Hard Love: A Bad Boy Fighter Romance Read Online Free Page A
Author: Megan West, Kristen Flowers
he had a nasty feeling what
she was about to say and he didn’t want to hear it.
“At this rate,”
she said in a hoarse voice. She swallowed hard and licked her lips, which now
felt dry. The spit that traveled down her throat felt like sandpaper and her
pulse was thundering in her ears. Her body started to shake.
“At this rate,
Nathan, there is only one thing. There is only one way. We’re going to have to
break up and go our separate ways.”
Dead silence.
The two of them
stared at each other; each with their own thoughts. They looked into each
other’s eyes and both of them knew what she had said was true. It didn’t matter
how much either of them wanted it to be any different. After several minutes,
Emma decided it was time to walk out. Nathan clearly had nothing left to say,
at least not right at that moment and she had already said the only thing she
wanted to hold inside and avoid for as long as possible. She turned on her heel
and walked out of the locker room, feeling completely unsure about what was
going to become of their relationship.
As she walked out
the locker room door to the main area, she had no clue if her relationship with
Nathan was even still on. She knew he was just as confused as her. He didn’t
try to stop her from leaving and he didn’t go after her. He hadn’t even
responded.
As she slowly made
her way past the fighting ring and past the nice chairs and couches of the
lounge area, which quite frankly seemed out of place in The Ring, she had no
clue if she had actually just broken up with the man she loved or if they both
needed some time to think.
Whatever it was,
it didn’t feel good.
Chapter Four
By the following
night, Emma had still not heard anything from Nathan and she certainly wasn’t
ready to reach out to him first. She was laying back on her couch, one leg
draped over the armrest, wondering how she even wound up as a bet taker in the
underground fighting ring when her phone rang. She ignored it at first.
It had all started
when she met Nick, but the way she wound up with him was still a fuzzy memory.
For the first time ever she wished that had never happened because then she wouldn’t
be sitting home alone wondering if she still had a boyfriend or not. She would
have never met and fallen for Nathan and she certainly wouldn’t have been part
of a lifestyle she now wanted to get out of more than anything else.
It was with that
thought that it dawned on her how unfair she had been with Nathan the previous
night. She had thrown in his face that fighting was more important to him than
she was, all the while she had feared the break up between them because she wanted
to get out. She was already choosing her exit to California over her
relationship with Nathan. She sat there thinking of what a hypocrite she had
been and lamenting how insensitive some of her accusations were during the
fight when her phone rang again.
This time,
something in her perked awake and she lurched forward in the hopes that it was
Nathan calling her. When she saw Nick’s name flashing across her screen her
heart sank. In an instant she had a deep feeling of disappointment mixed with
anxiety all at once. She inhaled and felt light headed from the overwhelming
feelings. Reaching out with a slightly trembling hand, she answered the call.
“Hello,” she
murmured into the phone. Nick was the last person she wanted to speak to, but
she knew it wasn’t a good idea to ignore his call, especially not now that he
knew she was with Nathan. Or maybe he just assumed she was screwing Nathan for
fun. Either way, he knew there was something between them and she didn’t want
the man she loved to pay the consequences of her having been mixed up with Nick.
“Emma,” Nick’s
voice came in, deep and sure as ever. “I’d say it’s a pleasure but we’d both
know that’s a lie.” Emma cringed.
He was even more
of an
she was about to say and he didn’t want to hear it.
“At this rate,”
she said in a hoarse voice. She swallowed hard and licked her lips, which now
felt dry. The spit that traveled down her throat felt like sandpaper and her
pulse was thundering in her ears. Her body started to shake.
“At this rate,
Nathan, there is only one thing. There is only one way. We’re going to have to
break up and go our separate ways.”
Dead silence.
The two of them
stared at each other; each with their own thoughts. They looked into each
other’s eyes and both of them knew what she had said was true. It didn’t matter
how much either of them wanted it to be any different. After several minutes,
Emma decided it was time to walk out. Nathan clearly had nothing left to say,
at least not right at that moment and she had already said the only thing she
wanted to hold inside and avoid for as long as possible. She turned on her heel
and walked out of the locker room, feeling completely unsure about what was
going to become of their relationship.
As she walked out
the locker room door to the main area, she had no clue if her relationship with
Nathan was even still on. She knew he was just as confused as her. He didn’t
try to stop her from leaving and he didn’t go after her. He hadn’t even
responded.
As she slowly made
her way past the fighting ring and past the nice chairs and couches of the
lounge area, which quite frankly seemed out of place in The Ring, she had no
clue if she had actually just broken up with the man she loved or if they both
needed some time to think.
Whatever it was,
it didn’t feel good.
Chapter Four
By the following
night, Emma had still not heard anything from Nathan and she certainly wasn’t
ready to reach out to him first. She was laying back on her couch, one leg
draped over the armrest, wondering how she even wound up as a bet taker in the
underground fighting ring when her phone rang. She ignored it at first.
It had all started
when she met Nick, but the way she wound up with him was still a fuzzy memory.
For the first time ever she wished that had never happened because then she wouldn’t
be sitting home alone wondering if she still had a boyfriend or not. She would
have never met and fallen for Nathan and she certainly wouldn’t have been part
of a lifestyle she now wanted to get out of more than anything else.
It was with that
thought that it dawned on her how unfair she had been with Nathan the previous
night. She had thrown in his face that fighting was more important to him than
she was, all the while she had feared the break up between them because she wanted
to get out. She was already choosing her exit to California over her
relationship with Nathan. She sat there thinking of what a hypocrite she had
been and lamenting how insensitive some of her accusations were during the
fight when her phone rang again.
This time,
something in her perked awake and she lurched forward in the hopes that it was
Nathan calling her. When she saw Nick’s name flashing across her screen her
heart sank. In an instant she had a deep feeling of disappointment mixed with
anxiety all at once. She inhaled and felt light headed from the overwhelming
feelings. Reaching out with a slightly trembling hand, she answered the call.
“Hello,” she
murmured into the phone. Nick was the last person she wanted to speak to, but
she knew it wasn’t a good idea to ignore his call, especially not now that he
knew she was with Nathan. Or maybe he just assumed she was screwing Nathan for
fun. Either way, he knew there was something between them and she didn’t want
the man she loved to pay the consequences of her having been mixed up with Nick.
“Emma,” Nick’s
voice came in, deep and sure as ever. “I’d say it’s a pleasure but we’d both
know that’s a lie.” Emma cringed.
He was even more
of an