The Fighting Series Boxset

by Ash, Nikki

  Thanksgiving is almost here and we have decided to fly to Florida to have Thanksgiving with my parents and brother. Kayla is flying back with us as well but will be spending the day with her family. Cooper’s mom has decided to join us tomorrow as well so it will be nice.

  I have been feeling kind of queasy lately so I am hoping I’m not catching something before Thanksgiving. That will surely ruin our trip to Florida.

  We arrive at the Palm Beach Airport on Wednesday afternoon to find my brother waiting for us.

  “Hey you! We could have taken a cab.”

  He just scoffs at me and gives Bella a big hug then shakes Cooper’s hand. We grab our luggage and head home. I am excited to show Cooper where I grew up. Kayla catches a ride with us since she only lives down the street. Matt drops her off first and then we head to our house. Bella spots the beach across the street and asks if we can go swimming.

  “It might be a little chilly, Angel, but we will head down there later to at least walk along the sand.”

  When we pull up, my mom and dad come out to give us all hugs and kisses before we make our way inside. As soon as I walk in, the smell of pumpkin and stuffing makes me stumble back. I put my hand over my nose and excuse myself to the restroom. After throwing up everything in my stomach it hits me that I have been feeling queasy a lot lately. I have also been extremely exhausted, and now I am throwing up. I thought maybe I was catching the flu but when I was pregnant with Bella certain smells made me feel the same way. Could I be pregnant? Before I tell Cooper, I want to get it confirmed. I don’t want to get his hopes up if it’s just a coincidence.

  I give Cooper a tour around my house including my bedroom where he laughs at the fact my parents have kept it the same since I left, and wants to know if I still have the cheerleading uniform from high school. Damn perv! Needing to get away from the smells that are making my stomach churn, I suggest we take Bella for a walk to the beach.

  It’s beautiful outside here in the fall. Florida doesn’t really have different seasons and it barely even gets cold but it drops enough in the fall and winter occasionally for it to feel nice. Today, it’s in the low seventies so it’s too chilly to go swimming but perfect for walking along the beach.

  Cooper is walking in between Bella and me, holding our hands, as Bella stops every couple feet to pick up a new shell. They all look the same but Cooper shows the same amount of excitement every time she shows him a new one. It makes me sad to think this time last year we were here without Cooper. This Thanksgiving I am so thankful for Kayla making me go to that UFC fight; I can’t imagine Cooper not being a part of our lives.

  We decide to sit down in the sand while Bella plays at the edge of the water. Cooper sits first then pulls me down in between his legs, wrapping his arms around my waist so tightly, my back is flush against his chest.

  He gives me a soft kiss on my cheek. “Thank you, baby girl.”

  I twist my neck to look at him. “For what?”

  “For everything; for giving me a second chance, giving me Bella, turning my house into a home. I have never felt so at peace.”

  I don’t say anything. I feel the same way but I am suddenly so emotional. Pregnancy hormones?

  “I have been thinking… After this title fight, win or lose, I am going to take time off from fighting.”

  “Cooper, you love fighting. Why would you do that?”

  “I am still going to run the gym but I just want to focus on Bella and you. I have spent the last fifteen years fighting, and I just want to take a break and spend some time with my girls.”

  I want to ask if it’s because of the picture but I am afraid it will upset him. So, I just say, “Well, if that’s what you really want to do I am not going to complain. But make sure it’s for the right reasons. Are you actually retiring?”

  “I’m not saying I will never go back, but it won’t be any time in the near future.”

  Thanksgiving is amazing! Cooper’s mom got in early this morning, and Kayla ended up getting into a fight with her parents so she is here as well. Bella is chowing down on cookies and biscuits in the living room sitting on Cooper’s lap while the guys all watch football.

  “Dinner is ready,” my mom announces. Everybody makes their way through the lines of food spread out across the countertops and gather around the table. Sadly, my plate is a bit bare. Food I would normally eat doesn’t seem to be appetizing at all, and I am struggling not to throw up.

