“I guess, congratulations are in order,” he says with some strange emotion in his eye. One that makes me wish I knew him better so I could figure it out.
“Well,” I scoff. “Why don’t you just wait and see if I’m actually any good first. I might end up fired before I make it past my first day,” I joke.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” he smiles, “No one could possibly be that bad.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” I laugh. “Apart from doing my own hair, I haven’t really had any practice,” I tell him. “Well, I did cut all my dolls hair when I was a kid, but that was before I realized it wouldn’t grow back.”
He lets out a laugh that wraps right around me and makes me want to hear it over and over again. Shit, what’s happening to me? I’ve never been so stupid over a guy. I mean, yeah, he’s hot, but come on, he’s just a guy.
He makes a stop at a red light and turns to look at me. “I think you’ll do great,” he tells me with sincerity.
My eyes instantly fall from his and I feel a blush take over my cheeks making me happy it’s so dark. “Thanks,” I murmur as I get myself under control. “What about you? I mean, you’re a great fighter, but I thought you were a hockey player?”
He lets out a sigh and I hope I haven’t struck a nerve. “I am a hockey player,” he confirms, “But I love fighting, there’s just something about it I can’t explain.”
“Like?” I ask.
“I don’t know,” he says, thoughtful. “Maybe it’s the power I have over my opponent or the rush of adrenaline before the match. I’m not sure, I guess it’s a mix of things.”
“Right, I get it,” I say, realizing it’s probably the exact feeling my step mom got each time she wanted to face off with me. “So, were any of the guys from the team there tonight?”
“No,” he scoffs before turning to me with a cringe. “Look, about the whole fighting thing,” he starts. “You won’t tell anyone you saw me there, right? I mean, if anyone found out, I’d be off the team.”
My eyes widen in shock at his admission, but at the same time, I should have guessed. Of course, being found participating in any illegal activities would jeopardise his position on the team, no matter how good he is. “How can I tell anyone when I don’t even know your name?” I say with a cheeky grin.
He matches my smile as he looks back at me. “I’m Xander,” he tells me with a sparkle in his eye. Hmmm, Xander, I could get used to that. “You won’t say a word?” he confirms.
“No, Xander,” I say, his name feeling like silk on my tongue. “I won’t say a word.”
He stops dead in the middle of the road and turns to face me before his hand lifts off the gear stick with all his fingers curled in, except for his pinkie finger. “Pinkie promise,” he demands.
“What the hell? Are you, like, twelve?” I laugh.
“You gotta do it,” he insists with a sparkle in his eye.
I can’t help but roll my eyes as I lift my hand to his. “Fine,” I groan as I wrap my pinkie finger around his and look him in the eye. “I pinkie promise that I will not tell a soul that you’re an illegal underground fighter.”
“Thank you,” he grins as he holds onto my finger for a moment longer than necessary.
“Satisfied?” I ask as he gets back to driving.
“Not even close,” he murmurs with a sparkle in his eyes.
He turns the corner and I realize we’re nearly at Micky’s and I wonder how the time had possibly gone so fast. “So, if you want to be a fighter, why don’t you stop hockey and fight professionally? I mean, I can’t pretend to know what it takes to go pro, but from what I saw, you’re pretty good.”
“Thanks,” he says as he pulls up out the front of Micky’s. “That’s kind of the plan, but it’s complicated.”
“Sorry,” I cringe. “I didn’t mean to pry.”
He lets out another of those body wrapping laughs. “I get the feeling you can’t help it.”
“No, I guess I can’t,” I tell him honestly, admitting to my nosey habits. “But for the record. I know complicated, not the same brand of complicated as you, but complicated all the same.”
He nods his head as he considers my words. “When do I get to see you again, Charli?” he asks.
Shit. Why did he have to go and ask that? I open the door and climb out before I poke my head back in through the door. “I don’t know, cowboy. After what I saw tonight, you seem like more trouble than I can handle,” I tell him with a flirty grin.
He smirks back at me. “And you’re not?” he asks with a questioning, raised eyebrow.
“Definitely.” With that, I close the door and turn my back.
I dash up to the door of Micky’s and quickly get myself inside before I lose all my self control and throw myself at him. Shit, was I just flirting with the bad boy? The boy who looks like he’s broken a million hearts? Hell, the boy I just witnessed beat the crap out of another guy.
I key in the alarm before dashing up the stairs to my apartment. I just can’t help myself. The second I lock the door behind me, I rush over to the window and look out, only to find his truck still parked out the front with a grinning Xander staring up at me from the walkway. Holy cow. He is like sex on fire.
“I’ll see you around, Charli,” he calls up to me before getting in his truck and driving off. Wow, what a night. Did that just happen? Did he seriously just wait out the front until he saw that I was safe and sound in my apartment?
I shake the thought from my head. This is not what I need right now. I need to concentrate on getting my life back on track. Hell, I have a new job starting in a few days. I don’t need any distractions, especially distractions that come in the shape of an extremely ripped hockey player/fighter in a leather jacket with a panty dropping smile.
The thought of that smile has something burning up inside me. Crap, I’m in trouble.
