by Ava Ashley
“Soon enough, darling,” I said. “Anyway, I really do have to go. But do you want to come to the semi-final? It’s a big match. If I win this one, I get to go to the final. And if I win the tournament, I get to take on the champion for the title. And then there will be nothing left for me to do except rule the world.”
“Wow,” she said, sitting up. “That’s exciting. You really want me to go?”
“Yeah, of course. I can pick you up and bring you there. Will you be free around six?”
“Sure, that sounds great.”
“OK, see you then,” I said, getting up.
“I’ll be staying at Betsy’s, I think,” she told me.
“Oh, really? OK,” I said. I thought that was a little strange, but I didn’t worry too much about it. I leaned down to give her a goodbye kiss. “Also, just so you know, I’ve been doing my exercises every day like a good boy.”
“Is that so,” she said, a sly smile spreading across her face.
“It is. And that means you owe me my reward,” I reminded her.
“I suppose I do.”
“After the fight. You’d better be ready,” I said, cupping her face in my hand. I pressed my lips against hers to give her a long, deep kiss. When I let go, she opened her eyes slowly, languorously.
“I’ll be ready,” she purred.
Chapter Ten
Hunter
The next day, I woke up early and went to the gym like always. Since I had a fight that evening, though, Clive took it a bit easier on me during training. Just some light exercise, and the rest of my energy I’d have to save up later for the match.
I had been working pretty hard lately, and was looking forward to an easy day at the gym. A couple of my buddies in the league were there, Jordan and Wayne, and we took turns lifting weights, spotting each other, and busting each other’s balls.
“Hey, Jordan, I heard you got a new piece of tail,” Wayne said as he stood over Jordan, who huffed and puffed under the heavy weights and didn’t answer.
“Yeah, I hear she’s a looker,” I said, and Jordan glared at me silently.
“You’d better not leave her alone with me,” Wayne remarked, raising his eyebrows suggestively.
“You’d...better...shut...the...” Jordan panted as he struggled.
“Don’t hurt yourself now, Jordan. You could drop that weight right on your skull, and then who would comfort... what’s her name again?”
“I’m...not...telling...you...you...fu—”
“Now, now. It’s okay, I’ll figure out who she is so after you accidentally kill yourself, I can make sure all her needs are met. If you know what I mean,” Wayne said, unable to keep from laughing.
“God, you’re such a dick,” Jordan said at last as he put the weight back on the rack and sat up.
“What? I only have her best interests in mind. Don’t be so selfish. Do you want her to just sit around and dry up after you die?”
“You’re lucky I don’t kick your ass,” Jordan said, tossing his sweaty towel at Wayne.
“Gross, get that nasty shit away from me,” Wayne said, laughing. “All right, it’s your turn, Finn. Get on that bench. I can’t wait to give you shit.”
“What the hell do you have to give me shit about?” I asked, getting down on the bench.
“I heard that the world-renowned bad boy Hunter Finn is back in town,” he said with a wink.
“What are you talking about, dumbass?” I said, taking the weight in my hands and starting to lift.
“I heard you have a new piece of tail too,” Wayne said. “Jake told me.”
“Jake? How the hell does he know?” I said quickly, confused, and then instantly realized my mistake.
“So it’s true!” Wayne shouted. “I told you,” he said, turning to Jordan.
“Yeah, yeah,” said Jordan.
“So who is she?” Wayne asked, batting his eyelashes. “Who’s the lucky piece of tail?”
“Listen, she’s not a piece of tail. I told you, I don’t do that shit anymore.”
“I know, I know. You are a reformed sinner. I still don’t believe it.”
“Well... believe it,” I panted, getting a bit tired from all the talking and lifting.
“I believe it,” another, annoyingly familiar voice piped in from behind me. Although I hadn’t had the extreme displeasure of hearing him for over a year now, I knew exactly who it was. He always showed up when you least wanted him to.
