I appreciate him looking out for me, I really do. He’s been like my brother for so many years, always looking out for me when no one else would or wanted to. He actually pulled me out of Indiana, not just because of my mother kicking me out, but also because I was involved with the gang. Even then, he was concerned for my safety and preached that I had to get a better life.
But there is no better life for me. I was just a shit kid that grew into an even shittier man who still thirsts for violence and breaking young girls’ hearts. I’m a fucking serial heart-breaker. What better life does he see for me? I fight for a living, and I am madly in love with one girl but am with another. I deserve shit. And if being in the gang is shit, then I am where I belong. And David can’t help me. He should have given up on me all those years ago, because it didn’t help anything.
“It’s honestly none of your fucking business what I do beyond the ring, David,” I spit, feeling like shit as soon as the words leave my mouth.
His jaw tightens, and he jabs a finger at my bare chest. “Everything that deals with you and your safety is my business. I have been looking out for you since you were sixteen years old. After your mother kicked you out, who took you in and drove you to and from school when you threatened to drop out? Huh? Who turned you to MMA to take your anger out? Who got you into therapy sessions to deal with whatever was kicking in your brain? Hmm?”
I’m silent, because he’s right. He’s been there for me since day one. Maybe even before I told him my mother put me out. Maybe when he saw me doing all kinds of drugs and alcohol at those parties. Maybe when he first saw past my bloody fists and foul mouth.
“That’s what I thought,” he grits out.
“I can’t just drop out of it. You know that,” I remind him.
He shrugs. “Find a way.”
“It’s not that easy,” I breathe softly.
I close my eyes and fall back on the bench, pinching my nose bridge. I can feel him fall next to me, but he doesn’t say anything. Neither of us speaks for what feels like hours.
“What does he have you do nowadays?” he asks, but it sounds like he’s accusing me of something.
“Nothing you should worry about,” I reply quickly and stand. I should get to the gang spot now, or he’ll send one of his goons. Lord knows David won’t be able to hold back his anger for the gang with one of their imbecile members strolling through like they own shit.
“Like that gas station robbery?” he says, and I freeze but don’t turn around. “Really weird how you weren’t here that night for a sparring match I set up for you and Rodriguez…” He lets the words hang heavily in the air, and so do I.
***
“Why the hell didn’t you answer when I called?” Dean barks as I enter the venue, but he doesn’t seem as angry, as he is winning a pool game. He lands two pocket shots at the same time, then straightens up, taking a long drag of his blunt. He smirks devilishly when I pick up a cue stick to join, some members stepping back with a wave of his hand.
“I was training,” I tell him, then land a blue shot in a pocket.
His lips turn up. “Why do you even busy yourself busting your knuckles for them when you can do that full-time for me…” He pauses, sinking another ball, his eyes lighting up. “…for double the price?”
I shrug and coolly lean against the table. “Passion calls.”
He lets out a roar of a laugh that sends the others on edge, but I don’t even flinch. “Passion,” he scoffs, sliding his tongue across his lips. “Passion got you into trouble with that little redhead beaut you’re running around with. And got you heartbroken the second time around with Blue.”
I stiffen and let a beat go by before asking, “Blue?”
His eyebrows shoot up, and his lips round into an O as he playfully looks around at the laughing members. “Whoops.” His eyes meet mine, and they’re rimmed with mischief. “You didn’t know your little honey bunny and I are acquainted, huh?”
Blue…big blue eyes…he fucking means Liv! God damn it, that fucker Nate got her involved with this! What the absolute fuck does she see in him? All he’s doing is setting her in sight of a monster hungry for sweet blood. Her blood.
“No, I didn’t,” I mutter and line up for another shot.
“She is quite the girl, though,” he says, almost dreamily. “Quite a fire in her. A spark.”
“Does she?” I land three pocket shots. I stand up and play this around in my head. “Don’t you have more important things to do than toy with her?”
