my first client shows up at ten.
I’m a personal trainer, but my real talent is as a nutritionist. My meal and diet plans, mixed in with our physical programs makes us the best performing gym in the state. Even though we mainly focus on MMA, all our other clients are seeing incredible results.
I get myself dressed before heading into the kitchen to make a good breakfast. I take my sweet ass time and even put together a good fruit salad to take with me for lunch.
Before sitting down at the table, I remember my manners and feed my little guy first. I walk over to his enclosure and reach the box I keep his food in. “Morning, Gerald,” I say to my four-meter python as I bend down and look him over, double checking that he’s doing good. “Do you feel like a big juicy mouse this morning?”
I cringe as I grab one of the mice and feel like a prick as I lift the lid and drop the little thing in there. It scatters around, but it’s got to be done, and besides, I’d much rather he ate the mouse than me.
I close up his enclosure and promise him that I’ll let him out this afternoon when I get home from work. He loves being in the enclosure which cost me a fucking ton, but he’s still an animal and a good stretch will keep him happy. Besides, he’s been a good boy and a great friend. He deserves a play. Maybe I’ll give him a bath too.
Half an hour later, I grab my keys off the hallway table and head out to my truck. I stop in the middle of my driveway as I look up. There’s a big mother fucking dumpster blocking half my driveway and squishing the stupid garden my mother insisted on planting.
My jaw clenches and my fingers curl into fists. That fucking woman. I should have taken more than just her power cord. I consider going over there again, but then don’t need to as she steps out her front door carrying a tower of torn drywall.
She looks up, searches for the dumpster, and spots it covering my drive and blocking my truck. Her eyes go wide and an ‘oh shit’ expression crosses her flawless face before she notices me standing here, which is when her expression becomes smug. “Are you going to do something about this?” I question as I point towards my blocked truck.
She walks forward and dumps the rubble in the dumpster before clapping the dust off her hands and shirt. “Are you going to give me my power cord back?”
“No,” I scoff.
“Well,” she says as she turns to walk back into the house. “Good luck getting your truck out.”
“You’re squishing my garden,” I yell across to her.
She stops. Turns. Grins.
Shit, I just made myself sound like the biggest fucking pansy.
“Your garden?” she questions.
“Yes. My fucking garden. Your dumpster is squishing it.”
“Well, I apologize about your garden. I’m sure you two were very happy together. May your rosebush rest in peace.”
“They were daffodils and my mother planted them.”
She lets out a huff and it’s the first time I see a little bit of regret in her eyes, but she’s still far too pissed off with me to do much about it right now. She goes to say something, but I ignore her and get in my truck.
Starting it up, I decide against doing a fifty-point turn and going to the left to get around the dumpster, even though it is probably the easiest way. I turn the wheel to the right and drive over the pebbled garden that separates our houses. I drive across her driveway, between her truck and house, narrowly missing both. I cut through her lawn and finally down to the road.
I look up into the rear-view mirror and see her screaming at me from her driveway, probably cursing me out and calling me an asshole again. Sure, it was a dick move, but she deserved it this morning.
I pull up at Rebels Advocate ten minutes later and after a moment to myself, I’m feeling better. Well, a little better. I’m still pissed about the fucking daffodils. She was right though, may those babies rest in peace.
I get into the gym, make my way straight down to my office, and dump my shit in my desk drawers before taking my lunch into the lunchroom and putting it in the fridge. “What’s up with you?” Jace grunts from the table.
I look up, I hadn’t even noticed he was here. “Got a new neighbor,” I tell him.
“Seriously? I didn’t know that old bat was moving out,” he murmurs, talking about the old granny who lives on the other side. She’s a crazy old lady and even though she has a soft spot for me, she doesn’t extend that same love to Jace. She says his golden locks reminds her of the boy she used to go with who broke her heart. It’s a story we’ve both heard way too many times to care for.
“No, on the other side,” I clarify.
“Shit, really?” he grunts. “Who the hell would buy that crap? It needs to be knocked down.”
“She’s a flipper who thinks she knows what the fuck she’s doing.”
