“I have to fly out early in the morning, but you three should go out. You two deserve it,” Nick replied.
Melanie looked at Zane. “What do you think?”
Zane was ready to relax. “Sure, you girls pick the place. We’ll go after Nick’s fight.”
Trish squealed and hugged him and Melanie both. “Great, I’m going to go find a good seat for Nick’s fight. I’ll be back later.” Trish turned to Nick. “Good luck!” Melanie knew that her friend was going in search for more than a good seat.
“Thanks, Trish.” Nick laughed as she left. They all knew she was a wild one. As she walked towards the seating area, she stopped to talk to a tall blond man. Zane figured they would be seeing him with Trish later that night.
“Good luck with the fight, Nick,” Zane heard Melanie tell her brother.
“I know you got it, Nick,” Zane told him. Nick would win easily.
“Thank, guys. I’ll see you after.” Nick went back to get ready for his fight. As the light heavyweight champion, his fight would draw the most attention and the biggest crowd.
Melanie looped her arm through Zane’s. “Wanna go back and change then come back for the fight?”
“That works for me. Let’s go,” Zane replied.
They walked to the locker room together, and Melanie waited outside while he went in to get showered and changed. As he walked towards his locker, he noticed it was partially open. He looked around, but there was no one else in the locker room.
He opened the locker the rest of the way. His bag was still there, yet as he unzipped it, he saw a yellow envelope resting amidst his clothes. They usually only delivered their instructions late at night at the gym. This was their way of telling him that he was always being watched.
He shoved it to the bottom of his bag and zipped it back up. He usually had a couple days to follow through with the job; it could wait. He showered and changed into the extra clothes he had packed, anticipating that Melanie would want to go out.
He then smoothed his facial expression so that Melanie wouldn’t think anything was wrong, took a deep breath, and walked out the door.
Chapter 17
Melanie, Zane, and Trish all flinched at the same time. Grant, Nick’s latest challenger, had gotten in a kick to the side of Nick’s face. Melanie heard the crowd gasp, but at the same time, cheer even louder for Nick. She couldn’t hear her father, however she could see him talking to Nick.
They had all come back just in time for the fight. It was the third round and the crowd was rowdy. This was the fight they had been waiting for. The majority of the crowd was cheering for Nick, but there were a loud few cheering for the challenger. There were always fans rooting for the underdog.
Melanie felt herself slightly shaking. Nick’s fights kept her on the edge of her seat. It had taken her several years, but she had finally quit screaming directions at him during the fights, she knew he couldn’t hear her.
Now, she was gripping Zane’s arm nervously. This had been a good match, and although she felt like Nick had held control of the fight a little longer than Grant, you never knew what the judges would do. She could feel the tension in Zane, too. It was reassuring to know that he cared as much as she did about the outcome of the fight.
“Oh, my God, Mel. I’m freaking out!” Trish exclaimed with a nervous giggle. Trish had only been to a couple fights. It wasn’t really her thing since she couldn’t understand why anyone would want to make a living that caused physical pain. She felt that way about boxing, too; it just didn’t make sense to her. She was only here to support Melanie. Melanie knew it was hard for Trish to watch; the fights could get pretty brutal. They could see the splatters of blood all over the mat. Melanie squeezed her friend’s hand.
“One more minute, Trish.” Melanie glanced at the clock. Nick needed to get as many hits in as he could during the last minute.
As if he read her mind, Nick took control of the fight with an extra burst of strength that he always held in reserve for the end when he knew he was going to need it. She watched Grant stumble backwards to the side of the cage as Nick performed a series of punches and kicks.
When the bell rang to indicate the end of the fight, Grant had been pushed up against the side of the cage.
“Way to go, Nick,” Melanie screamed. She jumped up and down. “Whoohoo!”
Trish stood up to join her. “Did he win?” She yelled over the crowd.
“He should have. That last minute should have settled it.” Melanie looked over at Zane, who was standing as well, to see what he thought.
