Read Naked Choke (A Stepbrother MMA Romance) Online
Authors: Celia Loren
"Yes! Go!" Maya exclaims as I reveal to her my
college dreams. We're lying next to each other on her bedroom floor.
"But there will be tuition costs, I don't even know
what I want to study…" I reply, listing off the possible trouble spots.
"You'll apply for financial aid, you'll get the
in-state tuition anyway, plus you'll get a part-time job while you're there.
And you'll figure out what you want to study," she counters.
"If I go to cosmetology school, my mom will pay for it,
and I'll have a job waiting for me when I get out."
Maya turns onto her side and looks down at me seriously.
"Cat. Do you want to work at the salon for the rest of your life? Don't
get me wrong, I think you'd be good at it, but, honestly? You never seemed that
passionate about it. Can you picture yourself doing that for the next forty
years?"
I shiver. "Not when you put it like that. But it just
feels so crazy! I've always pictured my life a certain way."
"Cat, this is good for you, feeling crazy."
"Really?"
"Yes! You always play it so safe!"
"I do not!" I protest, and then frown. "Wait,
do I?"
She gives me a look. "I mean, maybe you went a little
overboard this summer, what with your love triangle and all that, but I was
happy you were shaking things up a bit. I was worried you'd stay in your safe
little box for your whole life."
"My safe little box…" I repeat, hating the sound
of it but knowing she's right. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Well, I tried to, but I sort of thought you liked it
like that. But then, this summer, it seemed like you started to want to get out.
Maybe you saw something outside of it you wanted badly enough."
I glance over at her. "Meaning?"
She shrugs. "You tell me. Why'd you start thinking
about college?"
I chew the inside of my cheek for a moment before answering.
"It was something Logan said to me. God, he made me so mad! He said I was
so used to doing what my mom wanted me to do, that I didn't even know what
I
wanted to do."
To my surprise, Maya starts laughing. "I'm sorry, but
man, he got you!"
I smile. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I tried calling
him, but he's not answering."
"Give it some time."
"I can't imagine how angry he is right now."
"Well, yeah, but I think you need time more than he
does. I mean, you know I love you, but if you can't choose between two guys,
maybe it's more about you than it is about them."
I sigh. "Maybe you're right. OK, I know I've asked you
for a lot lately, but I have one more favor. The application for spring
enrollment is due September fifteenth. Will you help me with my essay and
stuff?"
"That I can do."
"But wait. In return, I have something for you."
"What?" she asks, eyeing me suspiciously.
"I got it from Austen a few days ago," I say,
taking my phone out. "Mike's number."
Her eyes go wide. "Shut up!"
"And Mike thought you were cute!"
"I literally cannot believe you have been sitting on
this information for three days. Oh my god, what should I do?"
"Let's start out slow. Just text him."
* * *
I take a step back and look at Maya's makeup, then nod,
satisfied. "OK, you can look," I say. She turns around to peer at
herself in the bathroom mirror.
"Well, look at me," she says, turning her face
from side to side.
"I can scale the eye makeup back a little," I
assure her.
"No, I like it. Sexy. You sure you don't want to do
this professionally?"
"I'm sure," I reply with a smile. "Only on
special occasions, like first dates." After a series of texts spread out
over three days, Maya and Mike are finally going on a date tonight. I figure
that setting her up is the least I can do for leaning on her so much this
summer. "Ready?"
"Ready."
After waving goodbye to Maya's parents, I drive her over to
meet Mike at an Italian place on Main Street. The hope is that the date will go
well and Mike will drive her home. In the meantime, I have to take care of something
I've been putting off.
"Good luck," she says as she hops out.
"You, too," I reply with a wave. I pull away from
the curb and head for Duke's house. At the very least, I need to return his
car. I haven't talked to my mom since our argument. I'm so used to seeing her
every day…it's been a relief to get away, but I also have to admit that I miss
her.
I pull up to the driveway and take a deep breath as I press
the garage open button. Logan's car isn't there, but Austen's is. They should
have finished dinner by now, and probably just heard me drive in. I turn off
the engine and grab my purse before I lose my nerve.
As I walk in, I can hear the TV coming from the den. The
door to the basement is closed, but my mom and Duke are looking up at me
expectantly from the couch when I enter the foyer. Duke's face is a blank,
while my mom looks more nervous than anything.
