Page 105 of Breaking the Habit

Six months ago, she couldn’t have imagined calling this arena home. But in the froth and clamor of fight nights, she’d found another outlet for her passion.

All thanks to Levi.

Round two started with a bang. Levi opened with kicks at different angles, but Benny was ready. They scuffled, everyone hanging on question marks as the two fighters made no headway, just brutally defended themselves at equal paces.

But Levi worked his magic. He tugged. Kneed the guy’s chest. And then in some wild blink of the eye, Levi had him twisted and trapped, Benny’s face mashed into the caging. Right above where she stood taking pictures. Like Levi had also thought of her in his offense, orchestrating the shot.

Riley could always tell when fighters used some famous MMA move, because the shouts and whoops increased, even if nothing was technically happening. That happened now—the crowd roared like Levi had already won the damn thing, but to Riley it looked like he was smooshing Benny into a super painful twist. Riley panned out to get the full scope of the maneuver.

Benny jerked once against Levi’s hold. And a second time.

The air whooshed out of him, and then Benny himself tapped out.

Levi stumbled back with wide eyes, the question on his lips practically a shout:are you fucking serious?Benny crumpled to the ground, holding his left arm. The ref entered the cage alongside Benny’s coach to check him out. Riley snapped pictures furiously, trying to immortalize this moment of shock and confusion.

The verdict came. The judges called the fight. Levi won by unanimous decision.

Levi threw his arms up, rocketing around the cage in a victory lap. The auditorium boomed with emotion, shouts and cheers and screams filling the space. Tears pressed at Riley’s throat, and she lowered the camera to watch as Levi paused his gloating to help Benny stand. He whispered something into his ear, then Benny’s coach led him out of the octagon.

The announcer entered the cage, handing the microphone over. Levi’s heavy breathing sounded through the speakers, and then his sexy, rough voice boomed through the arena.

“Thank you, guys…for all your support. I can’t express how much it means to me. This fight was for Gage. My brother.” Levi pointed up into the audience. “Who finally saw a win for himself. I’m donating half of tonight’s winnings to muscular dystrophy research. I have to thank Travis and Lex, my trainers. And my girlfriend, Riley. My dark angel. My inspiration.”

Levi handed off the microphone and walked out of the cage, waving to the crowd as he left. Riley swiped away a couple tears and hurried to pack up her things and follow him back into the dressing room.

Levi, chest heaving, his brown eyes intense and alive, waited for her in the aisleway as fans lunged for him from the seats above, desperate for contact. She ran into his open arms, squeezing her arms around him as they walked together.

“Levi and Riley!” Fans cheered around them. Riley’s head was spinning.

Levi swiped a thumb over her cheek, and once they pushed into the back hallway and things were quieter, he said, “I’m supposed to be crying, not you.”

“You fucking did it, Levi! I’m so proud of you!”

Travis and Lex whooped and hollered when they entered the dressing room. Riley’s chest hitched with a sob as she lowered her bags. The four of them fell into a group hug, Riley sandwiched in the middle as she clung to Levi’s torso.

“You did it!” Lex’s voice was raw as he shouted it for the fifth time. “Fuck yes, man!”

“That was the armbar submission of the century,” Travis said once the hug broke, pushing at Levi’s shoulders. “Fucking MMA legend!”

Levi grinned and took it all in. She could tell he was lapping it up. Relishing his victory. Finally breathing easy.

The league doctor arrived, smiling and attentive as always, saying nothing as they all shouted and reveled around him.

“Can we please get so drunk tonight?” Lex asked.

“I fully condone shenanigans tonight of all nights,” Travis added.

“Yeah, I think I’m finally gonna have some time off, huh?” Levi asked.

A cold fear struck her. She looked between Levi and Travis. “Wait. So what happens now? Are we done?”

“For a few weeks,” Travis said. “Levi will keep training, but not as intensely. And then he’ll be on tap to defend his title. We’ll know more in a few months when that match will be.”

“Don’t worry, babe,” Levi said as the doctor inspected his eyebrow. “You’ll be back at the cage soon enough. But you need the time off. Because you’re gonna have a busy few months coming up.”

She lifted a brow. He talked like he had personal access to her calendar, which he definitely didn’t. “I don’t understand.”

Levi wet his bottom lip, his tawny eyes snagging hers in the mirror. “I’ve been waiting to surprise you with this.”

---