by CJ Azevedo
Declan is quiet and still standing near the door, so I walk over to him and wrap my body around his, pressing my tingly lips to his full ones firmly. I’m not going to cry. Dec supports me up against his body and I have many different thoughts trailing through my head. They’re on a continuous loop; like a carousel, they go through my brain over and over again. I drop my legs back down and pull back enough to remove my shirt as I watch Declan watch me. My arms go back up and around his neck; his mouth takes mine feverishly and soon I’m lying on the plush carpet with Declan on top of me.
“So, you like it then?” he asks quietly, but no longer timidly, as he pulls my bra straps down and kisses my breasts.
“I love it. I love you. You’re amazing, babe; thank you so much.” I express my gratitude and reach for his belt buckle.
“We’re in our little girl’s bedroom; I feel wrong doing this in here,” he murmurs, searching for something in my eyes. Maybe he picked up on my astonishment of his new description of Harper.
“You said ‘our little girl,’” I observe reverently. I don’t even know what to do with that, to be honest.
“Yeah, I did. I’ve thought of her as mine as soon as she first said, ‘pwease, Decky.’ I was a goner right then and there. Now that she’ll be living here with me, it feels pretty official.”
My eyes are filling with emotion again and pouring out relentlessly. Declan kisses me deeply again and I’m lost. That is until we hear, “Dec? Can we come in, darling?”
His mom just came into the house and we’re half naked on the floor. Declan laughs as I scramble to get my shirt back on.
“Yeah, Ma! Since when do you ask to come in?” Declan yells from Harper’s bedroom door.
I quickly throw on my bra and shirt before straightening my hair and silently asking for his approval. He smiles and reaches for my hand. We walk out onto the balcony that connects the two staircases above the foyer where both his parents are standing, looking up at us with full hands.
“Since you have your family living here now too. I don’t mind walking into your home, but I won’t do that to Ava. I knew you were here and you weren’t answering the door. I didn’t want to ring the door bell in case Harper was asleep.”
She really is so sweet. I don’t know what I was so worked up about. I pull Dec to our hall and tell him to go put a shirt on while I help his parents.
“It’s nice to see you again, Mrs. James,” I say as I unload a couple things from her hands before addressing Dec’s dad, whom I have yet to meet.
“It’s Nancy, dear,” she says sweetly.
There is no mistaking who this man is. Declan takes after his mom with his dark looks and light eyes, but he’s built just like his father with thick broad shoulders, a lean waist and long legs. “Mr. James, I’m Ava. It’s a pleasure to finally get to meet you.”
“You too, Ava, I’ve heard a lot about you,” he says as he walks to the kitchen to set down a dish he’s carrying.
“Declan was just showing me the room he had done for Harper.” No sooner were the words out of my mouth that his mom was gushing with excitement.
“Do you love it, sweetheart? Isn’t it just so precious?” Nancy exclaims as she clutches her petite hands in front of her chest and smiles endearingly.
I smile and join her in her excitement. I missed out on this. I missed out on getting excited and being girly and having a relationship with my own mother. This woman has met me one time and has never even met Harper, yet she is just as excited for Harper as I am.
“I could have never imagined something so beautiful. It’s perfect. I assume Macie did it, but Dec didn’t say. Did you do that for her?” I ask Nancy, ready to shower her with my gratitude.
“Macie ordered it all and hired the muralist. I put it all together while you kids were in Las Vegas,” she replies giddily.
I feel Declan slip his hands around my waist and kiss the side of my head.
“Don’t start crying again, Sunshine,” Declan says with a laugh. He and his dad scoff at us—women being women.
“Oh, leave the girl alone, it’s perfectly natural for her to cry over something like this. It was a beautiful gesture and it’s a beautiful room too,” his mom chastises her husband as she dabs at the corners of her eyes.
“Don’t listen to her, she’s been crying all week over that room,” Mr. James puts in, popping the tops to a couple beers.
