by Evelyn Glass
“Great.” Adriana nods enthusiastically, asking herself how she managed to get herself into this position.
“Have fun on your date, Adrie.” Grayson sounds as serious as her father would’ve been if he’d ever had the opportunity to say the same words to her. “But not too much fun. Don’t do anything I would.” The tone of his voice suggests that he’s only half-joking, which makes her even more confused.
She fumbles her car key into its lock. “Hold on a sec. This is your ride?” Grayson looks at her in consternation.
“Yeah, did you think I was trying to break into a stranger’s car with my keys?” She waves the collection in his face, snatching it away again as his eyes settle on the embarrassing photo of her and Willow that makes up her key-ring. Willow had given it to her as a joke from some photo booth pictures they’d taken together the first year they lived together.
Grayson shakes his head, pointing at the red sports car on the other side of her. “I thought that was your car.”
Adriana raises an eyebrow; it would probably take up most of her salary just paying for the insurance on that thing. “You clearly aren’t up to speed with what nurses make!”
But Grayson doesn’t laugh. “This car is a deathtrap. Seriously, how old is it?”
Adriana lifts her chin. She’s been looking after herself for a long time, and she doesn’t need to be told by some guy that her car is a piece of crap. She already knows that, but it is her piece of crap. “My dad gave it to me, and I drove it up here from Philly. It may not be quite up to your new standards, Grayson; but, I knew you when the only set of wheels you had were on a bike!” She crosses her arms, giving him a look that would melt the polar ice caps.
“Easy there, tiger.” He makes calming gestures to her. “I was just trying to say that it doesn’t look all that safe. I’m concerned about you driving around in something that looks like a coastal wind would knock it into oncoming traffic!”
Adriana wonders if it’s possible that Grayson will ever stop surprising her. She had thought he was being all hoity-toity, but he was really just worried about her. “It’s fine, Gray. It’s not something you have to worry about. The car’s like me; we’re tougher than we look. Or do I need to get you back on those mats to remind you?” She gives him a knowing look and feels herself go all warm and fuzzy as he turns his genuine, boyish smile on her.
“No, no, I’m covered on that front, Adrie.” The awkward moment has passed, and they’re both relieved that it’s over. “Just drive safe, alright?” He looks at her from under his frown.
“I always do.” She locks eyes with him, and her heart skips a beat. She’s no longer sure if she’s talking about driving or herself anymore.
“G! Coach is threatening to come out here and drag you inside if you’re not back in the ring in one minute!” It’s one of the younger fighters who had wolf-whistled at Adriana. He’s breathing hard, as if West has put the fear of God into him.
“Goddammit.” Grayson snarls the word, frustrated, under his breath.
“You should get back.” Adriana nods towards the kid who is still watching them, as if he’s expecting Grayson to disappear into thin air and then have to explain to West why he wasn’t in the ring within the stated time.
“Yeah, sure looks that way.” Grayson scratches his head ruefully. “I’ll see you later?” He seems to hesitate then; but, he makes a decision and follows through with it. He reaches out, his arm encircling her shoulders, and he kisses her gently on the cheek. It’s a chaste kiss that Adriana tries to convince herself is purely platonic, but the expression in his eyes is anything but.
“See you later.” Her words are a whisper, as she tries to recover from the nearness of him. She watches him head back to the gym and eventually disappear inside, wondering if she’s ever going to feel the way she has felt about him for the longest time for anyone else. After ten years, it’s not seeming particularly likely. Not the best headspace to be in just before a date, she thinks wryly.
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
GRAYSON
“She’s going on a date and you’re cool with that?” Tommy looks at his friend as if he’d just grown two heads.
“Do I look like I’m okay with that, Tommy?” Grayson’s expression at that moment is telling everyone between him and the punching bag to get out of his way. He needs to pummel something and imagine it’s the head of whatever doctor has got his claws into Adriana.
“So why did you let her go?” Tommy doesn’t read between the lines enough to see that Grayson doesn’t want to be asked any more questions.
“Because I don’t have any claim on her, slick. That’s why.” Grayson battles to keep his anger under control as he starts laying into the punching bag, taking out all his frustrations on the inanimate object.
“You’re Grayson ‘The Punisher’ Fletcher! You can make women do whatever the fuck you want!” Tommy looks at him in confusion.
“It’s not like that with Adriana, Tommy. She’s not just some bimbo MMA-hanger on. She’s…different.” Grayson leans against the bag, enjoying the feel of the burning in his muscles, but it hasn’t done anything to temper the jealousy running though his blood at the thought of Adriana with another guy.
“Oh man, you’re in trouble!” Tommy shakes his head in amazement. “You’re totally into this girl! Why don’t you do something about it?”
“It’s not as simple as that, Tommy!” Grayson’s famous lack of patience is wearing thin.
“So, you don’t like her?” He levels an unblinking look at Grayson, ignoring the storm clouds in his friend’s face. Grayson remains silent. “So, you do like her, but you don’t have the balls to do anything about it!”
