☕︎☕︎☕︎
It's been a long ass week to say the least. I told my friends that I broke it off with Sebastian because it felt forced and that I didn't have any feelings for him. They understood and that matter died there between us. But the whole school was buzzing with rumours once they found out. I just ignored them and laid as low as possible.
Roman said he talked it out with Sebastian and they're on good terms. He said that Sebastian even apologized if he hurt me and that it wasn't his intention to do so.
I have Sebastian's number blocked, but I still have him added on Snapchat and Instagram. We haven't exchanged any form of communication since Monday.
I haven't talked to King much either as we were both busy studying for finals before winter break. King is also writing up his final letters for university and has been really stressed out about it.
It's Saturday today. Landon agreed to take Roman and me to see King's competition. We told Grayson that we're all just going out for dinner. Since King told us to wear neutral colours, I'm wearing black ripped jeans with a white long sleeve bodysuit and a black leather jacket. I'm wearing heavy ankle boots and a silver chunky necklace with a few silver rings to accessorize.
I'm in that phase of life where I'm trying out different aesthetics, but I like it. No one is ever really gonna know what Reese they're gonna get: girl, tomboy, edgy? Who knows. Not me.
Landon is wearing grey sweats with a black hoodie and Roman is wearing black jeans with a black shirt and a leather jacket as well.
"He said to park here?" Landon questions pulling over to the side of the road.
I check my phone and it says we're at the right location.
"Yeah," I say. I look around and I see a few people walking down to an underground parking lot. My phone starts ringing and I pick it up.
"Are you here?" King asks.
"Yeah, we just parked on the side of the street," I inform.
"What car? I'll come get you guys."
"It's a black Mustang."
"Okay, I'll be there in five minutes," he says ending the call.
"He said he's gonna come get us," I share with my brothers.
"Okay, let's wait outside then," Landon says. Landon and Roman get out. Roman pulls the seat forward so I can get out as well. I close the door and Landon locks the car as I stretch loosening my muscles.
"This so sketchy," Roman says.
"It's like an abandoned area of the city," Landon notices looking around.
"Gray has our locations," I remind them.
"Yeah... no," Roman says. "I don't have reception or wifi."
"What?" I ask. I open my phone only to find out I don't have reception. "Shit, I lost reception too."
"Same," Landon says. "If we die because of you Reese, I better not be buried anywhere near you."
"Hope you wrote that in your will," I say.
"You have a will?" Roman asks Landon.
"No, I didn't plan on dying anytime soon, but I guess if we survive this, I'm gonna have to," Landon retorts. "If not today, Reese will get us killed one day. I can just feel it."
"I'm really feeling the love, Landon," my words drip with sarcasm.
"Hey!" I hear King from the far left. I look up and see him approaching us. He's wearing black sweats and a black hoodie. He gives Roman and Landon a quick bro hug. When he looks at me, he takes a second to scan my appearance from head to toe. Even though it's kind of cold outside, I feel my cheeks heat up at his gaze. He then hugs me. "Glad to see you guys made it here on time."
"Yeah, but we just don't know in time for what," I retort.
"Let me get you guys in and I'll explain," King says. He takes my hand and we start walking towards the underground parking. The closer we get, the louder it gets.
A lot of people are drinking and smoking outside and my muscles tighten becoming tense. King gently squeezes my hand in assurance.
"You look beautiful as always," King whispers in my ear. The air on my neck stands on their end as his breath travel down.
"Thanks," I smile.
King skips the line of people waiting to get past the gate. A lot of the girls eye my brothers and King while they send dirty looks my way. Even though the girls aren't welcoming, the boys seem to be enjoying the sight I have to offer. They can't seem to take their eyes off of me. I smile at the attention and go along with it.
"Did you bring your IDs?" King asks.
"Yeah, he has them," I nod towards Landon. Landon pulls them out and King shows them to the guard. He lets us in.
"Night Vixen, really?" King laughs at the name on my fake ID.
"It's the best I could come up with," I roll my eyes. As King hands Landon back the IDs, I take King's out of his hand. "Kral Sinner? Dark."
"I was a broken kid," King huffs snatching the ID back.
"Mm-mh."
"So what is this place?" Landon questions as we walk through the vacant lot. King walks us to a door at the far end and holds it open for us to walk in.
He closes the door once everyone is in. He and I take the lead again walking through the halls. A few people pass on their way out and they all nod at King.
"I was kind of a fucked up kid. In middle school, I would be high or drunk all the time which would get me into a lot of trouble because I would start random fights. I'm from one of the hood areas of town so one of the ex-gangsters there told me about this place. He knew I would either be recruited into the gangs, killed by one of them or I could come here and clean up my act. I decided to sober up and come here. My dad needed money to continue running the shop then too, so it looked like the best option," King explains coming to a stop. "To the right are the change rooms where all the players get ready and to the left is where we fight."
We take a left and we're met with loud music and a huge crowd. In the middle is a boxing ring with two fighters going at it. The room itself is dark with lights only towards the ring and only dim lighting for the crowd. The room is large but full of people so it seems smaller than it is. When I look up, I spot dark glass mirrors at the top. I think they're one-way glass. People must be watching from the top.
