by Ash, Nikki
There is so much shit I could say but I am a man and I am not stupid so I decide to just beg for forgiveness. “I am sorry. It’s not what you were thinking. You know I have been texting you every day asking you to give me a chance. Do you really think I would bring some woman home and sleep with her while you are here?”
For a second her face softens but then it hardens into a stoic expression and she no longer shows any emotion, and I know that infamous wall is going up. “I don’t give a shit who you bring home. I don’t want you. What we had was a one-time thing. I am not your soulmate or your forever. So just give it a rest. We both know you just wanted in my pants again and when I wouldn’t give it up you found someone who would. The only problem is you got caught.”
“You know what, Kayla? I have tried so damn hard but you just won’t listen. She was drunk and needed somewhere to stay and I let her sleep on my bed while I took the futon. It was late and I forgot about Bella being here. If I would have remembered I would have made sure she was gone before she woke up. I didn’t do this to hurt you.”
Suddenly the door opens and Cooper comes walking in assessing the situation.
“What’s going on?”
Of course, Kayla is the first to respond. “Oh, you know. Bentley thought it would be ok to bring some whore around here last night and when she went to leave after he was done with her, she walked out half naked and Bella saw!”
Oh my God! This woman is not going to give it a rest. She doesn’t listen to a damn word I say. The next words I say rush out and immediately I wish I would take them back.
“Look, I said I was sorry fifty damn times! Liz is being understanding about this. Why can’t you be? I forgot there is a child here. You act like I purposely brought her here and told her to walk out of my room half naked knowing Bella was out here. Damn it, woman! We both know you are just mad because you said you wanted nothing to do with me so I went out and found someone who does!” Yep, I just fucking lied and it is going to totally come back to bite me in the dick later. But fuck! That woman could test the patience of a damn saint.
Kayla lets out a huff of frustration. She honestly looks like her head is about to explode. Luckily Liz walks down the hall at this moment and joins us, and then Cooper decides to alleviate the situation with…
“Kayla, I have a job opening at the training facility…”
Is this guy serious right now? I don’t even know what the hell else he is saying because all I can imagine right now is chopping his head off and stringing it on a light pole. If I have to work with this woman every damn day I might kill her or myself.
“…You girls can stay with me. I have three extra rooms and I promise I won’t bring any other women home.” Well, isn’t he the smart one? I will have to pat him on the back later for using my shitty situation to his advantage.
Then Kayla shocks the shit out of everyone. “Actually, I think all of us would be too much. How about Liz and Bella stay with you, that way you can spend time with Bella, and I can stay here. It’s just temporary. I can handle the whorehouse.”
Fucking woman. Of course, she has to add that in. However, I must give her credit. She is totally taking one for the team right now, and by team, I mean team Cooper and Liz, because she isn’t batting for my team. Although, her staying here means I will have more time to convince her to let down that cement wall and maybe even get her to thaw out her icy heart.
“I agree with Kayla. It’s a good idea.”
And it’s settled, tomorrow Liz and Bella will be moving in with Cooper, and Kayla will be staying here. Now, I just need to formulate a plan to convince her that love is real.
Five
Bentley
Me: Dinner tonight… you and me.
Kayla: NO
Me: Please… just one dinner.
Kayla: Still no.
Me: What time will you be home?
Kayla: None of your business
Jesus, this chick is clearly not going to make this easy. It’s been a few days since Liz and Bella moved out, and Kayla is still insisting on giving me the silent treatment.
“What’s up?” Caleb comes out of his room dressed in jeans and a shirt with the club logo on it that he works for. He must be heading out to work.
“Nothing, man. Just trying to convince Kayla to go to dinner with me, but of course she isn’t having it.”
He chuckles at my situation… fucker! “So, bring dinner to her. Pick up food and wait for her to get home, and then make her sit down with you and eat.”
Hmm… Not a bad idea.
He pats me on the shoulder as he walks out. Caleb isn’t a man of many words but when he does speak he makes it count. I also noticed him and Kayla have been getting closer. He never hangs out with women so maybe whatever they have both been through has helped him to open up and trust her.
I run out to the store to pick up Sushi, some flowers, and candles. If I am going to bring the dinner to Kayla, I am going to go all out. I may only have one shot to convince her to give us a chance.
I get home and set it all up. Flowers and candles are spread all over the living room, the food is set out, and now I just have to hope she comes home soon.
As luck – or fate might have it, Kayla comes strolling through the door not even fifteen minutes later. She closes the door and then stops in her tracks glancing around the room. After assessing the situation, she looks like she is ready to bolt.
“Please, just one dinner. I got your favorite. California rolls, shrimp tempura, and fried rice, and for dessert, I got Mango Mocha ice cream.”
I hold my breath praying she will give me a little bit. Standing here right now reminds me of Will Smith in the movie Hitch.
‘One dance, one look, one kiss, that’s all we get… Just one shot to make the difference between happily-ever-after, and oh-he’s-just-some-guy-I went-to-something-with.’
