by Ash Johnson
That’s the reason I never bring girls back to my house. You run the risk of hooking up with a crazy that wants to be with you forever and then she never leaves. So going to her place for a hook up is just common sense.
Just as I’m about to convince myself to get up there’s a loud pounding on my door, making me wince.
“Come on, Jay. Get the fuck up! We have to be at the gym to train in half an hour.” My roommate, Blake, yells.
I lightly groan and wonder how I’m going to train today with a hangover and little to no sleep. It’s going to be a bitch practicing my grappling moves on the mat with my head throbbing.
Blake and I are MMA fighters. I was just picked up seven months ago to fight professionally and Blake is semi pro, trying to break into professional fights. My coach says I have a lot of talent and could go far, probably into national fights. We’ll see if he’s saying the same thing after training this morning.
I love what I do, but my dad doesn’t think it’s going to last. He tells me that I need a real job; one that I can count on to pay the bills. He thinks I should join him in the family business, helping run his large construction company, but I love to fight and I’m good at it.
The house we live in belongs to Blake’s parents. They are millionaires, coming from a long line of stingy lawyers, and I don’t believe that Blake has had to work a day in his life. It’s a big house in a nice upcoming neighborhood and there are lots of little kids and families. The house isn’t a mansion by any stretch, but it’s comfortable enough for both of us to have our own space and we also have a basement; a rarity in Arizona.
“Fuck off. I’m awake and I’ll be out in a second,” I mutter into my pillow, turning to scowl at the door when I hear Blake walk away laughing.
What the hell is he laughing about? It was his damn idea to go to the club last night and he’s the one who kept buying the shots while we looked for girls to hook up with.
I remember that I had my eye on a hot brunette in a black shiny mini skirt and a green top, but she bolted out of the door with her phone pressed to her ear before I could get the chance to talk to her. So instead, I went home with a stage 4 clinger who had planned on telling her mother about me.
After we finished fucking she wrapped her body around me like a vine. When she fell asleep two hours later, it took me almost twenty minutes from the time I started trying to leave to the time I got into a cab in front of her apartment complex.
I slowly drag my sad sack out of bed and make my way to the bathroom down the hall. I do my business and brush my teeth. As I’m brushing, I look into the mirror to give myself a once over. My dark brown eyes are bloodshot and look tired, my brown hair is short on the sides and just a bit longer than finger length on top, and I have a day’s worth of dark stubble on my chin. I could shave, but I heard that ladies are attracted to men with a bit of stubble these days.
I have too many tattoos to count. My left arm has a full sleeve of many different designs, all in black, from my wrist to my shoulder. My right arm is a half sleeve of tall trees that wrap around my right bicep, reminding me of the wonderful times in my childhood when my parents would take me camping in the woods. The tattoo of my mother’s name, Jane, across my left pectoral and a swallow next to it, all in different shades of her favorite color, blue, is the only tattoo I have with any color in it.
After I finish examining my face and brushing my teeth I think about jumping in the shower, but I don’t have time.
I walk the few feet back to my room and throw on some gym shorts, my AC/DC t-shirt and some flip flops and then grab my gym bag. I walk out of my room and down a set of stairs on my right toward the kitchen where Blake is sitting on a barstool, drinking his protein shake.
“You make one for me?” I ask him and he points toward a blue plastic cup on the counter. “Thanks man.”
I drain my chocolate flavored protein shake and grab the keys to my Jeep so I can drive Blake and myself to the gym for our training. I hop into the driver’s side of my lime green four-door Jeep and wait for Blake to come out the front door. After a few minutes and no Blake I honk the horn.
“Come on, man! You tell me to hurry, but you’re the one who’s gonna make us late!” I yell with a smile on my face.
A few seconds later, Blake comes out the front door. He’s six foot even, with dark blue eyes and a shaved head with barely there blonde hair. He’s built, but not as much as I am, and both of his arms are covered in tribal ink from his shoulders to his elbows, which are visible with the black tank top he’s wearing. As soon as he turns away from the front door I notice that he’s flipping me off and scowling at me. I laugh and wait for him to get in.
“Did you hide my fucking gloves under my bed, douche?” Blake huffs.
“Why the fuck would I hide your gloves from you? Why would I even go into your room?” I ask, trying to hide my smirk. Of course I hid his gloves from him yesterday. He sucker punched me and gave me a fat lip after we were done sparring because I beat his ass in the cage.
“What the fuck ever, man. I’m going to kick your ass for that today,” Blake growls.
I just nod and raise my eyebrows sarcastically and then start driving out of our neighborhood. To get out of our neighborhood and to the main road, you need to drive past four other neighborhood streets.
As soon as I get three streets down from ours, I look to my left to see a gorgeous woman with short blonde hair, in a tight black Led Zeppelin t-shirt and very short white shorts, walking out toward a blue truck.
“Nice ass, baby!” I yell out my open window.
“Fuck off!” She yells and flips me off. I like a girl with spunk. I laugh and shift my focus back to the road so that I can get us to the gym on time.
Chapter 3
Ada
I wake up early to, luckily, only a mild hangover and Elle laughing in the kitchen.