As the crowd gets louder, I watch the two fighters in the ring. One of them hits the other and I can see literal blood splatter out of the man's face.
"An illegal underground fighting ring?" Landon asks.
"Yeah," King displays a small smile. I look at the crowd of people and then at King with confusion. His eyes dilate in anticipation of an answer.
"Um... it's cool?" I say not sure how to word it. "I'm sorry it's just new to me. Are you good? Is it safe? Are you gonna die because I was not prepared for that?"
"No Reese I'm not going to die," King laughs.
"We're gonna go roam around," Landon and Roman tell us sensing the tension.
"Okay," King says.
"Do you think this is funny? Because it's not funny to me," I speak with seriousness. I feel myself getting angry and I don't know why.
King sighs as his smile drops.
"I'm up soon, let's go to the change room so I can get ready," he yells over the noise. He doesn't wait for an answer. Instead, he just takes my hand and walks me into the change room.
"Women do this too?" I ask noticing the girls' change room.
"Yeah," he says. The room is empty and so I sit on one of the benches. My nose crinkles at the disgusting smell in the room.
"It smells like blood, men and sweat in here," I almost choke.
"Because that's what's in here, you're an exception," he says. I watch as he takes his sweats off revealing his red shorts and takes off his black hoodie and shirt. His back to me, I can see every indent in his defined muscles. The shorts are a little low and I can see the band of his boxers. As he moves around, I notice the faint scars under the light and my heart sinks. "You're awfully quiet. Are you upset?"
"Mmh?" I ask as he turns around and my eyes travel up to his eyes blushing.
"Are you upset?" he repeats as he takes off the rings on his fingers.
"No," I answer truthfully.
"You're not?" he seems surprised. He turns around to put the jewelry back in his duffel bag and takes out the tape. I'm assuming it's to wrap his hands.
"Why would I be? I still don't see the purpose of this and I'm assuming you don't do it as often since I've never really seen you bruised up or anything," I explain. He takes a seat next to me and starts wrapping his hands. I try to keep my eyes on his face. "Ev didn't like you fighting?"
"Everleigh hated it," King tells me. "She never understood why I needed to do this. I know that a part of the reason I did it was to get money, but it's not the whole reason."
"What was the whole reason?"
"Kral, you're up!" an older man walks in and yells.
"Give me two minutes," King tells the man. The man nods and leaves. King is done wrapping his hands so he gets up to put the tape away. "I'll tell you after the fight?"
"Okay," I put on a faint smile eyeing the few scars on his front side. "Try not to add onto the collection of scars."
"You don't like them?" he frowns.
"No, I admire them, but there's only so much admiration I have."
"Gotchu," he smiles. "Good luck, hug?"
"I don't think you need it, Sinner," I tease.
"If it's coming from Vixen, then I definitely can't live without it," he plays along. He opens his arms and I walk into his large arms.
"Be nice and don't hurt the other man too much. I have a weak heart when it comes to blood," I explain.
"What if it's my blood?"
I look up at him with my chin resting on his chest.
"Then kill the fucker," I wink.
"Zero to a hundred real quick," he laughs.
"Gotta do what you gotta do," I shrug parting from him.
"You'll find your way back?"
"Always. Good luck."
"Thanks," he smiles and I exit from the same door we came through. I take the same turns and end up in the competition room.
I walk through the crowd and get as close as I can to the ring. Fortunately, I find Roman there.
"Hey!" I yell at him so he can hear me. "Where's Landon?"
"Flirting with some girl probably. How was it backstage?"
"So cool, they have unicorns and rainbow waterfalls there."
"Actually?" Roman asks intrigued.
"No," I roll my eyes.
Before Roman can answer, the announcer starts speaking. He invites King's opponent on stage first. His name is Ripper. The man is small in height, but heavy in muscle mass and seems much older than King.
He's making some weird grunting noises to seem dominant and even makes eye contact with me.
I almost puke.
Ew.
The announcer then welcomes Kral as a returning and past undefeated member.
King is more classy in his arrival. He flexes slightly looking around the crowd. His eyes land on me and I smile at him. My heart is beating a thousand miles per hour, but I try to hide my nervousness.
Silas was a drug dealer and a member of a well-known gang in Singapore. I've heard stories of his endeavours and even witnessed a few of his fights. It's nothing I ever want to witness ever again. I understand the adrenaline rush and ego boost men get from participating in things like these, but I don't have to like them.
I have faith in King. I don't think this will be a regular occurrence in his life, but that's only something he can tell me.
For now, I just have to hope and pray that he wins with as little damage as possible. Everything else can be dealt with later.
Both players put their mouth guards on and stand in the middle as the referee briefs them down.
Once they're ready, the referee blows the whistle for them to begin. Both players have their fists up and eye each other. King is focused on the man's every movement. From his hands to his feet, King is soaking in all the motions of his opponent that he can.
