by Mj Fields
“He hits my stomach, he’ll break a hand, T.” Justice winks.
“Get your fucking head in the game! I’m not playin’ around. I know what I’m talking about, okay?”
Silence.
Then Justice laughs. “All right then. Head in the game.”
When the music starts and I see flickering lights in the hall, I want to grab Justice and run.
I grab his face and pull it down so he’s looking at just me. “Let’s leave.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s gonna be fun.”
“No, no, it won’t. Let’s leave.”
“Let’s go, bro!” Patrick yells over the music.
“Justice, please.”
He grabs my hands and gives them a squeeze. “I’ve got this.”
“I have a pain in my chest, and my belly's in knots, Justice, please.”
“Three rounds, T, and then we’re heading back to grill steaks, drink a few beers.”
“Justi—”
“Don’t lose faith in me, T. I’m telling you, I got this, and you telling me I don’t isn’t cool right now.”
Backpedaling, I shake my head. “I just think Dad should be here.”
“Not thinking that’s a good idea.” He laughs.
“Justice.”
“T,” he sighs out.
“Fuck him up.” I nod.
He smiles. “Where do you want me to land the first punch?”
“In his chest.” I smile, hoping he thinks I’m excited, hoping me freaking out doesn’t kill his confidence.
“Then the next?” he asks.
When the music stops, we hear the announcer shout, “At six-foot-one, weighing in at two hundred and one pounds … Easton the Experience!”
“You kick his ass. Three rounds, max.”
He nods. “Three and done.”
“At six-foot-two, weighing in at two hundred and twenty pounds, Your Man Of Steel … Justice!”
I follow him out and start to climb up ringside, but Justice shakes his head then nods toward the roped-off area.
“But—”
“Three and done, T, three and done.”
“Come on, Truth.” Patrick takes my hand.
“I don’t care what he says. Between rounds, I’m going up there.”
“He’s not gonna need us up there, but he does need us here, cheering him on.” He holds the velvet rope up, and I slide under.
Kiki, Brisa, and Tris are sitting on the crushed velvet couch. I nod and grab the velvet rope; Patrick on one side of me, Max and Amias on the other.
Inside the ring, just like last time, the lights distract me. It’s hard to see Justice’s face, to gauge his thoughts, his feelings. They now stand toe-to-toe in the middle of the ring; Justice in black, Tobias in white. I quickly size up their bodies. Justice is taller but not much, and he’s heavier, but I worry that may hinder him and not help.
When I see them tap fists then head to their corners, I scream, “Go, Justice!”
He smirks as he bounces on his toes, and when the bell rings, my ears ring and I stop breathing.
“Fuck yes, JT!” Patrick yells as he hits Tobias in the chest and Tobias falls back but comes back quickly and swings to get him in the ribs. Justice blocks him and jabs him in the nose.
“Get it, man!” Max yells.
Tobias comes back with a left to Justice’s ribs, and again, he blocks it, but in doing so, he doesn’t see the right coming, and Tobias doesn’t see the uppercut that knocks him back several steps.
Tobias looks toward me as he spits blood onto the mat, and I close my eyes.
I hear three punches land, and I open my eyes to see he and Justice hooked up while Tobias lands jab after jab to Justice’s ribs.
“Feet! Feet!” I scream.
Justice steps to the side and sweeps Tobias’s feet. While he’s going down, he upper cuts him again.
Tobias regains his footing, and I immediately kick myself for having told him he needed to work on that, because apparently, he listened.
They dance around each other, sizing each other up as they may have at the beginning had Justice not been delivering the first hit for me. Then Justice reaches out and strikes him. His head snaps back, and I see blood drip from his nose.
Tobias crouches down in a move I haven’t seen and kicks him in the chest. Justice stumbles back, hits the ropes, and bounces back off them, coming at Tobias with a left. Tobias crouches again, this time sweeping Justice’s legs out from under him. Leaving his side open, Tobias goes down and delivers three quick but intense jabs to his ribs as Justice nails him in the side of the face, stunning him as he quickly gets up. Tobias jumps up, as well.
