We are in the third quarter, and the Pats are currently annihilating the Texans, which makes me extremely happy. I’m not a graceful loser, and the thought of Zander’s team beating my boys would piss me off to no end.
Ash and I excuse ourselves to the kitchen to get the food all served up.
Luckily, she made lazy man’s lobster, so the guys won’t make a mess everywhere trying to crack the shells open. I notice she’s spending an awfully long time on a specific plate, making sure it looks perfect.
“Ash, you don’t need to make my plate look perfect. You know I’d love it even if my plating looked like shit.”
“Shut it, wench. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I follow her out to the living room, carrying a couple plates to her one. Surprise, surprise. She personally delivers it to Josh, and I pass my three out to my Dad, Zander, and Kyle. I run back into the kitchen to grab mine and Jay’s before sitting down to eat.
The rest of the game passes, and The Pats kicked some serious Texan ass. Zander is sulking, which makes me laugh.
“Maybe you should jump ship to a team that’s actually capable of winning, babe.”
“Next time we’ll get them,” is all he says, still pouting like a five-year-old.
We say our goodbyes to my dad before we head out. Zander asked me to stay at his place tonight, so Ash is giving Josh and the other guys a ride home to each of their new places. Having to be quiet during sex really sucks, especially when you want to shout the rooftop down with how good your man is giving it to you. They can’t barge in on us, and we can be spontaneous again now that they’ve moved out. I think my arm-wrestling match really got Zander going because the minute we clear the threshold and shut the door, he’s pushing me into it and attacking my mouth. Seeing as this isn’t the first time I’ve found myself in this position, I know what’s coming will most certainly not be gentle. He’s kissing and sucking down my neck as he rips off my clothes, and I give in to the passion and jump up, wrapping my legs around his waist as he enters me. He pounds into me with abandon until I’m calling out his name, breathless. A couple more thrusts, and Zander grunts out my name with his own release.
Panting and out of breath, I lie on the hardwood floor of the entryway with my eyes closed. I’m thinking about sleeping right here when I feel myself being lifted into Zander’s arms. He carries me to bed, and I love how he constantly makes me feel special by taking care of me. Snuggling up to him, I barely make it a few minutes before I’m lost to dreamland.
CHAPTER 11
Zander cuts the engine when we arrive at our destination. I’m a nervous wreck, and nothing has calmed my nerves. He grabs my hand, causing me to look over at him.
“Baby, she’s going to love you. You have absolutely nothing to be worried about.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re not being looked at as a potential babymaker. Shit! I didn’t mean that I want to be your baby maker…I mean, one day I’d like to have kids but…fuck. Forget I said anything. I ramble on and on about stupid shit when I’m nervous.”
Motherfucker! Why do I have diarrhea of the mouth when I’m feeling uneasy?
“First of all, I don’t think kids are classified as stupid shit. I’m going to let that conversation slide for now. You have nothing to be worried about. It’s not like my mom is going to corner you in the octagon when you’re training, and threaten you with a bow and arrow. Now, let’s do this. I’m starving!”
Laughing, I wait for him to walk around the truck, open my door, and offer his hand. I take it, and he helps me down but doesn’t let me past him. He pushes me up against the truck and leans in for a kiss, making me temporarily forget what’s going on in my head. My eyes are still closed when he pulls away, and I have a smile on my face.
“Better? I can’t believe you’re so nervous. Haven’t you met a boyfriend’s parents before?” Looking at the ground, I shake my head.
“None of my relationships got to that point. Well, they did, but they didn’t want me to meet their parents.”
Zander grabs my hands and looks into my eyes. “I’ll say it again: you have nothing to be worried about, beautiful. She’s probably just as nervous to meet you. You’re the first girl I’ve ever brought to dinner too, so we are both doing something we never have before.”
