UnExpected (The Fighter Series Book 2) Page 17

  The seat vibrates under me.

  “Move!” he yells out again.

  In the little rear view mirror, the nose of his car is on my bumper. The timer is less than twenty seconds and the finish line is in view. I swerve, keeping him at bay behind me, but he somehow manages to get around and comes up on my right. I turn the wheel, spinning him out of control, and he hits the wall just as I pass over the checkered line.

  “What!” he cries out in defeat. “That was so dirty.”

  “Don’t ever doubt me.” I snort.

  We’ve been here for a little over an hour playing games like air hockey, hunting aliens, and even putt-putt. The whole place is under black lights illuminating bright colors around us. It’s an exciting and dizzying feeling, one that makes me feel young again. It’s exhilarating, but unfortunately by my watch, adult things have to happen very soon.

  “I need to get going,” I tell him.

  He pats his pocket. “Let me turn my tickets in.”

  I giggle. That sentence coming from such a deep voice sounds funny.

  He leads me by my back up to the prize counter and pulls out a heaping load of tickets.

  My eyes bulge. “Where the heck did you get all of them? I was with you the whole time.”

  A white-haired man with a thick Southern accent grabs them up and feeds them through the counter. Ryker leans his shoulder into mine with a very serious expression.

  “You see that guy over there?” He nods toward a younger man in a green shirt. “I shook him down and got all of his. That guy too.” He points to another.

  I backhand him in the arm. “You’re ridiculous.” I snicker.

  After the tickets are counted, Ryker picks out a stuffed purple pony and two of those sticky hand toys then tells the man to have a great evening. I think it’s sweet he’s miles away and still thinks about his niece.

  He hops in the truck after helping me in and places the pony in my lap. “Every pretty girl deserves a pony.”

  “I figured this was for Gracie,” I reply surprised.

  “Oh no.” He wags his finger. “I was warned by my sister-in-law that she’d chop my balls off if I brought home anymore stuffies. I don’t dare to piss her off. That woman means business.”

  “I can’t remember the last time I had a stuffed animal. Thanks.”

  He smiles opening up the container with the slimy hands and passes me one. “Ever seen one of these?” he asks.

  “Didn’t our grandparents play with these,” I quip.

  “So you know what to do with them?”

  Oh, he’s up to no good by that tone.

  “Yeah,” I say slowly. “You toss them up against the window.”

  He screeches, mimicking a buzzer. “Wrong! It’s for this.”

  As the last word exits his mouth, a slimy hand attaches to my cheek. And in an instant, it’s a full on beat the hell out of each other brawl. Laughs, grunts, squeals and inaudible words engulf the cab of his truck.

  “Truce,” he calls out breathless. “You’re gonna be late for work. Truce!”

  I’ve broken a sweat hiding behind the purple pony. “Deal,” I pant.

  Our laughter comes to an end as he pulls the gear shifter into drive and begins forward. I straighten up just in time for the slimy toy to wrap around my arm.

  “You can’t hit the driver,” he says laughing and holding up a finger. “You’ll kill us both.”

  “Such a cheap shot, you ass!” I tease.

  He parks his truck beside my car at the restaurant and turns to me. “So, can I get another friends’ day out tomorrow?”

  “Why do I feel like you have hidden intentions?” Oh that was way too flirty.

  He shrugs his shoulder smirking. “Okay, I’m busted. I have a good time with you and I want to indulge in it.”

  I tilt my head not enthused.

  “I know you’re not interested in dating, Paige. I’m not going to force you to step outside the boundaries you’re comfortable with. I thought becoming friends was a smart thing since your best friend has my boy wrapped around her finger.”

  Running my fingers over the soft fluff, I look up to him. “I guess since you did win me a pony.”

  “I’ll see you tomorrow then,” he says.

  “What time and where? I’ll meet you.”

  “Don’t worry about that.” He glances at the time. “You need to get going, you’re going to be late. Hope you have a good night.”

