Sucker Punch (TKO #4) (15 page)

Chapter 30

Austin

My mind is focused on one thing and one thing only. Getting back into that ring is my top priority. Ever since yesterday when Howard told me I can fight despite my disability I’ve been so damn pumped. Adrenaline is flowing through my veins like never before. I will make my mark on this city. I will not be quiet any longer. I won’t be held back by what I thought was a disability. I stayed up after I told Paige goodnight last night to watch YouTube videos of a few one-armed fighters. Hell if they can do it, so can I.

I walk into the gym with my head held high. For so long I’ve walked in here not feeling quite like myself. After all, they all have both arms and I only have one, but I’m no less of a man than they are. Garrett is standing beside his locker putting his gloves on. He nods at me as I open my locker to grab my glove.

“Hey, Austin, I heard the good news. You excited?” he asks me.

“Hell yeah I am. I never thought I’d be fighting again,” I admit to him.

“Lance worked you pretty good yesterday?” He raises his eyebrow.

“Yeah, he did.” I chuckle as I remember how sore I was. I’m still a little sore today but not that bad.

“Ready for round two?”

I nod as we walk towards the mat. I love sparring with these guys. We can leave our jokes outside the mat and get down to business in a matter of seconds. Garrett is fast and so damn good. I want to be as good as him, with lots of practice, of course. I’d hate to be against him in the ring. He’s ruthless, not sparing me at all.

My feet shuffle beneath me as I search for the right angle to get in. He’s moving as quickly as I am, if not quicker. My first attempt to throw a punch is successful. Garrett stumbles back slightly but not enough to be knocked off of his feet. He grins at me as he regains his stance. “You’re getting back to where you were, Austin.”

I nod, trying not to grin, but my facial muscles fail me. I’m grinning like a damn kid. “You think so?”

Garrett throws a punch and I block it. “Yeah, I do think so. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t have blocked that hit just now.”

He’s right. He would have just knocked the hell out of me if I hadn’t blocked his hit. We go a few more rounds.

I had no clue Lance was standing off to the side until he begins clapping. “Look at my man Austin getting back in action!”

“Yeah, he’s getting there,” Howard chimes in, stepping out of his office. “Speaking of, I have an announcement.”

Everyone faces Howard, waiting to hear just what he’s going to say. I have a feeling this is going to be news about the next fight, and I can’t wait.

“You gonna tell us or am I going to turn gray first?” Lance jokes.

“Okay, smart ass.” Howard zones in on him with a glare. “Anyways, I talked to Blaize and in a week we’re up. Austin, more importantly you’re up. Will you be ready?”

All eyes turn to me and I don’t even have to think twice about answering him. “I’ll be ready.”

“He will be,” Garrett pipes up. “He’s doing really well with everything. We’ll just step it up a notch with him.”

“Sounds great. Let’s get back to work. I’m going to spar with Austin for a few and work with him.”

Garrett steps back from the mat and Howard walks up. Howard is fun to spar with. I thought Lance and Garrett pushed me to my limit, but Howard pushes further. As I get back into stance, Howard begins giving me pointers while I throw and block punches. I’m almost able to drag him down to the mat but I keep second guessing myself and in return, I’m the one down on the squishy mat. I’m a little disappointed but I don’t let it get to me. I know I’ll get him down to the mat. I won’t stop until I do. After a few more rounds and what seems like a few buckets of sweat, I finally achieve my goal. I drag Howard down and cheers erupt throughout the gym.

Howard chuckles as he stretches out on the mat. “Do it just like that during your fight and you just may pull it off, son. Good job.”

I’m back and no one will keep me down.

***

I step out of the shower and go straight to my room. Ruston isn’t here, big surprise. I don’t have to ask where he is because I already know. I’m waiting for him and Tamilyn to just go ahead and move in together. I figure it’s only a matter of time. I check my phone and when I’m sure Paige has Darla in bed, I decide to call her. The phone only rings twice before she answers.

“Hello?” she answers quietly.

“Hey, babe. How was your day?”

“Long. I forgot to tell my mom about Darla meeting Brendan, so she heard it from her and I had to explain.”

“Oh, what did she say about it?” I ask.

“She said the motherly thing. You know, be careful and all of that. She’s glad, though, that he wants to be in her life. Oh, and I told her about you.”

