Hold

by Jayne Blue

  “GWG Miami has a nice ring to it.” Cassidy quipped.

  “I like the way you think, kid. See you next week.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  While work was heating up, so were her studies. It was exam time and each night over the last two weeks she’d taken a class, a review section, or a pre-test. Cassidy needed to get all her tests done before they left.

  Craddock and Whitey both insisted she go to the tournament in Detroit. She’d be cheering on the GWG guys, Craddock, and probably running errands. Basically, whatever came up, Whitey said. She wasn’t really sure what would come up, but she knew she didn’t want to be worrying about school. She pushed just like Craddock was pushing to be ready.

  “Knowing you’re there for me helps. I don’t care about the rest of the crowd, just you.” He’d told her when they’d finally gotten to his place after a long day. She’d pretty much moved in to his place after their fight the other night. Her cold apartment with rock hard bed was a distant second to his.

  “Um, I do think you care about the crowd, Flynn.”

  “Maybe a little bit.” His mouth curved up into a smile. He was making them chicken breasts. She was prepping a salad, broccoli, and brown rice. Their meals were specific, protein, carbs, vegetables, and milk for him. She was amazed at the discipline and the regiment he was following and it made her think in some ways they were a lot alike.

  “It seems like it bothers you that you never had a cheering section. Your mom, Dylan, even your uncle, none of them come. I tried to help. But you know how that worked out.”

  “It does bug me. My dad, back in school, he was always in my corner. My mom stopped after Dylan freaked out during my state tournament finals match in high school. I get it, but still. It chaps my ass to see fuckin’ Powell’s dad, mom, sister, and every suck up member of their church there.”

  “That’s really not Zeke’s fault that his family is there. And now you have me.” She put her arms around his waist and then up the corded muscles along his spine. It amazed her, the way he’d honed his body. It was like armor he’d created. Sometimes she’d feel knots, kinks, lumps, and she did what she could to soothe them.

  They fell into his bed and she always thought he’d be too tired to do anything but sleep, but it was never the case. They spent every night learning more about each other. When he seemed particularly sore or tired she’d rub his back and honestly the noises he made when she did that rivaled anything else she did with him. It made her giggle to see him turn into a pussy cat under her hands. She ignored the soreness in her own hands from kneading the flesh on his back just to hear him moan and derive such pleasure from her little massage.

  Despite the easy rhythm they’d settled into, there was one person who was worried that things weren’t so perfect.

  “Cassidy, he’s your first real boyfriend. Are you sure this isn’t too fast?” Bess had visited the GWG and taken her to lunch earlier. Then, she went into full Mother Hen mode.

  “Well, I didn’t plan it. It just is.” She blushed as she hid behind her bowl of soup.

  “Your studies are on track, right? Because I have a surprise for you.”

  “They are, believe it or not. What surprise?”

  “You’re in the running for a grant! Top two, a finalist!”

  “What?” She’d been putting that grant opportunity out of her mind. It would be like winning the lottery — fantastic, but not something you believed would actually happen.

  “I got more details yesterday and I wanted to give you the good news.”

  The federal grant would pay full ride tuition next year.

  “You know, the catch is you have to agree to work within an at-risk Michigan county for two years after you graduate and while you’re getting your masters. That’s a pretty big commitment.” Bess reminded her.

  “That’s what I want to do anyway! Do I even stand a real chance?”

  “Yes, you stand a chance. If you ace this year and don’t get the grant, you still have one more year to try. As soon as I hear, I’ll call you on your fancy new smart phone. Pretty good job perk. The county doesn’t buy my phone!”

  “Yeah, next I’m demanding a company car. And I’ll know about my grades fairly soon. I’m taking all my exams this weekend.”

  “A week early?”

  “Yes, so they’ll be done before the MoTown Smack Down.”

  “The What Now Slap Down?”

