Page 96 of Twice the Rivalry

“Alright,” Code said simply, not even looking her way. She narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to blast him when she again saw the slight trembling of his shoulders. Instead, she turned on her heel and stormed out, slamming the door behind her. Childish? Yes. Did she care? No.

She looked around the room and saw Karissa standing with Razor, smiling up at him all lovingly. Razor had a sappy look on his face, and it only pissed her off more. Damn it, she didn’t want to be surrounded by love all the damn time. It did nothing to help her. “Knock it off,” she barked at them, making them jolt and turn to her in surprise. She pointed at Karissa. “I need to burn off some energy, so we’re hitting the mats. You and Pretty Boy can kiss later.” Then she turned and headed for the gym.

“What the hell?” she overheard Razor ask in surprise.

Karissa gave a soft laugh. “Don’t worry, I got this.”

“You sure? Maybe I should come down there to referee,” he suggested. “She looks pissed. And not the normal pissed, the kind of pissed where she’s ready to kill someone.”

“Nah, I’m good. I’ll see you later.” She heard them kiss quickly, and she rolled her eyes as she stalked down the steps, storming into the gym.

When she reached the basement, she kicked off her shoes and moved to the ring. She grabbed one of the ropes and hauled herself in, turning and waiting impatiently for Karissa to join her. When she did, Karissa arched a brow at her as she took off her shoes. “What’s got you all in a twist?” Karissa asked drily as she reached the ring. “Not that I’m not down for a sparring match, but I’d like to know why you want to pound on me. Because if it’s something I did, I might consider pulling my punches a little.”

Glitch scowled at her. “It’s got nothing to do with you,” she said with a shake of her head. “But since no one else in this place will fight me, you get the honor.” She launched herself at Karissa, who met her head on. Karissa didn’t pull her punches, and she didn’t go easy, which was exactly what Glitch wanted. And needed.

After Karissa bucked her off and sent her flying, they both got to their feet and Karissa asked, “Going to tell me what your problem is?” Glitch threw a punch at her stomach, but Karissa blocked it easily enough. Glitch didn’t answer her question. She wasn’t even sure if she really wanted to. “You know you’ll feel better once you do,” Karissa told her, grunting when Glitch managed to land a knee in her thigh. “Bitch,” she hissed.

Glitch sneered at her. “If you weren’t so damn tall, I’d have gotten you in a better spot,” she taunted, going in for another kick, but Karissa just grabbed her foot and twisted, sending Glitch to the mats, making her snarl in anger. Damn it, she should have seen that coming. “Bitch,” she hissed again when Karissa managed to pin her.

“Now,” Karissa said, a bit breathlessly, even as Glitch struggled to get free. “You’re going to tell me what the hell the problem is or I’ll just keep beating your ass until you do. So spill it, pipsqueak, or I’ll really start to get rough.”

“Why does everyone need to talk about everything?” Glitch demanded, trying to roll and buck her off to no avail. “Maybe I just want to fight. Is that so hard to believe?”

“Sure, but we both know that when you get like this, you have something bottled up inside and you need to get it out. Sparring is only going to get you so far, so instead of ending up bruised and bloodied, how about you tell me what the hell is up your ass and we figure it out together?”

“I like sparring with Taz better than you,” Glitch sneered, finally managing to get herself unpinned and roll Karissa to her back, but not before Karissa managed to buck her off and send her flying away. “You’ve been practicing,” Glitch accused her.

Karissa grinned smugly. “Can’t have any of you saying I’m soft, now can I?” she taunted. “I’m done playing around, so talk, or I’m done for the day.”

Glitch stared at her mutinously, but Karissa gave her a steely look, and Glitch could feel herself crumbling. Finally she couldn’t take it anymore and huffed out an annoyed sigh. “Code told me he’s in love with me and he wants us to be together,” she rushed out. “And now he’s acting like everything is fine and he didn’t completely turn everything on its head, the son of a bitch.”

Karissa didn’t say anything for a moment, but the surprise on her face made it obvious that she hadn’t been expecting that. “He said he loved you?” she asked. “When?”

