by Niles, Abby
Stunned, Julie stared at the empty space on the couch across from her. Not that Tommy defending her was any surprise; he’d done so before. What filled her with horror was how grossly wrong she’d been about the events of that night, the things she’d so easily believed of him, that had led her to yelling at Tommy that he needed to grow up.
A few hours earlier, he had lost the championship belt—just two minutes into the first round. Ethan had chewed him out for his crappy performance, which really had been terrible. Surly, and being a total son of a bitch, Tommy had been knocking back shots at the bar. For once, she’d been glad he was ignoring her.
Ethan’s son approached him and they started talking. Next thing she’d known, Tommy had busted the guy’s nose and taken out the two friends who’d tried to defend the kid. Tommy was left standing in the middle, a quivering mass of rage.
Cops were called. He was arrested. Mike refused to coach him any more. Ethan banned him from fighting in CMC. And Julie had bailed him out of jail.
This entire time she’d believed he’d thrown a Hulk-sized temper tantrum because he’d been sitting there sulking about losing the title and Ethan’s son just happened to say the wrong thing to trigger the explosion.
But that had never been the case. He’d been defending her. And as a thank-you, she’d freaking told him he needed to grow up.
How the hell did she make up for that?
…
Tommy sat in an uncomfortable plastic chair as a giggling woman put some kind of makeup shit on his face in the stockroom of Athletic Life. He’d called a car rental agency first thing this morning and had them deliver a sedan so he could get to work on time. He hated every second of this job, but it was a well-paying gig that didn’t take up too much of his time. Just a few hours a day for a few weeks, while the Athletic Life marketing suits took photos of specific gear and equipment they wanted showcased on an actual human in the catalog. The job would be wrapping up soon, and it couldn’t come soon enough as far as Tommy was concerned.
However, today he was in a crappier mood than he usually was when he was here. He hadn’t slept well, had tossed and turned most of the night, remembering Julie’s criticism and how it had hit him right in the chest.
What sucked was that she was right. He hated when she was right. Over the last four months of soul-searching, his former out-of-control ego and constant partying were two things he looked back on and regretted. Maybe Mike, and possibly even Ethan, wouldn’t have been so quick to cut him off if he hadn’t been fucking up so badly for months.
Being a career fighter had always been Tommy’s dream. He’d busted serious ass to be recognized by CMC—the largest, most respected MMA organization in the world. CMC only hosted the highest-caliber fighters, and being offered a contract to fight for them was like being offered the Holy Grail of fighting. And he’d had it.
He’d pinpointed the start of his downfall to a little more than a year and a half ago when he’d won the fight he needed to be a contender for the belt. At his victory celebration that night, he’d partied hard. That win had also come with a hefty paycheck and winning bonus. For the first time ever, he didn’t have to worry about money.
He’d started spending more time at the bars and clubs. It didn’t faze him to walk into a place alone because he knew he’d be surrounded in no time. Men wanted to be his friend, and the women… He’d never lacked for willing, gorgeous women, but after that win, they all but begged to be with Tommy “Lightning” Sparks. And he’d been all too happy to oblige.
All that attention had gone to his head and he’d turned cocky, which had morphed into arrogant asshole after he won the belt from Griffin. He’d started skipping practice, staying out late, blaming everyone else when he had a bad practice. He’d totally lost control. And what had happened? The first time he defended his title, he’d given the poorest showing of his entire MMA career.
Then he’d punched the president’s son.
Still. That he would never regret. He’d told Julie the dead honest truth. Even knowing what was going to happen, he would hit that motherfucker all over again.
“Is he ready?”
Coming back to the present, Tommy glanced over his shoulder to see Bonnie, the photographer, standing inside the door.
“Yep.” The makeup woman dabbed one more of something on the corner of his nose and straightened.
