“It’s sponsored by the Bearded Squirrel. As far as being sanctioned . . .” He shrugged. “Let’s just say it’s semi-legal. Legal enough—and good enough for business—that they’re willing to take the risk.”
The announcer stepped out of the cage and a man in a light blue button-down and black pants entered. Judging by his formal attire, he was the referee. He stepped into the center, rolled up his sleeves and pointed to his left.
“Red corner, are you ready?” he shouted.
Abram peeled back his hood and removed his sweatshirt, throwing it over the cage to his coach. He tilted his chin up, beat his fist against his chest, and nodded. He had neatly combed brown hair parted on the side and a soft face with a wide nose. He reminded me of Mr. Rogers from the kid’s show Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood—except this version of Mr. Rogers was on steroids and too big to fit in sweaters.
“Blue corner are you ready?”
Hunter removed his hood then slid the sweater off his massive arms and threw it over the cage. That’s when I saw his face; and the tats around the side of his chest and neck.
My heart stopped.
He was Tattoos and Muscles.
I heard women screaming Hunter’s name and one or two of them shouting for him to marry them. He didn’t seem to notice, rather his focus was solely on the opponent before him. The hammer I’d painstakingly drawn in my sketchbook was etched on the side of his arm. There was no mistaking it. I’d finally found out his name.
Hunter Jensen.
I watched anxiously as both men stepped forward and approached one another.
The referee addressed each fighter. “I want a clean fight, you know the rules. No crotch shots, eye gouging, or anything dirty. If you do, I’ll have you disqualified. Are we clear?”
Each fighter nodded.
Abram and Hunter tapped gloves then each took a step back. The referee slashed his arm between them like a knife cutting palpable tension. A silence fell on the crowd.
I looked at Gary who had wide eyes and a grin on his face. He seemed pumped to see the action start.
“Fight!” the referee yelled, pulling his arm away and stepping back.
Abram immediately rushed for Hunter, brown eyes blazing red. His friendly expression now maniacal, he lived up to his name “Mr. Hyde”. Hunter ducked and hopped to the side, avoiding what would’ve been a knockout blow.
Abram threw lightning quick jabs left and right but Hunter dodged each of his strikes. A wild jab caught Hunter across the cheek but Hunter quickly shook the blow off as if it was a light tap.
Hunter circled around the ring and Abram followed. They cautiously circled each other until Abram’s back was toward me and Hunter was facing my direction.
Abram went for a punch again but dropped at the last moment to tackle Hunter’s legs. The punch had been a feint. Hunter quickly hopped backward and thrust his body weight forward as Abram slammed into his legs. Hunter managed to keep his balance, preventing the immediate takedown but they were still struggling. I could clearly see Hunter’s face. I could see his mouth guard behind his grimacing lips. He was straining with every ounce of energy to lift Abram off the ground so that Abram wouldn’t have leverage to pull Hunter’s legs out from under him.
“Uh oh,” Gary said. “Hunter has a shitty ground game. If he gets taken down, it’s over.”
I watched in horror as Abram was about to overpower Hunter and take him down. Once on the ground, he’d probably only be able to defend himself until the round ended. I was barely aware of my hands cupping the sides of my face in disbelief. My savior was going to lose.
I watched him with fierce intensity. My breathing slowed as my heart rate jumped. Hunter must’ve sensed the tension because he tilted his head, diverting his attention from Abram. His dark eyes locked onto mine. He stared at me. My breath caught. A millisecond passed. Or a second. Or an hour. I didn’t know. It had to have been my imagination.
There’s no way he spotted me.
Suddenly we broke eye contact. Hunter returned his attention to Abram. Hunter growled, summoning strength from who knows where and picked up Abram and threw him to the side like a two hundred pound rag doll. The move was good enough to buy Hunter enough time to regain his footing.
