Fight It Out Series Box Set

by T M Kelly

  “I don’t see any details. Think Detective Alan would spill the beans?” I removed my head guard and jumped down out of the ring. “The trial was supposed to start Monday.”

  “You think he pissed someone off on the inside?” Charlie stepped up beside me and grabbed her towel.

  “Maybe. Just feels odd.”

  Tyler handed the paper back. “Let me call Alan. Have you talked to Stephen yet?”

  “I’ll go home now.” Instead of showering, I gathered up my things and left. The moment I walked through the door, I knew Stephen had heard on the news. He was sitting in the living room on the edge of the couch, holding a remote and flipping through each news channel. “Hey.” I didn’t know what else to say.

  He glanced up. “You’re home early.”

  “I skipped a shower to make sure you were okay. I see you caught the breaking news, though.” Stephen placed the remote on the coffee table and stood to start advancing on me. “What’re you doing?” I didn’t feel like backing up. It was more fun having him next to me.

  “You need a shower. I’m here to help.”

  “So this breaking news is not upsetting? Shouldn’t you be feeling a little off or something?” I placed my hands on his chest. “I will always welcome company. It’s just—”

  “Zo, I’m fine.” The word I hated. Whenever he mentioned “fine,” I cringed. “You don’t believe me?”

  I held my index finger and thumb a quarter inch apart. “Eh, maybe this much.”

  Stephen still had appointments with the therapist weekly. She mentioned in the group session with Ty and me that Stephen was definitely feeling better. Saying it with him in the room made me wonder if she was just spewing words. Then a few weeks ago, the therapist asked to see Tyler and me separately. When I talked to the woman, she seemed kind. She talked about our unusual relationship and said Stephen needed stability. Which made me think she didn’t approve of our relationship. Her words took me by surprise. She obviously didn’t realize what happened weeks ago only brought the three of us closer.

  “Hey.” He lifted my chin so I was facing him. “He’s dead.”

  “Yeah, okay.”

  “I’m allowed to feel good about that.”

  “Yeah, I know. He did torture you for weeks. I thought that would fuck with you for a while.”

  “I never said I was perfect. I still experience nightmares.” That was true, and almost every night. He would either wake up screaming or just thrash around talking in his sleep. “I won’t ever be perfect but let me try to build a space that feels safe.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He placed his hand behind my neck. “You can’t check on me every five seconds and keep mentioning the one thing I’m trying to move past.” Stephen smiled and leaned forward to kiss me. “If I wake up in the night, just hold me and let me fall back to sleep in your arms.”

  “So be normal?”

  “Exactly.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the stairs. “Can you handle that?”

  I stumbled forward and wrapped my arms around his bicep. “I think I can do that.”

  “Think?”

  I rested my head against his shoulder and followed him up the stairs. “I definitely can.”

  “Good, because I need it.”

  When we reached the landing, I turned him to face me. “I’m sorry.”

  “No, don’t be. I get it. I really do.” He bent down and rested his forehead on mine. “I just want more with you both, and I can’t if the memories keep invading our happy times.”

  “More, eh?” I winked and started to unbutton his shirt.

  The front door flew open and Tyler ran in. “Are you—”

  “Yes, he’s okay.” I burst out laughing and moved my index finger, indicating he needed to join us. “He said I smelled.”

  “Now that is absolutely not true.” Stephen shook his head and bent to place me over his shoulder. I screamed as he carried me into the bathroom. “On second thought.”

  “She was horrible back at the gym. Charlie told me to clean her up ASAP.”

  “I think we better.” Stephen was still holding onto me as he turned on the shower.

  “You wouldn’t.” I was trying to sound serious but failed miserably. He sat me down under the shower head, which only made me laugh harder. I looked at them both and realized the therapist was wrong. She didn’t take the time she should’ve with us, because if she had you would see we were happy. “Let’s celebrate.” Stephen and Tyler stopped moving. “Not at Noir. Oh, God no. Let’s find a fun place and maybe some of our friends will join us.”

