RUNNING GAME (A SECOND CHANCE SPORTS ROMANCE) (78 page)

“I like your car,” I said, with a little too much flirt in my voice. I regretted it immediately. It sounded like something a smitten teenager would say to her crush.

“Yeah,” he replied. “It’s fun… Tell me again how you ended up with that freak in the alley?”

I swear it looked like he was trying to sneak a peek down the front of my torn shirt. His eyes must have been just a tick faster than mine though, because I couldn’t catch him.

“I was just walking home… I don’t know. I think he started stalking me when my friend dropped me off at the gas station for eggs.”

“Eggs?” His crooked smile hurt me a little.

“Yeah. Eggs. So what? Like I was saying, my friend was giving me a ride and I had her stop so I could pick up some eggs for tomorrow morning. I live close by, so I was gonna walk the rest of the way and…”

My eyes welled up. Everything came to a boiling point.
Damnit
. I was normally so good about keeping my emotions under control.

“Easy, kitten,” he said. “I was just asking. You’re okay. You’re not hurt. He didn’t get you. You should probably be a little more self-aware next time is all I’m saying.”

He gave my shirt a playful tug. “This little number’s seen better days, though. These too.” His fingers dragged down the soft flesh on the back of my arm and found the rips in my jeans.”

I couldn’t tell if he was playing with me or not. My brain was so frazzled because of the past hour I didn’t know what direction to go.

“Alright then, Bria... Bria who loves her eggs in the morning and fights off bad men at night… Where’s home?” Luke drummed his fingers impatiently on the wheel.

I told him and we drove the rest of the way in a comfortable silence. He could tell I was done and had the good sense to let the conversation fade. It felt weird to be sitting next to someone I just met and not feel anxious... Luke’s confidence and easy demeanor seemed to do away with any need for mindless chit chat. The sexual tension on the other hand… That could be cut with a knife. My thigh still tingled from where his fingers had touched me.

“This it?” he asked, breaking the silence.

Before I could reply he was out of the car and looking around. I was hit with a pang of anxiety and jumped out after him.

“Uh yeah,” I said uneasily. “This one’s me.” I pointed toward my front door.

“The one with all the crazy plants?” he said.

“Excuse me! I happen to love those plants,” I said, finding a little bit of energy. I walked over and started fussing with them.

“No, they’re great,” he laughed. “It’s just… there are a
lot
of them.”

I fumbled for my keys. My hands were shaking and it took an agonizingly long time to find the keyhole. I could feel his eyes surveying me from the rear. When the key finally slid in and found purchase, I breathed an audible sigh of relief.

“What’s in here?” Luke said, as he playfully grabbed the door knob and shoved past me and into my condo.

“Wait, don’t go in there,” I protested. I couldn’t remember what kind of shape I’d left the place in and was embarrassed that he might stumble over a pile of dirty clothes or a stack of work files.

I leaned in after him and flipped the light switch. “You know, I’m grateful you saved me and everything, but I really have to question your judgment if you think it’s a good idea to go pushing your way into a girl’s home after she was assaulted.”

“Whoa…” he said, with an exaggerated look of astonishment on his face. He hadn’t even heard my protest, or if he did, he didn’t care.

“I guess the front of your place was just the appetizer. It looks like a damn rain forest in here.”

He stood in front of me looking over the assortment of ivies and evergreens and potted trees and vines.

“I just like houseplants a lot, so what?” The blush immediately returned to my cheeks. I gave him a shy smile. “It’s kind of a hobby, you know? It helps with the stress.”

“Hey, that’s cool,” he said. “Besides, it smells nice in here… Kind of reminds me of camping.”

“Thanks, I guess.”

It was odd the way he was walking around in my apartment. He acted like he owned the place. Normally, it would piss me off but for some reason this was turning me on.

“What’s this?” he asked, lifting the framed degree from my wall.

I tried to snatch it away from him but he held it over my head.

“Give me that. You shouldn’t just go through other people’s things.” I jumped and made another grab for it but he kept it away with ease. I lost my balance and fell forward into him, steadying myself with one hand against his rock hard pecs.

“Oh, sorry,” I said, pulling my hand back like I’d just touched a hot stove top.

He gave me a knowing grin and held the framed document in front of my face. “So you’re a lawyer, huh?”

