Leaving Hayes, walking out her front door, it was the hardest thing Levi had ever done. There was so much more to that girl than he’d have ever thought. She was a contradiction tossed in anger and wrapped in sadness. She carried more pain than he should even consider getting involved with; regardless, he couldn’t help himself. Even with Casper screaming in his ear at the gym, he couldn’t shake her from his mind.

“Levi!” Casp called.

“What? Why the fuck are you yelling?” he growled back.

“Because your head’s not in the fucking game. Get it there, or you’re gonna get your ass kicked, boy.”

“Whatever.” He ignored the stout man, continuing to hit the fist bag above him. He could beat a man’s ass to the ground and still think of his girl.

“You let this chick take over your mind, and you won’t be the next hot thing,” Casper grumbled beside him.

He’s right. Levi knew he was. Doesn’t mean he didn’t want to deck the man for insinuating she’s a distraction.

“Hey, Knuckles!” Looking over to the other side of the gym, he spotted Cam, one of the guys he frequently sparred with. “Wanna hop in the ring?”

“Bad idea,” Casp whispered from his side.

Scowling at the man, he told Cam, “You bet!”

Just because he’s got her on his mind doesn’t mean he can’t do his damn job.

Taping his knuckles and slipping on a pair of gloves, Casper strapped on his headgear just as Cam stepped through the ropes of the ring. Following suit, Casper in his corner, Cam’s guy in his own, they tapped gloves and hits were exchanged.

Levi quickly realized his head wasn’t in it and took a kidney shot that had him gasping for breath. When Cam went in for an uppercut, he was able to deflect until the man hit him with a right rapidly followed by his left, and soon enough, Levi was trapped against the ropes with Casper yelling for him to fight back, to push the man off.

For the first time since he began to fight, Levi was not into it. He had found a new ambition. A new goal to attain. He hadn’t even realized what it was he was doing or looking for when he’d started training, but now he felt like he could have what he’d unknowingly been searching for.

“Levi, you cocksucker, get your fucking head in the damn game!” Casper was yelling again.

With renewed ambition, he fought free of Cam’s blows, flying out with his own jabs to the kidneys and gut. Hitting cheap shot after cheap shot until the man was slightly dazed. When he wobbled on his feet, Levi knuckled down and cast one last blow to the temple, laying him flat on the mat.

“Yeah, baby!” Casper cheered from the side of the ring, climbing in with a water bottle for him.

Removing his gear, Levi said, “I gotta go. Got shit to do.” He needed to talk to Nox.

“What?” Casper’s jaw dropped in shock. “You’ve barely been here for a few hours.”

He shrugged. “Life, man.”

“Is this about that girl from a couple days ago?” Levi froze at his words.

“What about her?” His voice was even.

“If it’s pussy you need, it’s pussy you’ll get. But don’t waste your time chasing tail, Levi, you got shit to get done.”

“Don’t ever talk about her like that,” he snapped, stepping closer to his friend, his entire demeanor threatening.

“Okay, okay.” Casp raised his hands in surrender. “But can we keep with the training? You have a huge fight this weekend, and you need to be ready. She’s a distraction.”

Levi had tried out for the preliminaries to a real MMA fight; something he could talk about with his family. Something they could be proud of him for. Sponsors would be there, and he knew he had to be on his game. The best he’d ever been.

“Fine. Let’s do this shit.”

Casp had a grueling routine set out for him as he took him through his paces, lined up a new diet for Levi to stick to, and spent the entire time trying to convince him to take one of the ring bitches for a ride.

Levi wasn’t biting, and that was killing the other man.

* * *

“Why, Lys, why would you do that?” Hayes cringed at the whine in her voice as she asked her friend about her confronting Levi at his work.

“The dick deserved it.”

“But then he came here, and he met my parents.” She couldn’t stress that enough. Her parents were full of questions about the man now.

“I’m so sorry.” Her friend flounced down on her bed. “He needed to know he was a complete tool.”

She couldn’t argue that truth but seeing the man hadn’t done her any favors.

“Are you coming back to school tomorrow?” Lys asked her.

“Yeah, I’ll be there.” Hanging around the house with her parents walking on egg shells wasn’t helping to improve her mood any. She figured getting her last couple of finals out the way before graduation would at least distract her.

“Good, it’s not the same without you. Them hussies keep creeping up on me without you around.” By hussies she meant cheerleaders. They had always wanted Lys in their fold because of her gymnastics background, but it was the end of the year, so it seemed weird they were still trying.

Lys left shortly after they planned for Brett to pick her up in the morning, so she didn’t have to stress her knee more than necessary. She hadn’t run since Sunday, and it was now Wednesday. The urge to move, to lose herself in the workout was so strong she actually had to force herself to stay home.

Even with the pain she felt, the swelling in her entire thigh, she wanted to go. Running was her drug; she wouldn’t deny it. Getting up from her bed, she limped over to the window and gazed out towards the mountains that stretched out in the distance as the clouds drifted lazily through the sky.

Daydreams of success had been born on similar clouds over an ocean. It was hard to let them go, but she knew it was time. She had to start moving forward with her life. Learn to live again.

