Black Belt Knockout

by Winter Travers

  “I notice a lot of things when you are around, but that isn’t one of them.”

  And the man left me speechless. What the hell did he mean? There wasn’t much to notice about me. I felt like I was having a good day when I wore a shirt that didn’t have a food stain on it, or when Sam had matching socks to wear. Both of those things were a rarity in my life. “What exactly do you notice?” I croaked.

  “That’s a conversation to have when Sam isn’t within earshot.”

  I gulped. “That doesn’t happen often.”

  He shrugged. “I guess we’ll see how bad you want to know.”

  I shook my head. What in the hell was this man doing to me? I was in the middle of sticking it to him that he wasn't going to tell me what Sam was going to do, and then he blindsided me by saying he notices a lot about me. Geez, Louise. “Back to the karate thing. It’s not going to happen.”

  “It is. I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I know when a kid has it.”

  I leaned forward. “What is ‘it?’”

  “The skill and talent to be amazing.”

  “You saw that in him in the few hours you rolled around on the mat?” I mean, I thought Sam was going to be amazing at whatever he did, but I also knew I was his mom, and well, didn’t every mom think their kid was amazing?

  “Yes, Sage. I think karate would be a good thing for him.”

  I sighed and blew my hair out of my face. “Fifty dollars. That’s all I can afford.”

  “A month?” he asked.

  “Yes.” Lord, the man probably thought I was poor. I couldn't even afford twenty-five dollars a month. The fifty I had just said was already giving me anxiety hoping that nothing broke.

  Roman stood up and held out his hand to me. I put my hand in his, and he pulled me out of the chair. “Sounds good. I’ll pick him up every Tuesday and Thursday at five. Also every Saturday at ten.”

  “Wait, what? How is fifty dollars enough to cover 12 classes a month?” Molly or Kellan had never told me outright how much karate cost, but I knew it was more than about five bucks a class. If it was that cheap, then everyone would be a ninja. Not me, because well, I was about as graceful as a herd of hippos.

  “It’s enough, Sage. Don’t worry about it.” He moved to walk past me, and I grabbed his arm.

  “Roman, stop.”

  He looked down at my hand on his arm. “Touching me isn’t the smartest thing to do. I think that’s how we got into making me a DILF.”

  I snatched my hand back and glared at him. “And I’m pretty sure me finding out the only reason you slept with me was because I was a MILF made you into a single DILF.”

  “Touché, babe.”

  “Why do I feel like we just did all of this talking, and we still don’t know what the hell we are doing?”

  “Because I may not know much about having a baby, but I can tell you something this complex isn’t going to be figured out after a five-minute conversation.”

  “So what do we do?” I asked quietly.

  “I don’t know, Sage, but I know you shutting me out isn’t going to fix it.”

  “You’re supposed to be the cocky, dumb one.”

  A huge grin spread across his lips. “I guess you’re going to be in for a rude awakening, Sage. I may be cocky, but I am far from dumb.” He reached out and brushed my hair behind my ear. “It’s gonna be fun getting to know one another.”

  He moved past me, down the hallway.

  “Hey, where are you going?” I called, snapping out of my daze.

  “Saying bye to Sam.”

  Oh, well. That was nice of him.

  I was tempted to follow him, but I didn’t want to look like an overprotective mom. He had, after all, spent all day with Sam.

  “He was sprawled out on his bed, half asleep.” Roman strolled back down the hallway and leaned against the wall.

  I glanced at the clock. “Well, he needs to stay awake for at least another hour, or he’s going to be up at the butt crack of dawn.”

  “I’m sure if you drag him out of bed, you can keep him awake for a bit longer. Maybe he can show you what he learned today.”

  I sighed and sat back in my chair. “Ice cream will get him out of bed.”

  “Ice cream?” Sam called.

  Roman busted out laughing. “I guess you were right when you said he had bionic ears.”

  “He does, but it only happens when it’s something he wants.”

  “I meant to ask. Are you okay?”

  Huh? “Um, I’m fine.” What the hell kind of question was that?