  “Liz, don’t you want some sweet potatoes? They are your favorite,” My mom asks innocently. I haven’t told anybody I suspect that I might be pregnant so it doesn’t make sense why I am not grabbing all my favorites. I take a scoop of sweet potatoes and plop them onto my plate making sure they don’t touch my other food. Please Lord; don’t let me throw up all over my plate of food.

  Before we dig in, it’s a tradition for everyone to say what he or she is thankful for. Bella begs to begin so of course we let her.

  “I am soooooo thankful for my mommy because I love her because she gave me my daddy.” Everybody ooh’s and ahh’s around her but she keeps going naming everybody around the table. “I am thankful for my Auntie Kay because she is the best at painting my nails. I am thankful for all my grandma’s because they let me eat cookies. I am thankful for my grandpa because he gives me a dollar every time he sees me. I am thankful for my Uncle Matty because he always sneaks me bubblegum even though my mommy says I’m too little to eat bubble gum.”

  Matt laughs out loud and says, “Kid you aren’t supposed to tell people that!” She looks genuinely confused not realizing she is telling on everyone around her while saying thank you. Finally, she gets around the table to Cooper and says, “I am thankful for my daddy because he is the bestest daddy ever because he is going to get me a puppy and a baby brother or sister. I really want a sister but a brother will still be good.”

  Cooper turns white as the entire table goes quiet looking at him and then we all bust out laughing.

  “I squeeze his hand and whisper loudly, “Sounds like someone has been making secret promises to our daughter.”

  He just nervously laughs. We go around the table, everybody saying their thanks. After the final person goes, it’s time to eat, and within twenty minutes, the food is completely gone!

  Friday morning Cooper offers to keep Bella with him and the guys while the women check out the crazy Black Fridays sales. While I’m out, I put a call into my doctor so I can make an appointment for next week to confirm if I am pregnant. Nobody is in the office, so I leave a message with the answering service for someone to call me back with an appointment.

  * * *

  Cooper

  We had a great weekend with Liz’s parents in Florida. We will definitely need to plan another trip back soon, especially once it’s warmer and we can take Bella swimming in the ocean. It’s Monday morning and we are at the airport with Kayla and my mom since we are all flying back together. Liz’s phone rings and she glances at it nervously. Before it goes to the voicemail she answers the call and excuses herself to speak to whoever it is on the other end away from us. Kayla raises her eyebrows at me telling me to chill out. Fuck! I am not that guy. I don’t do jealousy and I sure as fuck don’t monitor who my girlfriend talks to.

  Liz comes back over and doesn’t say who it is but she looks guilty as hell. I know I have my issues but I am not seeing shit. My woman looks like she needs to tell me something but decides not to, so I let it go because I need to trust her and trust us.

  We make it home and we are all completely jet-lagged. The five-hour flight to and from Florida was no joke. On top of that, add an energetic four-year old to the mix, and a three-hour time difference, and we are done for.

  Liz and I cuddle up in our bed with Bella in between us and sleep for hours. I am sure we will regret this tonight when Bella is wide-awake but right now it feels damn good.

  I groggily wake up and reach for Liz when I feel Bella beside me laughing softly to something on her iPad. I look ov
er her to see if Liz is in bed but she’s not.

  “Hey princess, where’s your mommy?”

  “She said she had to run out.”

  “Do you know where she went?”

  “Nope, she just kissed me goodbye and left.”

  I grab my phone off the nightstand and see we have only been asleep for a couple hours. I look to see if there are any texts from Liz but there isn’t, so I shoot her a text asking what time she will be back and what she wants to do for lunch.

  She replies back almost instantly letting me know she will be home soon and we can order something in. I repeat the mantra in my head I will not assume shit. I trust her and we are not my parents.

  She gets back a couple hours later and joins Bella and me on the couch. We are watching some crazy movie where everything is made out of Legos and they run around singing some weird ass song about everything being awesome.

  “Hey baby, I was thinking we could take Bella to see Santa today since he is at the mall.”

