One Of The Guys

by Johnson, Ashley

  I gave my best pout face as I replied, “You know it. Good luck.”

  “Thank you baby.” He kissed my lips lightly before grabbing my hand.

  Rocky approaches us as soon as we step out of the room pulling Cole towards him to finish prepping him. I looked for Wendy only to be told she didn’t come tonight. Damn, I was looking forward to having someone to talk to while Rocky yelled at the ring. I took my place beside Rocky as Cole stepped into the ring. My eyes watched his flawless body move around the ring blocking punch after punch from his opponent. Cole only got taken down once, after that he refused to fall. He landed a nice punch across the guys jaw. His attempt to bring him down failed the first time and they were back to shuffling around. In a flash, I see some ink on his inner bicep the next punch he throws. I can’t see what it says but I don’t remember him ever having a tattoo. That’s something I’m pretty sure I’d have seen on him by now. In my attempt to see this new ink on his flawless body, I almost missed when he pinned the guy to the mat winning the match.

  Trey asked if we wanted to go celebrate tonight, but I had my mind on an agenda. I hated to be the one to tell him no, but Cole didn’t seem to mind. Once we were home and he showered, he met me on the couch pulling me into his side. Now or never, I’m ready to do this.

  “Have you always had a tattoo?”

  He looked caught by surprise when his eyes met mine. “No, I got it about a month and a half ago.”

  “Can I see it?” He lifted the sleeve of his shirt to reveal several symbols. “What’s it mean?”

  “It’s destiny in Hebrew. You are my destiny and if I couldn’t have you here with me, I would have that to keep you with me no matter what. I never thought I’d want one in my whole life. I like them, just never decided to put them on my body.”

  “I like it. Now it’s like you have two of me, can you handle that?” His arm wrapped a little tighter around me making my stomach cut a few flips as I prepared to tell him what I’ve been practicing over and over again in my head since I talked to Rocky and Wendy in the office.

  “Well, I’m glad you like it. Oh shit, I don’t know about two of you, I may go crazy. I love you. There’s no one else in this world I could possibly begin to love more than I love you. You’re everything to me Sam.”

  I scoffed jokingly before smiling as my heart melted, “I love you too. I wanted to tell you something.”

  He stares at me intently, my smile is confident and I feel more than ok about this decision. Love is about compromise, he asked me to before and I wasn’t ready. I am ready now.

  “I’ve given this some thought, just to let you know. I never thought I would be able to do anything I’ve done in these last few months, but I’ve proven myself and it brought me to you. I’ve decided I’m done fighting. Rocky already knows, I wanted to be the one to tell you tonight. I worry enough about you; you don’t need to be worried about me.”

  His expression was unreadable at first. His brain had to be processing what I just told him. I guess I expected a little more enthusiasm from him, but he continued to just stare at me wondering probably if I was being for real.

  “Are you sure Sam? Promise me this isn’t solely because of me. I will support you one hundred percent if you decide you want to keep fighting, I want you to know that.” How lucky am I that he actually cares about me. He cares about everything I do and I’m so thankful he’s here.

  “I promise. I only started to get out of my house and now I’m here with you. Yes, I like doing it but do I need to? No. I just want to be with you.” My heart is beating a little faster the closer he leans into me. A small smile creeps up on his lips as he sweeps them across mine igniting a thousand sparks in my chest.

  As our kiss deepened, I couldn’t help but think about the time I compared us to Barbie and Ken in my mind. I can’t help but chuckle mid kiss. He pulls away looking at me somewhat amused. “What’s so funny babe?”

  “Oh nothing,” I moan into his mouth continuing our kiss. This cheap plastic Barbie has definitely found her hot sexy Ken. She isn’t just swooning over him anymore and she’s not plastic. She’s found her happy ending because of course Barbie always gets Ken. The shoe, er gloves fit. Perfectly.

