When He Falls

by Michelle Jo Quinn

  She'd shown me compiled videos of Zach's previous matches. I had no idea MMA could be so vicious. By the end of the third video, nausea was swimming in my stomach. Why would he ever get into that type of sport? Alex, her boyfriend and Levi's brother, came with her and had explained to me what the rules were in MMA fights. He'd even mentioned his one and only underground Thai boxing match in Bangkok many years ago, and proudly showed me the scar on his left elbow from the radial fracture, which ended that possible career.

  "Now, now, we agreed you’ll calm down," Alex reminded Chase, tapping her hands on her lap. Chase rolled her eyes at him, and Alex let out a hearty laugh.

  I pressed the elevator button with a shaky finger, and calmed my breathing down while I rode it down. When the doors opened, Zach stood in the middle of the large opulent lobby, with his head tilted up, looking at the seemingly floating glass structures hanging from the ceiling. He wore a light gray suit, which molded over his muscular body, with a white shirt and a black tie. My mouth became parched. He looked yummy. Stick a straw and a mini umbrella on him, because I could just drink him up.

  "Zach!" I called out, with my hands on the doors to keep the elevator open.

  He removed his hands from his pockets and gave me a sexy grin before strutting to me. "Hey, gorgeous," he greeted, and before I could say anything back, he had my bottom lip captured between his.

  My hands traveled on their own up the nape of his neck, bringing him much closer to me and getting drunk off his scent. Just clean, soapy smell and Pure Zachary. The elevator doors closed behind him, and as soon as they did, he had me pushed up against the wall.

  "I missed you so much," he managed to say between heated kisses and moans.

  When his tongue danced inside my mouth, I basked in this crazy feeling of lust and desire. I wanted him, and I wanted him bad. It had only been nine hours since we last saw each other but I couldn't help the way my body responded to him.

  I heard a buzz coming from the panel, and I realized I'd forgotten to press the button for the penthouse. "Wait." I pulled away from Zach, took the key fob out of my pocket and tried to reach for the panel.

  "I'll do it." Zach grabbed the key from me and reached behind him with one hand. His other hand remained grasping my left hip. He faced me again and handed me the key. "I love that dress. Wow, Maggie."

  He took my whole appearance in, running his hands over my curves. Nica had brought me out shopping with Chase, which I belatedly found out was a bad combination for shopping partners. After five stores and a hundred dresses later, I picked up a cobalt blue fit and flare scuba dress, with hidden pockets. The shoe shopping was a whole other nightmare, and after all that, I still ended up with my trusty sandals.

  Throughout the day, we had texted each other. I sent him accounts of my horrifying, and never happening again shopping trip, and he messaged me about his training and promotion campaign, which went on at Rick's gym. His day had appealed to me more than mine had. Other than that, we had flirted back and forth, which I suppose added to the heat between us. Zach rubbed the fabric, pressing his lips into a flat line, and then groaned. I laughed as he brazenly adjusted himself under his pants.

  It was my turn to do the touching. His shoulders and chest felt hard under the suit fabric. Zach unbuttoned his jacket so that I could keep my hands roaming over his upper body.

  "I love this suit on you," I said, playing with the ends of his tie.

  He brushed the top of his hair back and clicked his tongue. "Thanks. I do clean up nice if I say so myself."

  "Hmmm, that you do, Zachy boy, that you do. We’re almost at the top, so you better calm that down." I nodded at his erection, and ignored the way my cheeks burned by my own comment.

  "Not my fault," he said, with an arched brow and that sly grin.

  The elevator dinged as we reached the penthouse. Zach mouthed the word, "Wow" before stepping into the entryway, where Nica greeted us and gave Zach a hug.

  "Look at you. Last time I saw you I think you were ten?" she said.

  "Eleven," Zach corrected her.

  "Wow, it's been that long?" Nica looked at me, and then back at Zach. I could tell she had tons of questions in her head. I hadn't given her much more information about Zach. Those were his stories to tell, not mine. "Well, welcome. Come on in."

  We followed her into the living room. I delighted in the way he held my hand. Firm, yet soft, enough to let me know he was there for me. He tightened slightly when he saw the group gathered in the room. If I didn't know any better, Zach was nervous. Not that I could blame him. Chase and Alex could be quite intimidating as individuals, but they were the type of couple who people noticed and gawked at. Levi had Aimee in his arms, and it made him seem more approachable.