“Yeah, he did it.” Zane sounded confident.
Melanie waited impatiently for the judges to announce their decision.
“The winner by unanimous decision, our current light heavyweight champion, Nicholas Brooks!”
Now Melanie could go congratulate her brother. It was a pain getting through the heavy crowd, however she had lots of practice at elbowing her way through a crowd to get to her brother.
“Way to go, Nick!” Melanie was going to hug him or give him a pat, but changed her mind. He was a bloody mess. Nick was holding a bandage over a cut above his eye. She could also see that one of his eyes looked puffy and he had traces of blood across his chest and knuckles.
Their father was several feet away, talking to his own friends. She could see the pride in his face and forced herself to shake it off.
She looked up at Nick. “You took a bit of an ass beating this time,” Melanie declared.
“Shut up, Mel. I was just giving you a show.” Nick grinned.
Melanie almost believed him. He knew exactly what to do to win and keep the crowd engaged, but she was also aware that Grant had still gotten in some good hits that he’d had to recover from.
“Whatev! I know you better than that!” Melanie laughed at his cockiness.
“Great fight, Nick.” Trish had finally made it through to stand with them.
Melanie looked over at Zane. She felt bad for rushing off and leaving them behind.
“Sorry I took off. Force of habit, I guess,” Melanie explained.
“That’s okay!” Trish replied. “This is exciting!”
Trish was being such a great sport about this. She was glad they were going out later. Melanie had been spending so much time with Zane she hadn’t seen Trish much and missed her lighthearted company.
Zane leaned in to shake Nick’s hand. “Nice work.”
“Thanks, man. That was a tough one,” Nick replied.
“Yeah, I hear ya,” Zane drawled wryly.
Nick shrugged. He’d seemed to know he was going to win all along and Zane knew it, too.
“So what’s the plan for you all tonight?” Nick asked.
Zane and Melanie turned to Trish.
“I think dinner at Hotties and dancing at The Inn.” Trish looked at Zane and Melanie slyly. The Inn was where they had made out in the corner.
Melanie cleared her face to look expressionless and Zane shifted slightly, trying to maintain a casual air. Nick didn’t know about that night at the club. Melanie had given him the impression that she and Zane had reconnected when Melanie had asked him to start training her.
“Damn, I hate to miss Hotties,” Nick ruefully replied. He looked from Melanie to Zane. He knew there was something he didn’t know, and Melanie was grateful he didn’t pry.
Hotties was well named with their hot, little waitresses and a variety of spicy dishes.
“Trish, I don’t want to have to punch Zane every time he looks at someone. Pick somewhere else to eat!” Melanie always felt like a big tree over those skinny, little bitches. She wanted to enjoy the evening, not worry about what he was looking at.
“I only have eyes for you, Melanie,” Zane said mockingly.
“We’re not going there!” Melanie responded.
“Fine! How about The Flats?” Trish offered a good solution.
“Perfect. Pizza sounds good.” Melanie sighed and they all laughed at her reaction. She realized
she sounded like a jealous bitch, yet she still wasn’t changing her mind about Hotties.
“Fuck all of you. I think I’m just edgy from that close fight. Nick, make it more obvious next time instead of leaving us wondering.” Melanie tried to steer the conversation away from herself.
“Will do, little sister. Will do,” Nick replied, knowing what she was doing, but as always, he backed her up.
“Have fun on your trip,” Melanie told him. Nick was flying to Los Angeles tomorrow to discuss an endorsement deal.
She noticed a movement over his shoulder. Her dad was walking towards them.
“Good work, son.” Rex patted Nick on the back.
“Hello, Zane.” Rex spoke to Zane formally. It had been a while since they had seen each other. Zane wouldn’t accept Rex’s apology when everything had gone down.
“Rex,” Zane greeted him just as formally.
They all stood there in an awkward silence for what seemed like forever. Melanie refused to say anything. He hadn’t come to her fight last night, so he could go to hell for all she cared. Melanie was done caring about what he thought of her.
