by Xavier Neal
If you had to put Robot on a sign for me, you would give me the ‘mentally disturbed cheerleader’ look too.
Robot stomps his way into the ring, looking like a brick wall with legs. Short, but muscular. Like a muscle man, overwork yourself in the gym, did you have pills to help you, sort of guy. With my heels on we’re the same height. Not quite the type Logan normally fights, which raises a bit of concern.
Isn’t it done by weight or something?
While the crowd cheers, I point to the spot on my cheek for him to come and kiss. Like some overgrown macho ape, he stomps over, pulls me to his hip and plants an overly enthusiastic kiss on my cheek. The crowd may be erupting in cheers, but something tells me that if I look over at Logan he will be erupting in rage.
I kind of like the idea of him being jealous. Wish it were with better material though.
Pulling away from him, I listen to the D.J. announce, “He may bend, he may sway, but he will not break! The one, the only, Unbreakable!”
Enthusiastically I hold the sign up as I turn my face to see Logan with the Lucky tape wrapped around his hands looking like fury incarnate. With focus and a scowl on his face he marches over and wraps both arms around my waist from behind, which causes the crowd to scream even louder than they already were.
In my ear he says, “He just signed his own death certificate.” My eyes bulge wider as I try to hide the sudden fear. I quickly tap my cheek and Logan tosses a hand in the air for the crowd to make more noise before he leans around and kisses the spot.
Nervous, I give him a second look, he winks and puts on his game face.
Well this is gonna be bad. At least for Robot. But really if you’re such a tool that you name yourself Robot don’t you deserve whatever is coming for you?
I shuffle off the stage quickly and make my way around to watch the fight from the corner that’s basically reserved for employees only. When I get there I see Logan landing his fist in Robot’s face so hard that blood flies and the crowd ‘Ohs!’ I scrunch my face.
That had to hurt.
Stuart is snapping away photos and Tony is doing the same thing, except he’s using his phone to upload them as they are happening onto one of the social media sites. This week he showed me how many fan pages and fan groups there are for Logan and I must confess it was overwhelming.
If you think his ego is bad now, fear the day that he figures out he has an actual following.
Fighting a smile, I tilt my head to the side as I watch him maneuver his way around the ring barely getting touched. His muscles are flexing as sweat starts to cover his skin. Realizing how sexy he looks, I feel a familiar warmth grow between my legs along with the need to have some part of him against me. My index finger slips into my mouth.
So help me God, I know I’m not supposed to sleep with him, but if he were to offer…I don’t know if I’d have the strength to say no anymore. Do you honestly have the strength to say no anymore? No? Yeah, I didn’t think so.
“So tell me…” Tony’s voice says in my ear over the crowd’s responses.
“What?”
“Does Unbreakable know how lucky he is to have you in love with him?” Horror pops on my face as I snap my neck around at him. He’s got a soft smile on his and adjusts his dealer jacket. With a short shoulder shrug he sighs. “It’s obvious by that sparkle in your eye that you only get for him. My only question is does he know how lucky he is?”
I press my lips refusing to answer.
Sadly, we all know the answer to this question.
I look away briefly.
“I didn’t think so…”
“Look Tony—”
“Don’t worry about it Maxx. No hard feelings. Just let him know that if he’s dumb enough to break your heart and leave it in pieces, I’m smart enough to come along and put them back together.” He raises his eyebrows and gives me a charming smile.
Really? He even bows out gracefully? He really is a dream come true, even if he’s not mine. You want him? He’s a catch I’m telling you! The only problem I have now is how do I tell him that Logan’s already broken my heart by keeping the Friend name tag on my forehead? That he’s already broken it because he’ll never love me like I love him.
I keep those thoughts to myself as I lean over and give him a kiss on the cheek. “You deserve nothing less than the best, Tony.”
“You are the best,” he responds. “Hope Unbreakable knows that.”
Before I can respond it’s declared that Logan is the winner. Swiftly I turn back around to see him with his hands in the air, his mouth piece hitting the light, and his eyes searching the crowd for something.
What the hell could he be looking for?
At that moment, his eyes lock onto mine and the proud grin on his face gets bigger.
Was he actually looking for me?
He winks.
Ugh. Cheeky bastard. As much as I hate to say anything, it really means a lot to me that I was the first thing he looked for when he was done. Logan’s never said much with words, but he always says a shit ton with his actions. Why can’t that just be enough for me?
***
After a longer work night than expected, I passed out with minimal effort. Dragging my exhausted body down the stairs while tugging on the edges of my sweatshirt, I rub the sleep that’s still lingering in my eyes. That was the hardest one so far. Apparently the promotional themed drinks and discount cover charges for wearing a costume are working because we had a line to get into the bar that wrapped around the corner. Plus it was so crowded before and after the fight that people were still talking about it when I finally got to leave. It was so busy that I could barely get C.J. to get me water when I needed it. It was crazy, but Frank made a shit ton of money, meaning I made a shit ton and so did Erin, which is probably why she is smiling so brightly this morning.
