by Naomi Niles
“Thank you,” he said softly. He leaned down and kissed me softly on the lips.
“Does that hurt?” I asked, pulling away a little.
He smiled. “It’s worth the pain.”
I laughed and stroked his face gently again. “You wanna go inside?”
“I can see you have a welcome party waiting for me inside,” he said, glancing at the windows of the diner.
“Ryan didn’t think five people was enough for a party,” I said. “So he invited a bunch of guys from the training facility.”
“Typical,” Talen said, rolling his eyes. Then he smiled, and I knew he didn’t mind so much. We headed into the diner together and immediately were welcomed with a chorus of cheers.
A couple of guys shouted “champion,” Ryan was screaming nonsensically, and everyone else was clapping loudly. I realized that despite the fact that the guys Ryan had invited didn’t really know Talen that well, they were still impressed with his accomplishment and were eager to celebrate his victory. It was pure loyalty; Talen was part of their group at the training facility, and if he could make it big, it was a reminder that they could, too, one day.
Talen smiled at the cheers and bowed his head in response. “Thanks, guys,” he said quietly.
Steven came forward and shook his hand. “I have to say, Talen,” he said. “You proved me wrong. I honestly didn’t think you had a chance in hell of winning against Conner. I should have had more faith in you, especially as your coach.”
“Hey,” Talen said, shaking his head. “No hard feelings.”
One by one, everyone started coming up to Talen as though he were a celebrity. And I realized suddenly that in MMA circles, he probably was. I watched proudly as everyone congratulated him and patted him on the back with looks of awe.
We spent a couple of hours mingling with everyone at the diner, and I realized that Talen actually seemed at ease with the crowd that had gathered to celebrate his return home and his victory. The stiffness that had usually surrounded him had lifted a little, and he was actually smiling more freely and talking more openly. Ryan was in his element, and if there were any silent moments, he filled them up with his raucous manner. Finally, after a few hours had passed, Talen slipped behind the counter and put an arm around me.
“Thank you for doing this for me,” he whispered. “It was sweet of you.”
“I wasn’t sure if you’d like it.”
“To be honest, me neither,” he replied. “But I actually had a pretty good time tonight. The other guys…they’re decent guys.”
I smiled. “I’m glad you’re having a nice time.”
“But as nice a time as I’m having, I would like to leave now and spend some alone time with you.”
They were words I’d been longing to hear all night and it was easy to agree to that request. We made our excuses, said goodnight, and headed over to Talen’s apartment. The moment he closed the door behind him, he took my hand and led me to the sofa. We sat down together, facing one another.
“I wanted to wait till we were alone to say this to you,” I said before he spoke. “Thank you so much for the car, Talen. You have no idea how much it meant to me to come home and find it in my parking spot. And when I read your note-”
“You don’t have to thank me, Brittany,” he said quickly, cutting me off.
“No, not a chance,” I said. “If you’re going to gift me with a car, then you’re going to have to let me thank you properly.”
He smiled self-consciously. “You deserve a better car.”
“I love that car,” I said emphatically. “I couldn’t have picked a better one out myself.”
He laughed.
“Seriously, Talen,” I said, grabbing both his hands. “I’ve never had anyone in my life who has helped me the way you have. Even my own father…even he turned his back on me when I needed him the most. Some would argue that you’re a complete stranger to me and yet…”
“I’ve been in the same situation you are in, Brittany,” Talen said softly. “It sucks not to have people to rely on. I suppose the biggest difference between us is that you genuinely don’t have anyone to turn to. I have lots of people I could have gone to. I was just too proud.”
“Are you talking about your family?”
Talen nodded slowly. “I woke up in my hospital room and… Sam was there. All of them were, actually. They had dropped their lives to come and make sure I was okay.”
I smiled. “You’re lucky.”
“I realized that this past week,” he nodded. “It took me awhile, but it finally hit me. I have a pretty great family – if only I’d let them in.”
“Why don’t you?”
“I suppose I’m scared of losing them,” Talen sighed.
“Losing them?” I asked, frowning at him.
He smiled. “I know it doesn’t make much sense, but I’ll try and explain it as best I can. The thing is…my mother left when I was five and my father died when I was ten. I think a part of me internalized those losses to such an extent that I couldn’t take any more. I suppose I distanced myself from the family so that it wouldn’t hurt so much if I did happen to lose anyone.”
I reached out and held his hand. “Maybe now that you’re aware of that, you can work to change it?”
Talen nodded. “I’m trying.”
I smiled at him, but his eyes had turned weary. “What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I have something I need to tell you.”
I raised my eyebrows. “What is it?” I asked, bracing myself.
“My injuries are a little more than meets the eye.”
“What do you mean?”
“I have a little…swelling in my brain.”
I gasped, but Talen held fast to my hand. “The doctor said it would go down, that it hasn’t caused permanent damage. He said that I wouldn’t have any major deficiencies.”
“Is it because of the fighting?”
Talen paused, and I had my answer immediately. “It is.”