“She’s coming to the Royale party.” The words serve as a sort of balm on Graham’s damaged heart. He’d have her to himself for a night. Yeah, right, to himself along with three hundred other people.
“So, you asked her out.” Tommy’s expression shows just how little sense this all makes. Grayson’s not unaware of the fact that his behavior around Adriana defies convention. The Adriana Effect.
“As a friend.” Grayson lets off another volley of punches onto the bag.
“You’re not friends with girls like that. No one is friends with a girl like that!” Tommy throws his hands up in despair at Grayson. “And you don’t spend time with a girl if it’s not in bed!”
“Like I said, Adriana’s different.” Grayson leaves out the fact that she’s the only thing in his life that has made sense from the first moment, that she’s haunted his dreams for almost a decade, and that the only time he feels right is when he’s with her.
“Cut it out, Tommy. Unless you want to be the next thing that Grayson is beating the crap out of.” The warning in West’s voice is enough to shut Tommy’s trap. “Now go and do some laps.”
“How many?” Tommy sounds like a sullen adolescent told to go do his chores.
“I’ll let you know.” West’s response is flat and totally unimpressed. Only when Tommy starts running around the immense gym does he approach Grayson.
“I can hear you thinking, coach. Something on your mind?” He grunts as he does a one, two punch on the sandbag, followed by a roundhouse kick.
“Funny, I was just about to ask you the same thing.” West gives him a serious look.
“Don’t you start too, West.” Grayson takes a swig from his water bottle, before dropping to the floor and doing press-ups as if the fate of the civilized world depended on him completing his set. “You’re the one who persuaded Adriana to come to the fight. I thought you’d be happy!”
“That’s not what I’m talking about. The only thing I will say about that girl is that she’s good for you, but that’s all.” West gestures as if to draw a line under what he’s just said. “What I’m concerned about is the fact that you’ve been pricklier than a bear with a pineapple stuck up its ass since the fight. You mind filling me in on why?”
Grayson reaches one hundred and gets up from the gro
und, using his top to wipe the sweat off of his forehead and chest. “It’s nothing, just some empty threat from Morrison, that’s all.”
Grayson can almost feel the air between them still as West processes what he’s just been told. “Morrison doesn’t make empty threats. What happened?”
“He wants me to throw the next fight.” It’s only when the words are out of his mouth that Grayson realizes the effort he’s been making to keep it all inside. It’s a relief to tell someone.
“Fucking piece of shit!” West’s voice rings out through the gym, and everyone stops what they’re doing. He lifts his head and looks around. “Take an hour for lunch. Go on! Get the hell out of here!” He’s bellowing as the aspiring fighters scramble to get out of the door. They’ve seen West frustrated, and they’ve seen him be hard on them, but this time he was seriously mad.
“Feel better now?” Grayson raises an eyebrow at his coach and mentor, trying to make light of the situation.
“It’s not fucking funny, Gray. If the UFC gets a whiff that you’re being blackmailed, even if you don’t act on it, then you’re suspended. Say goodbye to the title, the sponsorships, everything we’ve worked for all these years.” West sits down heavily on the bench, looking as defeated as Grayson has ever seen him.
“You think I don’t know that, West?” Grayson takes a few deep breaths to try to calm down. Taking his frustration out on West isn’t going to solve anything. “I’m going to deal with it, just trust me.”
“How?” West gives him a suspicious look.
“I’m going to let Morrison know that he doesn’t have any hold over me anymore. He doesn’t have any bargaining chips left.” Grayson shrugs his shoulders as if it’s just that simple.
“And if he goes to the Association with what he knows?” West looks around despite there not being anyone within earshot and drops his voice. “About what happened at your first fight?”
Grayson’s entire body goes cold, just like it does every time he focuses on the memory of that night. “It was a long time ago, and Morrison has a lot to lose too by going public. Besides, not many people are going to believe a bookie who’s been in and out of jail more times than Lindsey Lohan. I’m calling his bluff, West. I’ve been letting him lead me around for too long. Things are different now. I’m not just some nobody fighter that no one gives a shit about anymore. The next fight is for the state title; this is the big leagues now.” His voice is calm and measured, but he can’t quite hold back the anger that overwhelms him whenever he thinks about Morrison.
“I hope you’re right, Grayson. I hope you’re right.” West rubs a hand over his bald head in his time-honored gesture of frustration. Grayson doesn’t add that he hopes so too.
He’d made his decision to tell Adriana the truth, to tell her all of it. He’d wanted to tell her the night of the fight, but things hadn’t exactly gone to plan. Then, he’d wanted to tell her this morning, but her confession of her date had thrown him for a loop. If he wanted to prove to her that he’d changed, that he didn’t want to have any secrets from her, then he had to tell it all. After the party, that’s when he would do it, when they could be alone, without any interruptions. He would explain everything once and for all, what had happened that night ten years ago, his involvement with Morrison, and everything that he’d done to get himself to where he was now. She would understand. Out of everyone, she would understand. She had to.