Abram got to his feet and lunged with a wide hook. Hunter ducked and shot skyward with powerful legs, landing an uppercut under Abram’s chin. A mouth guard flew across the ring and clattered against the fence. Abram crumpled to the ground in a daze. Hunter was about to jump on top of Abram to land the finishing blow but the referee stepped in between.
“Stop! Stop! It’s over!” the referee shouted, waving one arm over his head. Hunter backed off.
A bell chimed three times.
Hunter was declared the winner. The crowd cheered. One girl fainted with her hand over heart and her friend had to fan her with a “Go Hunter!” sign they made with blue glitter.
Hunter paraded around the ring with his fists in the air. When he walked over to my side of the cage, I ducked behind Gary’s wide back to hide from him. The last thing I wanted was for Hunter to acknowledge my presence. It would be completely awkward considering I’d ran off from his place without explanation. He probably still thought I was suicidal. I also still technically had his shirt and jeans. Maybe he’d demand to come over to my place to take his clothes back. Or demand that I’d bring them to his place. Either way, I didn’t want to get involved with him. I had enough shit in my life to deal with already.
After seeing Hunter win, I decided to leave before we ran into each other. I could’ve been mistaken—it very well could’ve been my imagination—but I was almost certain he had recognized me right before he delivered the knockout blow.
“It was nice to meet you Gary,” I said. “Thanks for explaining to me how this all works.”
“Leaving already?” he replied. “A little too violent for your tastes perhaps?”
“Eh . . . I just have to get back to my friends in the bar. They’re probably wondering what I’ve been doing out here for so long.”
He grinned. “It was nice meeting you Lorrie. Enjoy the rest of your night.”
I smiled at him then turned to the crowd and began wiggling my way through the sea of excited bodies. Although everyone was packed in tightly beneath the tent, most were gracious enough to make room for me passing through. I had to push a few people aside though. The endeavor was like an obstacle course and I already felt the first signs of sweat prickling my skin despite the cold weather. I finally caught a faint glimpse of the familiar beer-guzzling squirrel sign atop the bar before more energetic bodies piled in and obscured my view. It took a lot longer than I expected to weave through the crowd probably because more people had trickled in when I was watching the match. I was nearly out, when I ran into someone tall wearing a gray, zippered sweater.
“Excuse me,” I said, trying to push my way past him. He wouldn’t move though, not by will and not by force.
Who was this douchebag? I moved to step around him.
A firm hand grasped my arm. “Not so fast.”
The familiar voice halted my footsteps. I looked up and saw beneath the gray hood, those dark eyes I’d seen before both in real life and in my daydreams.
Hunter.
Chapter Five
NEVERLAND
“I thought I saw you.” His presence was powerful and his voice, although no louder than normal, somehow seemed to drown out the raucous around us.
His sudden appearance was alarming. “H-How did you get out here so fast?”
“I saw you run off so I threw on a new sweatshirt and came out here before you could run away again. Gotta be quick to catch a thief.” He winked. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten you still have the clothes I lent you.”
Damn it.
He continued, “So you came to cheer for me huh?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I shot back, suddenly unnerved by being so close to him. Not to mention his hand firmly around my
shoulder and the warmth from his palm seeping through the thick fabric of my coat. It should’ve been comforting but I found myself becoming edgy and restless.
“You were right in the front. You seemed really concerned about me during Abram’s takedown attempt. I was touched.”
We were surrounded by Hunter’s adoring female fans but he was hooded and in inconspicuous attire so nobody noticed who he was. Except me. Was that his intention?
“What makes you think I was concerned about you? Maybe I was concerned about ‘Mr. Hyde’.”
He grinned. “I doubt that.”
“You’re a little full of yourself, Hunter.”
His grin widened. “You know my name now, that’s not fair. Now you have to tell me yours.”
Realizing I had the upperhand on him, I couldn’t help a small smile from breaking through. “Sorry, that’ll have to remain a secret. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to—”
“My boy!” said a male voice.
