The Fighting Series Boxset

by Ash, Nikki

  Caleb, who barely ever speaks cuts in. “He is just as pussy whipped as you are except he isn’t getting any of Kayla’s pussy.”

  “Shut the hell up, man,” Bentley retorts. “She wants me but she wants it to just be all fucking and I’m not having it. She’s either all in or not at all. She’ll come around; it’s just a matter of time. I told her the next time we fuck, she’s mine.”

  Kaden throws his head back laughing. “So now you guys aren’t fucking at all. How’s that working out for you?”

  Caleb adds, “It sounds like Bentley’s got the pussy in this relationship.”

  We all start laughing and the girls come out. Kayla looks around and asks, “What’s so funny?” We all go quiet and both girls are glaring at us. Hayley says, “Hmm… Sounds like the guys were just caught gossiping like a bunch of chicks.”

  She’s definitely not off base with that observation.

  Twenty

  Cooper

  It’s Thursday night and it’s been two days without my girls. I have been busy with interviews, press conferences, and photo advertisements. Between my title fight coming up in February, Caleb fighting that night as well, and Bentley fighting in two days, it has been crazy. People don’t realize how much more goes into being a part of the UFC aside from the fight they see on the television. And now with me being the owner of several of the training facilities I have even more responsibility.

  It’s nine o’clock here in Boulder so it’s eight o’clock where we live. Knowing Bella will be going to bed soon, I break away from the craziness and call my girls to say goodnight. Liz’s phone rings but goes to voicemail. I try again and it does it again, so I send her a text asking her to please call me as soon as she can.

  I spoke with Liz and Bella a couple times yesterday and was able to say goodnight to Bella. I would like to say goodnight to her tonight as well, so I can keep my promise to her. I hate that I will be missing Halloween with her, so I take a look at the schedule to see if I can find a way to fly home tomorrow to be there for the trick-or-treating and be back by Saturday morning. It would mean a lot of flying but getting to see my princess in her Elsa costume trick-or-treating would be worth it. I find a large enough gap in my schedule, only having to reschedule one meeting, so I pull up the flights to book one.

  A few hours later, there’s still no call back from Liz, and we are finishing up at the training center. Everybody agrees to grab dinner at a local pub on the way back to the hotel. I’m nursing my second beer when I see Caleb and Bentley looking down at one of their phones looking nervous; I don’t know why but I get a bad feeling deep down in my gut.

  “What the hell are you guys looking at? Don’t be rude. Share.”

  This gets Kayla’s attention. “It’s probably one of the whores Bentley brought home. Did she let you take pictures?”

  His eyes turn murderous and he growls out, “That was one time! One time, woman! I didn’t even sleep with her! I haven’t brought anyone else home since then and I said I was sorry a million damn times. I don’t know why you even care because you sure as hell don’t want me. And for your information, the picture we are looking at is of a woman, of your best friend actually, who appears to be cheating on my best friend. So, before you talk shit get your facts straight.”

  He turns to look at me realizing he just threw up at the mouth much more than he planned to say. “I’m sorry, man. It’s probably nothing. Alex, is a club Surrender. He just sent me a picture of Liz and some other guy there, together.”

  Kayla and Hayley both yell, “Bullshit” and stalk over to Bentley yanking his phone out of his hand. It must not be good because one look at the photo and both women are trying to make excuses. “It’s got to be a mistake because Liz would never cheat. For god sakes, you are the only guy she has ever been with.”

  Hayley chimes in her opinion. “Yeah, plus she went five years without getting any. There’s no way she would cheat now so there has to be a reason for this.”

  I get up and slowly take the phone from Kayla. Staring at me is my woman and she is absolutely stunning in a dark purple strapless dress with black fuck-me heels on. Her hair is down and curly, and I just want to touch her through the screen. The issue isn’t her though. The issue is that with her, is a guy probably in his late twenties, with his arms around my woman, his front to her back, while she throws her head back against him. It looks like they are fucking through their clothes.

