by L. P. Dover
“I know the feeling,” I murmured.
“So, listen, there’s a party tomorrow night at The Labyrinth. I’m sure you’ve heard Ryley talk about it?”
“Yeah, he mentioned it,” I said. “Happy Birthday, by the way. I’m sure it’ll be fun.”
Taking my hands, he pulled them up and around his neck, and slid his own down my arms to my waist. “I want you to be there with me.”
I was going to be, but he didn’t know that.
“I don’t know if I can,” I lied. “But I’ll definitely try to make it.”
“What happened to only having the weekend? I thought you wanted to be with me.”
“I do, but I think you’re going to be too busy to know I’m there. Ryley told me what he has planned.”
Tyler furrowed his brows. “What do you mean?”
“Uh … let’s just say that you and your friends are going to be well taken care of. You’re definitely not going to need me tomorrow night.”
Even though I knew it was going to be me with him tomorrow night, it still kind of sucked knowing that if I wasn’t there it would’ve been someone else. That was the life of a fighter, though, and I was aware of that … even if I didn’t exactly like it.
My brother never told me stories of his trysts, but I knew he had a lot of them. Now that he’d settled down with someone, he regretted every single one of them. All it takes is that one person to make you want to change.
Tyler sighed, pulling me in tighter. “See, I told you, Gabby. You don’t know what you’re getting into with me. This is my life, and I love it the way it is. If we’re going to do this, we can’t let feelings get in the way. Can you do that?”
I hope so.
Looking up into his serious gray gaze, I smiled and kissed him, making sure to suck his bottom lip before stepping back. “You have nothing to worry about with me. I’m not going to fall in love with you.”
“Good, because I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Hey,” Ryley called out, knocking on the door, “it’s time.”
We both glanced at the door, and then back to each other. “It looks like we have to go,” I said. “Are you ready?”
“You better believe it. Let’s go.”
ONCE TYLER WALKED out and climbed into the ring, Ryley and I took our places with our friends. Everyone in the gym cheered and whistled while Tyler and Kyle circled around each other, facing off. Cole entered the ring next and stood in the center, raising his hands for everyone to be quiet.
“All right, everyone, thanks for coming. Tonight isn’t going to be your usual fight. Instead, there are no rules. This was agreed upon by both fighters.” Looking at both of them, he nodded, and slowly backed up toward the cage door. “Fighters, you may begin!”
In that moment, it was as if the whole room immediately buzzed with way too much energy. It was like a shock wave that traveled from my fingers all the way down to my toes, making me shiver. Tyler threw a hard right hook to Kyle’s face, making his head snap to the side, but then Kyle roared and landed one right back on Tyler’s cheek.
Sometimes it sucked being a woman, not allowed to handle situations with my fists like men could. For the most part, my brother had turned me into a decent fighter, but I wouldn’t really know since I hadn’t put my skills to use on another person without holding back.
Punch after punch, both Kyle and Tyler were equally amazing in the ring and never once stopped to take a break. “Are they not going to do rounds?” I asked Ryley.
He shook his head. “No, they’re not. This is basically a street fight in a ring, sweetheart. You don’t see people taking breaks out on the street, right?”
“No, you don’t, but I figured they would want them.”
“Not these two.”
A few shouts came from behind me, and out of nowhere, I was pushed into the side of the ring; my shoulder throbbing like hell when I took the hit.
“What the hell?” I growled, turning around.
After that it was like everyone and everything froze, even Tyler and Kyle. No one made a move other than Ryley, who came to my side, shielding me.
“You need to back up,” he shouted as Jaden Eller approached with an evil sneer on her face.
“What for? I’m just having a little bit of fun.”
Moving to the side and out of Ryley’s protection, I glared at her and snapped, “What’s your problem?”
She laughed and took another step closer. “Oh, let me see … you are. Everyone around here thinks that you and your brother are like UFC fucking royalty. I’m sick of it.”
