SWNOVELS The Fake Zone: Chapter 22
Mila’s eyes shine with defiance, but I recognize an underlying edge of panic from the hotel that keeps her silent.
“Hey, Grey,” Hadley says.
“Is Nolan here?” I ask.
“He’s at an outreach thing overnight.”
He and Corey were roped into going together, fielding questions, and talking with high school students. “He’s going to lose his shit if he finds out you’re here.” And want to punch me in the face. Repeatedly. “Come on,” I say.
“We’re leaving,” Mila says.
I shake my head. “You can’t. The doors are locked until the bets are paid.”
“What kind of fire hazard idea is that?” Hadley asks.
I jerk my head again, indicating for them to follow me back to where Dustin, Abe, Bryant, and Sonny, a girl from Highgrove who’s been trying to get Cole’s attention for the past six months are watching the fight.
Dustin raises his eyebrows, looking from the girls to me before lowering his bottom lip with an expression that says, Not bad.
It makes me want to punch him in the face. Repeatedly.
“Hey,” Sonny says, scooting over to make room for them before glancing at me. “You guys are here to see Grey?”
Mila stares at her for a moment. “We came to see the fight.”
Dustin elbows me. “Rejected.”
“I’m Sonny,” she says, ignoring Dustin.
“I’m Mila. And this is Hannah and Hadley.”
“What has you guys coming to see the fight?”
Hannah shrugs. “I’m dealing with some anger issues. My ex drugged me with edibles a couple of months ago, and I thought coming here and watching guys beat the shit out of each other might help.”
Sonny raises her brow. “Is it working?”
Hannah nods. “A little.”
The crowd cheers, but I miss the move. I’ve been distracted since spotting Mila in the crowds. I want to ask her what in the hell they’re really doing here but focus on the fight. Or I damn well try.
Every time one of the three moves, my eyes follow, ensuring no one gets separated when there are so many strangers tonight, with JB being in the ring from West Virginia.
Abe looks at them and then at me. “Tell me you’re not getting involved with one of them. I can smell the classism from here.”
Mila turns, looking over her shoulder at him, her eyes nearly silver in the darkened space. “That’s just soap.”
Dustin howls out a laugh.
Abe’s face contorts with anger, a sore loser even outside of the ring.
Mila stares at him, not a threat but an assessment, or maybe she just refuses to flinch.
I stab Abe with my elbow. “Focus.”
He turns to face me with a disgruntled look, and as he does, Mila shifts to look at the fight. “You know what happens if they tell someone,” Abe says.
“They’re not going to say anything.”
Abe gives me a doubtful expression.
Thankfully, the fight is brief. We expected it to be. Untrained fighters are eager to compete, and more often than not, they’re willing to put a hefty sum of money on the fight, making an easy rake.
Cole comes to our corner with a cocky smile, wide from his mouthguard. He spits it out and fills his mouth with the water Mackey hands him before spitting it into a bucket.
Hadley blanches.
“You were slow with that uppercut,” Mackey critiques him.
Cole chuckles, the adrenaline preventing him from feeling the cut above his right eye. “He brought a full crowd. I wanted them to feel at least like they got a few minutes for their hard-earned cash.” His eyes glitter with humor as he sweeps his gaze over Hadley, Hannah, and Mila. “Who in the fuck are you?”
“Grey’s friends,” Dustin says.
Cole’s eyebrows jump, and he looks across them again before connecting with me. “Well, shit. Introduce me.”
I do.
“Congratulations. It was nice meeting you all,” Mila says, offering a wave.
“Aren’t you going to celebrate with us?” Cole asks.
Abe mutters something under his breath that has Dustin laughing.
Mila doesn’t turn to acknowledge them. “Maybe another time.”
“One drink,” Cole says. “On me.”
“We can stay for a drink,” Hannah says.
Sonny’s gaze shifts to Hannah. “We’ll meet you up there.”
Any other night, I’d stay down here and ensure the smooth distribution of monies, but with Mila and the others here, I leave Bryant, Dustin, and Abe with Cole.
“Blair!” Sonny calls as we enter the bar. A woman with white blonde hair tipped pink, and red lips turns to face us. She smiles when she sees Sonny and quickly makes her way over to us. “I’m so glad you made it. This is Grey, the guy I’ve been telling you about.”
Beside me, Hadley’s eyes grow round, but she quickly tucks the expression away. Hannah’s not half as discreet, turning an accusing look on me and making me feel like a complete asshole. Mila, however, is once again unflinching, shoulders back, face impassive.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Blair says, smiling at me.
I nod, trying not to scowl at Sonny. She’s notorious for trying to set me up with everyone she knows.
