The Fighter Duet: Two Full-Length, Red-Hot New Adult Fighter Romances Read Online Free Page A

staring at these artifacts from my past, and that was exactly how they felt. Distant.
    My phone rang in the other room, and I pushed myself off the floor. Wobbling back to the living room, I took another long sip of wine, still amazed I wasn’t crying. On my phone face was a girl with a wide smile and light-brown curls flowing over her shoulders. A garland was across her forehead. Mariska.
    “Why didn’t you tell me Rook hired a new guy today?” Her voice was loud and taunting.
    “Probably because I was too pissed at catching them fucking again.” My voice was a little slurry, but she didn’t seem to notice.
    She screamed a laugh. “No. WAY!”
    I put my wine glass on the coffee table and fell back on the couch with a loud exhale. I needed to eat something.
    “Way,” I muttered, reaching up to touch the plastic cap still on my head. I still had dye in my hair. Great. Dragging myself off the couch, I headed to the bathroom.
    “They are so inspiring.” Mariska’s voice had gone dreamy. “Imagine being married to someone that long and still wanting to fuck their brains out all the time.”
    My eyes rolled. “It’s more shocking than inspirational, actually.”
    “I’d love a sneak peek. Rook’s hot. I bet he has an enormous dick.”
    “Please. Don’t. He’s our boss.” The fact was, he did—and I didn’t want to think about it.
    I leaned toward the mirror and lifted the plastic, checking my color. It looked ready. “But if you really want to see it, you could try working longer than two hours in the middle of the day. That seems to be their down time.”
    “Looks like I’ll have to if I’m going to see Mr. New Guy.” She was back to scheming. “Pete said he’s clearly got a backstory. What did you think?”
    Turning, I leaned against the sink. “I didn’t see him. I left early.”
    “What’s wrong? Are you sick?”
    The tiny wedding band was still on my finger, and I stared at it for a few moments. Still nothing.
    “Kenny?” Mariska’s voice was a little louder. “You okay over there?”
    “I don’t know.” I turned my hand over and studied the small, black tear I’d inked in my palm. “I mean, Yes! Physically, I’m fine. But something’s different.”
    “What do you mean? What’s different?”
    “I’m not sure, but I tried to come home today and sort it out. My feelings are all mixed up, and I just feel this tension inside, like I’m going to bust open.” Whoa. I never talked this much about my feelings. No more wine tonight.
    “Go out with me tomorrow night!” She was almost shouting with excitement. “Just say yes for once and don’t think about it. We can dance all that bad juju away!”
    Images of me with her in a dance club flickered through my mind. “I’m going to Wilmington. I miss Lane.”
    “You were just there last weekend!” she cried. “You’ve got to go out and be around guys your age.”
    “Tell you what.” I pushed off the sink and walked back to my room. “Next week, I’ll go out with you.” I took the small band off my finger and returned it to the vinyl box.
    “Promise?”
    “I promise.”
    We disconnected, and I returned everything to the larger box and pushed it all the way to the back of my closet again. Switching off the light, I headed to the bathroom.
    The water ran deep violet as I washed out the dye, massaging my scalp with my fingers. Once it was clear, I shut off the tap and squeezed out the excess. Then I grabbed the blow dryer and turned my back to the mirror. I hadn’t bleached it first, so no telling how it would look. When it was completely dry, I turned around, and gasped. It was perfect—dark, blackish-violet, cascading over my shoulders like a cape. I turned to the side and shook my straight hair down my back. I couldn’t wait for Lane to see it.
    Running back to the living room, I scooped up my phone and shot a quick text to Patrick. Is it okay if I come for a visit tomorrow? You busy?
    I waited, wondering if it was too