“Gary!” Hunter responded. Sensing an opportunity in Gary’s distraction, I tried to make my escape but Hunter’s hand remained firm around my shoulder. I moved but he hugged me closer to him, my face mooshing into the soft cotton covering his chest. I caught a whiff of his just-been-fighting scent and my brain fried for a moment.
Gary appeared by my side, shook Hunter’s hand, and they bumped shoulders.
“Congrats on the win. Didn’t look like you even broke a sweat out there. Looks like all that practice defending takedowns paid off.”
“Couldn’t have done it without you man,” Hunter said.
Gary noticed my presence and eyed Hunter’s arm around my shoulder. “Lorrie! Didn’t expect to see you here. I thought you were going back inside.”
“Lorrie huh?” Hunter looked down at me with a grin that made my heart skip a beat.
Shit. He knew my name now.
“It’s such a pretty name. Here I was referring to you in my mind as Dorothy. Looks like I was somewhat close.”
Double shit. He had a nickname for me as well. Except ‘Tim’ was nowhere close to ‘Hunter’.
“So how do you guys know each other?” Gary asked.
My stomach dropped. Not only did Hunter know my name now, he was going to spill about how he saved me from committing suicide last week. It would draw more attention to me and wreck my attempts at a normal semester.
Hunter looked at me carefully then turned to Gary. “I was out jogging last weekend. I slipped on the ice and fell flat on my ass. She rushed over to see if I was okay and we got to chatting.”
I was shocked that Hunter had just lied to Gary. Why was he covering for me? And at his own expense?
Gary laughed. “I’ve been telling you man. You gotta work on your footwork.” He laughed again and slapped Hunter on the shoulder. “C’mon let’s go inside, I’ll buy you a drink. Although you should really be the one buying with all that prize money you just won.”
We made our way through the crowd. Hunter kept his arm around me, holding me close so I wouldn’t get lost—or run away. When we made it into the clearing, a pair of blonde girls with large breasts and slim waists approached. Hunter turned away to hide his face.
“Gary? Gary Wilkins? Oh my god we’re like your biggest fans!”
Gary grinned and opened his arms. “Why hello ladies. It’s always great to meet my adoring fans.” He turned to us. “Sorry guys, I’m going to have to catch up with you later. I have some important business to attend to. You understand.” He winked at us.
Hunter and I walked off toward the bar and I looked over my shoulder to catch a glimpse of Gary laughing with his arms around both girls. The two girls had their hands all over his shaved head, relishing the smoothness beneath their fingertips. I had a feeling those girls were going to get a very special “autograph” by the end of the night.
Hunter suddenly stopped. “How are you feeling?”
I froze, thinking he was referring to the day he saved me from becoming an ice cube at the bottom of Lake Peepee. “How am I feeling about what?”
“About getting a drink. I’m not really that thirsty right now. I’d rather walk and talk. You interested?”
“I’m flattered but I really have to get back to my friends . . .” The thought of returning to Justin almost made me gag. It would be uncomfortable but at least it was an uncomfortableness I could handle. I had no idea how to handle being around Hunter Jensen, especially now that I knew he was a badass cage fighter.
His expression turned tender but serious. “I’m not going to bite ya know.”
I’d just seen him uppercut a guy’s mouth guard out so I didn’t know how to react to this side of him. “I never said you would. What makes you think I have that impression of you?”
“Because you’re trying to avoid me.”
I laughed. “No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are Lorrie.” Hearing my name uttered from his lips sent a jolt through my system, heightening my already strong awareness of him. “You ran from my apartment. And now you’re trying to give me the slip. What’s the deal? Do I smell bad?”
I had to suppress a grin at his line about smelling bad. If anything, he smelled good. Strong, musky, manly. Which was strange. I couldn’t put my finger on it but I did know that a guy wasn’t supposed to smell as good as he did after working up a sweat. My mind swirling, I decided to go with a standard brush-off line. “It’s not you. It’s me. I can’t explain it, it’s complicated.”
He narrowed his dark eyes. “If it’s not me, then why do you act this way only around me? I noticed you didn’t have the same reaction around Gary.”