Ripper throws the first punch, but King easily dodges. King then kicks Ripper on the side of his abdomen, but he doesn't even flinch. King is surprised and Ripper uses this moment to punch King in the face.
The whole crowd gasps and I wince feeling King's pain. King cracks his neck and I spot blood dripping from his nose.
"Come on, Kral!" Roman cheers. It's good to see my brother supporting King, but really? Does it have to be this that they bond over? Can't they bond over video games or something?
"What did I miss?" Landon asks coming from behind me.
Before I can answer, the crowd gasps again and starts cheering. I look up to see King throwing multiple punches knocking Ripper to the ground. Ripper knocks King down with his legs and climbs over King punching him.
Ripper gets King's face a few times before King successfully starts blocking the hits to his face. King then uses his legs to prop himself up. Ripper loses his balance and King uses this to push him off. King winds his arm back and punches Ripper in the head with one last blow.
My breathing hitches in anticipation and the noise around me drifts away. I watch King get up and he spits blood to the side wiping his bloody nose. His chest pumps as he breathes heavily staring at his motionless opponent.
The referee counts down, but Ripper doesn't move a muscle. Kral is declared the winner. The whole crowd cheers and I finally release a breath I didn't know I was holding.
As if I feel someone staring at me, I spot someone in a hoodie to the far right side of the ring staring at me. I can't make out who it is under the darkness of the hood and there's not much light in the area either.
"Reese, he's looking at you!" Landon says covering my view of the stranger. I follow Landon's finger to King on stage staring at me and I smile at him.
After a few minutes, King leaves to the change rooms and the crowd starts to scatter away. Everything becomes quieter and I run deciding to go see King.
I run into the change rooms and find King at his locker.
"Hey," he smiles turning around. Breathing heavily, I feel my eyes tear up at the sight of him. His right is swelling up and his left eyebrow is cut open along with his upper lip. His cheek seems to be turning purple as a bruises form.
My eyes lower to his abdomen where large multiple bruises are forming. Only a few areas remain untouched.
"Reese, say something," King begs speaking quietly. I blink letting the tears fall and sniff. I can't seem to look at him as it physically hurts seeing him like this.
"Let me help you clean up," I say. "Do you have a first aid kit?"
"Yeah," he says. He takes his bag and walks over to the bench. He takes out the first aid kit and hands it to me.
"Sit," I order. He does as he's told and I take a seat next to him. Pushing the bag to the side, I set the kit down and pull out a cotton pad. I wet it with antiseptic. I feel King's eyes following my every move, but ignore his intense gaze and focus on the task at hand. I sniff clearing my nose as I face him.
I start with his eyebrow and he takes a deep breath closing his eyes. My hands freeze and I wait a few seconds before continuing. His eyes open and they remain focused on my face as I keep cleaning up the wounds on his face.
"Can you say something?" he begs after a few minutes.
"Can you stop moving?" I retort. He grabs my hand stopping me from continuing. I look at him angrily.
"I'm not a fan of the silent treatment," he says pulling my hand down. I was almost done with his face, but there are a few spots left. I clench my jaw trying to prevent myself from overreacting.
I don't like seeing him like this and it hurts me to see him in pain. It makes me angry that he willingly puts himself through this and that he doesn't care about what he's putting others through.
"Reese," he says his eyes beg for an answer. I sigh putting the dirty cotton pad down.
"I don't like seeing you in pain. I don't like blood and it might sound dramatic, but I don't wanna lose you. I just lost my parents," I cry.
"Reese, I'm not gonna die," King speaks softly.
"How do you know? You know you could get a brain bleed and not even know until it's too late? Have you watched Grey Anatomy? Did you even see the way he was hitting you?"
"Well I was on the receiving end," he snickers.
"It's not funny!"
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. It's just that I've never lost a fight and I've been through worse."
"And that's supposed to make me feel better how?" I ask with attitude crossing my arms over my chest.
"I'm sorry," he apologizes. "I didn't mean to hurt you."
His grey eyes look at me with regret. I take a deep breath and my fingers brush his cheek as I lean in. My fingers curl around the side of his face and my thumb caresses his cheek. He closes his eyes soaking in my touch and his head slightly leans into my hand.
His eyes open and we're only inches away from each other. The space between us closes as our lips come together. My hand drops as his hand wraps around my neck pulling me deeper into the kiss as our lips move in sync. The cut on his lip scrapes against mine and I moan under the intense feeling. Goosebumps rise all over my body and warmth runs its course inside of me as we kiss.
Our lips part and we're both left breathless. His forehead leans against mine and our breaths mingle. My eyes closed, I lick my lips tasting the sweet taste he left on them.
Fuck.
I've never felt so at peace kissing someone before. It was different. Even though we've never kissed before, it seemed like we have. Our lips, just like our bodies, feel like a perfect fit. They moved in sync like we both knew exactly what the other person needed.
"That was worth the wait," King breathes satisfied. He parts first and I lift my head finally opening my eyes.
"It was," I agree smiling. My whole body is hot from the intense kiss. Even though it wasn't aggressive and only lasted a few seconds, it was one I'll remember forever. "I liked that apology better than you saying sorry."
