“I know, we’ve just been so busy with everything we have going on.” Melissa nodded knowingly, but Melissa heard one of the Sarah’s friends scoff under her breath. Melissa looked over Sarah’s shoulder and picked the woman out. “I’m sorry, what was that?” The woman looked up horrified.
“What? Oh, nothing. There was, uh, something caught in my throat.” Melissa shot daggers out of her eyes at the woman, but Sarah intervened.
“Melissa, I’m sure she didn’t mean anything by it.” Sarah looked back at the woman averted her gaze. “I know that you’ve been working hard. And I know that things have been difficult since I met Brandon.” Melissa shook her head.
“It’s really not that big of a deal, I just wanted to make sure that your new friends knew where we stood.” Sarah laughed uncomfortably as Melissa stared them down. She knew that her job as a bartender wasn’t much compared to the jobs the men that these women were married to had, but she was proud.
Melissa had been moving up at her restaurant and was getting more responsibility. It was a big improvement from where she had been after college. She had always been impulsive, and the fact that she had a steady job meant a lot.
“So, how long have you been waiting? Not long I hope.” Sarah rested her hand on Melissa’s arm and she laughed.
“Oh, no. I only got here a few minutes before you. I was just checking out what the hotel had to offer.” Melissa said this with a smile as a man in a suit walked up and tapped Melissa on the shoulder. She turned and looked up at him. She didn’t think she had done anything wrong, she had only been here for a few hours.
“Ma’am, myself and the staff of this hotel would like to congratulate you on your winnings. We’d like to upgrade your rooms this evening and if there are any shows or events you’d like to see, please let the receptionist know and she’ll set everything up for you.”
Melissa thanked the man and took his card which had a few words scratched onto it for the receptionist. She turned around to see the look of shock on all of Sarah’s friends’ faces. Sarah however didn’t look surprised at all.
“Only a few minutes, huh?” Melissa shrugged causing them both to break into laughter. “Well, let’s go check out this upgraded room, shall we?”
****
Melissa and Sarah spent the next two hours catching up while the other girls got ready to go out for the night. Sarah and Melissa had made a pact that Melissa wouldn’t even try to go after any guys because this was their chance to be together once last time before Sarah became a responsible married woman forever.
While it pained Melissa to realize that this was the end of their long and glorious friendship of going out and getting trashed together, she always knew that it would end with Sarah being happy to leave the life behind.
So as the other girls gussied up, Sarah and Melissa sat drinking alcoholic ciders to prepare for the long evening. There was a knock at the door and Melissa stood up to get it. She swung the door open to reveal the same man from the lobby, however this time he was holding a stack of tickets. He held them out for her and she took them, flipping through them to see what they were.
“Hello, Ms. Brooks. As I said before, we’d love to comp an event for you this evening and I was wondering which one you had in mind.” From the other room Melissa heard a few of the girls shout about some pop star that was supposedly in town, but Melissa had done her research. The best way to get these ladies laid was to bring them to a place that would get everyone excited.
“How about this MMA fight tonight? I heard that it was supposed to be a bloodbath.” The man nodded and picked out the ticket from the stack. He signed something onto the ticket and handed it back to her.
“Of course, just stop off at the front desk before you head out for your passes. Enjoy your evening, ma’am.” Melissa thanked him and closed the door as he walked away. She turned back around and saw all the girls in the room staring at her. Sarah merely sat on the couch and looked on in enjoyment.
“Is there a problem?” As soon as the last word left her lips there was a storm of questions that poured out of the women’s mouths. Some were surprisingly hurtful, but the majority were legitimate concerns. Melissa waved her hands to quiet them. “Listen, listen, listen. You all want to meet someone tonight, right?” They fell silent, and a few even nodded.
“Then we can’t spend our nights where they expect us to be. Those are where the sleaze balls will be. We need to go and find the good ones.” The women were now nodding knowingly. “So, we go to a fight. Men who go watch fights will have their testosterone spiked. They’ll be easy targets, ladies. Trust me.”
The hours before the fight were pretty hectic. The girls rushed to get ready and Melissa and Sarah continued to drink. They changed to shots when the others were ready and by the time they were ready to leave for the fight, Melissa and Sarah were fairly giggly. They stopped off at reception and got their wristbands and then like a gaggle of schoolgirls they made their way down the strip to the arena where the fight was.
Melissa must have been a big winner because they nearly had ringside seats when they were escorted to their seats by a small man dressed in a suit who read the note on their ticket. As they all sat down Melissa watched as the other women began to scan the crowd for potential targets. They were on high alert. However, Melissa couldn’t worry about that. She had to worry about being with Sarah. Just as she had that thought a man sat down in the seat beside her.
“Excuse me, miss.” She turned to see who had spoken and saw the most interesting man she had ever laid eyes on. He was a tall, Caucasian man but he had a dark, even tan as if he worked outside a lot. His profile was incredibly defined and his jawline looked like it could cut glass.