This is my one shot. Five years ago, we were younger and she had been recently hurt, but now this is our moment. If I can just get her to see this could be the beginning of our story, we could have that happily-ever-after.
I am staring at Kayla as she closes her eyes. It’s as if she is afraid to see what is right in front of her but luck is on my side today because when she opens her eyes, she bites down on her bottom lip and nods her head slightly. I know she’s afraid and I know I need to handle her with care.
I give her a small encouraging smile and pull her chair out for her. She has a seat and I push it in. I pour us both a glass of white wine to go along with our sushi. After we both dish out the food I decide to start a conversation but go with something light.
“How was your day?”
“It was good. I started at the gym today. I didn’t see you there. Cooper was showing me around and I met a bunch of the guys. I think I am going to like it there. Everybody seems really nice.”
“That’s good. I was there in the weight room and ring for most of the day. I saw you but wanted to give you some space.”
“How is your training going? Are you ready for the upcoming fight?”
I roll my neck and shoulders remembering the weight training I did today. Getting ready for this fight is putting a lot of strain on my muscles.
“Up until now, I haven’t taken fighting as seriously as I should so my body is in shock. I know I have a natural talent for fighting because when I fight and try, I win, but the issue is my motivation for it. Unlike a lot of these guys I don’t have to win so I do it because I love it.”
She nods her head showing me she is listening.
“When I moved here to support Cooper, I think being away from my parents and being around his dad pushed me away but lately I have been feeling that motivation again. Problem is, my body isn’t exactly feeling the same way.”
We continue to talk while we eat and the conversation flows smoothly. It probably helps that she has several glasses of wine, which appears to loosen her up. I decide to ask some questions about her, hoping she will open a little.
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“So, you moved here to go to college?”
“Yeah, when we left you guys in Miami, we came here for college. Liz found out she was pregnant and we could have moved back home, but we decided to stay here instead.”
“I am glad you stayed. I hate that it took this long for us all to cross paths again but if you would have moved back it probably never would have happened.”
She blushes slightly and shakes her head a little before going back to eating.
Once we are done and have eaten dessert I pour us one last glass of wine and move them to the coffee table in the living room.
“Sorry, I am so sore. I need the comfort of my couch.”
She laughs and joins me in the living room. I expect her to sit next to me but instead she pushes me forward and sits behind me pushing me down to the ground.
“I wouldn’t exactly call the floor comfortable.”
She ignores me so I stay seated on the floor. I feel her hands begin to massage my neck and shoulder muscles and can’t help but groan in pain.
“Holy shit woman, are you trying to kill me?”
“Physical therapists don’t massage for pleasure. We massage to help loosen up the trouble areas. No pain, no gain.”
She continues to massage my upper areas, and after a few minutes I can feel my muscles loosening, and it feels good. I think I let out a couple small moans because she chuckles behind me.
“What are you laughing at? This shit feels good.”
She moves her hands over my shoulders and over my pecks and I shiver. Suddenly this massage feels a little less medical and a little more sexual. She rubs my pecks up and down and then I feel her breath against my ear.
Before I can turn around she is laying kisses on the side of my neck. My dick stands at attention realizing where this is going. I mentally tell it to stand down. I am not about to have another one-night stand with this woman. I want it all.
“Kayla, what are you doing?” I know it’s a dumb question but I don’t know how else to ask it.
“I thought it was obvious…”
I turn around to face her. Her legs are spread from giving me a massage, so I kneel between her thighs. Like this we are at almost eye level.
“I know what you are doing. What I mean to ask is where is this going?”
“Umm… again, I thought that was obvious.”
Ok, I am going to have to explain myself better.
“Kayla, when I am with a woman my intentions are to get to know her in hopes that something more will come about. I don’t sleep around just to sleep around. If we get together I don’t want it to just be a one-night thing. I want more. I meant what I said to you five years ago. I believe in love, and I believe you are my forever.”
She removes her hands from my body and frowns. I know this isn’t going to be good. I grab ahold of her tiny hands and hold them in mine not wanting our connection to be lost.
“Bentley, you know I don’t believe in love or forever, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun… What we had all those years ago was hot and we can have that again.”
I know my dick is going to disown me for this but…
“No, when we hooked up I felt something.” I stop to give her a kiss on her lips. They are so soft especially when she pouts like she’s doing right now.
“I still feel something and I think you do, too. I think you are too scared to admit it because you were hurt. The next time we are together physically it will be because you are giving us a real chance.” I give her another soft kiss on her lips and then stand.
“Are you seriously going to walk away from having sex with me over some bullshit obsession with love?”
“I’m not walking away and I don’t think it’s bullshit nor is it an obsession. I believe that you and I could have something real. It would be fucking magical. I care about you and respect you too much to just have sex with you for fun. What we did back in Miami shouldn’t have happened. We should have gotten to know each other more first.”
I walk over to the entertainment center and look back at her. She looks pissed but once I turn on the music from my iPod she looks confused. I walk back over to her, taking her by her hand. “Dance with me.”
