Maybe This Time (16 page)

“Summer!”
Xander calls through the door.

“Yeah, come
in.”

He opens the
door, looking excited and dressed casually in jeans and a white
T-shirt. His shoulder length hair is pulled back at the nape of his
neck. “You ready?”

“Yeah,” I say,
smoothing my hair with my fingers.

“You look
fine. Reid’s on his way,” he says, bouncing on his feet.

“I’m glad
someone’s excited,” I say as I dab some lip balm on my lips. I grab
my phone and slide it into my bra, ready to go. Reid arrives ten
minutes later, not looking his usual self. He looks like Reid when
I first met him, tightly wound and brooding.

“You okay?” I
ask him, wrapping my arms around his torso.

“Yeah, I get a
little anxious before a fight,” he says, which is understandable, I
guess. Xander takes his own car, and I jump into Reid’s.

“Summer,” says
a feminine voice from the back seat. My head spins around faster
than the chick from The Exorcist, as I turn and see Jade.

“What are you
doing here?” I ask, surprised.

“I’ve never
missed a fight before, you think I’m gonna miss one just because
you’re in Reid’s life?” she says, staring down at her manicured
nails. Fucking Reid. A little warning would be nice. Reid slides
into the driver’s seat, and obviously feels the tension because he
snaps, “Not today, alright.”

The ride is
silent and tense, and I stare out the window the entire time. Is he
always like this before a fight? If so, I’d rather stay at home and
watch Catfish. We arrive at a different location than the last
fight, and it looks more crowded this time around. Reid steps out
the car, and walks around to my door, opening it for me. He’s
dressed in a pair of shorts and a hoodie, which I assume will be
coming off when he enters the ring.

“You okay?” I
ask him softly. Jade opens her own car door, huffing about
something or the other.

“Yeah, I’ll be
fine. Just… just stay with your brother, Ryan, and your dad, and
stay where I can see you, okay?”

“Okay,” I say,
clutching my jacket and pulling it tighter.

“I’m serious,
Summer, I want you in my line of sight.”

“Okay.”

We walk up to
the entrance, and the man standing at the door lets us through,
jumping the line. I ignore the looks a few of the women give me
when Reid puts his hand on the small of my back and leads me in.
When I see the huge caged octagon, I swallow hard. This place looks
scarier than the last one.

I look at Reid
to find him already looking at me, taking in my reaction. I attempt
a smile but I’m sure it comes out more as a grimace than anything.
He takes my hand in his, threading our fingers together. I take
comfort in the gesture. Surprisingly, Jade steps up next to me,
flanking my other side.

I spot my dad,
my brother, Dash, and Ryan standing in a group, talking amongst
each other. Reid squeezes my hand as we approach them. Dad
immediately comes over and kisses me on the top of my head, and
then pulls Reid aside, for what I assume is a pep talk. Another man
walks up and joins them.

“Who’s that?”
I ask Jade.

“Reid’s
trainer,” she answers. I notice her eye Xander, which makes me
bristle.

“Don’t even
think about it,” I say in a sing-song voice, my eyes still on
Reid.

“I’d think
you’d be happy, at least I’d back off Reid,” she says.

I tilt my head
to look at her. “Reid sees you like a sister. And as I’m sure you
know, Xander is my brother.”

Who I’m not
willing to share with you, either.

I hear a few
cheers so I look to see what the commotion is about. A bulky man
dressed in a pair of shorts stands on the other side of us, a small
posse surrounding him.

“That’s who
he’s fighting?” I drawl.

“Yep. Daniel
“Devil” Lanchester, in the flesh. He’s kinda cute, huh,” Jade says,
nudging me with her elbow.

“What’s with
the nickname thing? Kinda silly, isn’t it?”

Jade shrugs.
“I don’t know who started it but everyone has one. Maybe it’s safer
not to use a real name, not like these are sanctioned fights.”

“Yeah except
you still know the guy's real name,” I say, shaking my head in
confusion.

Jade shrugs,
her attention going back to Xander. Yeah, like that’s gonna happen.
“Oh, look. Your real competition's here. Haven’t seen her here in a
long ass time,” she says sweetly, looking out into the crowd.

“What?” I have
no idea what she’s on about.

“Hey, sis, you
ready?” Xander asks as he steps up next to me. Dash comes up behind
me and wraps his arms around me.