  “The Motown Smack Down. Yeah, sounds pretty funny outside the gym. Anyway, the main professional MMA league puts it on. The winners in each weight class get a contract offer to go pro. It’s the most important tournament of the year for the GWG fighters.”

  “One specific GWG fighter, I suspect.” Bess had narrowed her eyes.

  “Yes, Craddock. It’s his dream, and it’s my job, so I’m going to be there to support him and all the GWG fighters.”

  “Just as long as you don’t let his dream get in the way of yours.”

  “I won’t. That’s why I’m taking my tests this week. You’ll see. Don’t worry.”

  “Okay, well, I’ll call you as soon as I hear about the grant. It won’t be long.” Cassidy reached across their little lunch table and grabbed Bess’s hands.

  “Bess, thank you for trying to get me the grant. It would be so amazing to know I had a year of tuition covered. I could buy luxuries like, uh, bread.” She teased Bess but it wasn’t far off.

  “Just be careful with your heart and this fighter.” Bess wanted the best for her she knew.

  “Too late.” Cassidy kissed Bess and both women headed back to work.

  She stayed late and did two online tests that she’d prepared for and had one more the next day. She had a paper to finish and email to her professor, but she’d already completed the rough draft.

  She felt like she was ready to devote the next week to whatever Craddock and the GWG needed for the tournament. The tournament would be Friday and Saturday, but Whitey wanted her there for check-ins on Thursday.

  She didn’t let herself think too much about the grant. If she didn’t have to pay tuition, maybe she could buy a computer? No. Then she’d need wifi and she didn’t want to think about those types of expenses. Nope, no grant thinking. She’d be fine with her GWG paychecks either way. Best not to daydream about a windfall she probably she stood a very small chance at. But Bess did say finalist…

  She turned her thoughts to her GWG tasks of the day. Looking around she saw G-Man lifting a ridiculous amount of weight, Darius Brown talking Whitey’s ear off, Barton and Flannigan sparring, and Craddock doing pull ups with Jessie. All of them were going to the tournament. All of them had a real shot at their dreams.

  Cassidy was amazed at how this place and its people had become so important to her. The guys felt more like family than any of the fosters she’d drifted in and out of growing up. That’s when Zeke interrupted her musings. Zeke, who had more family than anyone she’d ever met.

  “So, did you get some good news?” He asked her.

  “How can you tell?”

  “You were looking around here with a big smile. It smells really bad in here right now, so either the smell has caused brain damage or your friend Bess put you in a good mood.”

  “You know that grant?”

  “Yes, the one for a year’s tuition? Did you get it?” Zeke was genuinely excited for her.

  “Not yet, but Bess did tell me I was a finalist.”

  “Oh my word! That’s awesome! They’d be so nuts not to pick you. Congratulations.”

  “Well, it’s not congratulations — yet. Keep it under your hat, I don’t want to jinx it.”

  “Gotcha. It’s our secret.” Zeke flashed his boy next door charm in her direction. He was going to get all the girls into MMA with his sweet smile, she decided.

  “Shh..” She put her finger to her lips. She wasn’t going to tell anyone else, until she knew for sure. This was their week, not hers. Still, she had a little smile the rest of the day that, for once, had no
thing to do with Craddock Flynn.

  She felt pretty accomplished as she finished all the tasks for work and school in the following days. The week of the tournament dawned and she’d gotten it all done. Schoolwork was turned in, the GWG checklists were completed, and she and Craddock hadn’t had one fight. A pretty good streak, she thought.

  Tests over, gym work done, she powered down the computer for the last time before their little road trip and there he was, behind her with her coat. Craddock was a gentleman, even if he hid it from most people. He smelled of Dial soap and Old Spice deodorant. No fancy cologne for Craddock, which was good since she didn’t have any fancy perfume. She remembered her mom used to use something called “Red.” She brushed away the memory. It was time to think about the future.

  As they walked out of the GWG, he put a protective arm around her. It was all more perfect than she could have dreamed back in her sad and lonely foster days, days that lately seemed very far away.