“Eh.” He shrugs and glances at me while he bends down over the table. “I’ve only seen her once or twice. I’m just hoping you haven’t seen her at all.” He sinks a shot and shoots me a hard, cool glare. “Have you?”
Do my dreams count?
“No,” I lie without hesitation.
His lips quip into a knowing smirk. “So she’s available.”
Over my dead fucking body…but he can easily have that arranged.
“Don’t think she’s your type.”
Silence fills the rather buzzing area.
He laughs and wags a finger at me as he stands. “You know me so well. I’m more of a redhead kind of guy.”
“Don’t think about my girl,” I joke with smile. But seriously, he can’t. Even though she and I aren’t anything, I feel like I should do her a favor and protect her from this ass.
He laughs with me, and the members fall in like the followers they are.
We play a few more rounds where he wins because I let him, then chill out in the back, smoking weed. He offers E, but it’s a little too early and I’m not in the mood.
“Who’s ready to party tonight?” Sam makes a loud-ass entrance.
I roll my eyes. “Not up for it,” I grumble.
“You and Liv, man. Boring-ass people,” he says, falling into one of the chairs opposite the couch.
I perk up, but not too much because Dean is still next to me. “Why’d you invite her? You know she’d never be up for it.”
“I invited her a few days ago, such a bummer.” He snickers, nodding at me. “She’s got a cute ass, I’ll give her that. Too bad she’s got a stick up it—”
I tackle him to the ground and punch him in the mouth. Members gather around and cheer me on, and all hell breaks loose inside me as I punch him over and over. All I see is red, blue, and white-knuckled fists turning crimson, almost black.
I am finally pulled back by Dean, who looks at me with an unreadable expression. Before he can make any assumptions, I shrug out of his hold and say, “He shouldn’t have opened his mouth.”
“Ready to use your fists for good?” He looks fishy, like he’s planning something. And when he gets to planning things…let’s just say they don’t end with unicorns and rainbows.
I glance at Sam, who is cursing every word he knows at me, then at Dean. I turn to the front door and begin walking. “Always.”
Chapter Three
Liv
Miami is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever seen. Despite the heat, it is a pool of generated excitement, bright colors, cheerful laughter, and all-around amusement. I let the realization sink in as I lay on the sand of South Beach. The day is too perfectly warm to stay inside the house, so we all decided to pack a bag of sunscreen and beach towels and hit the road. We ended up here and are now relaxing as the sun does its work.
The girls are playing volleyball with a few guys they met, Mateo’s getting Mason and me flavored slushies, and Noah is somewhere in the water trying—and failing—to surf. Mason is next to me under the huge umbrella, while I am a bit out in the sun, trying to get a little tan. Nothing too serious, though. I don’t want to go to David’s party looking like an orange popsicle. I made sure to apply a bit of sunscreen on my body and make sure to turn on each side so one side doesn’t get too much or too little.
“Perk up. It’s a Baywatch moment,” Mason says excitedly, shoving my shoulder with his toes.
“Great, record it for me,” I mu
mble into the towel beneath my body.
“I don’t think my boyfriend would appreciate that, and neither would yours,” he jests.
I pick up my head and glare at his annoying grin. “Gross.” I finally turn around, leaning on my elbows. But when I spot what he’s talking about, my jaw drops into the sand.
Noah is running out of the water, his fit body, muscled and lean, soaking wet. His V-line is very prominent and disappears into his light blue shorts. He’s flashing a deep-dimpled smile at me as he shakes out his golden-blond hair. I never realized how blatantly attractive he is. Well, I am very aware of it now.
“You know, this beach allows girls to be topless,” Noah says as he sits on the end of my towel.
I flush red and gently push him with my foot. “Why would I take off my top, perv?”
