She moved towards the ring’s outer edge where he was slipping on his shoes. From even a distance, she could feel the heat of his madness build. It was dangerous and mysterious, and she wasn’t sure if what she felt was intrigue or terror. Yet, she still reached out to touch his back and used her fingertips to spin him around. And in the moment, she did something she wasn’t really familiar with: she embraced him in a warm hug, burying her head and her mess of hair into the crook of his arm and abdomen.
Micah wasn’t sure where to go with this. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been hugged or even embraced by a woman in such a non-sexual way. This was comfort and calm, and he was not brought up or taught to feel this kind of pleasure. Yet, the way she tamed him was almost like a remedy for a sickness he had never known he had.
He kneeled down towards her, making contact with her mouth. The sweet sensation of her lips collided with his own mouth in a burst. She wrapped her arms around his neck, as he picked her off of her feet. She dangled in the air, not letting go of him or his lips.
The phone buzzed again. Both stopped, looking at each other with knowing eyes, as he placed her down on the ground. She finished slipping on her borrowed heels, and the two exited the gym from the back.
In the parking lot, Micah’s black car was the only one parked there. He rushed to her side to open the door, a grand gesture she couldn’t help but blush over. She navigated, giving him directions to her place and pointing out the diner where she worked as they passed it by.
“Maybe I’ll stop in. I could use some coffee.” He turned and faced her, winking a bit mischievously.
“Don’t waste your time,” she laughed. “Worst coffee in the county by far. Plus, if you’re aiming to scare off Pete, I doubt he’ll be there. He usually doesn’t come in till mid-afternoon, which is when I normally start my shift.” She was right. There was no reason for him to visit her today. Plus, looking at his car and the expensive leather trim, the large stereo hookups, and the newest tech features, she could safely assume that her neighborhood and workplace were not exactly up to par with his own lifestyle.
As they pulled up to the run-down brick apartment building, Alice was suddenly at a loss for words. Micah interjected first. “I’m coming up.”
“What?” She was astounded, as he unbuckled his seatbelt, turned off the car, and walked around to her side to open the door. She sat there frozen, looking up at the man in the early morning dark.
He gestured for her, but she wasn’t sure what she exactly wanted from him, “Micah, you really do not have to go in. Everything’s going to be fine. Caroline is just overreacting. She’s probably in bed with Jace, sending out fake panicked messages and hoping I’d answer.”
“Then, it will be no big deal if I come in then, would it?” He was right, or, at least Alice had hoped he was right. She led him to the building, unlocking the main door and then guiding him up the three flights of stairs to her apartment. With as much effort to keep the noise of the lock from disturbing anyone inside, she slipped in the door with Micah following after.
She took five steps in when she stepped back frightened. On the couch, a strange, unknown body of a man was barely visible, masked by the dark of the room. His snores and murmurs were disturbingly peaceful. Alice crept towards him from behind, wary to step on the creaking floorboards.
A curl of red hair ran down the side of the couch, and the man rolled over. His eyes peeled open slowly and then blinked wildly as they took in the sight of six foot five Micah standing on the opposite side of him. Alice moved backwards, as Pete sprang to his feet.
“What the fuck! What the fuck, Alice!” He screamed loudly as the room next to her also woke up with movement and voices. Alice could hear Jace and Caroline argue over turning on the lamp light. The two stormed out of the room, Caroline only in her bra and panties, and Jace in a pair of boxer briefs.
The five of them looked at one another with Alice being the dead center of attention. Micah broke the tension. “Alice, go to your room so that you can get ready for work.” His command was harsh and authoritative, but she frankly found some form of comfort in someone telling her what needed to be done. She nodded, as tears formed in the corner of her eyes.
She walked towards her room with Micah and Caroline following. The other two men watched them walk away with stunned and bitter faces. From his place on the couch, Pete practically seethed with anger once more.
As the door slammed, Caroline walked quickly towards Alice, her arms crossed over her chest and a concerned look on her face. “Alice!” she exclaimed. “Where the hell have you been?” She stopped short when she saw Micah standing next to her roommate. “Oh Christ, Allie, what is he doing here?”
“Relax, Caroline,” Alice responded, putting her hand on Caroline’s shoulder. “We just got home. It’s no big deal. I didn’t mean to wake Pete up. I was just trying to get to the room so I could grab some work clothes and head to my shift. Micah came up with me to make sure everything was okay.” Her explanation was spot on, but Caroline still managed to shift her eyes in Micah’s direction.
“What did you do to her?” Caroline demanded of Micah with bared teeth. And for his part, Micah certainly didn’t look like he was going to back down to Caroline’s aggression.
“Caroline, hang on!” Alice exclaimed defensively. “He didn’t do anything!” Here her night had been almost perfect, and it was ruined by a moment of Pete and his screams. She had thought Caroline would be supportive, or at least enjoyed the fact that for once, Alice got to be her.
