Guys Like You

by Vivian Kohlman

  “Look, I don’t wanna get involved. That’s between you two…or three,” she said, eyeing me.

  “Three? Oh come on. It sounds like he’s making a bit more out of it than is needed,” I said. Tori ignored me.

  “Tori, just tell me. It’s just us,” King encouraged.

  “He thinks you’re a player who’s basically fucking with Ava,” Tori explained to King. “He swears he’s the better man for her, and he’s pissed as hell about it.”

  “Sweetheart, don’t get involved,” Dylan chimed in. “Miko’s my best friend and you’re gonna get his ass kicked.”

  “No she won’t,” I chimed in. “King promised not to hurt Miko.”

  “Not exactly; I did throw in the caveat that if he pushes me too far I’d have to do something,” King clarified.

  “He won’t. So you won’t,” I said slowly and with force.

  King just stared at me with no expression that I could discern. I hate it when he gives me his poker face; I know something’s brewing underneath.

  “Dylan, will you please talk to him? I think you’re the best one to correct Miko’s misguided ideas,” I asked.

  “…misguided…” King said under his breath as if it was a joke.

  “Yes, misguided,” I snipped at King. “He was there after Layla confronted me and he saw all of those pictures and read the articles and everything. It’s not like his ideas weren’t handed to him.”

  After brunch, we scheduled the jet and got ready to leave.

  “I think it’s strange that Miko was missing at breakfast,” King said with a Cheshire smile on his face.

  “Yeah, I guess he decided to skip it,” I speculated.

  “That’s pretty wise. I’ve gotta tell you, he’s not on my ‘nice’ list.”

  “I know. But please understand that he’s my friend…”

  “That’s bullshit and you know it. It’s more than friendship.”

