Page 11 of Going the Distance

“This isn’t what it looks like.” Brock sat up, the blanket falling to his waist revealing his bare chest. I scrambled to keep my boobs covered.

“Really? Because it looks like you hooked up with my sister.”

“It wasn’t just a hook-up.” He slid an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side.

“Ah fuck, I don’t need to see this.” Josh backpedaled out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

I felt numb. I knew we’d have to talk to Josh about this whole thing eventually. I just didn’t expect it to happen while my tits were out. The fight was my main priority at the moment. I guess I’d just expected that this conversation could wait until it was over. Brock kissed the side of my neck. “Let’s just let him cool off then I’ll talk to him.”

I nodded. I had a thousand things to do today, and Brock was right. There was no point talking to my brother while he was still fuming. I had to leave it alone and get back to the grind.

I fell into a new routine over the next few weeks. Training. Work. Training. Come home. Pretend that my heart wasn’t breaking while my brother gave me the cold shoulder. Give up and go to Brock’s place. To be fair, Josh had been picking up some extra night shifts, so we weren’t both home and awake often. When we were, I kept my distance, giving him a chance to process all of this.

The upside was that Brock’s leg was almost a hundred percent back to full strength. He’d scheduled his fitness test for the week after my fight. The downside was we both felt like shit over how things went with Josh. I knew he’d be mad; I guess I had expected him to get over it more quickly than this. Brock was supporting me through it, but it just highlighted the fact that my big brother was MIA.

There was so much going on. I had to take a drug test and make weight. I even did a few interviews with some local media and fight websites.

The night of my fight finally arrived, and I felt like I was going to puke. A lot was riding on this for me personally, and the fact that the last few weeks had been a roller coaster with Josh hadn’t helped. I was in my warm-up room with Nate, getting ready for the fight. Getting my muscles loose, getting my hands wrapped. There was a knock on the door, and Josh walked in. I’d barely seen anything but his retreating back since he caughtBrock and me in bed together. “Hey, champ.” He gave me a look over. “You look ready to kick ass.”

My shoulders dropped. “I’d be more ready with my big brother by my side.”

His face softened. “I am by your side. It isn’t you I’m mad at.”

“Sure feels like it is. You support my decision to get kicked in the head but not to date a man you’ve known your whole life?”

“He’s my best friend, he should have come to me before—”

I held up my hand. “Jesus, Josh, what decade do you think this is? He doesn’t need your permission to date me, and I’m surprised you think he does.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “It isn’t about my permission. You’ve been through enough shit in your life, Dani; you don’t need someone hanging around who has no intention of staying.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Why do you think he isn’t going to stay?”

“He never has before. I’ve never seen him be serious about anyone. He can have his fun with somebody else’s sister.”

I took a step towards him. He was being a fucking dumbass, and I was gearing up for a fight as it was. “Just talk to him. We should have come to you just out of respect. That was a fuck up, and I’m sorry for it. He hasn’t been serious about anyone else because the one he wanted was me. He was just too afraid to tell you. We’re going to be together, and I’d rather you got used to it so I could have my brother back. You trust him enough for him to have your back. You should trust him with me, too.”

His eyebrows dropped. “So, if you have to pick between him and me, it’s him?”

Fuck men were exhausting. “I’m saying I refuse to choose. I pick you both. I love you and I love him. If you care about us both then talk this out with Brock and move on.”

Chapter 16

Brock

My leg bounced as I sat through the first few fights. Dani’s fight was somewhere in the middle of the lineup, and I was ready to peel my skin off, waiting for it to start.

“Hey.” Josh sat down in the seat next to mine and focused his gaze on the ring. “Dani told me we need to talk.”

We had worked the same shift easily fifteen times since he had walked into Dani’s room to find me naked in her bed and he had avoided me through every one of them. “We do. Why don’t you start with why you don’t want me with Dani.”

He huffed out a breath. “I’ve never seen you be serious about a chick before. I hate the idea that my sister could be a notch in someone’s bedpost, especially if that someone is you. It is bad enough that I couldn’t stop the bullies when we were in school. I’d like to stop her from getting her heart broken now.”

I scratched at the stubble on my cheek. “You don’t have to be her keeper; she can take care of herself. Besides, the reason I’ve never been serious with anyone was because it was her I wanted. Anyone else was just second best. As much as I tried, I just couldn’t settle for that. It was Dani or nothing. Since getting stabbed, I realized I had to go for it. Shocks the hell out of me that she’s wanted me too––all this time. I should have talked to you about it sooner, but we were just-”

He waved his hand. “Yeah, yeah I know what you were doing.”

I think I may have actually blushed at his words. He had no idea what I’d been up to with Dani, and I was not about to go there. “We were just happy to be together, dumbass.”

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