“Ready as I’ll
ever be. Hey, Dash.”

“Hey. You
smell good,” he says, sniffing me again.

“Hey, Ry.”

“Hey, babe,
come stand next to me, and don’t move, okay?” he says, looking
serious. His lips are pursed and stare unwavering.

I grin. “Did
Reid threaten you?”

“He needs to
be focused so we needa do our part on this end,” he says.

“Well, don’t
worry about me, I’m not going anywhere,” I say as I stare out at
the crowd. The warehouse is filling up with even more people, and I
start to feel a little anxious. I see Reid approach and run into
his arms.

“Beauty,” he
murmurs, I can hear the smile in his voice.

“You gotta
head up there, Reid,” Ryan says, rubbing the back of his neck. Reid
nods sharply, and takes a step back so he can remove his hoodie.
Underneath is a white singlet, which he pulls off as well, leaving
him bare-chested, and left in nothing but a pair of low slung
shorts. No wonder people pay so much money to watch these fights.
He wraps his wrists and hands, smiling up at me once he's done.

“Plenty of
time for that later, Summer,” he says, amused at my obvious
ogling.

“Looking
forward to it.”

“Stay-"

“With Ryan, I
get it. I’ll be right here, okay. Just concentrate on the
fight.”

“That’s my
girl,” he says approvingly, giving me a quick kiss before he heads
to the centre of the Octagon. A man introduces Reid and his
opponent, which is met with alternate cheers and boos. I start to
wring my hands as I watch them both warm up a little, jumping up
and down and stretching.

“He’s gonna be
fine,” Ryan tells me.

“Summer, stop
fidgeting,” Jade says. She looks calm and collected, then again,
she’s been coming to fights with Reid since he started this whole
thing. Dad and Xander move in even closer, close enough that they
can talk to Reid if need be. I’m happier being further back. I see
Dash shifting on his feet, anticipating what’s to come, and Ryan’s
intense gaze on his brother. I look back to see Reid and Daniel
face one another, as the referee stands between them, talking.
After a few moments of this, he knocks their gloves against each
other twice and they both take a step back.

Then it
begins.

The cheers are
so loud that I wince, trying to block them out. As I catch a
glimpse of Reid’s expression, I can tell he’s in the zone. His face
is blank, and his eyes are hard, calculating. Apparently that
doesn’t stop his gaze from darting to where I’m standing, if only
for a second. Ryan curses when he sees it, and takes a step closer
to me so he’s directly behind me. I know he doesn’t want Reid to
worry, even though I think they're all over reacting. I walked
through the last fight, alone and in a pair of stilettos and I
managed just fine.

Lost in my
thoughts, I don’t even pay attention to the fight, and a sudden
cheer makes me snap to attention. Reid throws a punch to Daniel’s
head, and I turn to look at Ryan. Ryan grabs my shoulders and spins
me back so I’m watching the fight. Reid and his opponent are now
hugging each other, or at least that’s what it looks like to me.
Reid brings up his knee with force and throws a few more punches.
How long does this go for, exactly? When Daniel gets in a kick to
Reid’s stomach, I reach back for Ryan’s hand and dig my nails into
his palm. Ryan brings me closer, and puts his arm on my
shoulder.

I look around
for a few seconds, watching people cheering, screaming, and jumping
up and down. They're all so excited, so blood thirsty, when all I
want to do is cry. I look back just in time to see Reid take him
down to the floor, and I hear Ryan say something about a takedown.
Reid practically straddles him and pounds into his face. When I see
blood flowing from the other man’s mouth, I start to feel a little
nauseous. I face Ryan, not wanting to watch anymore.

“It’s almost
over,” Ryan says, putting his hands on my shoulders.

Well, thank
goodness for that.

What feels
like thirty minutes later, the cheering turns to roars and they
hail Reid the winner. My dad runs up to Reid, and checks him over
for any injuries. Ryan leads me closer as Reid exits the Octagon.
Forcing my feet to move, I watch his every step until he reaches
me. I lift my hand to his cheek, frowning at the cut on his
eyebrow. A few drops of blood drip down, but other than that he
doesn’t look too banged up. His chest heaves with his heavy
breathing and I put my hand over his heart.

“Hey,” I
say.

His lip
twitches. “Hey, beautiful.”

“Let’s take
you to a doctor.”

“No need, I’m
fine.”