  “I was just checking. I didn’t know if you were sick or something. Molly said you needed a break, and I was just worried.”

  Well, that was thoughtful. “I was just tired. I was the same way with Sam. All I wanted to do was sleep my first trimester.”

  “And that’s normal?”

  “It’s normal for me. I have a checkup with the doctor Friday, and she’ll go over everything.”

  He ran his fingers through his hair. “You think maybe I can come along? I know I don’t know much about babies, but maybe this might be a good thing for me to go to?”

  My gut instinct was to scream “no.” I knew I was going to have a vaginal exam, and I wasn’t up to having Roman there for that. But, I did need to try and not be such a bitch. I could always kick him out of the room if I was uncomfortable. “I guess if that’s something you want to do. It’s not very exciting.”

  “Do we get to see the baby?” he asked.

  “Yeah. Although it’s hard to make out that it’s even a baby at this stage.” I was giving him an out if he didn’t want to come. He may have just offered to come with me, so he didn’t look like a jackass.

  “I’ll be there. What time do you want me to pick you?” he asked eagerly.

  I looked up at him, shocked he sounded so excited to go to the doctor with me. “Um, the appointment is at ten. Molly gave me the morning off.”

  “I’ll be here at nine.”

  “What? Why? It only takes ten minutes to get there.”

  “What if there is traffic?”

  “There won’t be traffic. There’s never traffic.”

  “Well, I’ll be here at nine just in case.”

  I sighed and shook my head. “Whatever you want, Roman.”

  He nodded. “Good. Call me if you need anything, yeah?”

  He was saying all the right things. Doing what he should be.

  But I was still unsure.

  “Um, I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’ll see you Friday.” This was getting awkward. Everything always seemed to get awkward when I was involved.

  “See you Friday.” He showed himself out, and I buried my head in my hands.

  Gah. What in the hell had just happened?

  Sam was going to start taking karate, and Roman was going to the doctor with me Friday.

  Now my life was completely flipped upside down, there was only going to be one thing that could finish this day on a high note.

  “Sam!” I called. “Come eat some ice cream with me.”

  I heard his feet hit the floor in his bedroom, and he thundered down the hallway.

  Life maybe messed up, but ice cream always made everything better.

  At least for a little bit.

  *

  Chapter 5

  Roman

  Shit.

  I looked down at the letter on my counter and shook my head.

  “Fucking unbelievable.”

  Just when I thought I had everything figured out and I knew what I wanted to do, a fucking wrench gets thrown in, blowing up all of my plans.

  Dear Mr. Yeck,

  We hope this letter finds you well.

  SKW would like to make you an offer we hope you can’t refuse. We’ve been watching you closely for the past few years, and we feel SKW and Roman Yeck would make a great team.

  As of right now, we know you are not on the tournament circuit, but we hope to persuade you to join this upcoming year and
have SKW behind you.

  Son of a bitch.

  A killer sponsorship just falling into my lap.

  I would have killed to have this opportunity five years ago. Having one of the biggest weapons manufacturers wanting you to represent them was huge.

  Going back on the circuit would mean lots of time away from Powerhouse, and also time away from Sage and Sam.

  But it also meant a shit ton of money.

  Not only would I have the money from the sponsorship, but if I won my divisions, that would just be money on top of money.

  I scanned the letter, seeing they really were making me an offer that was going to be hard to refuse. Shit.

  I shoved it in my workout bag, grabbed my keys, and headed to Powerhouse. I didn’t know what the hell I was going to do, but I knew the guys could help me figure it out.

  *

  Sage

  “Two caramel lattes and four Americanos for The Moaners in the corner.”

  “You know,” Molly said as she grabbed two empty coffee cups, “Whatever happened to them only coming in on Mondays? Now they are like The Daily Moaners.”

  I shrugged and set the rest of the cups she would need in front of her. “Not a clue. Bess is here all the time now too. I’m surprised she hasn’t asked to be put on the payroll.”