"I'll try to do it more often then," he smiles as do I.
"You should," I encourage biting my lip.
"Yo!" Roman comes in. King and I face away from each other hurriedly. "Sorry, did I interrupt something?"
"No," I clear my throat. My hand reaches up and I adjust my hair behind my ear. "What are you doing in here?"
"I came in here to tell you guys to hurry up, some guy wants to kick us out. Landon's like fighting with him," Roman explains.
"Okay, let me take a quick shower," King says. "I think we're done cleaning up the wounds, right?"
"Yeah, we're done," I answer starting to close the kit. "I'll wait outside with them."
"Okay," King nods. I wash my hands and walk out with Roman as King walks into the shower.
"Where'd the guy go?" Roman asks Landon.
"He left once I explained that we're with Kral. I kept saying King at first and then I realized that's not the name he uses around here," Landon explains. "Is King good?"
"Yeah, I cleaned his wounds. He's just taking a shower now."
"Oh, okay," Landon says. "You good?"
"Yeah, why?"
"You seem a little... red," Roman claims.
"Just got a little overwhelmed seeing him in pain, that's all," I explain.
"He seems like he knows what he's doing. There's really no need to worry," Landon tries to console me.
"Yeah, but you know, I can't help but care," I shrug.
"It's okay little sis," Roman wraps his arm around my shoulders. "We wouldn't let anyone else take the pleasure in killing him."
"Not helping," I say sinking to make his arm fall off my shoulders. He almost falls but catches himself.
"No sarcastic comeback? You're actually sad, huh? I think someone has caught a serious case of feelings," Roman taunts.
"I don't know," I admit sighing.
"Hey," King says sneaking up behind me.
"Ha- hi," I panic hoping he didn't hear our conversation.
"How was I?" King asks my brothers.
"You were great bro, you're gonna have to teach me," Roman says.
"You know King wants to become a civil engineer? Why can't you ask him to teach you that instead?" I butt in.
"Because I wanna learn how to fight, Reese. I swear your head is as empty as a hot air balloon."
Everyone lets out a small laugh and I cross my arms mad.
"You were great, good job," Landon pats King's shoulder. No one else notices, but I notice King's face falter in pain.
"Can we go get food? I'm starving," I complain hearing my stomach growl.
"Yeah," King says. "If it's okay, can Ridge and Maverick come? They're waiting outside."
"Yeah," I reply. I haven't seen Ridge or Maverick since the first day at the diner, but King tells me that they know about us being friends. He says they're really good people once you get to know them, so I don't mind hanging out with them as long as they don't cause any trouble.
"Yeah we don't mind," Landon assures.
"Thanks," King faintly smiles back. We head outside with the boys leading the way. King's arm rests over my shoulder while mine wraps around his back. I rest my head on his side as we walk.
"At least you don't stink anymore," I tease.
"Yeah," King laughs. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, why?"
"You're just being a little quiet," he says.
"Yo, King!" A guy calls. We turn our heads to see a black guy leaning on a red old school convertible mustang. He has a black girl leaning on him and a bunch of his friends surrounding them.
Maverick and Ridge were sitting in their car, but join us when they realize what's happening. They nod at everyone and stand with us.
The black guy and their group of friends start walking towards us and King stands up straight taking his arm off of me. I drop my arm too. King gets in front of me like a human shield as the people come near.
"Glad to see you're back up in this bitch," the man comments.
"What do you want Naz?" King sounds irritated.
"To say hi to an old friend of mine," he pats King's shoulder. King lets out a slight groan. "Shit, did I hit a nerve?"
"He just came to fight once, Naz. He's not coming back again so just leave him alone," Maverick says. I know it's him because he's the baby daddy with green eyes.
"You fight even better now. I didn't think that was possible," Naz says lifting his hand from King's shoulder. "You know the offer still stands."
"Thanks, but the answer is no," King immediately answers.
"My mom said you're old man had a lot of fun in his time. Don't you wanna experience the same things?" Naz tries to further sell his point.
Bruh, what do you not get? The man said no.
This is not a pyramid scheme you need to sell to get your commission.
King doesn't reply.
"Okay then," Naz nods. "Who's this?"
I gulp when Naz's eyes land on me. His dark eyes laced with curiousness.
"Come on now, don't be shy," Naz encourages. I look at Landon and Roman for an answer and they nod telling me to comply. I take a step to the side and one step forward to stand next to King.
"I'm Naz," he introduces himself with a big smile and extends his hand. Naz is as tall as King. He's wearing baggy clothes, but I'm assuming by his structured face that he's just as lean as King too - maybe a little thinner.
"Reese," I answer giving him my hand. He takes it and lands a small kiss on the back of it. I feel the girl next to him eyeing me down fiercely.
"Uh... Reese Price," Naz concludes looking at my brothers. "I heard you were hanging around town with a rich bitch. Didn't think she'd be a billionaire. I see you're one upping Chaq."
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" King grabs Naz by the collar making me take a step back, away from them. Roman catches me and holds me steady. Naz's friends pull out guns pointing them at King.
