Chapter 12
Summer
Noise behind me wakes me in the morning. Blinking my eyes open, I’m greeted by a warm chest under my head. A hand squeezes my waist as I tilt my head back. “Shortie,” Nick says in his gravelly voice.
“Morning, Grumpy,” I smile. “We slept.” I slept really well. There’s a blank space in my memory bank this morning.
He nods, sliding out from under me. A very firm appendage brushes my thigh as he moves. Nick walks to his room as I try to forget what I felt, but the hue of ripe strawberries is coloring my cheeks.
Sitting up, I look towards the kitchen. Alex is drinking coffee at the island, scrolling through his phone, and E is cooking breakfast. “Morning, guys,” I say.
“Good morning, Summer,” Alex greets.
“Morning,” E smiles. “Couldn’t sleep last night? Did your pill not work?”
“I took it, but it only works for 5 or 6 hours, so I woke around 3am. I heard someone in the kitchen and found Nick.”
“That is the second time you both slept well in close proximity,” Alex ponders. “Perhaps the contact helps you both sleep?”
“Um, yeah. I think so. The night you guys rescued me, Nick said if he touched my skin I settled down, and I slept peacefully beside him that night. I’m not sure how it works for him, though.”
“Did I hear you need a snuggle buddy?” Seb surprises me as he plops down on the couch. “I volunteer as tribute.” He raises his arm with exuberance.
We chuckle at him. “Is it only Nick who helps?” He asks, pulling me into his side.
“No idea,” I shake my head before resting it on his shoulder. “I can’t exactly test out the theory.”
“Hmm, not at home, but you can snuggle with me next time we stay here and see if it works.” He rubs a strand of my hair between his fingers.
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?” He pouts, arm snaking down my back, and he starts tickling me. “Only a maybe, Sunshine? Are you sure?”
I’m twisting and giggling, trying to get away. “Seb, I need to pee. Please stop.”
“Say yes, Sunshine, or I'll keep going.” His left hand joins the party, hitting a particularly good spot just below my ribs.
“Okay,” I giggle, “yes Hurry, now, let me go!”
Seb relents, and I run to our room to pee, making it just in time. I decide to get ready for the day while I’m in here, so I clean up and get dressed. As I exit the bathroom, Seb is sitting on his bed, looking at his phone. “Bathroom is yours, Hurry,” I say, dropping my bag onto my bed.
Seb doesn’t respond, so I look over at him. His brows are furrowed, and he continues to stare at his phone. I sit beside him and bump his shoulder. “Something wrong?” I ask.
“I’m not sure. Look,” he says, handing me his phone. There’s a text message from an unknown number. The person claims to be his mom, and she wants to see him.
“Is it a prank?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t heard from her since CPS moved me to live with the sperm donor years ago.”
I wrap my arm around his waist. “Maybe get Nick to trace the number?”
“Good idea, Sunshine. I’ll ask him after the tournament today. Go get some breakfast. I’ll get dressed and be out in a minute.”
E has a plate ready for me on the table when I get to the kitchen, so I take a seat beside him and dig in. “Thank you,” I whisper, and he gives me a brilliant smile.
Bay joins us in just a pair of shorts, abs on display.
He plops down beside me as Alex pushes a mug of coffee in front of him.
I’m learning about the guys’ habits. Bay and Seb are the last to rise.
Nick, Bay, and Alex need coffee first thing in the morning.
Nick doesn’t sleep. E and Alex are the only ones who actually dress before leaving their rooms. I’m enjoying learning their quirks.
After I put my dishes away, I grab the protein bars I made for Nick and set them beside him on the table. “Protein bars, since you potentially have three matches today.”
“Thanks, Shortie.”
I pick up my clipboard from the coffee table and go over the schedule for today. Since we’ve already eliminated half the athletes, there are more seminars than yesterday. “Ready to go?” I ask Alex.
“Yes,” he nods.
“Guys, you have 15 minutes before you need to be outside,” I call as we leave.
“Markus mentioned wanting this to be an annual event yesterday,” Alex tells me.
“Really? If we can find a venue and Nick is interested, I think we could do that.”
“I agree. We can discuss the option later with everyone,” he replies.
As we arrive, I see the booths ready to go.
It looks like the cleanup crew did a great job yesterday.
The cages are pristine, as is the grass.
Markus is in the fighter’s booth, and I see the paramedics and officials are ready as well.
The roped seminar areas each have a fighter setting up, and two trainers from the local facility are nearby.
Finn employees have already stationed themselves around. We are ready for day two.