  Nica began introductions "This is my husband, Levi, and our little girl, Aimee." She shook one of Aimee's little fingers.

  “Hi,” my little niece greeted and buried her head in her dad’s shoulder.

  Levi adjusted Aimee in one arm and offered his hand to Zach. "Pleasure. Welcome to our humble abode."

  "Humble is not what I would call it," Zach told him. "I'm Zach." Zach tickled Aimee's cheek, and she cooed at him. "Hello, you. Such a cute little girl. Your auntie has talked nonstop about you. May I?"

  Nica was shocked when Zach stretched his arms toward Aimee. Levi transferred her over to Zach who seemed quite comfortable with a child in his arms. Aimee looked just as comfortable with him, smiling up at her new friend. Then she pinched his cheeks and nose and tugged.

  "Ow," Zach said quietly.

  "Oh my god." I laughed at the whole scene.

  "Oh, Aimee, that is not nice to our guest," Nica said. Aimee simply glanced at her mother, let go of Zach and giggled some more. "I'll have to take her to bed now."

  Zach handed her to Nica. "Okay, nice to meet you, young lady."

  Nica walked to the hallway with Aimee yammering her usual toddler speak, which only Nica could understand most days.

  "These guys are Chase and Alex." I wrapped my hand around Zach's arm and led him the couple.

  They matched with their dark hairs and black clothes and big personalities. Chase molded her usual scowl into a smile, and Alex stood beside her, entertained by how uncanny his girlfriend was acting.

  "I am such a huge fan of yours," Chase confessed to him, placing a hand on her chest while shaking Zach's hand. “I’m Chase.”

  "Your name is Chase? I thought that was a guy's name." Zach knitted his brows together but kept a smile on his face.

  Chase barked a laugh. "I get that a lot. You have no idea, but it's better than my real name."

  "She is all woman, mate," Alex added, "I checked plenty of times."

  Chase wiggled her eyebrows at Zach, but I ended up blushing at Alex's comment.

  "It's always great to meet a fan, man or woman," Zach said. He looked over to me and wriggled his arm around my waist. "Maggie told me you showed her some of my fights?"

  "Yes!" Chase said. I could tell she was excited by the prospect of analyzing the videos with him later. She began talking about one of his matches when Levi swooped in for a save.

  "Drinks, Zach? Wine, Champagne? Scotch? Whiskey?" Levi offered.

  Zach turned around to face him. "Whiskey neat would be great."

  "Ah, good choice," Levi said, taking a short glass from the liquor cart, the kind that existed in the 1940's, and poured a golden-brown liquid in it. He handed it to Zach.

  "Thanks."

  "Cheers." Levi lifted his own glass to him. "A bit of champagne, Maggie?" Levi asked me. Normally I wouldn't have any, but in a way, this was sort of a celebration. Officially, for me, Zach had acquired a place in my life.

  "Yeah, I'll have some. Thanks, Levi." My brother in law handed me a flute from a tray.

  "She's out," Nica announced when she returned to join us. "Oh, I will have some champagne please." She took the glass and the kiss that Levi offered her. "Well, dinner won't start for a few more minutes. Why don't you give Za
ch a tour of the place, Maggie?"

  "Oh, yeah, would you like that?" I asked Zach.

  "Yeah, that would be great actually." Zach knocked back the last of his drink and Levi extended his hand for the empty glass.

  "I'll have another one ready for you when you get back," Levi promised.

  Zach and I walked into the kitchen where just an hour or so ago, Levi, Alex and I had prepared dinner for our guests. They'd marveled over my knife skills. Levi had asked where I learned to cook, and my succinct reply had been, "Not from my mother or sister." We'd all had a good laugh.

  I waved my hand around. "Pretty self-explanatory. Kitchen." And I pointed at a glass door at the far end of the wall. "Over there is the wine cellar. I don't have the code, but it's pretty boring. Just a room with a bunch of wine." I shrugged.

  I kept my hand intertwined with his, while we made our way around the main floor. We opened the doors as we passed the library, Levi and Nica's home offices, a gym (and he whistled as he took note of all the equipment) and the theater room.

