Read Naked Choke (A Stepbrother MMA Romance) Online
Authors: Celia Loren
"Two belated birthday gifts in one night. That was nice
of Logan, though," Maya comments as she lies on my bed, holding the book
in her hands.
"Right. I mean, you don't think he's…"
"Interested like that? Well, Austen said he doesn't
date, right? So he's probably just being friendly."
"Right. Good. That would be way too complicated."
"Yeah, poor you. Living in a house with two super-hot
fighter dudes and maybe both of them like you. So tough," she teases me,
rolling her eyes.
"OK! Jeez!" I laugh, stretching my leg out from
the armchair to kick her.
"Ow!" she protests as I make contact with her
thigh.
"Yeah, I've got moves now."
"Uh-huh," she replies doubtfully.
"Girls?" my mom calls from downstairs. I stand to
open my door and reply.
"Yeah?"
"You want lunch? I got cold cuts!" I turn
questioningly to Maya, who nods.
"Yeah, be right down!" I start to head through the
door when I see Maya take out her makeup bag and begin to apply lip gloss.
"Seriously? It's just lunch."
"Hey, not all of us are so naturally blessed,
alright?" she replies as she puts away her lip gloss and brushes powder
onto her nose. "OK, ready," she announces as she stands. We walk out
into the hallway and almost bump into Logan at the top of the stairs.
"Hey, Maya, how are you?" he asks, almost
formally. I raise my eyebrows at him, wondering if he took my calling him out
on his manners to heart.
"Um, I… good," Maya replies, immediately clamming
up around him.
"Good," he answers, then gestures for us to
precede him down the stairs.
"Thanks for the book," I murmur quickly as I pass
him, conscious of the fact that our parents are waiting in the kitchen for us.
It's a rare Saturday when we're all home at the same time, and I wanted Maya to
come over to see everything I've been describing in person.
Austen, Duke and my mom are already helping themselves to the
spread laid out on the kitchen counter. Austen turns as we enter and smiles
quickly at me.
"Maya, right?" he asks, turning to her.
"Maya," she repeats, and I throw her a quizzical
look. She meets my gaze, shaking her head at herself in embarrassment. "Good
to see you again," she finally adds, recovering a bit.
"You see Akulov's nasty elbow last night?" Austen
asks his younger brother.
Logan nods. "He's a beast. It's that Muay Thai
training." I watch Austen's eyes flick over to his father, who stiffens
slightly.
"Well, all I know is I'm glad I don't have to fight
him," Austen says, and I have a sense he's trying to change the subject,
though from what, I'm not sure.
"He's a featherweight, right?" I ask quietly, and
five pairs of eyes quickly turn on me in surprise. "Hey, I can't spend
this much time at the gym without picking up something."
Duke laughs. "Very good, Cat. You're right, he's a
featherweight. Don't think either of these two will ever face off against him,
but I bet they could take him anyway." His phone buzzes in his pocket and
he reaches for it, balancing a stacked sandwich on a plate in his other hand.
Maya and I grab plates as his eyes glaze over as he looks at his phone.
Suddenly, he lets out a bark of excitement, startling everyone in the room.
"I knew it! I knew this was coming."
"What's going on?" my mom asks warily.
"The AFF is holding a tournament in Denver to scout for
new talent. Winner gets a guaranteed contract with them," Duke announces.
I see Austen and Logan's faces light up. "Light heavyweight division. This
is your shot!" he continues, pounding Austen on the back.
"Oh, shit! When!?" Austen exclaims, trying to read
his Dad's phone over his shoulder. Logan quietly places his plate on the
counter and backs away into the hallway before turning up the stairs to his
room, his dad and brother completely unaware of his exit.
"Two months. That's perfect timing. All our hard work
is finally going to pay off," Duke says.
"This is fantastic!" my mom crows, clapping her
hands excitedly. Maya glances at me with a confused grin, only partly
understanding what all the fuss is about.
"I'll explain later," I murmur.
"It's gonna be old-school, sixty four competitors in
matches spread out over only two days. I've gotta call Raul," Duke says.
"We'll come up with a training regimen, put it in place immediately. We
also need to get started on studying up on the possible competitors. Don't want
to encounter any unknowns. Logan can help you with that. Where is he?"
"I think he went upstairs," I volunteer.
"Anything we can do to help?" my mom asks. Duke
surprises everyone by wrapping his arms around her and planting a kiss on her
mouth. I don't think I've ever seen such a display of affection from him
before. "Duke!" she protests, blushing.