I let out a small gasp before becoming angry. My hands form fists at my sides.
What the fuck?
Maverick and Ridge try to talk King down while Landon and Roman and try to tell the other guys to calm down. I remain firm in my stance watching things play out.
"Now I know I hit a nerve," Naz cocks with a cynical smile. He waves his hand and his friends put their guns down.
"Your dad would be proud of you talking shit about his best friend," King huffs letting Naz go.
"My dad's fucking dead because of your cowardice fucking dad! All because he was so in love with the stupid white bitch that fucking brought you to my side of town too," Naz spits.
"Don't forget you only control shit because I left. Don't make me take it back," King threatens.
"Next time I see you here, it better be to fight me in the ring otherwise you're as good as dead," Naz threatens.
"Don't worry, I don't plan on coming back. I'm done for good," King assures.
"Make sure your plans don't change. I don't wanna have your blood on my hands," Naz says fixing his shirt.
"Not sure if I believe you, but I'll take your word for it," King replies. Naz and his friends start to turn and walk away.
Once they're in their cars, we turn around to leave too.
"So... where are we eating?" I break the silence.
"Let's go to the diner," Roman suggests.
"We'll meet you guys there," King agrees. I watch as he hugs Landon and whispers something in his ear. Landon nods. King opens the car door for me and watches me get in. Roman climbs in after.
"What did he say?" I ask once Landon starts driving.
"Nothing important," Landon brushes off.
"Right," I sigh.
"Are you okay?" Landon asks.
"Yeah, I'm good," I smile. I've seen a lot of guns in our family due to security and Silas. It's also a tradition in our family to learn how to shoot when we turn sixteen so guns don't really scare me. It took me off guard tonight because it was unexpected. You never know what can happen in situations like these and I'm glad King handled it well.
He does have a lot of explaining to do though.
In one night, he made me feel like I was gonna lose him twice. I don't like that feeling.
"Hey, at least we got some cool stories to tell our kids one day," Roman says.
"You want kids?"
"Yeah, you don't?"
"Maybe. I just didn't expect you to be the settling down type," I share.
"Well, you don't really need to settle down to have kids..."
"Okay, just stop right there. I don't wanna hear the nonsense," I plug my ears and he sighs heavily in annoyance.
"Fine, but King is like a killing machine," Roman says.
"Yeah, you know Grayson and Aaron used to fight back home?" Landon shares.
"What?" I ask shocked.
"No way!" Roman screams.
"I've only heard rumours and I was too scared to ever ask them," Landon explains. "I was going through some business transactions on Aaron's computer and I found some sealed files. The file was encrypted, but I could tell it had some sort of agreement or contract signed by Aaron and some other guy."
"Really? You think they're hiding stuff from us?" I ask.
"I always knew they would have a dark side," Roman says. "They act too good."
"You know the whole business has a dark side too," Landon says. "You don't become as rich as our family without a few skeletons in the closet."
"What do you mean?" I ask innocently.
"Don't you ever wonder why we don't have any family? Why did mom and dad move to Singapore? Why couldn't we stay in England? And haven't you noticed how Jaxson prefers to stay away from the business? He is softer than both Grayson and Aaron," Landon explains.
"Do you think they'll tell us the secrets?" Roman asks.
"Once we're nineteen, they have to," Landon says. "We're gonna help them run things too."
"Well, we have a few years then," I dismiss.
"Have you been watching conspiracy theories on us?" Roman asks.
"Yeah," Landon admits.
"Makes sense, because I started watching them too. They really are convincing. They legit make me question our whole existence," Roman shares.
"Mom and Dad said not to believe them even Gray and Aaron say the same thing," I mention.
"And why would they? If they're all a lie, then it shouldn't be wrong to watch them for entertainment, but what if there's some truth to them?" Landon accuses.
"That's true," I agree thinking.
There's just so much going on, I can't even think properly. I feel a headache coming on and luckily the conversation ends there.
The rest of the car ride is silent with just music blasting. Grayson called asking where the fuck we were and we told him we went on a drive and accidentally got lost so we're gonna go eat now.
He wasn't that mad and just told us to be safe.
We arrived at the diner five minutes before King and his friends. It's Saturday night so it's pretty busy, but we manage to get a table.
Cindy is working tonight too. Maverick was kind of pissed knowing she was here, but she said their baby was home safe under her mom's care. Cindy wanted to work weekend nights because of the tips.
I'm sitting between King and Maverick with Roman, Landon and Ridge across from us.
"Who's Naz?" I question dipping my fry into the ketchup and taking a bite.
"He's an investor in the ring," Ridge says. "He used to be a player until he and his gang decided investing in it instead would be a lot more money."
"Anyone can fight?" Roman asks.
"You have to be recruited," Maverick shares. "There's a gym where the players practise. People come to watch and if you're liked, you get an invitation to fight."
"Can you decline?" Landon asks.
"Yeah, but you only need to be invited once. Then you can fight as much as you want. If
you lose more than three matches, the invitation expires and you have to get another invitation," King explains.
"Do you guys fight?" I ask Ridge and Maverick.
