Let Go (11 page)

She nods
explaining, “My dad was a collector. He had more but I had to sell
them.” She runs her hand along the roof, “This baby though, I
couldn’t part with it.”

He smiles and
climbs in. She asks, “Where to? Your place or mine?”

He explains,
“I’d invite you over but I’d be afraid of the embarrassment that
might cause me. I’m in a weekly rental for the moment and you do
not want to know what goes on in that place.”

She nods while
starting the car and pulls out of the lot. The fifteen minute drive
is silent. When she pulls off of the highway she maneuvers through
a tiny neighborhood. This is the last place Greylan pictured her
living. She pulls into the driveway of a tiny one story clapboard
house with a single car garage. When she turns the car off, he asks
again, “Is this yours?”

She nods
proudly, “All mine. Those cars, yeah they helped with this. It’s
small but perfect for me.”

He admires her
in that moment and Jackson’s words repeat in his mind, ‘There are
two kinds of people, fighters and observers.’ Without a doubt
Christina is a fighter after everything she has been through. They
move from the car to the front door. Once it’s unlocked he takes
the opportunity to pounce. His mouth moves searching hers. She
guides them to the bedroom never leaving the kiss. Quickly they
undress each other. His mouth lowers to her neck and further to her
chest finally taking one nipple and then the other pulling them
taut, causing her to moan. His hands gently push her back onto the
bed. He climbs up her kissing her lips thoroughly as her hands move
through his hair and down over his back. His fingers lower to her
folds and he moves them into her causing her breathing to speed up.
Finally he pulls his pants back up onto the bed and lifts a condom
out of his wallet. As he looks down at her soft face he fits it
over himself and lowers into her. She calls out with the movement
making him push further. They move together in a steady rhythm
taking both of them over the edge. Greylan’s breathing speeds at
his release and Christina grabs his hair moaning with her last
shudder.

He sinks to
the side of her and nuzzles her neck. She sighs sweetly whispering,
“That was incredible.”

He nods into
her neck smiling as his energy seeps away and he drifts to
sleep.

Greylan blinks
as rays of light hit his eyelids. He frowns at his surroundings
until the events of the previous night surface. He glances around
the room. It’s small but very neat. Nothing seems out of place. One
wall is full of windows covered with blinds that aren’t entirely
effective. A small armchair sits in the corner of the room.
Movement on his outstretched arm grabs his attention. He looks to
the side and finds Christina curled up into his side, her head
resting on his arm as a pillow. The warmth emanating from her feels
good. It had been way too long since he had been with a woman. He
leans over and kisses her forehead. She squirms and rolls over onto
her back. He watches as her eyes slowly open. He looks down and
notices she is covered up in a light blue t-shirt. For some reason,
he’s not surprised she got up and put clothes back on after they
fucked. After a few beats she looks over at him seemingly shy. He
smiles and rolls onto his side to face her. She moves mirroring his
position. They stare at each other for a moment.

Greylan’s lips
are pursed in a content line as if he is satisfied with things but
Christina doesn’t want to give him the wrong impression. He is sexy
beyond belief and he made her respond in ways that were really nice
but for some reason she feels the need to talk about it.

She starts,
“Good morning. How’d you sleep?”

A smile forms
as he mutters in a sleepy voice, “I slept great. How about
you?”

Apprehensively
she answers, “Good. Grey, I need to tell you…” Her voice falters.
What if he really likes her and she hurts him? After the story from
Trinity, she’s afraid he’s a little delicate.

He rolls onto
his back and sighs. When he looks back at her his voice is edged
with understanding but also a bit of anger, “Christina, this is why
I didn’t tell you about myself or my past. I didn’t want that look
from you.”

Her mouth
falls as she asks, “What look?”

“The one that
screams pity party.”

She smirks at
his word choice, “Okay, I guess that’s fair. Neither one of us
wants a pity party. We agree on that.”

He nods but
she still seems reluctant about something. He asks, “What else?
Just spit it out.”

She moves to
her back and speaks staring up at the ceiling, “I was in a
relationship for about six years. I was sure we would get married
but instead of asking to spend the rest of my life with him he
claimed he needed space. A part of me understood a little because
we had been together since we were twenty-one, but it hurt really
badly. I’ve spent the past six months getting over it. I just came
to terms with being alone.”

She looks back
at Greylan’s intense stare and admits, “I’m not looking for that
again. I have Juno and the bar to think about. A relationship isn’t
something I want right now.”

Greylan’s lip
lifts at the corner as he stares at her. She squirms uncomfortably
sure that she just injured him further. She should have stopped
anything from happening last night. She mentally kicks herself for
not thinking about anyone else but herself.

His hand darts
out towards her arm to steady her fidgeting. She meets his stare
again. He nods and tells her, “Don’t do that guilt thing. Last
night was good for both of us. I’m not looking for anything either.
Right now, I have one thing that I have to put all of my
concentration into. My life is anything but stable so a
relationship is out of the question.”

