The Fighting Series Boxset

by Ash, Nikki

  “What’s with only half of you being drunk?” Bentley asks. Kayla turns her attention to him and if looks could kill he would be dead and buried six feet under.

  “Not that it’s your business but I wasn’t in the mood to drink and either was Liz. Is that ok with you?”

  Bentley puts his hands up in surrender and turns back to the fight.

  “Sorry, to ruin your little fight party,” Hayley says as she plops down next to Caleb and pats him on his leg. He blushes. The fool actually fucking blushes.

  He gets up immediately, like her hand set his leg on fire, and Hayley frowns at his reaction.

  “I have to get to work,” He says, and without saying goodbye to anybody he’s out the door.

  Tristan and Bella come running down to say hi to their moms and tell them about all the Halloween candy they have been eating. Damn traitors.

  We all find a seat and watch the fight. Liz is in my lap with Bella is passed out next to us. Eventually everyone heads out. Kaden gives Ashley and Tristan a ride since her car isn’t here and she’s been drinking, and Kayla gives Hayley a ride home. Liz and I put Bella to bed and then head back to finish watching the main event.

  “Are you going to miss this?” Liz asks me as we sit back down on the couch.

  “Miss what? The fighting?” I ask stalling before I answer the question I know she is really asking. She wants to know if a few years from now I am going to resent her and Bella. I have thought long and hard about this and I know this is what’s right for my family and me. I would never turn around and blame Liz for my choices but she needs to hear it so she doesn’t feel like I am making a rash decision.

  “No, baby girl. I am not going to miss it. I will still be fighting. I will fight at the gym every day. The only difference is I won’t be fighting professionally. My contract ends in February and I am ok with that. It’s time to move forward.”

  Liz climbs up into my lap, placing a leg on either side of me. I look up at the stairs out of habit and she slowly shakes her head. “She’s fast asleep.”

  Taking the bottom of my shirt in her hands she raises it over my head and throws it on the floor.

  “Do you know how beautiful you are, Cooper?” Maybe she is drunk after all.

  “Um, Liz. I am not sure you should be calling a man beautiful. Do you want to emasculate me?”

  She ignores my question and starts to kiss me. First, she kisses me on my lips but pulls away quickly. “You have beautiful lips. They were made for me. They kiss me with such passion and emotion, and the words that come out of them are just as beautiful.”

  Next, she kisses the tops of my eyelids. “You have the most amazing eyes. When you are happy they are bright green, full of life, like the grass after it’s been raining for days. When you are angry they go dark. I don’t like it when they go dark. Bella has the same eyes as you. Every time I would look into her eyes it gave me butterflies as it brought back the brief time we shared together.”

  She trails her lips down my neck, over to my chest, and stops right over my heart placing multiple tender kisses there. “And your heart. It is so full of love. Whether it was for thirty-hours in Miami or every day since we reconnected you give me your entire heart and trust me with it. The way you instantly fell in love with Bella. Many guys might have thought I got pregnant on purpose or they might have accepted her but they wouldn’t have gone out of their way to make her feel so loved and cherished. You didn’t just give us a place to live, you made sure we felt at home.”

  I can feel the lump in my throat forming. This girl is my entire fucking world. I am going to marry her some day and she’s going to have more of my babies, and we are going to live happily ever after.

  She doesn’t stop at my heart, though. She kisses her way down to my stomach and stops at the center of my abs. She is now kneeling on the floor between my legs. “Mmm… and this body. Cooper, do you have any idea how beautiful your body is? You treat it with such care only putting healthy foods in it. It is such a turn on, and I love that this body is all mine.”

  She moves on from my abs and unbuttons my jeans. Thank God because my dick is so hard it needs to be released from its confined space. I lift up my ass and she pulls down my jeans taking my boxers with her. I go to touch her and she shakes her head no.

  She gives my dick a kiss on the top of the crown, sucking on it lightly with her lips and then pulls back. Holy Shit, this woman is going to be the death of me.