  Bella jumps up like she wasn’t just in a trance watching these weird fuckers building and tearing shit down Lego-style. “Yes, please! I want to go see Santa. I know what I want for Christmas.”

  She runs to her room to get dressed leaving Liz and me alone. “Everything ok?”

  “Yup!” She gives me nothing more except a kiss on the cheek and then she is heading upstairs to help Bella get dressed. I will not assume shit.

  We get to the mall and you can tell Christmas is around the corner. The mall is packed with people and Christmas music is playing through the speakers. We first head to see Santa and once we get through the line Bella sits right down on his lap and tells him exactly what she wants. “My daddy already said he is going to give me a baby and a puppy so from you all I want is a swing set for the back yard. I would like for it to be pink and purple please. I would also like for it to have benches with a table where I can have tea and cookies with my daddy and mommy and my dolls. I have been really good, well except for when I don’t want to go to bed but I am trying really, really hard.”

  Damn, this girl is so sweet, and honest to a fault. She will be getting that swing-set and puppy. Now, the baby on the other hand… well that’s going to take a little bit of work. I smirk at Liz and she hits my arm. “Are you thinking about sex?” She whisper-yells.

  “What? No! I was thinking we needed to work on Bella’s Christmas gifts.” She laughs at me and when she’s done her smile still lingers. I love her smile and I will do anything in my power to keep it there.

  “And what do you want for Christmas?” She teases.

  “Not a damn thing. I have everything I could want right here.” Her smile widens and I can’t help but kiss it.

  We join Bella for pictures with Santa and I insist on buying them all including the frames so we can put them out around the house. We decide to do a little shopping but when Bella sees the giant Christmas tree in the department store she begs for us to go get ours.

  After picking one out for the living room and a mini tree for Bella’s bedroom, we head to Target to get the decorations. Liz lost all hers in the fire and I have never had a tree since living on my own so we are buying all new stuff. I think the last time my mom got us a tree I was twelve and it was right before my parents split up.

  “I think this one is perfect.” Bella holds up a cute pink princess crown ornament. When I nod my ok she places it into the basket.

  “How about this one?” Liz holds up an ornament that reads First Family Christmas.

  “That one is absolutely perfect.”

  This goes on for the next hour; the girls pick out ornaments while I push the cart through the store. We eventually move onto lights, and while we are in that section they convince me to get lights for the outside along with some huge blowup snowman. I don’t know why they even ask. We all know I have a problem with saying no to anything they ask for.

  On our way home, I call my mom up to join us for dinner and to help decorate the tree. Liz insists on getting break-n-bake cookies and eggnog on the way home as well.

  And that’s how we spend the night. Sipping eggnog, eating cookies, listening to Christmas music, and decorating our first family tree. Today will definitely go down as one of the best days of my life.

  Twenty-Two

  Liz

  It’s been two weeks since finding out I am indeed pregnant. Hiding it from Cooper is killing me but I decided since Christmas is so close I could give him the gift of a new baby. The first couple days I felt like I was betraying him by not telling him right away. I think he even noticed how guilty I felt but since then it’s been smooth sailing.

  Christmas is in two weeks and I need to think of a cool way to tell him. Simply putting a box under a tree and saying surprise you are going to be a daddy again is not fun enough. So, I have gathered my girls together to help me figure it out. I know, I admit them knowing first is not the best idea but hell, how do I plan without telling them why I am planning?

  Cooper has been gracious enough to watch Bella and Tristan at our place. Caleb, Bentley, Kaden, and Alex are all joining him to watch a UFC fight on pay-per-view. I don’t really know much about Alex except that he goes to the gym and he’s the one who took the picture of me at the club. You know, the one that almost blew my relationship up in smoke.

  He has since then apologized and explained he was just looking out for Cooper. I forgave him but it still stings. He should have come to me before sending that picture to him; However, I am not about to hold a grudge. That brings us back to the present.

