Page 59 of Further To Fall

“Normally, you would have me at ‘hot fighter,’ but I’ve got a ton of grading to catch up on.”

I carefully slung my purse over my shoulder. “Okay, next time.”

“You know it.”

We made our way down the hall and as we passed Kyle’s classroom, a chill skittered down my spine. There had been a foreboding quality to his words that told me I hadn’t heard the last from him.

31

Austin

“Watch his leg! Don’t let him get you on the ground!” I yelled as my eyes focused intently on the fighters circling each other on the mats. Eric was looking fierce. He had strength and speed, he just needed to be able to predict his opponents’ moves a little bit more. That would come with time.

A buzzer sounded. “Time!” I called. “Eric, take five. Get some water, but stay loose.”

Turning away from the mats, I was greeted by a throng of people. An over-eager reporter jammed a recorder in my face. “Eric Murphy makes the fourth fighter you’re coaching now. Is this a sign you’ll be moving away from the cage yourself?”

Inwardly, I cringed. I wasn’t ready to announce my plans for retirement anytime soon. Outwardly, I kept a stone-faced mask. Before I could come up with an appropriate non-answer to his question, a sultry voice broke in. “He’d never stop fighting. This is his life.” The woman’s face was vaguely familiar. I’d seen her at fight events before. She was dressed in the smallest jean shorts I’d ever seen, a black crop top, and stiletto high heels. Fight groupie. I tried to be nice to all my fans, but some of these women could be vicious in their attempts to get a piece of me.

“I’m currently focused on my own training and coaching. Working with up-and-coming fighters keeps me on my toes.”

The reporter chuckled, and the woman edged closer. I attempted to distance myself, but there was really no easy escape path. She pressed her breasts against my arm and ran a finger down my chest. “How about we take a five-minute break, too?”

Her perfume was too strong, makeup too thick. Everything about her was fake. My jaw clenched as I tried to extricate myself from her tentacles. A waving Sofia caught my eye. Her own eyes blazed with anger as she inclined her head to where Carter was standing behind the small crowd, gaze zeroed in on the breasts currently pressed into my side. Fuck.

“Excuse me,” I said, pulling back, but groupie girl took a firm hold on my arm, pouting.

The reporter followed my sight line and perked right up. “Is that the new girlfriend? I’d love to get a photo of the two of you. Maybe a joint interview?”

Fuck no. I wasn’t going to expose Carter to these vultures.

The groupie’s face went from pouty to cruel in a flash. “That skinny bitch? Never. She can’t give it to him like I can,” she said loud enough to carry over the crowd.

Color leeched from Carter’s face. She turned on her heel and took off in the direction of my office. Fuck. Fuck. FUCK.

I ripped my arm from the woman’s stranglehold. “You need to leave,now. If you don’t, security will escort you out. When they do, they’ll take a photo of your driver’s license, and you’ll be banned from all UFL events.” Her jaw dropped, but before she had a chance to respond, I took off, elbowing my way through the crowd.

I silently cursed myself all the way to my office. I hadn’t even thought to warn Carter about fight groupies, privacy-invading reporters, or any of the downsides to my fame. Why hadn’t I done that? Oh, yeah, because I wanted to paint the most ideal picture possible of what her life would look like with me. I didn’t want to give her a single reason to say no to a future with me.

I paused with my hand on the doorknob to my office. Was I naïve to think that Carter could handle life as a fighter’s girlfriend? She was a complete bleeding heart. Yes, she could stand up for herself when her buttons were pushed, but she took everyone’s words to heart. Any personal attacks cut her to the quick. And in the world of MMA, personal attacks ran rampant.

Steeling my spine, I pushed open the door. Carter was bent over Blue, clipping a leash to his collar. “Firecracker,” I started.

She turned, her face a blank mask. “I’m just going to have Taylor swing back by and get me and Blue. That way, you can be free to do whatever it is you need to do.” Each word had a snap to it, whipped out with precision judgement.

She stalked toward the door, but I blocked her path. “Carter, that was not what it looked like.”

She narrowed her eyes, pinning me in place with her teacher stare. “Oh? And what did it look like?”

I ran a hand roughly over my buzzed head. “Hell, I don’t know! But I know it didn’t look good.” I sighed. “Fight groupies are a dime a dozen, and there’s no good way to avoid them.”

“You didn’t exactly look like you were trying to avoid her. You looked like you were halfway to second base with her!” Blue let out a bark and then a low whine as if he too were pissed at me.

“Baby, I had no way out. I was stuck between her and a vulture of a reporter, and I wasn’t about to climb into his lap!”

“Don’t youbabyme, Austin Lyons. Did you ask her to please stop touching you?”

I let my head fall back and searched the ceiling for answers. She just didn’t get this world. “No, because that would have been a total pussy move.”

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