Chapter 7
Keaton
When we finally pulled apart, neither of us stepped back right away. Despite everything hanging over our heads, having my arms wrapped around Rowan felt right. Better than right. It felt like where I belonged, even if we still had shit to work through.
“By the way,” I said, my forehead resting against his. “The guys were worried about you.”
He grimaced immediately. “I figured.”
“Mason was ready to get the hotel involved.”
“Yeah, he said he’d be pissed if I was dead. That’s why I texted him back.”
I shoved my hands into my pockets and rocked back slightly on my heels. “Gotta admit, you texting him instead of me stung.”
“I figured. I just didn’t know what to say to you yet.” His gaze dropped briefly before coming back to mine. “I should probably talk to them. The guys have been great since I moved in, and disappearing after a fight and emptying my room without saying anything was kind of a dick move.”
“You were spiraling.”
“That’s not exactly a defense.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ll come by the house tomorrow morning before everyone leaves for the gym.”
“Okay.”
“I don’t know what I’m going to say, though. I’m not ready to explain everything.”
“You don’t have to.”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “Then what do I tell them?”
I thought about it for a second before answering. “Tell them you’re sorry. Say you had personal stuff going on and needed some space. The rest …” I shrugged. “The rest is your private business. They don’t need to know every single detail.”
His shoulders relaxed a little. “Okay.”
“There’s one thing I think they should know, though.”
Rowan’s brow furrowed. “What’s that?”
“I don’t think we should keep sneaking around anymore.”
“You mean that?”
“I do. You were right earlier, about the secret thing. I didn’t realize how much it was messing with your head or how it made the whole situation worse.”
“It wasn’t just that.”
I reached for his hand. “But it was a part of it.”
His thumb dragged across my knuckles before he looked toward the water again. “You sure about telling them?”
“It’s probably a good idea. Mason’s likely to figure it out soon, if he hasn’t already.”
Rowan nodded. “He’s too nosy for his own good.”
I snorted because it was true. Mason noticed everything, and he had a way of digging for more information that came across as friendly. It was annoying as shit, but somehow he got people to open up to him before they realized what was happening.
A second later, the smile faded from Rowan’s face. “What about the rest of it?”
“The Devon stuff?”
“Yeah. That’s the reason I left and moved out.”
“Right, but we can’t tell them that.”
The look on his face hardened. “Why do you want to protect Devon?”
“That’s not what I’m doing.”
“It kind of sounds like it is.”
I stepped back. “No. I’m trying to protect myself.”
He lifted a brow.
“The reason things ended with Devon in the first place was because I didn’t want people to think I was getting special treatment from the owner of the gym,” I explained. “That matters even more now.”
Understanding slowly replaced the frustration on his face. “Because you just signed with Elevate,” he sighed.
“Exactly. The last thing I need is for people around Titan to think I only got opportunities because Devon liked me, especially since I haven’t been fighting as long as most of the other guys.”
Rowan dragged a hand across his jaw. “I didn’t even think about that.”
“Plus …” My voice lowered. “Outing someone would be shitty.”
“I don’t like it, but you’re right.” He nodded. “We’ll keep Devon out of it.”
“Thank you.”
“I still hate him, though.”
“I’m not much of a fan either.” A few cars passed farther up the road, but otherwise it was just the two of us standing there, trying to figure out what came next. “So you’ll come by tomorrow morning?” I confirmed.
“Yeah.”
“But you’re going to keep staying at your parents’?”
“For now.”
I didn’t like that answer, but after everything that had happened, I didn’t really have the right to push.
He squeezed my hand before letting go. “I should head out.”
“Okay.”
Neither of us moved right away. Then he leaned in and kissed me quickly, nothing heated or desperate, just enough to remind me we were still us even if everything around us had become complicated as hell.
“See you tomorrow.” He gave me a small smile.
“Later.”
I watched him climb back onto his bike, start it, and pull onto the road before finally heading toward my car.
Just like my drive to the river, my mind was reeling. Even though we’d agreed to continue our relationship, our future somehow felt even more uncertain than it had a few hours earlier.
Florida.
The word replayed in my head the whole way home. When I pulled up, the house lights were on. Derek’s car was parked at the curb, while Enzo’s truck was in the driveway.
Voices drifted from the kitchen, and normally, I would’ve joined them, but tonight I wanted to be alone. I headed straight down the hall toward my room, shut the door quietly behind me, and sat on the edge of the bed. My elbows rested on my knees as I stared at the floor for a while.
Rowan had told his parents about us, and the thought still felt surreal—not bad, just strange in a way I couldn’t fully explain.
Growing up, I’d never considered coming out to my parents.
My dad threw around slurs whenever anything he thought was remotely gay came on TV, and my mom didn’t really care enough to notice much about me.
At best, she probably would’ve shrugged and gone back to whatever she was doing.
In no version of my life could I have imagined sitting down with them to talk honestly about who I was and who I loved.
But now, with my dad dead and Mom no longer living in Sac, I didn’t really have to think about it.
But Rowan’s parents …
That was different.
His mom used to shove extra food onto my plate whenever I stayed over for dinner because I was “a growing boy.” His dad taught me how to change my oil and handle other car maintenance. They’d include me in their plans for day trips to the lake and make sure I felt welcome.
