Fighting Love

by Marysol James

  And then you fucked him in his expensive car?

  “Sounds nice,” Mitch said.

  “It was. It was fun.”

  “Good.”

  Pamela stood up. “Could you guys excuse me for a minute?”

  “Sure,” Reena said.

  Mitch waited until the woman was in the bathroom and the door was closed. “I’m so sorry, Reena. God, I’m so fucking embarrassed.”

  She glanced at him. “Because of Pamela?”

  Pamela, that’s it. How fucking sad is it that Reena knows her name and I don’t have a clue? Jesus Christ, I’m an asshole.

  “Yeah. I mean… yeah. You shouldn’t be running in to my one-night-stands over your morning coffee.”

  She looked puzzled. “Why do you think it’s a problem for me?”

  “You mean it’s not?”

  “You’re single, Mitch. When we moved in together, I assumed that you’d have girlfriends, or at least women stay over sometimes. It’s fine. No need to be embarrassed.” She took a sip of coffee. “I mean, I’ll have guys stay over too, from time to time, I imagine. That’s not going to upset you, is it?”

  Nope, not in the slightest. Shoot me now.

  “Oh, no. Of course not.”

  “Good. So that’s settled.” She smiled and got to her feet. “OK, I have to get to work. I’ll see you later.”

  “Later,” Mitch said and watched her walk down the hall to her studio. The door closed and he heard her turn on some music. He sighed.

  She’s so close to me, and she’s just so fucking far away. What the hell am I going to do?

  **

  Simon watched Mitch come in to The Rock, and he grinned in anticipation. He’d dropped Reena off as late as possible, and he was sure that Mitch had had a lousy night, waiting for her to get home.

  It had actually been an OK evening. Reena was nice, if you liked that kind of thing in a girl, which Simon didn’t, and she was sweet and funny. Again, not qualities that interested him overmuch, but which did make her presence tolerable. He had chatted and acted like he gave a shit when she said something, and so the evening had been a roaring success, at least from her perspective. He was totally sure that when she told her girlfriends about it, she’d call Simon ‘a nice guy’.

  The only thing was that he hadn’t fucked her, and in fact, he hadn’t even made a move in that direction. He was totally convinced that Reena wasn’t the type to fuck on the first date, and Simon was interested in the long-game. None of this was about her, anyway; it was all about screwing with Mitch Corrigan’s head. And his boxing.

  The man was a tank, Simon had been horrified to discover. The first time they’d squared off in the ring, Simon had been astounded at Mitch’s brutal strength. That was over a month earlier, but Simon’s body still remembered the punishing blows, Mitch’s speed and agility, the crushing kicks. Mitch hadn’t beaten him that day, but it had been a damn close thing, and Simon had been shaken. Badly.

  He knew that in terms of physical strength, he could hold his own with Mitch. Simon had increased his workouts over the past five weeks, and he was sure that as Mitch got stronger and bigger, he did too. Simon was punching and kicking harder, and with Adam and Nick’s training, his blows were more precise, more lethal. But then again, Mitch was also benefiting from Adam and Nick’s experience and smarts, so even though Simon was ahead of the game right now, he may well not be for long.

  No, the thing about Mitch that really had Simon up at night wasn’t the man’s physical abilities. It was Mitch’s mentality, his attitude. Simon was the darling of the kickboxing world – for now – but he knew that if all the money and sponsorships and perks dried up tomorrow, he’d quit the sport. No way he’d fucking have his face and body pounded on unless he had a payday to justify it. He didn’t love the sport; he loved what it gave him.

  Mitch, though. That fucker was a whole different breed of kickboxer, and Simon knew that every single time he looked in to the man’s eyes. His partial sponsorship from The Rock was decent, as far as these things went, but Simon was absolutely convinced that even if Mitch didn’t make a penny off the sport, he’d still do it. He was born to fight, and that kind of opponent was exactly the kind that Simon Yates couldn’t handle; that kind of opponent would topple him from his exalted position. Mitch Corrigan was rough and uneducated, raised in some bad neighborhood in Boston, but he was exactly the kind of boxer who could take it all away from Simon. And Simon simply wasn’t about to let that happen.

