Authors: P.A. Jones
The Fight Club (13 page)
Julie
"What an embarrassment," I muttered to myself when I thought about the words Eddie had said to Noah. What could he be thinking? Eddie spilled my secrets in front of him. What would I do now? What would I say to him? I didn't even know if he liked me or not, truly. We spent some time together, but it wasn’t enough to even make it into a third date.
"Mom, what are you doing up? You should be in bed." Mom was standing by the window, looking outside and holding herself up shakily.
"Looking at the last sunset of my life. I just couldn't miss it." She looked at me. For the first time in many years, I saw a light in her eyes. She was feeling better.
"Why are you saying this? You aren’t going anywhere. I can't let you." I ran towards her and hugged her from the back. I told the exact opposite to Noah a few moments ago, but thinking about it now, I couldn't let my mom go like this.
"I think he loves you, too,” Mom whispered.
"Who, Noah? Why do you think that?" she surprised me.
"I saw it in both of your eyes. The way he looked at you, and the way you longed for him when he walked in with you. It reminded me of your father. I miss your dad. He was the only man I ever loved." She was still looking outside of the window.
"Mom, I can't remember him. But I'm sure he was the best dad ever. I miss him too." Tears flew out of my eyes. I didn’t know my dad, but I felt like I did, from my mom’s stories.
"Stay with him, Julie. He needs you. He’s way better than Eddie. Well, I always wanted to tell you that, but I thought you would understand it in due time. Anyways, let me embrace you tightly. One last time." She turned and hugged me tightly.
"Mom..." My words evaporated as her body went weak in my embrace. She became lifeless.
"Mom, no." I put her on the bed and rang the bell for the nurse. I checked her pulse, but there was nothing. She had passed away in my arms.
"Julie..." Noah. He was calling me.
I turned to him and saw his darkened face.
"Noah..." I sobbed. "She’s gone."
Julie
"Three months," I whispered as I woke up, finding a coffee ready next to my bed. Three months since my mother passed away, and three months since Noah moved in with me. Though he had an immense house, he came to live in my apartment because he thought it would be more comfortable for me in my grief to stay somewhere I knew.
There was a note below my coffee mug. That was new. I picked it up. A small kiss was sketched on it, along with a message.
I remember the first time I saw you outside of the club. You looked ravishing, but my heart was so filled with darkness that I couldn't recognize your importance in my life. - Noah
I smiled. He thought that I was his ex-fiancé. How foolish he was. He said my eyes matched hers, but when I saw her picture again, I realized I looked nothing like her. There could be thousand more girls in L.A. who will had same eyes as Tonya. But we were long past that.
My heart filled with happiness. The note reminded me of the care Noah had for me. My world was dark, because my mother wasn’t here. But thanks to Noah, who made sure that I had a way to smile up on after every grieving session about my mother. He was such a wonderful person, who kept me sane throughout these three months.
And of course, the sex was awesome. I yawned. I remembered how exhausting the sex was last night. I finally let myself acknowledge that I loved this man, and he was nothing less than my soul mate in these last three months. He took care of me, he attended to my every need, and he made sure that I got what I wanted, without overstepping into my personal life. Where else would you find a nice person like him?
But the craziest thing was he never asked me about what Eddie spilled that day. And I never expressed my love to him after that. I was nervous, after how it turned out with Eddie last time.
I grabbed my robe and walked to the bathroom. Noah lived with me, but he had so many meetings that he had to get up at four in the morning to go to the office. But he made sure that he got home by four in the evening, when my day would be over, and we would spend the evening together, always. Our training sessions were over, because we got busy with our own private training sessions every night. Though he sometimes visited the club, he sparred with other fighters. He said he couldn't give me any pain anymore, even for sport.
I giggled with the thought of our private night sessions. "You’re naughty, Noah."
I opened the bathroom door, and I saw a note dangling in midair, tied to the fan by a thin fabric. "What now?"
When I see your eyes, I find myself immersed in your thoughts. And day by day, it's difficult to get out. I don't want to come out. And I hope the same is true for you. - Noah
.
"Yes, baby. I want you in my heart, always. That's why I love you,” I muttered. What was he doing? Two notes already?
When I came out of the shower, I found a nice red dress placed on my bed, and a note next to it.
"What are you planning, Mr. Rich?" I hushed as I opened the note.