“No, I’m not, and I’ll take that back, thank you very much.” I yanked it from his hand, coyly hiding it behind my back.

“It’s says Northwestern University of Law – Bria Hudson. That’s you isn’t it?”

I wasn’t comfortable with him being so familiar, but I didn’t hate it.

“It’s just a degree, that’s all,” I said, still trying remain mysterious.

He raised an eyebrow and my legs turned to jelly.

“I’m a paralegal with the Jones and Schreiber firm. I haven’t taken the bar yet.”

“Hmm, smart girl…” he trailed off in a way that suggested he was talking more to himself than he was to me.

Our eyes met again. This time I tried to force myself to hold his gaze. He seemed to enjoy the challenge.

Finally, I had to break the silence. It was too much. “So, uh, I don’t even know if I thanked you yet, but, uh…”

“Not a problem,” he interjected. “Happy to help.” He said it absently. His attention was focused elsewhere.

With burning eyes, he took in the full view of my body. I’d never had a guy so arrogantly stare at my ass the way he was doing. Just like earlier, this should have been something that made me mad, but I think I was liking it as much as he was.

I took a cautious step toward him. He grabbed my hand and pulled me close. What was I doing? I barely knew this guy and I was about to jump into his arms. But I wanted him… badly.

And that’s when my brain sort of short circuited.

“Okay, goodnight, then,” I blurted as he leaned in to kiss me.

He stopped in his tracks but didn’t pull back. He lingered not less than a foot from me with an amused look on his face that said
‘really?’ Are you really going to turn me away because I know that’s not what you want?

After a moment that seemed to drag on for eternity he finally pulled back. “Goodnight to you as well, Bria Hudson.”

With a nod, and still sporting that look of amusement, he glided across my apartment to let himself out. I desperately wanted him to turn back and give me another once over with those hungry eyes, but he didn’t. I heard his engine start and then he was gone. I sat down on the arm of my love seat and wondered what the hell just happened.

“
N
othing
like nineteen-year-old pussy to start your day off, right Luke?”

Nick was a local guy and one of my long-time sparring partners. A lot of fighters came to my gym to try to make a name for themselves but Nick didn’t care about trying to get famous off of another man’s accomplishments. He just wanted to train and pick up the occasional fight groupie. I could trust him.

Besides, he was right. Since the last pay-per-view my notoriety had gone through the roof and it wasn’t just the local girls hanging around trying to score a big name fighter anymore. They were coming from all over. The lure of a professional fighter was strong. Especially one as famous as me.

These girls were following the hype. They knew that the sport was growing. There were more eyeballs on us with each passing month. And more eyes watching meant more money. Main event fighters bring in endorsement deals from the biggest companies on earth. We fight for huge purses. We do the talk show circuit. We dominate at the pinnacle of athletic competition in front of millions.

“How about that one?” asked Nick.

He nodded toward a petite little thing at the far corner of the room. She was bent at the waist, reaching to touch her toes. She let her ass sway back and forth when she saw that we were watching.

A lot of these girls showed up under the guise of working out. They would come in sporting shorts that barely covered the globes of their asses, or wearing yoga pants that may as well have been painted on. Sometimes they’d hop on the treadmill and jog for a few minutes, but most of the time they would claim a section of mats and spend their morning stretching. The stretching would always intensify if one of my fighters happened to be passing by.

The guys called them “jobbers.” It was a fight term that referred to an easy-to-beat opponent. If you were fighting a jobber you were typically going to come away with a win.

These girls were definitely jobbers. More than once, I had to pull fighters and their girls out of my locker room and yell at them to find another place. It’s not that I cared if they wanted to fuck these girls, but they could do it on their own property.

I spotted another bubbly,
bouncier
girl hanging around the front desk. “What about that one, Nicky? She looks more like your style.” I nudged him forward. “She’d do anything you ask.”

“Shit, it seems like anymore, any of the girls will do what I like. There’s more of ‘em so they know they gotta work harder to stand out.”

“You’re a true gentleman, Nick,” I said. “At least I can count on someone around here to make me laugh.”

“What about you, man? Are you gonna take that fight with Simmons?” he asked. “They’re saying if you do it’s gonna break all the records.” He wiped a bead of sweat from his eyes. “And it’s for the belt, that’s about the only thing you’re missing.”