I suspect she believes Cole will want to date her if I date one of her friends. It wouldn’t matter.
“Let’s get a table,” Dustin says.
Sonny threads her arm through Blair’s, leading her to the back of the bar, where they slide into an extra-long booth.
The rest of us join, and Sonny introduces everyone for a third time.
Minutes later, the others join us from downstairs and crowd into the booth as cigarette smoke fills the bar, prompting yet another round of introductions.
Cole looks at me, a butterfly bandage holding the cut above his brow closed. “Oh shit,” he mutters, leaning back in his seat. “For not dating, Grey’s got a whole goddamn buffet.”
“They’re friends,” I growl. “Hadley’s dating one of my teammates.”
“Friends?” Abe asks with a smirk. “They came out to fucking Highgrove unannounced. Clearly one of them wants your nuts.”
Hadley’s brow flattens, and if Nolan didn’t want to hit me for them being here before, he would for subjecting her to Abe’s judgment.
“Thank god a man finally understands women,” Mila muses.
Easy laughter fills the table, but I wait for Abe’s biting return. So does Mila, though she doesn’t hold his stare this time.
My two worlds are crashing together with the grace of a fucking linebacker.
“What did you guys think of the fight?” Cole asks them.
“Was that sweeping thing you did with your foot hard?” Hannah asks.
Cole grins, and Dustin laughs.
“Revenge against the ex-boyfriend?” Sonny asks.
Hannah shakes her head. “I have a younger brother who’s a pain in my ass.”
Laughter chases her words.
“I’ve used that move more than once on my pain-in-the-ass brother,” Cole says, eliciting new laughter and a half dozen jabs aimed at Abe, who flips him off.
Cole’s eyes shift to Mila. “How do you guys know each other?”
“My best friend plays on the team with Grey.”
“Best friend as in fuck buddies, or he won’t pay attention to you?” Dustin asks.
I have to hold my tongue from the automatic instinct of telling him to shut the fuck up. This is how my friends talk to each other, and I told Mila these parts of my life were different, played by different rules. But if I jump in, it will only make things worse.
“Of the platonic variety. We’ve been neighbors since we were kids,” Mila says.
Bryant smirks. “That doesn’t mean much. Cole chased his neighbor for what? Three years, was it?”
Cole runs a hand down his face. “Will you ever let that story die?”
“Remember how many yards you mowed that summer, trying to save up to buy that necklace?”
Cole shoots Bryant a warning look as a stack of cups and two pitchers of beer are dropped off at the table, followed by Mackey.
“I’m just saying, girl next door is every dude’s wet dream and the cause of tented pants,” Bryant says, taking a glass.
“She and Hudson are like brother and sister,” Hannah says.
“Hudson?” Abe asks. “Hudson McKinley? You two are neighbors?”
Mila squares her shoulders and nods. I know she’ll come across the table if he insults Hudson.
“That dude’s fucking loaded. His dad played in the NFL.” Abe looks over her again, likely seeking signs of wealth that are subtly apparent with the gold chain around her neck where three rings interconnect and a slender gold ring around her middle finger. If he saw her Audi, he’d hate her on the spot.
“The NFL?” Sonny asks. “You know people who have been in the NFL?” She turns to me.
“My coach was in the NFL,” I tell her.
“Damn. Is he rich, too?” she asks.
I shrug. Peters is disgustingly well off, making over two million a year plus bonuses for the past thirty years, but I have no idea what Krueger makes or how good his contract was while he was in the NFL, only that he was injured and forced into early retirement like so many players are.
Cole also assesses Mila through a new lens. “Welcome to our little hell hole. What do you think so far?”
I imagine Mila sleeping in the backseat of a car—a thought that has refused to leave my brain. I stare at her, wondering if she’ll tell them she was poor—poorer than all of us.
“I’m in a bar with a secret room with nefarious intents.” She raises her eyebrows. “Color me intrigued.”
“I think she called us interesting,” Dustin says.
Cole raises his glass and tips his chin to her. “I’ll drink to that.” He takes a long pull from his glass.
“So you guys are all just friends?” Sonny asks, her eyes stopping on Hannah, who asked the most questions during the fight.
Hannah nods. “Yeah. Grey’s been training with Mila, so we just wanted to see what a fight looked like.”
Cole sputters, beer dribbling down his chin that he wipes away with the back of his hand before turning to me, laughing. “You’re training a chick? Bring her to the gym. Mackey, it’s your dream. You can finally have a girl fighter.”
Mackey shakes his head. “No offense,” he says to Mila, “but no way in hell.”
“Wait. You want to fight?” Dustin asks her. “Color me interested, now.”
