Simple Lies

by Amanda Bennett

  I waved back at her, but didn’t bother telling her my name. I didn’t do relationships. I did one-night stands, and quick and easy, and she struck me as a relationship type of girl, and relationships were, complicated and messy. No thanks. When I finally made it into the locker room, I saw Braxton standing in the corner chattin’ up somebody, somebody with money no doubt. I walked over to him and clamped my hand down on his shoulder, startling him a bit.

  “You disappeared in there. What happened to ya?” I knew exactly what had happened to him. See Braxton was always on the hunt for the next “big thing”, and right now, it looked like the next big thing, was a man with a whole lot of money. “Hi, I’m Declan. Pleasure to meet ya.” The man sitting in front of Braxton stood to shake my hand.

  “Well the pleasure is all mine, son. This young man over here was just singin’ your praises to me. Sounds like you’re a sure fire bet in these parts.” His thick southern drawl instantly clued me in on just exactly who this guy was.

  “I guess you could say that.” I opened my locker, and quickly changed shirts so I could get out of here as fast as I could. I glanced over at Braxton as I finished gathering up my things, “You ready to go?”

  “What’s the rush, son. I’d like to take y’all out for a beer or somethin’. My treat.” I did a once over of this guy, noticing all of his gold rings, necklaces, his button down Hawaiian shirt, and his khaki shorts. Man this guy stuck out like a sore thumb.

  “Ya know, you should really dress the part.”

  “Dude, what’s your problem?” Braxton growled.

  “I don’t have one.” I leaned past Braxton and stuck my hand out to shake the gentleman’s hand. “It was nice meeting you. Enjoy your stay in North Carolina.”

  “Son, you haven’t even heard my offer.” He sounded put out, but that wasn’t my fault. Maybe Braxton should learn to tell people things ahead of time, or maybe even ask them.

  “I appreciate it, sir, but I’m just not interested.” I turned and gave Braxton an evil look, and then made my way out of the locker room and out towards my car. Unfortunately for me, my best friend was a persistent little shit, and he never gave up…on anything.

  “Dude, come on. At least just sit down with him for a drink and see what he has to say.”

  “You do realize that it’s only two in the afternoon, right?”

  “Yeah, so?”

  I shook my head, “Never mind, dumb-ass. Fine, let me just go back to my hotel and catch a quick shower. I’ll meet y’all over at Riley’s in about thirty?”