I dab my eyes too and walk further into the kitchen to check my phone. Dec grabs his beer from the counter and joins his dad at the breakfast bar while he sucks on a lemon wedge. His mom and I start busying ourselves in the kitchen while we wait on the delivery of our dinner. This is it. This is the family life I never really had, the family that I always wanted and envied from Jackson and Max’s families. Although they tried and did a great job of including Harper and me, this is different. This is legit.
Aubrey brings Harper not long after Declan’s parents arrive and they both flip over her. I can tell that they don’t want to make a huge deal over her looking like Declan and Macie, and therefore Nancy as well, but they both have difficulty ignoring it. It doesn’t bother me in the least; it’ll just make life easier for Harper to be raised in this non-traditional family.
Nancy and I both were itching to show Harper her new room so Dec and his dad, Mark, follow us girls up the stairs to her new princess room. Just as I predicted, she flips. She walks every inch of her room and inspects everything. Nancy takes more pictures than really necessary but I don’t blame her, it’s adorable to watch. Nancy and I cry. Declan shows Harper everything she might have missed and Mark watches with a proud smile on his face and a loving hand on his wife.
I’m in love. I’m in love with this gorgeous, generous, warm-hearted, kind man. I’m in love with his parents, my daughter, my new home and my new life as a whole.
Chapter Sixteen
Ava
Two weeks later…
I’m thinking this is probably the worst idea I have ever had in my life. I should have stuck to my original guns about this and just stayed home. Instead, I talked myself into feeling guilty for not supporting my boyfriend if I forever avoided his fights, so I’m here and all of this angst and excitement is about to drive me nuts. I can hear everyone and I mean everyone betting on Declan’s fate tonight.
I was prepared for a small, hidden little affair. Nope. I was dead wrong. It’s like a stadium in here, layers and layers of seats all aiming towards the ring. There are so many people here, men and women both, all yelling, and I can hardly hear myself think. The crowd is riled up and going crazy, the lights are dim accept for those surrounding the ring where I will watch a man intentionally harm Declan and Declan do the same to his opponent. I feel sick.
The music is overwhelming and I’m beginning to regret not telling Dec that I was coming tonight so I could maybe be in the back with him instead of getting swallowed up in this insanity out here. I’m close to the ring and although the people around me are still excited and anxious for this fight, I feel way more comfortable being down here than I would be up top. They look extra nuts up there. The guy sitting to my left isn’t yelling at least, a calm, good looking guy in his late twenties, I would guess. He’s pretty chill but paying close attention to everything and still conversing with his buddy on his left.
Somehow I manage to get lost enough in my own head and miss the fighters’ entrance. They’re all up in the ring already, including girls that are practically naked. I really should have YouTubed these fights and better prepared myself for this crap. Just seeing Dec up there eases up some of my anxiety, but not all of it.
“You all right over there, sweetheart?” Mr. Chill on my left asks coolly. He has a friendly smile and pretty eyes.
“No, not really.” I laugh at myself for once again spitting shit out of my mouth. “I had no idea what to expect when I came here, but this wasn’t it and now I’m sorta freaking out,” I finish honestly. Why not?
He reaches over and grasps my hand and my
body freezes. That’s not a good idea.
“Who are you here to watch? James or Smith?”
“James,” I offer distractedly, keeping my eyes on Declan preparing for his fight. I can see all the other guys down there with him too—Grey, Keegan, Luca, and several others I’ve never seen before.
“Ahh yes, should have known. All the ladies come to watch James.” He laughs a little louder than necessary and slyly I remove my hand from his.
“They do?”
He nods his head a couple times then taps his buddy to get his attention. “Hey, why are there so many females here tonight?”
His friend looks at him like he just asked the world’s most ridiculous question. “To see James fight.”
“See?” His amused expression hasn’t once left his face.
Great. I haven’t been in a relationship in years, when I finally commit to one it has to be to a well-known guy that women throw themselves at and men pay to see fight.
“I’m Ashton Clark, I’m a co-owner of the gym that James trains at.” He reaches his hand out for me to shake and I take it timidly.
I don’t offer him my name because it doesn’t even cross my mind when I see that everyone is clearing out of the ring except Declan and his opponent. This must be it.