“You did?”

“Yeah, she wants to meet you. What are you doing tomorrow evening? She asked me to invite you over for dinner after I get off of work.”

“I’m going to dinner. What else would I be doing?” I chuckle.

“I can stop and pick you up after work if you’d like,” she offers.

“Of course, that’s fine.”

We talk a little longer and there’s no denying I’m falling a little more every day for the nurse that helped me get through the news of losing my arm. How I got this lucky I’ll never know. I tell her goodnight and we hang up the phones. I lie in my bed staring at the ceiling for a while, just thinking. The brain can be a dangerous thing, but not mine right now. For the first time in my life, things are finally seeming to be right where they need to be. I finally got the girl of my dreams and I’m about to get back into the ring. Life is good.

Chapter 31

Paige

Work was long because I am anticipating the dinner that is about to happen. Mom and Dad haven’t met anyone since Brendan, and that was years ago, so this is a big deal for me. Mom said he must be pretty special if I let him meet Darla. She knows I haven’t dated anyone since Darla was born, so there’s been no one to meet her until now. I drive to Austin’s apartment and I knock on the door.

A girl answers and I almost turn around and walk off. I can’t believe there’s another woman in here. What am I thinking? Why would I be the only one for him?

“Hi! You must be Paige. I’m Tamilyn.” She grins as she pulls me in for a hug.

Reluctantly, I hug her back. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Come on in. I’ll tell Austin you’re here.”

I walk inside and she shuts the door. I notice she walks up to another guy in the kitchen before disappearing for a second. Before Austin comes out, the guy in the kitchen turns to face me.

“Hey, Paige, I’m Austin’s cousin Ruston. It’s nice to meet you. It’s nice to see him happy again,” he tells me.

“It’s nice to meet you too.” I smile. I realize now Ruston and Tamilyn are together, and I was foolish to even think otherwise.

Tamilyn and Austin come walking back into the kitchen and his face lights up when he sees me. He’s dressed quite nicely in a pair of jeans and a tight fitting black t-shirt. “I’ll be back, Rus,” Austin says.

We tell everyone bye and walk outside to my car. “You look nice,” I say as we get into the car.

“Thank you. I want to look good for your parents.” He chuckles.

“You do, don’t worry,” I tell him as I buckle my seat belt.

Austin leans over before buckling and softly kisses my cheek. I turn to face him and wrap my hand around his neck, pulling him closer. With his lips just in front of mine, my heart is racing. I want to taste his kiss. He leans in closer to where our lips are barely touching. He softly kisses me and I moan as I press my lips a little harder against his. I don’t want to break this kiss, I don’t want this moment to end, but we have to get to dinner before my mom starts wondering where I am.

“Your lips are so soft. I could kiss them all day,” Austin whispers.

A blush creeps up my face and I can’t hide it. I don’t want to hide it anyway, I want him to see how he makes me feel. “Yeah, we need to get to dinner,” I remind him before we get too caught up in ourselves.

“Lead the way, beautiful,” he says as he leans back and buckles his seatbelt. I almost ask him if he needs help, but he manages just fine.

I pull out of the parking spot and head over to my parents’ house. Austin begins shuffling in his seat and I look over and tell him not to be nervous. My parents are so laid back, he has nothing to worry about. We step out of the car and begin walking to the front door. I go to reach for the doorknob but it opens and Mom steps out front, smiling.

“You must be Austin.” She pulls him in for a hug. I should have known this was coming. I can’t help but stifle out a laugh.

“Yes, ma’am. It’s nice to meet you, Mrs.—”

“You can just call me Pam.” Mom smiles brightly. Oh my gosh, I think she’s flirting with him or something. She wasn’t this way with Brendan. “Y’all come on in.”

We walk inside and Darla comes running towards me. I scoop her up into my arms and give her a hug. “Hi Mommy! Hi Austin!” she greets us.

“Were you good today?” I ask her, but her focus is strictly on Austin.

“Papa bought me ice cweam.” She grins and I eyeball my dad as he comes walking up to us. Of course he would get her ice cream. I try to act like I shouldn’t expect this but I expect nothing less. They spoil the mess out of her.

“He did?”

“It was good!” She beams as she wiggles to be set down. I watch as she walks up to Austin and wraps her tiny arms around his leg. He pats her back and smiles.

