Page 86 of Obsessed with my Temptation

Chapter 28

Scott

The competition was finally here and the crowd was much bigger than I’d thought it would be. Boxing fans, family members, and curious people filled the place, all eager and waiting to see the boxers fight for a charitable cause.

My friends were here with me. Eliot’s brother Dan and Eliot’s boyfriend Jonathan had also come here to see Andy and Travis fight, and we all cheered as the first boxers started showing up.

Today was the day. I was going to watch Travis fight, and when he was done, I was going to go find him to talk to him and tell him how I felt about him. Even if he rejected me again—even if he didn’t want a relationship after all—it would be worth it. It was one of the first steps of me living in my truth, and my skin was already tingling with anticipation.

The beginning fights were mild and got me comfortable. They must have been novices, people with little experience, because it wasn’t as bad as I’d thought it would be. I didn’t think I’d ever seen an actual boxing match before, so the idea of two people fighting each other for all to see had been intimidating. But then the fighting started changing andfuck, some guys weren’t here to fuck around. Andy’s turn came, and he seemed like a completely different person while fighting. Travis’s laid-back best friend was relentless and confident in the ring, cornering his opponent again and again and showing no fear. I was glad they were wearing protection on their heads unlike they would in pro fights, as I’d been told, butJesus, if Andy was like this, how would Travis be? I watched and cheered, and all the while it felt like my heart was about to beat out of my chest.

Andy’s time was up and although there was no official winner—since it was for charity—, unofficially, we all knew he had won. Cheers were loud and even Dan shouted his support, which of course invited teasing from Eliot and Jonathan, and he threatened all of us with bodily harm if we dared to tell Andy what we’d just witnessed.

Weird, but okay.

I caught sight of Travis getting ready for the last fight and my heart skipped a beat. It was the first time I’d seen him in a week. He looked ready, focused, and intimidating, just the way I liked, and it did things to my insides. Butterflies filled my chest and it was like we were at the beginning all over again, with me feeling squirmy and helplessly attracted to him even when I couldn’t put words to it, and him meeting my gaze, like they were magnetized and always destined to meet.

His roguish smile made me want to get up and kiss him right here and now.Jesus. I had made a decision and suddenly there was no patience left, was there? But it would have to wait. I mouthed ‘good luck’ to him and he responded with a playful fucking wink that would make anyone swoon.

That had to mean something good, right?

“Don’t launch yourself towards your boyfriend yet, Scott. Now I’ve seen how hot it is to see dudes hitting on each other, I want to see the show until the end,” Eliot said, making Antony laugh.

“He’s not my boyfriend yet.”

“Oh, he will be,” Antony answered with a secret smile on his lips.

Without much fuss, Travis began his fight and the mood seemed to shift. Playful Travis was gone, leaving a deadly version of himself instead. His gray eyes were focused on his opponent, and he moved swiftly and elegantly around him. He was letting the other guy try to hit him and deflecting most of it, before attacking the other guy in quick, purposeful bursts.

He was playing with his food.

And it was fucking hot.

Eliot was saying something like that to his boyfriend—sans the hot part—but Antony caught my attention.

“Mark is staring at you.”

And he was.

Not too far from us behind the crowd, he was looking at me like I was shit stuck on his shoe. Mark sneered when he found me looking, and with a last look at the ring, he started moving away—not toward the exit, but toward the hallway that lead to the locker room.

I had a very bad feeling about this.

Especially after our exchange last Thursday night.

Especially after Henry’s warning.

As much as I wanted to watch Travis fight, I couldn’t shake the ill feeling that urged me to go after him. My thoughts went back to what Travis had told me, and Mark’s callous vengeance when he was crossed.

So without thinking too much about it, I got up to follow Mark. Antony’s phone started ringing but I couldn’t pay attention to it, or to the fight, or to the hundreds of people around me, my whole attention was on Mark. When I got to the door, no one noticed me going in, everyone too caught up in the last and most impressive fight.

Then I entered the locker room.

The white light in the empty space felt almost eerie. One of the lights was winking in and out, making it feel like a horror movie.

Especially when I saw Mark with Travis’s bag in his hands.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

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