His eyes were an emerald green that caught the lights of the arena in a way that Melissa was almost nervous to look directly into them for fear of being blinded. His arms weren’t that large, but they were tense, like coiled metal.
She looked down at his knuckles and saw that they were shredded and covered in blood and scabs. He was wearing jeans with a baggy, white undershirt. It was slightly stained, but in the kind of way that it could have been bought that way.
“Oh, no problem at all, sir.” He turned and looked at her when she said ‘sir,’ and chuckled. He looked back towards the octagon where lightweight fighters had just started their fight. The arena was fairly empty, most people were waiting for the main event.
As soon as he settled into his seat one of Sarah’s friends leaned over in front of both Sarah and Melissa and shouted down the row of people at the man.
“Hey, handsome. My name is Madeline, what’s yours?” The man turned and politely cocked his head to hear her better. He held his finger up to his ear as if to say he couldn’t hear her so she yelled louder.
He continued to mime as though he couldn’t hear her until she gave up and turned her attention to her drink. Melissa laughed when she turned away and the man once again looked at her.
“Sorry, that’s not one of your friends is it?” Melissa looked at him and shook her head.
“Oh, no. I’m here for my friend’s bachelorette party. I’m the black sheep and the cling-on from her time as a fun, single lady.” The man held out his hand and introduced himself.
“Well it’s lovely to meet you, Black Sheep. I’m Thomas.” Melissa took his hand and shook it.
“That’s not a bad nickname, but my given name is Melissa in case you’re interested.” Thomas laughed and turned his attention back towards the fight.
“That’s a nice name, although I like Black Sheep too.” As he said this a few men dressed in suits run up and start shouting at Thomas. However, they’re not calling him Thomas, they’re calling him ‘Slain Lane.’ He absently waved towards the men and looked back at Melissa. “It’s a better nickname than that at least.”
“Well how’d you get that nickname?” She looked down at his knuckles as she asked the question and he followed her eyes.
“Yeah, I’m a fighter.�
�� He pointed down towards the octagon. “I’ll actually be fighting right there tomorrow night.” Melissa looked back out towards the octagon. A few more people called out as they walked by.
“However, I got that name because I’m a guaranteed loss. Easily slain I suppose. With the last name ‘Lane,’ it was pretty simple for them.” He looked down at the ground and shook his head. A man in a suit walked over and called out to him using his full name. He looked up and turned to Melissa. “I’ll be right back.”
Melissa watched as Thomas strode away. She found it hard to believe that someone his size could ever lose. He was easily a few inches over six foot and couldn’t be considered a heavy weight. He had long arms and she could tell that his legs were steady like tree trunks.
He leaned down to listen to what the man whispered into his ear and he nodded. Melissa watched his face fall as the man walked away. Thomas made his way back over and brought over a server with him. He stood in front of their whole group and got all the girls’ attentions.
“Ladies, this is Freddie. He’s always been my server, he’s the best in the business. Your drinks for the rest of the night are on me, so don’t worry about that.” He turned to Sarah. “Enjoy your last few nights as a single woman. It’s a shame to see you go before I even got to meet you.” All the ladies loudly swooned.
He then turned to Melissa and handed her a piece of paper. “I’m sorry to cut off our chat. I’d love to see you later tonight.” Melissa nodded and looked down at the piece of the paper. The name of a bar and a phone number were written on it. Sarah leaned over and read it as well.
“You should go.” Melissa shook her head and put the paper inside her pocket.
“No, I’m here for you. Not some random guy.” Sarah playfully slapped Melissa.
“That’s not the Melissa I know and love. You go and have fun. You’ve already done your part to make this evening great.” Melissa laughed and they hugged. Melissa stood up and chased down Thomas as he went to leave. She reached out and grabbed his arm, slipping hers under it.
“Mind if I join?”
****
It seemed like wherever they went there were always a few people who threw a smile or a thumbs up in the direction of Thomas. He didn’t seem to be too bothered by it, but it was obvious that it affected him a bit.
He led Melissa in silence off of the strip and they ended up at a small bar that seemed like only the locals would know about its location. She had to imagine that this was exactly why he liked the place. He held the door open for her and they entered together.
Melissa was greeted to a round of cheers as Thomas walked in. She turned to see his reaction and he played it off as if this was the usual response he got whenever he walked in. He held up two fingers for the bartender who nodded and reached down to grab two glasses out from beneath the counter.
Thomas’ strong hands led Melissa to a booth in the corner by the small of her back. She didn’t like when men did this, but with Thomas it seemed different. It seemed almost as if it wasn’t an order, but a strong suggestion. They sat down and a waiter set down two whiskeys in front of them. Thomas thanked the waiter and he walked away.
“So, you’ve got a bit of a reputation,” Melissa said taking a sip of her drink. “It’s cute.” Thomas laughed and took a sip as well, his cheeks flushing a bit.
“Yeah, I like it here. They know me from back in the day.” He waved at two older gentlemen as he said this who stood up and began to walk over. Melissa looked up at them as they got to the table.