"Not right now, but I'll let you know," he
replies, releasing her. "C'mon, let's go call Raul," he says to
Austen, and the two of them head out to the backyard. Maya, my mom, and I watch
them for a moment as Duke starts to speak on the phone, Austen bouncing around excitedly
next to him.
"It's good to see you so happy, Joanne," Maya
says. Maya and I have been best friends since we were ten, so my mom's almost
like a second mother to her.
"I think so, too," my mom says with a grin,
wrapping her arms around Maya's shoulders. "I hope you'll come back from
school and visit us next year."
"Of course I will. Boulder isn't that far. I just wish
you were coming there with me," Maya says to me.
"I don't," my mom breaks in. "But Cat has
always loved hanging out in the salon, and we'll be able to carpool there and
everything once you're done with school."
"Carpool?" I ask, frowning.
"Well, depending on our appointment schedules. But it
wouldn't make sense to take two cars."
"Wait, mom, you're…you're not thinking that I'd still be
living here, right?" I ask, as Maya begins to look between us nervously.
"Of course. I mean, it's such a big house. You want to
get away from me that badly?" she asks sorrowfully, her voice breaking
slightly.
"No, mom, it's not that. I just, I guess I'd assumed
that I'd move out once I saved enough money." Her eyes widen, and I begin
to immediately backtrack. "But I guess it would make more sense to stay
here, since we have the room."
"Good. I think that's the best idea," my mom
murmurs, her expression brightening as she takes a deep breath. I begin to
silently pile cold cuts onto a Kaiser roll, feeling a little ball of anger in
my stomach. Did my mom just manipulate me? I sure backed off what I wanted
pretty fast.
"So, how did you and Duke meet?" Maya asks, and
I'm grateful to her for changing the subject.
"Well, Big Rig's was doing this post-Thanksgiving
promotion. You know, work off the turkey and all that, and they gave away some free
passes, and one of the girls at the salon who was already a member got her
hands on some and gave them out to the rest of us." I sit down at the
table and begin to eat my sandwich as my mom launches into her favorite story.
"It's not in my usual neighborhood, but I had a free pass for a week, so I
figured I'd go. So I'm running – jogging, really – on the treadmill, and I
looked up and saw this big man crossing by the reception area. We locked eyes
and suddenly I forgot what I was doing and I fell and got pushed right off the
treadmill."
Maya laughs, and I manage a smile. I hear the front door
close and can just see Logan crossing by the living room windows in a sweat
suit.
"Sounds like love at first sight," Maya laughs.
"If you believe in that sort of thing."
"I didn't before, but now I do. What do you think,
Cat?" she asks, as they come and sit next to me at the table.
I clear my throat. "In your case, I do," I smile.
She pats my hand, and then turns to look out the window behind us, where Austen
and Duke are practically bursting with excitement. I squirm slightly in my
chair, wishing I could mimic Logan's quick escape.
"You getting stronger, Cat?" my mom asks me as I
carry a bag of ice over to one of the coolers on the patio. I look up to see
her and Duke staring at me from the open kitchen door.
"Um, don't think so," I reply with a shrug. Just
add my training sessions with Logan to my list of secrets, I guess. I feel like
I'm partitioning off parts of myself depending who I'm with.
Logan steps around my mom and Duke, easily carrying a bag of
ice on each shoulder. My mom just got back from the grocery store with the
supplies for the barbecue today, and we're helping to unload. He heaves the bag
into another cooler, then rips open the plastic and dumps the contents out.
I realize I'm watching him and quickly head back toward the
garage door for another load. There will be no escaping for Logan today. Duke's
throwing a party for Team Apex at his house, so his presence is obviously required.
A few hours later, the backyard is filled with MMA fighters
and a few of their girlfriends. I hang out awkwardly by the drink table as my
mom and Duke circulate, keeping one eye on the kitchen door. Finally I see Maya
walk in and hustle over to her.
"Thank goodness you're here. I don't know anyone!"
"What about your mom?" Maya replies as I hug her.
"Yeah, but she's mingling and stuff."
"Well, gird yourself, because you're about to be my
wingman," Maya says.
"Wait, what?" I ask, alarmed.
"Yup. I'm not going to college in the fall having never
had a boyfriend. No way. So one of these guys here is going to fit the
bill."
"Maya, I hate to tell you this, but you tend to have a
bit of a problem when it comes to talking to guys."
"I know, but you don't. That makes you the perfect
wingman. Actually, in an ideal world you'd be less attractive than me, but I'm
going to work with what I've got." I groan as she surveys the guests,
looking for her first target. "OK, what about that guy? He's hot. Does he
have a girlfriend?"
"Mike. I think that's his name. He didn't come with
anyone," I offer, studying his shaved head out of the corner of my eye.