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
ADRIANA
“What do you mean you’re not going?” Willow’s hands are planted firmly on her hips, and she is not happy.
“Exactly what I said, Will. It’s a bad idea. It was a bad idea when I said I would, and it’s a bad idea now.” Adriana busies herself pouring out about her eighteenth cup of coffee of the day, as if she weren’t jittery enough.
“No way, uh-uh.” Willow waggles her finger at her. “There’s no way that I pulled a sickie at work to find you the perfect dress for tonight…one that will make all the men drool…for you to decide you’re suddenly not going. Besides, what’s Grayson supposed to do without a date?”
“I’m not his date! I was just supposed to be going as a friend.” Adriana waves Willow’s comments away.
“Well, dumping him at the last minute doesn’t seem like something a very good friend would do.” Willow crosses her arms and waits, knowing exactly how to play on Adriana’s over-developed sense of responsibility.
“What am I supposed to do, Will?” Adriana collapses onto the couch like a sack of potatoes. “How can I go out there and pretend that I’m okay with being his friend when I can’t stop thinking about him?” She shakes her head as if to jolt him out of her mind. “I should never have gone on that stupid date.”
“Oh, come on. It wasn’t that bad.” The uncertainty in Willow’s voice is clear.
“Not that bad? By the time the server had brought our drinks I’d already compiled a check-list of all the ways the good doctor wasn’t anything like Grayson!” Adriana hugs the cushion to her as if it might provide some comfort.
Willow sighs deeply and collapses on the couch next to Adriana staring at the bright yellow wall. “You know I think he was an asshole for the way he treated you the other night. But the guy cares about you. It’s plain for anyone with two eyes in their head to see, apart from you apparently. You told me he tried to explain why he ran off in the middle of the night, aren’t you the least bit curious to let him?”
Adriana can feel Willow’s eyes boring into her brain and covers her face with the cushion. “I hate it when you’re right,” she says miserably.
“Don’t hate the player, babe, hate the game.” Willow uses her best west-side gangster rapper voice, and they both explode into fits of laughter. When they’ve calmed down and Adriana has finally removed the cushion from her face, Willow gives her friend an expectant look. “So, is Cinderella going to the ball or what?”
“Well, it would be a shame to waste such a beautiful dress…” Adriana smiles. Willow had always had an eye for clothes, but she had really outdone herself this time. The dress that she had found Adriana couldn’t have been more perfect. It fit her like a glove, as if it were made for her. The deep green of the material brought out the color of her eyes and it skimmed over her figure, hugging her in all the right places. She wasn’t going to lie, she felt like a million dollars in the dress, which wasn’t all that far away from what it had cost her. She thinks ruefully about the credit card bill that’s going to land in her mailbox imminently.
Willow’s excitement pierces through Adriana’s post-purchase guilt. “Yey! It’s makeover time!” She leaps up, clapping her hands like a seal. “But first, I think you need to relax a little, Adrie. And I know just the thing!” Willow snaps her fingers heading straight for the liquor cabinet in the kitchen.
“Uh-uh, Will, falling flat on my face in front of everyone isn’t on my list of things to do tonight.” Adriana adds that thought to the catalogue of reasons why she’s so nervous about tonight.
“One margarita isn’t going to push you over the edge, Adrie. Now go jump in the shower, and I’ll make the drinks. It’s like the old days, making cocktails and getting ready to go out.” Willow looks all nostalgic and not a little wistful all of a sudden.
“You alright, Will?” Adriana looks at her friend, concerned.
“I was just thinking…” She trails off and Adriana is pretty sure she detects a hint of a blush, something that seems completely foreign on Willow’s face.
“About Tommy?” Adriana smiles knowingly.
Willow turns around so that Adriana can’t see her face. “I’m not wasting my time on someone who can’t tell the difference between a bimbo and the real deal. Besides, you said yourself, I don’t date younger guys.” She tosses her hair like a horse.
“Methinks you protest too much.” Adriana ducks as the dishcloth that Willow has thrown goes sailing over her head. “All I’m saying is that if you really like him then do something about it. I’ve never known yo
u to be shy when it comes to going after what you want.”
“Sometimes it’s not quite that simple, Adrie. Besides, not all of us find our soulmates when we’re sixteen.” Willow gives her friend a meaningful look.
“Seriously, if you use the ‘s’ word again Will…You know I don’t believe in that stuff.” Adriana heads towards the bathroom to start getting herself ready, with all her debating she’s left herself with precious little time.
“Just because you don’t believe in it, doesn’t mean it isn’t true.” Willow doesn’t give Adriana a chance to reply before she puts the blender on, drowning out any possible response.
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
GRAYSON
Stupid damn, monkey suit. Grayson shifts uncomfortably outside the apartment, waiting for Adriana. He wants to believe that his fidgeting is just due to the tux, but he’s not that naïve. He feels like a kid waiting for his prom date. Or at least what he imagined that would be like. He’d never been to prom; he had been too busy making his way on the underground fight scene.