Dad walks up to Austin and extends his hand out. Austin grabs his hand and gives him a firm shake. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Austin. Darla speaks very highly of you. You can call me George.”

“Hi, George, thank you for having me in your home,” Austin says with a shaky voice. I know it’s intimidating to meet your girlfriend’s father.

Mom speaks up. “Well, let’s go sit at the table. Dinner is ready.”

My stomach growls as we walk to the kitchen table. Mom really went all out and put out the nice dishes this evening. I chuckle, thinking it’s such a nice gesture. We could have just eaten on paper plates and it would have been perfect.

Dad helps her set the food on the table and my eyes light up. She made a pork tenderloin, green beans, and homemade scalloped potatoes. There’s even a cake with sprinkles off to the side. My guess is Darla wanted sprinkles and what she wants, she gets.

“So Austin, what is it you do?” Dad asks as he fixes his plate.

I grab the pitcher of tea and pour some in Darla’s glass before turning to mine and Austin’s. Austin’s face lights up as if he just got asked a million dollar question. “Well George, I fight right now.”

“Fight? As in?” Poor Dad, he’s confused.

“In a ring. If I win, I get paid well. It’s something I really enjoy doing,” Austin tells him.

“Is fighting possible with your arm?” Mom asks.

I’m expecting Austin to possibly be annoyed, but he just grins. “I learned it is. Matter of fact, I’ve been training for my fight next week. This will be the first time in the ring since I lost my arm in the accident.”

“Sounds exciting. Good luck,” Dad tells him as he digs into his food.

Darla is awfully quiet. I look over and notice she’s about finished all of the food on her plate and she’s eyeballing the cake. She knows the rule. No dessert until you finish your dinner. Thank God she isn’t a picky eater and we don’t have to fight with her.

“Thank you sir,” Austin tells him as he begins to eat.

I was worried this would be awkward, but it’s not. I’m sure later I’ll hear some sort of speech about what Austin does for a living and whether or not it’s a viable source of income. Maybe I won’t hear it today, but if things do continue to get serious with us, one of them will speak up. Until then, I’m just going to enjoy this dinner and the future times to come.

“Cake please,” Darla asks with a full mouth. She’s barely finished chewing her last bite and that cake is solely on her mind.

“Wait until everyone is done eating, baby girl,” I tell her. I hand her cup of tea to her so she can wash the food down.

“I think it’s so cute how you and Paige met.” Mom smirks as she begins clearing dishes off of the table. I stand and begin to help her.

“Mom,” I groan. “Please don’t start all of this.”

“What?” she asks. “I’m just saying I think it’s cute you were his nurse.”

“Pam, you’re probably embarrassing them,” Dad pretends to scold her.

“It’s fine,” Austin tells them. “It’s not a big deal. It was pretty cute, although at the time, I was pretty upset because she was the one who broke the news to me that I’d lost my arm.”

“Austin has an owie,” Darla pipes up out of nowhere. Everyone starts laughing and she just stares at us, wondering what is so funny.

“Yes he does,” Mom tells her. “Darla, do you want to spend the night tonight?”

I glare at Mom, wondering what she’s up to. Darla’s eyes light up and she nods her head.

“Mom, you’ve had her all day. You don’t have to keep her.”

“Don’t argue with your mother, we want to keep her tonight,” Dad says as he cuts the cake. That gives Darla another reason to be excited as he sets a small piece in front of her.

I grab a piece of cake and stick my fork in it. The chocolate melts in my mouth as I roll my eyes. “Fine,” I say as I swallow the bite. “If you really want to keep her, I won’t stop you.”

My phone rings and I grab it out of my pocket. Brendan is calling. I’m guessing he’s wanting to talk to Darla, so I place the phone on speaker and let her talk.

“Hi Daddy!” Darla yells into the phone.

“Hey, baby girl. How was your day?”

“Good. I’m eating cake and I get to stay with Papa and Gwammy!”

“Well, you be good, okay? Sleep good tonight. I love you,” Brendan tells her.

“Love you.” Darla smiles into the phone as if he can see her.

I look over as I end the call and notice Mom is smiling. Our talk about Brendan went well last night and she just got to hear firsthand the changes he’s making.