“Nathaniel, I can’t believe you’re showing your face around here,” I said, using all my breath just to make it clear I hated the guy. Not that he needed any reminder.
“You don’t own the place, Finn,” he snarled back at me.
“No,” I said, putting the weight on the rack and sitting up. I was going to need all my energy to talk to that idiot. Not only that, but I wouldn’t put it past him to try to kill me while I was lifting. “I just thought you’d be a little ashamed, considering you’re not even allowed to fight in the CFC anymore.”
“Only because you’re a cheating piece of shit,” he said, getting up in my face. I knew there was no use arguing with him. Once a douchebag, always a douchebag. There would be no changing his mind.
“I’m not the one who failed your drug test, Nathaniel. You did that all by yourself,” I said as nonchalantly as possible. Above all, I couldn’t let him get to me. That’s exactly what he wanted.
“Get off your high horse,” Nathaniel hissed, and then I saw his anger turn to an even uglier, smug self-satisfaction. “Besides, I know all about that sexy piece of ass you’ve been getting lately.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Anna. I know all about her big tits and that fine ass,” he said, licking his lips lasciviously.
“You’d better watch it or I’m going to mess you the fuck up,” I said, getting quickly to my feet. There was a lot of shit I could take, but not that. When that piece of human trash actually spoke Anna’s name, I thought I was going to explode.
“Whoa, hey man, calm down,” Jordan said, touching me on the shoulder. “He’s just trying to get to you.”
“Yeah, and I’m going to get to him. Right through his fucking skull,” I said, pushing Jordan’s hand off of me.
“What’s the matter?” Nathaniel asked. “Don’t like it when other people talk about your little slut?”
“That’s it!” I shouted, and lunged at him. It took both Wayne and Jordan to hold me back. “I’ll rip your fucking head off!”
“Dude, calm down,” said Wayne. “He’s just trying to mess with your head because he knows you’ve got a fight tonight.”
“Yeah, maybe that’s it,” said Nathaniel. “Or maybe I know more about your little slut than you do.”
“Just let him go,” Wayne said as I started to lunge again. Nathaniel started walking toward the door, and I wanted with every fiber of my being to run after him and pound his face in.
“Save it for the fight tonight,” Jordan put in.
I knew Wayne and Jordan were right. I couldn’t afford to get this worked up over such a useless asshole.
“All right, I’m OK. You can let me go,” I said, letting my muscles relax. After a minute Jordan and Wayne figured I’d calmed down enough to let my arms drop.
“Man, what a douche,” Wayne said.
“No shit,” said Jordan.
It was only after I’d calmed down a bit that I realized the whole thing was a little weird. Of course, it wasn’t weird for Nathaniel to act like a total dickhead, but what was up with all that shit about Anna? How did he even know her name? I couldn’t think of any explanation, so I tried my best to put it out of my mind. I couldn’t be distracted at the fight tonight. It was good to have a little bit of anger to work out in the ring, but not a blind rage. I needed to be able to think straight. So I concentrated all my effort on pushing Nathaniel and all of his bullshit out of my mind.
Chapter Eleven
Anna
Even though I didn’t
think Nate would come back to bother me again, I decided it would be best to stay at Betsy’s for a few more days. I wanted to get settled into my new home, but it wouldn’t be worth it if he came back and something worse happened than last time. I definitely didn’t want to feel like I did when Betsy had to come and get me. I was a total mess.
“Hey,” she’d said as I got into the car that night after Nate’s visit. “What’s going on? Are you all right?”
I told her everything that happened, and for a minute, she sat there silently.
“That’s so weird,” she said eventually. “I’m sorry. Has he ever acted like that before? Or was that just totally out of the blue?”
“It was pretty out of the blue,” I said. “I’m trying to look back and see if there were any warning signs. I guess maybe a few.”
“Like what?” Betsy asked. “Do you think he’s dangerous? Should we go to the police?”