“No,” I say, “She’s not training to fight.”
Cole doesn’t look at me, though. His attention is locked onto Mila like the jaws of a pit bull, waiting for her response—reading her.
“I want to learn how to punch someone,” Mila shares.
“Did you date her ex, too?” Dustin asks, pointing at Hannah.
Laughter bubbles from the table.
“Come by the gym. I’ll teach you how to punch someone.” Cole pulls out his wallet, slips out a business card, and slides it across the table to Mila.
I want to intercept it like a pass on the field, not because I care about her seeing Cole again but because half the guys who train in Mackey’s gym don’t note gender when they take a swing, and I’d lose more than Mackey’s respect if one of them goaded Mila into the ring.
I swallow. “We’re still working on conditioning. She doesn’t need to go to a gym for that.”
Cole’s eyes shine with amusement as he looks at me. “On second thought—” He reaches for the card, but Mila’s faster, clasping it in her fist like a secret.
“Grey, Blair is obsessed with football, and she’s hilarious and so much fun. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve told her you two would be perfect together. You’re the grump, and she’s the sunshine.” Her smile is radiant, and her accent is thick.
Beside her, Blair smiles nervously. She’s pretty, with two deep dimples, light brown eyes, and swaths of brightly colored hair that hints at her being up for a good time and not caring about societal norms.
“She’s totally your type,” Sonny says.
“Being a grump is probably my best attribute. I’m gone and busy all the fucking time, which is why I don’t date.”
Cole raises his eyebrows and takes a long drink. “Grey’s type is fucking football.”
Sonny frowns.
“What is your type?” Hannah asks, looking at me.
I motion to Cole with my glass. “Football.”
She narrows her eyes. “Everyone has a type.”
“I can be a grump,” Dustin says.
Sonny laughs. “You’re all assholes.”
“I’m pretty busy, too,” Blair says, her accent even thicker than Sonny’s. “I’m not really looking for anything serious.”
Hannah yawns. “You know, I’m kind of getting tired, and we have a long drive, maybe—”
“I haven’t finished my beer yet,” Hadley says, gripping her drink. “So, do you all know how to fight?” She looks across my friends.
Abe shakes his head. “Bryant got fat and lazy.” Half the group smirks.
“I used to whoop your ass,” Bryant objects. “But now I have to work full time because I have two kids and a wife. You know, this was once proof that a man could feed his family. Women thought it was hot.” He pats his stomach.
Dustin scoffs.
Cole sets his drink down. “Grey would have made one hell of a fighter, but he chose football. Abe does mostly underground. Once he can learn to rein in his temper, he has a chance of getting into the business.”
“Fuck you,” Abe bites.
Cole waves a hand at him to prove his point.
Hadley looks at Dustin. “Do you fight?”
“Not anymore.” He points to his left eye. “I took a cheap hit and am mostly blind on this side.”
No one makes a joke, not even Abe. The accident was serious and caused a financial debt Dustin’s still working to pay off.
“I’m sorry,” Hadley says.
Dustin shakes it off. “It wasn’t meant to be. I’m working toward becoming an electrician, now.”
“You don’t like our beer?” Abe asks, still focused on Mila. She’s the only one not drinking.
My resolve to remain silent and neutral withers as my fists clench in my lap, wanting to hit Abe and tell him to back off.
Mila slides her gaze to him. “I’m driving.”
Hadley drains the rest of her beer and sets it down with too much force. “I’m kind of tired, too. We should go.”
As they stand to leave, I do, too.
“Where are you going?” Dustin asks, looking at me.
“I’m going to walk them out.”
“No one’s going to bother them,” Sonny says.
“Yeah, we’re fine,” Mila says, pulling her coat tight. “Congratulations on your win tonight,” she tells Cole.
“Nice meeting you guys,” Hadley says with a wave.
I follow them, ignoring Abe’s inappropriate remarks at my back.
The air is again cold, and there aren’t half as many lights outside as there should be. “What in the hell were you guys thinking?” I ask, turning on them.
Shock and confusion paint their faces.
“This is not where you guys belong,” I tell them.
“Where we belong?” Mila spits my words back at me.
“These fights can get dangerous,” I say.
“Whose fault is it that women can’t go somewhere alone?” Hannah asks. “Not ours. So be mad at all the brutes who poison the well.”
“Trust me, if I could pick out every asshole who was a dick like your ex, I would pitch them to an island so it would be safer, but that’s not the reality.” I glance back at Billie’s bar, where we’ve been participating in underground fights for the past few years.
“But if it’s not safe and it’s not legal, why are you here?” Hannah asks.
“Because the world isn’t black and white.” Is the best and only explanation I have.