Chapter 29 Ash
ASH
Fight night’s exactly what you’d expect. It’s mostly men, standing around in an old, abandoned building. The floors are concrete and some of the windows are busted out. The crowd’s rambunctious to say the least, gathered in a circle where two men beat the hell out of each other in the middle.
I clutch Gabriel’s arm until we find JT and the other guys.
“Damn, did you get prettier overnight?” JT shouts, wrapping an arm around me.
“You’re asking to get your ass kicked with that shit, you know that?”
“Ha. You’re not as smart as you look if you think he could kick my ass.”
He pulls away from me before Gabe shoves him playfully, saying, “You won’t be laughing when I put my foot up your ass.”
They all do that weird guy hug. You know, the one where they start with a handshake that turns into an embrace.
Boys are so strange.
“Want to make a bet?” Gabriel smirks.
We’re close to the front. A bigger bald guy punches a still large but slightly smaller guy with dark hair, and he topples over. The crowd explodes.
“On what?” I bite my bottom lip.
He grins proudly, puffing out his chest. “On me. If I win my fight, you get my initials tattooed on your ass. If I lose, I’ll get yours.”
As he finishes, he pulls back to read my face.
“Your fight? What do you mean? You’re fighting someone tonight?”
This crazy motherfucker grins from ear to ear when he nods. My hands start to sweat. I don’t know that I want to watch him fight someone. What if he gets hurt?
Although, what if he doesn’t? I should not find the idea of him winning as hot as I do.
“Gabriel! What the hell!” I squeal, swatting his arm. “I’m not getting your initials on my ass!”
“Oh! Come on!” He chuckles, beaming down at me.
I cross my arms over my chest. “You’re crazy!”
He laughs, shrugging. “Maybe. Is that a yes?”
“No!” I shriek. “Absolutely not!”
He cocks his head, raising a brow. And I can tell by the look on his face that he’s up to something. He doesn’t at all look like I said no, instead he looks like I asked him to duel.
“Well, there goes my motivation to win. Guess I’ll have to get my ass kicked.”
Walking backwards, he pulls his shirt off revealing his smooth muscular abdomen and the intricate snake tattoo that starts on the right side of his chest and wraps around his shoulder, twisting down his arm. The crowd erupts when he steps into the circle of people.
“What? No!”
He’s still staring at me with that grin before he winks, and a man announces the start of the fight.
I hadn’t even noticed the last one was over.
I was busy being shell-shocked by his idea of me getting a tattoo on my ass.
He’s standing across from a guy who’s slightly bigger than him with dark hair and tattoos covering every inch of visible skin except his face.
At the last minute, Gabriel tears his gaze from me. He jumps around a few times, still smiling like he’s not about to actually fight someone. The guy cocks his fist, and like Gabriel said, he takes a hit. Blood trickles from his lip.
“Gabriel!” I gasp, covering my mouth.
He bends at the waist, wiping his mouth. My body lurches forward and JT throws out an arm to stop me. As Gabriel stands, he laughs like a lunatic. Licking the gash in his lip, he moves in front of the man, quirking a brow like come on.
The guy swings again but barely makes contact with Gabriel’s jaw. He rears back, obviously not impressed before lifting his brows at me this time, but I don’t budge.
Let the idiot get the shit kicked out of him. That’s what he gets for being stupid.
The second the other guy’s fist barrels into his abdomen, I regret that thought.
Please, don’t let him get his ass beat.
He clutches his stomach and coughs.
In a raspy voice he shouts, “Make the bet, baby.”
He takes another hit to the face, harder this time; blood sprays, speckling the concrete.
“Oh my god!” I shriek, my chest clenching and my stomach churning. I feel like I can’t breathe.
JT rolls his eyes. “Fucking dumbass,” he mutters under his breath before shouting, “Jesus, Gabe! Enough fucking around!”
He dodges a punch, jumping sideways and wiping the blood that’s trickling from his brow. “Come on, Ash, I’m losing here!”
And I know it’s insane, but I can’t help it.
There’s no way I can stand here and watch this guy beat the hell out of him.
Also, maybe there’s a little part of me that wants to get his name tattooed on my body.
Maybe there’s a part of me that would have done it without the coaxing at all. I belong with him.