He pushed out of the chair and ambled over to the photographer he’d been working with the last couple of weeks. She was attractive. Tall. In her spiked black heels, she was the same height as his six-three, which meant she was probably around five-ten in bare feet. Bright, wavy red hair reached the middle of her back, and she had green eyes that were too green to be real. Her outfits were on the tight side and showed off her tiny figure. She had a sexually deviant vibe about her, which usually turned him on. But nope, he wasn’t feeling her.
She was too aggressive for his taste. She’d made it clear that she wanted to tie him up and do dirty things to him. Maybe the offer would have been more intriguing if she’d offered to let him tie her up, though he doubted it, even if he did get turned on by being the dominant one.
No one was turning him on lately. He didn’t know what the fuck was the matter with him. He loved women, but ever since the night he was arrested—the only time in his life restraints had been put on his wrists—he hadn’t had any fun at all.
And it always came back to Julie’s expression that night after he was released. Her disappointment had killed his libido. Except…
No. It wasn’t Julie. Yeah, he’d let her down, and if there was one person he hated letting down, it was his best friend. But if there was one person he hated letting down even more, it was himself.
He’d killed his own damn libido.
“Okay, Tommy, today we’re going to do the MMA portion of the catalog. We’d like to get a picture of you in front of one of the bags Athletic Life offers.”
He’d known this was coming, and he hadn’t been looking forward to it. Even though he’d had a bag set up at his house, still jumped rope and tried to keep to some of his conditioning routines, he hadn’t posed as an actual fighter since he’d stepped out of the cage after his mortifying loss to Ricky Moon.
Bonnie glanced at the group around him. “We want it to look like he’s been working out hard. So make the man glisten.” She sent him a sidelong look with an inviting purse of her lips.
And again, there was nothing. Not even a twitch.
A pair of boxing shorts was shoved at him with an order to put them on. Dropping trou right there, he shed his jeans and tugged the shorts over his boxer briefs, then yanked off his shirt. The group attacked with baby oil first. Once that had been rubbed on his skin, they spritzed him with water until he looked like he’d been working out for hours.
After they wrapped his hands—which they did a shit job of—and put the gloves on, he was moved to an area that had been cleared out in the back of the store for the photo shoot. A white sheet hung as a backdrop. Later, Bonnie would Photoshop a gym into the background.
As Tommy squared off with the red hanging bag, nostalgia hit him hard. Lowering his hands, he straightened, staring moodily at the piece of equipment that had been such a huge part of his life. Until he’d fucked it up.
“Tommy, are you okay?” Bonnie asked.
He turned to stare at her.
One day you’ll look back and realize you had a career but lost it.
The hell he would.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just realizing I have a few wrongs to set right.”
Starting with his best friend.
Chapter 3
Julie stood outside Tommy’s bedroom door, fist raised to knock, but she couldn’t gather the courage to make her knuckles meet the wood. Wasn’t he making it clear he wasn’t ready to talk? That he was still furious over last night? Sighing, she lowered her arm.
It was Valentine’s Day, and she hadn’t seen him all day. She never didn’t see Tommy on Valentin
e’s Day.
Scratch that. Two hours ago, she had caught a glimpse of him as he’d stormed past her sitting on the couch, and he’d gone straight to the bathroom for a shower—without so much as a glance in her direction or a hello tossed her way. He’d never returned to the living room.
She was desperate to make amends with him, but plainly, Tommy wasn’t ready. And if he wanted space, she had to respect that, especially now that he was living here. The last thing she needed was to make him feel like she would push her presence on him even when he was giving a clear “not ready for this” sign.
She went back to her room and closed the door, then walked over to her dresser. She picked up the gift she’d wrapped for him in shiny red paper, feeling stupid for being hurt that he’d forgotten Valentine’s Day. But this was the first year since they were ten they hadn’t exchanged presents, and damn it, it hurt.