“It is too damn early to have a smile that bright.” I point to her face as I flop down on my seat at the kitchen table a glass of chocolate milk in my hand.
“Chocolate milk? Really?” she snaps in return. “What are you six?”
I shrug and take a sip. “You know I don’t like coffee.”
“I understand you make poor choices.” She nods and cross her legs, bringing her coffee cup up for her to take a drink. Afterward she shakes her head. “Last night was insane. I’ve never seen the bar like that.”
“Me either.”
“You’re doing good girl.” The compliment is followed by Luke strolling down the stairs in his sweats and a t-shirt looking about as awake as me. “Really good.”
“Thanks,” I take the compliment and sit cross legged. Turning my attention to Luke as he pours a cup of coffee I ask, “So…tell us, is Stuart as interested in you as you are him?”
Spilling a little of the coffee he gripes about it being hot before wiping up the mess. “I’m not interested in him.” Erin bursts out in laughter. Annoyed, he glares at his sister as he tosses the dish rag on the counter. “I’m not.”
“Right. And makeup for me is just a hobby.”
Luke rolls his eyes, leans against the counter, and sighs. “He’s got a boyfriend. So…not interested anymore.”
“Sorry.” I rest my arms on the table. “That sucks.”
“Yeah well apparently we live in the house of man problems.”
“I don’t have man problems,” Erin adds cheerfully. Luke and I both tilt our faces at her sarcastically. “What? I don’t!”
“So that little spat between you and C.J.—”
“What spat?” I interrupt.
It’s her turn to glare at her brother. “Was nothing.”
“Nothing my ass.”
“What spat?” I try again.
“We’re done with that topic now,” Erin declares.
And
much like Logan, when she declares something is over you damn sure better believe it.
The sound of a door opening causes us all to turn our heads to the stairs. My body tenses like some sort of sick Pavlov’s bell thing. Just the sound of Logan’s bedroom door opening the morning after Fight Night causes this overwhelming dread.
Can you blame me?
To everyone’s surprise however, it’s him we see taking the stairs two at a time, dressed in workout gear with his gym bag swung over his shoulder.
“Morning,” he speaks brightly while opening the fridge.
The three of us look towards his bedroom door waiting for a girl to come down the stairs. After he’s successfully poured a glass of juice, and it’s apparent she’s not coming down, Luke speaks up.
“So…you decided that it would be better if you snuck out of your own house instead of making the girl?” Luke offers as Logan posts up against the counter next to the fridge.
“Oh! Oh! You made her shimmy down the drain pipe because she didn’t wanna do the Walk of Shame?” Erin teases as Logan rolls his eyes.
I smirk.
You are too. It’s okay.
Luke adds, “She just floated away because her head was that empty?”
“You discovered that it was impolite to have her interrupt our peaceful breakfast so you sent her out of the house in the middle of the night?”
Hm. You know, Erin’s suggestion would actually make the most logical sense.
He takes a long drink of juice and sighs. “Are you two done now?”
Luke nods and Erin taps her chin. My eyes shoot that direction, which is when she realizes we are all waiting on her. “What? I’m thinking.”
“There was no girl last night.” His declaration causes Luke to choke on his coffee.
After several chest pounds, he clears his throat. “I’m sorry what?”
“I don’t know what he said either. I think he took up Russian. That sounded too foreign to understand.” Erin starts giggling and I let out a slight snicker.
“Oh you think that’s funny?” Logan raises an eyebrow at me.
Busted.
“A little,” I whisper out.
“What do you mean there was no girl last night?” Luke drives us back to the subject.
“I mean.” He places his glass down on the counter. “I came home alone.”
“Why?” Erin and Luke cry out in unison.
Logan wets his lips and slides his hands in his pockets. Casually he looks down at the ground and mutters. “I just did.”
There’s a gentle nudge against my foot and I shoot Erin, who is trying to hide her excitement, a perplexed look.
It wasn’t because of me. I know that’s where her brain is going but chances are it has absolutely nothing to do with me. Very rarely does it ever.
“Work too hard?” Luke pokes.
“Oh fuck off,” Logan laughs warmly. “You try taking down a lumberjack troll and tell me if you’re not tired afterward.”
“Yeah, what the hell was Frank thinking? You don’t belong in the same class,” Erin nags.
“I know, but I asked for a challenge. Apparently it’s getting harder to find people willing to fight me.” Logan’s eyes roll back over to me. “Anyway, Maxx are you busy tonight?”
“Uh…Post Fight Night ritual? Pizza and movies right?”
“I was thinking maybe we could go get pizza and see a movie?” The suggestion sounds like a date. Don’t be fucking stupid Maxx. Logan Kellar doesn’t date. You know that.
“Um…” seems to be the only thing that comes out of me. My eyes glance at Erin who is pretending to be busy on her phone and her brother who is pretending to refill his coffee cup slowly.
Bastards.
“Yeah. That’d be…fun I guess.”
“Yeah?” The cheerfulness in his question knocks me back against my chair.