  I slide out of his truck a little bewildered at what just transpired. My gut says he’s up to something but it all feels good. I really enjoy his company. He brings out the kid in me.

  Crap. I have twenty minutes to make it to work.

  Chapter 30

  Tonight, Tonic couldn’t have been any better. The people were great. The service even better. I guess acting carefree and playing around with Ryker did me some good. I have an extra pep in my step, which makes me feel happy and playful. I had so much fun today.

  I’m bee-bopping out the door to my car when immediately I’m stopped at the sight of Ryker leaning against my car. Flashbacks melt my smile. I used to love seeing Levi in the same spot.

  I close my eyes and take a deep breath fending off the thoughts of him.

  “You ready?” he asks as I approach.

  My brows pinch together at the blond headed, muscular man beaming at me. “For what?”

  “To go out.”

  “You said we would tomorrow,” I remind him.

  He looks to his watch. “Two forty-five in the morning would be tomorrow.”

  I bounce my finger trying to hide my amusement. “You’re a sneaky bastard.”

  He shrugs. “I’ve been called worse. Get in.” He throws his thumb over his shoulder at his truck.

  I rub my hands together glancing around the parking lot. “What are we doing?”

  “Just trust me.”

  He drives us out of the town and down some long dark country roads with very few houses. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. I have no clue where I’m at. He takes a right into an opening of a wooden gate traveling the bumpy dirt path.

  “How is it you don’t live here but you know where you’re going?” I ask his silhouette illuminated by the blue lights from the dashboard.

  He rocks his head from shoulder to shoulder. “Want me to tell you the truth?”

  “No, I want you to lie to me,” I deadpan.

  “I told Matt what I was looking for and he told me where to find it.”

  We’re in the middle of a field when he parks his truck and orders me to get out. My heart is slamming against my rib cage as my feet hit the tall weeds and I walk to the back of the truck.

  He lowers the tailgate and spreads out a blanket in the bed. I stumble backward. “I think you have the wrong idea.”

  He grabs my arm. “No. You have the wrong idea. Hurry and get up here. You’re gonna miss it.”

  Gun is in my purse, I remind myself hopping my butt on the tailgate.

  He sits at the opposite side. “Take it you’ve never been here?”

  “No,” my voice wavers.

  “Do I make you nervous?”

  “I’m scared to answer that. I don’t want to be on the front page of the paper.”

  He drops his head back and laughs loudly. “What kind of person do you think I am?”

  “I’m smack dab in the middle of nowhere.”

  “Oh, you’re somewhere. Give it a minute. If my calculations are right, we have one more minute.”

  “For what?”

  “You’ll see.” He sounds excited.

  Suddenly, there’s a rumbling all around us, coming at all angles. A high pitched roar. My anxiety spikes and panic begins to creep up from the depths of my soul. I’m mentally digging through files stored in my brain unable to register the noise.

  Ryker squeezes my arm and I wrench back, startled. “Look.” He points above us.

  The roar is louder, swallowing us in a dimension outside of our world
ly one. I look up to see three bright lights, and the belly of a plane mere feet from our heads. Okay, maybe not that close, but really close. It soars over us and then disappears behind a line of trees.

  I sigh in relief.

  “You all right?”

  Even my heart is trembling. “I couldn’t tell what that was. It scared the hell out of me.”

  He chuckles. “Being knocked in the head a few times, I understand not being able to decipher sounds.”

  Fear fades and excitement manifests. “That was pretty cool, though.”

  “I believe it’s every three minutes they come by. Next time don’t freak out.”

  Silence pours into the country air around us except for the music of the crickets. I’ve never enjoyed listening to the darkness as I do now. It’s invigorating and much needed.

  “Two more weeks and I’m back at training.” Ryker breaks the appealing stillness.

  “For what?” I shake my head at my stupidity. “Never mind. The championship.”

  “Three months away,” he reminds me. “You gonna root for me?” He pokes me in the ribs and I squeal balling up.

  “I’m not going to watch it,” I tell him.