  I didn’t respond. I know he’s right, but I was still hoping this would die out. Miko only has one more semester of school; when he’s back in DC for good, we may run into him often. I don’t want continued tension between the two of them, but I don’t know if that’s avoidable.

  ~~~~

  We waited at the bottom of the stairs as all of our friends arrived to make sure we had everyone on board the jet before we got on. King was also going over some paperwork with the pilot, and mechanics were doing a final check. The last of the Range Rovers pulled up with Tori, Viv, and Dylan.

  King and I followed the latest arrivals onto the jet, and just like our flight to Vegas, drinks were prepared before we even took off. I was so very happy to get home and get back to normalcy. I really felt like my vacation was just starting.

  “Got a sec?” Tori asked before we got too comfortable in the living room area. I followed her to the bedroom room so we could have some privacy.

  “What’s going on?” I asked as soon as the door was closed.

  “Have a seat,” she said, sounding serious. “It’s Miko. He’s on a mission, Ava. Not only does he want you back, but he plans to prove to you that he’s worthy. He’s going to challenge King to a fight…like a real fight.”

  “What? Miko? I’m sure he’s just mad right now. There’s no way he’ll go through with it.”

  “I don’t know. Yesterday, he reached out to Giorgio, of all people, and talked to him about how to set up a fight, and Giorgio gave him the email for a trainer not far from Miko’s school so he could start to seriously train for this as soon as he gets back. You know that he’s been doing jiu jitsu and Thai boxing, right? That’s why he’s so buff these days—he’s been working out like a madman since you guys broke up mostly to focus his energy anywhere but his emotions. But now the meaning’s changed. He sounded very sure of this, Ava, even after Dylan spent over an hour trying to talk him out of it.”

  “He can’t be. C’mon…you were there. You remember how our relationship was. We weren’t even good together. Why on earth would he want me back? And worse, why on earth would he get into a ring with King? Has he lost his fucking mind?”

  “I have no idea. But I know you need to talk to him—stop him from going forward with this. He may not listen to you either, but you probably have the best chance to set him straight now.”

  “Shit.”

  “Yeah, it’s bad. He’s got it all planned. He even stated how he was going to get you back, and he wants the fight to happen this summer. He thinks he can train for six more months and be able to beat King. He’s insane. I mean, I don’t know if King would even fight him, but…”

  “King will fight him. If Miko asked for it, King would love to get in the ring with him. And he’d win. And you can bet Miko will get his ass kicked. I can’t let that happen.”

  Chapter 16

  “Hi honey! Happy birthday!” my mother sung into the phone. Why she felt the need to call me at eight o’clock in the morning is beyond me, but I wasn’t in the mood for niceties.

  “Thanks, mom. I’m sleeping; can I call you later?”

  “Don’t bother; I’ll just see you at brunch. I just wanted to be the first to wish you a happy birthday. I love you, honey.”

  “Love you too, mom. See you at noon,” I said, then ended the call.

  Unfortunately, that very brief conversation was enough to wake up King, who also wanted to wish me a happy birthday. We decided to just get up and make coffee. We’re going to Peacock Café to meet my mom and dad for brunch in a few hours, and it takes almost as long for my stomach to wake up every morning, so there are no plans to make breakfast.

  It’s not usual that I would start my birthday with my parents, but since I don’t live with them anymore, they wanted prime real estate on my social calendar. Once brunch is over, I’m meeting up with my girls and hanging out with just them for the rest of the day, while King goes into the office.

  Living with King is amazing and I wouldn’t want it any other way, but it has lessened the time I spend with both my parents and my girls. So I’m giving them my birthday. My parents invited King to brunch; originally I was just going alone, but they’ve come to like him a lot and didn’t want him to feel left out.

  These last few weeks, since we returned from Las Vegas, have been very good for King and I. We’ve purposely spent a lot of time together and have had some very honest conversations. I know that week was rough, but we’re stronger now because of it.

  Brunch was lovely, as always, and we finished up just in time for me to meet up with my friends. Well, most of them—Viv has already returned to school for the spring semester, so she’s not with us. I gave her a pass for missing my birthday this year.

  I was planning to invite Claudia to join us, but things between her and I haven’t really been good lately. Actually, since that night in Vegas when she was clearly on King’s side, I haven’t really hung out with her at all.

  I hugged my parents goodbye and gave King a kiss before sending him on his way. I didn’t make any plans for the day, except that I wanted to start it in a bar where I can get served, then I wanted to shop. We go to Peacock all the time and my parents divulged my real age years ago, making my fake ID impossible to use there. So we met up at a Belgian restaurant slash bar that’s right around the corner from the cafe.