  “Besides the obvious,” Stephen teased. “What else are we celebrating?”

  “Us.” I tugged off my soaked T-shirt and had to work extra hard to get my leggings off. “I’ll even wear something other than these.”

  Tyler’s eyes went wide. “What? Wait, you’ll wear a dress?”

  I threw the material in his direction. “You joke, but yet you love the easy access.” Both men nodded. “So, are we celebrating or not?”

  “After we take care of some important business.” Tyler closed the shower door and adjusted the water.

  “You sure about this nightclub?” Tyler said and placed his hand in the center of my back. He bent down beside my ear. “You look amazing if I forgot to tell you.”

  I glanced up at him. His ice blue eyes still took my breath away. “You did tell me, but I love hearing it again.” I placed my hand on the side of his face and leaned up to kiss him. “Thank you.”

  “None of that hanky-panky tonight.” Charlie ran up and kissed both our cheeks. “Hey, cuties. So you decided X was the better place to dance all night?”

  X nightclub had been around for about ten years. Lily mentioned it in passing once. When I looked it up after we had the best shower imaginable, I discovered it was tight on security. Plus, there was less on the shady business, especially in the bathrooms.

  Lily and Julian were holding hands in front of us. The moment we stepped through the doorway, she looked back in my direction. “See. I still don’t know why you insisted on going to Noir all the time.”

  “To finally connect with these two.” My arms were looped into both of theirs. I tugged them closer and rested my head on Tyler’s shoulder.

  Malik slapped Tyler on the back. “Lily’s right, that place sucked. I’m glad you picked this spot.”

  Over the last several weeks, the fighters at the gym were slowly hearing the story of our relationship. There were two fighters that made a stink about Tyler living with a man. Of course, they would bitch but never mentioned my name. So they were okay with him being with two people, but if it included a man, all hell broke loose. Julian started letting fighters out of their gym contract that couldn’t figure out how to shut the fuck up. Once the dust settled, we found a normal pace at the gym. Tyler started to train with the guys again. He did make the decision to retire from professional fighting and focus all his energy on me.

  “When’s your next fight?” Malik sat down beside me.

  “I’m not sure yet. Hopefully soon,” I said and rested my hands on my lap. “After that last fiasco with Vera’s fan, I need a do-over.”

  “I still can’t believe—”

  He stopped in mid-sentence, and I didn’t think he had plans to continue by the look on his face. I waved my hand in front of him. “You can’t believe what? You okay?” I moved my head closer to him and tried to see exactly what or who he was watching. There was a woman standing at the bar moving a straw around in her drink. “Is that Jenny?”

  “What? Is she here?” He grabbed his drink and took a big sip.

  “Charlie,” I yelled over the loud music. “Look who’s here.”

  She turned her head and immediately hopped up. “Come on, let’s go say hi.” She reached out her hand for me to take. “It has been weeks since she’s made an appearance at the gym.”

  Lily stepped up beside us. “It’s good to see her out.”

  “Ri
ght?” Charlie said and carefully approached the right side of Jenny. We all knew she was jumpy and scared easily. “Come here often?” Jenny turned and had this fearful look on her face. “Sorry, I was trying not to scare you.”

  “Wow, what brings you to this neck of the woods?” She walked around and hugged all three of us. “It’s good to see you.” I noticed how her eyes wandered just past us. Was Malik still watching her, too?

  “Are you here alone?” I said and sat down on a stool next to her.

  “I came with my friend, but she disappeared somewhere that way.” She waved her hand toward the dance floor.

  “Want to join us?” Charlie picked up Jenny’s drink. “You know you want to.”

  Jenny sighed. “I was just about to leave. I really don’t know why I agreed to come.”

  “You can’t leave now,” I insisted and looped my arm into hers. “Everyone is celebrating.”

  “Celebrating.” She scowled. “What’s the occasion?”

  “Everything.” I threw my free arm up. “You pick.”

