Crushed

SHEPLEY’S EXPRESSION CHANGED. HE WAS ALL BUSINESS when Adam called with a fight time. His fingers tapped against his phone, clicking away, texting to the people on his list. When Shepley disappeared behind his door, America’s eyes widened over her smile.

“Here we go! We’d better freshen up!” Before I could say anything, America pulled Abby down the hall. The fuss was unnecessary. I’d kick the guy’s ass, make the next few months’ worth of rent and bills, and life would return to normal. Well, sort of normal. Abby would move back to Morgan Hall, and I would imprison myself to keep from killing Parker.

America was barking at Abby to change, and Shepley was now off the phone, Charger keys in hand. He bent backward to peek down the hall, and then rolled his eyes.

“Let’s go!” he yelled.

America ran down the hall, but instead of joining us, she ducked into Shepley’s room. He rolled his eyes again but was also smiling.

A few moments later, America burst out of Shepley’s room in a short, green dress, and Abby rounded the hall corner in tight jeans and a yellow top, her tits bouncing every time she moved.

“Oh, hell, no. Are you trying to get me killed? You’ve gotta change, Pidge.”

“What?” She looked down at her jeans. The jeans weren’t the problem.

“She looks cute, Trav, leave her alone!” America snapped.

I led Abby down the hall. “Get a T-shirt on, and some sneakers. Something comfortable.”

“What?” she asked, confusion distorting her face. “Why?”

I stopped at my door. “Because I’ll be more worried about who’s looking at your tits in that shirt

instead of Hoffman,” I said. Call it sexist, but it was true. I wouldn’t be able to concentrate, and I wasn’t going to lose a fight over Abby’s rack.

“I thought you said you didn’t give a damn about what anyone else thought?” she said, steaming.

She really didn’t get it. “That’s a different scenario, Pigeon.” I looked down at her breasts, proudly pushed up in a white, lacy bra. Canceling the fight suddenly became a tempting idea, if only to spend the rest of the night trying to find a way to get them naked and against my chest.

I snapped out of it, making eye contact again. “You can’t wear this to the fight, so please . . . just . . . please just change,” I said, shoving her into the room and shutting myself out before I said fuck it and kissed her.

“Travis!” she yelled from the other side of the door. Sounds of scurrying could be heard on the other side of the door, and then what was probably shoes flying across the room. Finally, the door opened. She was in a T-shirt and a pair of Converse. Still hot, but at least I wouldn’t be too worried about who was hitting on her to win my damn fight.

“Better?” she puffed.

“Yes! Let’s go!”

Shepley and America were already in the Charger, ripping out of the parking lot. I slipped on my shades and waited until Abby was secure before taking off on the Harley into the dark street.

Once we reached campus, I drove down the sidewalk with my lights off, pulling up slowly behind Jefferson.

As I led Abby to the back entrance, her eyes widened, and she laughed once.

“You’re joking.”

“This is the VIP entrance. You should see how everyone else gets in.” I hopped down through the open window into the basement, and then waited in the dark.

“Travis!” she half yelled, half whispered.

“Down here, Pidge. Just come in feetfirst, I’ll catch you.”

“You’re out of your damn mind if you think I’m jumping into the dark!”

“I’ll catch you! I promise! Now get your ass in here!”

“This is insane!” she hissed.

In the dim light, I saw her legs wiggle through the small rectangular opening. Even after all her careful maneuvering, she managed to fall instead of jump. A tiny squeal echoed down the concrete walls, and then she landed in my arms. Easiest catch ever.

“You fall like a girl,” I said, setting her on her feet.

We walked through the dark maze of the basement until we arrived in the room adjacent to the main room where the fight would be held. Adam was yelling over the noise with his bullhorn, and arms were sticking straight up from the sea of heads, waving cash in the air.

“What are we doing?” she asked, her small hands wrapped tight around my bicep.

“Waiting. Adam has to run through his spiel before I go in.”

“Should I wait here, or should I go in? Where do I go when the fight starts? Where’s Shep and Mare?”

She looked extremely unsettled. I felt a little bad for leaving her here alone. “They went in the other way. Just follow me out, I’m not sending you into that shark pit without me. Stay by Adam; he’ll keep you from getting crushed. I can’t look out for you and throw punches at the same time.”

“Crushed?”

“There’s going to be more people here tonight. Brady Hoffman is from State. They have their own Circle there. It will be our crowd and their crowd, so the room’s gonna get crazy.”

“Are you nervous?”

I smiled at her. She was particularly beautiful when she was worried about me. “No. You look a little nervous, though.”

“Maybe,” she said.

I wanted to lean down and kiss her. Something to ease that frightened-lamb expression on her face. I wondered if she worried about me the first night we met, or if it was just because she knew me now - because she cared about me.