She doesn’t answer but she doesn’t pull away either. I wrap her up in my arms and begin to sway to lyrics that couldn’t be more fitting. Having Kayla in my arms feels like home. I could spend the rest of my life dancing with this woman and be completely content.
After a few minutes, I whisper the lyrics to certain parts of Brad Paisley’s Perfect Storm in her ear. “She destroys me in that t-shirt, and I love her so much it hurts. I never meant to fall like this…that girl right there is the perfect storm.” She doesn’t say anything but she puts her head on my chest and lets me sing to her. When the song ends, I bend my face down to meet hers, and holding her chin I slip my tongue into her mouth for just a second, just long enough to taste her. Then I kiss her with a little more force before pulling back.
“Good night, Kayla.”
I don’t turn back to see her facial expression and she doesn’t say a word. I don’t know if I am doing the right thing here but I would rather give up the for-now if it means I can have the forever.
I am in bed flipping through the channels when I hear a light knock on the door.
“Come in.” I call out.
Kayla walks into the room and closes the door behind her.
“Can I lay with you?” She asks nervously.
I am not sure where she is going with this but I can’t say no to her. I’m not sure why but I get the feeling it took a lot for her to come here.
“Sure,” I say pulling my covers up so she can lay down next to me. I continue flipping through the channels until I come across Titanic.
“Wanna watch this?” I ask.
“Sure, gotta love a movie that at least portrays the truth about love.” She laughs at her own joke. I look at her quizzically not understanding so she explains.
“You know…Rose chose to love Jack… She chose love and what did it get her? Heartbroken.”
“Maybe so but during the short amount of time together she got to experience a powerful, unconditional love. It was worth the heartache in my opinion.”
Kayla yawns and lays her head on my shoulder. “No amount of love is worth getting your heartbroken. Plus, she completely disappointed and alienated her family. What she did was selfish.”
I put my arm around her and stroke her hair. Within a minute, I can hear her softly snoring. The more I get to know Kayla the more I realize her anti-love feelings go hand-in-hand with her relationship with her parents. I have watched her with Bella and Liz and I can see how selfless she is. There is more to this story and I have a feeling Kayla rejecting love is more about others and less about herself.
Six
Bentley
It’s UFC Fight Night, and I am fighting. Everybody is at the fight and by everybody I am referring to Cooper, Kaden, Caleb, Hayley who is my medic for the fight, and Kayla. Several other guys from Cooper’s Fight Team are here as well and Kayla is working with a few of them who are still coming back from an injury since she is the physical therapist for the training facility.
The last couple weeks have been calm compared to the week’s prior. Kayla and I have settled into a comfortable truce. Since the night she fell asleep in my room, she has slowly come around and we actually spend time together. It’s usually just working out at the gym or watching TV and Caleb is with us, but it’s progress so I will take it. Also, Cooper and Liz are officially a couple and are heading forward full force so it gives me hope Kayla will see if Liz can open her heart and give love a chance she can as well.
Before leaving for the fight, Kayla and I babysat Bella together and had a lot of fun. Seeing Kayla with Bella gives me hope that one day she will change her mind and want something more. While there hasn’t been any more talk of us, I am not losing hope that it will happen one day.
Of course, once we got he
re, shit got crazy. Cooper was missing Liz and saw a photo of her all over another guy at a club that her and Ashley—Liz’s friend who is also a mom and is a teacher—were at. His caveman ass flew back to Vegas to claim his woman and luckily it was all a misunderstanding. Now he’s back and I am about to fight against Dante Cobalt. He’s an up and coming fighter in the circuit and is currently undefeated with a record of seven-and-zero. My record isn’t perfect but I have more fights under my belt with a record of nine-and-four. We are the main event for the evening so people are going nuts. A lot of people are cheering for Cobalt but I have a decent fan base, and after I beat his ass tonight I have no doubt it will grow even more. Regardless it’s a fucking rush being here.
Cooper and Caleb are standing in the corner of the octagon and I am in the middle facing Cobalt. We bump fists, the referee goes over the rules, separates us, and then says, “Ready, ready, fight” and moves out of the way.
Cobalt immediately opens with a leg kick. I see it coming and block it. He does another leg kick and this time I don’t block it in time. He gets the meat of my leg and it hurts like a bitch.
While he is good at striking, I have practiced Brazilian-Ju-Jitsu my entire life, and know that to win I need to get him on the ground because that’s where my strengths are. He has obviously studied me and knows that his only way of keeping me up is to keep striking. I back up a bit to give myself some room.
He comes at me with a strike to my face and grazes my temple. I attempt to strike back but he hits me again right below my eye and I can feel the blood beginning to trickle down. I quickly strike back, rocking and tagging him and he hits the ground. I know I’ve got him. I know now it will be over in the next thirty seconds. I immediately jump on top of him and start throwing blows to his head. He attempts to cover his face but it’s over. The ref jumps in between us and calls the fight. The announcer declares me the champion and the crowd goes fucking crazy. Women are screaming my name but I only have my eyes on one woman, Kayla.