“No,” I said. “I don’t think it’s that bad. I guess I had noticed him being a little bit controlling before.”
“How do you mean?” she asked.
“Nothing at all quite like this,” I told her. “But like when I tried to break up with him before I left. He wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
“Yeah,” Betsy said. “That is weird.”
“I didn’t think it was that weird, or that big of a deal, until now.”
“Well, now you know,” she said. “I think you should probably stay with me for a while.”
“Would that be all right?” I asked.
“Of course,” she said. “Are you kidding me? I’d love to have you stay forever.”
“Thanks, Betsy,” I said. “You’re a good friend.”
As I thought about it in the days that followed, a few more warning signs that maybe Nate wasn’t such a nice guy started to come back to me. They were little things, things that didn’t seem important at the time. Like when I had said something offhand about an ex-boyfriend and he got angry and jealous about it. But I guessed it didn’t matter much now. He and I were through, and hopefully he’d forget about me while I was staying at Betsy’s and that would be that.
The day after our trip to the beach, I was pretty much dying with excitement to see Hunter. He had gotten me all worked up while we were swimming together, and I had kind of been hoping he would come home with me that night. But he made me wait, which put even more pressure on me as I got ready for his fight. I finally had the opportunity for Hunter to see me wearing something other than yoga pants, and I didn’t want to waste it.
Betsy and I had gone shopping earlier and bought a few new outfits, one of which was a short, strappy blue sundress I thought he would like. I had just put it on when Betsy popped her head into the guest room to check on me.
“Damn, girl,” she said with a smile. “I can’t remember the last time I got all hot and dressed up for Ted. I’m glad you’re here so I can live vicariously through you.”
“I’d be happy to watch Avery for you so you can live non-vicariously,” I offered.
“Oh sure, maybe someday. It’s more fun to watch you get ready, though. To tell you the truth, I’m a little bit lazy,” she confessed.
“That works for me,” I said. “You can help me get ready.”
“With pleasure,” she agreed. “What do you need?”
“Hunter is going to be here any minute. How should I wear my hair? Up?”
Betsy scrutinized me for a minute, then walked up to me and piled all my hair on top of my head. She stood there looking at me, screwing up her eyes and saying nothing. I was starting to feel a little self-conscious.
“I’m going to say down,” she said at last. “But you look hot no matter what. So it doesn’t really matter.”
“Thanks, Bets. Wearing it down is easier anyway,” I said, and ran a comb through my hair. I wasn’t sure I looked as amazing as I wanted, but it was a lot better than my workout clothes, so Hunter should be happy. I didn’t have much choice, however, even if I’d wanted to change, because just then we heard a knock at the door.
“I’ll get it!” Betsy offered, while I was putting the finishing touches on my eye makeup. Just a little eyeliner to make them stand out, and that was it.
“Have you told him yet about your ex showing up?” she asked.
“No, not yet,” I admitted. “I guess I should tell him tonight. I didn’t want him to get all mad and flip out. But I guess he wouldn’t know where to find the guy, anyway.”
“Yeah, you should tell him. He’s got to be wondering why you’re staying here. Anyway, he’s waiting. I’ll go get him.”
Soon I heard Hunter and Betsy greet each other enthusiastically, and it made me smile that my best friend and my boyfriend got along so well. Boyfriend, or whatever he was, anyway.
I gave one last glance in the mirror and decided I was ready, turned off the light and headed to the living room to meet up with Hunter. The butterflies were already working up a storm in my stomach, anticipating everything that would happen after the fight.
I couldn’t help but notice Hunter’s eyes light up when I walked into the room. He stood up with a sweet smile and reached for me, giving me an old, familiar feeing in the pit of my stomach. It was a warm feeling, a kind of certainty about another person that I hadn’t felt in a long time.
“Anna,” he breathed. “You look...” Hunter stopped, unable to find the right words.
“Hot?” Betsy offered, and Hunter burst out laughing.
“Hot is definitely one thing,” he said with a smile.