Both were easily in their seventies and had thick, leathery skin like they had spent about ten years too many in the sun. She looked towards Thomas who was silently shaking his head at them.
“Oh, what’s this, you don’t want us talking to your lady friend?” The first man slid into the booth beside Melissa, the other slid in next to Thomas. “It’s been a long time since he’s brought a lady in here,” the man said nudging Melissa. She chuckled and continued to drink her whiskey without saying anything.
“How much have you two had to drink,” Thomas inquired as they both slumped into their seats.
“Not enough, that’s for sure,” the second man chimed in. He hiccupped after that and leaned into Thomas, whispering. “So, tomorrow’s a sure thing, right?” The first man reaches across the table and smacks the man lightly across the face, getting his attention.
“Hey, watch your mouth, Bill.” The man turned back toward Thomas who was shaking his head again. “Listen, I’m sorry, Tommy. He’s drunk. It won’t happen again.”
The man quickly stood up and grabbed the second man who was drunkenly making his case for why he said what he had said. Melissa turned and watched Thomas’ face as they walked away.
“What was that about? What did he mean by ‘a sure thing,’” Melissa asked as Thomas finished his whiskey. He looked back at Melissa with a smile on his face.
“Bill gets drunk and forgets that fights are set weeks in advance. He keeps thinking that I’ll back out of my fight,” he motioned for the bartender, pointing at his glass. “But there’s nothing to worry about. Tomorrow around this time I will be getting the shit kicked out of me.” He swore under his breath quietly when the next drink came out.
They sat in silence for a few minutes and drank slowly. Melissa had the sinking feeling that Thomas was keeping something from her. She knew that they had only met that night but she never liked when people held things back.
She was the type of woman that lived spontaneously and didn’t believe in not speaking her mind. There wouldn’t be time to do it later, she needed to live in the moment. Melissa worked up the courage to ask him what was really going on and as she went to speak, Thomas interrupted her.
“Hey, do you wanna go back to my place? It’s only right around the corner. It’s nothing fancy, but I’ve got a few beers there.” Melissa nodded and they both stood up to go and pay the tab. The bartender called out to Thomas as he stood up and reached for his wallet.
“Tommy, don’t worry about it, bud. You’ll pay me tomorrow.” The bartender winked and Thomas turned silently towards the door. Melissa would get to the bottom of this.
****
Thomas wasn’t lying when he said his apartment was right around the corner. Melissa and Thomas turned out of the bar and within twenty steps they were already at his front door. Thinking back she realized that she hadn’t had much to eat and was really feeling the drinks she had had.
Thomas unlocked the door and Melissa felt herself reach out to grab him and hold on. Her hands gripped his bicep and she felt his muscles tense slightly. Once the door was open his arm extended and grabbed her by the hip, holding her up.
She felt his fingers slip inside the belt loops on her pants. He flicked on the light and tossed his keys onto the table the stood next to the door. Melissa’s eyes took a minute to adjust but as they did she was surprised to see boxing trophies and awards lining the walls. She broke off from him and made her way towards the wall. She gripped the couch for balance as she inspected the different awards.
Her eyes swept over the various newspaper clippings and framed paper awards. The different headlines all read something different, but along the same line. Thomas Lane was once a prize fighter. She turned to look at him and saw him leaning against the wall, a frown firmly entrenched on his face.
“But if this is you then-” Thomas nodded.
“Yeah, I fought a lot when I was younger. My dad had a bit of a reputation around town and that meant that I got made fun of a lot at school. I realized early on that I was bigger than most kids and that the fastest way to get somebody to stop talking was to break their jaw.” He looked down at his feet and shook his head.
“As you can imagine that didn’t go over too well and I ended up spending some time in juvenile detention. While I was inside my dad got involved in gambling and got more heavily into drinking. By the time I got out I was sixteen and needed to get a job to pay the bills.”
“That’
s when you started boxing?” Melissa pointed at a picture of a young boy, posed like Muhammad Ali over another child. Thomas laughed.
“That was my first professional fight. Knockout in the first round. I went to school with that kid and he said something about my dad when we touched gloves. Two hits was all it took.” He chuckled under his breath.
“Walked away with one thousand dollars. I made the mistake of telling my dad, who told me that no kid my age should have that much money.” Thomas looked at his feet again. “He lost it all as fast as I had won it.” Thomas got off the wall and walked towards the wall.
“That right there is when I won and decided not to tell my dad about the money, I would just pay the bills and give him enough money to think I had a job,” he said pointing towards a picture of him with his hand being held up by an official.
“I ended up fighting until I was twenty-one. I had a great record too. In the fifty fights I had, I had forty-two wins. Twenty-two of them by knockout.” Thomas reached out and pulled a picture off of the wall and handed it to Melissa.
ROMANCE: BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE: Completely Obsessed (Bad boy Alpha Male Pregnancy Romance) (New Adult and College Contemporary Romance) Page 9
