No Regrets (No Regrets #1) (9 page)

My feet stumble back to my
side of the cage. Jackson is there with a water bottle. He squeezes my shoulders before the whistle signals the next round. This time I approach the man with a flurry of hitting and kicking. He tries to block the hits, but a few get by. He’s favoring his side where I came down on him in the previous round. He grabs my arm as I move to bring it back to his chest. But James twists, forcing me to my knees. I know if he doesn’t let it go my arm could break, but I can’t tap out. It’s not an option. My body sinks to the mat further, forcing him to alter his footing. I sweep a foot under him, causing the tight grip on my arm to release. Unfortunately the damage has been done. I can feel a slight change in my forearm, probably a tiny fracture. I shift, moving on top of him, putting all of my weight onto his chest, forcing his body into the mat. A slight tap vibrates through my back. Effortlessly I lift off of him and back to my side just as the whistle blows again.

Jackson whisp
ers into my ear, “One more, Pace, just one more.”

My head m
oves in a sort of nod as I try to catch my breath. Both of us surge back into the center just as the last round commences. This time he punches me across the jaw. I step backward from the force. I wasn’t expecting it. Another punch surges forth, hitting me in the gut. My body doubles over for a moment. James takes the opportunity to throw a kick but instead of connecting, I grab his foot and pull with all of the strength I have left. He falls onto his back and tries to get back up but I fall, landing on top of him with an onslaught of punches to his uninjured side. He doubles over as I launch a flourish of hits to his face. His hand comes out to the mat and taps loudly. I stop, my arms drop to my sides as I stand. The referee brings my arm up as he announces me as the winner.

The warehou
se erupts in cheers and boos. I smile as blood seeps down from my nose onto my teeth. The first win and it feels just as grand as my last. This time though, I vow to savor and enjoy each step of the climb. As we leave the cage I spot Carlo and Christina in the crowd. Carlo raises his arm in a firm fist and smiles.

I nod and look
at Christina, who seems disheveled as though she’s been through almost as much as I have. She probably got into the fight just watching it. She smiles and mouths, “Congratulations.”

Chapter 11

W
hen we enter the locker room, I’m faced with a flourish of deja vu. Trinity is sitting sullenly at the end of the bench, exactly where I left her. She looks up apprehensively to gauge my mood. When a grin appears she leaps up and into my arms, knowing that I won. I squash her nose, forcing her to squirm away. Christina finds her way back into the cramped room. She seems genuinely happy and congratulates me again, embracing my shoulders quickly.

It’s
eerie how similar yet so different it is from the last time I fought. Meyer’s face runs through my thoughts. I look around at the faces that have always been there and the new ones I’m happy to call my friends now. Tonight would have been perfect if my old friend could have been here. Unfortunately we lost touch after that first year I went away. Often I think about tracking him down but I always get distracted with something else.

A hand grasps my
shoulder. “Hey, where are you, Grey?”

I shake the thoughts away and look
down at Trinity. “Sorry, just remembering the last time this happened.”

She smiles
. “Tonight though, you’re going home, straight to bed, right?”

I
nod and ruffle her hair.

“Hey, where’s Jimmy?”
asks Carlo.

Starting to remove my gloves, I shake my
head. “You know Jimmy, he said he doesn’t want anything to do with me until I’m on the up.”

Jackson chimes in, “What’s that asshole afraid of? He al
ready has a rotten reputation.”

I don’t have a response. I’m pretty much the reason for that reputation.
Jackson’s voice is forceful when he asks, “What—? He didn’t—he didn’t tell you that it was your fault, did he?”

“Not in so many
words. I can see how it would have been hard for him after I left.”

Jackson curses
. “Shit, that guy is bad all the way through. I can’t believe he told you that. He’s a pissant, Pace. After you left he rode your coattails. It was good publicity for his business whether you went away or not. You made it Pro, he used it to his advantage. He caused his own downfall when he represented that shit fighter Jesus Reyes. He was into some illegal crap and took Jimmy down with him. Everyone knows this.”

Carlo pipes in, “In Jimmy’s defense, he’s not here tonight probably to keep fr
om tarnishing your reputation.”