“All right, well, I’ll leave you two kids alone,” Betsy said with a roll of her eyes. “Will I see you back here tonight after the match?” she asked me.
“Um,” I started, not quite sure how to respond. I certainly hoped that Hunter would be taking me home with him afterwards, but I didn’t want to say it right out.
“No,” Hunter chimed in. “If it’s all right with the lady, I think I’d like to take her back to my place afterwards.”
“Oh,” Betsy cooed. “Well, don’t mind me.”
“Shall we, then?” Hunter asked.
“Sure. I can’t wait to watch you cream this guy. Who are you fighting, anyway?” I asked, trying to make conversation if only to get my mind off of what would happen afterwards.
“His name is Wayne. Actually, he’s a friend of mine,” Hunter told me as we walked to the car. “I am still hoping to kick his ass, though.”
“I’ll never understand your line of work,” I said with a smile.
Hunter walked around to the passenger side of his snazzy red Firebird and opened the door for me.
“My lady,” he said with a bow.
“Oh my,” I said with a sigh. “I’d forgotten you were such a gentleman.”
“Always,” Hunter said, getting in and starting the engine. I couldn’t help but think that he was right about that. He always held doors for me, paid for my dinners even though I knew he couldn’t afford it, and treated me with the utmost respect. Even though he was the poorest kid in school, he was always perfect gentleman.
“So, I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Hunter began as he started the car, “why have you been staying at Betsy’s when you have your own place?”
“Oh,” I said, not sure how to answer. I knew that Betsy was right, that I really needed to tell Hunter what had been going on. But I didn’t think it was a good idea to get him upset right before his fight. “Could we talk about that later?”
“Later, why?” Hunter asked, turning toward me. I could see concern flashing in his eyes. “What’s going on? Is something wrong?”
“It’s OK,” I said. “Don’t worry. I just don’t think we should talk about it right before your fight.”
Hunter shook his head.
“Can you just tell me now?” he asked. “I think wondering and worrying about it is going to be worse before the fight.”
“All right,” I said. “If you really think it’ll be better that way.”
“I do,”
Hunter said, reaching over to take me by the hand. “Just tell me what’s going on."
I took a deep breath.
“So, I was seeing this guy before I left Australia,” I said, finally. “And then a few days ago, he showed up on my doorstep.”
Hunter was quiet for a moment before he spoke, and I was afraid he might get madder than I realized.
“What happened?” he asked, his voice icy.
“Nothing, exactly. I tried to break it off with him,” I said.
“You tried to? What do you mean you tried to?”
“I mean, I did break it off with him. But he didn’t take it well,” I answered.
“Did he do something?” Hunter asked, anger rising in his voice. “Who the hell is this guy?”
“He didn’t do anything. But he was acting strange. He scared me a little,” I admitted. “But I don’t think he’s going to come back.”
“God damn it,” Hunter swore, hitting the steering wheel with his hand. “I can’t stand fucking guys like that.”
“It’s OK, Hunter,” I said, quietly.
“It’s not OK! My dad was a piece of shit just like that. Scaring people just because he could,” Hunter said, getting quiet again.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“What?” Hunter said, his voice softening instantly as he turned toward me. “Let’s get one thing straight, you don’t have anything to be sorry about. My piece of shit dad has something to be sorry about. Your piece of shit ex has something to be sorry about. But not you.”
“Thanks, Hunter,” I said, touched that he was so angry on my behalf, but still worried that he might get too worked up over it. “How is your mom, anyway? I miss her,” I said, partly because I really did miss his mom, and partly because I wanted to change the subject.
“She’s good,” Hunter said. “A lot better than she used to be. But still struggling to get by, as always.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said. “I always liked her.”
“She always liked you too,” Hunter told me. “And she’ll be all right. That’s why I want to win this damn tournament so badly. The prize money would be enough to pay the rest of her mortgage and then some. It would take a great load off of her shoulders.”