  "The maids' quarters are through those doors. They have a housekeeper and a nanny for Aimee, and the laundry room is back there too. But you don't need to see that." Somehow, I felt a little embarrassed, like I was flaunting Levi and Nica's wealth. Zach and I had grown up in more humble homes. I wasn't sure what his thoughts were on the matter. "Let’s go upstairs."

  "Are you going to show me your room?" His eyes flirted. His wide smile said it all.

  "Maybe. If you think you've been good." I placed a hand on his chest and kissed him before continuing.

  "Hmmm. Sorry, Beanie. I've been very naughty." His reply to my little tease caused a tingle to my extremities.

  We made our way through the living room and up the stairs, passing a study, a bathroom, and Aimee's room, which I opened slightly to see her sleeping soundly. Then we stopped in front of the door to my room.

  "Over there is the master. We don't have to see that either. Nica and Levi spend a lot of time in there." I laughed at my own joke as I pointed further down the hallway. "And this is my room."

  Zach stepped in with me, glancing around the large room. It was probably bigger than the place he was staying at, complete with a king-size four poster bed with an open canopy, a makeup dresser, a sitting area and a flat screen that sat on top of a fireplace. Beside the bathroom was the walk-in closet. And between the large windows was a door that went out to a balcony where I could sit and watch the stars, not that I had had the chance to.

  "Pretty cool. This is fantastic, Beanie." He pointed at the bed and jumped on it, clasping his hands behind the back of his neck. "Is this where you think of me every night and wish that I’m here beside you?"

  I laughed at his audacity. "You really are Mr. Humble today, aren't you?" I joined him on the bed. Zach had me on top of him with a quick pull on my arm, and I instantly felt his hardness underneath. "You have to get that under control." I shook my head against his chest, giggling.

  "Sorry I can't. You broke me. I’m always going to be in this state around you." He looked pointedly at the closed door. "Your sister says it will take a few minutes before dinner starts. Any suggestions as to what we can do?" With this, he pushed his groin up, and his erection hit me where I was most sensitive.

  My lower abdomen contracted, and warmth pooled between my legs. I bit down on my lip, suppressing a moan. "Zach..." My voice was a mixture of want and warning.

  Zach laughed, and it reverberated on my chest. "Relax, Maggie, I'm just kidding. We better get up and go back before she starts thinking something is happening."

  "Okay." Before I got to push off, Zach nibbled on my bottom lip, and then he took my breath away with a mind-numbing kiss.

  "Wait, I have something to tell you," I grabbed his arm before he could open the door. Before I ran out of courage, I told him about the trip I had planned, "I think I'd like to go to Las Vegas with you. I want to see where you live, and visit your Mom."

  Zach's eyes lit up. His smile widened. "That would be amazing! I'll show you all the great spots, and we'll eat at my favorite restaurants. We'll go out dancing. There are a few parties I've been invited to. Oh, and I'll show you the gym I used to train at..." His rapid response thrilled me even more. The only times I'd ever gone on a trip with anyone had always been here in San Francisco or Napa Valley to visit my sister.

  Which reminded me... "One thing though, I haven't told my sister yet. Let's keep it on the down low for a bit?"

  Zach held both my hands and kissed the tops of my knuckles. "It's going to be great, Maggie. Ma will be so happy to see you."

  We left my room after I checked my appearance twice in the mirror. Our little make out session didn't take too long, but the signs were there. Good thing my dress didn’t wrinkle. Zach on the other hand...

  My thoughts of what else I could have done to him stopped when we passed the upstairs bathroom and heard a thump on the door, followed by a loud moan.

  "Oh...more, Alex." It wasn't hard to guess or know that it was Chase who uttered those words. Were they really doing it in the bathroom?

  My cheeks reddened as the thumping continued against the door, faster and louder. Then we heard two people moan. Zach sniggered beside me, and shook his head.

  "Lucky bastard," he said as he stared at the door.

  I led him by the hand, dragged him down the stairs and back to the living room. Nica and Levi were seated on one of the couches, with drinks in their hands.

  "What's wrong, Maggie?" Nica asked as Levi strode to the liquor cart to grab Zach and my drinks.

  "Nothing," I muttered, but even I did not believe it.

  Nica narrowed her eyes then at Zach. He wore a huge grin on his face. Then Nica's eyes traveled up the stairs and widened. "Dammit, Chase! I warned her already."