“I am not a perv. I’m just letting you know,” he defends, raising his hands with a cheeky smile. “You’d get better coverage…”
“Fuck off.” I laugh with a squeal when he grabs my foot and drags me onto his lap. I feel incredibly feverish with this skin-on-skin contact. But he doesn’t even seem to notice. Part of me is stung; maybe he’s been with so many girls he doesn’t even realize…
He whistles and fans his face. “Is it me, or did it just get hot in here?” His eyes flicker down to my bottom pressed on his knee, and I flush red with a little bit of relief he hasn’t man-whored himself out too much.
“Oh, shut up!” I sit on the ground beside him, but he brings my legs in his lap and lets them stay there. I hide my smile as he begins to rub them. I lay down and poke Mason’s outstretched foot. “Where’s your boyfriend with the slushies?”
“There was a magician,” he replies.
Noah stops rubbing, and he and I stare at Mason.
“A magician was performing by the stores, and he likes them,” he explains, and Noah and I share a look. “What? That’s not weird. He likes magicians. Geez.” He flushes bright, bright red as he lays back down, defending his boyfriend.
“I find it cute,” I say honestly, and Mason smiles at me.
“I can do magic,” Noah claims.
“Yeah, right,” I scoff.
“I’m being serious,” he deadpans.
I squint my eyes at him in disbelief. “What kind of trick can you do?”
His serious expression is muddled by his boyish smile. “I can make your panties disappear.”
“Noah!” I whine, but I can’t even hide my laugh.
“Nice one,” Mason cackles, and I grow even hotter.
“Shut up.” I stick my tongue out at him, and he does it right back.
“Slushy incoming!” Mateo announces as he jogs up to us. He falls beside Mason, gives him a chaste kiss, and hands us our slushies.
“Thanks, babe,” Mason gushes.
Noah leans over and takes a large sip, then beams at me. “Thanks, babe,” he mocks.
“Don’t steal my slushy,” I groan, pushing his head away, but he bounces right back and does it again with a proud smirk. I roll my eyes and let him take a few sips before I lean against his shoulder and drink the rest. The cold drink does wonders as it slides down my chest, but Noah’s hand twirling my bikini bottom’s string and his previous joke sparks the heat again, tenfold.
“You guys should join us.” Jaimie sinks to the ground, breathless.
“And be all sweaty and out of breath like you? I don’t think so.” I scrunch up my nose, and Noah squeezes it lightly. I swat him away and sling an arm around his neck. I somehow feel closer to him than ever, and he doesn’t seem to mind one bit.
Julia eyes me as she collapses next to her panting girlfriend. “I didn’t know you guys were so buddy-buddy,” she accuses.
I gulp and anxiously twirl the end of his hair. “Didn’t know we had to broadcast it to the world.”
She still isn’t on board with Noah and me being a thing, but I don’t even know if that’s what we are. We’ve only been on one date, and he hasn’t brought up what we are officially. Just friends trying something new? Or much, much more…? I want us to be one of the two that would crush him, but I have to remind myself that I must move on or I won’t get better and I’ll have to bulk up winter clothing for Nebraska. I hate myself for thinking like this, like Noah’s a means to an end I don’t want to come to, like I’m selfish. And I am…but it doesn’t mean I can’t develop feelings for him, right?
“So, I think we should leave now before it’s time for you to go,” Jaimie pipes up, cutting the unknown, thick tension between Julia and me. She looks between us and smacks my leg with an assuring smile. “I think she’d like the vases I found while browsing the shops the other day. Or we can search for a gift that’ll knock the others out of the water.”
Noah arches an eyebrow. “Vases? Gifts? What’s happening?”
I look at him and frown. I forgot to ask him to come with me to the party. “I’m going to a friend’s party, and I have to bring a gift.”
“You don’t have to.” Julia shakes her head.
“It’s the right thing to do, plus I really do want to.” I pause and flush for some reason. “They’re getting married. They could use a few things…if not, one nice item for their house.” I turn to Noah and add, “And I’d love if you could come with me.” Mason was supposed to come with me but has plans with Mateo that day.
“Of course I will,” he says, then grins from ear to ear. “You are too sweet,” Noah sighs and tenderly kisses my cheek.