"I don't, but Mav does," Ridge says.
"As long as there's a way out, I don't think it's the worst thing to do," I shrug taking a bite out of my burger.
"Don't look now, but Ev and the rest of your friends just walked in," Roman says. My eyes widen and I freeze. I swallow the content in my mouth and my eyes water since I didn't chew properly.
"Are they coming here?" I choke.
"They're looking around," Landon says.
"They're coming," Ridge says after a few seconds.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck," I panic. I immediately sink under the table.
"Reese!" King groans and I apologize because I accidentally hit him where the sun doesn't shine.
"Hey," I hear Everleigh's voice and see four pairs of legs at the front of the table.
"Hi," Roman and Landon both reply.
"I didn't know you guys were friends," I hear her voice change filled with disgust.
Wow. Why does she have to be so rude? King isn't that bad.
"You know I'm right here," King speaks.
"What happened to your face?" she squeals.
"I could ask you the same thing," King replies and I snicker.
"What's that?" Zoya speaks up.
"Nothing," Ridge says kicking me.
Ow! There's hardly any space and my back is hunched at such an uncomfortable angle.
"What are you doing here?" King asks.
"It's a diner, King. I'm here to eat," Ev spits like it should be obvious.
This conversion is a little boring so let me add some spice to it.
I put my hand on King's leg slowly making my way up. His leg jolts up and his knee hits the table. My hand hits the bottom of the table above me and so does my head.
"Ow, fuck!" King grabs his knee and I slap a hand over my mouth so I don't scream in pain or burst out laughing. Tears well up in my eyes at the pain, but I can't help but want to laugh.
"Ugh!" I grit my teeth.
Instant fucking karma.
"Are you okay?" Jake sounds weirded out.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" King speaks through gritted teeth. I start again and this time he doesn't react as much. His leg stiffens and he shakes it to get rid of my hand, but clearly, it doesn't work.
"You're just acting really odd," Everleigh says.
"I just can't seem to please you no matter what," King grits through his teeth. My hand is literally on the inside of his thigh when his hand holds mine in place preventing it from going any higher.
I use my other hand and he groans. I giggle quietly at his reaction quite entertained my the whole ordeal.
I hear a loud clutter and a fork falls under the table just missing my eye. I gasp moving away.
"Shit, let me get that," King says. "Talk to Roman. You guys are friends right?"
King doesn't wait for a response, he just crawls under the table and I squirm to the back gluing my back to the wall.
One of King's eyes is still swollen, but his other eye is enough to tell me he's pissed. We hear everyone making small talk and whisper.
"What is wrong with you?" he yells.
"I just wanted to spice things up," I admit.
"Reese, stop. It's harassment!" he accuses.
"You can't say that! You liked it!" I gasp.
"But there's a time and a place for that!"
"Not like I was actually gonna go all the way," I cross my arms huffing.
"Sure you weren't."
"Keep dreaming."
"I will until it becomes reality."
"I love how I'm in control until I'm not," I say. I was referring to all the times we've almost kissed, but he was the one who always backed away.
"You're always in control, Reese. It's your world, I'm just living in it."
"Well if it was my world, you wouldn't have a fucked up face right now."
"You're upset," he sighs.
"I wanna know why you do it," I frown. He takes a deep breath.
"Let them leave."
"They still need to eat!"
"I'll pass you your food," he says.
"I am not a dog you need to sneak food too!"
"Fine," King laughs. "I'll get Cindy to sneak you out somehow. Just don't go near my dick again because you don't wanna start something you can't finish."
"Got it," I blush under his heated gaze.
"Good," he says and climbs back onto his seat.
"You're back," Ev groans.
"You're still here," King deadpans.
"Where's the fork?" Sarah asks.
"What?" King sounds confused.
"The fork you dropped..." Ev trails off.
"Right... uh...m..." King buys some time as I grab the fork and discreetly hand it to him. "Right here. Why don't you guys eat and let us enjoy our food too?"
"That's a little blunt," Jake scoffs.
"You have to be when people don't get the hint," Maverick answers.
"It was good seeing you guys. I can't say the same about the three of you," Ev says.
"Feelings are mutual," Ridge replies. After a few seconds, I watch their legs move to another table.
"Cindy!" Maverick calls.
"Yeah?" she walks over.
"Will you sit them in the back where they can't see us or the exit. Also, don't tell them Reese was here," Maverick shares.
"Okay," she says and I watch her legs disappear in the same direction. After a few minutes, King says it's safe for me to come up again.
"Oh my God!" I stand stretching. "Why didn't you let me come up earlier?"
"We wanted a few minutes of peace without your annoying voice," Roman comments. I stop stretching and my jaw drops open staring at Roman. Before I can say anything, I spot Ev coming towards us and I immediately slip under the table again. I accidentally knock over my milkshake and it drips down my back. I clap my hands over my mouth keeping myself from screaming.
I hear King and Ridge groaning at the mess and they start cleaning it up while the rest of the boys laugh at the chaotic scene.
I swear to fucking God.
What is my life?
"She went to the washroom," Landon whispers.
