Page 60 of Until You're Mine
The pads of Shane’s fingertips brushed my neck as he wound one of my curls around his finger. “Make sure to talk about how I only lost one fight ever, and that was because my eye was swollen shut from the fight the day before. We had a rematch, and I won that, so the title of reigning champion and biggest badass at CVH is still all mine.”
Hector waved a hand through the air. “Yeah, yeah, all that’s true. He likes to skip over how it wasmyidea to make money off it, instead of letting him get beat to hell for nothing.”
“For a title.Although, admittedly the money sweetened it.”
I twisted in Shane’s arms so I could see his face. “And you callmebruiser?”
“I told you I used to get in trouble a lot for fighting. Hector and I made a ridiculous amount of money, too. Until some asshole took a swing at me during school. It was strike three at CVH, and I wasthis closeto being expelled, but then Tammy stepped in, talked the principal into giving me one last chance, and did her best to straighten me up by enrolling me at the gym.”
I doubted he’d like me to say he was all straightened up in front of his group of friends, but he was a better guy than he gave himself credit for.
“Anyway, that was the start of a very beautiful and fortuitous friendship.” Hector lifted his beer bottle, and Shane lifted his water bottle. I went ahead and added mine, theclinknice and satisfying.
“Then there was the time we knocked over the liquor store,” Hector said, and I sputtered beer, my eyes going wide before I could pull back my reaction.
Hector laughed, loud and full, and even added a knee slap. “I got you. You should’ve seen your face.”
“So not funny,” I said, which would’ve been a lot more convincing if I could’ve kept a straight face. I looked to Shane for help, but he just shrugged.
“Hey, you opened the box. Now you have to deal with it.”
A few people got up to leave, and when another conversation started up on the other side of the pit, I shifted and placed my hand on the side of Shane’s face. “I don’t like thinking about you taking all those punches.”
He rolled his eyes as if it was nothing. “Most of those guys couldn’t hit for shit—they were all talk. It wasn’t until I got into the cage that I experienced the power of punches that could knock guys out.”
“Guys, but not you?”
His cocky grin spread across his lips. “’Course not.”
I dragged my fingers over the jaw that’d undoubtedly taken several punches through the years. “I can’t get over the image of two teenage kids running their own fight club. All for a title? One that was pretty much self-proclaimed, at that.”
“At the time, it was all I had.”
A sharp tug plucked at my heartstrings. I’d never thought of it that way, and it made me sad for the kid he used to be, and glad he’d turned into the man he was now. “You really did defy the odds.”
“Little tip. Always put your money on me.”
“What about my lips?” I moved them to his jaw. “What should I do with them?”
“Definitely put those on me.”
I kissed my way up to his mouth, getting caught up in the delicious way it moved against mine, and I temporarily forgot we weren’t alone. Then whoops and hollers broke through, and I felt Shane smile against my lips.
My cheeks burned, but a pinch of embarrassment for this much happiness? I’d take it every time, no question. I relaxed into Shane’s embrace, feeling light and carefree for the first time in a long time.
Hope even sparked, whispering that maybe this amazing thing between us wasn’t as destined to crash and burn as I’d originally thought.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Shane
The sun had set, and people had left one by one, until only Hector, me, and the woman in my arms remained. I’d thought about taking my leave, but Brooklyn had fallen asleep, and since she constantly pushed herself to the brink of exhaustion, I couldn’t bring myself to wake her up. Not to mention how comfortable I was myself. For the first time, I didn’t feel restless. Everything in my life was aligned, even if only temporarily.
“You seem happy, bro,” Hector said. “It’s not something I’ve seen on you for a while.”
Automatically I glanced down at Brooklyn, the reason for most of that happiness. She looked deceptively sweet when she slept. Although Ihadseen her sweet side more recently—I liked that she made me work for it, and didn’t show that side easily. It kind of made it feel like she saved it just for me. “I am. Things are lining up. I’m getting back to where I used to be.”
He nodded. “Now that you’ve got your fight.”