  We approached the two couches where everyone was sitting. Malik had his eyes locked on Jenny. Without planning, I found a way to have her sit down beside him. Before she realized the seating arrangement, she blurted out, “My husband is gone for a week.” Then she looked over at the man with the sexy beard and dropped her head.

  “Yes, let’s get a round of shots to celebrate.” Charlie ran back to the bar to order the drinks.

  Stephen leaned closer to me. “She seems scared. Is she okay?”

  “Well, that’s a loaded question.” I hesitated and then found a way to say the answer directly in his ear. “There’s a potential her husband is abusive.”

  “No one knows?”

  Tyler leaned across me. “She disappears before anyone can try to help.”

  “Do you know her home address?”

  “She gave a fake address.” I rolled my eyes.

  “Wow, so he must be pretty bad.”

  “Who’s pretty bad?” Malik yelled over.

  “Zoe’s singing,” Stephen said and chuckled.

  I shoved at his arm. “Hey, I’m a great singer.”

  “So you say.” Tyler patted my cheek. “Who wants to dance with me?” Stephen and I both raised our hands. As he tugged us toward the center of the room, memories of our first dance ran through my mind. I could still remember that night and how they both made me feel. “You okay?” He tugged my body against his.

  “Yeah, I am.” I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I’m very okay.” The moment Stephen stepped up behind me, I closed my eyes and rested my head against his chest. “Very okay,” I repeated.

  41

  Zoe

  “Tyler, your phone won’t stop ringing,” I said and threw a pillow over my head to drown out the noise. Then I grew curious who had called so early, so I lifted one side to try and hear who was on the other line.

  “What? Can’t we reschedule?” Tyler moaned and fell back onto the bed.

  Now he was right beside me and I heard Anna’s voice. I snatched the phone from his hand. “Good morning,” I said with an obvious groggy voice. We stayed at the nightclub until closing time. Then because we all were so happy, Malik insisted we go to Peppermill for a late breakfast.

  “Zoe. Hi sweetie. Did I wake you all up?”

  “Not Stephen, he can sleep through anything.”

  “Oh good. I’m sorry I called so early.” She sighed. “Tyler promised we would have brunch together today.”

  “That’s today?” I sat up and threw my pillow on Ty. “Shit, give us thirty minutes.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, keep the stuff warm and re-chill the champagne.” I hung up and snuggled close to Stephen. “Hey, baby.” We all would be feeling the burn later from lack of sleep. “I forgot about our brunch date.”

  Stephen rubbed his face into the pillow and turned to face me. “Brunch? Wait, at your parent’s place.” He glanced over my shoulder toward Tyler.

  “Yeah.”

  “How could you forget?” I hopped up and pulled the hair tie out. “This is a big day.” Then I stopped at the doorway and turned back toward the bed. “You didn’t forget.” Tyler was staring up at the ceiling, staying silent. I crawled across the bed and straddled his body. “Hey.” He finally looked in my direction. “Your parents love Stephen. Did something else happen?”

  “No.” He placed his hands on my thighs. “They’ve only met him once.”

  “And they were so supportive.” Stephen moved closer to us. “I’m still in awe of your family.”

  I noticed a tear fall down and land on the pillow. “Ty, talk to us.”

  “I feel it is too good.”

  I brushed the tear away. “Like, when will the levy break and bullshit start?”

  “Pretty much.”

  Stephen brushed his fingers down the side of his face. “Is that normal for them? They become unsupportive later when at the beginning everything seemed good?”

  He lightly laughed. “No. Never.”

  I knew this was more in regard to holding a secret for so long. Tyler held in his love for men and women for so long he probably just started to believe if he said a word nothing could end well. The thing was, the moment I met his parents I knew they were good people to the core.

  “Ty, you have to let go of those past emotions. What you thought would happen didn’t.” I placed my hands over his heart. “Now I know why this is so good. You have two people in your life who care so deeply for you and will never judge you.”

