Best Friend's Brother #5 (Best Friend's Brother Romance Series - Book #5) (5 page)

The referee motioned for them to meet in the middle.
They went out and he gave them the speech. The fighters seemed to be locked eye
to eye and although I couldn’t hear what was said up there, the motion of
“Crusher’s” lips and the glare in his eye made me think some serious words were
being exchanged…or maybe only flung from the “champion.” It didn’t look like
Ian said anything back. They tapped their knuckles together and then went back
to their corners. A few seconds later the loud sound of a horn brought them
back out. They met in the middle with raised fists. I felt Ian’s mom take my
hand. As soon as the ref waved a hand between them and said, “Fight,” she
squeezed it…tightly.

The two hard-bodied men circled each other. They
looked like they were sizing each other up. The crowd was yelling at them to
“Throw a punch,” “Take a hit,” and “Throw him down!” I saw Bo put his hand up
in Ian’s face,
like
he was taunting him. Ian still
looked cool and calm right up until he threw out a quick left that caught
Crusher on the chin. The crowd went wild as they circled around each other
again. Crusher suddenly threw out his right leg and swept at Ian’s feet. Ian
was too fast for him though and jumped back in time to avoid being taken down.
He came back at him with a right jab and then a crushing blow to his left side.
It seemed to stun the “champion.” I don’t think he was expecting such a
challenge. He starts to double over, but he must have been faking it because
all of a sudden he threw out a right cross that Ian wasn’t expecting. It caught
him on the side of the face and I heard his mother suck in air and I felt her
clamp down tighter on my hand. I looked at her face and saw that she was
wearing a painful wince. I squeezed her hand back for reassurance and then
focused back on the fight. I looked up just in time to see Crusher rush Ian and
slam him hard against the mesh of the cage. He held him there with his arms as
his fist’s pummeled Ian’s back and shoulders.

Ian wasn’t done yet though. The crowd was buzzing as
his right leg reached out and snaked around the other man’s legs and set him
off balance. He tried to come back and grab Ian around the neck but Ian threw
his shoulder forward and buried it in his chest. They were struggling, but
neither of them was going down. It seemed to me like they stayed that way for a
long time before the ref moved in and broke them up. They both raised their
arms and Crusher took a step back. They stood there like that until the ref
waved a hand between them again and it was back on.

As soon as they were in fighting stance, Ian went
for the other man’s gut. As he doubled over, Ian slammed into him with a
shoulder. Bo “Crusher”
Bryce,
slammed down into the
mat on his back.
He was obviously struggling to breathe as
Ian straddled his legs and pulled back his fist.
Bo threw his head to
the side and brought his arms up. It didn’t faze Ian as he started throwing the
punches anyways. He was pounding him but I could not just hear but feel the
buzz of the crowd as Bo planted his foot against the mat and thrust his hips.
He bucked Ian off like a bronco and suddenly he was on top. He pulled back his
fist and Ian’s mom’s face was buried in my shoulder when it landed and tiny
droplets of blood rained out across the octagon. His father even looked away
and I felt a sharp pain in my chest. He was about to unleash another when the
horn sounded. Thank you, Jesus.

Bo got up off of Ian and they both went to their
corners. I could see his trainer talking to him…yelling, maybe as he patched up
the cut across his eye. He rinsed out his mouth, wiped himself down with a
towel and got back up on his feet.

The horn sounded and the ref gave them the signal.
Ian threw the first punch
again,
a right hook that
connected with Bo’s left jaw. He came back with two sharp jabs against Ian’s
stomach and ribs.
Ian was suddenly gasping for breath and
looked like he was going down.
He doubled over slightly

but
stayed on his feet and in a blink he was moving again, throwing out a round
kick that landed on Bo’s ribs hard. He stumbled backwards but then shot one of
his legs out and connected with the backs of Ian’s calves. Ian was struggling
to maintain his balance. When he got it back he connected with the other man’s
ribs with his fist this time. That seemed to piss him off. He brought his knee
up so quickly that I don’t think anyone saw it coming. It connected with the
underside of Ian’s chin. Ian staggered back, looking stunned for a second and
Crusher stepped towards him with a cocky look. Ian wasn’t finished. He threw
out a right and connected so hard with his jaw that his mouth guard flew out
along with a spray of blood and saliva that coated everything in a two foot
radius…and then he went down. He landed on the wet, bloody mat with a thud. His
head bounced up once and then landed back down. His eyes were closed. He was
out. The crowd was going crazy.

“What happened?” His mom asked, close to tears. His
father was grinning and so was I.

“Our son is a champion,” he said just before the
announcer said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, your new middleweight Champion, Ian “The
Axe” Axle.”

Everyone was on
their
feet
now. The sounds of the crowd were deafening. The faces around us were contorted
with excitement. Ian’s mom and dad were hugging and jumping up and down, and I
couldn’t stop smiling. He won. He was a middleweight champion. I focused my
attention back up front as he was presented with the coveted belt. He was
bleeding from the cut over his eye, sweating buckets and smiling from ear to
ear.

CHAPTER
NINE

IAN

I stood there with my arm in the air and the heavy
belt draped across my shoulder, trying to catch my breath and trying to believe
this moment was really happening. I’d won. I’d spent the last three years
eating right, taking care of my body, studying champion fighters and practicing
until I nearly passed out. Part of me always knew that I could do this. The
other part…the one in the recesses of my brain that only came out to play when
it was least welcome…knew that it never would. Take that, asshole voice! I
said.

After the ref congratulated me, the promoter came out
and did the same. He
whispered in my ear for me to wait for
him in the locker room, he had “a few”
guys he wanted to introduce me
to. He put the microphone in my face and asked me how it felt to be the
champion. My head was buzzing…I think I was overdosed on adrenaline. The only
word I could think of was “Good.” It wasn’t brilliant, but hey, I’m a fighter
not a scholar. I was a champion!

