FIGHTER: An MMA Romance Novel Read Online Free
Author: Sadie Black, BWWM United
a few years what would she have to show for it? No matter what, she could never let that be her future. There were better things in the world for her than that.
"Nikki, I got worried." Just outside the bathroom door, Elle waited. The blonde took Nicole by the wrist, smiling kindly. "Let's go dance, okay? You always dance the best. Let's have fun tonight."
Those better things in the world weren't meant for tonight, though. Tomorrow or the day after she'd worry about that. There was dancing to be done, and friends to celebrate with, and that was the only future that mattered.
----
Chapter 3
Jax
" B aby , don't go. Please. Don't go."
Not even the pleading of the sweetest woman in the world could get Jax to stay. Another t-shirt hit the edge of the hard shelled suitcase. It was carry-on sized; Jax didn't need all that much space. Apart from a change of clothes, his ring shorts, and money to spend, what more could a guy want? The UFL supplied the rest. Some said that rookie gigs didn't pay, but the travel expenses and food allowance were enough that Jax was grateful.
"Ma, it's okay." Four days in Brazil would go by quick, especially when he spent the majority of those days training. Tourism wasn't Jax's top priority. Discovering another country sounded like fun in theory, but he couldn't let the exotic place get to his head. This was no vacation. Business was business, but if he was lucky his competitor would forget it and he'd get a leg up. Not that he needed it. Luck only went so far. Talent. Skill. That’s how he would win his fight. "I got this in the bag. Aren't I doing you proud? I'm going to be just fine and you'll feel bad for worrying yourself so much, you'll see."
Reassurance did nothing to sooth his mother's fears. The woman folded her arms as she stood in the doorway, eyes set with worry. Wrinkles in the corners of her eyes looked permanently chiseled into her face, and the lines in her brow deepened. Jax never considered his mom to be a senior, but now her age peeped through. The silver that ran through her dark hair was no longer deniable. Before long, the woman who raised him would show her age plain as day.
"It's not worth it, baby. Whatever money you're making, isn't worth getting you hurt. Stay home. I'll work with you to find you a normal nine to five and you can make a good, honest living. Please. For me?"
Where was his mouth guard? Jax glanced across the room, there wasn't a lot to look over. Twenty-seven years they'd lived there. The modest house was as close to the hospital as his mother could afford, and still they couldn't make ends meet. Jax hoped the trip would change that.
"I'm not gonna get hurt. Even if I don't win, I'll be okay. I'm a survivor, remember? I'm a fighter. No matter what, I'm gonna pull through."
Not in with his shorts. Not on top of the dresser. Jax wracked his brain trying to think of the last place he put it. Usually the mouth guard sat in with his gym bag, but that had been emptied to get ready for his trip to Brazil. Where could he have put it?
"You're a survivor, I know, but I don't want you to have to keep surviving. I didn't spend all those years caring for you in the hospital when you were little to have you wind up there as an adult with your head bashed in. You survived, you made it, and now it's time for you to thrive."
The words hit a tender place in his heart, and Jax stopped his search momentarily to give his mother his full attention. In a matter of steps, he'd closed the distance between them, and took the older woman's small hands in his large ones. He still remembered a time when it was reversed, and her adult hands gently held his as a child. Those hands had wiped away his tears and eased all his pain away. It hadn't been an easy childhood, but his mother had stood by his side despite the financial and emotional strain he'd caused. Hurting her was the last thing he wanted to do, but she needed to understand what he was going through.
"I am thriving. Ma,
"Nikki, I got worried." Just outside the bathroom door, Elle waited. The blonde took Nicole by the wrist, smiling kindly. "Let's go dance, okay? You always dance the best. Let's have fun tonight."
Those better things in the world weren't meant for tonight, though. Tomorrow or the day after she'd worry about that. There was dancing to be done, and friends to celebrate with, and that was the only future that mattered.
----
Chapter 3
Jax
" B aby , don't go. Please. Don't go."
Not even the pleading of the sweetest woman in the world could get Jax to stay. Another t-shirt hit the edge of the hard shelled suitcase. It was carry-on sized; Jax didn't need all that much space. Apart from a change of clothes, his ring shorts, and money to spend, what more could a guy want? The UFL supplied the rest. Some said that rookie gigs didn't pay, but the travel expenses and food allowance were enough that Jax was grateful.
"Ma, it's okay." Four days in Brazil would go by quick, especially when he spent the majority of those days training. Tourism wasn't Jax's top priority. Discovering another country sounded like fun in theory, but he couldn't let the exotic place get to his head. This was no vacation. Business was business, but if he was lucky his competitor would forget it and he'd get a leg up. Not that he needed it. Luck only went so far. Talent. Skill. That’s how he would win his fight. "I got this in the bag. Aren't I doing you proud? I'm going to be just fine and you'll feel bad for worrying yourself so much, you'll see."
Reassurance did nothing to sooth his mother's fears. The woman folded her arms as she stood in the doorway, eyes set with worry. Wrinkles in the corners of her eyes looked permanently chiseled into her face, and the lines in her brow deepened. Jax never considered his mom to be a senior, but now her age peeped through. The silver that ran through her dark hair was no longer deniable. Before long, the woman who raised him would show her age plain as day.
"It's not worth it, baby. Whatever money you're making, isn't worth getting you hurt. Stay home. I'll work with you to find you a normal nine to five and you can make a good, honest living. Please. For me?"
Where was his mouth guard? Jax glanced across the room, there wasn't a lot to look over. Twenty-seven years they'd lived there. The modest house was as close to the hospital as his mother could afford, and still they couldn't make ends meet. Jax hoped the trip would change that.
"I'm not gonna get hurt. Even if I don't win, I'll be okay. I'm a survivor, remember? I'm a fighter. No matter what, I'm gonna pull through."
Not in with his shorts. Not on top of the dresser. Jax wracked his brain trying to think of the last place he put it. Usually the mouth guard sat in with his gym bag, but that had been emptied to get ready for his trip to Brazil. Where could he have put it?
"You're a survivor, I know, but I don't want you to have to keep surviving. I didn't spend all those years caring for you in the hospital when you were little to have you wind up there as an adult with your head bashed in. You survived, you made it, and now it's time for you to thrive."
The words hit a tender place in his heart, and Jax stopped his search momentarily to give his mother his full attention. In a matter of steps, he'd closed the distance between them, and took the older woman's small hands in his large ones. He still remembered a time when it was reversed, and her adult hands gently held his as a child. Those hands had wiped away his tears and eased all his pain away. It hadn't been an easy childhood, but his mother had stood by his side despite the financial and emotional strain he'd caused. Hurting her was the last thing he wanted to do, but she needed to understand what he was going through.
"I am thriving. Ma,
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