Fierce (24 page)

Rose stared at her a while, then couldn’t hold her disbelief in any longer; she sprouted a strange grin. “You know, you’re the last person I ever expected to get relationship advice from. I mean, wow. This is surreal.”

Lena clinked glasses with her. Ashley swallowed her olive and thrust her own glass into the mix.

“You should come to Springbok’s,” suggested Lena. “It’d give the girls a thrill. They’ve heard all about what we did Reno. You could even train there if you wanted. The men-only thing can’t be that great after a while.”

“It has its perks,” replied Rose.

Both sisters laughed. “Well, you’re welcome any time,” said Lena. “Might be good to get a change of scenery.”

“I’ll definitely drop by. It’s the least I can do, seeing as I still owe you guys.”

Ashley, who’d had more to drink than either of them, put her arm around Rose and replied, “Friends don’t got debts. Kapeesh?”

Somewhere in the back of Rose’s mind, the idea that this was all some sick practical joke, and that everything would suddenly revert back to the way it had been before Reno, and all hostilities would resume, made her shudder. But things
had
changed. Really changed in Mitre.

She was now a part of the “in” crowd. That was worth another stiff drink right there.

His ankle now fully healed, Luca was on blistering form as he sparred with Avery in the school gym they’d hired for their evening session. He hadn’t fought a professional match in a few years and didn’t train half as much as his big brother did, but Luca had always been a slippery customer in the ring. Quick as a rattlesnake. Hard to get hold of. And he had a mean punch for his wiry frame. He was also a much more athletic kicker than Avery, really more of a kickboxer than a complete MMA fighter, as his grappling and takedown moves didn’t have as much heft behind them.

He held nothing back. Avery preferred to practice against a quick, unpredictable opponent; it kept him on his toes, and sharpened his counters. The trick to getting through Luca’s defenses was to know beforehand that you were going to take punishment before you could dish it, and to not be phased by that. Luckily, Avery not only knew how to deflect anything his brother could throw at him, he knew that, unless he was sloppy in his approach, he could get in close by soaking up a few of those hits on the way in. And once he was in, his Jiu-Jitsu and Aikido did the rest.

At least, that was the plan…

Avery caught his brother’s reverse roundhouse kick and went to sweep his standing leg. But Luca, predicting it, leapt up and somehow clasped his opponent’s neck in an amazingly athletic leg scissors that dragged Avery down to the mat. The move was so well-executed that Avery tapped out before he needed to, as a mark of respect.

“Fuck did you learn
that
?” asked Avery, massaging his not-really-sore neck.

“Didn’t. I just wanted to throw you a curve ball.”

“You could have face-planted if it didn’t work.”

“Yeah, but Grillo takes those kinds of risks. And they usually pay off. You have to be ready for the Crazy Ivan moves, not just the percentage play. And you might have to throw a Crazy Ivan or two of your own in there, to keep
him
guessing. He’ll have studied your matches. He’ll know you’re a fucking Terminator in a technical match-up, so he’ll want to mix it up; he won’t let you get into any kind of rhythm. You’ll have to be prepared to fight feral, because it won’t always go your way, by the book. He’s too impulsive for that.”

“Back to Detroit, huh?”

“Exactly, bro. That’s why you’re gonna beat him. You’ve learned all the smarts of this sport, but you also started out a dirty little sonofabitch. So play it technical, until he won’t let you, then be the sonofabitch. He won’t know what to do with that.”

They each grabbed a Gatorade and sat, cross-legged, on the mat.

“I wasn’t gonna bring this up, bro, for obvious reasons, but there’s something I wanted your opinion on.” Avery paused. “Actually, it’s some
one
.”

“Rose?”

“Uh-huh. How did you—?”

“She came to see me yesterday,” replied Luca. “Wanted my opinion on a certain someone. I figured it was a matter of time before you brought it up.”

“What did she say?” Not that it wasn’t obvious to everyone that things hadn’t quite been the same between them since, well, whenever. Between his round the clock training and her cool, even frosty moods whenever they did spend time together, it wasn’t hard to see something was awry.

“That you’re shutting her out.”

Someone walked over his grave. “What? I’m shutting
her
out? I’m doing the best I can. And I know we don’t get as much alone time as we’d like, but she knows what’s at stake here. And anyway,
she’s
the one who ices up whenever I try to get close.”

He could tell Luca didn’t want to interfere, but also that his little brother was holding something back. “So what was your opinion?” he asked. “What did you tell her?”

Luca sighed. “Listen, this stuff is the last thing we should be talking about during training, and it’s definitely the last thing you should be thinking about in the run-up to a big fight, but we both know Rose isn’t just some hobby fuck you have fun with and then throw aside when something more important comes up.”

“That isn’t what I’m doing
at all.
You know this is—”

Luca thrust a hand up to silence him. “Listen—bro—y’all wanted my opinion, so here it is. And by the way, I’m your manager, so I’m entitled to tell you what’s what. I think you handled this all wrong. Not Rose. You. She doesn’t know where she is, or what’s in store for her. You’ve assumed she knows the score, that she’s supposed to wait around on the sidelines until the fight’s over, like an obedient girlfriend. But you guys have only just got together, things have only just gotten serious. Is it really the right time to sideline her like that?”

“It’s my job. It’s what I do.”

“I know
that.
But here’s what I’m saying: if you want to hold onto a girl like Rose, you can’t expect to just keep her on ice until you’re ready for her again. You’re going to have to involve her more. You’re going to have to make more of an effort with her.”

Avery looked down at his boots. One of the laces was loose and needed re-fastening. “I don’t know what that means—make more of an effort. What does that even mean? I’m fighting the heavyweight champ. I need to train harder than ever.”