  I throw the phone down on the table and stalk out. I can hear everybody around me shouting my name but I need to be alone. This is what I get for thinking for even a second I could have a career and a family. My dad warned me over and over again. He said I couldn’t have both but I thought he was wrong. I thought if I just tried harder, gave more, loved them enough, I would be able to prove him wrong. The man might have been a complete asshole but according to that picture it seems he knew what he was talking about. I guess the joke is on me.

  * * *

  Liz

  Four hours ago…

  “Bella, go help Tristan clean up the toys and games you guys took out and played with, please; we need to go soon.”

  I am sitting in Ashley’s kitchen having a glass of wine while gossiping over my sex life and her nonexistent one. We spent the afternoon shopping with the kids, and then took them to a cute trunk-or-treat event at the local church. They got a bunch of candy and are currently running around completely hopped up on sugar. I have no idea how I am going to get Bella to sleep but I am glad her mind is off her daddy being gone. It was a rough night last night; after she spoke to Cooper she threw another one of her tantrums and I ended up just letting her sleep with me. I know, shitty parenting move, but I was just exhausted and to be honest I hated the thought of sleeping in my bed alone.

  “You know, my parents are coming over to watch Tristan tonight so a few friends of mine and I can go to Club Surrender. They wouldn’t mind watching Bella as well. They would actually love it because Bella would keep Tristan busy.”

  “Oh, I don’t know. I know Bella would be fine here but going out to a club without Cooper feels wrong.”

  “Sweetie, you are going out for some drinks and maybe some dancing. That’s it.”

  I remember the first and last time I was at a club. It was the night I met Cooper; I fell in love with the music and ambiance that night. It would be fun to have a drink and let loose a little.

  “Ok, I’m in. Drinking and dancing.”

  “Yay! Ok, let’s find us something to wear.”

  Four hours later and I’m at the club, on my sixth, maybe seventh shot of tequila… I’m not exactly sure, but what I do know is Ashley’s friends are drinkers. It is a good thing we cabbed it here because I am definitely not fit to drive anywhere on my own.

  I down another shot and it goes down my throat like water. I know I am definitely drunk when I no longer feel the burn of the alcohol in my throat. I hear Talk Dirty by Jason Derulo come on and Ashley shouts this is her jam, so we make our way to the dance floor. We are having a blast grinding up against each other and laughing at some of our drunken moves, when the room begins to spin. I tell myself after this song I am done for the night. 2 Chainz pops on the surround sound and I can’t help but lower my ass and pop it out to his solo. Dancing can be so freeing. I should ask Cooper to come out with me to the club, again.

  Out of nowhere, I feel a strong pair of hands wrap around my waist and it’s like Déjà vu to the night in the club with Cooper. In my drunken state, I tilt my head back but when I see the horrific look in Ashley’s eyes, I jump forward realizing it can’t be Cooper because Cooper is in Boulder. Shit.

  I make my way back to Ashley a bit shaken up at the thought of another man’s hands on my body. I know it isn’t his fault, and he didn’t do anything inappropriate. I know I stopped it immediately but I still feel guilty.

  “I am going to head back to your place,” I tell Ashley when I get over to her.

  “No way, I am ready to go as well. What happened
with that guy over there?”

  “He came up behind me the same way Cooper did all those years ago at the club when I first met him, and for a second I thought it was Cooper. It wasn’t until I saw your face that I remembered Cooper is out of the damn state.”

  Ashley laughs and says, “Yup! We are definitely drunk. It is time to go home. Our rugrats will be up before we know it.”

  We make it back to Ashley’s place and both pass out in her bed. Tomorrow is going to seriously suck. Hangover plus trick-or-treating equals… I don’t even know what the hell it equals but it sure as hell can’t be anything good.

  We wake up to the kids running around and playing. I grab my phone to see what time it is and it’s dead. Shit. “Hey, Ash, I am going to head out with Bella. My phone is dead so I need to charge it.” She mumbles what I think is a reply and goes back to sleep. Luckily for her, her parents spent the night and are hanging out all day with Tristan.