  Chapter 41

  Sam

  Three Months Later

  Do I miss fighting? Pretty much every time I watch Cole or Trey step into the ring. I haven’t stopped training though; I don’t think I ever will. Maybe it’s the high I get from it; maybe it’s the company of everyone inside Lou’s. I don’t know what it is but I love it. I definitely need to work out after dinner last night. Brenda and Dad invited us over for supper. She cooked this massive pork roast with all the trimmings and she made an apple pie. Oh dear Lord I ate until I couldn’t eat anymore. I literally couldn’t move and managed to pout enough to where Cole actually carried me to the truck.

  Dad and Brenda have been taking things day by day slowly working on bringing their relationship back to where it used to be. Hard to believe just a few months ago everything went down the way it did. It was my personal hell on earth but it led me where I am today. I’d have never met Cole. Would I have stayed happy with Marsh? I’m not sure and I’ll never know. I’m honestly ok with that. My life was changed for the better because of Cole. I changed his life too. He once never thought he was relationship material, he hid his heart but I, I got to hold his heart and love him inside and out.

  Trey recently began seeing some girl he took home from the bar. This was a first and took some getting used to. Cole and I had a bet going on whether or not she would be the one to tame him. I’m not sure I see that day coming anytime soon. She was pretty, I think she was the brunette that night I went out with him but then again I don’t know. Matter of fact, I remember one night we were drunk, the night he told me about his mom; he said he met a girl. Was this her?

  I’m lying in bed staring at the sun through the blinds groaning. Dammit, I know I ate way too much last night, my stomach is aching. I hear the shower running; if I can drag my ass off this bed then I can go join Cole in the shower. That sounds amazing. The minute I start to move, his phone rings. Wendy’s name pops up.

  “Hello?”

  “Sam? It’s Rocky. We’re headed to the hospital Wendy’s water broke.” What? Oh my God, we’re having a baby! No, Wendy’s having a baby!

  “Oh yay!! Let me holler at Cole and we’ll be right there.” I hang the call up before he can say anything else. I hope he was done talking.

  I fly off the bed running to the bathroom door like a lunatic. Before I can turn the doorknob, Cole steps out in a towel. Oh damn, he’s so sexy. Stop it Sam, you’re on a mission. Wendy’s having a baby! I do my best to avoid the panty dropping smile that’s coming my way, by the way that takes a hell of a lot of will power.

  “Get dressed Cole. Rocky called, Wendy’s water broke!”

  “What’s that mean?” Poor thing stood there looking confused. I kissed his lips before throwing some jeans on.

  “She’s having her baby!”

  “Oh shit!” He suddenly scrambled to the room throwing on the first thing he saw which happened to be a black pair of basketball shorts and a gray t-shirt.

  With hazard lights flashing, we sped to the hospital getting there in record time. We found Rocky pacing the floor worried to death. He said they admitted her and was putting her IV’s in. He didn’t want to see, he was scared she was getting hurt. We walked in the room to find a much sedated Wendy. Her contractions were off the chart but thanks to the epidural, she felt no pain. Cole picked with her about the tacky hospital gown she was wearing trying to lighten the mood in the room. Normally she’d be ready to kill him but she was still as content as she could possibly be. If I ever have a baby, I definitely want to make sure I get an epidural.

  “Cole,” She whispered, “I’m scared.” There were tears in her eyes as she held onto his hand.

  “Everything’s going to be ok Wendy. I promise. Don’t worry ok?” She tried to smile but nurses
kept coming in to check on her. Her nerves were getting the best of her.

  “I want Mom and Dad here.” She cried.

  He squeezed her hand trying to remain cool and collected. “I know Wendy, I know. They’re watching over you though, they see I just know it.”

  My heart broke in that moment for them.

  Shortly after the doctor came in, Cole and I stepped into the waiting room while she brought his niece or nephew into this world. Neither of us could wait to see the baby. After thirty minutes or so of waiting Rocky came out teary eyed bringing us into the room. Cole stopped for a second; I noticed a tear lingering in his eyes. “Baby, you ok?”

  “She’s ok right?”