“And, what did he recommend?” I asked.
“He recommended I stop fighting,” Talen said. “But… I can’t do that, Brittany. I’ve come too far to turn back now. I can’t just turn my back on the MMA. I have to keep going…”
“Even if it means risking your health?” I asked quietly.
He was quiet for a moment. “This is the life I chose. I have to see it through.”
I was dying to say something. I was ready to plead with him to reconsider – for my sake if not his. But I couldn’t bring myself to say the words. I wanted Talen to be safe. But more importantly, I wanted him to be happy. So I held onto his hand and kept silent.
Chapter Thirty-One
Talen
I woke up feeling glad to be back in Quebec. The time I had spent in Las Vegas had been special because my family had surrounded me, but there were quiet moments when I had missed the calm of Quebec and Brittany’s company. Now that I was back, I could sense her all around; the faint whiff of her perfume still lingered in my apartment.
She had left late last night, insisting that she needed to give me some time to rest. I had conceded only because I knew that if she had stayed, I might not have been able to keep my hands to myself. And, I wasn’t sure sex was the best thing for me right now.
So I had kissed her good night, and she had left with a smile and a concerned expression on her face. I knew she was worried about the swelling in my brain, but had seemed to understand when I told her I couldn’t just stop fighting.
I rolled out of bed, stretched lazily, and headed to the bathroom for my shower. When I was clean, I headed to the kitchen, sat at my table, and logged into my bank through my phone. I almost dropped the phone when I saw my bank account balance. For a moment, I thought I’d accidentally got into someone else’s account.
I stared at the screen for a long time before I realized that my winnings from the Las Vegas fight had come in. It was almost a half a million dollars. I had never seen that number before
in my life, and it felt surreal.
“Fuck,” I breathed.
I sat at the table, staring stupidly at my phone, trying to fathom what I could do with a half a million dollars. It was more money than I had expected to have in my life. My head was spinning, and I felt like I needed to be somewhere. The roar of my stomach told me I needed breakfast, so I grabbed a fresh hoodie and headed to the diner. It was very early, but I didn’t care.
When I got there, the sign on the front still said closed, but I could see Danny standing behind the breakfast counter. I knocked on the door and he came to open it.
“Hey, man,” he said. “You’re a little early today.”
“Yeah… Do you mind if I come in?”
“No, course not,” he said. “The girls aren’t here yet.”
“I figured,” I said, sitting at the breakfast counter and looking around at the diner. “How long have you had this place for?”
He gave the interior a critical look. “Almost six years. It was a complete wreck when I first bought it, but it was all I could afford. I managed to fix it up as best I could, but it’s always looked like it’s been around for decades.”
I smiled. “Brittany’s really fond of this diner.”
“She should be,” Danny nodded. “This is the longest place she’s worked. She could probably do better elsewhere, but I know she stays out of loyalty to me. They both do.”
I nodded, looking around thoughtfully, as a thought popped into my head. “Danny?” he said. “I’d like to talk to you later today when you’re free?”
“Oh?” he asked, with raised eyebrows. “In private?”
“Preferably.”
“Okay,” he nodded. “What about?”
“About the diner,” I said vaguely.
Danny looked confused, but before he could ask more questions, the door opened and Brittany walked in. She hesitated slightly when she saw me, but then her face broke out into a jubilant smile.
“Hey, you,” she greeted, giving me a kiss on the cheek. “You’re here early.”
“I was hungry,” I said.
“I’ll get your breakfast ready,” she said immediately, walking behind the counter and into the kitchen for a moment.
Danny turned to me. “We don’t serve dinner at the diner,” he said. “It’s too much work and I don’t have the money to keep it running for another shift, so maybe we could meet here around six in the evening?”
“Perfect,” I said.
He nodded and headed into the kitchen just as Brittany was emerging with a stack of plates. She had already started my coffee and poured it into a large, generous mug.
“Are you ever going to eat a real breakfast here?” she asked.
“I’m a creature of habit,” I replied. “Brittany, I was thinking…”
“Yes?” she asked when I trailed off, looking up at me with those beautiful blue eyes.
“How about dinner tonight?” I asked.
Her face lit up immediately. “That sounds lovely.”
“Great,” I nodded. “I’ll pick you up at seven-thirty.”
That evening, I dressed for my date with Brittany, but left early for my meeting with Danny. I checked to make sure the girls had already left before I walked in. He was leaning against the breakfast counter, eating a slice of his own pecan pie.
“Want some?” he asked with his mouth full.
I smiled. “No thanks.”
“So, what did you want to talk to me about?” he asked curiously.
“This diner actually,” I said.
He frowned. “What about it?”
“I think it has real potential,” I said. “I’ve been coming in here for months and I’ve seen the number of diners that come through here, regulars and otherwise.”
“What exactly are you saying?” Danny asked, putting his fork down.
“I’m saying I want to invest in this place,” I said. “I want to expand it, make the diner larger, give it a complete renovation, expand the menu and the staff, and possibly even open it up for the dinner shift, too.”