I head into the bathroom and strip out of these skanky ass clothes before splashing cold water on my face and scrubbing off my makeup. Deciding I need to completely wash off the night, I jump straight into a cool shower and scrub the stench of Lex’s joint out of my hair and the smell of Chris’ spilled drinks off my skin.
After my shower, I grab a cold glass of water and head into my bedroom before dropping my towel and pulling on a pair of undies.
I climb into bed and am instantly hit with the images of Xander in the ring, dominating his opponent in nothing but a pair of shorts. His ripped body glistening with sweat as he smirks up at me. My eyes close as the burning need within me intensifies and I know there’s only one way I’ll be falling asleep tonight.
My hand travels down my body and into the hem of my underwear as my mind fills with more images of Xander. His body, his eyes, and that smirk which has me flying right over the edge.
Yeah, I’m definitely in trouble.
Chapter 7
Xander
I don’t know what it is about this girl, but something made me stay outside Micky’s bar, like a complete stalker watching and waiting until I could see that she was inside her apartment, safe and sound.
I just stood there, like a fucking loser.
I told her I would see her around and I have never uttered truer words in my life. There’s something about her. She has her claws in deep and talking to her in my truck just cemented the fact that she’s not like the other girls. She has ambition, a goal, dreams, and a damn backbone to make it happen.
Unlike me who’s biding my time, waiting for the shit to hit the fan, rather than make the change for myself. Unlike myself, Charli is an inspiration and she’s a damn sexy one at that. One that I can’t get out of my head and one that I want to see the inside of her room and never leave.
She told me about wanting to own her own hair salon and I nearly died at how similar her dream was to mine, with me wanting to own my own gym. She would chat and get carried away with the conversation as if she was too excited about her future to stop, but then it was almost as if she remembered she
was shy and would suddenly cut herself off and start blushing. It was the funniest thing and made me desperate for more.
One thing’s for sure though, when she’s on a roll, she has absolutely no filter. Whatever she’s thinking just comes flying out like word vomit and I have to admit, it was damn hilarious listening to her trying to backtrack each time she thought she had crossed some invisible line.
Sleep came damn easy that night. With thoughts of Charli roaming around my head added with the knowledge of winning my first fight and getting that first bit of money to put towards my future. Not to mention, I’ve been absolutely exhausted with all the training I’ve been doing. I’m hoping my body will adapt to that change pretty damn soon.
I wake on Monday morning and groan as my alarm screeches into the early morning quiet. “Damn,” I grumble to myself as I drag myself out of bed and pull on a pair of shorts.
I head into the bathroom and take a piss before brushing my teeth and heading downstairs.
I take a seat on my couch and tie up my shoes before heading out into the morning chill. Most of the hockey guys are already at our morning meeting spot, so I join in on a few stretches as we wait. The last thing I need is an injury.
We go for our usual run and workout in the park and before I know it, I’m back at home showering for my business lecture.
My lecture drags on just as I knew it would and I drag my feet back to my truck afterward, desperate for an afternoon nap before I have to go to training at Rebels Advocate. As I’m heading to my truck, I see a bank and decide it’s probably a good idea to open a separate bank account for all the money I’ll win in the competition, you know, just in case my parents decide to look into my finances and realize something’s up.
I head to the bank and half an hour later, I come out with a heap of paperwork and one more step closer to my goal. The lady said she’ll post out my new bank card when it is ready so I can make cash deposits at an ATM whenever I need, rather than having to wait for the branch to open.
Just excellent, it seems everything is looking up for me.
Just as I had hoped, I have just enough time to head home and get a decent afternoon nap in before I need to head over to Rebels Advocate.
FML, Monday’s suck. They’re always so busy. I’ll have training with Cole in the afternoon and then a late hockey training session before I finally get to call it a day.
After I have finally regained some energy, I head into Rebels Advocate for my training session. Cole clocks me the moment I walk through the door and immediately puts me to work. “Alright, Kid. Drop your shit and get started. We’re doing circuit training today.”
Great. Circuit training. My damn favorite. There’s nothing more exhausting than circuit training. It’s fast and exhausting. Designed to use as many muscle groups as possible and when it’s run by Cole, it’s just that much more excruciating. Though, I have to be honest, he’s the best trainer I’ve ever had. He gets me, knows how to push me to my limits without getting on my nerves.
I don’t know, maybe it’s a respect thing that I don’t find myself lashing out at him when I’m tired, the same way I used to with my old trainer. All I know is that I found Cole on my own, he wasn’t another person my father threw in my face. Maybe that has something to do with it.
I head over to the treadmills and jump on, making sure to warm up properly before Cole comes and kicks my ass. I jog away while I watch Cole strut around the gym getting all the bits and pieces for my session.
“Get your ass over here,” he hollers a few minutes later.
I hit stop on the treadmill and take a quick swig of my drink before I head over.
Ten minutes later, I’m already dripping with sweat. I don’t know how Cole does it. I can skate for hours without breaking a sweat yet here I am with Cole and am a dripping mess in minutes.
“That was a good fight on Friday night,” Cole mentions as I pound into the punching bag.