I wracked my brain for an answer. “Gary’s friendlier.”
Hunter smiled. “Hey, I saved your life, lent you my clothes, made you tea, and let you shower at my place. And you’re saying Gary is friendlier? Psh, and here I thought you were polite.”
“I am. I’m politely stating facts.”
“Alright, since you don’t think I’m such a friendly guy, I’m gonna have to charge you for my hospitality.”
“See? Proved my point.” I folded my arms across my chest but I was eager to settle my debt to him so I wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore. “So what do you want in return?”
“You’re going to have to join me on my cooldown walk. I usually go alone, but this time I want company. Unfortunately that means you’re going to have to ditch your friends.”
I frowned. “That’s not very nice.”
“I’m Mr. Not-So-Nice remember?” A smile played at the corner of his full lips. The combination of boyish charm and rugged brawler was becoming too difficult to resist.
“Alright, fine. We’ll walk, but just to make us even. Then I don’t owe you anything, okay?”
“Sounds good.” His smile turned into a wide grin. “Go tell your friends you’re ditching them.”
I took a step then halted and turned back to him. “You’re willing to wait?”
His grin remained firmly in place. “Not nice isn’t the same as mean. Give me a little credit here.”
“Aren’t you concerned I’m just going to go inside and end up ditching you?” The question rode a thin line between teasing and serious. I didn’t know which way he’d interpret it maybe because I didn’t know which way I meant it, myself.
“We have a deal remember? You seem like someone who respects that. I trust you.”
“Maybe you’re a little too trusting.”
I went back inside the bar, leaving Hunter out back. I seriously thought about ditching him. What was I doing agreeing to go on a walk with him anyway? I wanted a normal life again. I wanted peace. I wanted to feel like a regular person again. I had to keep telling myself that going on one walk with Hunter wasn’t going to ruin any of those things. I had to convince myself that the feelings I felt while being around him weren’t real, that it was a fluke the numbness I constantly felt somehow magically disappeared for a moment when I was near him or thought about him. It was hormones. A
“biological quirk” as my therapist liked to refer to disorders. Just a result of being without a boyfriend for over a year. If I allowed myself to fall for Hunter, I could really get hurt. Guys like him had women literally fainting to be with him. Hadn’t I been hurt enough already?
I spotted Daniela, Cody, and Justin across the bar still at the same moosehead booth where I’d left them. For a moment, I considered making up a good excuse to tell them in person but decided that I didn’t owe Justin anything. I pulled out my phone and texted Daniela.
There’s a mixed martial arts thing going on out back. Gonna hang out with one of the fighters instead of Justin :P.
A moment later she replied. Can’t blame ya :). You gonna be okay by yourself?
Yeah, don’t worry about me. I’ll catch a ride back. Tell Justin and Cody I got sick and had to leave.
Leaving out the back door, I saw Hunter leaning against the side of the bar, alone. His warm breath made billows of fog in the cold air. I’d half-expected him to be surrounded by women when I returned, but the only thing around him was his gray hoodie. People were still gathered beneath the large tent, chatting excitedly about Hunter’s fight. I couldn’t help but wonder what some of those fan girls would do if they got the chance to be in my position.
“Congratulations, I just lost my friends,” I said. It was Hunter’s fault that I’d ditched my group so I figured I might as well give him a hard time.
He smiled. “If that was all it took to lose your friends, then they weren’t good ones to begin with. Besides, you just made a new one.”
I cocked a brow at him. “You?”
“See anyone else around?”
I looked around for Gary but didn’t see him anywhere in sight. “I guess I don’t see Gary here. . . Speaking of which, why did you lie to him about the lake incident?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t want you to look bad. Friends look out for one another.”
I took a deep breath of the crisp air and cleared my throat. “Just because we’re walking together, doesn’t make us friends. This is just a deal. Let’s just get this over with okay?”
“After you, Lorrie.” He grinned wickedly.