“Okay, thanks so much Ro. I owe you big for this,” Elle grins, hanging up her phone and walking into the living room where I passed out last night.
“Alright, Ronan is going to be over in the next ten minutes to pick us up. He has a truck and lots of muscles he’s willing to offer up. He’s also single again,” she bites her bottom lip and waggles her eyebrows at me.
“Ten minutes?” I ask, avoiding her comment about him being single and shifting my eyes to look at the clock hanging above the living room window. It’s eight thirty in the morning.
“Yeah, ten minutes. So I suggest you get your ass up, go to my room, and find something to wear so we can go get your shit. I’ll brew you up some java while you do that,” Elle says, walking back to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee.
“Thanks so much, Elle. I love you!” I yell, but then squint because my head slightly throbs and then make my way down the hall to her bedroom, stripping out of my pajamas along the way.
I find a pair of white cotton shorts in the bottom drawer of her dresser and slide them on. Then I open another drawer and find a black Led Zeppelin t-shirt and throw it over my head before I grab a pair of black flip flops out of Elle’s closet. Running into Elle’s connected bathroom, I grab my extra toothbrush that she has in her holder and quickly brush my teeth before making my way toward the kitchen.
“You know, I have a t-shirt just like this, Elle,” I say to her when I make it to the kitchen table. She slides a cup of black coffee in front of me in a silver travel mug and sits down next to me while we wait for Ronan to come over.
“Yeah, that’s your t-shirt Ada. I think those shorts are yours, too,” she smiles at me and I start to laugh at her. Elle is notorious for taking clothes that she thinks are cute and then never giving them back. I still find clothes that were mine in high school tucked in Elle’s closet.
Before Ronan gets to the house, I ask Elle for my cell phone back so that I can text Rob. When I turn it back on I notice that my text inbox is full and I have ten voicemails. I’m guessing they are all from Rob, so I delete them all. With Elle looking over my shoulder, I typ
e up a message for him.
Ada-I will be at the apartment within thirty minutes. I expect you to be gone.
I send it and quickly get a response.
Rob-Please Adelaide we need to talk about this. I love you
I let out a bitter laugh and Elle starts to growl before I type up another message.
Ada-Obviously you don’t love me as much as you say you do. I have nothing to say to you. Be gone by the time I get there
A few seconds later Rob’s response pings on my phone.
Rob-Okay, I’m leaving. But we WILL talk about this another time
I shake my head and think about texting him back to tell him that I have nothing more to say to him, but I don’t want to talk to him anymore than I have to, so I turn my phone off so Elle and I can drink our coffee in silence.
Five minutes later, Ronan pulls into Elle’s driveway in a newer four-door blue Dodge truck. I met Ronan when he and Elle dated in college. He was always very sweet to Elle and I instantly liked him. For some reason that Elle never explained to me, they broke up after almost a year together, even though they were perfect for each other.
Ronan is very good looking with his chin length dark blonde hair and baby blue eyes. He’s very well built and really tall, about six foot four, and works as a detective for the Phoenix Police Department. He’ll be great protection if Rob decides to go back on his word and wait at the apartment for me.
Elle and I jump into my car and Ronan follows us toward my old home.
Forty minutes later we pull into the upscale apartment complex that Rob and I live in. Elle and I are in my new white Fiat with Ronan pulling into the parking spot next to us. As soon as Elle and I get out of the car, Rob comes charging down the stairs toward me. He’s wearing a gray t-shirt and light washed jeans with a blue sling on his right arm from his gunshot wound and an angry look on his face.
“Adelaide, what makes you think I’ll let you go? I’m not giving up on us that easily,” he growls out.
I let out a bitter laugh and shake my head at him, feeling more confident doing so with Ronan standing on my right and Elle standing to my left.
“Not giving up?” I sneer. “You gave up on us when you started going outside of our marriage to find love. I’m leaving and that’s that. You don’t get a say in whether I get to go anymore.”
I start to walk around him and Rob reaches out and latches onto my right forearm, squeezing tightly. Luckily Ronan is there immediately and grabs onto Rob’s wrist, pushing on his pressure point and making Rob release my arm while wincing in pain.
“Keep your fucking hands to yourself man. She said what she wanted to say and now it’s best if you leave and let us get her stuff,” Ronan says calmly while giving Rob the death glare.
“Who the hell are you, her bodyguard?” Rob snarls.
“No,” Ronan says, “but I am a police officer and what you are doing is called domestic assault. Would you like me to call my partner and have him take you for a little ride to my station to chill out?”
Rob lets out a loud growl and gives me one last angered glare before walking past me to his black Audi sitting a few parking spots down from my car. He slams the car door and floors it out of the parking lot, his tires squealing as he turns onto the main road.
“Thanks Ro,” I say, trying not to think about how differently that situation would have played out if he weren’t here with Elle and me.
“No problem, sweetie. Let’s go upstairs and get your stuff packed up, okay?” Ronan says, placing his hand on the small of my back and following me up the stairs to my apartment door.
It took me under two hours to get everything packed and in Ronan’s truck. I mostly grabbed my clothes and family heirlooms. I didn’t have any need for couches or pots and pans so I just took my essentials. When we pull back into Elle’s driveway I receive a text from Rob.