They both crouch, striking at one another with their feet when the bell rings.
“Got a feeling he’s playing with JT,” Patrick sighs as he lifts the rope and I duck under.
Once on the ring outside his corner, Justice nods his head back. “He’s alone up here, Truth.”
“His own choice.”
“Wanna do the same.”
“Justice …” I shake my head.
“If I was on stage with you, would you be concentrating like you do up there alone?”
“Not the same.”
“Exactly the same. Love you, T. If I need you, you’ll know it.” He lifts his chin. “Go. See you in two rounds.”
I start to hop down when I feel hands grip my hips. “Easy, Miss Steel. Wouldn’t want you to mess up that ankle any worse than it already is.”
“Reeves, hands off.”
He sets me down, and I look up to see what death glare Justice is giving him, but he’s not even paying attention. For that, I’m grateful.
I hurry to the rope, and Patrick holds it up. I slide under and see that Kai and Miles are in our section.
“Don’t you two have the other side of the ring?”
“Only had time to set up one section; last minute switch and all.” Harrison smiles at me. “Safe to say, we’re all on the same team here.”
“Your loyalty lies with Tobias,” I remind him.
“Actually, my loyalty lies with entertainment. So far, this is quite boring.” He purses his lips.
“Why the hell do you do that?”
“Do what, Miss Steel?”
I purse my lips.
He smiles, bites his lower lip, and scrunches up his nose, eyes fully amused, and then he laughs. “If not, my lower lip would wear a constant bite mark.” He leans in. “It’s the only way to stop myself from saying what I’d really like to. From previous experience, doing so gets me into a bit of trouble.”
“Fair enough.” I shrug then look toward the ring. Justice looks content as he keeps bouncing and stretching so his body stays warm and loose.
I dare a glance at Tobias, who is looking right at us.
I quickly look away.
“Has he been toying with you, Miss Steel?” Harrison asks.
“What? No.”
“Has he painted himself the hero and I the villain?”
“You do a good job of that all by yourself.” I laugh.
He nods and smiles. “When you’re bred for a role, there’s really no sense in trying to change that.”
I ignore him, and then the bell rings.
“Oh, look, he brought his pre-fight fun along. I wonder if that means he’ll be entertaining her this evening, as well.”
I watch as Downward Dee holds up the number two in her red leather bikini as she walks around the ring.
When she gets to Tobias, she kisses him—hard, too—and he doesn’t pull away.
“I guess that answers my question.” Harrison chuckles. “Chin up, Miss Steel. It’s a game he plays.”
“I couldn’t care less what he does,” I huff.
“I’m not sure you’re living up to your namesake, now are you?”
Again, I ignore him.
“Don’t let him do to you what he did to Gabrielle. Don’t let him string you along, playing savior, only to then make you feel li
ke you’re nothing.”
“I’m trying to watch a fight.”
“And I’m trying very hard to save you from the slippery slope I see you going down. Gabrielle was a good girl, like you once, then he fucked her head up. I won’t lie and say I tried to save her, but I will say she was my favorite pastime … until he kept needling her and needling her. And now she’s convinced I’m the problem.”
“And you’re not?” I huff.
He looks at me, face no longer pinched, and says, “My problem is I’ve never been with someone who didn’t want something from me. You yourself admitted that to me a week ago. My problem is I’ve had women at my disposal and none I’ve woken up thinking about. My problem is I’m not sure how to change it.” He reaches up and pushes my hair back, putting it behind my ear. “My problem is you.”
I look away from him and to the ring as Justice begins his assault.
“Not looking to be anyone’s problem,” I say over the crowd.
“Believe it or not, neither am I.” He laughs.
“Not.”