  Bess was making her rounds of refills around the café and making small talk with any and everyone who would talk to her.

  “She did ask. I told her she could have unlimited free coffee.”

  My eyes bugged out. “Molly, that woman drinks like ten cups of coffee a day. I don’t even think she sleeps anymore.”

  “I know. I probably should have thought my offer through more before I told her. I swear, she just drinks so much because it’s free now.”

  “You got the coffee for the Moaners ready yet?” Bess asked. She set the empty coffee pot on the counter and grabbed a cup that was sitting next to the cash register. “When you’re done with those, make sure you give me a refill, hon.”

  Molly rolled her eyes. “Give me five minutes on the Moaners, and maybe you should switch to water for a bit.”

  “Or tea?” Decaf tea, but I wouldn’t tell her that.

  “Tea? You mean like that chai crap those soccer moms get?”

  Hook, line, and sinker. “Yeah! You’ll love it. It’s like the holidays in a cup.”

  “Oh, well, I suppose I can give it a try. Thanksgiving is next week, after all. Bring it over when you bring the Moaners theirs. I think we’re discussing the new bad boy book we read last week.” Bess flounced off to the Moaners in the corner, and I turned back to Molly.

  “How is Thanksgiving next week already?”

  “Um, well, that’s how the calendar works,” Molly laughed.

  I rolled my eyes. “That’s not what I meant. It feels like it was just the fourth of July last week. Now Sam is coming home with leaf projects and hand turkeys to decorate the fridge. Plus, Mary and Dale are constantly texting me asking what I'm bringing for dinner next week, and all I want to do is tell them I’ll drop Sam off at noon and pick him up at five.”

  Molly set the two lattes down in front of me, and I grabbed a tray.

  “I thought you loved going over to Mary and Dale’s?”

  I sighed. “I used to. Now I feel like I’m constantly lying to them. Yesterday, she asked me how my weekend was, and it took everything for me to not tell her the truth. I made up some lame excuse that you and I just hung out and watched movies Saturday night.”

  “Oh man,” Molly muttered.

  “Plus, Monday is the four-year anniversary of Jack’s death.”

  Molly dropped the cup she was holding and wrapped me up in a hug. “Oh, my God, I’m so sorry. I’m such an idiot. I totally forgot it was right around Thanksgiving. How are you holding up?”

  My cheek was pressed against her shoulder, and she was petting my hair. “I’m fine, Mol,” I mumbled. And I was. I had dealt with Jack’s death a while ago. I had loved him. We made a beautiful little baby together, and then he was gone. There wasn’t anything I could change. He died doing what he loved, and I was proud of him for that.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Molly, yes.”

  “You guys were so in love,” she mumbled.

  I cleared my throat and pulled out of her arms. I had been so in love with him. I didn’t know if I could say the same for him. In fact, I knew he wasn’t in love with me. Everyone thought we were the perfect couple, but if Jack had made it home from Iraq, they would have found out how wrong they were. “Yeah, we were.” I never told anyone what was actually happening between Jack and me. I didn’t want to tarnish the memories he had left behind for his family. So, as far as anyone was going to know, Jack and I were soulmates whose love ended too soon. “Now, finish up those coffees so I can get them over to the Moaners.”

  Molly quickly whipped up the coffees, and I whisked them over to the Moaners.

  “Hot damn, it’s about time. We didn’t know if we’d ever get them since you and Molly were having a moment,” Bess squawked.

  I set down the coffees and tucked the tray under my arm. “Anything else I can get you, ladies?” I asked.

  Bess took a sip of her chai tea. “Sweet baby Jesus in the manger, that is like Christmas in a cup.”

  “Told ya,” I sang. “Holler if you ladies need anything else, yeah?”

  They waved me off, and I headed back to the register.

  “Well, what was the verdict with Bess?” Molly asked.

  “She loved it. You did make it decaf, right?”

  “Heck yes. I’m pretty sure she was two cups of coffee away from having a heart attack. That woman can pound back the coffee.”