I laugh while Jaimie awws, and my smile digs even deeper in my cheeks. That is until I open my eyes and look over his shoulder. Grey is walking by with two guys flanking his sides. My heart skips as his eyes lock with mine…then shifts to Noah, all around, then back to me. I hold my breath in anticipation, but he looks away and keeps walking. That stings for some reason, but I pull back and quickly stand.
“We should go,” I tell Jaimie, glance at Grey, who is already staring at me…then turn away and begin walking.
***
“You look very pretty, Livvy,” Noah compliments me as we pull up in front of the house. The house is large, blue with white trim and colorful beds of flowers. There is a chalkboard announcing the party with his and Holly’s names in fancy handwriting in the driveway.
“Thank you,” I mumble around my thumb as I gently suck the skin nervously. That little exchange of eyes with Grey before I abruptly left the beach pushed me off the sky-high cloud I resided in with Noah. Now, I’ve landed on my butt in the cold, hard reality of black eyes and rude remarks I will no doubt encounter the minute I step out of this car.
He squeezes my thigh. “You okay?”
I nod with a forced smile. “It’s just…Grey’s gonna be here and—”
His lips cut me off.
The kiss is short, and he rests his forehead on mine and says, “He doesn’t matter. You’re here for your friends, right?”
He doesn’t know David is like Grey’s brother, and I’m more so here because I promised I’d be here after blurting it out without thinking about the G problem.
“Yes.”
He pulls back, hand on the door handle. “Then let’s go and support them.”
I nod, sucking on my bottom lip.
His brows furrow. “Or shall we skip the party, buy a tub of ice cream, and watch some chick flicks?”
“There is no need.” I crack a smile just because he’d actually do that for me. See? We can work in a relationship; he’s…nice. “I think I’m fine now. I just needed a little time to prepare.”
He reaches over the center console and takes my hand in his. “I’ll be by your side the entire time.” His words are more than reassuring, so I get out and take his hand. He pulls me into his side, and I laugh. I grab the wrapped box in the trunk and pull him along the driveway and into the backyard, where music is playing and general chatter can be heard clear as day.
Blue and silver balloons are hung in a gorgeous willow tree in the far-right corner of the massive backyard. There are white-
clothed tables, a built-in dance floor just next to the medium-sized pool, and a bar and grill. A DJ is on the back porch, blasting summer songs; I think this one is by the group DNCE.
I find David and Holly by the grill, talking within a small group of people dressed in pastel colors.
“You made it!” Holly launches her arms around my neck.
I laugh. “Of course I did. And I got you something.” I hand her the box, and she squeals.
“I’ll put this with the others.” She rubs my shoulder with a grin. “Thank you so much.” She hugs me one more time before skipping away like an energetic bunny that’s been given a carrot.
David faces me, cold beer in hand. “Glad to see you’ve made it,” he says, cooler than his soon-to-be wife.
“I’m glad too.” I glance around. “The place looks amazing.”
“Thanks.” He nods, mirroring my polite smile.
“Yeah…” I trail, unsure of what to say. I still feel iffy around him since, you know, the G thing.
Silence fills the warm air, and I nervously rub my hands on my bare thighs. “So, who’s this?” he asks, staring at Noah with an unreadable expression.
“Oh.” My cheeks warm. “This is Noah, my…” I shift my eyes to him, and he shrugs.
“Her very good friend,” Noah finishes for me, pulling out his charming smile as he leans forward to shake David’s hand.
Oh, thank God. That would have been embarrassing if I introduced him as my boyfriend, since we have yet to talk about it.
Holly comes back over, and I introduce Noah to her as well, smoother this time. I make small talk with them, nervous there’d be an uncomfortable gap, given the situation. Thankfully, Holly fills every inch with details of the wedding, like reservation card designs, the venue, the cake, and much, much more. I was very grateful for her chatty side.
Grey: The Reconnection (Spectrum Series Book 4) Page 2