Chapter 19
Present Day
Gemma
I felt strangely nervous standing outside the changing room in the belly of the arena. I'd just watched on as Cade had won the fight, and won in some style. The uppercut he delivered to knock Agulla out sent the crowd wild. They loved him, and almost every single person in that arena were cheering his name.
“LOGAN, LOGAN, LOGAN,” they were chanting as he held his hands aloft, turning around slowly to acknowledge everyone in there. He didn't celebrate or jump around the ring in a show of happiness at winning the biggest fight of his life. No, he stayed calm and composed, as he always did in the ring, this intense stare still etched on his face.
Yet when he locked eyes with me, I saw something other than his usual intensity. I saw anger. I saw disappointment. It lasted only a moment or two, but it was unmistakable. He'd clearly noticed that I wasn't there, that Zack wasn't there, and he wasn't happy about it.
I knocked diffidently on the door. I could hear cheering inside, no doubt from Cade's team, popping the champagne and celebrating his victory.
I waited a moment and knocked slightly louder. They probably couldn't hear me.
A few seconds later the door opened and Cade's coach stood there.
“Gemma,” he shouted, a glass of champagne in his hand, “come in, come in.” He stepped to the side and I walked in. I saw several people in there, all drinking champagne and chattering excitedly. Some of them I knew – like Steve, Cade's nutritionist, but the others I didn't. Maybe sparring partners or other trainers.
A couple of guys parted ahead of me and I saw Cade lying face down on a massage table, his body being given a thorough warm down by an attractive young girl. She looked like the same girl I'd seen at his last fight.
“Champ,” coach shouted, “your lovely lady is here.”
He turned his attention to the rest of the party. “All right everyone, let's give these two some privacy.”
The guys started commenting and jeering suggestively as they moved off into the corridor to continue their party, one of them grabbing a couple of bottles of champagne as he left. The masseuse followed behind them, glancing at me sheepishly.
When she shut the door behind her the room fell deathly silent. I stood near to the door, feeling slightly awkward.
“You were amazing baby,” I said, my voice croaking slightly. “I'm so proud of you.”
He slowly twisted and sat up on the table, keeping his towel firmly around his waist. His face was darkly bruised over his left cheek, a cut already stitched up above his eye.
I walked in further as he creaked and groaned on the table. He looked more beaten than he ever had after one of his fights.
“Your eye looks sore,” I said, “does it hurt?”
I moved in towards him and stroked my hand gently over his bruised face. “Is it sore baby?”
He twisted his head and my hand fell off it. “It's fine, nothing.”
He stood up and walked away from me, dropping his towel as he picked up a pair of folded sweatpants over on a chair in the corner. He pulled them up over his naked ass before putting on a t-shirt. It wasn't like him at all. Usually after his fights he'd be all over me.
With his back still to me he spoke again, his voice low. “Where were you?”
I paused for a moment before replying: “What do you mean?”
“You weren't there at the beginning. You didn't get there until the fourth round. I saw you running in with....with Zack. So...where were you?”
His tone was accusatory.
“Look Cade, I'm really sorry. Zack and I, we were just having a drink and completely lost track of time. I...I don't know what to say...I'm sorry.”
“You were drinking with Zack?” he growled.
I felt flustered as he turned and glared at me. “Yeah, we were just talking about old times, you know, it was an easy mistake to make, anyone could have done it.”
His face contorted in a deep frown. “What do you mean, old times?”
Oh Christ, what did I say?! I've let it slip. Shall I lie? How...what can I say?!
“Um, nothing, just, you know, talking about...when you guys were younger, when you were kids.”
I could feel my voice breaking under his glare. I knew by the look on it that he didn't believe a word of what I was saying.
“Did you know Zack when you were younger?” he asked intensely.
He didn't give me a chance to answer as I opened my mouth, nothing coming out. The look on my face told him all he needed.
“When you first met me....you thought it was him didn't you? Why didn't you tell me? Why would you lie all this f*cking time?”
He was walking in now, moving closer towards me. I'd never felt intimidated by him until now.
“I don't know Cade,” I admitted, truthfully, “I just wanted to get to know you as you, without you knowing that I knew Zack. I know it sounds stupid, but that's how it was.”
“Did you ever f*ck him?” he asked coldly.
I stepped back. “No, of course not, we only knew each other as kids. We were just friends at school, that's all.”
His face began to soften slightly as he shook his head, struggling to understand.
“You said you'd be there tonight Gem, you said you'd be there behind me. But instead, you were drinking with him. It was the most important fight of my life and you weren't there.”
“But we got there, didn't we! And you won! So...what's the harm?”
He was shaking his head. “You know how much you mean to me Gem. You know how important it is for me to have you watching me fight. You betrayed me, and you lied to me. What the f*ck am I supposed to think about that. How am I supposed to know that you didn't f*ck Zack in the past, that you're not f*cking him now. I haven't seen you for two weeks – God knows what you've been doing.”
I stood there, slightly taken aback by what he was saying, by the way he was talking to me. Sure, I'd been slightly late, but at the end of the day, who gives a f*cking shit, he won.
“How dare you accuse me of that, of cheating on you!” I said, taking my own opportunity to get angry. “I'm not a liar and I'm not a cheat. I'd never do that to anyone, I couldn't.”
Thoughts of only an hour ago washed over me as I spoke, the sight of Zack's lips drawing near to mine. I remembered when I first kissed him, all those years ago, and how it felt. That same feeling had grabbed hold of me tonight, but I hadn't gone through with it. No, I wasn't a cheat.
“Yeah, well, whatever. You weren't there tonight. You f*cked up Gemma.”
I could feel my pulse rising rapidly now, things I'd wanted to say for a while beginning to bubble to the surface.
“So that's all I am to you, a f*cking lucky charm in the crowd. That's all you care about Cade – you don't give a shit about me, it's all about the fight. How f*cking selfish are you. You don't tell me that you care about me for me, or anything like that. You just f*ck me and then tell me I'm your lucky charm. That's all I am to you – just someone to see to your needs and make you feel good when you fight....”
I was breathing heavily, my chest heaving.
“Well maybe that's all you deserve,” he grunted.
I stared at him, right in the eye, and nodded slowly. “Well let's see how you do without your special little charm then, shall we,” I said. “This isn't working for me Cade, not anymore.”
I was trying to hold back the tears as I turned away and walked back towards the door. I didn't want him to see me cry, I wanted to stay hard in front of him. I heard no movement behind me, no attempt to stop me, as I opened the door and walked out into the corridor.
As soon as I was free the tears started rolling, cascading down my cheeks as I paced away from the room down the long, cold, corridor, and out into the dark night.