"Hi," she says.
"Hi," I reply.
"I'll let you two talk," Duke says shortly. He
moves to stand up, but I reach up my hand.
"Please, stay. I just want to get it all out in the
open. Austen and I were dating this summer," I rush on, before he can
protest. "And then something happened between Logan and me, which is why
he was so mad. It was wrong of me, and there's nothing going on between us, any
of us, now."
"And there never will be," Duke growls. I pause,
and my mom's eyes widen.
"Cat…"
"Not right now," I hedge. "I can't predict
the future."
"Did you encourage Logan to train with someone
else?" Duke asks in an accusing tone.
I stare at him for a moment. "No. Though I can
understand that it would be easier to think that. As far as I know, he was
training in Muay Thai well before I got here."
"So you knew about it."
"Yes, just by coincidence. I ran into him in Denver while
I was looking at Colorado State," I reply honestly.
"Where is he now?"
"I don't know. You haven't been in touch with
him?" Duke shakes his head no.
"You should come back home," my mom says suddenly.
"I just want everything to go back to normal."
"Joanna…" Duke murmurs.
"Well, she should."
"Things can't go back to normal, Mom. You have to
realize that. I mean, things between me and Austen… I don't know how
we'll ever be normal around each other," I point out.
She frowns, considering. "But you have to save up, if
you want to go to college," she says quietly.
My eyebrows shoot up. "Seriously? You're OK with
it?"
"I do want you to be happy, you know," she says,
only a bit sullenly.
"Thanks, Mom," I reply, feeling a little
misty-eyed. "And I already got a lead on a new job. Maya's cousin needs a
new bartender—"
"Bartending?" my mom interrupts, sounding alarmed.
"Mom, it's a nice place," I sigh.
"She'll be fine," Duke says softly to my mom, and
I look at him in surprise. After a pause, my mom shrugs.
"I hope Harold wasn't too put out at the gym," I
add to him. "I just…I couldn't go back, and I didn't think you'd want me
there anyway."
"We managed." There's a long silence, and then I
finally clear my throat.
"I guess I'll put my stuff back upstairs then," I
say. As I turn around, my gaze drifts toward the basement door, but I keep
going and head up to the second floor. I'll need to talk to Austen eventually,
but I think there's been enough truth-telling for one night.
I glance over at my mom as I rinse off the dishes from
dinner. Three weeks after I returned home and we're still walking on eggshells
around each other, but every day has been slightly better. My progress with
Austen has been decidedly slower.
"Where's he eating?" I ask her.
"He'll eat with us on nights you're working," she
replies, knowing who I'm referring to. "Or go to a friend's."
I nod. We haven't gotten to the point where we could have a
full discussion about either of the Riggins sons, but I was curious about how Austen
has been able to evade me so well while we live in the same house. I tried
knocking on his door a few times, but he wouldn't answer, and calling or
texting gets the same response. The few times I've actually encountered him by
chance in the kitchen or garage, he's immediately fled the scene before I can
get a word out.
I dry my hands when I'm done loading the dishwasher and head
straight for my car. I didn't open tonight so I was able to eat before starting
my shift at the Ale House, and it's always nice to have a full stomach before
being on my feet all night. It's a quick drive over to the sports bar on Main
Street – ironically, it's one of the places I thought Austen might head to
before I found him at Oliver's. I shiver as a wave of images from that night
hits me. I've been able to keep my feelings nicely compartmentalized for the
most part, but every now and then something will remind me and I'll feel
overwhelmed.
Denise is behind the bar when I clock in. At first she was a
little cold to me because of my lack of actual bartending experience and her
impatience with training me, but as my skills sharpened, she warmed up to me.
She greets me with a quick nod. With a Rockies game on and the bar packed,
there's no time for chit-chat. Thankfully, most of the patrons order beers on
game nights, so I'm saved from having to whip up anything more than the
occasional well drink.
"Hey!" I yell out as two burly men start a shoving
match across from me. "Quit it right now or you're outta here!" They
glance at me, surprised. I take the opportunity to quickly fill up two pints
and slide them in opposite directions on the bar. They glance at each other,
then the drinks: fight or free booze? With a shrug, one turns his back and
takes the beer as he finds another spot, and the other does the same.