“Yeah…”
“Alright, well I’ve got some shit to do. Think you can be ready by 6?”
“Sure,” I breathlessly answer.
“Later,” he says to all of us.
The three of us wait for the front door to close before even thinking about talking again.
“Did that just happen?” Erin mutters out pointing towards where Logan had been standing, the only remainder of him is the lingering orange juice glass that I will gladly wash. “Did he just ask you out?”
“No,” I insist, although I know how it sounded. “He just moved our tradition from the house to public.”
You agree with me right?
“I think he just asked you out on a date,” Luke says still looking a bit confused himself.
“I think you two are looking too much into this.” I get up to wash my glass and his.
“Maxx, he didn’t bring another girl home last night,” Erin states as I turn the water on in hopes of drowning her out. Knowing that’s what I’m up to she speaks louder. “He came home alone Maxx. Alone. A…lone…A-L-O-N-E.”
“There’s never been a Fight Night when he’s done that.” Luke backs his sister as I place the glasses in the sink.
Don’t they realize I know that? Since he started fighting he’s always had a girl fall into his bed after to help him wind down. This looks bad. I mean good, because it means maybe just maybe Logan wants more from me, but oh so bad if it’s not what he’s trying to say.
“And then he asked you to go out and do something,” Erin interrupts my thoughts again.
“We’ve gone out to do stuff before—”
“Maxx!” They snap at me in unison.
Hey! You didn’t need to yell too!
Luke demands, “Accept it.”
“Better yet,” my model gorgeous best friend hums out. “Let’s make sure he doesn’t forget it…”
And those words coming out of her mouth can only mean one thing. She’s gonna spend the day making me over like some damn episode of Pimp My Best Friend.
What if they’re wrong? What if this is nothing more than Logan just wanting to change it up? What if he didn’t even think twice about it meaning more? I think what I fear, more than hoping that they’re right, is if they’re wrong.
Chapter 16
Logan
So, watching teens box wasn’t as bad as I thought it was gonna be. Hell. It was kind of fun. And once they realized who I was they began to worship at my feet like I’m Jimmy Hendrix of the underground scene. They even showed me some fan sites and groups on Facebook. Turns out there are plenty of women for the picking the next time I need to dip my dick. Except the only person I want to dip into is Maxx.
How the fuck did I get to this point? I fucking asked her out on a date! I don’t even do dates! They’re a waste of time. I fight. Girls flock. We fuck. End of story. All that other shit I have friends for. Besides, a date leads to dating which leads to a commitment or marriage or in my family’s case, murder. Why the fuck would I take that chance with Maxx? Why didn’t you stop me?!
Stepping out of my bedroom in a pair of jeans, my nice tennis shoes, and one of my fitted white shirts, I see a sight that causes my tongue to stick to the roof of my mouth. At the bottom of the stairs Maxx has one hand on the banister, wearing her hair down, a fitted black shirt with a book that has on glasses and a smile, and a short jean skirt that allows me to drink in her smooth brown legs all the way down to some wedge heels that would look great over my shoulders. She looks like a million dollars. Hot yet nerdy. Sexy yet playful. Just like she is. And that’s my Maxx. My Maxx. Mine.
You heard nothing.
Clinking her nails she sighs. “Are you gonna make me wait all night or what Logan? I’m starving.”
A small smirk comes on my face as I pull out my keys. “Hold your horses Dumbledork. We’ll be eating soon.”
Yeah. My Maxx. It’s alright if I admit it to you.
In the car, the music starts playing and we casually talk about some of the episodes of our favorite shows. It feels like normal until some song comes on the radio that causes her to stop mid sentence and start belting it out at the top of her lungs. She cranks the music and starts swaying her head around with perfect rhythm. Tone deaf but the moves of an angel. A stripper angel.
“What? You hate my singing now?” She turns the radio down and leans on the console.
“You have the nerve to call that singing?” My joke causes her to jab me in the shoulder, but when she does, I catch her hand with mine, lock our fingers together, and hold onto it.
She swallows deeply and her face flashes something that I couldn’t miss even if I tried. Instead of bringing it up, she leans back against the seat, and sighs. “You’re just jealous that you don’t have these pipes.” I shake my head and we continue the drive in silence, her hand still wrapped with mine.
After parking, the two of us walk hand in hand towards the food truck row that’s got a small crowd across from the park that’s playing live music. I don’t think I’ve ever been down here without the intention of picking someone up before.
Guess there’s a first time for everything huh?
At the Sammy’s pizza truck, I order her a slice, me three, and two waters. The guy behind the counter hands us our order and he insists, “On the house for Unbreakable.”
Perk of being a known fighter in town. People love to say that you came by their place. In exchange for the bragging rights, you get free shit. Hats. T-shirts. Food. I love the fucking food.
“Thanks.”
“Saw your fight last night. That was the fucking shit dude.” He says leaning down on his chubby, pale elbows.
The compliment is followed with a nod from me and a small thanks. “Appreciate it.”
Once he said my name I noticed the females in the crowd slowly shifting their attention and their tits towards me.