I'm sorry that your mother passed away so soon. She once told me that she wanted nothing else but to see you happy. I promise you today that I will make your life happy, the way your mother wanted. – Noah.
"God, you’re killing me now." A tear fell from my eye. I missed my mom more than ever. I wish she could be here to witness this. To see how happy I am with Noah.
As the dress was here, I figured I had to put that on. Noah was planning something for sure. I wouldn't let that fun go to waste so easily. So I slipped myself in that dress and walked out of my apartment. Noah's driver was standing outside.
"Ma'am, please come with me,” he said, nodding his head.
"Where are we going, Sebastian?" I asked.
"I'm not allowed to disclose that location, Ma'am. And please, don't ask me again. I feel bad when I can't answer you.”
"Okay, sir." I giggled and followed him to the car. But today, the usual car wasn't there. Instead, a limousine was standing outside my apartment.
"Wow." I had never been in the limo before. But for Noah, nothing was impossible. He was a Rich, after all. At first, I didn't understand his financial worth, but once we flew to New York in his private jet, and I got intrigued and asked him if he was a billionaire, like they write about in novels. He laughed and said he was more than that.
The roads Sebastian took looked familiar. Soon I discovered that I was going to Noah’s house. When we stopped, Sebastian handed me a note.
"A fourth one?” I asked, opening it.
My heart always remained in this house, where I made my worst mistake. But after meeting you, I lost all my hatred, and the place is now filled with happiness. It is a feeling which I adore more than anything in my life. The feeling everyone calls love. - Noah.
"Are you planning what I think you are, Noah?" My heart was longing to come out of its cage in excitement. I had never felt like this before.
I walked inside. The house had been redecorated, with vibrant colors and new furniture, designed in way I liked. That's why Noah was asking me about my personal tastes few days back. I knew where he would be right now. I walked to his bedroom, and I found him. He was sitting on his bed, holding a note in his hand.
I grabbed it from him wordlessly, and read the note quickly.
When I hurt you for the first time, it broke my heart. That day, I decided that I would be there with you, always and forever. - Noah.
I looked at him with watery eyes. He was down on one knee, holding a ring box.
"Would you let that forever start today?" he asked, grinning.
"Yes, yes, yes!" I squealed, jumping in the air. He stood and wrapped me in his bear hug.
"But why did you take so long to ask?" I punched his chest in fake anger.
"I just wanted to give some time to you. You were going through grief, and I didn't want your emotions to cloud your judgment. But now, I couldn’t wait any longer. I’m sure you’re ready.”
"More than ever." I raised my chin to plant a kiss on his lips. I had found my happily ever after.
The End.
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Seduced 1
P.A. Jones
Table of Contents
Nikki
Punch after punch, Chase continued taking out his wrath on that poor guy and I watched in horror. Chase’s next punch hit him on his cheek, a jet of blood firing from his mouth onto Chase’s hands and his white shirt.
Chase looked down at his own shirt in anger.“I’m gonna kill you for this,” Chase roared.
This is really bad.
My mind drifted back to half an hour earlier..
***
I had come to my dad’s club this evening with my best friend, Carrie, to grab a drink and some cash I needed for shopping. While I was talking with the receptionist, man came very close to me, sidling up behind me and definitely in my space.
“Hey, gorgeous. Wassup?” He brought his face so close that I felt his hot breath touching my cheek—and I couldn’t help but turn away at the smell of vodka.
Jerk.
I was used to drunken jerks at the club, even at this early hour of the evening, and I ignored him, not wanting to make a scene. He was either too drunk or too stupid to hit on me in my dad’s club. With a shake of my head, I moved away from him and continued talking with the receptionist, Tina.
“Come on, girl, let’s have some fun.” He lurched forward, grabbed my arm and pulled me to him.
I looked down at his hand on my arm, almost smiling at what would likely happen next. I’d been in this situation more times than I could count, and it was never a battle that I lost. Never.
I felt the nerve on my forehead pulsing in anger as he was annoying me now. I lifted my chin and faced him. The first thing that struck my eyes was the innocence in his; he was no doubt handsome and had a cute face. But something about his eyes—the lack of anger, the hint of kindness, made my heart melt in a split second, the anger inside me vanishing. I decided in the blink of an eye to go easy on him.