  “Sounds good. Oh man, this is gonna be great. I promise you.” He was jumping around like a schoolboy as he pointed at me, and started to walk away.

  ~~~~

  About forty minutes later, I was pullin’ up to Riley’s, regretting even agreeing to meet my idiot friend and his new friend. I put the truck in park and sat there for a few minutes trying to gather my thoughts. Unfortunately, every time I closed my eyes visions of blonde hair, and blue eyes consumed my every thought. I slammed my hands against the steering wheel, and shook my head, trying to dislodge the memories, hoping that they would disappear all together. I knew if I didn’t get in there soon, Braxton would come looking for me, so I took in a deep breath and jumped down out of the truck.

  When I walked into Riley’s, Razor and a few others that worked there instantly said hey, and I waved back as I made my way over to the table that Braxton and the other guy were already sitting at. When I reached the table, the man stood and greeted me again. At least he was polite before trying to steal my money.

  “I don’t believe I properly introduced myself earlier.” He held out his hand for me to take, “The name is Jack, Jack Monroe. Please, have a seat.”

  I shook the man’s hand, and then took the seat opposite of him. “Well it’s nice to meet you, Mr. Monroe.” I waved over a waitress so I could order a drink and then continued, “So what brings you to the lovely state of North Carolina, Mr. Monroe?”

  “Please, call me Jack.”

  “Okay…Jack, what brings ya to my hometown?”

  “I met your friend here a while back, and he just couldn’t stop rantin’ and ravin’ over how good of a fighter you are. Figured I’d come see it for myself. And he was right. You’re a damn good fighter, boy. How old are you, if ya don’t mind me askin’?”

  I took a sip from the drink that had just been placed in front of me, and then leaned in towards Jack. “I’ll be twenty-four this December.”

  “Wow! Just…wow…that’s quite impressive. Only twenty-three and you’ve already had a title fight, and only a single loss since joinin’ the UFC less than two years ago. Wow.”

  It was a bit creepy, just how infatuated with me he seemed to be. “Looks like you’ve done your homework on me, Jack. What else do you want to pretend to ask me, then tell me the answers you already know?”

  Braxton kicked me under the table, and I turned to give him a dirty look. “Chill out, man.” He whispered.

  I took another sip, but then decided to just finish the rest of my drink. This meeting wasn’t about to last much longer anyway. “Let’s get down to brass tax, Jack, shall we?”

  He let out a loud belly laugh, and my brows pulled together in confusion. “I like you, kid. You’re spunky. Let’s cut the shit, Declan. Your friend here owes me a lot of money, and he seems to think that you, more specifically your hands, are his get out of jail free card. You see where I’m goin’ here?”

  I glanced between Jack and Braxton in disbelief and disgust. “Let’s get one thing straight, Jack. Braxton’s mistakes are just that, his mistakes. I’m not responsible for what he owes you and neither is anybody else. Now I want you to listen very closely as I say this last part, because I won’t be repeating myself. If you ever come back here and try to persuade me to fight for you to pay off his debt, I will make sure that nobody knows where you go next. Do you understand what I’m tellin’ ya?” I was only inches away from him now, and I could see the fear in his eyes. But I also wasn’t stupid, I knew he wasn’t the muscle behind his name. No, he paid people for that, and I also wasn’t stupid enough to believe that he wouldn’t send said muscle after me for threatening him. I stood from the table, and turned to leave but stopped, and turned in his direction. “Oh, and if you even so much as touch a hair on his head, I’ll kill you. Got it?” I smiled, threw a couple bills down on the table and walked out of the bar.

  SEVEN

  Hadley

  “Ryan, are you sure you don’t mind if I go out tonight?” It had only been two weeks since Ryan and I had been back “together” and although everything was going perfectly between us, he was still having issues with letting me have my nights out with PJ. Despite the fact that we weren’t officially together, he still knew that my nights out with PJ were the one thing I wouldn’t budge on. Needless to say, he was still adjusting to the new me.

  “I told you a thousand times, Hads. I don’t mind. It’s Saturday night, go have fun.”

  I shrugged my shoulders, and smiled as I put the finishing touches on my makeup. I pursed my lips, and stood back admiring myself in the mirror. It was still strange seeing myself all dolled up to go somewhere, especially when my usual outfits consisted of jeans and t-shirts. I gathered my things, and made my way out to Ryan’s living room where he was perched on the edge of the couch watching TV. It was some fight that was on, but I just ignored it as I straddled Ryan’s lap, leaning down to give him a kiss.

  “I’m sorry, am I in your way?” I asked teasingly as I continued to trace his lips with the tip of my tongue. He tried to fight me at first, but once I lightly pushed my tongue between his lips, he gave into his carnal desires, picking me up and pushing my back into the couch.

  I let out a small giggle knowing that PJ would be here at any moment to pick me up. “How long do we have?” All I could do was shrug before he was down on his knees, unbuttoning my shorts. When he slipped the last button through the loop, he pulled my shorts from my body with brute
force, discarding them on the floor along with my panties. Before I could protest any further, his fingers were holding open my folds, and his tongue began to slide up and down my swollen clit. My eyes rolled in the back of my head and my back arched as he began to flick my hardened nub with the tip of his skillful tongue.