“Just because you have a problem with my brother doesn’t mean you can be a psycho bitch and take it out on me. Are you mad because he turned you down or something? That seems to be the growing trend with a lot of people I’ve met these days.”
The crowd started to laugh, which only infuriated Jaden more, her face turning red with rage. “Fuck you, bitch. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She stood there seething, and I knew then that I had hit the nail on the head by the look in her eyes. My brother had broken a lot of hearts, and I knew I shouldn’t provoke her, but I wasn’t going to be pushed around … even if she was a fighter. I was one, too.
“Don’t I? I can see it in your face. He turned you down, and now you’re left with nothing other Kyle Andrews. Kind of sad if you ask me.”
After that, everything moved in slow motion. She lunged straight for me, and I knew she was going to strike even before her body moved; I could see it and feel the tension in the air. When her fist swung, I ducked underneath it and swiftly lifted up, landing an uppercut to her jaw. Eyes wide, she fell back on her ass, speechless … at least for a few seconds.
Kyle and Tyler both jumped out of the ring and down to us; Kyle going straight to Jaden, and Tyler joining me. The whole room was silent as everyone stared at me, their mouths gaping open.
“All right, that’s enough,” Tyler thundered at Kyle. “If you can’t keep your bitch on a leash, you need to get the fuck out of here. The fight’s between me and you … not them.”
“Why don’t you let the girls fight?” someone yelled.
Another person agreed, followed by everyone in the crowd hooting in encouragement. “Yeah, I want to see them fight!”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Tyler snapped, glaring at them all. “You’re talking about a trained UFC fighter against a girl who doesn’t fight.”
“It looks like she can fight to me,” Kyle remarked, gazing up and down my body, licking his lips. “In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen any of our female fighters move like she did.”
Jaden snarled and glared at me. “I’m down for it. That is, if you’re not a scared little bitch,” she taunted angrily.
When the crowd turned their hungry gazes my way, Tyler took me by the arm. He was about to lead me to the back when I stopped, sliding out of his hold.
“Tyler, wait. I can’t walk away from this.”
“Gabby, I’m not going to let you fight her,” he hissed so only I could hear. “Your brother will kill me, along with everyone else if you get hurt. You’re not doing it.”
“Let her do it,” Ryley challenged. “It’s her choice, not ours. Matt will just have to get the hell over it. He can’t control everything she does.”
Tyler closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. “I think you’re missing the point, Ryley. Gabby can’t fight against a trained MMA fighter; she could seriously get hurt.”
“Maybe you underestimate her. I say let her do it.”
When Tyler gazed down at me, I looked up at him and smiled. “I know you’re worried, but trust me, I know what I’m doing.”
“So are we doing this?” Kyle shouted above the crowd.
I stepped around Tyler and glared at both Kyle and Jaden. “Yes,” I answered with a confident smirk. “I’m ready.”
In the gym bag I’d brought, I had my handwraps and gloves, along with a change of clothes. I had fifteen minutes
to get ready, so I excused myself to the back room and put on my short, black workout shorts with a red tank top. As soon as my hands were wrapped and gloved I’d be ready to go.
Tonight began my road to freedom. My brother was most definitely going to find out and I knew he would be pissed, but it was my time to break free. I was proud of who I’d become, even if I was poor for most of my life.
It took a lot of hard work to get where I was and I wanted everyone to see it, to know that I could fight for what I believed in, even if it meant using my fists. I wasn’t weak, nor was I afraid. It was time everyone knew they didn’t have to shelter me.
Lifting my head high, I opened the door to the back room and slowly made my way to the ring, where Jaden was waiting on me. Stunned, Tyler and Ryley both stared at me with wide eyes, their mouths gaping open.
“Where did you get the gloves?” Tyler asked curiously, lifting my hands. “And how did you learn how to wrap them?”
I winked. “Watch and see.”