  We get home and I jump in the shower to rinse off last night then swallow a few Advil’s hoping to relieve this massive headache I have going on. Once my phone charges enough to turn it on, I check it and see my phone is overflowing with what looks like a million texts.

  Coop: Hey baby girl. I tried to call you to say good night to you guys. Call me. Love you.

  Coop: Baby, everything ok? You haven’t called me back.

  Coop: Bella must be in bed by now. I tried to call to keep my promise to her. Just let me know you guys are ok.

  Coop: Liz, are you mad at me?

  Damn, I should have told him I was going out but I didn’t even think to. I have spent so many years coming and going as I please, I didn’t even think about that fact that Cooper would be worried if I didn’t answer his calls or texts, and on top of that he didn’t get a chance to say goodnight to Bella. I keep scrolling through my texts.

  This is where it gets weird…

  Kayla: Liz, you need to call me ASAP

  Hayley: Where are you?

  Hayley: Liz, please call someone as soon as you get this.

  Kayla: Liz, I know you wouldn’t cheat on Cooper. Please just call so we can get this whole thing figured out.

  Cheat. On. Cooper. What the fuck?

  I immediately try to call Cooper but his phone goes straight to voicemail. I try again and again and nothing. I feel sick to my stomach with worry. Why would they think I was cheating on Cooper? I try his phone a few more times and just as I am about to try Kayla I hear the front door open and close, and then Bella screams, “Daddy!”

  I walk into the living room and see Cooper standing in the door way with Bella in his arms holding her tight to his chest. His gaze turns to me, and my stomach drops when I see the exhausted and defeated look in his eyes.

  He swallows loudly, composes himself, and gives his attention back to Bella. “Hey sweetie. Did I make it in time to go trick-or-treating with you?”

  “Yes! Yes! Yes, you did. Thank you, daddy!” Bella gives him a huge wet kiss on his cheek.

  “Good. Why don’t you run upstairs and get your costume ready and then we will all go to lunch and trick-or-treating?”

  “Ok, daddy!”

  Cooper waits until Bella is upstairs before he turns his attention to me. I open my mouth to say something but close it again. I am not sure what happened but for him to be here when he should be in Boulder says a lot. It should be a good thing that he’s here but after reading the texts Kayla and Hayley sent me, I have a feeling he’s here for another reason.

  “What’s the matter? Not sure how to explain what happened last night? If you want, you can call up my mom and ask her how it’s done. I am sure she can help you explain and justify what happened.”

  I can feel myself flinch at his words, like I was just slapped in the face. I don’t know what is going on but it’s got to be bad because Cooper doesn’t speak to me like this, ever.

  He moves a step closer to me and I finally speak up. “I don’t know what you think I did, but you are wrong.”

  He moves a bit closer. “You didn’t go to Club Surrender last night?”

  “Yes, I did. Ashley and I went with a couple of her friends.”

  He moves closer with his eyes never leaving mine. “Did you dance with anyone?”

  What. The. Fuck! “Yeah, Coop. I did. I danced with Ashley and a few other people. What’s going on?”

  He takes one more step and he’s right in my face. If I didn’t know Cooper would never hurt me, I would be terrified of the expression on his face. I can see why other fighters fear this man. When he’s pissed, he is not someone you want to mess with.

  He pulls out his phone and lifts it up to my face. It’s so close I have to pull my head back a bit and squint to see what he’s showing me. My stomach drops when I see the grainy photo of me and some guy, who isn’t Cooper, extremely close to one another. I am sweaty from all the dancing and shots, and I have my head thrown back up against the guy’s chest while his hands are around my waist. Fuck! Not good!

  “How did you get that?” I spit out more harshly than intended. I should feel bad about the picture but the truth is nothing happened, and I am pissed that someone is sending photos to him. I am even more pissed that he doesn’t trust me.

  “Does it matter how I got it? What fucking matters is why my woman is grinding all over another man’s dick while he has his hands wrapped around her.”