She breathes
deeply in relief. The air in the room seems to lose any
awkwardness. She starts giggling at the silliness of her fears. His
arms spread out pulling her to his chest. He kisses her forehead
admitting, “I really did enjoy myself last night and I’d love it if
you would come to the fight tonight. Originally that’s what I
wanted to ask you but the lion in you didn’t give me a chance.”

She grins
kissing him quickly, “I’d love to go to your fight. Are you gonna
win?”

He shrugs his
shoulders. She punches him in the arm and claims, “That’s no way to
focus. You have to believe you’ll win and you will.”

He runs his
hand over his face and scoots further back from her squinting,
“Really? Not another fate and positive thinking guru. I get enough
of that shit from Trinity.”

He stops a
moment and eyes her, “Do you really believe that?”

She looks as
though she is trying to stifle her laughter. It busts out of her
and she shakes her head. He smiles and mutters, “I didn’t think so.
You’re too smart.”

He adds, “And
by the way, you are a total wimp. Was that punch all you got? I
remember you claiming that you were going to kick my ass. You might
want to think twice about that.”

She shakes her
head, “That was before I knew that you used to do it for a living.
I will refrain from any ass kicking comments in the future, believe
me.”

He chuckles,
“That’s what I thought. Will you take me back to Juno’s to get my
truck?”

“Yep, I need
to let Juno know that I won’t be at the bar tonight anyway.”

A smile
spreads over his lips. Knowing that Christina will be there is
definitely a confidence booster. Maybe he will win after all.

He pulls the
white truck up to a warehouse similar to Jackson’s gym. It seems a
bit larger though. He makes his way to the double doors propped
open by two stools. A bouncer climbs down from one of them looking
Greylan up and down. If he didn’t know any better he’d think this
guy was a fighter too. He has a couple of inches on Greylan’s six’
one and seems at least two fifty in weight. Greylan tells him
before he can ask, “I’m one of the fighters tonight, Greylan
Pace.”

They guy looks
to a clip board and checks him off. He nods to the doors and
Greylan passes the threshold. Five years ago he had entered a fight
like this he thought, for the last time. Now here he is again
starting over but to his surprise he’s not pissed about it. Instead
he is looking forward to the possibilities.

His feet move
effortlessly to the cage. It’s an octagon surrounded on all sides
with black linked fencing. He steps up and locks his hands into the
metal. The mat is white with scuff marks, evidence from previous
fights. Odd as it is, this is where he feels most at peace. He
remembers all of the times he’s been on the mat. Each and every
time he felt more alive than any other time. A clap on his back
brings him out of his thoughts. Jackson leans into his ear and
asks, “Are you ready champ?”

Greylan shakes
his head and looks down at the nickname he earned back in the day
when he was on his way. He looks up with clear brown eyes meeting
Jackson’s stare, “I’m ready.”

The toothpick
that seems a permanent fixture in Jackson’s mouth shifts from one
side to the other as he says with a wink, “Good, because everything
is going to change tonight.”

Jackson leads
him to the locker room in the back of the huge space. When he
enters a whistle rings through the room. Greylan looks up to find
Carlo sitting on the bench. He slowly stands and moves toward
Greylan. He is shocked to see his old trainer but embraces him in a
tight hug. When they part Greylan asks, “Why are you here Carlo? I
thought you’d lose all kinds of backing if you associated with
me.”

Carlo tsks,
“No way was I gonna miss your first bout on your way back up. This
is gonna be the match that changes everything.”

Greylan shakes
his head at everyone’s confidence in him. At this point he hopes to
hell that he doesn’t let them all down.

Carlo nudges
his shoulder and claims, “By the way, thanks for the phone call. I
had to find out from Parker.”

Greylan is
surprised Parker would bother but maybe Trinity had something to do
with it. He tries to shake the thought of his sister’s fiancé out
of his head. It can’t be helpful in what he’s about to do.

Jackson urges,
“Okay the reunion’s over now, let’s get to work. You need to get
ready and get weighed in.”

The next hour
is a blur. The warehouse fills with spectators. Two sides of the
cage are lined with chairs but the open side is for standing room
only. Christina came in a half an hour before wishing him luck
before leaving to find a seat next to Carlo. Trinity has found a
spot in the locker room at the farthest edge of the bench angled
away from anyone still preparing for the fights. One man wanted to
protest her presence in the small room but Greylan was able to
persuade him that it would be in his best interest to leave her
alone.

They are alone
in the locker room waiting for his name to be called. His is the
last fight of the night. She shakes her head and tells him, “Thank
you for sticking up for me. Some things never change.”

He notes her
comment is true of her as well, “You’re right, you are still
“watching” the fights from the locker room.”

She shrugs her
shoulders and smiles admitting, “Old habits die hard.” A small part
of him is glad that she hasn’t changed because of Parker.

A muffled
voice calls down the hallway, “Greylan Pace, you’re up.”

He smiles
meeting Trinity’s confident grin. He kisses her cheek and she
exclaims as he turns, “Show them how it’s done, Pace.”

As he enters
the room, shouts ring through the crowd. Some are not so good
concerning his age and going back home. Some though are positive
about a comeback. He smiles trying to block all the noise out.
Jackson waits for him at the entrance to the cage. He eyes him a
moment and asks, “You ready?”