Caroline went toe to toe with the man, looking him up and down, unsure of where she stood on her opinion of him. He, too, crossed his arms and allowed her to get into his face, not breaking eye contact or claim over his new territory. She gave in first, walking out of the room and back into the living room. Alice and Micah listened to her instruct Jace to go back to bed and for Pete to go home. Doors quickly shut, and the apartment returned back to silence.
“Jesus. What a bunch of lunatics.” Micah was right. She had never seen any of them act this way. The fact that they felt like they needed to treat her this way was embarrassing, especially with her cultivated tough girl image.
Alice sat on the edge of her bed, overwhelmed and exhausted. Micah followed as the bed lurched under his weight. He took her slumped body and pushed it into his arms, leaning her head onto his chest once again, kissing her forehead and cheeks.
Alice whispered into his ear, “I’m so sorry about this, about tonight.”
“Get dressed. I’ll drive you to work, and then I will see you tonight. What time are you off?”
“Two o’clock. Don’t you have training or meetings?” She would hate for him to miss out once more because of her. She wasn’t about to ruin his life over their silly relationship, or whatever they were starting.
“Yeah, but I still want to see you. I still want another chance at dinner. It’s not like we ate much last night.” The last thing on Micah’s mind were those meetings and phone calls Dean had most likely set up for him last night. Tonight and today, he just wanted more of the woman that had seduced him, swayed him, and kept him on his toes. He wanted to learn more about her, to see what she could offer him. He wasn’t sure what was happening or why he, all of a sudden, felt the need to be so committed to something outside the ring, but it was time he tried. It was time he gave this a chance.
He could feel her break into a smile against the fabric of his t-shirt. He fell backwards onto her bed with her falling with him. Both crashed into the pillows and quilts as they wrapped themselves up again in each other’s bodies.
Chapter 9: What Goes Around
The day of work flew by in a blur of empty tables and chatty customers. Alice could hardly stand given the excitement and lack of sleep from the night before and the early morning. For once, she was almost thankful that Pete punished her with the morning shift, as at least she had the opportunity to sit down and rest while the diner remained relatively empty.
When her shift finished, she checked her phone. Two missed calls and voicemails—one from Caroline and the other from Micah. She listened to Caroline’s first:
Alice, it’s me. Listen, we have to talk. Pete is mad. Real mad. He left a ton of angry texts on Jace’s phone this morning after he left about you. If you can, get out of work before he gets there or there will be trouble. I’ll see you after my shift.
Alice’s mind raced as she tried to figure out any justification for Pete being so angry that he would resort to terrorizing Jace and Caroline over her returning late. But she heeded Caroline’s warning and ran outside the diner’s back exit, hoping to make a clean getaway before Pete pulled in at his usual time.
As she walked a roundabout way to get home, she continued to listen to her messages with Micah’s next:
I realized that I never got to take you out for a real dinner last night. Mussels and champagne may be good enough for a girl like you, but I need something more. I’ll be at your place at 4 p.m. I have to train for a couple hours afterwards, but then I’ll make you something special at my place. I’ll see you then…
Alice’s pace quickened, as she rounded the corner to her apartment and ran up the stairs. Caroline had already left for her shift, leaving an empty apartment just for her to enjoy for a few hours. It was a rare treat, and she was excited to make the most of it.
She turned on her stereo and blasted her favorite rock song, as she danced around the kitchen and her living room. Her long hair moved wildly along with the rocks of her body. The house almost echoed with the sound of her voice singing brightly. Everything about the day, despite her being exhausted and a bit upset about Pete’s implications, had revived her.
As she finished eating a quick lunch, a stroke of inspiration struck her. She ran to her bedroom and pulled out her easel and paint set. The blank canvas had caught dust for so many long months of being unused. The bristles had already dried and crusted over. Yet, she didn’t care. Instead, she pulled out her acrylic paints and dabbed them on to her paint palette. Squirts of red, black, white, and gold intermingled as an image came to her.
Fully focused and immersed in her art, she only partially registered the bangs on the living room door. Frustrated with the interruption, she ran to answer, her gray t-shirt and jeans covered in splotches of paint and brush cleaner. Her hair was a mess, damp from the sweat she had worked up from painting.
“Caroline, really, girl, you have got to get yourself a key.”
“Maybe I should get one too…” She squealed as she turned to face Micah, leaning against the crook of the door.
He walked inside, taking a look at the completely different version of Alice than the night before. Her tattered clothes, the lack of makeup, and the bits of paint flecks in her hair did nothing to tarnish her beauty. In fact, he was even more turned on by the way her jeans curved her legs and how her t-shirt engulfed her breasts.
“I’m so sorry.” Alice was quickly throwing her hair up, running to the closet to find something more Micah-style to wear. “I totally lost track of time.”