Glitch scowled. “Last night, after Church. I was pissed because he made some comment about protecting me. Next thing I know, he was yelling at me, I was yelling at him, and then he tried to leave and I jumped on him to stop him. We both ended up on the floor and he was telling me he loves me and wants me to give him a shot. I don’t know, it feels like a damn dream in my head because he hasn’t said a damn word about it all freaking day. And every time I look at him, he’s smiling or smirking, and possibly laughing. It’s driving me nuts, and I know he’s doing it on purpose. The rat bastard.”

“Alright, let me make sure I have this straight,” Karissa said with a thoughtful expression, ticking off each item on her fingers. “You’re pissed because he said he is in love with you, that he wants you two to figure out a future together, and because he’s not freaking out like you. Do I have that all right?”

She was pretty sure she hated Karissa at that moment, but Karissa just slowly grinned at her. “Fuck off,” Glitch hissed, thrusting a hand through her hair. “I know you’re laughing at me and I really want to kick your ass.”

Karissa flattened her lips, but her eyes were still bright with amusement. “Look, Glitch, I know you’re freaking out, but that’s normal,” she tried to soothe. “Love can be scary. Especially when you aren’t planning for it. Trust me, I know. It was the same with me and Razor, and it can be the best thing that’s ever happened to you if you give it a chance.”

“I thought women were supposed to support each other,” Glitch pouted, annoyed that Karissa wasn’t as outraged as her. She knew it was ridiculous, but she didn’t care.

“I do support you, but I also don’t support idiots,” Karissa said with a shrug. Glitch glared at her. “Look, it’s really simple, and I can say this because I felt just like you. That Razor couldn’t possibly love me, and I had a moment of panic. I questioned everything. I think that’s what you’re supposed to do when you love someone. You question it; you doubt it; you hate it; and you crave it. It wouldn’t be real if you didn’t have everything all wrapped up in one crazy package.”

“I never said I love Code,” Glitch protested, frowning harshly.

Karissa gave her ayeah-rightlook. “Babe, out of everyone here, I know you the most. Sure, maybe not as well as I once did, but we’re working on changing that. When you love someone, it’s evident in everything you do. You love the team, and you put up with their shit in ways that most women wouldn’t. You love those girls you work with through your foundation and the programs you started. You make sure they have everything they could possibly want. You love your job, and it’s a huge part of your life. But I also think that in the past few weeks you’ve been here, you’ve realized you can love someone for yourself, too. Namely Code, and all his geeky sexiness. Even when the two of you were pissing each other off, I saw it. You would glare at each other, but the tension between you two was off the charts. In the last week or so, it’s shifted. That anger has turned into affection, even if you won’t admit it, or can’t see it yourself. When you piss him off, you don’t go nearly as hard as you could. You’re not threatening him with your knife every five minutes, and you’re working together like you’ve been doing it for years instead of days. Not to mention when you look at him, he’s the only one in the room even if the room is full of people. You’re not paying attention to anyone or anything else. So let me ask you one very simple question. Do you love Code, and do you want to take a shot at something real with him?”

“How is that a simple question?” Glitch demanded incredulously.

Karissa shrugged. “Because when it comes down to it, it’s a yes or no question. Everything else can be worked out. Might take a lot of work in some cases, but in others it will be easy. Now, really think about it and then tell me, yes or no?” She leaned back against the rope, her legs crossed at the ankles and her arms crossed over her chest as she made herself comfortable.

Glitch wanted to get out of the ring and say fuck it, but she knew Karissa would chase her down and bring her right back. Which meant she had no choice but to think about it. Well, think about it more. She’d been thinking about it all morning.

Could she see herself with Code? Yes. She admitted that to herself this morning when she woke up in his arms. She hadn’t wanted to move, and instead nuzzled back into him for another few minutes, enjoying the feel of him against her in the quiet. She wanted that every day.

Would he try to change her? No. She knew that deep down. He never once tried to suggest she do something else with her life, or that she shouldn’t be a part of her team. Though, really, she doubted he would dare try because that would be the end. She didn’t change for anyone, especially not a man.

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