Best Friend's Brother #2 (Best Friend's Brother Romance Series - Book #2) (3 page)

Laurel had her hair in not one, but two pony tails
and she still didn’t wear any make-up except for clear lip gloss. I don’t know
this for sure, but I suspect the lip gloss tube was adorned with Hello Kitty.
She was strange but sweet and I was glad I called her because talking to her at
lunch was refreshing. She told me how sorry she was about Emma but then she let
it go. Even though she lacked a lot of the complexity of other people, she had
a deep seeded sense of compassion. The other great thing was that with Laurel,
what you saw was what you got. She didn’t pretend to be anything she wasn’t for
anyone. We talked about all of our old friends and Laurel updated me on what
had been going on while I’d been gone. She told me about her boyfriend and how
wonderful he was and she told me that if I decided to stay in town, she could
get me a job at the yogurt shop in the mall. That was another one of those
things that I wanted to tell Emma.

I left lunch feeling more energetic, just from
feeding off of Laurel’s energy. It was so much better than the self-imposed
isolation I’d been going through lately. I thought about the way Laurel saw the
world on my way home and decided that maybe sometimes when we get stuck in this
crazy adult world, we get cynical and assume that everyone has the worst of
intentions. At the very least, I owed Ian enough to go hear him out. Besides, I
really want to see him again too.

CHAPTER
THREE

ALEXA

My seat for the fight wasn’t as good as it was the
last time. Tonight the little stadium was even fuller than it had been the last
time and by the time I got there and bought my ticket, I was relegated almost
to the back row. It was nice though that the seats were raised so that I would
still be able to see. I was also closer to the door this time, just in case Ian
was getting beaten too badly and I couldn’t stand it and had to leave. I was
surrounded by a group of half-drunk college guys and they were loud and
obnoxious, but at least while I was waiting for the fight to begin, their
antics entertained me and took my mind off of what I was going to say to Ian
when I saw him. I was also trying not to obsess over whether or not I actually
believed the text messages were from an “ex.”

When they were ready to begin, I watched Ian’s
opponent come out and I found myself sizing him up. I worried that his arms
looked more muscular than
Ian’s
and maybe his legs
were a little bit longer. I told myself that I was being stupid worrying about
him for two reasons: #1. He knew what he was doing and I’d seen him do it. He
was good.
#2.
He wasn’t mine to worry about. After his
opponent, Hugo Montalba came out and made it into the octagon; I finally got to
feast my eyes on the eye candy that was Ian. As soon as I caught sight of his
smooth, oiled chest I remembered what it felt like underneath my fingers and
better yet, against my naked chest. I shuddered, and then I chastised myself
again and then I finally turned my attention back to the cage up front. The
referee had the two fighters in the center of the octagon doing whatever it was
that referees do. When they finished all that, the buzzer sounded and “Hugo”
was on him. I don’t know a lot about fighting but I heard the college guys
saying that he was trying to get Ian down onto the ground. Apparently, if
drunken college guys are to be believed, Ian’s boxing is much better than his
“ground game,” mostly due to the fact that he was as fast as lightning on his
feet.

I watched as Hugo and Ian danced around for a while
with Hugo’s beefy hands wrapped over the tops of Ian’s biceps. I could see him
swinging his right leg out in a sweeping motion, I assume to knock Ian off of
his feet. Ian’s feet never stopped moving though, so they were hard to catch.
Ian finally pulled back, breaking the other man’s grip and sending him propelling
into the side of the octagon. His move back-fired I think, because Hugo came
back with his body crouched and drove his shoulder into Ian’s stomach. Ian was
gasping for breath and had to reach out for Hugo’s shoulders to steady himself.
When he did, Hugo stood up quickly and knocked him back. I sucked in a hard
breath as I watched him fall back and hit the mat. Hugo dove for him, but even
off his feet Ian was quick. He rolled away and was up on his knees in one swift
motion. Hugo came around behind him and tried to get him in a chokehold before
Ian jumped to his feet. He twisted away from his opponent and then Ian
immediately came back with a round kick and caught him hard in the side. He
doubled over and that was when Ian threw his first punch. He caught the guy
underneath the chin and he flew backwards. He landed on his back the way Ian
had done only seconds before. He wasn’t as fast as
Ian
though, and it was almost his undoing…but then the buzzer rang and saved him
from a pin.