"Pass me napkins!" I whisper-yell frustrated. I take off my jacket and I'm lucky that it didn't seep through to my shirt. It did however get in my hair and on my neck which I try to wipe off, but it's so sticky.
"Okay, she went back," King says. I crawl out to the front this time.
"I'm gonna go clean myself up and then I'm done here," I make known.
"But we didn't even fin-... I mean we can take it to go," Landon gulps under my heated gaze.
"Good. Thanks for understanding," I smile and head to the washroom.
"I'm gonna go help her," King says and follows me.
"Okay," Roman replies. "Wait!"
"It's girls only, King," I state as I put my jacket on the counter. I grab paper towel and get it wet under the tap.
"That's fine," King says locking the door. I watch him check the stalls through the mirror.
"What are you doing?"
"This is the only chance we're gonna get to talk. I'm just making sure it'll stay between the two of us."
"Right."
"Are you mad?" he asks as I wipe the back of my neck. He takes my hair and holds it up for me as I wipe. His eyes focus on my neck and I feel my heartbeat become steady as I get lost in him.
He looks nothing like Silas, but the way everything played out today reminded me of him. Silas has dark hair and is as pale as King, but he was much scrawnier. His eyes were a light brown that held lust and deception like no other. His lips held poison, yet looked so enticing.
"You didn't answer my question."
"I'm frustrated, King," I admit. I use my other hand to check if my neck is clean and it doesn't feel sticky. I put the paper towel down.
"I'll clean your hair," he says. I turn to the side and King gets his hands wet under the water standing behind me. He then runs his hands through my hair and wipes it with a new piece of paper towel trying to get the stickiness out.
"When I met Everleigh, I was a regular fighter. I didn't tell her up until she started asking where I would go and come back with bruises from. She thought I was in a gang, so I had to tell her the truth. She accepted it at first, but something changed. She started hating me and blamed it on my fighting. I even stopped training as much to give her more time, but I guess it was too late.
When I felt things slipping away, I decided to quit. It was the night of my last fight and Ev finally came to watch again after only coming to a few fights before that. She left her phone in the change room and I saw Sebastian was calling her. I was curious, so I picked up and he was asking when she was gonna break up with me so they could start seeing each other more. I ended the call without saying anything. I went through their messages and found out she had been cheating on me for a while. It wasn't the fighting she started hating, it was me. She just needed an excuse to leave.
It's done," he says talking about my hair.
"Thanks," I smile as he throws away the dirty napkins. I wash my hands and so does he. Once we dry our hands, I decide to lean on the counter as I listen to him. He stands in front of me. I stare at him trying to take in every detail and feeling I feel by just looking at him.
"That fight was my worst fight. I was angry and I took it all out on my opponent. He nearly died that night. Ev never saw me like that before and she knew something was wrong. I confronted her in the change room and we had a heated argument. She told me she still loved Sebastian and that I was a nobody. That she doesn't know why she ever got with me. She said it might've been the sex, but she wasn't sure," King scoffs and I watch his eyes tears up. My heart sinks when he mentions him and Ev having sex. There's nothing wrong with them doing it, but it just hurts knowing Ev had King before I did. The fact that she couldn't even be good to him pisses me off even more.
"She left and I assumed that she's gonna go home or something just out of decency, but she didn't. The whole night I stayed up wondering how I could fix whatever was wrong and how I could help her feel better. She told me she loved me so how could she just switch up like that?
In the morning, I called her multiple times trying to get a hold of her but she wasn't picking up. When I checked her location, I thought she was at Sarah's house because that's what she told me her address was. I decided to go there, but when Sebastian answered the door and I saw Everleigh wearing his shirt, I knew that she slept with him. I beat Sebastian until he couldn't fight back anymore and left.
I relapsed and stopped fighting in the ring. Instead, I started fighting on the streets. That's when Naz and I got closer. He was always in a gang and I did a few things for him, but Maverick and Ridge pulled me away from everything. They helped me sober up.
I started training and got invited to fight again. For a full year, I didn't lose a single fight and Naz joined the investors. Since I gave him something before I left, he let me out of the gang easy. I stopped playing this summer and Naz was choked. I was a guaranteed money maker so when I left, Naz would have to invest in other players who could lose him money. We had a falling out, but he understood I couldn't keep fighting for the rest of my life. My dad's shop is doing good and I have my anger in control. I really don't have a reason to keep fighting. I still practise and train to get exercise."
"Then why did you fight tonight?"
"Maverick lost his invitation and he needed the money for Dion. I gave him almost all the money I earned and he has promised to start something long-lasting with it," he shares.
"So it was a one-time exception?"
"Yeah. I have no plans on ever going back," he assures.
"Good. Did your parents not know what you were up to?"
"Dad kind of knew what was up. We even got into a heated argument once, but I made him believe he was overthinking it. I know it sounds bad, but we needed the money and I needed a way to channel my anger properly. Mom was always so busy at the hospital and whenever she'd see me, the bruises would be too faint for her to notice."
"Why didn't you just tell me all this before?"