  He sat up and rested his head against my chest. “Is that why we all connected? I’m only attracted to people with big hearts?”

  “That is true for Stephen.” I giggled. “I beg to differ on me.”

  He threw me back on the bed and loomed over me. “Take that back.”

  Stephen was leaning on his elbow, laughing. “Seriously, love. You could’ve easily walked away from training with this dummy.”

  “Hey, I’m right here.”

  “I know.” Stephen pushed at Tyler’s side. “Instead you never gave up on him. You saw the good in him.”

  “Well, we went down a rabbit hole of emotions.” Tyler rolled to the side and rested his head on Stephen’s thigh. “Do we have to go to brunch?”

  “Yes.” I jumped up and ran into the bathroom to freshen up. As I grabbed the pieces to French braid my hair, I looked at myself. The bags were gone from under my eyes. My skin looked clear and bright. For the first time in years, Vegas felt like home. I watched from the mirror as Stephen and Tyler walked into the bathroom arm and arm. My men.

  “What?” Tyler looked around.

  “Nothing.” I smiled and finished my braid. As I left the room, I kissed them both. “I love you both so much.” Then before they could ask why I was being all mushy, I left to throw on some clothes.

  “You could’ve rescheduled,” Anna said when she hugged me.

  “What? No way.” I kissed her cheek. “It’s good to see you.” Then I whispered beside her ear, “Your son needs you now more than ever.” I felt her head move up and down slightly.

  I stepped aside to let Tyler formally introduce Stephen. The family really had only spent time with him at the hospital after we arrived back in Las Vegas. Then for some reason as he healed we started to prolong going to Sunday brunch. About a month ago, I encouraged Tyler to set a date. I made it clear it was time. As we drove over, Stephen seemed fine. Tyler on the other hand was a nervous wreck.

  “It’s good to see you under better circumstances.” Anna held out her hand out for Stephen. I really believed he surprised us all when he stepped close and gave her a hug. “That’s so much better,” she said and wrapped her arms tightly around him. I looked around, wondering who was cutting onions as I wiped the tears away.

  “Thank you,” Stephen said and took a step back.

  “For what, darling?” Anna wrapped her arm around his waist and led him down the hallway toward the kitchen.<
br />
  “For accepting me.”

  “Why wouldn’t I? Anyone who loves my son will always be a part of my family.” Anna had us go out to the back screened-in patio where a large ten-top table was set beautifully. Everyone was already seated, laughing and drinking mimosas.

  “Did they finally decide to get up?” Todd stood and walked over to where Anna and Stephen stood. “It’s good to see you up and healthy, son.” He held out his hand. Stephen did the same thing to Todd. “Oh, so he’s a hugger, too.” They leaned back and Todd squeezed Stephen’s bicep. “You’re going to fit right in with this family.”

  I touched my nose and pointed to Charlie. We both were right; Anna and Todd loved Stephen from the moment he walked in the door. Anna had me sit down and then forced Ty and Stephen to sit on either side. I grabbed their hands and brought each one to my lips. Then I reached forward and grabbed my champagne flute full of bubbly. “Let’s have a toast.” I stood up and raised my glass. “To new beginnings.” Everyone repeated my words and cheered! Las Vegas didn’t seem so bad after all.

  Epilogue

  Tyler

  “Why did you put me in the front row?” Stephen said and tried to get up.

  I watched as my dad grabbed a hold of the waistband of Stephen’s jeans and pulled him back down. “I’ll tell you when to look away.” Then he patted his thigh. “You have to be here for Zoe.”

  “I really do have a weak stomach,” he whispered in my ear.

  I kissed his cheek. “Just trust me. She’s on fire right now.”

  “What does that mean? She won’t get punched?” Stephen sounded confused.

  “Well, hopefully not as much. I put all my focus in her training. We have really had the ability to up her game.”

  “Is she still struggling with the spin before the high-kick?” Malik said and sat down beside me. He handed me some chocolate.

  “This isn’t the movies, man.”