  A small moan escaped from my mouth as his tongue worked its way up and down, and inside out. I could feel myself getting closer, and as much as I wanted to save time and just cum right there and be over it, I also wanted to feel him cherish me in a way that he so rarely ever did. While his tongue continued to circle my clit, his left hand caressed my thigh, working its way up to my most needy spot. His fingers were positioned at my entrance, but he made no attempt to move them. I sat there in limbo, anticipating what he was going to do next, and just when I thought he had changed his mind, he pushed his fingers into me with such force that I screamed out in both pain and pleasure.

  My hands clasped onto his shoulders, my nails digging deep into his exposed skin, practically drawing blood. I could feel his moans vibrating against my most sensitive area, and the more he moaned, the closer I got. He moved his fingers fast then slow, repeating the torturous motion for what felt like an eternity. At first it felt good, and I let the pleasure of it all take over me, but then something happened, something dark took over him. He started to get rough. I don’t usually complain about rough. Hell, I’m usually asking for it to be that way, but this was different. It felt almost as though he was punishing me, for what I didn’t know, but it definitely wasn’t a loving approach to sex.

  As he pulled his fingers out of me, I could feel him adding a third and without warning, he thrust them deep inside of me, his nails scraping my vaginal wall as he did so, causing me to let out a blood-curdling scream. I sat myself up on my elbows so I could look down at him, but the only expression on his face was dark and lustful. His other hand went up to my breast, and he pinched and played with my nipple in a way that had me begging for more, and forcing me to forget about the pain he had just inflicted. When he pulled his fingers back this time, I sat up and grabbed his hand, pulling it up to me as I shook my head.

  “I want you inside of me.” I whispered. A smile formed across his lips, but before he could move his hand from my grasp, I noticed that his nails were tinged red . My eyes went wide, but I didn’t want to say anything. I didn’t want to ruin this moment between him and I.

  Ryan positioned himself at my entrance, and looked up directly into my eyes. “Are you sure you’re ready for me?” I frantically nodded my head, needing to feel him inside of me so badly that I thought I might lose it if he didn’t. “Here we go.” Without another word, he thrust himself deep and hard into me, causing my body to move up on the couch with the force. I clutched his face in my hands so he would look at me, but he kept turning it out of the way, and eventually I gave up.

  He pumped in and out of me at a constant pace, and as my walls began to clench around his girth, the faster and harder he moved. With every thrust, I could feel the bruising starting to form. The amount of pain I felt was insurmountable, but before I could even process what was happening, my body was reacting to the pleasure that was being thrust upon me. I dug my nails deep into Ryan’s shoulder blades, breaking the skin, and then dragging them down his back, as he finally found his release. He stayed inside of me for a few minutes, unmoving, just looking into my eyes. The connection I felt with him was so real and raw, but it also scared the shit out of me.

  I kissed his cheek and excused myself so I could go clean myself up before PJ showed up, and he happily pulled out of me and sat back against the couch. When I got into the bathroom, I closed the door tightly, immediately reaching for the toilet paper. As I cleaned the after effects of our little romp, I noticed that the fluid coming out of me was tinged pink, and suddenly my insides hurt beyond belief. I clutched onto the sink as I cradled my stomach, and rode out the wave of indescribable pain. When the pain subsided, I grabbed a panty liner out of my purse, and pulled myself back together. This was really something that needed to be talked about when we had more time.

  I was supposed to be staying at Ryan’s the whole weekend, but something inside of me was telling me to run. Never one to not listen to my gut instincts, I ran to his room and shoved my belongings inside my duffel bag before heading out to the living room. Just as I was walking down the hallway, the doorbell rang. I glanced over at Ryan to see if he was dressed, and to my surprise, he was. I went over and pulled open the door for PJ, and then made my way back over to Ryan. I leaned over to give him a kiss, but he gave me his cheek instead.

  “Are you serious right now?” I whispered.

  “What?” He feigned innocence.

  “Okay, if that’s how you want to be. See you later.” I kissed his cheek and started heading towards the door. “Oh, and I think I’m gonna stay at my dorm tonight if that’s okay with you.”

  “Yeah, whatever. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

  “Sure.” I said with confusion.

  “Love you.” He shouted as I closed the door, and that was that.

  I looked over at PJ, feeling horrible for the fact that I hadn’t even said hi yet, and for the fact that she had to witness all that bullshit go down. “Hey girly. You look amazing. Where are we going?” PJ was decked out in a pair of black skinny pants, a white see-through blouse with a black and white lace cami underneath, and a gorgeous pair of “fuck me” boots.

  “You look just as great.” She laughed as she looked at my short white shorts, white and navy striped long sleeve crop top, and black wedges. “In all seriousness though, you look great. And…it’s a surprise.”