“You three have fun tonight and be careful,” Nick broke the strained silence.
“Congratulations again, Nick,” Trish said.
“Good job, buddy,” Zane told him.
“Bye, Nick. I’ll see you next week.” Melanie couldn’t make herself say anything nice to her dad, so she said nothing at all.
The three of them turned to leave.
“Awkward!” Trish stated the obvious while lightening the mood at the same time.
They all laughed as they went to Zane’s SUV. Trish followed them to the restaurant in her car. Trish had brought Melanie a change of clothes, which she changed into while Zane drove to the pizza parlor. She pulled off her casual shirt, pulling on a sequined purple tank with a deep V and wiggled into tight black jeans. Next, she pulled out her lipstick and touched up her makeup. Lastly, she pulled off her flat shoes and switched to high heels. She went from appearing like a girl who looked like she still belonged in high school to a young woman ready to hit the town in a matter of minutes.
“I’ve always wanted to see how that was done.” Zane grinned at her as she leaned back in her seat, buckling her seatbelt.
Melanie had noticed Zane’s occasional glances her way and could see the lust in his eyes. She felt herself getting excited knowing he had gotten hot watching her change.
“You should see me in Trish’s little car. Of course, her windows aren’t tinted like yours.” Melanie grinned back at him, enjoying his jealous frown. She was glad to see she wasn’t the only one who had been bitten by that particular bug.
“Tell Trish to take it to a garage. I’ll pay for the tint job.” Melanie couldn’t decide if he was joking or not, but decided to drop the subject. She wouldn’t like it if he enjoyed her being jealous over other women looking at him.
They pulled up to The Flats in no time. Zane let her off at the door as he parked the vehicle.
“You need to save your feet for later at the club,” he told her as she climbed out of his vehicle. Melanie appreciated his consideration. She had never dated a man who had worried about something as mundane as her feet before.
She smiled as she saw Trish waiting near the door for her until Zane bashed her warm and fuzzy feelings with his next sentence.
“I don’t want you ruining those heels on the pavement. I plan to see them on you when I fuck you later.”
Melanie gasped, looking towards Trish, but she was on her phone, so she couldn’t hear him.
“You are so bad!” She shut the door and walked to Trish with a grin tugging at her lips. She couldn’t wait until later tonight.
“Come on out and eat with us. We’re going to The Inn later,” Trish was saying into the phone. “Great, see you in a few!”
Trish turned to Melanie. “That was Landon, the guy I met after Zane’s fight, he’s going to meet us here.”
Melanie laughed. “Trish, you’re always picking up a stray.”
“Someone’s gotta do it.” Trish shrugged her shoulders.
Melanie always respected Trish’s ability to live the way she wanted to without a care, but Melanie didn’t have it in her to be as sexually free as Trish was.
They went inside and sat at a booth in the bar area where a baseball game was on and a lot of the patrons were in their fan gear. Trish motioned for a waitress and ordered a pitcher of beer.
“So, how are you and Zane? You two look awesome together,” Trish questioned with a smile.
“It was going great until his fucking ex-girlfriend showed up before the fight tonight,” Melanie growled, still angry about catching the two in a clinch.
Trish gasped. Melanie had told her about Faye. “What the hell? That stupid cunt is back in town?”
Before Melanie replied, she saw Zane walk in the door. “I’ll tell you more later.”
Melanie slid over for Zane. As he sat down, the waitress set the pitcher on the table.
“Ahh, perfect timing,” Zane stated as he poured them both a drink before he filled his own mug.
They all took a sip before looking over the menus and placing their orders just as Trish’s new friend showed up and slid in next to her, so the waitress left to give the new arrival a moment to decide. Melanie had been right; it was the tall blond from earlier today.
“Hey! You made it. Landon, this is Melanie and Zane,” Trish quickly introduced them.