  Chapter Ten

  Craddock

  “You sure you want to drive yourself? You could go in the van with Jessie and me.” Whitey wanted to be sure they all got there. He was more nervous than Craddock had ever seen.

  “It’s okay. I got it. Car’s all tuned up and ready to go.”

  “Well, don’t get distracted by your co-pilot.” Whitey was of course referring to Cassidy.

  “We’ll be fine, Coach.”

  “I need her for the gym and that damn computer more than you need her, so I want both of you to arrive in one piece and on time.”

  “Check.”

  Craddock had also checked in with his mother one more time before heading out.

  “You sure you don’t want to try to take a road trip?”

  “You know I’m not up to it and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

  “You feeling okay?”

  “Just a little tired. Dylan’s been explaining my ear off about watching the fight on some live stream.”

  “Cassidy set it up for him.”

  “Well, I’m still covering my eyes.”

  “I love you, Ma.”

  “Love you, too, honey. Good luck.” He should probably just quit asking her to come. At least the news from the doctor was good. She was responding to the treatment, she said, but it was like pulling teeth getting updates from her.

  Still, the idea that his mom had to work through it, that she wouldn’t take a day off, that even Dylan felt like he needed to find a way to get more cash, was weighing on his mind.

  He tried to store it in the compartment of motivations for kicking ass at the Smack Down. The universe was lining up to distract him from training. Half the time that was what he thought derailed athletes, the life stuff. To succeed in something you had to be single-minded, and to some that was selfish.

  He’d picked up Cassidy and they’d decided she’d be staying over at his place so they could get an early start. She was quiet as she helped him be sure all his gear was in order. Normally they could be comfortable in the quiet. She didn’t chatter on about bullshit like a lot of people did, he usually had to draw her out about her day or school. She didn’t brag or complain. It was another thing that set her apart. But he sensed something else tonight. She seemed quieter than normal, like she was hiding something from him.

  He was annoyed. It was a distraction of the worst kind, worrying that he’d done something wrong with her.

  “What’s your problem?” He asked, probably too harshly. He tended to do that. If some women had ‘resting bitch face’, he definitely had ‘hostile voice tone’ without really meaning it. He sounded a lot worse than he meant to. It was also the curse of the big man. Craddock nearly had to be soft spoken so as not to alarm people. ‘How ya doin’ could be menacing in the right situation coming out of his mouth. But how was she gonna know that? He regretted his tone the minute it came out.

  “Nothing.” She was closing off. He fucking hated that. He didn’t need this right now.

  “I’m not going to ask again. You know I have to focus and not get involved in drama.”

  “I haven’t said anything.” This was gearing up for a fight. He could feel it. They’d been doing so well lately, but there was something in the air between them.

  “Right. You’re moping around here. I need to pack, eat, sleep, and I need you. Each thing is important for me to have my head straight for this weekend.” He did need her, which he tried to convey but…

  “You need me? Like you need the potassium from a banana? Like you need to hydrate? Exactly how do you need me? To do your laundry? To fuck you? Well, fine then, sounds like we can just check me off the list.” She hadn’t yelled it — worse — she said it with a clipped voice.

  “I don’t need this shit right now. I’m loading some stuff in the car.”

  “Fine, I’ll heat up your food¸ master.”

  “Cassidy, really?” He threw up his hands and grabbed his bag to put it in the car. They were both tense and this was going in a bad direction. He didn’t know what was wrong, but whatever it was, he didn’t have time for it today. Or tomorrow. Couldn’t she just chill until Sunday? Until after he’d won his Smack Down title?

  He headed back into the kitchen and heard her voice. She was on the phone. He held back, not wanting to interrupt. And if he was honest with himself, he wanted to eavesdrop. He should trust her, but old suspicious habits were hard to break.

  “You’ve been so sweet about this. No, he doesn’t know. I don’t think I want to tell him right now. Soon, though. It’s really between you and me, anyway. You’re the one I can talk to about it. You understand. He doesn’t really. Love you, too.”