I hear my name yelled as I take a pic of the fights scheduled this morning. Turning, I see Markus waving to me, so I walk over to the tent to greet him. “Morning,” I smile.
“Good morning. I’d like you to meet a few of the top contenders. This is Derek, Juan, and Hunter,” he says, pointing to each guy. “They should make the semi-finals today, along with Nick. This is Summer. She’s the brainchild of this tournament.”
“Hi everyone,” I wave with a smile. “Good luck today.”
“Cool idea to hold it outdoors. Do you fight?” The guy named Hunter asks. He’s hot, with bright blue eyes and short brown wavy hair. He’s covered in tattoos on his legs, arms, and chest. I don’t get a bad vibe from him, or the other two, just neutral.
“I just started training a few weeks ago,” I say as Nick comes up to stand beside me. He puts his arm over my shoulder and nods to Markus and the three fighters. Hunter raises his eyebrows at Nick but says nothing, while Markus chuckles.
“Okay. Derek, you’re up first today. Better warm up,” Markus announces.
“Want to help me warm up, Summer?” Derek winks.
Nick growls at him, pulling me into his side. The three fighters think it’s hilarious and crack up.
“I’m kidding, Summer. I’m happily engaged,” he laughs. “I’ve just never seen Nick protective of a woman before.”
“Asshole,” Nick mutters.
I pat his chest, then pull away. “Good luck, I’ll see you later,” I tell him, then wave to everyone as I walk over to Seb and E in the next tent.
Seb makes the first announcement of the morning as people file in.
Most are heading to the seminars, but we still have a nice crowd in the stands.
Alex and I do our rounds to check in with the workers and volunteers as things begin.
The place becomes packed by early afternoon. Bay and Alex stick by me so I can avoid the crowd. Nick, Juan, and Hunter are in the semifinals, but Derek lost his match.
Zander, Troy, and Gabby join me and the guys at the officials’ tent to watch Nick’s semifinal match against Juan. Nick looks like he was born to fight. Each move is precise and effortless. He’s just as mesmerizing as Bay and Alex diving.
Seb brings a bench over for Gabby and me to stand on to see better, as E stands behind us with Zander.
I lean on Bay’s shoulder in front of me as we cheer for Nick when he’s announced.
He doesn’t acknowledge us this time, focused on his match.
Markus told me earlier that both Hunter and Juan have similar training to Nick, so their matches are always close.
It’s a tense fight with Juan going on the offensive right away. He’s not as big as Nick, but he’s fast. After 4 rounds, they’re both breathing hard. I’m not sure who’s winning at this point. I’m bouncing on my toes, leaning on Bay. “This is stressful,” I say.
“Don’t worry, Nick has this. Watch the change in him this round,” Bay offers.
I don’t know what he means, but I focus back as the last round starts. Nick charges at Juan as soon as the bell rings. “Damn,” I mutter.
Bay must have heard me as he chuckles. “Nick gets pissed off when he has to go 5 rounds.”
Nick is more aggressive than I’ve seen him thus far, and Juan is struggling to keep Nick off him. He survives until the bell rings, but he looks rough. The judges take a few minutes to deliberate, then Seb announces Nick as the winner. He leaves the cage and helps Juan to the first-aid tent.
As Gabby and I get down from the bench, Zander and Troy leave to join a seminar class, and Gabby offers to save us seats in the stands for the championship match in two hours. “Alex, do you mind if I go inside and get a snack?” I ask.
“Of course not. Would you like an escort?”
“I’ve got her,” Nick says from behind me, so Alex nods and steps aside.
“Can I bring you guys anything?” E requests some chips and salsa for him and Seb. I follow Nick through the crowd, people parting for him as he goes. I’ve got a hand on his shirt, so he knows I’m here. He nods to Sam, who’s guarding the front door.
“Are you hurt?” I ask when we get inside.
“Not really.” I see a butterfly bandage over his right eyebrow, but see nothing else obvious. He goes straight to his room when we get inside, and I pull out a leftover sandwich from lunch and a Coke.
As I’m packing the salsa and chips in a container, Nick walks out of his room, freshly showered. His eyebrows are down as he walks to the fridge to get some water. “What’s wrong, Grumpy?”
“Nothing,” he grunts.
I put the lid on the container, then turn towards him at the island. Crossing my arms under my chest, I raise an eyebrow. “Lie. What’s bugging you?”
He glares at me, but I’m impervious to him now. I wait patiently, staring him down. He relents, rolling his eyes at me. “Too much energy,” he tells me.
“Oh, how do you normally get rid of it?” I question. He raises his eyebrows, staring at me. It takes a few seconds, but I clue in. “Oh…”