She’d never forget their first year. While all their other classmates had received those cheap paper character Valentines, both of them had gotten a “special” real card for the other. The one he’d given her had the cutest puppy on the front of it, and inside it said, “Will you be mine?” Her child’s heart had almost exploded with happiness, just as her adult heart expanded at the memory, because she knew now what Tommy had done to buy that card. His drunk of a mom had begrudgingly bought the other Valentines but refused to buy Julie’s. For a week, Tommy had walked up and down the streets collecting bottles for the deposit until he had enough money.
After she put the present back on the dresser, she slipped between the covers, leaned over, and shut off the light. She’d just stretched out and put her head on the pillow when a loud static sound came from under it. She shot straight up and gaped at it.
“Green Knight to Lady J.”
He didn’t!
She hadn’t heard those nicknames in forever. After introducing himself as the Green Knight the day they’d met, he’d coined her Lady J when he learned her name was Julie. He’d called her Lady J until he outgrew his knight-and-castle phase a little over a year later.
To keep a peal of laughter from erupting, she pressed the back of her hand to her mouth. Grinning, she shoved her hand under the pillow and pulled out the walkie-talkie. “Lady J, copy.”
“Emergency meeting in the dungeon. Meet me in five. Green Knight out.”
“Copy that.”
Pushing back the covers, she jumped out of bed and rushed for the door, assuming the dungeon would be the living room. As it squeaked open, static screeched in the room.
“Retreat! The infidels are watching. You’ll be discovered! You must use our usual method of movement.”
Her gaze strayed to the window. Was he serious? “Tommy. It’s thirty degrees outside.”
There was a moment of silence, then, “Live a little, Lady J.”
The walkie-talkie went dead. A soft scoff escaped her mouth as it hit her why Tommy was always telling her to relax. While he was trying to recreate their childhood, she was worried about the cold. Wow, she really had forgotten how to relax and just go with it. Maybe she needed to listen to him more.
After she pulled on some thick socks and her Uggs, she yanked on her white fur-lined winter jacket, wrapped a scarf around her neck, and pulled on a plaid knit hat. At the last second, she snatched up the present and zipped it inside her jacket.
When she lifted the window, an icy breeze smacked her in the face and she shivered, but she climbed through the opening. Once she dropped to the ground, she paused. As kids, these emergency calls had meant meeting at the tree house in her backyard to play video games because Tommy had needed to get out of his house and away from his mom. There wasn’t a tree house here, but she still had a backyard.
As she made her way down the side of the house, an orangey glow appeared, growing larger the closer she got to the backyard. When she rounded the corner, her unused fire pit had a roaring flame and the temperature went up about ten degrees. As she spotted Tommy standing beside a blanket he’d spread on the ground and the TV from his room sitting atop it, a bubble of laughter shot past her lips. He was wearing a long-sleeved green shirt and dark brown slacks with a black belt low around his hips—with a wooden sword hanging at his side. An almost exact replica of the outfit he’d changed into daily after school to become the Green Knight when they were kids.
Happiness filled her chest as she walked toward him. He hasn’t forgotten. And this was the best gift he’d ever given her—memories.
When she reached his side, he kissed her cheek. The touch of his lips on her skin burned, but she didn’t have it in her to be upset by the reaction. All of this was just so sweet.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Lady J.” As he placed a crown made of aluminum foil on top of her head, love filled her chest to overflowing, just as it had the night he’d done this so long ago. Hours after they’d met, a ten-year-old Tommy had tapped on her window with a set of walkie-talkies and a crown exactly like this one. After giving her one of the walkie-talkies, he’d set the crown on her head and said, “From this day forth, I dedicate my life to protecting you, Lady J.”
And he had never broken that promise.
“I don’t think you’ve called me that since right after we turned twelve, Tommy.”
He held up a finger and gave her a stern look. “It’s Green Knight tonight.”
He had given her a lot over the years. The more money he earned, the more extravagant the gift—but this one beat them all. Because it was from his heart.
“This is fantastic.”
“I have more.” He motioned for her to sit and she saw the Super Nintendo set up in front of the TV.
“Are you serious!” She turned an excited smile to Tommy, who was grinning ear to ear. “What game?”
