Unraveling (Second Chances) - By Micalea Smeltzer Page 0,39
to reschedule our plans for Sunday. Luckily, she was okay with it, stating that she was behind with her homework.
Now, I drove down the street, about two blocks from Fight For It, because there was nowhere closer to park.
I walked at a brisk pace, hoping no one tried to stop me along the way. If they did, my self-defense classes might kick in and they’d find themselves flat on their back.
I opened the doors and the place was packed.
Somehow, Karlie spotted me and made her way through the crowd towards me.
“Jared’s getting ready,” she said, “do you want to see him?”
“Uh-” I paused, not sure what to say. Would saying, “hell yes”, make me look desperate?
“Just follow me,” she said, “I don’t want you getting lost in the crowd anyway. They get really rowdy when they start placing bets. Although, why anyone would ever bet against Jared is beyond me.”
It was a tight squeeze to make it through the crowd and I flinched anytime I bumped into someone.
Karlie led me down the hallway, past Jared’s workout room, and a bunch of other rooms.
We turned left at the end of the hallway and ended up in a huge, open space with a boxing ring in the middle. Bleachers were set up on three sides of the boxing ring.
I saw a guy prepping in the corner, alternating between punching and kicking in the air.
On the other side of the room, Jared was taking deep breaths and stretching his arms. He was shirtless, the white stuff he always used wrapped around his hands and ankles.
He grinned when he saw us and waved us over. I tried not to look at his naked chest, but it was impossible. His body was a work of art, the way his muscles dipped and curved. I was beginning to realize that everything about him was beautiful. Not just the way he looked, but the person he was underneath. He truly had a good, caring, heart.
Dan was rattling off statistics on the guy Jared would be fighting and telling Jared where the best places were to hit the other guy. Jared just nodded and I had to laugh internally. I mean, they were talking about beating up this guy, like a normal person would be rattling off their favorite ice cream. It was a little disturbing.
“I thought you might not show up,” Jared confessed.
“I wouldn’t do that to you,” I said, and it was true, even if I was a bit freaked out.
“I’m glad Karls found you,” he said. “It can get a bit crazy when the people start coming in. We’ve had a couple fights break out over seats.”
My eyes widened.
“Don’t worry,” Jared winked, grinning crookedly, “I won’t let anyone hurt my girl. Or girls,” he said and poked Karlie’s shoulder.
She laughed and said, “Where’s your douchebag of a friend?”
“Somewhere around here,” Jared said. “I can’t be expected to keep track of him.”
“Probably, off somewhere, getting his dick sucked,” Karlie muttered under her breath.
I gasped and Jared snapped, “What did you say?”
“You heard me,” Karlie said defiantly, “and you know it’s true.”
“That doesn’t mean I need to hear my baby sister talk about my best friend getting a blowjob,” Jared shook his head. “Especially before a match.”
“He’s a man whore,” Karlie grumbled.
“Please, stop talking about this,” Jared said. “Besides, you shouldn’t even know about that stuff.”
Karlie rolled her eyes, her hands on her hips. “Jared, this is the twenty-first century and I am sixteen. I know all about the birds and the bees.”
Jared’s eyes widened. “You’re not-”
“No, Jared, don’t be silly,” Karlie, snorted.
“I swear to God, if some prick has put his hands on you, I’ll hunt him down and cut his balls off,” Jared pointed warningly at his sister.
“Oh, I know you will,” Karlie, said. “Maybe you should start with Holden.”
Jared’s eyes threatened to pop out of his head. “He didn’t!”
He started to storm out of the room when Karlie called, “Jared! I was kidding!”
Jared whipped back around. “Don’t lie to me, Karlie. Did Holden…” he took a deep breath. “Did Holden touch you?”
“You mean, did Holden and I have sex? Sex, Jared. Say the word, it won’t kill you.”
“Did you and Holden have sex?” Jared stared Karlie down.
Dan and I watched the siblings, speechless.
“No, we didn’t,” Karlie, said evenly. “I’m a virgin, Jared, so stop being all uptight. I was just joking.”
“That’s not something to joke about, Karlie,” Jared seethed. The veins in his neck and arms stood out against his tan skin.