Back then, I’d spent so much time in their house that it’d started to feel more like home than mine ever did. And now they knew, not just that Rowan was gay, but that we were together.
I was relieved they hadn’t reacted badly. After carrying all this shit around for years, he deserved parents who loved him without making him earn it.
A knock sounded against my door, and I told whoever was on the other side to come in before it cracked open.
“Saw your car in the driveway. You eat yet?” Derek asked.
“Nah. I’m not hungry.”
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” I lied. “Just tired.”
He didn’t look convinced but nodded anyway. “We saved you some food if you change your mind.”
“Thanks.”
After he left, I changed into sweats and lay down, but sleep took forever to come, mostly because every time I closed my eyes, I pictured Rowan standing by that river, talking about Florida.
Before I’d fully woken up the next morning, Mason’s laugh carried through the house followed by Derek swearing about coffee.
I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and saw a text from Rowan waiting:
I’m here
My pulse kicked up instantly, and I shoved off the bed, pulled a hoodie over my head, and headed toward the kitchen.
Derek stood near the sink with a coffee mug in his hand, and Enzo was at the table, scrolling on his phone. Mason leaned against the counter, eating dry cereal straight from the box, while Rowan sat across from him at the island, looking awkward as hell. Their conversation stopped when I walked in.
“Morning,” I greeted before grabbing an apple from the counter and taking a seat next to Rowan.
“So now that the gang’s all here,” Mason began, turning to Rowan. “Want to tell us what’s going on?”
Rowan took a breath before speaking. “First, I’m sorry for disappearing.”
“That’s not enough information for me.” Mason shook his head. “You can’t vanish after a fight, send one cryptic text that leaves me thinking I’m going to end up on a true-crime documentary, and then just apologize like it’s no big deal.”
“You watch too many murder shows.” Derek chuckled.
“I know I handled things badly,” Rowan continued. “I scared you guys, and I’m sorry. I had some shit going on, and I’m still trying to figure it out.”
“You good?” Enzo asked.
Rowan hesitated. “Yeah. I just …” He ran a hand through his hair and looked down at the table. “It’s complicated.”
Mason frowned. “Complicated how?”
Knowing it would probably be easier to explain if we just came clean about everything, I blurted out, “We’re together.”
Three pairs of eyes snapped toward me.
“I’m sorry, what?” Mason blinked.
“Rowan and I are dating,” I clarified.
Derek stared at us. “For real?”
“Yeah,” Rowan replied quietly.
Enzo leaned back in his chair. “Since when?”
“This time? A couple of months,” I answered.
Derek’s brow lifted. “What do you mean ‘this time’?”
I shrugged. “We were together in high school too, but that didn’t exactly work out.”
Enzo nodded. “Guess that explains why you two wanted to kill each other before.”
“We didn’t want to kill each other,” Rowan argued.
Derek snorted into his coffee. “Sure you didn’t.”
“Honestly, good for you guys,” Enzo said.
Rowan’s shoulders relaxed, and I realized he’d been bracing for a different response. So had I, if I was honest. The MMA world didn’t exactly have a long list of out fighters, especially among the men.
“You guys are really cool with it?” Rowan asked.
“I was way more concerned about you disappearing than I am about who you’re dating,” Enzo replied easily.
“Same,” Derek agreed. “You scared the shit out of us.”
“Sorry,” Rowan apologized again. “Without getting into too much detail, Keaton and I had a misunderstanding, so I took off. Probably wasn’t the best way to handle it, but we’ve talked shit out.”
Mason still hadn’t said much. Usually, he would’ve been firing questions at us or making jokes to get a reaction, but instead, he sat there turning the cereal box in his hands before finally glancing up.
“I’m glad you guys figured things out.” The words were supportive, but they felt too subdued for the guy who yelled shotgun when he was the only passenger, asked questions he had no business asking, and could turn a quiet room into a group discussion before anyone realized they’d been pulled into it.
Rowan must have noticed that Mason was off too, because he shot me a brief look before straightening slightly. “For the most part, although there’s probably going to be some changes coming up for me.”
“What kind of changes?” Derek asked.
“I’m not really ready to talk about all of it yet,” Rowan admitted. “But I probably won’t be staying here or training at Titan anymore.”
“Why?” Mason frowned.
“It’s complicated.”
Nobody pushed harder after that, probably because they could sense more beneath the surface that Rowan didn’t want to get into.
Eventually, Derek checked the time and swore. “Shit. I have to leave if I’m going to make it to class on time.”
After that, everyone started moving again, and within a few minutes, the kitchen cleared out until only Rowan and I were left.
I reached for his hand. “They took it well.”
“Yeah.”
“Mason was weird, though,” I added.
“I noticed that too.”
“You think he has a problem with us?”
“I honestly don’t know.”
My fingers lightly brushed Rowan’s wrist. “I have to head to the gym soon.”
“Okay.”
“But I want to see you later.”
He smiled. “You asking me on a date?”
“Maybe.” I chuckled.
“That’s good because I was going to ask you.”
I grinned. “Then yes, I’m asking.”
“Okay, let’s go on a date tonight.”
After everything we’d been through over the last two days, a normal date sounded like the best idea either of us had come up with.