Leaning her head against the warm window pane, her eyes closed, her mind played new dreams through her mind, a fresh start brewing as her lids opened. Only to be met by the cool blue gaze of Levi. His suffering seemed to match her own. She hadn’t heard from him since kicking him out two days ago. She was surprised he’d returned.

He didn’t move from his position against his car, and her expression never changed. He was just there. Watching and maybe waiting. At least, her foolish heart hoped he was.

Her memories recalled the pain he’d caused her, and she turned away, shutting him out of her mind and life. She couldn’t let her heart open to him again.

Crawling back into bed, Hayes fought off visions of him holding her, for hours, before sleep finally claimed her.

Restlessness throughout the night left her feeling more exhausted when she woke up than when she fell to sleep. Her mom’s light knock on the door caused her head to pound from the growing ache in her temples.

“Hayes? Sweetheart, I’ve got breakfast going for you.” She gave her daughter a smile.

“Thanks, Mom, I’ll be down in a few minutes.” She faked her own grin at the woman as she left the room.

Her body was stiff as she slowly rose from bed, intent on having a quick warm shower before making her way down to whatever breakfast her mother had butchered.

Turning the water on, she quickly hopped in. Washing her long, red hair, she remembered the way Levi seemed to be fascinated with it. She wondered if he even noticed how often his eyes had strayed to her locks. Not like he’d care, she scolded herself.

“Shake him off, Hayes,” she muttered to herself as she carefully stepped out. For her sanity, she had to let go. Say goodbye to him, even if it were only in her mind.

After slipping into the comfiest sweats she had—they were so worn-in they felt like soft, warm silk and were just baggy enough to hide the brace she had on her knee—she grabbed a tank and loose t-shirt and slowly hobbled her way downstairs.

The smell of burnt something or other assaulted her senses as she walked into the kitchen. Seeing her mom scraping a pan full of what could only be described as charcoal pancakes into the garbage, she laughed. She loved her mom, but the woman really should stop trying to cook. She burnt water when she boiled it.

“Morning, honey.” Her voice sounded chipper as Hayes sat at the counter. “Thought I’d make you something before you went to school.” Her mom looked around at the pans that clearly had the beginnings of breakfast. “Dad went to that bakery you like.” Her smile was rueful as she handed Hayes a cup of green tea.

“Thanks, Mom.” Hayes flashed a bright smile.

They were quiet for a moment when her mother sat beside her, grabbed her hand in both of hers, and spoke. “I know you don’t like to talk about things, Hayes, and your father and I are partially at fault for that. Everything was good until Ryder…” She had to take a moment to compose herself.

“Mom, please,” Hayes tried interrupting.

“No, honey, just listen. After Ryder, we all shut down. I lost sight of how much pain you were in, emotionally and physically. We almost lost you, too, and I didn’t know how to process that. Since then, though, I sometimes feel like I’ve still lost you because even though you put on a good front, you’re still hurting.” Hayes didn’t know what to say. “I want you to know, no matter how much you think Dad and I are struggling, we are always here for you. No matter what, sweetheart, you can always come to us about anything. Okay?” There were tears in the woman’s eyes as she waited for a response.

“I know, Mom. I’ve always known that.” It was the best she could do.

“Okay, honey.” She didn’t sound convinced, but further conversation was stopped as her father came through the door.

“I have food!” he announced.

They both plastered smiles on their faces as he came in the kitchen. “Cinnamon rolls?” Hayes asked as she smelled the melted cream cheese.

“You bet!” He chuckled handing her the bag.

Silence filled the room as they ate breakfast together. Her own eyes kept going to all the pans filled with either half-cooked or burnt food in them. When she met her mother’s eyes, the other woman glared at her, challenging Hayes to remain quiet about it.

She couldn’t hold it in, however. “Sure is a good breakfast, Mom. Must have been hard work.” She smirked sweetly as a muffin was tossed at her, catching it just as a horn blew outside announcing her ride. “Gotta go!” She blew her mom and dad a kiss as she left the house.

Brett and Lys waited at the curb for her as she slowly made her way down the sidewalk towards them. A revving engine drew her eye. The sleek, black frame of a gorgeous Charger had her breath grabbing as it drove slowly down her street.

Levi behind the wheel.

His ice blue eyes meeting hers as she opened Brett’s car door.

Her breath held when his face beamed at her. That one dimple appearing; his eyes possessive as they roamed her body.

“Hayes?” Lys questioned. Meeting her friend’s stare, she saw that they followed Levi with an angry glare.

“I’m coming,” she whispered.

Confusion swirled in her mind as they drove to school. Lys talked about prom coming up and how she wondered who would be crowned king and queen. The obvious answer was, of course, her and Brett.

Hayes’ mind was stuck on Levi, though. The look he gave her, the way he watched her. She couldn’t shake it. She was supposed to be kicking him out of her mind, but how was she expected to do that when he continued popping up?