  “This is probably one of my favorites parts of your body.” I lift one of my eyebrows up. I mean, I know it’s one of my favorite parts of my body, especially since it’s the part that goes inside of her but I wasn’t expecting a woman to think it’s her favorite. She giggles under her breath at my reaction. “Not for the reasons you probably think… Well, actually kind of. I remember the first time I saw your cock. I thought it was crazy to think it was beautiful. I haven’t seen any others to compare it to.”

  I growl at that. “And you never fucking will.”

  She giggles again but continues. “It was so hard and thick and when I felt it, it was smooth. Then when I tasted it, I thought it would be gross but it wasn’t. It tasted like you.” She puts her mouth back on my cock to give it another wet kiss then she starts stroking it up and down slowly.

  “But aside from its physical appearance, the reason it’s one of my favorite parts is for a few reasons.” She kisses it again, and it takes every ounce of restraint not to take her by her hair and push her beautiful mouth onto my erection.

  “One, is what I feel when it’s inside of me. I feel so close to you like we are connected. When our bodies are skin to skin and you’re pushing it inside of me, hitting me so deep, I feel like we become one.”

  This time she takes her entire mouth and covers my cock from root to tip with it then drags her mouth back up slowly.

  “The other reason it’s my favorite body part is because of what it’s capable of. Not only does it bring me an extreme amount of pleasure but it’s how we created Bella.”

  “That’s really fucking sweet, baby girl, but you can’t be bringing Bella up while your hands are stroking my cock.”

  She laughs at that and then puts her mouth back on me. This time she doesn’t remove her mouth. Her tongue slides down with her mouth wrapped around it and she begins to move it up and down fucking my shaft with her greedy mouth, and I can’t take it anymore. I need to touch her. It’s like she senses what I need because while keeping her mouth wrapped tightly around me she grabs my hands with her own and moves them to her hair giving me permission to touch her.

  What started out slow and sensual turns into rough and crazed. Her mouth starts to move faster as I entwine my fingers into her hair. I don’t push her head down, though. She doesn’t need me to. She is deep throating me like a champion and within minutes I am tapping her to let her know I am about to come. Of course, it only spurs her on and within seconds I am shooting my seed down her throat. She slows down but keeps licking until my cock is completely licked clean.

  “Damn, baby. I’ve changed my mind; you can emasculate me any time you want.”

  Twenty-Three

  Liz

  It’s less than a week until Christmas and I can’t believe I haven’t told Cooper that I am pregnant yet. My next appointment isn’t until December 30th so I will be able to wait until Christmas to tell him when I give him and Bella their gift together, and he will be able to go to my appointment with me.

  Normally I keep the office door open but I shut it today so I can finish planning our trip to California to Disneyland. I have figured out we will go in March during Bella’s spring break so she doesn’t miss any school. We are going to go to all the parks and stay at a resort near Disney.

  I am making sure to put it on my personal credit card just in case Cooper decides to look at our joint account. I am researching online the best hotels to stay at in California when a site pops up for the cheapest motels in the area. I go to click out of it but of course th
e stupid ad opens up. So freaking annoying.

  I hear a commotion outside the office so I run out to see what’s going on. When I get out there Kayla and Bentley are in the middle of a screaming match.

  “I don’t give a shit what you think. I’m moving out and you can do whatever you want,” Kayla screams at the top of her lungs. Cooper looks at me to do something. This might be a gym but it’s still a place of business.

  Bentley looks pissed as hell. His fists are at his sides, knuckles white like he has to hold himself back.

  “OK, I don’t know what is going on here but you guys need to take this to a private area. This is a place of business.” They both look over at me. I place my hand on Kayla to silently calm her down.

  Bentley shouts, “Fuck this!” and storms out of the room.

  When I look at Kayla she has tears in her eyes. I brush her hair back out of her eyes and suggest we get out of here. Cooper hears me and nods his head slightly letting me know he heard me.