“Fine! Okay, yes!” I yell over the screaming crowd. “Just quit letting him hit you!”
He chuckles, winks, and then it’s on.
He spits blood to the side and proceeds to royally kick the guy’s ass. I know it’s messed up, but it’s so hot. His muscles strain with every punch and sweat beads on his skin. I think I might be salivating watching him.
JT fights after Gabriel, if you can even call it that. The other guy didn’t stand a chance. JT’s like a machine. It’s honestly a little scary to watch.
“Where have you been?” Gabriel asks, guy hugging Shane as he and Nik walk up. The fights ended a few minutes ago and everyone’s leaving.
“We had shit to do.” He wraps an arm around Nik’s shoulders and gestures to Gabriel. “What happened to your face?”
“It’s your sister’s fault. Don’t ask.” He smirks.
Shane examines me, confused, but doesn’t ask.
Once we’ve all returned to the clubhouse for the night, Gabriel comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around my middle and bringing his lips to the shell of my ear. “Time to pay up, baby.”
“For what?”
“The bet, remember?” He wiggles his brows.
My eyes go wide. “Now?”
“Yeah, Leroy can do it in the back.”
I don’t know who the hell Leroy is but why am I not surprised that they all let someone put ink in their skin in the back of the club.
I stare at him, and his face softens.
“You don’t have to. I was just messing with you, but I’m glad you’d do it to keep me from getting my ass beat.”
I think about it for a second, and honestly, I don’t know why I’m kind of disappointed he’s letting me off the hook. Until tonight had I thought about wanting his initials on my body? No. But now… I don’t know.
I blurt out, “No, fuck it. Let’s do it.”
He grins, cocking his head back. “You’re serious?”
“Yep, take me to him.”
It’s entirely out of character for me, but I can’t help it; I’m reckless for Gabriel Abbott.
He drops the cocky smile, and his eyes examine mine. “I really was joking. You don’t have to do this.”
“I want to.”
A grin spreads across his face.
Gabriel gets mine first. I told him he didn’t have to because he didn’t lose, but he said he planned on it either way.
He’s nuts.
Now I’m lying on a table getting my very first tattoo… on my ass. He’s almost done when Shane and Nik walk in.
“Oh my god! Put your clothes on! Jesus!” Shane yells.
“Shut up,” I snap as the guy says I’m done, and I move to stand.
“GA?” Nik asks, confused. I’m beaming, about to tell her they’re Gabriel’s initials when she finishes, “Like, general admission?”
All the amusement leaves my face, and my mouth pops open. I hadn’t thought of that. I spin to Gabriel with wide eyes and my mouth open. He rolls his lips under, sucking in a deep breath, and staring at me like a deer in headlights.
That is, until he cracks up, cackling like a maniac.
“Oh, baby. I’m so sorry,” he laughs with pinched brows as he moves toward me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders.
“What the hell!” I jab him in the side, my face pressed to his chest. “Gabriel, it’s not funny!”
He pulls back, still hooting and hollering. “I know. I’m sorry.”
He doesn’t sound sorry.
As much as I try to hold onto the horror, I start laughing too because I mean, it is kind of funny, and his laughter is infectious.
“Don’t worry. No one but me will see it anyway.”
I bury my face in his chest, half laughing, half groaning.
“Gabe!” a voice booms, causing everyone to whip in the direction of the large dark-haired man it belongs to. I’ve seen Gabriel’s dad a few times, but I haven’t really met him. He’s intimidating to say the least.
He jerks his head, gesturing for his son to come here.
“Be right back,” Gabriel mutters, kissing the top of my head.
“What the fuck happened to your face?” his dad says. I think he’s trying to be quiet, but his voice travels.
“It’s not a big deal.”
“No? You’re about to inherit an entire club one day. Do you think these guys want their president getting his ass kicked at a fight club?”
Gabe’s brows shoot up, and I know he’s about to say something smart. “Well, technically I’m not president yet, and… I didn’t get my ass kicked.”
His dad grinds his teeth. “That’s not the point.”
Gabriel’s face falls. “I know, sorry.”
“No more.”
Gabriel nods before turning back to me. He slings an arm around my shoulder and says, “Come on, General.”
I groan, burying my face in him. “Don’t call me that.”