“Which do you think?” Before she could answer, he said, “We’re going to get it on like Donkey Kong tonight.”
Even the double entendre didn’t faze her. All she could do was laugh at the length he’d gone to recreate this. She sat down on the blanket and took a controller in her hand. After he dropped down beside her on the blanket, he dug around in a backpack that was set off to the side and pulled out two Yoo-hoos.
At the sight of their favorite childhood drink, she threw her head back and laughed again. “Oh my God. You pulled out all the stops, didn’t you? How many of these did we guzzle growing up?”
“Between the two of us, I think we kept them in business.” He turned the bag upside down, pouring out all kinds of snacks from when they were kids. Airheads, oatmeal cookies, Doritos, Sugar Babies.
He’d done so much. Remembered so much. And the happiness filling her became overwhelming. Tears pricked her eyes as she gazed at him.
His expression turned from smug to horrified in a second. “Shit. I won’t ever do anything like this again if you cry.”
She gave a wobbly smile. “This is just so wonderful, and you did it even after everything that happened last night. Tommy, I just feel horrible about what I said. It’s your life. It’s not my place to judge it.”
He gave a dismissive shake of his head. “I was judging you, wasn’t I? Telling you that you’d look back and see that you’d worked your life away. You were just being honest in return. Look at the difference between us, Julie. Because you’ve worked hard, you have a successful business and you own a beautiful home. I’ve played hard, and I don’t have a damn thing to show for it. In fact, I’ve lost everything I had worked for. What right do I have to be mad at you for telling me the truth?”
“It’s my fault that Ethan and Mike fired you.”
“Come on. You know better than that. That punch was the final straw. Nothing more. If it hadn’t happened, I would have done something else to justify my release. Either way, maybe this needed to happen.” He nudged her shoulder with his. “You’re right. I do need to grow up.”
Guilt churned her stomach. “Oh, Tommy.”
“Would you stop being so damn somber? I’m messing with you.” Then he gazed off into t
he distance. “Besides, when everything is taken away, you start to realize what’s really important. I miss fighting. And because of my choices, I won’t step foot in a CMC cage again. That’s humbling, you know?” Glancing at her, he sent her a tight smile.
“Yeah, I can imagine it is.”
The silence that fell between them was thick. Wanting to get back to the carefree way they had been moments before, she unzipped her jacket. “I got something for you, too.”
The corner of his mouth quirked up. “Really?”
She withdrew the present and handed it to him. After he ripped open the wrapping and lifted the lid, he froze for a moment with a breathed, “No shit.” He snapped his head over to gape at her. “Where did you find this?”
His amazement made her bite her lip to keep from grinning like a fool. “There’s a memorabilia sports shop in downtown Atlanta. I went over on my lunch break today and they had it.”
Awe etched on his face, he turned the baseball cap over in his hands. “Jesus, Julie. This is better than the first time you gave it to me, and it was pretty damn awesome then.”
Tommy had always been a huge Braves fan. That hat was the first big present she’d given him after she got her first job.
“There’s one more thing in there.”
He peered inside. “My iPod?”
“Yep.”
After he put an earbud in and hit play, his laugher finally made her grin break free. “Are you kidding? New Kids?”
“It’s not a tape, but I thought it’d work as a replacement.”
For a long moment, he studied her. As his gaze moved over her face, his delight faded to a seriousness that was so unlike Tommy it made her shift uncomfortably.
“Thank you,” he finally said with a grittiness to his voice she’d never heard before. He leaned over and kissed her cheek, whispering against her skin. “Best Valentine’s Day ever.”
“Yes, it is.”
As he leaned back, their eyes met and something odd happened. The air went suddenly still. Her heart skipped a beat and a crackle zapped between them. Clearing his throat, Tommy reached over and ruffled her hair the way he used to do when they were kids. “You’re awesome, Lady J. Think I’ll keep you as my BFF for another couple of decades.” He twisted open his Yoo-hoo and took a long swallow.