I shake my head absently
at typical Jimmy. He was always looking for the easiest way to get ahead. Any shortcut and he would be the first one to jump. Jesus Reyes. I know that name for some reason. I look at Carlo and ask, “Jesus Reyes…”

Carlo finishes for me
, “Yeah, Parker’s only loss.”

Turning to absorb that information
, I lean over and kiss my sister’s cheek. I move to Christina and kiss her cheek as well, but she shifts, moving her lips to mine instead. Confusion forms on my face.

She stands o
n her toes and whispers into my ear, “If you need another good night’s sleep, you know where you can get one.”

A smile creeps across my
lips. Jackson herds them all out. He comes back just as I’m heading for the showers.

“Pace
, that was a great performance but you’re gonna have to do better to convince me.”

I shake my head, he’s right. I
know the guy almost had me a couple of times tonight. I can’t let that happen again.

***

A muffled pounding forces me out of a deep sleep. As my eyelids rise I recognize Christina’s bedroom and the smell that is uniquely her, jasmine and freshly washed sheets. She is so peaceful breathing softly through her slightly parted lips. Instead of waking her I climb off the bed and pull my jeans on. The pounding continues. I look back at Christina. She is completely unaffected by the noise. My lip quirks thinking that this is more fuel to chide her about later. I make my way out into the living room and realize it’s coming from the front door. Quickly I unlock the door and pull it wide to face a very annoyed Juno. She forces herself past me and looks around. “Where’s Christina?”

My head turns
to the tiny hall leading to the master bedroom. “Still sleeping. Apparently she’s a sound sleeper.”

She stares at me
trying to avert her eyes from my bare chest but failing miserably. I shift and ask with an amused smile, “Do you want me to go and get her?”

She looks
away and nods uncomfortably. As I walk back to the bedroom I fit my grey t-shirt over my head. Leaning over Christina, I whisper into her ear, “Hey you, your aunt is here.”

She rolls over
, not bothering to open her eyes. Her hands come up my chest, trailing to my shoulders, and she pulls my face closer. A chuckle escapes me at her lack of force. Her eyes open at the sound and she asks, “What’s so funny?”

“You’re a weakling, that’s what. Did you hear me
? Your aunt is here and she seems a little peeved.”

She moans
, rolling away from me. “What does she want, Rookie?”

“I’m not sure
, but I think she was at the door for a while.”

She moves her hand through her hair and sits up
then pulls down her blue t-shirt displaying Nirvana across the front. Movement in the doorway causes both of us to look up as Juno walks into the room. She glances at me and back to Christina.

“Christina
, I have things to do today. You might be considerate and answer your door.”

Christina shakes her head
, still trying to wake up. “I didn’t hear you. What time is it, anyway?”

Juno looks
at her watch. “It’s time you get out of bed and get your shit together.”

Christ
ina glares at her and at me, as if I did the worst thing letting Juno in. My hands go up in surrender. “I know when it’s my cue to leave. I have to get over to Jackson’s, anyway. See you girls tonight.”

I try
to slip by Juno but she grabs my arm. She looks back at Christina and tells her, “Don’t you chase Greylan away. We’re lucky to have found him. He’s a hard worker and doesn’t give me shit like some people.”

She releases my arm
, allowing me to rush out. I don’t linger to hear Christina’s response. The last thing I need is a lecture from Juno.

I drive
to the gym, finally feeling that my life has taken a turn in the right direction.

As I enter
, an onslaught of clapping commences throughout the room. I scan the place for Jackson, who’s overseeing a couple of fighters going at it in the ring. He shakes his head and announces loud enough for everyone to hear, “Better quit that crap or it’ll go to his head and he’ll think his shit don’t stink.”

Smiling at the whole thing
, I walk to the locker room to change. A few people mutter congratulations as I pass through. It feels great to be on my way back.

I spend
the day getting hammered by every possible muscle inducing ache that Jackson can think up. After the fight last night I had an x-ray of my arm and found it wasn’t a fracture, just a rough sprain. Jackson doesn’t seem to care in his pursuit of killing me.

I make it back to the
rental, just as three o’clock hits to collapse once again onto the grungy bed. Just before my eyes close I make a promise to myself to find a new place tomorrow. This shit hole has overstayed its welcome.

