Authors: Ana Layne
Austin
Moving here was against my will, of course. No one ever asks what I really want to do. They just think,
Oh he’s trouble, we can’t deal with him.
I tried to convince my parents that street fighting wasn’t me anymore. I’d found a gym back home, but I only spent a few months there before they just decided to send me away.
So my parents called my aunt and uncle and boom, shipped me here to Houston, Texas to live with my cousin Ruston. I haven’t seen him in fucking forever. He’s pretty much what I remembered him to be except older, and he’s still wrapped around Tamilyn Hudson’s finger. She’s grown—fucking beautiful as hell now, and I want her. That night at the bar, I could see the jealousy all over Ruston’s face but it isn’t my fault he never made a move on her. He probably never will because he’s
that
nice guy. His loss is my gain, and after dinner last night I was hoping to get a little closer to her, but that didn’t work. Tonight, though, I feel it’s going to be different.
Back home, I never tried for a relationship with any girl. They were all pretty much the same, like me. They wanted one thing, the same thing I wanted, and it was nothing but a mutual exchange and then on to the next. Sex was merely a tool, and I wanted nothing more, but seeing Tamilyn awakens everything inside me.
I drive back to the apartment and I’m relieved to be alone just for this little bit of time. I need time to relax. I was hoping to be a little more active at Lou’s today, but there’s always tomorrow. I have a feeling once things really get started that I’ll be sore and wishing I was able to relax like this. I take a shower first to prepare myself for this evening, then retreat to my bedroom.
I lie on the bed and grab my phone. I know Ruston said Tamilyn was busy, but I choose to ignore him for the time being. She may be taking photographs right now, but she can still reply when she gets a chance.
So are we still on for this evening?
A few moments pass before a response comes through, but I’m patient so it’s not like it’s killing me or anything.
Oh hey! Yeah. Taking a break from the gym?
You could say that. One of the guys’ girlfriend or wife is having a baby.
Oh that’s awesome! Well I’m in the middle of a photo shoot so I’ll be a little longer.
Just let me know when you’re ready.
Okay.
Seconds turn into minutes and minutes turn into hours and no word from Tamilyn yet. The faint sound of the doorknob turning fills my ears and heavy footsteps alert me to the news that Ruston is back. I glance at my phone to see it’s a little after five.
In the living room, I find him setting his phone and keys on the kitchen counter. “Hey, man, home so soon?”
“Yeah. I’m surprised you’re still here.” He grabs a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and takes a big sip.
“Not for much longer. You heading out again tonight?”
“No, I’m staying in. I think I had enough fun last night. I need to relax, especially since we got off easy at the gym today.”
I laugh at him. I’ve never known him to be a real physical guy. Truth is, I never thought he’d actually join when I asked him to. “You’re really going to stick with this? I’m surprised.”
“What? I can’t join a gym? I may have no full intentions of fighting inside the ring like you plan to do, but I can train and build myself up.”
“Dude, you sound like such a pussy.” I laugh. My phone vibrates and I see a text from Tamilyn. It’s time for me to get the hell out of here. “Enjoy your night alone. I’m heading out.”
He waves as I walk out the door and I don’t look back. If I’m going to stay here in this city, I’m sure as hell going to enjoy myself.
Tamilyn
Fighting the urge is never easy. In fact, I almost feel like I have some sort of insane addiction to my best friend and all I want to do is text him. But I fight it, because I’m not being fair to Austin. I know I was worried things would change but ultimately it looks like I may be the one to change them. I love Ruston. I guess being around someone all your life potentially leads to feelings that are out of this world. This is going to become a mess. Why Austin came walking into our lives at this moment, I’ll never understand.
I finish brushing my hair. All in all, I’ve had a great day and I couldn’t be more blessed. The couple I took the pictures for were nothing short of amazing. They were incredibly photogenic and it was easy to see how in love they were by the way they looked at each other. I took so many amazing photos, I think they will be very pleased. While I snapped away, it seemed like I caught every loving emotion possible. I want what they have. I want someone to gaze at me like I’m the only woman on this earth. I want someone to want me the way her fiancé wanted her. I’m such a hopeless romantic and it’s pitiful.
A knock on the door pulls me away from my fragile state of mind. Nothing seems right anymore. Lines were crossed last night. I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to look at Ruston again without thinking of the night I drunkenly gave myself to him. The kisses, the touches, the passion. I’m getting bothered just thinking about it. I shut the light off as I walk slowly to the front door.
I don’t even bother looking through the peephole, I just open the door and there stands Austin, grinning. I turn to grab my purse and my keys. My phone is tucked safely in my back pocket along with anything to do with Ruston. I need to try to just enjoy myself this evening.