“If it’ll make you feel better, I won’t let him touch me. I won’t even let him get one in for his fans.”

“How are you going to manage that?”

I shrugged. “I usually let them get one in—to make it look fair.”

“You . . . ? You let people hit you?”

“How much fun would it be if I just massacred someone and they never got a punch in? It’s not good for business, no one would bet against me.”

“What a load of crap,” she said, crossing my arms.

I raised an eyebrow. “You think I’m yankin’ your chain?”

“I find it hard to believe that you only get hit when you let them hit you.”

“Would you like to make a wager on that, Abby Abernathy?” I smiled. When I first said the words, it wasn’t my intention to use them to my advantage, but when she flashed back an equally wicked smile, the most brilliant fucking idea I’d ever had slipped into my mind.

She smiled. “I’ll take that bet. I think he’ll get one in on you.”

“And if he doesn’t? What do I win?” I asked. She shrugged just as the roar of the crowd surrounded us.

Adam went over the rules in his usual asshole way.

I stopped a ridiculous grin erupting across my face. “If you win, I’ll go without sex for a month.” She raised an eyebrow. “But if I win, you have to stay with me for a month.”

“What? I’m staying with you, anyway! What kind of bet is that?” she shrieked over the noise. She didn’t know. No one had told her.

“They fixed the boilers at Morgan today,” I said with a smile and a wink.

One side of her mouth turned up. It didn’t faze her. “Anything is worth watching you try abstinence for a change.”

Her reply sent a rush of adrenaline through my veins that I’d only ever felt during a fight. I kissed her cheek, letting my lips linger against her skin for just a moment longer before walking out into the room. I felt like a king. No way was this fucker going to touch me.

Just as I had anticipated, there was standing room only, and the shoving and shouting amplified once we entered the room. I nodded to Adam in Abby’s direction, to signal for him to watch out for her. He immediately understood. Adam was a greedy bastard, but he was once the undefeated monster in the Circle. I had nothing to worry about as long as he watched over her. He would do it so I wouldn’t be distracted. Adam would do anything as long as it meant making a shit ton of money.

A path cleared as I walked to the Circle, and then the human gate closed behind me. Brady stood toe to toe with me, breathing hard and shaking like he’d just shot up with Red Bull and Mountain Dew.

Usually I didn’t take this shit seriously and made a game of psyching my opponents out, but tonight’s fight was important, so I put on my game face.

Adam sounded the horn. I balanced my core, took a few steps back, and waited for Brady to make his first mistake. I dodged his first swing, and then another. Adam popped something off from the back. He was unhappy, but I had anticipated that. Adam liked for fights to entertain. It was the best way to get more heads in the basements. More people meant more money.

I bent my elbow and sent my fist flying into Brady’s nose, hard and fast. On a normal fight night, I would hold back, but I wanted to get this over with and spend the rest of the night celebrating with Abby.

I hit Hoffman over and over, and then dodged a few more from him, careful not to get so excited that I would let him hit me and fuck everything up. Brady got a second wind, and came back at me again, but it didn’t take long for him to wear himself out throwing punches he couldn’t land. I’d dodged punches from

Trenton way faster than this bitch could throw.

My patience had run out, and I lured Hoffman to the cement pillar in the center of the room. I stood in front of it, hesitating just long enough for my opponent to think he had a window to nail my face with a devastating blow. I sidestepped as he put everything into his last throw, and slammed his fist straight into the pillar. Surprise registered in Hoffman’s eyes just before he doubled over.

That was my cue. I immediately attacked. A loud thud signaled that Hoffman had finally hit the ground, and after a short silence, the room erupted. Adam threw a red flag on Hoffman’s face, and then I was surrounded by people.

Most of the time I enjoyed the attention and hell yeahs of those that bet on me, but this time they were just in the way. I tried looking over the sea of people to find Abby, but when I finally got a glimpse of where she was supposed to be, my stomach sank. She was gone.

Smiles turned to shock when I shoved people out of my way. “Get! The fuck! Back!” I yelled, pushing harder as panic came over me.

I finally reached the lantern room, desperately searching for Abby in the darkness. “Pigeon!”

“I’m here!” Her body crashed into mine, and I flung my arms around her. One second I was relieved, the next I was irritated.

“You scared the shit out of me! I almost had to start another fight just to get to you! I finally get here and you’re gone!”

“I’m glad you’re back. I wasn’t looking forward to trying to find my way in the dark.”

Her sweet smile made me forget everything else, and I remembered that she was mine. At least for another month. “I believe you lost the bet.”

Adam stomped in, looked at Abby, and then glowered at me. “We need to talk.”