“I can see that. Forget changing. We’re headed to the gym anyways. You’d look totally out of place in a miniskirt and heels. Plus, I’ve always loved girls who can rock a pair of sneakers.” Micah grabbed Alice by the waist, as she passed towards him, bringing her in for a long, deep kiss. She pushed away and tossed off her t-shirt, as she walked to her bedroom. His eyes followed her, as she quickly picked out a new, blue tank top and followed him out the door and into the waiting car. For him, she’d keep the jeans and shoes on.
Micah’s gym had transformed in the daylight from the vast empty space to a factory of bodies and bronze. The workout machines and practice rings were full of sweaty men and women, pushing themselves way past the limits. No one paid any attention to Alice as she walked in. All eyes were square on Micah as if they were in the presence of a new God.
As they passed by, more than a few members approached him in congratulations, outstretching their hands or attempting to pat him on his back. He would growl a polite but terse retort and move on as quickly as they had come. Instead, he headed straight for the center ring once more. Showing Alice where to sit, he tossed his gym bag to the side and slid out of his t-shirt and his long shorts, revealing his famous black pants underneath. Alice couldn’t help but let out a quick woosh of air from the sight of the man before her.
As he walked towards the cardio equipment, his coach, Dean, approached him holding several folders of paperwork. “You’re late,” he said in a low, irritated voice. “How could you be fucking late on a day like this? Do you know how many scouts and sponsors came here today to meet with you? This is your life, and you’re throwing it all away by being careless.”
“Come on, Dean. I’m just running a half hour late for it. If they wanted to meet with me, they could have called.”
“They did call, you stupid fuck!” Dean exploded. “They called the fuckin’ gym looking for you! It’s your job to be here—not emptyin’ your load into piece-o-shit ring whore.” He reached out his arm, clearly gesturing to Alice who sat on the brown benches, watching the action of the other fighters in the ring.
Micah towered over his coach, coming face to face with the man. His chest heaved with disgust. “You listen to me, and you listen good, you smug son of a bitch,” Micah seethed, his voice practically a whisper. “You will respect that woman. Do you understand me? You will never speak of her like that again.”
Dean didn’t back down. “You can’t be fucking serious,” he said, almost laughing. “You’re gonna defend some fucking groupie just ‘cause, what, she spread her legs?” Dean smacked Micah upside his head with the folders. “You’re supposed to be training! You’ve got a match in two days. You wanna go pro? You gotta fucking concentrate on the ring and not the first piece of ass that comes your way!”
The blood boiled in Micah’s veins as he marched to the treadmill and began to run. Each step took him farther away from his choice. The last two weeks of Alice both on and off had made his performance inside the ring and in training sporadic. But wasn’t she the reason why he had won the knockout? Wasn’t that why he was here? He turned up the speed as Dean’s voice played in his memories.
By the time it was time to spar with his trainer, Micah was entirely out of it. Again, he missed his combinations, had a hard time with the wrestling maneuvers, and could barely register a clean kick. Alice could see him struggle. She watched as with each mistake, his coach would run out, slam his foot on the ground, and beat him down with his words. For his part, Micah just took it—despite her catching the vein in his neck bulge with each hard swallow of instructions shouted at him.
“That’s enough,” Dean said angrily, throwing his hands up in the air. “We’re fucking done here. I’ve got better things to do with my life than watch you fuck up your big break.” He got out of the ring in a huff and started toward the door. Before leaving, he turned back on Micah. “Be here at seven tomorrow. You got one day to turn this shit around ‘cause I ain’t wastin’ my time with a talent who doesn’t fucking care.” With that, Dean stormed out of the gym, slamming the glass door behind him.
Micah too quickly deserted the ring, as he paced back and forth in front of a stunned Alice. He walked up to a hanging boxing ball and slammed it with a jab so hard that it snapped and rocked out of place. He let out a primal yell, as he moved towards her spot on the bench, grabbing his clothes and towel.
Without a second glance at her, Micah walked out of the gym, leaving her sitting there wondering what would come next or what her move should be. She sat there still as she could be, as the rest of the gym continued to push forward with their workouts. The ring was once again occupied by another set of fighters and coaches. The overhead speakers blasted high energy music. But inside Alice’s head, there were no words.
She watched the door for any signs that he would return. When she spotted his coach saunter in, she sat up a bit straighter, hoping he would foll
ow. Instead, it was the coach himself who approached her. Taking a seat next to her, he peered at her through his beady brown eyes.
“I’m sorry you had to see that.” Dean’s voice was calm, almost saccharine sweet. “You’ve seen him fight, right? He’s a killer in the octagon. But whatever has happened to him over the last two weeks… I don’t know.” He waited for her to respond. Instead, she just swallowed and continued to look forward towards the door.
“You gotta understand,” he continued, “this match means everything to him. I’ve been coaching him since he was seven and getting beat up by the kids down his block. I was there for every scar, every bruise. And let me tell ya, that kid knows his stuff.” Hearing Dean speak about Micah’s background was actually refreshing. She wanted to know more, about why he started and why he continued with such devotion to the sport.
Don’t You Dare: A Bad Boy MMA Fighter Romance Page 7