“And you need to let her in. She doesn’t know what kind of a future she’s going to have if you shut her out whenever a new fight’s on the cards. Things have changed, bro. She isn’t Ash Culver or any of the five before that. She’s more like Maggie. And maybe you need to start trusting Rose the way you trusted Maggie. For chrissakes, she loves MMA. Share all this with her, your whole journey. Don’t leave her on the sidelines anymore. It isn’t fair.” Luca’s long pause gave Avery plenty of time to counter, but he couldn’t find the words. “She’s the best thing that’s happened to you in a long time, bro,” added Luca. “I’d hate to see you lose her.”

***

Avery texted Rose, as soon as he’d finished his shower, to ask if she needed a lift home from work that evening. For Luca to lay all that on him in the middle of training, in the run-up to the fight of the decade, was all the proof he needed that Rose wasn’t just belly-aching. She was unhappy, even hurt, and he’d done that to her without knowing it.

He had a big choice to make. Luca hadn’t stated it explicitly, but the writing was on the wall: Avery could either take his foot off the gas to spend more time with Rose, or risk losing her for good. He’d only ever trained one way for a fight:
all or nothing.
It had forged an unbeaten streak almost a decade long and had seen him climb to the top of his profession. But here the choice became interesting:

Would I still have won all those fights if I’d taken my foot off the gas a little? Do I really need to block out the world completely when I train? Is there room for anyone else?

Luca seemed to think there was. More than that, he was saying there
had
to be, whether it affected his training or not. That there were some things more important than proving oneself against the world over and over again. Sooner or later he’d stop being the best of the best, and then what would he do? Who would he be? Where would
she
be?

He texted her right away and waited for her response. When it came through, it read:
No thx. Manny’s staying late to help me clean up. He’s promised to give me a lift home. Hope the training’s going well. Rose

A pang of regret hit him and spread. He closed his eyes and felt like he was on an unstable bridge over a chasm. If he carried on, he might reach the other side, but the bridge would collapse behind him. If he turned back, he might never get another chance to reach the other side. And if he stayed put, well, it was only a matter of time…

Jesus, what did they
want
from him? To be the perfect boyfriend
and
the perfect fighter? To beat the best in the world and do it half-cocked? He needed to have this out with Rose once and for all. To find some sort of compromise, yes, but not one that would compromise his chances of beating Seth Grillo. He just needed a few more weeks of her patience. After that, he’d do anything to make her happy. Anything. Hell, the purse alone would…

He opened his eyes and let his chin fall to his collar. The great Avery Wright had no intention of calling it a career. Who was he trying to kid? He was no homemaker, and any woman who knew him well would never ask him to take his foot off the gas. But maybe that was the point. Maybe that was Rose’s point. That he was incapable of sharing the fighter side of him because that was what truly defined him, made him exceptional. Sure, he could train others and do it well, but when it came to his own battles, the only person he trusted was Luca, because Luca had always been there, had never let him down, never left him.

Maybe this was about Maggie. Maybe it had always been about Maggie. The one girl he’d loved. She’d left him at a crucial time in his life, when he was starting to realize he might just be great at something. More than anything, he’d wanted her to see him become great, like she’d always said he would. But the pneumonia had taken her, and with it, his trust in love?

He’d buried her deep in his ambition, he now realized. And even deeper in his character. Because of Maggie, he had to be great any cost. Because of Maggie, he had serious trust issues. And because of Maggie, he’d never again let love interfere with his fighting. She’d completed him; she’d sealed the deal, shaping who he was and what drove him to be the best. Losing her had forged a bitter, talented boy into a warrior without equal.

No wonder he’d never let himself get close to another woman.

Until now…

***

He stayed up late that evening, much later than he was supposed to. Rose was tired and sticky when she got home, after lugging the equipment around and cleaning up the gym, so he waited till she’d showered before he invited her to join him in the living room. He made her a hot chocolate and told her to put her feet up. He told her that they had something to discuss, something important. He knew that before they went to bed tonight, they had to clear the air.

Rose nodded, clutching one of the big sofa cushions. She knew exactly what he wanted to talk about.

“You go first,” she said.

He mentally scrambled to get everything he wanted to say in some kind of order. It had been a lot take in all at once, especially in the middle of a training session like that, with Luca. And Avery had never been great at discussing himself with others. “I don’t know where to start,” he said. “Luca brought something up today, and it kind of knocked me for a loop. It was about you.”

“Uh-huh?”

Mm, so she wasn’t about to make this easy for him. His brother was right; Rose was pissed. She set her piercing gaze on him and didn’t let up. “Yeah, he said you feel like I’ve been pushing you away—no, shutting you out, that was how he put it.”

She blinked at him.

“So I was thinking,” he went on, fully aware he was bungling the whole thing with his too-casual tone, “you could help me train. You know, spend some more time with us—with me—during the day.”

“You know it isn’t about that,” she said.

“It isn’t?” He was playing dumb, and he was playing it badly. Rose saw right through him. She shook her head.

“Listen, whatever’s going on up here,” she tapped her head, “you need to tell it to lighten up. It’s got a grip on you, and I don’t like it.”

He shrugged. “Then tell me what you want me to do.”

“You really don’t see how it affects you, do you?”

“I’m just doing what I’ve always done. I think it’s served me pretty well.”

“As a fighter, maybe. But ever since you started training, I’ve not seen the guy I fell in love with. I don’t know where he is, or if he’s coming back.”

He slanted a puzzled look at her. “So who am I?”

“You tell me. You’re not the Avery Wright I know. It’s been weeks since you even asked how I am or what I’ve been up to. It’s like I don’t even factor into your day anymore.”