  I sat down on the stool behind the register and grabbed my lukewarm cup of decaf. “I think I’m going to have you start making me those from now on. My decaf Americanos just aren’t cutting it for me anymore.”

  Molly wrinkled her nose. “I can totally understand that. So, what’s the story with Sam and karate?”

  A sigh escaped my lips. “Somehow Roman talked me into letting him do it.”

  “That’s awesome.”

  “Uh, I wouldn’t go that far.”

  Molly grabbed my cup from me and dumped the remains down the drain. “Did you two happen to talk about the baby?”

  “Well, he’s going to my doctor’s appointment with me on Friday.”

  “What?” Molly gasped. “That is huge news. So, he’s excited about the baby?”

  I wouldn’t go that far. “I would say he’s in shock, just like I am.”

  “But he’s not running away like the little boy you thought he was. That is good news, Sage. He wants to be with you.”

  I shook my head. “That’s not what that means. It means he is a decent human being who isn’t going to leave his kid.”

  “I think you are wrong.”

  “I’m not. Roman is there for his baby, and that’s it. I’m not getting my hopes up at all he wants to be with me. We were basically two ships passing in the night who have now been detained at the pier. That is all that it is.”

  Molly blinked slowly. “What did you just say? Detained at the pier? Have you been drinking?”

  “What? No, of course not. All I’m saying is, this isn’t about Roman and me. He’s there for the baby, and that’s all I need him for.”

  “Really?” She asked. “You don’t need him for a little bit of boom shaka laka?” She thrust her hips and threw a wink at me.

  “Please don’t ever do that again. Leave your weird and awkward moves for Kellan in the bedroom.”

  “Oh, you better believe I save the best for him.”

  “So, wrong, Mol. So very wrong,” I laughed.

  “Back to Roman,” she said with a flick of her wrist. “So, you guys are good.”

  “As good as we are going to be. He wants to be there for his baby. I’m not going to stop him. I’m going to need all the help I can get after I push this baby out. Plus, he’s taking Sa
m to karate and giving me a huge discount. I can’t be too big of a bitch to him.”

  Molly crossed her arms over her chest. “I have to admit, Sage. This is not the way I thought things were going to go between the two of you. I figured you two would play cat and mouse the whole pregnancy, and you wouldn’t hear anything he had to say.”

  “Oh, trust me. Things aren’t perfect, but I can’t exactly be furious with him. I did my part to get this baby in my tummy.”

  “Baby?”

  I swung around, face to face with Bess who had her hand over her mouth.

  “Uh…” I stuttered.

  “Oh, my God, you are going to have a baby ninja!” She clapped her hands happily and spun around in a circle. “This is amazing! I always thought it was going to be Molly and Kellan to have the first baby, but I have to say this is a wonderful surprise.”

  “Wait, what? How do you know I have a baby ninja?” How long had Bess been standing there?

  She scoffed and shook her head. “Oh, honey. I know more than you think I do. I knew you and Roman knocked boots weeks ago.”

  “You did?” Molly gasped. “Why didn’t you tell me? I just found out three days ago when I found out she was pregnant.”

  “You youngins. Can’t see what’s right under your noses.”

  “Wait, there wasn’t anything under her nose. I haven’t even seen Roman since that night. How did you know?” There wasn’t any way Bess could have known Roman and I slept together.

  Bess shrugged. “Well, I guess I better get back over to the girls.”

  I grabbed her arm. “Not so fast. You have some explainin’ to do, Bess.”

  “Was that your Ricky Ricardo impression?” Molly laughed.

  I rolled my eyes. Lord have mercy.

  Bess yanked her arm out of my hold. “I guess you better keep your phone closer to you. That’s all I’m saying.”

  Son of a gun. That was how she knew something had happened with Roman and me. “You went through my phone?”

  “Wow, I didn’t even think about doing that. Good job, Bess. I knew it was a good thing to keep you around,” Molly praised her.

  “What? Are you both crazy? You can’t do that, Bess. This is mine!” I reached for my phone in my pocket, but it wasn’t there.