  Levi understood immediately and laughed. "I don't know why you try to stop her. Alex has been away for a week. You know how they get."

  "I don't try. I ask. I'm going to knock her on the head." Nica fumed.

  "Knock who on the head?" Chase asked while she descended the stairs with Alex following right behind.

  Oh yeah, they certainly were going at it in the bathroom. I placed my hand over my mouth to stop myself from laughing. Zach leaned to me and snickered against my neck.

  "Chase, I told you!" Nica chastised her.

  Chase just shrugged and sat directly right across from Zach and me. She was wearing a short black leather dress and wickedly high heels. Her hair had that just-fucked messy look. Alex took the place right beside her with a straight face. He matched Chase with sharp looking black jeans and black shirt, which I could swear was tucked in earlier. They looked like they just stepped out of a Vogue magazine.

  "Relax, Nica. We weren't gone that long. I could have certainly taken five minutes more." Alex and Levi laughed at Chase's comment while Nica and I blushed.

  I was seated between Zach and Nica and right across from Chase, Alex, and Levi. Chase and Alex were entertaining to watch. They fed each other everything. And every time they did it, I felt like I was watching the beginning of a porn movie. As far as I knew, they'd been together a little over a year, and they went through some tumultuous experiences before staying together.

  "Where do you train?" Chase asked Zach during the main course.

  "While I'm here, I’m at Wild Fire Gym. My friend, Rick owns the franchise," Zach answered.

  Chase leaned forward. "Oh, nice. I've been there a few times. He has some great fighters. Is he still single?"

  "He might be, my darling, but you are not," Alex reminded her, although, he didn’t sound too serious.

  Chase squeezed his cheeks together and made his lips pucker. "I'm asking for a friend."

  "You do not have friends, you only have me," Nica added.

  Chase rolled her eyes at her. "Fine. I'm asking for Jewel."

  "Jewel?" Nica and I asked in unison.

  "Yeah, she's single," Chase continued, "She's a nice girl, and she’s looking for love
or whatever."

  Zach gave her a half shrug. "I don't know if Rick is looking for love right now. He has his hands full with his three kids."

  "Jewel loves kids."

  "Chase stop it," Nica said.

  "What? I'm just saying she hasn't had a boyfriend in..." She paused. "I don't know how long but it’s long enough. She needs a good lay."

  Alex added to the conversation, "A good lay is far from love, Chase."

  "Not in my case." Chase winked at Zach and me.

  "Forgive my darling Chase. We don't let her have too many friends for this very reason." Alex should retract those words by the way Chase sent daggers at him. But he was clearly teasing. He turned to Zach. "Tell me, have you ever been to the UK? There’s a great gym there called JJ's."

  Zach offered a quick reply, "JJ's? I've heard of it. I‘ve heard of Jimmy the owner. I met one of his guys, Lee Belmont, a while back. Scary guy. Too serious."

  "And a bit on the cocky side. From what I heard, Jimmy's daughter knocked him out during a sparring."

  "I heard that too. I didn't know that was real," Levi added.

  Alex nodded at his brother. "Oh yeah. That knocked him down a notch or two. He was getting rather cocky. Jimmy thought it would teach him a lesson."

  "I'd like to meet Jimmy one day, and maybe his daughter too," Zach said.

  Alex stretched his hand to grab his drink and swirled the contents of the glass before taking a sip. "Not sure about the daughter, but if you’re ever interested, I can arrange a meeting with Jimmy whenever you want."

  "I thought you're a photographer? What are you doing in an MMA gym?" I asked Alex.

  Chase answered for him, "He’s been around the world. And he photographs different things and people. I'm sure he was there chasing the daughter's tail." Chase sneered.

  Alex shook his head at us, while Chase looked on, challenging him. "Not very likely. She wasn't around much when I was there."

  "Otherwise, you would."

  "Probably."

  "There you go," Chase said, and she smiled at him.

  I watched the two of them the whole night as well as how Nica was with Levi and vice versa. These two couples were completely enamored with their partners in different ways. But it was always sweet to see. I had that once before, and it turned into a big fat lie. I looked at Zach and wondered, could we ever be that much in love if we gave it a chance? Was my heart ready to risk that again?