Walking past him, I climbed up into the ring and kept my gaze on Jaden, ignoring the sounds of everyone around us. All that existed was me and her; I had to block everything else out. She was going down.
“WHAT THE HELL does she think she’s doing?” I grumbled, watching Gabriella circle the ring. She had good form as far as stance, but she didn’t know the first thing about fighting.
“She’ll be fine,” Ryley countered. “She looks hot as fuck up there.”
“Yeah, well maybe not so much when she gets her head bashed in. Or have you forgotten how ruthless of a cunt Jaden is?”
Ryley shook his head and laughed, and all I wanted to do was punch the shit out of him. How could he not see that Gabriella fighting was a complete and utter disaster? He wasn’t going to be the one her brother came after first … I was. After Cole made his announcement, he smiled at Gabriella and wished her good luck before giving them the shout out to start.
Holy fuck, here we go.
Immediately, Jaden went on the rampage and straight for Gabriella, swinging her fists. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see the first hit, but the sound of it was bone crunching. “Shit,” I hissed, turning around. “We need to stop this.”
Ryley burst out laughing and elbowed me in the side. “Dude, what are you talking about? You seriously need to watch this.”
“No thanks. I’ll just see the damage when it’s done. How the fuck are we going to deal with her brother after this? He trusts us.”
“I know he trusts us, but I also think he’ll be proud of her, too. She moves just like him up there. She’s kicking major ass.”
“Wait, what?” I mumbled, turning around. I was expecting to see Gabriella covered in blood, already flat on the mat, but that wasn’t what I saw at all.
She had a smile on her face, moving gracefully in the ring and dodging every single punch Jaden threw her way. Jaden, on the other hand, looked disheveled and worn out; her face was blood red and her left eye swollen shut.
It wasn’t Gabriella who had gotten hit … it was Jaden. Gabriella glanced down at me and winked before sweeping Jaden off of her feet, making her fall down to the mat. She was amazing; I was getting hard just watching her.
They grappled on the mat until Gabriella caught her in an armbar and started to pull. Pain was etched all over Jaden’s face, but she wasn’t tapping out. Her pride could easily ruin her; I’d seen it with so many fighters. It was hard to tap out when you wanted to keep going, but I’d been beaten so many times I knew when to accept defeat. This season, however, I was undefeated.
“Tap out, Jaden,” Gabriella said through clenched teeth. “I don’t want to break your arm.”
“Fuck you,” Jaden spat. “I knew you were a scared little bitch.”
“Really? You’re going to say that to me when you’re at my mercy?”
With a smile on his face, Kyle watched Gabriella with too much heat in his eyes, too much interest. I didn’t like it.
“Get your girl to tap out,” I growled. “She’s not going to be able to compete with a broken arm.”
Kyle shrugged and brushed me off. “I don’t give a shit about that. I’m enjoying watching Gabriella fight with her own conscience on if she should do it or not. I know she wants to.”
Gabriella heard every single word he said and snarled in disgust. She abruptly let Jaden go and pushed her away, getting to her feet while Jaden stumbled to the edge of the ring, holding her arm.
“I may have wanted to break her arm,” Gabriella snapped, catching her breath, “but I didn’t because I’m not like you.” Then to Jaden she said, “I don’t intentionally hurt people to get off on it, but if you so much as mess with me again it won’t be just your arm I break.”
Jaden stumbled out of the ring, and Kyle—with his disappointed glare—didn’t even help her out. What a fucking douche bag. When they started toward the door, Gabriella beamed and hopped out of the ring, landing straight in front of me.
“So what did you think?” she asked.
“You were amazing. Matt never told me he was training you.”
“That’s because I told him not to. It wasn’t something I wanted everyone knowing. Now what we need to do is go out and have some fun. I feel so freaking good right now.”
I had never seen her so happy or full of life. I knew it was because of the adrenaline coursing through her veins. Fighting was a rush, and it was one of the best feelings I’d ever felt in my life. It was a drug.