  When I finished my first lemon drop martini, I received text from my mom asking if it was OK for her to come by and talk to me for a minute. When we parted earlier, they said they were going to run some errands, so it’s not a shock that she is still in Georgetown, I just don’t know what she needed to talk about.

  My parents came into the bar and said hello to all of my friends. I told my dad to take my seat while my mom and I talked outside—she asked that we speak in private.

  “So, what’s going on?” I asked when we were outside.

  “You received a package today; a birthday present, I presume.” She pulled a box out of her purse and handed it to me. There was a small card on top; I pulled the card off the gold bow and opened it. �
�It came by messenger, accompanied by an armed guard, by the way.”

  Uh oh. That means it’s expensive. It’s probably from Miko. I haven’t heard from him since Las Vegas, but he did send me a happy birthday text earlier today. I pulled the card from the envelope and read it.

  Ava,

  I hope you have a fantastic birthday, and I hope this gift makes you smile.

  With love, Miko

  “It’s from Miko,” I told my mom. She looked concerned. I had already told her all about what happened in Vegas and about what Tori told me; just like me, she was hoping Miko’s interest in me would subside.

  “Oh no. Well, let’s see what it is,” she encouraged.

  I put the card in my pocket and pulled the bow off the box. When I opened the heavy lid, I froze. It was an exquisite necklace with a large diamond pendant—and much too expensive for me to accept. I showed my mother the necklace and she gasped.

  “Jesus, Ava. Why would he give that to you?”

  “I have no idea. I guess he thinks he can buy me back. And, well, he had to up his game,” I said, holding my left hand up, referring to the ring King gave me. I slammed the box shut. “Will you do me a favor? Will you please send this back to Miko for me? I can’t let King know about this.”

  “You also can’t protect Miko by keeping secrets from King.”

  I thought about that. “Shit. I know you’re right. But if I show King this necklace, there will be no chance that he won’t react.”

  “I know this isn’t a good position to be in, but don’t risk doing any damage to your relationship with King. He’ll find out about this; I have a feeling Miko will be sure he does. Just come clean, OK?”

  “OK. You’re right. Thanks, mom. I’ll tell King, and take care of returning this myself. Do you and dad want to stick around for a drink?”

  “No thanks, honey. You girls have your fun—but don’t let anyone drink and drive.”

  “We won’t—King’s going to pick us all up whenever we’re ready.”

  “OK, I’ll come in and get your father,” she said while opening the door and waiting for me to walk in first.

  When my parents left the bar, I told Emelia, Tori, and Asli about Miko’s gift. And when I showed it to them, they were all as horrified as I was, knowing full well that this would ensure that King would never be able to hold himself back from fighting Miko. Whether it’s at Dylan’s house during one of his infamous parties, at an official fight, or a grocery store—nothing will stop King from making Miko pay for this blatant act of wooing. And I had a funny feeling Miko knew that.

  My friends also fully agreed with my mother that I have to tell King. Of course, I was starting to play with the idea of not telling him again—life would just be so much easier if he never knew about this. But, as Asli pointed out, this may not be Miko’s last attempt to get me back, or piss King off—whichever is his true motivation. I have to tell him; he’ll find out eventually one way or another.

  But it’s my birthday—deep discussions are not in the plan for today, so we changed the subject and continued to enjoy our day. We shopped, stopped off in multiple bars for drinks, and eventually had dinner before going to Georgetown Cupcake to get my obligatory birthday cupcake.

  All the while we were posting to various social media sites; seemingly, Miko was just staring at his iPad the whole day because he was the first to like or respond to just about all of the photos. All of the pictures I was in, at least.

  It was weird because Miko always hated social media—when we dated, he would go weeks without checking any of his accounts. And really…he posted hearts and comments about us girls being beautiful—nothing that was targeted at me really, but I knew what he was doing.

  I never would have thought Miko would have the balls to so blatantly flirt. It fueled the theory that his motivation is more to piss off King than to win my heart.

  But why? King is a legend, in the very small scope of jiu jitsu and MMA in the DC area. Why would anyone, much less a pretty boy like Miko, want to fight him? It’s suicide. I just couldn’t make sense of it.

  Later that night, King shed some light on Miko’s intentions. But of course, when I first showed him the gift, he was furious.

  “What the fuck is wrong with him? Is he mental?” King yelled.

  “I don’t know, babe, but calm down.”

  “Fuck that. He sends you a diamond necklace, and commented on all of your birthday posts—yes, I saw his stupid hearts and he just had to write comments about you deserving the best. He’s trying to get under my skin; he’s purposely trying to get me to kick his ass. I’m going to teach him a lesson he won’t forget.”

  “I just don’t get his motivation; you know how we were. Why would he want me back?”