  His expression turns poignant. “You know the pain will ease, right?”

  “Coming from a man who probably can have anything he wants,” I say clipped.

  “Sure, but at that time, it was only her I wanted. She was the love of my life. Someone I truly thought I was gonna marry and be with until my hair turned gray naturally.” He chuckles under his breath and drops his view to his lap. “She broke things off with me out of nowhere. We were planning a future, living our lives together, and loving each other…so I thought. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a bad break-up, we remained civil, but my world crumbled around me. It was one of the toughest things I ever went through.”

  “What happened?”

  “That’s the thing. There wasn’t a good excuse. I guess she wasn’t in love anymore. It made me question everything in my life. I felt like I was at my lowest point and life couldn’t get much worse.”

  “How old were you?”

  “I was twenty-two and we had been together since high school. Six years and poof,” he spreads his fingers, “it went up in smoke right before my eyes like some horrible magic trick.”

  I drop my eyes to my swinging legs. “I’m sorry,” I say.

  “Instead of dwelling on emotions and the pain of it all, I decided to learn from it. Get up and face my days regardless of how bleak they looked. Then all of a sudden, opportunities I never knew were there started coming in from every angle. I was already fighting, but Brian approached me with one hell of a job opportunity. He’s basically Cory’s sidekick. Those two dominate the game together. But he landed me sanctioned fights, my pay was raised, I got to travel parts of the world I’d never seen and had training opportunities I’d only dreamed of. Little things started happening. I got a new truck, relieving the fear of my old one breaking down. I didn’t have to worry about paying bills because I finally had the money. For the first time, I became carefree. Did I miss her being there to experience it with me? I still do, but there are reasons why things happen. People come into your life for seasons. It’s when they leave you learn what their purpose was.”

  I puff out air. “Yeah, never to get involved with a narcissistic fighter.”

  “We’re all not bad, Paige. I know a fighter who has been married for three years and cherishes the ground her and his sons walk on. Has he ever made mistakes? I’m sure. It all just takes strength.”

  “Levi would never talk to me like this.” I nearly choke on his name.

  “I bet he has, but in his own ways.”

  I look up to him bemused. “It sounds like you’re trying to get us back together.”

  He laughs. “No. If I had it my way, I’d show you happiness, but it’s a line I’m not crossing with you. You need to grow from the experience. Don’t lie down and think life is over.” He reaches and squeezes my hand. “I promise the pain will ease and as hurtful as it sounds, he’ll become a distant memory.”

  “Yeah.” I sigh into the night.

  Once again, we’re surrounded by the rumble of another plane coming in. Excitement nudges my sadness from our conversation. Tears threaten, but I look up to watch the plane and ward them off.

  Chapter 31

  It’s been three days since Ryker and I watched airplanes and had a heart to heart. It was exactly what I needed though. Since then, I’ve stopped feeling sorry for myself. Listening to his words, I decided to pick myself up and start living for me and not in the memory of what could’ve been.

  I quit blaming myself as well. I might have suffocated our relationship with my worries, but it was his choice to say yes or no. Unfortunately, he failed. I still believe he loved me regardless of the horrible decision he made. Still, I’m happy I met him and had the fun we did. I’ll cherish the moments, the happiness we shared, but it’s time for me to get on with my life.

  I’m sure he has.

  I’m heading to Holly’s for a glass of wine and dinner. While we were at work today she invited me…well actually she told me I was coming over, and with nothing else better to do, why not? She’s become spontaneous lately and it’s a good look for her. She smiles more.

  Blain’s been pretty busy trying to focus on Lacy and prove to her he’s a good guy, which means I haven’t seen him much. Although I miss seeing him all the time, I’m hoping he sweeps her right off her feet.

  I hear a booming laughter inside Holly’s apartment as I knock on the door. And when it finally opens, I’m greeted by a lethally sexy smile sliding across Ryker’s lips. He’s downright drool-worthy, dominating the space he stands in wearing dark faded jeans with a light gray t-shirt stretching tightly against his muscles and showcasing his tattoos. He hasn’t shaved leaving stubble running along his jawline and over his chin. The zing his looks just shot through me almost brings me to my knees.

