Maybe This Time (Maybe #1)(26)

“Undefeated,” he answers, and I’m not surprised one bit.

“Anything else you can tell me?”

“That’s pretty much all there is to it. They follow MMA rules, they fight, and someone wins. That about sums it up.” He parks the car and we walk to his dorm room. I’m surprised to find it fairly tidy.

“I’ll order us some pizza, you can relax,” he says, pushing me gently towards the couch.

Turns out Lyle isn’t so bad after all.





Chapter Ten


I wave bye to Lyle, after thanking him for letting me crash the night before. Shoes in hand, I walk barefoot to the front door, digging in my clutch for the house key. Before I can find it, the door opens and a furious looking Reid stands there, watching Lyle’s car drive off. I feel a twinge of guilt when I take in his appearance. Dark shadows under his eyes, his face slightly pale, and his hair sticking up at all angles, he looks like he could use a good night’s rest. His nose is also red and swollen, where he must have been hit last night at the fight. He's shirtless, and barefoot. I walk past him, gritting my teeth when he doesn’t move aside, so I have to slide my body against his. He grabs a tight hold on my wrist before I can move out of reach.

“Where were you?” he asks hoarsely, his eyes full of pain.

“Out.”

He curses and lets go of me, but follows me to my room.

“Where is everyone?” I ask, placing my bag on my bed.

“Bed, they only went to sleep an hour ago. We were all worried, Summer.”

“I texted Xander and told him I was fine,” I say, lifting my shoulder in a slight shrug.

“How easy would it have been for someone else to send that message from your phone?” he growls, threading his fingers together behind his neck.

“Why would someone do that?” I ask, surprised at his paranoia.

“I have enemies, Summer,” he says, his tone laced with anger.

He's angry at me? Oh, this is rich. I shake my head at him, not quite believing this turn of events.

“Why are you here?” I ask, proud of myself for keeping my voice steady.

“About last night, it wasn’t what it looked like.” He reaches with his hand to touch me. I take a step back, hating the defeated look that comes over him.

“That’s a new line,” I say, the sarcasm in my tone evident.

“She kissed me. I pushed her away...” he says, looking tortured.

“Okay?” I gesture for him to continue talking.

“And you were on a f*cking date, so I didn’t even do anything wrong,” he bites out.

“So you lied to me, a million times over, then you get caught kissing another girl, but you didn’t do anything wrong. I’m so happy we aren’t actually together!” I spit out. My lip trembles, giving away just how hurt I am.

“You don’t mean that,” he says softly, his face drawn.

“You don’t know me.”

“I know you,” he replies softly, studying me.

“So, you’re an underground fighter,” I say, changing the subject.

He curses, watching my face intently.

“How does that work exactly?” I ask, wanting to hear it from him.

“We meet up at different locations. Spectators pay entry, two hundred dollars each, and then that money is used as the prize money. It’s just something I’ve been doing for a while,” he says with a slight shrug, trying to play it off as no big deal.

I blink twice, pondering his words. “Why all the secrecy?”

“There's more to it, beauty, but that’s all you need to know, alright? Now come here,” he says as he hops onto my bed, pulling the sheet up for me to climb in.

“Why are you always with her?” I ask him in a small voice.

“I don’t like her like that, trust me,” is all he says.

“Fine, but she obviously likes you like that,” I snap.

“I set her straight, she won’t be trying that shit again, okay?” he says in a soothing tone.

I sit down on the bed next to him. “You hurt me. You kissed her. Her f*cking lips were on yours.”

“I f*cked up. I’m gonna f*ck up. But I wanna try,” he whispers, pulling me down so my head is on his chest.

“You wanna try what?” I ask, my voice soft and unsure.

“I wanna try with you, I don’t want you on dates with anyone else. You’re mine, beauty.” He tightens his hold on me.

“I can’t,” I say in a timid voice.

“We'll talk after a few hours’ sleep, I was up all night,” he says. I lie back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. When he pulls me into his arms I hold my breath, wanting to relax into him but knowing that I shouldn’t. I can’t let my guard down around this man. He has the power to break me, if I give it to him. I’m already in over my head.

That’s my last thought before I fall asleep.





*****


I wake up two hours later, slowly extracting myself from Reid’s arms. Xander is standing in the kitchen with our dad, both of them draining a cup of coffee.

“Mornin’,” I say, heading to the fridge and pulling out an apple juice box.

“What happened last night will not happen again, Summer,” my dad grinds, staring at me with an intense expression.