I’ve hardly seen Declan since we arrived home from Vegas. He had all of my things brought over that next day and I’ve been settling in while he trained for this fight. Moving in with him has been perfect, but then again, the only time I see him is sometimes for dinner, a shower before bed, sleeping, and then a shower in the morning. Then I go back to sleep and he goes to the gym. Repeat.
I’ve checked out again, because now they look like they’re hugging but its not a friendly hug. The opponent’s knee keeps reaching up and hitting Dec in the side. They turn around and I can see Dec’s face. Dec gets him down on the ground and the crowd in here is deafening. He puts his fist to the other guy’s head, over and over again. I might throw up. There are a million different scenarios running rampant in my head, like what the hospital waiting room will look like when they triage Declan in. How many tears will be shed when his opponent gets pissed off enough and finally goes psycho on Dec, maybe breaks the rules and does something to break something on Declan permanently. Are there rules? Oh, God! What if this is just a free for all and there are no rules?! Do they just beat the hell out of each other until there’s only one guy left standing? I should’ve been more prepared. Why didn’t I YouTube this?
And then I see it. A long leg and steady foot straight to Declan’s head. Declan stumbles back but recovers quickly, going straight in for what looks like the kill. I turn to Ashton next to me with a horrified expression. Ashton takes me in with his eyes from top to bottom since we’re both standing now. “He just kicked him in the head! Is that legal?” I screech in horror.
Ashton and his friend both look at me with a strange look of amusement and horror. Disbelief. “What the hell are you doing here?” Ashton asks as he laughs and wraps an arm around me.
“I honestly have no idea anymore,” I mutter against his chest because I’m overwhelmed and am going to embrace his strong protective arm around me. I’m completely freaked out. I’m freaked out with the probability that my boyfriend will not finish this fight unscathed. I’m freaked out that I won’t exit this arena unscathed and now I’m terrified at the idea of this being my life.
The fight is over before I know it and they are declaring the win to Declan James. My boyfriend. My boyfriend, Declan James, who physically fights other men for a living. I’m spent; thoroughly exhausted. I feel like I just got off the Tower of Terror ride from Disneyland. I reach down under my seat to grab my purse and Ashton’s hand lands on my shoulder as I turn to make my way out in a daze. I turn back around to him and his face looks concerned.
He leans down in to me so he can speak closely to my ear. “Do me a favor and give me just a minute. I don’t want you walking out of here alone but I need to say hello to some people real quick. I’ll make it fast, I promise.” His suggestion is a good idea so I nod and accept. He smiles for a brief second then turns around and talks to the few people standing next to us.
Declan and the guys are already gone and while I can’t wait to see him, I have no idea how I’m going to tell him that I was here and that I hated every minute of it.
It doesn’t take long for Ashton to come back with a happy smile on his face. Most everybody is cleared out; he places a hand at my lower back and guides me up the stairs towards the exit. “You don’t look so well, are you going to be ok?”
“I don’t know,” I answer because I honestly don’t.
We continue up the stairs with his hand protectively in place and just before we reach the top landing, he asks for my name.
“Ava,” I say kindly, trying to recover from my rudeness to this nice man. His face blanches and his smile disappears and I fear that something terrible is happening behind me so I turn to look but there’s nothing out of the ordinary.
“Shit,” he says quietly while scrubbing his face with one hand. “As in Declan’s girlfriend Ava?”
“Yes,” I whisper, embarrassed because I can’t figure out what just happened here.
“You couldn’t lead with that? That should be your opening line. Always. Hi, I’m Ava, the great fighter with a bad temper, Declan James, is my boyfriend and I live with him.”
People are milling about, not paying us any attention. Ashton’s stare is boring into me and I feel the tension radiating between us as I suddenly consider my safety with this guy. Just as quickly, I erase the worry with the knowledge that he has a business connection with Declan and seems to hold him at a pretty high standard.