I took a long pull from my water bottle and pondered it. The reporters had been asking me the same question for weeks. I had beaten everyone else in the division, so it was about time I take the fight to the top. The only thing holding it up was the dirt bag promoter. He was promising Simmons a higher take on the gate since he was the champ and I still didn’t know how I felt about being billed as the undercard.

The truth is, I was the
real
draw, not some piece of shit defensive grappler who knows how to win decisions. People came to see me because I knew how to win
fights,
not judges. I took my licks standing up, and I dished out the kind of blood the crowds love. When my opponents went down, nobody had to check a damn scorecard to see who won. I was the man left standing.

Nobody cared about Simmons. He had no charisma and even less desire for the spectacle. We’re modern day gladiators and I knew the crowd just wanted to be entertained. I was the one selling this fight to the public, so I should be the one pulling the lion’s share of the take.

“I haven’t decided yet,” I said, “but you’ll be the first to know when I do. I can’t in good conscience keep my main man out of the loop, now can I?”

I gave him the winning smile that even seemed to put other guys at ease. They all know I’m the top dog here and when I’m happy they know they can relax.

“Right on, dude,” he said. “Well, I don’t know if it’s possible for a man to drown in pussy, but if you take that fight and win it, I suppose you’ll be the first to find out.”

I played along and gave him an easy shove toward the main room. “Now get to work on that bag, you’re starting to look a little soft around the middle.”

I couldn’t really focus on the gym though. For some reason that girl from last night was stuck in my head. When she sent me home, I’m not gonna lie, I was surprised. I had already scoped out the spot on the couch where I intended to put her on her back.

Just the thought of having those long and sexy legs wrapped around me made my dick hard. I know she wanted it as bad as I did. That’s why it was such a mind-fuck when she said goodnight.

Maybe it was too much too fast. She seemed like a good girl and everything that happened last night was probably overwhelming. Damn, she looked nice though. Even in those torn up clothes. She wasn’t dressed to impress and it didn’t matter. That body would take over if she was wearing an old potato sack.

“Hi Luke, how are you today?” It was one of the nameless jobbers snapping me out of my daydream. I wanted to tell her to fuck off for interrupting me, but I couldn’t do that. I had an image to protect and it wouldn’t do any good to be a straight up asshole.

“Doing fine, honey,” I said. “Just about to go get my session in, what about you?”

“Mmm, that doesn’t sound like fun. I bet I could think of a better way for you to work out today.” She leaned forward and showed me her pouty lips. “This place can be so repetitive sometimes, I bet even you wouldn’t mind switching things up for just
one
day.”

Her shirt was cut low and she hadn’t even bothered to wear anything underneath. Her nipples stood at attention. When she ran her hand against her bare belly she let out a little giggle.

Any other man in this gym would be be all over this girl, but with my mind on Bria I wanted nothing to do with her…

“That’s not me, sweetie,” I said. “I have to train my ass off to win my next fight. I can’t lose my focus.”

I dismissed her with a polite wave and turned to find a sparring partner.

Instead of taking the hint she decided to push her luck. She sidled up to me and whispered in my ear, “It doesn’t have to take long... Let’s go to your office.”

I couldn’t hold my tongue any longer. I had to speak through clenched teeth to keep the volume down. “If you think I’m going to fuck you, you’re
badly
mistaken.”

Her eyes widened.

“I’m not in the mood today… Now leave me the fuck alone so I can train.”

She stepped back, a mixture of disbelief and rage painted her face.

I’m not sure why I unloaded on her like that, but it felt good. Fuck her anyway for thinking she’s going get at any piece of my hard earned pie just because she has a tight little body and knows how to use it.

“Fuck you, asshole!” she screamed, before turning on her heel and marching out the front door.

I looked over my shoulder just in time to catch a chorus of high pitched “oooohhhs” from the other fighters.

“Somebody’s an asshole,” one joked.

Another one yelled, “Now Luke, you’re the one who tells us to leave our personal problems at the door.”

They all exploded in laughter when I gave them my ‘cat-that-ate-the-canary’ grin.

“Sorry boys,” I said. “It’s all business now.”

After a few more hoots and hollers the room calmed and I was able to settle into my routine.