  Hayley, Kayla, Ashley, and I are all sitting at Hayley’s place giving each other homemade facials, mani’s, and pedi’s while listening to Iggy Azalea’s Fancy. That girl can seriously rock those lyrics.

  Hayley gets up and dances to the kitchen bringing back a bottle of Jack in one hand and Coke in the other. Now is probably a good time to let them know I am preggers.

  She passes out the glasses and dishes out ice into all our cups and then begins to pour the Jack.

  “Just coke for me,” I say.

  “Excuse me?” Kayla cuts in. “Since when are you going sober?”

  “Since I am pregnant and I am not sure how much the baby will enjoy Jack Daniels.”

  Everybody goes silent and then cheers erupt. They all take turns congratulating and hugging me.

  Ashley finishes pouring everyone’s drinks but Kayla says she will remain sober with me.

  Ashley raises her glass and we all follow suit.

  “A toast. To the new precious little miracle.”

  “Here, here,” All the girls say.

  “So, does Cooper know? How far along are you?” Hayley asks.

  “Not far at all, only six weeks, and no, Cooper doesn’t know, yet.”

  “How is he going to feel?” Kayla asks. She almost seems despondent about my news. I give her a quick look silently asking if she’s ok and she nods.

  “I am hoping he is going to be ecstatic since it was his idea. Back in October, he told me he wants another baby and we decided I wouldn’t get the shot. I didn’t think it would happen so soon but I am excited. Speaking of the shot, we never ended up going together. Did you go get yours done?” Kayla nods her head yes but something is off with her.

  “So, anyway, I want to come up with a cool way to tell him. Whenever I ask him what he wants for Christmas he says he has everything he could want.”

  “I got it! You can plan a family weekend away like to Disney and say it’s the last trip before you are a family of four.”

  “Oh, I like it, Hayley! Yes, that is what I will do, and it will be a Christmas present to Bella as well. Yay! I am so excited! You guys cannot say anything to anybody. It would break Cooper’s heart if he found out he wasn’t the first to know.”

  All the girls vow to keep silent and I am ready to plan our trip!

  * * *

  Cooper

  All the guys are here, we have ordered pizza and wings, the pay-per-view fights are on, an
d Bella and her friend Tristan are running around playing. I am thinking tonight is the night I am going to let the guys know I am going to be taking a break from fighting.

  “So, I’ve decided something…” The guys all turn to me but when I see Bentley he looks like he is a hundred miles away.

  “Yo, Bentley! What’s up with you?” I ask.

  “Women, bro. No, not women. One woman. One stubborn damn woman that is going to be the death of me.”

  We all laugh and nod our heads because we have been there.

  “Kayla?” Kaden asks.

  Bentley just shakes his head and we wait to see if he’s going to explain. Finally, with a deep sigh he says, “We had sex in Boulder.”

  We all congratulate him. Because really, that’s what men do… A guy gets laid and you say Congratulations. Yup, we suck.

  “So, does this mean you two are together now?” I ask, remembering he said the next time they have sex would mean they are together.

  “No, we aren’t. Not only are we not together but she’s barely talking to me. She knew if we had sex it meant we would be together but once it happened she said she made a mistake and left. I really care about this girl but I don’t know what to do anymore. I think it’s time to move on. I’m already almost thirty years old. I want a family one day. I want a wife and kids, and I don’t want to wait until I am too old to enjoy all of that. There’s a girl I have been talking to so we will see…”

  Because he hasn’t been kicked down enough Caleb adds, “She actually mentioned she might be moving out soon. I’m sorry, Bentley.”

  “Well screw her then.” And with that he gets up to clear his head.

  I decide to hold off on my news for now.

  A few hours later and I can hear loud screeches and yelling from outside the house. When I look outside I see Liz and her friends walking up the steps to the front door.

  Ashley and Hayley appear to be drunk while Liz and Kayla are both sober.

  “Hey, baby.” She gives me a soft peck on the cheek and walks in with Kayla while everybody else stumbles in loudly. It’s actually quite amusing.