“Hmm,” I grunt in agreement, not really able to manage a proper response.
“The little show you put on seemed to excite the audience and the bets have been raised for your next one,” he explains.
“Huh?” I grunt in interest as my exhausted arms fall to my sides.
“Keep going,” Cole scolds making me pick my pace right back up. “As I said, you seem to have impressed some big players and they’re putting more money on you. We already know you have a shot at taking this thing out, but now, so does everyone else. They see you as a real contender,” he explains before indicating for me to move over to the free weights for some rapid movement. “You went in there with no reputation and came out with a fucking great one.”
Fucking A. “So, what’s my next payday?” I grunt between sets.
“Next match is scheduled for Wednesday. Eight grand is up for grabs. I’ll find out the location the night before,” he informs me.
“Eight grand?” I ask with raised eyebrows. If I keep going like this, I’ll be loaded… well loaded with my own money, even though it’s dirty and earned illegally. It’s still mine and I would have done it on my own.
“Yep,” Cole confirms as he hands me the skipping rope with a wicked grin. Fuck. I hate the damn skipping rope and this bastard knows it.
An hour later, I collapse on the ground. How the hell am I going to get through hockey training tonight? I lay on the training mats with my eyes closed, concentrating on my breathing as I wait for the feeling to come back to my arms.
“Get out of here, kid,” Cole says as he walks by, making sure to bump into me as he passes. “You’ll need to get something to eat before you go to hockey training. Replenish your energy.”
Yeah, I should probably take his advice. “Fine,” I groan as I get up off the floor and head into the bathroom. I take a quick shower then drag my feet all the way out to my truck.
I down a full bottle of water and sit in my truck for a few minutes before I find the energy to drive back towards campus. I pull over across the street from a café and hop out of my truck.
I jog across the road and head into the café, studying the menu intently as this café apparently has a bad reputation for making people sick. I settle on a chicken salad and wait out front for my order to be made.
Movement across the street catches my eye and I notice a pole dancing studio and have to grin to myself as I recall Jaxon and Bobby bitching to each other about the girls taking a class, though, to be honest, I would have loved to see that. Those girls are wicked fine.
My eyes continue scanning the street then stop when it comes to a familiar dark haired beauty standing inside a hair salon. Crap. I had literally parked right outside her salon and didn’t notice. A proud smile instantly comes across my face as I remember that she was starting her new job today. I go to make my way across the street when my name is called from inside the café. Shit, just seeing her had me forgetting about my food.
I race inside and grab my lunch before ducking back out across the road. I lean up against my truck as I inhale my lunch and watch her work.
She seems to be in deep concentration as she stands with an older lady who works on a client. From what I can tell, the older lady is teaching her everything she knows and Charli is soaking up every last bit of wisdom offered.
Pride surges through me seeing how seriously she’s taking her new role. A grin overtakes my face as I lean back on my truck and watch her like a creepy as fuck stalker.
That stunning face of hers suddenly turns in my direction and a beautiful smile graces her face just moments before the blush takes over. My grin widens and I have to stop myself from going in there and taking her, right there for the world to see.
Instead, I give her a wink and climb back in my truck, after all, I don’t want to get her in trouble on her first day of work.
I head off to the ice rink and after everything I have put my body through today, I suddenly find myself with a shit load of energy.
Chapter 8
Xander
Th
e crowd roars as the buzzer sounds, declaring us still undefeated. Coach Harris’ face is bright red from all the yelling he has done throughout the night. He claps each and every one of us on the back as we make our way off the ice.
“Fuck yeah,” Shorty roars as we make our way into the privacy of our locker room. “That’s one way to guarantee some easy pussy tonight,” he declares.
We all crack into laughter, each of us high on the adrenalin of yet another win. I know my dream is to be a fighter, but it still feels damn good to take out the competition.
I sit down on the bench and start taking off my skates and gear when the boys start on their usual after game chatter. “Where are we heading tonight, boys?” Bobby asks as he pulls his shirt up over his head and throws it carelessly into his bag.
“I vote for Micky’s,” Shorty declares as he pulls a towel out of his locker. Yep, I’m so down with that.
“Nope,” Jaxon grunts with a frustrated scowl. “Not Micky’s.” I try to hold in a groan. I should have seen that coming. Some dickhead grabbed at his girl a few weeks ago so it only makes sense he wants to avoid the place, which honestly, I feel for the chick, but us avoiding Micky’s really sucks for me.
“I know of a frat party not far from here,” Bobby suggests as he loses his pants, no shame at all.
“Yeah, I’m keen,” Aaron shrugs while Shorty murmurs a ‘damn’. The rest of the guys all agree to the frat party and it's settled.
Coach comes in and tells us just how great we did as we finish getting cleaned up after the game. I head into the showers and return not a moment later, as fresh as a daisy.
We try our best to make it through the crowds of fans who wait by the door. Some asking for autographs while some want pictures. Some just want to say congratulations while others are waiting to hear where we’re celebrating tonight.
I finally make it through the crowds and out to my truck with Shorty and Aaron on my heels. We throw our shit in the back and climb in. Aaron gives out directions and soon enough, were pulling up at the frat party.
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