Fight of Life (Perception Book 3)

by Shandi Boyes

  “No, we are here as you are worried about who I am fucking” Lola retorts angrily.

  “I don’t care who you are sleeping with Lola, as long as it isn’t Callum” I rebut sternly, as Lola roughly crosses her arms and lets out an annoyed huff.

  “I got my ass hauled into jail and treated like scum for teaching that low life piece of shit a lesson and he is the one that you go running back to. He put his fucking hands around your throat or did you forget that?” I question angrily.

  I can feel my anger starting to rise at the fact that Lola could be so stupid to ever go back to a pathetic man like Callum. I thought she was stronger than that. But, when I look over and notice that she has a heap of unshed tears filling her eyes, I instantly regret my outburst.

  “Please don’t cry Lola” I request, as I use my thumb to rub away a tear that has managed to spill over.

  “I never asked you to defend me” Lola replies through gritted teeth, while she angrily uses her hands to wipe away her tears.

  “I know that” I reply remorsefully.

  Now I know why Noah caves every time he sees Emily cry. I can feel my heart crack more from every single tear that drips down Lola’s face. Lola lets out a long frustrated groan, before her tear stained face turns to face me.

  “Jesus Jacob, you are making me cry like a girl” she declares frustrated.

  “You are a girl” I respond while slightly chuckling. I can one hundred percent testify to that fact.

  “I know that asshole. But I don’t cry. Ever!” she advises mortified.

  For the next several minutes I watch Lola as she tries to control the tears that are flowing down her face. I want to offer her comfort, but I have no fucking clue how to handle a girl like Lola, so I just stay silent as she slowly regathers her composure.

  “Sometimes you just need a good cry” she quotes mortified, as her brown eyes seek mine.

  “I am sorry for the way you were treated Jacob. That is one of the reasons I didn’t want to tell you what had happened to me. It wasn’t your problem to handle” she confesses quietly.

  “What if it was Emily?” I question while I seek her gaze. Lola’s eyebrows pull together as she looks over at me confused.

  “What if it was Emily that was attacked instead of you. Would you have wanted Noah to stand up for her?” I question.

  Lola considers my question, before she slowly starts nodding her head.

  “Exactly” I reply. The way Noah defended Emily tonight was no different than the way I defended Lola when I found out she was attacked. I think it is a natural instinct to protect the people you love.

  “I will never regret standing up for you Lola. I only regret that I hurt you that much that you won’t even take my calls anymore” I advise honestly.

  “I did that for you” she whispers softly as her eyes dart out to the black sky outside.

  “That night I went to the police station to give my statement I saw how tormented your face looked while you were cuffed to the table. You would have never been in that situation if you hadn’t offered me a lift home” she says softly.

  “I was tormented over the idea of leaving you. I was looking at spending a few years in jail and all I was worried about was not being able to see you. What if he attacked you again while I was behind bars? Who would have been there for you then?” I abruptly reply, as Lola’s gaze turn to look at me.

  “You can’t trust him Lola. If he did that to you in broad daylight what would he do to you behind closed doors?” I question concerned, while I clench my fists tight.

  “I am not with Callum. I only agreed to meet him as he said he had to tell me something important about you. That was the first time I have seen Callum since he attacked me at Mavericks” Lola confesses.

  My heart rate soars when Lola admits she hasn’t been seeing Callum and I can’t help the smile that forms on my face.

  “Not that I need to answer to you about who I am or am not seeing” she emphasizes, while she cocks her eyebrow into her hairline.

  And there she is. The stubborn, hot headed, little temptress I have fallen head over heels in love with is back full force. When I look over towards Lola, I notice that she is staring at my lips as she slowly licks hers. Lola always licks her lips in preparation for a kiss.

  “Come here” I request roughly.

  Lola crosses her arms across her ample chest, before she raises her eyebrows high into her hairline.

  “Always so stubborn” I mumble as I quickly move near her to pull her lips to my mouth by her caramel locks.

  She smiles against my mouth, before she starts returning my passionate kiss. Fuck, I have missed her lips and her mouth so much. I release a throaty moan the instant she climbs over and straddles herself on my lap.

  “I have missed you Jacob” she whispers seductively as she nibbles on my earlobe, triggering my dick to instantly stiffen.

  “I have missed you too baby” I reply between places kisses on her neckline.

  Lola instantly stiffens and stops placing kisses on my jawline. When she pulls back from our embrace, she has a stern look on her face.

  “What?” I question, wondering why her demeanour shifted so suddenly.

  “Don’t call me baby. I hate that name. I am not a baby” she huffs in annoyance, causing me to chuckle loudly.

  “Sorry. I have missed you too Cock Tease” I reply sarcastically, causing her to smile brightly.