“Why don’t you go and change clothes? Then we can get out of here. I’ll take you to my place.”
Biting her lip, she nodded and turned around, sashaying her hips as she walked away. My dick twitched in my shorts, and I knew if I joined her in that room I wouldn’t be able to hold off. She would be mine.
“Actually, the celebrating is going to have to wait,” Ryley cut in with a disgruntled look on his face. In his hand, he typed away on his phone, and then put it away angrily.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I know you two want to celebrate doing your thing tonight, but I need Gabriella to come with me. I’ll explain later.”
“Please tell me you’re joking.”
“Believe me, I’m not … trust me.”
Exasperated, I shook my head and huffed, “Fine, but you owe me for this.”
She’d already said she wouldn’t be at my party, which left Saturday as my only night with her.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Ryley chimed with a sly smile. “I have the perfect birthday present that will make up for everything. Don’t you worry.”
Yeah, but that didn’t involve the woman I wanted, I almost said.
About that time, Gabriella came out of the back room looking pissed and glaring at Ryley. “I just got a text from Bradley,” she thundered. “Care to explain what’s going on?”
“I will on the way. Are you ready to go?”
Gabriella huffed and turned to me. “I’m so sorry. I’ll call you tomorrow to wish you a happy birthday. I hope you have a good time at your party.”
“It won’t be the same without you there,” I told her, tapping her chin playfully so she’d think I wasn’t pissed about her leaving. “And give my not so kind regards to Bradley.”
“Trust me, there won’t be any kind thoughts to any of the guys tonight.” She glared at Ryley before turning back to me. “Anyway, I know you’ll have fun. I’m pretty sure you’ll forget about me after you get your birthday present from him,” she stated, pointing to Ryley.
She obviously didn’t care if I fucked around with other girls because I knew that was what Ryley had planned. What pissed me off, was that I knew I would care if she went off and slept with another guy this weekend before being with me; like Bradley for instance.
There was more to their relationship then what she let on. Nonetheless, Gabriella was the only girl I couldn’t have and that made me want her even more. One way or another, I was going to have her … and no one was going to stand in my way.
; AS SOON AS we got in the car, I slammed the door and went off. “What happened, Ryley? Why are Camden, Bradley, and Colin in jail? All I got was a text asking if I could come pick them up.”
“Well …” he began, glancing sheepishly over at me, “Camden thought it would be a good idea to rub it in Colin’s face that he had messed around with Ashleigh.”
“Oh my God,” I gasped. “Why would he do that?”
He scoffed incredulously, “Really? You’re going to ask that? This is Camden we’re talking about.”
“Where was Ashleigh during all of this?”
Ryley shrugged. “She wasn’t there. That’s why they wanted you.”
I threw my hands in the air. “Great. Why am I the one who always has to deal with this shit?”
Ryley reached for my hand and squeezed. “It’s because you’re the only one who can think rationally and still see the good in people when they do something wrong. Any normal person would run away from me, but you always have my back when I get into trouble.”
“It’s because you’re redeemable,” I murmured. “I know there’s more to you than what you let on. I have hope, hope that everyone has the chance to rise up to be more than what they are.”
“You remind me so much of your brother when you say stuff like that. He’s the same way, the same mentality. It’s easy to see why everyone’s so envious of you two.”
That took me by surprise.
“I thought Jaden was just talking shit when she said that. Matt and I came from nothing. I don’t see why anyone would be jealous of us. If anything, it would be the opposite way around.”
Ryley shrugged. “Maybe that’s why you attract so many people. You’re grounded and you have heart. It’s hard to find that in people these days.”
“Thanks,” I said, squeezing his hand back. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
Finally, we pulled into the station parking lot and parked. I sat there taking a deep breath, hoping Camden didn’t screw everything up. I didn’t want to have to answer Colin’s questions without Ashleigh there, but I knew I probably needed to clear the air before he went back to her.