  “She’s fine, let’s go see your niece or nephew.” I brushed his tears away with my thumb. Hand in hand we followed Rocky into the room where Wendy was holding a baby in a pink blanket. A girl! She had a baby girl! I tried to contain my excitement but I immediately squealed. Cole’s eyes lit as he asked to hold her. Rocky grabbed the tiny infant placing her into Cole’s hands. He seemed scared at first but as he listened to her breathing, he relaxed and placed a kiss on her tiny forehead.

  “What’s her name?” He asked.

  Wendy’s eyes filled with tears as she carefully spoke. “Her name is Randi Lynn. After Mom and Dad. We added the ‘I’ at the end of her name instead of a ‘y’ to make it feminine.”

  That’s all it took for Cole to start crying. He handed the baby to me so he could wipe his eyes. I stared at little Randi Lynn lying there peacefully. She doesn’t know it now, but she has the best parents she could ever ask for and well her uncle, he loves her already more than life itself.

  “She’s beautiful Wendy.” I smile kissing Randi before handing her back to her Mom.

  Cole stood staring out the window looking up at the sky. I knew this day was going to be completely emotional for them. He doesn’t look at me, but I can see the tears still shining in his eyes. He pulls my hand into his for comfort while I take my free hand and begin to wipe them away. “You know, I wish they could be here. I just want to know that they are proud of Wendy and I. I wish they could see their granddaughter and love her the way they loved us. I know they would have loved you too.”

  I pull his head down onto my shoulder holding him tight. I hate to see him upset on a day that should be so happy. I say nothing, just letting him have his moment. Eventually he begins to smile; I love his smile so much. He held Randi Lynn again, this time he began talking to her telling her about how much he was going to spoil her and how she was the luckiest baby ever. She really was.

  We spent all day at the hospital. We were there long enough to see Trey come by. He was too nervous to hold Randi Lynn since she was so tiny. Once Rocky got ahold of her, she had to be pried away from his hands. He was the proudest daddy I’ve ever seen. Wendy was exhausted, she dozed in and out this past hour. Poor thing needed her rest. She fought and fought to keep Randi Lynn in her room for the night but Rocky convinced her to get this one last night of rest before they went home. I think if Cole could have stayed the night to help watch after his sister he would. That one took Rocky, Wendy, and I to convince him she would be just fine. The nurses would be in to check on her.

  Trey called later that evening trying to convince us to go out. I groaned wondering how the hell they used to do this all the time. Well, Trey still did it all the time. Being the nice person I am, I put on my best smile and fixed myself up to make an appearance. Joe’s was pretty slow tonight so it was easy to spot Trey standing by the bar with the brunette next to him. I nudged Cole with my elbow trying to conceal my smile. This was getting odder and odder by the minute.

  “Sam so glad you could get out of bed and drag my best friend out tonight.” I cut him some eyes from hell. I opened my mouth to make a smart remark but Cole interfered probably nervous I’d scare this poor girl away.

  I turned to face the brunette. She was dressed cute in her denim skirt and orange stripe tank top. Her wedges were cute; I’d have to make a note to ask where she got them from. “Since genius here isn’t going to introduce us, I’m Cole’s girlfriend Sam.”

  She let out a weak smile; if this girl is timid she is definitely with the wrong guy. He’ll pull it out of her if he keeps her around long enough. “I’m Hilary. Nice to meet you.”

  Cole leaned over across the bar ordering four shots. He passed them out raising his in the air. “To Randi Lynn, my beautiful niece.”

  Our glasses clinked together in unison. “To Randi Lynn!” The liquid was gone in a matter of seconds.

  Everyone stood around talking. The more we talked, the more Hilary seemed to loosen up. It was entirely sweet the way Trey put his arm around her. A little awkward to see since I’ve seen him in some of his more famous moments in this bar. Whether she knew about those or not, she didn’t seem to care. I think of Trey as my brother so honestly, I’m just wanting the best for him and if Hilary makes him happy, then I’m all for it.