I’m secretly thrilled I’m the only one to meet his mom. He pulls me up the walkway, and I admire the quaint one-story home. It’s white with pink shutters and is immaculately landscaped. Before we reach the front steps, Zander’s mom has the door open and is making her way down to us. She pulls Zander into a hug and gives him a kiss on the cheek. Once she lets him go, she comes and squeezes me hard, as only a mother can. I can’t help but get a little emotional. Would my mom have given me hugs just like this one?
“Mom, this is Savannah. Savvy, this is my mom, Judy.”
“It’s so nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Cage. Zander has told me so much about you.”
“None of that, sweetie. Call me Judy. I’m thrilled Zander has finally brought a girl home. I was starting to think he was embarrassed of me.”
We both laugh as Zander rolls his eyes.
“Now how can I be embarrassed of you, Mom? You are the shit.”
“You always know just what to say to make me feel special, honey.” Now it’s her turn to roll her eyes.
Turning around, she tells us to come into the house. I love her already, and I can understand why Zander turned out so great. You can just feel the love between them.
We are halfway through dinner when I excuse myself to go to the bathroom. I drank far too much water before Zander picked me up. I’ll blame it on my nerves, which are currently gone, thank goodness. Judy is great, and she’s made me feel right at home.
I close the door and pull my phone out of my purse. I see that I have three new messages, so I scroll through them really quick.
555-9474: Sweetie, where are you? We need to talk.
555-9474: I’m sorry for the misunderstanding at the bar. I didn’t mean to cause a scene.
The third text is an old picture of me and Luke from when we were dating. I have blocked his phone number numerous times already, but he keeps getting a new one and sending me messages. I don’t know what he hopes to accomplish with these texts. I put my phone away, not wanting to spend any more time thinking about him, and relieve my bladder and wash my hands.
As I head back to the dining room, I can hear Zander talking to his mom.
“I really like her, Zander. I understand why you are so smitten.”
“Smitten? Really, Mom?” He laughs.
“Sorry I’m not as young and hip as you are, hotshot. You know what I mean. I see the way you look at her and also the way she looks at you. Does she know about the fighting?”
“Yes, but she didn’t know who I was at first. She has no idea about anything involving MMA, so you don’t need to worry about her. She’s different.”
“I can tell. Give it a chance.”
“Believe me, I’m not letting her go anytime soon.”
Not wanting to eavesdrop on their private conversation any longer, I take a few quiet steps back and then clomp my way into the dining room so they can hear me coming. I clomp a little too much and trip over the area rug on the floor, falling on my face. Why can’t I have the grace of a ballerina? As fast as I fall to the floor, I’m up ten times faster.
“Holy shit, Savvy, are you okay?” Zander asks with concern in his voice.
“Yup, perfectly fine. It wouldn’t be a normal day unless I made a fool of myself.” I can feel the redness rushing up my cheeks as I sit back down next to Zander.
He places his hand on my leg and gives it a squeeze. We finish dinner and dessert, and then we’re saying our goodbyes. Judy gives me a hug, and we promise to see each other soon before I walk out the door with Zander. He helps me into the truck, leans in, and gives me a peck on the lips before walking around and getting in on the driver’s side.
When I pu
ll out my phone, I notice a few more texts from Luke. I delete them without looking. Why does he have to be doing this tonight?
“Everything okay?” Zander questions, looking down at my phone.
“Yup, everything is great. Just an ex-boyfriend texting me. I blocked his number again.”
“Again, meaning he has been doing this for a while on different numbers?” Shit, I didn’t want this to be a big deal.
“Yeah…he showed up at the bar the other day when I was working. I told him I was seeing someone new. For some reason, he thinks we still have a chance at being together. I told him to leave. I’m sure he’ll realize I have moved on and do the same. No worries, I have it under control.”
“If he does anything else, I’d like to know about it. I don’t like the thought of anyone harassing you.”
I nod my head as we drive back to his place for the night. I don’t know why I was so nervous. Meeting his mom was better than I thought it’d be, and I’m genuinely excited to see her again. Looking over to Zander, I study his profile for a minute. He looks over, catching me staring at him like he always does.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“For what?” He brings my knuckles up to his lips.