  We get to one of our favorite coffee shops and order ourselves each a hot peppermint mocha. It’s only a few days until Christmas and then the delicious taste of peppermint will disappear until next year.

  Kayla hasn’t said a word since we left and it’s killing me inside. “Kayla, I feel like we have grown apart.” She attempts to argue but I raise my hand for her to let me finish.

  “I know this isn’t about us but at the same time it is because it’s about you, and for the last eighteen years we have had each other’s back. So, when you have something going on, so do I.”

  She slumps over and puts her hands in hair and shakes her head from side to side. I think she is going to tell me what’s going on but when she raises her head all she says is, “I have decided to move back to Florida. I’ve been thinking about it for a little while now but I have decided for sure.”

  That takes me for a loop because Kayla knows I can’t move anywhere. Bella’s home and mine are here with Cooper, and if she moves to Florida we will be a long ass plane ride apart.

  I choke up and try to hold it in because this isn’t about me. “Are you serious? Like your mind is made up for sure? I mean, your parents and brother are there but you aren’t really close to them. Bella and I will miss you like crazy. We have never been apart since the day we met in Kindergarten.”

  She sighs and looks absolutely defeated. “Is it something I did, Kay?” I don’t think it is but I need to make sure.

  “No, Liz. It’s nothing you did. I am just going through some shit and I feel like I need a break from it all.”

  “So, take a vacation, Kayla. But please don’t leave me. I need you, please. You know I’m pregnant. I can’t do this without you.” I know it’s selfish to say this to her but it’s the truth. I need her so much. I can’t imagine going through this pregnancy without her.

  “Liz, we aren’t eighteen anymore and you won’t be alone this time around. You have Cooper now.” I don’t even know what to say.

  “Can you at least wait until after Christmas? I would like to have one last holiday together.” She nods her head yes and I get up and hug my best friend. I can feel her sobbing and in turn I am crying. I can’t help feeling like this is the end of our friendship. She wouldn’t do this unless she really felt like she needed to leave, though. All I can do is respect her decision and be there for her.

  “Do me a favor, Liz. Please don’t tell anybody yet including Cooper.” Even though I am not ok with any of this I agree.

  “C’mon Chick, let’s go pick up Bella and have a girls’ afternoon,” I say as we walk out the door with our arms around each other.

  * * *

  Cooper

  After Bentley walks out of the gym and Liz takes Kayla out to let shit cool down, I take advantage of the fact that Liz’s computer is free. I have found Bella’s puppy on a local animal rescue shelter website. The mom is a German Shepherd-Lab mix who was found pregnant under a bridge after giving birth to several puppies. The puppies are now eight weeks and can be adopted out. I put in a request to adopt one and I was approved several weeks ago. I am supposed to be getting an email from the shelter today letting me know when I can pick the puppy up. Since it’s only a week until Christmas, I am having Kaden keep the pup at his place until Christmas Eve. He’s agreed to bring the little mutt over late at night after Bella and Liz have gone to bed.

  I walk around to her desk, sit down, and shake the mouse to wake the computer up. There are several webpages open but the one that catches my eye is the top page. It’s an ad for some sleazy motels in the area. I look on the desk and find Liz’s personal credit card sitting atop it. Why the hell would she be booking at one of these motels? And to top it off she’s using the credit card she keeps for emergencies. It’s the only card that we don’t have a joint account on. The only reason she would do something like this is if she doesn’t want me to know.

  My mind starts wandering to the last few weeks. She’s been nervous but nothing that would make me believe she is cheating or wants out. When we got back from Florida she went out that one time and never told me where she was going but she’s been happy since then.

  The last time I assumed the worst I made her believe I didn’t trust her. I sure as hell won’t be doing that again. This time I am going to just come out and ask her. Liz doesn’t lie and if something is going on she will tell me.

  Quickly exiting out of all the windows, I pull up my email. The shelter says I can pick up the pup today, so I shut down her computer and leave to go pick up our new puppy. Once that is taken care Liz and I will talk.