Rob-Next time leave your fucking bodyguard at home. We need to talk and I will get you back Adelaide.
Good God, does this man just not get it? I’m so finished with all of his bullshit. I actually start to feel liberated that I left because now I can do all the things I wanted to do without Rob breathing down my neck about them.
I can join a yoga class; Rob always said he didn’t want me to go to a gym because men would check me out. I can get the tattoo I always wanted but couldn’t get because Rob thought tattoos were ugly. I can finally be myself and breathe easily without feeling like I’m walking on eggshells.
Even though a weight has been lifted off of my chest, I’m still angry with his text and feel like I need to watch over my shoulder for the next little while, just in case.
Just as I’m about to grab another box out of the back of Ronan’s truck, some jack hole in a lime green Jeep drives by and yells “Nice ass, baby!” which, for some unknown reason, just pisses me off even more than I already am. I should be flattered by the attention, but after my morning with Rob and the slight hangover I’m still fighting off, things are just rubbing me the wrong way.
“Fuck off!” I yell back and flip him off as he drives away.
A few hours later, I have everything unpacked and Elle has gone through all of my clothing, separating it in the closet between things she will wear and things she won’t wear. I flop down on the light pink comforter covering the queen sized bed and try to come up with a game plan for Monday.
I don’t have to work until my evening shift Tuesday night so I have plenty of time, but the sooner I can get the divorce finalized the better. I’ll go talk to a lawyer first thing Monday morning and get the divorce papers started.
This is the first time since Rob and I got married that I’m glad that I never got pregnant with him. I couldn’t imagine doing this if there was a child involved. I lay on the bed staring at the light green walls and spend hours thinking about what needs to be done, eventually falling into a deep sleep.
Chapter 4
Jay
My Sunday started off great.
I found out that I had two fights scheduled in the next three months, I got a great night’s sleep, got up and made a nice breakfast for Blake and me, got in a good five mile run, and then shit hit the fan.
My dad called me.
I thought about not answering for a second, but he’s the only family I have and even if I did ignore it, he would keep calling until I picked up. I grit my teeth and answer the phone, silently hoping this conversation will turn out better than our last three where we ended up screaming at each other.
“Hey Pop, how are ya?” I ask.
“Hello son, it’s been a while. How are you doing my boy?” his deep voice rumbles through the phone. He sounds happy today. This should have been my first red flag when talking to him. He’s never this happy when he talks to me.
“I’m doing fine. What’s going on? Is everything okay?”
“Of course, Jayson, everything is fantastic! Why wouldn’t everything be okay?” my dad asks.
“Well, you’re never this chipper on the phone Pop, what’s going on? You got a hot date or something?” I ask, smirking and waiting for the huff I know is coming.
My mother died of breast cancer almost five years ago and my dad hasn’t even looked at another woman since she passed. They were high school sweethearts. He always told me that he would never love another woman like he loved my mom and that someday I would understand. I always smile and shake my head before quickly changing the subject.
What a bunch of crap. I’ve never felt like I needed to have a woman beyond the physical sense. I haven’t even had a steady girlfriend since my freshman year of college.
I do make sure that I get laid because, come on, I’m a guy, but I don’t spend my nights scanning bars for women. It’s not like I’m a major player who’s looking to score with as many chicks as I can, but life is hard enough without adding love into the mix. I have way too much going on with fighting and trying to keep my dad off my back to worry about keeping a girlfriend or wife constantly satisfied.
; “Don’t you dare, boy. You know I’ll never have eyes for another woman,” my dad huffs. I just roll my eyes and wait for him to speak again.
“No, we got a major contract to build three different office buildings just outside of downtown Phoenix. It’s a lot of money and I want you to help me oversee the project.”
My dad owns a construction company that does really well throughout Arizona. They build both commercial and residential buildings and have a great reputation. I worked on his crew from the time I turned sixteen until I got into MMA in college.
He wants me to quit fighting and become a partner in the company so that I can eventually take over when he wants to retire, which isn’t looking like any time soon.
The thought makes me sick to my fucking stomach. It’s not that I wouldn’t want to be a partner and eventually take over his company, it’s the idea of doing construction now when I have found something that I really love and I’m really good at doing. After a few seconds of quiet, my dad feels the need to clarify, while taking a few shots at me.
“Son, I know that you are doing this wrestling thing, but-“ I cut him off.
“MMA, Dad. I fight in mixed martial arts. It’s not the same thing as wrestling.”
“Sorry, I know you’re doing your fighting thing, but how long will that last? Your body can’t do that forever, you know,” my dad says in an agitated voice.
“I know I can’t do this forever dad, but I can right now, and I love doing it. When it’s all over and I can’t fight anymore, then I’ll work for you.” I let out the breath I have been holding, hoping he understands what I mean, but of course, he doesn’t.
“What makes you think that I’ll hold onto this partner spot for you forever, Jayson? I’m getting older and I want to retire sometime within the next two decades. I won’t wait that long for you to finish wrestling, only to realize that when I hand the company over to you, you have no idea what the hell to do with it and run it into the ground,” he yells.