My eyes were glued to Ian as his chest rose and fell
quickly and sweat rolled down the sides of his face and dripped off his chest.
He took the water bottle his trainer handed him and squirted some in his mouth
and then some over his head. I felt like a complete
perv
as I watched the water roll down across his shoulders and then slowly trace its
way down the muscles of his arms and chest. I was mesmerized by it and all I
could think about doing was touching him.

The buzzer brought me out of my fantasy and Ian
surged forward like a shot. He started to throw a roundhouse kick, but Hugo
blocked it and went for Ian’s stomach again. He was ready for him this time and
he moved out of the way, avoiding most of it. He came back with a jab to Hugo’s
ribs, knocking the wind out of him. He used that to his advantage and started
throwing punches and jabs at his opponents face and body. Hugo took a few good
hits, but stayed on his feet. He rushed in and tried to grab Ian, but once
again Ian was too fast. He turned to the side and Hugo missed him, and then he
came back with a kick that caught Ian in the ribs. The shock of the direct hit
caused Ian to turn away and the second he did, Hugo pounced on his back and
took him down. Ian was on his stomach with Hugo’s arm around his neck when the second
buzzer rang. I let out the breath I’d been holding the whole time.

When the third bell rang Ian came out like a wild
animal. He was throwing punches and connecting with Hugo’s sides until the
other man staggered back and Ian gave him a hit…a chop maybe to the neck and
caused him to stumble back. Hugo tried to manage a kick but he
was already so off balance that when Ian blocked it, it caused him
to lose his tentative hold and he tumbled back, hitting
the floor with a
loud thump. Ian
was on him at once, pinning
him with
an arm to his throat and his knees driven into his sides. Hugo put up a good
struggle and I thought Ian was going to give up his hold at one point. He
didn’t though and after a bit, the fight was gone from the man underneath him
and I watched as his right hand began to pound the floor. Ian looked up at the
ref and then let go and stood up. The other man rolled onto his side, gasping
for breath as Ian was announced as the winner. I was jumping up and down right
along with the college guys, cheering for him before I even realized it. The
adrenaline that was coursing through me was in charge all of a sudden and I
loved the feeling.

CHAPTER
FOUR

IAN

I let myself enjoy the sounds of the crowd while my
arm was raised and I was held up as the winner. I loved that sound…a low roar
with the sound of my name right at the edges of it. It was like adrenaline for
my soul. Hugo was still rolling around on the floor and his trainer was
kneeling next to him. I knew he would be okay. He just needed to get his wind
back. I let my trainer lead me out of the octagon and as soon as I got out
amongst the crowd, I started looking for Alexa.

I know it was stupid for me to still be holding out
hope. She never text
me back and she
didn’t call…she
didn’t come by the gym…what the hell would make me think she would show up
here? I still looked though and just before we reached the back of the room I
spotted her. I saw the top of her head…that pretty, shiny red hair. She was in
the middle of the second to the last aisle, surrounded by a bunch of guys that
looked like a college basketball team. She was cheering and laughing with them,
but when she saw me she stopped. She lost her smile and made eye contact with
me. Her green eyes locked onto mine and then she slowly lifted her hand and
waved. I smiled and waved back. I wanted to tell her to wait for me, but there
was no way to get to her. There were too many people in between us. I started
to yell it out but decided that was too weird. So I followed my trainer back to
the showers and the whole time I held my breath, hoping that she would wait for
me.

I finished my shower and got dressed. On my way out
of the shower room I heard my name. I turned towards it and saw one of my
friends, a guy named Brock that I went to high school with. He was with another
guy I’d met a few times, Colton and two other guys I didn’t know.