  “And don’t you forget it” Lola giggles as she lowers her mouth back down to mine.

  We spent the next twenty minutes making out like teenagers at Bronte’s Peak before our make our session gets interrupted by a security office tapping on the foggy glass windows of Lola’s jeep.

  “Move along or I will have to the call the cops” advises the security officer as I manually roll down Lola’s window.

  “Sure, no worries” I reply as Lola’s giggle echo’s around the interior of her car.

  “Move along” Lola states, impersonating the security guard.

  “He had no clue how lucky he is that he just survived forty-five seconds in your presence” she laughs, as she buttons up her red blouse that I had just finished unbuttoning. My disappointed face from watching her put away her perfect tits, was soon replaced with a confused face when I realise what she just said.

  “What?” I question confused.

  “From what I have seen, you are all over and done with in under forty-five seconds” she giggles. I cock my eyebrow at her. She personally knows that I last a lot longer than forty-five seconds. When Lola notices the look on my face, she rolls her eyes as she shakes her head.

  “I didn’t mean in the bedroom” she responds seductively as she winks at me, making me smile brightly.

  “I meant in the boxing ring” she continues, causing my eyes to open wide in shock.

  Chapter 32

  Lola

  “Come on, stop being a girl and put in some effort” Jacob taunts, as he moves the pads to cover his face.

  “You weren’t complaining about me being a girl last night Jacob” I reply, while I throw a punch at the pads covering Jacob’s hand.

  Jacob’s loud chuckle echo’s around the small gym we are currently working out in. Jacob and I have rekindled our ‘friendship’ the past few weeks and ever since that night he has been nagging me to join him for a workout session at his favorite gym. He is trying to make out it is just for a bit of fun, but I know the underlying reason he wanted to bring me here. He wants to teach me how to defend myself in case I ever have a run in with Callum again.

  The instant we walked into the small gym, my stomach began protesting against the smell that was filtering through the air. It reminded me of the smell of old mouldy cheese.

  “You will eventually get used to it” Jacob laughed when he saw the disgusted look on my face.

  Jacob’s face was marred with concern when I let it slip that I knew he was fighting. But I soon informed him that I wasn’t worried about it. Jacob wouldn’t hurt
a fly and never once did it cross my mind that I should be concerned for my safety. To be honest, when I watched the video of Jacob fighting I actually got turned on. From the very first night I met Jacob I was always concerned that he was too nice. But finding out that Jacob fights was like unearthing his dirty little secret that only I knew about. It added that little extra thrill of secrecy to our friendship. I ended up watching a few of his earlier UFC fights on YouTube and it was exciting to watch his confidence in the cage. He definitely wasn’t arrogant like his opponents, but his confidence seemed to soar the instant he stepped into the cage.

  “Can I come and watch you this week?” I question Jacob when I stop swinging my fists and stand with my hands on my hips. I didn’t realise boxing was so physical exhausting until now as I fight to get my lungs to fill with air.

  “I don’t know Lola” Jacob replies while he pulls the pads off his hands.

  “I have seen how horny you get after you watched those YouTube videos and I think you would be too much of a distraction to me if I knew you were getting all hot and bothered watching me live” he replies cockily.

  “Whatever” I reply sarcastically as I throw a punch at his left bicep, causing him to laugh loudly.

  “So you went and got yourself a weak spot?” questions a male voice from the side of the ring.

  “You could say that” Jacob replies as he walks over to the ropes and pulls them apart to assist the gentleman to climb into the ring.

  “Hello pretty lady, my name is Hank” introduces a middle aged African American man with a bright beaming smile.

  “Hi, I am Lola. Nice to meet you” I reply, offering him my hand to shake.

  When Hank accepts my handshake, he spins me around as his eyes roam over my body.

  “That is definitely a weak spot” Hank confirms.

  I look over at Jacob who is smiling brightly while leaning against the boxing ring ropes. When he notices my confused look, he shrugs his shoulders like he doesn’t have a clue what Hank is on about.

  “So has my boy been teaching you anything or has he just been fooling around in my ring” Hank chuckles loudly.

  “Fooling around” I reply while smiling, making Jacob once again laugh loudly.

  “Typical” Hank laughs as his eyes thin at Jacob.

  “Be my guest” Jacob replies before he walks over to join us in the middle of the ring.

  “First your stance is all wrong. You need to spread your legs a little wider” advises Hank as he kicks my running shoes to place a gap between my feet.

  “Your feet should match the width of your shoulders, but you need a heel toe stance” he instructs while he continues moving my feet until he is satisfied that I am standing correctly.

  “The next most important rule is that you always protect your face. You wouldn’t want your pretty little face getting any marks on it. So always keep your arms up high” he advises as he lifts my hands and places them in front of my face.