“Ready to go?” Austin places his hand on the small of my back as we walk toward his car. His touch should electrify me, make me feel something, but it doesn’t. That doesn’t mean I don’t like him. I guess we just don’t have that chemistry yet.
“Yeah, where are we going?”
He opens the car door and I slide in. I wait patiently for him to get in so he can answer my question. “Well, there’s a fight tonight I wanted to check out. That okay with you? Oh, hey, it’d be pretty cool if you brought your camera. You could probably take some badass action shots.”
I think about what he just said for a moment. That could be pretty cool. “Give me a second, I’ll go grab it.” I open the door and run back to my apartment. I unlock the door and make a beeline for my camera. Within seconds, the front door is locked again and I’m back inside the car.
Austin heads straight to a small arena on the other side of town. As he’s hunting down a parking spot, he starts laughing. “So did you hear what your boy did last night?”
“My boy? What are you talking about?” I ask, confused.
“Ruston. Did he tell you he stayed the night with a girl?”
My saliva gets caught in my throat and I begin coughing. Fuck. When I finally catch my breath, I reply, “Oh, no, I haven’t talked to him.” It’s not like I can just come out and say,
oh yeah, he was with me!
“That’s funny. He said he talks to you all the time.” Austin pulls the car into a parking spot and turns to face me. Why do I feel like I’m being put on the spot right now?
“We do talk all the time. I’ve been super busy all day, so it just slipped my mind.”
“I forgot to tell you how beautiful you look this evening.” I glance down at the jeans and the shirt I’m wearing. If he thinks this is beautiful, then I’ll take it.
“Thank you.”
He leans over and kisses my cheek. His lips linger for a moment and I actually feel my face flush. Maybe I could give this a chance, why not? What could it possibly hurt?
He breaks away and we climb out of the car. I decide to tuck my purse under the front seat except for a few loose dollars that I stick in my pocket. My phone vibrates and I pull it out wondering if it’s Ruston, but it’s just an email alert. I dismiss the notification and slide it back into my pocket. With my camera in my hand, we walk toward the double doors of the arena. I have no clue what to expect as we enter.
People are seated everywhere and there’s a big ring in the middle where the fights take place. I have only seen stuff like this on TV when my Dad watches the fights. It seems a little surreal to be inside getting ready to watch one take place.
Austin grabs my hand and pulls me closer to some people. I instantly recognize the guy from Austin’s first night in town at Joe’s. He sees Austin and puts his hand out. “Hey, man, I was wondering if you were going to make it. Is Ruston here?”
“Nah, it’s just me, and this is Tamilyn. Tam, this is Lance. He’s the one who told me about the gym.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” I extend my hand, but Lance envelopes me in a hug.
“My girlfriend Hilary is in the restroom. She’ll be out in a minute and then you two ladies can do your thing. She’s pregnant, so she’s peeing like a damn race horse every few minutes. What’s the camera for?” Lance asks.
“Tamilyn owns her own photography business and I thought it’d be pretty cool if she could take some pictures. She could probably get some badass action shots.”
“I’m a beast in the ring, just so you know, Tamilyn. Every photo you take of me will potentially blow your mind. Oh, and I’ll pay you for prints if you get really good shots.”
“Oh God.” I laugh. “Well, I’ll tell you this, you win this match and I won’t charge you for the shots. How’s that?”
“I think I want to take you to Disneyworld when Garrett and Raegan take me.” He grins. “Oh, hey babe, how are you feeling?”
I turn to see a very pregnant girl walking up. She looks like she’s got to be uncomfortable but she just smiles. “Much better.” She notices me and turns to introduce herself. “I’m Hilary, Lance’s girlfriend.”
“I’m Tamilyn. I’m here with Austin. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Now, ladies, you two get to know each other. I’m going to give Austin the behind-the-scenes tour.”
Austin squeezes my hand and leans over to kiss my cheek again before walking off with Lance. Hilary watches Lance adoringly as he walks off. “You two are very cute together,” I tell her. “When are you due?”
“Not soon enough. We have another baby. She’s with my parents right now. It’s going to be double the work but we’re good together. What about you and Austin? Any kids?”
“Oh no.” I shake my head. “We aren’t dating. We’ve only been out twice, this is the second time. He’s my best friend’s cousin. He just moved to town.”
“He’s very affectionate toward you. Y’all are cute.” She begins walking toward some chairs in the front. “I usually sit around this area. It’s best to get our seats now.”
I sit in the hard metal chair and try my best to get comfortable. I turn on the camera and practice a few shots of just the ring itself. “So, how did you and Lance meet?”