“Hey man!” Brock said, giving me a high five.
“Sweet fight.
You kicked that guy’s ass!”

I smiled, “Yeah, I did,” I said. I was glad to see
Brock. I liked hanging out with him. He was a lot of fun…but I could hardly
stand still. I needed to get out front and see if Alexa waited for me.

“We’re heading out to Cooler’s to grab a drink. Why
don’t you come with?” Cooler’s was a bar that we’d been hanging out in since
high school. The guy who owned it didn’t give a shit if you were old enough to
drink or not, as long as your money was good.

“You know what…I might have something else I need to
do. Maybe I can catch up with you later?”

“Yeah man, alright. We’ll be there for a while.
Colton owes me a game of pool. Come on out.”

“Okay, yeah I will try,” I said.

Brock stepped closer then, leaving Colton and the
other guys standing a few feet away and he said, “Hey man, I haven’t had a
chance to tell you how sorry I am about your sister.”

There it was, that steel toe to the chest feeling
again. I know people mean well, but I was over their condolences. “Thanks,” I
told him. “I have to get going, but hopefully I’ll catch you later.”

“Alright man.” Brock and the other guys went out the
back and I headed out to the front. When I got out there, the first thing I saw
was that it looked empty. I wanted to put my fist through the wall. I turned
back towards the back and kicked a chair out of my way. It flew across and hit
the back wall.

“Jeez! You didn’t get enough of that aggression out
in the fight?” It was Alexa’s voice. I spun around and saw her.

“Hi. Where did you come from?”

“I was over there, checking out the octagon. Are you
mad about something?” she said, pointing at the chair. I grinned at her and
said, “Not anymore.”

CHAPTER
FIVE

IAN

Alexa and I walked out to the parking lot. It was
the first time since we met that things were kind of awkward between us. I
wanted to tell her about Kristy and how she had it all wrong…but it felt weird
to just blurt it all out. When we got to my car I finally said, “You have time
to go for a ride with me, so we can talk?”

She looked slightly hesitant, but she agreed. We got
in and I just started driving with no destination in mind. As we drove, I
talked.

“I freaked out when you left the other morning. I
really had no idea what was going on. I didn’t know what I had done or why you
were mad. Then I woke up the next morning and when I looked at my phone and saw
the texts, I knew that had to be it.”

“I shouldn’t have looked at them.”

“Oh please. If I was in your bed and some guy’s name
came up on your phone, you can bet your pretty little ass that I would read the
text.” She smiled. That was a good sign. “The thing is that Kristy really is
crazy. I broke up with her a year ago because she showed up at the gym one day
and started wailing on the receptionist. The poor girl had left a message on my
phone about a meet and greet they were having for one of the UFC fighters who
happened to be in town. I don’t remember exactly what it said, but Kristy
assumed it meant that I was screwing her. I pulled her off that poor girl and
dragged her outside. She started wailing on me then and I managed to stuff her
in her car. I told her I didn’t want to see her again and then I went back in
and apologized profusely to Karen, the receptionist. Kristie laid low for about
three days and then she just called me and acted
like
nothing had happened. I told her then I thought she was a little crazy and she
needed to just stay away from me. Since then, she’s shown up probably ten
different times at places she knows I’ll be
at
. She
calls and texts at all hours of the day and night…I usually don’t even respond,
and when I do, it’s just to tell her to leave me the hell alone.”

“Wow, kind of scary.”

I laughed, nervously.
“Yeah, kind
of.
Emma used to tell me she had a fatal attraction.”

“I did kind of remember that after I read your
text.”

I saw the turn-off for a road I knew was deserted
and I took it. I parked the car underneath a street light and pulled out my
phone. “I want you to know that I’m being honest with you.” I pulled up the
texts from Kristie. I had about thirty of them saved. Once I get fifty, I
archive them and start over…just in case. “So you can see how crazy she is.”
She took the phone and I watched her face as she read them. I saw her curl her
lip a few times and raise her eyebrows, she even laughed a little bit. After a
few minutes, she handed back the phone and said, “Wow, she’s a mess.”