  Since Simon couldn’t do much to weaken Mitch on the physical front, he had to find another way to make the man slow and uncertain, vulnerable and exposed. Reena was Mitch’s Achilles’ heel – though God only knew why a man like Mitch would have any interest in her, since she wasn’t slutty or sexy – and Simon was going to exploit her for all she was worth.

  Fuck with his head, man. Keep him distracted and upset, and maybe he’ll crash out. Nobody ever needs to see what he can really do.

  Mitch saw Simon standing next to the ring, taping his hands. He sighed and walked over, reminding himself to be nice to this fucking asshole who had probably slept with Reena.

  “Hey, man.” Simon’s eyes were warm as he grinned at Mitch. “How you doing today?”

  “Good. You?”

  “Great. I had such a good time with Reena last night.”

  “You did?”

  “Oh, yeah. She’s incredible, huh?”

  Mitch pulled off his t-shirt and shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so.”

  Simon put on his most innocent expression. “Hey, man? Is it OK that I’m going out with her?”

  Mitch turned. “What? Why?”

  “Well, I guess I should have asked before… is it cool that I’m dating her? I mean, you don’t have any interest in her yourself, do you?”

  Mitch thought about her beautiful face and kindness, her laugh and the way that she was already trying to take care of him when he came home from a rough day of training. She was sweet and smart, and she was absolutely everything he could ever want in a woman. And she wasn’t for him; she was way out of his league and the sooner he accepted that, the better.

  Mitch shook his head. “Nope. No interest whatsoever.”

  They both knew he was lying.

  **

  “OK, Reena. Spill.” Katie’s dark eyes sparkled.

  “Spill what?” Reena brought two overflowing plates of food over to the table.

  “Oh, for God’s sake,” Katie huffed. “About Simon, of course.”

  “Simon?” Maggie asked. “Who’s Simon?”

  “Oh, man.” Mia reached for a quesadilla. “Only the hottest kickboxer in the game, ladies. He trains with Adam and Nick, and he’s Mitch’s sparring partner. You’ll have seen him in those ads for Coles Jeans… the blond guy with the perfect chest and ass?”

  Maggie gazed at Reena. “That guy?”

  “Yeah.” Reena went back to the kitchen and got the pitcher of Margaritas. “Yeah, we’ve been on six dates.”

  “Six?” Mia said. “I knew about one… when have you been seeing him?”

  Reena shrugged. “Just – over the past month or so. It’s no big deal.”

  Maggie snorted and grabbed some homemade nachos. “You’re sleeping with a drop-dead sexy, rich, celebrity kickboxer, and you say it’s ‘no big deal’?”

  Reena poured out the Margaritas. “We’re not sleeping together.”

  The other women stared at her.

  “Well, why the hell not?” Katie asked.

  Reena shrugged again. Truthfully, she wasn’t totally certain herself why not. All she knew was that something about Simon felt… off. It was nothing she could put her finger on, and she was a lousy judge of character as her many past boyfriends and recent experience with Wendy had shown her. But still. Something tugged at her. A little voice was whispering at her to keep Simon at a bit of a distance.

  Not that he’d said or done anything that should make any red flags go up. Quite the opposite, actually: he had
been a perfect gentleman, a perfect date, a perfect semi-boyfriend. And that, she supposed, was the issue. He was too perfect, almost script-perfect; it was like he had a check-list of things to do and be in order to be labelled ‘the ultimate nice guy’, and he ruthlessly exhibited every single one of them without seeming to mean any of it. Reena just couldn’t shake the feeling that he was playing a part, playing it to perfection, and she was sure that she didn’t even have a copy of the production that they were both in. She felt manipulated, somehow.

  Oh, be honest, Reena. It’s more than that, isn’t it?

  Mitch came to mind now, as he had done more and more often recently. When Simon kissed her, it was Mitch’s face that appeared in front of her, and she wished that it were his lips on hers, his chest under her fingertips, his arms around her. Living with him had become a kind of sweet torment: seeing that huge, hard, tattooed body leaning up against the counter wearing only a pair of boxer shorts as he drank his coffee just took her breath away. And when he smiled at her, when that tough face split open with light and gentleness, her knees went weak.