  What the fucking hell? He felt a rage again with one name. Zeke Powell. “Love you, too?” Did she just say that to him? Didn’t she just explain that no one told her that?

  He hung back, took a few breaths, and tried not to jump to conclusions. If he did this now, started in about whatever that call was, they would fight, he would rage, she would cry. This was not in his program. He swallowed his instinct to confront her. If Zeke was trying to take her, he’d show Zeke this weekend what that would get him.

  He watched as she turned off her phone and headed to his bedroom. Maybe he had that phone call wrong. He probably did. But no matter what it was about, she was hiding something and it made his stomach feel sick, like he’d swallowed acid.

  He stalked into the bedroom behind her and closed the door. He’d decided to make sure the name Zeke Powell didn’t cross her mind in there. He decided to stuff his anger and questions away in that compartment. Maybe it wasn’t Zeke she was talking to. He owed her the benefit of the doubt, but the doubt was getting bigger every day.

  The door shutting wasn’t quite a slam, but it was enough to get her attention. She jerked her head around and that thick cinnamon-colored ponytail whipped around.

  He closed the distance between them in one large step. She gasped as he grabbed her face in his hands and ravaged her mouth with his.

  “Craddock.”

  Was it a sigh, a question? He didn’t care.

  He ripped open her blouse down the center to find her nipples pebbled and hard. He was going at her hard and she was turned on. To be sure, he reached down into the top of her jean’s waistband. She leaned back and his dresser wobbled on its legs. He cupped her where her thighs met and he was right, she was as turned on as he was — she was already slick after that one raw kiss.

  He moved his hand and pulled down her jeans, then lifted her out of them. .He flipped her over and put her where he wanted her — with her back to him, leaning over the bed., It gave him a good view of her round little ass. He moved over her and tweaked her hard little nipples until she started writhing against him. Her ass on his cock was too much to stand. He yanked down her panties and freed himself. With his other hand he steadied her hips and pushed her back towards him. He plunged in to the hilt, no more pre-amble.

  He was on fire and her tight, wet, little entrance was the only thing on ear
th. He set a punishing rhythm. She reached out and held on the to the bed sheets.

  “God, yes, Craddock!” She yelled it into the mattress. It was enough, he took his hand from her gorgeous breasts and rubbed the front of her. He felt her tighten and spasm around him and knew she was coming.

  He pushed hard and fast to a climax that felt so good, it hurt.

  Cassidy

  It was not the news she wanted to hear.

  “I’m sorry kid. It was down to you and another candidate, but that one B you got, yeah, that’s what tipped the scales. They awarded it to the other candidate with the four-point.” Bess had called her yesterday morning with the disappointing news.

  She cried a bit after hearing, but then tried to put it in perspective. It surprised her how bad she felt. It was really found money, right? But still, she kicked herself. She’d let her grades slip when she first started going out with Craddock and was so consumed by him. She needed to remember that. Damn it, that tuition grant would’ve been so nice and it guaranteed job after school. She wiped her tears away and vowed not to make the same mistake next semester. She still had two years of under grad. She could try again.

  She’d tried to keep her feelings and the news about the grant from Craddock. Talking about it would bum her out and it wasn’t her dream they were focusing on this week, it was his.

  But he sensed her mood and it had spiraled into nearly a full-blown fight — something she hadn’t wanted. Thank God, she could be real with Bess. That phone call helped her unload on Bess instead of Craddock. The man was on edge and she didn’t want to make it worse. They’d talk about her stuff after the weekend. That was part of being there for him.

  They had eggs and bacon for breakfast after Craddock checked his weight and found all was well.

  “I’m two pounds under. I can pretty much eat decently.” He explained something about “floating” overnight. Apparently, he normally lost two pounds while sleeping and last night three because of, ahem, well, they were vigorous to say the least.