  He then moves behind me and moulds his body to the back of mine, causing my eyes to open wide in surprise, but Jacob doesn’t even appear concerned. Hank wraps his arms around the back of my shoulders before he cuffs his large hands around my glove covered hands.

  “Pull your elbows in close to your body and keep your chin in low” Hank instructs. I immediately follow Hank’s instructions.

  “Okay, now step towards Jacob” he whispers into my ear. Hank is pretty much glued to the back of me, so with each movement I make, he moves right along with me.

  “Left, right, left, right” he breathes as he moves my hands to strike at the Jacob’s uncovered palms.

  Hank was pretty much doing all of the movements for me, but he was teaching me how to properly stand as I threw each punch. After a few more swings, Hank slowly releases my arms and they immediately flop.

  “Tuck your elbows back in and protect your face” Hank instructs sternly. I immediately pull my elbows in close to my body and raise my fists to ensure that my face remains protected.

  “Good girl” he praises proudly, making me smile brightly.

  For the next thirty minutes, Hank and Jacob continued to train me and I loved every single minute of it.

  “You did really good today pretty lady. If you ever want a professional career in boxing, you just let me know” Hank advises proudly.

  “No fucking chance” Jacob murmurs beside me. I turn my angry gaze towards Jacob as Hank walks away from us laughing.

  “Who died and made you my boss?” I question Jacob, while raising my eyebrows high into my hairline.

  “You didn’t mind following Hank’s instructions today” he responds sarcastically.

  “That’s because I like Hank” I reply firmly, trying not to laugh.

  “Oh and you don’t like me?” Jacob cheekily snickers before he attempts to whip me with the white towel he is holding in his hands. It makes a cracking noise but only just misses a portion of my bare thighs that are displayed in my bright pink gym shorts.

  “Don’t you dare Jacob” I state firmly, as I narrow my eyes at him.

  “Get in the shower Lola” he replies confidently, while he holds the towel out in preparation to whip me again.

  “You wouldn’t dare” I reply stubbornly as I cross my arms, causing Jacob’s eyes to dart down towards my breasts before he slowly raises them back to my face.

  “Try me” he whispers seductively.

  I stick my tongue out at him, before I commence walking in the shower. Once I make it a few steps inside the locker room, I notice that Jacob is following closely behind me.

  “Where are you going?” I question.

  “I have to make sure you are thoroughly cleaned” he chuckles while waggling his eyebrows at me.

  I flick my gaze back to Hank’s office and I see that he has gone inside and has lowered the blinds and closed the door behind him.

  “Do I even want to know how many girls you have slept with in this shower Jacob?” I question as I cock my eyebrow at him.

  Jacob doesn’t say a word as he slowly prowls towards me. Once his lips have attached to my neck, I no longer care what his answer might have been.

  Chapter 33

  Jacob

  6 months later…

  “Merry Christmas Jacob” Emily beams excitedly as she wraps her arms around my shoulders.

  “Merry Christmas Em” I reply while I return her embrace.

  When I peer over at Noah standing behind Emily, I notice he is watching me cautiously. I waggle my eyebrows at him as I silently mouth “so hot” causing him to storm over towards us just as Emily moves away from our embrace.

  “Merry Christmas Noah” I chuckle, while giving him a man hug.

  “I am going to kick your ass one day Jacob” Noah whispers sternly into my ear as he returns my brief hug, triggering me to chuckle loudly.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to come with us today Jacob? My mom always cooks plenty that we have leftovers for a week and you are more than welcome” Emily offers kindly.

  “Nah it’s okay, I am just going to hang out with my old man and my brother today” I reply to Emily’s concerned face.

  “I am sure Lola would love to see you too” she replies quietly.

  I would love nothing more than to see Lola today, but I understand what our arrangement is, even if others don’t fully comprehend it.

  “Can I get you to give her something for me?” I question, as I rush back into my room and grab the envelope off my bedside table.

  “It’s her Christmas present” I advise while handing Emily a small white envelope.

  Emily’s eyes roam over the envelope as her eyebrows pull together tightly. She then lifts it to her ear and shakes the envelope to see if it makes any noise.

  “Stop snooping Emily” Noah laughs, while removing the envelope from her hand.

  “CT?” Noah questions when he observes the way I have addressed the envelope.

  “Just give it to her, she will understand” I reply as I waggle my
eyebrows at him.

  “Alright” Noah huffs “But you two are fucking weird” he continues before he steps over near Emily and wraps his arms around her shoulders.

  “Are you ready?” he questions as he places a delicate kiss on her lips. She looks up at him with her eyes shining brightly, before she slowly nods her head.

  “Bye Jacob” Emily farewells softly.

  Around an hour later my phone dings stating I have received a text. Peering down at the screen I can see it is from Lola.