“Your
eyebrow!”

“You’re gonna
be a nurse, you can stitch it up,” he says, grinning. He smells
like sweat mixed with his spicy cologne. Surprisingly, it doesn’t
smell bad at all.

“I’m still on
the theory work!” I say, my voice going a little higher. No way
could I stitch that up.

Reid chuckles
at the look on my face.

“Reid!” I hear
my dad call. “Doc will stitch you up.”

“Who’s your
Doc?” I ask, looking around.

He winces, the
poor man must be in pain. “Not one. Doctors we have on call for the
fights. Why don’t you go wait with Ryan and I’ll meet you out
front?”

“Nice fight,
Reid,” Jade says, walking up to us.

Reid nods.
“Almost there.”

“Almost
there,” she whispers back, exhaling deeply.

“I’m gonna get
a doc to fix me up,” Reid says, kissing me on my head. He gives
Jade an undecipherable look as he walks off. Jade is scowling, her
eyes following Reid.

“What is it?”
I ask her, knowing something is up.

“Nothing,” she
says shortly. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Summer! Let’s
go!” Xander calls out. I follow the group outside, wondering what
the hell is going on right now.

“You coming
home with me?” Xander asks.

“No, I’ll wait
for Reid with Jade,” I say.

“Ryan, you
waiting here with them?” Xander asks him.

“Of course,”
Ryan replies, a scowl appearing on his handsome face.

“Okay, I’ll
see you at home then,” he says, kissing me on the cheek. “Look
after her. Precious cargo right here,” Xander says before walking
to his car.

I can see my
dad smiling, looking proud. I roll my eyes.

“Dad, come
over tomorrow for dinner,” I say when he comes over to say bye.

“What are you
cooking?” he asks, his eyes flaring with interest.

“Whatever you
want,” I reply, smiling.

“You know me,
I’ll always want meat and potatoes.”

“Meat and
potatoes it is.”

“See you
tomorrow, baby girl,” he says, pulling me in for a warm hug. I turn
to see Jade watching us interact, a wistful look on her face.

“I better be
invited,” Ryan adds, leaning on his car. The wind keeps blowing his
hair into his face.

“Of course you
are. Jade, you can come too,” I tell her. She’s not so bad after
all, when she tones down the melodramatics. Jade looks surprised at
the invite, hell, I surprised myself.

I look up from
my phone, seeing Reid walk out towards us. His steps are hurried,
and I can see his fists are clenched. What the hell happened? He
pins me with his gaze, now close enough that I can see his eyes.
They soften as they rest on me. “Let’s go home, beauty.”

“What
happened?” I demand.

“Nothing,” he
lies. I know he lies because he looks away as he says nothing, not
maintaining eye contact.

“What. The.
Fuck?” I growl when I notice that he has pink lipstick stains on
his neck. He’s wearing a hoodie again, but they still don’t
completely hide them. I ignore Reid, my heart shattering, and walk
over to Ryan’s car, getting into the passenger seat. I’m not going
home with that bastard.

“Summer…” Reid
calls out, stalking to the car. I lock the door. Ryan sticks his
head in the driver’s side, looking confused.

“Will you take
me home?” I ask him, my voice breaking. Ryan immediately hops into
the car, and closes the door, pressing the central lock so Reid
can’t get in.

“What’s
wrong?” he asks, looking baffled.

“What’s
wrong?” I repeat, sounding a little hysterical.

“Calm down,
Summer,” Ryan demands.

Reid stands
next to the window and knocks on it. “Open the door, Summer,” he
says, sounding a little frantic.

“Reid has
fucking lipstick all over his neck!” I say to Ryan, turning my back
on Reid so I can’t see him.

“Reid would
never cheat on you,” Ryan says confidently, trying to placate
me.

“Yeah, so some
bitch’s lips just fell on his neck?” I can hear Jade and Reid
talking to each other in heated tones.

“Why don’t you
just ask him? I’m sure there’s an explanation.”

“You driving
me, or should I call a cab?” I ask him, my voice low.

“Fuck,” he
curses. He gets out the car and says something quietly to Reid.
Reid pushes Ryan out of the way and hops into the driver’s
seat.

“For suck's
sake, Summer, I didn’t kiss anyone,” he says, anger and worry
flashing in his eyes.

“I’m pretty
sure that speaks for itself,” I say, looking straight ahead.