The doors to the octagon were opened and I was all
at once flanked by the over-sized security guards. I went along with them like
a good boy until we got right next to where my mom, dad and Alexa were sitting.
I broke free and grabbed hold of the first one I could reach…my dad. He was
startled at first, but suddenly smiled broadly and wrapped me up in a tight
hug. Then he held me back to look at my face and said, “I’m so damned proud of
you, son. You’ve come such a long way.” I felt myself choking up. My mom was
staring at the cut over my eye.

“
It’s
okay, Mom. Just a
flesh wound,” I told her.

She tried to smile, bless her heart. Then, she
wrapped me in a hug too. I could see Alexa’s face over my mother’s shoulder and
I was aching to touch her. My mother held me for what seemed like forever and
before she finally released me she whispered, “I love you, Ian.”

“I love you too, Mom.” I looked up at Alexa then and
she glanced nervously at my parents. With a grin I said, “By the way, Alexa and
I are dating.” She smiled broadly then and jumped into my arms. I held her
tightly until I felt Dean’s giant, calloused hand on my shoulder.

“We have to go, Buddy.
Lots of
people waiting to talk to you.”

“You guys will wait for me?” I asked them.

“Wild horses couldn’t drag us away,” Alexa said with
a grin.

Dean ushered me into the back where there was a
conference room filled with reporters waiting. I was a little overwhelmed with
all of the cameras flashing and microphones in my face, but it was a good
overwhelmed.

The reporters asked a lot of questions about my
fighting career…where I started, where I hoped to go. They asked me how it felt
to win the championship and who I thought I owed my success to. I answered the
questions as well as I could, giving Dean all the props he deserved for all of
the help he’d given me over the years. After about fifteen minutes, Dean told
them that was it for now. A few of them asked about private interviews and who
my agent was. I looked at Dean and he said, “Any of you that want a private
interview wait for me outside the door and I’ll get you a number.”

After they all left I told him, “I don’t have an agent.”

“I know, kid. I’ll give the my number and finding
one will be our first priority on Monday morning if you don’t have five of them
knocking on your door before then…as I suspect you will.”

“Thanks Dean, for everything.”

“I just pointed you in the right direction. You did
all the work. You did
good
, kid.”

He pointed me out a different door so I could make
it to the locker room without going through the sea of reporters again. I
showered and realized that I was so amped up from the adrenaline still that I
was shaking all over. I felt like I’d just sucked down several energy drinks.
After my shower the medic tended to my eye. He had to put in a few stitches and
then he covered it with a bandage and said I was good to go. By the time I
emerged back into the hallway, the reporters were gone and Dean was waiting for
me. He handed me several pieces of paper with names and numbers on them.

“What are these for?”

“Agents, promoters, managers, sponsors…you name it
kid. It’s all on for you now.”

“You too, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re still going to train me?”

“You have a lot more options now than a dried up old
ex-con Buddy.”

I shrugged. “You kind of grew on me,” I told him.
For a flash of a second I thought I saw tears in his eyes.

“Yeah, of course I’ll still be your trainer. You’re
gonna
be famous, kid. Are you ready for
that.
”

“I think I am,” I said with a smile.

“Alright then, keep your nose clean and I see you
Monday morning.”

I left Dean there, looking like he was going to bust
with happiness and went to find my family. That thought gave me another surge
of energy. They were here, all of them. Even Emma was here. I could feel her,
especially when I walked out that door and looked into Alexa’s eyes. Emma would
always be here.

CHAPTER
TEN

ALEXA

Ian came out of the back, freshly showered and with
a bandage over his right eye. He was carrying his belt over his shoulder and
grinning broadly. I was so happy for him, and so proud of him. His Mom and Dad
looked happy too. It was the first time since Emma died that there didn’t seem
to be something holding everyone back from enjoying themselves.

“Dinner?”
Ian asked as he threw his arm around me and kissed the side of my face. It was
kind of weird, but his parents didn’t seem surprised or upset in the least about
us being together.

“You two go,” Ian’s dad told him. “We were so happy
to be here son, and so proud of you.” His dad hugged him as we walked outside.
“I think I’m going to take your beautiful mother on a date now if you don’t
mind.”

His mother looked shocked and then she smiled,
“Really?”

“How does Tony’s sound?”

“Amazing,” she said. She hugged Ian too and then me.
Before she pulled away from me she said, “Thank you, Alexa. Thank you for
taking care of him when I wasn’t able to.” I just nodded. I felt tears in my
eyes and I was afraid I was going to start crying. Ian and I walked
the to
their car and then he looked at me and said, “Looks
like it’s you and me.”

“Just how I like it,” I told him.

“What do you want to do?”

“Let’s go show off my boyfriend who just won the
middleweight championship. After that, we’ll go back to your place and I give
you your reward.”

He pulled me into him and said, “We could skip the
showing off part.”

Laughing I said, “We could, but that wouldn’t be
fair to the public. Besides, the anticipation will make your reward all that
much better.”

I drove and we stopped first at a little restaurant
where a lot of our friends hung out. I saw a lot of people that Emma and I went
to school with there. I was worried when Ian and I first started dating about
what people would think of us. Now, I could care less. I was so happy to be
with him and so proud to be seen with him, I couldn’t imagine what anyone else
thought being important at all. A few of the girls asked me point blank if we were
dating. When I said yes, I saw nothing but envy in their eyes.

We sat down to eat and the waitress came over and
said, “Ian, Sal says you can order whatever you want and it’s on the house.”