  “I know why. It’s like I told you before—girls like you get under a man’s skin. If we get to know you, to have you as ours, we can’t give it up. And I’m sure he blames me alone for you two breaking up. I’m sure he thinks that if I wasn’t in the picture, you’d still be his. He’s probably thinking through his mistakes...all those times he let you flirt with me without doing anything about it.”

  “Girls like me,” I said matter-of-faculty. That’s something he says to me often. “I don’t know, King. Maybe this has nothing to do with me at all. Look how Giorgio obsessed over you, and now Miko. Maybe it’s guys like you who make other guys go crazy?”

  “Nope, it’s girls like you, trust me. I’m still obsessed with you.”

  “I think you’re a little biased. I may have gotten under your skin, but I’m sure that’s not the case with Miko. He didn’t seem all that interested in me when we dated, or even after we broke up. He didn’t really seem interested in me until Vegas.”

  “Regardless. His interest in you is going to get him hurt.”

  Oh, if King only knew about the fight that Miko said he wanted. I still haven’t told him about that; I’m seriously hoping the idea has left Miko’s head.

  “Anyway, I’m going to return it, obviously. Do you know of a good company that I can trust to get it back in Miko’s hands up at school? I want to take care of this first thing in the morning.”

  “Yeah, here you go,” he said as he sent me the contact info. “They’re good, and you can trust them, but they’re not cheap if you want this in his hands tomorrow.”

  “I don’t care. My peace of mind is worth whatever they’ll charge me.”

  Of course, when the messenger came to pick up the box the next morning, he told me that King told them to charge his company for the expense. He never likes me paying for anything, which is a little ridiculous—it’s not the fifties anymore and I have my own money. So I have no idea how much it cost to return Miko’s gift to him, but I do know that I felt so much better that I did. I’ll feel even better once I get confirmation that the necklace is in Miko’s hands.

  And I’m so glad that I told King—he didn’t get nearly as mad at Miko as I thought he would. As a matter of fact, King didn’t even mention it this morning. I was so proud of his maturity.

  That is, until Tori burst my bubble.

  “So, what’s up with King asking Miko to a duel?”

  “Huh?”

  “Oh geez, you don’t know? King called Miko this morning and left a message—Miko didn’t answer—saying that he’s going to kick Miko’s ass the next time he sees him. And offered to fly up to Miko’s school to get it over with, if he’s up for it. Miko sounded like he expected it...and it didn’t even intimidate him.”

  “Yeah, Miko has a way of not cowering in fear when it would do him good to do so. Why wouldn’t King tell me about this?”

  “Probably because you just about ran straight into Miko’s arms the last time King brought drama into your life. My guess is he wants to keep all of this from upsetting you.”

  “Typical,” I said rolling my eyes.

  I didn’t bring this news up to King, and just went about my day as normal. I used this as a test to see how long he could keep this from m
e. Later that night, King and I were having dinner and talking about what we wanted to do for Valentines Day. We were trying to decide between a beach vacation in the Caribbean, or a cabin in snow-capped mountains.

  “I just hope your ex-boyfriend lets this holiday go without any more shiny gifts,” he said jovially. I couldn’t stop myself from bringing it up.

  “I know, right? The last time ended in a voicemail asking for a fight. Who knows what you’ll do if he does it again.”

  King froze for a second. “Oh, you know about that.”

  “I do.”

  “I couldn’t let it go by unaddressed. That move was a slap in my face. He won’t get the hint.”

  “Well, between your undoubtedly violent message and my returning the gift, maybe he’ll get the message now.”

  “Has he reached out to you?”

  “No, I just got a text from the messenger. I kind-of expected him to, when he received the necklace, but I haven’t heard a peep from him.”

  “Good. Will you tell me if he does?”

  “Sure. I really don’t want you two to hate each other, but I’m with you and I feel like he’s trying to break in—kinda like you did when I was dating him.”

  “Please,” he scoffed. “Miko left all the doors open and you pulled me in siren-style. That wasn’t my fault.”

  “No, that is what you wanted to see. Now he wants to see the same.”

  King suddenly got serious. “Princess, I didn’t steal you. Even you admit that you were drawn to me and your relationship to Miko was trivial. Please don’t turn it into some corrupt situation of cheating and debauchery.”

  I giggled. “Baby, I’m sorry. I went too far. There’s nothing seedy about how we got together. Our timing could have been better, but we were meant for each other...we had to get together.”

  King leaned forward and kissed me slowly and with meaning. The second his lips touched mine, a fire in me ignited, as it always does when he touched me. I put my hand on the back of his head and pressed myself against him, breathing him in and softening at the warmth emanating off his body.

  I couldn’t stop kissing him; it was euphoric. My mind became foggy and all I could focus on was his big, strong lips moving against mine. I couldn’t move an inch, afraid that this moment would end…I never wanted it to end.