“Flowers one day; introducing myself to your family the next. Getting my ego not just bruised but busted all to hell, and here I am, willing to share my secrets and wanting to beg you for more. And here you are, looking at the most toxic human being like he’s the second coming. Three months, Truth, and I won’t have the kid who kicked my ass in ninth grade making me look like a pussy for his own gain, who manipulates every female he knows I’m interested in to think I’m a horrible human being because I come from money.”
“Block him, Justice!” I scream as Tobias nails him in the side.
“Show me the Truth, and I’ll show you mine.” His tone is unguarded, sincere, and unlike Harrison Reeves.
I look at him, and he shrugs. “I won’t hurt you, Truth. It’ll be you who ends up hurting me.”
I look back at the ring. “I can’t do this right now.”
“Sorry, saw an opportunity and wanted to take it, you know.”
Yeah, I know exactly how that feels, I think to myself.
“How about you take the opportunity to just chill and enjoy watching my brother kick Easton’s ass?”
“I can get down with that.” He laughs.
I cringe when Tobias sweeps Justice’s legs again, and this time, Justice lands on his side. His head bounces off the mat, and then Tobias begins to mercilessly hit him in the left side, the same spot, over and over again.
“For fuck’s sake, Easton!” Harrison yells. “This isn’t even a real fight!”
I cover my face, and he pulls me into a hug.
“You want me to end this, say the word.”
“Justice would be pissed.”
“He’s gonna bring it back, man. You watch,” Patrick says. “Come on, JT; get out from under him!”
Justice rolls to his back.
“Not like that, man! Fuck!” Harrison yells. “I’m calling this shit.”
Just then, Justice head-butts him, and Tobias falls back.
“Fucking animal!” Max yells.
“Fuck him up, JT!” Amias cheers.
I grin as Justice jumps up and pounces on him. Blow after blow, and I don’t feel the least bit sorry for Tobias after what he just pulled on Justice.
The bell rings, and our whole section cheers.
Justice doesn’t go to his corner; he comes to the side. “Hope you pulled an extra steak out for tonight. Probably gonna have a goose egg.” He winks as we laugh, and then he walks very casually, with a helluva swagger, to his corner.
“Remind me; is that little bounce in his step considered cocky, conceited, or confident?”
“With him, it’s confidence. With you, who knows?”
“A secret, Miss Steel?”
I nod. “Sure.”
“I was terrified, standing in front of your family.”
“Yeah, right.” I laugh.
“Dead serious.”
The bell rings again.
Harrison laughs. “Oh, look, here she comes again. This time looking straight off Pornhub.”
I smirk as I watch her walk around, looking like a hooker.
“Pornhub wouldn’t even have her!” Patrick yells over the crowd. “She’s got no curves.”
“Curves are everything,” Harrison says, and I look up at him. He leans down and whispers, “Completely and totally mesmerized by your ass.”
“Oh my God, shut up!”
“I’ve tried. I can’t. Never wanted to eat an ass before you moved here, but I can’t imagine it not tasting like cavi—”
“Stop it!” I laugh.
He grins. “I’d lick it every day. Twice on Sundays.”
I swear my face is on fire, and when I turn away, I see Dee kissing Tobias again. But this time, he’s got his hand on her hip, squeezing it like he did mine just yesterday.
I look down, and Harrison lifts my chin. “I’ll never tell you I’m not an asshole or that I’m perfect, but I promise you right now, I will never be that guy.”
“Just shut up and kiss her then,” Brisa grumbles.
“May I?” he asks.
I nod … and so he does.
It’s soft, it’s sweet, and he tastes like peppermint and smells like musk and money.
Against my lips, he whispers, “How many dates do I need to take you on before I get to lick it?”
I laugh and push him away.
“Don’t hate, Miss Steel. You girls have the rules, and we men have Pornhub. It’s a tricky situation for us to navigate, so I’m going to ask and not assume.”
Kiki sighs. “I wanted to hate your freaking guts, too.”