“Well that’s not typically how I identify myself, so that’s probably not going to happen.” I don’t want to be mad at Ashton. I like Ashton and he owns the gym that Declan trains at, so he’s an important guy, but if he doesn’t go back to the Ashton from a minute ago, he’s likely to piss me off.
“C’mon, Ava.” He no longer touches me, he just ushers me to the hallway on the side of the building. I assume he’s taking me to put me in my car and ship me off before Declan finds out he was talking to me. Instead, we stop at a crowd in the hallway and Ashton grabs my hand before pushing his way through and knocks twice on the door. It opens slowly and I hear Ashton being greeted by a voice that sounds like Keegan’s.
“I have something to return to Declan,” Ashton says with a smile.
Return? What am I, a lost puppy? I don’t think so. I try to tug my hand out of his but he just holds on tighter. We walk in and the room suddenly goes quiet. Greyden, Keegan and Luca all raise their eyebrows at us but say nothing before Ashton offers an explanation. Just as he opens his mouth, my phone rings with Declan’s ring tone.
“Where is he?” I ask as I pull out my phone to answer it; Grey motions his head toward the shower. “Hello?”
“I miss you. I’m getting ready to leave right now.” He melts my heart.
A door at the back of the room opens and Declan walks in with the phone to his ear. There are quite a few people in here so he doesn’t see me yet but I get the opportunity to watch him walk towards me and he doesn’t even know it. All of my worries about his career choice affecting my life have vanished at the sight of him.
“I miss you too, I can’t wait for you to reach me so I can give you a congratulatory kiss.”
“I can’t wait either, baby. Wait, how did you know I won?” Then he sees me. His smile is bright and beautiful. He slips his phone in his back pocket and reaches out to swoop me up in a hug. He kisses me soundly before pulling me back and looking in my eyes. “Did you watch?” he asks, sounding hopeful.
“I did. Congratulations.”
“Dec, Ashton here brought her back here for you,” Greyden says in his deep voice. He sounds angry, which I don’t understand at all.
Chapter Seventeen
Declan
Ashton brought Ava back here? That doesn’t m
ake any sense; she’s never met him before. Ashton looks a little nervous now that I actually notice him, but Ava doesn’t seem fazed at all.
“Your girl came in by herself. How the hell does she live with you and know absolutely nothing about what you do?” Ashton explains in a hard and defensive tone. I can’t decipher what his issue is, but his tone is grating me in all the wrong ways.
“Don’t worry about that. What are you doing with her?” I demand. Ashton Clark is a sly bastard; a good guy and good businessman, but terrible with women and I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him to be alone with Ava.
Ava turns in my arms and grabs my face gently. She brushes a finger near the cut on my cheekbone just under my eye. “Can we just go home, please? I’ll tell you all about my experience tonight. Ashton was just showing me how to get back here to you, that’s all.”
I want to believe her but I’m not sure that I do when she says “that’s all” and Ashton is looking like he’s staring death in the face.
“Tell me what the fuck is going on, Ava,” I say harshly, trying to keep my voice down. I know she hates it when I yell, so I try not to do that, but if I don’t start getting answers real soon there won’t be any controlling this.
“Mr. James, really I—” Ashton begins in his typical business tone, always the smooth talker trying to get things his way.
Ava cuts him off with her downcast eyes and whispering, but she’s not sad, she looks irritated. “I hate when you call me Ava.”
I grab her hand and pull her to the door, thankful she doesn’t protest. “Greyden, get my shit, I’ll meet you at the house.”
Greyden nods once and with everyone else in the room, he watches me pull Ava out into the hallway. There are fans out in the hall, so I place Ava against the door and tell her not to move a muscle while I take care of this. She listens, surprisingly enough. I take pictures and sign whatever they hand me until we’re down to the last two fans. Rachel and Marissa. I release the sigh that is bottled up inside of me. “I know you girls don’t need an autograph.” I offer them a smile; they’ve been friends with the guys and me for a long time. While the girls laugh, I shift my eyes back to Ava and Rachel takes a step forward. Ava folds her arms against her chest and lets out a huff of air before focusing on a distant wall.