  Wow! It’s not even a question. It’s a straight up accusation. Apparently, I am guilty without even a trial.

  “So, let me get this straight? You get some picture, taken by god knows who, and you jump on a plane, not to take my daughter trick-or-treating, but to accuse me of cheating on you.”

  He lets it sink in for a second before he responds. “No, I was already coming here to take OUR daughter trick-or-treating. I just figured while I was here I would find out why I was only gone for less than two days and the woman who supposedly loves me is already all over another man.

  Taking a closer look at Cooper, I notice his eyes are dark with black circles under them like he hasn’t had a decent night’s sleep in a few days, his shoulders are slumped over a little, and while his words sound so sure, I can see he is sad and scared and confused. I could argue with him; I could scream and curse and be pissed about his accusations but it wouldn’t do any good. Cooper needs to feel secure about us and arguing isn’t going to help anything. He might be a badass fighter on the outside, but on the inside, he is an insecure little boy who has been traumatized by the choices his parents made.

  So, I wrap my arms around his torso and look up at him. He tenses under my touch so I bring my hand to the back of his head to lower it down, giving him a small kiss, and after a few seconds I can feel him melt into me. The kiss goes deeper and he sighs into my mouth. We kiss for a short time and when we separate he closes his arms around my body tightly, nuzzling his head into my hair. I hear a sob so soft I almost wouldn’t have caught it if it wasn’t so quiet. When he looks up there is a tear falling down his cheek, so I reach my lips up to kiss it away.

  “I love you, Cooper and I would never cheat on you. What you saw was a shitty picture and I am sorry you saw that. While I was dancing, a guy came up behind me and for a second I thought it was you. I was drunk and it reminded me of our time together five years ago, but as soon as I realized it wasn’t you, I freaked out and decided to go home. Ashley was there and saw the whole thing play out.”

  He squeezes his eyes closed and then opens them again. “I’m sorry, baby girl. I know you would never cheat. I just freaked out. I saw the picture and I just about lost it.”

  “It’s ok.” I give him another kiss to calm him down.

  “Kayla said I am the only guy you have ever been with. Is that true?”

  “Yeah, it is. I just couldn’t stop hoping that maybe one day you would come back to me. I focused on school and Bella, and I just had no desire to be with anybody but you.”

  Just then Bella comes prancing down the steps looking like a princess in her El
sa costume.

  “I’m ready to go!” She squeals out.

  We head out to eat lunch and then take Bella trick-or-treating around the neighborhood Kayla and I take her every year. We have never lived in this neighborhood but we found it years ago. It has nice houses that are close together and the people who live there all sit outside at the end of their driveways giving out candy.

  After going up and down several streets Bella is candied out and Cooper is carrying her back to the car. Every time she asked for a piece with her cute little voice while batting her eyelashes, he would give in. The day started off rough but it ended up being an amazing Halloween.

  We get back home and after Cooper takes Bella to bed he finds me in our room. I am changing into my pajamas when he comes up behind me, putting his arms around me. Remembering this is why he accused me of cheating, I freeze. He must sense what happened because while nuzzling my neck he says, “I am sorry, baby. I just want to be the only man to ever touch you like this. Please forgive me.”

  I turn around to face him. “And you are the only man who will ever touch me this way. You own me, Cooper, Mind, body, heart, and soul. There’s nothing to forgive. I love you.”

  We make love several times throughout the night before we pass out with our bodies entangled in one another.

  Twenty-One

  Liz

  It’s been almost a month since Cooper went away and received that stupid picture. Thankfully we have moved passed it, for the most part. There are times when I still see Cooper’s insecurities come out like when he texts me and I don’t answer or if I go somewhere and don’t mention it. He isn’t an asshole about it; he doesn’t yell or get mad. It’s more like he gets sad and worried like I am going to leave one day and never come back.

  He’s been busy at the gym training for his fight. Bentley won his fight in Boulder, so he has been helping Caleb and Cooper train for theirs. Cooper has been insisting Bella visit every day and is home by her bedtime every night.