“For moving here, knocking me on my ass that day, introducing me to your mom; you can take your pick.”
He kisses my knuckles, and we continue to drive in silence. I look out my window and smile. I can’t help but think of my mom as I look up at the sky. I know she’s always with me, and the sense of peace that brings is everything to me. I take a deep, calming breath and smile to myself. I know she would have loved Zander. Knowing her, she probably led him right to me.
CHAPTER 12
It’s Wednesday night, which means I take off for Vegas tomorrow. I look around my room, surveying the mess I’ve made trying to pack, but I don’t have anything that would be considered acceptable. I’m starting to stress myself out when a light bulb goes off in my head.
“Ashlyn!” I yell, running for her room and heading straight for her closet. She’s lying on her bed with earbuds in, so my yelling is a wasted cause. The second I plow through her door, she screams and falls off the bed. I stop dead in my tracks and bust out laughing. She gets up from the floor with narrowed, angry eyes focused on me.
“What the fuck, Savvy? You scared the shit out of me.” She then places her hands on her hips, staring me down in what I’m sure she thinks is an intimidating stance. I can’t help it, I laugh even harder. This is just what I need to take my mind off the stress of packing.
“I yelled your name, but you obviously didn’t hear me,” I offer up as an explanation. “I need help! I have nothing to wear in Vegas. Then I thought, ‘of course my bestie has a whole bunch of whorish garb in her closet for me to peruse. Thank god we are the same size.” I begin going through her closet, looking through the hangers.
“Hey! I don’t do whorish, it’s all very classy. Let me get in there. I know what to wear in Vegas better than you do.” I move to the side as she starts to pull clothes from the hangers and hands them to me. I look down at a scrap of fabric I assume is a dress, but what it would actually cover is questionable at best.
“It’s not a pool party, Ash; I need a dress to wear to the fight and after-party. I think my bathing suits actually cover more than this. I definitely think my clothes will be good enough for our downtime, so don’t worry about that.” She gives me the side-eye and continues to go through her closet.
“That is the dress you will wear to the fight. Zander will love it, and don’t worry, most of your important pieces will be covered.” She turns around and winks at me.
Thirty minutes later, I go back into my room with a heap of clothes to pack. I’m trusting Ashlyn on this one because I dress for comfort 98% of the time, and skinny jeans and hoodies will only take me so far. As I begin to fold everything and put them in my suitcase, my phone rings. I look at the screen and see it’s my dad.
“Hey Dad, what’s crack-a-lacking?” I know I’m about to get an earful. If nothing else, Jack Jenks always has a schedule in place.
“Sweetie, I’ll be picking you up promptly at 7:30 a.m., and for the love of god, please control yourself and bring one suitcase. You’re not one of those Kardeeshans, so have some restraint.” How am I going to get through this trip with him? After Zander invited Dad to watch him train, he’s been inviting him a couple times a week and decided it would be a great idea to invite him to the fight. At this point, he knew he was going to ask me, so he asked my dad to keep it a secret. Having someone I know to go with lessens my nerves. At least when Zander needs to train or do publicity stunts, I’ll have someone to wander around Vegas with. I don’t think I’d be able to wander around by myself in a city I’ve never been to before.
“I know Dad, and it’s the Kardashians. You’ve given me this speech every time we’ve gone somewhere since I was five. I was in the middle of packing when you called me, so I’ll get back to it and see you at 8:00 a.m. sharp.” I try not to laugh as I try and push his buttons.
“Savannah Marie Jenks, I said 7:30 a.m. and you know it! Stop grab-assing and finish packing. This is the most important thing that’s ever happened to me—” I stop him and clear my throat. “Well, outside of you being born, of course.”
I start laughing, and we say our goodbyes. I really believe that if I’m not on the front steps with my suitcase in hand by the time he pulls in, he’ll leave without me.