I winked at Abby. “Stay put. I’ll be right back.” I followed Adam into the next room. “I know what you’re gonna say . . .”

“No you don’t,” Adam growled. “I don’t know what you’re doin’ with her, but don’t fuck with my money.”

I laughed once. “You made bank tonight. I’ll make it up to you.”

“You’re goddamn straight you will! Don’t let it happen again!” Adam slammed cash into my hand, and then shouldered past me.

I shoved the wad of cash into my pocket, and smiled at Abby. “You’re going to need more clothes.”

“You’re really going to make me stay with you for a month?”

“Would you have made me go without sex for a month?”

She laughed. “We better stop at Morgan.”

Any attempt at covering my extreme satisfaction was an epic fail. “This should be interesting.”

As Adam passed he handed Abby some cash before disappearing into the waning crowd.

“You put in?” I asked, surprised.

“I thought I should get the full experience,” she said with a shrug.

I took her by the hand and led her to the window, and then jumped once, pulling myself up. I crawled on the grass, and then turned around, leaning down to pull up Abby.

The walk to Morgan seemed perfect. It was unseasonably warm, and the air had the same electric feel as a summer night. I was trying not to smile the entire time like an idiot, but it was hard not to.

“Why on earth would you want me to stay with you, anyway?” she asked.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Everything’s better when you’re around.”

Shepley and America waited in the Charger for us to show up with Abby’s extra things. Once they took off, we walked to the parking lot and straddled the bike. She wrapped her arms around my chest, and I rested my hand on hers.

I took a breath. “I’m glad you were there tonight, Pidge. I’ve never had so much fun at a fight in my life.” The time it took her to respond felt like an eternity.

She perched her chin on my shoulder. “That was because you were trying to win our bet.”

I turned to face her, looking straight in her eyes. “Damn right I was.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Is that why you were in such a bad mood today? Because you knew they’d fixed the boilers, and I would be leaving tonight?”

I got lost in her eyes for moment, and then decided that it was a good time to shut up. I ripped the engine and drove home, slower than I had driven . . . ever. When a stoplight caught us, I found a strange amount of joy in putting my hands on hers, or resting my hand on her knee. She didn’t seem to mind, and admittedly, I was pretty fucking close to heaven.

We pulled up to the apartment, and Abby dismounted the bike like an old pro, and then walked to the steps.

“I always hate it when they’ve been home for a while. I feel like we’re going to interrupt them.”

“Get used to it. This is your place for the next four weeks,” I said, turning around. “Get on.”

“What?”

“C’mon, I’ll carry you up.”

She giggled and hopped onto my back. I gripped her thighs as I ran up the stairs. America opened the door before we made it to the top and smiled.

“Look at you two. If I didn’t know better . . .”

“Knock it off, Mare,” Shepley said from the couch.

Great. Shepley was in one of his moods.

America smiled as if she’d said too much, and then opened the door wide so we could both fit through.

I kept hold of Pidge, and then fell against the recliner. She squealed when I leaned back, playfully pushing my weight against her.

“You’re awfully cheerful this evening, Trav. What gives?” America prompted.

“I just won a shitload of money, Mare. Twice as much as I thought I would. What’s not to be happy about?”

America grinned. “No, it’s something else,” she said, watching my hand as I patted Abby’s thigh.

“Mare,” Shepley warned.

“Fine. I’ll talk about something else. Didn’t Parker invite you to the Sig Tau party this weekend,

Abby?”

The lightness I was feeling immediately went away, and I turned to Abby.

“Er . . . yeah? Aren’t we all going?”

“I’ll be there,” Shepley said, distracted by the television.

“And that means I’m going,” America said, looking expectantly at me. She was baiting me, hoping I would volunteer to come along, but I was more concerned with Parker asking Abby out on a fucking date.

“Is he picking you up or something?” I asked.

“No, he just told me about the party.”

America’s mouth spread into a mischievous grin, almost bobbing in anticipation. “He said he’d see you there, though. He’s really cute.”

I shot America an irritated glance, and then looked to Abby. “Are you going?”

“I told him I would.” She shrugged. “Are you going?”

“Yeah,” I said without hesitation. It wasn’t a date party, after all, just a weekend kegger. Those I didn’t mind. And no fucking way was I going to let Parker have an entire night with her. She’d come back . . . ugh, I didn’t even wanna think about it. He’d flash his Abercrombie smile, or take her to his parents’ restaurant to parade his money, or find some other way to sleaze into her pants.

Shepley looked at me. “You said last week you weren’t.”

“I changed my mind, Shep. What’s the problem?”

“Nothing,” he grumbled, retreating to his bedroom.

America frowned. “You know what the problem is,” she said. “Why don’t you quit driving him crazy and just get it over with.” She joined Shepley in his room, and their voices were reduced to murmuring behind the closed door.