  ~~~

  Thirty minutes later, we pulled up in front of the Durham Dome. I was completely confused until I glanced up at the marquee and saw UFC Fight Night in bright letters flashing across the screen with pictures of all the fighters. I wasn’t much of an MMA watcher, but PJ was, and wherever there were hot guys beating each other up in small shorts…she was there.

  “I got free tickets from this guy in my econ class the other day. He says that there are a few fighters that are fighting tonight from here. I figured it’s something new, and girl, you need something new. I knew exactly what she was implying, but I wasn’t taking the bait tonight. Tonight I was determined to have the best time of my life, even if I had to fake it.

  Once we got through the doors and through the sea of crazy ass people, we headed straight for the line to get our wristbands that said we were old enough to drink, then we headed straight to the bar. We ordered a few shots and threw them back one by one, before finally buying two beers a piece, and heading to our seats. It was harder than shit to get back out and get beer once everything started, so double fisting it was the way to go. I followed PJ through the crowd, until we came up to a red velvet roped off section. I wasn’t exactly sure if our tickets were for this area, but I was hoping so, just so we didn’t look like idiots. With a stern nod of his head, the beefy security guard let us past and we were suddenly inside a huge glass company suite.

  It was absolutely breathtaking, and I couldn’t help but wonder how in the world she managed to get these seats for us. I was just about done with my first beer, and I was feeling lighter than air when PJ came to sit next to me. “How ya feelin’?”

  “Oh my god, PJ. These seats are amazing. We can literally see everything, but without all the assholes around us.” I laughed.

  “Oh just wait, it gets better.”

  “Better than this?”

  “Yep. Grab your other beer. We’re headed down there.” She pointed down to the front row where there just so happened to be two empty seats right in front of the ring.

  “No fucking way.” I shouted.

  “Yes fucking way. Lets go.”

  I grabbed my beer in one hand, and PJ’s hand in the other as we made our way down the private set of stairs that lead right out to the front row. My mouth dropped open in awe as we took our seats. The sheer magnitude of the event
itself was amazing, and it was mind-blowing just how many people loved this sport and came out to show their support.

  The lights began to dim, and I suddenly became very anxious as we waited for the first fight to start. My heart was beating about a million miles a minute as the announcer started to get the crowd riled up for the first fighters. Music started to flow through the speakers and PJ and I started to sing and dance along with the songs that we knew. The first few fights were kind of lame, and boring, but she told me that her friend said that’s usually how they start. Suddenly the lights went down and as we stood right at the end of the entrance to where the next fighter was to come out, I got butterflies. My stomach started turning and I was nervous as all hell. I couldn’t understand what was happening, and then I saw him.

  His perfect chiseled chin was all I could see from under his black hoodie, until he turned towards me, and then I was lost in a sea of blue. Shock took over his hardened expression, and I swear I could even see a hint of a smile, but then he was gone. Now I knew exactly why she brought me here, and I’m willing to bet it wasn’t just a coincidence that he was fighting tonight. Suddenly my world began to crumble around me, because the perfect stranger I thought I would never see again, was now right in front of me…and hot as hell.

  EIGHT

  Declan

  I was pumped for tonight. It was my last fight in North Carolina, and I couldn’t wait to get out of this god-forsaken state. Between Braxton and his bullshit, and having to go see my cousin later tonight, and that girl. The girl that I couldn’t get out of my mind no matter how fucking hard I tried. As my mind flashed back to memories of that night, I found myself getting more turned on than riled up. Not tonight. Tonight I couldn’t think about her, and what good would it do to think about her anyhow, it’s not like I was ever going to see or talk to her again. That’s kind of how it works when she gives you a fake number.

  I bounced back and forth as I rolled my head from side to side, preparing myself for one of the toughest fights I would ever fight in my career. If I won tonight, my career in the UFC would be solidified. I would finally be a household name. I would finally be the one that the crowd cheered for instead of booed. I closed my eyes and took in one last deep breath before walking through the doors, and into the arena. The roar of the crowd caught me off guard, which rarely happened, but something felt different tonight, my body felt…off. All of a sudden it felt as though a swarm of butterflies took flight in my stomach. My palms were beginning to sweat, and my heart rate practically skyrocketed in a matter of seconds. What was this feeling I was experiencing? Was this nervousness? I was never nervous before a fight, and to be honest, it was really starting to scare the shit out of me.