The final things I place in the suitcase are the two most important: my dress to the fight and my dress for the after-party. I told Ash I would wear the black dress to the after-party, seeing as my dad would have a heart attack if he saw me in it for the fight. He’s not going to the party because in his words “I’m too fucking old for that shit, Savannah. If I wanted to see people sexing it up in the corners of the room, I’d go to a sex club.” I tried to explain to him that he watches way too much Sons of Anarchy and that his vision is being skewed on what happens in real life. He wouldn’t hear it, which I actually don’t mind as long as he understands I will not be “sexing it up.” Not having him there is a good thing, especially if Zander wins and we’re celebrating. I have never hung out with the caliber of friends he has, but something tells me it would be best if dad went back to his hotel room.
As I finish packing, I grab my phone and call Zander. He left for Vegas on Sunday because he has a lot of press to do, and he needs to continue training routinely heading into the week of the fight. Seeing each other as little as possible until after the fight is the best for both of us, not to mention his trainer believes in withholding sex so he doesn’t lose his aggression or competitive motivation. Whenever I see him, I just want to rip his clothes off and lick every inch of his rock-hard body. I miss him so much.
“Hey baby.” He answers on the third ring, pulling me out of my sexual fantasies.
“Hey babe, I miss you so much. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.”
“Me too. I can’t pick you up from the airport because my agent has me scheduled for an interview at the time you land. If I could get out of it I would, but like I’ve said before, getting all the publicity we can in before a fight is beneficial for our ratings.”
“Don’t worry about it. Dad and I can just call for a cab or an Uber. I don’t want you stressing over me, you need to concentrate on your fight with Julio and what I have planned for you after you win.” I say the last part as seductively as I can.
“Yeah baby, I can think of a couple things you could do to me after the fight that I’ll be a willing participant in. I can also think of a few things I’m going to do to your sexy little body. This sex ban is killing me. I never really cared before because I swore off women leading up to all of my fights, but this time around it’s like my body craves your touch.”
“I know what you mean. It will make it that much more special after you win the trophy.”
He starts to laugh. “Savvy, I don’t win a fucking trophy. I win the Light Heavywei
ght Championship belt. I would have thought you’d know a little more about fighting by now.”
“We don’t really talk about fighting when we’re together, and it’s not like I’ve researched it. This is all new and exciting to me. I’ll learn more as we go along, I promise. If you’re worried about me watching the fight, rest assured I will be the loudest one there. I will be cheering you on so hard you won’t know what hit you.” I think on that for a second. “People cheer at these things, right? I mean, they’re not silent like with golf?”
“You can cheer your little heart out. It gives me the extra motivation to knock Alverez on his ass because nobody wants to look like a pussy in front of their girl on the biggest night of their life.” I start to hear someone talking loudly in the background, and Zander says “one minute” to them.
“All right, baby. I have to go and do a radio interview. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Zander. Bye.” I hang up the phone and start to get excited. I can’t believe I’m about to get on a plane in the morning to go see my boyfriend fight in Vegas! I look over to the clock and notice it’s a little after ten. I decide I should try and get some sleep so I’m not exhausted in the morning. After setting about six alarms just in case, I put my phone on the charger and head to the bathroom for my nightly routine.
When I lie down, I can’t help think about the whirlwind this weekend is going to be. It will be the first time I’m with Zander the celebrity instead of the sweet and attentive Zander I’m used to. I just hope I’m in no way disappointed and running for the hills after this weekend.
***
It’s currently 7:45 a.m., and I’m standing on my front steps with my suitcase. Dad is just now pulling into the driveway, and I can tell he’s hauling ass when he screeches to a halt. He jumps out of his truck and proceeds to power walk over to me. “Well, well, well, what do we have here? I seem to remember you saying not to be late when you promptly arrived at 7:30 a.m.” I look down at my watch. “My watch is telling me it’s indeed 15 minutes after your supposed arrival. Care to explain yourself, old man?” He looks down at the ground, and I notice a blush going up his cheeks.
Bound By Cage Box Set (Complete Series Books 1-4) : MMA Romance Page 10