"Would you have believed me if I told you I wasn't in the wrong when it came to Everleigh and Sebastian? I mean, do you even believe me now?"
He looks tired and drained, but not just physically. Thinking about his past really was hard and I can tell it took a lot out of him. He tries hard to move on and I feel bad for being the reason he had to revisit everything. The saddest thing is that I know he's telling the truth.
Everleigh is nice, but I'm finally discovering how she truly is. She acts nice to your face but secretly wishes no one is better than her. She wants to be at the top especially when it comes to men.
It's also weird how she leaves me out of the loop. I didn't receive a single message about the group going out to eat tonight and if I ask, I know she'll make up a bullshit excuse.
As far as Sebastian goes, I've witnessed his behaviour first hand. He's capable of a lot and I think he would do something like this. He's only sweet until things are going his way. The second someone steps out of line, he switches up.
"Yeah, I believe you," I answer. "Sebastian lied to me about being a virgin. It made me so sick when I found out that I puked."
"What the fuck?" King becomes stiff with anger. "Did you and him ever..."
"No. Silas is the only one."
"It'd be fucked if Sebastian did that knowing he was lying to you," he spits turning to face the mirror. He holds the counter so tight his hands turn white. His jaw clenches and I can hear his teeth grind against each other.
"I think he eventually would have, but I got lucky I guess," I swallow sadly. King looks at me in disbelief. He's probably wondering how I'm so calm, but I've been through worse.
Sebastian is disgusting, but Silas was vile.
"So your anger is that bad?" I ask changing the subject. I put my hand on his arm and move closer to him. His eyes scan my face before sighing. He turns leaning his back on the counter. I move to stand in front of him and grab his jacket fiddling with it in my hands.
"Only at times. It's rare for me to get like that now," he says as I look up at him. Our faces only an inch away from each other, he hovers over me.
"Why don't you tell people what they did?" I ask looking into his eyes. He sighs looking to the side. He gets up from the counter and walks to the side.
"They have money, Reese. I don't want them using that against me. I'm not as privileged as Sebastian and her," he faces me.
"But they go around town painting you as the bad guy."
"It's paint Reese, it washes off," King says.
"But it's not fair."
"A lot of things aren't fair in life. I can't sit here and keep wondering why she did me like that. I just don't have it in me. I left her behind Reese."
"King-" I try to continue, but his hands cuff my face.
"Reese, listen to me when I say this. I left Everleigh and Sebastian in the past. They're not a part of my life and they never will be. I have no intentions of reopening that chapter again either. It will never be a fair fight for me."
"Are you sure?" I ask. He drops his hands and I take them in mine as we stand only a few inches away from each other.
"Positive," he nods displaying a small smile.
"Wait, doesn't your dad pay you child support?" I ask.
"During the divorce, mom and Richard decided that he was only going to pay for my university if it was needed. Other than that, she said she didn't need or want his money to raise me," King explains.
"Are you happy she did that?"
"Yeah, otherwise he'd act like I owe him my time. At least now I know I don't owe him shit and he won't even need to pay for my university because I know I'll get a full ride."
"So you're just a normal white kid from the hood with divorced parents, a black step-dad and two half-siblings? Who also has anger issues and was traumatized by his ex?"
"Bingo. Wow, you know me so well," King sarcastically says.
"I try," I smile.
"Well, this is me in its rawest form."
"A little too tender and undercooked in my opinion," I joke referring to his developing bruises. He laughs.
"Yeah? Tell me more," he says pulling me into him. I scream and giggle as I hit his chest. He curls his arm behind me and holds me close to him.
"Thank you for telling me," I speak softly. I bite my lip nervously as his eyes focus on me.
"You have the right to know," he replies. I grab his chain and fiddle with it in my hands as my elbows rest on his front.
"You guys have to get out of there!" Cindy knocks on the door and we both jump. "There are people waiting to use the washroom!"
"Sorry!" I yell. "Fuck."
With that, King and I exchange a look and we both start laughing. I quickly clean off my leather jacket and practically run outside.
We say our goodbyes and head our separate ways.
"That was a fun night," Roman says.
"Yeah, it was," I smile.
"You look happy," Landon says looking through the rearview mirror.
"Yeah," I smile even happier.
When it came to Silas, a man who thought I loved, he was just a lie. He hid his true-self from me and made me love his potential. Someone who he wanted to be and could be but was too scared to become.
King laid out his cards in front of me. He made me witness them first hand and practically said: this is me, this is who I am and I accept myself in that way, but can you? And that to me, is more endearing than anything else. Being able to be your rawest form without apology and knowing it's not the best, but still accepting it. The best part is he knows he wants to be better and chooses every day to be. Nothing is more admirable than that.
He's what I wanna be.
I wanna be able to look at my past and accept it. Maybe I can learn from him and maybe we can grow together.
Maybe just maybe, I've found the man of my dreams.
What's even better is, women usually look for their Prince Charming, but I ended up finding a king.
He's the one.
King Baxston is the one.
He's my King.
A/N:
FINE FUCKINGLY!!!
What do you guys think about King's past?