“Well, I’m glad everyone else knows,” Abby said.

Abby wasn’t the only one confused by Shepley’s behavior. Earlier he was teasing me about her, and now he was being a little bitch. What could have happened between then and now that had him freaked out? Maybe he would feel better once he figured out that I’d finally decided I was done with the other girls and just wanted Abby. Maybe the fact that I had actually admitted to caring about her made Shepley worry even more. I wasn’t exactly boyfriend material. Yep. That made more sense.

I stood. “I’m going to take a quick shower.”

“Is there something going on with them?” Abby asked.

“No, he’s just paranoid.”

“It’s because of us,” she guessed.

A weird floating feeling came over me. She said us.

“What?” she asked, eyeing me suspiciously.

“You’re right. It’s because of us. Don’t fall asleep, okay? I wanna talk to you about something.”

It took less than five minutes for me to wash up, but I stood under the stream of water for at least five more, planning what to say to Abby. Wasting more time wasn’t an option. She was here for the next month, and that was the perfect time to prove to her that I wasn’t who she thought I was. For her, at least, I was different, and we could spend the next four weeks dispelling any suspicions she might have.

I stepped out of the shower and dried off, excited and nervous as hell about what possibilities could spawn from the conversation we were about to have. Just before opening the door, I could hear a scuffle in the hall.

America said something, her voice desperate. I cracked open the door and listened.

“You promised, Abby. When I told you to spare judgment, I didn’t mean for you two to get involved! I thought you were just friends!”

“We are,” Abby said.

“No, you’re not!” Shepley fumed.

America spoke, “Baby, I told you it will be fine.”

“Why are you pushing this, Mare? I told you what’s going to happen!”

“And I told you it won’t! Don’t you trust me?”

Shepley stomped into his room.

After a few seconds of silence, America spoke again. “I just can’t get it into his head that whether you and Travis work out or not, it won’t affect us. But he’s been burned too many times. He doesn’t believe me.”

Dammit, Shepley. Not the ideal segue. I opened the door a bit more, just enough to see Abby’s face.

“What are you talking about, Mare? Travis and I aren’t together. We are just friends. You heard him earlier . . . he’s not interested in me that way.”

Fuck. This was getting worse by the minute.

“You heard that?” America asked, surprise evident in her voice.

“Well, yeah.”

“And you believe it?”

Abby shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. It’ll never happen. He told me he doesn’t see me like that, anyway.

Besides, he’s a total commitment-phobe, I’d be hard-pressed to find a girlfriend outside of you that he hasn’t slept with, and I can’t keep up with his mood swings. I can’t believe Shep thinks otherwise.”

Every bit of hope I’d had slipped away with her words. The disappointment was crushing. For a few seconds, the pain was unmanageable, until I let the anger take over. Anger was always easier to control.

“Because not only does he know Travis . . . he’s talked to Travis, Abby.”

“What do you mean?”

“Mare?” Shepley called from the bedroom.

America sighed. “You’re my best friend. I think I know you better than you know yourself sometimes. I see you two together, and the only difference between me and Shep and you and Travis is that we’re having sex. Other than that? No difference.”

“There is a huge, huge difference. Is Shep bringing home different girls every night? Are you going to the party tomorrow to hang out with a guy with definite dating potential? You know I can’t get involved with Travis, Mare. I don’t even know why we’re discussing it.”

“I’m not seeing things, Abby. You have spent almost every moment with him for the last month. Admit it, you have feelings for him.”

I couldn’t listen to another word. “Let it go, Mare,” I said.

Both girls jumped at the sound of my voice. Abby’s eyes met mine. She didn’t seem embarrassed or sorry at all, which only pissed me off more. I’d stuck my neck out, and she slit my throat.

Before I said something shitty, I retreated to my room. Sitting didn’t help. Neither did standing, pacing, or push-ups. The walls closed in on me more every second. Rage boiled inside of me like an unstable chemical, ready to blow.

Getting out of the apartment was my only option, to clear my head, and try to relax with a few shots.

The Red. I could go to the Red. Cami was working the bar. She could tell me what to do. She always knew how to talk me down. Trenton liked her for the same reason. She was the oldest sister of three boys, and didn’t flinch when it came to our anger issues.

I slipped on a T-shirt and jeans, and then grabbed sunglasses, my bike keys, and riding jacket, and then shoved my feet inside my boots before heading back down the hall.

Abby’s eyes widened when she saw me round the corner. Thank God I had on my shades. I didn’t want her to see the hurt in my eyes.

“You’re leaving?” she asked, sitting up. “Where are you going?”

I refused to acknowledge the pleading in her voice. “Out.”