  I get home to Bella watching a movie in the living room and Liz in the kitchen making dinner. She doesn’t make eye contact with me so I walk over to her and turn her around to face me. When I look at her I can tell she’s been crying.

  “Baby girl, what’s wrong?”

  She just shakes her head. Well, that shit isn’t going to fly.

  “I can see the dried-up tears. Please tell me what’s wrong. Does it have something to do with you booking a sleazy motel with your card?” Ok, well that wasn’t how I planned to broach the subject but now that it’s out there…

  Her eyes go wide for a second but she quickly reins her shock in. “Were you seriously going through my computer, Cooper?” Damn it; leave it to a woman to turn it around on the guy like it’s his damn fault.

  “No, Liz. I wasn’t. I got on to pull up my email and it was on the front screen.”

  “Oh, well no, I am not booking a motel. It was just an ad that popped up.”

  “So, why was your credit card out? The one you only use for emergencies?” I force the issue because she isn’t giving me much and something isn’t adding up.

  She looks at me and then loses it. She starts bawling her eyes out. I am talking full- on crying. I don’t even know what to think. Is she leaving me? What the fuck happened to make her cry like this?

  I do the only thing I can do and move closer to hold her. She wraps her arms around me and bawls her eyes out. I can feel the snot dripping off her onto my shirt but I am not about to say anything right now. It’s breaking my heart to see her this emotional and not know what’s going on or how to fix it.

  Bella walks in at this moment and I can tell from her soft voice she heard her mom crying. “Mommy, daddy. Are you ok?”

  Liz sucks in her snot and picks her head up to wipe her nose trying to get herself together. “Nothing is wrong, angel, I promise. I am just really tired.”

  Bella looks from me to her mom and says, “When I am so tired that I cry you always tell me to go to bed. Maybe you should go to bed.” God bless our sweet daughter. May she always stay this innocent.

  Liz nods her head in agreement and says to me, “I think I am going to go lay down. Dinner is done. Can you take it out of the oven in fifteen minutes and give some to Bella?”

  One, I don’t like how she never acknowledged the issue of the credit card and two, I definitely don’t like that my girl looks like the world has beaten her
up and thrown her out in to the cold. However, now is not the time to get to the bottom of this, especially with our four-year old in front of us. So, I simply agree and let her walk away from me.

  When the food is ready I dish it out, and Bella and I eat together in front of the television finishing up her movie. It’s something her mother barely ever allows so I know it will keep her entertained because she feels like she is getting away with something.

  After the movie is over I give her a bath, read her a story, and put her to bed. Liz still hasn’t come out of her room so I tell Bella I am giving her two kisses, one from me and one from her mom. This makes her think. “Wait, if you can give me kisses from mommy can you give me kisses from other people?”

  You would think after living with a four-year old the last few months I would see what’s coming but I don’t, and I fall right into her trap. “Ugh, I guess.”

  “Great! I want a kiss from grandma. Oh, and a kiss from grandpa. Then I want a kiss from Auntie Kay…”

  Twenty minutes and fifty kisses later—from everybody my four-year old knows to some people she doesn’t know like Cinderella, and she is down for the night.

  I walk into our dark bedroom to find Liz sound asleep. I want to ask her what’s going on but I don’t have the heart to wake her up. So instead I strip down to my boxers and wrap my girl up in my arms praying whatever is wrong doesn’t involve her leaving me.

  Twenty-Four

  Liz

  How I have managed to avoid the conversation with Cooper the last four days I have no clue. When he said, he saw the motels webpage and credit card I thought for sure I was screwed. Luckily when he mentioned them it reminded me that I am hiding my pregnancy from him which reminded me that Kayla won’t be there for me because she is moving, and then I remembered I am not allowed to tell Cooper, and so I lost it. Poor guy had no clue what to do. He definitely handled it like a trooper though; accepting my snot all over his shirt like it wasn’t even a big deal.