Hours later I’m trudging
through the back door at Juno’s. As I make my way into the hallway, arguing echoes down the dull walls, the same as this morning.
Those two are so much alike, they fight like crazy. What could they possibly still be arguing about?

As I near the office
, my name comes out of the small room. “Greylan doesn’t deserve that, Christina. You need to tell him.”

Christina’s voice
sounds exasperated, like they’ve been going at it all day. “Juno, I’ve already decided, I’m not telling him. He wouldn’t care, anyway. We are just friends, so there’s no reason for me to tell him.”

Juno snaps, “It didn’t look like just friends this morning when he answered the door half naked.
” A pause, then her tone changes. “Oh, I get it, is that the new thing you kids are doing now,
friends with benefits
? Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Someone is gonna get hurt. Keeping things from each other, friends or not, is bad news.”

I hear
a shift and movement. Quickly I duck back into the darkened hall. Christina comes out the door but turns to look back in. She states, “I’ll tell him, just not yet.”

She leaves before Juno can respond and walks down the hall towar
d the bar. Curiosity takes hold, wondering what she doesn’t want to tell me. But I trust her. Hell, it’s probably something I don’t
want
to know. She doesn’t owe me anything. We’re friends, and at this point that’s all I can give her.

I wait a few more minutes and open the outer door again as if I
just came in. After walking to the office, I lean in. “Hi, Juno. How are you?”

She rolls her eyes
, looks at her computer screen, then turns back around in exasperation. “Next time put some clothes on, why don’t you?”

My lips turn up
. “Will do. See you later.”

Christina
looks up when I get to the bar and smiles, but it’s forced. She seems uncomfortable. Whatever it is she doesn’t want to tell me is killing her. I decide to give her the night before she breaks. This should be fun.

As soon as the coolers are stocked
, I help her with the bottles. We replace empty ones and wipe down others.

“Grey, why don’t you like Parker?”
she asks.

A frown forms
at her choice of topic but I answer it anyway. “It’s a little complicated. He’s with my sister, which I hate, but what I dislike even more is that he’s a fighter. I know what that’s like, the life and the girls, and how it can go to your head. My sister doesn’t deserve that.”

She continues what she’
s doing without looking up. “But she seems to have a good head on her shoulders. Do you think she made a bad choice?”

I stop
fitting a pour spout into a new bottle and look up at her. My head shakes at her insistence not to look at me.

“It’s not that sh
e made a bad choice. No, I’m pretty sure she did okay, actually. He might be a good guy.” My voice cracks. “Two years before I left, our mom died of cancer. I promised her that I would take care of Trinity. I guess maybe some of it is my own guilt because I wasn’t able to keep my promise. I was supposed to be the one taking care of her but she found someone else to do it.”

“Bu
t you don’t actually hate him.”

I place
the bottle back and a knock on the front door echoes through the room. I look over at our first customer and back to Christina. She’s staring at me, waiting for a response.

“No
, I don’t hate him, but I’m still gonna beat his ass for dating my sister.”

She smiles and looks away. Something big is bugging her. Maybe tonight might not be so fun after
all.

The bar
fills quickly. I check on her often throughout the night to gauge her mood. Whatever is bothering her isn’t affecting her interactions with the regulars. I envy her ability to be able to turn her emotions off. On more than one occasion I’ve let the badgering and taunting of others get to me. Parker is a perfect example.

***

The night winds down, and as Christina locks the door I can tell she can’t hold it in any longer. She crosses the room and stands at the bar, her hands bracing her body for support.

The
words rush out. “Grey, Jonathan is here in town.” She takes a deep breath. “He wants me back and I don’t know what to do.”

She seems t
o deflate with the admission. I walk around the bar and grab her hand leading her to a bar chair. She rests her head in her hands against the bar. It’s so cute that she tried so hard to keep it in all night. Trying to make light, I ask, “Is this why you wanted to play twenty questions before we opened?”

She nods
, looking even more miserable.

“I don’t
understand. Why did you ask me about Parker?”

She seems to sink further if that
’s possible. “I don’t want you to hate me, or him. I just, I just don’t know what to do.”

I lean
into the chair beside her and rub my rough chin. My finger moves under her chin, forcing her to look at me. “Christina, it doesn’t matter how I feel about the guy. You will always be my friend, no matter what.”