“Mr.... whoever. Please don’t act like an idiot. This is my dad’s—” My words were stopped in my mouth by Chase’s appearance behind him. Over his shoulder, I could see the look on Chase’s face and I knew what it meant. I’d seen it plenty of times before. My body froze and thoughts of what was gonna happen to him flashed through my head; he was in real trouble.
Chase grabbed his shoulder from behind. The cute guy’s expression changed as Chase increased the pressure on his shoulder. Chase was huge, and I had often wondered if he could cover my complete face with hand—and felt lucky that I’d never found out. The cute guy turned to face him and BAM, Chase hit him with a right-hand punch.
Chase punched him again and again, pummeling him until blood came out of his mouth.
I was standing there watching the cute guy getting his face wrecked by Chase, my stomach clenching as blood started to appear from everywhere. With every punch, my heart skipped a beat. I was afraid that at any moment Chase would kill him.
Chase stretched his thick neck to the left. His nostril flared and he gazed at the man he was holding with one hand, wiping his fist on the man’s blue shirt. Chase then carefully checked if any blood was remaining on his hand. “You are paying for this one,” he said, punching the man one more time like an exercise bag.
“Please—”The cute guy tried to say something, but his words were wiped out by Chase’s next punch. Maybe he was pleading for mercy. But the Chase I know wouldn’t listen to him. No matter what, he would take his anger out on that man. He was still the same as I remembered: bloody, grumpy and deadly.
Chase lifted that man parallel to his head with a single hand. The guy looked like a small ant in front of the huge Chase. The cute guy’s head was hanging back on his neck; he was either unconscious or already dead.
Fear passed through my spine like a bolt of lightning as Chase tossed him on the bar counter like a scarecrow. Empty glasses skittered to the floor, the ones he landed on breaking as he crumpled on the mahogany surface. The sound of glass shattering under his body echoed everywhere, but the music blasting from all the corners of the club absorbed the sound and no one from the fully packed club even looked at the counter. Only me, Carrie and Tina remained as the silent observers.
This was the fifth club in New York my Dad had opened and he liked it least, though it was one of the best nightclubs in the city. The bar was huge and Chase tossed the cute guy on the corner where no one else was sitting.
Fights like that were not an usual scenario in this club. People got drunk, did some foolish things and then got beaten by the bouncers. For the regular customers, this was the life in the club. The neighborhood was not a classy one and the people who visited this club were mostly criminals. Dad kept it only because it served as camouflage for the real dirty business happening downstairs. Covered by concealed entrances and hidden from view of most patrons of the bar, the club had a chamber below the main hall for the underground MMA battles, its popularity bring in tons of cash.
I learned about this business when I was in college, earning my degree in physical therapy, of all things. I never liked it. It took me quite a long time to come to terms with it. But once I had, I was free to spend his cash on anything and everything I wanted. So, yeah, my values had taken a beating—but I still didn’t support the way Chase had behaved with that man.
“Chase, for God’s sake, let that poor man live a few more days,” I pleaded.
He scowled at me. Being the owner’s daughter didn't matter a bit to him.
He turned back to the man lying down on the counter. He was whimpering in pain. The man’s cute face a few minutes before had turned into a wounded, bruised and bloodied one by Chase. My heart beat faster as I looked from Chase to the man moaning on the bar, and I couldn’t control it anymore. I ran towards him and tried to pull his hand off of the man's body. Obviously, at five foot six inch and about one third Chase’s weight, I couldn’t move his finger to well.
Chase pushed me back with a slight jerk of his forearm where I was holding him. It was a small push for him, but to me, it was a powerful jerk, and I stumbled back.
“Damnit,” I muttered. There was no way I could get him away from that poor man.
“You should have taken care of things yourself, Nikki.” Carrie's voice shook, her eyes glued to the unfolding horror.“I didn’t ask him to help me. Chase took things in his own hands. I was doing just fine.” I bit my lower lip.
Chase lifted the man with one hand and dropped him again on the bar counter, apparently still enjoying himself. My heartbeat stopped as the man’s hands fell, one on each side, down the sides of the bar like a broken leaf.
“Chase, please. Don’t kill him,” I begged him. I didn’t want the blood of that man on my hands. His only mistake had been that he tried to kiss me in my own club. It certainly wasn’t a mistake worthy of death by Chase. I could have solved it on my own, no problem, , but Chase saw it and then everything went to hell. I just hoped that man wasn’t already dead.