“Hello,” Landon replied to both of them. “That was a great fight, Zane. I remember watching you when you first began. It’s good to see you back.”
“Yes, it is great to see him in the cage again,” Melanie chimed in, squeezing his thigh under the table.
“Thanks,” Zane replied.
Melanie noticed his slight discomfort and assumed it was because he was waiting for his trouble with the league to be brought up. She knew he would relax his guard eventually as he won more fights and his past trouble gradually faded into the background.
The waitress returned to take their order while they were debating who the best player on their local pro team was.
Once they placed their order, the conversation turned back to Zane’s fight.
“So, who do you think you’ll fight next, Zane?” Landon asked.
Melanie felt Zane tense next to her.
“I don’t know yet; there are a couple guys I’m considering challenging, but right now, it just feels good being done with the first one.” Zane didn’t try to elaborate and Melanie could sense he didn’t care to discuss fighting right now. She didn’t know what was going through his head and why he was keeping everything short whenever his fight came up. She turned the conversation back to Trish.
“Trish, how’s work?” Trish had just graduated with a political science degree and always enjoyed public relations. She was able to land a job as an event planner, which suited her personality perfectly. She could make any event interesting with her ideas, and she already had a long list of clients in her portfolio.
As Trish elaborated about the latest event she was planning, Melanie felt Zane relax. They were going to have a talk later about this, however for now, he was smiling again and she wanted to let loose with him tonight. Trish was always good at keeping a conversation going and getting the rest of them to join in. It ended up being a fun night of casual conversation.
After dinner, they headed to The Inn. Trish rode with Landon, leaving Melanie to ride with Zane.
Melanie wanted to ask him what was going on about the fight but didn’t want to spoil their good time.
“We’ve had some good times at The Inn, haven’t we?” Melanie asked teasingly.
“Yeah, it’s not every day some hussy grabs me and attacks me like that,” Zane replied.
Melanie gasped. Again, about to bring up the three drinks she’d had before approaching him that night when she saw he was trying to fight a smile. She settled for punching him in the arm instead.
> “I don’t remember you resisting my charms,” Melanie snapped back. Even though it all had worked out, she still felt guilty about the way she’d approached a stranger and let it go as far as it had. It wasn’t the impression she wanted Zane to have of her.
“Melanie, I know you’re not that type of girl, okay? I’m just glad it was me that night and not some random guy. And I know you wouldn’t do it again. At least, I hope not.” Zane glanced at her inquisitively.
“NO! I won’t do that again. And I am so glad it was you, too. I’ve never felt so drawn to anyone like I was that night with you. I think subconsciously I knew it was you. I had a crush on you when I was younger.” Melanie reached over to hold his hand and Zane squeezed it.
“Does that mean you don’t have a crush on me anymore?”
“I think my feelings have gone past the crush phase,” Melanie brought her developing feelings for him out into the open.
“Who would have known I would end up with Nick’s bratty, little sister?” Zane teased her, yet didn’t mention his own feelings. He squeezed her hand again, which made her feel marginally better.
“Yep, now I get to be a pain in your ass.”
“You could never be a pain in my ass.” As Zane kissed the back of her hand, Melanie could feel herself melt with the tone of his voice and that sweet gesture.
She felt herself trying to control her emotions as they pulled into a parking space at the club. Trish and Landon were already parked a couple spaces over. Trish told jokes that had them all laughing as they made their way into the club.
They were able to find a booth near the dance floor. It was too loud to have any meaningful conversation, so they ordered drinks and had some small talk when they could. Melanie was able to lean against Zane and enjoy being close to him as they watched couples and groups of girls dancing on the floor.
As the music slowed down and the lights dimmed, Melanie looked up at Zane. He nodded and they slid out of the booth, holding hands as they stepped onto the floor. He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her as she entwined her arms around his neck. He looked down at her and she could see the passion in his eyes. She leaned her cheek on his shoulder as they slowly moved to the music.
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