  “Just in time.” His deep tone reverberates into my chest.

  I swallow my shyness. “For what?”

  He steps to the side and raises his arm. Holly’s kitchen is a wreck. Food is strewn all over the place and even on the cabinets. She’s drenched and Matt doesn’t look too far behind her.

  She points to Ryker. “It’s his fault! He started it.”

  “She’s loony,” Ryker whispers with a chuckle.

  “Dude, you made the broccoli casserole ingredients into Superman’s nemesis.” Matt bends gasping for air.

  “Me?” Ryker points to himself. “You have me confused with someone else. I’ve been sitting right here on the couch watching you both act like rabid animals.”

  Holly grabs a handful of whatever is on her counter and tosses it at us. Instantly, Ryker pushes me on the couch and darts to the other side of the room out of the path of the food. “Don’t make me get the water hose again.”

  I have officially walked into the best food fight of the century. I wink at Holly devising a plan. “Do I need a white flag to get a drink?” I call out.

  Holly reaches in the fridge and tosses me a Coke.

  “I’m on his team since he’s not all nasty,” I yell.

  He’s keeping a close eye on the other two and I quickly shake the can and pop the top pointing it toward him. Muscular arms reach around and pull me into his chest, holding me hostage to the spray.

  “Oh, hell no you just didn’t,” he says tossing me over his shoulder.

  Matt and Holly throw things at him, but he weathers the storm and grabs the hose on the sink and soaks us both.

  I squeal kicking and bucking. Somehow, I’m able to get my arms around his neck and put him in a sloppy guillotine. As he reaches for my arms, he loosens his grip on my body and I spider around him and attach myself to his back, wrapping my legs around his waist. He steps to the side, dodging Matt and Holly’s food assault allowing me to grab a handful and squish it in his face. I drop down and like a dumbass, back myself into the
corner of the kitchen without an exit.

  He’s grinning like a maniac as he stalks to my corner with food covering him. I slide down the wall, planting my butt on the floor and he squats in front of me. “So you think you’re funny?”

  And before I can answer, my face is being smeared. My abs hurt from laughing. “Okay! Okay!” I push against him. “Truce!”

  Ryker drops to his butt and leans back on the cabinet, his chest rising and falling. “I was doing good ‘til you got here.”

  “We just needed your weakness,” Holly says snickering. “Now we know it takes three to get you.”

  His eyes slide to me sending a rush of happiness to my toes. Whoa. I haven’t felt that in a long time. “Traitor,” he mumbles.

  I shrug innocently then look at my clothes. “Um, I have nothing to change into. Holly, do you have anything?”

  She bursts out laughing. “Paige, you’re like five sizes smaller than I am.”

  “I’ve got you covered.” Ryker jumps to his feet offering me a helping hand up.

  I’m sure my expression is the same as my thought…He’s done lost his mind.

  “Be right back,” he says over his shoulder going out the door.

  We’ve started cleaning the mess up when he comes back with clothes in his hands. “Come here,” he says.

  I turn back to Holly, but she’s too busy with Matt and Ryker guides me to her bathroom shutting the door behind him. “T-shirt and jogging pants. Everything will be too big, but you can roll the pants up by the waist.”

  He sets the clothes on the corner then another stack on the other side. I’m frozen solid unsure what the hell to do.

  “Um, are you going to get out?” I ask weakly.

  “Nope. I’ll turn around and keep my eyes to myself. Don’t believe me, keep your eyes on the mirror.” He nods at it. “I need to change too.”

  He winks sending a shudder straight to my core and turns around. I watch him for a second to see if I catch his eyes, but so far he’s keeping to his word. I grab the dark gray t-shirt and pull my arms through the sleeves of my shirt, you know…just in case, then duck into his shirt making the exchange flawless.