My head’s not spinning, but I feel okay with this.
Why waste time with someone who doesn’t want you when you have someone who’s a different kind of hot, admits he doesn’t know what he’s doing, asks you to navigate, and wants to lick your ass daily … twice on Sundays?
Smiling, I look up to find Tobias is glaring at me. I shrug and give him a little fuck you look, which he absolutely deserves. Nostrils flaring, head nodding, he turns and looks at Justice, who’s coming toward him. His jaw tenses, and he steps forward, arm swinging from the side. It’s as if it’s all playing out in slow motion. I know what’s coming next.
“Nooooo!” I scream as Justice’s head snaps violently to the left, and then Tobias hits him on the right, causing blood to fly out of his mouth.
“I hate you! I fucking hate you, Easton! Justice! Get up!” I slide under the rope as tears fall down my face and immediately get pulled back.
“Let me go!” I scream. “Let me go!”
The others are screaming, too, but I have no idea what they’re saying as the sound of rushing blood fills my head.
Still being held up, I pull my knees to my chest and cry as I watch Tobias turn and walk away. “Let me go!”
“Wipe your eyes, Truth. You’re missing what’s going to be your favorite part,” Harrison whispers.
I run my sleeve under my eyes then my nose and watch as Justice pushes himself up, spits blood onto the mat, and yells, “Where the fuck are you going? We ain’t done.”
Tobias squats down and taps the mat.
“You gonna bitch out?” Justice yells at his retreating back.
“You have got to be kidding me.” Harrison laughs as he sets me on my feet. “To show myself where my loyalties will now lie, I bet on your brother, and he just fucking won.”
I smile and start to wipe my eyes.
“Allow me.” He whips out a hanky and begins dabbing under my eyes. “In case you missed it, that’s a big sign.”
I nod. “Yeah, it was.”
Chapter Nineteen
Idiom
In the same boat.
Truth
Different f’ing ocean.
Lying in bed, cuddled up to Kiki, with Brand on the other side of her at the rental, I watch as the sun comes up. I haven’t slept a wink, and I’m not even a little bit tired.
All of us, Brand included
, who was “blending in” by dressing up as a hip hop artist, which would have been hilarious had it not been for the fact that no one was aware of it, because it took all of us to get Justice out of the warehouse because he was hell-bent on finishing the fight. It wasn’t until someone yelled “cops” that myself, Patrick, Max, and Amias finally got him in the vehicle and legit had to sit on him to keep him in.
Brand, aka B-Dog, was in the driver’s seat of Justice’s car and none of us had a clue who the hell he was or how he even got in, so I snatched his wig. We all lost our shit, including Kiki, who was driving my Rover and saw it all happen.
Once we got back, Brand cooked and Justice flipped the hell out for an hour, until he ate, and then we all crashed.
The parents would be proud. Not an ounce of alcohol was consumed.
I sigh. Lovely fucking night.
In Tobias’s defense, and I will never defend him again, he didn’t leave a mark that couldn’t be hidden by a couple days’ worth of stubble.
Brand whispers, “She awake?” and Kiki hushes him.
“Been awake all night, B-Dog,” I answer.
Kiki starts giggling, and Brand pushes up on his elbows, smiling.
“Look at your husband; he didn’t even get any last night and he’s still happy.”
Kiki rolls over and snuggles up to me. “He’s so annoying.”
He pushes up off the bed. “You have an hour to do whatever you need to do, then it’s off to our little Falcons nest, wife.” He smacks her ass before walking out the door, leaving Kiki and me alone for the first time since all hell broke loose.
She sighs. “We have one hour to talk this all through. Spill it.”
“Not much to spill.”
She rolls to her side and props her head up on her hand. “What’s your name?”
“Oh, shut it.”
“What’s your name?” she asks again more firmly.
“Truth,” I groan out.
“Then don’t give me anything but.”
I roll to my side. “This stays here.”
She nods.