"Not bad," Denise yells over the music as she
crosses behind me. I shrunk back the first time some patrons started arguing,
but Denise told me I had to break that kind of stuff up. I quickly realized
these drunk idiots were far less intimidating than the skilled fighters at my
last job, and now I'm the first to jump in when I see trouble arise.
"Hey, jailbait!" a man yells at me. I roll my
eyes. I didn't like it when Duke warned all the men of Team Apex to stay away
from me, but maybe I didn't know how good I had it. I've lost count of the
number of propositions I've had since I started working here, not to mention
the eyes constantly looking me up and down.
Remember the tips, Cat. Remember
the tips
, I counsel myself.
"What can I get for you?" I ask him with a smile,
picturing the soft green lawns of Colorado State instead of the man's swollen
red cheeks.
"You, on a plate," he replies, leering at me.
"So a pilsner, then?" I respond as though I didn't
hear him.
"Fine," he says with a snort. I slide a beer over
to him as Denise walks over and leans in close.
"Normally I wouldn't bother to tell you, but the guy
currently staring at you is so freakin' hot…" she says, nodding toward the
corner of the bar. I glance over and my gaze locks onto a familiar set of eyes.
"Oh," I breathe.
"You know him?"
"We dated."
"What happened?"
"I slept with his brother." It slips out before I
can stop myself. To my surprise, Denise bursts out laughing.
"Damn, girl. I had you pegged all wrong," she
says, shaking her head as she walks back over to her side of the bar. I take a
deep breath as I walk over to Austen.
"Mike told me you were working here," he says.
"You know you could have talked to me anytime at
home," I reply.
"Maybe I wanted to catch you off-guard."
"Well, you succeeded. Can I get you a drink?"
"Club soda."
"How many days now?" I ask as I grab a lime wedge.
"Five," he replies, his eyes narrowing a little.
Five days until the tournament, five days until he could have a contract worth
thousands of dollars with the AFF. "I lied to you," he says as I hand
the club soda to him.
"What do you mean? When?"
"That girl. At Oliver's. I slept with her." My jaw
drops. Not what I was expecting to hear. "What I said about how I felt was
true, though. I thought you wouldn't forgive me if you knew that."
I can practically feel steam coming out of my ears.
"Was that the only time?" I ask, leaning over the bar to him.
"And don't lie. Because it is so over and it wouldn't matter anyway,
except that I'd need to go a clinic," I hiss.
"Only time. I swear."
"So why the fuck have you been avoiding me for the past
three weeks?"
"He's my brother! That's different, Cat!"
That stops me cold. "You're right. It is."
"Have you been talking to him?"
"No. Seems like no one has. Should we be worried about
him?"
"Friend of a friend saw him up in Denver," he says
with a shrug. I nod, feeling my chest constrict at the thought of Logan.
"I think we could have been happy together." I glance up sharply at
Austen. He has the faintest trace of a smile on his lips, and I think he's
being genuine. "Believe it or not, ours was the best relationship I've
ever had."
I grin wryly. "It's weird, but I think you're right. We
could have been happy. Maybe we're both fucked up in the same way, though, you
know?"
"I am sorry," he says.
"Me, too."
"You seem different, you know."
"Yeah?"
He leans back and squints at my face. "Tougher,"
he finally pronounces.
"Tougher. I like that."
"I hear you're going to college."
"Well, I have to get in first."
"Why the change of heart? I thought you were excited
about beauty school."
"Someone pushed me to see what I really wanted," I
reply.
"Someone…Logan?" he asks.
"This is weird to talk about with you."
"This whole fucking thing is weird, Cat. Why stop now?"
I laugh abruptly. "You're right. Yeah, alright, it was
Logan."
"He said he was in love with you," Austen muses,
taking a sip of his club soda.
"Yeah, and now I haven't heard from him in three
weeks."
"Look, Logan's the most intense person I know. He keeps
himself pretty locked up on the outside, but he burns hot. He's not the kind of
guy who could fall out of love with someone just like that. But he also doesn't
forgive easily."
"I can't believe you're giving me advice about
him."
"Our parents seem to be happy together, so I figure we
should start trying to get along."
"So you really think he hasn't given up on me?"
"Only one way to find out."