Page 46 of Further To Fall

I pulled my arm out of his grasp. “Just as of recently, but yes.”

He ground his teeth together. “You can’t do that.”

I wanted to pound my head against a wall. Kyle was a great many wonderful things, but what he wasnotwas the most socially adept person in the world. It was hard for him to get the message, even when I spelled it out. “Kyle, Austin and I are just friends. We’ve always just been friends, and we’ll alwaysbejust friends.” It hurt my soul to admit that. I continued, “But you and I are broken up. We have been for weeks. You have no say in who I spend time with.” I said it in a soft tone, even though the words were a bit harsh. I needed him to get the picture, but I didn’t want to be cruel.

“He’s just going to play you for a foolagain,” he spat and turned on his heel toward his car.

My stomach pitched. Kyle had hit at the heart of my greatest fear in all this: that history would repeat itself and I would be left shattered. Again.

I bumpedmy car door closed with my hip and then leaned back into it, not quite ready to face the meeting ahead. Looking up at the building that had once been so familiar, I realized I wouldn’t have even recognized it if I had been driving by. Apparently, there had been brick beneath the ugly old siding, because a beautiful and expertly refurbished red surface looked back at me. It was perfect for a fighting gym. Taking a deep breath, I straightened my spine and pushed away from my car.

The pounding of my heart rang in my ears as I pushed open one of the double doors. There was a good chance I might puke on Austin’s shoes when I saw him. Welcome back to my life, friend! I took in the brand new interior as I tried, in vain, to slow my heart rate. There was now a modern reception desk and seating area right as you entered, and behind the reception desk sat a woman who looked like a Brazilian supermodel. I did a double-take when I realized I recognized her. “Sofia?”

“Carter!” Michael’s mother rounded the reception desk and pulled me into a tight hug. While I still saw my old student often, I hadn’t seen his mother in almost a year. “How are you?”

“I’m good.” My voice wavered, betraying me. My mind, already a riot of emotions, was now confused on top of it all. How long had Sofia worked here?

“I see my four o’clock is here.” My body froze at the low, warm tone. Austin.

Sofia let out a soft giggle and released me. “I’ll talk to you later.”

I couldn’t seem to make myself turn around. Time slowed. The blood in my ears roared. My heart thudded against my ribs. It was the hand at my elbow that did the trick, jarring me into motion. I spun around.

There was Austin in all his glory. Just like with his voice, he was different yet the same. My eyes traveled over his face and down his body. It seemed like he was more cut, his edges were sharper, and was it possible that he had gotten taller? But his eyes held that same warmth and spark of mischief that I remembered. Someone might as well have punched me in the stomach.

“Hey, Firecracker.” He extended his arms, and I immediately walked into them. It was like I was a puppet and he held all my strings. All my reservations, my determination to keep him at arm’s length, it all melted away at the first glance. While elements of his voice and body had changed, he smelled exactly the same. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and inhaled all that was Austin. “You okay?”

I nodded into his chest, not yet trusting my voice. When he pulled back, I saw that we were alone. “Hi,” was all I could muster.

Austin seemed to understand it would take a minute for me to relax. “Why don’t we head back to my office?”

I nodded in response, and he led me down a hallway filled with life-sized photos of fighters locked in battle. When we reached a door with a gold placard that readBoss,he stopped and pushed open the door. His office was not at all what I would have expected. In fact, it looked like something out of an HGTV show. Everything complemented each other perfectly, and there were even throw pillows on his couch—the old Austin hated throw pillows.

A set of bookcases that housed about a dozen framed photos beckoned to me. Most of them were of Austin with an arm raised above his head, being crowned victor of a fight. I paused at one where he was surrounded by Liam, Ford, and his dad, newly earned belt slung across his mid-section. I hated that there were all these memories that I hadn’t been a part of. That thought died as I came to a photo I’d never seen before. It was of Austin and me, my head was thrown back in laughter, and he was gazing down at me with utter reverence on his face. It was that look that had mixed me up inside. I felt heat at my back. “Liam took that one.”

I cleared my throat, stepping away from Austin’s warmth. “I haven’t seen it before.”

Austin held out an arm, gesturing for me to take a seat on the couch. “He gave it to me about six months after we stopped talking, right after I pulled my head out of my ass and realized what a jerk I’d been.” I looked down at the hands clasped in my lap, unsure of how to respond. “I was a mess for a long time after you said you needed space, and it took me even longer to realize how unfair and cruel I had been to you. I’m so sorry, Carter—”

I couldn’t do this. I didn’t want to rehash all the ways that things had gone bad and why. “Austin,” I jumped in, “it’s not necessary for us to go back through all of this. In fact, I’d really rather not. I’m sure there are things we both regret in how things went down. Could we maybe just start from scratch?”

He blinked at me and then blinked again. Clearly, he’d had some big speech planned, and I had stolen his thunder. “Uh, yeah. Sure.”

I sagged back into the couch, letting out a small sigh of relief. From the corner of my eye, another picture caught my attention, it was of Austin and my favorite student, Michael. They were holding up their fists and mugging for the camera. My jaw hung open. “That’s…that’s Michael.” My head snapped towards Austin.

He tugged on the collar of his t-shirt. “Yeah, we hang out sometimes.”

“He’s never told me that.” Michael and I had stayed close even after he graduated from the fourth grade. Once a week, we met in my classroom, and I helped him with any schoolwork that he was having trouble with. Or, I took him to get In-N-Out. He always voted for In-N-Out. What could I say, he was a smart kid.

Austin rubbed a palm over the stubble on his jawline. “I asked him not to. I didn’t want to bring up any bad memories for you. I offered Sofia a job when I bought the place from Mel. She can bring Michael with her whenever she needs to, so he and I spend a fair amount of time together.”

My mind was spinning with all this new information. Wait, were Austin and Sofia together? That would explain a lot. I wanted to punch myself in the ovaries for the disappointment I was feeling. Austin must have seen where my mind headed because he quickly added, “She’s actually dating one of the fighters I’m training. A real good guy.”

I hated the sense of relief I felt at his words. “That’s great,” I croaked.

“You know that Michael’s dad, Joe, just got out of prison, right?”

My shoulders stiffened at all the memories that surrounded my attack and the weeks afterward. “Yeah, I know, the parole board notified me. My order of protection is still in place, and I really don’t think he’s going to be seeking me out.”

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