Chase’s eyebrows furrowed, his pupils boring into my eyes with a frenzy that I didn’t think I could stop. A direct connection with my eyes warned me to stay out of this.
I was feeling frantic, wondering how I could stop the horrible scene unraveling before my eyes. Panicked, I looked around, hoping to find someone who could help.
At the exact moment, a rugged man walked in, the cool air rushing in from the street as the door closed behind him. My gut feeling said he could help the cute guy who was now not so cute and bleeding on the mahogany bar.
His long hair was pulled back with a rubber band. His deep brown, endless eyes caught my attention. His sun-weathered face was covered with dark black hair, a French cut, hiding the sharpness of his chin and a scar running from somewhere on his jaw to his left ear. A shiver ran through me as I imagined what kind of intense fight must have produced a scar like that. A tattoo ran straight from the edge of the green t-shirt to the backside of his neck.
What would it be like to see his complete tattoo on his bare body?
I shook my head. I was thinking too much about him. But his presence had some magnetic effect on me. I couldn’t take my eyes away from him.
He was mesmerizing to watch; I’d never seen a rugged man who, at the same time, looked breathtakingly handsome. He wasn’t as big as Chase, but he had more muscles popping out of his t-shirt than anyone present in the club.
His eyes gazed around for a place to sit and then they met mine. A second-long interaction, but I drowned in his limitless eyes.
Yes, he’s the one I should ask for help.
I rushed past through a few people sitting on the chairs to reach him, hoping he would be willing to help and that I wasn’t going to be too late.
“Excuse me, please,” I asked in as polite a manner I could given the situation.
“Yes?” His voice sounded so deep that even my heartfelt the rhythm behind it..
“Can you please stop that fight?” I sighed, my mind drowning in sorrow for that poor soul; I was definitely feeling the guilt for his beating, “He’ll kill him like that.”
His eyes widened. He looked at Chase. Chase was still punching that poor fellow.
“Sorry, it’s none of my business.” He said it plainly and walked away from me to grab a table far away from the counter.
“Coward,” I muttered. Stunned, I watched him walk away, turning his back on the fight. Why I don’t know, but I’d had high hopes from him.
“That’s enough, Chase. Throw him out of the club.” My dad’s authoritative voice popped out of the corner.
Chase turned back to look at my dad and then dragged the man with a single hand and walked out of the club. I couldn’t stop myself; I ran towards the man and checked his heartbeat and fortunately it was beating.
“At least he is not dead. I’ll call paramedics.” Carrie said.
“Damn, if only I could have solved the issue easily and Chase hadn’t heard him.”
“It’s not your fault, Nikki. Being a club owner’s daughter and having bodyguards around can’t be easy, and these things aren’t completely your fault completely.” She touched my shoulder.
“And if that coward had helped this poor soul, maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad.” I looked back at the mystery man sitting on the far corner table, quietly sipping a beer.
“You can’t blame him. Nobody would get into trouble with Chase. Look at the beast. I fear someday his muscles will tear down the XXL shirt he is wearing and he would find no shirt to wear, ever,” Carrie said.
“He is a beast.” Chase was always like this, hot-headed, quick to throw a punch. He was cruel enough to beat anyone. I sometime wonder if he had killed anybody yet.
“Let’s go. We’ve a movie to catch,” Carrie said.
“No, Carrie, I just can’t watch anything after this whole scene. I blame myself for coming here today. If I hadn’t come here for some money, this wouldn’t have happened in the first place.” My mind was full of sorrow, but my eyes kept going back to the mystery man. A hint of hatred fluttered through my mind. He was a fighter, for sure; a normal man wouldn’t have a scar on his jaw. But then why didn’t he help that man or me, at least?
“Take this; it will calm you down a bit.” Carrie handed me a drink. A Lemon Martini, my favorite.
I took a sip and looked back at the mystery man again. He was definitely rugged eye candy for sure; still, I was angry with him for refusing to help the cute guy, no matter how handsome he was.
“I just called the nearby hospital and they’ll help him.”
“I wish I could kick Chase’s ass myself,” I responded, with hatred.
Carrie squeezed my arm.“No you are not quite ready for that yet,” She said as she giggled.