  But it never fails, just when I think I have it all figured out and things are perfect, the DJ plays the damn Dougie and just like old times Trey grabs my hand and hauls ass to the dance floor leaving Cole and Hilary standing by the bar in a fit of laughter. Lord have mercy.

  THANK YOU :)

  I can’t say thank you enough for this journey I’ve started. Thank you to everyone who has joined me. Your support has been absolutely unreal and like I said, I can’t thank you enough. If I could personally thank each and every one of you I would, but this will have to do!

  I’ll never forget the first fan who told me how much they loved my first book. I was on cloud nine and that’s when I knew everything I had worked for was worth it. Every person who has told me they liked it has absolutely made my heart soar. Thank you all so much!

  Thank you to every single one of you who took the time to review the book whether good or bad. All of it just fueled me to keep going.

  Thank you to my fiancée and my daughter who continued to put up with me sitting here day after day writing my heart out. Without their support, I wouldn’t have been able to do this. My fiancée supported me through this whole process helping me along the way. When I would get off work and jump straight on the computer, he would just ask me how it was all coming along. I love you both so very much.

  A big thank you to my Dad for being my best friend and the best dad in the world!! I consider myself very lucky to have you as my dad. All I ever want to do is make you proud! I love you Fasha!!

  Thank you to my Mom, you are amazing and I love you so much!!

  Thank you to all my family…there’s so many people to name...just know who you are and that I love you more than anything!!

  Thank you to my best friend Adrienne who sat there and listened to me worry and almost lose my mind. Thank you for keeping me laughing and supporting me when I almost wanted to give up. Love you my number one botch! (Yes, I mean botch I promise I didn’t misspell that!)

  Thank you to Robin Harper for yet another amazing cover! I love you and couldn’t have done this without your support also. Thank you for also being a friend to me! One day we will meet, I know it :)

  Last, I have to thank God for the ability to tell a story and the courage to live out my dreams. As long as there is someone out there who enjoys what I do, then I won’t stop.

  All of your support means more than I could ever say so thank you again!!

  Find me on Facebook!

  www.facebook.com/amjohnson84

  Coming Soon!

  Spurs & Stilletos

  Chapter 1

  “Come on Hope, ask him! If you don’t I will. He’s my cousin so I can treat him like shit whether you’re engaged to him or not. I have an extra ticket and I won’t take no for an answer so ask and call me back. You have five minutes or I’m coming over there.”

  “Fine Amber! Just calm the hell down. I’ll ask as soon as we hang up. I just know he’s going to be funny about it.”

  “Ask. You know if Karlee were still ali
ve she’d be dragging you there whether he wanted you to go or not. Again, I’m telling you to ask. Bye bitch.”

  I groaned as I hung the call up. Amber has been on my ass for weeks now about going to this damn rodeo with her. The rodeo is tomorrow night and I’m just hating myself for having answered this phone call. I could care less, I’ve never been to one and I see no reason why I should jump up and automatically act like rodeo is my life. Why do I want to sit there and watch some guy get bucked off a bronco, a bull or whatever it is and then fear for whether or not they will be trampled to dust? Sounds like too much anxiety for me.

  The fact that she brought up Karlee has my stomach cutting flips. Karlee was my older sister by two years and she has been dead for a year now. We weren’t close as kids, matter of fact we fought all the damn time. As we grew up, our bond strengthened and we were inseparable. The thing that is making this decision to ask Brad so difficult, is the fact that the night Karlee died, she was on her way home from a rodeo. A rodeo that I was supposed to go to. My luck, I came down with the flu and was stuck in bed praying to feel better. On her way home, she fell asleep at the wheel causing her brand new car to veer off the road and smash into a tree. The police told us she died instantly and my heart filled itself with blame. I should have been in the car with her, that should have been me too but my life was spared and heaven gained an angel. Our family was torn apart. They never treated me any differently because of her accident but for this past year, I’ve continued to carry more guilt than I should. No one knows I do except Amber. Brad would make fun of me, according to him, what’s done is done and I should be over it. But how do you get over losing one of your best friends?