* * *

It was official. Levi had become a damn stalker. He’d sat outside Hayes’ house for nearly an hour before she’d emerged. He’d watched her father leave then come back. Her friends pulled up. He knew he had to go, and meant to do so surreptitiously, but his body had other plans as his foot decided to go rogue and hit the gas pedal a little too hard, so his engine revved.

She knew immediately, too. Her entire body tensed up as she saw his car. Her step had faltered as she tried not to limp to her friend’s car. He wanted to swoop in and be her knight. Show her he wasn’t some arrogant dickhead. His problem was, he wasn’t a knight, and he was arrogant.

After following her to school, he went straight to the shop, intent on talking to Nox. He might have some advice on how to work through the shit floating around his mind.

It wasn’t too busy when he pulled in, so he went straight for the office knowing that’s where his brother would be.

“Hey, Levi,” Sophia greeted him, her smile big as she looked up from one of her books.

Walking over to her, he leaned over the counter to kiss her cheek. “How you doin’, pretty girl? Classes aren’t too hard, are they?” A quick glance at her book showed they didn’t look too bad.

“I’m good, Levi. Classes are fine.”

“Nox busy?”

“Nope, just doing some paperwork for an old customer.”

“Thanks, Soph.” He kissed her cheek again before walking into his brother’s office and closing the door.

“What’s up?” Nox asked without looking up from what he was doing.

“There’s this girl.” He figured he might as well go for broke.

“Not a shocker.” Nox finally looked at him.

“Shut up. She’s in high school– “

“Christ, Levi,” he interrupted.

“Would you listen to me?” Levi demanded, understanding why he had that reaction. “She’s eighteen, would have graduated, but she was in an accident of some kind that held that up.”

“This about that girl from the other day that exploded on you?”

He couldn’t exactly deny it. “Yeah, that was her friend. I had done something before I knew her age. Then I made her feel like shit, and I seem to keep on doing that. But I can’t shake her from my fucking head. She’s been planted there like a root, and she’s all I think about.” He rushed to explain. Nox had a huge grin on his face that only pissed Levi off. “What the fuck is so funny?” he snapped.

“Oh, nothing.” Levi could see his brother struggling to hold back his amusement.

He knew what Nox was getting at. The way he and Loch had teased their older brother about falling for Soph, and Nox promising he’d laugh when it happened to them and they were left clusterfucked. Well, for Levi, that time had come, and he was well and truly fucked.

“What’s the issue, Levi? You’ve never given a fuck before, why’s now so different?”

“I give a fuck about her. She puts on a good front, but I have the feeling someone talking about us—her being in school and me being older—I think she’ll take issue with that. It would hurt her.”

“How bad did you fuck things up with her?”

“In short?” Nox nodded. “Things got heated, then I pushed her away when I found out from the guy she was with that she was in high school.”

“So, you took some guy’s girl, made out with her…” Levi’s brow raised at the making out part. “Seriously?” Nox was shocked. “Okay, so he said she was in high school?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Didn’t occur to you he was being a dick?”

“Not at the time.” He was slightly sheepish at the admission.

“You thought taking his girl was a good idea because…?” He let the question hang.

“It wasn’t the first time Hayes and I have met.” He defended. “We’d met twice before.”

“So why didn’t you try asking her out either of those times?” Did the man have to be so damn sensible?

Blowing out an annoyed breath, he told Nox, “I was kind of a dick both of those times, too.”

Nox threw his hands in the air in an exaggerated fashion, saying, “No wonder she wants nothing to do with you. Stop being a dick, Levi. Stop getting your rocks off with her and get to fucking know her. Do you know anything other than her name, age, and that she’s in high school?”

“She was in an accident,” Levi supplied.

“The one that prevented her from graduating last year?”

“Yeah.” He paused. “I think so.”

The thud from Nox’s head hitting the desk in front of him made Levi flinch. “I’ve taught you nothing,” he mumbled.

“She’s a runner,” he supplied when Nox didn’t make a move.

His brother’s head finally popped up. “Go with that. If she’s a runner, she’s likely got ambition. Run with her. Show her you’re not a dick. And when she opens up about anything, ask her the fuck out and stop being a chickenshit.” The emphasis on anything wasn’t missed.

“And if people talk?” That was his real worry. For her.

“If people talk, give ‘em something to talk about,” was his only answer.

“Thanks, Nox. Loads of help.”

“Anytime, Levi.” His sarcasm wasn’t missed either.

Walking back to the front, he grinned at Soph who was nose deep in her book again as he passed. When he was about to go to the back, her soft words stopped him.

“Does she drive?”

He turned to look at her. “Uh, I don’t think so, no.”

“You could pick her up… Today,” she added when he looked confused. “You said you were a jerk after finding out she was in school. If it doesn’t bother you, picking her up would show her that.”

“You’re a genius, Soph!” Her glorious smile followed him into the shop.

She was right. Picking Hayes up would show her that he wasn’t ashamed of her age. He’d been shocked as hell because she’d gotten him off in the shower, but everything else she’d said or done with him showed her maturity rather than her age. Hopefully, she’d give him another shot and not turn him down in front of her peers. He wasn’t above begging; he’d just rather do it in private than on display.