“You want to do all that?” Danny asked, in amazement.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Like I said, this place has potential,” I said. “But sometimes you just need a break in order to truly realize that potential. I’m here to give you that break.”
He nodded slowly, and I could see he was sorely tempted by the offer. “It would cost a lot,” he cautioned. “I’m talking upwards of a hundred thousand dollars.”
“I understand,” I nodded.
Danny raised his eyebrows. “What’s in it for you?”
I smiled. “Ah, well… That part is simple.”
Danny and I had a long, drawn out conversation, and once we had come to an amicable agreement, I left the diner to pick up Brittany. She answered the door in a pretty white dress with sexy cut outs at the waist and hips and tall black heels. Her ebony hair fell around her shoulders in careless waves, she looked effortlessly beautiful, and I told her so. She blushed self-consciously and accepted my compliment with a smile.
We headed over to Embers. It was one of the fancier restaurants in town, and I was sure Brittany had never been before. They had an eclectic fusion menu, and I was hoping it would be a new experience for her. It certainly was for me. She was definitely intrigued as she looked around the beautiful interior of the restaurant.
“I’ve never been any place this fancy before,” she whispered to me as we were shown to our table.
“Do you like it?” I asked nervously.
“I do,” she nodded. “It’s fun to try out some place totally different.”
Our table was a private one, recessed into a corner and facing a large window that gave us a view of the streets. There were candles at our table and a rose placed on Brittany’s plate, as well as hand towels and a bottle of champagne.
“Wow,” she said in amazement. “Did you do all this?”
“Just the champagne,” I said. “The rest is part of Embers’ ambiance, I suppose.”
“Wow…”
Brittany had a hard time figuring out what to eat. There were so many new and exciting dishes to try that she was spoilt for choice. “Oh my God, they have caviar on salmon, escargot – always wanted to try that – and sushi! Oh man, you’ll have to order for me, Talen.”
I smiled, turned to the waiter and told him that we’d take a dish of everything that Brittany had mentioned she was curious about or that she wanted to try. She stared at me with wide eyes when the waiter left.
“Talen!”
“What?” I asked, with a shrug.
“That’s way too much.”
“This way you can try everything.”
“But the cost…”
“You let me worry about the cost. I’m an MMA Champion now, remember? I have money burning a hole in my pocket and I want to spend some of it.”
She smiled and shook her head. “We won’t be able to finish it all,” she pointed out.
“That’s what doggy bags are for,” I said calmly.
She shook her head at me. “I don’t think places like this let you have doggy bags.”
“We’ll see about that,” I said confidently.
Brittany laughed and relaxed into our seats. Then she looked at me coyly out of the corner of her eyes. “So?”
“Yes?”
“You never told me you were arrested.”
“Ah… you watched the press conference.”
“Of course,” she nodded. “Is it true that you’re brother was the arresting officer?”
I smiled. “It is true.”
She raised her eyebrows. “That must have been…complicated?”
“I was running with a bad crowd,” I explained. “They were dealing in drugs and firearms and a number of other things besides. I wasn’t exactly dealing myself, but I was this close to being recruited.
“My brother Peter, he had been following this particular gang for some time, trying to p
in them down with some violation or the other. That was how he realized I was slowly become part of the group.
“He was following me one day when I was on my way to meet them. He cornered me, and we had words. I punched him, and he arrested me and brought me into the station.
“It was only later that I realized he had goaded me into punching him. He was looking for a reason to arrest me. He knew that once I had that black mark on my record, Maddow and the gang wouldn’t come near me with a ten-foot pole. They already knew how suspicious the cops were of them; they wouldn’t risk their operation by associating with me any further.”
Brittany’s eyes were wide. “What happened after that?”
“Peter kept me in jail for a week,” I replied. “Then he dropped the charges and let me go. I was furious with him. I didn’t speak to him for over a year. That was around the time I got into illegal MMA. I had no money, no options, and I felt as though I had no one to turn to. I didn’t realize at the time what a big favor Peter had done for me.”
Brittany smiled. “How are things between you and Peter now?”
“Civil,” I replied. “Friendly, even…but I’ve never been very sentimental, neither has Peter. So we haven’t really spoken in depth about the past. It’s just sort of…there between us.”
“Don’t you think talking it out would help your relationship?”“Maybe,” I said. “It’s a complicated one, though… Peter has always been something of a father figure in my life. It’s hard for me to differentiate between that guy and the brother in him.”
“Don’t you think it’s worth the effort?” Brittany asked.
I smiled. “We made steps this past week when I was chained to my hospital bed; that’s a start.”
“Good,” she nodded. “Family’s important, Talen People never truly appreciate what they have when they have it.”
I reached out and took her hand. It was the first time that the intimate gesture had ever felt comfortable to me. I knew Brittany was thinking about her own father, and I knew she would have given anything to have a family like mine.
We stayed like that, with linked hands, until our food arrived. Then we settled down to one of the best meals I’d ever had in my life. Even Brittany was in awe of the flavors and textures.