  Since Pamela, he’d brought a few other women home over the past month or so, and seeing them in his t-shirts the next day was like a kick to her gut. She’d taken to avoiding the kitchen until he got them out, either staying curled up in bed or heading in to her studio to paint out all her frustration and confusion.

  She focused on her friends now. “To be honest, guys, I’m not sure why not. I think… I think I’m going to break it off with Simon soon, actually. I’ll give it a bit more time, I guess, but I think that’s what will happen in the end.”

  Mia set down her glass. “Why? What happened?”

  “Nothing. I swear. I just don’t – I don’t feel it with him.”

  Maggie studied her. “What’s wrong, Reena?”

  She shook her head. “I can’t explain it, really.”

  “Where’s Mitch tonight?” Katie said, playing a hunch.

  Reena started. “Why?”

  Katie cocked her head. “Just asking.”

  “He has a fight for The Rock. He’ll be in late.”

  “Uh-huh.” Katie looked at her face. “Any chance anything will happen with him?”

  “With Mitch?” Maggie said. “Huh. Now I never thought of that, but I can see it.”

  Reena thought of the tall, slim women with dark hair and bold eyes who kept appearing in her kitchen for morning coffee and she shook her head. “No way, guys. I’m not his type, believe me. Not even close.” She grinned at Katie. “You’re much closer to Mitch’s ideal, I promise you.”

  “Me?” Katie said.

  “Yep. You should see the women he brings home.”

  “Oh, Reena.” Mia saw the hurt on her friend’s face and squeezed her hand. “He means something, doesn’t he?”

  Reena looked down as sudden tears blurred her vision. The other women saw her face and all the joking stopped.

  “Oh, sweetie.” Maggie shook her head. “God, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

  “No, it’s OK. I mean, he’s not interested in me. I’m just being stupid.” She tried to smile. “It’s just a little crush and it’ll pass.”

  “You sure?” Katie asked.

  “Sure I’m sure.” Reena raised her chin. “He’s my roommate and my friend, and that’s good enough for me. It’d be good enough for anybody, I think.”

  “Give it some time, Reena,” Mia said. “Sometimes these things just work themselves out.”

  Reena shook her head. “It’s OK, guys. Really.” She smiled brightly and changed the subject. “Hey, Maggie, speaking of guys: guess who called me the other day, begging for my help?”

  “Aaargghhhh,” Maggie said in irritation and reached for her Margarita, draining it in one. “I don’t have to guess. It was Joe, right?”

  “Uh-huh. Seems he’s just not giving up on you doing the artwork for his new restaurant.”

  “Christ, I just don’t get it,” Maggie said. “When we were together, he barely had time for me. Now that we’re broken up, I can’t get away from him.”

  “Well,” Mia said tentatively. “Why not do the sculptures? I mean, I know from a friend that Joe’s budget for this restaurant is out of this world… it’s in the tens of millions.”

  “It’s what?” Katie said. “For real?”

  “Yeah. I don’t know how much is earmarked for artwork, but I get the feeling you could almost name your price, Mags.” Mia smiled. “This could be the solution to your cash-flow problems.”

  “No,” Maggie said, shoveling some more nachos in to her mouth.

  “You sure?” Reena asked. “It’s not like you’d have to get back together with the guy…just take the commission.”

  Maggie swallowed and drank from her freshly-refilled glass. “He cheated on me, guys. With a whole platoon of waitresses, from what I was able to figure out. I can’t stand to look at him, let alone take orders from him or seek his approval on anything I offer. I can’t stand the thought of having to beg him to pay my invoice, or whatever shit he may pull to keep me under his thumb.” She scowled. “The answer’s no. It will always be no.”

  “Always?” Katie said.

  “Always and forever.”

  **

  A few nights later, Mitch came home from a full day of training. He hurt all over, and he was so looking forward to spending the night on the sofa with Reena. He unlocked the door and saw her in the kitchen pouring hot water in to a teapot. She turned around and as usual, his whole body wanted to keep on walking right over to her, take her in his arms.