“A girl?” he confirms with a grunt. I nod and he carries on. “Alright,” he says in confusion. “Why are you so riled up about that? What she does to that old house has nothing to do with you.”
“It’s the way she’s doing it,” I tell him, sounding like an idiot going with the old ‘it’s not what you said, it’s the way you said it’ bullshit. “She had music blasting at seven in the morning and put her fucking dumpster on mom’s garden.”
He bursts out laughing. “Shit, that’s funny,” he says. “I bet that didn’t go down well.”
“No, it didn’t,” I grunt. “To be fair, she had nothing to do with the dumpster, but she should have been watching what the driver was doing.”
“And let me guess,” he grins. “You had a few things to say about that.”
“Bet your ass I did,” I spit before a massive grin rips across my face. “I stole the power cord for her speakers,” I tell him while trying to hold in a chuckle. “She thinks I’m an asshole.”
“You are an asshole,” he laughs just as Cole and Caden walk in.
“Oh good,” Cole says as he flops down into the chair beside Jace. “You’re both here. I wanted to run something by you guys.”
“What’s up?” Jace asks as he sits up a little straighter in his chair. When Cole says something like this, we instantly know he’s got an idea about our gym. The four of us own Rebels Advocate together and with us working as one, it’s like a well-oiled machine.
“Well,” he starts. “I think it’s about time we franchise.”
“Yeah?” I question.
“Yeah,” he grins. “We’re already the best gym in the state. Why not keep the momentum going? We could build another Rebels and one of us could manage it for a few months and train the staff until it’s up and running.”
“I’m in,” Caden says. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I just wanted to wait until Luke was back.”
The thought of building another club excites me. My only issue is that I won’t be able to stop. Once we get another, I’d want more. Hell, my mind is already taking me to conquering every state and then taking it international. We’re going to be a household name.
“If you guys are on board, I think I’ve found a property.”
“Count me in,” I tell him as he pulls his phone out and instantly brings up the property he’s clearly already been looking at. He flips it around to show us and Jace is the first to grab the phone out of his hands and study the property.
I crowd over his shoulder and take a look. It’s in a good area with a decent price tag on it so I can’t see why we shouldn’t grab the bull by the horns. Caden looks over Jace’s other shoulder, getting in his way as he tries to swipe through the pictures on the site. Jace attempts to swat him away. “I can do it,” he grunts as he finall
y bats Caden’s hands away.
“Well, hurry up,” he says. “I want to see inside the building.”
I don’t see it, but I can sense Jace rolling his eyes as he quickly flicks through the images. He stops when he reaches the first picture within the building. Caden and I basically lean right over Jace’s shoulders as we try to get a better look.
The space was used as a corporate office and looks to be in pretty good condition, but we’d have to throw a little bit of money at it to get it fitted out in our style to maintain our brand.
“If we used this space, we could have it up and running in maybe four to six months,” Caden says.
“Yeah,” I agree as I look up at Cole who I know would have already done his research on the area. “What other clubs are around?” I ask.
“There’s a women’s gym down the road. A few kid’s karate classes that are held in the community hall and a few generic gyms. Nothing dedicated to MMA.”
“Sounds good,” Jace murmurs. “It’s only about an hour drive as well.”
“It’s fucking perfect is what it is,” Cole says.
“Are we all on board?” I ask.
We get a unanimous ‘yep’ from around the table and a ‘fuck yeah’ from Jace. “Alright,” Cole says. “I’ll call the agent and set up an inspection. You guys good to go today?”
“Yep,” I say as Caden nods his head.
“All good here,” Jace says before glancing up at me. “We just have to be back before three for our beginners’ self-defense class.”
That’s right. I nearly forgot about that in my excitement.
“Cool,” Cole says, taking the phone back out of Jace’s hands. “I’ll get it sorted.”
With that, Cole disappears back out the door with Caden following behind. Jace gets up and heads over to the fridge while I finally get a chance to work out my frustrations on the punching bag.
An hour later, I’m dripping in sweat and heading for the showers. With a visit to this new property added to the schedule, my day has just become a lot tighter.
Rebels Advocate - COMPLETE BOX SET 1-4 Page 36
