41. Sam
SAM
“Come on! Your head’s not in the game!” Deke shouted as Masters slammed his fist into my jaw. My head snapped to the side with brutal force, and it took me a second to recover.
Thankfully, Deke called a break, sending Masters to the corner as he pushed me into mine.
“What the hell is going on with you? You’ve been all over the place for a week straight.”
I didn’t dare tell him it was because I was using my hand to get off, and that wasn’t nearly good enough for me. Sleep was eluding me, mostly because I constantly wondered what Cassidy was doing and if she was alright without me.
Had she moved on?
I just couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that she tossed me out of her life. Not that I could blame her. With the number of times I’d told her I would never offer me more, it was a wonder she’d let me stick around as long as she had.
But I still couldn’t shake the feeling that something else was going on, that she had pushed me out the door for some reason that still eluded me.
I sucked in a breath, trying desperately not to think of how she looked lying in bed beside me.
It struck me as slightly odd that I was thinking about how her hair sprawled across the pillow, or the way she sang off-key in the shower instead of her pussy.
But I had long since admitted to myself that I was in love with Cassidy, if only to myself.
“This isn’t like you, Sammy. You could take a guy like Masters any day of the week, but right now, he’s about to end you.”
“I know.”
“You still have some in the reserves, but the way you’re fighting, you’ll only end up injuring yourself. We’re gonna have to call it for the day. We have your first fight in two days. Are you gonna be ready?”
“I’ll be ready.”
“Look, normally, I suggest abstinence. You know, build up that anger and shit. But…I think you need the opposite. Go find some pussy and blow off some steam.”
I nearly decked him for suggesting I find pussy, as if it was an affront to Cassidy. But he didn’t even know about her, so if I reacted, I’d only clue him in that my problem was more than just needing a release.
Clasping me around the neck, he pulled me in so we were eye to eye. “Get this shit under control, Sammy. We need this. If you’re not right by tomorrow, I’ll pull the fight.”
I nodded, stepping back and wiping the sweat from my brow.
He was right. I couldn’t bottle up this need inside me any longer.
I needed Cassidy, not only to get my head on straight, but because things just weren’t right without her.
I needed her, and if I could admit that to myself, it was about time I said the same to her.
Thirty minutes later, I was out of the gym and headed to my mobile vehicle, which was no longer in the parking lot.
I still had to move my shit into the new house, and even though I didn’t have a lot, I needed my damn clothes and a few other personal items. But that wouldn’t be happening if I couldn’t even find the damn mobile home.
“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath.
At least I still had my car. I drove around for a good hour, searching every alley, public parking lot, the fire station…Hell, I even checked back at the ranch.
But what I didn’t expect was to find my tiny home parked in the driveway right the fuck beside Cassidy’s home.
Walking up the steps to Sawyer’s house, I knocked on the door, hoping I wasn’t interrupting his sleep. He worked at the rescue center, so if he was on the night shift, this was going to be an unwelcome interruption.
When the door opened and his groggy face appeared, I got my answer. “What?” he grumbled.
“Sorry, but someone parked my house in your drive.”
He looked behind me, then sighed. “Yeah. Hold on.”
He was gone for only a minute, and when he returned, he had a set of keys in his hand. “The lock was changed.”
“Who did it?”
“Sorry. Sworn to secrecy.” And then he slammed the door in my face.
“Secrecy,” I muttered under my breath as I made my way back to the tiny house. “The only secret that can be kept in this town is who’s moving my house all around the damn place.”
The problem was, I couldn’t even tow it—not with my car. I needed a truck for that, but I didn’t see the point in getting one, not when everyone in the damn town had the ability to drag my house wherever the hell they wanted.
And they just happened to park it in Sawyer’s driveway, right the fuck next to Cassidy’s house.
It was almost as if someone planned it that way.
But I immediately brushed that thought from my mind. Who in the hell would want to make sure that I saw Cassidy?
Stomping inside, I shivered at how cold it was. Quickly grabbing my bag, I stuffed some clothes inside, then opened the closet and grabbed the few items I’d tossed in there when I first moved in. There was other shit to grab, but that would have to wait for another time.
Stomping to the door, I almost didn’t see the little post-it note pressed against the window.
Trivia night at The Beaver and Boot Saturday night. Seven sharp. Don’t be late.
Of course, the note wasn’t signed. That would give me some clue as to who left it for me. It couldn’t be a coincidence that someone moved my house next to Cassidy’s. Or that the same someone wanted me at a trivia night when no one in this town had ever suggested I do a damn thing.
This wasn’t a friendly suggestion.
This was a setup.
I bounced from one foot to the other as I counted down the minutes until the fight started. I didn’t dare tell a soul about where I would be tonight. The last thing I needed was my family showing up, especially if I blew the fight.
My confidence had taken a hit since my last fight, but I felt stronger than ever, and even though I wasn’t ready to get back in the ring with Joe Rubin, this fight would get me a foothold into the life I missed so much.
“You ready?” Deke asked, rubbing my shoulders.
“Ready.”
“You got this. Remember, this guy is a nobody. This is just a warmup, a way to get you back in the ring. You’re ready for this.”
I knew I was. That familiar electricity I felt before a match zipped through my veins, carrying me all the way to the ring as they announced my name.
A shocked gasp sounded from the crowd as I stepped into the ring.
No one had expected me to make a comeback, and the way they started cheering for me, screaming my name, brought back that old, familiar feeling I had missed over the past year and a half.
I was back, and it was time to show the world that I wasn’t going to be taken down by the likes of Joe Rubin.
I tuned out the crowd and focused solely on my opponent. He was large, about the same size as me, with nearly as much muscle. His eyes spoke volumes, the intensity and focus just as high as my own. He was ready for this match, and once we stepped into that ring, he would come at me hard.
We tapped gloves and stepped back, both of us continuing to stare at one another. I waited him out for only a few seconds before he did the expected, swinging like his life depended on it. I dodged the first hit, blocked the second, and then I allowed him in.
That hit square across the jaw hurt like a bitch, nearly knocking me off my damn feet. I let him get in a few more blows, dropping my elbows just as he went for the kidneys. After the next round of hits, I got a feel for his moves, could sense what he planned and how he would execute each swing.
As he threw his fist one last time, I took the hit.
And then I grinned at him.
With my mouth full of blood and my sides already bruised, I was finally ready.
And it was gonna be beautiful.
It took two left hooks and one hard jab from the right to knock him on his ass, and when he got to his feet, the confidence in his eyes dimmed, and he knew he was in trouble.
We went three rounds, and then I delivered the final blow. He was out, unable to move as he laid out cold on the mat. As the referee lifted my hand, announcing my victory, I looked around, listening to the crowd going wild. But as my eyes connected with Deke’s, the smile slipped from my face.
I was back, but the one person who really mattered wasn’t here.
It had never bothered me before to not have a single family member or friend in the crowd. In fact, it helped me focus. But right now, as I stood on the mat, my victory and comeback complete, I wished more than anything that I could see Cassidy’s beaming smile.
She wasn’t here, and it was all my fault. I’d pushed away too many people in my life, and now when it really counted, I was all alone.
But that was about to change.
I wouldn’t take another step in the ring unless she was by my side.