"Perfect," she says, grabbing my hand and dragging
me over to where he's sitting in a lawn chair eating a hamburger.
"Hi, Mike, right?" I ask as he looks up,
fulfilling my wingman duties.
"Yeah, and you're Caitlyn. I remember you from the
gym."
"Have you met my friend Maya yet?" I ask, turning
toward her. She grins. Good start.
"Hey, Maya. Good to meet you," he says. There's a
long pause in which Maya stares back at him.
"I…I…I'll be right back," she finally replies. I
watch in shock as she walks quickly toward the house and then inside. I turn
back to Mike.
"So. Um, nice day, huh?" I ask lamely. Thankfully,
I'm saved from having to come up with any more pleasantries by the sound of
Duke's booming voice.
"Hey, everyone, thanks for coming out today," he
announces from the patio. "As you know, we're here to celebrate the announcement
of AFF's tournament at the end of the summer. We've all been waiting for a
break like this." I let my eyes trail over the partygoers as he talks. My
mom stands proudly next to Austen, Duke's heir apparent, watching her boyfriend
with a star struck expression. "I went from being on top of the world, a
champion, to not knowing where my life was headed. I didn't know what to do
with myself. When I found MMA, and then coaching, not everyone believed in
me." He pauses, and I wonder if he's referring to his ex-wife. As he talks
about building up Big Rig's gym, and study the faces of his fighters. They all
look at him with respect and admiration.
As he begins to talk more specifically about the tournament,
I watch Logan's expression. He stands near the edge of the patio, thick arms
crossed across his chest. He doesn't give away much about how he might be
feeling, just a small twitch of his jaw muscle as Duke calls Austen "the
next great champion of the Riggins family".
"And one last thing," Duke continues. "I want
to welcome the women of the Brewer family here today, Joanne and her daughter
Cat." The other guests clap and I look down at my feet. "Joanne's
been a light in my life recently, and if any of you so much as look twice at
her daughter, you'll have not just me to worry about, but all the Riggins men.
Got it?"
I feel my cheeks turn bright crimson as the fighters laugh,
though they're all nodding their agreement. If only Duke knew it's not the
other fighters he has to worry about, it's his own favorite son. I glance up
furtively at Austen, but he's still got his mega-watt smile on, still perfectly
playing the part. I sigh and head for the kitchen door in search of Maya,
feeling everyone's eyes on me. I can't believe she just missed that whole speech.
I wander through the first floor without finding her, then
head upstairs. She's not in my room, but I peer out the window and see her
emerging tentatively from the patio. I watch as she takes a deep breath and
walks back over to Mike. I can't tell what they're saying, but the body
language looks good. I grin proudly.
I walk back downstairs feeling a little better, but freeze
midway down at the sound of tense, hushed voices coming from the TV room.
"You have to be patient." I recognize Raul's
lightly accented voice.
"You keep saying that, and I'm done," Logan
replies. "I'm ready, I know it."
"As soon as Austen has his shot, Duke will be ready to
change his focus."
"Or not. Maybe once Austen's in the AFF, my dad will be
more obsessed than ever. You think I'm ready, right?" Logan demands.
"Yes," Raul says with a worried sigh.
"So then talk to him! He won't listen to me, but he'll
listen to you."
"Logan, he's my boss. He's a good man, but you know how
set in his ways he is."
"So challenge him!"
"That's easy enough for you to say, but are you going
to give me a job if he fires me?" Raul counters. Logan is silent for a
moment. I know I shouldn't eavesdrop, but I'm fascinated at this look behind
the curtain of Team Apex. "You just focus on yourself for now. Don't think
I haven't seen what's going on at practice."
"What are you talking about?"
"Sometimes you come in tired, like you're overworked,
and then you're holding back in fights, hesitating. Like you want to make a
move but can't."
"I'll work on it," Logan says shortly, though he
sounds to me like he's just shutting Raul down, rather than really making a
promise.
"Alright," Raul replies, and I can hear the shrug
in his voice. "Just give it some time, alright?" I hear the
floorboards creak and jump back two steps so it looks like I'm just coming down
the stairs. "Hey, Caitlyn," he greets me with a tight smile.
"Hey," I reply as he walks back toward the party.
I continue down the steps as Logan walks out.
"I'm going on a beer run," he says flatly.
"Um, I think we're fine for beer," I say,
gesturing vaguely toward the full coolers sitting on the patio.
"Just in case," he mutters, and heads for the
garage door. I watch his retreating back. I don't think it's like him to hold
back in practice. He normally goes after things with such single-minded
intensity.
Maybe I'm not the only one in this house with a secret.