“Well, we grew up together, but last year we reunited, I guess you could say. He helped me get out of a bad relationship and we’ve been together ever since.”
“Talk about a knight in shining armor, huh? That’s awesome.”
“Yeah, he is pretty awesome. I love him. If Raegan hadn’t had her baby, you could have met her tonight. She’s Garrett’s girlfriend and she’s really nice.”
I love how accepting everyone seems to be and they don’t even know me. I could be a legit crazy person and they would still be so open and friendly. “I heard someone was having a baby. I have a feeling I’ll be around quite frequently now. Between Austin joining, and then he got Ruston to join, one of them will drag me here.”
“Who’s Ruston?” she asks with a crinkled nose. I’m almost ready to ask her why she’s making that face but she suddenly sneezes and that explains it.
My face lights up as I begin excitedly telling her how he’s my best friend and how we grew up together and all those details. She just listens and watches with kind eyes as I babble on. When I finally stop, she just sort of laughs.
“So, you’re sure he’s just your best friend? Because it sounds like so much more. Almost like a love story.” She zones out in the middle of her sentence and snaps back into reality rather quickly. “Sorry, I’m a sap and I believe in fate. How could I not after Lance and I were brought back together?”
I wondered how she could be on to me, when I just met this woman a few moments ago. “You are creepily accurate. I don’t know what to say.”
“I’m a great listener if you ever want to talk,” she assures me. Truth is, I could probably spill for her right now, and ask her opinion, but considering I just met her, I’m not looking forward to running her off.
Before I can reply, the lights dim and a spotlight shines brightly in the middle of the ring. A voice booms over the speaker and I notice someone entering the ring. “That’s Blaize,” Hilary tells me. “He announces all the fighters.”
This Blaize guy makes me laugh as he jokes with the crowd. The adrenaline running through the arena is contagious. The hairs on my arm are standing on end as I wait to hear who is fighting first. He talks a little bit longer before announcing the line-up for the evening. Lance will go first against some person whose name I didn’t catch. Once the line-up is finished, Blaize steps out of the ring and music begins playing as each opponent makes the walk down.
I get my camera ready and manage to capture a few good shots of Lance walking down to the ring. Once or twice his eye caught the camera and he gave a thumbs-up or tried to give the most badass look possible. Thank God I’m not videotaping because my laughter would be too clear.
I look for Austin but I don’t see him at first. I finally catch him standing on the side of the ring with a few other people. They’re shouting things I can’t quite hear at Lance as the fight begins. I don’t know a single thing about what is going on but it’s exhilarating to say the least. I make a mental note to thank Austin for suggesting I bring my camera, because by the time Lance’s arm is raised in victory, I’ve got so many shots that I can’t wait to get home and look through them.
Hilary cheers loudly for her man and stands to her feet. I almost feel like I should help her up seeing as how she’s got that huge belly. She points in the direction we were standing in earlier and nudges me to walk that way. Once we get away from the crowd, I turn to face her. “I have no clue what was going on but that was so amazing to watch. I can’t wait to look at these photos. I told him if he won, I’d give him the prints for free.”
“No, you have to let us pay you. Oh, hey, maybe you can take my maternity pictures. What’s your rate?”
“Don’t worry about a rate. Just tell me when you want them and as long as my calendar is clear, I’m yours.”
“You are too sweet, Tamilyn.”
I just smile. I love helping people and I love taking pictures. I make enough money most of the time that doing two jobs for free isn’t going to hurt me. Lance and Austin come toward us and Austin’s arms snake around my waist. “You enjoy your first fight?”
“Yeah, that was pretty amazing. Oh, and Lance, I am positive I have some amazing shots. I can’t wait to go through them.”
“Your camera was just blessed, anointed by the amazing one’s face.” He tries to speak seriously, fails tremendously, and I’m doubled over laughing. “What are you two up to now? You sticking around to watch the rest of the fights? We’re probably going to go check on Garrett, Raegan, and the baby.”
“We’re gonna go get something to eat,” Austin says. “I’m glad I saw this. Now I can’t wait to get inside the ring, man, for real.”
“In time. Y’all have a good night. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I wave to Lance and Hilary as they walk off. Austin leans forward and kisses my lips. I’m taken aback by his kiss but I don’t exactly push him away. “I’m sorry I just left you hanging during the fight. I’ll make it up to you.”
“It’s fine, Austin. Hilary and I just sat there and talked. I had a good time, I swear.”
“Want to go back to the apartment? I make a mean grilled cheese sandwich.” His eyes are sparkling and I know I should say no in case Ruston is there, but I nod and tell him yes.
I could be adding salt to the wound, but right now my stomach is growling, and all I want is something to eat.