“You looking to fight me or fuck me, Baywatch? Stop flirting and take a shot.” His taunts roll off my back as I zone in, ready to put forth all my energy to end this little dance we’ve been doing.
If he’d just drop his guard . . .
I swing. He ducks and lunges for my legs. I jump back. Not fast enough. His arms lock around my thigh. Shit! I’m airborne. My back hits the mat with a whoosh of air escaping my lungs.
“Fuck!” I pound the mat with my fists.
He shoves my jaw in a mock punch. “Nah . . . but thanks for the offer.”
Asshole.
He pushes to stand, and Rex shows up at his side, glaring down at me with his arms crossed over his chest.
“What?” I avoid their eyes, knowing the lecture that’s sure to pour from their stupid mouths.
“Where’s your head at, Baywatch?” Rex digs the ball of his foot into my ribs. “And I swear to shit if you say it’s in the fight I’ll sweep your leg Karate-Kid style.” He holds out his arms and lifts a knee as if he’s Danielson, and Blake chokes on a laugh.
I roll away from them and hop to my feet. “I don’t know what you want from me. I’m training my ass off.”
Rex’s teasing expression sobers. “No . . . you were on fire a few weeks ago. Now you’re, I don’t know”—he taps his temple with two fingers—“not here.”
Blake’s squinting at me or, wait . . . just over my shoulder. I turn to see a grinning Layla headed toward us with a little bundle of baby wrapped in a blanket and cradled in her arms.
He grips the chain link. “Mouse, what the hell are you doing here?” A proud smile splits his face as he takes in his woman and their son.
Layla tilts her head and presses a kiss to his lips through the cage. “I wanted to bring Jack by so he could watch Daddy work.” She smiles down at her baby, and I don’t miss Blake’s hands flex on the metal link like he’s itching to touch his kid.
“Yeah? Or were you bored and wanted to come shoot the shit with Eve?” He takes two steps back and hops up and over the octagon fence.
She giggles. “That too.” Her gaze swings from Blake to Rex and me. “Hey, you guys should meet us out tonight.”
“Whoa, what?” Blake plucks Jack from his mother’s arms, dwarfing the infant with the size of his arms. “Tonight?”
“Yeah, I was talking to Eve, and we thought it would be fun to go out for happy hour tonight. Ya know, get caught up.” She shrugs and waits for Rex and me to answer.
“Oh, um . . . I can’t tonight.”
Blake glares at me. “Why not?”
“I uh . . .” I shift on my feet and avoid their eyes. “It’s, um, I have a date.”
“Aha . . . so that’s where your head’s at.” Rex knocks me in the back of the skull.
“Ow! Fucking cut that shit out!” I rub the back of my head.
Rex shakes his head and then answers Layla. “Gia and I will be there. What time?”
Layla grins. “Six o’clock at The Bacon Bar.” She swings her gaze to Mason. “Bring her with, Mase, just for one drink.”
“Oh, sure. Yeah, okay.” I can’t think of a single reason to say no other than to tell the truth, which is that I don’t want to share Trix with anyone tonight, but I suppose a drink before dinner would be alright.
After all, if she agrees to date me exclusively, she’ll have to meet my UFL family. She seemed to get along great with Eve, and she’s already tight with Gia. What could possibly go wrong?
Fifteen
Trix
I’m sitting at my kitchen table, pounding a furious beat with the heel of my shoe. My calf burns, but nerves insist I continue. I check my phone for the time, wondering what the surprise detour Mason told me about earlier could possibly be.
The text came in shortly after I woke up. I’m assuming he got my number from Gia. I click through and open the message again.
Surprise detour. Be ready at six. :) Mason
An explosion of flutters takes flight in my belly. “It’s only a date! Teenagers do it for crying out loud.” Jeez. I push up to pace the small kitchen, smoothing the front of my white dress.
I searched for my most conservative outfit for my first date, and although this dress hangs loosely off my shoulder and around my body, it’s shorter than I’d have liked.
Shit. Maybe I should’ve gone shopping for something else. The rumble of a truck engine sounds and my heart beats wildly. I rush to the spare bathroom to check my face one more time before slowing my pace to answer the door.
He knocks twice, and I take a deep breath to fake calm.
I swing open the door and lock my knees to keep from throwing myself into his arms. Wow, he’s beautiful. “Hey.”
He doesn’t greet me, and rather than his usual easy smile, his expression is intense. He scrutinizes every inch of me, making me squirm as I feel the sweep of his gaze against my skin.