  Reena smiled at him. “Hey. How are you doing?”

  “Sore.” He set the containers of Chinese food on the coffee table. “Simon damn near killed me today.”

  Reena ignored the mention of Simon’s name and kept struggling to open the bottle of chili sauce. “You hungry?”

  “Starved.” He came in to the kitchen and took the sauce from her, popped it open, handed it back. “You?”

  “Uh-huh.” She glanced at his hands and winced. “Ouch. You want an ice pack?”

  “Later. I’m OK for now.”

  She nodded and brought the teapot to the table. “So what’d you get this time?”

  Over the past few weeks, they had fallen in to a comfortable routine on Friday nights when Mitch wasn’t fighting: he picked up some Chinese food on his way home and they took turns choosing an on-demand movie. Mitch loved when she was all curled up on the other end of the sofa, relaxed and laughing. It was a kind of torture, but it was one that he needed. Craved, even.

  “I got your spinach and garlic,” Mitch said. “And that awful tofu.”

  “It’s not awful tofu,” Reena protested. “Did you get your awful spicy pork?”

  “I did.”

  “So I guess we’re even, huh?”

  “I guess so.”

  They grinned at each other.

  “And since it’s my turn to choose the movie,” Mitch said. “I want to watch ‘Paranormal Activity’.”

  “Oh, no,” Reena groaned. “Another horror.”

  “Yep,” he said dishing out the food on to the plates. “You know I love them.”

  “Urgh. OK, I’m calling the first of my Big Three.”

  He paused. “Really?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Finally! I was starting to think that I was the perfect roommate.”

  Reena looked at him sitting there, his broad chest under that t-shirt, his muscular forearms, his large hands, and resisted the urge to straddle his lap and kiss him. God, he’d feel so good under her, she thought, all hard, hot strength.

  She gave herself a mental shake. “Ha. Dream on, buddy.”

  “OK, so. You hate my horror movies.”

  “Hate ‘em.” She accepted her plate of food and then poured him a cup of green tea. “And actually, I have one more Big Three to claim.”

  His eyes widened. “Really? Two in one go?”

  “Yep.”

  “OK, I’m bra
ced.”

  “I hate when I open the fridge and your chunks of caveman meat are staring at me.”

  “Yeah, I figured. It kind of surprised me you didn’t say anything sooner.” He looked serious. “I need to eat protein, Reena, and lots of it. I’m so sorry.”

  “Oh, don’t apologize,” Reena said. “I knew that when you moved in…”

  “I know, but still. It must gross you out.”

  She paused. “Well. Maybe a bit. But it’s not your fault.”

  “Can I ask about you being vegetarian?” he said tentatively.

  That surprised her. “OK. What do you want to know?”

  “Mostly, why you are one. I know people do it for lots of reasons – to lose weight, or because they love animals, or for whatever political reasons – and I’m curious about your motivation.”

  “Oh.” She looked down. “Well, that’s kind of a story.”

  He studied her. “A bad story?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Did you find a mouse ear in a hamburger or something?”

  She shook her head and sipped her tea.

  “Reena?” He set down his plate of food. “What happened?”

  “Well… I had a really bad experience. I was a foster kid, you see, and I was moved around from home to home for my whole childhood.”

  Mitch was stunned. A foster kid? In her bedroom, Reena had photos of herself smiling with an older couple, and Mitch had just assumed those were her parents. But maybe not.

  “Some foster families were OK, lots really weren’t,” she said. “But this one family in particular – they were terrible. The Robinsons.”

  “What did they do to you, Reena?”

  “I refused to eat my dinner once. It was liver, and it was slimy and gray and cold. He… he force-fed it to me while she held my hands behind my back. Just jammed it down my throat, plugged my nose.” She stared at her hands. “It was the most disgusting thing I’d ever seen or tasted, and I threw it all up right away. Then he got a spoon and he… he…” She stopped.

  “Reena, no,” Mitch said softly. “Please don’t tell me they made you do that.”

  She nodded and took a deep breath. “I haven’t eaten meat since.”